Happy New Years~ lol 's finally 2019 within the story. 2 years down 2 ish to go -rolls up sleeves- spent some time writing up more ideas and plot so should be good for long enough to get the rest of 2019 planned out. CapCom really didn't give me a tone of lore to work with so. by the seat of my pants I shall fly!
Song suggestion: The Villain I Appear to be by Connor Spiotto
Disclaimer: I'm just writing silly wholesome fan fiction, I have no connection to the IP. /o/ please don/t sue me CapCom
Another year was about to come to a close. Once more the floor decided to celebrate the start of a new year together. Similar to the year prior, the Russo's put out a record player that played a tired tune. The effect of the passing year was clear enough to see. The Russos were starting to feel their age as they gently swayed compared to their livelier dancing of the year prior. Bastion was happily held in Travis' arms as they leaned against his open doorway while waiting for the count-down. In the background on Bastion's dining room table sat a vase of flowers with a card that read From: Chris & Emma.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the Hallway, Chris and Emma stood side by side, leaning against the wall space between the two small shelves by their doors rather than standing in either doorway. Emma gently nodded her head to the quiet, older music as Chris sipped at a drink.
Eventually, the countdown began. Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one. "Happy New Year!" the radio announced as the Russos gave each other a peck and nuzzled their faces against each other's, while Bastion and Travis kissed. Emma stood on her toes to give Chris a peck on the cheek, which caused his face to flush as he was still not quite used to public displays of affection.
Mrs. Russo walked back into the apartment only to return with a plate of Pizzelle, while Bastion grabbed a bottle of wine to share from his apartment and Emma gathered six glasses from her apartment.
Once everyone had their glass in hand, Mr. Russo stepped forward. "Well, it's been a year since we last gathered here. A lot has happened," he said as he shifted his weight to be more comfortable. "We have new additions to our community," he said, gesturing to Travis. "Growing relations between those of us who were already here," he added making a similar motion over to Emma and Chris, who chuckled in response. "And some that were always here to being with." Mrs. Russo walked over to place a gentle hand on his shoulder as they smiled at each other. "Despite some rough patches throughout the year, in the end, I think we're all stronger for it," he said with a nod. "So, I hope you'll join me once more in raising a toast. Since it did us so much good in the past year, let it carry us again into the new year." He coughed slightly but raised his glass. "Cheers, to a year of good health and prosperity."
"Chee—" the group started as they raised their glasses, only for Chris' cellphone to cut them off.
[INCOMING CALL - DIRECTOR]
"Sorry, I need to take this," Chris said as he puts the glass down on his door side shelf and headed back into his apartment before answering the call. "Hello?"
"Redfield, pack your things. Wolf squad will be heading out in the next three hours," the director plainly stated, causing Chris to frown. "You'll be heading to the deserts of Europe; Hound Squad is in over their heads and could use a few extra hands."
Chris bit his tongue. He wanted to point out that he had warned the director this would happen. "I'll be right there." Hearing that they were in trouble caused him to worry and his thoughts raced a mile a minute.
"Excellent, we'll have the chopper ready for your squad to make the red-eye," the director said before hanging up.
Great... Chris gave a tired sigh and put his phone away after locking the screen. He packed up his usual olive drab bag, then puts on his coat and scarf before heading back out.
"You have to go dear?" Mrs. Russo asked with a disappointed frown.
"Afraid so. It sounds serious," Chris replied with a nod. "I'll be flying out as soon as possible."
"Well, hopefully it's nothing too dire," Bastion said, concerned.
"It will probably be a couple of weeks as usual." Chris sighed as he adjusted his bag to rest over his shoulder.
"Stay safe, man," Travis replied with a nod.
"Have a nice trip," Emma said with an attempt at a smile. This seemed to happen to him a lot. Chris nodded at that, unsure how to reply. He walked over and gives Emma a quick peck on the forehead before going on his way down the stairs, hearing a distant cooing sound from Mrs. Russo in response to seeing the returned affection.
He didn't have time to be distracted like this. My team needs me, he thought as he headed to the parking garage. He made his way to the BSAA and went to the lockers to change into his armored uniform before joining Canine and Night Howl.
"Heya, Boss," Canine said with a tired sigh. "Ready for the new year?"
"Ready as I can be," Chris admitted with a frown. Despite being on time, it took the director an additional hour to show up and provide the mission details. Hound squad had set up a research outpost in the deserts of Europe and got pinned down inside of it by a group of mercenaries. They'd been bunkered in place for the last two days since hostile forces took over the research outpost. The goal was to get inside, reclaim the post and fortify it, so it wouldn't be so easy to ambush in the future.
Despite leaving at two in the morning, thanks to time zones, it was 11 pm by the time Wolf Squad landed their helicopter. Another fifteen hours that Hound Squad had to hold out without support, and it was going to take longer still. They ended up landing a good 40 miles out at an allied airfield. Who needed sleep anyway? Their training had prepared them for how to handle work without sleep for a few days. As tired as the three were, they geared up and started making their way to the outpost, using the cover of night to stay hidden.
3 AM. January 2nd.
"Night Howl, what do we have?" Chris asked quietly as the man in question looked between night vision goggles and paper where he was mapping out what he could see of the outpost.
"It's not looking great," he admitted quietly. "Gotta be at least twenty of them, mostly Bioweapons with a few controllers, and those are just the ones I can see. Looks like someone went and recruited Glenn Aris' men. Based on the patches, these are his guys. That or they didn't bother rebranding and went solo."
"Not our worst odds," Chris replied as he checked his equipment. "Canine, stay with Night Howl, provide support from here, and see if you can find their radio frequency and tune us in, so we can regroup."
"On it Alpha," Canine replied as he readied his weapon to provide covering fire while Night Howl handed over the map to Chris and got to work on finding any sort of chatter.
Chris slowly made his way down. Any other time he'd use a grenade and start clearing them in groups but doing that would put the outpost and the squad at risk. It felt like it was going to take ages, but by sunrise the sound of radio static in his headset got his attention.
"Calling all units. Repeat calling all units. Distress signal hour... 71. If you can hear us, please respond," said Umber Eye's weary voice.
"Distress signal, this is Alpha of Wolf squad calling in. We hear you loud and clear," Chris said, as he heard cheers from Lobo and Tundra through the radio.
"Took your damn time getting here," Umber Eye said with a tired laugh as Chris took out another zombie.
"How are you guys holding up?" Night Howl asked.
"On your six, Alpha," Canine said before taking a shot, hoping to either neutralize the threat or at least let Chris know where to look.
"Like shit," Lobo said with a laugh. "Out of ammo, no food, and we're down to our last canteen of water. The assholes were waiting for us to get back. All we had were leftovers from our quick away mission."
"No injuries?" Chris asked as he continued making his way in. For now, extraction was his first priority. They'd focus on retaking the base in full once they regrouped, resupplied, and rested.
"Minimal," Tundra replied. "A couple of scrapes and bruises. The doors have seen better days, but luckily they don't seem interested in using explosives either, or we'd be telling a very different story."
"Explosives attract attention," Night Howl pointed out.
"That's probably it," Umber Eye agreed. "It's good to hear from you guys."
"Let's hold off on that until you're safe and back at the airfield," Chris suggest while making his way through the maze of the building that Night Howl couldn't map out. "Where are you guys?"
"Third door on the right, from the western entryway. Green metal door with a blue paint strip," Tundra replied.
"You could try knocking," Lobo joked with a half-hearted laugh. Even he was tired.
"Yeah, sure I'll try and make some inaudible grunts while I'm at it, so you think I'm one of them," Chris said back. "Wipe the computer systems and pack up, I'm on my way."
8 AM, January 2nd.
"Hound Squad Prepare for extraction," Chris said as he slammed his fist into the specified door a few times.
Lobo opened the door with a beat-up grin. "Look at that, you knocked."
Chris rolled his eyes. "Canine, we're on our way back. Continue providing covering support."
"Easier said than done, Cap. We've lost cloaking from having the sun down, and it looks like reinforcements are on the way. Get moving," Night Howl replied.
"Keep the engine warm," Chris said into the communication device as he started slowly makes his way back with the three following behind him.
Getting out of the overrun building was not a walk in the park. It took longer to get out than it did to get in, thanks to the additional Bioweapons sent in by whoever was attacking the outpost. Umber Eye, Tundra, and Lobo were basically sitting ducks following behind Chris since they were down to their last bullets. However, by 10 AM, the extraction effort was successful, despite the fact that the place was now crawling in Bioweapons. They'd have to clear it out eventually, but for now, they focused on getting back to the allied airfield. The three tired Hound Squad members were quick to fall asleep to the hum of the Jeep's engine as the tires picked up loose sand, making the ride back a quiet one.
Once they were safely back in the airfield barracks, the group of six were able to rest more properly. On missions like these, cots suddenly felt like the most comfortable luxury in the world. Even then, that luxury was limited to a four-hour nap, though. By 6 pm, everyone was gathered back together for a much-appreciated warm meal.
Chris was sitting on a bench at a long cafeteria table with the others as Lobo made his way over with his second tray of food and took a seat.
"Where in the world are they coming from," Chris asked with a concerned frown as he looked over a recent intel report. Another team went to the effort to keep an eye on the overrun outpost and had been sending back frequent updates on its status. Overall, it wasn't looking good, and they had their work cut out for them.
"My guess is the new lab is sending out test vials," Tundra suggested before shoveling another healthy-sized bite of food into her mouth. Seventy-plus hours of little to no food made even the most basic of cafeteria dishes seem like a gourmet experience.
"New lab?" Canine asked with a raised eyebrow. "You think they still have supplies from the lab we just shut down?"
Hearing that caused tundra to bob her head from side to side before downing some water to clear her throat so she could speak again. "We picked up some chatter a few days back. The target here is the same as the one in the states. They have a group of scientists in the states for developments, but by the sounds of it, they export testing to Europe and move it around to make it harder to trace it back to one source."
Umber Eye nodded. "Yeah, something set them off, and they've been increasingly active as of late," he said with a tired sigh as he picked at his food.
A sinking feeling of dread filled Chris' stomach. "When did that start..."
"A little over a week ago, close to the holidays," Lobo confirmed, which caused Chris to mentally curse as he started putting two and two together... "You'd think with the holidays, they'd figure out how to take a break, but nope. We can't have nice things around here," Lobo grumbled before he starts munching away at his second dinner.
"They mentioned setting up a new lab stateside. I got the co-ordinance during our run last week," Tundra added, causing Chris, Canine, and Night Howl to stare at her with concerned confusion. It didn't take her long to notice. "Did the Director not mention this?" she asked with a confused expression.
"No... No, he didn't," Chris replied with an irritated frown. Start reporting back to me with your findings as well during downtime... On either front, the mold or the virus. Something isn't right."
'*'*'*'*'
Chris walked through the halls of the BSAA headquarters with a clear scowl on his face. Three weeks. Three weeks he had spent over in the European deserts, one clearing out the waves of Bioweapons sent to specifically attack that one base. Another week spent guarding it while the BSAA sent in a team to repair the current installment, and the last spent guarding it as another team made additions to the outpost to prevent this from happening again.
'Strike one.' You're not going to like what happens if you get to three.
He was pissed. The co-ordinances that Tundra provided showed the new shipments and signals were coming from a recently built high-rise on the outskirts of the inner city where he lived. This was still right under their nose, and it was being ignored. Chris aggressively opened the door to the director's office and slammed it shut behind him.
"Redfield," the director said with a tired expression that reads 'oh lord here we go.' As if he was a parent about to deal with an upset child. "Always a pleasure to see you."
"The hell is this?" Chris asked as he slapped the coordinates onto the director's desk with the flick of his wrist.
"It appears to be an address," the director said as if he was playing along with a game.
"For a stateside lab you've known about since December," Chris added, anger still very much so evident in his tone. "Why was my team not mobilized? It's a ticking time bomb to have a lab like that in such a populated area."
"The risk was assessed and deemed insufficient, as such the investigation for that location was closed and set to a reactive only protocol," the director replied, which just pissed Chris off more.
"Insufficient? They're testing the virus on cadavers just 30 miles down the highway in an area that's highly populated with civilians. This is going to be New York all over again. How much more of a risk does there need to be?" Chris rebutted.
"Sometimes in a game of cat and mouse, you've got to let the mouse think it's the cat. Let them think that they're not being watched," the director explained. "For this mission, as far as stateside is concerned, we're sticking to reactive protocol. We'll send troops if an incident occurs and take action from there." The director moved to stand up and look Chris in the eyes. "You'd do well to keep your temper in check. Am I making myself clear enough this time?"
He was about to mention the warning from Veronica and his belief that the attack against the outpost was related to it, but he held his tongue. It wouldn't make a difference even if he did tell the director. He had no intention of doing anything about this.
"Crystal," Chris replied still frowning. He would be taking those words to heart. Something was wrong inside the BSAA. He knew it the second Umbrella showed up in their ranks. He'd stay put and follow orders if only to keep an eye on this and continue to do what he knew was right.
"Good. Now, get out of my office, and try not to slam the door on your way out," the director said as he sat down once more and took the paper with the address on it and put it into the shredder next to his desk.
Chris walked out and did as he was told. He hated this. His debrief with the director, Night Howl, and Canine occurred the next day, and by nightfall, they were released to go home.
'*'*'*'*'
Emma quietly hummed as she sat in her usual place on the couch and clicked away at her computer to try and finish up an extra assignment. The parent company wanted to hire up it seemed and needed new 'we're hiring' ads for some sort of new cosmetics division. Something about having an easy time cross-promoting, yadda yadda. That was research and development's job to worry about. She just had to make sure it would appeal to the target audience when they saw it on a poster and make sure people found the ads in the first place. From the looks of it, they were thinking about renting out some space in that high rise at the edge of the city. Seemed like overkill, but they were on this 'best of the best' kick with Veronica at the helm, so at the same time it was not a surprise that they wanted space in the newest inner-city building while the label was still located in the outer city. Maybe they'd end up moving everyone over. "The commute would be nicer..." she said to herself with a sigh. She was tired... Emma closed her laptop with that thought. She'd work on this in the morning.
Knock knock knock.
RING: [Alert - Motion Detected]
Suddenly she wasn't so tired. She quickly put her laptop down on the coffee table and got up to head over to the door to see a very tired face looking back at her.
"Chris, welcome home," she said with a smile, moving to let him in. He walked forward and pulled her into an embrace, which she returned. He smelled like smoke. Gracious, it was that bad?
"Good to be back," he replied, then let her go so he could put his bag down and close the door properly. Emma finally got a good look at his face.
"How did you manage to get a tan in the middle of winter?" she asked with an amused smile as she walked with him to the kitchen.
"It was work," he replied as he took a seat at the island.
"That doesn't even make sense as an answer for that question," Emma replied, amused, unaware that it actually did make some sense.
"I know," he said in return with a short chuckle.
He looked ready to pass out... "You know, you don't have to sit at the island. If you want you can sit on the couch, it's more comfortable. I'll bring the food over," Emma suggested as her concern remained. "Something quick this time so you can go get some rest," she added.
Chris nodded in agreement before getting up to get a glass of water then making his way to the couch, while Emma worked on cooking. It took about 10 minutes since the stove had to heat up, but she fried up a quesadilla on the stovetop using leftover ingredients and walked over to find that Chris had already fallen asleep. "Oh dear..."
Duke watched with very acute attention as Emma placed the food down on the coffee table. Maybe for dog? He certainly was willing to wait and see as he crawled under the table, hoping something would fall. Meanwhile, Emma sat down next to Chris and supported his head with one hand while gently nudging his shoulder with the other.
"Hm?" he replied as he slowly roused and blinked a few times while trying to process being awake again.
"Chris, if you're this tired you should go to bed," Emma said with a concerned expression.
"I wanted to see you first," he said with a shrug.
Emma chuckled at this. He didn't seem hungry at all. She reached down to grab the quesadilla from the plate and ripped it apart, offering half to him. "Well, it's going to be hard for you to see me with your eyes shut," she pointed out as he accepted the portion of quesadilla.
"Close enough," he replied with a yawn before taking e of the warm food and putting his free arm over the back of the couch. The two sat in silence and enjoyed each other's company while they shared their small late-night snack.
maybe not my strongest chapter but, that's kinda inevitable after that last one lmao X'D some cutes some lore so it a good addition all the same. See you next time for February ;)
Review response:
Stinehegg - lol hey it's totally valid. I usually post here first since it gives me a bit of time to write and get it out there then look it over and make changes to any glaring issues x'D Hopefully, this chapter made up for the cliffhanger, I'll definitely work on putting in some more summer and Chris interactions :3 I have one major plot point revolving around the two coming up in one of the summer chapters but I'll see if I can squeeze in a bit extra in the spring.
InkScribbles - yaaas all the cuteness and much more to come x'D Veronica is definitely a piece of work. I'm kinda leaning into the spoiled, I get what I want when I want. sort of villain who thinks they're above consequences and in her case, she kinda is since she had the nads to go to the BSAA and say Bet you won't. she's been a very interesting Subtle but loud at the same time villain. I had Emma's work stress slowly become more of a building theme over the last few chapters and had her hinted at by mentioning the merger well before she showed up. so she's definitely going to be a thorn in their side even if she's not physically around.
Guest 1995 - Heck yeah the progress will be fun, I'm excited for what is to come.
