Who's ready for a crazy train~! Not even going to lie I stopped writing chapter 27 halfway through, made a new document, and started on this one because I was so excited to write it that I couldn't wait for one more chapter. That being said. Fair warning for the stress-sensitive. This one is stressful. This one is not haha happy fun times. Be prepared. If chapter 7 with the break-in was an 11 out of 10 this is more like a 20 and we're going to be hovering in the 11 to 20 zone for a few chapters before calming back down. Again totally understandable if you skip the next few if you're stress-sensitive I'll try and make it so there's a bit of a recap once things calm down but with less theatrics so you can pick back up. We should be back to Gucci in the next 4 or 5 days.
Song Suggestion: Church by Fall Out Boy
[if you have the time, 1,000% recommend watching the animatic by toastyglow on youtube for this song. I think it's like the 4th option down]
Disclaimer: I own nothing~ my ideas are fan creations and not in any way connected to CapCom or the Resident Evil/ Biohazard IP. love you, please don't sue.
July went by like a blur. Wolf Squad was sent to a few more stateside outbreaks, but each time they couldn't find what triggered the reaction. There didn't seem to be a pattern in the locations either. They could be in the middle of nowhere one time and a sprawling metropolis the next, and in any state. Before Chris knew it, it was mid-August and he was standing in the director's office once more.
"Director," Chris said in greeting.
"Take a seat," the director replied and Chris did as he was told "You have a new assignment." He slid over a folder. "Effective immediately you'll be in charge of a combination of Wolf, Silver Colt, and Panther Hog Squad. It seems the lab in the local high rise that we've been keeping an eye on is currently in the middle of an outbreak that needs to be contained," he explained. "You'll be heading out effective immediately using the armored vehicles. We need to be as discrete as possible about this… incident. The outbreak was reported on the thirteenth floor, so the public doesn't know what's going on just yet." He leaned back in his chair. "If we're lucky, the cover story will write itself," the director added, pinching the bridge of his nose.
They wouldn't need a cover-up if they had handled this when they first found out about it... Chris got up. The director waited, fully expecting another outburst.
"Where is the team?" Chris asked instead. Arguing could wait, he needed to get this contained first...
"They're waiting in the debrief room for your orders," the director said and Chris nodded before turning to head out but stopping as the director spoke again. "And Chris, try and keep this one under the radar."
Chris rolled his eyes and stalked out. He'd do what was necessary to keep the virus contained. We don't have the luxury of waiting for nightfall, he thought as he walked past a clock in the hallway. 1 pm. He walked into the room of fellow BSAA Operatives.
"Attention," he called and got a unified answer in response. "We've got an incident report of active Bioweapons. This isn't our usual shut down for a lab. The virus is already active and spreading. If you've received the vaccine for the Glenn Arias strain of the virus in the last three years you should be fine. If you have not, make sure that you get it before we leave. This is a variant so it won't keep them from attacking but it will keep you from turning if you get bit." Chris frowned slightly, They should have reported this variant by now for testing...
"We'll be dividing into three teams. Ground support will stay by the vehicles, parked three blocks down from the target site to make sure the infection does not spread and civilians do not enter the area," Chris stated. "The next will be the sweeper team, you'll be in charge of going from the ground floor up to make sure we catch anything before it gets out. The report is for the thirteenth floor, but by the time we get there, it may have made its way down," he explained further. "The Striker team will go with me to the thirteenth floor and work up from there to target the problem at its source." With that he paused to look at the group. "Any questions?"
"No sir!" they all answered in unison.
"Then gear up and move out to the armored unit bay. I want to be out of here by 1400 hours if not sooner," Chris said and they all stood.
"Sir, yes sir!" they responded and the process began. Extra armor, helmets, weapons, communication devices, and storage bags with additional bullets and med packs were donned by everyone, including Chris.
By two pm, everyone was packed into their vehicle and hurrying down the highway into the main city, past familiar streets and businesses. This was getting closer and closer to home... Upon arriving for drop off they found a couple of dozen black SUVs surrounded by armored individuals all marked with bold white letters spelling out CIA. Great.
Chris got out of the car. "This area is under BSAA jurisdiction. I'm going to need you to move out," he said as he walked over to the group followed by seven other BSAA agents.
"Bullshit it is," a CIA agent replied, locking eyes with Chris.
"Did I stutter?" Chris asked with a sneer. "Take your men and clear out. You're not supposed to be here." At least, no one told him there would be state operatives.
"Who do you think called in the tip?" the CIA agent said as the stare down continued.
"Fine, if you called in the tip, then you wanted us to be here. That means you listen to me," Chris said, not breaking eye contact. "Work with the ground team and clear out the area to a three-block perimeter. I want every civilian out of the area."
They glared at each other for a short while longer before Chris spoke again. "Move!" he snapped, annoyed that this guy was wasting valuable time.
Eventually, the CIA agent stood down. "All right men, you heard him, we're on evac duty." He didn't seem thrilled about it, but he cooperated all the same.
Finally, good god. Chris shook his head. "You two, you're with me," Chris said, pointing to two of the silver colt members. "You five, start a full scrub. Nothing in, nothing out. Use your communicators. If anything gets past you, let the ground team know immediately. We'll do the same for you and let you know what we find on our way up."
"Yes sir!" they all shouted and got into formation and started making their way up the stairs.
"First floor is clear, no contact," Chris heard in his communicator as he made his way up the fifth flight of stairs.
"Good, move on to the second," he said in response as he kept moving. Eight flights to go.
"Yes sir," came the response. A groaning could be heard, echoing in the stairwell, and screaming resounded the closer they got to the thirteenth floor.
Before long they came in contact with their first Bioweapon; what appeared to be an unfortunate scientist whose arm had been bit.
"Made contact with a hostile bioweapon," Chris announced into his communicator before shooting down the scientist and continuing on his way. "Found it on the eighth-floor stairwell. Eighth floor and up are potential hot spots. Control the spread."
"Roger that," said another voice in return.
"Second floor is clear, moving on to the third," another speaker announced shortly after.
"Take your time. New orders are to clear the third floor then bunker in place at all access points. keep them from moving dow—" Chris stopped short as he heard metal grinding against metal and a loud booming *thud* below. The elevator. "New plan! Get back to the first floor make sure nothing got out and bunker in place. Striker team will sweep the building top-down after we cut off the source."
"Understood. Sweeper team out," said another voice.
Each flight of stairs they went up, there were more Bioweapons to be found, and the screaming seemed to lessen.
Eleventh floor, twelfth floor...they slowed their pace as they cautiously made their way up the final set of stairs. Smoke poured through the cracks in the doors.
The group breached the door. Through the smoke, they could see the shadows of shuffling bodies and others slumped over on the ground. The building's open floor meant it would be difficult to be surprised and ambushed, but there would also be very few places to hide and take cover.
"Stay close, the last thing we need is friendly fire," Chris said, and the other two stay by his side as they started trying to clear anything that moved. It was unfortunate, but they couldn't take risks. Chris' shoulders dropped as what he thought was a pillar started to move towards them at breakneck speed.
"Move!" Chris cried as he jumped out of the creature's warpath and it crashed through a support beam.
'*'*'*'*'
Emma stretched as she made her way to the break room. It was almost three, late for lunch, but oh well. Late lunches happened when you were being pulled between two projects. She managed to convince the CMO to let her stay on her album project with the Kings as long as she could keep up with it and Veronica's next release. It was certainly a pain, but it was what she had to do...
Huh? Emma thought, confused to find a crowd had started to gather in the break room. "What's going on?" she asked as she made her way in. Everyone was standing around watching the TV.
"Something about a building fire," one employee said then sipped at their coffee.
"Breaking news from the AccuNews helicopter. A fire appears to have started in the newly constructed high rise between Ace Avenue and Bravo Boulevard, according to inside reports Locals near the building were being evacuated well before the smoke was seen. It's believed to be the result of faulty electrical work." The TV showed the building in question with smoke pouring out of broken windows as flames licked the outside of the building.
"Oh my gosh..." Emma said quietly as a feeling of dread built up. Thank heavens she wasn't home. She quickly pulled out her phone.
[Emma] Are you watching the news?
[Chelsea] Yeah, that's nuts. This is why you pay up and get a good electrician.
"The building manager has reported that the building should be empty as they had not leased out any of the space just yet," the anchor continued, which caught Emma's attention. But… wait. No? That wasn't right... That was the building that they were leasing the top three... floors… of... The three floors that were on fire.
"Well thank heavens for small miracles, Jim. If I was that building owner, though, I wouldn't hold my breath on getting a check from the insurance company," said the co-host.
"Haha, you said it Jackie," Jim replied with a rather staged laugh.
Emma glanced around. The other workers seemed unusually calm about the building fire. Like they were gathering out of morbid curiosity and as an excuse to not work. It took her a moment to realize that there was a good chance that the new lease and project were on a need-to-know basis. Senior employee perks. No need to cause a panic by telling them, but holy hell, that was really unfortunate... Maybe the building owner said it was empty because they hadn't moved in yet?
"Back to the AccuNews helicopter feed. We're receiving reports of movement from inside the building?" the anchor said, clearly confused since that conflicted with what they had just said a few minutes earlier. Sure enough, everyone turned to look at the TV with renewed interest as the feed showed shadows moving in the smoky building. Suddenly, a body was hurled out of a window onto the outdoor deck of the floor. It tumbled and slammed through the glass panel of the railing only to hang on by one hand
"Mama! Mama, Uncle Chris is on the TV!" Summer announces as with a confused tone. She didn't realize he was in a movie.
"What?" Chelsea asks as she quickly walks back into the room.
"CHRIS!" Emma shouted, horrified as the helicopter's feed zoomed in on the dangling figure.
"Wait you know him?" a co-worker asked looking between Emma, who was now pale as a ghost, and the TV.
"Someone, get her a chair," said another. The group seemed a bit more worried about the situation now that it was directly affecting one of them.
Chris tossed the gun he was holding to try and get it onto the deck before reaching up to hold on with both hands. Shit, shit, shit, fuck, shit. He could feel the deck shaking as that THING was getting closer.
"What the hell is that?" the reporter asked, dropping their 'radio voice' and speaking with genuine horror. What could only be described as a fleshy version of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man on steroids, was shown walking through the wall, unphased by the glass and concrete crumbling against it as it made its own path.
"Shut it down... I want a total blackout," the director said with a tired sigh.
"Sir, launching an EMP in this dense of an area would affect the power grid and our own team's gear. Any electronics within a mile will be fried for at least an hour, and it will blackout every building in a thirty-mile radius until they fix the grid. Hospitals, emergency services."
"Just do it," he said, annoyed, before looking back at the TV as the news showed the Bioweapon making its way onto the deck.
"Yes sir," they replied and walked out.
The director grumbled and turned off the TV. "I told you to be subtle..."
Chris managed to pull himself up from the ledge just in time to duck and roll to the side as the long tendril-like extensions of the BOW's flesh whipped forward before it snapped its arm to the side in an attempt to keep up with his movement. Instead, it continued past as impacted the side of the building with a resounding thud and shattering of glass. Groaning could be heard as the building started to give way from the damage it was taking. To Chris' horror, the walls shifted as the top three floors of the building twisted and broke free, collapsing to the ground below.
"Prepare for impact!" Chris shouted into his communicator as he ran towards the main building and past the BOW. He started feeling the ground shifting under him as the entire building shook. The patio fell away and the floor of the thirteenth level gave way, dropping him, the two other team members, and the large Bioweapon into the twelfth floor, before the building finally settled.
He was about to call in for support when a quiet electric hum was heard and everything electronic powered down.
Everyone looked around the breakroom, bewildered, as the building appeared to lose power. Emma was already in tears but stopped to look around as the sinking feeling in her chest got worse.
"Hey, is everyone okay?" Veronica asked as she walked into the breakroom to find the crowd of people.
"We're fine," said one of the workers before gesturing to Emma. "There's a building fire in town and Emma knows someone in the building."
"Oh Emmy, you poor thing," Veronica said pulling Emma into a one-sided hug. "Pack up your stuff. Work from home for the next few days, okay sweetie?"
Work? How was she supposed to focus or do anything? How was she going to drive like this? All the same, Emma nodded.
"You know what. Everyone pack up and head home early, the power is out anyway," Veronica added.
The others glanced between each other before nodding. One of the older ladies in the office walked with Emma to her desk to make sure she didn't collapse, while repeating how it was going to be okay, before going on her way to pack up her own things.
Emma packed up her laptop bag. She felt like she was going to puke. Why was this happening again? A few tissues and deep breaths later, she started to make her way out of the office and to her car. She had to pull over multiple times to stop and breathe for and clear her eyes, so what was normally a thirty-minute drive took fifty minutes.
When she finally arrived, she parked, dragging her feet as she entered her apartment and closed the door behind her. She looked over to the island counter and the small metal house that had been untouched for the more of the year. After pausing for a moment, she put down her laptop bag by the door and walked over to it, grabbing a slip of paper and a pen to write a short message. Again, she hesitated while writing as tears got in the way. Eventually, the message was written and placed into the metal house with a match.
I think he's dead.
She sat there in silence as she watched the paper burn.
'*'*'*'*'
5 pm. Chris made his way down the last flight of stairs alongside two others. They were tired, they were bleeding, beaten, and bruised, but they were alive, and the building was cleared of Bioweapons. All that was left was for the cleanup squad to clear out the bodies. He reached up to tap at his communicator only to hear a high pitch whine as it came back online.
"Well, now it works..." he said crankily as he slowly walked over to a group of BSAA vehicles. "Get to your transport," Chris said quietly and the other two nodded, breaking off to get into the vehicles they'd arrived in. Chris got into the back of the one. Night Howl and Canine were waiting for him.
"Good to see you, Boss. We thought we lost you there for a minute," Canine admitted, getting a tired grunt in response as he closed the door.
"What the hell happened?" Chris asked as he leaned into his seat. Were they always this comfortable? He did not want to move.
"Higher-ups called in an EMP. The news caught wind of the event and started reporting on it..." Night Howl explained. "We didn't know until after the blast went off."
Chris slammed the side of his fist into the metal door. That was a mistake… holy hell, that hurt in more ways than he could count. "How many casualties?" he asked through gritted teeth. He needed to stop punching stuff.
"Three BSAA, two on the sweeper team, and one on the ground team... no civilians though," Night Howl answered and started driving.
"Alpha, this is HQ. Do you copy?" said a voice through the communicator.
He bit his tongue to keep from saying anything stupid. Last time they ran their mouths to this chick, she reported it to the director. "I copy."
"Good work controlling the outbreak. We've confirmed minimal casualties despite the high property damage. Overall, the mission has been marked as a success," they replied in a congratulatory tone.
It didn't feel like a success.
"Return to HQ for medical attention and quarantine. You'll be released in a week," the voice added.
"... Understood," Chris replied. "Wolf Squad out." He closed his eyes to rest on the way back. This was going to be a mess.
Ten minutes later, the voice returned. "Wolf Squad, confirm your co-ordinance. Your GPS shows you've gone off track."
What? Chris opened his eyes to see Night Howl pulling the vehicle into the parking garage by Chris' apartment.
"HQ this is Night Howl," he said into his communicators. "The Navigation system has been acting up ever since the EMP. Same with the communicators..." he said as he parked. "I've pulled into a local parking garage to stay out of sight. Give me ten minutes and we'll be back online. Until then, we're going dark... awaiting approval."
The voice was silent for a moment. "Blackout approved. Let us know when you're back online."
Night Howl smiled. His plan worked. "Over and out," he said, flipping a few switches to shut down their communication devices, the car, and navigation system.
Once he was sure that the communication system was shut down, Chris took off his helmet and headset. "You know I could report you for insubordination..."
"Yeah, you could," Night Howl replied with a short chuckle. "You get ten minutes... They televised that nonsense. If you disappear for a week after news of a building falling apart gets out, she's going to think you're dead."
"That or she'll kill you when she finds out you're not," Canine added, figuring he'd lighten the mood with a joke. Chris shook his head but chuckled slightly.
He clicked a few buttons on his watch to set a timer. "...Five minutes," he said and got out of the car.
Was the walk to the apartment always this far? Each step felt heavy like his feet were made of lead. Four minutes. He made his way up the stairs and knocked at Emma's door. It took a moment, but it eventually opened to show a puffy-eyed Emma.
"Chris?!" she said, stunned and horrified by the battered and bruised bloody face in front of her. She opened the door the rest of the way and he walked in, closing it behind him.
He's alive.
Three minutes.
He moved to hold her but put more of his weight on her than he intended, causing her knees to give out. Both of them kneeled, holding each other, and Emma peppered him with kisses before sniffles and hiccups announced the return of her tears, much to Emma's dismay. She hated this.
"I thought I lost you..." she squeaked out as she clung to him. Duke was about to head over to check out what was going on, but upon recognizing the scent of blood, he instead went to hide.
Chris winced slightly as her clinging pressed against an injury, but said nothing and instead just continued to hold her. He gave her a kiss on the top of her head. "Everything's going to be okay."
Two minutes.
"No, it's not," Emma replied, shaking her head before looking up. "What the HELL was that thing?" she asked, terrified. This was what he was doing when he was 'working'? Fighting monsters like THAT?
"It was w—"
"Don't tell me it was work, Chris," Emma said, at her wit's end. She was glad he was alive but, good god, he just showed up at her door covered in blood and she needed answers. 'It was work', wasn't going to cut it anymore...
One minute.
He took a deep breath and thought it over. "That was a B.O.W. A Bioweapon... BSAA stands for Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance. My job is to neutralize threats as they arise."
That was a lot to process in just one sentence. Bioweapon... Bioterrorism? But those were the floors her company rented ou—Oh gosh, she was going to puke. The sound of a timer going off snapped her out of her thoughts.
Chris gave a tired sigh. "I've got to head back... Night Howl was only able to buy me so much time..." he said as he attempted to get back up.
"Like hell you are. I'm not letting you out of my sight," Emma said, though all the same, she helped steady him as he stood and rose with him.
"Emma," he replied in a quiet warning tone, causing her to force a neutral expression and look away.
"Promise me you're coming back?" she requested quietly.
"I promise. It's just a week for quarantine and recovery," he replied.
"No more monsters?" she said to be sure as she slowly allowed herself to look at him again.
"For now..." he agreed quietly. "Emma, you can't tell anyone... Okay?"
It took her a moment, but she nodded. "Okay."
Chris paused once more as he glanced at the door and shook his head. He looked back to Emma and held the side of her face in one hand to give her a kiss. "I love you."
"...I love you too," Emma replied with a weak smile before shaking her head and giving him a half-hearted attempt at a nudge, fearing anything more than that would hurt him. "Now get out of here. You're going to stain the floor." She gave him a flimsy excuse for wanting him to leave when she in all honesty wanted him to stay.
He chuckled at that and nodded. "I'll be back soon." With that, he headed back to the door to leave.
"I'll be here," she said in return as the door closed behind him.
Chris made his way back to the vehicle, took his seat, and closed the door.
"You're late..." Night Howl said. "Just a minute or two, though. I can think of an excuse..."
"Thanks," Chris replied as he puts his headset and helmet back on. "Let's get moving."
Well, this was fun lmao. How are you guys doing? Holding up okay? The next chapter should be a bit more chill than this. no buildings falling apart or bioweapons but definitely drama. Thanks for sticking with me this long and see you next chapter.
