Let's get ready to rumble! =v= time for a fight so as usual, if you're stress sensitive, please proceed with caution. There is a spark note version available in the end notes if you need it. Otherwise i will let you get to it since i'm already late posting lol. Enjoy the chapter!
Song Suggestion: Give and Take by Poor Man's Poison
Disclaimer: I own nothing all glory to CapCom /o/
Halloween had been pretty uneventful for the rest of the family, so Chris was content with passively watching as the days grew shorter and the days passed by. It was odd how the change in seasons made life feel simple when it was anything but that. Chris yawned as the sound of his alarm clock woke him up for the start of another work week.
He groggily shuffled around the bedroom to gather his things and get ready. As he did so, the wall calendar caught his eye. It was now Monday, November 11th and In a few days Piers would officially be two years old. "Ugh," he grumbled under his breath. "I'm getting old." He was 51 at this point, but it felt like he was 70.
The self-proclaimed old man continued getting ready all the same. A morning shower did little to wash the years away, but he was clean and properly dressed for the day ahead of him. Still just as groggy as before, he made his way down the stair and into the kitchen where he was greeted by the scent of fresh coffee and breakfast.
"Good morning," Emma greets with a chipper tone.
"Mornin'" Chris mumbles back as he dug through the cabinet to get his #1 Chris mug and pour himself a cup of coffee. He sipped at the mug while looking at the dining room table where Rose and Piers were contently eating breakfast. Well. One was eating and the other was poking at it and squishing the food in their hand. "Piers stop playing with your food."
'I Di-int,"
Yeah okay. Chris took another sip of coffee before speaking again. "Then what's in your hand bud?"
Piers quickly turned to look at his hand and found a smooshed piece of buttered toast that he quickly let go of.
Chris softly chuckled into his mug before finishing the last of it's content. "Alright I've got to head out," He announced as he moved to put his cup in the sink.
"Have a good day at work," Emma replied.
"Thanks, you too," He gave Emma a quick peck before picking up his lunch box from its place on the island counter. "Have a good day at school," he adds while looking at Rose before shifting his attention to Piers. "Behave for your mother," and with that, he made his way out to the garage.
The rest of the day continued as normal. He drove to the BSAA, dropped off his lunch and made his way to his office to start on paperwork. Nothing particularly of importance. some documentation reports for their last mission to Louisiana that was conveniently missing some information regarding Rose's episode. A few meeting requests regarding various topics from team evaluations to custodial reconciliation for missing gear.
There was even an email or two about work to come. By this point, Chris had collected his lunch from the cafeteria once more and was contently eating while reading through a weekend's worth of emails. Another mission was scheduled for the end of the month.
RE: Unknown Threat
In a continued effort to monitor the still unknown entity producing bioweapons which have caused incidents in the states and abroad. Hound Wolf Squad is scheduled to be deployed from the 25th of November until the 2nd of December. The target location will be the lab that was marked as the last known sighting point for the bioweapon known as medusa, due to otherwise finding no leads regarding the bioweapon's whereabouts. Your team's mission objectives will be to find and dispose of the bioweapon if possible, and find further leads for the potential location of the bioweapon manufacturer.
Chris frowned while reading this, the timing was particularly awful, and he'd certainly be raising a few concerns with this. They weren't expecting Rose to go back there, right? and surly there were going to be other teams assigned for this as well. it already proved to be too much for one team to handle. While part of him considered suggesting that they call in Heisenberg once more, part of him doubted this new director would play along with any demands the guy made.
The sound of hurried footsteps and muffled panicked shouts caught his attention as he noticed a few panicked silhouettes hurry past the frosted glass of his office door.
"What the-" Before he could continue that statement, a loud, blaring alarm began to screech and demanded his attention.
"Warning. Warning. Threat detected. Multiple unknown aircraft approaching," droned a monotone, robotic recording of a woman's voice over the sirens that played in unison.
Chris quickly scrambled to get out of his seat and left his office to follow the others. As he did so, the sight of the director caused him to pick up his pace to catch up to her.
"What the hell is going on?" Chris asked, while still holding some hope that this was a drill and IT simply forgot to send out a notice email.
"Your guess is as good as mine," She replied. "Just got word from security that unknown and unscheduled crafts have entered the area, and they're refusing to communicate," The director replied.
So it wasn't a drill.
"Warning. Warning. Threat detected. Multip-" The recording cut short as a loud concussive explosion was heard. the building violently shook and went dark.
"We're under attack!" Another soldier announced as everyone around them began to recollect themselves while trying to shuffle through the dark windowless halls.
"Not on my goddamn watch," The director shouted with uncharacteristic anger. She quickly pulled out her phone to find she had no signal and instead used her phone as a flashlight. "Redfield, you got your side arm on you?"
"Yes ma'am,"
"Good, follow me and collect anyone who will listen along the way," she instructs while looking around to see who else was available and found one other person that was armed. "You. Congratulations, you've been temporarily promoted. Take the lead and hold the left wall. You two follow behind." She says, gesturing to three of the remaining four that were nearby. " You follow behind Redfield." She gestures to the last. "If someone ahead of you with a weapon falls, pick up the weapon and keep moving forward until we can get enough supplies for all of us. Is that understood?"
"Yes Ma'am," Chris replied alongside the others who quickly moved into formation.
Seconds felt like minutes, and minutes felt like hours as the group shuffled through the dark. Gun shots and screams of pain became more plentiful in the stale silence. A guttural clicking sound accompanied by moist slapping could be heard further down the hallway, which quickly caused Chris to signal for the others to stop and be quiet.
The group complied as he moved to put his gun away. Put a hand over the director's gun and used the other to cover her mouth to ensure complete silence. The sounds grew louder as what appeared to be a skinless, eyeless, human with an exposed brain crawled on all fours. A long barbed tongue snaked around in the air over sharp, jagged teeth. It continued to make the clicking sound as the exposed and blood covered muscles of it's clawed hands and feet slapped against the tiled floor.
With all his effort to ensure the director's silence, He failed to consider the generally under trained IT worker on his other side, who had only ever heard stories of these kinds of monstrosities. Labored, panicked breathing was enough to cause the creature to quickly snap its attention towards the IT work who made the worst possible choice.
They ran.
And just as quickly as they took their first 3 steps, the skinless beast lunged forward to attack, causing the three on the other side of the hall to scream in horror as they watched their friend get mauled. The one with a gun tried shooting the creature, only to end up the next victim.
One by one, they were picked off. Chris closed his eyes, held his breath, and remained completely still while continued to make sure the director did the same. The screams were short-lived, and replaced with the sound of the creature crunching on bones. It wasn't possible to hold his breath the whole time. when his lungs began to burn, he'd allow a short shallow breath, which would cause the creature to turn and look at the two for a few moments before seemingly losing interest and returning to its meal. More clicking could be heard as the gun fire from the other officer brought others to the area, but in time the clicking symphony died out as the monsters left with some sense of urgency.
Even then, Chris waited and slowly lead the director one step at a time until they could make it into the nearest room.
The two survivors looked around and confirmed the space was empty, before the director finally spoke in quiet horror. "What the hell was that thing?"
"That was a licker," Chris answered just as quietly. "That's the code name for them, at least. I haven't seen one of those since the Kijuju Incident back in 2009, but it's hard to forget that noise they make. They're blind, but they attack any sound they hear. If you want to survive them, you stay quiet, and you don't move until they're gone. They can track the quietest of footsteps and can climb walls and ceilings. If they get in the vents, nowhere is safe." He said trying to get the director up to speed. maybe hiring someone outside of the BSAA with no bioweapon experience wasn't the best plan. "Killing one of those means shooting it point-blank with a shot gun, twice. or a grenade. Handguns are basically useless unless they have the power of a small canon behind them."
"We need to get to the armory."
"That's our best bet," Chris agreed as he took his pistol out of its holster once more.
The director paused a moment while looking at the door before looking back at Chris. "You have more experience with this, I'll follow your lead." Pride over all else would be a useless endeavor when she wanted to protect whoever was left.
"Alright, turn off your phone. Let's get adjusted to the dark in here and do what we can after that. the light will just make us an easy target."
"Understood," With that she turned off her phone and pocketed it in favor of waiting an excruciating fifteen minutes to allow their eyes time to adjust. while they could see within the room, they were able to see basic shapes and figures when they moved into the hallway that held some residual sunlight from distant windows. Those shapes and figures grew more detailed as they spent another five minutes walking through the unlit halls, through pools of blood and past unmoving corpses.
They were just about to make it to the armory, which was a relief and disheartening at the same time. They'd yet to run into anyone else that was still alive. Before they could round the corner that lead to the armory, Chris jolted back and moved to hide, which the director copied as an armed individual patrolled the halls.
As the armed individual walked by, the light attached to the barrel of their gun caught their shadow. "Enemy spotted," They announced to their radio while they queued up to fire, only to get shot by the director.
Both Chris and the director waited in silence to see if it would draw out any licker and once they felt sure that the attack didn't draw attention they sprinted the remaining way to the armory. The two burst through the door and slammed it shut behind them only to find a group of others, ready to shoot.
"Stand down," Umber eye ordered and the group complied. "Director. Alpha. Good to see you're still alive."
"Is this everyone that's left?" The director asks as she looked over a group of maybe 30 people.
"It's everyone that's made it here so far," Umber eye solemnly answers. "I've ordered anyone that made it here to wait to regroup. There are a few injured to the back of the room receiving medical attention."
The director remained quiet. Hundreds of people worked in this building and this was all that was left?
Umber eye turned his attention more directly to Chris. "I saw a few hunters on the way here. Whoever this is, they managed to juice up those reptiles more than before. Barely made it past them."
"Saw some lickers and armed mercenaries too. Whoever's behind this pulled out all the stops," "Where's the rest of the team?"
Umber eye remained quiet.
Chris closed his eyes for a moment and forced down any reaction. "Alright. They're in the building somewhere."
"Yeah,"
The room fell silent once more as the director saw only downcast and defeated faces. The two she would have deferred to were left at a loss for words, and with that, she stepped forward. "Alright folks. We can sit here feeling sorry for ourselves and wait for a rescue team that isn't coming, or we can do what we do best and shut this down," She offers as alternatives. "Your co-workers. Your friends, they are still out there fighting the clock. So. Who's ready to get to work?"
In an almost unified motion, the remaining group raised their hands, knowing too much noise would work against them.
"Good," She replied to the unanimous agreement to take action. "We took out one of the mercenaries not far from here. They had a radio on them. If we bring that back here, we might have a better idea of their strategy and how to combat it. I want to know what they're after, and I want to beat them to it."
"Umber Eye, I want you to lead a team of six to go retrieve the gear. leave the body. I don't need it getting up again in here. after that, I want your team on recovery. stay local, but find anyone who is still alive and bring them back here."
"Yes ma'am" Umber Eye gathered 5 others, armored up and made their way out of the armory.
"What about us?" another soldier asked.
"I want one more team to try and make it to the medical wing. We're hopefully going to have more survivors, which means plenty of injuries. and I want another team to be ready to leave with Chris to head out and be ready for a scrap," as she said this, mechanical whirling and technical pips could be heard as the lights that weren't broken came back on and the building sprang back to life. All of the lockers in the armory sprang open making their contents easily accessible.
The loudspeaker chipped before a rhythmic tapping could be heard. Three short taps, three long and three short looped over and over.
"Morse code? Holy hell. There's another group?" One of the remainders said as hope started to kick in. they weren't the only ones still fighting.
"There might be," The director agreed with a smile though the Morse code's call for help was concerning. "Whoever they are, they need back up."
The Morse code stopped as quickly as it started and was replaced by a rather loud recording of the Bee Gees singing Stayin' Alive. A smile pulled at Chris's lips. That was either Lobo or Canine's idea if he ever heard it.
"What the hell are they thinking?" The director grumbled while holding her forehead.
"I might have an answer," Chris said with a short laugh. Was it unorthodox? Yes, but also effective. It would be easier to move around this way without drawing their attention since, everywhere was loud now.
The door opened as Umber Eye and his team returned. Umber eye seemed just as tickled by the music selection as Chris. "Director, We got the gear. you were right, there is a radio."
"What in the hell. Was that you guys?"
"Negative. The building's supposed to be dark."
"Shut that down, the Lickers are going nuts. They're attacking the drones."
"Hunk reporting in. We're on our way."
"Stay clear of Medusa. hard to say where that freak is,"
"Got it. I'm Out."
That was not a code name that Chris wanted to hear. Any comfort and morale that the goof music previously provided him, left as he turned his attention to Umber Eye.
"That's not good," Umber eye quietly said though his words were still loud enough for the director to hear him.
"Yeah sounds like we need to send a counter force pretty quickly to back up whoever is still out there," She replied as she misunderstood the concern.
"We have a bigger fish to fry. Medusa is the code name they have the Bioweapon we lost back in Europe. if they managed to wrangle it and bring it here, we won't be able to trust our own eyes. We'll barely have time to know that we ran into it. Last time it almost had us shoot each other."
"Oh..." With that, the problem became clearer. Last time this creature was in a report, the only reason the team survived was because Rose was there. And she's currently safely a dozen or so miles away. "Okay, so that's in between us and the other survivor."
"Pretty much," Umber eye agreed.
With the two remaining leaders remained silent, Chris thought over last time. Rose and particularly, her screaming was what saved them. When she has her tantrums like that, it's usually magnetic-based. something magnet based that created a frequency? At the very least, they couldn't see or feel it... wait. "Maybe if we use an EMP we can throw it off enough to fight it, but we're going to need a lot more firepower than 6 people."
"And an EMP means shutting down the building again," The director warned.
after some thought, Chris nods in agreement. "If we use a small enough charge maybe not but, it's a risk, yes."
"If it doesn't work, and we don't have a way to counter it. Anyone who goes with is as good as dead," Umber eye warns.
"Are you certain that will work?" The director asks with thoughtful sincerity.
"I'll risk my life on it," Chris answered.
The director took a moment to think it over before speaking. "Alright, I'll match that and back you up," She agreed before looking at the group. "Change of plans folks. This is all or nothing. Umber eye's team will still go and look for survivors, and one team will still be sent for medical supplies. however. We don't have the luxury of leaving half to stay behind and guard this as a home base. I need twelve to volunteer to go with, while the remaining 6, stay behind to guard the injured. If I don't get enough volunteers, I will pick volun-tolds. because the options are wait here for it to find us, or go to it and hope this plan works to protect everyone."
There was hesitation, but one by one a group of twelve stepped forward.
"Thank you, I look forward to fighting alongside you all. Get geared up, I want all three teams out of here in 15 minutes."
"Yes ma'am" the team said more confidently thanks to the cover of the loudspeakers.
This was turning into the longest Monday Chris had in some time, as he didn't dare to look at a clock. The director, however, was more keen on timely movement and precisely 15 minutes later all three teams were geared up and sent out. Thanks to their full access to the armory, each member of Chris's team had a small scale EMP grenade on their person.
Chris and the director lead the way as the team traveled in two single file lines. Chris's team clung to the left side of the hall while the director's clung to the right, allowing minimal chance of friendly fire. Now that they were fully armored up, making their way through the building was much easier as they continued to listen to the dulcet tones of the 70's music that had been set on loop. It would be a miracle if this song wasn't stuck in their heads for the next week if they all survived this.
At each intersection, the team would peek around the corner to see if they could find an enemy or the bioweapon they were after. a few run-ins with mercenaries, lickers and hunters occurred. Oddly whatever 'drones' they mentioned on the radio were not found.
Before long they did catch a glimpse of the lanky shambling figure that still gave Chris nightmares. Chris signaled for the team to stop and motioned that the target was around the corner before taking the small EMP grenade from his tactical vest. saying a short prayer to any cosmic entity that would listen before pulling the pin and flipping the spoon, so he could chuck it down the hall.
An explosion could be heard as the area shook, and the lights went out, but the speakers could still be heard in the distance. while that area had been knocked out, the building was still active and Medusa was heading straight for them.
"Hold your ground. no matter what you see, do not shift your aim. ready?" Chris instructs as thumping, pounding hands and feet announced the creature's approach. "Fire!" he shouted the second it came into view.
the creature howled in pain as it tried to back away from the unexpected barrage. The creature shortly fell over in a puddle of blood.
"Director,"
"On it," With that another EMP was thrown and with its explosion, the dead body seemingly disappeared as Medusa reappeared and impaled one of the 12 members on its long sharp claws. "Open fire!"
Again the team tried their best to stay out of friendly fire range while focusing on the beast, each time it 'died' a new EMP would be deployed and its location would be revealed again. by the 5th deployed EMP the electronics in the area were completely dead and the calcified corpse of Medusa stayed in its bloody heap.
A short-lived victory shout was given before the Director motioned for silence. "We're not out of the woods yet. We still have work to do. We need to move on and find who got the electricity back up and defend that post. If you have med packs and need them. use them."
Most of the team met this qualification, even Chris. the fight had been long and hard fought, with two BSAA casualties, and everyone else got at least one new scar to talk about later. Any gear that could be salvaged from the fallen, was, and the group of 12 went on their way towards the generator room as they listened to the radio chatter of the opposing force.
"This is bravo team. Medusa's down, I repeat Medusa's down,"
"Haven't seen a licker, or hunter in a while either,"
"Drones seem to be sustaining losses,"
"Fall back. We got what we need. leave the BOWs behind."
Chris frowned. Hunter was a code name he recognized, but, Drone seemed to be some new Bioweapon code name. However, he hadn't seen anything besides mercenaries, the lickers and Medusa. And more importantly, whoever these people were, they were going to get away.
"Take your team and head for the airfield, see if you can cause some trouble," The director instructed, and Chris quickly obliged.
"All right team. Follow me," Chris announced before quickly leading the way through the halls.
Any additional mercenaries and bioweapons were shot down as they made their way through the building and outside to the airfield, where the setting sun made the time more readily known.
Several helicopters were taking off as Chris felt a sense of déjà vu as he recognized the man who got away from him twice. The mystery man was about to get into a helicopter alongside a woman wearing red. Known espionage criminal, Ada Wong, who was holding a decent size briefcase. "Cover me!" Chris announced as he hurried forward with his team close behind. his determined sprint came to a halt only when he tackled the man to the ground.
To the enemy agent's horror. His team took off without him.
This moment of horrified betrayal was enough time for Chris to cuff the man's hands behind his back and remove any weapons. "You two watch him. You three start locking down the remaining aircraft hangars. I don't want to lose a single craft to any stragglers trying to get away."
"Sir Yes sir!"
Chris looked back down at the struggling captive. It was hard to say what all they ran off with since that briefcase could easily fit a portable hard drive with room to spare, but finally, they'd get some answers.
'*'*'*'*'
The sun had well since set, but there was work to do. Those who survived were busy clearing the building to find others that could still be saved or bunked in place long enough to be rescued. The giant gaping hole in the side of the building and the general debris from the chaos that ensued was hard to ignore and yet, it was a more pleasant sight than the growing collection of body bags filling the BSAA courtyard.
Chris placed another in line with the others before taking a moment to solemnly stare over the horrifying sight. Calls would have to be made and families broken, yet he volunteered to gather the fallen in hopes that he could confirm the rest of his squad was still alive. Thanks to the multiple EMPs his phone was beyond fried, so his only other option would be to uselessly hoovering around the medical wing.
"Redfield," came the voice of the director from the door of the building.
Chris took one last moment of staring before he turned to hurry over and stood at attention. "Yes Ma'am."
"That straggler you caught was moved to an interrogation room," She stated before grimacing. "What's left of it, at least. We're short-handed. I need you to take up the investigation. I'd send in one of our usual processors but, well, I barely know who's where and this one's putting up a fight. You took him down before. If he tries anything, you can get him back in order."
"So you want me to rough them up?"
"Only if they start something first," The director clarified. "They may have started this, but we still have a code to follow and laws to abide. Even at our lowest, we will still follow those to the fullest extent."
"Understood," Chris agreed, though he was already mentally coaching himself to not treat them like a punching bag that screams in an attempt to work out the frustration of not knowing where half his team is.
"Very well then, you're dismissed. You'll want to take the stairs by the doorway to the second floor, then walk to the set by the elevator to get to the third floor. The hostage is in investigation room C-02." The director said before moving out of the doorway so Chris could get through.
Chris made his way up the stairs, down the hall, up another flight of stairs and his legs were screaming at him for it. The last several hours have just been walking, stairs and heavy lifting. Determination burned away the pain of fatigue and injuries as he made it to a door labeled C-02 guarded by two others. Scientists by the look of it who had been pushed into a more active role.
Chris walked into the room and found the man from before, still wearing his gas mask. He'd been handcuffed to a bent up metal chair that had been haphazardly wiped clean of blood before getting bolted back into the ground, which left it all the more lopsided as the legs were no longer level.
"Was there a chemical deployment I wasn't made aware of?" Chris asks as he shifts to lean against one of the walls since there were no other chairs or even a table in the room that still had shattered glass on the floor from a two-way mirror towards the back of the room.
"Fuck off,"
"Yeah well after you," Chris replied with a roll of his eyes. "You're team left you behind. you're not exactly in a position to make demands. So either we can Scooby-doo this, and I rip off the mask to figure out what dumbass thought any of this was a good idea, or you play nice, and I let you remove it yourself."
"If you take it off, I won't be saying shit," The man venomously warned.
"Fighting words for a coward tied to a chair,"
The man paused. "It's for medical reasons. Breathed in chemicals I shouldn't have during a job, because of that, unfiltered air is painful. I literally will not be able to talk."
Well that complicated things. "All right, so assuming your mask is left alone?"
"Assuming you cut me a deal," They said while trying to shift in their seat to get remotely comfortable while sitting at a slant. "Those assholes left me for dead. They paid me for a job. I did it. Offer me more, and maybe we can work something out."
Chris considered this for a moment before speaking. "Why were you hired to attack us?"
"That's not a deal." The man counted. "Deal first, then answers."
"You just assisted in killing a good number of internationally registered agents. I'm going to need some damn strong good faith to believe that every word out of your mouth isn't a blatant lie fabricated to save your own ass before we can even talk about a deal," Chris sneered. "Trust me. I am more than content with seeing you behind bars until you rot, while you pay the price for everyone who left you behind. So let's try this again. Why were you hired to attack us?"
"I don't know the ins and outs of it. The more of us were hired for data and sample collection," "Someone up top got pissed off about the BSAA snooping around."
"Who hired you,"
"Not sure, the guy was pretentious and just went by Duke,"
"I prefer to go by the name Duke on the record. I'm a businessman of many regards and a bit of an artist if I may say so myself,"
The man from the Trial? That's got to be a coincidence...Yeah, no, that's probably not a coincidence. "Who is he, who does he work for."
"He doesn't work for anyone. As far as I know, this is all him. As for who he is? your guess is as good as his. Any time anyone asked, He'd say he wasn't even sure what he was. Whatever that means." A hissing sound from the man's mask took the place of a long exhale. "and if you want any more out of me. you're gonna cut me a deal."
Chris shifted to get up from his leaning position against the wall. it was at least a start. "I'll see what I can do about getting a new filter for your mask. Yours should be running out soon. The deal will take a while to hash out. We have more pressing matters so get comfortable." He said as he walked out of the door. Once outside of the room he looked to one of the scientists turned guardsman. "You, Head to the supply depo and find a few different mask filtration canisters. See if you can get one that fits our guest's mask. I'll be taking your place until you get back."
"Yes sir," They didn't need to be told twice, getting away from the one person that still may want to kill them was beyond ideal.
A good ten minutes or so passed after that when the director made her way towards the area. "Well, that didn't take long. I figured you'd still be in there."
"They're willing to co-operate to some extent, probably got aggressive if the crew tying him down tried to take his mask," Chris offered as an answer. "They didn't provide much Just a potential confirmation that this all links back to the village incident. The name they provided matches a witness from a related case. They want a deal before they provide anything more genuinely useful."
Hearing that caused the director to laugh. "Sure we'll cut it down from three life sentences to one. what a steal," She shook her head. "I can't say I'm surprised, but we're not going to be able to negotiate much of anything until we're back up and running to some capacity."
"All right. So when should I expect to head out with my team," Chris asked in return. He had a feeling his mission schedule just got bumped up.
"You? You're not going anywhere," The director replied while staring at him as if he had three heads. "This is getting handed off to another branch, we don't even know who's left. We're not in a position to fight back. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if that's why we got attacked in the first place." Chris's anger was palpable so she cut him off before he could speak. "I'm pissed off too, but if we really want this closed and to keep this from happening again, it needs to be addressed by a branch that's stable and well off enough to take up the mantle."
Chris clenched his jaw to try and keep himself from saying anything stupid in response. A moment passed before he allowed himself to speak. "Please tell me you're not going to the European branch? I don't trust them. Not after everything that's happened over the last few years, there are too many security and protocol breaches that just don't make sense in their jurisdiction."
The director thought it over before giving a short nod. "All right. What would you recommend then?"
"Contact the South America branch, I know a few people there so I'm more confident in saying they're still clean," Chris suggested. "Jill's always had my back and I don't see her turning on me now."
"The European branch is the more natural choice if this is related to the village incident," The director started. "But, I can probably write off asking them for assistance by sending them a warning to bunker in place and prepare for a similar attack. At that point, it will be seen as reasonable to reach out to another branch. the Next reasonable choice would be the Asian branch so I'll still need to do that, but, I'll take your word into consideration and reach out to the South American branch as well to see if they have the capacity to assist."
"Thank you," It wasn't much but as thin of a silver lining as it was, after all of this he held a new respect for this director and her willingness to listen to the advice of others.
"Just doing my job," She said while waving off the thanks. "And Redfield. Thought you might want to know this. I heard from Rose's escort team. The school was left alone. they don't seem to know she was moved. So she's safe for now."
Thank God. Hearing that was at least one weight off his shoulder.
"Seeing as you're done here, there's still plenty of work to do, get back to your previous assignment," She said to prevent any further thanks.
"Yes Ma'am," and with that Chris went back to the grueling work of moving the fallen out of the building to be cataloged.
'*'*'*'*'
Recovering after the attack took well into the morning of the next day. As the BSAA started getting it's feet back under it, workers were given permission to leave in shifts. Chris was eventually given his turn. Any other time he would have checked his phone to see the time, instead he had to wait until he got to his car which, by some miracle, was spared.
Once he got in and turned on the car before staring at the radio's clock with a vacant expression. 2:12pm. He'd been awake for a solid 31 hours at this point, and he was ready to crash. It felt like he blinked and suddenly, he was home. His brain was too tired to process and remember the drive home, He remembered bits and pieces but other than that, the drive had been completed via muscle memory and sheer dumb luck.
That Autopilot continued as he got out of the car and pressed the button on the wall to close the garage and went through the door into the house. He was too tired to say anything and continued to trudge forward. As he walked into the open living space, he found a groggy Emma who was halfway through the motion of standing up to hurry to the door only to stop when she saw him. She looked like she got about as much sleep as he did.
"You're home?" He admitted as Emma started walking again.
"Yeah. Yeah, you didn't come back. Your phone only returned a busy signal," Emma stuttered through the ever sickening mixture of panic and relief as she stopped in front of him, while she wanted to hold him he was clearly injured, and she didn't want to be the reason a fractured rib turned into a broken one.
While Emma was worried about his injuries, Chris was not. He took the last needed steps so he could cling to her for the support and sense of peace she was able to give him. He needed to know his team and his family were okay. All he had was the word of the director, and that only gave him so much comfort compared to the truth his own senses could provide.
Feeling her return that embrace finally allowed him to slowly decompress as leaking eyes and noses became more apparent from the pair. "The kids are okay? They're here right?"
"Mhm," Emma hummed in response as her gentle hold contrasted the vice grip she was receiving. "They're here. I've got you. It's going to be okay, I've got you." She coached, though she wasn't sure if she was trying to comfort him or convince herself that whatever happened was fixable now that she knew where he was and that he wasn't dead. "You should sit down, you need rest." Judging by his black eye, He needed a doctor, but she didn't know where to start.
In an attempt to shake his head, he moreso nuzzled his face into her neck. "If I sit down, I won't be getting up till the morning. I need to see the kids, I need to know they're okay too."
"Rose is in her room, moping about not getting to go to school. Piers is in the nursery taking a nap," She answered, though she did little to let go, and he didn't move. "What happened? Gary was acting so strange. He said we needed to stay home, but he wouldn't say why."
"Someone attacked headquarters."
The answer left Emma lost for words. She knew he wouldn't joke about that, but it felt surreal and that the only proper response was silence.
"Things are going to be different for a while," He continued. "Rose is going to be more actively monitored by Gary. We can only assume this was a raid, and there is a non-zero chance that she was meant to be a target. We don't have the resources to monitor everyone's family. I need you to make sure you always have eyes on Piers." At this point his list of instructions paused. "We are going to rebuild but for the time being I don't know when I will be home each day and If I will be home. We. Lost." Again he paused as the words felt stuck in his throat. "We don't know how many are going to make it. I only know Umber eye is alive." The difficult truth caused his voice to crack while trying to keep himself in check. "So shifts aren't going to be 9 to 5 with occasional missions for a while."
Emma patiently listened as dread and fear set in. "Chris. If this gets worse, I think it would be wise for me to take the kids and go stay with my parents. Just until it's safe here."
To her surprise, Chris nodded into her shoulder. "If this escalates, I agree, you guys can't stay here... but I can't say that your parent's place is the safest option. We already know my file is compromised, so we can only assume your parent's home is a known location as well and not any safer," It was difficult to think about but the truth nonetheless. "We need to hash out a plan for that potential outcome. For now, the safest thing is to stay close to what resources are available."
"So, move back on campus," She wasn't thrilled about that option it meant being closer to the place that was just attacked, but he had a point.
"It's a potential option for a worst-case scenario. I'll call Barry, or Jill. Maybe Rebecca and see if any of them can take you guys in if things get worse," Chris offered in return.
"All right," As long as the kids were safe, she wouldn't complain. Right the kids. "You wanted to see the kids, I'll go get them. Sit, please. you're starting to shake."
After a moment of reluctance, Chris loosened his grip. "Okay."
'*'*'*'*'
Miles away a frustrated figure drummed their fingers against their desk. Countless resources, Mercenaries and Bioweapons had been lost in this attack. What was meant to be a crippling blow turned out to be a temporary reprieve. The portly businessman scowled at his only prize in the matter, a briefcase with a few folders and thumb drives of information, along with various small test tubes of different samples. It was easily worth a small fortune, but the largest prize was missing.
"Tell me, did we at least confirm the death of the vermin that's been snooping around the labs?" the Duke spoke to a masked subordinate while picking up one of the vials to examine it.
"No, sir. We were forced to retreat before we could confirm enemy casualties," the nameless subordinate answered with militant discipline.
"I see. Unfortunate." While the answer was irritating beyond all measure, he refused to waste any further energy. "It seems we've reached an impasse. Suppose I only have myself to blame for underestimating their response while in their own habitat after the last attempt. Perhaps my numbers were off." He mused and continued to treat what he saw as an abject failure, as a minor inconvenience. "Luckily, I'll be able to recover from licking my wounds much faster than they can. It's just a matter of making more soldiers." The words seemed to tickle him as a chuckle escaped him, though it was short-lived. "Send word to the labs. Tell them to get to work on the next batch. Next time, there will be no retreat."
Chris needs a nap. Emma needs a nap. I need a nap. Oh the feels. how's everyone holding up? Next chapter will be a bit lighter I promise and we'll fix that cliffhanger on the status of the remaining 3 members of hound wolf squad.
Sparknotes:
Chris starts off a normal day at home before going to work. the Normal day quickly devolves into chaos as the BSAA is attacked. Chris is in the hallway and finds the director when the building shakes and looses power. the director instructs Chris and 4 others to follow. during this time, Chris hears the approach of a Licker. He knows what to do and is able to keep the director quiet, but the other 4 meet their end when 1 of them tries to run away, gets attacked and the other 3 step in to try and save the runner only to meet the same fate.
Chris and the director wait it out and manage to get away unharmed. after a moment to collect themselves they make it to the armory where they find Umber eye among 30 or so others have managed to safely make it to the armory as well. thanks to information from an enemy radio, they know Medusa is in the building. the power comes on and after some morale boosting 70's music starts playing on the loudspeaker, signalling that others are also still alive, the 30 in the armory are rallied to fight. Chris devises a plan to fight Medusa and with the support of the director and 12 others the plan works, but 2 of the volunteers die.
They continue to fight back and the attackers retreat, not before Chris catches and apprehends Hunk who watches his team leave him behind. the moment of victory is overshadowed by the rising death toll of the attack, as the survivors clear out the last of the bioweapons and start trying to recover what they can. Chris assists until the director pulls him to the side and asks him to interrogate hunk.
Chris agrees and completes the interrogation, learning that the duke is behind the attack, though Hunk refused to give much else until a deal could be cut. after finishing the interrogation, Chris talks to the director once more who confirms that Rose was safe and that Gary confirmed the school was not attacked so the attacker didn't know where Rose was.
after 31 hours of being awake, Chris is finally sent home to rest where he is greeted and comforted by Emma. the two agree if this escalates that Emma and the kids should go somewhere else to make sure they're out of harms way since Chris's data was leaked and the BSAA is no longer safe.
a cut away confirms that duke is the attacker, that he got some of what he wanted but not his main goal and that he's similarly in a position where he can't take action for some time because the attack took a lot of resources, how ever he seems confident he can recover quicker and finish off the job.
