Chapter 31
"Now that the giant has been dealt with," Chris started as he panted from having stabbed a combat knife into the exposed organ of the giant that had been trying to kill them. "Would anyone care to tell me what the hell is going on here?"
"You want the long version or the short one?" Edward asked as he reloaded the rifle he had borrowed from me. "Because I'm not sure we've got time for the long one, and it takes the rest of Bravo Team here to tell it properly anyway."
"The short version then," Chris nodded as he straightened up.
"Barry and I are in the dark too," Jill said with a small smile as she helped me up from where I was resting after the fight. "So we'd like the short version now, with promises of the full story later."
"Long story short, Umbrella Corporation is doing some shady research up in these mountains," Edward said. "Mark and I ended up in a lab, while the rest of Bravo Team dealt with some sort of training facility."
"Turns out Wesker worked for Umbrella for years before he ever joined the Army," I chimed in as I opened up my pack and dug out some ibuprofen. "We think he might have sabotaged our chopper so we would end up crashing in the mountains."
"You got any proof to back up those claims?" Chris asked. "Because I trust the Captain, he's had my back in this mansion."
"You'd have the check the chopper for yourself," Edward shrugged. "And Captain Marini and the rest of Bravo have our evidence, and we don't know where they are currently."
"Well, I'm sure that the noise in here will draw them in sooner or later," Jill said. "Should we wait here for them to show up?"
"I like that idea," I said with a groan. "I'm okay with taking a break until the rest of STARS shows up."
"Of course, you would be okay with that," Jill said as she shook her head. "Your favorite thing to do when your favorite thing to do when not at work or working out is to sit and read in that apartment of yours."
"Just because you go out clubbing doesn't mean that all of us enjoy that," I snarked back. "Besides, I go to the range with you guys to blow off steam all of the time."
"Range time doesn't count," Edward argued back. "It's work related so it doesn't get included in your list of hobbies."
"Fair enough," I nodded my head. "I'm not the kind of person who likes to go out and do stuff all that much."
"Yeah, but we make you come and hang out with us anyway," Jill punched my shoulder a bit as we both slid down the wall to a resting position. "Because we think friends shouldn't stay cooped up for long periods of time without being around other people."
"How many rounds of 10mm you got left, Mark?" Barry asked me as he slid the cylinder over on his.357 magnum to reload, sliding the cylinder shut with a snap of the wrist once he had dumped the speed loader in.
"Maybe half a mag left," I replied as I slid the magazine out and checked the round count. "Yeah, maybe eight rounds left. We've had to use it on a ton of stuff up in these mountains."
"Well, I think I've got a box in my pack," Barry said as he pulled off his small backpack and tossed it to me. "It's been in there since range day, so no idea how many rounds are left in the box, but it should help fill up at least one or two extra mags."
"There's twenty-one rounds here," I said as I opened the box and began loading the partially full mag before loading it back into the Glock. "That's enough for me to have two full mags. Thanks," I nodded to the bear of a man.
"You're welcome," Barry responded as he accepted the backpack and put it back on. "Use them wisely."
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"Good, you guys are alive," Rebecca said as the remainder of Bravo Team entered the main entrance area of the mansion. "Mark, I need you to help run some checks on Kenneth if this area is secure, he took some pretty nasty hits earlier and I need a second opinion."
"So you guys are actually alive," Chris said after a minute of shocked silence once the rest of the battered group had walked in.
"Bruised, and a little beaten, but we're alive," Enrico said with a smile at the sight of his friends. "It's been a hell of a day, but I think we're through the worst of it."
"Nice piece you got there," Barry said as he looked at the grenade launcher that was slung over the STARS captain's shoulder. "Where'd you find that thing?"
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Enrico said as he shook his head. "It's been quite useful though with all of the monsters we've encountered over the last while."
"Given what we just faced I can believe that," Jill said as she stood up. "We figured we'd wait to see what's down at the bottom of this elevator once we got the rest of you guys here."
"Given most of the crap we've found was in underground labs, I think it's a safe bet there's something important down there," Forest said as he lowered Kenneth to the ground so that Rebecca and I could do some quick aid.
"I'll stay here and mind Kenneth," I said with a gesture toward my side. "Rebecca can take care of any injuries you face down there, just don't leave us behind."
"We're not leaving any of us behind," Captain Marini stated firmly. "Let's go finish this,' he began moving toward the elevator, the rest of Alpha and Bravo Teams in tow.