Resident Evil: Tangled Web

By: PhantasmBabeIvory

Author's Notes: Sorry to keep you all waiting so long for this installment, but it took longer than I anticipated to get just right. This is the chapter that sets up the remainder of the story. I'm estimating that there will be 36 chapters total, but that could change. From here on, I will only be focusing on certain days of Claire and Elliott's captivity over the remaining two years. There are a number of surprises ahead, some of which are hinted at in this chapter. Enjoy!

Chapter Nineteen

True to his word, Wesker did come back approximately an hour after he'd left them, and he wasn't alone. Jessica and Raymond were close behind him.

Wesker watched Claire and Elliott climb to their feet, each of them groaning, with a blank expression. "Apologies for not providing either of you with something to sit on. The floor can't have been comfortable," he said.

Claire nodded toward the curtain. "Did you really expect me to spend the time torturing our friend here instead of sitting idly by?"

Wesker smirked. "Experience has taught me never to write anything off, dearheart. You'd be surprised what a person will do when pushed to the edge." After a pause, he added, "The three of us have much to discuss, and this is hardly the place to talk at length. If you and Mr. Gregory will follow me, we can retreat to a more comfortable setting."

"What about Frederic?" Claire asked.

Wesker gestured to Jessica and Raymond. "Miss Sherawat and Mr. Vester will deal with him. You won't have to see him again if you don't wish to."

Raymond's last name was pronounced too clearly to be misheard, but Claire was still struck by the similarity. "Am I supposed to be thankful?" she asked.

"I don't expect you to be. But we'll get there eventually," Wesker said.

Wesker was stepping back through the doorway before either Claire or Elliott could respond. The duo exchanged a look and hurried after him.

Claire hadn't forgotten Elliott's earlier declaration that they should play nice to gain a better chance of escaping. But it was very hard to ignore Wesker's arrogance. "You really believe that Elliott and I will eventually be content to be here?"

"I could easily arrange it so that neither of you has a choice but to be compliant. If you were anyone else, Miss Redfield, I wouldn't give a second thought to keeping you as a puppet robbed of her free will." Wesker stopped and turned. "I chose the high road because of who you are and what you represent, dearheart."

Claire scowled. "Can you stop calling me that already?"

"As you wish."

She blinked. "Just like that?"

"All you had to do was ask."

Her face reddened as she parroted, "All I had to… Were you born this big a pain in the ass?"

"I prefer to think of myself as someone who sees the big picture. Regardless of what the two of you think of me, I am not a complete monster. I am willing to cater to you both, within reason."

"Except when it comes to letting us go," Elliott said.

"I've already made my position clear on why that won't happen right away, Mr. Gregory," Wesker said calmly. "Now shall we venture to the more comfortable setting I spoke of, or would you like to hash this out here?"

Claire's aching muscles decided for her. Once she voiced her agreement, Wesker led her and Elliott all the way down the hall and into a lounge. As she settled into a plush leather armchair, she grudgingly had to admit it was better than a cold steel floor.

Even seated, Wesker still managed to look imposing. Steepling his hands together, he said, "In the interest of getting the ball rolling, how would you like me to refer to you, Miss Redfield?"

She cleared her throat. "The same as you just did."

"Very well. What else would you like that you know I'd agree to?"

Claire hesitated. "I can think of at least a hundred different things."

"Let's start simple then, shall we? What would you like the most?"

She had to think about that for a moment. "To go back to who I was before I got infected."

With a raised eyebrow, Wesker said, "Tall order. But not impossible. If you help me manufacture a cure for the G-Virus, returning you to normal would be a much easier feat."

"What guarantee do I have that you won't do just the opposite? For all I know, you could turn me into a monster to use against Chris."

"I offer you my word I won't. Believing it will take a leap of faith on your part, Miss Redfield."

Claire exchanged a look with Elliott. "Your word is not going to be enough. If you really want us to trust you, keeping us locked up 24/7 until you show up to let us out is not the way to earn it."

Wesker grimaced and remained curiously silent for half a minute. Claire began to wonder if she'd pushed it too far when he spoke. "You drive a hard bargain. But not one I'll say no to. In a few days' time, I can provide you with access to select areas."

"You're serious?" Elliott asked when Claire didn't respond.

"I am not an unreasonable man, Mr. Gregory. If this is what it would take to reach some neutral ground, I'm willing to compromise… Now, is there anything else you desire, Miss Redfield?"

Claire recalled Wesker's offer to reunite her with someone she believed to be dead and her thoughts turned to Steve. Fighting tears, she shook her head. She wasn't even sure she wanted to know what had become of him after Rockfort Island. To steer to a less painful topic, she challenged, "Why only select areas? Is there something you don't want us to see?"

"There are certain things that don't concern you," Wesker said with a straight face. "The answer to that is one of them… Since we're on the subject, I have only one condition of my own to add to the table. When I say a topic is off limits, I expect both of you to drop it. Adhere to that, and we won't have a problem."

She crossed her arms in defiance. "I'm guessing Oswell Spencer and whatever led to you killing him is one such topic."

"Don't push me unless you want this arrangement to end before it begins, dearheart," Wesker said with a dangerous edge to his voice.

Fear of losing a shot at independence kept her docile. "Fine. I agree to your condition."

"Me too," Elliott said. "But only so long as you're not trying to trick us, Wesker. This truce will be over in an instant at the first sign of treachery on your part."

Wesker smirked. "Five days, and you think you have me all figured out, Mr. Gregory? Don't be so sure. I may surprise you. Speaking of, the offer still stands to cure your little sister of her unfortunate condition."

A growl escaped Elliott's lips. "Haven't you already done enough to me and my family? If you even think of bringing Lisette here to use as a guinea pig…"

"I never said I would act on the offer immediately. If you decide to take me up on the suggestion, I would provide you with a cure at the end of our time together. You'd even be able to have it analyzed by an outside party if you wish."

"And I suppose I'll have to take it on faith that you'll stay away from her in the meantime?"

"Seeing as providing proof to the contrary is impossible, that is how it will have to be," Wesker answered. "The only question remains, are these conditions satisfactory and something you can live with for the duration?"

Claire and Elliott exchanged another look. "Can we have a few moments to talk this over?" she asked.

"Of course." Wesker stood and removed a small rectangular device from his pocket, setting it on the end table. "You can use this to contact me when you're ready."

The instant they were alone, Claire rubbed her eyes. After a long silence, she said, "Any chance he's playing us?"

"I'm not so sure now," Elliott said. "If Wesker's being honest about giving us the power to roam freely…"

"It means he might be telling the truth about everything else…"

"I know how conflicted you feel. If my sister could really be made well again… How do you say no when you have the thing you want most dangled in front of you?"

"We shouldn't have to sell our souls to make that happen. There has to be another way," Claire said.

Elliott hesitated. "Is there anyone else you know who'd be able to cure you?"

She ran one hand through her hair. "The closest person that comes to mind would be Rebecca Chambers. She's someone I trust, has a degree in biochemistry. Last I heard, she's been working with a team of scientists to develop treatments and antidotes for the more prominent virus strains created by Umbrella." Claire shook her head. "I'm probably grasping at straws. Eight years, and Rebecca couldn't undo what happened to Sherry. She might not be able to help me either."

"Then there's no easy answer to what we should do."

She sighed. "It'd be nice to have a crystal ball showing all possible outcomes."

Elliott moved his chair so it was facing hers. "That's one luxury we won't get," he said. "Claire, I don't want you thinking I'm on his side, but maybe taking him up on the offer is our best option. Wesker said it himself. He could make our lives hell for however long we're stuck here, but he's making an effort not to. It could take months for us to find a way to escape, if there even is one. And if we do get out on our own, what then? Throw away the opportunities he's offering us?"

At a loss for words, Claire opened and closed her mouth several times. At last, she said, "I can just hear my brother screaming at me for even considering the possibility." She looked at the communicator Wesker had left on the table. "Playing into his hands is a really bad idea, Elliott."

"We don't have a lot of choices."

"I know! And that's what I hate the most!" She rubbed her eyes, feeling helpless, angry, and sad all at once. "And I'm scared we'll end up just like the last person Wesker made disappear. Before we agree to anything, you need to know the full story. About Rockfort Island."

Elliott reached for her hand. "I know it must be difficult to talk about. Take your time."

She gave a sad but appreciative smile. After a short silence, she began, "I've come to believe that my friend, Steve, would never have been imprisoned on Rockfort if the Umbrella Corporation and its top employees hadn't been so corrupt. Steve's father worked for them – low level. A janitor, I think. He decided it would be a good idea to sell the company's secret research for a good-sized paycheck. Umbrella's higher-ups caught on and decided to make an example of him. Steve and his mother ended up paying for his father's mistake."

Elliott's eyes widened. "They locked up the guy's family too."

"Steve, yeah. His mother was executed as punishment for what his father tried to do."

"Pretty harsh."

Claire laughed bitterly. "Well, that's Umbrella for you… Cutting to several years later, Steve escaped from his cell when the island fell under attack. He and I ran into each other soon after, worked together to try and survive against Wesker, Alexia, and the monsters unleashed from the laboratories neighboring the prison. It ultimately wasn't enough, at least not for Steve."

Claire paused, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "You could say Steve's fate was sealed when he shot and killed Alexia's twin brother in self-defense. She wanted revenge and it wasn't enough for her to flat out kill Steve or me. She infected him with the T-Veronica virus she'd developed, turned him into a hulking green monster, and set him loose on me." She sniffled and wiped a tear from her eye. "Steve turned out to be stronger than she anticipated, or I'd be dead. When he turned on Alexia, she mortally wounded him… He told me he loved me with his dying breath."

Elliott closed his eyes. "Jesus. I'm sorry, Claire."

"That wasn't the worst of it… Alexia was taken out by my brother, Chris, not long after. Vaporized by an experimental weapon developed by someone on her own staff. The kicker is Wesker decided he wasn't going to walk away empty-handed. He came to acquire her life's work, and there was only one viable carrier left for him to take away and study." She looked at her hands, tears streaming down her face. "God, it's been eight years. I didn't think it would still hurt so much."

Elliott was silent for a minute. "Is it possible that Steve could still be alive? I mean, Wesker is making it sound that way."

"I don't know… I'm not even sure I want him to be. If he's been subjected to a lengthy period of captivity in this place… He might not be the same person I remember," Claire said. "I don't want that to be our path."

"Whatever kind of monster Wesker might be, I don't think he intends to hurt you. Beyond what he's already done, I mean. Maybe… Maybe we should give this arrangement a try. Play it by ear for a while to see how it works. It doesn't mean we have to trust him or agree with him."

"You know this is probably going to come back to bite us."

Elliott squeezed her hand. "Whatever happens, we'll face it together. You're not alone, Claire. I'll be there to hold you up, no matter how bad it gets. And if Wesker does double-cross us or if we find out he's going to hold us indefinitely, then we fight to get out. Deal?"

She didn't answer right away, her gaze locked on his hand wrapped around hers. When he spoke her name in a questioning tone, she cleared her throat and looked up. "Finally. A deal I don't mind making," she joked.

Elliott picked up the communicator. "Alright," he said with a sigh. "Here we go."

Next up: A revised version of last year's Christmas story. I will probably be taking the original version down unless some of you want it to stay up and available for reading.

That aside, I will try to focus on updating the companion story, Razor's Edge. Sorry for falling behind on that.