The creature's enormous tentacles destroyed the rest of the orphanage, throwing debris towards the agents, who scattered to one side.
The monster was huge, at least six or seven meters tall. Its body was covered by an exoskeleton that didn't completely cover it and left some parts exposed, and its face was a deformed mixture of Irving and the Tyrant. Its huge left arm sported thick, long claws, and its right arm was covered in tentacles similar to Lickers' tongues.
Hunk's delta team fired in conjunction with the B-weapons, hitting the huge creature hard, and it staggered back a few steps as small explosions ripped through its body, destroying part of the exoskeleton and disintegrating the exposed flesh.
The monster roared and the tentacles on its right arm lunged at Hunk, who was the closest agent. The agent, for his part, jumped backwards and rolled across the ground, dodging the tentacles that dug into the dirt in an attempt to pierce him.
Taking advantage of the momentum of his roll, Hunk picked up a heavy hand grenade and threw it towards the creature. The grenade detonated in a huge explosion, and Chris, along with Jill and Parker's team, fired together at the creature, their bullets piercing what little was left of the thing's exoskeleton and penetrating deep into its flesh.
Hunk's team fired again, and the monster's huge right arm fell to the ground, severed from its body. The creature fell to its knees on the ground, its deformed head slowly rising while it was still being shot at.
What was left of Irving's consciousness was probably mentally cursing himself for not imagining that the reinforcements Chris would have would be heavily armed with weapons of the highest caliber. If the soldier had been alone, the fight would probably have gone on for a long time, and who knows who would have died.
The monster he had become was out of luck.
The giant mutant raised its huge arm with its claws and tried to attack the nearest agents, who quickly retreated, and the impact of its blow made the entire ground in the surrounding area shake with force, a cloud of dust rose into the air with the strong impact, and its claws penetrated the ground.
One last move in an attempt to do something, to take one of them with it.
The BSAA soldiers ceased fire and faced the kneeling monster, grunting in pain and bleeding on the ground. The thing's regeneration seemed to be slowing down, probably because of the bullets and B-type weapons. They looked at each other, and Jill focused her eyes on the few surviving orphans, lying on the ground in the distance, frightened, in shock.
Of all the people they had found, only three had survived. And although they had managed to save these three, it certainly didn't feel like a victory.
Hunk straightened his posture, facing the defeated monster, and signaled for his team to finish it off at once. Shots were heard at the same time.
The creature that was Irving grunted loudly, a roar of pain escaping from its deformed, blood-soaked mouth. A huge amount of pus began to practically squirt out of his body along with the blood. Its huge body began to disassemble as if it were melting, and in a matter of moments, the monster fell to the ground.
"Target eliminated, confirmed." One of Hunk's men said over the comm.
"Good. Now it's up to the clean-up crew." Hunk said, approaching the body of the fallen monster.
Chris watched as the agent approached the monster, then turned his attention to Jill beside him.
"Are you all right?" He asked. She was slightly dirty from the dust caused by the destruction of the orphanage. So was Parker, who looked just as distressed as the woman.
"I could be better." She replied, looking at the orphans in the same position as before, now being approached by the medical team.
"Look, I've seen a lot. But I'll never forget seeing a little boy have his chest punctured right in front of me." Parker said, holding his rifle with some force as he looked at all the destruction caused. "So, what exactly happened?" he asked Chris.
"I don't know much. This Irving guy was some kind of black market dealer, from what I gather. And he had a tyrant who followed his orders, unlike the others, this one was focused on murder." He explained briefly.
"Great, superhuman assassins." Parker said with a certain sarcasm.
The group's eyes then focused on movement coming from the wreckage of the orphanage, as well as the attention of the agents nearby.
Soon, their expressions twitched slightly in curiosity and surprise as they saw a blond man rise from the wreckage.
They blinked a few times, watching the man approach with long, heavy strides, barely glancing at the body of the fallen creature next to him. He had youthful features, his face bore a few scars and his expressions were both experienced and youthful. His blond hair was long and in a style very different from what they would have thought for an agent of that caliber.
They recognized who it was. The way he walked, the equipment, the body language. The image they had of the mysterious agent was shattered into a thousand pieces.
Hunk also stared at him, difficult to know exactly what he was thinking because of the gas mask, but he was probably curious about the agent.
"What happened to your mask?" That was the first thing Hunk asked, and Ghost snorted.
"Oh, it must be ashes by now." He said, noticing some soldiers approaching.
"... So Ada saw your face." Hunk concluded, and Ghost crossed his arms.
"She already knew. And she knows about you too." He said, noticing the slight tension in his partner's shoulders. "We've got a big problem. She's got a file on us and she's just sent it to the same people who hired her to come after me."
Hunk looked away and raised his head slightly. Another setback, and a dangerous one. Not just because their identities had been revealed to dangerous people, but because it would certainly buy Albert more time to organize a new plan.
"Fuck's sake... delta team! Clear this thing's body as soon as possible! Let's fall back, we've got a situation now!" He ordered everyone, walking at a fast and heavy pace towards the extraction point, passing Chris and his team without saying a word afterwards.
Ghost followed right behind.
"A situation?" Jill asked, looking at him with a certain curiosity. In terms of appearance, if it hadn't been for his build, the way he carried himself and the scars, she would never have guessed that he was a skilled agent.
More like a model.
"I'll explain on the way." Ghost said, hastening his steps.
Chris and Jill looked at each other, before signaling to their team.
They returned to the extraction point and boarded the military helicopter on the left, glancing at the delta team boarding the helicopter on the right with the surviving orphans. All the agents there were in a hurry, and the situation seemed urgent, which left the BSAA soldiers somewhat confused and distressed.
If Hunk and Ghost were distressed, then it meant something very bad.
"Jill, Parker. O'Brian's on the line." A member of the beta team said, and the soldiers looked at each other.
"I'll go. You stay here, Jill." Parker said, approaching the helicopter on the right. Jill watched him for a few moments, before entering the other one and approaching Chris, who was sitting with his hand resting on his rifle, a troubled expression on his face.
She sat down next to him, and shortly afterwards, the pilot started up the helicopter, and they heard Hunk outside telling them to get ready.
"Did you get anything?" The woman asked Chris, who sighed slightly.
"Yes... I think so. Let's see what information we've collected when we arrive." Chris said, watching with a certain intensity as Hunk and Ghost talked near the helicopter's entrance ramp.
"What is it?" Jill asked, realizing she had something on him.
"... Just thinking. O'Brian's not going to like the way things will turn out." He said, nodding slightly as if he agreed with his own thoughts.
And indeed, he did. The conversation he'd had with Ghost, the time he'd spent with him, Hunk, his team, had made him realize that playing fair with terrorists was stupid.
"What do you mean?" Jill asked.
"The BSAA isn't respected. Not by USSO-COM, not by DSO or by this bunch of terrorists. Not as it should be. But we have the greatest potential of them all, and we're throwing it away, and I've only just realized it." He said, remembering his words from before.
When they revealed everything that went on behind the scenes, the world would enter a state of fear, that was inevitable, even among those who agreed with Ghost and Hunk's actions. However, they would need help to keep things under control, and he, as one of the founders of the BSAA, would do everything in his power to help.
He realized that they had a chance there. A real chance. And what had once been just a silly hope was closer to becoming a reality than many had imagined.
The helicopter began to gain altitude, and Chris watched Ghost approach and sit down not far from where they were.
"So, what's the situation?" Chris asked, watching the agent still without his mask. He had to admit that he hadn't expected that skilled and dangerous soldier to be... like that. A pretty boy, different from the experienced agent he had imagined.
The world really was full of surprises.
"... You know about Ada, right?" He asked, not looking at them, more focused on rummaging through the military bag at his feet and grabbing a spare mask.
"A mercenary, she worked with Albert. We didn't receive any more news about her for a while." Jill replied, resting her arms on her legs and leaning her torso slightly forward.
"She knows who I am." He said, staring at his mask for a few moments with a distant, even distressed look. "She has a file with my and Hunk's identities. And she sent it to the people who hired her to kill me."
Chris grunted lowly, shaking his head slightly. Well, that could be very problematic... in fact, it was very worrying, because he didn't know who had hired the woman, but he knew they were dangerous and powerful people.
"They'll know we're involved with you." He said, more to himself than to him. But even so, Ghost shook his head in agreement.
"They're powerful people, Chris. They'll send people after my family... and maybe, who knows, they might try to convince the world that the BSAA are traitors." He crossed his arms, swinging his leg with a certain frenzy after putting his mask back on, indicating nervousness.
Something unusual to see.
"Shit, more of that now." Chris grumbled, running his hand through his hair. Ghost, for his part, sighed.
"Claire and Sherry could be a target." Ghost said, and Chris gave him a serious look.
"We don't know if they'll target the BSAA. We have a lot of weight, it wouldn't be easy." Jill said, and Ghost closed his eyes.
"No, not because of that. But because I'm involved with them." He said, and both soldiers' expressions twitched slightly.
"What are you talking about?" Chris asked seriously. He knew that Sherry had started training with Ghost, she had mentioned it and showed off her knife skills. He didn't mind, it was good that she was honing her skills. Not to mention that Ghost was skilled. If anything, he should thank him.
But he knew that the fact that he was training her was still no reason for these people to risk and spend so much to try to go against the BSAA.
"... I know they're survivors from Raccoon City." He said, and Chris's muscles tensed. He'd never mentioned it to anyone other than Jill and Parker, ever. Not even to O'Brian. And as far as he knew, there was no proof.
But, of course, nothing was what it seemed when that guy was involved.
"I don't know if I should be surprised, but I don't really like where this is going." Chris warned him, his voice low and serious, and his hand gripping the barrel of his rifle with some force.
"Did they mention anyone? A cop, maybe?" He asked, and Chris blinked a few times.
"A guy called Leon." He answered after a few moments, and Ghost shook his head.
"... That's me." He said, turning his face and staring deep into the man's eyes. "They don't know. But now some do."
Chris was silent for a few moments, digesting the information. At first, he remembered the state of both girls when he found them. Dirty, lost and desolate, alone in an unknown city.
When he took them home, they both cried and had nightmares every night, even though they knew how to hide it well. Although they disguised it, he knew very well. After all, he had been through the same thing, and it hurt his chest to see them like that. It took a long time for them to get better.
And he remembered how much they had cried for the cop called Leon. A hero who had saved their lives more than once, and the asshole who had left them alone on a deserted road.
However, he also remembered the way they talked about him. What he did and how he saved their lives.
In all honesty, he'd always had a cold shoulder towards the guy.
"... So you're the officer who helped them, and then abandoned them on a deserted road?" He asked, a little anger present in his voice, not that he wanted it to show. Ghost, for his part, snorted, but didn't deny it. "I have some things to say, but it's not my place to say them... if you're telling the truth, then I have to ask. Why?"
He asked, although deep down he suspected it had something to do with what he did now, what he was, the mask he wore.
"... I made a deal. Remember? I said that William's goal was to eliminate everything and everyone related to these viruses. That included the two of them. They're not normal girls, you and I know that. The virus has changed them." Ghost said.
"He wanted to kill them." Jill said, more as a statement than a question, and Ghost shook his head.
"I didn't let him. He would let them live, in return I would work for them. I had the experience he needed, and he'd spent a lot of resources finding us, it would have been a huge waste if he'd killed me." Ghost explained, looking away.
Jill and Chris looked at each other, and the older Redfield calmed down, his mind thinking more clearly. Thinking rationally, he had not only risked his life to save them, but had literally exchanged his for theirs.
That wasn't something you'd see in just anyone.
"Why did you do that?" He asked, and Ghost laughed, even though it wasn't funny.
"Because that's the man I was." He replied, and Chris lowered his gaze, thoughtful. "What I told you is in the file in Ada's possession. In other words, whoever hired her now knows about it, and will target them both. Either to kill them, or something worse."
"They can take care of themselves. They're safe at TerraSave headquarters." Jill said, as Chris picked up his cell phone and started calling them.
"I wouldn't count on it. The national security advisor will be working with TerraSave, won't he? He's one of the black market clients. And I don't doubt at all that he is one of the people who hired Ada." Ghost explained, and Chris growled.
"Fucking hell!" He muttered lowly, calling Claire and waiting for her to pick up the phone.
Ghost watched Chris call his sister. He would take care of the two girls, and he would take care of his family. He pitied anyone who dared try to do anything against them.
He leaned his torso forward and rested his arms on his legs, thoughtful. He was worried, anxious.
It had been a long time since he had seen his parents, his sister... How would they be? Fine, hopefully.
All those years away only for them to be attacked by a bunch of corrupt politicians... he clenched his fist, and the instant he sighed, he grunted in surprise as he felt the helicopter suddenly rock.
He heard the pilots, the distant voices and the deafening noise. His gaze focused on the flames engulfing the back of the helicopter, and his insides growled as he heard the pilots say they were going down.
The agent gritted his teeth in anger, and his mind cursed the name of Ada Wong, who was surely the cause of it.
The light wind ruffled her blonde hair, and she grunted slightly as she pulled the yellow strands out of her eyes and tucked them behind her ear. Her brown eyes looked around lazily, observing the people sitting at the other tables in the ice cream parlor. There were some clouds blocking out the sun, and to be honest, despite the favorable weather, she didn't really want to be there, getting fat off that ice cream.
Her eyes then fell on her friend Emily, who was approaching with a milkshake in one hand and her cell phone in the other, and she shook her head, wondering how her friend never fell if she never looked where she was going.
"Argh, seriously, this semester I'm going to go bald with so much trouble." Emily said, sitting down in the chair opposite her and taking a sip of her milkshake, sighing with some frustration and putting her cell phone back in her pocket.
"Is it Mr. Greg or Miss Tonya?" The girl asked, turning a small wooden spoon in her hand.
"Miss Tonya. Can you believe she changed the deadline again?! A week early! Come on." She complained, taking another sip and resting her chin on her hand.
"Maybe then you'll wake up and get your work done." The girl said, and Emily snorted.
"Years ahead of you, Mathilda. I already did." Mathilda arched an eyebrow.
"Then what's the problem?" Emily shrugged.
"That I haven't printed... or written my presentation yet. But I'll sort that out later." She replied, taking a few more sips of her milkshake, and Mathilda scraped some more from her ice cream bowl.
"Now, so?" Emily stared at her subjectively, both eyebrows arched in a silent question. Mathilda sighed slightly, but then broadened her smile.
"I passed the test." Emily cracked a wide smile.
"Ah, girl! You make me proud!" She exclaimed, happy for her friend. "When are you going?"
"As soon as they've finished my background check, I'm going to do some more physical and psychological tests. After that, it depends on the number of openings or the institution, so I don't know." Mathilda said, once again tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.
"Cool. I want to go for a ride in the car when you're a police officer." Emily said, and Mathilda grimaced a little.
"Of course. I'll get the handcuffs ready for you and put you in the back seat. Let's see what your parents will say." They both laughed slightly, and Emily shrugged.
"They'd probably love it." She joked, and both remained silent for the next few moments, Mathilda focused on her ice cream, and Emily on her milkshake.
"So... that's what you want, right?" Emily asked uncertainly, breaking the silence.
Mathilda just stared at her with arched eyebrows.
"Like, you're twenty-one years old, and you passed the exam to become a police officer... there's a certain connection behind it." Mathilda lowered her gaze, understanding her friend's point. "You go because you really want to, not because you feel obliged to, don't you?"
The girl sighed, remaining silent for a few moments, thoughtful.
"Yes. That's what I want. I don't feel obliged to anything, I just feel it's what I should do. I've always been interested and, well, after my brother died, I think it's the way to honor his memory." She replied, internally satisfied with her answer.
"If that's what you want, great! Now, there's this guy who's been calling me and I wanted you to get rid of him." Mathilda laughed.
"But already? I don't even have my gun yet."
"So? Special order."
They stood there for a while longer, until they got up, paid and left the ice-cream parlor, chatting about trivial things. Neither of them noticed the two men watching them from afar.
They walked calmly along the sidewalk, taking advantage of the little traffic there was that Sunday.
Mathilda focused her eyes on the three men in front of her, talking to each other as if they were friends, not even paying attention to the two, and didn't think anything of it. However, she felt a bad sensation in her chest, which she didn't think was anything, and just ignored it.
As she approached the men, she heard the sound of the van further back. As she turned around, she could only see the black van approaching for a few moments before she was suddenly grabbed by one of the men and had her mouth covered with his hand.
She tried to scream, to struggle, but he was stronger than her, and soon, she felt something cold on her neck, followed by a slightly sharp pain. Her neck went numb and the sensation began to spread through her body, her eyes grew heavy, and all she could see before she gave in to despair was her friend having a syringe in her neck, also injected with something.
The men put both girls in the van and entered the vehicle.
"Sir, we have the girl. She was with a friend, we captured her too. What do you want us to do with her?" One of the men said through his communicator, alternating his gaze between the two unconscious girls.
"Well, we have no choice but to include her in all this." A man's voice said from the other side of the communicator, and the man nodded to himself.
"Going to Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy now. Out." The man said, just before signaling for the driver to speed up.
Claire finished typing up her report and handed it to her team, as well as some printed files for the press. People needed to know about the situation, and she was happy to help with that, to spread the truth.
As she walked towards TerraSave's headquarters to finish the remaining work, she felt a chill run down her spine. She heard murmurs and felt as if she was being watched.
The people around her began to emanate a cold sensation, and she blinked a few times in confusion. Her instincts were warning her that something was wrong.
She hurried her steps and approached the Terrasave. In the distance, she saw a blonde figure approaching.
"Claire." Sherry called after her, approaching at a rapid pace. The woman smiled, but when she saw the girl's expression, she knew that she too sensed that something was wrong.
"Are you feeling it too?" She asked quietly as she approached the girl, who nodded.
"I don't know what it is." She said, and Claire reached for her cell phone when she felt it vibrate. Her confused eyes ran across Chris's message. Strange, it was marked that he had sent it almost twelve hours ago.
Her eyes widened as she finished reading.
Claire took Sherry by the arm and began to walk away as she saw some men coming out of the Terrasave. Men dressed in black suits arrived as part of Simmons' team.
The girl was confused, but followed the woman without question. And she felt her body shiver as she felt stares following them.
"What is it?" Sherry asked, now walking alongside Claire at the same speed.
"Simmons knows about us." Claire said, turning the corner and running her eyes around. Her car was in the Terrasave parking lot, and she wasn't going to risk going back to get her vehicle.
"What the fuck." Sherry grumbled. "Where's Chris?" She asked.
"I don't know, he just left a message that was reportedly sent 12 hours ago. It seems Simmons is involved with the black market." Claire explained, looking back and seeing some of the men accompanying Simmons still following them.
They continued walking, blending in with the people on the busy streets in the hope that they could lose those men. But their hopes were slightly dashed when a black car with tinted windows began to slow down and practically follow them as they walked.
Claire clicked her tongue, and as they approached the corner, they were forced to stop when a figure appeared in front of them.
The figure was wearing a brown overcoat, was tall and had light hair. Delicate features, but with a strong chin, a man.
"Surrender." His voice was velvety, in a neutral, almost robotic tone. Claire gritted her teeth and took a few steps backwards, however, he opened part of his overcoat, and both women's eyes widened slightly when they saw that the man had, in his body, explosive.
He was certainly no ordinary man, as he was willing to blow up all those civilians around him, along with himself, just to capture them.
"Come... peacefully." He said, and swallowing some saliva, the girls were forced to cooperate for the time being.
They turned and walked towards the black car as other men approached, and without saying a word, entered the vehicle.
The two men in the front seats said nothing, and the driver just drove on. They both had short dark hair, and the one in the passenger seat looked older than the driver.
"What are you going to do with us?" Sherry asked, but they didn't answer, they didn't even mention having heard her question.
"Where are they taking us?" Claire asked, and the man in the passenger seat just turned his head slightly in her direction, but again just ignored her.
Claire sighed. She wasn't going to let herself be captured that easily, not again, not a chance. She was just waiting for the perfect moment to grab the head of the man in the passenger seat and crush it with her bare hands.
Looking out of the rear window, she saw two other black cars following close behind. They weren't alone, which made things a little more complicated. A firefight was sure to break out, and she didn't want to risk Sherry getting caught up in it.
They left the city after a few minutes, and Claire was counting the seconds to act.
When they got far enough away from the town, and saw that the road was practically empty, she looked at Sherry with serious eyes, who stared back at her. The girl swallowed some saliva and nodded, understanding what that look meant.
Claire stared at the two men in front of her again, but before she could do anything, she heard the roar of a heavy car's engine from just behind.
As she turned, her eyes watched in surprise as a military car simply rammed into the third black car, causing the driver to lose control and roll the vehicle down the deserted road.
The noise of the rolling car caught the attention of the two men ahead, and as they noticed the military car, the second car was riddled with bullets and began to roll down the highway as well, and the car was now speeding towards them.
Claire acted quickly when she realized this and quickly lunged at the man in the passenger seat, entwining his neck with her arms.
"Sherry, the wheel!" She exclaimed, and the girl grabbed her knife and plunged it into the driver's neck at the same time as Claire broke the man's neck.
Sherry quickly opened the door and pushed the man's body out of the vehicle, taking the wheel as she did so and slowing the car down.
She stopped the vehicle and watched as the military car parked next to it on the opposite side.
Both women looked at each other uncertainly. They grabbed their pistols and got out of the car with them in hand, just in case.
Out of the military car came a man in plain clothes. A blue shirt, gray pants and black shoes. He wore glasses and looked to be in his forties. In his hand was a submachine gun with a laser attached and a rounded magazine, probably with a capacity of forty-five bullets or more.
"Ah, looks like you've sorted yourselves out, good." He said, running a hand through his light brown hair.
"Who are you?" Claire asked, suspicious, and her eyes focused on the woman who got out of the driver's seat.
"You." Sherry said, surprised, and Claire looked at her with a certain curiosity. "You're the woman who helped find Claire. Ayala, right? So, you're with Ghost?" Sherry asked, and Claire looked at the woman in front of her.
She had short hair, dark skin and a scar on her face and neck. There was also a scar on the side of her head, this one more recent than the other two.
"Exactly. We wanted to get here before them, but unfortunately we're too late." Ayala said, and Claire snorted.
"So you know...?" She asked, unable to stop herself from feeling suspicious.
"Oh, yes, Miss Redfield, we know. And believe me, if we didn't, you wouldn't be breathing right now." The man said, and Claire stared at him for a few moments. "I'm sorry, I didn't introduce myself. My name is Walter, I'm William's researcher, doctor and scientist." He introduced himself, and before either of them could say anything, they heard a noise not far away.
Turning around, they stared as, from one of the cars, that same tall man in the brown overcoat stood up, his face in a neutral expression.
The man straightened his posture. His overcoat was torn and dirty, and he looked wounded in the shoulder area, but strangely, no blood was coming out.
The group watched in disbelief as the man removed his overcoat, revealing his right arm mutating in front of them, stretching out and sporting huge claws on the end of his hand.
"What the... fuck is that?" Claire asked, somewhat incredulous. She had never seen a biological weapon that could talk and think like a normal person. That's assuming it was a biological weapon.
Maybe it's the same situation Krauser found himself in... a lucid infected.
"That's a tyrant type M. Created from a variant of the T+G virus. I recommend we go now." Walter said, and he was the first to get into the car, followed by Ayala, and finally the two girls.
The tyrant started running towards them, his speed gradually increasing as he got closer.
"A tyrant who talks and acts like a human?! I've never seen it before!" Claire said, looking at the creature chasing them, and holding back when Ayala stepped on the accelerator.
"M-type tyrants were created for assassinations. In fact, the first models were created exclusively to go against Ghost and Hunk." Walter said, dragging his seat back and picking up something from the floorboard.
"Really?! They created tyrants with two agents in mind?" Sherry asked, surprised, incredulous, and not quite sure what to think. Tyrants were extremely dangerous creatures, being considered an S-level threat... she couldn't imagine the level of things those two men were capable of. To scare terrorists to the point of creating unique bio-weapons for them, they really were on a different level.
"Walter, that thing is catching up with us." Ayala warned, looking in the rearview mirror. The tyrant was only a few steps behind the vehicle, and if it came any closer, it could hit the car with its huge arm.
"Okay... that's bad. Ahm... Miss Redfield, could you do me a favor?" He asked her, extending a Desert Eagle Mark XIX in her direction. A little heavier and beefier than the original model, in other words, it was a customized model.
"I don't think I need to tell you to watch out for the kick." Walter said, picking up a laptop and placing it on his lap.
Claire turned around and elbowed the rear window, shattering the glass. She then raised the Desert Eagle and started firing, the kick being behind the shots. An untrained person would have trouble with this kind of kick, it was quite strong, and not very practical for the military in general.
The pressurized bullets hit the tyrant's body, who grunted and reacted to feeling the bullets hit its body, slowing it down, but not exactly stopping it.
Claire kept firing until she ran out of bullets, at which point the tyrant leapt towards the vehicle.
They grunted as they felt the vehicle sway and the weight that was created in the back. Ayala gritted her teeth as she tried not to lose control, and Claire stared at the tyrant clinging to the back of the car.
"Sherry, get down!" She shouted as she saw the tyrant move, and both women ducked, dodging the creature's huge claws, which destroyed the top rear of the military car.
"Holy shit!" Ayala said, feeling the strong wind and hearing her voice fade away due to the loud noise.
Claire ignored the strong wind that was fiercely shaking her hair and fired again at the tyrant, hitting its head a few times until the monster put one of its arms in front of its face for protection.
"Ah, try using this!" Walter said, holding out a bag with a grenade launcher in it.
Sherry quickly took the bag and picked up the gun, reloading it with an acid round. She raised the gun and fired at the monster, hitting it in the arm.
The acid spread quickly, billowing smoke as it ate away at the creature's firm flesh, which grunted and struggled, withdrawing its arm from in front of its face, giving Claire the window to unload the Desert Eagle's clip into the thing's head again.
Sherry reloaded the grenade launcher with another acid round and fired, which, combined with Claire's shots, caused the tyrant to lose its grip and break free from the car, rolling violently on the ground.
"Shit! Are we going to let that thing prowl around free?" Sherry asked, alternating her gaze between everyone inside.
"Don't worry, we didn't come alone!" Walter said, and soon, a stealth helicopter flew above them, hitting tyrant with a hail of shots from the .50 caliber guns attached to the sides.
The two women watched the helicopter hit the tyrant's body again and again, until the creature remained motionless and they were too far away to see anything else.
They drove on for a few more kilometers until they came to a dirt road. Then they drove for another half hour until they came to a makeshift military camp. Small, probably a team with only a few members.
There were a few tents scattered around, a few masked soldiers in sight and a few vehicles parked around.
They looked like they'd been there for a while now.
"I don't know about you, but that was too much adventure for me. It reminded me of why I decided to stay behind computer screens and research papers." Walter said, more to himself than to the other passengers.
"I agree with you." Ayala said, getting out of the car and looking at the damage done to the back. "Now we have a convertible." She joked in an attempt to ease the tension, only to receive a snort from Walter, at which she shrugged.
"Look, we appreciate the help." Claire began, catching both their attention. "But could you please explain to us what's going on?"
Ayala and Walter looked at each other, until the man sighed.
"Seventeen hours and twenty minutes ago, Ghost left on a mission with your brother. Fifteen hours and thirteen minutes ago, we lost contact with them. The helicopter they were in crashed." He explained.
"What?!" Sherry asked in disbelief, her expression one of concern.
"They're fine... we picked up a message from Ghost saying they suffered minor injuries. Our helicopters have a safety system for cases like these. Unfortunately, we have no way of rescuing them, we're out of helicopters." Walter sighed again, putting his laptop back in his bag.
"No helicopters? What do you mean?" Claire asked.
"No helicopters, no equipment... we used what we had after Wesker's attack. The vehicles we have, we don't have the resources to repair or refuel. But that's not the problem, they're capable of coming back, they should be on their way here by now." Ayala explained.
"The problem is, a mercenary by the name of Ada Wong has been hired by some powerful people to kill Ghost." Ada Wong... that name was not unfamiliar to her.
Of course it wasn't, Ada Wong was a mercenary, blacklisted by the BSAA, DSO... all the anti-bioterrorism organizations, in fact. And she was also the same woman they found in Raccoon City.
They didn't miss her.
"And the real problem is that she has Ghost's and Hunk's files. Their records, their identities, their examination logs, reports... everything. And she sent those files to some of the clients who hired her." Walter explained, and Claire crossed her arms, sighing with some regret.
"Well, shit, that's bad." Sherry said, and Walter laughed in mockery.
"Bad? That's terrible! I don't know about Hunk, but Ghost, they're certainly going after his family, and everyone connected to him." Claire blinked a few times, a certain grimace on her face.
So he still had a family.
"And I imagine he already knows that." She said, and Walter confirmed it.
"Correct... and, unfortunately, we haven't been able to trace his family. They disappeared about five hours ago." Walter explained.
"Holy shit... not even a hint? A clue? Nothing?" Sherry asked.
"We have reason to suspect Derek Simmons, but since our situation is... precarious, we can't be sure. The point is, Ghost won't care one bit who the suspect is, he'll retaliate... he'll get out of hand. And since you're also related to him, we had to get you out of the danger zone." Walter said.
Sherry, for her part, nodded slightly. Claire, for her part, blinked a little confusedly.
"We're related to him? I don't see what they'd gain by targeting both of us." She said. "As well as being related to Chris, we're from Terrasave... Simmons would be going against two major organizations at the same time, our public image is immense and it would be to his disadvantage, no matter how corrupt our government is." She said, alternating her gaze between them.
There was something there, Walter and Ayala looked at each other with uncertain eyes.
"I think you'd better go and get it..." Walter said to the woman, who nodded, turned and started walking towards the main tent of the small camp. "I thought he hadn't told you yet, stubborn as ever." The man said, almost in a whisper, as if he were talking to himself, and he turned and walked in the same direction Ayala had gone, followed by the two girls.
"What do you mean? Tell us what?" Claire asked, a few steps behind the man.
"Well, that you have a relation. Important enough for you to be a target." He said, and Claire made a confused face.
"I have no idea what you're talking about. We have nothing to do with each other." Walter laughed lightly, picking up the folder Ayala handed him.
"Of course you do, Miss Redfield, you both do. And that's why you deserve to know. After all, you're the reason he exists." Walter said, holding out the folder to Claire.
The woman looked at him even more confused than before, slowly taking the folder from the man's hand. She scanned the first page, her eyes reading the letters that formed " Project Agent 06 - Ghost".
Her gaze went up to Walter, who merely signaled for her to read the file, and hurried away.
Curious and intrigued, she lifted the initial sheet of paper, a strange feeling in her chest. The noise around her became muffled, her mouth went dry and her eyes went wide. She felt time pass slowly, and her gaze focused on the face of the young officer who had appeared so often in her dreams.
IT'S FUCKING HAPPENING, FUCKING FINALLY!