The offices yielded surprisingly little in terms of supplies.
Upon entry, BJ had noticed a pair of bodies, one slumped over one of seven desks grouped together in the center of the room and the other laid out on the floor of the private office connected to the main room.
Dealing with them both to ensure they didn't suddenly rise again, the Marine went through the cabinets and desks. Searching for anything he and Claire could use on their mission. But aside from a few operation reports, a handful of shotgun shells, and a picture of a statue holding a scepter with a large ruby in one hand and a red book in the other, there wasn't much else.
Pocketing the rounds in his hip pack, BJ went to the last desk he had yet to check which was sealed with a lock on either side of the roll-top cover. A bloodied, handwritten note laid out on it with 'Rookie's First Assignment' written on it.
Curious, he picked up the message and started reading;
Leon S. Kennedy, we're putting you on a very special case for your first assignment.
Your mission is...to unlock your desk! The key to your success is in the initials of our first names. Input the letters in order of our desks. There are 2 locks, 1 on each side of your desk. Make sure you get them both.
Basically, your first task is to remember your fellow officers' names, but you figured that much out, right?
Good luck, Leon.
By the way, it might take a little work to get Scott to give you a straight answer.
- Lieutenant Branagh
Turning the page, BJ found more words scribbled in the corner among drops of blood.
Be glad you're not here, Rookie...
The Marine set the paper down, "The new guy has no idea how lucky he is." he muttered outloud. Getting a better look at the locks, he saw that they had three dials each with an assortment of letters. Remembering the message, he went around the office a second time and located each of the name plates for the officers that worked there, turning the dials on each lock until the first initial of each first name was lined up. Both locks clicked open easily.
Removing them, BJ opened the desk and found the interior ultimately untouched by anything that had been happening. A notepad and a couple unsharpened pencils were laid out, ready to be used, but there was also something else stashed in a small cubicle in the corner. A small rectangular box eight inches in length.
Pulling the container out, noticing the slight weight to it, he removed the lid and blinked when he saw a black cylinder a couple inches smaller than the box it laid in. A silencer.
"This will definitely be useful." he said with a slight grin, taking out his MK.23 and screwing the silencer onto the barrel. Testing the new weight of his sidearm just as the door opened, his aim snapping toward it just as Claire entered.
"Whoa! It's me!" she said, holding her hands up.
BJ lowered his gun, "Sorry. Any luck?"
"Found a few more rounds and a speed-loader that fits my revolver. There are a couple lockers that are still locked, but the keyboard that unlocks them is missing a couple of keys that we'll need to find." said Claire. "There's also a weapon locker in the back that needs a keycard...there's a grenade launcher and a shotgun with a few rounds for each inside."
"Then we better keep an eye out for any of those keys. We could use the extra firepower." replied the Marine, doing another quick scan of the room. "This place is picked clean, and the door in the back leading to the main atrium is locked. Our best bet now is to check the upper floors."
Claire nodded as they headed back out into the corridor, weapons ready as they followed the path ahead of them to the back of the station.
Loud banging echoed through the hallway, the noise coming from the window at the base of the staircase that led to the upper floors. A lone zombie on the other side was slamming their hands against the glass, trying to get inside.
"Good thing they don't know how to open doors and windows." BJ commented.
The glass cracked and then shattered with the next hit, rain and debris clattered to the floor as the undead fell into the room.
"Doesn't mean they can't get in!" Claire added, her weapon up as the zombie rose to its feet. Groaning in hunger as it came after them. The brunette fired three shots, one missing its target while the other two drilled through its forehead and taking it down.
BJ snapped his gaze to the broken window, hearing more moaning as two more zombies attempted to get through. His weapon chirped twice, the sound muffled by the new silencer, both rounds hitting the one in front and sending it toppling back outside.
Crossing the room in a few quick strides, the Marine drew his knife in his other hand and stabbed it through the eye socket of another zombie that tried to climb in behind the first. "Find something to barricade the window!" he shouted to his companion, both of his weapons at the ready to keep anymore undead from getting inside.
Claire acted fast, looking around for anything to cover the opening. Finding a handful of two-by-fours leaning against a wall with a hammer and a box of nails on a nearby crate she holstered her weapon and grabbed the supplies before running over to where BJ was holding off the undead still trying to get into the station.
The duo made quick work of boarding up the window, switching off an on keeping the gathering horde outside at by while the other nailed the boards in place. When it was secured, they stepped back when grey, torn and rotting arms reached in after them.
"Think it'll hold?" asked the young Redfield, revolver back in hand.
"Don't know, but just to be safe we better get moving." said BJ, taking the stairs with Claire right on his heels. Reaching he landing above and finding the body of a police woman slumped against the wall infront of them.
The Marine approached slowly and crouched beside it, taking out his knife and stabbing the corpse through the temple to be sure she didn't rise again before going through her utility belt.
Coming up with a clip and a handful of spare rounds that he stored away.
Standing back up, BJ turned to Claire when he caught movement from behind her. "CLAIRE!" he shouted, the brunette spun around as another zombie in a police uniform tried to grab her.
The Marine went to raise his MK.23, but found himself surprised when Claire suddenly dropped low and kicked the undead in the midsection, sending it stumbling back. She followed up by jumping upward and swinging her left leg around in a wide kick to the side of the zombie's head, sending it into the railing beside them where it pitched over it and fell to the tiled floor below headfirst with a loud crunch.
Relaxing her stance, Claire turned back to BJ who stood wide eyed at her skills. "What?" she asked, "My brother taught me a few things before I went to college."
"I can see that." the Marine said impressed. Looking over the railing and seeing the zombie laying in a mangled heap on the ground floor in a growing pool of blood.
With no other threats nearby, the duo began checking the second floor. Finding most of the doorways locked and metal shutters sealing off most of the corridors, they managed to find one door open to them that led into the men's locker room.
They were both hit with a blast of heat and moisture from a wall of steam coming out of a pipe on the left where the showers were located, effectively cutting off the way through. BJ approached the damaged pipes carefully, wiping sweat from his forehead while trying to find a way to cut off the steam. But the valve was missing, making it a dead end.
Shaking his head the, Marine stepped back. A sudden shriek from Claire having him whirl around with his gun ready to see the brunette standing beside an open locker with a bloodied body on the floor at her feet.
"You okay?" he asked, kicking the corpse.
Claire swallowed thickly and nodded, "Y-Yeah...just wasn't expecting a body stashed in a locker."
BJ looked back to the wall of steam, "The way through his blocked. Unless we can find a valve to turn off the steam we're stuck." he said shaking his head.
"Maybe we should head back to the atrium, maybe Marvin can give us a hand." offered the young Redfield.
"We still have another floor above us. We'll check that out first before heading back to the Lieutenant." the Marine stated before he started to check the other lockers. Being sure to be careful if anymore bodies were in hiding.
Finding only a handful of personal items and an RPD portable lockbox that Claire stashed in her pack to check over later, they left the locker room and made their way up the stairs to the third floor.
Unlike the previous levels, this one looked like a mess. Broken walls, cracked masonry and various tools and supplies for construction laid about.
"What happened here?" asked Claire. "The undead do this?"
"No. The precinct used to be a museum that they were in the process of converting when I went to basic." replied BJ. "They were probably still in the middle of finishing the renovations when everything fell apart."
They entered a small office through a hole in the wall and found a light on the lone desk by the window. And laying on the surface beside a small statue was a key with the handle end sculpted into a spade and was colored a soft blue.
"Pretty sure this goes to some of the doors we passed by earlier." said BJ, pocketing the key, "Might make our job a little easier."
Claire shined her flashlight on the door that led out of the room. "Any idea where this goes?"
"One way to find out." the Marine turned the knob and pushed the door open slowly. The old hinges creaking and the smell of old wood and dust filled the air as they entered the long, dark hallway on the other side.
Both flashlights on, BJ and Claire treaded softly. Being careful to make as little noise as possible to avoid attracting anything that might be lurking in the shadows.
Rain pelted the windows in an endless torrent, lightning flashing in the distance and making the moment feel all the more ominous.
The duo were a couple feet from the turn in the corridor when something moved across the window infront of them. "What the hell was that?!" Claire whispered loudly, revolver trained on the window.
BJ was doing the same, the brief glance he'd gotten at whatever it had been made it look bipedal. Crawling along the outside before it disappeared out of sight. It had happened so quick he couldn't see any defining features, however.
"Don't know. But we should get out of here, and fast." BJ said just as softly. Both of them quickening their pace round the corner and toward the other end, moving around more pallets of wood and other construction supplies until they reached a door leading out.
Though, they paused when they saw a bloodied note pinned to the wood surface with a broken knife blade. Claire reached up and pulled the note free and started reading it;
Consider this a gift for anyone still unfortunate enough to be alive.
Keep your eyes peeled for those creepy fucks that looked like they were skinned alive; Lickers, we call'em. They're blind as bats, but their hearing more than makes up for that.
So long as you don't run around like a total idiot, guns a-blazing, you should be able to slip right by them...probably.
Either way, make like my grandma and creep around as slow as possible around 'em, yeah?
Anyway, not that I wanna go, but duty calls. That, and I've got a friend to avenge.
- David
"...Lickers?" wondered the brunette, an edge of unease in her tone as she handed the note to BJ. The Marine read the message again before looking back toward the window where they'd seen the unknown creature.
MK.23 aimed in that direction, he carefully opened the door with the other and motioned to Claire to get inside. Slipping through after she did and closing the door behind him.
The duo was greeted with the sight of a crumbling room filled with furniture, artwork and shelves filled with books.
"This must be where they stored everything during the renovations." BJ stated as they started to pick their way through the room, being weary of the cracked walls and the partially collapsing ceiling above them.
Claire had managed to find a half-full box of 9mm rounds toward the far back beside a broken bookshelf when she caught something in the corner of her eye. Approaching the farthest wall that was covered in metal bars and broken drywall, she saw a statue of a woman holding a vase on her shoulder standing on the other side.
"BJ, over here." she said, the Marine coming over to join her. "It's one of the statues we're looking for...but how do we get to it?"
BJ looked around for something that could help them get through when he saw something attached to the wall beside them.
Shining his flashlight on it...he froze in place.
"Claire...back away."
The young Redfield looked up at him before following his line of sight where his light was shining over two bricks of C4 stuck to the surface. She immediately backed up a couple of steps while the Marine approached with caution, looking over the military grade plastic explosives with sharp, trained eyes.
A couple seconds passed before he breathed out a sigh of relief. "It's okay. There's wires but no detonator."
Claire released a breath as well, "Thank God. On top of everything else, getting blown up is up there with getting eaten alive."
BJ nodded in agreement as he stood up and continued to look through this section of the room for a way through to the other side to the statue. Finding a note on a cracked table beside the pillar across from the wall itself;
Damn those corporate assholes! They cut me off! After all I've done for them! But if that's how it's gonna be, so be it. I'm gonna have a little fun of my own as the world goes to shit.
I boarded all those filthy pigs up in a steel pen, and set some C4. All I gotta do is detonate it and it's sayonara suckers!
But it's no fun if it's over too soon, so maybe I'll give that one raving loon something to really squeal about.
Yeah, maybe I'll give him a little toy and tell him, "kill the guy next to you and I'll spare the others", I wonder what he'll do.
You yell about 'justice' and 'pride' bu how many times did you go against me, your own superior?
Yeah, you're such a good cop...So good you had to die.
Man this is fun. I need some music for this.
The paper crumpled in BJ's grip, anger flaring through him. "What is it?" asked Claire, seeing his mood darkening.
"Someone here lost their shit and was preparing to blow up innocent people for their own twisted fun." he replied, throwing the note away. Looking back at the explosives, then the statue he shook his head. "We're not getting through that right now, maybe we can find something to help us elsewhere. For now we should keep moving."
Leaving the statue behind them for now, the partners went through the only other doorway in the storage room and had to blink when they were suddenly in a well lit library. The door they had gone through opening up to the walkways above the main floor.
"Claire, it's Marvin. How fast can you and Birkin get back here?" Claire's radio crackled to life with the Lieutenant's voice coming through.
The brunette took the walkie off her belt and hit the talk button, "What's going on?"
"I got something to show the two of you. It's important."
"We're on our way." Claire clipped the radio back on her belt when she felt BJ bump her shoulder and pointed below them.
Four zombies could be seen milling around, two of them feeding on a corpse close to the door that would lead them back out to the main atrium.
"How good are you at range shooting?" the Marine asked with a smirk.
Claire smirked back, held her weapon up and fired. The round going through the back of a female zombie's head, splattering blood and grey matter on the bookshelf she'd been facing.
BJ nodded, "Alright then." he raised his own weapon and fired as well, taking down both zombies that were eating while his companion took out the last one that was near the stairs leading to the bottom floor.
When everything was clear they went down the steps, guns still in hand just incase any of the bodies moved.
Reaching the bottom, BJ paused. "Wait." he said, causing Claire to stop and look at him questioningly. The soldier looked toward the door that was closest to the stairs, wracking his brain for a moment before he grinned and approached it.
The young Redfield followed after him and was surprised to find them in a small room with marble tiled floors and decorated walls.
But the real eye-catcher was the unicorn statue at the head of the room. It's front hoof resting on a shield similar to the one on the lion statue they encountered in the precinct's main room.
BJ quickly fished out the notebook, finding the page he needed and started dialing in the combination on the statue's base. When the last symbol was in its proper place, a loud click was heard and the center of the shield opened up to reveal another medallion that they needed.
"Two down, one to go." the Marine stated as he removed the key-piece from its housing.
"Almost there." Claire agreed as they left the room and headed toward the library's exit. Using the 'Spade' key they had found to unlock the door and going out onto the balcony level above the atrium's main floor.
Marvin was still in his spot when they went down to his level. The officer looking more pale compared to the last time they had seen him and his bandages were soaked with a lot more blood as well.
"There you two are," he grunted softly, "Heard the gunshots and thought the worst."
"We're fine, Lieutenant. What's going on?" asked BJ.
"Here I'll show you." Marvin hit a few keys on the laptop and brought up a camera feed from outside the station. The footage showing a young man gun down two zombies before making his way inside the courtyard.
"Another survivor?" asked Claire with hope.
The Lieutenant nodded and coughed a bit, "Not for long...if the zombies get to him first. That courtyard can be reached through the second floor on the east side of the station. You need to hurry."
"Got it." said BJ, taking out the new medallion they'd gotten and putting it in one of the two remaining slots on the statue. More of the base shifted, forming more of an opening that would hopefully lead them out of here.
Task done, the Marine nodded to his partner and they set off once again. Hoping to save the other survivor before it was too late.
X
A/N: After a long break, it's good to be back.
Still working on my own modifications to the cannon story for the series, really have to with two protagonists together through this nightmare. But it'll all even out when it's needed most.
But there is still a long way to go before they get anywhere near salvation.
A lot of folks have questioned about BJ being station in Iraq in 1998. I did my research, and even though we weren't technically at war with them at the time, our military still had a presence over there back then. Whether it was for peacekeeping, security or something else entirely I'm not completely sure, but our men and women were over there back in the late 90's and I rolled with it. I apologize for any confusion, definitely wasn't my intention.
Regardless, this story is back on track. So read and review to your content and I'll have an update up hopefully soon!