Chapter Five
Claire watched the backs of the father and daughter combination that stood in front of her. Belle held her bag in one hand, and her father's hand with her other. It was quite sweet. She smiled. Going completely against her belief, Wesker was somewhat of a decent father. She wondered how Chris would feel, seeing what she could see. A thought struck her, to take a photo of the pair and show Chris the next time she saw him. Her lips twitched. He would have a fit! By doing that, she could quite possibly succeed where Wesker had failed so many times before- she might actually kill Chris! She frowned at herself, at her thoughts.
"Daddy," Belle whined, looking up at the elevator floors changing the further they moved up. "How much longer…"
Wesker's head tilted down as he glanced down at her. "Soon Belle. You just have to wait."
Belle huffed, her head moving as she rolled her eyes. She looked away from her father, and her head moved as she scanned around the elevator. She tapped her foot. Claire watched her with a wry smile. It was such a typical thing for a bored child to do. She had done it, Chris had done it, every child she ever knew had done it; though, she was unsure if Wesker had ever done it. The more Claire thought about it, the easier it was to picture a small Wesker glaring up at someone as he verbally expressed his displeasure at his boredom. She let out a snort that she was quick to turn into a cough.
Belle let out a shriek of laughter and clapped her hands as the elevator came to a halt. Sunlight and a gust of cool air pushed through as the doors opened. Claire caught sight of the building's roof, of the helipad, a helicopter and what appeared to be two figures standing by the vehicle. Belle clutched her bag as she dashed forwards, her laughter loud and full of her excitement. Wesker took a step, turned to her and shifted his shoulder in an indication for Claire to come with him, before walking out to the roof.
"Elle! Al!" Belle called as she dashed towards the two figures.
Claire's face twisted in confusion as she heard the names. The names had to be pseudonyms, there was no way that two people with strikingly similar names would be working under Wesker. As she stepped from the elevator, she took in the sight of 'Elle' and 'Al'. The woman, whom she assumed to be 'Elle' looked every bit what she would expect someone who worked for Wesker to look like. Long blonde hair tied back in a severe plait, a form fitting black pantsuit, and a pair of simple black heels. She even kind of looked like him, their pale complexions similar. She would have easily believed that they were related. The man, 'Al', was much the same in the sense that he wore black biker leathers, but she was unable to see his face due to the pilot's helmet that completely covered his face. Though from what she could see of him, he seemed of a lean build, skinny even.
"Miss Annabelle!" The woman cheered as she ran towards the girl, her arms wide. As the pair collided, they embraced, their arms winding around the other tight. After a brief pause, the woman pulled back and looked down at the girl with a warm smile. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"
Belle nodded enthusiastically. "Are you and Al taking us home?" she asked.
The woman, Elle, quirked her lips. "I don't know." There was a sly tone to her voice. She tilted her head back to the man in leathers. "Al, are we taking them home? I can't quite remember."
The man in leathers, Al, folded his arms across his chest. His hip tilted outwards. He tapped his fingers against his forearm. "Oh, I don't know." A muffled voice hummed. "We might be," a chuckle. "There's a very good chance that we are."
Belle giggled and nudged Elle, before stretching her arm out and pushing against Al. "Stop teasing me you two!"
Claire felt a chill run down her spine as Wesker stepped past her, his forearm brushing against hers as he stepped towards the pair. Claire watched, curious, as the two did not seem to straighten themselves as he approached them. She would have assumed that those working under Wesker would have a strict level of professionalism required of them. She could remember Chris complaining about Wesker picking on him for every little thing, and Jill had alluded to feeling similar, but from what she could see, there was no posture change within the pair. They seemed just as relaxed with Wesker as they were with his child.
"Miss Smith," Wesker nodded to Elle, then turned to man in leathers. "Al."
Elle leaned down and lifted Belle who let out a shriek. She adjusted the girl on her hip, which was something of a sight, given that Elle was of an average height and Belle's head sat just under her breasts. The pair adopted the position with ease, as though they had done it a million times before. Belle's arms wound around the woman's neck and shoulders, and she giggled with a kick of her feet. Elle gave the girl a cuddle, a squeeze, before stepping behind Al. Adjusting Belle again, she held the girl out, who instantly reached for Al's back. Al allowed the girl to be deposited onto his back and grasped her legs as they wound around his waist.
"Yay, piggyback!" Belle laughed. Her laugh turned into a shriek as Al started jogging around the rooftop.
"Boss!" Elle gave a lopsided salute. "I have a few things to report." She folded her arms over her chest and tilted her head. Her tongue poked out of her lips, and she tilted her head thoughtfully.
"Jack called…" Elle shrugged. "Something about finding a lead on his lost girlfriend. Um…" she sucked in a breath as she mused. "Wong called, bitch won't be back for some time, something about her chopper being unable to pick her up." She hummed. "Oh, umm, and, erm, Irving won't be at work for a few days, he's got two very broken hands."
Claire blinked. Her eyes slid to Wesker who had raised a single brow. He was looking at Elle with a bored expression, however there was something on his face. To Claire, it almost felt as though he was staring at her as though she were a child who had been caught doing something silly. Or a dog who had been caught after chewing on a roll of toilet paper and tried to hide it, despite the paper littered across the house.
Elle blanched, her hands rising defensively. "Don't look at me like that!" she all but shouted. She pointed at Al furiously. "It was him, not me!"
Claire tilted her head. It was a strong person who would speak like that to Wesker. She could hardly believe it. She was witnessing it, and she could hardly believe it. What was Wesker like with his staff? That they would be so comfortable with him. She glanced at the man, his expression had not changed much, something in it though, had prompted Elle to clap her hands together and turn to Al who was lowering Belle to the ground.
"Alright, Al," she called out. "Let's get this show on the road, we won't get any work done if you spend all day staring at my butt!" She strolled past him and to the helicopter, patting his back as he let out a sputtering sound.
"W-what?!" Al's voice sounded like a shriek. His body almost seemed as though he was having some sort of fit as he followed behind her. "Why would I want to stare at you?!"
Elle slid the helicopter's door open. Her foot rested on the step as she tilted her head back to look at him. Her lips curled into a cheeky smile; youth written across her face. "Because you love me." She poked her tongue out, then climbed into the passenger seating.
"As if!" Al countered, climbing into the pilot's seat. "Love you? You mean, annoyed by you, right?"
Elle leaned her torso out of the door. "Denile 'aint just a river in Egypt!" she called.
Claire watched as Elle accepted Belle's luggage with a thoughtful frown. There was an odd camaraderie to the way the two interacted. The Wesker that she knew was not the type of person who she would consider inspiring such behaviour. She could remember her brother mentioning the good times that he had had when he was fresh in S.T.A.R.S, but he had never mentioned Wesker in any of that. No, whenever her brother had talked about Wesker, it had always been to complain about him, and his 'stick in his ass'.
"Claire, come on!"
Belle's call snapped Claire from her thoughts. She moved to stand beside Wesker, who tilted his head to her. "You have… interesting people working for you." She said.
His lips curled into a small smirk, almost a smile. "So it would seem."
He held a hand out to her, causing her to blink. She paused wondering what he could be prompting her to do, when he gestured to her luggage with his hand, she sucked in a breath with realization. Eyeing him carefully, she leaned down and grasped the handle of her luggage. Pushing the button she pushed the handle back into the bag. She then lifted the bag and held it out to him. Her frown deepened as he accepted the bag from her. She watched, as he carried her luggage to Elle, whom he held it out to. The woman accepted the bags and moved to put them away.
Wesker turned to her, his lips curled into a cheeky smile. He grasped the doorframe of the helicopter with one hand, and the other held out to her. She eyed the hand, then her eyes slid back to his face. She couldn't see his eyes, only her reflection in his glasses. She could, however, see his smile. Her eyes locked onto the little curl in the corner of his lips. She could hear a tiny voice in the back of her mind. The voice told, no, yelled at her to turn and run. To flee and go back home, to do what Chris wanted her to. There was another voice though. A silent voice that urged her to take the offered hand. She found herself following that voice, against better judgement, she reached out and accepted the offered hand.
Something in his face spasmed, and she wondered if he was as surprised as she was with her actions. He gripped her hand in a firm grip and supported her as she climbed into the vehicle. As she climbed in, her shoulder brushed his chest. She inhaled his cologne as she moved past him. She felt a tinge of annoyance, the man had no business smelling as good as he did. He released her hand once she was inside and as she climbed into her seat she resisted the urge to let out a hysterical laugh. There was she was, climbing into a helicopter, to go with Wesker, to his house of all things. It was completely insane!
"I'm Elle," Claire looked up to the cockpit, to Elle who had twisted her neck to look back at her. "and you are?"
"Claire." Claire replied as she secured her seatbelt.
"Nice to meet you, Claire." Elle winked and turned back to the console.
X
Claire twisted her neck to look down at the landscape as they flew above. They had long since flown past the city and were currently flying above empty grasslands, and countryside. She had no idea how long they had been flying for, but it was interesting to see the contrast from the city to the almost empty country. It was beautiful, even if she had no idea where they were going. She inwardly cringed. She needed to think of something other than the fact that she had no idea where Wesker was taking her.
She turned her gaze to the girl seated beside her. For a child who was stuck in a vehicle with nothing to engage her, she was doing quite well. Claire could remember when she was little, how much she would complain about having to ride. Instead of that, Belle was quietly colouring in a small book that Wesker kept in the helicopter for her. Claire would never admit aloud that she had nearly verbally gushed at how adorable she thought it to be. She doubted that Wesker would appreciate the sentiment as well. Her eyes slid to the man, who was seated on the other side of Belle, the girl having sat between them. He seemed completely focused on whatever was on his laptop. She would be lying if she said that she wasn't tempted to look at the screen, but she also valued her life and her mental sanctuary.
"You know what I find strange, every single time we make this flight?" Elle called out loudly, so that everyone present could hear.
"All of the pigeon farms on the roofs?" Al replied.
Elle let out a gagging sound. Her face spasmed. "Yes, that's both surprising, and gross." She shook her head. "What I was going to say, was all the damned pools on the roof." She shook her head. "Like, seriously, I'd love to know how many people slip off their roofs while running around their pools."
"Ouch." Belle frowned thoughtfully. "They'd go splat like a pancake." She let out a giggle that sounded completely evil coming from a child.
"Have you not heard of railing?" Al quipped, humour lacing his voice.
Claire frowned. There was something about Al that was itching at the back of her mind. His voice. She couldn't place where, but it felt as though she had met him before. It was strange, there was a warning in the back of her mind, something told her to get away from him. However, she had no idea why, to the best of her knowledge she had never met any of the people who worked under Wesker. Shaking her thoughts away, she glanced back at Wesker who was still typing away on his laptop. She wondered if he planned to do that for the entire time that he was with his daughter. It wasn't fair on the girl, who probably just wanted to spend her time with her father.
"Miss Smith." Wesker prompted, not looking up from the screen.
The woman in question twisted in her seat, her arm clutched on the back of the chair as she turned to face him. She licked her lips in thought. "Irving needs a few days while his hands repair, oh, and part of his arm. Shattered bones and torn ligaments are a bitch to heal." She giggled.
A delicate brow rose. "Oh?" Wesker's voice sounded oddly amused.
Elle nodded. "Yeah," she pointed to Al. "He did it, not me. I was chatting to Irving when the creep felt the need to grope my bum," she nodded to Al with a chuckle. "Next thing I know, this guy was on him like stink on a warthog." She rolled her eyes. "We're lucky Al didn't off him."
"The man showed no decorum." Al grumbled, his fists tightening around controls.
"Although…" Elle licked her lips. She glanced at Al through the corner of her eyes. "I guess we should be grateful that you didn't have your gun-" she threw her head back with a bark of laughter. "-you probably would have hit me!"
Al's head snapped to the woman sitting beside him. "I am more than capable of hitting my targets."
A giggle, and a dismissive hand wave. "Yeah right, I've never seen someone as qualified as you are miss so many times."
As the pair erupted into small bickering and childish name calling, Claire watched with wide eyes. What kind of people did Wesker have working for him? Their behaviour seemed completely inappropriate and disrespectful. However, when she spared the man a glance, Wesker seemed somewhat amused by it! At least, the small smirk touching the corner of his lips would attest to the fact. Her eyes landed onto his hands, to the fingers typing away, then to the girl beside him, then back to him.
"I thought you were on vacation?" she asked, brow quirking. She folded her arms across her chest and turned, her side resting on the chair.
The typing stopped. Wesker turned from the screen and to Claire. His brow rose above his glasses. He nodded his head to the girl beside him. Claire glanced down. Somehow, in the small amount of time that she had not been looking at her, Belle had put her book away and had curled herself against her father to go to sleep. The girl's arms wound around her father's waist and her head rested in the crook of his elbow. She felt herself melt at the sight. She was adorable!
She bit her lip sheepishly. "Oh. Well.. you should have waited until she was asleep until you started, spending time with your child is important!" she crossed her arms with a huff. "Besides, aren't you worried that I might read something? Something I'm not supposed to?"
"Miss Redfield." Amusement dripped from his voice. "Might I remind you, that, at any given moment, I can simply throw you out of the helicopter and go on my merry way?"
There was no malice in his voice. Amusement, yes. Malice, no. He was simply stating a fact. A fact that both of them knew. Claire felt a twinge of guild and worry, teasing the person who could literally dump her body one thousand miles above ground was possibly not a good idea. However, a wave of irritation took over, pushing the worry away.
She smiled thinly. "If you did, Chris would hunt you down."
He let out a sound that sounded suspiciously like a snort. "Miss Redfield, your dear brother already hunts me." He snapped his laptop shut. His hands folded atop it and his expression turned expectant, as though he was waiting for the next stage of their verbal debate.
"You really want to add to his list of reasons to kill you?" Somehow, Claire's words seemed as though they were teasing Chris more than Wesker. That had not been her intention, but she had said it. she bit her lip as she tried to think of ways that she could fix what she had said, or rather how she had said it.
"You're that Chris Redfield's sister?!" Elle blanched, twisting in her seat to look at them. She glanced at Claire, then turned her attention to Wesker. Her brow rose and her face twisted, her expression clearly verbalizing the words that she didn't say. Her face screamed; 'what the hell is she doing here?'.
Wesker smiled benevolently. "Is there a problem, Miss Smith?"
Elle's eyes widened and briefly and her face shifted. She licked her lips and let out a sheepish giggle. "No problems," she stretched her arm out, her hand held out to Claire. "Sorry if I made you uncomfortable."
Claire stared at the offered hand. Hanging in the air waiting for her to grasp it. It was strange, what was happening was strange. She briefly wondered what Chris would do in the situation, and could easily picture him slapping the hand away. She couldn't find herself wanting to do that, however. A person working for Wesker, or not, it just felt rude. She reached out and accepted the offered hand. A small, almost shy smile flashed on Elle's lips. It was gone as quick as it had arrived, but Claire had caught it, and something in her chest warmed at it. A nagging whispered in the back of her mind, something about the smile was familiar, but she was unable to place where. Ignoring the strange feeling of DeJa'Vu, she pulled her hand back.
"You didn't make me uncomfortable. Apology accepted." She smiled at the way Elle's face lit up.
Elle leaned back into her chair with a grin. Her head snapped to Al, her lips tightened and she rolled her eyes. She folded her arms over her chest and shook her head with a tut. "Don't give me that look," she turned away from him. "overgrown monkey."
"M-monkey!?" Al's voice hit an octave that was so high pitched, that Claire was surprised it wasn't muffled by his helmet. "How dare you! I have a name, it's-"
"It's Al," Elle waved her hand dismissively. "We've all heard it, 'I'm Al, I work for Wesker! Fear me!' " putting on a deep voice, she impersonated him. She rolled her eyes as he huffed.
The helmet moved from side to side as Al shook his head. Silence took the helicopter, a silence that was comfortable for everyone but Claire. Claire stared wide-eyed at the back of Al's helmet. Something about what he had said, or how he had said it was sending warning signals off in her head. She had heard that before, she had heard that voice before, that pitch, that shriek… the voice in the back of her mind, the one that had been begging her to flee, reared its head again. For the first time, however, she felt an inclination to follow the voice, even though she could not pin why.
She looked to Wesker, to try and distract herself. Her heart pulsed and she felt herself melt. The sight before her was certainly a distraction. A pleasant one. Belle was scrunching her face in her sleep as stray hair brushed over her nose, and Wesker brushed the stray hair with his hand. The hair flopped back onto her face as he removed his hand. Claire watched Wesker's lips twitched, and he brushed the hair back again, this time his fingers ran through the sleeping girl's hair. When the hair returned to her face after he removed his hand, he brushed the hair back again, this time he kept his hand rested against her head. The hair stayed in place.
"She's really tired, isn't she?" Claire asked. She grinned as the girl snuggled closer to her father, her arm tightening around his waist.
"She's only doing it to hasten the trip home." he answered.
Claire nodded. It made sense. She had never been able to do it when she was a child, so she was a little envious of the girl. As she thought of their trip, and Wesker's home, she tried to picture what his home looked like. She could easily picture him living in a stark white factory, or some sort of laboratory. Though that did not seem like something that was appropriate for a child, so he surely had a home to take the girl to? Belle had said that they had a dog as well, so surely their home was a house. She remembered what Belle had called the dog, 'Licker', she doubted that Wesker would make a pet out of one of those creatures. She doubted that the creature could be tamed, but there was a chance, however slim.
"Wesker…" she said slowly. "Your dog, it's not really a licker, is it?"
A quirk of his brow. "Miss Redfield, what do you think?"
X
"Ugh! This is soooo boring!" Elle groaned. She slid down her chair, her legs lifting as she did so. She rested her feet on the dash above the console, her feet dangerously close to pressing one of the many buttons.
"How much longer?" she whined.
"You sound like a toddler." Al replied.
Al tilted his head to her. With his right hand, he reached out and swatted her feet. In response Elle kicked the appendages at his hands. He grabbed her ankle and tugged it downwards, causing her to shift uncomfortably in the seat. Her free foot slipped and kicked at one of the buttons. Al released her leg and reached for the other, Elle struggled, which caused Al to shift further towards her. The helicopter swayed and jumped from their movements.
"Focus on flying." Wesker said coldly.
The two snapped apart instantly, and moved to their original positions. Al grasped the helm, almost sheepishly, and muttered an apology that could barely be heard through his helmet. Elle pulled her legs away from the console and crossed them. Her arms folded over her chest and she stared out at the sky with a look of petulance. Belle shifted in her sleep, grumbling from the jolting. Claire stared at the pair, then at Belle who had barely moved, then at Wesker who seemed completely undisturbed- was this a regular occurrence?
"We should be there soon." Al said.
Elle huffed and rolled her eyes. "Right, last time you said that we were late by seventeen hours."
Claire's eyes widened. Seventeen hours? There was no way that they were going to be flying for that long? Was there? She glanced out of the window. They were passing over what appeared to be a country town. Surely it wasn't that far? She could see what appeared to be shops, and a school, and other small buildings that would indicate a small country town. It reminded her of something from a Stephen King novel, a small town in Maine. The woods surrounding the town certainly added to the Stephen King feel. How much longer did they have? She glanced at the others, could she handle being trapped in the helicopter with them for another seventeen hours?
"We will be arriving within the hour." Wesker answered her silent question.
Claire felt herself breathing a sigh of relief that she didn't know she had been holding.
X
"Ah!" Elle cried, drawing the attention of the others. "We're here!" she pressed her finger against the window as she pointed. "I am so excited to stretch my legs and back."
At Elle's words, Claire leaned in her chair so that she could get a clearer view through the window. When she had earlier envisioned Wesker's home, she had pictured something not dissimilar to a factory, or some sort of laboratory. What his house actually seemed to be was a modern cottage. It was surprising. The home seemed far too homey for someone like Wesker. She eyed the forest of pine trees surrounding the house and a sense of nostalgia hit her. She could only imagine how amazing the place would look when covered with snow. She had only seen the outside, but she was already enamored with the home. She did note, however, how separated from the town the home was, which she could understand, the last thing Wesker probably wanted was attention to his home.
As the helicopter continued it's decent, Claire was able to get a closer look at the home. The white outer walls with stone base added to the old cottage charm that the home was exuding. The home reminded her of cottages from old movies, and Claire was desperate to see the place in the snow. She could only imagine the sense of peace and serenity that would come with the sight of a crisp snowy morning. Her eyes narrowed, was that a garden? Wesker was growing plants? Try as she might, she could not picture Wesker wearing gardening gloves, bent over a vegetable patch and tending a garden.
"This looks nice." Clare breathed. Her eyes roamed over the forest surrounding the home.
"It serves its purpose." Wesker replied.
Claire's knee jerk reaction was to snap at him. 'Serves it's purpose?' it was their family home? It was a place where he was able to spend time with his daughter, a place where they could build memories together. It was their home! She could remember Belle talking about her Aunt's home, and the way that the girl had spoken about her everyday home, compared to her real home, was vastly different. The girl was so excited about going home, about spending time with her father. Their house was more than a place that 'served a purpose', it was a home. It was where a little girl's heart laid. Her thoughts must have shown on her face, and she felt her lips tighten as he chuckled. His head tilted in an almost teasing way.
"You misunderstand, Miss Redfield." His voice was almost a song.
"Oh?" she snapped. "and how do I, 'misunderstand' you?" she could hear her brother's smug voice slipping through her words. 'The Redfield smug' as it had once been dubbed by a family friend.
His lips twitched, and Claire had a sudden sense of how lucky she was that he had not struck her for sassing him. She could remember the Wesker on Rockfort, and the Wesker that Chris had talked about, the Wesker that did not like being sassed at. Yet there he was, sitting across from her, and, if she did no know better, she would feel as though he was enjoying having a verbal debate with her. what surprised her even more, was that she felt herself enjoying it as well.
She watched as he tilted his head, indicating to the girl at his side who was beginning to stir. She frowned, unsure what he was hinting at. Her eyes glanced to him, the house, then back at the girl. Her eyes widened as she realised what he was trying to tell her. The house served a purpose. The houses job was to be a place for them. A place where he was able to spend time with his daughter. She felt herself deflate, and caught the way his smile turned into an understanding smirk.
"Sorry." She mumbled.
"Mmm…" Belle mumbled as she rubbed her face into Wesker's side. She lifted her head and looked around. She rubbed at her eyes before stretching. "Are we nearly there?" she groaned.
"We're here." Wesker gestured with his shoulder to the window.
Belle blinked and inched forward, her eyes widening as she caught sight of the house. She let out a squeal and clapped her hands. Letting out squeals that said more than words ever could, the girl pointed at the window, her body bounced with full-bodied excitement. She turned her Claire, her hand waving at the window, gesturing to the house.
"Claire, Claire! It's my house!" the girl almost hit her father's face in her wild waving. "You'll get to meet Licker!"
"It's exciting." Claire smiled. Her eyes did not meet her lips. She was not sure if she was at all excited to meet Licker.
"Hold onto your butts!" Elle called over her shoulder. When the helicopter jumped, she hissed. "I hate when it does that." She muttered under her breath.
X
"We're home!" Belle shrieked as she leaped from the helicopter.
Wesker climbed out of the helicopter behind her. Claire scooted across the chairs towards the door, watching Wesker as he stepped away from the door and out onto the grassy field. His shoulders rolled as he stretched out muscles that had been stuck in the one position for far too long. He tilted his head back and inhaled, his chest rising from the deepness of his breath. He looked oddly at peace. Claire observed them for a pause, before grunting as she pulled herself from the seat. Grasping the doorframe, she leaned out, her eyes landing on Elle who was walking up to Belle.
"You seem happy!" she giggled before cracking her back.
Belle nodded excitedly. "I am!" she ran to a growing patch of dandelions. "Claire! Come pick flowers with me!"
Claire nodded and opened her mouth to reply to the girl's invitation. The words on her tongue transformed into something of a shrill shriek as she slipped over lip on the step of doorway. Her body fell forwards, and her arms waved wildly as her body attempted to keep her balance. Her eyes snapped shut instinctively.
Instead of faceplanting in the dirt, she felt a pair of strong arms wind around her front and back, catching her. She opened her eyes and looked at the chest connected to the arms. Her eyes slowly slid up to the head, and face, of her saviour. Wesker. Shock took her face and she found herself unable to frown. Wesker had helped her? She would have thought that he would have taken joy from her falling on her face. He was the last person she would associate with someone who would save her.
As she looked up at his face, she noticed a few things. One; that up close, his eyes were visible through his glasses. Two; that he smelled amazing. She had noticed this earlier, but now that she was touching him, her chest practically against his, she noticed even more. Three; he had yet to let her go. His hands held her strong. Not rough, but firm. Were it anyone else, his grip on her would be comforting. She touched his arm and felt the muscles twitch beneath her touch. His lips twitched in an expression that she could not name.
"T-thanks." She licked her lips. She felt him follow the action with his eyes and was not sure how to process the fact.
He released her and she found herself instantly missing his warmth as he stepped away from her. He tilted his head, and she could see his eyes scanning her up and down, as though he was searching for something. She was unsure as to what though. Was he looking for her brain? She wondered. It was entirely possible, considering that she had just tripped out of his helicopter when his small child had not.
He inclined his head, his lips twitching. "Perhaps, Miss Redfield, you should pay attention to where you walk, should you be so inclined." His brow quirked. "Though I do appreciate that the sight before you is spectacular, perhaps even breathtakingly so."
A voice inside her suggested that he was flirting with her. She ignored the voice and its insane notions, in favour of her rational side that rose defensively at his teasing her. She did something that she had not done since interacting with him the first time, she thought on how to respond. She could get defensive, which would possibly end with awkwardness that would last for her entire visit. Or, she could return his sass. He had seemed to respond well to her sass in their previous interactions. She ignored another voice in her mind that asked why she was bothering to care about how to talk to Wesker of all people.
"Since when do you care about someone's safety?" she asked, sass tinting her voice. Her arms folded over her chest and her hip dipped to the side. Her lips curled into a smirk. "Perhaps you're getting soft in your old age, Wesker?"
Wesker's lips twitched. His arms folded over his chest and he almost mirrored her body language as he looked down at her. He opened his mouth to say something, only to snap it shut. He turned his head and looked down, to Belle who was standing by them, looking up at them with interested eyes. he turned his head back to Claire. His brow quirked.
"Perhaps, Miss Redfield, we should continue this later?" he said before turning and walking towards their luggage that Elle had set on the grass by the path that led to the cottage's front door.
"Hey Boss!" Elle called from her spot beside the nose of the helicopter. "You need us for anything else?" she nodded her head to Al, who had not moved from his chair since they had landed.
Wesker lifted his and Belle's bags before turning his torso back to them. "You are required in two days to collect Miss Redfield and get her home safely."
Belle's gaze snapped to her father. "What…?" she breathed.
Elle pressed her hand against her forehead in a lopsided salute. "Sir!"
With a wave to Bell, and a nod to Claire, she pushed herself away from the nose so that she could walk around to climb into the helicopter. Grasping the sides, she raised her foot to the floor. She paused, as though thinking of something, and tilted her head back. She called out Wesker's name. Wesker, who had been walking and had made it most of the way to the door, paused.
"Enjoy yourself!" Elle waved Claire away from the helicopter and climbed in. "You might want to move a little more away!" she called out to Claire and Belle before sliding the door shut.
Claire did not need to be told twice. Placing a hand on Belle's back, she guided the girl towards Wesker. Grasping her own luggage along the way, they hurried to Wesker and turned to watch the blades catch speed. As the helicopter began to lift, Belle raised her hand and waved. She yelled a goodbye that could barely be heard over the sound of the blades. From inside the helicopter, Elle climbed over Al's legs and grinned down at them through the window. She waved back as they flew away.
X
The first thing that Claire noticed as Wesker let her into his home, was how modern it was. From the outside, the house looked like an old cottage. It gave the impression of a home that would have old floral sofas, cobblestone floors, old paintings on the walls, and a roaring fireplace. An old woman's home. Instead, everything was fresh and modern. Wooden floors that were polished and well cleaned. Instead of floral furniture, black leather sofas filled the main living room. Strange, colourful, abstract artworks took residence on the otherwise bare white walls. She had, at least, been right about the fireplace though.
Another thing that she noticed, was how clean the home was. For a house that was only sporadically used, it made sense for it to be clean, but not as clean as it was. There was no sign of previous use, no dust or cobwebs that would indicate a period of time without residents. Claire wondered if they had a housekeeper, or perhaps a cleaner, to achieve the level of cleanliness that the house seemed to boast.
"How do you keep it so clean in here?" Claire asked aloud, her question aimed at either of them.
It was hard to believe that a child lived in the house, there was no indication that anyone lived there! The house was like a display home! She ran her fingers along the leather of the sofa, her eyes drawn to the large television that rested across from the fireplace. She could imagine being wrapped up in a blanket, cozy by the fire, while watching a movie. She wondered if Wesker and Belle did that during the winter months- if she had the setup that they had, she would be doing that every night. Her question, that had seemingly been ignored, was answered as Belle ran to the next room.
"Miss Annabelle!" A thickly accented voice cried.
"Rosa!" called out.
Claire turned to Wesker, who was rifling through what looked like a pile of letters. Mail? "Who is Rosa?"
Wesker did not offer a reply. He shrugged slightly and scrunched the letters into a ball. He threw that offending papers into the fireplace, for use as future kindling. He then turned and left the living room, in favour of following Belle. Claire eyed the letters, tempted to read them, but decided against it in favour of following after the other two. As she pushed the door open, revealing a modern stone kitchen. She was unable to appreciate the kitchen as her attention was drawn to the sight of an older woman with greying curls, cuddling Belle who had her arms wrapped around the older woman's wide hips.
"It has been far too long, Miss Annabelle, how are you?" The woman, Rosa, asked. Her round face bright with her large smile.
"It's good to see you!" Belle squeezed the older woman again, before pulling back. "How is Licker?"
Rosa rolled her eyes. She pulled away from the girl and gestured towards the door where they had just come from. "He is somewhere that way, I haven't seen him since his feeding time."
"Miss Rosa." Wesker greeted as Belle dashed past him and out of the room.
At her employer's voice, Rosa's back straightened. Claire watched as she held her hands behind her back respectfully and eyed him with the respect that a soldier would have for their superior officer. It was an interesting contrast to Elle and Al, Claire noticed. She wondered why. Was it something to do with her age and her level of respect for Wesker? Or was it simply because he was her employer. Claire wondered why one of his employee's held such respect for him, whereas the other two had treated him like friends, or even family. It was odd.
"Mister Wesker," Rosa answered his greeting. "I trust that you had a good flight."
"Well enough." Wesker replied, before turning to Claire. "This is Claire, she will be with us for a few days."
Claire blinked as Wesker grasped her shoulder and guided her to stand before the older woman. What was he doing? She cleared her throat awkwardly and raised her hand. "Hello." She said simply.
Rosa offered her hand to shake, her grip was firm when Claire accepted the offered hand. "I am Rosa, I caretake when Mister Wesker and Miss Belle are not here, it is nice to meet you, Miss Claire."
"Just Claire is fine." Claire hastily said as she released the handshake. She did not enjoy being called 'Miss' or 'Ma'am', though strangely, she did not mind when Wesker used the titles. It had been strange hearing him refer to her as simply 'Claire'.
"Well then Claire, Mister Wesker.." Rosa trailed off. She reached for her apron and wiped her hands against the fabric. "If you'll excuse me, I'll be off." She turned her attention to Wesker. "I'll come back in a week to clean."
Wesker nodded but said nothing. Claire watched the older woman's retreating back as she fled the room. It would have been nice for her to stay, it would have been nice to have someone to talk to about Wesker and Belle. To learn some semblance of truth, to make some sense of his behaviour and to learn what the man was like when he wasn't around her. She was snapped from her thoughts at the sound of a shriek. Panic washed over her before disappearing as the sound was accompanied by laughter.
"Claire! Claire, come meet Licker!" Belle's voice called from the next room.
Wesker let out a chuckle from beside her that send a shiver down her spine. Logically, Claire knew, she knew that there was no chance that Wesker housed an actual licker in his home, let alone letting it play with his daughter. However, there was always that chance, however small, that she was going to open the door, and a monster would lunge out at her and eat her. Shooting Wesker a sideways glare, she stepped towards the door.
"Coming!" she called out as she pushed the door open.
"Licker! Licker stop~" Belle cried out in laughter.
Claire's eyes landed on a large red animal, and she had a brief moment of panic, before her rational mind caught up with her. She frowned and tilted her head to the side. "Is that an Irish Setter?"
"Naturally, Miss Redfield." Wesker said from behind her. His voice sounded oddly delighted. "Whatever did you think him to be?"
Claire crossed her arms, her shoulders slumping as the tension left them. "You know damn well what I thought he was." She hissed under her breath. She seethed as the delight in his voice showed on his face.
"Oh, I'm sure I do." he replied simply.
"Do you like Licker?" Belle called out.
Claire tore her gaze from the man beside her and turned her attention to the girl on the floor. The dog was large, as the rest of their breed was, but its size meant nothing. Claire could see the adoration in the creatures eyes as it stared at the girl. The dog, simply put, was filled with nothing but love for the girl. While he had an unfortunate name, Claire could not hold that against the dog, especially a dog with as much love as he had. She smiled at the girl looking up at her expectantly.
"I think Ido like him, Belle."
The girl let out a cheer that turned into a shriek as the dog resumed its licking attack on her face. Claire watched the scene with a smile. If it remained like this, it was definitely going to be an interesting few days. She wondered what other surprises remained, perhaps she would get to see Wesker sing his daughter a bedtime song? She giggled at the thought. Beside her, Wesker glanced at her with a raised brow, which did not help her, or the images in her mind. She cackled.
