Jill doesn't understand why she's so nervous. It's Alice... Only Alice her amazing girlfriend. It's not that big of a deal. She's been around to Alice's place a ton of times. They always head back to the blonde's apartment rather than her own. It was easier that way. Not to mention Alice's place was bigger... better... and far more expensive than her little and shitty in comparison apartment.
Her girlfriend who has grown up rich in mansions, ranches and vineyards is coming to her rundown apartment. Fuck why did she agree to this. She should have just said they should hang out at Alice's tonight.
But Alice had noticed that Jill never invited her back to hers and called her out on it. Hence why this is now the first time Alice is coming over to her's. It's not that big of a deal.
No, it is. It is a big deal. It's a stupid thing but it's a big thing. Alice is rich. Like rich rich. And she's not. She's a good couple of zeros off. She likes Alice. Really likes her. But their upbringing is very different and in comparison to her that she feels embarrassed about how she lives.
It's one insecurity she has about her relationship with the Umbrella employee. People like Alice are trained to look out for gold diggers and if she was Alice and saw her girlfriend living like she is she would worry about that. And she hates it. Hates that this is something she has to think about. The two of them live in opposite worlds. Hell, Alice's study is the same size as her whole apartment.
The buzzing of her intercom breaks her train of thought. Alice is here. Fuck.
Gathering her courage Jill buzzes Alice in and goes to open the door to greet her. "Hey."
"Hey yourself," Alice replies giving her a bright smile that lights up her dark green eyes helping to settle some of her nervousness about Alice being here.
Allowing Alice in she watches as the blonde looks around her open spaced apartment. The small hall had three doors. One leading to the bathroom, one to her bedroom and the other to the living room and kitchen. She guides Alice to the latter and watches in anxious anticipation as to what Alice thinks. "I know it's different to what you're used to." She says worried about how quiet Alice is at the moment.
The Umbrella operative looks back at her. "It is..." Alice agrees, and Jill feels her heart sink. But then Alice sends her that goofy lopsided smile of hers. "But I like it. It's very you." Alice says that like it's a compliment. Like it's the highest praise she could offer. "It feels more real and lived in then what I'm used to. It's nice."
Blushing a little Jill smiles down to the ground. "Thank you."
Alice examines her wall of trophies. Mostly shooting but she has some from playing pool as well. "Sharp shooting." She raises an eyebrow towards Jill who just shrugs in reply. "We'll have to have a competition sometime." She challenges with a mischievous smirk.
"You think you could beat me," Jill replies rising to the bait. Leaving the doorway and walking over to Alice. The fear she was feeling about Alice being here disappears as the flirty teasing the two of them door takes over.
"I think I could offer you a good challenge Officer Valentine." Jill shivers at hearing that which only furthers Alice's smirk.
One of the first things the two of them bonded over was guns. She was surprised at how adept Alice was at identifying and categorising different weapons. Most of the people she's met from Umbrella are arrogant jackasses who stick to the stand weapons and boast about their proficiency with the weapon. It's all false bravado from earning so much more then Stars members. But she knew Alice was different. She knew her stuff. And not just on guns. Jill's love for guns is nowhere near the love Alice has for blades.
If it were anyone else the enthusiastic historical knowledge of weapons would have worried her. But on Alice it's cute. She gets very excited when talking about things like that. The same with science. It's not Jill's area of expertise or passion but Alice will ramble on about something she read in a journal and it's endearing to witness.
Especially when Alice realises Jill has no idea what she's on about and gets all shy and apologetic.
Alice then spots the neon Budweiser sign. "Fan of the beer." Jill scoffs not noticing the tiniest sliver of fear in the blonde's voice.
Taking hold of Alice's hand, she drags her a few feet to the couch which the two drop down onto with Jill turning to sit sideways so she can face Alice. "No. Before I worked for the Raccoon City Police Department, I used to hustle at Eammon's bar. He gave that to me when I left to join the force."
Intrigue colours Alice's eyes. "Hustle."
"Pool." She clarifies chuckling a little thinking of where Alice's mind drifted to. "I was the best at pool and word spread so more and more men came to the bar looking to beat the unbeatable dark haired bombshell... None did." She gloats.
Those were the days. Back before she joined the police force that bar was where she made most of her money. Not that her parents knew that. Her father always wanted her to follow in his footsteps and join the army but that wasn't something that appealed to her. STARS was the next best thing and it helped her protect people.
The smile on Alice's face grows at hearing this. "So, I'm dating a former bad girl."
Oh God. Jill can't help but roll her eyes at this. "Shut up."
Alice shakes her head laughing quietly to herself. "I'm so living my teenage dream right now."
"Oh really." Alice just smiles and nods. "And what does your teenage dream include."
"I'll guess you'll have to stick around to find out."
It's an opening. Almost test like from Alice. Determining Jill's commitment to their relationship. It's nice in a strange way to know that Alice is just as nervous about her as she is. "I guess I will."
Jill sees a light blush appear on Alice's face who then tries to move the subject along. "So do you prefer to play snooker or pool."
Not the change in conversation she was expecting but she plays along. "I'm better at pool then snooker."
"Oh, and here I thought you liked a challenge." Alice jest.
Pool is much easier than snooker she will admit to that. In pool there are two sets of balls red and yellow. One person has to put all the red balls while the other has to put all the yellow. The first person to put all the balls wins.
Snooker however is slightly different. Players score one point for potting a red, after which they must nominate a colour for their next shot. The black is worth seven and is the most valuable going down through pink is six, blue is five, brown is four), green is three and yellow is two. The player reverts to a red and alternates red, then colour until all the reds are potted. The remaining six colours are then potted in ascending points order, thus finishing with the black.
So yeah, pool is the more fun version.
Returning Alice's teasing Jill shoots back with, "OK miss ivy league which do you prefer."
Alice brushes her fingers over the trophies. "Honestly, I'm pretty shit at both of them. Doesn't matter which version I'm playing I can never put the ball into the hole." The way Alice innocently laughs with a hint of amusement and annoyance in her tone makes Jill wonder if she realises she is just perfectly set to a dirty joke.
One which she has to fulfil. "So, what' I'm hearing is you have trouble getting it in."
"Really." Alice groans but she can see the flicker of amusement for a second on Alice's face.
Jill raises her hands in a surrounding motion. "Sorry, I couldn't resist."
Alice leans forward and presses a light kiss onto her lips. "You're lucky you're cute."
"Well, if you want... I could always give you some pointers."
Alice turned around at the sound of Terri screaming to see the reporter being pulled down into the freshly dug grave by its occupant. Next to her, Jill springs into action rushing over grabbing the weather woman and pulling her away from the undead's grasp. All around them dead were crawling out of graves and breaking down fences to get in.
Not good. Not good at all. They're surrounded by undead and the screams of Terri and the clasping fence will only draw more.
Moving faster then what should be humanly possible Alice delivers a swift kick to the undead being handsy with Terri to its head effectively snapping its neck and freeing the woman. Peyton calls out there surrounded and Jill partially drags Terri to a nearby tombstone out of danger before turning to face the sudden horde.
Jill moves to grab one and snap its neck. Peyton does so as well but his injury to his leg makes him slower than Jill. Taking everything in and planning her next moves Alice finds the best way out of this situation. Then she moves.
Launching forward she kicks the first undead to make a grab at her with a kick to the jaw. Another reaches out to grab her and she ducks under its arm bringing her knee up to smash it into its chest knocking it forward and she with ease twists it's neck creating a snapping sound. Another undead thinks it's wise to grab at her and this time she pushes its arm forward causing it to fall forward. But before it hits the ground, she rolls over its back allowing her to deliver a powerful kick to the next undead and pulling that infected with her so it lands on the ground next to her. Her feet step on either side of its head before coming together and twisting making another popping sound.
Next to her Peyton and Jill have killed three between them.
She grabbed the nearest infected and snapped its neck with ease, her legs were planting her feet for a spin kick that shattered one of their spines, then moving with the momentum from the spin slammed her hand into the throat of the third. She performs another spin kick catching the side of the fourth undead head and breaking the neck as well. Coming down from the spin kick her other slams into the leg of another infected bringing it to its knees but ramming her knee upwards smashing it into the creature's jaw shattering the jaw and neck of the monster.
In the time it took her to take out five undead Jill had landed a punch to one. And even then, the mass of undead doesn't seem to be dropping. "There's too many. We need to fall back." She calls kicking one of the undead with an inhuman force into a group of four infected crowding around Jill and Peyton. The six infected all fall to the ground which she leaves for Peyton and Jill to deal with as they quickly move to snap their neck. Terri as helpful as she can be is standing off to the side recording everything. "Terri where are there less infected."
"What." The reporter shouts back watching in fear and awe as Alice slams an infected's head through a gravestone busting the stone apart and then picking up the loose bits of rumble and throwing it with an unnatural force into the undead's head causing them to drop to the ground dead. Again.
If she wasn't currently battling an endless horde Alice would have rolled her eyes at the civilian. "Where are the least amount of undead." She asks again more sternly which seems to snap Terri into action as she scans the graveyard. In the heartbeat that passes, Alice twirls through four infected landing precision hits to their throats.
Whatever Umbrella did to her in that lab made it a lot easier to kill these things. She was good at fighting she's always known that. Hell, her nickname was Kickass Alice for a reason. But she shouldn't be able to move like this with such ease and power. It's not human.
She didn't need to think. She just moved. Her instincts took control and the undead dropped down all around her. When she finds the people who did this to her she will have so very chose words and questions for them.
"There." Terri helpfully shouts making Alice pause her movements to see where the reporter is pointing.
Seeing the sparse population Alice looks over to Jill and Peyton who have just finished disposing of those six. "Move now." Terri doesn't need to be told twice and Jill moves to help Peyton as they head in that direction. Sensing something behind her Alice kicks her out backwards and upwards making connect with something solid. The thud behind her doesn't register and she sprints forward and performs three spin kicks one after another to clear the infected from the path before snapping the last infected neck.
The four survivors then make a quick getaway from the graveyards leaving the stumbling masses behind them. Alice stays at the back destroying any infected who try to get close.
During this, she didn't fail to notice the look of shock on Jill's face at her movements. Shock that quickly turned into curiosity.
Once they get further away from the graveyard they stop jogging instead falling back to a steady walk. All around them are vandalised buildings and destroyed cars. Some of which are on fire. It's a shame a car would have been a good way to get around. Not that they have anywhere to go. Whoever this Cain is has sealed the city so getting out will be difficult.
Walking back to catch back up with the group she notices Peyton trying to use his phone. "No signal." He announces after a few different tries glaring down at the mobile. She almost laughed at that.
"Not surprising. Umbrella wouldn't want word of what's happening here to escape. They are probably blocking the signal." She tells him.
Morales holds her camcorder. "Everyone will know what Umbrella has done if I have anything to say about it." There's a determined grit in the woman's words and for a moment Alice is impressed with the woman. She might not be a fighter, but she was smart enough to record everything that was happening. Maybe she should have done that with Lisa.
Maybe then all of this wouldn't be happening.
"Alice," Jill says grabbing her attention as the two of them lead the way with the others hanging back a moment as if sensing they need a moment alone. "What happened. Why did you disappear."
Now that's a loaded question. One she can't fully answer due to not knowing exactly what happened in its full extent. She doesn't know what Jill knew beforehand. If she told her anything. Hell, she doesn't even know how long Umbrella had her captured. She can't remember the day they went down to the Hive so knowing the date wouldn't really help anyways.
"Something happened." Not the best way to start this conversation but honestly, she has no idea how to start this conversation. But Jill's worried gaze compels her to keep going. "The T-Virus was being developed in the Hive. They were kidnapping homeless people and experimenting on them. I tried to stop. I'm not sure what the plan was but from what I can gather me, and Lisa were going to smuggle to T-Virus out and pass it to her brother Matt, who had a connection with an environmentalist group that opposed Umbrella and would expose them. But Spencer found out what we were planning. I don't know how he discovered the plan, but he did." She still can't believe Spencer betrayed her like that.
From what she could gather he was her partner and one of the only people she really trusted. They lived together for months and practically spent every moment of those months together. For him to turn on her... Fucker.
Next to her Jill's eyes scrunch up in confusion as Alice pauses in her story to deal with her very negative emotions on Spencer. "How can you not know the plan," Jill asks bringing Alice back to the conversation.
Right, she needs to explain everything. "After Spencer found out what we were planning he decided to make his own plan. He went down to the Hive and stole the virus for himself. He planned on selling on the black market. Before leaving the Hive, he smashed one of the vials and released the virus into the air. The Red Queen. Our AI in charge of the defences of the Hive saw the exposed Virus and reacted." Alice halts in her steps glaring down at the ground. "She went homicidal."
Alice refuses to meet Jill's questioning gaze. "What do you mean."
"She killed everyone." Alice admits looking back up to Jill pain entrenched on her face." She killed over eight hundred workers. She trapped everyone in their offices, labs or the elevators. For the labs, she activated the sprinklers and drowned all the scientists. In the offices, she locked everyone in and flooded the area with halon gas. She dropped all the elevators and crushed the others."
These people were under her protection. It was her job to stop things like this from happening and she failed.
"Jesus Alice."
"It wasn't just the hive she attacked," Alice states anxiety building in her stomach at admitting the next thing. The two women stop in their steps as Alice explains the next part knowing it will upset Jill. "She also activated the house's defensives I was in the shower when all this happened, and she gassed me with a nerve agent."
Jill's eyes widen in anger upon hearing this. "What the fuck." Comes her angry response.
"Jill." Alice tries to calm her before saying the next bit. "A side effect of whatever I was drugged with was memory loss."
"Memory loss." She repeats horror overtaking the anger and disgust on her face.
Alice nods. "I lost all of my memories. I didn't even know my name for a few hours. Only a few things have come back to me. Mostly of you." She didn't want Jill to think she remembered nothing of them. She does. She seems to know more about Jill then she does about herself.
"Alice." She knows Jill wants to talk about this. It is a pretty big bombshell to drop on someone. But she has a lot to get through before addressing the wider picture.
Starting to walk again she continues with her story. "I woke up with no idea who I was, where I was or what was going on. One minute I'm walking around a mansion the next Matt is there grabbing me and One and his team are flash banging through the window." Not the best start to her day. "He and his team then dragged me and Matt down to the Hive. No one knew why the Red Queen killed everyone and Shade was meant to disable the AI and investigate the Hive. We found Spencer on the train he was also gassed and lost his memory. We all then went into the Hive. And the horrors it was hiding."
She doesn't know who authorised reopening the Hive. She heard it being ordered as she was too busy being drugged and beaten but the stupid order has unleashed everything they were trying to prevent from escaping to escape.
And now Raccoon City is paying the price.
"We went down there, and everything seemed alright to begin with. Apart from the floating bodies in the labs, there wasn't much of a threat." Big mistake. The dangers were just lurking behind the next door. "Shade, Medic, Warner and Vance all went to disable the Red Queen. But she had a last line of defence. A laser room."
"A what," Jill asks mortified and confused.
She gives some quick background. "A long corridor where she controlled a laser. She used it to decapitate Megan." The first member of the team to fall. Her ex who Jill did not like one bit. "Warner was sliced in half. Vance had his hand cut off then his head. Shade…" He was so close to making it. so close. But the Red Queen didn't play fair. "He was sliced into a hundred different pieces. It was horrific to watch." That's an understatement.
Horror beckons onto Jill's face. Not to mention the quest gasps from behind her. "You saw that."
"I saw everything," Alice states before moving the subject on. "Kaplan managed to deactivate the defence and then we shut down the Red Queen."
"Good," Jill says relieved that the monster was defeated. But she second guesses her thought when she sees the look on Alice's face. "Not good."
Alice shakes her head. "When we shut her down. All the doors opened. The doors that were holding back all the infected workers." Realization flitters over Jill's face. "None of us knew what the t-Virus was or its effects. When all eight hundred workers came looking for food they found us. JD was ripped to shreds. Rain and Kaplan were bitten. I turned the Queen back on, and she told us a way out. But she couldn't let us escape after being around the infection. She unleashed the Lickers. Spencer betrayed us when he got his memories back and I was trying to give Rain the cure." She skips over a bit but there's no need to rehash everything that right now.
Jill grabs her arm. "There's a cure." There's a hope in her voice as she watches the dark haired woman glance back towards Peyton limping behind them watching the two of them intently. No doubt they have been listening to everything.
"There was a cure," Alice says hating to be the one to dimmish the hope burning in Jill's eyes. "Spencer locked s in one of the labs and stole both the virus and cure. Only he didn't get far. The Red Queen let the Licker on him. Kaplan got us out of the lab, and we made for the train. Once onboard with the cure and virus, we thought we were safe. Kaplan and Rain got the cure. But we were wrong. That Licker came after us. It killed Kaplan. Infected Matt and tried to eat me. Rain turned during this time and tried to kill Matt, but he shot her, and we managed to kill the licker. We made it out of the hive where Umbrella was waiting. They grabbed us and..."
Echoes of her screaming Matt's name and trying to battle against Umbrella forces flash in her mind.
"Alice." Jill's voice snaps her out of the flashback. "What did they do to you." She asks pushing a strand of loose hair back behind her ear. Alice savours the feel of Jill's hand brushing her face. It might be the last time Jill touches her. Not that she would blame her. What Umbrella did to her turned her into a freak.
"They experimented on us," Alice mutters quietly not really wanting Peyton and Terri to know this,
A dark look overtakes Jill's face at hearing this. "They did what." The barely held back rage in Jill's voice forces her to take a step away from the younger woman.
"Someone was talking about reopening the Hive to find out what happened. if they weren't too busy drugging me and beating the shit out of me I would have told them. Not that they cared." Again, Alice refuses to look at Jill not wanting to see the way she will look at her once everything is out there. "I don't know how long it's been since we last saw each other. I woke up in an Umbrella hospital and managed to escape and found the city like this a few hours ago. But I remembered you... parts of you. I needed to find you. I looked but everything was so messed up."
"Hey," Jill says soothingly. "You found me. I don't know how you found me, but you did." It wasn't luck. She was drawn to her... Or was it the Lickers she was drawn to. Did she sense them and go to kill them or was she pulled towards Jill.
They start walking again by Alice's lead, but she can sense Jill next to her watching her. She has questions. But is letting Alice take her time to explain things. Jill knows better than everyone how her mind works and how she deals with emotions. She needs time to think before talking.
"They did something to me." She tells Jill honestly. She would tell her more if she knew what exactly what they did to her. "I barely feel human anymore." And if to prove her point as soon as she says those words Terri who is trying to pop some more pills trips and the pills are launched from her hand.
Her hand automatically reaches out into the air and grabs the cluster of pills without looking back. Slowly turning around she meets the wide-eyed gaze of Terri and Peyton. She unfolds her hand revealing the caught pills before throwing them off to the side. "I wouldn't be taking these. They're no good for you." She smiled looking directly at Terri whose eyes tracked the discarded pills. "I know a thing about pharmaceuticals.
Looking totally unsure on what to say or do in that moment Terri nods. "Yes… Of course, you're right."
Turning back to her partner Jill looks as disturbed as the other two at Alice's actions. Not really the look you want to be given by the woman you love. Jill blinks as if trying to make sense of something and takes a step forward towards her.
But the ringing of the phone halts whatever Jill was going to say. Alice turns to the phone surprised that someone is able to make a call through the block. It may be a technical error. Either way, it's best to get a move on. "Let's keep moving before the sound attracts anymore."
Not bothering to wait for the others to agree Alice picks up the pace striding forwards. The others seemingly falling into line behind her and Jill taking her place next to her and taking holding of her hand as they walk. Alice smiles to herself at the action glad that her know sound freakiness hasn't sent Jill running in the opposite direction just yet.
As they continue walking every time, they come close to a payphone it starts ringing. Now she isn't an expert on payphones but she's pretty positive that no error can cause that reaction. Jill's own eyes narrow at each phone seemingly in agreement with her. With each ring, her grip on Alice's hand grows tighter. "Call it a hunch but I think someone wants our attention." Jill jokes earning a quiet laugh from Alice.
By the seventh phone, Alice decides to answer. "Hello," Alice asks gingerly as the others gather around her.
"I thought you were never going to pick up." Comes a male voice from the other end of the phone.
"Who is this." She asks wearily.
"I can get you out of the city." The man says which Alice doesn't fully believe. That is until he adds on "All four of you."
Instantly Alice turns around to meet Jill's gaze who lips thin at seeing the worried look on her girlfriend's face. Alice puts her hands on the mouthpiece and said to Jill, "He can see us."
Jill's hand goes to her pistol and begins to draw it then stops herself wincing. The action confuses Alice until she sees Jill looking at her handgun when it hits her. She's out of ammo. Nodding slightly towards Jill Alice passes her one of her pistols and then goes back to the phone call while Jill immediately starts a systematic check of the surrounding area. When nothing stands out to her, she turns back to tell Alice but pauses halfway. With a slight proud smirk, she signals the camera to Alice.
"But first we have to come to an arrangement." Because of course, no one would try to help them from the goodness of their own heart. There always has to be something in it for them. "Are you ready to make a deal." He asks with a smugness as he already knows the answer.
"Do we have a choice." They don't and both of them are well aware of that fact.
A bitter chuckle echoes through the speaker. "Not if you want to live beyond tonight." Well fuck.