Loose Ends

Chris was dozing uneasily in the chair near Jill, who was dozing in a drug -induced sleep, trying to detox from the P30. The ex-S.T.A.R.S. moaned as she woke, her mind remembering something. It had been three days since the incident in Africa.

“Sherry. Crap!” She sat up and instantly the room spun, and Chris, startled, fell out of his chair.

“Ow…” He looked up at her. “Jill, you okay?”

She shook her head. Pulling against the headboard she wrapped her arms around her knees. “Sherry… I saw Sherry Birkin when I, was being held by Wesker, Chris, he was testing on her. I think he might have done more to her. The kid… she was so small, and more quiet than usual.” Jill wasn’t sure how to tell him how they had communicated, she wasn’t sure how to explain it really.

The older partner was pulling himself up off the floor while listening to her talk. “Can’t be. Sherry was put into government custody. Leon did it to keep her safe.” He shook his head. The thought of Wesker taking care of a kid scared him, more so when he saw the look on her face.

“I don’t know how it happened, but he had her. Chris, I promised I’d get her out of there. I need to get out of here to look for her.” She would have tried to get up again if Chris hadn’t pressed her to the bed with one hand. “I’ll call Leon, we’ll look, you need to rest Jill, you’re not going to do anyone any good if you keep getting dizzy.” He was worried about her, since she seemed to think she was fine, even though her body was still craving the drug that had kept her under Wesker’s control. He wasn’t sure if what she said was true. It could be still be the drugs in her system.

“Chris, please… The pain in her eyes… I keep seeing it when I close my eyes. I want to stop it. We… We really gave Leon no other option other than to give her over. We have to rescue her.”

Chris nodded to her, brushing the hair from her face. “We’ll find her Jill, don’t worry. Now that it’s over, she won’t have to hide anymore.”

If she’s right about Sherry… we have to find her before another B.S.A.A. team does. If Wesker experimented on the kid, means she’ll be another B.O.W. They’ll kill her. Worry must have crossed his face because Jill bit her lip.

“She’s not like the other B.O.W. If anything she’s in more control over her infection than Wesker was. I don’t think they were trying to cure it either, they may have been trying to infect her with multiple strains like…”

Chris nodded, as there was a knock on the door. Sheva smiled faintly. “This just came for Jill, we couldn’t figure it out at HQ, we’re hoping she’ll know what it means.” She handed the letter to Jill.

Sherry stirred slowly waking; the room around her wasn’t the cells. Instead it was a bedroom, richly decorated. A man sat in a chair by the door, sound asleep, but unarmed, she noted the Red Cross on his jacket and the bag next to him.

Medic… Like Becky was. she thought carefully sitting up. The man stirred hearing the movement and looked over seeing she was awake.

“M…Miss Birkin, shit, huh…” The man stammered, he was small, another reminder of Rebecca Chambers, with reddish hair that fell into brown eyes. “I’m sorry about the accommodations, we thought that the barracks would be finished, but they weren’t, and the cold was starting to freeze the pod, I thought it best to bring you into the main offices. Do you remember anything that happened before waking up here?” He looked genuinely concerned.

She shook her head, still not sure if she should talk. He stepped closer to her, holding his hands out to show he was unarmed.

“I’m Devaun, Trent trusted me and the rest of my team to keep you safe after we heard that Wesker was destroyed.” He took a seat in a closer chair, seeing she was calm at least. “We’d get out of here, but he wanted to make sure you were healthy first. So, hope you don’t mind us hiding here a while longer. Don’t worry you won’t be experimented on, just observed and someone will be with you at all times.”

She thought about it a moment, she knew of Trent. He had met her once before, at a company Christmas party. Wesker and her Father hadn’t trusted him, nor had her mother, but she had spent half the night talking to him about little kid things, mostly puzzles, which he had seemed to enjoy.

“He… told me about the puzzle in the police station, with the statues.” Her voice was quiet, almost a whisper do to not being used in so long. Devaun looked at her almost startled by her words. In three years no one had heard her speak and it was rumored that Wesker had done something to prevent it from happening.

“Don’t strain yourself to be heard okay? Not that I minded it.” He smiled at her.

Nodding she pulled the blanket that he had put over her around her shoulders. “Where others?” She grimaced at the way her voice sounded.

“They’re nearby, they should be checking in soon, we expected you to sleep a while longer. We’re still making sure the complex is safe. You were supposed to stay in the pod another three days, to give us time to look.”

“Trent wanted to make sure I didn’t see anything else bad didn’t he?” She kept her voice low. Devaun nodded.

“You’ve already seen hell, he was hoping that we could ease you out of it. Don’t worry, others will be coming, he’s a little slow to contact them, only because they’re so spread out. When, when he does, you’ll be going home. A real home, no more cages. Wesker’s gone, you’ll be free.” He reached out taking her hand gently. “Just wait a little longer okay?”

She pulled back from him but nodded. “Sorry, I... I don’t like being touched, even though you’re not threatening. I… It will take me time to get used to it. No one’s… shown kindness…” She could feel her eyes starting to water.

Devaun nodded to her. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you.” He reached up gently brushing the tears away. “It’s okay to cry, all of this must be overwhelming, if you want, I can leave, give you time alone.”

She reached out grabbing his hand, the grip tight, but gentle, sad blue eyes looked up at him.

“Please, don’t leave me alone.”

“Are you sure this is where the note told us to meet up? Maybe you read the map wrong, wouldn’t be the first time Oliviera,” The gruff voice belonged to the man with salt and pepper hair beside him. Carlos mumbled something in Spanish then slammed on the breaks as the rented jeep came into the clearing. Two other cars were already there.

Leon Kennedy drew his side arm when the lights lit up the clearing.

“Kennedy don’t shoot it’s me.” Carlos already had his hands off the steering wheel.

Billy Coen, riding shotgun, had noticed the woman standing near the agent.

“C-coen…” She bit her lip.

“Chambers you know him?”

“Yeah guess we know what Trent meant by old faces would be showing up.” She reached out, her hand on Leon’s gun. “Hey Carlos, we were wondering when you’d show up again.”

“Well someone had to hunt down your Unicorn Chambers.” He jumped out of the jeep walking up to the others giving the woman a hung.

Billy stepped out of the car wishing he were wearing something less tacky than the jeans and Hawaiian shirt he had. Before he could make it halfway to them he found himself tackled by the lithe waif of a woman that Dr. Chambers had become.

“I was worried you died in Raccoon.” The tear choked voice made him wrap his arms around her.

“C’mon on Doll face, you gave me a head start remember?” He smiled brushing the hair from her face. “Missed you cop girl.”

She didn’t say anything, just hid her face in his shoulder. Billy rubbed her back lightly letting her use his shoulder to cry on.

“Good the three of you made it.” The white tailored suit and fedora looked out of place as the speaker came out of the shadows. “I’ll let you know this, the child’s safe, my men are watching her right now, I need to know that she will be safe from you.”

A woman was walking with him, her hair pulled into a ponytail. She saw the others and caught up with them giving Leon a pissed look.

“Hey, I was told she was safe all along. Not like they’d let me have visits with her.” He was still feeling like shit over it.

“Miss Redfield, please, if you go in with that mind set, you’ll scare her. Young Miss Birkin has been through a hell worse than any of us. She’s not one of the founding children of Umbrella, only none of them exist anymore, the highest-ranking official is I. Only other person tied to the company by blood’s Birkin.” He sighed. “I wish to rebuild the company back into what it started out as. It will have another name, to cut ties with the weapon research that was done. Sherry will be a partner in name only, that way I can take care of her. We all failed keeping her safe. No more games.” He didn’t even flinch when four of the guns aimed at him.

“No,” Claire moved between Trent and the others. “He’s serious about what he’s saying. Leon, why else you think he would have gathered us? With the exception of my brother and Jill, we have as much reason to say no to this, but please, hear him out. He’s helped all of us before.”

“Doesn’t mean he wasn’t working for his own good. We get Sherry back and there’s no way I’m letting anyone whose hands are stained by that company near her.”

“Mr. Kennedy, then you would not be allowed to go near her either. It was you who handed her over to the research team in the first place. They were the ones that sent you to Krauser, hoping that they could turn you into another one of their special agents like the wayward Wesker.” Trent kept still other than placing a hand on Claire’s shoulder to move her out of the way. “Why do you think that the first mission you had as an Agent was to the Starlight? They planned for your infection.”

This had everyone but Rebecca look at Leon. “That virus was derived from the one that’s within Sherry. She has the last known sample of my parents work. Though twisted by her parents and Wesker.”

“We’ll go get her. Then we’ll talk. Not like I’m the only one infected anymore.” Leon didn’t like to admit his condition; there were aspects of it that scared him.

“Why didn’t you tell us?”

“I told him not to.” Rebecca admitted. “The virus has boosted his immunity, as well as strength and speed. If word got out, he would have been taken to a lab and examined the rest of his life.” She stepped back from Billy. “If you want to be pissed at anyone about it, be pissed at me.”

“Very admiral Dr. Chambers, but right now his infection might be the very thing to help Miss Birkin. I suggest when all of you go, you let him or Valentine in first.”