Claustrophobia

Disclaimer: Obviously I don't own anything remotely related to these characters or games, or I wouldn't be writing fanfic about them. Enjoy.

Chris looked up at the scorching sun and wiped his brow. The heat rained down on him, almost unbearable in its tenacity. It didn't matter though. Nothing mattered. After years with no word, he'd finally received news of Wesker back to his old tricks, and this time he would end it once and for all.

He'd left a few months earlier, didn't give anyone any word of what he was up to or where he was going. It would be too dangerous for them, and to be honest, they'd only slow him down. It was hardest of all to leave Jill and his sister behind, but they'd live. That was the whole point, and he'd make damn sure of it.

He walked through the deserted streets, feeling extremely claustrophobic. Wesker (or someone) had definitely been at work here. It was quiet. Too quiet. There didn't appear to be anyone around, and likely hadn't been for quite some time. He was surrounded by tall, closely built buildings. Plenty of places to hide in. Plenty of places to be ambushed in.

Chris stopped and leant in the shade of one of the nearby buildings. The sun was so bright he could barely see, and he was covered in a sheen of sweat. He also had no idea where to begin looking again. The small town looked to be nothing but a huge cluster of buildings, often stories high, and not very stable. It really was a perfect spot for Wesker. Out of the way hidden out here in the desert, a whole town to play with, plenty of places to hide things and unleash god knows what. A perfect, contained little experiment. The thought filled him with a fresh wave of anger and he got moving again.

He slowly pushed open a nearby door and it let loose a loud creak. Dust kicked up on the floor and he carefully stepped inside, gun out in front of him. He scanned the room with a trained eye but couldn't see anything. Yet. He walked over to some nearby benches, scanning the papers. Nothing of interest. A large spider jumped out and scuttled across, starting his heart for a moment. Chris gave a wry grin. "I've seen bigger."

He began rifling through the stuff under the benches. Nothing but cutlery and boxes of decorations. Judging by the cobwebs and dust, they hadn't been on display for quite some time. He checked over the rest of the room, looking for something, anything that might be of use. There was nothing. He sighed and walked back out into the blazing sun. Where the hell should he even begin to start looking for clues?

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Jill waved Barry off as he flew back out, giving her a brief wave and smile of good luck. Jill knew how hard Chris was to track when he was on a mission, she'd done it before. And she'd gotten very good at it, Chris wasn't as quick and clean as he liked to believe. Granted it had taken her a month or two, but it sure as hell beat the last time she tried to find him. Jill knew what he was up to. He'd left his apartment in quite a state, papers and reports strewn everywhere. Wesker was back at work and Chris had figured out where. It bugged her however that after everything, he'd still decided to go off by himself to take care of things. Some men just never learnt.

She tied her hair up and put on her backpack. Three minutes in this scorching sun and she was sweating already. She guessed that if Chris was around he'd no doubt seen the helicopter, but that didn't bother her. He wasn't stupid, he'd know someone had found him. She'd just have to hope she got to him first before he accidentally blew her brains out. She gave a sly grin, knowing that at least it would be a quick death, Chris was a perfect shot and never missed. But that could be pondered later, first point of order, find Redfield.

Jill entered the town, noticing it was just as quiet as Chris had earlier thought. If there was one thing Jill hated, it was quiet, narrow streets. She'd dealt with enough of them in Raccoon City, and she had figured those days were forever behind her. Apparently not. Although, she grinned, at least this time she was a bit more appropriately dressed should the inevitable jump out and try to grab her. And she was sure something would, it was Wesker they were dealing with after all.

She'd read through the reports and articles at Chris' house. Wesker, after keeping quiet for so long, was getting more and more careless about his work. Jill figured he no longer cared, he was powerful enough that even if some ex-S.T.A.R.S. found out, there was little they could do to stop him. He was trying to rebuild Umbrella, and was apparently becoming quite successful in his endeavour. There were quite a few reports in Spanish about something called Los Plagas that she'd have to get Carlos to decipher later on, but she got the drift of it. Wesker had even more bio-weapons on his hands.

That crazy monster was going to kill them all. Or at least die trying. She prayed that last bit would come true. He'd given Chris a thrashing the last time they'd met, although Chris never liked to talk about what exactly had gone on. He just told them Wesker had "new powers alright" and left it at that. Ever the silent hero. It was infuriating. Jill had wanted Wesker's blood ever since what had happened at the Spencer Mansion, but to find out he was still alive and now with spiffy new powers? And he'd given Chris the beating of his life? Oh yes, she wanted his blood. She wanted it badly.

Jill started to move faster, keeping to the shadows as much as she could. She needed to find Chris before someone else did, if only to give him a tongue lashing. It infuriated Jill whenever he got onto one of his quests. He would just shut everything else out and it was as if no one else even existed. Jill had understood it at first, even gave him the space he needed, but now? Now, it hurt. They'd gone through a lot together, more than a couple should ever have to. What did that say if Chris couldn't, wouldn't even talk to her now?

She shook her head without even realising it. That bastard just got too wrapped up in his work sometimes and she'd had it. He could get himself killed out here and they'd possibly never hear from him or see him again. And he was okay with that? Jill certainly wasn't. Her anger began to rise. If he was still alive by the time she found him, he probably wouldn't be for much longer.

"You stupid bastard, Redfield. When I get my hands on you..."

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Chris quickly shrunk behind the wall as he saw a helicopter come flying in. He waited with baited breath and it took off again moments after landing. A quick drop, something to be grateful for. At least he hoped so. He waited a few more moments, trying to see if he could hear whatever had landed. He couldn't. Nothing big then. That was good. He ran through his mind, trying to think what it could have been. Someone had found him, he knew that much. There didn't appear to be much else here, at least not anymore. Either one of his friends had found him (most likely Jill, she knew how he worked) or Wesker had been playing him all along and had sent in a nasty surprise. He gave a grin. Whatever or whoever it was, he'd likely be copping a beating. He still hoped it was Jill, so at least it would be a fun beating.

Chris looked around and decided to head upstairs, maybe get the drop on whoever was out there. Subconsciously he realised he'd probably left enough clues deliberately for Jill to find him. He really didn't want her involved, he cared for her far too much, but at the same time he did. Jill had invaluable skills and experience behind her, out of everyone he'd ever known he'd rather no one else at his back. But at the same time, her loss would also hit him the hardest. He loved the woman. He couldn't lose her, especially not to Wesker.

But Jill was stubborn. Almost as stubborn as he was. He had no doubt Jill would look for him once he was gone, he just hoped the job would be done by the time she did eventually find him. Because she would find him, she'd done it before and she'd probably do it again.

He reached the top of the stairs and peered out. He really couldn't see a whole lot, just the tops of even more buildings and the alleyway beneath him. By the time he discovered whoever was out there, they'd more than likely have discovered him as well. Great. Nothing to do but go out and meet them head on then.

He placed his gun back in his shoulder holster and lit a cigarette. Jill hated it when he smoked. Disgusting habit she always told him. So he'd always smile and take another puff. She'd then roll her eyes and walk away, leaving Chris mesmerised by her wiggle as she left. They had a rather unique relationship. Friendly, touchy, occasionally flirty, but in all the years they'd been together they'd never actually slept together. Why was that? Six years is a long time my friend, what, you're not man enough?

Chris hated his brain sometimes. He thought too much about things, that was his problem. Always thinking, never doing. Too many risks to weigh up, the pros, the cons, too much of the 'unknown' factor there. What if. Always what if. What if Jill didn't actually like him? What if he wasn't man enough? What if he sucked? What if it's not the right time, the right place? What if he got too attached and something happened? What if one of his many enemies got wind of things and targeted Jill? What if she had 100 boyfriends on the side? What if what if what if?

'What if I just shut up for a moment?'

Chris took another drag on his cigarette, watching the ash intently as it fell to the floor. The fact is, for all the bravado he put up, Jill was the one thing in life that terrified him. He'd faced down zombies, horrifying mutated zombies, Hunters, Bandersnatches, whatever Umbrella could throw at him, he faced it and he killed it. It was hardly the same approach he could take with a certain Jill Valentine.

He'd gotten into a fight with her, once. During a random training session, and Jill had planted him on his ass and straddled him within moments. She told him to give and he did. He'd hoped and prayed she'd take that opportunity to have her way with him, but she just smiled, got up and walked away. Women. Infuriating.

So, Chris gave up on the dream. Threw himself into work instead. Always plenty of things to beat up, and despite the news, a company like Umbrella never truly ended. It became his lifelong ambition to make sure Umbrella was destroyed and stayed that way. The Wesker news was the last straw. For months he gathered evidence, became more and more withdrawn. The less the others knew the better. Once he'd finally pinpointed a likely location he left. No note, no goodbye, nothing. The others would just try to stop him, and god help him, if Jill asked, he didn't think he'd be able to say no. So a midnight run it had been, and here he was. In some godforsaken empty desert town, smoking on a cigarette and trying to figure out who or what was on his tail.

There was no more time to waste. He needed to find who was out there, and what to do with them.

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Jill looked around, trying to find any sign of Chris. A discarded cigarette butt, a water bottle, some empty gun shells, anything. Either Chris was covering his tracks really well, or he hadn't reached this side of town yet. Probably the latter, when Chris was totally focused on the job at hand he sometimes got sloppy. He wouldn't stop to pick up empty shells, why bother? Once the gunfire starts it's all over anyway, and she imagined it'd certainly be the case here. It was so eerily quiet. One gunshot and the entire place would hear it.

That meant he'd be on the other side of town then, which was quite a distance away. Best to stick to the shadows as much as possible, as it was stinking hot. She took out her water bottle and took a large drink. Barry was due back the next day, either to help look, help escape, or help escort out some dead bodies, as the case may be. Jill had wanted a small operation to begin with. That and, on a purely jealous level, she wanted some alone time with Chris. It had been so long since they had properly worked together. She loved seeing what the man could do. But that would have to wait, she had to beat him around the head first.

Jill moved through the narrow streets, listening for any signs of life. If there was anything alive around here, it was hiding damn well. After a while she almost began to lose track of where she was. Everything looked the same, the sun was beating down its harsh light and the heat was killing. A person could go crazy living here. Although it didn't look like anyone did live here anymore. Did they ever once Umbrella was on the case? This city was certainly tiny in comparison to Raccoon, and look at what happened there. These people stood no chance. It made Jill's blood boil.

She picked up the pace again. Simply focus on the task at hand, all that stuff could come later. Simply find Chris and then deal with things from there. But what would she do once she found him? Hit him? Hug him? Cry? She felt she could do all three, probably at the same time. A swift kick between the legs wouldn't go astray either. She'd certainly make sure he'd never forget to tell her when he was leaving ever again.

Building after building, street after street. Everything blurred together, the silence almost deafening. She wanted to start screaming just to hear something, anything. Even in a town full of zombies she hadn't felt so alone, almost on the brink of madness. She'd hadn't even been here that long, what about Chris? She had no idea how long he'd been here, but she knew he still was. The chopper he'd liberated was still situated outside the city limits. Either he hadn't left yet, or he didn't need to anymore. She prayed for the first.

Keep on moving. She just needed to keep on moving. Look for the signs, you've been trained for this. Eye on the ball, ears to the ground, all that crap. She'd found enough clues to get here, she could find more.

Keep on moving, keep on moving, keep on mov....

She stopped dead in her tracks, her heartbeat jumping to her throat. She couldn't believe it. Were her eyes playing tricks on her? She knew from the reaction she got they weren't.

It was Chris. He looked like hell.