Best Laid Plans I - The Winged Rat

Best Laid Plans I - The Winged Rat

by Ticklefish

Dedicated To Becki

*********************

FOREWORD:

This is the very first fanfiction I ever wrote...and it does kinda show. There have been many times I've thought about rewriting this but I've decided not to. I like to learn from my mistakes, not pretend they didn't happen.
So read on and I hope you'll enjoy. If you find yourself thinking "this is a little rough", don't worry...I already know.
Don't worry..I get better...

*********************


"This is insane.." muttered Chris Redfield, ejecting another empty cartridge from his weapon.

"Oh, I don't know, " replied Sheva, "at least this lot aren't as fast as Majini."

"That's not the point. I'd thought we were finished with zombies. I hate zombies!".

Sheva Alomar shrugged. After the events of last year, she was just happy not to be attacked by her own countrymen. Seeing innocent, happy villagers turn into bloodthirsty monsters was enough to give her nightmares, even to this day. She found it hard to feel much concern for the creatures on the other side of the low wall she and Chris were crouching behind. Yes, they were once ordinary people...but they weren't her people..

"Right, I've got about 10 rounds left," Chris said, "how many of those things do you think are left?"

Sheva peeked over the top of the wall, paused and slowly lowered her head again.

"Er..about a thousand or so."

"This is insane.." muttered Chris.

***

"This is insane!"

Claire started as the figure crouched over the filing cabinet suddenly slammed the drawer shut.

"There's just nothing here that explains anything at all! Gah!"

"Jill, you need to relax. Getting angry won't help.." began Claire.

"It will help me!" Jill shot back. "Chris and that woman are out there facing who-knows-what and we can't find anything to help him or even say what's going on!"

Claire Redfield stayed quiet. It had been a year since Jill Valentine returned to the normal world. She had been presumed lost ever since she didn't come back from a mission with Claire's brother, Chris. Since her return, Jill had been a little..well, different. Angrier and snappier.

Her hair had been bleached as part of her ordeal and Claire thought that, once it had grown out, Jill would be back to normal. But, if anything, it seemed to make her worse.

Claire had read the reports, of course, but there was clearly something that they had missed out. Something had happened to Jill that she wasn't talking about and, whatever it was, she was still far from over it. Claire was tempted to try to prise more information out of her but decided it would be safer to return to the task at hand and returned to her computer.

***

"Chris?"

"Yeah?"

"They've spotted us. And it looks like they can run after all."

"Oh. Great."

***

"Jill? I think I've found something."

"What? Show me!"

Jill dashed to Claire's side, knocking a pile of papers to the floor as she went. She didn't used to be so..careless, thought Claire.

"So? What have you got?"

Claire pressed a button on the keyboard and a document swam into focus on the screen. The file was corrupted and, for the most part, unreadable. But two pieces of text stood out.

'The Hermit Club', the secretive organization whose files the two women were rifling through in the middle of the night. The second piece was the significant one. There, in stark black and white, were the words 'T Virus'.

"I knew it! I knew these..these people were up to something! Damnit! Once I get my hands on them.."

Jill clenched her fist and stared intensely at the screen. Claire, not for the first time, wondered just how safe she was when her friend got in these moods.

"Er..there's more. I also found this."

Another button press, another document on the screen. Again, it was corrupted. There was a picture of a sub-machine gun above the words "Unending Shot."

"That looks familiar.." muttered Jill.

"It should, " replied Claire, "that's the exact model weapon you used a year ago."

"You mean the weapon I tried to kill Chris with?"

Jill's lips tightened. Aha, thought Claire.

"It wasn't your fault, Jill."

"Never mind that now, why do you think this is important?" Jill snapped.

Claire could feel a flush starting. Chris and Jill had history together and she had been through a lot. Even so, it was hard not to take her attitude without fighting back.

"This may sound stupid, " she said, taking a deep breath, "but how many times did you change the clips on it?"

"Well, I had two so it wasn't.."

Jill's voice tapered off, her eyes focused on another place, another time. Two figures before her, both the objects of her blazing hatred..desperately trying to kill, to hurt, to destroy..then the voice cutting through the fog..Jill, don't you recognize me...it's me, Chris..

"I never reloaded. I was so focused on killing him that I never even thought about it."

"And how many bullets do you think you got through?"

"Hundreds I guess. Why? Where are you heading with this?"

Claire paused.

"This is going to sound a bit, well, odd..but Leon and I came across something similar in Raccoon City. I think your guns had infinite ammo."

Jill's eyes narrowed.

"That's impossible, " she replied, "I must have just reloaded without thinking about it. It's hardly something you pay much attention to."

"Are you sure?" insisted Claire.

Jill thought to herself. What Claire was suggesting was ridiculous, but she was hardly prone to flights of fancy. Especially at serious moments like these. And besides, she remembered everything from that hateful time. Every last detail. The people she killed, the pain she caused..Chris..

Not once did she ever reload. Not once.

"I'm right, aren't I?" enquired Claire.

"So what if you are?" retorted Jill, unable to believe she was even talking about such nonsense.

"Jill, I know you're going through some tough times right now but even you would agree that is the one decent lead we have. In fact..it's the only lead we have."

"I..No..I suppose.."

"Where did you last see those guns?"

"Kijuju."

"Well, I guess I'd better pack my sunglasses then.."

***

In a small corner of a once-proud African nation lies an industrial park.

Office buildings, warehouses, factories, depots..all the usual signs of a healthy, productive, successful area. With one exception..there was no success.

After the country's economy collapsed, most of the customers left. Shortly thereafter, most of the companies left too. Now, there was only one building that still had staff in it.

These staff had long since lost their humanity. Under the influence of a man-made virus, they had become little more than crazed, mindless zombies driven by one thing only.
Insatiable hunger.

Currently the object of their desire was just the other side of a thin, plywood door..

"How the hell can you say that we're safe?!" screamed Sheva. "There are still hundreds of the bloody things out there, they know we're here and the only thing between us and them is this..this..thing I could practically spit through!"

"Don't worry, " said Chris, calming dusting himself off, "it's a door."

"So?"

"Zombies don't do doors."

"You're kidding.."

"Nope, trust me," Chris dropped into one of the chairs scattered around the small conference room, "I've done this sort of thing before."

"But it doesn't even have a lock or anything!"

Chris shrugged.

"Well..if you say so.." Sheva was dubious but decided that the chance to sit down was worth taking a risk for.

Confident that, for the time being at least, they were safe, Chris leaned back and let his eyes lazily drift round the room. His body was tired but his mind was permanently active. Analyzing, considering, weighing up options. Chairs, big table, phone, broken projector, pens, files, a collection of posters..nothing that could really serve as a useful weapon.

For a moment, he toyed with the idea of using the table as a makeshift shield-cum-battering ram but decided against it.

"So any thoughts on what's behind all this? I hardly think a publishing firm were making bioweapons on the side." asked Sheva, her eyes still dubiously watching the door.

"None of our business." came the terse reply. "We've reported it, all we need to do is escape it. Jill will take care of the invest.."

Jill. Jill Valentine. Chris was silent, his thoughts shunted abruptly onto a different track.

Chris had known Jill for a few years now. They had met when they both joined S.T.A.R.S., a special police unit in Raccoon City. They became partners and got on incredibly well, looking out for each other and becoming firm friends. Then Wesker happened.

Albert Wesker, S.T.A.R.S.'s head, betrayed the unit and was responsible for the deaths of all but five of its members. Together, Chris and Jill, now members of the newly-formed BSAA, hunted Wesker down and confronted him. It did not end well. Within moments Chris was left on his own with both Jill and Wesker presumed dead.

Last year Jill returned and, in theory, things were back to normal. But, ever since he had thought she was gone, Chris had had strange, uncertain..feelings, for want of a better word.

While she was 'dead', he could just convince himself that it was pain over losing a partner but now she was alive, he found himself unable to fully describe quite what was going on inside his own head.

It was, Chris contemplated, almost as though he was in...wait..he was missing something. Something important. There was something just now that was important in some way. What was it? Jill? Thoughts of strange angst and emotional pain but no, that wasn't it. Then what..

"Phone!!" he yelled, startling Sheva who had been staring intently at the door, still unable to believe that a few millimeters of what was practically cardboard could stop a horde of ravenous zombies.

"I can use the phone to ring Jill and get some backup! That's it!"

"But she's miles away!" exclaimed Sheva, "She'll take forever to get here. We'll never hold out that long!"

But Chris had already lunged over the table, picked up the telephone and started dialing frantically.


***

"You've reached Jill Valentine's cell phone. If you leave a message, I might get back to you."


***

Leon stood in the shower.

His jaw set firm as he adjusted the temperature to his exact satisfaction. When it was ice-cold, he allowed himself a small smile.

The water washed over his muscled body. Over his strong arms, his firm stomach, all the way down to his longclaire.

Claire..

"Claire? Wake up, we're here."

Claire's eyes snapped open. In front of her were the kind features of Josh, one of few people who survived last year's 'incident', as the papers called it. Josh was a nice guy who refused to let the massacre of almost his entire team let him down. A skilled pilot and a man who had been very kind to Claire since the day she joined. In ordinary circumstances Claire would have been more than happy to see him but she couldn't help let a small sigh of disappointment escape her lips.

She looked to her side. The other seats in the helicopter were empty.

"She's already gone out to survey the area, "commented Josh, "She's intense, that one."

Claire grunted in assent, got up and started loading herself up with equipment.

A few years back, she had the misfortune to arrive in Raccoon City shortly after a mass infection had taken place, turning most of the population into zombies. She had survived, just about, and had ever since sworn that she would never set foot in a potential danger zone without taking some precautions. Pistol, shotgun, grenade launcher, first aid sprays, a torch, a radio, copious amounts of ammo..all went into various pockets and hold alls. She rattled when she moved but heaven help any creature, zombie or otherwise, who got in her way.

When Claire stepped out of the helicopter, she spotted Jill straight away. She was standing at the edge of the landing pad, looking through binoculars at the valley below. What could be seen of her face looked grim and every aspect of her body radiated tense alertness.

"Everything okay?" ventured Claire.

"Should be. As long as this lot have done their job properly and cleared everything out."

"They do know what they're doing, Jill."

"They'd better."

With that, Jill turned on her heel and headed down the path.
Heaving a deep sigh, Claire shouldered her pack and set off after her.


***

"You've reached Jill Valen.."

"Dammit! Where is she?"


***

Just under a year ago, a parasite was introduced into the population of Kijuju, a small African nation. This parasite twisted the people into crazed, mindless killers known as Majini. Strong, fearless, they were incredibly nasty.

And it was my fault, thought Jill.

She had been kidnapped by Wesker after unsuccessfully trying to kill him and turned into his personal weapon. As Jill and Claire walked through the ruins of a once-thriving market-place, she felt the circular scars on her chest. Remnants of a diabolical device constantly strapped to her, feeding her chemicals to ensure she was strong enough to do whatever Wesker wanted...and compliant enough not to say no.

Under its influence, she did many terrible things, not least of which was forcing an innocent villager to take the Las Plagas parasite, kick starting the whole disaster. She killed for Wesker, she destroyed for Wesker, she did..things which she tried desperately not to think about. And all the while, she was completely and fully aware of what was going on.

Watching herself as if through perspex.

Seeing her body commit unspeakable horrors and not able to do a thing about it.

And then there was the worst thing of all.

Chris...


***

"You've reach.."

"Hell!"


***

"Seven minutes. Seven minutes is all the time I have to play with you."

Wesker was confident. He was strong, the two before him were weak and pitiful. JIll had no thoughts either way. She dodged, pulled out twin machine-guns and started firing. Her targets were the two who were trying to attack her master.

Inside, she was screaming as hard as she could to get her body to stop, slow down, anything. For she knew who she was trying so emotionlessly to kill and yet so passionately to save.

In her sights were lined the BSAA agent, Sheva Alomar and her partner...one Chris Redfield.


***

"You're through to the BSAA. To hear our opening hours, press 1. To hear.."

"GAH!!!"


***

"This is it, isn't it?" Claire's voice broke through Jill's thoughts.

Jill had been quite distant and snappy to Claire, for which she was sorry. But there was no way the other woman could possibly understand what Jill had gone through. She wasn't there. She had never even met Wesker. And besides, every time Jill looked at Claire or heard her voice, she was reminded of Chris. At times, it was all she could bear to even be in the same room as her. It wasn't Claire's fault but it didn't help that..

"Jill?"

"Huh? Oh..Yes. Yes, this is it. This is definitely it."

'It' was a medium-size hall. Once it must have looked very grand. Two curving staircases, carvings, pillars..all the usual paraphernalia. However, time had not been good to it. The colors were faded, the walls cracked..and riddled with bullet holes. Jill suppressed a shiver.

"Let's make this quick. I don't want to spend a second here that I don't need to."

***

Josh Stone sat in the cockpit of the helicopter, keeping watch.

In theory at least.

In actuality, he was keeping watch on the inside of his eyelids. The occasional snore suggested that he did not find it too trying a task. The BSAA had swept the Kijuju area clean, hunting down and destroying any remaining Majini and similar bio-organisms. It would be a while yet before it was habitable again but, unofficially at least, it was considered safe.

Thus Josh felt comfortable enough to catch up on some much-needed sleep. If he had not, if he had been a bit less trusting, he might just have seen the dark, shadowy figure scuttling amongst the undergrowth towards the path.

***

"I'm sorry sir, but Agent Valentine's location cannot be divulged at this time."

"Eric?"

"Why, yes, how did..oh Chris! Hello! How's things, sweetie?"

Chris suppressed a groan. Eric was a data analyst and part-time receptionist at BSAA's West African HQ and was not particularly good at either role. However he had long since figured out that no-one dared fire him if he pretended to be gay.

Since a big part of his plan revolved around flirting with Chris at every opportunity, Chris found him more than a little tiresome.

"Eric? Just..just shut up and listen to me.."

***

Heckler Koch.

A German firearms company. Renowned for making weapons which work smoothly and efficiently years, even decades, after their first use.

These were not the thoughts that were running through Jill's head when she discovered an example of their work hidden in the shadows behind a pillar. The gun, or sub-machine gun, to be exact, glinted in the torchlight. It was dusty, but otherwise looked to be in perfect condition.

"That's it, isn't it?" asked Claire.

Jill didn't respond, but the look on her face told Claire more than enough. Claire bent to pick the weapon up.

"No, I'll do it." insisted Jill.

Holding the gun between finger and thumb as if holding a drowned rat, but with an expression that suggested a rat would be infinitely preferable, Jill subjected it to a close scrutiny. In truth, it wasn't really required. From her first sight, she knew what it was. But a part of her wanted to put off the moment of truth for as long as possible. As long as the SMG wasn't hers, then she hadn't used it to try to kill Chris.

Facing Jill, Claire was the first to see a particular detail.

"Look at the clip." she whispered.

Jill turned the gun round. Protruding from the bottom of the stock was the clip which held the ammo. On the end of the clip were two symbols Jill recognized immediately. The first was an 8 on its side, the standard symbol for infinity. The second was the distinct logo of the Hermit Club.

"Huh, I guess you were onto something after all. Now how the hell are a group like the Hermits connected to..to..all this?" exclaimed Jill, gesturing at the hall.

Claire's patience had been pretty much worn out by Jill's attitude and she was about to let rip and tell Jill just what she thought when both women became aware of a low growling emanating from the doorway.

Silhouetted by the flickering electric lights stood a creature. The exact nature of the beast was hard to tell. There were scales, fur, scraps of cloth. Where there was skin visible, it glowed strangely and moved as if covering some strange organs. However all this paled compared to the long claws and even longer fangs the thing was displaying.

Claire smiled and reached into her backpack for her grenade launcher. The smile vanished when she remembered that her backpack wasn't on her back. It wasn't anywhere near her back. It was resting nonchalantly in the main entrance to the hall..just the other side of the creature. Her smile faded.

"We could be in trouble.." she murmured.

The beast seemed to take this as its cue and charged.

Jill dived out of the way but Claire, her mind still on the backpack, was a second too slow. She was slammed into a pillar and fell to the floor. Lying on the ground, trying to get her wind back, Claire's mind raced. She had enough firepower to kill her attacker a thousand times over..all tucked away in precisely the wrong place. She had on her a decent array of first-aid sprays and herbs but, from the looks of those claws, they probably wouldn't do her much good.

The creature was standing almost exactly between Claire and Jill and clearly couldn't decide which one looked tastier.

Please just go after Jill, Claire thought.

The thought shocked her but she didn't have time to examine it further. As if it had heard her plea, the beast made up its mind, turned and advanced slaveringly at..Claire.

***

"Josh? Josh Stone? This is Eric Carpenter.."

***

The creature opened its jaws wide..wider..wider still until Claire wondered if it was planning to bite her head off whole..and a rock bounced off the back of its head.

It spun round snarling. Jill stood with one hand behind her back, the other tossing another rock up and down.

"Hey Ugly! Want another?"

The creature tilted its head back and roared so loudly a fine shower of dust rained down from the ceiling. With the echoes still ringing, it hurled itself at Jill, claws extended ready to rip and tear and rend asunder.

"Jill, NO!!" Claire cried out, stunned into immobility.

Jill stayed where she was and, just as the beast was close enough to strike, brought her hand around from her back, pointed the submachine-gun held within it squarely at her oncoming attacker, smiled and pulled the trigger.

There was another loud roar.

Claire watched as the creature was stopped cold by a torrent of gunfire. It was clearly strong and determined to get to its target but with each second yet more bullets tore into it. Claire watched as Jill relentlessly poured gunfire into her victim. She quickly reached the point where even the biggest clip would have been exhausted..and kept on firing. When she finally stopped, the mass of blood and bone that, a few moments ago, was a living, breathing being crashed to the floor. Claire got up and was about to speak when Jill's eyes narrowed. She aimed at the body and resumed firing.

"Jill? JILL!!!" Claire screamed at the top of her voice but it was to no avail.

Jill was like a woman possessed. Finally, Claire stepped to her side and slapped her across the face.

It seemed as though the slap was louder than anything that had come before. Jill dropped her weapon and slowly raised a hand to her reddening cheek.

"It's dead, Jill, let it go."

"Claire,.I'm..I.."

"It's okay, Jill. We're okay."

Jill nodded and turned to look at the remains of whatever it was that had attacked them. Only then could Claire think about how badly her hand hurt. She knew Jill was like stone inside but now she wondered if that wasn't just a figure of speech.

"I hope there aren't any more of those things." she said.

"No, that's the last one. They're all dead now."

Claire frowned.

"How do you know?"

"They were a pet project of Wesker's," Jill explained, "but they didn't work out so he had them destroyed. One escaped and he didn't bother chasing it down."

"Probably got off on the thought of it causing havoc." commented Claire.

"Probably," agreed Jill, "but it doesn't matter now. The important thing is this."

She gestured at the weapon lying innocently on the floor. Both women stared at it, lost in their thoughts. The weapon truly did have infinite ammo..which was impossible. Plus the Hermit Club were connected to it. Which means they may have been connected to Wesker. Which means..what, exactly?

Their thoughts were rudely interrupted by the sound of the radio.

"Jill? Claire? Are you guys there?"

***

"Chris?"

A few moments ago, Chris had hung up the phone and had since stared blankly at the wall in front of him.

"Chris?"

Sheva was worried about him. While he was talking on the telephone, Chris had become more and more animated and intense. Now, with the phone back in its cradle, it was as though someone had simply reached out and turned him off.

"Chris??"

It was as if Sheva's voice had broken whatever spell held him. He turned to face her and the light came back into his eyes.

"It's alright," he said, "we've got backup coming. They'll clear out that lot out there and we can get back to business."

"You spoke to Jill?"

Sheva had missed most of her partner's conversation. She had caught the constantly rising tone in his voice but her attention was focused on the door that led out of the room and into the arms, and teeth, of the horde outside.

"No," Chris's voice was dull, "I spoke to Josh. He's on the radio to Jill now. We shouldn't have long to wait."

He didn't actually speak to Jill, thought Sheva, that might go some way towards explaining his behavior. But with the door still pressing heavily on her mind, there was one question that needed asking. Where actually was Jill? Just how long did they have to wait anyway?

"She's with Claire in Kijuju. They're investigating something or other." came the answer.

Kijuju wasn't that far away. At least the backup wouldn't take too long to arrive.

Chris had been using the phone for quite some time and all the while the assembled zombies outside seemed to be putting more effort into head butting their way through the wall than trying the door. There was nothing to do but wait. Which led Sheva onto the next thing on her mind.

Chris had mentioned Josh. Sheva and Josh Stone had been firm friends for a very long time. Josh had looked after her and had been almost like a father figure to her. But lately, Sheva's feelings towards her friend had started to change. Even hearing his name made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. But she didn't dare ask him if he felt the same way about her.

With these thoughts in her head, it wasn't too hard to work out what kind of thoughts were in Chris's. Oh, the hell with it..

"You love her, don't you?"

"Who, Claire? Of course I do, she's my sister."

"No, I meant.." Sheva began.

"This isn't a useful conversation. We need to be going through this room in fine detail and seeing if there's anything useful."

"Chris, I.."

"Come on, who knows how much time we have."

With that, Chris turned his back and started rummaging through the various papers scattered on the floor.

For a moment, Sheva stared at her partner dumbfounded. Chris could so...annoying sometimes!

***

Claire lay back on the bed.

She was naked, save for a black choker with a diamond detail.

The silk sheets felt cool against her bare skin but her thoughts were in the room adjacent.

In that room there was a man who had just finished his shower. Any moment now, he would step through the door into the bedroom.

He would not be expecting any company. He thought that Claire was away on business, little realizing that she was just the other side of the door, her whole body tense with anticipation.

Because he would think he was on his own he would not be wearing a towel and would step out in all his naked wet glory.

A small sigh escaped Claire's lips as she thought about it. She had long dreamed of seeing this man, let alone actually being with him.

She sat up, impatient. Her mind was racing, her heart was pounding, her entire soul yearning for that door to open. She ached for him to step out.

She had originally intended to stay on the bed but now Claire thought she would stand by the door. That way she could be near him that much faster. Smell him, hear his intake of surprise, run her hands down his strong, sculpted chest..and down even further. Feel his firm, rough lips against hers.

The door started to open. It seemed as though the man on the other side must have known she was there just by the sound of her beating heart.

The door opened fully and there, lit from behind by the fluorescent in the bathroom and from the front by the candles that Claire had set out, stood Leon.

As he stood still in shock, Claire could feel her eyes wander down from his face to cover his neck, his chest, his stomach..and she urged them to go further. Finally they rested on the face of Jill Valentine.

"Claire? Claire? Wake up for God's sake!"

Claire's eyes snapped open.

"Jill..let me guess. we're here."

Jill snorted.

"We're about five minutes away. I thought you should be awake for a landing for once."

"But I was about to..erm.."

Jill raised an eyebrow and a faint smile danced on her lips.

"You talk in your sleep." she simply said and sat back in her chair.

Claire turned her face to the window, her face warming despite her best efforts.

She found herself a little surprised by the view outside.

The grey office building the helicopter was heading towards at high speed was fairly nondescript but somewhere inside it lay her brother, fighting for his very life. Sheva, his partner was capable but the two of them were in serious trouble.

With that in mind, the weather should be dark and foreboding. Instead the sun was out, birds were wheeling aimlessly through the sky and a light breeze tickled the branches of the few trees in the park. Against the odds, it was quite a nice day. Nothing about it betrayed the fact that Chris might already be dead.

No, Claire corrected herself, they're behind a door.

Claire had had her own run-ins with zombies and knew Chris and Sheva were safe for the moment.

Zombies don't do doors.

***

The helicopter hovered a few feet above the landing pad.

Two figures dropped to the ground and ran to the door leading into the building.

One yanked the door open while the other covered the revealed space with a dangerous-looking weapon.

Satisfied that it was clear, the figures moved in.

***

After her experience in Kijuju, Claire was taking no chances and had drawn an automatic triple-barreled shotgun from the pack slung securely on her back. The weapon was custom-made and packed a considerable punch at an impressive rate of fire. The fairy painted on the middle barrel somehow only enhanced its nastiness.

Jill had opted to stick with her sub-machine gun. There had been some discussion about this. Jill didn't really want to carry such a definite reminder of a darkness in her past but it was an effective weapon, there was a cooling body back in Kijuju that bore testament to that, and Claire refused point blank to even touch it. So the weapon stayed.

As they jogged through the corridors, zombies rose to face them.

The two women fired.

The zombies fell back down again.

***

Inside the office, Chris shifted uncomfortably. The chairs had at first provided much needed relief. But it had quickly become apparent that they were designed to encourage people to hurry through meetings and get out as quickly as possible.

Across the table sat Sheva, stripping her pistol. She sat in the exact same chair that Chris had given up a few hours ago, hoping to find a better one. She didn't look in the slightest bit uncomfortable and, not for the first time, Chris shook his head in bewilderment.

Once he had settled into a relatively more comfortable position, he noticed a sound that had been muffled by his movements. A faint sound. No, two sounds. And getting progressively less and less faint. Gunfire. The groans of zombies attacking...and dying..

"Jill!" he cried, springing from his seat.

"She's here?" said Sheva.

She tilted her head to listen just as the distinctive BOOM of a modified shotgun blast sounded from outside.

"That's Claire!" she exclaimed.

Chris grinned widely.

"Pack up, we're leaving."

***

"This is insane." muttered Claire, ejecting another set of empty cartridges from her weapon.

Jill stayed quiet and looked about her at the trail of devastation they had caused. Neither she nor Claire had ever faced that many zombies before in one go. But, this time they were prepared and the horde hadn't stood a chance.

Just like the Majini that she had killed when she was under Wesker's control. Her grip on her weapon tightened as she stared down at it. If the Hermit Club had had anything to do with that, she would stop at nothing to make them pay.
With those thoughts still in her mind, she almost didn't hear a door near her opening.

She spun round and raised her weapon.

***

Chris moved slowly. It sounded like the corridor outside was clear but there was no telling for sure.

With his weapon aimed in front of him, he grasped the door handle, turned and pushed..

"Jill?"

Startled, Jill fired..

***

"Coffee? Tea?"

"Erm...tea, please. White, 3 sugars."

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Claire turned. Behind her stood Sheva with a gentle smile on her face.

"Have you had the tea here?"

"No.." Claire replied.

"Have the coffee."

"I don't like coffee."

"And you think you'll like the tea? Trust me, I work here."

Claire considered for a moment, turned to the man behind the canteen counter and declared that she would indeed have coffee after all. She took her drink and followed Sheva to a nearby table.

"When was the last time you had some proper sleep?" asked Sheva, sitting neatly on a chair.

"I'm fine." Claire mumbled.

"Uh-huh.."

For a few moments, there was silence. Claire stared at the gently steaming fluid in her cup, lost in her thoughts. Sheva stared at her. According to the doctors, this was the first time that Claire had left Chris's side since he had been brought in.

"I saw the flowers." she said.

"They're very impressive." she said.

"The bouquet from Eric was particularly impressive." she said.

"I was a bit surprised the President sent some though." she said.

That got Claire's attention.

"They turned up?" she asked, looking up from her drink.

"Yes. Erm..how did you know were they coming?"

"It was my idea." Claire replied, a grin forming at the corners of her mouth.

Sheva was a bit puzzled.

"You're saying you told President Chambers to send Chris flowers??"

"Relax, she used to work with him in Raccoon. I told her what was going on and she was more than happy to help."

Sheva stared. And then the penny dropped.

"She was pretty, wasn't she?"

"Fairly, yes."

Sheva leaned back in her chair.

"So you're trying to wind Jill up? Force her to do something to keep hold of Chris?"

For a moment, Claire looked as though she was going to deny it but then she shrugged.

"I have to do something. Otherwise she'll just keep avoiding the subject."

Sheva chuckled, "Yes, Chris is like that too. There are times you just want to throttle him."

"I know! If it's so obvious to us, surely they can spot it. But no, Jill practically bends over backwards to avoid even talking about it. Hell, sometimes she's just so..so.."

Unable to properly express her frustrations that had been building for months, Claire clenched her fist and stared sullenly at her coffee.

Sheva leaned forwards.

"Don't worry, she's with him now. There's no way she couldn't have seen the flowers."

"What? She's in there NOW?"

Claire shot up from her seat but Sheva had been expecting it and, moving fast, put out an arm and gently, but firmly pushed Claire back down again.

"Relax, Chris is a big boy. He can handle himself."

"But.."

"We have to let them sort things out themselves."

Claire thought to herself for a few seconds then nodded and took a sip of her drink. She grimaced and carefully put the cup down.

Sheva was right, she thought. Chris was her older brother, he was more than capable of looking after himself. Claire just had to trust that he would do the right thing. With an effort, she forced her thoughts onto a different track.

"Did you hear that Forensics found a potential lead?"

"You mean that letter? That's what I was coming to tell you. They've been able to translate it."

"Took them a while."

"It was some sort of obscure dialect apparently. I don't know, not my field."

"So what did it say?"

"Nothing sensible," admitted Sheva, "but there is mention of an address in Austria. A building that used to be owned by Umbrella."

"Umbrella?" exclaimed Claire. "They're connected to Umbrella?"

"That's what we're going to find out. You, me, Chris and Jill. As soon we're ready, we leave."

"If Umbrella are involved, we can't waste any time. I'm ready now."

"What about your coffee?" queried Sheva.

Claire snorted.

"C'mon, let's go pick up Jill and Chris. It's about time he got back in action."

***

In truth, Chris wasn't that badly hurt.

Jill's shot had missed anything important. It had made a lot of mess and given everybody a hideous shock but it was easily fixed and Chris was essentially healed. However he had become somewhat of a mascot at the BSAA and they had fallen over each other to provide the very best in medical care.

At first, Chris was too shot-up on pain-killers to object but now they had worn off, he found himself feeling a little embarrassed and more than a little bored. Claire had kept him company which was nice to begin with. But Chris was a man of action and he itched to get off the bed and get on with things. He could only relax for so long.

In one swift move, he threw back the covers and swung out of bed. He looked at the backless gown that was the sole garment that he was wearing and sighed. He may be greatly admired in the BSAA but even they might object if he walked out wearing that. He walked to the small wardrobe, flung open the door and started rummaging for something more respectable.

With his back to the door, Chris didn't see it open. Nor did he see Jill walk through it. Jill stopped dead and stared. Hospital gowns are designed without a back for a sensible reason. But right then, Jill just couldn't think what it was. She paused a moment and, walking softly backwards, left the room and gently drew the door shut.

She waited a few seconds and knocked. Chris opened the door, a pair of jeans in his hand. He started in surprise, the frown on his face vanishing.

"Jill! I wasn't expecting..I mean..how are.." Chris stuttered.

Jill drew a deep breath. The speech she had mentally rewritten a dozen times on the way over evaporated the instant she looked into his eyes.

"Chris," she said, stalling for time, "can I come in?"

"Oh. Oh! Of..of course! Please."

Chris half-turned back into the room but then, as if remembering what he was still wearing, turned back and waved Jill ahead of him. Jill stepped through and, after having a quick look around, walked to the window. There she stood, marshalling her thoughts.

"Is everything okay?" Chris's concerned voice broke in.

"I don't know," she tentatively replied, "you tell me."

"Well, I'm pretty much back to normal. I might need a new uniform though."

"I don't mean that." Jill snapped. "I shot you!"

Chris laughed.

"Yeah, and your shot was terrible. I told you you should practice more."

"This isn't funny!"

Jill spun to face him.

"I tried to kill you last year and I almost succeeded this year!"

"But you didn't.." began Chris.

"Through luck! Sheer dumb stupid luck!" Jill spat.

"What do you want me to say? This.." Chris gestured to his side "was an accident. They happen."

"Not to me."

Chris looked at his partner. She was dressed plainly in a simple uniform. Her hair was tied back in an unfussy ponytail under a plain beret. She looked very upset. Before she turned her face away, Chris caught a glimmer of tears in her eyes. If only he knew what was going on behind them, if only he could find a way to help her.

"Jill, you've just been under a lot of stress lately. You shouldn't blame yourself. Claire told me about the gun. That can't have helped you forget."

"That was the same gun I tried to kill you with last year.."mumbled Jill.

"That wasn't you! You can't keep beating yourself up over it."

Jill stared at the floor and said nothing. Then she suddenly raised her head and looked straight at Chris, eyes ablaze.

"But it WAS me! It was my body. It was my fingers on the triggers, my eyes watching you. I wanted you dead!"

She tore off her beret and hurled it across the room with an anguished cry.

"When I saw you with her it was like all I could think of was making you pay."

"Pay?" said Chris, puzzled.

"What? No..yes..I don't know."

A single tear ran down her cheek.

"I don't know anymore Chris! I don't know who I am anymore!"

Chris didn't know what to say. Claire had told him a lot about Jill's behavior over the last few months. How it had become increasingly erratic and she had become increasingly short-tempered. He knew that he could never fully understand what she was going through. And that tore him up inside. She was hurting and he didn't know what to do.

"Jill...it's going to be okay. Wesker messed you up but he's gone now, okay? You're safe."

"Then why do I feel so terrible?"

A second tear joined the first.

"With all that's happened to you? Who wouldn't?"

Chris reached out and took her hand in his.

"Just remember," he continued, "that you're amongst friends here. We're all here to look after you."

"And what about you, Chris?"

Chris laughed "Hey, I have to look after you. I've got to get your aim back up to standards!"

Chris's smile was so infectious that Jill couldn't help but smile back.

"Thank you."

She paused.

"I am really sorry about shooting you, you know."

Chris shrugged.

"Hey, no real harm done. I still love you."

Jill started. She saw Chris's eyes grow wide as he realized what he had just said.

"What?" she said.

"What?" Chris replied.

Jill's mind was lost in indecision. Should she ignore it or..or..what exactly?

Her mouth decided to make the decision for her.

"You said you love me."

Chris drew in breath to deny it but, as he did so, he became aware of the warmth of the hand that he still held tightly in his. He looked down at it, then up at Jill's face and made up his mind.

"Yes. Yes, I do. I think I always have."

Jill bit her lip and could think of nothing to say.

"When we first met," Chris continued, "I knew straight away that I would like you. The more time that we spent together, the more that I wanted to."

He smiled with recollection.

"I ended up pulling more than a few night shifts just so I could spend time with you. I don't think I realized it at the time but I just wanted to be near you. To see your smile, to hear your laugh.."

"But what about the other girls?" Jill finally said.

"There were no others." Chris replied.

Jill raised an eyebrow.

"Oh really? What about that girl from the sandwich shop?"

"Camille? She wasn't real. I mean, she was but I was pretending there was more to her."

"But why?"

"You were with Joseph." came the reply.

Jill thought for a few moments.

"But I was never with Joseph."

"He said you were."

"He said a lot of things. He was a prat."

"Well, that's true.."

They fell into silence, neither knowing quite what to say and neither wanting to be the first one to say it.

Chris felt embarrassed. He could go on telling Jill how he felt but he sensed that he had probably said enough. He let Jill's hand go.

"Well...I should probably let you get on. There's a lot to do."

Jill took her hand and placed it against Chris's cheek.

"Chris.." she whispered. She bent her face to his and, before he could think to pull away, placed a delicate kiss square upon his lips.

Chris looked stunned for a moment. Jill worried that she may have done the wrong thing but then Chris smiled, lightly grasped Jill's lapels and pulled her to him. The kiss was everything that Jill had been hoping for, everything that she had been dreaming about. Chris's lips were rough, but warm and giving.

The kiss was passionate and long. His tongue teased hers, his strong hands holding her tight. After an age they broke for air. Chris gazed into Jill's eyes. The pupils were wide, the irises the deepest blue. With her heart rejoicing,
Jill flung her arms about him and squeezed him tight.

As they were hugging, Jill slowly became aware of two things. Her hands were on Chris's back but there was no material beneath them. She could feel his warm skin, the taut muscles under her fingers.

She could also feel an increasing pressure against her leg.

She let go of Chris and looked down. Roughly in the middle of Chris's gown was the clear outline of a growing erection.

She looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

"And just what is that about, hmm?"

Chris just shrugged and grinned.

Jill moved closer, went to kiss him..and as soon as his eyes were closed, reached down and grabbed him.

Chris's eyes snapped open but whatever he was about to say was silenced by Jill's lips. He reached his hands up and cupped her face for a few minutes before reaching to the back of his neck and pulling on the string that was resting there. With a rustle, Chris's hospital gown fell to the floor. All of it, with the exception of one part that is. Jill was still holding him through the material.

"You're making this a little difficult.." quipped Chris.

"Just giving you a challenge." Jill replied, pushing his erection downwards.

Chris groaned. He could feel himself push against her. The feel of her, the taste of her lips, the scent of her skin.. all had conspired to make his penis feel incredibly solid. Although the thought that this was Jill herself holding him made it swell even further.

"Let go." he whispered.

Jill dropped her hand, causing Chris's penis to bounce back into position. As it did so, it dislodged the remainder of the gown which then fell to the floor. Jill stood back and had her very first look at the body of a man she had wanted without really knowing for years.

Chris's face she already knew by heart. She paused a moment to admire it once more than let her eyes take in the rest of him.

Muscular was the first word that sprang to mind. He had the body of a man who worked out just enough for his purposes. Chris had muscles because he needed them for his job, not for their own sake. Very nice, thought Jill taking in his broad shoulders, strong arms and firm chest. He had just the right amount of body hair. Not too much but enough to curl her fingers in. A lot of scars of different shapes and sizes. She noticed one that looked new and quickly moved on.

She looked down. Jill wasn't particularly bothered about feet but Chris's weren't bad. A small part of her mind tried to mention that he cut his nails too short but was quickly shushed. Good legs..nice knees..her gaze travelled further up.

Jill didn't know if she dared look at the one part of Chris that she had thus far been avoiding. But, as she was deciding, her body again took control and her eyes swiveled and refocused.

Directly on Chris's erection.

Her breath caught in her throat and she knew that, no matter how the rest of the day went, no matter what happened to her for the rest of her life, she knew she wanted it inside her.

She met Chris's eye. He looked nervous, worried that something about him didn't meet with her approval. Jill nodded once and, in a low voice, commanded him to undress her.

He came to and pulled her jumper up over her head. As the collar was about to clear her, her hairband got caught in the label. Normally, this could have dampened the passion but, if anything, it removed some of the tension.

Jill's laughs were muffled by the jumper as Chris tried to untangle the black hairband from her dark hair. As he struggled, she tangled her fingers in his pubic hair.

Which made it even harder for him to concentrate.

Which made Jill laugh even more.

Finally the jumper came off and hit the floor, the hairband with it. Jill shook her hair and smirked at Chris.

"That took a while." she teased.

"You..are trouble." Chris replied, leaning in for a kiss.

As Jill fell into him, he quickly reached up, grabbed her blouse and ripped it open. Buttons rained on the floor, shortly followed by the blouse. Jill wondered if her bra would cause Chris any problems. With one hand, he proved it wasn't and that too ended up on the floor.

Chris gazed into Jill's eyes as his hands moved slowly up her stomach. She gasped as his fingertips brushed the underside of her breasts. Still, he continued to look into her eyes as though they were the most important things in the world.

His fingers migrated to the rest of her breasts, touching them so softly they were almost, but not quite, tickling. With every pass and sweep, Chris would almost touch a nipple but would miss by the slimmest fraction of a millimeter.
And all the while, he was locked into her eyes. With an effort, she moved his hands down to her combat trousers.

Chris took very little prompting and undid all the assorted fastenings. With a grin, he grasped the waistband and whipped it down.

Jill felt colder than she was expecting.

Then she realized just why Chris was grinning. He taken more than her trousers off. Save for her boots she was now completely naked.

And Chris's face was level with her groin. She blushed involuntarily. Chris's ministrations had not gone without having an effect on her. She could feel her moistness growing and was worried that it would put Chris off.

He stood up and put her doubts to rest. The kissing had been passionate up until now. Now it was beyond words. Every time their lips met, it was as if time itself stopped. There was nothing else in the world except for them and their love for each other.

Jill felt that she wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of eternity just like this. Then she felt him pressed against her and she remembered that was one thing she wanted just as badly.

Kicking her boots off, Jill hopped onto the bed and lay down. She slowly spread her legs, granting Chris a view directly into her. He cleared his throat.

"Jill..I..I don't have any condoms. I wasn't quite expecting this."

"Don't worry," said Jill, "it doesn't matter. Come to me."

"You mean..?" Chris gestured vaguely.

Jill shifted until she was kneeling on the bed, face to face with Chris.

"Chris, I want you. I have wanted you ever since I can remember. Come to me."

"Well, if you're sure."

"I love you Chris. I have never been so sure of anything in all my life."

Chris placed a hand on her chest, gently pushed her back down and then climbed onto the bed with her.

As Chris crouched by her legs, his erection shining with moisture, Jill could feel herself hold her breath. They had known each other for years. They had worked together, fought together..and finally they were about to express their true feelings for each other.

Chris felt like he was in a dream. The last few days he had come to realize that Jill was the centre of his existence. He couldn't bear to be away from her anymore. He needed her. he yearned for her.

And now he was about to be part of her..if this was a dream, he prayed ferverently that he never woke up.

He shifted into position, Jill tensed, mentally willing him on and, with a push, he was inside.

Jill gasped, unable to put into words what she was feeling. Pleasure, love, true happiness for the first time in so long. She looked at Chris and could see by his face that he was feeling the same. He bent down, supported his body with his arms and kissed her.

She held him close and he started to slowly and gently move in and out..

***

"Is the 'copter ready?"

"It should be. I can't get through to Josh but I know he'll be working hard. He wasn't happy about the short notice though."

"Well, we can't afford to hang about."

Claire and Sheva were walking fast down the maze of corridors that lead eventually to the medical centre. Since hearing about the possible lead in Austria, Claire had become very focused and intense. Sheva joked to herself that she did seem to be learning something from Jill after all.

"I don't know if Chris will be ready though."

"He's fine. A new scar to brag about but that's all."

They turned into a small hallway. One of the five doors leading off it had the name "Redfield C." on a sign. Claire turned to Sheva.

"I'll see if he's awake. You keep trying Josh. I want to leave as soon as possible."

"Right." replied Sheva.

Claire walked to her brother’s door and slowly pushed it open a few degrees.

She looked through the gap and then just as slowly pulled it closed again.

She paused then, with a faint smile on her lips, she slowly walked back to Sheva.

"Claire? Is everything alright?"

Claire looked thoughtful for a few seconds.

"You know what?" she said cheerfully, "I think Austria can wait until tomorrow."

She linked her arm with Sheva's and steered the other woman back into the main building.

"Now...is there anywhere I can get some decent tea around here?"

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END
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