Alpha Team

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It was a little after midnight, a time most of the building was in darkness. But several shots were ringing out in the basement level. 
“Take. That. You. Son. Of. A. Bitch.” Jill was hissing as she fired her weapon at a distant target with a picture of Wesker’s face taped to it. It had been several weeks now since Chris had aided in her escape from Africa. Several weeks of tests and evaluations to prove she was coping just fine. Of course, masking trauma was all par for the course when you were a Raccoon City survivor. What pissed her off the most, was knowing she would never get to make Wesker suffer like he had her. That’s why she was here, rather than at home, sleeping. Sleeping meant the nightmares returned. Here she would. Urn herself out until she simply collapsed from exhaustion.

Jill quickly took a step back, gently pressing her hands to his chest. “He left me behind, you left me behind. I’d say you’re both living up to each other.” She replied. Difference was... Chris eventually found her.

“Alright, it was in the drawer of Wesker’s desk. How does that feel?” Claire asked curiously. “Aren’t you worried about how he got it? It was clearly only meant for someone you trust to see.”

"Yeah but for some reason you're still chasing after him." Carlos grunted. He's never forgiven her for for leaving him after raccoon City. He'd made up the story about his sister simply for a reason for her to go. He knew she wanted to so he gave her an out. She took it and never looked back. "What's so special about the goon anyway?"

Rebecca laughed, shaking her head. "Remember the STARS basketball games? Wesker set those up as training excercises. He said I was the worst. He said I moved like an elderly woman so Jill and I took the photo as a joke. When he came into his office the next day it was taped to his desk with a note that said something like...we all know what you really think of me." She shook her head. "You should have seen him, Claire...his neck was so red...he came out of his office and started screaming at me. Even Chris said he'd never seen him that mad. He told me the next time I wanted to put smut on his desk at least make it a woman that didn't look like a sad teenage boy. I was sure I saw him throw it in the trash. I... haven't seen this since that day..." She finished, her laughter replaced with sadness.

“You’ve never even met him.” Jill chided softly. “I asked you to come with me to Europe, you’re the one who said no.” She added, feeling somewhat defensive. “You think what happened in Raccoon City was new to me? I already knew what Umbrella were capable of, I thought you understood they needed to be stopped after what they did to you too!”

Claire was still grinning, picturing an enraged Wesker. “Bex, you’re like 2 feet tall, at what point did he think you would be good at basketball?” She teased.

"What they did to me?" Carlos laughed. "Didn't you do your homework, Super cop? I was on deathrow. Umbrella offered me an out if I survived. They..." Carlos paused, his hands dropping away from her face. "Held up their end of the bargain. I have nothing against them. It's you I owe a debt to. Still do."

Rebecca shook her head. "I never figured that one out. I got massacred out there. But you know me. I refused to give up. I picked up this horrible habit of kicking everyone in the back of the knees when I went by." Her smile grew thin. "I think he liked it when we were cruel to each other. He yelled at me for apolozing when someone would fall. And there was this one time when I twisted my ankle and he caught me crying in the locker room..." She didn't even realize she was smiling as she remembered her first kiss and the tender way Albert Wesker had touched her. The moment was an extremely rare one but a very treasured memory.

Jill shook her head and took another step back. “That Jill doesn’t exist anymore, or didn’t you do your homework?” She breathed.

Claire didn’t like what her gut was telling her. Her gut was rarely wrong, not that any of the people in her life ever believed that was a real thing. “He what? Rebecca... did Wesker... hurt you?” She almost seemed afraid to say the real words out loud.

"I was part of the debrief." Carlos said, cryptically. "Even the one where they had to sedate meat shield just to get him out of the water when you disappeared." He shook his head. "You're right. He's always been nothing but rocks in the brain. He made himself sick blaming himself instead of trying to find you. What you suffered was his fault." 

Rebecca shook her head. "No. That's not it at all..look...I just wanted to talk to you about something but...Its no big deal. I figured it out. Are we still eating or what?" She was quick to try and change the subject, hoping to get her mind on something else.

As much as she wanted to ball her fist up, Jill kept an open palm as she slapped Carlos, the sharp sound sending a flock of birds in a nearby tree up into the pre Dawn sky. “You have no idea what I suffered, and you have no right to say it was his fault!” She hissed. Even Chris didn’t truly know what had been done to her. Hell, she hasn’t even told him the blonde was a side effect, not a flight of fancy.

Claire stared at Rebecca for an excruciating moment, then picked up her own menu. “Everything you tell me is a big deal, Bex. Always remember that, I would never treat anything you tell me as trivial.”

For a long while Carlos simply stared at her while he  rubbed his now bruised cheek. "You're right." He breathed. "I have no business blaming him. But...he has no idea what you've been through, Jill. I do. I did everything I could to get close to you. He just got lucky. "

Rebecca picked at the edge of the picture, deciding she hated the way she'd looked back then. What a stupid little girl she was. She never should have thought she was enough for a man like him. 
"Michael Allison asked me out yesterday." She said, deciding this was better than what she was really going to say. "I told him I'd go. But...you know..." She looked at Claire, hoping her friend couldn't see past the dark clouds building up in her mind.

Until her rescue from Africa, Jill had always known she owed her life far more to Carlos than Chris. But time as Wesker’s captive had also made her resent him a little. If he had just let her die... the virus would never have been in her blood, and Wesker wouldn’t have been able to use her to harm so many innocent people. “Chris doesn’t ‘get lucky’, he gets the job done.” She breathed. “He deserved better than to have to waste his life looking for me. If you knew so much... why didn’t you help? Why stay in the shadows?”

“He’s an ass.” Claire snorted as she inspected her menu. “What about Piers?” She suddenly commented. “He’s kinda cute.” She added with a wry smile.

"I had my orders." Carlos said simply. "No matter how much I tried I couldn't make it to where you were. That's why I sent meat shield the tip off. I knew he'd figure it out sooner or later." He wished he could explain himself to her but it was not that easy. Things never were.

Rebecca snorted at the very idea. Piers was working for the wrong side. A double agent as Wesker liked to call them. She didn't trust him.

“Right, and you’re such a stickler for following orders.” Jill snorted, already turning away. “So yeah, let’s do this again in another ten years.”

“Oh wow, don’t let Chris hear you s off at Piers like that... you know he thinks the sun shines out that kids ass.” Claire teased.

Carlos reached out to Jill and caught her hand. "Don't." He breathed. "We got off on the wrong foot here. Let's start over. Let's pretend we are happy to see each other." He pulled her toward him. "I really did miss you. It makes my heart ache to think about how much."

Rebecca rolled her eyes. "Who doesn't? The kid is perfect. I would think you'd be the one getting into bed with him. Especially with Leon running all over the world with the president." She took the picture back and tucked it into her pocket, now keenly aware it was not the original.

“You going to tell me what a radio is for next?” Jill asked with the ghost of a smile. “This really isn’t the best time. I’m still not trusted around here, and if they find out an ex Umbrella employee is here...” She cast a glance back at the looming BSAA building in the distance. “I missed you too, Carlos.” She breathed at last. “You helped me more than I ever thanked you for.”

Claire’s own smiled instantly faded, clearly she didn’t like to talk about Leon. “What does it matter where he is? Not like we dated or anything.” She replied, tucking some shoulder length. deep red hair behind her ear. The trademark ponytail was gone. It was a fairly recent change, almost like she had been symbolically trying to cut away from her past.

Carlos' smile returned. "Let's go to breakfast. Remember when we would do that? We'll order the entire menu and stuff our faces. Don't make me beg." 

"It's not like that at all." Rebecca said cryptically. The edge of her lip turned into a wicked smile. It was one Wesker found irresistible.

Jill groaned and allowed Carlos to pull her along. “If I’m AWOL too long they’re going to send a team after me!” She insisted, though her stomach did growl rather loudly.

Claire felt Rebecca’s words like a sharp stab to the chest. They hurt. That much was certainly true. Of course it wasn’t like that. Leon had made that damn clear. “Are you ordering or not?” She asked bluntly, extremely diatribes by the smile her friend wore.

Carlos pulled her close and put an arm around her shoulders. "Pancakes with so much syrup... hash browns with runny eggs...let them come for us. They'll have to roll us out in barrels!" He said with a flourishing wave of his hand. 

Rebecca ordered a bagel with cream cheese and poppy seeds and her usual complicated coffee. It wasn't until it arrived that she spoke again. "I can't believe Albert was so careless in Africa. I mean I get his hatred of Chris but...he's smarter than chasing someone into a lava pit. And Excella? Gesus. When did villans get so stupid?" She muttered, picking at the poppy seeds.

“Albert?” Claire echoed, glancing up from her own plate of waffles that had been dissected and pushed around her plate. It wasn’t just the use of the name, it was the familiarity of the tone Rebecca used.
The conversation would get cut somewhat short as Claire’s attention drifted to the man and woman who had just entered the restaurant. She was frowning over Rebecca’s shoulder, seemingly trying to convince her ale fit wasn’t Jill... with a man who wasn’t Chris.

Rebecca turned her head, watching as the two sat down and began to order. They laughed and leaned in close like a pair of lovers who'd found each other again tended to do. She knew who Carlos was. She knew why Jill had blonde hair. She'd helped make the control serum. She'd done a lot of things for a man who had never once told her he loved her.

Claire was barely containing her outrage. She had seen the pieces her brother had been in when they thought Jill was dead. She had also been listening to how hard it was for him to have Jill back... but not really. There was a distance he was worried would always be there. But here Jill was, laughing and joking with some guy she had apparently just picked up.

“That’s what you’re eating? Really?” Jill asked in disgust as she peered down at Carlos’ plate. “That’s not breakfast, that’s half a pig!”

Rebecca chewed on her thumbnail as she lost herself in thought. It was obvious Jill was in control of herself now but the serum was still in her body. All she would have to do was tap in to it to make the super soldiers they had been working on...

"You've obviously never eaten Pork Ranchero on hash browns." Carlos said, pretending to be offended. "You are just trying to get out of the sacrificial ritual." He gave the pork a deep stab with his fork and bit into it, tearing it with his teeth. "All hail pig god!" He roared.

“I have to get to work... appointments...” Claire murmured, needing to get out of there. If she stated any longer she would make a scene. No, for. Is she would have to question Jill in private.

Jill roared with laughter, knocking her orange juice over in the process. “You’re the pig!” She insisted. “Look at you, bet you get all soft and pudgy in advancing age, didn’t you?” She teased.

"Of course." Rebecca muttered. "See you later." She didn't even look up. She was busy chewing on her nail, her thoughts now on Jake. 

Carlos dropped the food and yanked up his shirt. "Do I look flabby to you, Super Cop?" He stood up so he could make sure she saw everything.

“Excuse me, miss? Are you Rebecca Chambers?” The waitress had returned only a moment after Claire had left.

Jill rolled her eyes and crunched on a piece of her own bacon. “Show off.” She remarked with a smirk. “Carful, don’t want to get the ladies worked up before their morning coffee, hotshot.” She added, nodding to another table where a woman sat along had her back to them.

Rebecca glanced up at the woman and nodded. Wesker had often chided her for readily giving her name when someone asked, but why not? Who would be looking for her that be trying to hurt her now?

Carlos snorted and yanked his shirt back down. "You just don't want to be beating them off to have to share." He teased, plopping back down. "So tell me about Parker and Jessica. I hear that was fun."

“A man left this message for you, he, uh... said I should only give it to you once you were alone.” The waitress replied, sliding a note onto the table.
This note was short, no more than a date, time and address.

Jill damn near growled at the mere mention of that name. “Jessica...” She spat the name and shook her head. “As if having Ada Wong hanging around wasn’t bad enough, now we have double agent Barbie too.”

Rebecca recognized the handwriting instantly. It took her far too long to read it to try and ask the waitress any questions. She knew the woman had been threatened not to answer them anyway. 
Getting up, she grasped the butter knife in her hand and head over to the table where Jill and Carlos sat. Pretending to trip she neatly jabbed the edge of the blade into Carlos' side. 
The tall turned his head his eyes locking, not with Rebecca but something beyond her. He'd been about to return the favor with his own butter knife but thought better of it. 
"I'm sorry." Rebecca muttered softly, pretending to be extremely humiliated by what she'd done. "There was coffee...on the floor...I have a first air kit in my car..." She didn't dare look at Jill. The other woman would know she was lying.
"It's fine." Carlos grunted. "It didn't even scratch... Just leave us alone lady." He added, pretending not to know her or the fact that he was indeed beginning to bleed.

Jill was staring not at Rebecca, but at the wound he had left Carlos with. It was bleeding too much for an accidental stab, Rebecca of all people would know that. Every since she had gotten back from Africa, Jill had felt very ill at ease around Rebecca. It was like she had the feeling the younger woman had done something to her in a dream, and Jill knew she would sound crazy if she mentioned it. “Shit, Carlos... that’s way too much blood!” She finally snapped out of it and grabbed a wad of paper napkins to press to the wound. “Rebecca is a doctor, she can fix this.”

"It's fine." Carlos said, watching Rebecca making a quick move to her car. The shadow behind her shot off in a way it shouldn't have. Only when both were gone did he slump down in his seat. "Your little friend is scary." He said softly, watching the worry in the lines of Jill's forehead.

Jill was still extremely tense. Rebecca had been here this whole time... how had she not known? Why did the other woman run off without so much as a ‘see you later’? “Will you at least let me look at it?” She finally breathed. “Just because I’m super cop, doesn’t mean you’re superman.” She teased.

"We can't all be Mr. Meat Shield." Carlos muttered, waving her hands away. "Don't let some little flesh wound ruin our time. He's going to come looking for you."

Rebecca parked where the note told her to and got out. The place she'd been directed to go was a burned down factory. It was as dead as Tricell. 
She checked her watch and noted that she was right on time. She couldn't help but wonder if this was someone playing games with her. She had no hope that it was who she thought.