Clearance Level Death

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Chris Redfield stood on the balcony of his apartment and watched the rain. This whole idea was never going to fly. He was more than a little certain it was going to get them both laying in a pile of bodies like the one they'd seen in the sewers a few days ago. But his sister was gone and he had to find her. He reached for his phone and called Jill, hoping she would listen.

Rebecca sat on the edge of her bathtub, her head in her hands. She was burying herself and no one even knew it. She couldn't believe she was doing this all because the Captain said she was special. What if he was simply using her? What if he didn't mean anything he said to her?

"Kevin is my friend." Rebecca winced. She tried to sit up, her pain now light enough that she believed she could leave the hospital. "He is making more out of it than it is. He doesn't do more than go...places with me." Her legs felt wobbly and she wasn't sure they were holding her up. "I have a feeling he's fishing. I didn't tell him anything." She added, her teeth chattering. "I have to save Jake. He's all that matters. I won't leave him." 

Carlos was leaning out the guard station when Jill pulled up to her post. He gave her a warm smile and thumbed her nose. "Hey good looking. How's it going? I don't see you enough." He teased. "You should show me more than that badge one of these days."

“And what reason would a grunt like Kevin have to fish?” Wesker asked coolly. “Unless your dear friend Chris has been gossiping, again.” He was smiling, in that annoying self satisfied way he had when all of the pieces of his game were neatly sliding into place.

The tip of Jill’s nose was still red and her eyes somewhat puffy. Usually she would have had a suggestive reply to one of Carlos’ many attempts to hit on her. Not today. “All I am is the badge.” She muttered in reply, eager to simply get inside and disappear into her investigation.

Rebecca pulled out the iv that held her. Her fingers were shaking violently. "I don't care what they do in the RPD anymore. We're leaving. I got a doctorate study in Washington." She muttered, trying to keep her thoughts straight. They'd taken her clothes. She'd have to leave in the gown. And Jill... She'd have to call the other woman to smuggle her out of the city.
"Pregnant women are being tested on." She added. "Ive heard talk of people seeing fetuses and even infants in the sewers. Dead and alive." She turned at the door to glare at Wesker. "My son will not be one of them."

Carlos frowned, now seeing her puffy eyes and red nose. "Hey...are you...can I come bye your office later? I wanted to... Ask about something." This time he gave her a gentle smile, hoping to at least change the dark look on her face.

“The only way that would happen, would be if you were weak enough to allow it.” Wesker pointed out icily. “But you truly have lost your mind if you think I am allowing you to leave the city with my offspring.” It was odd, that he had chosen not to call Jake simply his son. Wesker was keeping something from Rebecca. Something had him almost… worried.

Jill stared up at Carlos, finding comfort in his warm eyes. He was someone she wished she could call a friend, but she had kept him at a distance, knowing how jealous Chris got. Some good that did her. “Everything okay?” She asked, surprised to see this almost serious side to him.

Rebecca had to catch herself on the door frame as Wesker's words reached her. "Don't you dare. You walked away from us. You have no claim to him. I'm leaving. You can do what you've been doing from the beginning and disappear." She said firmly. Her chin wavered ever so slightly but she remained standing firm, her fists now balled at her sides. 

Carlos shook his head and then nodded. He couldn't exactly speak to her here but he did need to speak to her. "I'll come by in an hour okay? How about we go for lunch together?" He asked hopefully, glancing at another of the guards who was listening rather intently. "I know a quiet place."

“Who will stop me? Your new boy toy?” He mocked. “You seem to forget who I am.” He added, smiling icily. “Of course… I could always pay dear Kevin a visit first… if you would rather…”

Jill hesitated, but briefly followed his gaze to the other man. “You know how to sweet talk a woman, don’t you?” He finally remarked cheerfully, reaching out her window and patting his cheek. “You finally wore me down.” She added, a little show for the guard who was clearly eavesdropping.

Rebecca turned her head, an odd smile on her lips. Wesker would recognize it. It was a cruel and wicked smile that she had never used around anyone else. "Good." She purred. "It would give more time to get away." She leaned hard on the doorframe, trying hard not to bring attention to the fact that her water had broken and warm liquid was now sliding down her slender legs. "Promise to bring me his heart one day?" She asked, attempting to hold her dark smile as the pain returned with a vengeance. 

"Careful there, Super Cop. I'll start thinking you mean it." Carlos purred under his breath as she headed into the building. A little less than thirty minutes later he found himself into her office. He didn't announce himself, however. He simply stood in the doorway, watching her. 
Jill Valentine was miserable. Someone had broken her heart and he didn't have to try hard to figure out who.

Wesker continued to watch Rebecca, rather taken by the smile. What she lays failed to realise, was how well her former lover knew her. He knew what each of her expressions truly meant, even when they didn’t match the words coming out of her mouth. But more than that, he now heard the inflection in her voice. She was attempting to deceive him. “Why stop with just his? Shall I bring you Claire and Jill’s too?” He asked, intentionally stalling her with pointless threats now.


Jill wouldn’t notice Carlos’ arrival, she was staring at something on her desk, and it wasn’t the computer. She had clearly been crying again, If the red eyes didn’t give it away the mascara tainted tear tracks down her cheeks did. Her wallet was flipped open, and she was looking at a photograph inside. It was herself and Chris at Claire’s graduation. They were both so happy and their eyes not yet darkened by the horrors they would see just over a year later. Chris hasn’t just broken her heart; he had stomped all over it first before tossing the broken pieces in her face.

"You still want to spoil me?" Rebecca laughed, the sound not at all as bright as she would have been. "You know how much I love...organs." She winced. She was running out of time. She'd been in labor longer than she'd thought. She'd be lucky to get out of the hospital. 
She turned away from him and inched along the wall and into the hallway. It was empty for now. In fact the silence was terrifying. 

Carlos rested a hand on her shoulder. "He doesn't deserve you." He said softly. "Any man that would even try to break a woman like you..." He knelt beside her and held out a handkerchief. He didn't give her time to take it before he was wiping the mascara from her cheeks.

Wesker watched Rebecca bravely make her exit, smiling thinly. She was so afraid of Umbrella taking her child…
He glanced away only when the phone in his pocket began to ring. “Yes. Really? 20 minutes.” Once that call was done, he contacted Chris There had been an incident at City Hall; apparently STARS still had their use.
Jill had jumped slightly when Carlos laid his hand on her shoulder, but didn’t shy away when he leached out and wiped her cheek. “My dad was always right… I fuck everything up.” She breathed, old insecurities resurfacing. Jill had always believed Chris Redfield had been the one good choice she had made in her life… but even he hadn’t trusted her in the end, instead he chose to abandon her while she was boxed in by the enemy.

Chris had been seconds from stepping onto a plane. He'd gotten information that Umbrella was wider than just there in Raccoon city. He was going to find out how deep the roots went. But the strange phone call had him heading into City hall with his Gun drawn.

Rebecca began to run, tears of pain sliding down her cheeks. She'd nearly made it to the elevator when an icy hand grasped her ankle and yanked her to the floor. She hit hard, screaming in pain. Blood pooled at her knees and the woman who grabbed her crawled forward, using her legs as leverage. "Help me!" The woman howled, crimson colors sliding down her eyes, nose, and mouth. "My insides are...I'm so...hungry..." Her teeth grazed Rebecca's knee, giving her a taste of her blood. It was then that the other woman screamed.

"Dads don't know everything." Carlos said, unable to hide the bitter tone to his voice. "Mine tried to drown me and my brother when he was little. He decided we weren't worthy of his name." He pulled up a chair next to her and continued to wipe at her face. "I took Juan and raised him on the streets. So...screw Dads. Boyfriends too. Huh?" He asked, leaning in close to offer her a smile.

Wesker was waiting for Chris when he arrived. He was several feet back from the gate, watching the stillness that surrounded the building. It didn’t feel right. The call had said people were being attacked… but everywhere was quiet and the building in darkness.

A shot rang out in the otherwise silent hallway, then a set of heavy boots were stampeding before Rebecca was scooped up into strong arms. “You really love making me work at this hero stuff, huh?” Kevin asked as he ran.

Jill offered Carlos a watery smile that didn’t quite reach her dull eyes. “Maybe I should just take the hint and join a convent.” She teased with a girlish sniffle that seemed so unlike the Jill Valentine everyone knew.

Chris was thin lipped as he stopped 8n front of Wesker. "Didn't you get my resignation?" He asked with a grunt. "My last day was yesterday. What am I doing here?" He kept his gun out, making it clear he didn't trust Wesker.

"I seem to remember you promised me breakfast at the diner outside town." Carlos said with a smile of his own. "No better time to go than right now." His tone was gentle but insistent. "Don't make a grown man beg." He purred.

Wesker didn’t respond immediately. He was watching Chris, though as always his eyes were hidden behind his dark sunglasses. “Then why did you come?” He finally asked coolly. “Someone has taken several of the gems that activate the mechanism.” He added after a moment, motioning to the gaudy clock that sat next to the gate. “Clearly they wanted time alone with the people in there.”

“A face like that… I doubt you ever had to beg for anything a day in your life.” Jill teased, making a genuine effort to push her pain deep down with the rest of her childhood trauma. Any break up hurt, but this one felt especially raw given that he thought her capable of betraying him in the way he accused her of.