New recruits

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“And she’s due for transfer at 05:00? No, there’s no paperwork. Just have her ready for my guy to collect before then.” 

Several days later…

“Good morning, Barry.” Albert Wesker seated himself at his desk, cool blue eyes glancing across at the other man. It was early, and the teams would be arriving shortly. Each one had been hand picked by himself, with assistance from Barry Burton over the course of several months. He had staggered their start dates, wanting to watch how well they accepted the change in set up as each new team member was added. The last addition had been Forest Speyer, who was a former team mate of the next new arrival; Jill Valentine. A former army lieutenant he had secretly plucked from confinement as she awaited the ruling of the court martial she had been subjected to. He had given her a simple option; join the unit he was building with Raccoon city police force, and her record would be destroyed, no one but him would know she had even been convicted. Refuse… and well, they both knew he didn’t need to tell her the punishment for what her superiors considered a crime. Jill’s moral compass was far stronger than he willingness to blindly obey orders. For what he had planned, that was exactly what he needed. 

Jill was pacing outside the ornate gates of the RPD, a building far too beautiful the belong to law enforcement, or so she believed. She was muttering a little pep talk to herself, seemingly trying to convince herself she belonged here, and that second chances like this shouldn’t be wasted. Suddenly she found herself giggling almost helplessly. What would her father say if he knew his only child was about to start a career in law enforcement? Henri Valentine, french born thief and deadbeat dad.

More shots were peppering the ground at Wesker’s feet, which only prompted him to scoop Rebecca up and make an inhuman dash for the waiting transport. He had Rebecca strapped in, then peered out the back of the armoured truck, instantly seeing Jill now at ground level and sprinting to the aid of someone left behind. 

Claire tried to contain her cry of pain, lest it attract even more of these creatures. As it was she couldn’t keep from whimpering, even going so far as to bite into her forearm to try and breathe through it. There was so much blood. She could ready feel it dripping from her jeans and into the ground beneath her.

Rebecca woke several days later in a warm bed. She was not at all surprised to find that it was a hospital room. She was, however surprised to find a steaming cup of lemon and honey tea on the night stand. She sat up and nursed the cup, poking at the leaves for a bit. "My mother used to read the leaves...or say she did anyway. She'd say I was a lone leaf floating toward my fate. I'd push one with little leaf and she'd just shake her head and say it wasn't her. It was something else." She swallowed, not dating to look at the figure standing in the darkness of the doorway. "She said I would never be alone. I think that was just a mother's way of being kind to the weak and pitiful one." 

Steve hated himself. He roared and threw the metal bar he carried. Somehow he was lucky enough to catch the creature right between the eyes. He was not lucky enough to keep it from falling on top of them, further injuring the woman he'd grown to love.

“Or perhaps you should have had faith in your mother’s wisdom, little leaf.” Wesker sat up from where he had been sat in the seat by the dark window and leaned forward with his forearms on his knees. It was a relaxed stance that few ever saw him take. “How do you feel? Is there pain?”

The creature’s razor sharp claws sliced across Claire’s bare midriff as it landed, then rolled off her. there was some blood, but it paled compared to the injury to her leg. She laid her head back on the ground, willing herself to believe that the pain was gone.

Rebecca shook her head. "Just a little sore. More in my back than anything else..." That said she threw her cup at him. It shattered on the empty seat. She never even saw him move. 
"Albert...what have you done?" She breathed, her chin quivering. "And don't you dare tell me it was because you thought I was screwing someone else!"

"Come on, I'll get you help..." Steve whispered, picking her up and carrying her toward a the medical station. They'd passed it every day for weeks. But they hadn't ever checked it for supplies. It was empty. 
In the end he found some old sheets and used them to bind the wound. But they'd need to find something to clean the wound soon, or Claire would end up another of Alfred's shambling pets.

“Which part do you need clarification with?” Wesker asked calmly, now on the opposite of Rebecca’s bed. 

Claire could feel how much Steve’s fingers trembled, blaming himself for what happened. Despite her pain, she gently closed her fingers over his own. “Hey… Look at me.” she breathed. “I promised you we were going to get through this, didn’t I? You know something else? A Redfield never breaks a promise.” she added with the best smile she could muster, given the throb in her wounds.

"Jill said you were dead." Rebecca answered, swallowing against the darkness that was whispering in her ear. "Chris' report was graphic on the details. The tyrant... there's no way a dull brain like his could make up a story like that." Gingerly she reached out, for some reason needing to touch him. 

"If that were true, your brother would have saved you." Steve snapped, his chin quivering ever so slightly. "Don't make promises. They are worthless. We're going to die here. Both of us."

Wesker couldn’t contain the quiet chuckle at Rebecca’s comment. “Correct, my contingency plan required far more imagination than that meathead could ever hope for.” He breathed, though if only he knew the kind of romantic gestures Chris had surprised Jill with in the past he may have believed differently. He slowly reached out, allowing just his fingers tips to brush Rebecca’s, proof he was indeed there.

“Fine!” Claire had finally had enough. It had been weeks of her constantly needing to reassure Steve that he wasn’t alone, that she wasn’t giving up on finding a way out. she shoved him away from her, taking the bandages they had scavenged from the medical room and tightly strapping up her own leg. She took a sharp breath in through her teeth, but otherwise simply worked through the pain. “You stay here, let that freak win! But I plan to get the hell off this rock!” That said, Claire slid off the table he had laid her on, though she remained somewhat unsteady.

Rebecca nearly fell grabbing for his hand. She managed to wrap her fingers around his. Her eyes went wide when she felt just how cold he was. The warmth that she loved was gone completely. There was nothing now but stone and ice. "Albert...what have you done to yourself?" She choked out, her thumb tracing his knuckles. "I've...been so broken without you..."


Steve didn't follow her that time. He was not going to fool himself into thinking that they were going to live. Not anymore. "You do whatever. I'm done. It doesn't matter." He mumbled. "No one is coming. When are you going to see that?"

Wesker didn’t pull his hand back, though he didn’t say anything right away. He heard the disappointment in her voice. He had expected it, another reason to stay away. “I got powerful.” He told Rebecca simply. “Powerful enough to take the old man’s secrets and sell them to the highest bidder.”

The sound was sharp and sudden in the heavy silence as Claire slapped Steve harshly. “Then you have no use to me.” She told him coolly. “Deadweight deserves to stay here as monster chow.” she added as she turned away. Claire didn’t have any other option than to press on. It was in her very DNA. Literally. There was a reason the Redfield siblings were so tenacious.

"It was you." Rebecca let his hand drop. "I bought Umbrella secrets from you. Things I didn't know...you sold me." She shook her head. "After what you did to me. I want to know why. You can at least tell me that before you leave."

The Ashford name wasnt holding up as well as Redfield in that moment. Not that anyone cared. A distress signal was being sent to Wesker, telling him that Umbrella was headed to Rockford island to clean up.

Wesker offered no more than a smile, anything he may have said interrupted by the communication in his ear. “Don’t think me just yet, Miss Chambers… I still have several gifts to bestow.” He chuckled, brushing his cool lips lightly to the back of her hand. “Of course, if you would rather forfeit them…”

Jill had scoured the street where the shoot out had taken place. She couldn’t trust what she had seen, instead she assumed it was simply her PTSD breaking through the cracks in her emotional armour. The only evidence she had found, was the broken earpiece that had died moments after she found it. All she heard was a crackled noise that sounded like ‘Re…fi…d, a..rehend…’ followed by co ordinates.

Rebecca sighed. Wesker could break her down with nothing but his smile. It didn't matter that he'd very nearly killed her. It was true. She wasn't even going to make him explain himself. 
"All right, Mr. Wesker. What do you have?" She breathed. Finally she offered him her gentle smile.

"What a fucking shame we missed the medic." Carlos snorted. "After what she did she deserves to die." He flopped down next to his partner and rested his hands behind his head.

“For now, a business trip.” Wesker responded cryptically. “I shall update when I have the package.” He was smiling to himself, believing Ashford to be an easy target.

Jill was still lost in thought as she stared at the computer in her lap, chewing on her lower lip as she studied the map on the screen. She had recalled the co ordinates as best she could, and now she wasn’t so sure she had gotten them correct; they showed a tiny island in the South Pacific. It took a moment, but she realised Carlos had spoken. “Huh? Medic? Are you injured?” She murmured.

Rebecca stared at the lab computers as Wesker's men stood nearby. Alexia had ruined so much in Antarctica and she had done it on purpose. There was very little left to take back with them. Except for the Burnside boy and Alexia herself, there was really nothing at all. Her research was useless. 
She was there as Wesker stumbled onto the plane, his face half burned. "Take the girl and lock her away." She ordered as he dropped Claire onto the floor. 
As soon as they were alone she was quick to grab a med kit and shove him into a chair. "Albert! What the hell were you thinking?" She was fighting with burn cream and bandages. 

Carlos did his best to keep Jill's focus away from any kind of Redfield talk over the next few weeks. However, in the end it would do him no good. 
Chris returned from Antarctica alone and devastated. His first phone call was to his former lover. All he could say was that he had broken a promise and that he had lost her.

Wesker fought against his lifelong instinct to swat at the hands attempting to aid him. He instead closed his eyes and allowed Rebecca to work. “He wasn’t supposed to be an issue.” He remarked. “The boy refuses to die, like the very things he fights against!” He exhaled slowly, clearly trying to reign his fury in. “But we have that which eh cherishes most. It was not entirely fruitless. And the Burnside boy.”

Jill had arrived in Europe broken. She had survived hell with an already broken heart, and now he figured out how to pick up a phone? She childishly wanted to tell him she understood perfectly… he only called because HE was in pain, to hell with hers. No doubt Carlos would see the pain etched into Jill’s face as she took Chris’ call. “You should be calling Leon.” Was all she managed to breathe, her voice wavering.

Rebecca yanked her fingers away. As soon as she would apply cream his skin would heal. Soon it was as if nothing had happened at all. Then he fixed her with his new eyes. 
"Albert...my god..." She knelt in front of him, her hands on his knees. It was then that their expressions matched, wicked smiles. Then she was kissing him deeply. He had done it. He had managed to transcend.

"Leon who?" Chris choked out. "Jill...I just needed to talk to you." He whispered. He had no idea in that moment another man was pulling the woman he loved into his lap and holding her tightly.

Wesker didn’t know why Rebecca had had such a sudden change of heart, he didn’t believe in eyes being the windows to the soul and all that, but apparently it seemed it may actually be true. He hauled Rebecca up into his lap and gently held her face between his hands. “Am I monster enough for you now, rookie?” He breathed with a grin.

It was then than Jill realised her mission had clearly been going better than his. “You needed to talk to me? Like I needed to talk to you when you disappeared without so much as a fuck you?” She breathed, and no doubt Carlos would feel how tense her body was since the call started. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, truly trying to be the bigger person in all this. “I tracked Barry to Europe, he told me Claire had been in the city before it imploded. After some digging, I found Umbrella surveillance, and she wasn’t alone. She had escaped with some rookie cop.” She paused there, running her fingers through her dark hair. “I sent him the co ordinates I uncovered during an investigation. The information said a Redfield had been apprehended… I knew it couldn’t be you.”

"You were never a monster." Rebecca whispered, her eyes never leaving his own. "I love you. You are my world." Several large tears were sliding down her cheeks as she stared at him. "I fucking punished them for what they did to you." She breathed, her lower lip trembling. There it was. The truth. And she told him everything. She had been the one to set in motion the release of the Nemesis. Nikolai worked for her. She'd done everything she could to murder the other STARS members to get revenge for what they did to her lover. She'd made sure Jill had suffered more than the rest simply for the things she had said in the hospital room that day. 

"Jill..." Chris had barely heard a word she said. "Wesker is alive. I don't know how but he...god...he's a monster. More than before. Bragging about coming back as a god. Fucking hell...I don't know what to do with any of this...he killed Claire. It's all my fault. I promised to protect her and I..." His voice broke as he choked on his words. "He...killed my baby... sister...I just...I needed you...no....I wanted you to..." The line went dead after this leaving Jill to at the man who had taken her former lover's place.
"What was that all about?" Carlos asked gently. "The guy sounded a bit weird. You okay?"

Wesker listened to every word, blinded by how passionately Rebecca had avenged him. “I believe…” He paused and traced a rough thum against her smooth cheek. “Keeping her alive would allow you further pleasure, no?” He asked with a quiet chuckle. “I am quite certain that beautiful brain of yours could easily find further ways to hurt Valentine.” He added, kissing the top of her head in such a gentle manner that no one would believe he was capable of.

Jill quickly wiped away the tears that had leaked free. If Claire truly was dead, Jill wasn’t sure her heart could take it. Again, she barely heard Carlos as she was pushing herself from his lap and crossing the room to where she had discarded the laptop when Chris had called. Through her grief Jill once more realised Chris simply didn’t care that she had essentially died in Raccoon City. She was texting Leon for Chris’ location, knowing the other man would have tabs on Chris since he had gotten to co ordinates to him.

Rebecca dropped onto the couch in her new room and gave an exhausted groan. There was more to do now that they were out from under Umbrellas thumb than ever. She rarely saw Wesker because he was always on the ground missions. And when he was home he chose to stay in his office researching something.

Leon sat across from Jill and Carlos no more than a few days later. He was shaking his head. "What do you mean she's gone?" He breathed. ”No. I just got a message from her! He shook his head, his dirty blonde hair falling into his eyes.

Part of being in his lab meant he was tormenting Claire and the young man she had promised she would escape the Ashford’s with. Technically, she hadn’t broken her promise… they were no longer captives of the Ashford’s. 
That night Wesker did finally pay Rebecca a visit, smiling to himself as he brought her pink carnations.

“How long ago?” Jill asked, reaching across the table and gently laying her hand over Leon’s. She didn’t want to believe Claire was gone either, but it was proving hard to find evidence one way or the other.

Rebecca poked her head over the back of the couch. She couldn't help but smile when she saw what her former lover carried and the smile that played across his own lips. "I was beginning to think you'd forgotten about me." She said softly. She took the flowers and leaned over the couch to press a kiss to his lips. "I'm glad you're here...I've been working on something."

Leon couldn't look at Jill. He swallowed several times. "Chris sent me the message a few weeks ago but I was on a mission and I asked if he could go in my place. Claire was right. I never should have joined the government. This is my fault."
Behind him Carlos snorted in agreement.

“Oh? That usually mean you’re about to give me big news.” Wesker mused as he walked around the couch and dropped down next to Rebecca, an arm stretched out behind her.

Jill shot Carlos a withering glance, one that Chris would have recognised as a warning that pain would soon follow. “Oh Leon, this isn’t your fault. We all fight the war in our own way.” She breathed, giving his hand another squeeze. “You did what you thought was best, at the time.” She added, wanting to tell him she wished he would have followed their path instead, but knowing it wasn’t her place.

"Well not that big..." Rebecca said with a soft sigh. She rested her head on his chest. A huge part of her missed these moments with him. There was a finite part however that whispered in her ear that she could no longer trust him. "I took some Alexia samples and some of yours. Let's call it an upgrade. Totally safe of course. I've tested it on Billy first."

Leon shook his head. "You guys could have saved Sherry from the government. I didn't. I think if we would have switched places this whole thing would have a better outlook." Leon whispered.
"The wrong Redfield is dead. That's all that's wrong with it." Carlos snorted, yanking a chair from the table and twisting it around. He sat down hard and scowled. "Listen, wallowing in this won't change anything. But how's about we go kill the guy? I'd say that would make everyone feel better. This is all his fault anyway."

“Interesting. I didn’t think you would risk damaging your favourite toy.” Wesker teased, kissing the top of Rebecca’s head gently. “Has he exhibited any noticeable change? It would be such a shame if he devolved into a hideous creature…” He added, a jealous tone dripping from his words. 

Leon would see the anguish ripped across Jill’s face when Carlos declared he wished Chris dead. Chris had hurt Jill deeply when he left without even a goodbye or a way to contact him, and Carlos had seen that. He had seen her at a low even Chris never had. Jill truthfully wanted Chris to feel that kind of despair, but not like this. She would never wish any kind of harm on Claire. “As much as I want to kick his ass right now,” She paused and glared at her partner again. “Carlos is right. We need to remove the head from the snake.”

Rebecca missed the note of jealousy completely. "Oh you won't believe it!" She straddled his lap, talking excitedly. "He's perfect! As if nothing happened at all. No signs of injury...decay...he's himself! As if nothing ever happened! Absolutely perfect!" She was smiling and were her eyes half closed. She didn't realize how it looked. She was simply living in the memory of discovering that her serum had worked. She was going to be able to make the man she truly loved even better.

"Wait, are we talking Chris? Or the people who did this to Claire? Because they aren't the same." Leon said with a frown. 
Carlos kept his gaze on Jill. She knew very well how he felt about Chris. It didn't matter to him that the man had lost his sister. Umbrella seemed to take away someone from all of them. Chris was no different.

Wesker didn’t handle jealousy nearly as well as Rebecca apparently did. His slid his hsnads down to her hips, the movement slow enough for the meaning to be something else entirely… then lifted her off his lap to drop her back on the couch. “Then perhaps it is best I return to that which is actually important.” He scoffed, already back on his feet.

Jill balked at Leon’s words. “No! I’d never want to hurt Chris like that!” She insisted. “Mr ‘I-like-to-kill’ over here is the one who can’t accept I wasn’t a blushing virgin when he picked me up.” She snorted, finally leaning back in her seat, arms folded across her chest. “I need to get to the truth of what happened to Claire. Not for Chris, but for me, for you. She meant more to us than simply being someone’s baby sister.”

"Are you serious? Why?" Rebecca felt she was missing something. She groaned and laid back, covering her eyes with her arms. "What is it with you and the mood swings?!" She snapped. 

"Sex has nothing to do with it!" Carlos hissed. "I just don't like the guy. Can't that be enough?" He added, shoving away from the table in dramatic fashion. 
Leon nodded. "Let's keep Chris out of it then. I'll put my ear to the ground and get back with you when I hear something. If you wouldn't mind, would you see if you can find Sherry for me? Claire wouldn't want her in with these guys. It's almost the same as what she said she went through." He was shaking his head as he spoke. "Something is off about it."

Wesker paused, though his back was still to Rebecca. “Mood swings would imply an emotion either way.” He snorted. “I have work to do, and apparently, so do you.” He added, though still didn’t turn around. “Have fun with your Ken doll.”

Jill wanted to scream. She was being pulled in all direction with no one apparently caring what she wanted. Despite this, she would always do whatever was needed for Leon, and for Sherry, something else Carlos would have to deal with. “Of course, I promise I’ll find her… Sherry too.” she breathed, getting up and hugging Leon tightly.

"No." Rebecca sat up, glaring at his back. "You know what? We're done. I'm not playing games with you anymore." Angrily she began tossing the couch cushions at him. "I might was well..." She paused the realization finally hitting her. "I'm taking my Ken doll and we're leaving. Since I seem to mean nothing to you." She hissed, now on her feet. 

Leon returned the hug tightly. "Just...take care of yourself first. Okay?" He asked her softly. "Don't go rushing into this if you aren't ready."