Disclaimer: I do not own any people, places, or things associated at all with any of the Resident Evil games.
Note: This is an ALTERNATE UNIVERSE story based off of the Resident Evil universe. I know that Alexia is a bitch, Wesker's a dick, Marcus is a prick, and Birkin is an obsessive bastard. HOWEVER, in this story they are NOT the bad guys. Also, several of the characters are changed in some way (background, personality, living space, etc). The storyline as well as the series of events has also been changed. With this in mind, here we go.
A Different World: Revelations
By: Striker
Act One: Welcome to Raccoon
A young woman in a white lab coat peered into a microscope, checking the results of her experiment. She looked to be in her early twenties with long blonde hair tied in a ponytail. She stepped back from the microscope and picked up a tape recorder from the table the device was sitting on. The room was a standard lab with various instruments and machines situated on a long brown table. The walls were a sterile white. The linoleum floor reflected the florescent lights that lit the room up. On one of the walls a series if incubators full of Petri dishes hummed softly. The woman ran her fingers through her hair as she pushed the record button. "Wednesday, October 14, 1998. 1:45 PM. Test number 25 completed. Success rate still around seventy-five percent. While most of the viruses delivered their contents to the cells with desired results, there are still some problems getting all the viruses to complete delivery. These problems result from some of the viruses not attaching themselves to the cells, sporadic mutation of virus DNA making delivery of the package impossible, or in the worse case the virus infecting the cells. As for the cells that have successfully received the package, there have been few problems with the cells accepting the genes." The woman turned to the incubators and spoke into the recorder. "Herpesviridae batch number 18 and Hepadnaviridae batch number 16 will be ready by tomorrow. Testing on RNA viruses Filoviridae and Retroviridae will begin next week on the 19th or 20th. Hopefully these viruses will prove to be more suitable specimens for this research." The woman pushed the stop button on the tape recorder and set it back down on the table. Leaning against the table she let out a sign. "Almost two and a half years and I'm only three-quarters of the way there. Still, if I was the first person to be doing this kind of research I wouldn't be anywhere's near this far." She went back to the microscope and looked into it again.
The door to the lab opened and a female lab assistant walked in. "Dr. Ashford, I have a message for you."
"What do they want?" Dr. Ashford asked.
"You've been called to a meeting." The assistant said. "Oh and doctor, if you don't mind me asking, where is your ID card?"
"I took it off." Dr. Ashford replied. "I find that it gets in my way." She reached into her coat pocket and retrieved her card. Next to her picture it read DR. ALEXIA ASHFORD UMBRELLA PHARMACEUTICALS ANTARCTICA RESEARCH FACILITY. She clipped her card to the pocket of her coat. "So what kind of meeting is so important that it would require me to put off vital medical research that I've spent the last couple of years trying to finish?"
"I believe it has to do with your research." The assistant said cheerfully. "Maybe they want to congratulate you on your progress."
Alexia let out a chuckle and left the room. "If they want to congratulate me they should wait till I'm done."
The assistant quickly followed Alexia down the hall. "From what I was told to tell you this is a meeting to check on the progress of all the company's projects. I guess that the higher ups want you to compare notes and see if each project can benefit from the success of the others."
"So where is this meeting supposed to be held?" Alexia asked.
The assistant's face broke into a big grin. "The legendary Spencer Estate in Raccoon City, Colorado."
Alexia stopped and turned to the assistant. "The Spencer Estate, isn't that the facility that both Dr. James Marcus and the Birkins are conducting their research? If that's the case then this meeting is more important than I thought. The only problem is that I have to prepare the samples for the next round of tests. When is it?"
"This weekend." The assistant replied. "They want you there early though. Something about throwing a big party before the meeting takes place. You're to leave by way of transport tomorrow afternoon. You're to arrive in Brazil and get on a commercial flight to Denver. I think this trip will be good for you. It'll give you a chance to go someplace warmer than this freezer."
"Since Umbrella went through all this trouble already I might as well go." Alexia said. "I'll put Dr. Jenkins in charge of the experiments. I better start packing now. Do me a favor and start getting my research together. I'll need it by tomorrow morning."
"Don't worry; I'll have it all ready for you." The assistant said. "I hope you have fun on your trip."
Alexia watched the young woman excitingly run off. "Dr. Marcus and Dr. Birkin. Looks like I'll finally be able to meet you." With that Alexia turned and headed for her room.
"I can't believe we have to do this." Chris said, his arms crossed over his chest.
"Calm down Chris." Jill said. "And you say that I'm impatient." The two S.T.A.R.S. members were waiting at the Denver Airport. They were both dressed in jeans and T-shirts, making it difficult to tell that they were working. Other people were busily rushing by to catch planes, pick up luggage, or rent cars. The two had been waiting for a few hours for Alexia's arrival. Jill looked out the large windows that lined the wall of the loading area. They had been asked to pick up Alexia and to take her to the Spencer Estate. While Jill didn't mind, Chris was a different story.
"It's just that I didn't go through all that military training to be a chauffer." Chris shot back. "Come on Jill, with the money Umbrella has you would think that they would spring the money to get this Dr. Ashford a cab."
Jill walked over to Chris and draped her arm around his neck. "Come on; don't tell me that you didn't mind getting out of that office for once. I for one am glad to be away from the station. I swear the only reason half those guys bother to show up for work is just for a chance to see me walk through the halls."
Chris chuckled. "Who can blame them? At least they haven't tried slap your ass yet."
"That'll be the last thing they ever do." Jill said. "Nobody touches me without my permission."
"So that's why you never got any dates in college. All the boys were scared that you would beat the shit out of them." Chris said. With that remark Jill smacked him in the shoulder and crossed her arms. "So when is this lady getting here?" Chris asked, a big grin on his face.
"The plane should have been here by now." Jill replied dryly.
Chris looked out over the runway. "Do we know what she looks like? The last thing I want to do is stand by the luggage department holding a big sign over my head."
Jill reached into her pocket and pulled out a picture. "This is what Dr. Ashford looks like. Frankly I don't think we're going to miss her."
Chris looked at the picture. "She sure is attractive. I bet she has to fend men off with a stick."
"Well from what I heard she's supposed to be a genius." Jill said. "According to Wesker she's meeting some other equally brilliant people for some big get together."
"I don't care what's going on." Chris said. "All I care about is picking this woman up, taking her to Raccoon, and then going home. I had to get up too damn early for this job."
Just then an announcement for Alexia's flight came over the loudspeakers. "Delta Flight 87 from Houston is now arriving at gate four. Thank you."
"About damn time." Chris huffed.
"You better be nice to her." Jill said. "The last thing I need is for Wesker to yell at us for being rude to an important person. We'll just pick her up, drop her off at the mansion, and call it a day." Jill finished the last part of her sentence by giving Chris a sly grin. Chris replied by smiling back and pointing towards the gate. Jill looked towards the direction he was pointing and saw Alexia looking around the airport. She was wearing a blue shirt and skirt with her hair in a braid. "It's about damn time." Jill muttered under her breath. She and Chris started towards Alexia. "Dr. Ashford, my name's Jill Valentine and this is Chris Redfield. We're with the Raccoon City S.T.A.R.S. and we were asked by Captain Wesker to escort you to the Spencer Estate." Jill then extended her hand.
"It's nice to meet you." Alexia said as she shook Jill's hand. "Please, call me Alexia. I'm not very fond of formal titles." Alexia released Jill's hand and looked around. "I was under the impression that Umbrella was sending someone to pick me up. I never expected that they'd send someone like you."
"Apparently our Captain was asked to get you, and we were lucky enough to get chosen." Chris said as he and Alexia shook. "We were surprised ourselves."
"Well, we better get your luggage and get on our way." Jill said. "It's at least a two hour drive back. I'm sure people are waiting for you at the Spencer place this minute. It's best not to keep them waiting."
Alexia nodded. "I agree. I'm anxious to find out what this meeting is for. I'm also excited about meeting both Dr. Marcus and Dr. Birkin."
Chris began heading for the luggage claim. "Jill, get the car. I'll get Dr. Ashford's bags."
"Please, Alexia is just fine." Alexia replied, following Chris.
"I'm just trying to avoid being yelled at for being rude." Chris said, smirking at Jill. Jill shot him back a dirty look and flicked him off before heading to the car.
"So what exactly do you do?" Chris asked. The threesome had been driving for an hour and had been making small-talk. Chris was behind the wheel with Jill next to him. Alexia was in the back seat. "It must be something important if you're working for Umbrella."
Alexia nodded. "Right now I'm working with Herpesviridae and Hepadnaviridae for the last few years."
"Hepa-what-da?" Chris asked.
"I'm sorry." Alexia replied. "I'm working with the viruses that cause Herpes and Hepatitis B. I'm also starting to work with the Ebola and AIDS viruses. As you probably know viruses replicate themselves by attaching to cells and, depending on the virus, injecting their DNA or RNA into the nucleus of the cell. The virus DNA then infuses itself into the host cell's DNA and in a word reprograms the cell to start producing viruses until the cell is filled up with viruses and explodes. The process is then repeated with the surrounding cells. Certain viruses attack certain types of cells and are transmitted by different methods. What I'm hoping to do is use the virus reproduction cycle to treat genetic diseases. The goal of my research is to implant genes that may be defective in a patient's DNA into a virus, inject that virus into the patient, and have the virus replace that faulty gene with a functioning gene. If I can get this procedure perfected we could treat a variety of genetic disorders from diabetes to MS. So far I've been working with DNA viruses with some success. Soon I'll begin to work with RNA viruses. I'm hoping that I'll have better results with those viruses. I hope I didn't confuse you."
"I've heard about what you are doing." Jill said. "From what I've read scientists have been trying to do that for years. So far no one has been able to do it. Also, you must be working with some dangerous diseases. What are you going to do if you have an accident?"
"An outbreak won't be that difficult to contain if one does happen." Alexia said. "All my research is being conducted at a research facility in Antarctica. In case of a virus getting loose it won't be able to get very far."
"Shit." Chris said. "It must have taken you forever to get here."
Alexia nodded. "I've been in a plane ever since yesterday afternoon. I was taken by helicopter to Buenos Aires, and then I got on a commercial flight to Houston and had to wait three hours to board the flight to Denver. As soon as we arrive I'm probably going to go to sleep." Alexia sank down in her seat and draped her arms across the back of the seat. "So tell me a little about yourselves. How did you two get into the S.T.A.R.S.?"
"I used to be a fighter pilot." Chris said. "I wasn't the best but I was good enough. After awhile I got tried of all the military bullshit that went on. Fortunately I knew a guy who was in the S.T.A.R.S. and he got me transferred into the organization. I've been happy here ever since."
"I bet your family must be proud." Alexia said.
Chris let out a gruff laugh. "My mother would be pissed at me. As for my father I don't think he would have given a damn. My parents got divorced back when I was ten. He went off to who knows where. Last I heard he died a few years ago. My mom raised me and my sister Claire by herself. I tried to help out by getting any part-time jobs that I could. A friend of my mother's offered to provide the money for me to go to college. I went for a two year degree in business, hoping that I could break into the business world and get a good job. While I was there I learned about the Air Force. I thought the money I could make would help a lot, but my mom hit the roof when I told her. She tried to get me to quit up until the time she had a stroke and died. Now the only one I have left is my sister. Right now she's in college."
"I feel sorry for you." Alexia said. "What about you Jill?"
"I used to be in the Army." Jill replied. "I believe I was the fourth generation to be in the armed forces. I was groomed for service my whole life. I was in the JROTC in high school and ROTC in college. Because of that I was an officer going in. My parents were thrilled when I made Sergeant. I thought I was going to have a great career, and so did my parents."
"So I bet the S.T.A.R.S. organization heard how good you were and requested you." Alexia said, leaning forward. "I bet the army didn't want to let you go."
Jill shook her head no. "Actually, I got kicked out of the Army for hitting a superior officer."
Alexia sat back in her seat. "Oh."
"I don't regret it. The asshole of a CO had it coming." Jill said. "He kept making sexist comments so one day I just clocked him. For a big man he went down fast. After my discharge my father disowned me. Guess he didn't like having a failed soldier in the family. I haven't talked to any of my family in two years. Fortunately the same friend that got Chris into the S.T.A.R.S. heard about me and got me in too. Chris and I were both sent to the same boot camp and got sent to the Raccoon City branch since we worked so well together."
"So how long have you been with the S.T.A.R.S.?" Alexia asked.
"We spent six months in boot camp and a little over a year in Raccoon." Chris said. "Our unit gets along with the city police and we don't have to go through any red tape like in the military."
"The other guys in our unit are great to work with." Jill added. "They respect me and don't give me any shit because I'm a woman. That's because if they did, I'd knock their teeth out."
Alexia looked at Chris with a shocked look on her face. "Is she always this frank?"
Chris chuckled as he looked at Jill. "Yeah, sometimes a little too much." Chris looked in the mirror at Alexia as Jill huffed and crossed her arms. "So what about you? What was your family like?"
Alexia sighed and began to speak. "You could say I'm following in my family's footsteps. My family is one of the founders of Umbrella. As far back as I can remember I come from a long line of scientists. My father was one of the best scientists Umbrella had. My mother used to assist him in his experiments. I decided to become a researcher as well. I graduated college at the age of twenty. Unfortunately my parents died before that. Now it's only I and my twin brother."
"What happened to your parents?" Chris asked.
"They died in a lab accident when I was seventeen." Alexia replied. "I never knew what he was working on since he never told me. It was some secret project that only a few people knew about. I tried asking about what my father was working on, but no one in the company would tell me. I gave up asking and concentrated on my work. I only hope that this project will serve to uphold my family's reputation and help to improve the medical field."
"I heard that you were important, but I didn't know you were one of the company's founders." Jill said. "You must have a lot of power in Umbrella."
Alexia shook her head. "My family gave up control long ago. The Spencer family runs the corporation now. All I care about is helping people."
The rest of the trip went by quickly as Jill and Chris told Alexia all about Raccoon City and the S.T.A.R.S. unit. The car slowly pulled into the Spencer mansion, passing through a moss-covered iron gate and stopping in front of the main doors. The mansion was huge and made out of stone. Bright colored leaves were scattered along the sidewalk that lead from the driveway. The car came to a stop as its occupants exited the vehicle. "So he gets up and turns right into her and spills his beer all over her clothes." Chris said, closing his door. "We thought that the waitress was going to kill Joe."
"So what did you do?" Alexia asked as she stepped out of the car.
"We denied that we ever knew him." Jill said, chuckling.
"I see you took your time getting here." A man called out. Everyone turned to see Wesker standing next to his jeep, dressed in his black uniform and his trademark dark shades covering his eyes. "I'm beginning to think that you're exploiting the fact that you get paid by the hour."
"Alexia's flight was late arriving at the airport." Jill replied.
Alexia walked up to Wesker and extended her hand. "You must be Captain Wesker. Your two officers told me all about you."
Wesker smiled at looked at Chris and Jill. "I hope they told you good things about me."
Chris finished removing the last of Alexia's three bags from the trunk and shut it. "We made sure only to hit the highlights. By the way, what are you doing here?"
"First, I was making sure you arrived." Wesker responded, holding up his fingers as he counted. "Second, I decided to visit an old friend." Wesker turned towards Alexia. "Speaking of which, Birkin is very interested to meet you. For the last two days he wouldn't stop talking about you. He personally asked me to send two of my men to pick you up."
"I would like to meet him as well." Alexia said. "Do you know if Dr. Marcus is around?"
Wesker shook his head. "I'm afraid he has some matters to take care of over at the training facility. He's been headmaster of that place ever since it was opened. You'll probably meet him tonight. Shall we?" Wesker began to lead Alexia towards the front door. "Chris, Jill, you might as well come too. It's not every day people can get a tour of the Spencer Estate."
"What about Alexia's bags?" Jill asked.
"Leave them in the main hall." Wesker replied. "Someone will be around to pick them up." Chris and Jill both grabbed Alexia's bags and followed the other two into the house.
The group exited the shed that led to the garden. Chris let out a whistle as he turned back towards the mansion. "I sure wish I had enough money to buy a place like this."
Jill nodded in agreement. "Yeah, our whole team could live in this place, and we'd still have rooms left over."
"This mansion was built to be a resort." Wesker said. "Ah, there they are now." The group saw a family in the small courtyard next to the shed. The father and daughter were playing catch while the mother sat on one of the benches smiling. The parents wore lab coats while the girl was dressed in a pink shirt and blue jeans. "Dr. Birkin, your guest has arrived." The man turned towards Wesker and then motioned for his family. They approached the group with the daughter in the middle. Wesker then made the introductions. "Alexia, this is William Birkin, his wife Annette, and his daughter Sherry."
"It's an honor to finally meet you." William said, extending his hand. "I've heard nothing but great things about you."
Alexia shook his hand. "And I've heard all about you as well. I hear that your research is very important."
"Compared to what you and Marcus are doing, mine seems insignificant." William replied. "By the way, who are these two?" William motioned to Chris and Jill.
"These are the two people who brought Alexia here." Wesker said. "Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine. They're two of my best."
"So how do you know Wesker?" Chris asked.
"He used to be a fellow researcher." William answered. "Al and I worked together a long time ago."
"He was very good at his job." Annette added. "But I guess that he just got tired of working behind a microscope all day and decided to become a police officer."
Wesker smiled and took off his glasses. "I managed to become the leader of the S.W.A.T. team. The S.T.A.R.S. organization found out about my record and asked me to form a new S.T.A.R.S. unit. Umbrella convinced them to have me form it in Raccoon City."
"After Wesker left I got transferred to the facility to be William's assistant." Annette said. "After we met we fell in love and got married. Now I'm working with William on his project."
"And let me guess Sherry, you're going to be just like your parents when you grow up." Jill said.
Sherry shook her head. "Nah, I'm going to raise horses. Either that or I'm going to be a vet."
"I guess you like animals." Alexia said.
"I sure do. I want to get a dog, but mom says I can't." Sherry replied.
"I think she can handle the responsibility, but my wife doesn't" William said.
"So, what kind of work are you doing?" Alexia asked. "Maybe you can show me your lab. Where in town is it?"
William pointed at the ground. "Right now we're standing on top if it. And at this moment, we're conducting research on Ebola and other serious diseases in order to try and create vaccines for them."
"You're telling me that your lab is right here?" Chris asked.
William nodded. "The labs are built underground. The mansion serves as a residence for the scientists and other personnel. Due to the risks imposed by our research Umbrella felt that it was better to conduct it in a remote location."
"But what if you have an accident?" Jill asked. "The viruses you're working with could still get into the city."
"In case of a leak the labs are built to be sealed off and contain whatever virus gets loose." Annette replied. "We have several protocols that go into effect if something happens."
"Do you live in the mansion?" Alexia asked.
"No. We have a house in the suburbs." William said. "We only come here to work. The rest of the time we stay at home. We always make sure we have time for our daughter." William patted Sherry on the shoulder. "We either set aside family time, or we bring her with us. I'm a firm believer that work should not come before our daughter."
"Well, I'm sure you'll have a nice stay at the mansion." Wesker said to Alexia. "William will see to it that you have your room and I believe that Dr. Marcus will be arriving here tonight."
William walked over to Alexia and led her back to the shed. "He'll be here for dinner tonight. Now let's get you set up in your room."
Wesker turned to Chris and Jill. "As for you, your job is done. Head back to the office and wait for me there."
"What are going to do?" Jill asked.
"I'm going to make sure everything is all right." Wesker put back on his shades. "And make sure when you get to the office that those slackers are doing their jobs."
"Sure thing Captain." Chris said. "But before we go, do you know where the bathroom is?"
"I'll show them." Annette said. The group then entered the shed.
Chris and Jill entered the RPD and started towards the S.T.A.R.S. office. As they walked through the west wing waiting room they saw two officers, Leon and Kevin, leaning against a sculpture of a chess piece that was in the middle of the room. "Did you finish taking Mrs. Daisy to the Piggly Wiggly?" Kevin asked mockingly as Leon began to chuckle.
Chris stopped and shot the pair a dirty look. "Very funny guys. At least we do our jobs, unlike the two of you. It seems like every time I see either of you you're just standing around."
"Hey, we do our fair share around here." Leon replied. "In fact, pretty soon you may be looking at the next members of the S.T.A.R.S. team."
"Great." Jill said. "We could always use a few more gofers." Jill laughed as she and Chris left the two cops.
Leon watched them leave the room before turning to Kevin. "I'll show them someday. Just you wait; soon I'll be out of this job and part of that team."
"I'm perfectly happy right where I am." Kevin replied.
"You know what your problem is, you lack motivation." Leon said.
Kevin threw his arms in the air. "It's just that I don't see what's so special about that glorified S.W.A.T. team. If the S.T.A.R.S. are so good, then why dump a unit in this little town?"
"Because this unit is like a training unit." Leon replied. "From what I hear you get put into some small unit like the one here and then after a few years you get sent to the big city units. Everyone knows that."
"Whatever." Kevin said.
"What are you two doing here?" An officer called. Leon and Kevin jumped and turned to see Marvin Branagh staring at them. "You know there's something called work that people around here actually do. I'm sure that concept is too difficult for you to handle, but you better try."
"Sorry Marvin, but we were on our break." Leon said.
"Didn't your break end five minutes ago?" Marvin asked. Realizing he had just set himself up for a smart-ass comment he changed the subject. "Get over to the file room. There are some files that need sorting. The guy who was supposed to do it is sick. After you're finished come see me. And for God's sakes don't slack off."
"Yes sir." Kevin replied. "Come on Leon, let's go." The two men left the waiting room and headed for the file room. "Man, I hate filing reports. I feel like I'm a secretary."
"If that's the case maybe you should start wearing a dress to work." Leon said. Ignoring the dirty look Kevin was giving him Leon rounded the corner and stopped when he saw a man wearing black jeans, a black shirt, and a brown jacket looking at a painting that was hung on the wall. "Holy shit, Ark, is that you?" Leon approached the man who turned and smiled.
"Well if it isn't the great Officer Kennedy." Ark replied. "I've been looking all over this place for you."
Leon slapped his friend on the shoulder. "How have you been? It's been a long time since we got together. What are you doing in Raccoon?"
"Well, for starters I'm doing fine." Ark replied. "Second, I'm here on vacation. I got a little time off from my job and decided to see how my old buddy was doing."
"That's good to hear." Leon said. "Oh, this is my friend Kevin Ryman. He started around the same time I did."
Kevin waved at Ark. "Hi. Hey Leon, I'm going to get started. I don't want to get yelled at again." Kevin entered the file room leaving Leon and Ark in the hall.
"In trouble again Leon?" Ark asked mockingly. "Looks like you haven't changed. So how long have you been in the RPD?"
"For about a year." Leon replied. "Have you been here long?"
"Not really." Ark replied. "When I was looking for you I saw all these statues and paintings all over the place. Pretty fancy for a police station, isn't it."
"This place used to be a museum." Leon said. "From what I heard the police got moved to this building while the city is building a new station in the other part of town. If you ask me most of this art creeps me out."
Ark nodded and looked around. "Listen, I don't want to keep you from doing your job, so why don't we meet somewhere tonight. We can catch up then."
"That would be great." Leon said. "There's a place called J's Bar. We can meet there after my shift. I get off at eight so I'll see you at eight-thirty."
"Sounds good." Ark said. "Well, see you then." Ark headed back for the main entrance as Leon entered the file room.
"Well if it isn't the taxi service." Forest said as Chris and Jill entered the S.T.A.R.S. office. The rest of the team was going about the usual routines. Joseph was next to Forest reading through reports. Richard was busy going through the weapons locker. Kenneth was at the printer and Enrico as second in command was at Wesker's desk writing a report. Brad was at the radio and Rebecca was too preoccupied reading a book. Unlike Chris and Jill, all of them were in their uniforms. "I need a ride to my house. It's on the corner of Becker and 18th street."
"Stick it Speyer." Chris said.
Forest and Joseph started to laugh. Enrico looked up at Forest with an annoyed look on his face. Brad grumbled something and the rest of the team ignored Forest's comment. Richard walked over to Jill and began to interrogate her. "So what was this Dr. Ashford like? Was she good-looking or did she look like one of those science geeks like my seventh grade biology teacher?"
"Actually she was very pretty." Jill replied. "And she was very nice too. Rebecca would like her. She's a genius who graduated college at twenty."
"Big deal, I graduated college at the top of my class at eighteen." Rebecca said. "I guess she's not that smart."
Joseph placed his hands on his face and acted surprised. "Oh my God, the bookworm has finally spoken. For a minute I thought you were another one of those tacky statues."
Rebecca flipped Joseph the bird. "Sit on this prick."
"Only if you sit on this." Joseph retorted, motioning towards his crotch.
"Both of you knock it off." Enrico said. "This isn't a preschool so act your age."
Both Rebecca and Joseph apologized and went back to what they were doing. Kenneth walked over to Chris and continued the inquiry. "So why are you here? I thought after you dropped that lady off that you two would go home or something."
"I though for sure you would get a motel room." Joseph said.
"Hey, maybe they stopped on the way to the airport and had a little quickie in the back seat." Forest added.
"First of all," Jill said turning to Forest and Joseph, "Our relationship is strictly professional. And secondly we ran into Wesker at the mansion and he said to wait for him here."
"By the way, did you get a tour of the mansion?" Richard asked. "I heard that the place is pretty sweet. It must have taken a nice chunk of change to build that place."
"Believe me, it was." Chris said. "We didn't see the entire mansion, but Spencer put a lot of money into decorating the place. We also got introduced to the Birkins."
Rebecca snapped her head up at the sound of the name. "Do you mean William Birkin, THE William Birkin?"
"You've heard about him?" Chris asked.
"Heard about him, I did my thesis paper of his research." Rebecca replied. "I wish Captain Wesker would have told me to go along."
"If you ask Wesker I'm sure he'll introduce you to Birkin." Jill said. "Turns out Wesker used to be Birkin's assistant." Jill finished her sentence with a bet-you-didn't-know-that tone.
"So, everyone here knows that." Enrico said.
"You did." Jill asked, the wind taken out of her sails. "Why didn't anyone tell us?"
"We didn't think it was important." Kenneth said. "And besides, you never asked us about what Wesker used to do."
Chris groaned and went to sit down at his desk when he saw another person at the next desk. "Oh man. What are you doing here Barry? I thought you had the day off?" Chris walked over to Barry's desk to see his friend filling out reports.
"Hello Chris." Barry replied. "I should ask you the same."
"You know you are married to someone other than your work." Chris said, leaning against Barry's desk. "Shouldn't you be at home with your family?"
"There are too many things that need to be done." Barry said. "Besides, Kathy understands."
Chris let out a huff. "I bet she does. I'm surprised she hasn't divorced you yet. And speaking of work, didn't Wesker tell someone else to do these reports?" Chris slowly turned towards Forest and Joseph.
Joseph put up his hands in defense. "Hey, he insisted on doing them. And I wasn't going to push the issue. The man does have a lot of guns."
"You pussy-ass bitch." Brad said not bothering to turn around.
"Can it Vickers before I stick my foot up your ass." Forest replied.
Brad spun around with a smirk on his face. "Not before I rip yours off and shove it up your ass first."
"This should be good." Richard said. "Too bad we don't have time to sell tickets."
Brad and Joseph were about ready to fight until Edward came storming in covered with grease. Kevin followed him hauling a bag full of tools. Edward made a bee-line straight for Brad. "God damn it Vickers, I told you not to push the helicopter so much. The carburetor is almost shot, I had to replace two belts, and the oil's burned up. And you know what it's because of, your bone-head maneuvers you pull during missions."
Brad switched his attention to Edward and fired back. "Don't give me any shit about my flying. If I took my sweet ass time like Kevin my team would have been dead."
"And what if you get the helicopter blown to hell?" Edwards shot back. "Then everyone would be screwed."
"Maybe we can settle this in a more civilized way." Kevin said, seeing that both men's tempers were about to blow.
"Shut up Kevin!" Both men snapped.
"Take this argument someplace else." Wesker said, entering the office. "This isn't a boxing ring. I swear, I leave you people alone for five minutes and this place starts looking like kindergarten."
"What kept you so long?" Enrico asked as he left Wesker's desk.
"I had a talk with both Dr. Birkin and Dr. Ashford." Wesker said. "They appreciated our help in bringing Dr. Ashford here. It turns out that Umbrella is having a party at the Spencer mansion to welcome Dr. Ashford and we've all been invited. Both Birkin and Ashford are interested in meeting you Rebecca."
Rebecca put down her book and looked at Wesker. "That would be great. How did we get invited anyway?"
Wesker smiled at Chris and Jill. "Apparently these two made quite an impression on Dr. Ashford. It seems that she wants to meet all of us. She also wants to meet your sister Chris. Tell her to come and bring her friends." Chris nodded as Wesker continued. "The party is tomorrow night at six." Wesker then turned towards Rebecca. "I believe Dr. Marcus will be there as well."
"Dr. James Marcus?" Rebecca asked, jumping out of her seat and running up to Wesker. "Are you serious? He's the reason that I got into this field in the first place. I can't believe that I'm actually going to meet him. My classmates from college would be so jealous of me."
"I'm sure he'll be just as excited to meet you." Wesker said. As Rebecca headed back to her desk giggling like a schoolgirl Wesker went to his desk. He stopped when he saw Barry. "Barry, I told you to take the day off."
Barry looked up from his work. "You and I both know that if I'm not here things would never get done."
Wesker sighed. "Listen, I appreciate what you do here, but I believe that family comes before the job. Go home and spend some time with your kids. In fact, I don't want to see you anywhere near here for the rest of the weekend."
"What about the party?" Barry asked.
"If you do go, bring Kathy with you." Wesker said. "As for the rest of you wear something appropriate since this is a formal affair. Now that I've said what I needed to, get back to work. Chris, Jill, you two can go home." Wesker turned to Barry. "Before you leave, I want to talk to you." Barry nodded and followed Wesker into the hall. Chris and Jill both waved goodbye and left the office as everyone else went back to what they were doing.
Chris entered his house and closed the front door before leaning against it. It was quarter to five and it was starting to get dark. "What a day." Chris said to himself. He closed his eyes and began to relax when he heard a sound coming from upstairs. "What the hell?" He asked himself. It sounded like running water. Knowing no one else should have been in the house Chris drew his gun and slowly made his way up the stairs. He followed the sound to his room and found the bathroom door open. As he entered he saw that someone was in the shower. Readying his gun he quickly yanked open the curtain before just as quickly pulling it closed and backing up against the door accompanied by a scream. "Jesus Christ, I did not need to see that."
"You fucking pervert! Why did you have to do that for?" A female voice shouted from the shower.
"Damn it Claire, what are you doing here?" Chris growled, placing his gun on the sink.
Claire poked her head out from behind the curtain, keeping the rest of her body covered. "Taking a shower, Einstein. You got a good enough look to see that."
"No, I mean what are you doing here?" Chris said, emphasizing the last part of the question.
"I decided to pay my brother a visit." Claire said. "And look at the thanks I get. I'll be lucky if I'm not scared for life."
Chris glared at his sister. "How did you get in the house?"
"You gave me a key." Claire replied.
"I want it back." Chris said, leaving the room. "Why the hell could you not have stayed at the campus?"
"I haven't seen you in a while." Claire called from the bathroom. "I though I could have surprised you when you got home tonight."
"Believe me, you did." Chris said. "How long do you plan on staying?"
"Probably the whole weekend." Claire said. "Maybe we can hang out and see a movie. I heard that there are a couple of good movies playing in town."
"Fine." Chris said. Suddenly he remembered something. "Shit!" He said to himself. "Claire, I don't think that it's a good idea for you to stay tonight. I've had a rough day and I'm really tired. Maybe we can do this some other time."
"Why are you in such a rush to get rid of me?" Claire asked. "Don't tell me I'm interrupting something."
"It's not that…" Chris got cut off by the doorbell.
"Who could that be?" Claire asked.
"I'll go see." Chris said. "Don't worry about it." Chris ran out of his room and quickly made his way to the front door. He opened it and found Jill standing outside with an Arby's bag and some pizza boxes.
Jill noticed the panicked look on Chris' face. "What the hell's wrong with you?" Before Chris could answer Jill walked past him and into the living room. "This sure was one hell of a day." Jill set the pizzas on the coffee table and plopped down on the couch. "Who would have expected that we would get invited to some party over at the Spencer place? I have to buy something to wear. I'm going to love seeing you in a tux."
"Uh, Jill now is not a good time…" Chris started to say.
"What do you mean?" Jill asked. "Don't tell me you're going in jeans and a T-shirt. We'll get thrown out for sure."
Chris nervously glanced at the stairs and back at Jill. "I'm not talking about that. I don't think that tonight's a good…"
Jill noticed Chris's actions. "Why are you looking at the stairs?" Jill asked, getting suspicious of Chris's actions. "Is there something going on that you're not telling me?"
"No, no, nothing like that." Chris stuttered. "It's just that, uh, something's come up and, uh, I have to deal with it right now. Maybe you should come back tomorrow."
"Is there something upstairs, or someone?" Jill asked, getting up and walking over to Chris.
Chris stood between Jill and the stairs. "Really Jill, it's just that my room is a mess and I was going to clean it up." Chris held his breath to see if Jill bought it.
Jill responded by pushing her way pass him. "Your room is always a mess. Come on, I'll help you clean it up. That way it won't all night."
Chris grabbed Jill by the shoulders and brought his face up close to hers. "My sister is up there. Just leave and come back in an hour. I'll have her gone by then." He said in a low voice.
Jill's face broke into a shocked expression before lighting up into an evil smile. "Well, why didn't you say so? I'll have to say hi to her."
Chris held Jill back and spoke again in the same tone. "Please do not do that. If she finds you here she'll start harping about me and you and I don't want to deal with that."
"Chris, who's at the door?" Claire called from upstairs.
"Just a friend from work." Chris said as he turned Jill around and pushed her towards the door. "She just stopped over to tell me something." He mentally kicked himself for saying 'she'.
"She?" Claire asked. "Now by 'she' you wouldn't mean Jill?" Claire came out of her brother's room fully dressed in a light green shirt and red skirt and bounded down the stairs. "Well how are you Jill? What brings you to my brother's house at this time?" She said to the other woman as she approached the pair.
Chris tried to say something but Jill cut him off. "We usually get together every Friday to watch movies and hang out. We alternate between my place and his. The guest has to bring dinner. Sometimes the others come but they were all busy tonight."
"Is that all?" Claire asked, not quite buying Jill's explanation.
"The food's in the living room." Chris replied, pointing to the bags resting on the coffee table. "Since you're here why don't you have some?"
Claire looked back and forth between the food and the others. "Sure, why not?"
"Why didn't you tell me Jill was here?" Claire asked, taking a bite of her Arby's.
"Because then you would start yapping about how we should get together." Chris replied. "I told you already we are just friends. Besides, office romances hardly work most of the time."
"He's right." Jill added. "If we were a couple and this idiot pulled some bone-head stunt that pissed me off I wouldn't be able to work with him without killing him. We both decided that we would just be friends."
"Because neither of you are the other's type." Claire said. "Why don't you try and see. Who knows, maybe you two will hit if off and get married."
"In the time we've known each other if we haven't gotten together by now, we never will." Chris said. "And now to change the subject, I did have something I need to tell you, though I don't know why. Today we had to pick up some scientist for Umbrella and we ended up getting invited to a party at the Spencer mansion, I was told that I could bring you along as well."
Claire's jaw dropped at the name of the mansion. "You mean the Spencer mansion? Sure I'll come. Do you think I could bring some friends?"
"It's OK if you do, just don't bring a lot of them." Chris replied.
"I just know who I'm going to bring." Claire said. "When is it?"
"Tomorrow night at six." Jill said. "It's formal so you'll have to dress up."
Claire jumped up and headed for the stairs. "If that's the case I better get back and tell Eliza and Steve. We'll have to go shopping tomorrow for the party. Thanks Chris."
Chris and Jill watched his sister disappear upstairs. "She sure seems excited about this. I think tomorrow is going to be very interesting."
"Yeah, you and me both." Chris said.
Comments: I'm back with a new fic. It's been a while but I have returned. So far the setting has been set and almost all the characters are in place. In case anyone has a problem with any part of this chapter conflicting with any part of the games' storyline, read the note at the top of the story. This is an AU story so expect things to be different. Next chapter is the big party and more characters will enter the mix. Things start to get interesting so stick around.
BTW, if you're wondering I did use the scientific names for the viruses. The Internet is such a wonderful place.
"Praise the lord and pass the ammunition, Amen." From some Vietnam movie.