"You're still working with that Umbrella rat, officer?" Annette spat. That definitely hadn't been in canon. Then again, canon had gone through heavy censorship and had been tailored for a broad age range, so the language there had been softened at the very least. Real life didn't come with such filters.
"I had my doubts about you almost from the start—'came to town looking for fiancé,' right? After what Miss Birkin told me, those doubts only grew. But I wanted to believe you. Drop that damn gun, and then I won't shoot." Leon's solid revolver was pressed firmly to the back of Miss Wong's head. Good. You're capable of tough—but right—decisions.
"What the hell is going on here?! And stop aiming at Cain already! He saved your daughter's life—and mine, at least once!" Claire's pistol was trained squarely on Annette's chest.
"Yes, yes, the girl's right. You'd all do better to lower your weapons," Yamata chimed in, peeling herself off the wall. There was open irony in her voice as she leveled her assault rifle at the group without singling out a specific target.
"I desperately need some popcorn!" I whispered softly, making a little girl who managed to hear me giggle, and even the pistol in Claire's hands, as she stood fairly close, gave a twitch.
"You're infected… but you can talk? What are you?" Annette demanded. "Although it hardly matters. The lower half of your form—and all of your friend's gear—are practically screaming about your affiliation with Umbrella."
After those words, Miss Wong made some kind of decision. Her pistol shifted, now aimed at Yamata. Leon, in turn, brought me into his sights.
"Claire, step away!" he ordered.
"Have you all lost your minds?! I'm telling you—no! He saved my life when he didn't have to. He could've walked away. That's enough for me!" Claire said fiercely.
If only I had that kind of noble character!
Leon was clearly going through a serious internal struggle. But in the end, he lowered his pistol—though he didn't holster it.
A wise choice. At least the second part. He didn't really need to lower it—just redirect it.
"Yes, Yamata and I are Delta Team—'Wolfpack.' Call signs: Four Eyes and Vector." (And my conscience felt perfectly clear. I had every right to the name, considering I'd inherited everything from the previous Vector!) "We were Umbrella mercenaries. But when the mission failed, they left us here to rot in this dying city. And as for what they did to me—well, that's obvious enough(Unlike Four Eyes with her half-mask.)." I gestured at myself.
"So what does it matter who we were? Right now, our goals align. Fine—I'll lay all my cards on the table. Four Eyes and I want revenge on the corporation's leadership— though I imagine that's a sentiment shared by everyone here. We also want to create a vaccine for the infection inside me—which means we need a laboratory.
"But don't you think this is hardly the right time for such reasoning? If we keep stalling, Sherry may die. And no matter what kind of monster, criminal, or killer I may be, I have no desire to be even partially responsible for the death of a little girl. As for two of the three labels I just mentioned—those can be discarded. Even a soldier knows compassion." I'd picked that last line up somewhere before. You had to admire how convincingly I could lie when inspired!
"Sherry!" Annette suddenly came to her senses and rushed to her daughter, apparently no longer viewing me as an immediate threat. Good enough. At that moment, however, I felt uneasy under Ada's interested gaze. I only hoped she wouldn't decide to take my samples along with the G-virus as a bonus.
"So what now?" Katherine voiced the question on everyone's mind.
Why was everyone looking at me? Sure, I'm a monster—but viruses are supposed to make you dumber, so maybe you should try thinking for yourselves?!
"I suppose I should go ahead. The rest of you would do well to split up too—but follow with a slight delay. I'll clear the path first. I doubt there's anything here that can offer me worthy resistance." I paused. "Except maybe your husband." I gave Annette a slight, faintly mocking bow.
"Yamata, you'll cover Claire — accompany her and help with the virus. It's better for her mother to stay here, while you, as a scientist, can create a vaccine quite easily, provided a certain person shares the data for its production. But that's beyond me. I'm just a dumb soldier, not used to thinking with my head."
I snorted softly. Sherry had already lost consciousness during my popcorn comment, relaxing just enough to slip into sleep without even noticing.
"Kate, you're with me," I threw over my shoulder as I opened the door, glancing at Ada who had jumped back from me. Leon had endured my being just a few steps away with remarkable composure, even though to all of them—except perhaps Sherry and, maybe, Claire—I was just another monster.
No. Not just another.
The wrong kind of monster.
(End of Chapter)
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