"Well then, excellent. From here on, you're on your own." Four Eyes dropped that on me the moment we reached the ghouls waiting for us—by a rather roundabout route. None of them seemed to have disobeyed the order or wandered off anywhere. Truly obedient little hounds.
"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked, and that was putting it mildly. I would've trusted my back to Four Eyes far more readily than to obedient but dim-witted ghouls—or to Kate, who was untrained and, even in the early stages of infection, already differed from us in certain ways.
"I understand that you're about to face a serious fight. I don't know how strong the carrier of the Progenitor virus is, but I'm almost certain that, with this kind of support, you'll be able to defeat her even without me." Yamata replied, clearly uncomfortable.
"What are you getting at? I don't like beating around the bush." I hurried the faltering (!) girl along.
"Don't get the wrong idea. I'll try to get back as quickly as possible. But it's vital for both of us that I visit Umbrella's warehouse. It's not far from here—but while you'll be heading almost due west, I need to go southeast. If we visit those places one after the other, we'll lose precious time. And you must've realized by now where the corporation's active interference in the city's affairs is leading. I suspect… no, I'm almost certain, that the countdown has already shifted to mere hours."
"You don't actually think Umbrella will use a weapon of mass destruction?" I tried to sound surprised. I had to admit, that wasn't difficult—just for a different reason. I knew the canon. But Four Eyes's speed of thought and accuracy of conclusions amazed me yet again! And they'd shoved her into that lousy squad and sent them to die? I should be grateful to those senile idiots for that decision—if they hadn't acted this way, I might never have met her. And as a partner, she was, without exaggeration, irreplaceable.
"Notice, I didn't say that. And yes, I do believe that after they already tried to eliminate you and failed to capture me, their decision will be unequivocal—and far from favorable to the city. So we need to hurry. Even if that means temporarily splitting our strength. Don't frown. I'll try to catch up with you before you reach the Arklay Mountains." Four Eyes said, already preparing to leave.
"Wait! Everything you said makes sense—but how do you even know about the warehouse?" I'd already managed to forget about it myself. Unfortunately, I remembered only the first two parts well, and Zero too. But the various locations from the third part had long since faded from memory. And who could've guessed I'd ever need that kind of knowledge?
"I found some interesting information in the laboratory. But we can talk about it later. Right now, action comes first—idle conversation can wait." The mercenary replied, pausing briefly.
"Fair enough." I had to concede my partner's reasoning. "At least take a couple of ghouls with you. They won't touch you, and with my order, they'll protect you. They've got just enough brains for that."
"Worried about me?" Yamata asked slyly.
"Yes."
Is it just me, or did both girls just stumble on level ground?
"After all, even though I've tasted the blood of the scientist from the Echo-6 squad—yours and Birkin's as well (and his, I admit, had raised certain doubts as a food source)—that doesn't replace a living scientist and proper application of knowledge. And you'll be the second strongest in our little group after me. I'm not even mentioning how irreplaceable you are as support and at long range." I explained calmly, since Yamata and Kate were giving me strange looks—as though they had seen a ghost—and honestly, I didn't feel like asking what exactly had crossed their minds. Women's logic could pull off some truly terrifying tricks sometimes.
"That's true. Especially now. I drank Annette's blood. Bodies don't cool immediately, so returning alone to the place where she died and doing it wasn't difficult. It was from her knowledge that I managed to piece together a rough map of the city. She knew many of the corporation's branches here. Let's not forget, there are quite a few of them in this city—and the corporation hides behind the façade of a pharmaceutical company."
The former mercenary snorted under her breath, but with our hearing, not only I, but Kate heard her clearly as well.
(End of Chapter)
P@treon: /SadRaven
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