#refic

“It’s really not a big deal if you need a little time to rest.” You walked up to him and took his big, strong hands into your own. “You just seem…occupied.” You lifted one hand out of his to tap him on his temple before putting it firmly back in his grasp. 

He squeezed your hands and sighed. “Sorry, I just…I’ve been thinking.”

Your heart dropped. If this is going where you thought this was going, it is going to be a painful next few days for you. 

All you can manage is a nod. 

“I really, really like you, (name).” His warm eyes bore into yours and you feel heat creeping up into your cheeks. “And I haven’t really thought out how I was going to do this, but,” he steps slightly closer, “And I know it’s pretty early, would you be mine?”

Your heart bursts and a tingling sensation creeps up and down your spine. 

You see all pure adoration displayed on his face and know right then that you have nothing to worry about. 

Smiling, you hope he can see how excited you are, how you’re just as enthusiastic about this as he is nervous. “I’d be honored, Carlos.”

“Really?” That adorable smile spreads across his face. 

You nod in confirmation, pressing your lips together to slow the spread of your smile as you stare at him in pure adoration.

“Yes!” He wraps his arms around you and spins you around in the air. He squeezes you flush against him and you wrap your arms around his neck to stay steady. Little trails of his hair brush up against your arm. 

It’s comforting. 

Your giggles make him chuckle; you can feel the vibrations of his laughter through his chest. 

He sets you down gently, keeping his arms around you. He leans down to press a lingering kiss to your cheek. You feel the small spot on your cheek heat up even as he pulls away.

“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that.” He scratches the back of his head and your smile becomes even brighter. Such a Carlos thing. “It’s kind of embarrassing.”

You laugh. 

After being treated for their injuries they faced a gauntlet made up of submitting reports, questionings, disbelief, and outright interrogation. They were under such intense scrutiny from every direction that outside of a single formal recorded debrief in which they all carefully danced around the topic of the 'deceased' Alpha team captain, It was just short of two weeks before the true debriefing could be held at the Burton residence.

Chris had been woefully late to their clandestine meeting and last to arrive. The round-about path he'd taken from his apartment had taken longer then he'd expected. The abandoned street had made him feel exposed and vulnerable. But driving had seemed too conspicuous, too easy to track. And while Chris knew he was being paranoid, he also knew that the paranoia was very very justified.

He wasn't the only one either. He'd by chance recognized Jill's car parked at a bar a few blocks away, one crowded enough to get lost in the crowd and easy enough to sneak out the back unnoticed, and he was mildly amused to find Rebecca's bike tucked carefully out of site on Barry's front porch as the front door was pulled open before he'd taken to steps onto it.

Barry's living room was cluttered but comfortable, the coffee table covered with newspaper articles, files, and photo's they'd collected over the week.

Barry would be leaving soon to join his family, currently safe visiting Kathy's parents in Florida, to finish moving her and the kids into their new home in Canada. Well out of Umbrella's grasp.

Of the eight surviving STARS member's only six were present. Wesker among them, despite Jill's predictions and how long he'd had to stay hidden.

Brad 'Chickenheart' Vickers, however, had run. Left town within hours of being released from the hospital. Considering what they were apparently up against they couldn't exactly blame him, but that didn't stop the sting of being abandoned by a teammate yet again.

It was Richard who had them all really worried. The COMM's officer had been in and out of surgeries the entire last week, doctors frantically working to try and counter the damage done by Yawn's necrotic poison and bite as well as the damage from Neptune's razor sharp teeth. Unfortunately they'd finally had to admit defeat, the arm had to go, and he'd gone in for the procedure to have it amputated only hours ago.

The mood around that messy coffee table was uncomfortable, tense, and somber.

The papers were already running wild with tales of drug use and gross negligence, almost gleefully spreading rumors of impending suspensions that was looking more and more likely to be true by the day. Even the investigation of the 'mysterious' fire had already been handed over to Umbrella, making the whole mess feel all the more hopeless.

They owned Racoon city, and Wesker laid out a list of every official, officer, and agent he knew of that were on their payroll. The number of STARS on the list was especially distressing, many people they knew and trusted as friends.

Albert explained the full scope of what the so-called pharmaceutical company did; the viral research that had been the source of so much terror in recent weeks, The dangerous bioweapons they created, illegal human testing and experimentation, and of course project W. It seemed no one was off-limits now on the staff just as likely to end up his experiments is anyone else.

There were some things he wasn't quite ready to share and some things that, with the trauma still so fresh, they weren't ready to hear. But he did give them the folder he collected on himself and his new 'condition'. 

The sparse couple of pages it had begun as had grown over the near decade-and-a-half since Wesker had first discovered project W, though it was still severely lacking. He hadn't had access to the equipment needed to get a good idea of what the prototype virus had done to him.

What he could ascertain at least was that there had been no further visible mutations beyond his eyes and no obvious deterioration, by now he was at least certain he wasn't going to 'go zombie' as Chris semi-jokingly referred to it at one point.

Enrico's plan was to ferret out the trustworthy and still uncorrupted among STARS ranks and use them to start pushing out the rest and taking the evidence they had of what they'd done, using Wesker as not just a key witness but exhibit A up the chain of the u.s. government.

Wesker had no interest in that particular course of action.

Begrudgingly he admitted it wasn't until he'd joined STARS and was exposed to their (naïve, arguably childish) morality that it occurred to him to bring them just justice, instead of simply causing its destruction through their competitors. So when he'd had access to what could have served as the hard evidence they needed he'd only been interested in what he could sell off to the highest bidder.

That meant that not only was his list likely just a fraction of those actually influenced by the company but the evidence he had on hand was only enough to implicate Umbrella on a local level.

Even with himself as evidence he knew exactly what would happen if he went along with Enrico's plan.

Imprisonment, interrogation, testing, and most likely forced service.

He'd just slipped one leash, he wasn't especially interested in immediately trading it for another.

So, in spite of vocal protests and debate, he would shortly be leaving the country to track down Umbrella's head office, the true location of which even he hadn't been privy to, and destroy them there. Feeding information and evidence back to them as he collected it so they could strengthen their side of the mission.

Enrico would have the key witness he so wanted soon anyway, with William (the only person outside their team who knew of his survival) already taking steps for his own defection. But William was almost, if not more obsessive in his research than Wesker himself and wouldn't abandon his work on the G virus until it had reach completion. Once it did though he had no problem handing it over to the government to seal Umbrellas fate. All they needed to do was keep attention elsewhere and the most damming evidence would be delivered with a bow and a gleeful middle finger toward their former employers.

As they finished their plan Wesker was surprised to be pulled aside not once but twice for a final word.

First by Rebecca who stopped him just before he stood

"I, uh…"

"I've sort of been spreading rumors that Richard agreed with the story the papers are running and told him to say he couldn't remember what happened if he was asked. To make it sound like trauma-induced amnesia."

She received a nod of approval from Wesker, and a disbelieving laugh from Jill just behind them at finally knowing where those rumors had started.

That would improve his chances, and he told her as much, they would most likely approach him with a pay off and, despite Enrico scoffing at the idea, it was probably a good idea for him to accept the bribe, then use the grace period it would provide him to get somewhere safe while he finished recovering. Even if they assumed he wasn't a risk they wouldn't leave that loose end dangling for long.

The second was even more a surprise. He planned to use the tree line of the bordering park as cover, the dark wasn't nearly as much of an impediment now, his night vision much improved since his infection, along with his hearing. Which meant As he slipped out Barry's back door into the dark yard he heard the soft *tump* of the door being gently stopped by a palm.

"When do you leave?"

He didn't even pause before answering.

"Immediately, I should have been gone as soon as we cleared the mansion. What do you want Chris?"

The smirk he found on his point mans face when he turned was unexpected.

"How about two days?"

Orange eyes narrowed behind dark lensed sunglasses Wesker wore even now.

"And why would you need that?"

"To have enough time to get suspended. So no one'll bat an eye when I take a 'vacation' to 'clear my head'. I hear Europe is nice this time of year."

The silence was enough the crickets started up their song.

"You must be joking."

Behind the smile it was clear in Chris's gaze how serious hours conviction was.

"This isn't over yet, and I wouldn't mind taking the fight to them. So?"

Amusement twitched his own lip into a smirk of his own, the prospect an unexpected and intriguing one. Considering Irons had had it out for Chris almost from the very start it was doubtful he'd need the full forty-eight hours to stage an actionable offence.

"Barry, glad to see you made it."

The barrel was removed from his eye-line and was replaced by Barry Burton's disapproving face.

"No thanks to you, could have told me the damn thing only unlocked if an alarm was activated."

In his defense that security feature must have been added sometime after he'd stopped working at the facility, but Barry wouldn't care much about that so he only offered a half shrug as the inspected the rest of the elevators occupants.

Barry's gruff features softened as he assessed their surviving teammates, turning to shame as his gaze locked with Jill's.

"Jill I-"

"How about we save the explanations for after we get out of here. Did you manage to signal Brad?"

Relief was clear on Barry's face at the change of subject as he motioned towards the yellow, painted circle of asphalt that would show Brad where to land. A heavy metal case was already open there, a space missing where the signal flare he'd launched off had once been.

"Luckily enough, that was exactly where he said it would be. You finally let them in on what's going on, right?"

"Enough for the time given, the rest can wait till we're off of the sinking ship. Were you able to find Richard?"

Rebecca had been forced to leave the gravely injured Comm's officer in the supply closet she'd turned into her, Richard, and Chris's safehouse of sorts for part of the night.

She'd been understandably anxious about his fate, even after he'd assured her his wellbeing had already been taken care of.

"Yep, he was right where you said he'd be. " He motioned behind himself to where they could rest Enrico as well.

"Heeeyyyyy, you guy's're okay!"

The slurred but cheerful greeting came from the aforementioned Richard Aiken, who had been propped up against the high wall that surrounded the helipad safely tucked between the elevator shaft and some barrels as cover.

His left arm was in tatters, torn to shred by his repeated encounters with the T virus infected creatures that prowled the halls (and at one point the waters) of the facility. The only thing really keeping the mangled skin together was the bandages and sling Rebecca had applied, he was a little drugged out of his head with pain meds and antivenom as a result.

The whir of distant propellers drawing closer was like a heavenly choir as the Alpha team copter rose into view, Barry and Chris waving trying to signal him down.

Relief quickly turned to confusion.

They felt it first, a rumble from the asphalt under their boots moments before part of the ground exploded upwards in a spray of rubble. The mutilated form of the Tyrant pulled itself from the hole and rose to it's imposing eight foot height and with a low growl began to stalk toward the first target it laid eyes on.

Rebecca stood firm, planting herself squarely between the Tyrant and her injured teammates, gun raised with barely a tremble as she starred the monstrosity down.

She new first hand the damage that creature could do, but she couldn't leave her friends to the fate Wesker had almost met and was ready to do what damage she could before it struck her down.

It didn't get the chance.

As soon as the momentary shock passed Chris had opened fire, targeting the bulging mass of its tumorous heart and shouting to draw it's attention away.

"Come on! I put you down once I'll do it again!"

Barry added his Colt to the barrage but as blood spattered across the decayed skin without so much a flinch, only speeding up suddenly to lunge at them in a running Crouch.

Barry dove out of the way, Chris holding steady just a little too long trying to do as much damage as he could.

One moment the dreadful realization was sinking in for Chris that there wasn't enough time for him to get out of the way and the next he was being tackled from the side. Something crunching under his shoulder as they tumbled into a roll as an underhand swipe was tearing gouges into the asphalt where he had been moments before.

As their tumble came to a stop, Wesker ending up half on top of Chris, a different realization was sinking in for Wesker.

He shouldn't have been able to cover that distance in time, over half the length of the massive space of the helipad in less than a blink. But there wasn't time to worry about that now, the important part was that he remain the only one to be impaled by that thing today.

Chris, while stunned by the impact, seemed unharmed and was giving him a look that was as confused by the situation as Wesker felt.

"I think I landed on your sunglasses."

Wesker was already dragging him back to his feet by the time it had realized what had happened to it's prey and to be distracted by Jill and Barry firing on it again.

"I'll draw it away, you get the others to Brad."

"Like hell you wi-!"

It focused on Jill next, she'd dragged Rebecca to cover and they were both now unloading shot after shot as it began its slow march toward them, just as indifferent to the bullets specking its flesh as before.

The two women split when it charged, Jill faired better then Chris had, timing her escape down to the wire but leaving just enough time to jump out of it's path so that it rammed into supply barrels, but not so well timed it didn’t manage to clip her as she did and send her painfully flying into the wall.

"It can't corner for shit." Wesker realized, "I'll be fine, go!" As long as he kept to the Tyrants clawless side he'd be alright, he just had to keep it distracted enough they could get Enrico and Richard onto the copter.

When it's attention shifted again to a new target, this time Barry, it didn't get the chance to charge. Instead Wesker using his newfound speed to cut it off, ram his combat knife into his chest as close to the heart as he could manage, and dodge away again. He doubted he was strong enough to take the thing on hand to claw but he'd always preferred speed and precision over brute strength anyway so this suited him just fine.

He kept the thing baited as far from the landing zone as he could manage, hoping that even if Brad didn't have the nerve to land he'd at least get low enough for an evac.

What he didn't expect was to hear a sudden shout from Chris of "Wesker get down!" and a grenade to go careening just a bit too close past his head for comfort moments before his killer exploded in a cloud of gore.

Even as the cloud of ash and ichor settled Brad hadn't even landed fully before they were diving in, passing off the two injured as Jill screamed "GO BRAD, NOW!"

The mansion fell away as they rose into the early dawn sky and barely a minute later the deep bone jarring boom that shook the cabin was an unbelievably satisfying sound.

Enrico had been secured in the copilots seat, Wesker and Barry on the front bench while Richard, Jill, and Chris sat at the back, Rebecca choosing to lay on the floor at their feet and almost instantly falling asleep, he couldn't blame her, she'd had the longest night of all of them.

The dull drone of helicopter propellers was the perfect white noise to allow one's mind to wander as the forest passed by below them. Wesker sat with his head back against the metal of the cabin wall with finger and thumb pressing the ache from his eyes. He'd always been somewhat photosensitive and it only seemed worse since his untimely rebirth and the loss of his sunglasses made them sting from the mornings sunrise.

No one had mentioned their change in appearance at least, though from their expressions once they were in the air and had a moment to actually get a good look at him Jill and Barry had both definitely noticed.

"What happens now?"

Chris was watching him critically, Jill nodding off on his shoulder, very nearly following Rebecca's example, but he could tell she was now listening intently as well.

Albert sighed, exhaustion weighing on his mind and body. Whatever the prototype virus had changed in him may have made him stronger but the night had still taken it's toll.

"Now? Now they’ll try and cover this whole mess up." He explained, "Most likely you'll be separated. Told everything's being handled, maybe even try to buy your silence. Then it'll be swept under the rug. If any of you push to be heard evidence will be planted to discredit you. Drugs or gambling or something."

"What about my family?" There was a tremble in Barry's voice, a picture of his wife and children in his hand that he'd been staring at wistfully.

"Nothing's changed, Umbrella isn't going to touch them. I made sure of it."

The tension fell from his shoulders and he melted into the seat, burying his face in his hands with a relieved 'ohthankgod' as Jill wondered all the more just what has gone on with those two.

"And what about you?"

"I, as far as Umbrella and the RCPD knows, am dead. And I'd prefer to keep it that way for a while. So if you could keep this little matter of my survival between us I would much appreciate it."

"Technically we did see you die." Rebecca mumbled, face still half buried in her elbow and drawing a perplexed look from Jill, Chris waving it off with a muttered 'later'. Adding another owed explanation onto the growing pile.

He considered the state each of them were in, the time it would take to lick their wounds and say their peace, and how long he could risk staying in the area.

"Give me two days."

"What?"

"Two days, that'll be enough time for the initial reports to be submitted, everyone to be bandaged up and stabilized, and all of us to have at least some rest. Give me two days and I'll explain everything."

"And you expect us to believe you won't just use that time to skip town?"

Jill looked less than convinced, Barry was resigned, Rebecca only offered a thumbs up from the cabin floor, while Chris was nodding like he had complete confidence that he would come through. Confidence that still completely baffled Wesker.

"Like I told Chris earlier, you have no reason to. I just wanted as many of you to get out of this alive as possible. But if you want answers for what happened tonight-" He considered, gaze drawn to the burly man to his left.

They would meet at Barry's home, having already been secured it was their safest option not to mention easiest for him to sneak into undetected. Until then he warned them not to trust anyone, be careful who they spoke to, and as soon as they were stable to get Richard and Enrico out of the Raccoon city hospital since it was owned by Umbrella and another of their labs.

"That shouldn't be a problem, there'll be a flare launcher by the landing pad, that should do the  job. With a bit of luck we'll be beat there by -"

"I activated the self destruct!"

Rebecca skirted the corner of a side hall ahead of them at a jog.

Pride was clear on her face alongside the relief of seeing so many of her teammates alive. Her full  focus instantly on checking over her team captain. Though Wesker didn't miss the light side-eye she shot his way, obviously checking him over as well and for anymore obvious changes caused by his own infection but thankfully making no comment, instead hitting both men with rapid fire questioning to assess his status as she checked for his pulse.

How long since he'd first been injured, what had been done already, how long since he'd lost consciousness, were they able to rouse him at all?

She found his pulse, weak but there, and with assurance that he hadn't been infected with the virus she let out a muttered 'oh thank god' and directed them toward a crate sitting to the side of the hall.

"Set him down there."

It wasn't a request, and she didn't even wait to see if they were following her orders before kneeling beside the crate she'd indicated and started setting out  supplies.

"Rebecca, Jill's done a fine job already. We don't have time fo-"

"If I don't do something to stabilize him right this second," She cut him off mid-word with a surprisingly sharp tone "he won't last till we get to the elevator much less to any real help. So you either let me do what I can or else we're just dragging out a body to bury."

She met his sunglasses covered gaze with one more steady and resolute than he'd ever seen from her, silently daring him to argue.

Which he couldn't, because she was right. The Bravo team captain was only getting worse, now little more than dead weight between them, and as the self destruct counted down the minutes overhead it didn't escape any of them that the facility wasn't the only thing on a timer.

"Work. Fast."

Rebecca gave a sharp nod and was stripping off the soaked bandages before they even had him fully seated.

The metallic tang of blood hung heavy in the air, Rico having lost even more of what little he had left from the fall earlier tearing open Jill's patch job. Though Albert still suspected that of the four of them he was the only one actually able to smell it, but he wasn't about to ask.

Jill helped Rebecca with the first aid work as well as she could as Chris and Wesker kept watch of either end of the corridor.

Or they were supposed to be, but as Wesker glared back the way they'd come he sensed as much as heard the damp crunch of combat shoes on the wet stone floor to his side.

"Hey" Chris' voice was low so only Wesker could hear and had that gentle pitch the man had so far reserved for Rebecca. "How are you holding up? "

The question surprised him, not least of all because the other mans tone seemed to be implying his inquiry was more about his mental than physical status.

"The virus did it's job,"

his own voice was just as quiet but not nearly as soft, clipped at the edges as he feigned ignorance at the real question,

"everything's healed."

It was mostly the truth, the shoulder he'd been stabbed in snapped and popped whenever he moved. Rebecca's patch job had done enough to keep his insides contained while his battered and pierced organs sorted themselves out. An uncomfortable tightness and a slight creaking and crackling every time he inhaled all that was left.  The concussion induced migraine had finally dulled to a much more manageable ache that made it much easier to concentrate, and he was breathing with relative ease again. The mild dizziness, nausea and chill he suspected were actually all tied to the prototype virus making him feverish. But on the whole he was mostly healed, mostly.

But Chris didn't look the tiniest bit convinced.

"Yeah, noticed. But that's not what I meant."

Wesker's frown deepened ever so slightly, gaze remaining steadfastly trained on the hallway.

"I'm …fine."

A derisive snort.

"Whatever happened to that 'complete honesty' line from a couple minutes ago, 'transparency', 'earning back our trust'? Or was that a lie too."

Wesker's jaw clenched, impatience that had been steadily simmering into frustration and leaving his shoulders tense and stance even more rigid then usual threatened to boil over and he paused just long enough to keep most of the tightness from his voice.

"You're right," he ignored how much the admission grated on his nerves "I'm not fine. We need to move, and we can't. I… don't handle not being in control of a situation well. But I'm managing it."

Of all the reactions he anticipated; further inquisition maybe or reprimand or even dismissal. What he didn't expect was the heavy but comforting weight of Chris' hand on his shoulder and an understanding nod.

He instinctively bristled at the display, that frustration flaring up instantly into anger. At Chris's persistence, Enrico's frailty, Jill's incompetence if they had just done what they were supposed to he-

His entire life he'd been taught pity was for the weak. Concern and empathy were even worse, viewed as proof of a persons unworthiness and inferiority.

Instead he dragged those thoughts back, kicking and screaming, and buried them back into the dark. letting out a slow breath as he forced the tension from his form.

It had taken years to come to terms with how Umbrella had trained (practically programmed) him to view feelings, and honestly it was something he was still coming to terms with, still fighting to overcome.

So he didn't shrug the hand off, allowing it to linger as long as Chris willed it. Instead again focusing on the warmth of it spreading into his fever chilled shoulder and the curve of his frown became slightly less severe.

This was a place normal people would show gratitude wasn't it? Or offer some comforting words?

He was saved from trying to puzzle out the proper social response by Rebecca suddenly straightening and calling over to them.

"There, that's as good as we're gonna manage for now, let's go."

Four minutes left and they were so close.  Jill was still on point and arrived at the lift first, jamming the call button and feeling that last flicker of hope falter as nothing happened. Desperation took hold and she hit the button again and again but the lift was as dark and lifeless as the once living workers of this god-forsaken facility now were.

A final slam and she admitted defeat, forehead resting against the cold grating before facing her teammates

"We may have a problem."

She didn't even have to explain, the darkness and silence telling the story for her.

"Let me see."

Chris took Rico's full weight again so Wesker could pry open the elevators control panel as the countdown overhead informed them politely that they had three minutes left to evacuate. It wasn't hard to figure out what the problem was.

"Dammit! Someone's removed the fuses."

Rebecca had crowded in next to him, trying to see what was wrong for herself.

"Maybe it's somewhere close by? I could go and-"

It was pointless and he told her as much. Any work around to get the lift moving would take supplies they didn't have, the only other routes up to the helipad would take far longer then the time they had left.

A thought occurred to Jill and she searched her pouches, she hadn't known what it was then but if there was one thing she'd learned tonight it was keep hold of odd little objects. They always seemed to be good for something in this insane place.

"Hey, do you mean this?"

"You were behind all of this. Was having us nosing around just too inconvenient for you? Is that why Umbrella had you destroy STARS?!"

He almost laughed at how on the nose she was while completely misunderstanding the situation.  Though honestly that was entirely his own fault,  there really was no other conclusion to come to with what they would have learned tonight.

"That was Umbrellas intention, yes. They considered the outbreak an excellent chance for collecting data on their bio weapons performance against trained flesh-and-blood combatants. But I-"

"You set the team up!"

"You were never supposed to be here! If that useless bastard Irons hadn't-"*ngh*

He bit the words out around a jolt of pain.

While most of his injuries had healed, save a bit of trauma to his internal organs and the concussion, the white-hot points of light that were dancing in his vision made him suspect the head injuries had finally become the viruses focus of repair.

He wavered, the wall taking even more of his weight as the earth tilted and his sight whited out completely for a moment.

When his vision cleared Wesker was fairly certain the only reason he hadn't been shot already was that Chris was in the way, though if she decided to force past him Wesker doubted Chris would have any more luck than Wesker'd had against the tyrant.

"Don't lie to me! Enrico found your orders, we know you're Umbrellas little pet soldier."

"Jill-" Chris' artificially calm, almost pleading tone brought Jill's fury to bear on him now.

"You aren't seriously defending him, after everything that's happened tonight, everyone we've lost, you can't seriously belie-"

"I know! I know, you're right. Something big is going down but it's bigger then what we've seen here tonight, and right now he's our best bet of getting some answers."

Wesker had no idea if Jill would be swayed by Chris's argument but thankfully she didn't need to be as the sudden blare of sirens and flashing red of emergency lights cut off any further debate. He sent a silent thanks Rebecca's way for her uncanny timing.

*THE SELF DESTRUCT SYSTEM HAS BEEN ACTIVATED*

*ALL PERSONNEL MUST EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY*

*NOW UNLOCKING ALL ROUTES FOR EVACUATION*

Jill's voice rose over the wail of the alarm.

"What now?!

"That would be Rebecca, she went to activate the labs self destruct while we came to get you.  How long do we have?"

When he turned to direct his question at Wesker he looked as relieved by the interruption as Wesker felt. Chris must not have thought much of his odds against Jill either.

"Ten minutes, it will start counting down at three." Pushing off from the wall he was surprised to find there was barely any pain left. "We really need to go. Chris help me with Enrico."

The looks he got were two very different types of shock.

"You sure you're up for that?" Chris was eyeing him with that mixed concern again, worried both for the injuries he'd been rapidly healing from and the changes he was still undergoing.

"I'll be fine, and I doubt Jill wants me handling a gun till I've had a chance to explain myself.  She can take point."

No one commented on the grumbled 'Damn right I don't.'

Rico was barely better than dead weight.

Wesker tsked as he inspected the man's pallid features from the corner of his eye as Jill swept the hall ahead. Three shots rang out from around the corner, announcing she'd taken care of another infected.

"Clear!"

They started moving again, Enrico only just able to keep his feet under him as they went. Jill had managed to stop the bleeding but that gash in his leg was deep and nasty and he'd lost a lot of blood before she'd ever found him in the tunnels.

Jill carefully checked around the next corner. Hand raising and closing into a fist, signaling them to stop short and remain quiet as she crept into the next hall.

They'd tried rousing him a few times, partially succeeding. He didn't seem to be entirely aware of his surroundings, but it at least made moving him easier. Although considering the circumstances it was probably better he wasn't conscious enough to realize that the STARS traitor had him by the armpit.

More gunfire, this time accompanied by an inhuman screech that told him the Hunters were making their way up from the labs.

"How much farther?" Chris question as he caught a stray infected between the eyes as its tumbled from a side room.

"Not much, a few more turns and we'll be at the lift. We'll have to override the emergency lockdown but then we can ride it straight up to the helipad."

"Are we going to make it?"

Wesker used the hand not wrapped around Enrico's waist to waive Chris's concerns away.

"We're making good time, we'll make it."

He failed to mention there were a lot of if's tied to that statement. 

If Vickers had managed to stay in the air this long, if they were able to signal him, IF Rebecca had safely made it to the helipad herself And IF Barry and Richard were already there AND IF nothing ELSE managed to hold them up.

Wesker had never been one to believe in jinxes, but he may be reassessing that stance. Because the second that last thought crossed his mind Rico's weight jerk from his side and there was a lot of cursing aimed his way, the only vaguely socially acceptable to repeat being 'you fucking traitor'.

Now unexpectedly left with Captain Marini's full weight to contend with they went down hard, Chris doing his best to cushion the larger mans fall. Although there was no way it didn't tear that leg wound open again.

"Stay back you bastard I'll- I..."

Albert backed off, both hands up in easy view and careful not to make any sudden movements.

Wesker was starting to lose count of how many times he'd had a gun aimed at him today, though this didn't entirely count with how Rico's hands shook as he struggled to keep it pointed his way, as his other hand clamped down on his inner thigh, he'd definitely torn that leg wound open again. The only reason the bravo team captain wasn't listing to the side was because Chris had a death grip on his shoulders keeping him up right.

And Wesker wasn't sure if he was imagining it or if he could actually smell the nickel tang of blood.

Fury turned to confusion as Chris carefully extricated himself from behind him to relocate to his side. The man didn't even have enough energy left to stop Chris from sliding the gun from his shaking fingers, earning him a look of betrayal.

"Not you too Redfield…"

Chris looked wounded by the accusation but Jill was already dropping to her knees at his other side, tone going soft and comforting as she went right into explaining what was happening, and that no Chris definitely wasn't a traitor.

He clung to her hand, fighting blood loss and exhaustion to hear every word shakily struggling to keep conscious.

It was disgusting seeing the normally fearless Captain reduced to this confused weakling and make him si-

He clamped down on the intrusive thoughts, pushing them forcefully from his mind.

That wasn't him. That was Marcus, and Spencer, and countless nameless caregivers he only remembered in the briefest flashes from a childhood that had been forcefully expunged from his memory. Nothing but their perverse ideology that had been programmed into him and he was dead set on going against.

In reality it was amazing that he'd lasted this long, that he still had so much fight left when everything had been set against him and he'd had so much taken away. Enrico Marini was every inch as strong and brave as he'd seemed when he'd first joined STARS.

No, the only thing making him sick right now was the reminder of how much his mind had been toyed with.

And perhaps also the unsteady realization that if he put even the slightest effort into it he could hear Jill and Rico's whispered conversations clear as day, he really didn't want to think about what that implied right now.

He was actively trying to block them out when Rico's voice rose back to normal volume and he realized they were all now watching him as he stood at the opposite side of the hall with hands raised resting behind his head nonthreateningly as they reached their decision.

"And you trust him?"

Captain Marini asked, staring him down pointedly. Jill snorted,

 "No way in hell. But I trust Chris, and he seems to think he'll at least get us out of here alive before stabbing us in the back again."

To Wesker's surprise Chris seemed to flinch ever so slightly on his behalf and offered an apologetic glance. His pointman's reaction to all this baffled him. The man's trust seemed entirely based on gut instinct sincehe really didn't have any real proof or reason to defend his ex-captain and yet he launched right into doing just that.

"He could have just let one of those monsters kill me and Rebecca in those labs, instead he tried to stop it and got himself gored for the trouble. Plus he gave Rebecca the codes for the self destruct and showed me right where to find you guys."

"After locking us up in the first place," Jill pointed out. "thanks for that by the way.

It was Wesker's turn to give a shrug, taking his inclusion in the conversation as permission to rejoin them. He slowly lowered his arms back to his sides and crossed the length of the hall to see if he'd be permitted to justify his actions. 

"Honestly, it was the only thing I could think to do to keep you from getting yourselves killed.  without wasting the precious little time there was trying to explain myself. Like we are right now."

"Yeah, was real great being trapped in a cell watching helplessly as my teammate bleeds out in front of me."

"Oh don't sell yourself short, I knew he was in good hands if you were there with him. And you've done admirably even with limited resources. I did try to nudge Rebecca your way to help but unfortunately circumstances, and a rather large infected plant made those efforts futile."

The blunt, bordering on casual tone was less than appreciated, earning him glares from Jill and Rico. And as the ensuing silence stretched into awkward territory for the first time in Jill's memory Albert Wesker looked uncomfortable and at a loss.

"I thought-" even with his sunglasses in place it was obvious he wasn't directly looking at any of them "- that given the circumstances you would appreciate my complete honesty. I've spent so long having to deceive you all some transparency seem the best course to begin to regain your trust."

Jill Valentine; daughter of a professional thief and former small-time crook turned straight, had always relied on her instincts. They'd rarely, if ever, led her astray and had saved her from more than a few close calls and sticky situations.

But with Chris willingly vouching for the man on apparently no more than a few close calls and his own gut on the matter she couldn't bring herself to write the possibility that what hers were telling her were a fluke or even wishful thinking.

Because those instincts had been sounding the alarm around the STARS Captain for months and now those warning bells were suddenly-

Silent.

She resisted the urge to groan audibly, this whole damn mission had been way too much and this newest twist was just pushing things to an entirely new level of ridiculous. 

And much as she hated to admit it there was at least one point he was completely right about.

They didn't have TIME for this.

"It's a shitty start but it'll have to do. How long do we have left?"

The blare of the self destruct alarms hadn't halted or quieted at all but it was surprisingly easy to start to tune them out after they'd been going for a few minutes now that she was paying attention to them again they seemed to be even louder then ever.

She wasn't sure who was more taken aback by her sudden, well, not so much acceptance as resignation Albert or Enrico. 

She tried not to smirk when Wesker almost stuttered.

"Probably less then six minutes, We're almost there."

"Fine. Get your Umbrella owned ass up. Let's go."

He fought down the smart remark with everything he had, lips pressing into a thin line as he remained silent and that seemed to be the right move because Rico didn't argue as he knelt to help the man back to his feet.

Chris stopped him, looking the bloodied Captain over. 

"You still up for this?"

If he was being completely honest with himself Wesker suspected he could manage carrying Rico alone. He felt stronger then he had ever felt.

"I'm not the one we need to be worrying about right now...it's done it's job."

He silently willed Chris not to press further, they'd wasted too much time already they couldn't lose anymore over his infection.

Thankfully he didn't, Just gave him one last lingering worried look before they had Rico back on his feet between them, the man now having slightly more success in keeping his feet under him. 

As Jill resumed her position clearing the way  Rico all but growled.

"If anything's happened to Rebecca..."

Wesker couldn't help but scoff at the very suggestion.

"Miss Chamber's has gone through more tonight then any of us. She'll be perfectly fine and probably waiting for us at the elevator."

And if she somehow wasn't he wasn't above tracking her down and carrying her out himself.

Something unpleasant screeched around the next corner and was quickly silenced by a round of gunfire.

When it finally dropped and he was sure it had stopped twitching after edging into two dozen rounds sunk into the thing he was finally willing to turn his back and check on his teammates.

Rebecca was on her knees. Wesker's too-still-form between them, and a distant look that said she'd witnessed too many death's over one night, leaving her no more tears to shed.

Her voice was as distant as her eye's as she lifted her gaze from the body to Chris.

"He's gone."

Blood oozed across the floor from the jagged holes in their capt…he mentally corrected himself, ex-captain's chest and he pulled her to her feet, away from the mess.

She was glad for the help. Her legs felt distant and numb.

Everything felt numb.

"Do you think he was telling the truth? That he wasn't actually betraying us?"

Chris could only shake his head, reloading so he didn't have to look her in the eye or at the corpse between them.

"It… doesn't really matter now. Come on, there's nothing left to do here."

They made one final sweep of the room to make sure nothing else was skulking about, Chris running through what had to happen for them to get out of here to distract from what had already occurred.

If they were very lucky Brad was still circling the nearby forest and they'd somehow be able to signal him, after they found what was left of the team, and make it to a safe landing spot for extracti-

A burbling, rasping groan from behind them sent panic up their spines. The wet, gurgling cough that followed turned that panic into shock.

To their knowledge, zombies didn't cough.

Looking pale and considerably worse-for-wear, Wesker had managed to prop himself up onto an elbow and was coughing up what looked like clots of congealed blood.

Rebecca dove right back into patching him up. When he tried to move so the medic could have better access to one of the suddenly-not-nearly-as-seriously-bleeding wounds the most minute weight on his hand almost sent him tumbling back onto his side from the pain of a broken wrist. Chris' fast reflexes the only thing to save him from adding even more injury to an already long list.

Though still wary of sudden zombification, Chris pulled Wesker almost into his lap, wrapping an arm around him from behind to keep him upright, the obvious question coming out in a confused breath.

"How?"

Wesker spat a final mouthful of blood, breath ragged and wheezing as he replied with a pained laugh.

"I still had one card left to play-" another wheezing gasp "Although I was hoping I wouldn't have to."

Chris might have asked him more after that, but Wesker's head was swimming; his vision hadn't yet completely returned, and absolutely everything hurt.

It all made it very hard to track the passage of time, they'd either been like this for moments or ages and he had no idea which.

Chris and Rebecca were speaking over and around him and Albert was completely unable to process any of it. Mind instead drifting to the day William had first handed the prototype virus over

Informing him with no small amount of amusement how Umbrella had instructed him to claim that Birkin himself had created the virus and that he should strongly encourage Albert to use it.

He dragged his mind back to cataloging his injuries. Not just the shattered wrist or the impalement wounds through his torso either, though they did seem to be one of the more intense sources.

Every breath was like he was drowning, and there was a sharp pain at the back of his head where it must have bounced off the concrete pretty hard. The theory proven when he felt the sting of something touching it softly and Chris's hand appearing over his shoulder to show Rebecca the red smear on his palm.

But under all that, the most concerning was the strange feeling of burning deep down in his veins. Flowing through him and pulsing as every heartbeat pushing the prototype virus a bit further into his very being, searing everything it touched as it transformed him into something he wasn't sure he could count as human.

"-hat was in that syringe?"

Rebecca couldn't see it as Wesker blinked owlishly at her behind his sunglasses, having to piece together the last few minutes to figure out what she'd just asked.

If he was following correctly, Chris had been chastising Rebecca for injecting unknown substances into dying people (which apparently Rebecca had thought she was agreeing to euthanize him, but was extremely relieved that he wasn't dead) and how they both wanted to know the how and the why.

"Wesker?"

Chris's voice in his ear finally grounded him enough to manage a response, even as his thoughts threatened to wander off again over how warm Chris felt pressed to his back and wondering how he could be okay with being bled on so much.

"What was it?"

Chris prompted again, tone making it obvious it wasn't really a question.

Wesker craned his neck to try and look Chris in the eye but only managed to catch sight of him in his peripheral vision.

"You already know."

He wasn't wheezing as badly anymore, his lungs knitting back together faster than should ever have been possible, although the concussion hadn't mended enough for his words not to slur ever so slightly.

He could feel Chris deflate behind him at his worst suspicion being confirmed.

"-The virus."

"A variant of it, but yes…" Rebecca had finished bandaging his torso and they didn't have time for this, they needed to get out of here. "We need to get moving."

As soon as he started to struggle to his feet Chris ducked under his arm to support him. It took everything he had to squash the instinct to hide his weakness and refused their help, reminding himself that was Umbrella talking, not him.

And he definitely needed help, his vision starting to black out again as soon as he stood, most of his weight supported by Chris and his knees were refusing to take any of it.

It took a good bit of arguing to convince Rebecca he was stable enough to move. 

Which he wasn't really, just standing had started the impalement wounds bleeding again. But they really needed to get the hell out of here, and preferably while blowing everything sky high as they did.

His wrist throbbed unexpectedly, almost causing him to stumble even with the support and he hissed in a breath as he felt the shards of shattered bones slide and shift over each other fusing back into a fully mended whole.

He tested the wrist finding it didn't even twinge. He could feel Chris's eyes on him, concern absolutely radiating off his Pointman as he took his in his Captain's state.

"I was serious before - about being an experiment." he muttered as they started moving again. "Luckily I seem to be a successful one."

Chris didn't say anything and Wesker wasn't sure if he should be relived or not.

As they made their way through the halls, Chris handling most of the undead they met along the way though Rebecca got some impressive shots in as well, Albert found the head injury he had sustained was apparently rather low on the viruses list of priorities as most of the healing seemed to be focusing on his torso and broken bones.

And he informed them of as much as they went, the mild concussion causing him to babel more candidly then he'd probably ever spoken to anyone but William.

He theorized absently that if he'd injected himself earlier he may have been fully healed already, though he admitted he had never intended to use the damn thing anyway.

"Thought about burning it, but couldn't bear to let it go without researching it first… considered selling it off to a competitor, same as the data I was going to copy from the drives."

THAT got a good bit of push back, sparking an argument between them as they waited for the lift that ended with Wesker admitting he was fully aware of his ethical failings and was working on undoing the damage Umbrella had done to his moral compass.

By the time the lift shuddered to a stop a few levels up he was assuring them he'd already  decided on his own he wouldn't be selling the data off, mollifying his teammates somewhat.

They had to pause again within a few halls as, with a loud series of snaps and cracks, the ribs that had been fractured snapped back into place. 

He'd assumed nothing could hurt worse then being impaled but as he knelt in a crumpled heap on the concrete with Chris still carefully making sure he didn't collapse completely. Wesker was rather displeased to discover that trauma and blacking out had apparently dulled much of that agony.

NO, the splintered bone shards being dragged out of his flooded lungs were proving that initial theory very very wrong.

At the very least once the agony had passed he found himself able to breath normally again, not even a wheeze or rattle in his chest as he sucked in a deep gasp of air.

"I think it's over."

He removed his sunglasses to rub the ache from his eyes and wipe the sweat from his brow, surprised when a hand gently cupped his chin to tilt his head up so he was looking Chris in the eye. 

The other man's brow creased in shock and concern.

"Your eyes have changed," he explained after a moments inspection "they don't even look human anymore."

While the warmth of Chris's hand was comforting with his body still far too chilled from his temporary death and struggling to regulate again,  he pulled away from the touch. Replacing his sunglasses to hide the most obvious new evidence of his change.

"I'm NOT human anymore,  but at least I'll be able to finish what I started."

"And how much further is this going to go Wesker?" There was something just a bit too pleading in his tone for it to count as a demand. "Are you going to become one of those mindless zombies now? Go for our throats without a second thought? Or a monster like that tyrant thing that attacked you?"

Arguments and reassurances died on his tongue, knowing they'd already seen how much of this nightmare was due to unforeseen outcomes and hubris.

"I was always going to become a monster Chris, " he admitted quietly "that was always Umbrellas plan for me and I've taken the next step just like they wanted.  It's not supposed to go any farther than this but you've seen how wrong things can go. If the worst does happen I'm counting on you to stop me."

Obviously not the answer Chris had been hoping for but he accepted it none the less with little more than a gave nod to show his resigned acceptance.

"I found a file in the labs," Rebecca had been so quiet since he first doubled over, the medic suddenly speaking up almost surprised him.  "It said there was still a lot of that virus here,  we should definitely blow this whole place up!" 

Her enthusiasm almost made him laugh,  but with the stomach wounds not quiet healed yet it only allowed him an amused huff.

"Right, the show must go on." Chris helped haul Wesker to his feet,  the extra aid was still both needed and much appreciated. 

"We'll leave that up to you Rebecca."

"I'm on it! I'll start the self-destruct system I found a little while ago."

"It's not like we're out of this yet, We'll see you on the outside."

Rebecca grinned, giving them a thumbs up as she headed off "Outside!"

Jill paced anxiously across the derelict cell, her gaze lingering every few turns on Enrico's injured form resting on the stained cot. The horrible things she'd learned tonight, Enrico's warning of the traitor in their midst and S.T.A.R.S. impending demise. It all weighed too heavily on her to allow her to rest. There had to be a way for them to get out of here.

"Jill?"

She would have never thought she'd be so filled with relief at the sound of a heavy steel cell door creaking open as she was right now. 

"Chris! It's Wesker, he-"

"I know"

"He knows."

The echo caught her off guard and she realized their rescuer wasn't alone, a second figure leaning heavily against the opposite wall so bloodied and bruised he barely looked better then a corpse.

It was a few offhanded comments by Dr. Marcus, usually made to shutdown William's delight at no longer having to deal with recently deceased child-prodigy Alexia, that first sparked his companions suspicions. Little jabs about how funny it was he and Wesker were such good friends, considering how much he had disliked her.

Small, spread out, and seemingly inconsequential as each little remark seemed it didn't take the genius level IQ both men possess to connect the dots.

There was something about Albert that Marcus knew and they didn't.

So Wesker went digging and the fruits of his labor were now contained within the confines of single manila folder.

The folders contents obviously had the older of the two researchers agitated. Hands clenched so hard his knuckles were white as he stalked away like he couldn't bear to look at it any longer.

William waited till Albert's pacing had taken him out of arms reach before plucking the folder up and beginning to thumb through its contents, asking carefully.

"So it's true then?"

The rant about how impossible the whole situation was instantly dried up, denials dying on his lips, and all bravado melting away as he answered quietly

"Yes, it would seem so-"

"How many?"

A dejected sigh in response.

"I don't know. This is all I could find without raising suspicion."

Birkin's attention returned to the page.

Kidnapping, behavioral conditioning, near constant surveillance, social engineering. For such sparse intel it  painted quite a picture.

William clucked in disapproval, his moral compass may often be faulty but even to him this was extreme.

"So who signed off on this?"

"Who do you think?" The words were almost lost in a growl "The founder himself, Spencer was in control of everything."

Unfamiliar feelings and emotions were warring inside him, ones that had apparently been trained out of him by umbrella long ago;

Helplessness, betrayal, shame, fear.

"Everything! That bastard's been pulling the strings this entire time, him and his god-forsaken company. Every choice I've made is what they decided for me. Everything I am is what they made me!"

He'd never felt like this before;

Conflicted, and confused, and vulnerable.

Weak.

"I was...manufactured."

It all mixed and fought inside him, all welling up and threatening to overwhelm him till it all spilled out in a burst of anger.

One swift, violent motion sent the rest of the desks contents to the floor and made William glad he was still holding the folder.

"Well, actually-" he offered into the tense silence that followed indicating the current page "-according to this, you were made the old-fashioned way."

Even knowing there was a glare aimed his way from behind those ever-present frames he couldn't help the smirk that crept onto his face at successfully derailing his friends obviously spiraling thoughts.

It didn't fix anything, but it did momentarily still the storm.

"Don't be crass."

Wesker slumped onto the office couch, sunglasses leaving his face for once as he buried it in his hands, struggling to process everything.

William settled beside him, glancing at the folders sparse contents regarding 'Project W'. A photo of a maybe ten year old version of the man to his left was paper-clipped to the inside cover, He flipped it to skim the scrawl on the back before passing it off to its subject who starred at it like it was the end of the world.

It occurred to William that technically it was the beginning of Albert's world but he knew better than to say that out loud, instead he quipped blandly.

"Lucky Number 13."

"Not helping."

He didn't argue or apologize just hummed acknowledgement leaving the silence for Wesker to fill when ready.

"My entire life I've been nothing but a lab rat."

"I'd hardly say that was all you've been. You're one of the most brilliant researchers I've ever known, you-"

"A successful experiment is still just an experiment William."

Another disapproving cluck from the younger researcher but no further argument, unable to think of better words of comfort to give and instead settling on asking.

"So, what now?"

"I- honestly have no idea." Wesker admitted, much as it pained him to. He wasn't used to not having a set plan.

"But I have a feeling that this is going to change the course of things to come."

 -1998-

-Arklay Mansion-

Chris Redfield stood in one of what he'd discovered were many labs hidden within the Arklay mansion staring down the barrel of his own Captain's gun.

That didn't stop him from demanding answers though.

"Since when Wesker? Since when have they been slipping you a paycheck?!"

That was the first comment that gave the blonde man pause, surprising Chris and Rebecca both when a regretful sigh cracked his, till now, calm and controlled demeanor.

"I think you're a bit confused. I've always been with Umbrella. S.T.A.R.S. were Umbrellas- no, rather WE were their little piggies."

There was a shocking amount of venom in those words, and none of the pride the scattered documents they'd found throughout the manor had at least one of them expecting from the pronouncement.

In fact he sounded downright disgusted.

Because regardless of the fact he'd been made their captain as a plant, a double agent, he'd worked so hard to keep them from truly being controlled by them. Reporting back to Umbrella info that was so minutely incorrect, just barely too late, that ultimately they'd never gotten a useful bit of information out of him. Always left chasing their tails and thanking him for it. The triple cross had been downright entertaining as he proudly watched their development in relative freedom of the megacorps influences.

When Chief Irons had first announced Bravo team would be sent out to 'investigate' the murders (that they'd both known damn well the source of) he'd shut it down immediately. Only to find the coward had only feigned agreement before sending his men to their deaths while his back was turned.

He'd very nearly revealed everything to the Alpha team the second Bravo's chopper reported engine failure, but having to answer and explain everything while trying to rescue Bravo team just seemed far too problematic a venture. Not to mention the selfish feeling that he was so close to escaping umbrellas clutches he couldn't bear to ruin it all now.

"The T-virus leaked, polluting this whole place and, unfortunately, I wasn't able to stop Irons from offering up my lovely S.T.A.R.S."

Wesker sometimes forgot how young and inexperienced the Bravo Team medic was. But her quietly gasped 'No!', As if it truly was unthinkable that he would betray them even with all she must have seen tonight , echoing his own dismissal of the accusation was a powerful reminder.

The tiniest glimmer of hope was still present in the Medics eyes that there was something more to the story, that he hadn't purposely fed them to the Wolves. Metaphorically and literally.

It was a spark he was glad he didn't have to extinguish completely.

"You're right my dear, but I may as well have."

The admission only seemed to enrage Chris more, nearly rushing Wesker even with a gun on him. Rebecca being in the line of fire as well probably the only thing that kept him from doing it.

Instead he settled on shouting nearly into the barrel.

"You killed them with your own dirty hands you bastard!"

The gun that had been lowering ever so slightly as they spoke refocused on the sharpshooter, bringing him up short, but the stern expression softened the slightest bit as he lowered it again, seeming to decide on something.

"I have something that’s of some interest to you."

Unexpectedly, he turned his back to them and returned to the computer he'd been working at when they'd entered, beckoning them over.

Chris scoffed, ready to take advantage of Wesker's inattention but found his own diverted to the contents of the tank to the mans left.

A huge, imposing, vaguely humanoid creature covered in bulging veins, open sores, and a heart so swollen it had burst from its chest.

It made Rebecca feel sick just looking at it.

"The ultimate life form," Wesker explained dismissively once he noted where Chris and Rebecca's attentions had been drawn "the Tyrant."

"Wesker, you've become senile."

A derisive laugh answered him, fingers still dancing over the keyboard.

"Chris, you'll never understand."

"Try me."

Wesker's fingers finally stilled, resting on the keys momentarily before he faced them again. Considering them both for a moment before finally telling them the truth.

"I'm just like all the other things you've been fighting against tonight, another creation - a slave of Umbrella. Something that I wasn't even aware of for most of my life. You can imagine how … displeased I was when I discovered the truth."

He made a dismissive wave toward the tyrants prone, suspended form.

"As for my 'magnificent' creation. I began down that path long before I knew how I was being manipulated, and  found they'd made sure that once I started something I'd be compelled to finish. But now that the Tyrant is complete this thing can be nothing to me. I'm finally free of it and soon I'll be free of them too."

There was silence as they processed the unexpected admission. Chris was still tense, looking half ready to lunge at Wesker if he so much as twitched wrong and half like he was actually giving the words consideration,  but something seem to click for Rebecca.

"That's what you meant before, when you corrected yourself. Said 'WE' instead of just STARS were Umbrellas -um." she wasn't keen on repeating the 'little piggies' part, but a proud smile still graced his features.

"Smart girl, Umbrella has no idea I'm aware of my own status as an experiment, that I've spent years carefully clipping their strings. Or that I've been doctoring every report I've sent their way so STARS could operate as unhindered as possible, None of you were supposed to be involved in any of this"

"And how are we expected to believe anything you say."

"You're not, you have no reason to. You just need to get the survivors out past the rest of those things. I'll burn all of them along with this entire lab. And that will be the end of my connection to Umbrella."

"If this is another trick-" Chris' warning came out in a growl, surprised to be cut off by the butt of Wesker's gun being offered his way.

"Then I won't blame you for the bullet in the back of my head."

Rebecca chewed her lip nervously as Chris' gaze went from the gun to Wesker and then to the creature in the tank, coming to a decision and pushing it aside and down, but not taking it.

"Keep it, you'll need it when we're getting out of here. What's left for you to do?"

Albert hadn't realized he'd been holding his breath till it all escaped him in a relieved sigh and went back to his work.

"Not much, pull everything from the databank as evidence, shut down the Tyrants life support, and activate the self-destruct sequence so nothing else gets out and spreads. But that’s in another section of the labs."

"I think I found that earlier!"

He nodded appreciatively to Rebecca.

"Good, as soon as we're done here you can take care of that while me and chris round up what's left of the team."

The screen unexpectedly turned red, causing all three of them to jump as a computerized female voice informed them matter-of-factly.

"Due to emergency conditions all data has been backed up to the UMF013"

Well, that certainly didn't make things any easier.

Albert tsked, grumbling to himself as he changed tactics.

"I see Sergei has been busy."

"Who's Sergei?"

"An ex co-worker and current thorn in our side."

God there would be so much explaining to do once this was all over.

Again the screen flashed red and the voice informed them in the same clipped, exact tone.

"I'm afraid that as of 2400 hours I have taken it upon my authority to revoke your access privileges to the mainframe system."

A growl of frustration escaped him, a threat almost following if Rebecca hadn't pointed over his shoulder at tiny text flashing across the corner of the screen.

"That's not good is it."

To Wesker the string of code was instantly recognizable as the T-003 activation sequence and Albert's blood ran cold.

"No, no it is not."

His fingers began flashing over the keyboard again to no avail, the Red Queen had him well and truly locked out of the system.

There was still the manual override located at the tank itself, but even before he could attempt to activate it he knew it was far too late. The suspension fluid was draining rapidly, drugs and nutrient feeds deactivating, the bulbous heart beating  faster as it returned to consciousness.

There was no time.

"Go! Now!"

The words barely left his mouth before they were swallowed up by the shattering of glass right behind him and the sharp pain of claws puncturing his chest. He felt his feet leaving the ground as the Tyrant used momentum to throw his battered body at Chris and Rebecca's feet.

A gasped cry of 'Captain!' filtered into comprehension and he was fairly sure it was Rebecca, the shout of 'Come on you test tube freak!' he was certain came from Chris was quickly washed away by gunfire.

Things became a bit -muddled- after that.

Small hands on gaping wounds trying to stem the flow of blood,

more shouts,

more gunfire,

it all congealed and coalesced as tendrils of black edged into his vision.

He tried to speak but only managed to gurgle blood down his own chin prompting Rebecca to double her efforts to try and at least lessen the pain.

He pawed sluggishly at his breast pocket. Limbs feeling unwieldy, like the air had turned to tar that he had to struggle to move through.

The filled syringe Rebecca extracted for him was fortunately undamaged

It took a distressing amount of effort as his lungs flooded and his vision tunneled to make his wishes clear, but he managed. The needle left hovering over his also thankfully intact heart.

Uncertainty, hesitation, and fear all flashed across her features as she realized what he wanted her to do, all resolving into grim determination as Wesker felt the cold dark fingers of Death reaching out for him.