Chapter 105: Well deserved rest

The heat of the water falling down on his head and down his body soothed his muscles. Rick really needed that after the few hours spent fighting for his life. He and Angela had been both lucky and unlucky with their investigation of the underground lab. On one hand it was a very small lab and there wasn’t much to explore, while on the other hand the bio-organic weapons stores there were ones you would find a far bigger complex.

Two Tyrants and a super Tyrant? Lickers? Hunters? Those were at the top of the food chain regarding BOW made from the T-virus. They had nothing to do in such an isolated and small place.

Washing his body with the soap at hand, Rick made sure to scrub everything off his skin. He’s been in the shower for ten minutes already and it was more than enough. Just in case Angela wanted a shower too, he had purposefully shortened his stay so she could have hot water.

After drying himself he dressed up, stealing a white shirt from Collins’ closet. It was far too tight to his liking but beggar couldn’t be chooser and it was only temporary. Once they returned to Mackenzie, his own clothes awaited him in his luggage inside his hotel room.

Walking down the stairs of the chalet, he joined Angela in the kitchen. She had raided the pantry and heated up a can of beans. After the whole ordeal they went through, she found herself hungry and so did he. Rick took a chair facing her and served himself.

“How are you doing?” He asked her.

Angela’s movements slowed down, her spoon leaving her mouth in slow motion. Her eyes were unfocused, too busy seeing the new memories she had made. After swallowing her food, she finally gave him an answer.

“Well. For now. Who knows how it will go tonight? Today has been a rollercoaster of emotions in such a short amount of time. I nearly died three or four times. Savagely. And so did you. I probably got infected then got the cure… For a first investigation… It was alright, I suppose? Far better than my first foray into the world of bio-terrorism.”

Rick nodded and before putting some beans in his mouth, made a comment. “You were ready.”

“I was.” Angela agreed. “Less than six months ago… I would have probably died. And I think… Most people in the BSAA would have lost their life too. I practically applied every tip, trick and advice you gave me.”

“Honestly, I wanted to show you the ropes a bit more with a normal investigation but at this point, you can consider yourself a graduate.”

“There is no better experience than life or death situations, huh?” It was said with humor but her tone was mirthless.

Rick couldn’t blame her. He had learned like this too back in the Umbrella facility in the Arklay mountains. The difference was, Angela got an experienced mentor to guide her properly whereas he had no one.

“Is anyone there?”

The sudden voice of Rebecca echoing from the entrance of the chalet surprised the duo. After exchanging a glance, Rick stood up and went to meet with her, signaling Angela to stay where she was and to keep eating.

Rebecca wasn’t alone. Two members of the BSAA were accompanying her, armed to the teeth. Even she had her body armor and her service weapons in hands. When Rick appeared suddenly from the living room, they all raised their guns and aimed at him from pure reflexes. Thankfully, none were a happy trigger.

Lowering her gun and relaxing her stance, Rebecca walked forward. “For someone needing me urgently, you sure look…”

“I don’t need you.” Rick corrected her. “Angela does. We suspect the T-Virus had been released in the air down there. We found some anti-viral agent but who knows if it’s effective?”

“Fair enough. I got everything in the car to test her blood.”

As she exited the chalet, one of the BSAA’s members got curious. “Not you, sir?”

Rick’s face stayed neutral while he gave them a short shake of the head. “I already have anti-bodies for the T-virus, I’m good.” He lied. “Prepare yourself, as soon as Becca is done, you're escorting her down there.”

That was quite the bold order.

“We do?” The other agent, who had been silent until now, finally spoke up. Rick was sure his mouth ran the words faster than his brain.

“Yes. My partner and I are exhausted. We killed everything roaming around so it’s mostly safe. There are still BOW in their containers or pods however and you never know what could happen. I know it’s not really the protocol but O’Brian told me you just had to pass the tests to be properly active and it was just a formality.”

The first one seemed to have won the jackpot. “That’s unexpected but orders are orders.”

“That means Hazmat suits for the two of you if you have not been in contact with the virus yet.” Rick shared making both men groan in dissatisfaction.

Walking back to the kitchen, he observed Rebecca drawing blood from Angela. A tourniquet on his partner’s arm, she was closing her fist tightly.

“How long to know?” She asked.

“With the equipment we came with, late tonight.”

It was too long for Rick's taste. “Thankfully, you’re going down. You’ll have access to better.”

Rebeca’s head snapped to him. “I’m sorry, what?”

“You’re going down with those two agents and Angela. There is an inventory to do and plenty of chemicals or bio-agents for you to label, categorize and deal with.”

“So can you!”

“Wrong.” At this point, she imagined an evil smirk on his face instead of the stoicism he showed her. “I’m not authorized to do it. Not for a couple more years.”

“That’s bullshit!” Rebecca turned back to Angela to remove the vial full of blood, and finish the procedure. A simple cotton left on the punctured vein strapped with some band-aid.

“That’s protocol. Also Angela needs the experience of leading a small team while listening to someone more far more knowledgeable on everything science related." Rick argued.

“And what will you be doing in the meantime?”

Angela interjected, her fist opening and closing to let the blood flow back normally in her extremities. “Resting.”

“Yes, that.”Rick pointed at Angela with a finger. “Speaking of… Have fun.”

All that needed to be said was said and Rick retreated back to the second floor to catch some shut-eye right under a completely flabbergasted Rebecca. She couldn’t believe what he just did.

“That… That…” Her rage made her speechless.

Angela insisted. “You’ll understand why once we’re in the complex, but he really does need it.”

Rebecca’s fury subsided but the frown on her eyebrows were telling of how unhappy she was with the situation. The frown deepened when the two agents with her entered the kitchen dress with a hazmat suit, hers in one of their hands.

After securing Angela’s blood sample inside her special case, she put the suit on. Angela went back to the living room to donn her own gear once more. Ready to go back at it, she led her sudden team to the pantry where they rode down the elevator.

They arrived in the Main Hall of the facility and Angela pointed at each direction, presenting which way led where. Rebecca naturally chose North, where all the medical equipment was.

The first thing she did was test Angela’s blood. The hematology analyzer was far from being the latest model but it was good enough to give results within two or three hours. She then proceeded to check everything in the lab. Research data, components and the organic material stored in the freezers. Not in depth, the results would take too long but following the labels, she catalogued it all as it was expected of her.

Angela was watching their surroundings, her guard up. She and Rick may have dealt with every free BOW but it was only the ones they saw. If some were hiding somewhere, and considering what the Umbrella scientists were working on it was possible, they could launch a surprise attack.

Some god out there must have had a twisted sense of humor because it was exactly what happened. Rebecca has been busy using different machines for a while and the two other members of the BSAA had relaxed. None of them were ready when out of the vent in a ceiling burst a licker. It was different from regular ones however. His skin was far darker than the usual fleshy pink the species sported and the two claws on the extremities were far longer and thicker making the front paws look like forks.

The creature whipped its tongue out and aimed at the unguarded escort. The tongue split into two and nearly hit their neck. Fortunately, Angela had reacted fast and a shotgun blast to the head made the licker miss. Another completely destroyed what was left of the grey matter, killing the monster for good.

“Always be on your guard.” She reminded everyone, who looked at her speechlessly while she replaced the two shells she used.

She got closer to have a better look. This wasn’t a variant she knew and despite not wanting to study it, did so out of curiosity and sense of duty. The licker knew exactly where each member of the group was in the room. More than that, they had been quite silent ever since they entered the complex and the Licker shouldn’t have heard them. If it did, it should have attacked on the spot, yet didn’t.

This was worrying. It was perhaps a display of stalking or at the very least hunting but also evidence of a superior intellect. It was able to recognize who was on their guard, who wasn’t and chose the right moment to strike. It was only because she was ready that Angela took it down, her reflexes doing the job for her.

It was evidence that this particular Licker didn’t have the regular flaws of the species which made them easier to kill.

Memorizing everything she could for her reports to Rick and hers to the BSAA, she stepped away, looking at the now open vent. Her mind drifted to the escort and Rick’s reason for sending her down with them.

Without her, the trio would probably be dead. Rebecca only had her sidearm with her and while she may have been able to kill the thing, she had been taken by surprise putting her in a very disadvantageous position. The two others would be dead meat, period.

Now more than ever she understood why the life expectancy was around 32 for BSAA field members and why the death toll was so high. It was obvious that Rick’s training was far better than what the other two went through.

‘They’re trained to fight. I’m trained to survive.’

Angela’s mind echoed Rick's words when he started teaching her on her first day. It was the first opportunity she had to understand further what he had meant that day. The comparison was made and there was a stark contrast between the two.

She and the two others with her stayed alert in case of another sneak attack. Rebecca finished her inventory and checked Angela’s results when the analyzer beeped loudly. It printed a long paper she read attentively.

In normal times, Angela would be tense but she wasn’t. Not after the day she had. Being infected in comparison seemed mundane. “Well?”

Rebecca’s voice sounded relieved. “You were infected with the T-virus but the anti-viral is doing its job properly. The virus hasn’t spread much yet, putting your infection around… four to five hours ago. In fact there is more of the anti-viral agent than infected cells and your body is already creating a small amount of antibodies.”

“In other words, I’m more than good.”

“Yes, but you’ll still have to go through a checkup back at HQ and be put on quarantine even though you’re not contagious. One thing is sure, we’re not removing our hazmat suits any time soon. Not until we find the source of the infection. While the T-virus can be airborne its effect is very limited hence why your infection is so weak.”

“How do we find that source?” One of the escorts asked wisely.

Angela had the answer. “The genesis but it’s back in our rental.”

“I have mine.” Rebecca opened her case and pulled out the device. “We’re good to go, although I’m sure the facility is equipped with scanners and should have warned the people working here. They must be broken but we can try fixing them.”

“They’re probably offline. The AI the scientists used was the one behind the virus’ release.” Angela shared and quickly explained further. “It’s fried now. We’re safe.”

“That’s a relief.”

Leaving the lab, they checked the other one but there was nothing much for Rebecca to do so their stay there was short. Back to the Main Hall, Angela let Rebecca choose between the West and East. She kept her opinion to herself about wanting to explore the latter. It was where the menagerie, the storage, the command room and the test area were and so where more information would be found.

It was the direction Rebecca chose for those same reasons.

“What the heck happened here?” One of the escorts asked.

In front of them was the demolished corridor that Angela had bombed to get access to the rest of the facility. Beyond it were plenty of hunters’ corpses. With them came the gory details you’d naturally find after a battle with a BOW: body parts, blood splattered on the walls and ceiling, pool of blood on the ground and bullet impact everywhere.

“I had to blow up the debris to join Rick in dealing with the BOW after we got forcefully separated. I hope you have a sturdy stomach because there is worse and far worse deeper.” Angela replied.

Somehow, Rebecca didn’t doubt her a single instant. She was right to do so. At an intersection, a whole carnage awaited them. To the right were the diverse animals Angela had to put down. To the left was the naked body of a Tyrant. Its head was separated from its shoulder and there was a big hole in the middle of its chest.

She didn’t ask but wondered how a Tyrant, of all the monsters Umbrella created, could have ended up like this. The thought of Rick crossed her mind like a sudden flash of light in total darkness.

‘I can’t believe he was able to do this by him— Is that the Tyrant’s heart to the side? It looks like it had been rip— Did he do that with his bare hands?!’

The same escort who had spoken earlier spoke again. “I can’t believe the two of you took down a Tyrant without heavy weapons.”

Angela couldn’t tell if the man was in awe or simply dumbfounded. She corrected his mistake however. “Not the two of us. I was stuck on the other side of the complex. This… is Rick’s solo work.”

The second escort whistled, clearly impressed. “Damn! I guess there is a reason why there are rumors he’s the best in the BSAA. I do wonder how he did that though?”

“I have no idea.” Angela lied. “There is another a few corridors down and a Super Tyrant in the testing area.”

“Now I know you’re pulling my leg, ma’am.” The first escort didn’t believe it a single second.

“Not for the second one. For the Super, we did work together. It was simply too much.”

Stepping over the dead giant, Rebecca’s mind raced. ‘A Super Tyrant? What. The. Hell. How strong is Rick?! No wonder he needed rest if he fought them all. Those three and others BOW.’

Mentally making notes of everything that could be attributed to Rick and asserting his physical abilities, Rebecca went on with the tasks she had.