Chapter 118: Back to work

Claire was dropped off at the hospital. Rick wanted to go with her but knew better when he felt Rachel’s stare at the back of his head. Leon got off at the White House and the pair went back to Teresa’s safehouse to drop the crates in the trunk and leave the stolen car there.

After sending a text message to her, they left and took a Taxi back to Rachel’s flat to get some rest. After a few rounds of sex. Rick wondered if his blonde wasn’t so wild this time because she was trying to make sure he would forget about Claire for good. Thankfully, he knew better.

The next morning, while Rachel sloth-ed in her bed, Rick organised and tidied up all the documents, files and dossier they had used during their investigation and put them all back inside the appropriate cardboxes. After leaving a message to Teresa that she could come pick everything up, he made breakfast and left for work.

It wasn’t that he wanted to, O’Brian gave him all the time he needed, it was because if he went home he would spend the time there thinking of Claire and of everything they hadn’t said to each other the previous day. He didn’t blame Rachel one bit for her actions. Rick knew it was for his own good but the heart wanted it and it couldn’t help itself.

Entering an elevator whose doors were closing, he was surprised to see O’Brian already riding it. Not that much. The director of the BSAA was known to arrive first and leave the building last.

“Sir.” Rick greeted the man politely.

“Wald. Already done with… whatever you were needed for?”

“Well… World War III was avoided, so… yes.” Rick almost laughed at the shocked face his boss made. It was absolutely priceless in his opinion. “I also got information that matters to the BSAA during my… time away.”

“It better not be confidential.” Clive immediately set boundaries. Getting in trouble with the US government wasn’t the right call to make. If anything it was the worst.

“The gist of it isn’t. Can’t give you names of course but… I can tell you that an outbreak for a modified T-virus was avoided, a sample of an inhibitor for the virus was recovered, and that a pharmaceutical company may have funded all of it. Don’t know who but that’s the Government’s business to find out.”

O’Brian nodded. The amount of information he had just heard pleased him. It was enough for the BSAA to have their ears and eyes open without entering into conflict with the US. “Good job. Give everything you have to Chambers or Scott.”

“What about information on a possible new variant I encountered?”

There was a moment of hesitation with the BSAA director. The information could help agents and soldiers on the field if they encountered it. “Send it to me first. I’ll check with my contact if that specific information can be made available for us officially, even redacted.”

Rick gave him a nod and the rest of the ascension was done in silence. When the door opened, he let O’Brian step out first, then walked to his desk. The first thing he did was read Angela’s report on their investigation in Canada. It wasn’t the first she wrote but the first about actual field experience.

‘Hmm. She did well. Straight to the point, details at the end.’

While he evaluated her on this, his purpose was to match her take on what happened. Most notably the part where he fought against a Super Tyrant. There was no mention of his superhuman abilities for the simple reason that she omitted the fight, only describing her arrival after it was over.

Rick appreciated that very much and tipped a non-existent hat to her. That gave him the freedom to spin the tale however he wanted to hide what he had to do to survive and keep his abilities a secret.

In total, it took fifteen minutes for him to be done with the task. Next came writing the true report of the ordeal for O’Brian’s eyes only. There wasn’t much to change so it was done within five minutes. What took time however was his own report on Angela.

There was a lot to say. All positive of course but listing all her skills in detail and giving examples and contexts for each was a tremendous task. One that shouldn’t be done half-heartedly. From her investigation skills, outside the box thinking and survival abilities, he gave her a glowing recommendation that Angela had earned on every point.

Looking up from his screen, Rick saw Grinder and Jackass coming in. Barry was already there with Parker discussing something. Those guys were the early risers and the first to get to work. Without looking at the clock or his watch, Rick knew the time more or less for their presence.

‘8h30. Annette must have arrived.’

After standing up, Rick went straight to O’Brian’s office. The man was on the phone but signaled him he could enter. Putting a hand on the microphone part of the handset he asked what Rick wanted.

“I sent the revised report on the network and the original one to you. I also sent you my evaluation on Angela. I’m going down for my check-up. It shouldn’t take too much time but with Annette, who knows how long I won’t be available?”

O’Brian nodded, waving at Rick to go while he answered to the person at the other end of the call.

It was a short trip to the lab. A lucky one even as he didn’t come across anyone in the elevator. Stepping through the door, he saw Annette, not quite working but ready for it. White medical coat on, sitting at her desk and coffee mug in hand, she was reading a report.

“Good morning, Annette. How have you been?”

Was it not for her “Good,” he would have doubted she heard him. Her hot cup went to her lips and her eyes never left the document in front of her.

Rick didn’t like being mostly ignored and he had a bit of a bone to pick with her. Standing to her side he went on his verbal assault. “Another one of my files you’re letting out right in the open?”

This time Annette had a more human reaction. She flinched and winced. “Nowhere did I put your name on any of those documents. Chambers was just smart enough to connect the —” The words died in her throat when she saw the unimpressed look on his face. With no real defense, she sighed in surrender. “I’ll do better in securing the information.”

“See that you do. Even if my name isn’t anywhere, people would investigate.” Rick let the matter rest and changed the subject of the conversation. “Let’s get it over with my checkup.”

A sudden gleam shone into the black haired woman. The prospect of studying Rick threw out of the window the tiny bit of guilt she felt at her mistake. After finishing her coffee in one go, she picked a form and a pad from her desk and stood up to go to the examination room. Rick follows closely behind her.

“Any contact with BOW?” Annette asked, putting nitrile gloves on.

“Plenty.” Rick answered as he began to undress. “The usual: Hunters, Lickers, Tyrants, Su—”

She interrupted him, the sound of the nitrile clapping against her wrist echoing in the room. “Miller told me about what you encountered in Canada. I’m talking about your recent job outside the BSAA.”

“Yes.” He nodded and took a seat on the examination table. “A modified version of the T-Virus. Fought a Tyrant variant. I wasn’t infected.”

Small tray in hands with a rack of empty vials, cotton, alcohol and a syringe, Annette sat next on a stool next to him. She began the procedure to take his blood. “Any change, any discoveries with your body?”

“Two. Fluoroantimonic acid destroys my body faster than it can heal.”

Putting some medical tape on the needle in his arm, she let the blood flow into the vial. Looking up, she waited for him to explain himself with her usual stoic expression.

“Half my body fell into a huge pool of it. From right below my pelvis to the tip of my toes. All gone. It took me… a bit more than five minutes to regenerate everything.”

“This… is interesting news.”

“Great news, you mean. I can be killed. I have a way to die.”

Her eyes never left his. Annette couldn’t understand why there was happiness in his eyes when Rick said that. For all intent and purpose, he shouldn’t feel that way. Not unless he was suicidal, which as far as she was aware, he wasn’t. If she had missed it and he was then it was severe complications for her research and realising her goal.

“You’re the next step in humanity’s evolution, why does the thought of being able to die rejoice you?”

His stoic expression returned. “I’m not blind, Annette. I’ve noticed that my aging has slowed down considerably. I’m twenty five this year and yet I barely look older than five years ago. True,” he continued before she could argue the point. “I’m not the only individual in the world that looks younger than they are but every time I look at Jill, I know I might be right. She’s in her early thirties and looks barely older than what she looked like back in Raccoon City. Final argument, both of us went through the most nightmarish experiences the world had to offer. The kind of experiences that take a toll on your body and age you. Yet…”

The current vial receiving his blood was full and Annette switched for an empty one. “We don’t know the extent of the T-virus’ effects on people immune to it. Umbrella simply experimented on them further to create the Tyrant. It is… possible the virus slows aging down as it hyper-stimulates cells.”

“You should look into that.”

“Hmm.” She hummed her agreement. “That doesn’t answer my question.”

“What if I don’t age anymore? I don’t want to live forever, Annette.” He finally confessed. “My life has been shit since… as far as I can remember, and it keeps getting worse. My life in the streets, my introduction to bio-terrorism, what I became, my time in the military and now with the BSAA. Empirical data say that it’s only getting worse and worse and honestly? I’m tired of it. If there is no end to me then there is no end to the shit. Dying? It sounds nice. Not now of course,” Rick quickly added when he saw her worried look. A first for him since he wasn’t Sherry. “But down the line… In thirty to forty years…”

Annette finished her work and put the last full vial on its rack. She removed the needle from his arm and let his natural healing factor act. The tray was brought near a machine and she put her blood samples in it before starting an analysis program.

“I understand.”

Her words surprised Rick a bit. There was lots of empathy in it. Too much for such a very unemotional woman. His reaction wasn’t missed by her and she explained herself.

“I’m not some idiot interested in eternal life. I’m wise enough to know how much of a curse it is. And while the prospect of having all the time in the world to do research and experiments is interesting, there will come a point when it would just become tedious and boring. What about the second thing?”

“I have noticed an increase in aggressivity during sex.” He answered factually.

One of Annette’s brow rose in surprise and curiosity. Picking up her pad, she added a blank page on top to take notes. The pen in her breast pocket soon found itself in her hand while she sat back on her stool, a leg on top of the other.

She began to write. “How many partners since our last check-up?”

“Three.” Rick replied without hesitation or shame.

“Ratio between regular and irregular?”

“One regular: Rachel. Two irregulars.”

“When did you notice this increase in aggressivity?”

He thought about it for a few seconds. “During my time in Canada.”

Annette nodded silently, noting the information. “Do you have an idea when it started?”

“Canada, although… If the change happened before, I wouldn’t know. At the very least, two weeks before the investigation everything was fine.”

“Hmhm.” Annette kept scribbling. “Last time you were intimate with Foley?”

“Yesterday and yes, I was aggressive.” Rick pre-empted her next question.

“So it’s probably not related to the regularity of your partner. What about the two others? Context?”

“The first one was a policewoman. The first time was the evening after the raid of the lab. I rested all afternoon and went to a bar to drink and pick someone up but was picked up instead. We ended up at her place.The second time was the eve of our departure after agreement at the end of our shift. We went back to her place too.”

“Alright… Any difference between those two times?”

Rick stayed silent for a moment, wondering. Nicole Thompson had been a very horny gal the first time and completely unhinged the second. Something he shared with Annette.

“Define ‘unhinged’.”

“Well… the first time she had screamed so loud the neighbours called the cops thinking she was getting murder. The second time she was screaming the same way but during all of it. She also asked for anal sex.”

Annette’s hand stopped moving, the ball of her pen stuck against the paper in the middle of writing a letter. The idea that someone could take Rick’s size into their backdoor had completely shocked her. It was possible of course but asking for it? She couldn’t phantom why anyone would.

“And she screamed before she asked for it. In any case she was far more into it the second time.” He finished.

“... Any idea… Nevermind.” She waved her hand in front of her as if to chase her question away. “Did something happen between the first and second time?”

“Between us? No.”

The butt of her pen tapped her lips repeatedly as Annette thought of her next question. “Anything else? During that time frame.”

“My third partner.”

“Interesting. What about this third woman?”

“I was… very pissed at her.”

“Pissed you say… Explain.” She wrote that down.

“Well, for starters… She was angry at me for… reasons and cut on my sleep time. Then a few days later, she barged into my room and demanded we have sex.”

That made Annette frowned. “Alright, so you were angry because she… demanded things out of you. It’s not a surprise if you were more aggressive during intercourse in that case. This is not proof.”

“I thought about that too, but I wasn’t angry with Rachel nor the second time with the policewoman.”

“So that woman may be the trigger to the change.” Annette spoke aloud but not to Rick. To herself. “Anything particular about her?”

“It wasn’t the first time we slept together.”

“I see… Any difference with the previous times?”

Rick nodded slowly. Understanding dawned on him that he may not keep Rebecca’s name a secret for much longer if the questions continued in this direction the conversation was taking. “I was a virgin back then and not yet… what I am today.”

“So she’s the one who made you a man…” She muttered to herself then spoke louder. Annette was still not judging but factual, trying to make sense of the information she was getting. “Were feelings involved? Negative ones?”

“Why just ‘negative’ ones?” He frowned in confusion.

“Because it’s clear you have feelings, positive feelings, for Foley, since she’s the only woman you’re having sex with on a rather regular basis, yet she didn’t trigger any change in you as far as I’m aware.”

Slowly, Rick blinked, thinking about this. His mouth opened and closed without a single sound coming out of it. He only spoke after going through all his memories of his interactions with Rebecca over the years. “May-... Yes? I wouldn’t… Yes it’s… I don’t consider them… No, no they were.”

Annette let him ramble to himself for a bit but seeing as he was clearly lost, she decided to help him cut to the chase. “What happened?”

“We survived the Umbrella training facility in the Arklay Mountains.”

“I see.” She nodded, writing that down. “Go on.”

“Well… After the traumatic night we had, fighting BOW and a mutated Queen Leech thinking itself as James Marcus after consuming his body. Your husband and Wesker had him killed and appropriated his research on credits on the T-Virus back in 88, by the way…” Rick looked at her pointedly.

To his surprise, Annette didn’t stay quiet about that tidbit of information. “William was brilliant but never as brilliant as he believed himself to be. I always wondered how he had gotten his results on the T-Virus. I could tell they were from decades of research. He was way too young for that. Many saw him as an unparalleled genius for it but I wasn't duped. Go on.”

“Well… When we got out and found…” He began to chuckle. “I was going to say ‘refuge in Spencer’s Mansion’, we found a room to rest, had sex and… after escaping the Manor, I thought we could start dating and…”

“She turned you down.”

“Hm. I didn’t resent her for it or anything like this but I was bummed out. I mean… I liked her a lot and not just because we survived together.”

“What changed since with Chambers?”

Rick had no reaction to Rebecca’s name being brought up. At this point it was a given it was her he was talking about. Annette may not have known the details of what transpired in the Mansion but she knew the STARS were involved and a handful survived. While Rick’s name had been kept from their reports when they came back to Raccoon City and Umbrella never knew about him, Rebecca’s name was well known to her. Adding to it, she was also the only former member of STARS who was in Canada with Rick. It didn’t take a genius to connect the dots at this point.

Had Annette had any kind of social life, she would have heard gossip about Rebecca having a thing for Rick and trying to get into his pants now. That was a big change.

“If not for her decision to get out of Raccoon City to get her Phd in virology and fight in her own way, Umbrella, she wouldn’t have minded us dating. Ever since we started working together again at the beginning of the year, she’s been trying to… rekindle? No, no…”

“She wants another shot at you.”

“Yeah. I turned her down for the past two months and well… She barged into my room wearing nothing under a bathrobe. She’s also very stubborn and rarely takes no for an answer.”

Annette was very well aware of that. It always surprised her that such a short, petite, woman could be so fiery and hard as steel. Never backing down from what she wanted.

“And how did you feel about that?”

“Angry… Possessive,” he added after a beat of silence. “Punishing. I… really wasn’t kind with her. I mean… I’m rough during sex but I’m not hurtful. I hold back, a lot. This time… and any time I had sex afterward, I was… rougher. Not as much as I was with her. I… usually I give and take in equal measure. I like my partner being… well… involved. Becca…I kind of used her and she could do nothing but take it.”

“Hmm…”

“Don’t ‘Hmm’ me pensively Annette,” He told her in a disapproving and commanding tone. “Tell me what you thought.”

Letting out a sigh, she answered. “It has already been noted, if not established, that your body reacts to deep emotions… wants or perhaps needs. So far you grew stronger each time you were in a situation where you were in peril and you desired to survive. It may be possible that it’s not your desire to survive which is the key factor to a change but…”

“How strong it is.” Rick understood where she was going with it. “So… What? I’m more aggressive now because my body… drastically increased my production of Testosterone?”

“Maybe.”Feeling her leg supporting the other’s weight getting numb and getting in the way of her thinking, she switched their positions. “I’ll have to test that. But I think that deep down, you wanted to… make Chambers submit. She got away once and you didn’t want her to get away a second time.”

Rick gave her a blank look which indicated how asinine her idea was in his ears. “I don’t want to date Becca. I turned her down.”

“It might be subconscious.” She took a deep breath because his facial expression didn’t change. “Look… we’re working blind with what you are. The viruses you’ve been in contact with all have one thing in common: a natural propension to propagate. G in particular, is very selective. Perhaps you may have imprinted on Chambers? She had an important impact in your life, emotionally speaking and your body reacts to important emotional stimuli. Negative feelings are always a greater bringer of change in someone than positive ones.”

“So what? I’m now fucking to submission any woman who—”

“I don’t know.” Annette cut him off. “It’s just one instance. Maybe it’s not even related and just psychological. Be watchful if there is any change with Foley.”

Sighing to himself, Rick let it go. Annette was right, they wouldn’t get an answer today. It wasn’t like this increase in activity during sex was a bad thing in any case.

Annette finished taking notes then stood up. Her pad was laid down onto a table and she opened a top shelf. From it was pulled four familiar collection jars. Walking back to Rick she handed them to him. “Urine and—”

Rick frowned. “I’m not giving yo—you want it you come and get it.”

This time again he wasn’t teasing her, Annette could tell. She understood how he may have felt. Being asked to provide sperm samples like this, as if he was a bull studied to see if he would be a good sire to make better calves, wasn’t enchanting at all.

“Fine.” She relented and sat back down on the stool. “Remove your underwear.”

“You’re crazy, you know that?”

Annette simply shrugged her shoulders. “It’s for science.”

Rick did as instructed and sat back down on the examination table, legs spread to give her better access. She immediately went to work with her hands and in no time his dick was towering impressively, hard as steel.

The silent and awkward moment was interrupted when the door of the room opened and Rebecca walked in. At the sight of what was happening in front of her eyes, she froze.

While Annette kept going, not caring one bit, Rick, who had a mini-heart attack, recovered quickly and spoke with as much detachment and disinterest as possible.

“It’s for science.”

Rebecca remained frozen, her feet rooted on the ground.

“Either take what you need and leave or join and help, but for god’s sake stop standing there like an idiot.” Not able to handle his embarrassment anymore, Rick barked.

After a second of inaction, Rebecca closed the door behind her and walked deeper into the room to help.