Chapter 50: The Debrief

Their arrival to the Italian BSAA base was bitter. Not even Chris’ presence to welcome them back lifted their mood. Not like the man was happy himself.

“He needs a badge.” Jill simply said, pointing at Rick with her thumb.

If that surprised Chris, it didn’t show on his face. He simply nodded. “I’ll tell O’Brian. It may take time. What happened in Terragrigia is a right mess and everyone is too busy playing the pointing fingers and blaming game.”

“Don’t care.” Rick said as he kept walking towards the inside of the temporary BSAA base.

Chris gave Jill a look and she shook her head. “He’s upset with every reason to be. What happened there, Chris… I need to talk with O’Brian. Something is wrong with the FBC.”

“What?”

“Not here, not now.” She simply replied and changed the subject. “What about Il Veltro?”

He opened the door of the building for her and let her in. “He’s with us!” He shouted to a few BSAA agents stopping Rick from going further.

Considering how he looked with his ripped, bloodied and dirty clothes ,Chris was sure he was going to the restroom to clean up a bit. His verbal support was enough for the two men to let Rick go through. He turned back to Jill.

“Il Veltro was dealt with by the FBC five days after the attack started. They were operating from a ship at sea and it was sunk. The whole operation, both the sinking and the sterilization of the city, is considered a success. Although O’Brian is beside himself. All evidence has probably been destroyed.” He grunted in unhappiness.

Jill was seething with rage at the news. Not only she couldn’t get her pound of flesh from Il Veltro but the FBC had made everything possible to kill any leads they could have found about who supplied the terrorist organisation. If the FBC hadn’t already been suspicious in her eyes before it certainly would be now.

“I need to speak with O’Brian. Now.” Jill clarified and took the elevator, Chris on her heels.

To her, the elevator was the slowest in the world. The only one which she considered even slower was the one at the Spencer Mansion though to be fair the self-destruct of the whole complex had been activated and she was trying to get out as fast as she could.

Once they got to the proper floor, she made a bee-line for her superior’s office, giving nods of acknowledgement to any agents or employees that talked to her on the way. Be it a simple hello to ‘I’m glad you’re alright’, Jill never stopped walking. She didn’t even knock on the office door, she just pushed it open and got inside.

Clive R. O'Brian was nearly always seen in his official BSAA uniform. The attire was professional, a visual reflection of his orderly and no nonsense demeanor. Whether viewed on a monitor or issuing orders in person, Clive R. O’Brian exuded an air of unshakable control. He was a man who commanded not through force, but through calculated will and unwavering competence.

Right at his moment, he didn’t seem to be in control. Not when he was on the phone and shouting complaints. The angry look he shot at Jill and Chris when they entered his office uninvited wasn’t entirely directed at them.

Jill didn’t care. Approaching the man’s desk she pushed the end call button on the fixed line.

“Valentine!” He barked but before the man could say anything else, Jill took the floor.

“Bitching won’t solve the issue at hand. The FBC is somewhat involved in the fiasco. I can’t prove it yet, mainly because there is no proof left. What do we do about it?”

O’Brian looked at her in silence, evaluating her and her words. Once he was done he sat down and with a movement of the head signaled at her and Chris to do the same.

The director of the BSAA went straight to the point. “How do you know the FBC is involved?”

“Their reaction time was too slow. The moment we were able to call you, hours into the start of the attack, you told me you couldn’t send reinforcement and that the FBC was already on it. They took three days to arrive. Then when they took over, they discarded the order we had established to protect and evacuate the citizens to focus on suppressing the B.O.W. first and foremost without gaining ground. Not only that but they didn’t share their resources when the law enforcement began to run out of pretty much everything to handle the situation. Lastly they gave a thirty minute warning about a last evacuation before burning the city to ash. Thirty minutes out of the blue.

It seems to me that they stalled on purpose, making the threat of bio-terrorism very big and to the point they had to fucking sublime the whole city.”

“Who’s we?”

Jill blinked. She had just reported everything suspicious about the FBC and her boss had just focused on a slip of the tongue. “Really? Is that what you chose to focus on?” His stone silence made her sigh. “Captain Rick Wald. The foremost expert in bio-terrorism and viral outbreaks in the world.”

Since Rick was joining the BSAA, she would do her damned best to sell him well.

O’Brian maintained his flat look. “The foremost expert and he’s unknown to me.”

“It was his seventeenth outbreak.” She answered, and before the man could comment that there was no report of that many outbreaks she continued. “You don’t know about it because you don’t have the clearance. To give you an idea, he was awarded the Medal of Honor by the president himself, bypassing the congress.”

Chris choked on his spit when he heard that. “He what?!”

Jill just shrugged. “Is it really that surprising after how many outbreaks he dealt with without the world being any the wiser?”

“Damn! I thought the kid was just… in the special forces or something. Not out there doing…” Chris waved his hand in the air because he didn’t have the words.

“You know him?” O’Brian asked intrigued. Jill’s tale was a bit fantastical although it was a possible one. That Chris knew the man gave a bit more credit to the story.

“Yeah.” Chris nodded. “He’s a Raccoon City survivor and he was seventeen.”

O’Brian tapped his finger on his desk in silence. “Impressive.”

“Look.” Jill spoke up. “You can ask around about him but you won’t find anything. He was recruited by the Blacks Ops within days of Raccoon City’s destruction and spent the next five years fighting B.O.W. and bio-terrorism, working directly for the President. I’m not even supposed to know about that. He’s the real deal. He fought by my side in Terragrigia for the whole outbreak and I wouldn’t be here today if he hadn’t saved my ass multiple times. You want the best and more experienced agent? That’s him.”

“Let’s say…” O’Brian started and immediately paused. “Let’s say I believe you, Why does he want to join the BSAA? If he’s a former Black Ops as you say, why not stay in his unit? Or join the FBC?”

Jill sighed, tired. “He was forced to join. It was that or jail. It was a five year contract and it ended in January. Not like he would have been able to continue. I’m not too sure about this but I know he lost lots of people last December. I also know that the President offered him a job at the FBC for his expertise. He declined because… For one, he wanted out of the fight and to become a M.D. For two, he loathes governmental organizations. Terragrigia changed his mind and now he wants back in.”

“I suppose if I get his resume or file it will be a light version or a very redacted one?”

“I’m afraid so.” Jill admitted. “But I vouch for him and so do Chris and Barry.”

When O’Brian looked at him, Chris nodded. “I’m not as aware as Jill about what he did the past five years. But I know that by late December 98 he already went through five outbreaks and survived without any training whatsoever. He’s a born survivor. He’s loyal and his heart is in the right place. That’s good enough for me.”

The director of the BSAA stopped tapping on his desk. “Alright. I trust your words, however I will ask around. Tell him to send me his resume. Now… About the FBC… It’s pure speculation on your part.” He raised his hand to stop Jill from uttering a single word. “But I agree that something smells really bad about the whole operation. Too many things happened that I don’t like. Not from a law enforcement agency. Unfortunately we have no proof and no leads, so we can’t do anything about it. Not directly and beyond keeping a close watch on the FBC. The BSAA is still small and private. We can’t compete with the FBC, especially not after what just happened. That is my problem however, not yours. You,” He marked a pause. “Should get some rest, go home and rest more. You were supposed to be on a one week vacation; consider it has been postponed to now and extended to two weeks.”

Jill scowled but said nothing about it. The bio-terrorism attack had ruined her vacation and turned it into a two weeks fight for her life. She really needed the rest and the break.

Thanking the man, she stood up and left the office. Chris silently followed her after understanding the look she had given him when she had turned around. After years of being partners, and a failed relationship, he recognized when she wanted to talk to him.