Resident Evil - Primal Imperative Ch. 02

"We should be close enough now to reach Ladybug on a comm channel. Try and get in touch with her." Dalton told her plainly and without a single sign of exertion.

Rebecca did so, bringing up the comm device strapped to her wrist. There was a not-insignificant part of her that was annoyed, frustrated at herself for following the man's orders so quickly and easily. He wasn't even the agent in charge of the mission. But still... Rebecca couldn't deny that he had a clear presence.

The short and slight young woman found her reaction to him unsettling. Falling in line for tall, commanding men was a bad habit she needed to break - especially after Wesker.

"Ladybug, come in. This is Agent Chambers. Do you read me?"

The comm line was weak and the audio was grainy, but Rebecca managed to patch through to the VIP. The other woman's voice came out strained but audible.

"Loud... and clear... Chambers." The rich smoothness of Ladybug's voice was apparent even through the poor audio quality. Which of course got Dalton's attention. Rebecca almost rolled her eyes. "A pleasure to hear... a friendly voice. How's Toronto... treating you?"

"Poorly. The insertion helo crashed. Most of the team is dead." Rebecca answered plainly.

"The mission stands." Dalton's rough, deep voice cut in. He loomed behind Rebecca, leaning over her shoulder. The shorter woman clenched her fist, fighting the urge to remind him of personal space. "Tell her to prepare for extraction. We're almost on site."

Rebecca could begrudge Dalton's nearness but not his tactics. They didn't have the time for mourning, not in the middle of a mission. Even so, it pained the young agent to be so cold.

As Dalton drew away from Rebecca - leaving her feeling an unwelcome chill - the young agent turned back to her comm device.

"Did you get that, Ladybug? We're still coming for you. Get ready to move." Rebecca said.

"Once we reach you, we're booking it to the LZ." Dalton added, his voice rumbling deep.

Rebecca could hear a soft, feminine laugh on the other end of the line. It seemed Ladybug found Dalton's behavior much more amusing than Rebecca did.

"So commanding." Ladybug purred over the comms. "And here I thought my brave rescuers would be more polite."

"They don't pay me to have manners." Dalton shot back without missing a beat. "You'd better be ready. I'll carry you out of there if I have to."

Another burst of rich, sweet laughter. A quick glance at Dalton showed Rebecca that he was unfazed.

"Don't threaten me with a good time." Ladybug teased. "See you in a few. Ladybug out."

The comm line went silent. Rebecca found that her lips were curled into a frown. Ladybug was a bit too irreverent for her liking. And her attitude was more than a bit strange for a woman trapped in the middle of a biohazard crisis. But Rebecca didn't dwell on those thoughts.

As the odd pair continued on down the open street, Rebecca's mind eventually drifted back to the enigma that was John Dalton.

She'd watched him kill BOWs with ease. She'd watched him shove wrecks out of the way with the same ease as moving a cardboard box. But unlike the other madmen who empowered their mortal bodies, Dalton didn't have a god complex. Or at least, not one that Rebecca could see. Instead, he acted like... like a guy. A guy who wanted to show off and make money.

Rebecca was curious. And not just because of the way his muscles moved under his shirt.

There came the screeching of metal against asphalt as Dalton kicked another overturned car to the side. It wasn't even in their way, Rebecca saw. The man simply did it for the hell of it.

The short and slender agent took a moment to observe him. She drew her eyes up and down his tall, powerful form - lingering perhaps a bit too long on the corded muscles of his arms and shoulders.

"You're pretty strong." Rebecca said after a long moment of silence.

Dalton glanced her way. A smirk tugged at his lips. Rebecca could see in his eyes that he was pleased at the recognition.

"Hell of a thing, huh? I'm like a real life superhero." He seemed to stand up just a bit taller as he answered her.

A flash of annoyance sparked in Rebecca's gut. At his arrogance, of course. But also at the fact that he wasn't entirely wrong. His abilities were beyond impressive. Rebecca couldn't deny that. It was his attitude that she took issue with.

The young woman narrowed her eyes.

"Why didn't you move the helicopter?" She asked, trying not to sound accusing. But she could not keep the edge out of her voice. "Why did we leave Jill behind?"

Dalton was not offended. Nor was he fazed in the slightest. He gave a simple shrug - Rebecca catching the way his firm shoulders stretched against his short sleeves.

"I'm strong but I'm not that strong. Helos are heavier than cars, Chambers. And even if I was that strong, clearing a path for your friend would've taken too much time."

Rebecca stayed silent for a moment, observing him as they walked. She decided to accept the man's answer. But that didn't mean that she liked it.

Dalton seemed to sense the resentment. He turned to face her, walking backwards. Another showing of cockiness - he didn't even need to look for threats, that's how sure he was of winning.

"What? You're worried about Valentine? The files I read told me she survived Raccoon City all by herself."

"Not all by herself. She had some help."

"And Ladybug needs ours. She's the priority." Dalton reminded her.

"I know that." Rebecca answered hotly. She gave a small huff, shaking her head. "I'm just saying... you were damn quick to leave Jill behind."

"And you were damn quick to agree with me." Dalton shot back, a taunting fire in his blue eyes. He gave a mock gasp of shock. "Willing to ditch your girlfriend for some alone time with me? That's cold, Chambers. Real cold."

Rebecca sneered, warmth coloring her cheeks. Dalton's spin on what happened was... it was outrageous. It shouldn't have gotten a rise out of her. But Rebecca fumed nonetheless.

"That's not...!" The shorter woman held up a finger, pointing angrily. Her mind raced, thinking of how to put her anger into words. But all that came was a long, impotent silence. She glowered at the tall slab of muscle who wore such an infuriating smile. "You're a real jackass, you know that?"

Dalton remained pointedly unbothered by Rebecca's indignant fury.

"That's what they tell me." He answered, turning back to face forward.

There was a red-skinned zombie in his path. It lunged for him... and he caught it's face with his open hand. Without missing a step, he gave the undead a short, sharp shove. It didn't stagger so much as it flew. The back of its head impacted the ground with a sickening crack... and the zombie lay still.

Dalton stepped over the corpse without sparing it another look. So did Rebecca. She kept pace with him as they approached the Tricell building in silence.

Fuming as she was, the young agent knew it was better to have Dalton on her side.

- - -

There had been zombies waiting for Jill inside the bank. Because nothing could ever go easy for her. It was like the universe was playing a cruel trick. Whatever higher power there was in the cosmos was laughing while Jill Valentine scrambled to survive.

Whatever. It was just another thing for her to deal with. Jill had killed zombies before.

The shamblers - people who used to be bank tellers and customers - went down with a few well-placed headshots. But rather than take satisfaction with her own pinpoint accuracy, Jill grimaced as she found herself back on the city streets.

All she had was her sidearm, a simple handgun. And very limited ammunition. There was a bad feeling crawling up her back. What if she needed those spent rounds later on?

Jill chose not to think about it. Anxiety wouldn't do well for her focus.

The cool night air was thick with smoke - burning buildings, burning cars, burning bodies, all of them fueling those dark clouds. The sting on her eyes made them water - and the stench was even worse. Rotting corpses walking, searching for their next meal. Jill wasn't going to give them a chance to put her on the menu. She continued through the street at a brisk pace.

As her long, toned legs carried her deeper into the hell that was downtown Toronto, Jill brought up her comm device. She tapped a few keys, bringing up the GPS system. The screen on her wrist blinked brightly, bringing up a digital map. To her relief, Rebecca wasn't too far ahead. If she hurried she'd be able to link back up with them at the Tricell safehouse.

Another round of keystrokes later and Jill tried to reach their comm channel. This time, however, she had considerably less luck. Whether it was some sort of interference or damage caused by the helicopter crash, Jill's comm connection was too poor. She couldn't reach Rebecca.

"Son of a bitch..." Jill hissed bitterly.

A zombie rudely interrupted her moment of frustration, making a wild swing for her neck. Jill scowled at the ugly dead thing, ducking out of its deadly reach.

She didn't waste ammo this time. Instead she holstered her gun and drew the combat knife strapped to the back of her waist. She readied herself, waiting for the zombie to lunge again. The undead corpse moaned inhumanly, its ruined mouth opening wide as it moved upon her once more.

Jill drove the knife into its head, right between the eyes. The zombie gurgled and went limp, the body dying for the second time. With a grunt of disgust, Jill ripped the blade free as the creature fell to the ground. She spat a curse and continued on.

Poor bastard... all of them... all of these people...

Jill turned her to the street, seeing more undead in the distance. Not too many, but enough to cause problems if she got careless. Just like the ones in the bank, she thought of who they used to be... of the lives they were living just the day before. Before whatever caused this outbreak.

The whole situation left a bad taste in Jill's mouth. The Spencer Mansion and then Raccoon City... Agent Valentine thought she was done with death and tragedy. But they followed her like a shadow.

"Can't believe this bullshit is happening again." Jill breathed, picking up speed until she was in a steady jog.

Deep in her gut, deep in her heart, deep in her mind, Jill Valentine knew that something was just wrong about this whole situation. The timing and the nature of it, it was just off. Umbrella was on the verge of collapse only to be bought out by Tricell. And then Tricell throws enough money to get their people mixed up with the BSAA. And then a BOW crisis hits. And the response team is put under the command of the majority shareholder of the new Tricell-Umbrella.

Excella Gionne and Tricell-Umbrella were involved in this. Somehow. Of that, Jill had no doubt. Her whole body was screaming it to her.

And Dalton? Dalton was not a man to be trusted. Just from looking at him, Jill could tell he was dangerous. And not just because of his size, of his obvious strength, of the way he towered over her and Rebecca. No, Jill knew because of his eyes. Cold blue. Cold and hungry. Jill hated them. Hated the way they looked upon her like a piece of meat. Hated how a single look from him twisted deep in her belly.

Another zombie made a lunge for her as she moved between burned out cars. Jill put a bullet in its head. She kept going without a second look.

Her legs worked harder, her strides growing longer. Unease coiled in her gut. Jill knew she needed to catch up to Rebecca fast.

Rebecca was a capable woman. Jill couldn't deny her friend's tenacity and grit. But Dalton... the man was...

Jill wasn't going to leave her dear friend alone. Not with a man like him.

- - -

1.5

Two hundred feet below street level, a woman sat alone in a dim emergency bunker. It was the safest and most secure place that Tricell could build. Quite impenetrable to even the most deadly of BOWs. Not even a Tyrant could break in - or so Excella Gionne had claimed.

Still, they decided not to test that. Zombies and Lickers would be the only horrors unleashed on Toronto. That had been their plan. The only curveball was the unexpected mutation undergone by the new Licker breed. Spiked tails capable of launching bone-like projectiles. That was new.

It turned out for the best. The mutation added some extra challenge to Excella's little "proving ground". A chance for her perfect soldier to test his mettle. That's why Excella had insisted the scenario had to be real. They'd tested her champion in sterile labs. But they'd only get genuine data from studying him in the field.

The city of Toronto would be the field.

And Ada Wong offered her services as the observer.

It only felt right. The "Man of Tomorrow" was as much Ada's doing as Excella's. She needed to see if he truly was as good as Excella claimed.

Oh, he's more than good...

In the privacy of the sealed bunker, Ada allowed a most pleased smile to spread across her face. Watching Excella's champion in action, she had plenty to be pleased about.

The screens before her took up almost the entire wall, each one feeding her live footage from the various CCTV cameras placed throughout downtown Toronto. It was through them that Ada had watched the mission unfold - the mission to "rescue" her, funnily enough.

The helicopter crash hadn't been planned - it delayed Ada's extraction by a considerable amount of time - but Ada couldn't deny that it allowed for the subject to show his adaptability. And of course, the STARS veterans survived as well. Just as Excella predicted. They had their part to play. Eventually.

Ada inhaled, leaning back in her office chair. The footage from dozens of cameras played in silence.

"How has our man been performing?" Came Excella Gionne's accented voice, somewhat grainy due to Ada being some ways underground.

"He continues to exceed all expectations, Excella." Ada answered with sincere satisfaction. "It was one thing watching him in a controlled environment, but to see him cut loose out in the wild..."

The sound of rich, gentle tittering came over the comm line.

"It's like witnessing art unfold before your eyes, yes?"

Ada turned her eyes to another screen, one that wasn't a live feed. It replayed the moment when Dalton had killed one of the mutated Lickers with only his hands. The way he manhandled the beasts, without even sign of struggle... it almost took Ada's breath away.

"He's magnificent."

"He's priceless." Excella proclaimed. Ada could imagine the triumphant smile the woman must have been wearing then. "And the combat date we've recorded tonight is worth even more than that."

The mission had provided plenty of footage, plenty of data. There was an abundance of it. Each second was worth more than an ounce of gold.

Dalton had done his job beautifully. And so had Ada.

All that was left for the rogue agent was to sit back and wait to be extracted. One of the perks of being a VIP.

"Setting Toronto on fire just to get footage of Dalton in action? You really are as ruthless as they say, Gionne." Ada said, smirking.

"No one can deny my results."

Ada couldn't argue.

Excella's plan was a work of twisted genius. Ada couldn't ignore that it gave her a dark thrill. The clear success of the supersoldier project only pleased her that much more. The Man of Tomorrow was real. And Ada Wong had a hand in creating him.

She had her eyes on him at that very moment. Her gaze was fixed firmly on one screen in particular, the live feed showing John Dalton approach the front steps of the Tricell building. And right beside him was the diminutive Rebecca Chambers. Ada almost broke into a laugh, seeing the two walking side by side. The disparity between the man and the woman was... broad.

The wolf and the bunny. It's a miracle she survived the Spencer Mansion.

It was almost time to leave. Ada rose from her seat, smoothing out her dark red blouse.

She kept her eyes on the screens, watching the perfection of Dalton. Even through the grainy CCTV footage, the cool confidence of his step oozed through. He had a primal nature about him, an unshakable aura that sucked Ada in. Alluring in the way only power could have.

John Dalton was the pinnacle. And he belonged to them.

"The Man of Tomorrow on Tricell-Umbrella's leash." Ada mused, her voice barely more than a whisper. "I'd say the future is firmly in your hands, Excella."

The Director of Anti-Bioterror Operations let out a soft hum on the other end of the line. It was clear that she was beyond pleased.

Then there was a long moment of silence. Neither woman spoke, allowing the reality of their triumph to sink in. It was only when Dalton and Chambers entered the HQ lobby that Excella's voice once more came through.

"Download all the footage you can. Wipe the rest."

Clear, simple, direct. Ada found herself nodding despite the fact that the other woman couldn't even see her. A force of habit, perhaps. The free agent didn't dwell on it.

"Let me guess: guard the drive with my life?" Ada joked as she moved to a computer terminal and began tapping keys.

A few more keystrokes had the CCTV footage being set to archive, the raw video files loading onto a single hard drive. In a few short minutes, that hard drive would be worth hundreds of millions.

"You won't need to, Ms. Wong." Excella assured her, haughty pride coloring her words. "Not with Dalton watching your ass."

Ada snorted.

"I hope he likes what he sees. Wong, out."

- - -

Rebecca was not impressed with Ladybug.

It wasn't one specific thing about the VIP that irked her, it was everything.

It was her attitude, acting so blasé about downtown Toronto being in flames.

It was her outfit, designer clothes that looked like they cost more than a month of Rebecca's salary. The black high-heel boots, the tight pants of shiny, black leather, the blouse of dark red silk. Each article of clothing seemed to speak to Rebecca, taunting her: "I'm better than you."

It was the aura of haughty smugness that seemed to permeate the space around her. Rebecca could practically taste it, this woman's arrogance. It was in her eyes, in the way she looked at Rebecca like she was some fragile little mouse.

It was everything about this woman. Her beauty, her effortless grace, her flawless, pale skin. Ladybug's Asian features only added another layer to her air of elegance. Narrow, catlike eyes. Small, slender nose. Pouty, glossy lips, Short, silky black hair. Every bit of her was flawless. She looked like she just stepped off the runway at a fashion show.

In many ways, Ladybug reminded Rebecca of Director Gionne. The two women shared many qualities - the same qualities that Rebecca found less than admirable, unfortunately. But there was one big difference between them, Agent Chambers noticed. Excella Gionne was usually cold, detached, ruthlessly professional. But Ladybug?

Ladybug liked to flirt.

"I hope you didn't break too much of a sweat for little ol' me." The VIP spoke, looking quite pleased at the presence of John Dalton. There was... interest in her eyes. Interest that she didn't bother to hide.

The shamelessness of it made Rebecca want to gag. Even worse, Dalton was... receptive.

The man smiled at the VIP, the cockiness etched on his face being enough to stoke Rebecca's irritation. He stood up tall - being indoors only highlighted just how tall he was, with the top of his head almost grazing the ceiling.