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1.2

Joint Operations Helicopter

5 miles from the Toronto Red Zone

For all the money Tricell-Umbrella had, Jill found it absurd that they seemingly couldn’t spring for a second helo. Twelve men and women - plus two pilots - all crammed into one vehicle. Half were BSAA and half were T-U mercenaries. And the two sides really didn’t like each other. At least in the briefing room they were allowed enough space that they didn’t need to rub elbows. But here? They were canned like sardines, waiting to be let out straight into hell on Earth.

The T-U guys were of course making bawdy jokes. Talking about how much of a stunner Ladybug was, bragging about how they’d be the man to walk away from this mission with a hot date. Jill wanted to gag.

The STARS veteran ignored them. Mostly. The meat-head mercs mostly directed their jokes at women who weren’t present. Jill could live with that, albeit grudgingly. But others were more daring - or rather, more shameless. Others like Commander Dalton, who would cast appreciative glances Jill’s way from his side of the helicopter. She was armed to the teeth, garbed in kevlar and combat boots, and he was looking at her like a wolf looked at a juicy steak. 

It steamed her up, being reduced to eye candy. And it was something Jill Valentine couldn’t ignore.

She wouldn’t start an argument on the helo ride to the mission. She was a professional, after all. But a sour look full of heated scorn? A look designed to let Dalton know exactly what Jill thought of him, that was fair game.

Her disdain was made as clear as she could make it. But Dalton only flashed her a grin in return.

“Nervous?” He asked her, leaning forward. His voice came through her headset, low and deep even through the garbled grain of the helo comms. 

He was taunting her, she knew. Jill Valentine had handled worse than the likes of John Dalton. She wouldn’t rise to his bait.

But Dalton didn’t give up that easily. He wanted Jill to bite. And that meant dumping more chum into the water.

The man leaned forward, his grin widening into a friendly smile. But the friendliness stopped there. His eyes held something else entirely. A hungry wickedness that unsettled even Jill. The BSAA agent stirred in her seat some as Dalton spoke again.

“It’s okay to have pre-mission jitters.” He assured her with impeccably feigned concern. Some of the T-U mercs beside him chuckled. Like Jill, they knew exactly what he was doing. “Especially when we’re going to be dealing with BOWs…”

“Jill’s faced down more BOWs than anyone on this team. Stop treating her like some rookie.” Rebecca answered him, her firm, fuming voice shocking even Jill. The short, mousy woman apparently had even less patience for Dalton’s antics.

The T-U men broke out into guffaws with Dalton himself sporting a pleased smile. Jill may not have taken the bait, but Rebecca did. Not the victory Dalton wanted, but a victory nonetheless. It was proof that he was getting under their skin. The kind of knowledge that brought satisfaction to scummy brutes like him.

Jill was proud of her friend, certainly. And indeed she was thankful for the back-up. She knew Rebecca had a fiery spirit. She doubted the girl would have survived all that she had otherwise. But it would be detrimental to the mission for an argument to break out on the helo ride over. 

Jill set a hand on Rebecca’s knee, giving her close friend a subtle look. 

He’s not worth it, her eyes silently told Rebecca. And the shorter girl gave a reluctant nod.

Jill cast a dark look towards the T-U mercs. She found Dalton wearing an expression that infuriated her. The man was amused.

“I read about the Raccoon City incident. Miss Valentine is one tough chick, no doubt about it.” Dalton spoke amicably. But still his words were grating. Jill fumed silently, glaring at the man. Miss Valentine, he had called her, not Agent Valentine. Dalton knew what he was doing. Jill could see it in his eyes. He smiled again, his mockery faint just beneath his friendly veneer. “But who knows what we’ll find in the city?”

“Nothing the BSAA can’t handle.” Jill answered bluntly. The insult was as clear as she could make it. Dalton wasn’t the only one who could make jokes. And from the flash in his eyes, Jill knew the man picked up on her meaning.

Dalton leaned back in his seat. Behind him, Jill could see the top of the Toronto skyline, tower after tower passing them by. The man kept quiet for a moment. But then that insufferable grin of his returned.

“Well, whatever goes down once we land…” Dalton paused, making an attempt at being dramatic. Jill could only roll her eyes. “I want you to know that I’ll have your back.”

Jill could only give the man a dull stare. Yeah, right. Then Dalton turned his eyes onto Rebecca, his grin spreading into a toothy, wolfish smile. Jill could feel the shorter woman shift uncomfortably in her seat.

“Yours too.” Dalton said to Rebecca, chuckling. There was a glint in his eyes that Jill very much did not like. Not at all.

Jill gave Dalton a withering, disdainful look. The STARS veteran was about to chew the man out when Rebecca surprised her yet again by rising to her own defense.

“We can take care of ourselves, thank you.” Rebecca responded curtly. She was unamused. And unimpressed. Or rather, that was the aura she wanted to give off. Jill felt her lips curl into a proud, little smile. Often people didn’t give Rebecca Chambers enough credit, Jill herself included. For such a short and slight girl, Rebecca had a lot of spunk. There was a reason she had been STARS, after all.

Rebecca’s fire was enough to light up Jill’s spirit as well. The taller woman crossed her arms, leveling a cold, hard stare at Dalton.

“Save the chivalry, shining knight bullshit for Ladybug.” She told him, giving him a derisive upwards nod.

Dalton, for his part, took the shut-down in stride. He raised his hands in mock surrender.

“Just trying to be a team player, is all.” He told them, his words again coated in mock friendliness.

Then he chuckled again. To Jill, it was quickly becoming a most infuriating sound.

The voice of one of the pilots came through the headset then. 

“We’re coming up on the LZ.” The pilot told them. “Get prepped for insertion!”

Immediately, a hush fell over the operatives in the back of the helicopter. It was game time now.

Through the window, Jill could see Toronto. She could see the orange glow of fire and the dark clouds of smoke rising from the city streets. Echoes of Raccoon City rang in her head. It didn’t look nearly as bad, though. Unlike Raccoon City, the Canadian authorities were able to keep the chaos contained. That was the red zone. And that was where Jill was heading.

The helo began to descend. Closer and closer it ferried the team into danger and darkness. Dalton was right. Who knew what they were going to find in the city?

Jill frowned and steeled her nerves. As the helo doors slid open and the cool, evening air hit her face, Jill could only hope that the mission would go smoothly.

The mission did not start smoothly.

Mere moments after touching down, the team was beset by violent, fast-moving creatures. Creatures that Jill had faced before - creatures she had thoroughly wished she would never see again.

But it was not to be. The Toronto red zone was indeed hell on Earth. And Lickers were the beasts guarding the gates.

These Lickers were different, though. They were capable of launching spiked projectiles from their bodies. And they didn’t seem to be blind like the ones in Raccoon City. And that just made them that much deadlier.

Half the team was dead within a minute. The BSAA guys and T-U mercs falling together, nothing more than dead meat for the shrieking, pouncing monstrosities. 

Jill shouted as she saw Rebecca get grazed by a flying spike. The slight medic wasn’t dead, Jill saw. But she had the wind knocked out of her, flat on her back on the pavement. And wounded prey was too juicy a target for the beasts to ignore.

But then Dalton was there, standing over Rebecca, protecting her. The massive mercenary looked almost like a superhero, standing fearlessly amidst the chaos, unloading his rifle into the wild, wicked monsters with lethal precision. Wherever he pointed his weapon was met with death.

Jill thought to join him, to add her own strength and abilities to his so they could better protect Rebecca. But then there came a sickening, uneven whirring noise. One that Jill had heard far too often in her career fighting bio-terrorism. 

The team helicopter was losing control. Jill turned her eyes to the sky and was met with a sight that sent dread sinking into her gut like a heavy stone. The helo hadn’t bugged out in time. Half-a-dozen Lickers had leaped onto the chassis, snarling and shrieking as they tried to claw their way to the pilots inside. Jill could hear the men screaming.

The helicopter spun wildly in the air. Jill forced herself to run. Then there was the sound of rushing, displaced air followed by a violent quake and an ear-splitting boom.

Jill was thrown into the air, screaming. Down below, she saw the pavement racing up to meet her.