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1.4

There was a wreckage blocking the way. A pile-up of a half-dozen or so of cars. Rebecca could see that some still had corpses in them.

Dalton was unbothered. He strode up to one of the overturned vehicles, planted his boot on the side, and grunted, shoving the mass of twisted metal with his leg. Rebecca watched as the wrecked car slid back, sending up sparks as it scraped against the asphalt. 

The taller operative turned and flashed Rebecca a grin, presenting to her the now clear path. Before, the young BSAA agent might have sneered or let him know his showboating was unwelcome. But Rebecca found she didn’t have her usual spunk right then. Not when she was still reeling from recent revelations.

Like Commander Dalton having superhuman strength.

And now that his enhanced nature was out in the open, the man was all too happy to show it off. Using his strength to clear obstacles, to kill zombies like they were nothing, and overall just making this whole mission look like child’s play. Dalton did it all while wearing that insufferable smile. Performing so well without even a gun had swelled his ego considerably, much to Rebecca’s irritation.

A day ago, Rebecca’s patience would have run short very quickly. She would have given Dalton a piece of her mind, biohazard zone be damned. 

But now? Now she was simply watching him. Studying him. She couldn’t do anything else.

The worst part was that Rebecca was in too much of a daze to even find his attitude annoying. It was too much to worry about Jill, about the mission, about herself, and now about Dalton’s Tricell-funded gifts (and it had to be because of Tricell. It was the only thing that made sense). Latching onto this one thing was what was keeping her sane.

The mismatched pair passed through the car wreck, emerging on the other side to find the street relatively clear. Save for a smattering of shambling zombies, of course.

Rebecca felt relief bloom in her chest as she noticed they now had a straight shot to the Tricell building - a straight shot to the VIP, Ladybug. Beside her, Dalton gave a low, pleased sound. He too took note of their good fortune.

But then came some trouble. A couple of undead had quickly set their sights on the pair of agents and advanced as fast as their rotting bodies would allow. 

The first one attacked blindly, making a move for the towering mercenary. Dalton sidestepped a zombie’s lazy lunge with ease. The merc’s arm shot out quickly, like a viper, his fist striking the undead on the temple. Rebecca looked on as the zombie wheezed, seized up, and fell into a heap on the pavement. Dead once more.

Another showing of Dalton’s strength. One punch to the head to rupture the brain was all he needed to dispatch the undead. Even the red ones fell quickly to superhuman merc.

Dalton kicked the second zombie square in the chest - divorcing its torso from the lower half of its body. As the legs crumpled to the ground, the zombie’s upper half slammed into a brick wall - SPLAT.

“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 green 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 green. 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.