Rarely did she lose her composure, the detrimental effects of anxiety and stressful situations forcefully minimized by her refusal to let such obstacles impede her every action. Her time at university, her demanding training sessions and taxing work position; she had managed it all. As time passed however, her control began faltering, her focus lessening. The balance between personal life and work had become obstructed by the increase of sleepless nights, and the many threats she had faced in recent months.
"Hey..." He approached her, and placed his hands on the side of her shoulders. All he could do, was to let her know she wasn't alone. She closed her eyes; at that very moment, all she wanted was to empty her head, lock away her mind and simply become nothing. Make herself disappear, make all of this be erased from reality, pleading for the impossible. But the impossible was just that; she knew she wouldn't be able to forget or run away from any of this.
"Closure..." Her tone was faint. "I need... closure." How far could she keep going, she couldn't say, but she knew she had to uncover the truth. "Alive... or dead..." She looked dead straight, her eyes piercing through his. "I need to know what happened to Ruben, Mika and Raphael... no matter what... I just..." He answered with a nod.
"Alright-" He spoke softly. "Let's take it slow... we stick together- I got your back- you hear?" She took a deep breathe, and readied herself.
They had another look at the map: three wings remained to be fully explored, one of which was kept under electronic lock. L Wing consisted of examination rooms, storage rooms, and a morgue, while C Wing seemed far less transparent with its layout, and appeared to be the only way to access the Secondary Wing.
"That's where we need to go..." Her voice was quivering. She moved back to the console, pulled out and used the card he had found, releasing all locks in C. "They're hidden something... in there."
Weapon in hand, they proceeded down the central section. Besides the records storage, six more lead to what appeared to be samples study rooms, each with a specific theme: three plant based, two animal based, and one containing human organs. All of them filled with notes, procedures, and experiment results, hinting at Umbrella's true face. A sickening feeling struck them both, as they witnessed the most gruesome side of the scientific world. Done with their exploring, they headed to the rear section of the wing, to a large fortified steel door, and a sign that read T01-TR. This marked a point of no return; no matter what awaited them, they would get to the bottom of it all. He took the lead, as she followed not far behind. A change in temperature was immediately felt, a sterile and chilling atmosphere welcoming them. A layer of frost covered nearly everything in sight, the entirety of the wing built like an enormous walk-in freezer. The path was straightforward, a long hallway containing no doors, several warning signs and cables plastered the walls and ceiling.
"There's nothing here, except what looks like an elevator at the end there-" His expression frowned. "What the hell's going on?"
"There's something else-" She recalled his suggestion to follow the mercenary's blood trail. "That man in the waiting hall... he came from the elevator we took- but once we got down to the basement-"
"There was no blood anywhere- except from that hand in the hall." He was quick to catch on to her allusion. "Meaning he might not have come from this level... or was injured inside the elevator."
Her expression scowled; so much was happening, yet nothing appeared as a solid lead. Speculations, guesses and gambles was all that guided her every step. They reached the end of the corridor, an another fortified door awaiting them.
"That thing's sealed shut-" He noticed several wires connecting the entryway to a nearby console. "With heavy security keeping it locked." The panel had five nodes, each one identified by a number and symbol, and a card reader on both side.
"There has to be a way to release these locks..." Her eyes narrowed, as a thought jolted. "Do you think that man, and whoever he was with, knew about this door? Maybe they went right for that- somewhere in B2 or B3? It would explain why there was no blood trail on this level..."
"Seeing how he was employed by Umbrella-" He took one more look at the console, as to memorize the numbers and symbols. "That's probably what happened." His gaze shifted back to her. "Let's go." He gave her a gentle pat on the back.
They backtracked to the main elevator, and proceeded down to B2. They were instantly greeted by a pungent smell, the air feeling moist; the cement walls and floor appeared water damaged, covered in mold and some kind of viscous substance.
"There's the blood- we're on the right track..." She spotted the trail from right outside the elevator.
"And something else..." He aimed straight ahead, a firm grip on his weapon. "Don't you move from here- you wait for me, is that clear?" His tone, although cold and commanding, displayed genuine concern for her safety. She nodded in understanding, keeping her own weapon in hand, her heartbeat hammering against her chest.
