18 September 1998, 3:30 AM, Subterranean Laboratory
"I'm disposable," Eddie said, almost to himself, staring at the black coffee. "A huge cost for a single use. An inefficient weapon."
"Exactly," Annette agreed, her voice a whisper in the lab's silence.
"Then why keep going down this road?" Eddie asked, looking up at her. His eyes burned with a feverish light, a mix of fatigue and sudden, consuming passion. "Both the T-Virus and the G-Virus are crude tools. They may extend life, perhaps, but at what cost? They turn men into monsters. I don't want to become a monster, Annette. I want to live."
He stood and began to pace, the energy emanating from him almost tangible. "Have you ever thought about true immortality? Not just a longer life, but eternal youth? A body free from every disease, forever?" He stopped in front of her, his gaze intense. "That is my goal. A serum that doesn't just rewrite the code but perfects it. A serum that goes beyond Birkin's work, beyond Marcus's. Beyond anyone's."
Annette watched him, fascinated and frightened. The idea was mad, heretical. But it was also… seductive. Who would not dream of such a thing?
"It's an… ambitious idea," she murmured.
"It's an idea that needs help to become real," he said, his voice growing softer, more intimate. "Your help, Annette. You have knowledge in this field I can only dream of. Together we could accelerate the process by years. I don't want to be dragged into William's and Spencer's stupid power struggles. It's a waste of time. I just want to do my research. In peace. I just want to… live."
The last word was a whisper heavy with false vulnerability, a studied sadness. It hit its mark. Annette's heart, already cracked by her husband's coldness and fear for the future, melted.
"Alright," she said, her voice barely audible. "I'll help you. Consider it the start of a… collaboration. But I warn you, Eddie. If you're plotting something against my family…"
"I would never do that," he interrupted her, his expression suddenly serious, almost hurt. "You have my word."
William is already a dead man, he thought. And I will not be the one to pull the trigger. A man who betrays Umbrella without a bombproof escape plan is only a corpse who doesn't know he is one yet. Even Albert Wesker, with all his cunning, moved in the shadows, waiting for the collapse to strike. William was only an arrogant researcher. A sacrificial lamb.
Annette, convinced, or perhaps merely wanting to convince herself, nodded. "For the T-Virus to bind to a host stably," she began, her voice returning to professional, "the basic physical condition is fundamental. Strength, endurance, but above all… the quality of the internal organs. The heart, in particular. It must be able to sustain a hyper-accelerated metabolism. That is why Tyrants fail. Their bodies become too powerful for their hearts."
A revelation. Inspiration struck Eddie like an electric shock. The heart. It had always been the weak point.
"Annette… you're a genius!" he exclaimed, and in a burst of genuine and calculated joy, he hugged her. It was a brief, almost fraternal gesture, but long enough to catch her off guard.
When he pulled away, he immediately returned to his workstation, his mind already calculating new equations, new possibilities.
Annette stood still for a moment, stunned. A small, sad smile formed on her lips. Maybe it wasn't a bad idea to have a friend in that den of vipers. A younger brother, almost.
But then the smile faded. She thought of William. Of his obsession. Of his betrayal. She knew of his contacts with the military. She knew he was playing a game he could not win. And he did not care for her, or for Sherry. His only allies were himself and Albert Wesker, a man who did not even trust his own shadow.
What are you doing, William? she screamed inside, a cold anxiety tightening her stomach. What the hell are you thinking?
Without realizing it, her nails dug into the palm of her hand until they drew blood. The crack in her heart had just widened. And soon it would break completely.