Spring, 2006.
Romania. Starfire Pharma, European Division.
Nearly half a year had passed since that physical salvation that shattered a god's divinity. The village that had once been cold and crumbling was now the most dazzling tech fortress in the Eastern European mountains.
Castle Dimitrescu had been completely overhauled. The top-floor hall, once lined with torture implements and medieval oil paintings, was now filled with pale blue holographic displays and Star Fire's highest-spec tactical communications command console.
Ryan leaned back on the wide sofa, holding a glass of proper Romanian red wine. The one pouring for him was none other than Lady Dimitrescu herself, her edge entirely sheathed, dressed in a custom black velvet gown.
After witnessing the kind of firepower Star Fire routinely brought to bear, the once-lofty vampire aristocrat was now perfectly happy to play the role of "Senior PR Manager" for Star Fire's European Division.
"Mr. Cole, that idiot Heisenberg is complaining on the logistics channel again. He says HQ cut his specialty steel allotment by ten percent this month, and two of his mechanized production lines are down." Lady Dimitrescu set down the wine bottle with practiced elegance, her tone carrying its usual sardonic edge.
"Tell him to file an appeal report and stop bothering me." Ryan rubbed his temples and turned his attention back to the tactical tablet on his lap.
On screen was Carlos's weekly report from the D-04 mining zone in Africa. The footage showed that TriCell's underground facility entrance had gone two consecutive weeks without any biosignatures entering or exiting. Wesker had gone into full hibernation like a venomous snake coiled underground.
"Calm before the storm." Ryan took a sip of wine, his gaze sharp. "The quieter that guy gets, the more he's cooking up."
The heavy carved wooden doors swung open.
Jill strode in wearing tall boots. Her expression was several shades grimmer than her usual field-op face. She glanced at Lady Dimitrescu standing nearby, and the tall woman immediately took the hint, gave a slight bow, and withdrew from the hall.
"Top-tier encrypted transmission from BSAA, routed through our emergency allied channel." Jill didn't waste words. She handed over a red-clearance tablet. "Something happened to Chris."
Ryan's lazy demeanor tightened. He took the tablet.
On screen was a brief official dispatch restricted to top-level commanders: BSAA North America Alpha Team had been catastrophically ambushed during an intervention operation in Edonia, Eastern Europe. Apart from team captain Chris Redfield and vice-captain Piers Nivans, the entire squad was killed in action.
At the end of the dispatch was a formal request from BSAA HQ, officially requesting Starfire Pharma's assistance with search-and-rescue and on-site investigation.
Ryan scanned through the grim casualty list, and his eyes finally settled on a blurry field screenshot attached to the report. It showed a woman in a blue shirt and red scarf, her back to the camera, standing in the middle of war-torn rubble. At her feet lay several BSAA soldiers convulsing in agony, black fibers seeping through their skin as their bodies began to cocoon.
Below the image, the suspect was identified: Ada Wong.
"According to Piers's preliminary debrief, 'Ada' infected his entire squad with an unknown injectable agent. The new virus can mutate a person almost instantly, and the mutants retain tactical awareness and intelligence." Jill filled in the intel details from the side. "Chris took it hard. His mental state isn't good right now."
Ryan didn't answer immediately.
Edonia, Chris's squad wiped out, Carla Radames, the C-Virus, Tall Oaks, HAOS... memories of Resident Evil flooded in like a tidal wave.
"This wasn't supposed to happen yet. Why is it early?" Ryan muttered under his breath.
"Ryan. What did you just say?" Jill's voice pulled him back. "BSAA is still waiting for our response. Edonia is less than three hours by air from here. Chris is our friend. They took catastrophic losses."
Ryan stood and walked to the massive floor-to-ceiling windows. Outside, on Star Fire Heavy Industries' newly built helipad, rows of matte-black tiltrotor aircraft sat silent in the wind and snow.
"Tell BSAA we'll take the job." Ryan turned around, his eyes carrying the cold calculation of a hunter spotting prey. "But tell them, since they're asking for help, on-site command authority in the Edonia theater and recovery rights to all new virus samples go to us. Star Fire doesn't take orders from backseat drivers."
"Understood. I'll get personnel moving."
"Don't pull Carlos. He stays glued to Wesker in Africa. That's our foundation." Ryan issued orders methodically. "Draw two Shadow Teams from the village reserves, ones that have completed high-threat mutant combat training. Wheels up for Edonia immediately. Load the latest batch of Dawn enhancers."
He paused, his tone turning more serious.
"Send Sherry and Becky too."
Jill stopped mid-step and looked at Ryan with some surprise. She knew what those two girls were capable of. It seemed like overkill.
"Send them." Ryan read Jill's hesitation and explained. "There's a brand-new C-Virus spreading across Eastern Europe. I need Sherry and Becky in those ruins to find someone for me."
"Who?"
"Jake Muller." Ryan gave the name. "He's a gun-for-hire mercenary. Also Wesker's son. Could be running with the Edonian resistance right now, could be not. Tell Sherry, whatever it takes, bribe him, break his legs, I don't care, just bring Jake Muller back to Star Fire alive. His blood might be useful."
Jill nodded and logged the name in the top-clearance mission file.
"One more thing. Activate the highest-level covert line and contact Ada." Ryan walked to his desk, fingers tapping lightly on the surface.
A knowing, cold smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
...
Half an hour later, Sherry and Becky arrived at Ryan's office right on time.
The little girls from years ago had transformed completely into Star Fire's sharpest double-edged blade. Sherry wore a form-fitting nanofiber tactical suit, her pale gold hair pulled back in a clean ponytail, her eyes carrying a gentle but unyielding strength.
Becky was more like a wall of ice. She carried her heavily modified electromagnetic sniper rifle on her back, radiating an aura that warned everyone to keep their distance.
They'd just finished a live combat sparring session with Lady Dimitrescu's three mutant daughters. The faint smell of blood still clung to them.
"Uncle Ryan." The moment they saw Ryan, both girls relaxed instantly, their presence softening into something like two ordinary girls from next door.
Ryan looked at the two young women he'd raised and trained with his own hands. A rare flicker of pride surfaced.
They'd undergone Star Fire's most grueling combat training and received injections of the side-effect-free enhancement serum. In raw physical ability and combat effectiveness, they'd long since surpassed the so-called "human limit."
"Edonia. It's a meat grinder over there right now." Ryan walked up and clapped a hand on each of their shoulders, pushing Jake Muller's photo and file to their tactical terminals. "Your mission is to find him and bring him back alive. He's Wesker's bloodline. His antibodies might be a useful piece of the puzzle for Star Fire down the road."
Becky gave the young man in the photo a disinterested glance, her hand running along the grip of her sniper rifle.
"Copy. We'll bring him back. No guarantees on all four limbs being intact."
"As long as he's breathing." Ryan smiled. "Take Plagas suppressants with you, and if you run into Chris out there, poor bastard, give him a hand."
Just then, the direct line on Ryan's desk lit up.
He hit the speaker button. A languid, teasing female voice came through the other end. Ada's private line.
"Ryan. If you're calling to invite me to dinner, your timing is terrible. I'm about to go chase down a lead."
"Busy lately?" Ryan rolled his eyes.
On the other end, Ada seemed to let out a soft laugh.
"Got word from an old friend. Going to look into it."
"We'll talk in person then. Got something interesting to tell you."
Ryan hung up.
Outside the windows, dozens of Star Fire heavy tiltrotors in jet-black livery roared to life with a deafening thunder. The powerful downdraft hurled the snow piled around the castle into the air, and in the blinding beams of the searchlights, this force representing the highest firepower in global bioterrorism response tore through the night sky like black blades, heading straight for the Edonia warzone.
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