“But if Tom Kurtz told you that there was no conspiracy . . ” Chris said.
David sighed. “Yes. We have to assume that either our own organization has been misled—or that, like your Captain Wesker, members of the S.T.A.R.S. are now working for Umbrella.”
There was a moment of shocked silence as they absorbed the information, and David could see anger and confusion play across their faces. He knew how they felt. It meant that the S.T.A.R.S. directors had either been manipulated by Umbrella or corrupted by them—and either way, the survivors of the Raccoon team had been hung out to dry, left vulnerable to whatever Umbrella might do.
God, if only I could believe that it was all a mis-take. . ..
“Three days ago, I picked up a tail on my way in to work,” he said softly. “I wasn’t able to make them, but I’m assuming that they’re some of Umbrella’s people and that my call to New York was respon-sible”
“Have you tried to get hold of Palmieri?” Jill asked. David nodded. The S.T.A.R.S. national command-er was the one man he knew was above taking bribes;
Marco Palmieri had been with the S.T.A.R.S. since the very beginning. “I was informed by his secretary that he’s leading a classified operation in the Middle East and won’t be available for months—and word has it that arrangements are being made for his retirement while he’s away.”
“You think Umbrella’s behind it?” Chris asked. David shrugged. “Umbrella has made substantial donations to the S.T.A.R.S. over the years, which means they have the contacts. If they’re trying to turn the S.T.A.R.S. away from investigating them, getting rid of Dr. Palmieri would be to their advantage.” David glanced around the room, trying to assess their readiness for the rest of it. Barry’s fists were clenched, and he stared at them as if he’d never seen them before. Jill and Rebecca both seemed lost in thought, though he could see that they had accepted his story as truth. It would save them time, at least. .
Chris stood up and started to pace, his youthful features flushed with anger. “So basically, we’ve got no credibility with the locals, no backup coming, and we’ve been branded as liars by our own people. The Umbrella investigation is dead and we’re screwed, does that pretty much sum it up?”
David could see that the anger wasn’t directed at him, just as the anger that he felt wasn’t for the young Alpha. The thought of what Umbrella had done, what the S.T.A.R.S. were involved in—it made him sick with rage, with feelings of helplessness that he hadn’t felt since his childhood.
Stop thinking of yourself. Tell them the rest. David stood up and looked at Chris, though he addressed all of them. He hadn’t even had time to tell Barry yet.
“Actually, there’s more. It seems that there’s anoth-er Umbrella facility on the Maine coast, conducting experiments with this virus of theirs—and just like what happened here, they’ve lost control.” David turned to Rebecca, taking in her wide, horri-fied gaze as he finished. “I’m taking a team in, without S.T.A.R.S. authorization—and I want you to come with us.”
Two
THEY ALL STARED AT DAVID, CHRIS FEELING like he’d just been punched in the gut. He was still reeling from the information about the S.T.A.R.S., from the realization that they were on their own—and now another lab?
And he wants to take Rebecca....
David went on, his dark gaze still fixed on the young Bravo. “I’ve talked to the people on my team I believe to be trustworthy, and three of them have agreed to go. I’m not going to lie to you—it will be dangerous, and without the S.T.A.R.S. to back us up, there’s no guarantee we’ll be able to close the lab down. We just want to go in, collect some solid evidence on this T-Virus, and get back out before anyone even knows we’re—“ Before he could stop himself, Chris interrupted. “I’m going, too.” “We all go,” Barry said firmly. Jill nodded, putting her arm around Rebecca. The teen seemed flustered, her cheeks red, and looking at her, Chris was once again reminded of Claire. It was more than just a physical resemblance; Rebecca had the same wit, the same spirited blend of courage and thoughtfulness that Chris’s younger sister had. And since the Spencer estate disaster, Chris had come to feel just as protec-tive of Rebecca. Too many of his friends had died already. Joseph, Richard, Kenneth, Forest, and Enrico—not to mention Billy Rabbitson; his body had never been found, but Chris had no doubts that Umbrella had killed him to keep him from talking. It wasn’t that Rebecca couldn’t handle herself. . . ... but damn it, she’s part of our team. No way she goes without us.
David shook his head. “Look, this isn’t a full-scale op; five people is already stretching it. Rebecca’s got the background we need to find the data on the virus, and she already knows what symptoms to look for.” “You’ve got your team right here,” Chris said. “You can take us instead, let your guys look into the cover up.. . .”
David sat back down and looked at Chris, his face expressionless, “Tell me who’s involved in Umbrella’s conspiracy to hide their research,” he said. Chris glanced at the others, then back at David, determined not to let his confusion show. “We sus-pect several people locally. Umbrella’s office workers, of course. The police commissioner, Chief Irons, a couple of his men . . ”
David nodded. “And now that it looks like the S.T.A.R.S. are in on this, what do you propose to do?”
Where the hell is he going with this?
Chris sighed. “I don’t know. I... we should con-tact the Feds, maybe an internal affairs division to look into the S.T.A.R.S. and the RPD—“ Barry cut in. “—and we’ll get in touch with some of the other S.T.A.R.S. branches. There are still good people working out there who ain’t gonna be too happy that Umbrella’s taking over.”
David nodded again. “So you agree that Umbrella has to be stopped, even though it will be dangerous?” “Well, no shit,” Chris said, scowling angrily. “We can’t just sit around and do nothing, there’s no telling what could happen if the T-Virus gets out again!” “And what can you tell me about the classification of the virus?” David asked quietly.
Chris opened his mouth to answer—and then closed it, staring at David thoughtfully. / was about to say, “You should ask Rebecca.” And he knows it.
David stood up and looked at all of them in turn as he spoke, his voice intense and determined. “I agree, Umbrella has to be stopped—but let’s not kid our-selves. We’re talking about breaking from the S.T.A.R.S. and going up against a multi-billion dollar establishment on our own. Nowhere is going to be safe, and our only chance for success is if we each do what we can, what we’re good at, to take Umbrella down.”
He fixed his cool gaze on Chris, as if he realized that Chris was the one who had to be convinced. “You and Jill and Barry already know what to look for here, and you’ve been with the S.T.A.R.S. longer than Rebecca. You should stay here, out of sight, see if you can ferret out the connection between the local police and Umbrella—and reach out to the S.T.A.R.S. members that you think would help us.”
David turned to Rebecca again. “And if you agree, I think we should leave for Maine tonight. With the information I have, it looks as though things have already gotten out of hand. My team is standing by; we could go in tomorrow at dusk.”
The room was silent for a moment, the only sound that of the ceiling fan whirring overhead. Chris still felt angry, but couldn’t find a hole in the man’s logic; he was right about their options, and whether Chris liked it or not, the choice to go to Maine was Rebecca’s to make.
“What information do you have?” Jill asked thoughtfully. “How did you find out about the lab?” David reached down to a battered briefcase propped next to his chair and dug through it, pulling out a file folder. “An interesting story in itself, if a strange one. I was hoping that one of you might be able to decipher some of this....”