humorless drill sergeant and sever– al rubber snakes. The girl was relaxing, even enjoying the story of their childish prank– -seventeen years ago. She would have been cele– brating her first birthday. Still, she had put her questions on hold at Barry's request, even though David knew she had to be anxious about what he'd told her. The ability to retrain one's focus so quickly was an admirable trait, one that he'd never fully mastered. He'd been able to think of little else since his own call to the S.T.A.R.S. AD. David's devotion to the organization had made the apparent betrayal all the more bitter, like a bad taste in his mouth that wouldn't go away. The S.T.A.R.S. had been David's life for almost twenty years, had given him all the things he'd lacked growing up-a sense of self-worth, a sense of purpose and integrity.
And just like that, the lives of dedicated men and women, my life and life's work simply tossed aside as if it meant nothing. How much did that cost? How much did Umbrella have to pay to buy the S.T.A.R.S.'s honor?
David shook the anger, focusing his attention on Rebecca. If all he'd learned was true, time was short and their resources were now severely limited. His motivations weren't as important right now as hers. He could tell by the way she held herself that she wasn't the shy or submissive type, and she was obviously bright; her eyes fairly sparkled with it. From what Barry had told him, she'd acted profes– sionally throughout the Spencer facility operation. Her file suggested that she was more than qualified to work with a chemical virus, assuming that she was as good as the reports said-and assuming she has any desire to put her life in further danger. That was going to be the sticking point. She hadn't been with the S.T.A.R.S. for very long, and knowing that they'd sold their people out probably wasn't going to overwhelm her with feelings of confidence for the job ahead. It would be just as easy for her to step out of the game now. For that matter, it would be the intelligent choice for all of them. There was a knock at the door, presumably the other two Alphas. David's hand drifted down to the butt of his nine-millimeter as Barry went to answer. When he walked back in leading the S.T.A.R.S. team members, David relaxed, then stood up to be formally introduced.
'Jill Valentine, Chris Redfield-this is Captain David Trapp, military strategist for the Maine
S.T.A.R.S. Exeter branch.'
Chris was the marksman, if David remembered correctly, and Jill something of a covert B amp;E special– ist. Barry said that the pilot, Brad Vickers, had skipped town shortly after the Spencer incident. No great loss, from what he could gather; the man sounded distinctly unreliable. He shook hands with both of them and they all sat down, Barry nodding toward him.
'David's an old comrade of mine. We worked together on the same team for about two years, right after boot camp. He showed up on my doorstep about an hour ago with news, and I didn't think it could wait. David?'
David cleared his throat, trying to focus on the significant facts. After a pause, he began at the begin- ning.
'As you already know, six days ago, Barry placed several calls to various S.T.A.R.S. branches to see if any word had come from the home office about the tragedy that occurred here. I received one of those calls. It was the first I'd heard about it, and I've since found out that the New York office hasn't contacted anyone about your discovery. No warnings or memos. Nothing has been issued to the S.T.A.R.S. regarding the Umbrella Corporation.'
Chris and Jill exchanged looks of concern. 'Maybe they're not done investigating,' Chris said slowly. David shook his head. 'I spoke to the assistant director myself the day after Barry called. I didn't tell him about the contact, only that I'd heard rumor of a problem in Raccoon, and wanted to know if it had any merit.'
He looked at the assembled group and sighed inwardly, feeling like he'd already gone over it a thousand times.
Only in my mind, searching for another answer… and there isn 't one. 'The AD wouldn't tell me anything outright,' he continued, 'and he told me that I should remain quiet about it until official word came down. What he would say was that there had been a helicopter crash in Raccoon City-and what he implied was that the surviving S.T.A.R.S. were trying to lay blame on Umbrella, angry over some sort of funding dispute.' 'But that's not true!' Jill said. 'We were investigat-ing the murders, and found…' 'Yes, Barry told me,' David interrupted. 'You found that the murders were the result of a laboratory accident. The T-Virus that Umbrella was experiment-ing with was released somehow and it transformed the researchers into mad killers.' 'That's exactly what happened,' Chris said. 'I know it sounds nuts, but we were there, we saw them.' David nodded. 'I believe you. I have to admit, I was skeptical after speaking with Barry. As you say, it sounds 'nuts'-but my call to New York and what's happened since has changed all that. I've known Barry for a long time, and I knew that he wouldn't be looking to place blame for such an unfortunate inci-dent unless Umbrella was, in fact, responsible. He even told me about his own unwilling involvement in the attempted cover up.' '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
