So why look for blueprints? Brad asked.
It was Chris who answered, startling Barry. He'd walked back to join them, his youthful face fixed with a sudden intensity that almost bordered on obsessive.
Because it's the only place in the woods that hasn't been checked over by the police, and it's practically in the middle of the crime scenes. And because you can't always trust what people say.
Brad frowned. But if Umbrella sent somebody out…
Whatever Chris was going to say in response was cut short by Wesker's smooth voice, rising from the front of the room.
All right, people. Since it appears that Ms. Valentine isn't planning on joining us, why don't we get this started?
Barry walked to his desk, worried about Chris for the first time since this whole thing had started. He'd recruited the younger man for the S.T.A.R.S. a few years back thanks to a chance encounter in a local gun shop. Chris had proved to be an asset to the team, bright and thoughtful as well as a top-notch marksman and able pilot.
But now…
Barry gazed fondly at the picture of Kathy and the girls that sat on his desk. Chris's obsession with the murders in Raccoon was understandable, particularly since his friend had disappeared. Nobody in town wanted to see another life lost. Barry had a family, and was as determined as anyone else on the team to stop the killers. But Chris's relentless suspicion had gone a little overboard. What had he meant by that, You can't always trust what people say? Either that Umbrella was lying or Chief Irons was…
Ridiculous. Umbrella's branch chemical plant and administrative buildings on the outskirts of town supplied three-quarters of the jobs in Raccoon City; it would be counter-productive for them to lie. Besides, Umbrella's integrity was at least as solid as any other major corporation's-maybe some industrial espionage, but medical secret-swapping was a far cry from murder. And Chief Irons, though a fat, weasely blowhard, wasn't the kind to get his hands any dirtier than they'd get accepting illegal campaign funds; the guy wanted to be mayor, for chrissake.
Barry's gaze lingered on the picture of his family a moment longer before he turned his chair around to face Wesker's desk, and he suddenly realized that he wanted Chris to be wrong. Whatever was going on in Raccoon City, that kind of vicious brutality couldn't be planned. And that meant…
Barry didn't know what that meant. He sighed, and waited for the meeting to begin.
TWO
Jill was deeply relieved to hear the sound of Wesker's voice as she jogged toward the open door of the S.T.A.R.S. office. She'd seen one of their helicopters taking off as she'd arrived, and been positive that they'd left without her. The S.T.A.R.S. were a fairly casual outfit in some respects. But there also wasn't any room for people who couldn't keep up-and she wanted very much to be in on this case from the beginning.
The RPD has already established a perimeter search, spanning sectors one, four, seven, and nine.
It's the central zones we're concerned with, and Bravo will set down here…
At least she wasn't too late; Wesker always ran meetings the same way-update speech, theory, then Q and A. Jill took a deep breath and stepped into the office. Wesker was pointing to a posted map at the front of the room, dotted with colored tags where the bodies had been found. He hardly faltered in his speech as she walked quickly to her desk, feeling suddenly like she was back in basic training and had shown up late for class.
Chris Redfield threw her a half-smile as she sat down, and she nodded back at him before focusing on Wesker. She didn't know any of the Raccoon team that well, but Chris had made a real effort to make her feel welcome since she'd arrived. … after a fly-by of the other central areas. Once they report in, we'll have a better idea of where to focus our energies.
But what about the Spencer place? Chris asked.
It's practically in the middle of the crime scenes. If we start there, we can conduct a more complete search.
And if Bravo's information points to that area, rest assured, we'll search there. For now, I don't see any reason to consider it a priority.
Chris looked incredulous. But we only have Umbrella's word that the estate is secure…
Wesker leaned against his desk, his strong features expressionless. Chris, we all want to get to the bottom of this. But we have to work as a team, and the best approach here is to do a thorough search for those missing hikers before we start jumping to conclusions. Bravo will take a look-see and we'll conduct this by the book.
Chris frowned, but said nothing more. Jill resisted the urge to roll her eyes at Wesker's little speech. He was doing the right thing, technically, but had left out the part about it being politic to do as Chief Irons wanted. Irons had made it clear time and again throughout the killing spree that he was in charge of the investigation and was calling the shots. It wouldn't have bothered her so much except that Wesker presented himself as an independent thinker, a man who didn't play politics. She had joined the S.T.A.R.S. because she couldn't stand the bullshit red- tape that dominated so much of law enforcement, and Wesker's obvious deferral to the chief was irritating.
Well, and don't forget that you stood a good chance of ending up in prison if you hadn't changed your occupation…
Jill. I see that you managed to find the time to come in. Illuminate us with your brilliant insight.
What have you got for us?
Jill met Wesker's sharp gaze evenly, trying to seem as cool and composed as he was. Nothing new, I'm afraid. The only obvious pattern is location…
She looked down at the notes she had on the stack of files in front of her, scanning them for reference.
Uh, the tissue samples from underneath both Becky McGee's and Chris Smith's fingernails were an exact match, we got that yesterday… and Tonya Lipton, the third victim, had definitely been hiking in the foothills, that'd be sector-seven-B…
She looked back up at Wesker and made her pitch.
My theory at this point is that there's a possible ritualistic cult hiding in the mountains, four to eleven members strong, with guard dogs trained to attack intruders in their territory.
Extrapolate. Wesker folded his arms, waiting.
At least no one had laughed. Jill plunged forward, warming to the material. The cannibalism and dismemberment suggest ritualistic behavior, as does the presence of decomposed flesh found on some of the victims – like the killers are carrying parts of previous unknown victims to their attacks. We've got saliva and tissue samples from four separate human assailants, though eye-witness reports suggest up to ten or eleven people. And those killed by animals were all found or found to be attacked in the same vicinity, suggesting that they wandered into some kind of offlimits area. The saliva traces appear to be canine, though there's still some disagreement… She trailed off, finished.
Wesker's face betrayed nothing, but he nodded slowly. Not bad, not bad at all. Disprove?
Jill sighed. She hated having to shoot her own theory down, but that was part of the job-and in all honesty, the part that most encouraged clear, rational thinking. The S.T.A.R.S. trained their people not to fixate on any single path to the truth.
She glanced at her notes again. It's highly unlikely that a cult that big would move around much, and the murders started too recently to be local; the RPD would've seen signs before now, some escalation to this kind of behavior. Also, the level of post-mortem violence indicates disorganized offenders, and they usually work solo.
Joseph Frost, the Alpha vehicle specialist, piped up from the back of the room. The animal attack part works, though, protecting their territory and all that.
Wesker scooped up a pen and walked to the dryerase board next to his desk, talking as he moved. I agree.
He wrote territoriality on the board and then turned back to face her. Anything else?
Jill shook her head, but felt good that she'd contributed something. She knew the cult aspect was reaching, but it had been all she could come up with. The police certainly hadn't come up with anything better.
Wesker turned his attention to Brad Vickers, who suggested that it was a new strain of terrorism, and that demands would be made soon. Wesker put terrorism on the board, but didn't seem enthusiastic about the idea. Neither did anyone else. Brad quickly went back to his headset, checking on Bravo team's status.
Both Joseph and Barry passed on theorizing, and Chris's views on the killings were already well known, if
