Meeting (5)

Mendell could not detect any presence of creatures within the area. Even though he already knew what dangers they would be facing inside this facility, he was not sure if there were any changes in terms of their numbers. The things that happened inside the mansion were still fresh inside his mind and he wondered if similar things would also happen.

Their footsteps echoed across the area as they made their way to the end of the hallway. As soon as they reached the area, they were both dismayed that the walls were covered with silky cobwebs.

"Spiders again...great," Kenneth sighed exasperatedly, his hands removing some of the webs that touched his clothes. "Pretty sticky."

"I know. If only we could find a flamethrower or something that can create huge fire, then we can roast these things," Mendell commented as he kicked the metal box that was blocking their way. When he sensed Kenneth's grave expression, he assured, " - don't worry. There are no mutant spiders yet. Trust me."

Kenneth nodded, his expression easing up as he followed behind Mendell. "Do you think we'll meet James Marcus inside this facility?"

"I hope not. Who knows, he might be watching us through the monitoring cameras right now. Remember, he owns this place," Mendell answered as he swatted off the cobwebs before him. "You know what a mad scientist usually does, right?"

Kenneth looked up and scanned the area for any cameras. "Yeah. If he's truly one of the culprits, then he knows exactly where those engineered monsters are. Maybe he's sending one to us as of this moment."

"I hope you're wrong but I'm pretty sure you're right..." Mendell finally reached another door. He pressed his right ear against the door and heard voices. Based on their scents, he knew that they were humans but he was not sure if they were friendly or aggressive. He looked behind and said, "We've got some company opposite this door. What do you think we should do?"

"Are they monsters?"

Mendell shook his head. "Humans. Two of them but I don't recognize their smell."

Kenneth aimed his gun forward. "We've got no choice but to meet them, right?"

"Yeah."

Mendell swiped the access card and the door slid open. He could hear them running for a few seconds and the footsteps stopped. Through his keen nose, he knew that they were still in this area. He signaled Kenneth to hide in the nearby box and backed him up whenever necessary.

Kenneth nodded and went to the metal box large enough to cover him.

This time, Mendell recalled his spear and conjured the Samurai Edge. A gun was his best option to handle the two people. There was a high possibility that they could be Rebecca Chambers and Billy Coen but he also thought of another possibility. Who knew if some minor plots changed and this time, Albert Wesker and William Birkins decided to check the area personally. After all, this training facility was under their jurisdiction.

He sneaked his way forward. Their scents were getting stronger, indicating that he was getting closer to them. He could detect one of them hiding behind a crate while the other one was beside the ruined panels. Since the crate was nearer, he opted to deal with it first. He picked up a small piece of metal lying on the floor and threw it against a metal cabinet to distract them. As soon as the clanging sound echoed, he rushed forward, turned to the right corner, and crossed a narrow path behind the crates. There he saw a female medic kneeling on the floor with a Samurai Edge on her hands. Even though he recognized who she was, he still said, "Don't move and identify yourself."

"Don't shoot. I'm a cop." She slowly stood up as she raised both of her hands.

"Stay still." Mendell quickly approached her and seized her gun. He placed it on his waist and pointed the muzzle on her head while hugging her from the back. Then, he shouted, "Hey, I captured your girlfriend. Whoever you are, you better come out and don't make any funny actions or I'll blast her cute head off."

A young man wearing a sleeveless undershirt appeared behind a ruined control panel, his hands raised up as he moved closer. "Don't shoot."

Kenneth witnessed this and approached them as he shouted, "Drop your gun."

The young man dropped his shotgun beside him.

"Kick it forward. And don't you dare try anything funny," Kenneth warned.

The young man did what he was told and remained calm.

Kenneth moved closer to where the shotgun was thrown off, his eyes squinted when he had a clear view of the man's face. "Hey, I've seen your face. You're that murderer we've been looking for, the one who killed the MPs."

The young woman recognized the voice and asked, "Kenneth?! Is that you?"

"Rebecca?" Kenneth approached the crates and saw Mendell arresting a young woman. "It's you. What are you doing here?"

"A friend of yours?" Mendell asked.

Kenneth nodded. "The medic of the Bravo Team."

Mendell released her. "Well, sorry to handle you like that. I thought you were dangerous."

Rebecca massaged her right shoulder as she turned around. "It's okay. It's not a crime to be cautious." She extended her right hand, " - Can you please give me back my gun?"

Mendell took out her gun. "Here."

"Thank you." Rebecca secured her gun on the holster.

Kenneth approached her and smiled while his gun was still aimed at the young man. "I'm glad you're safe, Rebecca. A job well done for finding this criminal."

Rebecca shook her head as she stood before the young man. "Billy's not a criminal, Kenneth. He's just falsely accused "

Kenneth snorted. "And the criminal told you this, right? You just believed him right away?"

"I believe him. He saved my life many times, Kenneth. If he was guilty, he could have just killed me as soon as he found out that I am a cop," Rebecca refuted.

"Let Captain decide that. For now, he's under arrest." Kenneth did not give in as well.

"Please, Kenneth. Believe me. He's falsely accused because of the wrongdoing of his leader back when they were in Africa..."

Billy snorted. "See? Now, do you believe me, Rebecca? I was right when I said I didn't have a choice. It's either I return to the military and serve out my sentence or escape. Your friends will just believe what's in the record and what those in the higher position would say."

"Don't play the pity act here, I don't buy it," Kenneth replied.

Mendell was thinking of Billy's profile while he was watching the drama. Billy Coen, a U.S. Marine Corps Second Lieutenant-turned death-row inmate who was sentenced to death after becoming a scapegoat in murdering innocent villagers back in Africa. Their team was sent to confront the guerillas head-on within the jungle. When they found out that the base was actually a village, the squad leader ordered them to kill the villagers so as not to come back empty-handed. Billy Coen did not follow the orders so he was knocked out by a rifle-butt. When they were investigated, they did a cover-up and Coen was falsely implicated. As for the plot, he was missing in action after Resident Evil 0.

When he noticed the drama was getting out of hand, he decided to intervene. "Kenneth, I believe he is innocent."

Kenneth stared at him in disbelief. "You don't know him and you believed his words?"

"You're wrong. Even though this was my first time meeting him but I already knew him before," Mendell explained patiently as he picked up Billy's shotgun. "Remember my previous work, I was a mercenary, so I knew many military officers-turned mercenaries because they were falsely accused as well. I also have 'contacts' inside the military so I know some stuff that's happening inside. One of them that brought our attention is his case. You see, our team was always looking for possible teammates and a guy like him was a great find. We also did our investigation and found out that he was innocent, strengthening our resolve to invite him. But when we found out from our contacts that he was sentenced to death, we gave up knowing that he had no chance to escape and live. I never expected that I could actually meet him..."

Rebecca was confused when she heard the conversation between Kenneth and Mendell and asked, "Hey, I know you. You're the one we've met back at the RPD. You're actually a mercenary?!"

Mendell chuckled. "Oh. So, you're the one whom I've met back then. Nice to meet you."

"But you're a civilian. How come you're acting like you're the greatest badass in the whole world?"

"Because I actually am." Mendell laughed after realizing that his answer was witty, and returned the shotgun back to Billy. "Kenneth, I did save you and your team, right?"

Kenneth had a hunch that he would not like Mendell's words but he still answered, "Yes. Without you, some of us could have been dead."

Mendell pointed at Billy, and said, "Then I hope that you can give me some face and let me handle this guy. Don't worry, I'll personally kill him if he decides to become berserk or actually kill innocent people. You know I can do that, right?"

Kenneth nodded. "I trust you. I hope you're not wrong."

Mendell chuckled. "Hundred percent sure that this guy is innocent. I hope you can help me convince Enrico and the rest or I'll be forced to help him escape."

"You know that helping a criminal to escape is a big crime against the law, right."

"That's why I'm asking you to keep mum about his existence."

"Well, what can I do?" Kenneth stared at Billy for a minute before turning around and rested in a nearby crate.

Rebecca sighed in relief. "Thank you...Mendell, right?"

"Yeah. I didn't expect to meet you here. Anyway, how did you arrive at this place? We just escaped the mansion, passing through an underground tunnel," Mendell replied.

"Uh, it's a looong story. After separating from the team, I found a train - Ecliptic Express - lying stranded in the forest. That's where I've met Billy. You can't believe those monsters that we fought while inside that horrible train. Zombies, leeches, and a giant scorpion! Those monsters nearly killed me. Thanks to Billy, we barely won. Then, the train mysteriously started running and boy, I really was scared that time. We found the control panel and I was very happy at that moment, only to find out that the train didn't stop. It only slowed down and soon, crashed inside this strange facility. There we saw a picture of the founders but I recognized one of them because we've seen him inside the train, becoming a disgusting mob of leeches!"

Mendell grinned when he saw how lively she was as she recounted her experiences during her stay inside the forest. When she was done, he said, "You better talk to Kenneth. Explain to him what happened."

Rebecca gave her a thumbs-up sign and left right away.

When Billy saw her leaving, he looked at Mendell and asked, "Why did you help me?"

Mendell shrugged his shoulders. "Because I know that you're innocent, and I hate seeing an honorable man like you treated like shit because of the selfishness of other people. Is that reason good enough?"

Billy was moved by his words and clenched his fist. He remained silent for a minute or two before saying, "Thank you. You're the first person to quickly believe that I'm innocent...I already lose hope but now after knowing that there's still a person who believed me makes me...happy. Thank you."

Mendell sympathized with the young man, considering that he was still young and was about to be executed for a crime he did not do. "Well, what are you planning to do in case we get out of here alive?"

"I don't know. Maybe change my identity and go abroad? I'm not really sure..."

"Then why not join me? I'm gonna investigate Umbrella and find out anything that can help reveal their crimes to the world. You already know by now that Umbrella is responsible for these abominations, right?"

Billy nodded. "I've read some documents about the tests they did here. Such inhumane acts! Anyway, I'm still undecided..."

"Just remember this, Billy. You don't have to feel guilty because you're not responsible for the death of those 23 villagers. You did the best thing you could do at that time. And if you're really insistent on it, then you can atone your mistakes by putting the people behind Umbrella into jail. Join me and fight against them."

Before Billy could answer, he saw Mendell raising his hands and asked, "Is there any problem?"

Mendell frowned when he detected several unfamiliar scents coming from opposite directions. He also recognized the scents of monsters following behind these new enemies. At once, he shouted, "Monsters! Be prepared!"