The Resident Eviloves : Connections (Lady Dimitrescu - Resident Evil)

Chapter 13 - Codename: SERAPH

Knowing now what he had in mind and not caring now whether he had the agreement of his superiors or not, Chris Redfield had wasted no more time. He and his squad, still in their trusty black van, had now been driving for a day and a night on American roads, until they finally reached a remote corner somewhere in Maine and not far from a small coastal town. After leaving the main road and driving for long minutes on a dirt track, the van finally arrived in front of an old gate and a fence forming the limits of an isolated property at the edge of a small forest.

Chris got out of the van from the back and lit a cigarette and took a first puff. But suddenly, the echo of a pistol shot sounded nearby, surprising the whole squad except Chris who remained impassive.

_"But... what the fuck? Where did this shot come from?" Umber Eyes asked.

_"It's nothing, don't worry." Chris told his teammates. "She's probably training. Decidely, she'll never change."

The other squad members shared puzzled looks but trusted their leader and his judgment as other similar sounds of gunfire rang through the air and seemed to come from behind the house. Cigarette in mouth, Chris walked without hesitation through the creaky old metal gate and past the mailbox, and found himself in front of a modest country house. He walked around the building towards the field behind it, and when he got there, he couldn't rebuke a smirk from forming on his lips as he looked up at someone.

About a hundred yards away, a woman, with semi-long brown hair, dressed in a blue tank top, brown military pants and black boots, was concentrating on firing a pistol. She fired with great precision, each shot hitting wooden targets placed in rows at a great distance and whose shapes represented zombies. Without any difficulty, the woman hit all the targets at head level, demonstrating a dexterity worthy of an elite soldier.

_"Nice shot." Redfield then announced with a smile.

The woman heard him, pausing her shooting practice and looked over her shoulder, first showing a firm, hard look but then softening and smiling at Chris.

_"If the zombies were able to think, they would have capitulated a long time ago." she answered with a certain sarcasm.

_"Good to see you again, Jill. It's been a long time." Chris said then.

Jill Valentine. The last time Chris had seen her was in Africa in 2009, after destroying Albert Wesker once and for all during the Uroboros case. Having been infected by a virus because of Wesker to manipulate her, Jill had to be taken care of by the BSAA in order to remain under observation and in quarantine, while tests were carried out to verify that there were no sequelae left from the various viruses that Wesker had been able to experiment on her. Only one permanent side effect remained in Jill's organism, however: her metabolism was slowed down, so she would age more slowly than an ordinary human, and unfortunately, no treatment could change it. Having had to get used to this idea and after very long months in quarantine, Jill was allowed to go out, and was eager to be able to return to service. But at least now she had been able to regain her natural hair color and no longer wear that pale blonde when she had become the bio-weapon manipulated by Wesker.

Putting her pistol on a small wooden table, Jill walked over to Chris and the two former STARS members and longtime friends hugged tightly.

_"I missed you, Chris. But I know you..." Jill then said without judgment. "If you came all the way here it's not just to talk about the good old days, is it?"

Chris laughed softly, recognizing the Jill he knew, true to herself and not mincing her words.

_"I imagine you've heard of what's going on in the world right now with this organization, the Connections?" Chris asked as Jill went back to get her gun to load new bullets and continue practicing.