RESIDENT EVIL: REQUEIM - A JILL VALENTINE NOVEL

November 7, 1998 - Lyon, France

Jill moved through the rain-slicked streets of Lyon, the cold biting through her jacket. She had spent the past month hunting down any remaining Umbrella operatives who had fled Raccoon City's destruction. Most were already in hiding, but a few had resurfaced here in France, where the corporation still operated in the shadows.

The air smelled of wet stone and cigarette smoke. She kept her head down, her hand resting near her holster.

Tonight, she had a meeting.

A small café at the end of a quiet street was her destination. The moment she stepped inside, she spotted her contact-René Mercier, a former Umbrella scientist who had defected after Raccoon City. He was a wiry man with graying hair and nervous eyes.

"You made it," he said in a hushed voice as she slid into the seat across from him.

"Talk."

René wiped his forehead. "Umbrella's still working, still experimenting. They moved everything out of Raccoon City before the missile hit. Eastern Europe, South America, even here in France."

Jill tightened her grip on her cup. "And?"

"They have something new. Something they started before Raccoon City even fell. They called it-"

A silenced gunshot shattered the moment.

René's head snapped back, blood misting the table.

Jill reacted instantly, flipping the table for cover as another bullet shattered her coffee cup. She drew her pistol and fired at the shadowed figure near the entrance. A man in a black coat staggered back, but more were coming.

Umbrella had found her first.

Again.