Smoke still curled from the mangled corpse of the Nemesis-type Tyrant as Jill lowered her sidearm and glanced cautiously at the silver-haired man now lounging casually in Jasen's ruined apartment. Tony Redgrave.
"Devil hunter?" she repeated, the disbelief clear in her voice.
Tony shrugged as he wiped his blade off on a curtain. "Yeah, but that's not really important right now."
He walked over to the flashdrive and photos Jasen had hidden, picking up the picture of Leon, Claire, and Sherry.
"These the others he wanted protected?"
"I recognize Claire. Chris's sister," Jill replied, still shaken. "The rest, no."
"Hmm. Kid must be Sherry, then." Tony tossed the photo on the table. "Alright, so where's safe for them?"
Jill holstered her pistol. "The RPD station. It's been retrofitted. Marvin's been turning it into a safe zone."
Tony raised an eyebrow. "A police station in a city crawling with bioweapons. Yeah, sounds real secure."
She shot him a look. "You got a better idea?"
Tony smirked. "Plenty. But I've already been paid, so let's go."
The two headed out, making their way toward the center of the city. As they crossed blocks of cracked pavement and hollow-eyed buildings, the sound of shouting and gunfire hit them like a wave.
RPD officers and city volunteers had set up a barricade three blocks from the station. Dozens of civilians were packed behind cars and overturned city buses, while officers yelled orders and tried to contain the spread of panic. Infected civilians and feral dogs slammed against the barricade.
Jill immediately raised her weapon and rushed forward. "Everyone, move back! Direct civilians to the west alley! That leads straight to the RPD side gate!"
Tony spotted it first: a child, maybe seven, caught behind a dumpster, screaming as an infected man lunged toward her.
Without hesitation, Tony drew two pistols and fired six shots in the span of a breath. The infected fell in a heap.
"You good?" he asked the girl.
She nodded, crying as an officer pulled her away.
"See, this is what I mean," Tony muttered. "Packing civilians into one place? You're building a hotbox."
Jill reloaded and barked orders. "The RPD has decon rooms, quarantine holding cells, sealed ventilation. It's the best chance we've got!"
Tony shrugged. "Sure. Until someone starts coughing."
He paused.
His eyes flicked to a rooftop across the street.
"Aw, hell."
Jill followed his gaze.
Five silhouettes crouched on the rooftop, dressed in black tactical armor. Faces masked. Movement tight, military precise.
Tony lowered his voice.
"Wolfpack. Saw their pictures in Jasen's files. Umbrella's clean-up crew. Mercs with no morals."
"What are they doing here?"
"Probably tracking the kid. Or what's inside her."
Jill's eyes widened. "Sherry."
Tony turned back to the street and started clearing infected with eerie precision. Every shot hit a head. Every movement looked like a dance with death.
The infected thinned. Civilians poured toward the station.
Tony fell in beside Jill as they neared the gates.
Inside, Marvin was giving orders.
Tony noticed the little blonde girl curled up near a cot, a RPD jacket around her.
"That her?"
Jill nodded. "Sherry. She's been crying nonstop. Something about her dad—"
Sherry ran up to them, holding a small silver locket.
"Mister Redgrave?"
Tony blinked. "Yeah?"
She handed him the locket.
"My daddy... he's sick. I tried to help. He said to give this to Mr. Jasen... or my mommy."
Tony knelt, looking her in the eyes. "Don't worry, kid. I'll handle it."
She nodded and ran back to Marvin.
Tony turned to Jill.
"We've got a problem. Two, actually."
She frowned. "Let me guess."
"One—daddy dearest is mutating. A G-virus case, maybe. Dangerous. Real dangerous."
He held up two fingers.
"Two—Wolfpack. They want the girl or what she's carrying. They're not gonna wait long."
Jill rubbed her temples. "So what are you saying?"
Tony sat on a desk, putting his boots up.
"I can take care of daddy if you want. Hell, I'll even try not to kill him. Or... I can go handle the rooftop rejects before they make this whole station a bloodbath. But I can't do both."
She looked at him. "Why me? Why are you asking me to decide?"
Tony's smirk faded slightly.
"Because Jasen said to trust your judgment."
Jill stared out over the RPD station rooftop, smoke rising in columns around the city skyline. The distant echoes of chaos still rolled in—gunfire, sirens, screams. Below, survivors were being tended to, the wounded patched up as best the overwhelmed officers could manage.
Tony stood beside her, expression calm but serious.
"So, what's the call, Officer Valentine?"
Jill inhaled, steadying herself.
"Go after the mercs. Deal with the Wolfpack. I'll handle William."
Tony grinned. "Knew I liked you."
He turned, coat whipping behind him as he vaulted over the railing and disappeared into the urban shadows.
Back at the front entrance, two new figures pushed through the crowd at the RPD checkpoint. A tall, sharp-eyed young man with messy brown hair dropped a heavy duffle bag to the ground. Beside him, a determined redhead took in the scene with cautious alertness.
Leon Kennedy. Claire Redfield.
Jill met them halfway.
Leon extended a hand. "Jill Valentine? I'm Leon. Leon Kennedy. Jasen sent me... sort of. He told me to look for you if things went sideways."
Jill's brow lifted in recognition. "He mentioned you. You're the one who trained with him and Leo."
"And this is Claire," Leon said, gesturing. "Chris's sister."
Claire gave a small wave. "It's... really good to finally meet you. I just wish it were under better circumstances."
Jill gave her a tired smile. "Likewise."
Leon looked around. "What's going on? Where do you need us?"
Jill led them inside, explaining everything—Sherry, William, the attack at Jasen's apartment, and Tony's current mission.
---
Meanwhile, across a nearby rooftop, Wolfpack was regrouping in a semicircle, unaware of the silver-haired devil creeping toward them.
Lupo, their leader, stood near the edge of the roof with a scoped rifle. Beltway was planting a small charge by the service hatch, while Four Eyes monitored a small sample scanner. Vector remained cloaked, watching their flanks.
Then Tony dropped in from above.
"So... this the part where you all monologue, or do we skip to the part where I break your teeth and steal your lunchboxes?"
The group froze.
Guns turned instantly.
"Who the hell are you?" Lupo snapped.
Tony smirked, hands raised casually. "Relax. I come in peace. Mostly. But damn, this rooftop meet-up looks like a Hot Topic commercial."
Beltway aimed his shotgun. "You got five seconds."
"Or what? You gonna shoot me and watch it bounce off?" Tony asked.
A beat of silence.
"Go on, try it."
No one moved.
Tony took a single step forward, now only feet from Lupo, and slowly pulled one pistol. He raised it—right between her eyes.
"Lupo. Vector. Four Eyes. Beltway. Spectre. The whole black-bag crew."
She didn't blink. "You know us. That's dangerous."
"Funny. I was just thinking the same thing."
Vector tried to move, activating his cloaking tech, creeping behind Tony.
Tony didn't flinch. "You seriously trying the sneaky ninja move? I've seen ghosts move louder."
He drew his second pistol, pointed it directly behind without looking, stopping Vector mid-step.
Tony grinned. "Look, I'm not here to kill anyone. Not unless I have to. So here's the deal."
Lupo nodded slowly. "Speak."
"I know you're here for Sherry Birkin. But I also know what she's carrying. G-virus data. Maybe even a viable sample. But here's the kicker—you're not the only ones who want it."
Four Eyes stepped forward, eyes narrowed behind her visor. "And what exactly are you offering?"
"A trade. You help me take care of the big bad mutant daddy—William. You get your sample. Then you leave. No girl, no civvies, no bloodbath."
Lupo glanced at Four Eyes. "Can we synthesize anything from a live sample?"
Four Eyes checked her scanner. "If it's direct from G-mutated tissue... yes. We can build a strain base. But we'd still need the vaccine."
Tony nodded. "I know where that is, too. I'll even throw in a tip. The people you're working for? They'll leave you to die the second it's convenient. Just look around you. This city was their playground. Now it's a grave."
Lupo's jaw clenched.
"You want our help. We help kill the father. We get the sample. We leave the girl."
"You got it."
Lupo lowered her rifle.
"Delta. Stand down."
Tony holstered his pistols, raising both hands. "See? Wasn't that better than shooting each other?"
Lupo leaned close. "This doesn't mean I trust you."
"Wouldn't be as fun if you did."
She turned and barked into her comms. "Delta, converge on grid point Bravo-Five. We're moving out."
Tony followed the squad off the rooftop, cracking his neck.
"Time to kill a monster, collect a sample, and save a kid."