The thick, choking stench of the underground sewer lab filled the air as Tony Redgrave and the Wolfpack made their descent into the bowels of Raccoon City. Their boots splashed through filth and stagnant water, their weapons primed and ready.
Every few steps, the metallic groan of shifting pipes and the distant screeches of unseen horrors echoed through the dark.
Delta team moved cautiously, their years of black-ops training making them ghosts in the dark. But Tony? Tony walked casually at the head of the group, like a man on a leisurely stroll through hell.
The deeper they went, the more unnatural the environment became—thick veins of mutated flesh lined the walls, pulsing faintly under flickering lights.
Finally, they reached a wider chamber. And there he was.
What was once William Birkin was now an unrecognizable mass of muscle, claws, and grotesque mutations. Half his skull hung open, an exposed eye glaring wildly from the socket. His body had absorbed the G-virus into every inch, warping him into something primal and monstrous.
Standing barely a dozen meters away, pinned behind the remnants of a collapsed steel structure, was another figure—clad in black tactical gear, helmet still intact.
HUNK.
The Grim Reaper himself, still alive, holding the monster at bay with steady bursts from an SMG. "Took you long enough," HUNK growled over the comms as he laid down suppressive fire, forcing William back temporarily. Lupo raised her rifle, barking orders. "Form up! Keep it pinned! Four Eyes, prep for sample recovery!" Tony cracked his neck and stepped forward, pulling his sword from strapped to his back. The blade gleamed under the dim lighting. Beltway muttered under his breath, "You seeing this guy?" Vector responded flatly, "Movement speed doesn't match human parameters." HUNK, reloading smoothly behind cover, asked over the comms, "Who the hell is that?" Lupo simply shrugged while squeezing off rounds. "We don't know. Honestly, don't care. He's useful." Tony grinned. "Aw, you guys are gonna make me blush."
William roared, a deafening, guttural sound that vibrated through the chamber. His mutated form lunged forward, ripping through the concrete with sickening ease.
Tony didn't move like the others.
He blurred forward, sidestepping William's monstrous swipe by inches. His pistols came up, rapid-firing into the exposed soft tissue around the monster's damaged eye, making it bellow in pain.
Delta team watched in disbelief as Tony moved—not like a human, but like something between a dancer and a demon.
"Another damn monster," Tony muttered, dodging a hammer-like fist. "Only difference is, this one's man-made."
He ducked under another swipe, unloaded another clip into the arm socket, then sheathed his guns mid-slide, drew his sword, and slashed a deep gash into William's side.
The creature howled, rearing back.
Tony circled him, eyes analyzing. Watching. Waiting.
William swung again—Tony jumped, flipping clean over the monster's arm. Boom! Beltway detonated a shaped charge into William's back. Hunk kept up the suppressive fire, slowing the creature's attempts to regenerate.
Finally, Tony saw it—a weak spot. The mutation's core had surfaced momentarily over the upper shoulder blade. "Got you," Tony whispered.
He moved.
In three blinding strikes—one vertical, one diagonal, and one horizontal—he carved straight through the mutation's core.
The creature let out one final, gurgling roar... then collapsed with a seismic thud, the G-virus losing its grip as the body twitched and finally lay still.
Delta team held fire, panting lightly through their respirators.
Four Eyes rushed in, retrieving a bloodied vial and carefully drawing a sample into a reinforced canister.
"Sample secured," she confirmed.
Tony wiped the blood from his blade breathing casually.
"Well, that was fun," he said sarcastically.
HUNK's radio buzzed.
"Mission command to Grim Reaper. Priority code black. Town evacuation canceled. City to be sterilized by nuclear strike. Three and a half hours. Repeat, three and a half hours."
HUNK grunted. "Roger that. "He turned to the group."New orders. We need to make it to the extraction point with the sample—and Birkin's daughter. "Tony's casual grin slipped. He drew both pistols and aimed them at HUNK without hesitation."Yeah, about that. Not part of the deal. "HUNK didn't flinch. "That was your deal with them. Not me. "Lupo stepped forward, rifle raised.
"Stand down. Don't do anything stupid." Tony's eyes gleamed. "Lady, 'stupid' is half my job description."The tension was palpable.
Tony holstered one pistol slowly, keeping the other up. "You think they're gonna let you walk away after this? After what you know?" Lupo's finger tensed on the trigger. "Not your concern." "No," Tony said with a sly grin. "But it's gonna be yours when the missiles start flying."The sewers vibrated with distant explosions.Tony cracked his knuckles."Well... looks like this party's getting crazy."