A Quiet Embrace

Chapter 22 : Grand Meeting

Damien's POV

I snuck through the gigantic tower, going from floor to floor hoping to not get caught. One slip up and my entire game plan is gonna be thrown directly out the window. I finally got to the top floor and made it to the General's office. I got the door open and prepared to walk inside, not even sure if he was here or not. If not, hopefully he has the gem stashed away somewhere. I walked inside finally and sure enough, Ironwood was sitting there at his desk, as if he was expecting me to arrive. The door closed behind me, but I wasn't worried. I have no reason to attack him. Hopefully he has no reason to do the same.

"So...it's true." Ironwood said.

"You know me?" I asked as he threw down a stack of photos in front of me. They were pictures of me working with the Black Legion, but these were old. How...did he get these?

"These were on my desk when I arrived along with a note."

"What did the note say?" I asked.

"That I, along with the kingdom of Atlas was in grave danger. Saying that there was some kind of rogue coming for this." Ironwood said as he reached in his pocket and dug out the Necrosis Gem and held it into the air.

"Listen to me carefully General. That thing holds more power than you could ever imagine. There's someone out there who wants that thing and if he gets it, it won't end well."

"So you're not the one who is after me? How do you expect me to believe that? You're the one looking pretty guilty in the situation that you're in."

"No. I want to make this as peaceful as possible. Those pictures are real, I'm not here to argue differently, but I'm not the same guy anymore. I don't have time to explain the full story. The point is that I am no long affiliated with those people. They're dangerous and I'm willing to do whatever it takes to prove my innocence, but I need that gem."

"What's so special about this?" Ironwood asked.

"I can't tell you. Just please trust me on this."

"Why would I ever trust a felon?"

"Because your life depends on it so please...hand it over." I said as Ironwood pulled out his pistol and aimed it at me.

"No...I don't think I will. Stand down and we can make this as easy as possible."

"I don't want this to boil down to us coming to blows, but if I have to, I will. I've got people that are relying one to get this done." I said as I drew my swords and waited for him to strike. I suddenly saw a flash of white outside of the window and I immediately recognized the attack. I turned into a black energy wave and pushed Ironwood to the side as the attack blasted the window to bits and sent glass shards all along the room. I turn back into my normal form and spun my blades in front of me, deflecting all of the projectiles and glass coming for Ironwood. He's not a threat at the moment. After the barrage of incoming projectiles ended, I stopped spinning my blades but instead took a defensive stance and waited for the culprit and sure enough, my guess was correct. Wesker was perched on the window sill, staring directly at me and Ironwood.

"Hello Damien." Wesker said.

"Wesker...leave him out of this. He's not involved." I said as Wesker began maniacally laughing.

"Oh buddy, you're a real treat. You see, this man here holds the key to our victory and your defeat. Now General, I wanna give you one chance to make sure that your kingdom doesn't fall. Hand...over...the...gem..." Wesker said as he held out his hand.

"That's not going to happen, for either of you. Obviously there's something you two are hiding about this, but I'm not entirely sure. I was aware that this wasn't just some cheap jewelry judging from the fact that I've heard it speak before, but I don't know what. The point is that I'm ordering you both to stand down and accept your arrest." Ironwood said.