Memories of Yesterday

Chapter 10 - The Plan

Alex leaned against the wall, waiting patiently for Carlos and Kevin to shift a large bell away from the back door. She glanced at a nearby portrait, which hung on the wall to her right. They looked more like clocks than paintings. Alex dimly remembered seeing a postcard which had the same painting on it. Beneath each picture was a tray which held a medium sized ball. Alex was no art critic, to be sure, but those things were appalling.

"Alright, are you ready?" Kevin looked at Alex expectantly.

"Always." Alex said with a half smile, stepping away from the wall.

"You know, this is a really stupid idea." Carlos had voiced this same opinion three times since the plan had first been laid out. "How in the hell do you plan on defending yourself while in handcuffs?"

Alex sighed, rolling her shoulders a bit to loosen them. The handcuffs holding her hands behind her back clinked at the motion. She'd been stripped of her weapons, both holsters, and the bag as well. This left her pretty much defenseless, with the exception of her combat knife tucked in her boot. In retrospect, Alex couldn't help but agree that this wasn't the brightest of ideas, but it was the best she could come up with.

"Look Sparky, I can't be seen helping you guys." Alex sighed, walking around Carlos to the back door. "Umbrella is going to download all the information off every company computer in this city. All the surveillance cameras in the hospital feed into it's main computer. And what does that mean boys?"

"That if you aren't handcuffed Umbrella will know you helped us voluntarily, if it looks like we forced you, you're in the clear." Kevin repeated her plan back in a rather monotone voice.

"Very good, have a cookie." Alex's smile slipped a bit, as she turned toward the door. "Let's just get this over with."

"I still think this is the stupidest plan I have ever heard of." Carlos mumbled, pushing the door open and leading the way outside.

The hospital was more of less a block from the Clock Tower. And within that block Alex felt defenseless and vulnerable. A position she hadn't been in since her parents had died when she was thirteen. She shuddered moving a bit closer to Carlos as they walked, single file, down the blessedly empty street. Less than two minutes later, the three stood before the main doors of the hospital.

"Open 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily and in case of emergency." Carlos looked up from the sign then glanced around the empty street. "I think this definitely constitutes an emergency."

"I would have to agree with you on that one." Kevin too was glancing down the street.

"Enough with the sight-seeing boys, we have things to do." Alex rolled her shoulders again, and cracked her neck.

"Yea...." Kevin then shoved Alex through the open doors, as Carlos carefully scanned the lobby.

The place was a mess, trash cans and ashtrays turned over and lying on the floor. Looked like the hospital hadn't escaped the outbreak unscathed, nor had Alex expected it to. She only saw two bodies in the lobby and from the wounds, they didn't look like they would be getting up any time soon.

"Which way?" Carlos turned, pointing the assault rifle toward Alex, plastering a rather angry look on his face.

"That way, through the office." Alex inclined her head to the right, a look of disdain covering her face. "There's an elevator. The virus can only be one of two places. Dr. William's office or patient's room 402. Both are on the fourth floor."

Kevin nodded, prodding Alex into the elevator with his .45. Thankfully he had the safety on, not that the security camera would be able to tell. The elevator ride was slow and not especially comfortable. Though it was an act, Alex still felt like the enemy here and for one fleeting moment she wondered if Kevin and Carlos would still take the handcuffs off when all this was said and done.