CHAPTER 42

Kane, his leg hastily bandaged, obediently led Ward through the secure Umbrella base to a central control room. On the main monitor, two encrypted files were displayed: PROJECT: ALICE and PROJECT: NEMESIS. Ward sat down, his fingers flying across the keyboard. One file contained the genetic blueprint of Alicia Marcus's perfect clone, Alice, and her unique symbiotic bond with the T-Virus. The other detailed the horrific process of turning Matt Addison into the monstrous, programmable bioweapon. After confirming their authenticity, Ward coolly copied the data onto a secure, encrypted USB drive.

"A pleasure doing business with you," Ward said, pulling out the drive and extending a hand to the pale, sweating Kane. "Don't be so serious. We all work for the same company, right?"

"Hmph," Kane grunted, shaking his hand with an ugly expression. "Dr. Isaacs will not let you get away with this."

"I'm sorry, my authority comes directly from Chairman Alicia Marcus," Ward replied with a dismissive smile. "Dr. Isaacs has no right to give me orders." He then escorted a still-shaken Dr. Ashford and his daughter Angela onto a waiting helicopter and left Kane fuming in the desert. Halfway through the flight, Kane sent a detailed, furious report of the encounter to Isaacs. He had never suffered such a humiliating defeat. He swore he would make the boy pay.

As their helicopter flew on, a dazzling white light erupted on the horizon behind them. Raccoon City, and the millions of souls trapped within, were sterilized from the face of the earth by a tactical nuclear strike. The world, Ward knew, was about to fall. But that was a problem for another day.

They arrived at a hidden Umbrella base, a luxurious, high-tech sanctuary where Alicia Marcus lived. An assistant led them through simple, warm corridors filled with thriving potted plants to an office that felt more like a conservatory than a corporate suite. There, sitting in a wheelchair, was an old woman. Her face was deeply wrinkled, but her facial features were an echo of the woman Ward knew as Alice. This was the original. The progeria that the T-Virus had been created to cure had been halted, but a flawed version of the cure had dramatically accelerated her natural aging. She had planned to enter cryo-sleep, but Ashford's news about a viable serum—and the appearance of Ward—had delayed her plans.

She had seen everything. His actions in Raccoon City, the suit, the arrows, the impossible power source glowing in his chest. She knew his promise of bionic machinery might be more than just a young man's fantasy.

"Mr. Morey," Alicia said, her voice thin but her eyes sharp, "it's a pleasure to finally meet you."

"The pleasure is all mine, Madam Chairman," Ward replied with a respectful smile.

"Dr. Ashford has told me about your… idea. Your bionic clones. I will give you my full support. However, I am going to enter hibernation soon. The company cannot be left in Isaacs's hands alone." She held out a small, clear disc. "This is a bio-linked retinal lens. It will grant you Level 5 clearance, the highest authority below a chairman. Your mission is to find a way to kill Alexander Isaacs. Or, at the very least, retrieve the global T-Virus antivirus he keeps for himself."

Dr. Ashford gasped. "It's real? An antivirus?"

"Yes," she confirmed. "Isaacs wants to cleanse the earth and rebuild it in his own image. This is our only hope."

"I accept," Ward said, taking the lens and placing it in his eye.

Days later, Alicia, now looking even more frail, took Ward deep into the sterilized, silent Hive beneath the ruins of Raccoon City. As he pushed her wheelchair toward the cryo-chamber, a figure emerged from the shadows. Dr. Isaacs. His face was gloomy, his eyes cold, but his body radiated the strength of a man half his age.

"It seems you acquired a new bodyguard," he sneered, looking from Alicia to Ward.

"He is just a talented scientist I discovered," Alicia said, her voice calm. "I hope you will teach him well."

"If he is honest, I will teach him," Isaacs said, the threat in his voice obvious. He stared at Alicia for a long moment, then stepped aside. Ward pushed the wheelchair past him, his own expression a blank mask. This was not the time or place for a confrontation.

After sealing Alicia in her cryo-chamber, Ward came out and ran into Isaacs once more.

"Morey," Isaacs said, his tone now one of sincere invitation. "I've heard about your research into bionic machinery. It's a fascinating idea. Are you interested in working with me?"

Ward stopped, feigning consideration. "You seem to be focused on chemical weapons, Doctor. It's not a suitable fit for my work."

"She told you a great deal, didn't she?" Isaacs narrowed his eyes.

"Enough," Ward said lightly. "But I'm not opposed to the company's approach. My job is to create benefits for Umbrella. My personal feelings don't impact the plan."

"Yes," Isaacs said with an appreciative smile. "But I have technology you could use. Come to my side. You can ask me anything you wish."

"No need," Ward said, shaking his head. "Chairman Alicia has already granted me access to all of the company's technologies." He knew joining Isaacs would be the fastest way to learn, but it was far too dangerous. The man was a snake.

"That's a pity…" Isaacs’s face turned gloomy. Suddenly, he lashed out, his fist a blur aimed directly at Ward's head. The air pressure alone was immense.

But the fist stopped, a millimeter from his face.

"I didn't expect you to be a fighter, Dr. Isaacs," Ward said calmly, his expression unchanged. "But you're not fast enough." An electromagnetic arrow, a silent cobalt streak, now hovered between Isaacs's eyes. "I predicted this course of action 1.7 seconds ago," Ward continued. "You are powerful, Doctor. But you are predictable."

Isaacs slowly retracted his fist, his eyes fixed on the arrow with fascination. "Is this the invention from Raccoon City?"

"It is," Ward said, recalling the arrow. "Interested in a trade? This technology for your battlesuit's combat chip data."

"Not enough," Isaacs countered. "Add your energy device."

"I don't plan on dying today," Ward sneered, and turned to walk toward the Red Queen's main terminal.

"Red Queen!" Isaacs shouted into the air. "I am firing Ward Morey!"

A holographic projection of a little girl in a red dress appeared. "I'm sorry, Dr. Isaacs," she said, her voice calm and digital. "Mr. Morey's employment is under the direct authority of Chairman Alicia Marcus. His security clearance is Level Five. You have no authority to fire him."

"Level five?" Isaacs muttered to himself, then turned and left, defeated for now.

In the three years that followed, Ward Parker became a ghost in the machine. With Level 5 clearance, he immersed himself in the totality of Umbrella's knowledge.

The first year, he devoured the mind of the Red Queen, building his own simplified AI, Ruby, from her core programming. The second year was dedicated to hardware. He mastered their cloning vats, their cryo-stasis technology, their global satellite network, their genetic laser technology. The third year was for his own vision. Using the data from Project Alice, he began the first successful cultivation of T-virus enhanced tissue integrated with cybernetic filaments.

Knowledge poured into him like a tidal wave, leaving him feeling brilliant and fractured, a god in a lab coat who sometimes forgot to eat or sleep for days. The world outside fell. The survivors dwindled. Umbrella's monsters reigned. He paid it no mind.

Recently, however, Alicia had woken from her cryo-sleep. He knew the time for pure research was ending. He had been given a mission, and he had been given trust. He had yet to deliver on either. He felt a strange, unfamiliar pang of embarrassment. It was time to show his benefactor a return on her investment.