#Sergey was tired of chatter

[katich-pigeon]

"Agent P-3 you're soldier. Your job is to cover me!"

[rainythefox]

Nightfall (CH.11)

Synopsis: Pre-Resident Evil 1, slight-AU/Canon Divergence. Claire Redfield comes home to visit her  brother Chris for the holidays but gets caught up in a dangerous game of  cat and mouse with Albert Wesker, the Captain of STARS, after stumbling  upon dark secrets. She can’t call the law; Wesker is the law, and she  can’t tell Chris. She is trapped…Claire/Wesker & Slight  Chris/Jill. Rated M for eventual smut, language, violence, adult content.

AO3 Link

Chapter 11: The Silver Wolf

Claire paid the taxi driver and got out. She paused long enough on the curb to look around the busy streets of downtown Raccoon City. Traffic was heavy. It was rush hour time and everyone was heading home for the evening. Because of the short winter days, daylight was already succumbing to oncoming nightfall. It had been a bit warmer today with the sun showing itself, but Claire knew once it set, the temperature would drop to freezing fast. She bundled up in her parka and headed south down the sidewalk.

Crowded bodies filled the walkways, some walking south, others walking north or crossing the street when the light was red. She ignored the calls of the people around her, the sloshing of melting snow under tires, and the honking horns of rolling traffic. Carolers sang nearby and a Santa Claus rang a bell outside a store for donations. Most of this went right over Claire, her mind a maelstrom of thoughts and worries. She wondered what she would have to do next.

The younger Redfield had left a note for her brother claiming she had left to go babysit and would be home later this evening and would call if she had any problems. She only hoped that she would actually be able to return home tonight and that the blackmailing STARS Captain didn’t plan on keeping her longer than intended…or getting her killed.

Claire turned off from the sidewalk and entered a parking lot for a strip mall. She didn’t pay much attention to the stores. One was a clothing outlet and another was a bakery. The college student crossed the parking lot, heading for the row of bare landscaping trees in the center. About halfway there, the low rumbling of a car creeped up behind her. She tensed and quickly recognized the glossy, sleek luxury car. She halted, glaring at the tinted windows. Oh, how she didn’t want to do this…

With one last look around her surroundings, Claire opened the passenger door and entered the car. Inside, she was greeted with warmth from the heater, and the smell of leather and faint cologne. Clenching her jaw, she looked to the driver’s seat and unsurprisingly was greeted with a familiar leer.

“Miss Redfield, it’s dangerous to get into a stranger’s vehicle.” Wesker was still dressed in his STARS uniform and must’ve just got off from his shift. Chris would’ve just ended his as well.

Her glare didn’t falter. “Tell me about it.”

“Well, it’s good to know that you can follow directions. And punctual.

That irked her. “So?”

He wasn’t fazed by her tone, merely more amused. “Good work on the note, dear heart. And the splendid cover story of babysitting for William. You’re a clever one indeed. A woman after my own heart.”

“What heart?” she growled.

His dark smirk only grew.

She didn’t want to know how he knew the specifics. It didn’t matter anyway. It just confirmed that she was indeed trapped in his web, forever under his control. At least until a window of opportunity presented itself to her. She hadn’t given up yet. Redfields don’t quit…

“Whatever. Let’s just get this over with. What are you making me do this time?”

A familiar chime rang out. Wesker, still parked in the lot, pulled out his pager, a smirk growing on his face. “You’ll see, my dear.”

She couldn’t believe she was doing this. Actually, yes, she could. After a long, boring phone call from Colonel Sergei asking for a status report on her “investigation”, Ada was summoned to NEST by Wesker. She didn’t mind dealing with him or William, they were both fun and interesting in their own ways, especially together. It was Annette that she didn’t want to get involved with. The woman had it out for Ada and put a damper on her mood any chance she got.

As soon as she made it to the visitor’s entrance to NEST, the agent was frisked down by security and forced to go through not only a decontamination spray but a programmed security scan by a computer. Needless to say, some of her gadgets were taken away. Miffed, Ada griped at security personnel as she waited for Annette to arrive and escort her. Why couldn’t it have been William? He’s a lot more fun…

“Hey! That isn’t a toy,” Ada snapped, watching a guard play with her lipstick. “You want your head blown off? Jesus.”

“With all these weapons, how are we to know you aren’t planning to assassinate Dr. Birkin?” another guard asked.

“Oh, totally. I was summoned here by Albert and that would be such a genius move on my part.” Her biting sarcasm was one of her more underrated virtues...sarcasm was a virtue, right? At least in her book. Better than having none, too.

“We’re just doing what we were instructed to do, Miss Wong,” the female greeter said with a nervous smile. “We’re sorry for the inconvenience.”

“You cannot always expect to get a red carpet arrival, Miss Wong.”

That voice. There she was. The wicked witch. Ada smiled sweetly and turned around to face the Queen of NEST.

Annette smirked sourly. “Waving around your passes from Lord Spencer and Colonel Sergei? They have no power here. This is my husband’s domain.”

“Annette, so good to see you again. Could you please take me to William? Kinda have to. Albert’s…insistence.”

Annette slowly nodded, her eyes flicking over to the security guards who had Ada’s confiscated items. “She is to get all of her supplies back when she departs. Handle them with the utmost care, she is a guest. We do have one other guest coming that will need to be searched, and he has a signed note of what needs to stay on him. Page me when he arrives.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Annette motioned to Ada after getting a visitor’s ID wristband for her. “Follow me.”

“Yay...”

The two women traversed NEST using their ID wristbands. Ada immediately noticed they were not going anywhere near William’s laboratory. They bypassed the underground facility and went into the sewers, using catwalks and following marked paths.

“Gonna take me out with the trash?” Ada quipped.

“Maybe one of these days.”

“What’s your problem with me anyway?”

Annette side-glanced her with a frown. “You’re a mole. I don’t trust you. I don’t care what Albert says.”

“Aw c’mon, Annie. Live a little.”

“Don’t call me that.”

They took a concrete tunnel that had multiple turns and doors, and Annette brought them to a red door. Ada hadn’t seen any other people, but knew they weren’t that far from NEST or the waste treatment plant.

The female Dr. Birkin rapped on the door. “Will, honey, it’s me.”

The door gave a hollow click, unlocked, and then opened. The King of NEST allowed them entry and closed and locked the door behind them. The room was a conference room of some kind. A long table surrounded with chairs took up most of it. An unused projector hung above, with one wall draped with a white screen. The table was clean except for a cup of coffee, a closed briefcase, a laptop, and a file with its contents of papers spread out by one chair. There were a few video feeds on one wall showing hallways and tunnels to and from NEST and the waste treatment facility. Attached to the conference room through a doorway was another room sporting a kitchen and vending machines.

“Ada, what a pleasant surprise,” William greeted sweetly, but soon noticed the glare from his wife and cleared his throat. “Please sit. Coffee?”

“I’m fine, thanks. I’ll just get my instructions and be on my way. Albert said it was time sensitive.”

“Oh, right. Of course.”

“You sound funny, Will. You got a cold or something?”

“Yes,” William answered as he shifted through the briefcase on the table, “But I created an immune boost overnight and took it a few hours ago and feel much better!”

Ada smiled. What a nerd…an ingenious, ruthless nerd…but still…

“Ahh, here we are,” William stated, pulling an envelope and handing it to the agent. “Have fun with that…”

“Thanks, hun,” she replied with a purr, deliberately smiling flirtatiously and ignoring Annette’s lightning eyes. “I’ll take my leave. Don’t worry, Annie. I know the way out. Ciao.”

William gawked as he waved her goodbye, but soon took notice of Annette’s lightning eyes now directed at him. “What?!”

Ada chuckled to herself as she swung the door shut behind her, leaving henpecked William defenseless with his wife.

William flipped through his notes, backtracking and confirming the results displayed on his laptop. He paused long enough to take a drink of his lukewarm coffee. He didn’t react to it, having been used to drinking coffee at all temperatures. His foot tapped restlessly as he worked. Annette should’ve been back by now, although William wasn’t sure if maybe he missed an important detail to her ranting earlier when he had tuned her out.

Ada this, Ada that, Albert this and that, blah blah blah. But there was something about Sherry’s Christmas present, fruit cake, a meeting with John at the Spencer estate, and…? Hmm, surely it wasn’t anything important.

The Umbrella Chief of Research paused long enough to actually think about it. He was in the private briefing room of the neighboring waste facility next door from NEST, waiting for Albert and Claire. Ada had been gone a couple of hours already with her assignment. So then what was taking his wife so long from going over the Plant 43 report?

Wait…didn’t she say something about another person showing up here to meet with Albert?

That’s what it was! But who was it? He really had picked the wrong time to zone out from Anne’s constant chatter.

Oh, look at that! Subjects 132 and 109 were a close enough match that G was able to reproduce flawlessly! And at a 23 percent time increase over Subjects 76 and 55! My genetics research is never wrong!

William rapped away on his laptop keys ecstatically until a knock sounded at the door behind him. Oh, right. Annette. That had to be her.

“Will, honey? It’s me.”

Indeed it was, and it was the code that everything was safe. William scooted his chair back and rose. He went over to the door and unlocked it. When he opened it, he remained in the doorway to see who this “other person” was that was supposed to meet with Albert.

He took one look and laughed. “Are you shitting me? Go away.”

Despite his wife’s protest, William went to shut the door in their faces, but a boot came in the threshold and stopped the door dead. William tried to shove, but the mercenary easily pushed the door open, making the G-Virus creator slide with the door like he weighed nothing.

“Fine…I guess I’ll let you in,” Will growled.

“I see you haven’t changed, comrade.”

“Uh, that’s Doctor Birkin to you.”

Nikolai Zinoviev smirked and looked at Anne. “Your husband. He’s like little angry puppy around me always. All bark, no bite, yeah?”

Annette sighed, half-rolling her eyes. “Please, Mr. Zinoviev. Don’t get him started.”

William crossed his arms with a huff. “I don’t need to bite. I’ve got people to do that for me.”

The mercenary’s smirk didn’t falter, and William grew even more miffed. What in the world did Albert need this jerk for? They all knew he was best buds with Sergei. His code name was “Silver Wolf” if William recalled, and he was a sergeant in the Colonel’s Umbrella Biohazard Countermeasure Service. A joke regiment, as far as he was concerned.

“Oh, right. Like comrade Wesker? I’m curious what you would do without him around, Doctor Birkin.”

“Brains always beats brawn, Nikky.”

The UBCS sergeant snatched William by the shirt and picked him up off the floor. “Well, it’s good thing I have both, no? And comrade Wesker, he has both, yeah? You, on other hand, just very big brain and mouth, and puny body.”

As they glared at each other, Annette pulled a pistol from her lab coat and tapped it on her thigh in plain sight of the two men. “Release my husband, Mr. Zinoviev.”

The Russian mercenary softly chuckled. “I am only having little fun. Everyone knows it is death wish to touch hair on his head.” He dropped William and patted him on the shoulder. “Ease up, Dr. Birkin. I am friend to you today.”

“Coffee, Mr. Zinoviev?” Annette asked when William and Nikolai sat down across from each other at the table.

“I accept your gracious offer. Thank you, Mrs. Birkin.”

“She’s also Dr. Birkin,” William said with a glare.

He looked away from the mercenary just long enough to page Wesker. He should have ended his shift at the RPD by now and would be picking up Claire.

“My apologies.”

Annette slipped into the other room to make their “guest’s” beverage. When she returned, she handed Nikolai his cup and sat down next to her husband. The silence that settled was stuffy and uncomfortable, but William and Nikolai only glared at each other.

Anne sighed. “Will, it’s not like you to be so quiet.”

“I don’t trust him.”

Nikolai’s lips slightly rose on one side, but he didn’t react much more than that. He looked the same since William saw him last. Still the short silver hair and steely dark gray eyes. He wasn’t dressed in his UBCS uniform though, just civilian clothes with a light jacket.

“He’s a friend of Albert’s, honey. All of his friends are shady assholes.”

“You’re definitely right about tha-hey!”

Annette smiled playfully his way before her pager beeped in her coat. She pulled it out and looked at the message. “There’s Li. He’s got a problem with the newest batch of MA-125 embryos. I’ll go handle it. Albert better get here soon. You and I have so much to catch up on.”

“He should be on his way, dear.”

His wife glared at the silent Russian mercenary. “Mr. Zinoviev, it would be in your best interest to listen to my husband and to keep yourself from antagonizing him. This is a warning.”

Nikolai looked to Annette as she rose from her seat, and the two kept each other’s gaze for a long, tense moment. The UBCS sergeant nodded with a polite smile. “Of course, Dr. Birkin. I’ll be on my best behavior. After all,” he turned his crafty eyes back to the Golgotha creator. “I wouldn’t want to piss off “big brother.”

Annette left the briefing room. William felt trapped and exposed at the same time. The silence ate at him once more. Nikolai looked around the room for a moment but soon his eyes landed back on William and stayed. The Chief of Research fidgeted in his seat, uneasy. He picked up his pencil and played with it, thinking.

I swear to God, Al, if you took a detour to stick your dick in the Redfield girl, I’m gonna kick your ass.

A long bout of silence longer, and William couldn’t take it anymore. He had to talk.

“So…I never asked before…How did you and Albert meet?”

Nikolai shrugged. “A few years ago, he and his sister arrived to Rockfort Island on business to deal with Ashford and his associates. An internal affair investigation led by the Umbrella Intelligence Division. At time, my rivalry with particular Umbrella Special Service agent, codenamed HUNK, had landed-

“HUNK? What kind of codename is that supposed to be?” Nikolai wasn’t amused about being interrupted and when he opened his mouth to continue, William just interrupted him again. “Is he really a hunk?”

The Russian mercenary sighed, agitated. “It had landed me in hot water to put mildly. It had nothing to do with them, but Wesker still pulled strings to lift charges and actually got me promoted afterward. So now we help each other from time to time.”

William wiggled his pencil in boredom to make it look like it was made of rubber. “Oh yeah? Well, I’ve known Albert since we were kids! We were both raised under James Marcus as his proteges.”

The UBCS sergeant rolled his eyes. “I know. Say…didn’t Dr. Marcus die under “mysterious” circumstances?” he grinned.

The G-Virus creator snorted. “No! He died under completely normal circumstances. Poor old bastard. He was like a dad to me.”

Watching him die at my feet was one of the best days of my life and I cannot wait for the same to happen with Spencer.

Nikolai chuckled. “Yeah, sure.”

“Y’know, what does that tell you about your friendship with ‘ol Serggy? He obviously left you hanging in your time of need in that wretched place. Al would never do that to me. Just saying…”

“Conflict of interests, comrade,” Nikolai stated evenly, slightly narrowing his eyes. “He wasn’t allowed to.” The UBCS sergeant soon relaxed, shrugging. “Besides, Sergei and I are close enough friends to understand that we can and will sell each other out if right opportunity presents itself. Especially on his end. Same with Wesker and myself. What fantasy are you living in that Wesker isn’t using you, comrade? You’re obviously using him…protection mostly, as I have feeling you’d be dead already otherwise. Your arrogance and ambitions stem directly from fact that you know “big brother” protects you. Otherwise, you are coward.” Nikolai leered his way. “Just saying…”

William bristled but visually only offered a half-smirk. “Of course we use each other. I didn’t say that we didn’t, Nikky. But unlike your loyalty to your old friend Sergei, ours cannot be bought. It’s more of a “I’ll scratch your back if you’ll scratch mine” sort of situation...without any actual scratching.”

Nikolai laughed hollowly. “Anything can be bought, Dr. Birkin. Anything. You of all people know that. You blackmail this city for your own agendas. You don’t look it, but I know you’ve killed just as many people as Wesker has…sold them out, back-stabbed them, or even used them in experiments. Quit kidding self. You and Wesker are no different. The right offer just hasn’t been made.”

Albert had once told him that Nikolai had the potential to become more of a threat than Sergei. And now he knew why. He saw things differently than the Colonel. And his mind worked like Al’s in more ways than one.

William glared at the UBCS sergeant hard, bitter. Nikolai kept his gaze with his own sharp eyes, a sneer lurking on his lips. William subconsciously clenched the pencil in his hand hard. But nothing could be said between the two men before the door to the briefing room swung open. William should have looked, in case it was danger, as Annette had obviously forgotten to lock it again, but he and Nikolai didn’t move. That is, until a distinct voice broke them from their fuming trance. The subtleties of the tone told him that his partner was slightly annoyed, but anyone else would have just heard the business-like resonance.

“Nikolai. You and me. Let’s talk.”

William smugly smirked and waved goodbye with his fingers as Nikolai rose from his chair. Unaffected by neither Wesker’s tone or William’s snide, the Russian mercenary snorted and left the table.

“Good talking, Nikky!”

“William.”

The Golgotha creator hunkered and innocently looked his best friend’s way. He didn’t miss the glare meant for him behind the shades, but he motioned to the beautiful girl at his side. “Look after Miss Redfield. I’ll be back shortly.”

“Sure, pal.”

When Nikolai stopped to look at Claire, grey eyes both quite interested and wary, William didn’t miss the curl in Albert’s lip as he stepped in between them, motioning to the door. Nikolai took the hint immediately and left the room without looking back. The look Wesker gave Claire before following him out may have looked harmless enough, but William knew what it really meant. He gave the Redfield girl a gentle smile, offering her a seat next to him. After all, she didn’t realize that Albert was never going to let her go.

She relaxed a little when it was just the two of them and sat down with him.

“Coffee, my dear?” he asked. William didn’t like most people and never had concern over their lives or feelings. There were only a select few he genuinely cared for in his busy life, the rest was only an act, if he even bothered with it at all. But he found himself growing fond of Claire more and more, though wasn’t sure whether it was over Claire herself or the fact that his partner was unhealthily obsessed with her.

With a surrendering sigh, her forehead connected with the table and it made him smile. Both, definitely both.

Claire ignored William’s whistling tune as he made her a cup of coffee in the side room. When she heard the ceramic mug hit the tabletop, she raised her face off the table to see the fresh brew steaming nearby. She quietly took it with a quick nod of thanks to the eccentric researcher.

As she quietly blew her lips over the rim, her eyes carefully examined the room she was in. It was a conference room of some kind way down here in the sewers near the big, creepy Umbrella facility. She noticed the variety of things William had by his chair: a briefcase, a closed laptop, and a closed file with some pages poking out messily.

She took a sip, her eyes finally hovering on the door. “Who was that silver-haired guy?”

William, antsy, shifted nearly constantly in his chair next to her. Wesker wasn’t kidding. The guy was a fiend of restlessness. “Huh?” She must have jerked him from his own thoughts. “Oh, Nikolai? He’s an asshole, don’t worry about him.”

“Do you know why Wesker brought me here?”

“Yes,” William answered, and patted the briefcase sitting on the table near him. “All in here. But I’ll let him go over it with you. I’m out as soon as he gets back.”

Claire grabbed his arm hard, instinctively putting pressure where Chris had taught her for self-defense. “Don’t leave me alone with him!”

“Ow! Retract the claws, sweetheart! You’ll be fine! He doesn’t bite…all the time.”

She glared his way and squeezed harder.

“Ow, I was just joking! Why are you redheads so mean to me?!”

Claire let him go with a huff. She fumed to herself while William rubbed his arm, pouting. Once she calmed down, she looked at him. “Sorry,” she mumbled. “I just…want out of this.”

William sighed. “No harm, no foul. And I understand. Unfortunately, that is between you and Al. I can’t help you with that. But he likes you enough…just do what he says and get it over with. Like I said before, he’s giving you a chance that he's never given anyone.”

Claire lowered her eyes to her hot coffee. “That’s what I’m afraid of.”

They were both quiet for a long moment, and then William gently offered a change in subject. “My daughter adores you. She raved about you nonstop the other day.”

Claire smiled. “Sherry was a doll. It was a real treat meeting her.”

William grinned proudly. “She’s super smart, like her parents. And real self-sufficient.”

“She seemed lonely to me.”

William frowned. “Yeah…our lives are kinda hectic. Our work keeps us away most of the time. She has a hard time making friends, and well, Anne and I just never got around to giving her a sibling. And her godfather doesn’t have any children for her to play with. We tried pets, but that was a no-go. Dogs take too much work and Anne is allergic to cats. I got a baby alligator for her one time though.” William hesitated, thinking hard while tapping his chin. “What happened to that thing?”

“Do you and Annette not have other family? Parents, siblings? No cousins for Sherry to play with?”

The Umbrella researcher flinched, but he did so in a way that Claire barely caught it. “Nah. Anne’s parents and older sister don’t talk to her and don’t live here. Me? I was an orphan. Umbrella has programs that help orphans and foster children into new homes to put it simply. I was taken in by a man named James. Went to a private school. Even though I was a one-of-a-kind child prodigy, I…got bullied a lot. Was there for about a year until James took in Albert as well. We were in the same boat, so to speak…orphans with nowhere else to go.” Will half-smiled as he thought back to those memories, and Claire sensed sadness there. “Al wasn’t very friendly at first. I mean, he’s never really been friendly to anyone except me and that took quite some time. Poor kid had been through hell. I was his punching bag for a bit, but mostly he kept to himself. I tried everything to be his friend, but that just made things worse. We fought a lot. One day I accidentally destroyed a project of his. I tried to rebuild it with what I had on hand and...well...it didn’t turn out so great. So, I’m expecting the usual knuckle sandwich he likes to feed me when he shows up, but he doesn’t. He just...laughs. I actually made the little bastard laugh! After that, we were instant best friends, brothers. I never had to worry about bullies again. We raced through school and college, as we were both prodigies. But we also went through absolute hell together. Umbrella offered us positions in research and development of medicines. And the rest is history.”

Claire took in the story, moved in a way she never thought to expect. She had known from Sherry that Wesker was a researcher as well, but now she wanted to know what made him become Captain of the Special Tactics and Rescue Service, of all things. “So, if Wesker was a researcher like you, why isn’t he one now? Why become a cop?”

“He’s still a researcher part-time...among other things.” Will cleared his throat. “And let’s just say Al became a cop because he has a strong sense of justice and wishes to help people.”

“Help people?” Claire snorted loudly. “Yeah, right.”

“Trust me, if you start down that rabbit hole, you’ll wind up dead fast. Best to just let it go, cupcake.”

Point taken. She was sure Wesker’s motives in law enforcement weren’t for anything good. Claire decided to change the subject, wondering what else she could dig for. “So, what happened to James?”

William’s eyes fell down and away. “Oh…he, uh, passed away. ‘Bout a decade ago. Anne, Sherry, and Albert are the only family I’ve got.”

The college student could tell that he was deliberately keeping parts out, but didn’t press it. She took a drink of her coffee, studying him. “You said Wesker went through hell. What happened to him? And what about his sister? He told me he had one.”

“An older sister by one year. Albert didn’t find out about her until later. Eh, a complicated matter, really. As for what happened to him, it isn’t for me to say. But it wasn’t nice.”

Claire only grew more curious and found herself feeling a tiny bit sad over what could’ve possibly happened to Wesker and William both. Obviously, certain events throughout their lives had turned them into the people they were today. She wanted to know. More clues proving that Wesker wasn’t just some power-hungry psychopath. There was a reason he was the way he was and he did the things he did. Everything he did had a purpose. And all of his goals seemed to point to power and control.

Claire wondered if maybe something happened to Wesker out of his control when he was young that damaged him. Or maybe she was just giving him too much credit.

The younger Redfield let it go. “Well, it doesn’t matter. I’ll never feel sorry for him after what he’s done.”

William half-smirked. “I wasn’t trying to make you feel that way. Just saying what happened. I love Al like a brother, but he is a monster. A brotherly monster, so to speak! A monster created through circumstances out of his control and he never let it go. And, well, I’m no different. Albert’s always been treated as a weapon or a tool...what they created was something far worse that can never be ruled again. You know what they always say in those comics? Heroes aren’t born, they’re made. The same applies to villains. But the thing about good and evil and all the gray in between, Claire, is that it’s a matter of perspective.”

So, she was right after all. There was more to him than met the eye...

I am no longer the ruled...I am the ruler…

Claire was quiet, taking in the genius researcher’s philosophy. She really didn’t know what to say to it, but her chance was soon lost when she heard the room’s door open. The air immediately changed, and she didn’t even have to look to know that it was Wesker who had returned. She was surprised to see that his silver-haired companion was nowhere in sight. But where Claire had instantly glared his way as he slowly approached them, taking off his sunglasses, William instantly brightened with a lopsided grin.

“Did you have a nice chat with ‘ol Nikky? He sure is a grouch. No sense of humor at all!”

She would have relaxed from William’s usual boast of teasing and humor had Wesker not been eyeing her closely since entering the room. Without the shades, his stare was even more unnerving than usual - even though Claire couldn’t help but to admit that he did have captivating eyes.

The younger Redfield’s heart jumped to her throat the second he gave her a devious smile, but thankfully his eyes soon left her. She almost staggered and felt like collapsing when the pressure that she had felt from his scrutiny fell off her like a crushing weight. Her stomach felt funny from the sudden and unexpected adrenaline rush. Lightheaded, she stayed quiet while Wesker offered William his most sarcastic smirk.

“What’s wrong, Will? Don’t like sharing my attention?”

Will scoffed and waved his old friend off waggishly. “Me? Jealous? Hell no. I’m way more charming than he is. Funnier, too. And better looking, just for the record!”

The chuckle Wesker produced was gentler than usual. “Obviously, there is no competition.”

Wesker placed his hands on Claire’s shoulders. She flinched in her seat, shivering as his cool fingers kneaded her skin in an unmistakably possessive manner that was meant to intimidate her and assert his dominance over the situation - and her.

Fucking creep! Claire couldn’t help but curse him silently as she stiffened under his unexpected touch. But she soon noticed that her own body started betraying her beneath his massaging.

“Was our lovely assistant here any hassle for you?”

She braced, as though his fingers would turn into claws and tear into her, hands forming into fists in her lap as she stared hard at William. He tapped a pencil he was holding on the table, gaping at them for a moment, and Claire was sure he was indifferent to her internal suffering.

“Oh, no trouble at all. Pleasant company as always, Al. Without a punch to my attractive face, I might add.”

“Good.”

Claire glared at him, but the eccentric researcher suddenly sneaked a tiny smile and winked at her in an excessively conspiratorial manner. He grabbed the briefcase near him and slid it across the table to the seat on her other side without breaking eye contact with her. Wesker let her go and moved over to the briefcase and the younger Redfield just about collapsed in relief. She released a shaky breath she didn’t know she had been holding.

William stood up with an over-dramatic stretch. He picked up his closed laptop and folder and slipped them under his arm. “Well, I better get back to the lab. I’ve got cells from “you know what” to go over with faulty ribosome and polypeptide structures that need analysis.” He pushed in his chair and lazily saluted Claire. “Always a pleasure, Claire. Be good.”

He didn’t even have a chance to take one step towards the exit before Wesker grabbed him by the shoulder and dragged him back. “Whaaaaat?” he groaned like an indignant teenager.

Wesker’s smirk was a malicious kind of playful. “Will, my dear friend, did you not hear? Claire is babysitting Sherry for you.”

William laughed. “Sherry hasn’t needed an actual babysitter in almost three years! I mean except for you, Uncle Alby!”

Wesker snickered and then suddenly punched Will in the gut hard enough to make him lurch and yelp, though he wheezed a laugh. “Fuck, ow!”

Claire jumped to her feet. “Jesus! Why the hell do you hurt him if he’s your friend?!”

William, grimacing, waved her off, still wheezing snickers. “S’all good. It’s how he shows affection.”

Once William got his breath back, he shoved Wesker away from him and straightened his lab coat. “So…I take it the babysitting thing is the cover-up with her brother? Clever!”

“You should pay her for it, Will. Make it look legitimate.”

William glared at Wesker. “You pay her! All I got is the grocery allowance! Besides, she’s your “project”. Not mine!”

Claire quickly grew annoyed. “I don’t want any blood money from anyone, let alone you two assholes.”

“Hey, my grocery allowance is not blood money. I keep that in an entirely different account, thank you very much.”

“All I want to do is finish this and get my freedom. Can we move on, please?” Claire groused.

“You heard the lady, Al,” William said with a shrug. “Get to it! I gotta get back to work.”

The eccentric researcher took his leave while rubbing the sore spot in his stomach. When the door shut and Claire was left alone with Wesker, the atmosphere seemed to electrify. She stared at the door, regretting having hurried William out the door. Wesker’s imposing presence silently seemed to push all the air out of the room as he walked around her backside, his hand skimming along her back. She desperately swallowed the effects it had on her, though she couldn’t stop the goosebumps from sprouting on her skin.

“Well, dearheart,” he murmured finally. “Time to get to work...we have much to discuss and plan. No time like the present...”

He wrapped his arm firmly around her shoulder then, pulling her closer than she was comfortable with. He turned her to the table, where the briefcase contents were now out on the table. One look and Claire had a really, really bad feeling…She was about to get in way over her head…

[mafiabosstsuna]

Prompt 4: Tsuna is an A+ wingman and wins the Best Friend of the Year Award

‘Twas the night before a major exam, and all throughout the Vongola house. Not a creature was stirring, not even the implanted enemy mouse. The animal boxes were placed on bedsides with care while hopes of peaceful sleep permeated the air.

Ring Ring... Ring Ring... Ring Ring... Ring Ri-

“Enma, it’s like 2am in the morning. I have morning training with Reborn and morning classes too you know,” Tsuna grouched into his cell phone as he shifted in his bed. He literally just fell asleep two hours ago and had crashed from a caffeine rush of studying for an exam. The last thing he wanted to do was talk to someone, even if that someone was his best friend.

There was an audible intake of breath before the Shimon answered his question. “I need your help.”

“Mafia help or friend help?” Mafia help meant famiglia business and had to be dealt with ASAP depending on the severity. Friend help meant just that and could be put off for when he was feeling more like a human being than a tired mass of flesh.

“...Dynamics help.”

Tsuna shot out of his bed, wide eyed and awake. “Dyna- Y-you woke me up because you found some Omega you need help with? Are you serious?” Dynamic help was rarely needed between the two as they were both Alphas and all three dynamics practically fell to their feet to spend time with either men. They’ve had their share of each dynamic in their bed, preferring the more Omegan types above the others not because of their dynamics but because of just how right it felt.

Enma was not dealing with Tsuna’s shenanigans this evening. “Are you going to help me or not, Tsuna? Please.” There was a hint of begging in his voice, not very commonly found in the present Enma. Old Enma, probably, but not this current one. He disposed of that version of himself a long time ago to resurrect the Shimon.

The Vongola sighed dramatically before flopping back into his bed. “...Fine. Meet me at Harmonia’s Cafe at 12. We’ll have lunch and discuss this then.”

“Thanks.”

The cafe was crowded with college students, each taken table littered with college ruled paper and textbooks. Coffee was a permanent smell and there were the distinct chatter of the STEM students trying to out-science each other from across the cafe. It was the perfect place for Tsuna and Enma to meet up and discuss dynamics.

After they got their lunches served and exchanged small talk, Enma finally began to unleash his woes towards his friend. He talked about her smell and occasional lack of scent, Sergei, the lunches they still had together before class despite it being weeks after the project was done and presented. The redhead gushed almost disgustingly about her quirks, her stereotypical college student meals and spending habits.

The Shimon boss eventually summed it all up into one sentence. All of his desire, frustration, adoration, and troubles for the foreign Omegan student. “I want her.”

Tsuna frowned as he dipped his grilled cheese into the tomato soup and took a savage bite out of it. “I want to destroy the Vongola from the inside and look where that got me.”

Enma gave him a hard stare before sighing and running his hand through his hair. “I’m serious, Tsuna. She smells amazing but she’s always wearing scent blockers in public.”

“Didn’t you say she took them off in her apartment? Corner her there.” Tsuna chewed thoughtfully on his sandwich before swallowing. “Unless you promised not to jump her or something.”

The Vongola sighed when Enma did not deny the suggestion of the promise he had made. “Well, you just made it harder for yourself. That’s fine, whatever. Let Give me some time to figure things out and see what I can do.”

There was no way in hell would the Shimon sever ties with the Vongola if Tsuna managed to pull this off. Enma would make damn sure of this. “Thanks, Tsuna. I’ll owe you one.”

The brunette smiled at his friend, “No problem, Enma.” He said his name a little louder than necessary and when the redhead found out why he did, he couldn’t decide whether to hug him or kill him right then and there.

“Enma! Fancy seeing you here.” There she was, the scentless wonder smiling at him and looking at Tsuna. “I was Enma’s partner in a class project a while back. Nice to meet you,” she introduced herself and offered Tsuna her hand to shake.

Ignoring the panicked look on his friend’s face, Tsuna smiled back at her. “Tsuna Sawada, nice to meet you. I was hoping I would finally meet Enma’s mystery partner. He keeps going on and on about how amazing it feels to finally have a partner who does their part in a project on time and early too.” He motioned for Enma to scoot over. “Join us, we just ordered lunch but we were planning to stay a little longer anyway.”

No they weren’t.

“Oh thank you!” She slid into the seat, accidentally bumping into Enma. “Sorry. Uh, what do you recommend? I’ve never been here before and I heard it was a good place for students.”

Tsuna took the menu on the table and offered it to her. “I wouldn’t know, really. Enma comes here more often than I do so you should probably ask him.”

The scentless Omega offered the menu towards Enma and asked for his opinions. She slid closer to him, almost smacking him in the face with her head. Of course, if she wasn’t wearing those blockers Enma would be more than happy to suffer such an attack.

He tentatively wrapped an arm around her waist, pleased when she scooted a little closer. “So you want the traditional spaghetti and meatballs?”

“Yeah, I think I’m in the mood for that,” she smiled brightly at him before moving a little away from him. Luckily for the Shimon, she stayed with arms reach and left his arm where it was. If anything, she placed her hand on where his rested on her waist and hummed happily. “So how did you meet Tsuna? You guys looked pretty comfortable around each other that if you didn’t tell me you didn’t have a brother, I would think he was your brother.”

Enma blanked a bit before he threw together a civilian-friendly version of how he met the Vongola. “Well, we used to live in Japan and we attended the same school together...”

Across the table, Tsuna continued to watch amused as his friend attempted to be cool and collected around the little pretty Omega he found. The brunette sighed internally, wishing he wasn’t playing the third wheel now that she joined the table. He silently patted himself in the back and declared himself as the bet wingman in the goddamn mafia world if things between Enma and his Omega went extremely well.

Later that day, Tsuna received a thank you note from his redheaded counterpart. “Our date is in two weeks on a Friday. Thanks.” It was accompanied by a glass framed picture of the Vongola and Shimon Decimos shaking hands with the engraving of “SAWADA TSUNAYOSHI” FOLLOWED BY “BEST FRIEND OF THE YEAR AWARD”.

“Dork,” Tsuna mumbled as he placed the picture on his bedside table.

[thrashermaxey]

Ramblings: Arvidsson Tricks, Puljujarvi on the Block, Nyquist, Hertl, & The Kanes (Jan. 16)

  Let’s start this off with some news out of Edmonton. Apparently, Peter Chiarelli is ready and willing to make a splash. Rumours have swirled of late that the Oilers are willing to move this year’s first-round selection to push for a playoff spot. And according to Elliott Freidman on the NHL Network, Jesse Puljujarvi has joined in on the fun as an official trade chip.

    Firstly, if ownership allows Chiarelli to destroy their future even further by dealing that pick or Puljujarvi, then there must no longer be any doubt; Chia has some disgusting dirt on Daryl Katz.

  Whatever happens in Edmonton (and I assume it’ll be an unmitigated disaster), Puljujarvi getting out of town seems like the best hope for his fantasy value moving forward. Either that or a locked in spot next to Connor McDavid. A scenario that does not appear to be in the cards.

  **

Speaking of the Oilers, their next opponent is the Canucks on Wednesday. Elias Pettersson skated by himself after practice again on Tuesday but Canucks’ head coach, Travis Green wasn’t willing to rule him out for Wednesday’s tilt just yet. At the very least, it appears as though the super rookie should be back for Friday against the Sabres.

  **

The bottoming out continued in Anaheim on Tuesday. The Ducks fell to the Red Wings 3-1 and are now winless in 12. They’ve collected just four points in the last month.

  The freefall is real.

  Rickard Rakell opened the scoring in the second frame with his seventh of the year. Rakell was skating on a new top line with Ryan Getzlaf and newly acquired Devin Shore for much of this one. That was due to Jakob Silfverberg leaving the game due to injury.

  There had been chatter that the soon-to-be UFA, Silfverberg was a trade chip as the Ducks fall further and further away from contending status. We’ll await word on the severity of the injury, but with the deadline less than six weeks out, it’ll be something to watch.

  Gus Nyquist scored the game-winner in this one. He’s maintaining his stellar campaign and looks like another potential mover this deadline. The 29-year-old is producing at the best point-per-game rate of his career (0.83) and all the metrics appear sustainable. His IPP is trending at a career-high 74.1 but that’s likely explained by his playing over 50 percent of his five-on-five ice with the burgeoning, Dylan Larkin.

  If Nyquist does indeed get moved, the potential for improvement is there, but so is the potential for a reduced role. He only sees a little over two minutes on the power play now, so he’s not overly reliant on PPPs. A move to a team like Pittsburgh would likely see his even-strength deployment improve but his PPTOI decrease. Conversely, a swap to a team like Edmonton would perhaps lead to a downgrade at evens but an increase on the power-play (assuming he doesn’t get the McDavid/Draisaitl juicer spot at five-on-five).

  These situations need to be closely monitored as you head into your own fantasy playoffs.

  **

The Panthers held a players-only meeting on Tuesday morning. The team had been struggling. The coaching staff appearing no longer to be shy in vocalizing their displeasure with some of the stars. Often a closed-door meeting will have a short-term impact on a slide.

  And this one did too, just not on the scoreboard.

  Florida was tuned up 5-1 by the Habs on Tuesday but it wasn’t for a lack of trying. The Panthers outshot the Canadiens 53-28 but ran into a brick wall named Antti Niemi.

  Here were the lines: 

  **

Shea Weber led the charge for Montreal with a power-play tally to go along with an even-strength assist.

  Don’t look now, but the Habs are tied with the Bruins for third in the Atlantic and are just one point behind the Maple Leafs. Granted the Habs have played more games than both of the teams they trail, but this has been a gutsy showing from a team many wrote off before puck drop in October.

  **

Have you purchased Dobber’s 11th Annual Midseason Fantasy Guide yet? Whether you’re going for a third straight Championship, looking to sneak into the playoffs, or preparing a full-scale rebuild, this guide has you covered.

  Purchase it here

  **

Viktor Arvidsson led the Predators to a 7-2 statement win over the Capitals. The Swedish buzzsaw recorded a hat trick and six shots on goal in this one. His third tally coming while shorthanded.

  Arvidsson is back to a point-per-game (24 in 24) and is the straw that stirs the drink in Nashville. I recommended you kick the tires on him a few weeks back to see if his limited games played would lower his perceived value. Here’s hoping you listened.

  Despite the lopsided final score, the Caps had a ton of grade-A chances. They were thwarted time and time again by the one known as Juicy Fruit. Juuse Saros stood tall (okay, that was too easy) stopping 26 of 28.

  The 23-year-old has been lights out the past month. He’s recorded a 0.971 save percentage in six appearances. Just what the doctor ordered as Nashville tries to limit Pekka Rinne’s workload heading into the spring fling.

  **

Two assists for Ryan Johansen brings him to 42 points on the season and 11 in his past eight games.

  Ditto for Mattias Ekholm, who for my money has been the Predators best blueliner for much of this season. He’s sporting a new career-high in points with 36 after tonight. And we’ve got 34 contests to go.

  **

Who’s the best netminder in Winnipeg? That should (and is) an easy answer. But my goodness has Laurent Brossoit played well for the Jets this season. The backup netminder had another stellar performance on Tuesday as he outduelled Marc-Andre Fleury by stopping 43 of 44 in Winnipeg’s 4-1 victory.

  That’s seven straight wins and a 0.943 save percentage for the former Oiler. Meanwhile, 2017-18 Vezina finalist, Connor Hellebuyck has been kicking it below league average for much of the campaign.

  Is a goalie controversy coming in Winnipeg? No. Probably not.

  **

Blake Wheeler kept his recent two-year hot streak rolling with two third period assists on Tuesday. He’s on pace for 107 points and yet just barely cracks the top 10 scorers in the league.

  If I couldn’t play fantasy hockey in the ‘80s and ‘90s when guys regularly topped 150 points, I’ll take this level of production as a nice consolation prize.

  **

In the loss, Brandon Pirri was amongst the top Golden Knights in power play deployment with 6:01 on the night. He continued to skate alongside Paul Stastny, Alex Tuch and Max Pacioretty on the power play. However, he was elevated to the top line with William Karlsson and Jonathan Marchessault at even-strength.

  Pirri scored an even-strength goal to bring his season total to eight goals and 12 points in 11 games. Somehow, he’s still available in a bucket load of leagues. Get this guy onto your roster and into the lineup to reap the heater.

  **

Thomas Chabot took part in a full practice on Tuesday morning and is looking good to return to the lineup against the Avalanche on Wednesday.

  **

The Rangers defeated the Hurricanes 6-2 in one of the early affairs. Mika Zibanejad led the way with two goals and two helpers, while another likely deadline mover in Mats Zuccarello added three assists.

  Dougie Hamilton didn’t skate on the team’s top power-play unit, but he did see the most PPTOI (3:52) of any Carolina skater. He managed four shots on goal in 22:35 of action – A nice change of pace after breaking the 20-minute barrier just once in the last 12 games.

  **

Andrei Vasilevskiy and Tampa Bay Lightning shutout the Stars 2-0 on Tuesday. Vas is now sporting an 18-5-2 record and a 0.925 save percentage. The former first-round selection has witnessed his numbers improve in four consecutive seasons. At 24 years old, he’s flirting with being a dominant asset.

  **

David Perron kept his hot play going with a goal that forced overtime against the Islanders. Make it 15 points over a 12-game run.

  Val Filppula won it in OT, and Robin Lehner picked up his 13th win of the season. The 27-year-old is sporting a 0.927 save percentage on the year. It’s been a fantastic turnaround.

  Jordan Binnington suffered his first taste of defeat in his young NHL career but was good again. He’s peeling starts away from the habitually untrustworthy Jake Allen. I’m not ready to anoint him as a true asset moving forward but he’s certainly worth a speculative add.

  The Blues find themselves just two points out of the Wildcard. At this point, they'll play whoever gives them the best chance to win. 

  **

The trio of Artemi Panarin, Pierre-Luc Dubois, and Cam Atkinson was running around against New Jersey. Each member of the top line recorded a goal and an assist as the Blue Jackets defeated the Devils 4-1.

  It was Joonas Korpisalo who earned the victory – his third straight in the last week. Another potential goalie controversy? Again, probably not. But with Torts at the helm and Sergei Bobrovsky not on good terms with the antagonistic coach, anything could happen.

  **

Chicago is not a good team anymore. But Patrick Kane remains a tremendous player. The 30-year-old has 27 points in his last 14 games and 64 in 47 on the season. His 1.36 point-per-game output is the best of his illustrious career.

  {source}<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">"Every time he touches the puck, something magic happens."<br><br>Is Patrick Kane playing his best hockey…ever? <a href="https://t.co/DcgIeE7Pdn">pic.twitter.com/DcgIeE7Pdn</a></p>— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBCSBlackhawks/status/1085210885642170376?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 15, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>{/source}

    **

Speaking of Kanes, the Sharks and Penguins met in the late affair. I was looking forward to seeing some of the best players on the planet chuck some sauce around. However, this one was handled somewhat easily by San Jose.

  Evander Kane was a catalyst throughout assisting on each of Tomas Hertl's three tallies. Kane also added three hits and six shots on goal as the Sharks defeated the Pens 5-2. That's 14 points in the last nine games for Kane. 

  As for Hertl, he's up to 19 goals and 41 points in 43 contests. This is a player who lost significant chunks of time during two of his five campaigns. So this would count as his fourth full season. Right on cue for the breakout.

  Erik Karlsson broke his disastrous two-game pointless skid with his 39th assist. He trails only teammate, Brent Burns (43) for top amongst blueline distributors.

  Matt Murray snapped his nine-game win streak in this one. To be fair, it looked like the California sun drained the entire Pens lineup. 

  **

Looking for a buy-low option? Look no further than William Nylander. As Maple Leaf fans and fantasy owners pull out their hair watching him put up a paltry three points in 17 games, clever beasts can exploit the situation. Nylander has been deployed just 30-odd percent of his even-strength ice next to Auston Matthews so far this season but there are clear signs of good things to come.

   The 22-year-old leads the Leafs in Corsi For percentage (CF%) and Expected Goals For percentage (xGF%). He’s also fifth in the league in shot attempts per 60 and scoring chances per 60. Meanwhile, he’s shooting just 3.2 percent after living in the 10 percent range in his first two full seasons.

  A bump is coming. Buy-low while you can.

  **

Thanks for reading and feel free to follow me on Twitter @Hockey_Robinson

      from All About Sports https://dobberhockey.com/hockey-rambling/ramblings-arvidsson-tricks-puljujarvi-on-the-block-nyquist-hertl-the-kanes-jan-16/