Aftermath

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Chapter Twenty

Jill knew that she couldn’t stay at the Umbrella facility forever. Strangely, she had no particular desire to go anywhere else, but eventually they were going to ask her to leave. She spent a few days talking with Lisa, following the news, attempting unsuccessfully to pry information from Carlisle, and getting to know Carlos better. She felt a comforting lack of responsibility, a guilty freedom gained by abandoning her goals. When she escaped from the city, she wanted nothing less than the utter destruction of Umbrella, but now, she was content to listen to their explanations, accept their financial settlement, and let them die a slow death in the court of public opinion.

Carlos was going back to Mexico for a few weeks before his transfer to Europe, where he would begin his his advanced training as a commander within the decimated UBCF. Now that Carlos was leaving, Jill decided that maybe it was time for her to return to her family as well. So she said her goodbyes to Lisa, and told Carlisle to get her a flight to Albany.

She slouched down in her seat in the back of the limousine and looked quietly out the window. Beside her, Carlisle sat with one arm hooked over the back of the seat, and seated across from her was Carlos, who had his arm propped up and his chin resting in his hand. Jill wished that Carlisle was not with them; she wanted to talk to Carlos alone before they said goodbye to each other.

The limo pulled into a private airfield and slowed to a stop beside an airplane hangar. Parked out front on the runway were a pair of white Learjets, their flawless exteriors gleaming brightly in the mid-afternoon sun. Carlisle got out of the limousine and held the door open for Carlos and Jill as they exited the vehicle. Carlos carried a duffel bag with some clothes and other supplies given to him by Umbrella, but Jill wore only the clothes on her back, which of course were also courtesy of Umbrella. She left everything behind during the outbreak, and now owned nothing except her memories.

“The one in front is for you, Carlos,” Carlisle said from behind them. “The other one is for Miss Valentine.”

“We each get our own private plane?” Jill said. “They really spared no expense, huh?”

“Umbrella has an entire fleet of private jets for use by the upper management,” Carlisle said. “We thought it would be easier than dealing with airport security.”

Carlos walked to the jet’s entrance stairway and dropped his duffel bag on the ground. He sighed heavily and Jill walked over to him. Her arms were crossed over her chest and she felt chilly, even thought it was warm outside.

“I guess this is goodbye,” she said softly.

“Yeah,” Carlos said, turning to face her. “I guess it is.”

They looked at each other for a few moments. Jill doubted that she would ever see Carlos again, and she guessed that he felt the same way. This wasn’t just a temporary farewell, but neither of them had the words to express what they were feeling.

Carlos finally reached out and took Jill by the hand. “Are you going to be okay?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” Jill answered honestly. “Maybe I just need time.”

“What are you going to do when you get back to your family?”

“I haven’t even thought about it. I don’t think I’m going to do anything right away.”

“You could be famous, you know. You could sell your story.”

Jill replied with a barely perceptible shake of her head. “No, I don’t think I can do that.”

Carlos gave her hand a squeeze. “Well, do me a favor, okay? Try to get better. Don’t stay depressed. You have a lot ahead of you. Find something to do with your time, something important.”

“I will. I owe it to Barry and Brad and the rest of them.”

Jill reached up and put her hands on Carlos’ shoulders, then pulled him in for a hug. She rested her face next to his and whispered in his ear, “You take care of yourself, Carlos. They need more good people like you. Remember that.”

“Thank you, Jill. I’ll miss you.”

As they separated, Jill gave Carlos a quick kiss on the cheek and then stepped away, giving him a sad little wave before she turned and quickly walked away. She didn’t want him to see her cry.

As Carlos boarded his private jet, Jill walked over to the other one, where Carlisle was waiting for her. Jill wiped her eyes and cleared her throat. She looked back to see Carlos at the top of the stairs. He waved once more and then got inside, the stairs folding up after him.

“Well, Miss Valentine,” Carlisle said. “It’s been a pleasure knowing you. Have a safe trip home.”

Jill wiped her eyes again and brushed her hair out of her face. She gave Carlisle a calculated stare and said nothing. Cautiously, she took one step up the stairs into the plane, wincing a bit as she did so. Her leg still hurt, and walking up stairs was a pain. Once she was settled back with her family, she’d schedule the surgery.

“There is one last thing I would like to ask, though,” Carlisle said.

Jill stopped and turned to look down at him. “I knew there would be.”

Carlisle set his hands on the railing. “You know, we haven’t been able to track down the other members of your police unit yet. Chris Redfield and Rebecca Chambers. Do you have any idea where they might be?”

Jill shook her head. “They both left the city long before the outbreak. I haven’t heard from either of them since.”

“Well, if you should hear from them, would you please give them some of the information that we gave you? Or perhaps you could get them to contact us directly? You understand, of course, that we would like to speak with them.”

“I’ll bet.”

“We’ve been very forthcoming with you, Miss Valentine. I hope you believe that.”

“I do,” Jill said. “But it doesn’t matter.”

“Do you think your teammates won’t believe us?”

“They might, but that’s not the point.”

Carlisle gave her a questioning look. “What is the point, then?”

“The point is,” Jill said, “that Umbrella is still guilty. And even if your whole company eventually goes bankrupt, and it probably will, then the people at the top who are responsible for all of this will still get away with it.”

“I thought I explained that –”

Jill cut him off. “You said that Wesker and Spencer are responsible for the outbreak. Maybe that’s true and maybe not. But this goes way beyond Raccoon City and you know it.”

Carlisle, for once, had no clever response or comeback that twisted Jill’s words. He merely nodded slightly and let go of the stair railing.

“Well then,” he said, “is there anything else?”

“You can do one thing,” Jill said. “Keep your promise to Lisa. Don’t turn her into another experiment. I want there to be a day when Lisa can live on her own.”

“That is a promise I can make,” Carlisle said.

“I’m glad to hear it. Goodbye, Mr. Carlisle.”

“Goodbye, Miss Valentine.”

Jill boarded the plane and took a seat in a comfortable leather chair. The co-pilot came out briefly to ask if she needed anything or wanted a drink during the flight, and Jill politely turned him down. He retreated to the cockpit and a few minutes later, the pilot announced over the intercom that they would take off soon.

Jill fell asleep during the flight. She just felt worn out, and wondered if she would ever feel rested again. The stress of leaving Lisa and Carlos was only multiplied by the stress of having to meet with her parents. She still had no idea what she was going to tell them.

They landed in Albany, New York just under two hours later and Jill was led from the plane to one of the terminals. She walked inside and avoided small crowds of people milling around, waiting for their own loved ones to arrive. She felt an acute sense of agoraphobia as she passed through the airport. The last time she was in the middle of a crowd, the rest of the people in the crowd had been undead, so it was hard for her to shake the uneasy feeling that any minute now, a zombie would burst from the crowd.

“Jill Valentine,” said a voice behind her.

She spun around quickly, lifting up her hands defense. Moving so abruptly almost made her lose her balance because of her leg.

Standing a few paces away were two men and a woman, all wearing plain black suits. One of the men removed a pair of sunglasses and reached into his jacket to pull out a badge identifying him as an FBI agent.

“You are Jill Valentine, correct?” he asked.

“What do you want?” Jill asked, more harshly than she meant to.

“If you have some time, we’d like to talk to you,” the federal agent said.

“My family is waiting for me. What do you want to talk to me about?”

“A job opportunity.”

Jill looked the agent in the eye and then looked suspiciously at his partners. How did they know she would be at the airport today? Jill only made the flight arrangements that morning. The only possible way they could have known was if they had her parents under surveillance.

“It won’t take long, I promise,” the agent said, handing her a card. “We know what you’ve been through. I think we have a lot to offer each other. Just a minute of your time, please.”

“I’m sorry,” Jill said, her voice low and emotionless. “But I’m not interested.”

She turned and walked away, leaving the agents behind her. They did not follow, much to her relief. She had not finally returned home just to get sucked back into the same pattern of interviews and interrogations, and she was not about to let herself get pulled back into law enforcement. That part of her life was over forever. However, she glanced down at the card he handed her before stuffing it in her pocket.

Her parents were waiting for her near the front of the airport. When she called them earlier, she requested that they come alone. She didn’t want a crowd of family members to greet her, as she didn’t want to make a huge scene in public. Her mother cried joyously and embraced her, and Jill could only let herself by caught up in the tearful reunion, and did not resist as her parents led her out into the parking lot and into their car. Her mother talked the entire trip home, about all the terrible things she heard on the news, and how everyone in Jill’s entire extended family was so thankful that Jill was safe, and that if Jill wanted anything at all, she only had to ask. Jill just nodded and gave short responses when asked for comment.

Everything seemed to rush by in a whirlwind of conflicting emotions. She was happy to be home, she knew she was, but she couldn’t express that happiness. She just felt numb. Once they were back at her parents’ house, her mother sat her down on the couch and asked her fifty times if she was okay and did she need anything, before running off to make phone calls and let everyone know that she was home. Her father spoke to her as well, but Jill didn’t know what to say.

When she was left alone for a few moments, she reached into her pocket and took out the card that the FBI agent gave her. She thought back to what he said. He said that they had a lot to offer each other. She wondered exactly what that meant. She turned the card over in her hand and looked at the phone number.

Once upon a time, Jill promised herself that Umbrella would pay for their crimes. Despite all that had transpired since then, she still felt the obligation of that promise weighing down on her. But she could not do it on her own, she just didn’t have the courage or the strength to see this through all the way. Someone like Chris would keep fighting until the end, but Jill didn’t have Chris’ willpower. Jill knew when she’d had enough, and that had been some time ago. She couldn’t fight any more.

Her only hope now was to give herself time to heal, both physically and emotionally. The promise would have to wait. She could not continue to dwell on all those people that she lost, both her coworkers and friends, and those she was not able to save. She ran her fingers along the FBI agent’s card, and then set it down on the end table by the phone. Maybe someday she would have the strength to fight, and be able to finally keep her promise, but not today.

Today she had to come to terms with those that were still living. She pushed herself up from the couch and went into the kitchen, where her father was sitting at the table and her mother was nervously talking on the phone to one of her relatives. They both looked up anxiously when Jill entered.

Tears streamed down her cheeks. “I’m so sorry,” she said weakly. “I wish I knew what to say to you, but I just don’t know what to do anymore ...”

Her parents rushed to her and she fell into their arms, sobbing her eyes out. Days of pent up emotions flooded out of her as if a dam had burst. She had been so distracted that she hadn’t even realized the obvious truth.

Finally, she was surrounded by those that cared about her most. Finally, she was safe.

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