a physical chill as they'd passed the empty operating rooms - as if the chambers themselves had taken on the characteristics of the T-Virus creatures. Cold and lifeless and some- how mindlessly black with purpose... Rebecca looked up, her eyes flashing with excite- ment. "Listen to this: '"They're still waiting for our feedback on expansion ever since Griffith revved up the amp time. 'We've got the space for up to twenty units, but I'm going to hold strong on a max of twelve; we wouldn't be able to concentrate on training more than four squads at a time. Ammon said he'll back me up if there's any hassle.'"
Steve nodded, half dismayed and half relieved by the information. They'd already knocked one of the Trisquads out of the running, plus seriously wounded or killed a couple of the individuals on another team; that was good. On the other hand, it meant that there were still a couple of the squads roaming around out there - unless they're currently "engaged" with David and the others... He scowled inwardly, grasping for something else to think about.
"Do you know what that means, 'revved up the amp time'?"
Rebecca nodded slowly, worry creasing her brow.
"I'm pretty sure he means that Griffith sped up the amplification process. Amplification is the term for a virus's spread through a host."
That didn't sound like something he wanted to think about either. By some unspoken agreement, they hadn't talked about the possibility of John or Karen being infected since David had left.
"Great. You find anything else in there?" She shook her head. "Not really. He mentions the Ma7s a couple of times, but nothing more specific than that they're a T-Virus experiment that didn't work. And he's definitely kind of an asshole." "Kind of?" Rebecca smiled briefly. "Okay, that's an under-statement. He's a money-hungry, amoral bastard."
Steve nodded, thinking about the partial report they'd found on the Trisquads and for that matter, the very existence of the facility. Calling the T-Virus victims "units," setting up operating rooms and apti- tude tests to run them through like rats in a maze -
- it's like they can't acknowledge that they're per- forming their experiments on human beings, on real people... "How could they do this?" he asked softly, as much to himself as to Rebecca. "How did they sleep at night?"
Rebecca gazed at him solemnly, as if she had an answer but wasn't sure how to say it. Finally, she sighed. "When you specialize in one field, particularly when it's a field that demands linear thinking and a very defined focus on only one tiny element of some-thing - it's kind of hard to explain, but it's frighten-ingly easy to get lost in that single element, to forget there's a world outside of that element. When you spend your days looking into a microscope, sur-rounded by numbers and letters and processes... some people get lost. And if they were unstable to begin with, the ambition to pursue that element can take over, making everything else unimportant."
Steve saw what she was getting at and was im- pressed anew with how thoughtful she was, how clearly she communicated herself...
... all that and a smile that lights up a room; if -
-when we get out of this, I'm moving to Raccoon City. Or I'll at least find out if she's seeing anyone...
There was a sound from somewhere in the building, footsteps. Steve pushed himself off the table and walked quickly to the door.
He leaned out into the corridor and heard David's voice calling through the empty block. "In the back!" Steve shouted, then waited, anx-iously watching the corner in the hall for David to walk into view, John and Karen both healthy and smiling beside him. Rebecca moved to stand next to Steve, and he saw the same concern and hope written across her delicate features. Instinctively, he groped for her hand, feeling a tingling jolt as their fingers touched, half expecting her to pull away, but she didn't, leaning against him instead as she held his hand gently, her skin soft and warm on his. John's booming voice preceded him down the cor- ridor, loud and full of bright good humor. "Get your clothes on, kids, you've got company!"
She dropped his hand quickly, but the look that she flashed him more than made up for it - a sweet and wistful expression that made his heart skip a beat, but there was a maturity there, too, a realization of the circumstances they were in, an acknowledgment