By the time Eddie left Jill’s apartment, two hours had already passed.
There was supposed to be group training today, but Jill had no choice but to call Captain Wesker and ask for leave—she was a little exhausted and needed rest.
Her “first time” had been taken; even Jill needed a few days to recover.
Eddie hummed a little tune as he headed for the underground lab, but on the way he unexpectedly ran into Raccoon City Mayor’s secretary, Charles.
“Mr.
Eddie, I’m very sorry to bother you.
Mayor Warren would like to invite you to his office to talk—about some private matters.”
“Warren?
I’m not exactly close with him!” Eddie frowned.
“Whatever.
Lead the way.” Honestly, Eddie wasn’t familiar with anyone in Raccoon City.
The only person he truly knew was his girlfriend, Jill.
A modern office building rose up—skyscrapers that didn’t really belong in a “small modern city.” The mayor’s office was on the top floor, and it was only thanks to Umbrella’s investment that they even had the money to build towers like this.
A well-fed white man sat behind the desk, looking down from the highest point at the frontier town he had personally built into prosperity.
His heart swelled with pride.
This was Raccoon City’s mayor—Michael Warren.
“Sir, Dr.
Eddie is here,” Secretary Charles said, knocking.
“Bring the Doctor in.
Make two cups of top-grade Rainforest coffee.
And you—go out.
I’m not seeing any other guests for now.” Michael laughed, then put on a practiced smile that was perfectly polite and impossible to pick apart.
“Dr.
Eddie, I’ve heard so much about you.
Please, have a seat.”
When the secretary finished preparing two excellent cups of coffee, he quietly closed the door and stayed outside like a loyal guard dog.
“Hello, Mayor Michael,” Eddie said, puzzled.
“Why did you call me in?
I don’t believe we’ve ever met.”
“I used to have dealings with your uncle, Dr.
Marcus,” Michael said with a hearty laugh.
“If you don’t mind, you can call me ‘Uncle.’ I asked you here today because I need you to help me with something.” He took out a cigarette and offered it.
When men talked business, how could there be no cigarettes?
Eddie wasn’t addicted.
Having one was fine; not having one didn’t make him itch.
“If it’s something I can do, then go ahead, Uncle.”
“It’s like this.” Michael went straight to the point.
“There’s a guy named Ben who’s trying to get close to my daughter.
He wants to get some information from Katherine—something or other.
I want you to drive him away.
I can’t act personally.” Get faster updates on g.com.
“The problem is, you could find plenty of other people to do that,” Eddie said, more confused than ever.
“Why me?
What kind of request is this—calling me here out of nowhere?
There has to be a reason.”
Michael smiled and explained.
“First, you’re someone Spencer values.
Second, you have considerable authority within Umbrella.
You don’t need to worry about that reporter writing negative articles about you.
You also have no bad press at all—so you’re the best candidate.”
“Here’s the problem,” Eddie said.
“I have a girlfriend.
This kind of work isn’t suitable for me.
You’d better find someone else.”
Eddie remembered now—Michael’s daughter was that woman who, when the crisis broke out, was turned into a “specimen” by Chief Irons, wasn’t she?
She was quite pretty… but it was a shame.
And it also proved that Irons was a genuine pervert.
“I know,” Michael said, nodding.
“So I can help you raise Jill’s salary.
What do you think?”
Eddie nearly laughed.
“Don’t make me laugh.
Do I look like I’m short on money?
I’m not accepting that condition.” He even waved his hand dismissively.
“Then what do you want?” Michael frowned.
This young man didn’t match the intel at all—he wasn’t easy to fool.
“I want a helicopter,” Eddie said, opening his mouth wide with an outrageous ask.
“A usable one.
I can’t afford it, but I know you have a way to get one.”
A helicopter cost around thirty million, and that was for a relatively lousy one.
Paying out of pocket was impossible—but if you used public funds, bought it “for S.T.A.R.S.” and then wrote it off as damaged… that could be done.
“Fine,” Michael said.
“But that reporter has a hidden camera.
You need to find it, and hand the camera to me.” He added another condition.
“No problem.
Deal.” Eddie nodded.
“You’re not curious what’s recorded in that camera?” Michael smiled, and there was a trace of chill in that smile.
Eddie shook his head.
“I’m not curious.
That’s not something I need to know.
Anything that doesn’t concern me, I’m not interested in.
If it weren’t for the price of a helicopter, I wouldn’t want this hassle at all.”
“No wonder Chairman Spencer values you so highly.”
“Then it’s settled.
Give me your daughter’s phone number.
I’ll handle it.” Eddie took the small card, turned around, and left without lingering.
Only Michael remained in the office, muttering to himself.
“Spencer?
Hmph.
After what you’ve done… I can’t protect you anymore.”
Because the camera contained evidence of Michael and Chief Irons’s corruption—along with their under-the-table dealings with Umbrella.
If it got exposed, there would be no “good fruit” to eat—only disaster.
After leaving the building, Eddie frowned.
One wave hadn’t settled before another rose.
To be honest, he didn’t want to get involved in this at all.
If anything, he should stay far away from Chief Brian Irons—that lunatic pervert who liked turning people into specimens.
And yet he couldn’t just kill him right now, even if he wanted to.
Eddie borrowed two armed guards from the corporation and set out with them.
He made a phone call and arranged to meet Katherine.
City Park—one of the city’s unique attractions.
One of the few scenic areas, with a fairly large artificial lake.
It was a great place for couples to stroll and for people to jog and work out.
A young woman with smooth blond hair tied into a single ponytail stood there anxiously, wearing eight-centimeter high-heeled sandals.
She kept glancing around, then checking her watch to confirm the time.
Eddie strolled over boldly, two bodyguards behind him.
“Hello.
You’re Katherine, right?
I’m Eddie.
I want to ask—do you know a reporter named Ben?
That guy secretly photographed my thesis, sold it, someone else published it, and they even won an award with it.
Absolutely disgusting.”
Katherine looked a little startled.
She shook her head in disbelief.
“Impossible.
Ben isn’t that kind of person.
He’s witty—how could he do something like that?”
“Don’t misunderstand.” Eddie spoke solemnly, acting like it was all very serious.
“I’m not blaming you.
I’m just asking.
Whether he’s a good person, whether he’s that kind of person—we can bring him out and confront him.
You know an award-winning paper is a big deal.
Winning like that with such despicable methods is completely outrageous.”
It’s not really mandatory—I’ll eventually upload all the chapters here—but it helps a lot in supporting me and allows me to dedicate more time to it.