-- Back to our little meeting... --
 

"Alright," said Cammy, "So, some bloke blew up what was most likely a Shadowlaw weapons store, possibly also a research facility. It gives us concrete proof that Shadowlaw and Bison are not only still around, but in greater force than we originally believed. And we still don't know who it was who did this, nor whether or not he's on our side. Any word on Umbrella? The deaths of the president and the public relations man could not have been a coincidence..."

His fingers steepled before him on the table, Riq spoke. "I've been doing some digging into the deaths, mainly that of Holden Blake. The footage that was captured by the lounge's security cameras didn't give us much to go on... but I will be in touch with a contact very soon. Hopefully we will at least find out who Blake was speaking with."

Charlie nodded, pushing his glasses up to the bridge of his nose as he leaned back in his chair. "Alright, but be careful. I heard the FBI has already lost several agents in investigations recently. Then there's the matter of the children that were found."

A moment of silence lingered as everyone mulled over the details of the discovery of the genetically altered children, none of whom had survived long past being found. The full autopsy report hadn't been released yet.

Natalie cleared her throat quietly. "We discovered a warehouse where live civillians were being transported to as yet unknown location. We fully expect Umbrella to be behind this somehow. We apprehended the man in charge and are interrogating him now."

In a twist of irony, her cellphone chose to ring at that moment. Her brow furrowed as the words, "Die Parker Die!!" appeared on screen, and foregoing etiquette, she answered. "Wynshire."

Some with annoyed expressions, the others waited. Guile was especially perturbed. This soon change when Natalie's end of the conversation gave way to disappointment, then aggravation. "He's what?"

A moment later she hung up and sighed heavily, "Cancel that. The suspect is dead."

John blinked, "Suicide?"

"Hardly," Natalie replied. "He was found dead in his holding cell, along with the two MP officers who had been guarding him. One with a broken neck, and the other two with gunshot wounds. The security cameras didn't even catch a thing."

Wary looks were exchanged, Guiled rubbed his right temple, eyes shut as he took a deep breath. "Great," he said, tone showing his frustration. "We'll, on top of all that, That Yukito kid has come up missing. No one has seen or heard from him since our first meeting, and even the agency he worked fears the worst. He was last known to be infiltrating Umbrella. With any luck he may still be alive, but at this point I think we all know not to keep our hopes up too much."

Then Guile stood. "I think that's all we have to cover for today. We'll meet again in a week. Everyone... watch your asses. I think what we're dealing with here may be much bigger than any of us are prepared for."

With that, everyone was dismissed, and everyone filed out of the room.

Guile remained standing next tot he table, calling out to John Heagy as the younger man neared the door, "Good luck on your match, kid. If you get knocked on your ass, we'll be there to yell at you." A hint of a smirk showed through.

John blinked and saluted before leaving, "Yes sir!"

Natalie was the last out of the door, walking slower than the rest. She wasn't surprised when the colonel's gruff voice addressed her. "You... you stay."

She turned on one heel and promptly marched back, stopping a few feet away. Two sets of blue eyes met, one hard and stern, the other sheepish and guilty. The term "awkward moment" didn't quite cut it, somehow...

"We all thought you were dead."

"I was."

"Bullsh**!"

"Whatever."

"Why the hell didn't you let anyone know."

"... Because it was easier that way."

"For who?"

"Everyone. Yeah, for me most of all. I was out of it, Guile. I didn't have to do this anymore. I never wanted this kind of life... but it seems like I can't get away from it."

He narrowed his eyes at her. He never had asked how she'd come into her position so young, and he resisted the urge to do so now. "You could have told someone."

Natalie sighed and let her gaze fall, "I know. I'm sorry. It's... complicated." She chanced to look back up at him with a hint of a smirk, "You almost act liked you missed me."

Guile snorted, "Hell no. We just had to clean all your sh** out of your cabin."

She laughed at that, then shook her head, "I gotta go. I have to meet my superior shortly and try to dig up some new leads."

He nodded, eyes softening a bit, "Yeah, we all got jobs to do..." He paused a moment, then asked in as conversational a tone as possible, "You gonna be around the hotel anytime soon? I think faking your death constitutes you buy drinks for a few people."

She smirked, "I might be. We'll catch up later." Then she turned and walked back to the door. His voice caused her to pause and look back for a moment, "Hey, Nat-chan... I'm glad you're alright, kid."

She smiled and nodded, then was on her way.
 

*~*~*~*~*
 

-- Business Offices, The Makai --

"Let me see if I understand this correctly," Karin narrowed her eyes slightly as she elegantly perched on the chair facing Meliza's desk. "The man who was shot in the lounge left you a clue?"

"Not necessarily," Meliza responded. "He might have left a clue. I'm having someone look into it right now."

"And you trust this person?"

"Very much."

"Good help is so hard to find," Karin admitted loftily. "Why, Shibazaki does an excellent job of-"

Suddenly, Meliza's cell phone rang. She glanced down to check the identity of the caller before turning to Karin. "I need to take this in private."

"Of course..." Karin quickly made herself scarce and Meliza picked up the phone.

"I didn't expect you to call so soon..." she admitted frankly.

"You know me better than that," came Locke's smooth response.

Meliza grinned. "So?"

"I'm still on Maui," he was quiet for a moment. "Are you alone?"

Meliza grinned. "So?"

"I'm still on Maui," he was quiet for a moment. "Are you alone?"

That question could lead into all kinds of interesting conversation, she thought mischievously. But she had to focus. "It's safe," Meliza answered, keeping her voice low.

"According to RJ, this hotel's event coordinator, Nancy Shan, is a former employee of Umbrella. She and Holden went to college together. Not long after graduation, Holden was hired as an intern at Umbrella. She had worked as an intern for a travel agency until Holden got promoted - and eventually got her hired."

"How does RJ know that?" Meliza frowned at the mention of her cousin, a general manager at another Rinaldo property, the 'help' she had offered to her boyfriend during his stay in Maui.

"After she quit Umbrella several years ago, she came to Hawaii to work. RJ's hotel was one of the places she applied at," Locke explained.

"But Hokuikekai Maui offered her a job instead," Meliza concluded. She blew out a breath. "They must have been close if he got her a job. I hope she's the clue he's referring to..."

"It's still too early to tell."

"I hope she has something. I'd hate for you to be over there for nothing."

"I'm not."

"All right. Call me if you find out anything new." Meliza glanced at her office door. She'd kept Karin waiting long enough. "Hey...be careful."

"I know."

Click.

*~*~*~*~*

-- Oahu, one of the areas designated for matches --
 

John Heagy was not amused, not amused in the least. Currently he was stranded in the middle of a large and growing crowd of violence lusting locals with only one ally. Not only that but his true enemy was a professional in the field of hand to hand combat and the other had... assets that could neutralize his abilities faster than a 600 K Taser. Not to mention the fact that his own partner possessed the same equipment
load and that worked against him since his opponent didn't seemed phased at all by it. Not to mention the fact the mobs seemed to be growing more and more restless. Countless warnings and alarms begin to go off in John's head as he instinctively started to reach behind him to the handle of his Glock 19.

Elena suddenly slapped John upside the back roughly before she began to hop around the ring cheering, reminding John very much of a child with a brand new fully automatic assault rifle. Heagy himself was not amused at the crowd's response and tried to ignore his partner's 'fighting uniform' or lack thereof and let out another sigh.

"What's wrong John? Lighten up a bit! Listen to the crowds cheering us!" Elena exclaimed then begin to wave to the crowds. More cheers erupted as she hopped about waving and John fought down a blush as he looked towards their opponents. Ken and Sakura. Right off the bat. As if that wasn't bad enough his next match put him against Iwa and Vega. John quickly killed the thought before it could develop any further.

The thoughts of Iwa made the young soldier turn his gaze to said female, currently positioned in the front of the crowd with a video recorder and a huge grin. Catching Heagy's gaze, Iwa waved without making any attempts to hide the action. The young soldier started to raise his hand again then caught himself, growling as he turned away quickly sure that his face was about to fluster again. Forcing himself to ignore her, he made his way over to his rucksack and begin to download his equipment in preparation for the fight.

"Pistol.... backup pistol... grenades... combat knife... throwing knives... lariat... C4.... remote detonator... less than lethal ammunition... lethal ammunition... custom ammunition..." John quietly listed every item as he revealed and stored the surprisingly large quantity of weapons away safely. Most of the crowd's reaction was one of mild surprise at first followed by total shock and finally borderline fear at the amount of firepower that was finally removed from the single fighter. Iwa
simply grinned to herself as she recorded every minute while Maru robbed a nearby middle-aged man of his peanuts.

"Err... Don't you think your... over prepared John?" Elena asked as she begin to stretch, showing her amazing dexterity and flexibility in a few stretches that made most male audience members a little weak just from seeing.

"Not really... I only brought the basic necessities... I left most of my heavy weaponry in a drop off location in case of emergencies." Heagy replied in a calm tone as he flinched a little then looked off to the side, tugging off his dark grey top until he stood in his simple grey cargo pants and a white t-shirt. Elena shook her head briefly then slapped John on the back again.

"We'll straighten you out one day..."

John didn't reply as he slowly moved into the center of the ring with Elena following nearby while Ken and Sakura mirrored the action from the other side of the ring. Flinching a little, Heagy barely managed to fight down the instinct to tackle Elena to the ground as some glinting light caught his gaze to the side. This was quickly followed by a camera flash however and drew a deeper frown from the young SABRE operative.

"Well.... our little runt of the litter grew up a bit... so I bet you've had a few chances to fight the ole broomhead during your service... skills improved any kid?" Ken said with a smirk as he tightened his black belt.

"A little..." John replied quietly as his gaze wandered towards a water tower with a frown. Had that just been a glint?

Ken arched his brow a little as he looked over at the 'armory' John had been carrying around on his person prior to the fight then slowly looked back to the young fighter. "I see your still.... packing... err... expecting a war kid?" Ken asked as he looked back to the young soldier, chuckling just a little at his obvious discomfort to the crowds and the other two fighters.

"Uh... not really... just basic light load... and I am of age now... not a kid."

"Right... anyway... good luck with this fight..." then brought up a fist, "Your gonna need it against me."

Ken nodded his head once as John rotated his shoulder around briefly, frowning a little while Ken gave him a thumbs up before assuming a classic fighting stance. Elena and Sakura both seemed to be taking things well as they each cheered on their respective partners. As soon as the start of the fight signalled John rushed forward at the red garbed fighter, throwing a quick couple of punches before throwing a quick round kick. Ken blocked both punches easily then brought up his forearm tocatch John's leg, quickly kicking down at John's supporting leg and sending the young soldier to the ground.

John quickly rolled forward across the ground right the blond haired fighter then hooked both of his legs with Ken's, tripping the Shotoken fighter to the ground. Quickly, Heagy unlocked Ken's legs and brought a powerful axe kick down at the man's head, only to have it dodged as Ken quickly rolled to the side and flipped back onto his feet.

"C'mon John! Be all that you can be and all that jazz!" Elena shouted as she waved. John almost lost his balance at that with a frown, his eyebrow twitching just a little as his cheeks reddened. Ken quickly took advantage of his opponents fluster and cupped his hands together as he begin to gather his chi.

"Hadouken!" was the battlecry as Ken fired a fireball at the muddled young soldier. John reacted by pushing backwards and landing on his back as he fired his own chi handgun attack in return, the two chi blast negating each other before Ken's sweeping kick knocked the SABRE Op off to the sidelines roughly.

"C'mon Heagy... now I know I'm probably the best fighter here... but you can do better than this..." Ken taunted as he motioned John forward.

"Your right... Now Elena!" John shouted as he drew his right fist back, white chi gathering around it before he threw his flashbang attack at Ken. The Shotoken fighter was caught off guard and stumbled back a couple of feet when Elena suddenly jumped in from the sidelines, performing a quick scratch wheel attack and knocking Ken up into the air. John quickly followed up with own follow up attack and leaped upwards, grabbing Ken's face as he pushed his head towards the ground performing a HEAT round attack.

Ken's bounced off the ground roughly as John jumped back away from the fallen Shotoken fighter when suddenly another glint of light caught his attention. Frowning sharply John quickly lunged to the side just in time as the ground next to him suddenly kicked up dirt as a silenced round hit.

"Sniper! Ken, Elena! Don't stop moving or moving in a predictable patter-" the young soldier never finished his sentence as a powerful roundhouse kick caught him in the ribs and sent him sliding across the ground towards the age of the ring. Ken backed away a bit and spared enough time to wave to the crowd and a special glance to his wife and child. John however cursed as he rolled across the ground quickly as another patch of dirt next to his head was thrown up briefly before he rolled onto his feet quickly.

"C'mon Heagy... you gotta loosen up in a fight some... there's no trying to kill a grunt like you here... well... except maybe Sakura... you did after all see her and the others n-" Ken taunted as he watched John moving about the ring in an almost frantic pattern, looking around at the crowds rapidly

"Enough! Ken... there's a threat here whether you believe it or not..." then frowned a bit for a moment as he paused in one place for a moment. Waiting only a split second he suddenly rolled across the ground just as the dirt behind Ken suddenly kicked up just a bit.

"Damned bugs..." the blond fighter muttered as he kicked the back of his calf lightly with one foot before he looked back to John, "C'mon now... let's get back on with the fight... we got a crowd to please you know."

---------------------------------

-- 316 Meters away - Rooftop behind the stands of the ring --

Rez cursed loudly as he quickly worked the bolt action of his silenced SV-98 rifle, ejecting the spent 7.62x54mm round brass to the side. That damned brat was lucky! Bastard had somehow managed to dodge 3 shots so far which meant he had 7 rounds left before he had to reload. The distance combined with the cheers of the crowd should've rendered the sounds completely inaudible. He had also taken care to make sure his position was isolated just in case someone decided to go for a walk. His first shot should have ended it all then the crowd would've panicked resulting in a massive riot as the crowds would flee like animals. And that would've given him ample opportunity to unload the remaining rounds into some random targets then get the hell out of there.

But oh no! That brat had good instincts or the devil's own luck... both of which proved valuable on a battlefield. Rez forced himself to calm down as he watched the little brat through his scope. So far he was the only one who seemed to notice that a sniper was firing... but that was enough. Stupid of him though to disarm... and it would prove to be a fatal mistake.

Rez begin following John's movements around the ring again as he placed his finger on the trigger slowly...

----------------------------------------

-- Back in the ring --

John's eyes narrowed a bit as he focused on where he suspected the shots had come from then turned his narrow eyes back to Ken as he moved about the ring in random patterns, "Sorry Ken... didn't wanna do this but.... This is it!" The young soldier suddenly crouched for a moment as he begin to focus, gathering his remaining chi up. Let's see that sniper track this... he thought to himself as he suddenly launched himself at Ken with a surprising burst of speed, "SABOT!" and connected with a firm charging punch directly at Ken before he almost seemed to disappear from view.

The young SABRE Op suddenly reappeared directly behind Ken and delivered a powerful rising kick that sent the blond fighter airborne before the John flashed from view again. To John the world seemed to be moving in slow motion but there was no time to reflect on that. Forcing chi into his body to increase his speed and reflexes was always risky, but now he needed that mobility. Leaping upwards at the airborne Ken, John fierce flying that sent the Shotokan fighter sailing to the side before John flashed from view once more.

John briefly flashed back into view as he dealt a flip kick that kept Ken airborne for another split second. Heagy once again disappeared with his fast movements before this time reappearing underneath Ken with a rising elbow strike before he flashed out of sight again. Heagy grit his teeth as he felt his muscles strain under the stress of their movements but the move was almost done and John knew exactly how to hit his target.

Heagy was briefly visible on the ground before he jumped straight upwards underneath Ken with a fierce jumping uppercut that flipped Ken around so he was facing upwards once more when John flashed back into view right above him. "On the way!" the young soldier shouted loudly as he cupped his hands together and forced the chi from his body into his palms. Ken could see the chi attack beginning to form and started to cross his arms across his body in defense when suddenly John fired the beam directly towards the building that shadowed over stands. The rooftop of the building exploded into smoke and rubble as John fired every bit of the powerful blue-white beam at it.

Ken suddenly hit the ground roughly but was able to motion to Sakura who quickly jumped into the ring. John was falling at normal speed now, keeping his narrowed eyes locked onto the target's location when suddenly he heard a shout just in front of him and below him, "Sho-oh Ken!" and felt a powerful fist connect with his chin, flipping him back in midair before he heard another shout of , "Shinryuken!" before his world exploded into a flash of orange and pain. John could feel himself being knocked higher by the rapid uppercuts but strangely the pain was fading to be replaced by the calm darkness.

Sakura's Sho-ohken had connected cleanly with Heagy and Ken's followup Shinryuken had ended the match swiftly as the blond Shotoken landed on his feet gracefully. Elena quickly leaped forward into the ring and caught John before he managed to smash into the ground then slid across the ring on her knees with a grimace as his dead weight fell on her. An announcer suddenly shouted that the first round was over and that Ken and Sakura were the victors. Elena sighed loudly as she rolled John out of the ring then stood up. She would be alone for the second round...

---------------------------------

-- 317 Meters away - Near the building on the ground --

Rez was furious now! That little ass had managed to destroy the scope of his SV-98 and warp the barrel not to mention roughed him up pretty badly. The former Spetnaz was less than amused now as he limped away from the scene, leaving behind the ruined SV-98 on the ground as he clutched the shoulder he had landed on. Thankfully the T-Virus would ensure that he recovered in critical wounds but that wasn't the damned point! The point was that little whelp had just hurt him again!

Rez suddenly pulled out a phone from his pocket and hit the speed dial. A soft child's voice replied, "Hello?"

The hulking man continued to limp down the street rapidly as he talked into the phone loudly, "Listen up brat! The mark got away again. Make sure my escape route is clear.... got me brat? Oh... and just remember... this is your @#%$ fault for screwing up the first attempt you little whelp!" before hitting the end button on the found so hard that he could hear the plastic crack some. Oh... there was going to be hell to pay for this and someone was going to suffer. That little SABRE was
going to feel some pain one way or the other....
 

*~*~*~*~*

-- Back to the lagoon --

Ming surfaced in the lagoon, gasping hard enough to make his throat burn. The cavern had begun to collapse, and he'd hit the water just in time to save his life, but had to leave his air tank behind. He had snagged his bag on the way, though, and stashed the pearl inside. The swim all the way back with barely enough air had caused his vision to go black around the edges, and as he dragged himself to shore, Ming coughed and panted more. "That was.... a close one..."

He fell to his knees, then onto his back as he regained much needed oxygen. Then, head turned toward the pack beside him, he used one hand to unzip it and remove the pearl, holding it up to the sun's light. He could see patterns now... not so much engraved into the surface but etched beneath the smooth coating somehow. He wasn't an expert in ancient Polynesian, but he could tell the symbols were more of power and magic than of a story or words. Ming smiled and stood, dusting the sand from his legs with his free hand. "Well, at least it was me who found y-"

He words were abruptly cut off. He gasped, eyes fixed forward, wide.

"Yes, hun. It was so nice of you to save Pablo and I the trouble of getting that thing ourselves." A twisted smile played upon Juli's lips as she pushed the dagger further, all the way through his left lung until it hit bone on the other side. Ming gurgled, tasting his own blood, "You...."

"Did you really think you could beat us?"

He couldn't answer, only coughing more crimson liquid.

Juli leaned in close, her lips to his ear as she reached around him to snatch the pearl from his hand, "You were fun... for a while. But I tire of having you follow us around like a loathsome dog. I do hope you enjoyed your brief taste of me..."

The blade twisted and he suppressed a cry of pain, "And by the way, sweetie, your skills in bed were severely lacking."

With that, the dagger was yanked from his back, followed by a trail of blood. Ming collapsed, gasping for air, but only succeeding in filling up his left lung with blood. As Juli laughed haughtily and began walking away, Ming weakly reached for his bag and pulled his gun from it. Quietly, he loaded a round into it, then rolled onto his side to face her. His vision was blurring badly, and his hands shook. He tried to hold the gun steady, but when he fired, the bullet only struck her calf. She cried out and looked back at him with seething hatred. Blood dripped from the corner of his lips as he grinned. "Sorry, Rose. You'll.... have to get the rest without me."

Juli watched as he went limp, eyes dilating when his last breath was spent.

She growled obscenities and dug the bullet out of her leg with the dagger. Unknown to her, the true purpose of the shot was already accomplished. The tiny tracking device was already in her bloodstream.
 

*~*~*~*~*
-- Ka'anapali, Maui - Evening --

As the BMW slowed to pull into a two-car garage, Locke eased his rental car to park parallel across the street from the single story home. After he cut the engine and turned off the lights, he looked outside to observe a woman step out of the garage and walk several feet to check her mailbox. After pulling out a few letters, she then proceeded into the garage and inside the house.

Night had fallen on the island, and she had just come back from work. Apparently, the hotel was hosting a dinner conference for a group of neurosurgeons - she had stayed late that day.

"She isn't very cautious," he said quietly. Anyone could easily sneak into her garage and she'd never be the wiser.

"This is Maui. People don't creep up on others," Locke's companion spoke up from the passenger side.

Although Locke preferred to work alone, Meliza's cousin insisted on tagging along.

'If my cousin's got some shady business partners, I need to know,' was his justification. And after hearing what RJ had heard from Meliza, Locke wasn't that surprised she had told him that much. She and RJ had been very close growing up.

Meliza's entire family seemed nice enough. They were a loud group, but they had a way of making strangers feel welcome into their circle. The last family reunion he'd attended in Las Vegas, he'd easily beaten her uncles and cousins - RJ included - in poker and mah-jong, taking their winnings. And later, when her cousins had dragged him to a bar, he'd bought drinks for everyone using the money he'd won from them. Apparently, the gesture had given him points with them, because he'd gotten along with her family ever since. Not bad for a man who preferred to keep social interaction to a minimum.

Knowing that her family would ask about him, he and Meliza planned his background story in advance - that he was an orphan from Beijing, his orphanage burned down when he was a teenager, and he'd taken odd jobs until he finally came to America. It seemed enough to satisfy their curiosity.

After waiting a few minutes, Locke opened his door to climb out. He tossed one of his small radios to RJ, who easily caught it. "Let me know if you see anything suspicious."

RJ's eyes rounded. "I thought you're just going in there to talk to her."

"If she knows something, chances are, we aren't the only ones who know that," Locke said. "Channel 3."

The other man turned several knobs and then did a radio check. When the radio strapped to Locke crackled with RJ's voice, Locke closed the car door and quickly made his way across the street.

Once there, Locke rang the doorbell and waited several moments. He took a step back as the front door opened to reveal a slender Asian woman dressed in navy blue track pants and a white spaghetti strap tank top. Her black hair was pulled up in a high ponytail, making her appear several years younger than her actual age.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"I have a couple questions about your employment with Umbrella," he said. Might as well take the direct approach. "I'm assuming you know what happened to Holden several days ago?"

Several emotions flickered across her face. The one that he mostly picked up on was sadness. The two had been close. "I'm sorry, I don't know who-"

She wasn't very good at lying. "Before he died, he had arranged a meeting with my client to discuss an open position in her company. And when she asked about his current employer, he told my client that she'd find answers at Hokuikekai Maui."

Nancy Shan released a breath and held the door open for him. "Come on in."

After making introductions and closing the door behind him, she guided him to the living room - decorated with simple pastel contemporary furniture.

"Have a seat. Can I get you anything to drink?" she asked.

Shaking his head, he settled on the sofa while she sat on the recliner.

"You know...he always told me that if something happened to him before he found another job, he'd want people to know what really went on at Umbrella Pharmaceuticals."

Locke's eyes widened slightly. "How much did he tell you?"

"Not much. But I knew he was involved in something pretty deep. Every big corporation has its dirty secrets...I always felt that something was off, which is why I quit two years ago." Nancy shook her head. "I could never figure out what it was, but I wasn't with them long enough to find out." Her expression grew thoughtful. "But he was. And you hear snippets from the news once in a while about them..."

"Do you know why he would want to leave the company?"

She shook her head. "You know...six months ago, when he came by for my birthday, he told me that he was thinking about it. I didn't think he was serious, he just seemed to be tossing the idea around. Whatever's going on...must have been bad enough to finally convince him to leave." Nancy's head shot up and she quickly made her way towards the fireplace. On top of the mantle was a music box that she picked up with both hands before turning to him. "On my birthday he gave this to me...the same time he told me he was thinking about leaving them..." She turned the box around in her hands, looking at it from every angle. "He told me to keep this safe since it was valuable...but a month after my birthday I saw this exact same thing in the mall on sale." She shook her head. "In all the years I've known him, he's never given me a gift like this. Always a gift certificate for shopping, a cruise, a spa. Never like this..."

The box was rectangular and made of cherry wood lined with red velvet inside. A mosaic rose was set on the top lid. When it opened, it played 'Music of the Night' - apparently a popular song in music boxes. After Nancy felt around every corner and edge, she turned it so the bottom of the box, the portion that contained the tune, faced up.

"I don't have any tools to unscrew this," she admitted sheepishly.

Wordlessly, Locke held out his hand and she placed the box in it. He pulled out a small pocket knife and set the box down on the coffee table so he could work on the four screws. After a few moments, he lifted the bottom portion away to reveal the mechanism.

And taped to the inside bottom surface of the music box, a mini CD-R.

"Oh @#%$," Nancy swore.

He handed it to her and she went to her computer desk to view the files on her monitor. He made his way to stand behind her. As she opened file after file, he could see her reflection in the monitor - and horror filled her eyes with each passing second. His gaze focused on the screen - press releases that Holden himself had written...speeches...and photographs of some...creatures...

"Stop," he ordered, when she came across a folder containing multiple pdf files...all documentation written by Umbrella's scientists.

"'Subject A was given two doses before its heart stopped'," Nancy read aloud. " 'Twenty minutes later Subject A had two extra appendages resembling tentacles growing out of its right shoulder...' " She stopped reading and looked away. She glanced at him. "Can we look at something else now?"

"Go ahead."

Nancy continued to look through the files. Apparently, every cover story Holden had ever made up had come with documentation from scientists. How he managed to swing that, Locke didn't know. If Umbrella knew that he had that information floating around...

"I should probably go to the police with this..." Nancy muttered. She glanced his way. "Your client will probably want to see this. Even if he's dead..." her voice cracked, "...he wouldn't have told her about this if he didn't want her to know." With that said, she began copying the files to a thumb drive.

The files were still transferring when a voice over Locke's radio came through.

"Dev, watch out. One black SUV with headlights turned off and no license plates just pulled up in front."

RJ.

"Damn," Locke muttered.

Nancy shot him a look of alarm. "What's going on?"

"You need to hide." Locke grasped her upper arm and pulled her away from the PC.

"But the files-" she protested as he dragged her away.
"I'll take care of those." He opened a closet door and pushed her inside. "Stay low, be quiet and don't come out."

Fear apparently made her obedient, because she immediately settled on the floor, wrapping her arms around her torso just as he closed the door.

"They're going to the front," RJ's voice came through. "You better move quick, man..."

Seeing that the files transferred, Locke pulled out the thumbdrive and disc, tucking them into his front shirt pocket, before turning his radio on mute.

The doorbell rang, breaking the silence.

Locke quickly turned off the living room light and moved to a darkened corner of the hallway, close to the door. The doorbell rang again, and after a few moments, the jiggling of the doorknob entered his ears.

Amateurs, he derided inwardly. More knob jiggling.

The door swung open and a figure stepped inside. He looked to be about five-foot-eight, with brown hair and a skinny build. He immediately reached inside his jacket for his gun, equipped with a silencer and stepped cautiously into the house.

Locke waited as the figure moved inside...until just the right moment before he gave a sharp kick to take the breath out of his lungs, disarm his gun hand, and slammed him head first into the nearest wall.

Reaching into his pockets, Locke pulled out a pair of black gloves and placed them on before moving over the figure who'd slumped to the floor. A quick wallet check told Locke what he already knew...this man worked for Umbrella. Locke snatched his gun and found a spare clip.

Hopefully he wouldn't have to use it.

Much.

Locke turned his radio back on and spoke quietly into it. "RJ, how many outside?"

"Where the hell have you been?" RJ shot back. "I've been trying to tell you that there's one more guy out here...the driver's waiting for his friend. Where are you?"

"Inside."

"Still? What about the one who walked in?"

"I took him out."

"You did what??"

"He's unconscious."

"Oh."

A faint blue glow appeared on the head of the man knocked out at Locke's feet. He looked down to see an earpiece tucked against the man's head. He picked it up and brought it close enough to hear...

"Smith, you there?" Pause. "If you don't answer in one minute, I'm coming in after you."

Locke dropped the earpiece and turned off all the lights before talking into his radio. "Get ready to drive."

"Way ahead of you. This guy's on the move, man. If it's you who turned off the lights, he knows something's up."

As soon as the next one moved inside, Locke knocked the man out and relieved him from his weapon. With everything clear, he opened the door to the closet to find Nancy still sitting on the floor.

"Let's go."

Nancy carefully trailed after him, stopping short at the sight of two men in her hallway. "Oh my god..."

"They're from Umbrella," Locke stated.

"They knew...what I had..." her eyes shot wildly to the guns he carried. "You...did this?"

He ignored her comment, his gaze on the earpiece of the second man who had come in. It was glowing blue also. He reached for the earpiece, hearing...

"Dennison, are you finished?" Pause. "Dennison, we're three miles away, if you need backup..."

Locke frowned and rose to his feet.

"How do I know you're not trying to kill me?" Nancy asked in a hushed whisper.

Levelling his gaze at her, he responded, "Because I would have done it by now."

"I don't even know you or trust you-"

"You don't have a choice," he cut in harshly. "More of them are on the way. You can die here or follow." With that, he made his way to the front of the house.

Reluctantly, she followed him outside and climbed into the backseat of a rental Ford car. He moved in the backseat next to her and closed the door as RJ began to drive off.

"Move fast, company's coming," Locke said, glancing behind his shoulder.

Sure enough, just as they turned the corner away from her street, another vehicle pulled up in front of her home. Headlights off.

"What happened?" RJ asked, glancing in the rearview mirror.

Locke leaned forward to place the extra gun on the seat next to RJ, whose eyes had gone as wide as saucers. "You might need this."

"Aw hell," RJ exclaimed. "What kind of crap has she gotten into now??"

At that, a wry smile came to Locke's features. "Ever use one of those?"

"No," the other man admitted.

Locke gestured to one part of the gun. "Pull the safety back, use the trigger to fire."

RJ shook his head, his eyes focused on the road. "Do I even want to know how you know...?"

"I recognize you," Nancy spoke up, staring at the man in the driver's seat. "You're RJ Rinaldo. You run Ka'anapali Shores Hotel." Taking his silence for a yes, Nancy turned to look at the man sitting beside her. "Wait...The Rinaldo Hotels is one of the sponsors for a big tournament happening on Oahu...Umbrella is one of the sponsors too... didn't..." Her eyes went back to RJ. "Didn't your company's marketing guy quit?" When she received no answer, she sat back in her seat in disbelief. "So that's what happened...Holden wanted a job with Rinaldo Hotels..."