Work Text:
"Every Angel is terrifying." - RAINER MARIA RILKE
Albert Wesker, Personal Diary.
Year: 1996, Vol: 6
Working within S.T.A.R.S. has required a transition in my focus and abilities. The physical aspects of the position provide a challenge and rigor that was sorely lacking when I was working in NEST. There is, unfortunately, far less mental stimulation.
My team is adequate. I believe I have been able to design a group of individuals who are capable, but ultimately exploitable. Together, they will be able to execute, with my leadership, almost any conceivable mission to a high standard. If one of them were to be isolated or removed from the group, their execution would suffer. They have come to see themselves as inseparable parts of a whole.
I have a clear idea of how to proceed with all of them, with the exception of Christopher Redfield.
Year: 1996, Vol: 6
I finally have clarity on how Redfield may be most efficiently neutralized, should I require it.
His sister visited him at the office today. He seems deeply protective and concerned about her well being, as he immediately objected to a member of Bravo team stopping to introduce himself to her. I would hardly consider Richard a threat, but I am disinclined to stop a budding rivalry between halves of the team.
The sister should prove easy enough to track down. She is attending university within the state, and Christopher has her address pinned to the top of his desk. It is poor operational security, but given it was in my favor, I will not press the point with him.
She is also easy to spot. She has the same auburn hair as her brother and is probably the only woman I have seen wearing a self-made motorcycle club jacket. An odd choice.
Monitoring of the rest of the team continues apace.
Year: 1996, Vol: 9
Christopher came to me today to make an urgent request. Apparently his sister had an 'incident' with a man on campus, and he was unable to pull the report himself.
I played with the idea of denying him. After all, it would be highly unusual for someone of my rank to reach out to another agency regarding an entirely personal matter. However, he has been exceptionally useful to me thus far; having him feel indebted to me will provide additional motivation to continue his high standard of work.
Raccoon City PD does not make a habit of cooperating with other agencies. Therefore, seeing a report from another jurisdiction was a rarity for me. I decided to review the report before handing it over.
The part that stood out to me then, and still does upon recollection was, "…Claire Redfield defended herself from the assailant with disproportionate force, in this officer's opinion. A young man asking for a date doesn't warrant physical retaliation."
Clear to see why Christopher asked for the report. They hadn't taken the report or her allegation seriously.
Curious.
Year: 1996, Vol: 11
The Redfield girl showed up at the station today. Evidently she is "home for the holidays", although I have seen no evidence that she ever called Raccoon City home.
She came to me directly, wanting to file a complaint regarding the excessive hours some of the team works during holidays.
"It's just not fair, Captain Wesker, they have families too!"
She has her brother's frustrating insistence on the appearance of fairness and equity. There is no logical reason to ask a married man with a sizeable family to work Thanksgiving. The single members of the team have far less demand for their time outside of their working hours. I did not exempt myself from this logic.
It was interesting that she managed to convince Barry to argue against a decision that benefited him.
I relented. Now, all of the team have some coverage responsibilities for Thanksgiving and "Black Friday". Barry begged me to come in on Friday. Gratifying, but ill advised on his part.
Upon reflection, this entire situation has made it clear to me that Claire would likely be an ineffective inducement for Christopher to behave if he were ever to step out of line. Living with her had to have been torture on par with that depicted in Dante's Inferno.
I would not wish a she-devil like Claire Redfield upon my worst enemy.
Year: 1997, Vol: 6
As if part of the change of seasons, Claire Redfield is back in Raccoon City. I had suggested to Christopher that it might be helpful to his sister in the long term to have a summer job.
I realize now I should have been more specific. I was not aware that the city had internships. Nor that one of the internships was at the police station. I would have thought keeping young women well away from Chief Irons would have been a priority.
Claire must think herself clever, as she uses her frequent breaks and demands for shuttling paperwork all over the building as an excuse to linger in my team's office, even when Christopher is otherwise occupied or unavailable.
Something that she wears or uses is strongly scented, but quite pleasant.
Her presence in the office had become so regular that I found myself looking for her through my open door. She was missing her usual lunch break. And her customary mid-afternoon coffee break.
Given how close she was with much of the Alpha Team, it would have been bad for morale if she didn't put in at least a brief appearance. I was fortunate enough to intercept her as she was going to deliver something to Irons.
The man is as intolerable as he is useful, unfortunately. I resisted the urge to berate him. It would only increase his interest in the Redfield girl if he assumed I had some interest in her.
Once that had been dealt with, I returned to her sitting in my office, sniffling. To hear her tell it, Irons had caught her without lipstick at the front desk and had berated her for her lack of professionalism, then sent her on a wild goose chase to collect things for him across the building.
Does the man have no sense of shame? No sense of irony?
Claire claimed that she was unsure of how to handle the issue. I had evidence she was perfectly capable of it. Perhaps the norms of a professional setting made her feel that it would have been inappropriate.
I, instead, advised her that if another incident like that were to occur, she could report it to me immediately. I believe she assumed I would initiate some sort of disciplinary action against him. Not entirely wrong.
Her sniffing was unseemly. I gave her some tissues and told her to stay until she could compose herself again. The aftermath of Redfield's sister leaving my office crying was not something I wanted to manage.
Her response was unusual.
"Thank you, Captain. You are a real angel, you know that?"
Year: 1997, Vol: 7
College cannot resume soon enough.
That perfume is driving me to distraction.
And her laugh. Her laughter in the office. I cannot make myself close the door to my office; it would be bad for morale.
I have returned to my office on numerous occasions to find her seated across from my desk with a come-hither smile.
I do not know what to do with a she-devil like this. She is haunting my dreams.
Year: 1998, Vol: 1
I knew better than to accept Barry's invitation to a Christmas party. I have been introduced to more single, female, distant relations of his than I care to count and drank more punch than I would care to recall. This is not solely Barry's failing: Christmas parties in general tend to be abuzz with sentimental nonsense and pity for anyone not in the "holiday spirit". I find myself incapable of feigning it without at least a glass of wine. A personal failing, to be sure, but one that is not an active detriment to me.
I did not realize that New Year's Eve parties were similarly fraught. I had been invited, through Will, to a party at a friend of Annette's house. Far enough removed from the orbit of either the RPD or Umbrella that it did not seem dangerous to my cover to attend.
I enjoyed myself, in moderation, of course. Will and Annette left early, which left me to my own devices among strangers. I was perfectly content to stand drink in hand and listen to their conversations, contributing as little as I could manage, but it grew stale rather quickly.
I had resolved to leave, but the host invited me to take a look at the city from the balcony before I could do so. From their vantage point, the city looked positively bucolic, blending into the surrounding forests and hills as if it weren't even there. The only sign was the occasional glimmer of light through the swaying branches of the trees.
I ended up staying on the balcony for some time. The view was enjoyable.
I was alone on the balcony when Claire Redfield found me. I invited her to speak with me. I did not anticipate her kissing me there. Nor did I anticipate driving her back to Christopher's apartment while she begged me to take her back to my home.
I have concluded that she was inebriated. I must have been too.
Year: 1998, Vol: 5
I have decided to depart my position with Umbrella within the month. Naturally, this means my time with Alpha Team is nearing its end.
I have set the stage for Alpha Team to perform well; they are as well trained as they could possibly be and are finally fully staffed. Despite that, they remain highly unlikely to survive contact with the BOWs. In fact, I would be disappointed if they did.
I worry that I have grown sentimental during my time here. The members of Alpha Team are all interesting to me in their own ways. I suppose I have molded them into something I would find tolerable, but it is clear that there is something deeper to it than that.
Before going undercover, the only colleague whom I tolerated and who tolerated me in turn was Will. In the intervening two years, I have been invited to more birthday parties, weddings, christenings, holiday parties, and so on than I recall ever having been invited to over the course of my life. To wit: I performed my role well, and that was my reward.
I do not think I will miss the people they introduced me to. Excepting Claire Redfield.
There will be little time to consider it later.