Chapter Text
Feb. 8, 2021
“Are you sure two will be okay alone?”
“Yeah, absolutely.” Ethan carefully bounced Rose in his arms. “We’re gonna hang out, right, Rose? It’ll be fun.” When he looked up at her, there was concern in his eyes. “Really, don’t worry about us. You’ve been at home with her all this time. You deserve the break.”
Right. Because he was still worried about her. Thought she was stressed, needed a girl’s day and some time out of the house to calm down. Ethan wasn’t entirely wrong—Mia did sometimes feel like she was losing her mind, being at home as much as she’d been for the past three years. But there was so much more to it. So much more to all of it.
But he doesn’t know, because you haven’t told him anything.
“Just enjoy yourself, okay?” Ethan added. “Have fun. Bring me back a pastry or something.”
“I will.” The exchange felt hollow, as did the quick kiss they exchanged. How could she act like everything was normal, exchange sweet words and kisses as if nothing were wrong? As if she wasn’t the cause of all their strife?
As if everything weren’t completely different?
The doorbell rang behind her, nearly jarring Mia out of her skin. “Think that’s my ride,” she said.
“Yeah.” Ethan leaned over for another kiss on the cheek. “Have fun. I love you. Here, Rosie, say bye-bye to Mommy!”
“I love you both.” Mia’s smile was a bit less forced as she kissed Rose’s cheek. Her daughter babbled noisily as Ethan waved her hand. It was…normal. Beautiful.
It should always be like this.
Could it stay like this if he knew…?
Mia forced a smile through the knot in her gut as she grabbed her purse. She took one last look over her shoulder as she slipped out the door. Ethan kissed Rose’s cheek over and over, making the baby kick her legs and squeal. The very picture of love and affection.
You’ll ruin this if you tell him.
You’ve already ruined it.
“Hey! Earth to Mia!” The hand on her shoulder brought her back to the present. Cheryl West gave her a little shake, just to be sure. "Are you ready to go?"
"Yeah, I'm ready." Mia kept up the fake smile until they were in Cheryl's SUV and started driving away. It was only then that she let the facade drop, burying her face in her hands. "Damn it."
"That bad, huh?" Cheryl glanced Mia's way, her dark eyes concerned. "Is it the test results for Rose? Have they come back yet?"
"No, the doctor is going to talk to us Thursday." Thursday the 11th. Three days away. Three days to figure out what to do. "Do you…?"
Cheryl was one of the nurses working for the BSAA. She'd been assigned to Mia after their move to Europe. The repeated proximity during Mia’s pregnancy had fostered a friendship, and with that, some level of trust between them. Enough trust that when Mia started to suspect Ethan hadn't walked away from Dulvey unscathed, Cheryl was the one Mia had turned to. She'd given Mia access to the equipment she needed to run the tests, swore she wouldn't tell a soul. That had been months ago, and seeing how no one had started asking Ethan uncomfortable questions, she must have upheld her end of the bargain. Mia was grateful, she really was, but…
Your nurse knows before your husband does? Great job, Mia.
"Not technically my department," Cheryl said apologetically. She pushed her ash-blond hair back over her shoulder as she checked the intersection. "I mean, I could try to sneak in there, but they keep test results like that on lockdown. They'd have a lot of questions if I tried to access them."
"No, no, that's...that's okay." That made Mia feel a little better, actually. She wanted as few people to know about this as possible. Once they knew about Rose, they'd definitely find out about Ethan, and…
What will they do to them? What will this mean for us? How could I have not known? How could nobody have known? They told me he was fine...why did I just accept that?
Mia closed her eyes tightly, breathed slowly. Tried to remember the centering exercises her therapist had taught her. She didn't want to start spiraling in Cheryl's car. She waited until her head had stopped throbbing and the anxiety subsided to regular levels. Regular levels for her, at least. Apparently, the correct amount of anxiety one felt at any time should be zero, but her mind hadn't gotten the memo.
Not since Dulvey.
Thinking about that place nearly set her off again, so Mia tried to change gears. Not that the topic of conversation was much better. "I have to tell him," she said.
"Are you sure?" Cheryl asked. "I mean...does he have to know? Maybe it'd be better if you let it lie. It's kind of a big thing to drop on him."
That was what Mia had thought at first, what she'd wanted to tell herself for the longest time. But if she thought about it past her initial impulse to just let it be… "No. No, he's going to figure it out eventually. Unless Rose’s results don’t come back positive…" Not likely. You know they won't. You carried her for nine months, you know she's different. "...he's not stupid. He's the one who cured me, so...if she didn't get it from me, the math is pretty obvious." Mia sniffed and rubbed her eyes. "And even if he doesn't figure it out, or he doesn't want to, the BSAA is going to start asking questions and that will make things worse. No offense."
"No, you're right." Cheryl sighed. "I have no idea how the Dulvey team could've missed that. Someone's head is going to roll for this."
"I sure fucking hope so." It was nice to blame someone else for this mess, even if her shame didn't let her do it for long. "I'll tell him when I get home. First thing, I'll just...tell him. He needs to hear it from me."
Not just about the infection, either. The Connections, Eveline, everything she'd been keeping from him. Everything she should've already told him. Maybe then he’d finally understand why she was so worried. Not about Rose, but about him.
“Do you want any backup?” Cheryl asked. “I don’t know everything about this, but he might take it better if there’s a medical professional there. And…I don’t know, I don’t want you doing this alone if you’re worried.”
“Oh, no, I’m not…it’s not like that. I'll be okay on my own.” Mia might have been worried about the consequences, about the Pandora’s box of secrets she would have to open, but she wasn’t afraid of Ethan. If anything, she was worried he’d under react. She didn’t want to lose him, but the alternative was just as bad, maybe worse. Ethan really wasn’t stupid. She knew he suspected she’d been involved with Eveline, but he’d put that aside to stay with her. At first he’d been content to not talk about it, but now that he did want to talk, now that she’d been dodging his questions for over a year…how much of his frustration and worry had turned to resentment and anger? How much had he been shoving aside for the sake of making her happy and keeping the peace?
How much would he keep shoving aside, even if it hurt him?
He always thinks about everyone but himself. His selflessness and loyalty were two reasons she loved him so much, but they'd never been such a double edged sword before now. Mia had to save him from himself. She’d done a shit job until then, but…she could fix that. She could turn things around.
Even if it meant…
Mia shook the thought away. “Thanks for listening, Cheryl,” Mia said as she straightened up. “I know this has probably been…”
She trailed off.
If there was one thing Chris had drilled into her from the second she was well enough, it was situational awareness. Always watch your surroundings, be aware of what’s happening, be aware of potential threats. Mia knew the café they were going to. She’d been there before, more than once. She knew the route. This…wasn’t the route.
Actually, she had no idea where they were.
“…Cheryl, stop the car.”
“What? Why?”
“Just pull over, stop the car.”
“Are you having a panic attack? What’s wrong?”
“Where are we going?”
“Oh…alternate route. Traffic was shit earlier, I wanted…”
No. No, that was a lie. This place wasn’t super rural, but it was small enough that the traffic was never bad. Not this time of year, anyway. “Cheryl, pull over.”
“Mia, if you’re going to freak out…Mia, what the hell are you doing?!”
What Mia was doing was trying the door. The lock popped up easily, but the door didn’t open. Did Cheryl have a child lock engaged? Why would she do that, unless…?
“Shit, are you trying to get us both killed?”
Cheryl sounded shocked and confused, but Mia knew better than everyone how easy it was to fake emotions like that.
Another thing Chris had drilled into them: Never leave the house without a weapon. Mia still wasn’t used to being armed 24/7, but she’d listened, especially lately, when her paranoia was at an all-time high. Maybe it was her paranoia talking now, but that wasn’t a risk she was willing to take.
Baggy cardigans were pretty good for hiding guns, as it turned out.
Mia drew her pistol and pointed at Cheryl. “Pull the fucking car over. Now.”
Before Cheryl had time to react, Mia heard the click of safety being turned off. It wasn’t her—she’d kept hers on for now, on the off chance that Cheryl was just trying to avoid traffic and this was just a misunderstanding. But if it wasn’t her, who…
Mia glanced over her shoulder.
Chris didn’t have to drill the importance of checking the back seat into her. She’d lived and worked as a single woman in a city before. Checking the back seat was a basic safety precaution. But she hadn’t done it today, because it was Cheryl, because up until a minute ago Mia had thought she was safe, because she’d been so desperate for a listening ear and some space to think that she’d let her guard down.
And now there were two people with guns in the back of the car. Both guns pointed at her.
“Drop our gun in the backseat,” Cheryl said. When Mia didn’t immediately comply, Cheryl glanced her way. Her eyes were angry. Cold. “Do it now, or you’re going to be in a world of hurt.”
Two against one. Their safeties were off, hers still on. Even if Mia tried to fight back, she wouldn’t win. She’d be dead at worst, hurt at best. You have a better chance of escaping if you aren’t hurt.
Mia carefully put the gun in the backseat. “Now sit down and shut up,” Cheryl snapped.
Again, Mia did as she was told.
Her hands were shaking, and her possible brain damage at the hands of Eveline had nothing to do with it. Can I break the window? Would they be able shoot me before I got out? What if I grabbed the wheel? No, I’d have to lean back into their line of sight to do that. They’d definitely shoot me. Her chest felt tight. She reached into her pocket for her phone, trying to be subtle about it, but…
“Go ahead and try. There’s a signal blocker in the car.”
Sure enough, when Mia pulled out her phone…no service. Even the emergency call function wasn’t working. Mia froze in the passenger’s seat, her phone clenched tightly in her hand. Ethan and Rose smiled back at her from her lock screen. Her family.
Stay alive. Get back to them. Whatever it takes.
“Connections?” Mia guessed. A part of her had been bracing herself for this. She was in witness protection for a reason. If the BSAA had acted on any information she’d given them, she was the most likely suspect. “You won’t get far. Redfield is going to notice…”
“Do me a favor and shut the fuck up.”
Mia shut up. The words stung more than she’d expected them to, but rage quickly overrode any hurt. You lied to me, you bitch, you took advantage of me, I was drowning and you made me think you were my friend, I trusted you…
But that was her mistake. Another mistake in a long line of mistakes. Stupid, stupid, stupid Mia.
Mia tried not to fall into another spiral. She breathed slowly, one hand gripping the hand rest, so hard it made her hand start to twitch. Don’t do this. You need to focus.
You need to stay alive.
Eventually, they stopped. They were on the outskirts of the woods near town. Another car was parked nearby. It looked like the Mad Max version of a 60s hippie van—mismatched metal, no windows, rust in odd places. A figure was standing by the car, wearing some kind of black hooded coat…or was that a cloak? Smoke drifted out of the driver’s side window. At least two people, no visible weapons. Cheryl sighed. “She brought that bastard again?” she muttered.
If I can make a run for the trees, maybe…
The passenger door opened, revealing one of the men from the backseat, his gun trained on her. “Get out of the car,” said the man.
Can I make it in time?
She barely got two steps out of the car before the second man grabbed her arm, dragging her close to the hooded figure. Mia tried to struggle out of his grip, but it was like iron around her upper arm. She could already feel the bruise forming. “We grabbed her like you wanted,” said the man as he approached. “Now what?”
Like you wanted? Who was this person? Mia didn’t remember anyone from the Connections dressing like this. The figure—a woman with cold eyes, skin almost as fair as the snow around them, an impassive expression—stared Mia down. One hand reached up, dislodging what was definitely a cloak (a cloak?!) and revealing thin fingers clad in silver, claw-like jewelry. One claw traced along Mia’s cheekbone, carefully at first, then deeply enough to draw blood. Mia flinched back, hissing in pain.
That gesture was weird on its own. The woman bringing the metal claw to her lips to taste the blood there? That was Dulvey weird. And suddenly, Mia was starting to think escape wouldn’t be an option after all.
“This will do,” the woman said. “We’ll take her now.”
Mia’s heart started racing. She tried to pull away again, even went limp as the man tried to drag her. That only made the other man come over, and as much as Mia struggled, the two of them were able to drag her towards the van. “Hey…hey!” Mia looked over her shoulder. The woman was getting in the car with Cheryl. “You bitch! You bitch, I fucking trusted you - !”
The back doors of the van popped open as the men approached. They shoved Mia into the back. She tried to run back out, but the doors slammed shut again, so fast that they nearly took her nose off. She got one last fleeting glance at Cheryl’s SUV before she was swallowed in darkness.
But she must have been seeing things, because…she saw herself in the passenger’s seat again. Or someone that looked exactly like her.
How is that possible?
No, she didn’t have time to worry about that. She had to get out. Mia tried to open the doors, but the second she touched them, something grabbed both her wrists. She was slammed onto her back, pinned to the ground by metal shackles. More metal snaked up from the floor of the car to wrap around her ankles, her torso, dragging her towards the front of the van. The restraints combined with the pitch black interior killed any calm Mia might have had left. She started struggling, screaming, as if that would do anything. As if that would help her free herself, even though she knew that wasn’t possible, that this was it, she was trapped, there was nothing she could –
“Donna, will you shut that bitch up?!”
This voice was new—male, deep, an accent Mia couldn’t put her finger on. She tried to twist her head around and see who was in the driver’s seat, but she was greeted instead by the sight of a black cloth descending towards her face, clamping around her mouth and nose. A floral scent filled Mia’s nose, coated the inside of her mouth. It smelled like…sorrow. Like the bouquets at a funeral.
“Shh, shh,” said a woman’s voice. It was light in comparison to the man’s voice, almost gentle.“Don’t struggle. There’s no use struggling.”
Mia still tried, at first. But her limbs felt like they were going numb the longer the cloth was pressed to her face. A hand started to stroke her hair, and when someone spoke again…
“It’s okay, Mia.”
Ethan?
Mia desperately looked back up. Ethan was there, leaning over from the passenger’s seat. Smiling, just like on her lock screen. “It’s okay,” he said, so gently that she wanted to believe him. “This is just a bad dream. You don’t have to be afraid.”
She was afraid. But she wasn’t at the same time. There was something comforting about Ethan’s appearance, even though it didn’t make any sense. He shouldn’t be here. Why would he be there?
Doubt raced through her mind, but calm chased it away just as quickly. Ethan was here. Even if it didn’t make sense…he was here.
He was always there for her.
“Just go back to sleep, baby. You’ll be okay.”
Mia’s eyes slipped shut. She stopped struggling against the restraints. Ethan kept stroking her hair.
“It’s just a bad dream.”
“Shit.” Alexis tore her eyes away from her phone and sighed. “We have a problem.”
“Oh?” Miranda’s default condescension shone through, even when she was imitating Mia’s voice. “What problem do your people have?”
I’m gonna kill this bitch, I swear I will. “Redfield’s team raided one of our compounds,” Alexis said. She wasn’t shocked by the news. Redfield had been on their ass hard lately, it was inevitable that he’d get lucky. She’d just been hoping he’d get lucky later. “I don’t know what information he might’ve retrieved, but we should probably move fast.”
“Are you really so sloppy with your information storage that our plan would be at risk?” Miranda checked the contents of the paper bag in her lap again. She’d insisted on stopping by the market on their way back. Alexis had gone along with it—it’d stretch the car trip out just enough to make the whole girl’s day cover story stick—but something about the way Miranda had ordered her to stop had almost made her keep driving. “I will proceed as planned, and you can clean up your own mess.”
“Our mess. You’re in this too. Or what, do you think just because you left the E-series project, your name isn’t still in a file somewhere?” Alexis couldn’t help glaring. Miranda completely ignored her. “If he finds us, he’ll find you eventually. Especially since you’re going after his pet project.”
“It’s too late for him to stop this. I will proceed as planned. You should worry about yourself. I think a mole in his precious organization will be of much greater interest to him.”
Is that a threat? Is this bitch threatening me? Alexis bit her tongue, kept her eyes on the road, and allowed herself to briefly fantasize about just putting a bullet in Miranda’s head. “You’d better know what you’re doing,” she said finally. “My bosses will be expecting you to uphold your end of the deal.”
Miranda laughed, but said nothing.
Thankfully, they pulled up at the house not long after. Alexis couldn’t even take a bit of petty pleasure out of keeping Miranda locked in; she’d already had to disable the child lock back at the market, and putting it back seemed too risky. Keep her happy. I don’t care how annoying she is, she’s our ticket to re-starting E. That was what her bosses kept saying, but they weren’t the ones who had to deal with her. It took every ounce of self-control Alexis had to slip back into Cheryl mode, to lean out of the driver’s side window and call out to “Mia” that they should get together again sometime. She even stuck around long enough to make sure Ethan Winters bought the ruse. He certainly seemed to, if the cheerful look on his face when he saw “Mia” was any indication.
Fucking idiot. At least she wouldn’t have to deal with that family anymore after this. Clueless Ethan, basket case Mia, and Eveline 2.0. They were Miranda’s problem now…assuming she didn’t screw this whole op with her overconfidence.
“I hate her so much,” muttered Dave from the backseat as they drove away. “What’d she bring Heisenberg for, anyway?”
“Because she knows we don’t like him. It’s all power games with her.” Alexis sighed. “Not our problem. She’ll either get the kid or she won’t. It’s not on us if she screws it up.”
That wasn’t strictly true; Alexis knew her bosses would find some way to blame this on her if things went wrong. Despite that, a part of her almost wanted Redfield to crash the party. Ruin Miranda’s whole day.
That bitch deserved to get knocked down a peg or two.