The more I replayed and analyzed that moment in my mind, the more I could only marvel at this woman.
She'd gone through a path somewhat harsher than in the canon. Here, Leon hadn't shown her much trust—my appearance had scrambled the board. Then there was the clash with Four Eyes, who was now, at the very least, demonstrating the capabilities of my second evolutionary stage. In the midst of that "festivity," seasoned fighters had arrived—men who forced even Yamata to retreat—yet Ada managed to survive and escape without being captured.
Then came her encounter with Carlos. Let me remind you: posing as a civilian, Ada had only a pistol on her, while Carlos, if canon is to be believed, carried a rifle. And even after facing him, judging by the fact that he hadn't finished her off, she'd managed to force him to withdraw. And that was with a single pistol.
Those are impressive results, in my opinion.
As for the fact that she'd ultimately caught a bullet during all her adventures—well, if she'd gone through everything completely unscathed, I'd have dubbed her Duncan MacLeod in a skirt. Besides, the fact that she collapsed here doesn't necessarily mean she was wounded by Carlos. It's entirely possible she was shot earlier, during the skirmish with the mercenaries and Four Eyes.
In that case, it would mean I'm standing next to a Terminator in a skirt—she came here already injured and still fought an Umbrella mercenary. Granted, not an elite one—frankly, just another pawn the corporation used in the dark—but still.
No, this already belongs to the realm of the mystical—such a thing you'd hardly see even in an action movie.
Shaking my head, I snapped out of my thoughts, noticing a brewing female quarrel. Excellent. My thoughts had remained my own again—second piece of proof obtained.
But now it was time to part ways with Ada—and get her contact information while we were at it. Pity I could only record it on Yamata's surviving devices—unless, of course, there was some PDA tucked into the immortal trousers of this Umbrella uniform. All my other belongings had long since vanished into oblivion, more than once.
"I take it you're heading to the Red Queen?" I asked. "Planning to leave the city when she's being transported?"
Ada, who had just opened her mouth for another round of verbal sparring—admittedly, I'd missed the beginning—choked on her words and glanced at me.
"Don't tell me you can read minds?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.
"No. I just caught fragments of images when I drank your blood. You should have that ability too, by the way. What interests me more is how you plan to pass yourself off as alive." That truly was the weakest point in my plan.
"Elementary. I already checked using the device of a certain someone who was busy collecting samples. My infection type isn't detected by scanners. In fact, on the radar, the only one who showed up was that psycho soldier. Neither Umbrella nor the 3rd Organization has paranoiacs who take blood samples. At most, they use similar scanners—just less advanced. Your squad wasn't shortchanged on equipment, and the 3rd Organization doesn't come close to that level." she spoke calmly.
"Faking a retinal scan will be more difficult, but I already know several possible solutions. Besides, faking myself… you could say I have the perfect cover. After all, playing myself—what could be easier? Fingerprints are even simpler. I think even you know ways to forge and use prints. At the very least, your assistant—"
"Partner!" Yamata snapped irritably, for reasons unclear to me. What is wrong with them? Aren't their nerves supposed to be tempered, nearly steel?
"—your assistant certainly does," Ada finished, as if nothing had happened.
"It seems there's nothing to worry about," I concluded. "Now give your contact details to Four Eyes. As you can see, I've got nowhere to write them down. And any other ways to reach you, just in case. After that, we can go our separate ways. Let's establish contact three days after this event. We'll meet at the following coordinates…"
A few minutes later, Yamata and I were alone. She seemed to have been waiting for that moment—though why "seemed"?—and immediately pounced on me with questions.
"So what were those thoughts you had back on the roof? Why the rush? And what was that strange word—canon?"
Well. So much for my hopes. She couldn't even wait. At least she had the decency to hold off until Ada was out of sight.
"You know we absorb our victims' memories. By the way, after the latest evolution, I think I've learned to sift through them—receiving bits and pieces in real time. That's a relief. I won't freeze up for several seconds—or even dozens—anymore."
I paused briefly before continuing.
"So, the indisputable facts from their memories—I started calling that canon. Like the certainty that the city will be destroyed, Trevor's knowledge—she might not have understood much, but she heard and saw plenty while they were studying her. In fact, that girl turned out to be a genuine trove of information."
"And don't look at me like that. It's true."
"According to that knowledge, the one Carlos is helping is most likely Jill Valentine.She is the one Nemesis pursues, and the one you saw before your transformation."
"Speaking of that," I added, "I should pass my genes on to you—but later. There are two possibilities: either you'll become more human, like Ada, or tougher, like me. Both are good. But if it's the first option, we'd better wait until we're out of the city. I don't think I need to explain why."
"No, I understand myself. If it's the first option, it could negatively affect my combat performance. We can't allow that under the current circumstances. If it's the second option, then on the contrary—it would fit perfectly with what we need. Still, I agree—it's better not to spin the roulette wheel right now." Yamata nodded.
(End of Chapter)
P@treon: /SadRaven
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