Chapter 87: Choice (Patreon)

Looking at the disheveled, hysterical woman in front of him,

Ivan felt no tension at all. Part of that was his unshakable confidence in his own strength, and part of it was that he could tell Daisy hadn't completely lost her senses.

"Quite the opposite — I'm not someone Brian sent..."

"Get out! Or I'll shoot!"

Daisy didn't believe a word of it. The hand holding the gun trembled without pause, the muzzle swaying back and forth in a way that looked genuinely frightening.

"Daisy, you've got it wrong. Ivan really is here to help you."

Jill leaned out from behind Ivan and pointed at herself.

"It's me — Jill. S.T.A.R.S. Have you forgotten?"

The instant she saw Jill, the frantic edge in Daisy's eyes finally gave way to a flicker of clarity.

Without realizing it, she lowered the gun, muttering over and over,

"Jill... Jill... Jill! So you really are here to help me."

Daisy sank to her knees, the gun clattering aside as she covered her eyes, breaking down even harder than before.

"God, I'm so sorry, Jill. I should have told you sooner — the so-called Arklay Mountains killings were a trap set for you all along."

"Brian took a bribe from someone named William and deliberately lured you all out there."

Jill crouched down and pulled her into an embrace.

"It's not your fault, Daisy. None of this is on you."

Daisy lifted her head from Jill's arms.

"Really? You don't blame me, Jill?"

"Of course not. If anything, I'm grateful you told us."

"To be honest, we'd already figured out something was wrong with Brian. We're quietly gathering evidence against him right now."

At that, fear and fury tangled together in Daisy's eyes.

"That's right — he's a rotten piece of trash through and through."

"A good chunk of the department's public funds have gone straight into his own pocket."

"Those collectibles in his office — even the cheapest of them are worth hundreds of thousands of dollars."

"He's also been running heaps of shady deals with someone named William. Not only did he help cover up the truth about the virus experiments, he's secretly killed off plenty of people who tried to investigate them."

Jill was stunned to hear it. She actually knew of this William — Ivan had told her he'd once been Doctor James Marcus's student, on good terms with Wesker, and that after assassinating Doctor Marcus he'd served as research director at Arklay Laboratory for a long stretch afterward.

He'd also been the one to trigger the self-destruct sequence at the Umbrella Executive Training School the night before, though where he'd gone since, Jill had no idea.

She never expected to hear his name again today, from Daisy of all people — and it seemed he and Brian went back quite a ways.

"Daisy, do you have any evidence of this?"

Daisy shook her head.

"I didn't dare keep any of it. I was afraid Brian would find out — he really would kill someone."

"It started when I just touched the stone statue on the second floor of the station, and he tore into me for it."

"I thought it was strange, and it stung. That's when I started looking into him."

"The more I dug, the more terrified I got. I only dared write things down in a diary, because I knew he kept checking whether his important files had been touched. If he'd ever found out, I'd have been..."

Jill nodded, then helped Daisy up off the floor.

When Daisy saw that Chris and the rest of the S.T.A.R.S. members were still alive and well,

her eyes lit up even more.

The anxious churning in her chest finally settled, if only a little.

"Chris, Richard, Rebecca... is it really you? Tell me I'm not dreaming."

Forest couldn't resist chiming in.

"Miss Daisy, did you forget S.T.A.R.S. also has one very handsome man on the roster?"

Daisy let out a startled cry.

"Forest! Oh, thank God, this is wonderful!"

Truth be told, Daisy's day-to-day relationship with most S.T.A.R.S. members wasn't especially close.

More often than not, things between them stayed strictly professional.

Still, given how long she'd held her position, her competence was beyond question.

She might not know every single S.T.A.R.S. member inside and out, but she certainly knew them well enough.

Seeing everyone crowded at the doorway, Daisy realized how rude she'd been.

She hurried to usher them all into the living room.

Once seated on the couch, Daisy — who'd clearly been holding in a flood of words — didn't need anyone to prompt her.

She launched straight into everything she'd suffered through these past days, all the grievances and fear.

It turned out her panic had stemmed from seeing S.T.A.R.S. head into the Arklay Mountains the day before, which made her realize she herself might well end up disposed of by Brian too.

If even an elite unit like S.T.A.R.S. could be played for fools and sent to their deaths by Brian,

then a small fry like her didn't stand a chance — especially since Brian's stares at her had grown steadily more vicious of late.

Overwhelmed with fear, she hadn't dared sleep a wink since coming home,

terrified Brian might send someone to get rid of her at any moment.

Thank goodness Ivan and the others had arrived — otherwise, Daisy didn't dare imagine what she might have ended up doing.

After hearing all this, Jill took her hand and asked,

"Daisy, so what are you thinking of doing next?"

Daisy shook her head, lost.

"I don't know. I want to leave this place, run far away — maybe then Brian won't be able to find me."

"But I'm also afraid he won't let this go, and I don't even know where I'd go..."

"Oh, wait — enough about me. What about you, Jill? What are you all planning to do?"

Jill didn't answer right away. Instead, she took the newspaper from Billy and handed it to Daisy.

Daisy understood the gesture. By the time she'd finished reading what was on the page,

the look she turned on everyone around her carried a mix of awe and disbelief.

And Ivan, more than anyone, bore the weight of that look.

She looked back down at the paper again, half-afraid its contents might turn out to be some kind of illusion,

murmuring under her breath as she read.

"This is just... unbelievable..."

Ivan spoke up at just the right moment.

"Daisy, I actually agree with your earlier idea. Getting out of Raccoon City is a solid plan. The problem is, Brian's bound to have eyes planted all over the city."

"In fact, back at the station we already spotted some moles, though we're not sure whether they belong to Umbrella or to Brian."

"Either way, it shows their 'eyes' are everywhere in Raccoon City. You're a thorn in Brian's side — if I were in his position, I wouldn't let you go either. After all, only the dead can keep a secret for certain."

Daisy's chest tightened at that, but she knew Ivan was right — it was exactly why she'd agonized all night, nearly driving herself mad, without ever managing to act.

Ivan went on.

"I do have an idea, though it carries its own risks too. In the end, the choice is still yours to make..."