[TWD x Resident Evil] — Chapter 517 - Take the Man Along Too

William pulled off his headphones and rubbed the back of his stiff neck.

He turned. The observation platform was empty. Red warning lights pulsed across the ceiling. His brain hadn't caught up yet.

"Where is everyone? They said they'd come watch the T-02 decanting test! Where did those suit-wearing idiots run off to?" He was shouting, voice raw.

Ada looked at him, and something clicked.

William had drunk the doctored water. Sooner or later, he'd follow Leon's every word without question.

And Leon's side was exactly short of one thing: a top-tier researcher who could actually hold down the fort.

Candice was decent. But against a genius like William, a man actively developing the G-Virus, she was several tiers behind. It wasn't close.

Leaving him here at the Spencer Mansion was a gamble Ada didn't like. If Umbrella Corporation's higher-ups needed someone to take the fall, William was the obvious candidate. And if the chaos ahead killed him before any of that happened, that was an even worse outcome.

Either way — waste.

Ada hadn't noticed it yet, but two months with Leon had done something to her. He'd pulled her sideways, quietly and completely.

Whenever she saw something worth having, her first instinct was to take it home.

Things. People. It didn't matter.

She didn't leave good finds behind.

"Go in." Ada gestured to Rebekah.

They walked inside.

William saw Ada and lit up. No wariness. Just enthusiasm.

"Perfect timing! Contact Wesker for me. Tell him my experiment is at a critical stage and those executives actually had the nerve to stand me up!"

"The experiment is canceled, William."

Ada stopped in front of him. Her tone was flat as concrete.

"The upper defense line has been breached. Total collapse. Come with me."

William stepped back and pulled his manuscripts tight against his chest.

"Leave? Go where? My Tyrant isn't finished. That's my life's work. I'm not going anywhere." His jaw set. "I'm staying until I watch it wake up."

Heavy footsteps echoed from the corridor outside.

Very heavy.

Nothing that walked like a person.

The security system had probably already started releasing bio-organic weapons from the other sectors.

No time to argue.

Ada looked at the obsessive scientist and said nothing more.

She stepped in close, torso pivoting, right fist driving upward from below, and cracked him clean on the chin.

The impact was crisp. Bone on bone.

The words died in William's throat. His eyes rolled white. His legs went out from under him and he hit the floor like a dropped sack.

Rebekah stood in the doorway and swallowed.

"Did you... did you kill him?"

"Don't be dramatic. That was just physical sedation." Ada shook out her wrist.

"Come help."

She pointed to a stainless steel double-deck cart in the corner, the kind used to haul chemical reagents.

The two of them swept the glass beakers and reagent bottles off the shelves in one pass, letting everything shatter on the floor, then hauled William's slight frame up onto the cart.

His head lolled over the edge. His arms and legs hung loose.

"We're actually taking him with us?"

Rebekah gripped the handle. The weight was already pulling at her wrists.

"His brain is worth more than anything else in this building."

"Handing him to Wesker would be a waste. Think of it as a gift for Leon."

Ada scanned the lab. "Let me check if William kept any G-Virus samples nearby."

She made a full sweep of the room. Nothing.

"Forget it. We've already lost too much time. We move."

Ada took point with her Glock, clearing the path.

Rebekah gritted her teeth and pushed the cart, following behind.

Two corners, and the iron door of the waste discharge outlet materialized at the far end of the passage.

Unlocked. A dense, rancid stench seeped through the gap.

Leon's voice surfaced in Ada's mind.

"The main hall is mostly cleaned up. Where are you?"

"Eastern waste outlet, B3." Ada pushed the iron door open as she answered. "We brought a friend along."

"Who?"

"William Birkin. Packaged for transport."

Leon laughed.

"Well done. The pipe feeds out to the stream behind the mountain. Follow the current downstream."

"I'll stay up here and keep drawing attention. Cover your exit. We'll regroup after."

The waste tunnel was dark and narrow. Green slime clung to the walls. Filthy water rose past their ankles.

Rebekah pushed the cart through it, each step uncertain, the ground uneven beneath the murk.

The wheels dragged hard against the current.

"Almost there." Ada was watching the faint light ahead.

The outlet grate. The way out.

Then, from somewhere far above, a roar split the air.

Massive. Savage. Nothing human had a throat built for that sound.

Ada's gaze snapped upward.

"The Tyrant." Her voice was tight. "Leon is in danger."

➤ Next: Tyrant T101 — Steel and Blood