[TWD x Resident Evil] — Chapter 526 - William Cracks

Five minutes later.

A man in a black combat uniform, no rank insignia, strode into the office.

Lean and hard. A knife scar ran straight through his left eyebrow.

Delta Force. Shadow Squad commander. Smith.

Graham's last card.

The only blade still absolutely loyal to the oath sworn to the President.

"Sir."

Smith snapped to attention and delivered a flawless salute.

Graham didn't return it.

He walked up to Smith and stopped.

No bureaucratic preamble. None of it.

"Smith."

"I need you to do something for me."

"Not for the country. For me. Personally."

Graham's voice carried the particular pleading that belongs only to a father.

Smith kept his back ramrod straight.

"Give the order, Mr. President."

"Georgia Correctional Facility. Not far from Atlanta."

Graham turned and pulled a photograph from his desk drawer. Slightly yellowed at the edges.

A blonde girl, smiling like the world had never hurt her.

"Go there. Find my daughter, Ashley."

"If she's still alive, bring her back to me."

He pressed the photo into Smith's hand.

"Take your most elite people."

"The armory is open. Take whatever you need."

"Two Black Hawk Helicopters are standing by. They're yours."

"And Smith."

"If anyone at that prison tries to stop you. Living or dead."

Graham's eyes went cold and flat.

"Kill them all."

Smith looked down at the photo for a moment, then tucked it inside his uniform, close to his chest.

"Understood. Mission will be accomplished."

He turned and left.

Combat boots struck the steel corridor plates in heavy, measured beats.

Graham stood alone in the empty office, staring at the Stars and Stripes on the wall. The colors had faded some.

Ashley, hold on.

Daddy is sending people for you.

---

At the same moment.

Highway on the outskirts of the Arklay Mountains.

The engine roar was deafening.

Two Stryker Armored Vehicles ran point. Behind them, four military trucks packed tight with soldiers.

Fort Benning's advance force had arrived.

The commanding major sat inside the lead Stryker, eye pressed to the periscope, reading the road ahead.

"Sir, signs of a firefight up front," the driver reported.

The major shoved the top hatch open and leaned halfway out.

Shell casings blanketed both shoulders of the road. Mixed in among them were several Umbrella Corporation vehicles, torn down to raw scrap metal.

The air tasted like blood.

"Hell." The major stared at a Humvee that had been split clean in two right down the centerline. His scalp prickled. "Did these pharma-company security guys run into an armored division?"

"All units, alert. Combat formation. Advance."

"We should be close to those things by now."

He keyed the communicator and gave the order.

From the dense forest ahead came the sound of trees going down.

Heavy. Rhythmic.

The vehicle-mounted machine guns swiveled, tracking toward the tree line.

"Something's coming out!"

Two massive shapes emerged from the fog. Grayish-white. Enormous.

T-02 Tyrants.

The two monsters Leon had left behind to bleed the Umbrella pursuit force.

Because Leon had decided he'd pushed his luck far enough. He'd already given up 2 Tyrants to buy his escape from Fort Benning. That was the price. He kept one and walked away from the rest.

These two were soaked in blood, bodies riddled with bullet holes. They didn't slow down.

The Dual-Blade Tyrant screamed, a sound like tearing metal, and charged straight at the convoy.

"Open fire! Open fire!"

The major's voice cracked with it.

The autocannon cut loose. Heavy rounds punched into the Tyrant and tore chunks out of it.

The monster didn't even flinch. It came through the hail at full speed.

It leaped.

The massive bone blade drove straight down into the engine hood of the lead Stryker.

METAL SHRIEKED.

Fort Benning's soldiers had just found their first real fight in the apocalypse.

---

Leon, meanwhile, was already long gone.

He rode the Scorpion King with the last remaining Tyrant running alongside, Ada and Rebecca with him, William still unconscious, all of them grinding back down the road toward the Atlanta prison.

Then William stirred.

His eyes opened. He looked at Ada. Looked around at his surroundings.

"Where am I?"

Leon was driving and didn't bother.

Ada answered.

"As you can see, we've taken you hostage."

"You're awake now, so I'll be straight with you."

"Where is the G-virus sample you've been working on?"

William went still for a moment as everything clicked into place. Then he buried his face in both hands and let out a howl of pure despair.

"So that's all it was." He laughed, broken and ugly. "You should have just said so from the start."

"It was all for the G-virus?"

"The G-virus isn't on me. I hid it in my daughter's necklace. Sherry Birkin. It's been there the whole time."

"What was the point of taking me? What does grabbing me accomplish?"

"I've wanted out of Umbrella for years!"

"The higher-ups never valued me. They kept me locked out of the inner circle no matter what I produced. I was already planning to sell the G-virus to the government at a premium. You want it? I'll sell it to you instead. It makes no difference to me."

"But my daughter. My wife." His voice cracked open. "They didn't make it out."

"It's over. It's all over."

"God damn it all to hell."

---

[That's it for today — no need to keep waiting. Taking tomorrow off. No objections, I hope?]

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