[TWD x Resident Evil] — Chapter 541 - Alpha Team Believes It

"Good Lord, you turned this place into a military fortress?"

"No — it's practically a Chinese emperor's palace. God, those walls are insane."

The helicopter descended.

On the open ground outside, a grayish-white behemoth was hauling boulders. Its impossible bulk and the terrifying definition of its muscle made the SWAT officers aboard collectively suck in a sharp breath.

"Shit! What the hell is that thing?!"

Joseph was so startled he racked his shotgun.

"Relax." Leon pressed the barrel down.

"That's my laborer."

"Also one of the pieces of ironclad proof you came here to see."

"T-002 Tyrant."

Brad's hand jerked. The helicopter nearly rolled into a steep bank. "You call that thing a laborer?!"

The helicopter touched down steady on the prison's inner yard.

The rotors hadn't fully stopped before Rick and the others were already moving toward them. All three had guns up, eyes sharp.

They only lowered their weapons when they saw Leon drop out of the cabin.

"Boss." Rick stepped forward, eyes cutting to the line of fully armed SWAT officers filing out behind him. "Who are these?"

"Guests. Jill, Chris." Leon gave Rick a nod and went through the introductions. "New friends. Take them down to the Underground Laboratory first." He paused. "And have Dawn tell the kitchen to get something hot ready. These people probably haven't eaten."

"On it."

Chris and his group fell in behind Leon and headed inside.

Everything they saw along the way kept hitting them like cold water to the face. Orderly Patrol Squads running circuits. Vegetables growing green in the greenhouse rows. And strangest of all, Walkers hauling materials like livestock.

This wasn't the apocalypse. This was a functioning kingdom.

The door to the Underground Laboratory swung open.

Candice was bent over a microscope, pen moving fast. Marcus sat in a corner, turning a test tube idly between his fingers. And at the sink, a man in a white lab coat, hair wrecked like a bird had nested in it, was grinding through a stack of petri dishes with the look of someone serving hard time.

Leon walked to the workbench and braced both hands on the edge.

"Let me introduce them. These two are researchers from Umbrella Corporation's Arklay Research Facility." He let that land, then: "Dr. Marcus. Dr. Birkin."

Jill stepped forward and pulled a micro-recording device from her Tactical Vest.

"Dr. Birkin." Her voice was even. "We need everything you know about Albert Wesker. Including the bioweapons at the Spencer Mansion."

William looked at Leon.

Leon nodded. "Go ahead. Give them everything. They need ironclad proof."

That was all the permission William needed. He wiped his hands on his coat, two fast, careless swipes, and opened up.

He didn't spare a single detail. How he and Wesker conspired to eliminate Marcus. How Wesker brokered a deal with H.C.F. and pulled William along with him. The T-Virus work inside the Spencer Mansion. It all came out in one long, steady pour, like a bag of beans dropped from height.

Leon added his own piece — Wesker's expendable-asset doctrine, laid out for Jill point by point.

Even Marcus, listening from the corner, shook his head slowly.

"That kid Wesker," he said. "Still just as black-hearted."

Chris's fists tightened. His knuckles cracked.

Barry dragged a hand across his forehead, wiping sweat that had gone cold. If Leon hadn't cut across their path when he did, every single one of them would have ended up as feed for whatever lived inside that mansion. Their families too.

"Goddamn scumbag." Joseph's jaw was tight. "We treated him like a brother. He was running lab rat experiments on us."

The evidence sat there, immovable.

They moved on to the virus samples. The Stairway of the Sun. By the end there was no angle left to doubt.

"Convinced now?" Leon pulled a chair over and sat.

Chris walked up to him and put out his hand. Deliberate. Serious.

"Leon. Thank you. You saved our entire team."

Leon took it.

These people were stubborn as hell. But they were worth having.

"Save the formalities for later." He released Chris's hand. "Right now, Wesker's going to realize you never showed at the Spencer Mansion. He's already planning his next move."

Jill pushed off the doorframe. Arms crossed, eyes on Leon.

"So what's the plan?"

"Simple." Leon stood and dusted his palms together. "We keep following Wesker's script. Only difference is, everyone knows the game now." A beat. "We're just going over there to put on a show."

➤ Next: Let's Go, Time to Hit Wesker!