Resident Evil: Underworld by S. D. Perry

of them watching David.
    Come on, one of them has to open it, to bring it back…
    A few tense seconds passed, and David stopped hitting keys. He pointed the flashlight up, the reflection just enough light to see each other by.
    “Seems that the numbers don’t work if the lift is in use,” he said. His voice was calm and easy, but Claire could see that his jaw was clenched, the muscles in his cheeks twitching.
    “I’ll try them all again in a moment, and then again—but since someone else seems to have access to the lift’s master control, we should start considering other options. Rebecca—start looking for a camera, check the corners and ceiling; if we’re going to be here awhile, we’ll need privacy. Claire, see if you can find any tools we might use to get through the wall—tire iron, screwdriver, anything. If the codes won’t work, we’ll see if we can’t force our way in. Questions?”
    “No,” Rebecca said, and Claire shook her head.
    “Good. Take a deep breath and get to it.”
    David went back to the keypad and Rebecca walked to the corner, turning her flashlight to the ceiling. Claire took a deep breath and turned, looking at the dusty table in the middle of the room. It had stacked drawers on either side; she opened the first, pushing aside papers and clutter, thinking that David really kicked ass under pressure.
    Tire iron, screwdriver, anything… be careful, please be careful and don’t get killed…
    Claire forced herself to take another deep breath; then she opened the next drawer, continuing her search.
    * * *
    John took the lead, which Leon was only too happy to follow. He may have survived Raccoon, but the ex-S.T.A.R.S. soldier had been in and out of combat situations for something like nine years; he won.
    “Get down,” John said, crouching himself, then lying down on his stomach and wrapping the M-16 strap tightly around his muscular arm. “If it’s an ambush, they’ll be aiming high when the door opens; we take out their knees. Works like a charm.”
    Leon lay down next to him, propping his right arm up with his left hand, his nine-millimeter pointed loosely at the gate. Outside, the darkness slid past, nothing to see but metal-lined shaft. “And if it’s not?”
    “Stand up, you take the right, I’ll take left, stay in the car if you can. If you find yourself aiming at a wall, turn around and shoot low.”
    John glanced over at him—incredibly, a wide grin was spreading across his face. “Think of all the fun they’re going to miss. We get to blow some Umbrella guys all to shit, and they’re stuck in the cold dark with nothing to do.”
    Leon was a little too tense to smile back, although he made an effort. “Yeah, some guys get all the luck,” he said.
    John shook his head, his grin fading. “Nothing we can do but go for the ride,” he said, and Leon nodded, swallowing. John might be crazy, but he was right about that much. They were where they were, wishing otherwise wouldn’t make it so.
    Doesn’t hurt to try, though. Christ, I wish we hadn’t stepped on this thing…
    The elevator kept going down, and they both fell silent, waiting. Leon was glad that John wasn’t the chatty type; he liked to crack jokes, but it was obvious that he didn’t take a dangerous situation lightly. Leon saw that he was breathing deeply, sighting the M-16, preparing for whatever was going to happen.
    Leon took a few deep breaths himself, trying to relax into the prone position—
    —and the elevator stopped. There was a soft ping sound, a chime, and the mesh gate was moving, disappearing into its designated hole in the wall. A windowless outer door rose at the same time, mellow light spilled across them—
    —and there was nobody. A polished concrete wall twenty feet away, a polished concrete floor. Gray emptiness.
    Get up, go !
    Leon scrambled to his feet, heart beating too fast, John silent and even faster to his left. An exchanged glance and they both took one step out of the