"S. D. Perry - Resident Evil 02 - Caliban Cove" - читать интересную книгу автора (Perry S. D)

ISD (Industrial Services Division), the fire that ravaged the company-owned Spencer estate in Raccoon
Forest late last month was determined to have been caused by carelessness on the part of person or
persons unknown, as was announced in a press conference yesterday. Said ISD Team Leader David
Bischoff, тАЬIt looks like somebody tried to start a campfire in one of the mansionтАЩs rooms and things just
got out of control. WeтАЩve found nothing to suggest arson or foul play of any kind.тАЭ He went on to say
that while the destruction of the property was total, thereтАЩs no evidence that anyone was caught in the fire
or subsequent explosion. Chief Brian Irons of the Raccoon City Police Department was in attendance at
the conference, and when asked whether he believed the fire to be connected to the unsolved murders
and disappearances plaguing the city, Irons stated that there was no way to be sure. Said Irons, тАЬAt this
point, anything I could say would only be speculationтАФthough I will say that the fact that the murders
have stopped since the night of the fire seems to imply that perhaps the killers were hiding there. We can
only hope that theyтАЩve now left the area and will soon be apprehended.тАЭ

Chief Irons refused to comment on the allegations of gross misconduct by the S.T.A.R.S. in their brief
assignment to the murder investigation, saying only that he agreed with the city councilтАЩs decision and
disciplinary actions are being considered. . . .

ONE

REBECCA CHAMBERS RODE HER MOUNTAIN bike through the dark, winding streets of the
Cider district, the late summer moon swelling in the warm, clear night sky overhead. Although it was
relatively early, the suburban streets were deserted, the citywide curfew still in effect; no one under
eighteen was supposed to be out after dusk until the murderers were caught and put safely behind bars. It
had been a tense and quiet summer in Raccoon City, at least on the surface....

She glided past silent houses, the faint glow of television sets spilling out across well-kept lawns, the
distant drone of crickets and an occasional barking dog the only sounds in the air that whipped past her.
The uneasy citizens of Raccoon dwelled behind those locked doors, waiting for the announcement that
the killers had been apprehended and that their city was safe.

If they only knew...,

For just a moment, Rebecca envied them their ignorance. SheтАЩd come to the rather disheartening
conclusion in the last couple of weeks that knowing the truth wasnтАЩt all it was cracked up to
beтАФparticu-larly when no one believed it.

It had been a long, merciless thirteen days since the nightmare at the Spencer estate. The surviving
S.T.A.R.S. had escaped treachery and death just to run up against a massive brick wall of scornful
disbelief when theyтАЩd tried to tell their tale. Jill, Chris, Barry, and herself had been labeled drug addicts
and worse in the local papers, undoubtedly at UmbrellaтАЩs urgingтАФand after their suspension, even the
RPD had refused to believe them. Now, with Umbrella taking over the investigation of the fire,
undoubtedly getting rid of the last of the evidence ... it was as if everywhere the S.T.A.R.S. turned,
Umbrella had been there first, greasing palms and covering tracks, mak-ing it impossible to get anyone to
listen to their story. Not that it would have been that simple anyway. One of the biggest, most respectable
med research and pharmaceutical companies in the worldтАФnot to men-tion the primary source of income
in RaccoonтАФcon-ducting bio-weapons research in a secret lab, creating experimental monstersтАФ///
didnтАЩt know better, Id probably think I was crazy, too.

At least the absolute worst was over. With the lab destroyed, the attacks on Raccoon had
stoppedтАФand though the people responsible hadnтАЩt been held ac-countable yet, she figured it was only a