"I don't care if there are other people behind me. All I need right now is a few minutes of your time, and then to make you believe what I have to say. That's all."
The second Noah stepped into the building, a wave of regret washed over him.
Outside, there was at least a wall he could lean against to prevent a sudden attack from behind. But inside this structure, his back was exposed to potential guards and random personnel appearing from any direction. Any one of them could be a threat or cause him harm.
But things had already reached this point; he could only wait and see how the situation developed.
However, in reality, Noah wasn't granted the time—or the privilege—to just wait and see.
"Jill, take him down!"
No one expected that Katherine, the woman being held hostage, would actually give the order to Jill before Noah even had a chance to speak. Did she have no fear of the bomb on his body?
"But... the bomb on him," Jill stammered, clearly caught off guard.
It was unheard of to hear a command to attack coming from a hostage being held by a human bomb. Moreover, Jill was currently unarmed. But the person giving the order was the very person she was supposed to protect. Weighing all these factors, Jill was momentarily confused, almost unable to believe her own ears.
"This man is not carrying a bomb," Katherine explained, having noticed Jill's hesitation.
Fuck, how the hell did she find out?!
Before Noah could even process Katherine's words, Jill was already moving. In a flash, she lunged to the side where Noah was holding the fake detonator, followed immediately by a joint lock that sent a searing pain through Noah's wrist.
Under the ruthless pressure Jill applied to his wrist, Noah could no longer endure the agony and his grip failed. The cylindrical branch he had been clutching slid from his hand.
From that moment, the tables turned.
Noah, who originally held the initiative, had now trapped himself in a room with the lethal goddess Jill Valentine. He was at her mercy.
"How did you know my bomb was a fake?"
Noah was pinned down by Jill. Although he could feel the skin-to-skin contact of Jill's muscular leg pressing against him, he was in no position to enjoy such a sensation. Not with his arm pulled behind his back, feeling like Jill was about to snap it off.
"If you have something to say to me, let's not say it in the main hall. Come to my dressing room."
Katherine signaled for Jill to keep Noah under control and followed her into a room on the first floor. This temporary room wasn't filled with much—just a sofa, some chairs, and a water cooler. These things weren't expensive, but they were practical.
Because now, Noah was tied to one of those chairs.
The irony was that the things binding his hands were the very same strips of tape Jill had just ripped off his own body. It was almost funny—the tools he had prepared for his own plan had become the props used to restrain him.
Thinking about it, the tape had been wrapped around his stomach over the candles, and now it was wrapped around his hands. He was still the one "using" it. Noah could only offer a bitter, helpless smile at the thought.
Seeing Noah's expression, Katherine finally grew curious and spoke up.
"What is it you want to tell me?" She paused before adding, "What is so important that you would risk being shot dead by the guards just to tell me?"
Noah stared at Katherine. Instead of answering her directly, he asked a question of his own.
"How did you know the bomb I was wearing wasn't real?"
"Simple. You didn't pay attention to the fact that the 'button' you were holding had no wires," Katherine explained calmly.
"Then why did Jill and Barry...?" Noah was confused. If he had failed that badly, Jill and Barry should have seen through it instantly.
"It was just a matter of the angle. From where Barry and Jill were standing, they couldn't see the hand holding the fake detonator, so naturally, they couldn't see the wires—or lack thereof. Besides, you were holding me by the throat; they didn't dare risk taking a shot." Katherine paused. "You should be glad you actually played it a bit rough. If you had shown any hesitation, Jill's bullet would have likely pierced your skull by now."
"Since you knew everything, why were you willing to come here with me?"
"Well, that's also simple. Confirming you were a non-threatening person who couldn't blow themselves up was the first step. The second step was your movements toward me. You did quite well there—you only applied real pressure when you demanded Jill open the door. The rest of the time, you didn't use much force. Based on those actions, I concluded you weren't actually trying to murder me."
Noah listened to Katherine's description, looking at the woman in front of him with shock.
This 22-year-old woman—the one Chief Irons would eventually turn into a taxidermy specimen—was far from the kind, obedient, and innocent image she projected. Instead, she felt mature and calculating, as if she were a grandmaster at a chessboard.
Noah couldn't help but admire her.
Sigh. If it weren't for her seductive figure—just considering her background as the Mayor's daughter—Noah shouldn't have been so careless.
Regardless, the goal of a face-to-face meeting had been achieved. Now it was a matter of what came next.
"Jill, come outside with me for a moment. Tell everyone the banquet is safe and there's no need to worry."
"What about him?" Jill pointed at Noah, who was still taped to the chair.
"We'll interrogate him further when we get back. We'll see what he actually wants to say to us!"
Jill nodded obediently and walked out of the room with Katherine. Not long after, the two of them returned.
Noah was the first to speak this time. "What kind of excuse did you use to get out of that crisis?"
"I simply told the guards that this was a drill Jill and I designed beforehand to observe the police department's response time and execution in a crisis."
"And the result?"
"It seems Irons relies far too much on Umbrella's private security. The officers reacted, but they lacked initiative," Katherine said flatly, as if everything was within her grasp. "However, that doesn't include you, Jill. You are still a qualified member of S.T.A.R.S.!"
Katherine used a perfect "praise after criticism" tactic, heavily complimenting Jill. From Noah's perspective, Jill hadn't actually done much, but seeing the excited look on Jill's face, she was clearly encouraged by the Mayor's daughter.
"Let's get back to the point. Can you tell us now why you went through all this trouble to talk to us?"
Katherine regained a bit of her playful demeanor as she sat across from Noah, her eyes staring straight at him as if trying to see right through the man.
"If I told you that there are serious violent attacks happening in the Raccoon City outskirts, and that it's extremely dangerous, would you believe me?"
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🔥 ANNOUNCEMENT — NEW DROP INCOMING (R18) 🔥
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