"I'd like to ask you something, if you don't mind,"

Jill said, finally turning her full attention to him. Carlos opened his mouth and the words just spilled out. "You want to ask me out, right? It's the accent, chicks love the accent. You hear it and you just can't help yourselves."

Jill stared at him, eyes wide, and for a moment hethought he'd made a mistake, that she wouldn't realizehe was kidding. It was a stupid call, joking around inthese circumstances. Just as he was about to apologize,one corner of her mouth lifted slightly."I thought you said you weren't a zombie," she said."But if that's the best you can do, maybe we ought toreevaluate your situation."

Carlos grinned, delighted with her comeback – andsuddenly thought of Randy, of him playing around justbefore they'd landed in Raccoon. His smile faded, andhe saw the bright glitter of humor leave her face, too, asif she'd also remembered where they were and whathad happened.When she spoke again, her tone was much cooler. "Iwas going to ask if you were the same Carlos who sentout a message about an hour ago, hour and a halfmaybe."

"You heard that?" Carlos asked, surprised. "When no one answered, I didn't think…" Be careful who you trust. Trent's words flashed through his mind, reminding him that he had no idea who Jill Valentine was. He trailed off, shrugging indif-ferently.

"I only caught part of it, and I couldn't transmit from where I was," Jill said. "You said something about a platoon, didn't you? Are there other, ah, sol-diers here?" Stick to the basics, and nothing about Trent. "There were, but I think they're all dead now. This whole oper-ation's been a disaster from word go." "What happened?" she asked, studying him intently. "And who are you with, anyway, National Guard? Are they sending backup?"

Carlos watched her in turn, wondering how careful he needed to be. "No reinforcements, I don't think. I mean, I'm sure they'll send someone in eventually, but I'm just a grunt, I don't really know anything – we set down, the zombies attacked. Maybe some of the other guys got away, but so far's I know, you're looking at the last surviving member of the U.B.C.S. That's Um-brella Bio-Hazard Countermea…"

She cut him off, the expression on her face close to disgust. "You're with Umbrella?" Carlos nodded. "Yeah. They sent us in to rescue the civilians." He wanted to say more, to tell her what he suspected – anything to change the look on her face, like she'd just found out he was a rasist or something, but Trent's advice kept repeating, reminding him to be wary. Jill's lips curled. "How 'bout you can the shit? Um-brella's responsible for what happened here, as if you didn't know – where do you get off lying? What are you really doing here? Tell the truth, Carlos, if that's your name."

She was definitely pissed, and Carlos felt a mo-ment's uncertainty, wondering if she was an ally, some-one who knew the truth about Umbrella, but it could also be a trap.

Maybe she works for them and is trying to feel me out, find out where my loyalties are…

Carlos allowed a touch of anger to creep into his own voice. "I'm just a grunt, like I said. I'm – all of us are guns-for-hire. No politics, dig? They don't tell us shit. And at the moment, I'm not interested in what Umbrella is or isn't responsible for. If I see someone who needs help, I'm gonna do my job, but otherwise, I just want to get out."

He glared at her, determined to stay in character.

"And speaking of who-what-why, what are you doing here?" he snapped. "What were you doing in that restaurant? And what was that thing that you blew up?"

Jill held his gaze for another second, then dropped her own, sighing. "I'm trying to get out, too. That thing is one of Umbrella's monsters, it's hunting me, and I doubt very much that it's dead, even now – which means I'm not safe. I thought there might be… I was looking for a kind of key, I thought it might be at the restaurant." "What kind of key?" he asked, but somehow, he thought he already knew.

"It's this jewel, it's part of a locking mechanism to the City Hall gate. There are two jewels, actually, and I've got one already. If I can get the other one, get the gate open, there's a way out of town – a cable car that runs west, out to the suburbs."

Carlos kept his face neutral, but he was jumping be-neath his skin. What had Trent said?

Go west, for one thing… and when I find out wherethe blue gem is, I'll understand their relevance… butwhat does this mean about Jill Valentine? Do I trusther now, or not? What does she know?"No shit," he said, keeping his tone mild. "I sawsomething like that, in the basement at the restaurant. Agreen gem."Jill's eyes widened. "Really? If we can get it… Car-los, we have to go back!"If that's my name," he said, caught somewhere be-tween irritation and amusement. She seemed to leapfrom mood to mood, brisk then funny then angry thenexcited; it was kind of tiring, and he still wasn't surewhether or not he could turn his back on her. Sheseemed to be sincere…"I'm sorry," she said, touching his arm lightly. "Ishouldn't have said that, it's just – Umbrella and Iaren't on the best of terms. There was a biohazardousincident at one of their labs, here, about six weeks ago.People died. And now this."

Carlos melted a little at the warmth of her hand.Jesus, but he was a sucker for un primor, and she wassomething to look at."Carlos Oliveira," he said, "at your service."Down, boy. Head out of town, says Trent, but are yousure you want to travel with someone who might end upkilling you? You want to clear your head before youtake off with the cuero Miss Valentine.Immediately he started arguing with himself. Yeah,be careful, but are you going to leave her all alone?She said that monster was after her…

He joked about it sometimes, but he wasn't truly a sexist; she could take care of herself, as she'd already proven. And if she was one of Umbrella's spies… well, she deserved what she got, then, didn't she?

"I… I wouldn't feel right about leaving without at least trying to find some of the others," he said, and now that he knew there was a way out, he realized it was true. Even an hour ago, the thought would have been ridiculous; now, armed with Trent's information, everything had changed. He was still scared, sure, but actually knowing something about the situation made him feel less vulnerable somehow. In spite of the risks, he wanted to walk a few more blocks before he left town, make some attempt to help someone. He wanted time to think, to make up his mind.

That… and knowing that she survived means that I can, too. "I saw the gate you're talking about, the one over by the newspaper office, si? Why don't I meet you there… or better yet, at the cable car." Jill frowned, then nodded. "Okay. I'll go back to the restaurant while you look around, and I'll wait for you at the trolley. Once you go through the gate, just follow the path and keep to the left, you'll see signs for Lons-daleYard."

For a few seconds, neither spoke, and Carlos saw, in the careful way she looked at him, that Jill had her own misgivings about him. Her leeriness made him trust her a little more; if she was anti-Umbrella, it made sense that she wouldn't be too hot on hanging out with one of their employees.

Stop debating it and just go, for Christ's sake! "Don't leave without me," Carlos said, meaning for it to come out lightly. He sounded dead serious. "Don't make me wait too long," she returned and smiled, and he thought that maybe she was okay after all. Then she turned and jogged lightly away, back down the walk they'd entered by. Carlos watched her leave, wondering if he was crazy for not going with her – and after a moment, he turned and walked quickly toward the other exit before he could change his mind. For someone who was bleeding like a stuck pig, Mikhail was surprisingly swift. For at least twenty min-utes Nicholai had followed the trail of dark droplets through a blockade, over gravel and asphalt, grass and debris, and still he hadn't sighted the dying man.