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“Don´t you think he´s a little young, Captain Redfield?” asked the head of recruiting for the North America Branch of the BSAA, Colonel McNeal.
“Damned,” Chris Redfield thought and scratched his chin. Through dusty windows, they were watching a young man approaching the barracks.
“Damned, he really is too young”
What Chris said out loud was: “Of course not. Age isn't the only thing that matters. His stats are impressive.”
Chris had chosen the young man- he took a quick look at his clipboard: “Nivans, Piers” – himself and invited him for an interview and training with the BSAA. HQ had presented him with a list of candidates for new BSAA recruits without once speaking to the captain or the team. Out of spite, Chris had rejected them all and set out to find new team members himself. A privilege that he was entitled to as a co-founder of the BSAA.
According to the application documents, “Nivans, Piers” was a fantastic sniper. The BSAA deemed Chris choice unsuitable because the man was indeed very young and relatively inexperienced. This fact alone had confirmed Chris' decision to invite him.
A decision he now started to regret. Maybe, he should have chosen this other guy- Cooper or Copper or whatever his name was.
On paper, “23” was just a number, but when the door opened and Piers Nivans entered the barracks, Chris had a hard time imagining the kid with a sniper rifle. He would have fit better on a poster for some high school football team. He had a strong jawline and full lips. He´d probably been the crush of most cheerleaders.
Chris had retreated to his adjoining office when the man entered. He left the formal part of this matter to the “tie wearers,” as Chris secretly called them - although Colonel McNeal admittedly wasn't wearing a tie, but rather a uniform. The BSAA captain contented himself with watching the Colonel grill Mr. Nivans about his previous career and his motives for applying to the BSAA.
His answers were short, precise and never hesitant.
After about three quarters of an hour, Chris decided that he had heard enough to know that the young man was highly professional, dogged and a bit cocky, and that he hadn't seen nearly enough to be able to assess the sniper's abilities. He left his hiding place in the adjoining office and approached Mr. Nivans silently.
“Mr. Nivans, this is…”
To his credit, the young man didn´t flinch when Chris appeared behind him. “Captain Redfield” Mr. Nivans stated. He sounded as if he knew Chris. He stepped forward and held out his hand.
“Yep.” Chris shook his hand, a little perplex. Nivans´grip was firm, palms rough. “We met before?”
“No, Sir. It´s just the pictures…” Chris noticed that the man paused for just a second. “I mean I recognized you from the files the army kept about the phoenix incident.”
Chris nodded. “Ugh, I remember. Nasty business. Anyway, Mr. Nivans, since my team is currently not on a mission and I was the one who selected you from the applicants for the vacant position at the BSAA, you will spend the rest of the day with me. We'll see if you're as good at pulling the trigger as the reports suggest. “
The young man beamed at him. “Of course, Sir!”
“My truck is parked outside. We'll get you one of our rifles from our armory and then I'll drive you to the shooting range. If you do well…hmm, we’ll see.”
Chris opened his car, which he had parked in front of the barracks.
“Hop in,” he said as he unlocked the doors.
"Uhm, Sir…"
Chris looked up. On his passenger seat was a collection of clatter that he had carelessly thrown next to him when he got in: a pack of cigarettes, his leather jacket, CDs.
“Just throw it in the back or in the footwell. I’m not necessarily famous for my sense of tidiness.”
Nivans sorted CDs, cans and cigarettes into the compartments in the side door. He placed Chris's leather jacket very carefully on the back seat.
Chris watched him, amused. “Do you happen to have a compulsive cleaning habit?”
The young man shrugged, “No Sir. In the military you´re drilled to clean up your things.”
“Yeah, they probably failed when they tried to teach me.”
Nivans looked up. “You were a member of the Air Force, right?”
Chris nodded. "Well informed, Mr. Nivans. Seems you looked up more than just a few photos of me, huh? Yes, I was an Air Force pilot."
“I didn´t look up any photos, Sir. I have read reports about the history of the BSAA, especially the North American branch.”
Chris grinned “Sure.”
´´´´´´´´´´
Chris drove an extra lap around the BSAA grounds so that Mr. Nivans could get a first impression. Out of the corner of his eye, Chris caught his passenger's hand twitching toward the truck's handle above the door.
"Something wrong with my driving style, Nivans?"
“It´s…. unconventional, Sir.”
“You mean I drive like a maniac? Wanna swap places?” Chris had aimed to unsettle the young man, but he did not succeed.
“I´m a good driver, Sir.” he said with conviction.
Chris chuckled, “Are you even old enough to drive a car?”
“Ha-ha. I´m old enough to drink and drive, Sir.”
“Good to know.”
´´´´´´´´´´´´´´
Halfway to the shooting range, Chris' cell phone rang. He recognized the ringtone immediately - Claire had been the one who chose it.
“Damn, I have to answer that. Where is...in my jacket pocket! Could you..?"
Piers Nivans reached back and fished Chris' cell phone out of his jacket. He handed Chris the phone. Chris pressed “accept”.
“Claire, are you okay?”
“Good morning to you too, Chris. Yes, everything is fine. Are you on base?”
"Indeed."
"Listen, I don't have much time. I have to ask you to do me a favor. I need you to find out something for me, but don't let HQ know. It´s better if this doesn´t show up in any reports and..."
Chris cleared his throat. "Uhg, Claire, I'm … not alone."
Claire sighed "And you have me on speaker?"
Chris looked guiltily over at his passenger. “Don’t worry, it’s not anyone from HQ. Mr. Nivans is a candidate for the position of sniper in my team. I´m sure he won´t tell”
Piers Nivans made a hand gesture as if he were closing a zipper over his mouth.
“Well, I’m sorry Mr. …”
“Piers Nivans, Ma`am”
“Mr Nivans. I’m with Terra Save and Captain Redfield just happens to be my brother. I’m- “
“Claire Redfield,” the young man stated. Chris looked at him suspiciously.
“How do you know? Did you look at pictures of her, too?” Chis asked.
For the first time all day, the young man seemed to lose his composure.
“Of course not, Sir!”
“What do you mean by “has he looked at pictures of me”, Chris?”
“Mr. Nivans has obviously prepared well for his job interview. He picked out photos of me during my missions.”
Now, Chris was deliberately trying to provoke and unsettle the man.
This time, it worked.
“I haven´t done anything like that! I just happened to come across some articles in the news and a file at our base. You make me sound like a stalker, Sir.”
“Don´t get me wrong, Mr. Nivans, I feel flattered.”
Color rose to the tips of Piers Nivans ears. Claire saved him from answering.
“Don´t let my brother provoke you. That is a tactic of his. Chris, you have to admit, it is difficult not to recognize your 220 lbs of muscle mass in a photo.”
Chris grinned “True”.
“Anyway, don´t let me bother you. I`ll call you later, Chris. Mr. Nivans, I wish you luck. Having my brother as a boss, you`ll need it.”
“Thanks Ma`am. I´ll handle him” “Ugh, it” he corrected himself.
“I like him, Chris!”
Chris used the time they waited for the weapons to be handed out to question Piers Nivans some more.
“You qualified for Army Special Forces training?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Ever thought about doing something else than shooting a gun?”
“Nope. It´s been a life´s goal throughout my childhood. My great-grandfather served. My grandfather and my father did, too.”
“Why change that promising career and start from scratch with the BSAA?”
“I saw the aftermath of a bio-organic weapon attack. My unit was called out to clean up after the incident. We felt... so helpless. Overwhelmed and unprepared for such an enemy. You have been there, Captain Redfield. The BSAA, I mean. The work of your team was amazing. It was... , let´s say…inspiring.”
Chris nodded. He remembered very well the moment he was confronted with the first BOW.
He changed the subject: “What´s your preferred weapon?”
“Anti-Materiel Rifle.”
“You´re good with dealing with paperwork?”
“Sure, why not?”
“Paperwork of others?”
Piers looked at him suspiciously “If I have time to study the subject matter, I should be able to do it.”
“You like steak?”
“Who doesn´t?”
Chris nodded. “I think this could work”
´´´´´´´´
As Piers Nivans held the rifle in his hands, Chris revised his opinion of the young man. An expert in weapons was at work here.
Nivans cleaned and assembled the rifle quickly and precisely while Chris filled out the forms to issue the weapon.
When they stepped out on the shooting range, Nivans took a deep breath.
"Nervous, Nivans?"
"Hell yes, Sir. I never dreamed that Captain Redfield himself would personally supervise my training." The answer surprised Chris. Chris hadn't expected the young man to drop the facade of the overly confident soldier.
"However, I assure you, it has no effect on my performance with the weapon." And there it was up again.
"Well then. As I said, I was a pretty decent shot in my Air Force career. Let's see if you can match my results.”
"With all due respect, sir, I think I might be better."
And indeed, he was.
Chris nodded in satisfaction. Take that, HQ. He had made the right choice.