Work Text:
A few days later Chris found himself staring at his phone, fingers hovering over the new voice in his contacts list.
Wesker.
Just Wesker, no first name. Calling him 'Albert' felt foreign, and it wasn't like he was going to mix him up with anyone else.
He checked the time and wished he’d been smarter at the park and had asked the man when it would be best to contact him before going back.
He sighed; inconveniencing Wesker would have made his day just one year earlier, and now he was trying to remember the school start times to make sure that Wesker would be free to answer.
He had spent a good part of the days after seeing Wesker in a series of meetings that might have ended in a shouting match between him and the head of the BSAA, with Chris trying to plead a case of being allowed to be an intermediary and communicate with Wesker to get access to the valuable information he seemed to be willing to share with them, and only because Chris was part of the bargain. In the end he got his way, and felt both victorious and trapped in the role.
Chris finally made up his mind and hit the dial button, bringing the phone to his ear. It rang twice, and then Wesker called his name in greeting.
“Do you have time to talk?” Chris asked, feeling a little pathetic.
“For you, yes. Is this about what I said at the park?” Wesker asked vaguely, probably assuming that their call was screened, although Chris had not warned IT about his plans to call Wesker yet, so it wasn’t. He could appreciate not going into details on an unsecure line, anyway.
“Yes. Maybe we should meet in person so you can give me what you need?" Chris was usually better than this at coded language, but normally the code was planned beforehand.
“That’s probably for the best. Would you like to meet for coffee?”
“Sure, where?” Great, now he was planning dates with the man. “I’ll text you the location; you text me your coffee order, and I’ll pre-order it for you.”
That was unexpectedly kind, and it took Chris by surprise. “Sure.”
His phone pinged, and he checked the address on the map. “I’ll be there in 30,” he announced.
Wesker acknowledged him with a "later" and hung up.
Chris grabbed his jacket and keys, patted Jill on the back, and told her, "Gonna check out a lead,” and she scrunched up her face in a doubtful expression. She had heard the whole thing from him instead of a report and was skeptical at best but trusted him enough to let him go and be stupid on his own time.
“Try not to do anything stupid even by your standards because I’m not typing your reports,” she warned and waved at him.
Once he was sitting in his car, Chris remembered that he still needed to send Wesker his coffee order.
Wesker’s reply was practically immediate. Chris chuckled and started the car.
Half an hour later, he stepped inside the café and immediately spotted Wesker at a table, two disposable coffee cups in front of him.
"Hello, Chris,” he said, looking up at him through the darkened lenses, enough that he could see a sliver of orange iris past them.
“Wesker.” He sat down. “Thanks for getting me coffee.”
Wesker dismissed his thanks with a gesture. “If you can still call that coffee.”
Chris shrugged off the remark and took a sip. He hummed in appreciation. “This is great. I don’t usually go out for coffee, and the machine at the office makes something that tastes more like dirty water than coffee lately.”
“Wow, you make working for your company sound so enticing,” Wesker replied sarcastically, absentmindedly playing with the cardboard sleeve around his coffee cup. Chris caught a glimpse of a black squiggle peeking out from under it. He wished he could see what the barista had written.
“We can’t afford to waste money on something as trivial as a new coffee machine.” Although he was pretty sure the one they currently used had been Parker’s old coffee maker he brought in from home. He took another sip of his coffee, which didn’t taste burnt and watery at the same time, unlike the one he was used to.
“I’m sure,” Wesker deadpanned and took a sip of his own coffee. Chris was curious to know what he’d ordered for himself.
“So is this what you do all morning while mini-you is at school?” Chris teased, "Go out for coffee dates with the other PTA parents?” He had noticed the café’s proximity to the school when he entered the address in his GPS.
Wesker glared at him, as if the mere mention could summon them. “No, this is only a coffee break. I still have several terabytes of files to still go through; I needed a pause before my eyes crossed."
Chris took a long sip of his mocha. “You know what would help? Offloading some of that data to an organization that specializes in it?”
Wesker just stared at him. “You’ll get what I deem necessary when I deem it necessary.”
This time Chris had come prepared. He had spent way too much time convincing the higher-ups so that he could have a bit of a bargaining margin.
“I could push to get you access to some of our declassified files that might relate to what you found in exchange for access to more of the data. I know you leaked some old Umbrella files to the public once. Why not give them to us, instead?” he offered and couldn’t help but notice that Wesker’s attention wasn’t fully on him anymore; he was sneaking glances at the counter and was more alert.
“Caramel macchiato for Victoria?” The barista asked loudly, handing a cup to a flashy blonde woman, who walked past them, leaving a faint trail of perfume in her wake, before doing a double take and taking a step back to stop next to their table.
“Albert, hello,” she purred, recognizing Wesker. Chris noticed the long nails on the hand holding her coffee, which were the same bold red as her lips. Nothing about her was subtle, not even the flirty look she threw at Wesker.
“Viktoriia,” Wesker replied in acknowledgment, polite but cold. Chris could swear he heard a different inflection in the way he said the name.
“I saw that you signed up to chaperone the school trip Friday. It’s so good when a dad volunteers.” She all but ignored Chris, and it was fine with him. He leaned back in his chair and enjoyed the show. It was clear that Wesker was uncomfortable with the interaction, at least to him. But it was also apparent from his body language that he didn't want him interfering.
“They needed more parents to oversee the children, and I had the time.” The way he spoke to her would have discouraged a less motivated woman from continuing to interrupt his coffee break.
“I hope you reconsider and join the PTA next year. We could use having a man like you around to help.”
"Depends how busy I'm going to be," Wesker said, catching Chris's eyes, which made her finally acknowledge Chris's presence with a disapproving look.
"I’ll see you on the school trip, yes?” Wesker nodded. "Bye, Albert."
Wesker’s mouth was pressed into a thin line until the bell on the door announced her departure.
“Albert,” Chris repeated the name the same way, amused. Wesker didn’t seem to share his mirth. "I like him. He’s a highly involved father and the darling of the whole PTA.”
Wesker scoffed. “As I said, I had the time and I trust the other parents only up to a point.”
Chris hummed, perhaps a little condescendingly, but he understood how protective Wesker might feel towards Zeno. “And where is the school trip going?"
“I don’t see how that’s relevant. I’m sure you have more important things to think about. Like planning the work trip that we talked about?” Wesker took a small thumb drive from his pocket and slid it across the table to him. Chris took it and studied it for a second, as if he could magically guess what was stored in its memory.
“Oh, I was expecting just some coordinates. Is there more?”
Wesker looked disappointed and tired. “Of course. I thought your guys might want to know what to expect when they get there.” Chris did appreciate the heads-up. “I copied all the useful files and also compiled a document that summarized my findings.”
“That’s actually helpful. Thanks.” He pocketed the drive and sipped more of his coffee. While their business together was finished, he still had half of his drink left, and he kind of didn’t mind lingering a little longer in the other’s company. “By the way, what did you get?”
“Quad espresso,” Wesker replied flatly, taking a large sip from his cup. Chris raised his eyebrows, remembering his captain being perfectly happy with the office brew, but his own taste in coffee had evolved, too, in the years since.
“A bit strong, huh?” Wesker simply chose to ignore his remark. “Think about my offer? We could use the data and you could use the help.”
Wesker rolled his eyes. “I’ll think about it. But don’t expect me to work with the imbeciles you share office space with.”
“I delegate the technical stuff to those who know more. So I can be your liaison with BSAA if you like, but don’t expect me to know decryption algorithms.”
Wesker laughed at that. “I’ll take your personal limitations into account.”
Chris had the feeling he’d been called stupid, but he had to admit that he grasped the basics of cryptography just enough to know when to call in an expert. That was what having a team to back you up was for, after all. “Laugh all you want. But it sounds like you want to be stuck with me.”
“Unfortunately.”
There was a brief silence, and Chris couldn’t think of any other excuse to stay. He also had another 30 minutes' drive back to the office, and it was a bit of a stretch for a coffee break. Even if it involved work.
“Well, thank you for the coffee,” he said again, taking the cup with him and getting up. “I’ll check out the location you suggested.” Wesker’s eyebrows scrunched together, but Chris couldn’t tell what he was displeased about. He was going to review the data and lead a raid in the lab just like Wesker wanted.
“Make sure you book all the amenities for your people.”
“I will," Chris replied, waved, and left the café. He finished his mocha, but before he tossed the empty cup, he removed the cardboard sleeve to see ‘Albert’ followed by a little heart handwritten by the barista. He smirked and threw away the cup on his way back to his car.