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It was obvious who had written the note on his pillow. Annette's incredibly neat handwriting was distinctive from the wretched scrawling that passed for handwriting among most of the staff at the facility.
They knew each other in passing, both through Will. Most people in the facility would have found the idea that Will had friends to be shocking. Most people were idiots, so perhaps this was not surprising.
Will was relatively generous with his time with the few friends he had, so both he and Annette had been carefully working around his schedule for some time now. Perhaps a month or so.
Outside of Will, they rarely spoke other than the occasional pleasantry upon seeing each other in the hallways or labs. It suited him fine; it wouldn't do to have her become overly familiar and assume that he would be willing to extend the same courtesies to her that he extended to Will.
The note was a curiosity. He opened it, and read the entire thing carefully.
"Albert,
Will suggested a trip into Raccoon City this weekend. It is an easier environment to socialize in, without so many interested parties around.
You joining us would be greatly appreciated. I know Will would enjoy it.
No need to sort out transportation logistics. I'll drive.
-Annette"
Interesting. Had Will really asked for this? Or was Annette simply another one of Umbrella's shrewd scientists, attempting to punch far above her weight class by trying to insert herself into a "clique" of more senior, more successful scientists?
He held the card in his hands, shifting it from side to side as he considered it.
Or perhaps there was something more there. There were plenty of people in Umbrella, of all descriptions, who had found the bedroom to be a more viable path to advancement. While it seemed unsavory, he could hardly blame people for finding a path to success that others would easily shy away from. Perhaps Annette might see Will or him as a potential match that could work in her favor.
He would play her game. He had played plenty at Umbrella, and had always come out ahead.
The car trip was interesting. Interesting is such a weak descriptor, but what else would you call it when the person driving you insisted that both passengers sit in the back seat together, leaving the front passenger side completely empty? Her purse wasn't even using the seat.
This wasn't the strategy someone employed when trying to identify a mark and isolate it. She had put herself in a position where she could neither approach one of them nor could she control their conversation.
So, what exactly was she trying to do?
Will looked at him with all the excitement he got when new specimens arrived, almost bouncing in place as his eyes opened wide, a glossy intensity almost impossible to escape.
"So, I picked out somewhere interesting for lunch. Annette said she'd never had Chinese food before and this new place opened. The techs in one of the other labs talk about it all the time."
He continued to stare out the windshield as he replied.
"The most exciting thing to happen in Raccoon City since Umbrella arrived here, I'd imagine."
Annette laughed. A barking laugh, not the anxiety-ridden titter he'd expected. If he'd expected anything at all.
"Right? Who knows what will happen next? Maybe a cat will get stuck in a tree and the local cops won't be able to get it down."
Will giggled. It was like watching the weight of Arklay physically lift off of his shoulders for once. Sure, Will laughed, but it was usually at the expense of someone else. It did not sound dissimilar, but there was no levity or joy in the corners of his eyes and no easy smile.
He caught Annette glancing back at them through the rearview mirror.
He hoped he hadn't looked too confused.
They stood outside the restaurant, on the sidewalk with a few, admittedly delicious smelling, bags. Will hadn't known it was a carryout when he picked the spot, and no one had thought to mention it when he'd asked.
Annette shifted with a bag under each arm, her expression a little uneasy. Will glanced at her and then back to him, enough bravado and boisterous energy for both of them.
"Well shit, let's go to that little park we like, Annette. It's quiet and there's never anyone there, we'll have the place and all the picnic tables we want to ourselves."
We like? How often had he been out to Raccoon City with Annette? That question alone left a hollow feeling in the pit of his stomach that flooded with cold, followed by searing heat. Something he couldn't recall feeling for years.
Was he jealous?
"Uh, Al? Are you ok?"
He glanced at Will. What had he done? Had he reacted?
"Sorry, I was preoccupied by an issue I've been having in the lab."
Annette and Will glanced at each other and smiled easily, as if it was as natural as breathing.
"Come on, Al. Lighten up! Let's leave that shit there for today. It'll be waiting for us when we get back."
The park was as quiet and empty as Will had suggested it might be. Just the sounds of bird song interrupted occasionally by their conversations.
He found Annette to be a more than adequate conversational partner. She jumped in where Will left gaps in the conversation, as if she'd done this dance thousands of times before. And when Al and Will turned their conversations inward, she followed along, easily threading herself through them. It was unnervingly easy.
She sat there as if she'd always been a part of their relationship, despite having come into this well after he and Will were already so much more than friends. It was as if she had seen the room they left between them, found that it suited her, and settled in.
Will rested a hand on his upper thigh and gave it a light squeeze. He had been staring off into the distance, and now at least he could reel himself back in.
Annette smiled politely at him. Or perhaps it was pointedly. At the moment it felt difficult to objectively assess.
"Do you get away from Arklay at all? I mean, there's not a lot to do around here but the lab is just suffocating sometimes."
He shrugged. Will had an extended family. He had two people whom he rarely interacted with, one by choice and the other by force. Will was almost always at Arklay. There was little reason to leave for anything other than work. Not an acceptable answer, so a half-truth would suffice.
"I enjoy hiking and rock climbing, so the forest is a fine change of pace when the lab becomes too much."
She shrugged.
"I wish I was more outdoorsy, but I'll blame my parents for a lifetime love of indoor pursuits. Anything more than five miles is just too much for me."
He thought for a moment. It didn't have to all be grueling forced marches. Why did she assume it would be? Why did Will, for that matter?
"There are a few shorter loops around the mansion. I have a map marked with the trail markers, if you ever decide that a walk would be beneficial."
Annette nodded seriously in response, and glanced over at Will, who seemed happy to just stare at both of them wide eyed and smiling.
"That'd be great, especially in the spring. I know we're on a migration route for some interesting species of birds. Maybe I could get a look at them."
He allowed himself a slight smile.
"I would caution you not to tell our reference librarian about whatever you find out there. You will never have a moment's peace again."
Will sniggered in response, jabbing a finger at Annette across the table.
"I told you that woman is into birdwatching, and you told me that she just had eclectic fashion sense."
All of them shared a laugh. Even if it was against his better judgment to join. Will was as relaxed and easygoing right now as he'd ever seen him. And that was almost never in public. That relaxation, that easy joy, it seemed to be transferring to him too. It was uncomfortably exposing, especially in front of Annette.
But she hadn't been playing the kinds of games he had thought. Perhaps this was alright. Perhaps it was safe.
Will moved his hand away suddenly, frantically patting his pockets. He knew what this meant. But did she? Annette looked at Albert, eyes searching, before looking at Will. There was something in that look — confidence that he would have the answer.
Will glanced between them quickly, his smile fading rapidly, the corners of his mouth pulling tightly into a grimace as he jumped up from his seat. One of his hands found its way into his hair, thoughtlessly tugging at it as he paced in a line by the table.
"Fuck, I think I left my wallet in the car. I'm going to go check."
Al nodded.
"Of course. If it isn't there, it is most likely you left it in the dormitory. You have done that numerous times."
Will waved his response off, as he skittered away to the car, still well within eyeshot of the picnic table, but well out of hearing range.
Annette watched Will for a moment, and then turned to him. She seemed as composed and relaxed as she had when she'd pulled up in the car for their trip this morning. She took a deep breath.
"Thank you, Albert. This has happened to us before, and he was a wreck the entire time we were out. Of course the wallet was in his pants pocket in the dorm room. Getting him to realize that was likely was the hard part."
He nodded, trying to perform his usual demeanor in a way that he did not at all feel.
"This is not unexpected. Will is often pre-occupied, which makes it more difficult. He has only recently begun to understand that he can rely on someone to help when things are too much. At the training center, it was much worse."
She grimaced. The idea of Will being worse, and everything that came with it, must have been easy for her to imagine. She reached out, her hand just an inch or two away from his on the top of the table, surrounded by the leftovers of their impromptu picnic.
"Will has told me how much you mean to him, and it's pretty obvious since he and I started spending time together."
Well, jealousy had been the correct read after all, but now there was no sour feeling, no awful rush of cold certainty. Just a hint of discomfort that someone else had seen him clearly. He nodded again, more to confirm he had heard her than anything else. He stared at her hand as he spoke.
"It is clear to me that you provide him some measure of stability and happiness that are perhaps more difficult for me to…express. And please, call me Al. It is odd if Will does and you do not."
He looked up at her again, and caught her eyes over the top of his sunglasses. She didn't flinch.
"Al, look, I know Will loves you. I have no intention of being in the way of your relationship, whatever form that takes. It doesn't bother me. I want Will as he is."
He appraised her harshly at first. It was reflexive; there was always some angle with people at the Arklay lab that demanded it of him. That assessment had felt off almost immediately, and now it simply collapsed because there was nothing there to support it. Whatever Annette wanted from Will was not the same as what he wanted from him. What he had from him.
His instinct had been to protect himself and to protect Will, regardless of whether it had occurred to him that way. And here she was showing him that she had, in some small measure, the same inclination.
She was not a threat and they were not rivals, because there was nothing they could take from each other.
"Then I also have no interest in involving myself in your relationship with Will."
She smiled, tension slowly draining from her face, and nodded. Just in time for Will to stumble back to the table, breathless, smiling, and occasionally giggling.
"Haha, I was sitting on it. I was sitting on my wallet. Can you believe that?"
Both of them replied at the same time.
"Yes."
Will put his hands up, wincing back from the imaginary verbal lashing of that single word.
"Alright, alright. Sorry I ran off to figure it out. You both have a good conversation?"
Annette smiled at him and nodded, a glint of Will's mischief shown on her face. She caught Al's eye and continued.
"Oh, of course. We've just agreed we'd much rather share you than let you drive just one of us insane."