"Who let children in here?" William's voice, pitched high indignantly, hissed into his ear as a spidery hand grasped his shoulder.

Albert shrugged to make the younger researcher let go. "Those are the Ashford twins. They took over from Dr. Alexander, remember? They are our peers."

William, his teenaged face pinched into an expression of suspicion, eyed the pair of ten-year-olds who moved among the crowd of top Umbrella researchers. One of them was clearly the dominant sibling: Alexia stood straight with pride etched into her features, while Alfred trailed in his sister's wake, eyes darting about curiously.

"How in God's name did they get here? Christ, look at them! They probably haven't even hit puberty!"

Albert raised an eyebrow at his research partner. "Settle down, William. We had people saying the same things about us when we became Dr. Marcus' assistants, didn't we?"

"Yes, but we had qualifications! We had degrees, Albert, and experience in the Training Facility! What could two elementary-aged children bring the company?" As his temper rose, William Birkin's voice lowered, until he was whispering venomously.

Sighing internally, Albert turned away, drawing William with him. "Clearly they have something to contribute, or Lord Spencer wouldn't have given them command of Rockfort." Since the thinner, darker young man remained truculent, Albert pressed a bill into his hands and sent him off to the bar along one end of the ballroom with an order for a dry vodka martini and whatever William felt like imbibing.

When he turned back around, preparing to mingle once more with the older researchers, he was met with two heads of blond hair level with his waist, and four pairs of intensely blue eyes peering up at him. He met their gaze impassively, and they were able to see his clear-ice colored eyes since protocol forbade him from wearing his sunglasses. "Ah, Mr. and Ms. Ashford. I am pleased to make your acquaintance at last. I have heard good things about you."

They shook his outstretched hand in turn, and as predicted, Alexia was the one to speak. "Likewise, Dr. Wesker. Our father always had good things to say about you and Dr. Birkin. Is he here?" Her voice was clear, high and sweet like any other girl's, but he saw the cunning behind her innocent expression. This was a sharp one, no doubt about it. He would have to keep a close eye on her as time progressed.

"Yes, William should be around shortly. I regret that our mentor Dr. Marcus could not make it; he was looking forward to meeting the grandchildren of his old friend Prof. Edward, but circumstances at the lab made him stay." The polite lie fell smoothly from his lips: Marcus was an even more stubborn misanthrope than William, and had shooed his protégés off professing his relief that he didn't have to go to the event. Umbrella hosted parties like this periodically to bring their top officials together, allowing them time to exchange ideas and news with their counterparts from other departments and other parts of the globe.

Alexia gave him a winsome smile. "That is too bad. We would have liked to meet him as well, but we understand. Life has been busy for us as well, since Father retired."

Albert saw something, some hidden emotion, flash through Alfred's eyes as his sister spoke, but Albert said nothing, and left the thought in the back of his mind for later contemplation. "Without a doubt. I hope things have been going well for you since you took over from Dr. Alexander," Albert said smoothly, then turned to the side as William approached. He accepted his drink and ushered the younger researcher forward, fighting a smirk at the expression on William's face.

Alexia redirected her smile at William, heedless of the lanky young man's thinly-veiled scowl. "Ah, you must be Dr. Birkin. It's a pleasure to meet you. I am Alexia Ashford, and this is my brother Alfred."

William shook their hands with bad grace. "Yes, a pleasure. Would you excuse us for a moment? I need to speak with Dr. Wesker privately," he said tersely, his facial muscles stiff until the twins bobbed their heads politely and moved off.

Before William could open his mouth to begin, Albert grabbed his shoulder and pulled him closer. "You would do well to lose the attitude, and try being polite for once in your life. Whether you like it or not, they outrank us," he growled, releasing his partner's shoulder when William yanked it away.

"Whatever, Al. Look: I don't like them. They can't have climbed that high in the ranks without help. You heard what Dr. Marcus said about them! The Ashfords have been laughing-stock since Alexander took the reins. How are his ten-year-old brats supposed to do any better?"

"Marcus is a paranoid old man, William; get over yourself. Whatever issue you have with them, at least have the wit to keep it to yourself while we're in the same space." Sometimes, William forgot that outside of the lab he had people around him that he needed not to insult. If he had been able to get away with just going by himself, Albert would have done so without hesitation, for of the two heads of research in the Arklay lab, he was the one with any social skill or inclination.

With a huff, William turned and stalked off to nurse his glass of white wine somewhere he didn't have to listen to his nagging partner or see the Ashford brats. Albert took a sip of his martini – taking a moment to appreciate the fact that the bartender knew how to make a martini appropriately dry – and wandered in the other direction. As long as William was no longer in his company, he could make an ass of himself and Albert could worry less about being embarrassed by proxy. He'd already done his rounds and been perfectly amiable and polite to the other officials.

Seeking a moment of solitude so he could enjoy his drink and recharge a little, Albert wove through the crowd and made it to a sliding glass door that led out into a small balcony. He strode up to the rail and braced his arms across the banister, staring absently across the lawn, a night-darkened emerald sheet gilt with silver moonlight.

There was certainly a lot to think about. Most of the banter he had exchanged with the older researchers was idle chatter. He and William were still fairly new to Umbrella's research division, and their youth was enough to bring quite a bit of attention to them. William had recently turned nineteen, and Albert twenty-one; had they not both skimmed through schooling and gotten doctorates at shockingly young ages, they would have entered Umbrella's ranks as mere lab assistants. Instead, after that year in the Management Training Facility, Dr. Marcus had taken them specially under his wing until they proved ready to lead their own testing facility.

The two of them made a good team. William was cut from the same cloth as Dr. Marcus: blindingly intelligent and single-minded, once he latched onto something and followed it to its end, little could deter him. William had much more of a mind for the virology than Albert did. Albert was hardly stupid, but while William plowed through the intensive research, Albert could turn his attention to the other aspects of running the Arklay lab. He had more of a head for business, and for people. It was Albert the research team looked to as their leader, while William as often as not was pursuing his own project.

Between the two of them, they had even come to outshine Dr. Marcus' work with the improvements they had made to the tyrant virus. Other labs were also working with tyrant, but Marcus' protégés were making by far the best progress. It was a matter of no little pride, and the reason the heads of the Parisian lab had approached him with ice in their smiles earlier in the evening. Ever the gentleman, Albert had exchanged pleasantries and obliged them with a brief discussion of their mutual goals. They were clearly digging for more information on the Tyrant Project, but Albert managed to deflect their curiosity and learn a little about the Nemesis Project, which was still in its infancy.

There was one other lab that had been given samples of the tyrant virus. That lab was based on Rockfort island, and run by a ten-year-old prodigy. He knew more about the Ashford twins than most people, since he had the ears of Dr. Marcus and Lord Spencer both. He knew that Alexander Ashford had dedicated his whole life to genetics, and since no one had heard anything about the twins' mother, Albert had his suspicions about the two children. Certainly, the astounding intelligence and cleverness exhibited by Alexia was not a natural thing.

That train of thought led back to the mental note Albert had taken of the meeker of the twins. Alfred, throughout the interactions, had remained silent, deferring to Alexia to make the speeches and decisions. It was clear that their relationship was an interesting one, since one of them was so much more advanced cognitively. Alexia's mind worked the way an adult's did, but Albert doubted that Alfred had grown up, mentally, as fast as his sister had.

The two seemed close, though. Because she was so abnormally bright, she had probably been alienated from the beginning: too advanced to care much about the activities of her own age-group, and too young emotionally and physically to participate in anything with her intellectual peers. It was an impasse that Albert himself had encountered, though to a lesser extent. However, he hadn't had a sibling to turn to when he was otherwise friendless, as Alexia did. Perhaps it was that isolation that glued the twins to each other by the hip.

However, despite Alfred's apparent subservience, he was no doormat. Albert had noted the boy's expressions periodically, and it seemed he had his own opinions about matters. Most telling had been his reaction when Alexia mentioned their father retiring. Albert savored the last sip of his martini and considered the flash of emotion across the boy's face.

For all his irrationality, William could have been at least partially right about the twins. The fact that two ten-year-olds, prodigy though one was, had taken up command of an important outpost like Rockfort was peculiar, even for Umbrella. Alexander was hardly so old that there was any need for him to step down, unless he was working on something that wasn't for Umbrella at large to be aware of. Or, perhaps, he had been forced to step down: that sounded more plausible.

But by whom? Who would force Alexander to relinquish all his authority and research to his pre-pubescent children? It was the choice of successor that perplexed Albert; whoever was behind that little coup certainly worked in strange ways. So far, the twins – though it was doubtlessly Alexia who was doing most of the decision-making – had not erred so terribly that the news got around, so perhaps it wasn't as perilous a choice as one might think.

At that point, his musings were interrupted when the door behind him slid open, allowing the chatter from inside to bubble out and into the cool night air. The door slid closed again, cutting off the noise and allowing it to disperse among the errant breeze. Light, agile footsteps padded up behind him as in Albert's peripheral vision the indistinct blur of movement resolved into a slim figure that approached the railing nearby. Alexia crossed her arms on the top of the banister and rested her chin on them, appearing to be ignorant of his presence.

They both stood in companionable silence for a brief spell, then Alexia addressed him without turning. "You came out here to get a breather too?" she asked casually.

Albert spun the martini glass between his fingers. "Yes."

"It's pretty stuffy in there with all those people blowing hot air," Alexia observed, then giggled to herself. "Is it like that all the time?"

"Generally."

Alexia turned her head, resting her cheek on her folded arms to look at him. "You don't talk much." It was a statement rather than a question, so he didn't reply. She continued regarding him for a while, then spoke up once more, her voice softer and without the flippancy. "I kind of envy you."

That got him to tilt his head in her direction, raising an eyebrow. "Why?"

"You've got it so much easier. You have a mentor, and a partner who knows what he's doing. And you don't have everyone breathing down your neck all the time, expecting you to mess up because you're just a kid." Her lower lip stuck out in a pout, and Albert could tell that she was just fishing for sympathy. The look in her eyes was not that of a girl pushed to her limits and beyond: it was the look of someone who knew very well what she was getting herself into, knew what she wanted, and would do a lot to get it.

So Albert returned to gazing across the lawns, and hummed a noncommittal "True."

The quiet huff she gave brought the faintest of smirks to his lips. "Miss Ashford, you are looking for pity from the wrong person. You need to work on your acting skills before you will get anything from me."

Vaguely, he saw Alexia withdraw from the rail and cross her arms. "Fine then, since you saw through me so fast."

"Even if I had not, now I would know that your speech was a bluff." Albert smirked slightly at the scowl he saw in the corner of his eye. "The longer you spend in this company, the more you need learn not to be so transparent in your behavior."

"Well, since you seem to be such a master at dissembling, would you care to give this naïve little waif some tips?"

The sarcasm and frustration in her voice was enough that he allowed the smirk to slide across his mouth, tugging up one corner. "Not if you keep trying to sting me with verbal barbs, Miss Ashford."

She snorted. "Don't tell me you actually care what I say."

"I don't," he agreed mildly. "But neither am I inclined to assist someone who doesn't know how to check her temper."

"I do know how to control my temper!" Alexia cried indignantly.

"Do you?" he drawled, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, I do!" She stamped her foot belligerently.

"Mmh," he hummed wryly. "Indeed."

Finally realizing that he was deliberately baiting her, Alexia sucked in a deep breath to calm her rising ire, and exhaled heavily.

"Good," Albert praised, and Alexia was hard-pressed not to snap at him again. He chuckled under his breath. "You aren't used to people talking back to you, are you?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

"Not really," she admitted, trying not to sound petulant.

His smirk turned cruel. "Get used to it."

Alexia took a step closer to him, and Albert finally turned to face her, leaning casually against the rail. He watched her, keeping his head tilted just enough that he wasn't quite looking down his nose at her. His posture was loose and confident, and he regarded the slender girl with an impassive expression. "You had another reason to come out here besides looking for sympathy points. I don't feel like playing diplomatic tag with you, so get to the point." He could have easily spoken down to her with a tone of impatience, but his inflectionless voice softened the curt demand.

Once more with her arms crossed over her chest, Alexia glowered up at him for a moment before replying. "Believe it or not, I was just coming out here to chat with someone who isn't old enough to be my grandfather." She paused, as if deliberating, and then added, "And to ask you why your partner Birkin hates my guts. He's been giving me and Alfred evil looks since we got here."

He snorted in sardonic amusement. "William is jealous. Before now, he had held the title of youngest lead researcher, and for there to be someone else to break his record as resoundingly as you have, it is a slap to his ego."

Alexia brought a hand up to her face and giggled into it, eyes dancing. "He's jealous because I'm so young?" When Albert nodded slightly, her giggled turned into full laughter, and she leaned against the railing for support.

Had Albert been a good friend, he might have not told the blunt truth, but as far as he was concerned, William's irrational jealousy was childish, and if he was laughed at for it, it was hardly undeserved. So while Alexia struggled to contain her mirth, Albert turned to look through the glass doors at the party still going on within. The crowd had thinned out slightly, and the ones remaining had more or less organized themselves into small groups with their heads together in deep discussion, leaving the open floor to the ones who floated from conversation to conversation. Among those scattered few he saw Alfred Ashford, looking slightly overwhelmed to be left alone among all these people.

Once Alexia's laughter had faded, Albert addressed her while still watching Alfred drift aimlessly. "Your brother looks rather lost in there without you," he commented.

Alexia immediately perked up, her posture becoming alert and defensive as she turned to watch Alfred. Since he seemed not to be in any immediate trouble, she turned to Albert again, eying him warily. "He'll be okay," she asserted.

Ah, so she was protective of her twin brother. He smirked slightly and shook his head. "Really, Miss Ashford, you should be more on your guard. Now I know that your brother means much to you, and were I an enemy I could very easily use that against you."

She bristled visibly. "Are you an enemy, then?"

"Not unless you think I should be," he responded wryly, eyebrows arched high on his brow. Teasing this little girl was quite amusing; he didn't get much of a chance to bait many people anymore. Even better was that she was clearly not used to being on the receiving end of such verbal sparring: she was used to being the brightest and highest-ranking one in her little kingdom, where no one dared speak back. Certainly she was a smart girl, but she had a lot to learn if she was going to last long in Umbrella.

Alexia had narrowed her eyes into suspicious slits, and he returned the look neutrally. They both knew that she couldn't afford to make enemies of one of the most influential researchers in Umbrella, so it was Alexia who diverted her gaze first, back toward the sliding door to watch her brother. "Alfred can take care of himself," she said, though in a way that Albert could tell she was saying it as much to reassure herself.

"Not in there," Albert said, half under his breath as he too watched the ballroom.

"What?" Alexia turned to face him fully again, brows furrowed indignantly.

He hadn't meant to speak aloud, but since he had, Albert elaborated. "If it is easy for me to read and goad you, Miss Ashford, it is even easier for the others. This high in Umbrella, you need to be a canny politician as well as a brilliant researcher if you want to survive. The competition is cutthroat, and the learning curve providentially steep. Most of them have been playing this game longer than you have been alive, and unless you are the likes of Dr. Marcus, you will never be high enough in the pecking order to forget that."

Alexia was watching him soberly, her stance relaxing as the seriousness of his tone sank in. He was giving her a good piece of advice, and she nodded slightly in assent. Despite his arrogance, she had done well to choose him to speak with. He was much easier to talk to than the old farts inside, and he seemed to actually take her seriously. And, if she was honest with herself, she didn't mind the bantering as much as she would were it coming from someone back home. He was one of the few who had the inclination and ability match her wit for wit, and she couldn't deny that she appreciated the challenge.

Alexia roused herself before she could fall deeper into introspection and started for the sliding glass door. "Well, I should go rescue Alfred. Thank you for the endlessly entertaining conversation, Dr. Wesker, and for the advice." She aimed a smirk over her shoulder before reentering the ballroom and mincing over to her brother. Albert watched as Alfred noticed her almost immediately, and trotted over to meet her, looking relieved. They slipped into the dwindling crowd and out of his sight.

Albert lingered on the balcony for another minute or two, then reluctantly pushed away from the rail and followed Alexia's lead back inside. The temperature rose noticeably, and the clean crispness of dew-laden wind was replaced by the muggy almost-smell that occurred where there were masses of humanity all packed together. Albert heaved an internal sigh and set out to find William so they could leave. He knew that if he was tired of this little gala that his misanthropic partner was about to pull his hair out by the roots.

This has been bouncing around in my head for a while, and it wouldn't leave me alone until I put it on paper. This might go somewhere later, but for now it'll stay as-is since I already have quite a bit on my plate. Really, I just wrote this for shits and giggles, and because I started having a lot of fun with the interactions.

If you're wondering: yes, I did fudge a detail or two. Alexia and Alfred didn't take over Rockfort until she was about to put herself into cryostasis, which takes place two years after this does, but I decided to fudge that date so that this interaction could actually take place, and to give me room for more fun to be had before the fifteen-year-long skip, should I choose to continue this.

Really, I wish there was more attention paid to the Ashford twins. You don't hear much about them before Alexia's cryostasis(or at least I haven't) and I think it could be fun to see what happens when you throw a freakishly smart ten-year-old into a bed of serpents like Umbrella's ranking researchers. Clearly, she'd be smart enough to navigate around most of the land mines, but as isolated and young as she was, she would have to work hard at not fucking up.

Also, another point that people might wonder about: I mentioned that Wesker has Spencer's ear as well as Marcus'. I say this because, given the whole Project W thing and Wesker being one of the only survivors, it seems to me that Spencer would have a vested interest in keeping an eye on and open communications with him. That and I could see Wesker as worming his way into Spencer's favor even without that helping him.

And before anyone wonders why William got booze as well, remember that this is like 1981, and the act that prohibited the sale of alcohol to people under twenty-one in the United States was enacted in '84. Before that it varied from place to place, but at that point the US generally followed the overall trend of eighteen being the legal drinking age. -preens- Desert did her research.

But enough of me being a sleep-deprived moron.