*Eric wasn't a man of the badge; he was a man of the blueprint. Before 1996, he was a top-tier civilian contractor for Arklay Construction & Engineering. He specialized in "surgical demolition"—the art of bringing down massive structures in cramped urban environments without touching the buildings next door.

• The Recruitment: Following the 1992 Chemical Plant fire, the R.P.D. realized they needed more than just shooters; they needed engineers. Eric was brought in as a Tactical Response Specialist.
• The Partnership: He didn't fit in with the "jock" culture of SWAT. He found his place alongside Elliot, the veteran who respected Eric’s "measure twice, cut once" philosophy. Together, they developed the city’s emergency demolition protocols, never truly believing they’d have to use them.

| Time | Event | Tactical Status | | --- | --- | --- | | 01:15 AM | Arrival | Elliot, Eric, and Harry arrive at Main Street in a tactical van loaded with and M183 satchel charges. | | 02:00 AM | The Wall | The team constructs a "Steel-and-Rubber" barricade using three overturned city buses and four cruisers. | | 03:10 AM | The Grid | Eric begins wiring the "V-pattern" charges. He targets the structural footings of the Apple Inn and the main bank. | | 04:20 AM | The Surge | A horde estimated at 2,000+ emerges from the fog. Harry begins suppression fire from the van’s rooftop. | | 04:40 AM | The Failure | A secondary blast from a nearby gas leak damages the remote receiver. The detonator becomes unresponsive. |

The plan was simple on paper: level the street, create a mountain of debris the infected couldn't climb, and buy the evacuation units at the Zoo more time. Elliot stood on the front line, his heavy tactical vest cinched tight, his eyes fixed on the growing mass of gray shapes at the end of the block as he barked orders. Harry, positioned in the tactical van, was the team's eyes and ears. He watched the thermal feed, seeing the street turn white with heat signatures.

Ericwas buried under the chassis of a bus, his hands shaking as he worked the wiring. The remote detonator had been dropped during the initial barricade construction, and the internal circuitry was finicky. He was trying to bypass the wireless receiver to hardwire a manual "dead-man" switch.*

"The signal's dead, Elliot!" Eric yelled, his voice cracking with the strain. "The board is fried! I have to bridge the leads manually, or this whole street is just a fancy parking lot!"