Author's Note: Oh, snap

Summary: A routine mission ends in a defening absence of sound in a place we all know echos. Ada braced for the noise, too. But all there was... was silence.

Rating: T for a nasty curse word


Silencer

By: Mazzie May

Ada took the left a little wide, skidding slightly on the wet pavement. Another ten yards and she'd be at the alley entrance. For once, memorizing a map for an easy mission wasn't a waste of time.

Easy mission. Ha.

Well, it was supposed to be easy. Get into the country, break into the Uptown Washington Blood clinic on the east side of ninety-seventh, steal a minimal amount of Ashley Grahm's blood and exit the country. Just a standard in and out trip, kid's stuff. But then…

Goddamn you, Leon Kennedy.

She'd been ahead of schedule and decided to flag down a cab. As she reached for the handle, a hand beat her to it, a saucey, rough voice following it shortly. "I'll get that for you." She should've ran right then. Should've just took off like a bat out of hell. Or maybe she should have kicked him. Anything other than turn slowly in horrible surprise at the blonde government agent.

He was glaring something terrible at her. She stared at him for a moment, smiling a little. A brief moment of insanity. Then, she patted his hand, saying "No thanks, Blue" (the nick name she'd given him deep within the Raccoon sewer system) before turning and sprinting away.

And of course, he gave chase, crying out "Ada, wait!" The phrase made her want to laugh. How many times had he called her name over the time they've known each other? And each time, she just smirked and continued running. It almost felt good to have him chasing her.

But only almost. She had to get away from him. If she were to be caught… No, not an option. So, she called upon the uptown portion of the map from memory and started off. There had been lots of people in her way, but she was lean and experienced in running through a crowd and used it the advantage to put distance between herself and Leon.

But Leon had kept up with her, for the most part, and she only gained about a minute of time. As soon as they reached even, uncrowded ground, he'd catch up with her in a matter of seconds. This had to not happen.

She slowed as she reached the end of the alley, and smoothed her hair as she turned around, waiting for Leon to appear around the corner. It was too bad, really it was, that he found her.

However he did that, anyway.

Just how had he known where she was? It couldn't have been an information leak, considering it was Wesker who set up her trip back into the country. He couldn't have just been strolling by… She smiled humorlessly. He probably had just happened by at that very moment. That boy had the worst kind luck. She heard him splash through the puddle that was just at the edge of the alley entrance. And that luck was about to run out if he didn't play it smart.

Leon slowed to a stop about ten feet away from her. Thirty feet deep in the alley, he was too far in to run out if he had to. She thought that, maybe, he had a plan. Used a cell phone to call some form of back up, but then who could he call that she'd have to worry about? Did he have his gun on him? A quick scan over his T-shirt, jeans and sneaker'ed body told her that, no, he didn't. No back up, no weapon, no way to get out.

Strike one, Blue.

She shifted her weight to the left, hands on hips. She tilted her head back, smirking. She could take him if he rushed her. A look at his eyes, however, made her realize that this might not end on a fun note. His eyes were sharp, darkened by anger and confusion. But they still had that soft undertone of trust. Even after all they ever went through, he still looked at her with trust.

The first time they had this problem, he trusted her not to shoot him. His stupid effort was rewarded when she lowered her empty handgun. The second time, his faith in her had faltered to the point where he was confident she wouldn't kill him, but understood that she'd still shoot. She retrieved the Sample with little effort then, but it bothered her how he still had so much faith in her.

Even now, disarmed and defenseless, he held on to what he thought was the one truth that seemed to hold strong between them. That she wouldn't kill him. Shoot him, hurt him, knock him out. But not kill.

Strike two…

"Ada…" He looked angry, but his voice came out unsure.

"Good to see you, too," she said, tilting her head to the other side. "Why'd you chase me down, Blue?"

"Because you were running away." His eyes narrowed. "Why were you running away?"

"Because you were chasing me," she replied in a semi-sweet, innocent tone. The one she knew he hated. And just as she predicted, he blinked once, bewilderment over taking his features before he regained them.

Leon was only good at keeping his face straight when he either A, knew he was going to have to or B, he was so shocked he couldn't make a face, i.e. when he saw her in Salazar's garden viewing room at the castle.

"Why are you here?"

"I was shopping—"

"Liar," he spat out. That surprised her. She'd mistaken the darkness for anger. It was hurt. His seeing her brought hurt to his eyes, regret. She didn't like it. 'Regret' with Leon didn't mean doing something and then feeling bad about it later. It meant doing something he wasn't sure of, what he thought might be the lesser of two evils, because he was going to lose either way. This wasn't good, just what did he have in mind?

She needed to be careful. "How do you know I wasn't shopping? I bought this—" she tapped her purse, "—this morning."

"It's too late to play stupid."

"Then what's your excuse?" she asked, her voice once again covered in sugar. She used to play dumb with him because she thought he was stupid and decided to stay on his level. Over time, though, she'd come to realize just how much he was capable of and couldn't afford to give him an inch. Especially right now.

Your eyes, Blue… just what are you planning?

"Ada…" He sounded tired. "Why are you here?"

She looked off to the side and smirked. Suddenly, she shared his exhaustion. "I had to come and pick something up."

"What was it?"

"It doesn't concern you."

"Ada—"

"Really, Blue," she shook her head. "It does not involve you. I promise."

He gave her a 'bitch, please' look. "When has that ever counted for anything?" She smiled, checked her watch and sighed. All the time spent on these last few events had put her nearly right back on schedule.

"I'm going to walk out of the alley, Leon," she stated, dropping her arms to her sides. "And you're going to wait a whole minute before coming out. And then," she clucked her tongue, "you're not going to follow me."

He shook his a little, slowly. "You know I can't let you do that."

She narrowed her eyes slightly. "Why? I didn't do anything so illegal."

"Ada…" He began to move forward.

It took ten seconds. Her purse was down her arm, opened in about six, her gun removed from it, pointed at his chest in the next four. "Come on, Leon. Let me walk." Her voice was soft still, but sugarless. Like baker's chocolate. The bitterness on his face helped the analogy. She sighed. "Look, Wesker needed something. I didn't have to hurt anyone to get it, no one died. As a matter-of-fact, the person who it belonged to gave it up willingly." Which, she thought, was true enough. She didn't think Ashley had fought the nice nurse. "I didn't have to do anything but pick it up. Really" she added, watching his skepticism rising. "No games, no double meanings."

He looked unsure, but the want was there. He wanted to believe her. The one time she wished he'd have all faith in humanity, including her, and he didn't.

Typical. You're guilty and they call you innocent. You're innocent and they call you guilty.

Case and point, he wasn't going to let her through. She raised her arm to head level. Even with the gun, not eight feet away, aimed at his head, he stood his ground. A class act moron. He deserved to get shot for acting the way he was.

Even though he had it coming, even though she owed him some serious lead, even though he frustrated and confused her immensely on more than one occasion, she really wanted him to stepped back. Hoped he would. Wished he would. Silently prayed and willed him to drop the ready-to-rush stance he was in and then just back up.

Because, really, shooting him would be a hassle. The first question would be where to do it, seeing as how she was going to have to drop him to keep from fighting her. A clean shot to the kneecap would keep him down, but it could also ruin his career, not to mention send the Hounds after her once he tells his commanding chiefs what happened. She couldn't just leave him in an alley, either. It was Washington, DC for Christ's sake; who knows what diseases he'd catch lying on the pavement, or what kind of freaks would take advantage of the poor boy.

The longer they stood in silence, the more confidence Leon seemed to be mustering. He was slowly changing his position, slightly moving his feet farther apart, making for a more solid sack.

Not to mention the shot itself. Guns were loud enough as is, the alley would amplify the sound greatly. Someone would hear it. They were just off the side of one of the busy streets in the capital. Lots of someones would hear it. Then again, it is Washington, DC. What kind of panic is one shot going to raise? It's when there's a whole slue of them that pandemonium broke loose in the streets. And what if someone happened to walk by the alley mouth right as she fired? She'd have to deal with a witness. She could lie, and by the time police realized it, she'd be out of the country. Unless there was a layover at the airport, which, unfortunately, was very possible.

She was deeply immersed in her mental trial-and-error session. And Wesker. What would he say when he found out Sherry's guardian was dead?

Dead. Dead? I can't kill him. The shot. It'd be too loud. Of course I can't shoot him. Everyone would hear. And he cry out, we're in an alley, everything echo's, and God would the bullet be loud--

And then suddenly, Ada didn't feel well. She was sweating. Something was wrong. She couldn't hear the people or the traffic. Everything was quiet. The silence was suffocating.

Even the sound of Leon's body crumpling to the hard and wet pavement, just a little over two feet from where he once stood, was absent. As the blood weakly dribbled from his temple, he didn't move.

She blinked slowly, her mind hazy.

I didn't shoot, not my bullet, didn't fire, there was no noise, it would've been huge, would've heard it, thunderous, never pulled the trigger, bangs are loud, didn't shoot, didn't hear, no sound--

Starting to shake, Ada looked down her arm. So lost in her mind, her instincts were left in charge. So busy finding a happy medium, she didn't realize he made his move. So desperate to find an excuse not to shot him, she completely forgot.

The gun's silencer was on.


Author's Note: Whee. So, yeah. In case anyone one's lost, while Ada was talking to herself, Leon made the move to rush her and grab her gun and Ada, on instict and habit, fired her gun. And it was aimed at his head. Bullet plus Head equals dead. Poor Leon. But it's about time someone nixed him. I mean, I love him, but God. He never gets killed. Ever. Lame.

R&R Please