Hey, everyone.
Sorry for the absurdly long wait. School work is not kind.
My last story took very little time to post and publish, starting and ending in less than four weeks, I believe. This story's updates will be erratic until late June, when I get out of school for the summer.
Disclaimer: Resident Evil and its characters are owned by Capcom. The C6 Zo6 Corvette is owned by Chevrolet. This story is fictional. Anything relating to real people or occurrences is entirely coincidental unless otherwise specified.
In order to get full enjoyment out of this story, please read the prequel, TC Evolution.
Enjoy.
"Back in black, I hit the sack.
I've been too long, I'm glad to be back.
Yes I'm let loose from the noose,
That's kept me hangin' about.
I been livin' like a star 'cause it's gettin' me high.
Forget the hearse, 'cause I never die.
I got nine lives, cat's eyes -
abusing every one of them and running wild."
-AC/DC
REUNION
Just outside of Hale, Texas.
It was the end of January. The back road was illuminated only by the silvery moon overhead, the sky dark and peppered with twinkling stars. The air was fresh and cool, and all was silent, save the single car that drove down the isolated roadway.
The midnight-black Corvette C6 Zo6 was in perfect condition, although to say it had never seen bad times would be a lie. It had been smashed into, scratched, and shot at on more than one occasion. Still, the owner did his best to fix everything that happened to the car.
The said owner of this particular vehicle had equally as many scars, bruises, broken bones and gunshot wounds as his Corvette had in its own regard. He ended up taking care of himself just as much as it. His name was Leon Scott Kennedy.
Even now he was suffering from a large gash across his left bicep. He learned to handle and embrace pain over the past three months, ever since his friend was murdered.
The wind blew through the open window, causing his hair to lightly blow away from his forehead. Anyone else in his position would say that they were cold. He was immune to it. He had the radio blasting an old favorite, Back in Black.
Three months ago he had returned to the desolate and destroyed Raccoon City, where he found out about the terrible secret brooding within the earth - the Ex-Umbrella facility and the deadly TC Virus they were synthesizing. He learned that Wesker was still playing with fire, and that he was less than thrilled with Leon's presence in his testing grounds. The place went up in flames when a bomb was set off inside the facility. A few days later he walked into his office and found the dead body of a co-worker and friend, Jack. He knew Wesker was behind it.
It was a warning from the asshole himself - a warning that said "I'm coming for you." His home no longer safe, Leon took up the life of the road. He'd not be safe until Wesker was dead.
He tracked Wesker's movements, often finding some sort of T-Virus testing facility or research lab. Though Wesker was never there anymore, he shut down each construct. He'd snuffed out the operations of four in the last three months, including one that very night.
The back road flowed into the small county of Hale where Leon had ordered a hotel suite.
"Welcome back, Mr. Thompson." The manager greeted him. He politely nodded and went up to his room, the thick cut across his arm concealed by a sweatshirt. By now Leon was used to using faux names to keep a low profile.
The gash wasn't terribly bad, Leon could see as he inspected it under a fluorescent light. Still, he'd probably need to keep weight off of it for the week. After a quick gauze wrap and a well-needed shower he left the bathroom, walking over to the desk that held all the information he'd gathered about 'evil' operations of the much-alive Umbrella Corporation. He grabbed a pen and scribbled "COMPLETED" across the top of the folder that contained the Intel about his most recent endeavor, a slight smile washing across his face.
Another down. Oh-!
He'd almost forgotten - His next lead, a crumpled up piece of paper. It was a letter by the looks of it, the writer apparently displeased with the Scientist Head's progress. "Don't make me come out from Nevada." the final sentence said.
Nevada.
He'd head out tomorrow morning. For now, he deserved a restful night of sleep. There was still a long road ahead of him.
--
Hale, Texas
A lone finger swept across the table as its owner talked into a cell phone.
"You're sure he was here last?" She spoke.
The person on the other line answered. "Yeah, we're completely sure. It's the third time he's used the name 'Thompson'."
She sighed. "Well, he's sure as hell gone now. I'll keep looking around here; see if you can dig anything else up."
"Will do. Don't worry, Ada." The other person on the phone said. "We're getting closer. We'll catch him." Ada Wong closed the phone and looked around the Hotel room blankly. The room was clean. Leon hadn't left so much as a hair to prove he had checked in here; aside from the booklist that said a black Corvette had registered entrance to the Hotel's parking lot.
"Where are you, Leon?" She whispered to herself, taking one last glance around before leaving.
--
Los Angeles, California
Rebecca Chambers' home had become the main place everyone gathered when it was time to work.
This, unfortunately for Rebecca, was all the time. The computer room had been turned into the recon room, the desks stacked with folders and paper clipped bunches of paper of sources and leads on both Umbrella's movements and sightings of the team's missing friend.
The team consisted of Rebecca, Chris Redfield, his sister Claire, Jill Valentine and Barry Burton, along with a personal friend of Leon's, Ada Wong. They worked almost nonstop to find Leon but their research rarely gave them anything worth celebrating.
Today was like that.
"Did she find anything?" Chris asked Rebecca, looking over her shoulder at the computer.
Rebecca sighed. "No. He's a ghost." She replied coolly, slight irritation washing over her.
"I don't get it. Why is he running from us? We're trying to help him." Barry said gruffly, looking through the most recent intelligence.
"He's keeping a low profile. Easier to sneak around alone, I guess." Jill replied as she walked into the room, holding a cup of coffee. "I'm sure if he needs us, he'll call us."
God, I hope so.
"Maybe you're right," Rebecca said as she looked over at Jill, smiling.
"Hey, guys, check out the news." Claire called, not turning her head away from the television. Everyone walked over to her.
"...some sort of chemical explosion caused by the fire. Authorities say the fire was most likely caused by a gas leak. The body count continues to rise..." The reporter went on. The screen was filled with the video of a large building covered in bright orange and white flames. A superimposed headline read "Explosion at factory".
"Look at the location." Claire said quietly, still listening to the reporter.
Hale, Texas.
"Hale? Leon... You think this was another facility?" Rebecca asked, already guessing the answers of her friends.
"No doubt. A gas leak? He covers himself well." Chris said, slightly amused with the image.
"Alright, guys. Let's give it a break for a few days, eh? We all need a vacation." Barry said, stretching his back.
"Good idea. Keep in touch and keep your phones on. Just in case." Jill said, gathering all the research together.
Glad to see someone cares about the condition of my house besides me...
"Yep. Goodnight." Claire said, followed by Barry. Chris helped Jill and they left together, holding one another's waist.
They've been like that ever since Alaska, a year or so back...
Rebecca leaned against her chair and sighed, eyeing the numbers and words on the screen.
I should get some rest, too. But first...
She took out her cell phone and dialed in Leon's number. The familiar three-rings-and-machine tore her. Why couldn't he pick up? Just once?
"It's Leon. Leave a message."
"Hey, Leon. Heard you were in Hale. Ada went to go find you, but... well; I guess we were too late. Also heard about the destruction of that EXU plant..." She paused. "Please call me. I can help you, we all can. Please, Leon." She hung up, suddenly weary of the situation. She knew he wasn't going to call. Maybe he didn't even have his cell phone anymore.
Rebecca dropped the phone and stood up, making her way for her room. There could be a billion things happening with Leon. But now, she needed rest.