Harperwong AU: Resident Evil Damnation Reboot, a resident evil fanfic

Note: We don't have much to say except we're sorry this took forever, and if you liked Buddy in the original Damnation, then we're sorry to say you won't like this fic.

February 2011

"The civil war in Eastern Slav has escalated to bioterrorism. The CIA reports the rebels are utilizing BOWs and have quickly moved into Holigrad. It won't be long until they'll be attempting to breach the Presidential Palace. You're to rendezvous with a CIA agent; he claims to have found the source of the BOWs, as well as evidence that implicates President Belikova."

Helena looked at the pictures laid out on the table, images from a skirmish between the Eastern Slav army and the rebels. Fighting alongside the rebels were BOWs she easily identified as lickers, one of the more common types distributed within black markets. A DSO agent for six years, she'd had her fair share of encounters with lickers, more than enough to find the pictures peculiar.

"These aren't your run-of-the-mill black market lickers," Leon remarked from across her, saying out loud what she was thinking. "Those would have turned on the rebels before all those soldiers were even dead. They're controlling those things somehow."

BOWs were indiscriminate, unleashed at targets from a safe distance or left in an enclosed space to lie in wait. Only subordinate-strain plaga had been known to display the subjugated behavior that appeared to be present in the lickers used by the rebels.

"It could be plaga," she said, though such a thing had never been seen before. Were this true, it would be the first case where someone successfully merged plaga with a virus-infected host.

She and Leon looked up from the pictures to face Advisor Simmons, who had taken it upon himself to brief them.

"If it is, then these rebels somehow got their hands on dominant-strain plaga," he concluded, his tone grim. "I'll have the Eastern Slav intel forwarded to you both; you leave for Holigrad tonight."

"What?" Luis blurted out hysterically, jumping to his feet in protest. "You're going into a licker-infested warzone alone? Lickers controlled by plaga, even! Helena, that's insane!"

"I'm not going alone," she told him calmly, her arms crossed over her chest. "I'll be going with Leon."

Luis let out a sarcastic guffaw.

"Oh, two of you, that's so much better!"

"A team would attract too much attention, you know that," she pointed out, far too used to Luis strongly disapproving her missions. When he simply stared at her instead of launching off into a lecture as he usually did, she grunted an annoyed, "What?" at him.

"Helena," Luis sighed, already nursing a growing headache. "Don't you think you've punished yourself enough? You've been out in the field so much these past two years, I'm surprised Lightning still recognizes you," he said, referring to the strangely friendly wolf she had run into in Spain seven years ago, who had been part of her family since.

Helena scowled. Normally, she'd be appreciative of Luis' continued respect of the name she had chosen for her wolf, one that came to be when Deborah pointed out that the scar on her leg from the bear trapped looked like a bolt of lightning. Her sister now in mind, her scowl deepened and she glared at Luis.

"You're beginning to sound like Deborah," she grumbled.

"Good!" Luis exclaimed. "Maybe then you'll actually start listening to me. You need to slow down, Helena, take some time off, relax, maybe have some fun. Dios! Maybe remember how to have fun, that'd be a start. Life's not all megalomaniacs and BOWs. I know overworking is a common coping mechanism people fall into after a breakup-"

"Then get off my back," she cut in, peeved by the reminder of the relationship she had pushed to the brink and made irreparable.

"See? See that?" Luis declared. "It's been half a year, Helena, and you still don't understand why she left you. It's not just because she couldn't handle the risk and danger that came with your job, it's because of your willingness to throw your life away to make up for saving Ashley's."

"I didn't come here for your approval or your permission, Luis," Helena said evenly, refusing to indulge him any further.

"Of course not," he muttered, shoulders sagging in defeat as he dropped back down on his chair. "So, what is this favor you need?" he asked, though by his knowing look, he already knew.

"I need you to watch Lightning while I'm gone," she told him. "Deborah's too busy at the hospital," she added by way of explaining, even when there was no need.

"I'd be happy to, Helena," Luis responded sincerely, then offered a small, crooked smile. "And what of Dr. Harper?" he asked, meaning Deborah, who had pursued a medicine career following the trying experience of nursing her back to health after her mission in Spain. "Shall I keep an eye on her as well?"

"Yes. Please," Helena was quick to answer, hating to leave her sister alone in their apartment. "I'll have to ask her first," she realized belatedly, "but if she's okay with it, you really don't mind having her and Lightning at your place?"

Luis waved it off, putting to rest any further concerns.

"Helena, it's nothing; your family is my family. Now, unless we have been blessed by a miracle that has done away with that thick skull of yours, I have lab work waiting for me," he said, already shooing her out of his office, "and I believe you have a sister to call."

"Yeah," Helena sighed, knowing she and Deborah would likely end up arguing about it; like Luis, her sister wasn't happy with the increasing frequency of her missions, and was far more vocal and confrontational. "Thanks, Luis," she told her friend on the way out, then immediately reached for her phone to call her sister.

Eastern Slav, en route to landing zone via chopper

Helena was dutifully going over the Eastern Slav intel when Leon spoke up.

"So, Helena, what are we dealing with here?"

Despite the friendly and conversational tone, Helena recognized that she was being tested by the DSO Chief Field Agent. This was their first mission together; their experience with BOWs resulted in separate assignments, usually on their own. She didn't know what it meant that the National Security Advisor had sent them both to Eastern Slav.

"The CIA was investigating President Svetlana Belikova under suspicion of conspiracy, corruption, and war crimes," she began, foregoing her review of the intel to look Leon in the eye. "She was the one who ended the previous civil war that lasted several years, but on November 2010, she declared war against the anti-government forces. Supposedly, the insurgents from the last war turned into terrorists."

"From rebels to terrorists, huh?" Leon remarked, and then prompted her to continue.

"When the Cold War ended, Eastern Slav declared itself independent of the Soviet Union and became an oligarchy, which caused the first civil war," she went on, expounding the country's relevant history. "A few years later, Svetlana Belikova, Eastern Slav's then new president, called for a ceasefire and offered the revolutionaries a region where they had some autonomy. It wasn't the independence they wanted, but it was enough for Ivan Judanovich and the Council of Elders to agree to President Belikova's terms."

"Judanovich and the Council led the resistance during the first civil war," Leon continued for her, unsurprisingly as well read on the case as she was. "They had the money and the connections to give the rebels everything they needed - guns, supplies, equipment, you know name it - and Judanovich had the know-how to go toe to toe against the military with only half the manpower and firepower. Without him, they wouldn't have lasted a week. Thing is, he wasn't the only one who settled for a consolation prize in the ceasefire; couldn't have been easy for the president to hand over a whole region to a bunch of rebels. So here's the question: they're fighting again, so who had a change of heart?"

Helena nodded in agreement, having had similar thoughts, and took his cue to take it from there.

"As per the War on Terror, our own troops were aligned with the president and her military, but when we started receiving records of BOWs claiming the military attacked them unprovoked and reports of unarmed civilians and children being gunned down as the rebels lost base after base, the CIA was sent in to investigate. CIA operative Sanders was gathering evidence to prove President Belikova was using the war as a cover to drive Judanovich and his people away from the region when the BOW attacks started. By the time he contacted the CIA, he reported that President Belikova was also entangled with the BOWs, despite Judanovich being identified as the man controlling the lickers."

"He fights back with BOWs when he and his people are backed into a corner," Leon noted with a shake his head. "Sounds more like the actions of a desperate man than a terrorist."

"We'll know when we get the evidence," she said, not as quick to buy into Judanovich's cause.

"Yeah, we will," Leon agreed, leaning back against his seat. "Hey, maybe if we finish up here quick, I can go back to Sherry and Claire with time to spare."

With that, Helena empathized. She had become close friends with Sherry since the girl had asked for her help with firearms training, and she knew that Sherry, Leon and Claire had been planning for over a year to get time off to go on a vacation together. With Sherry and Leon being DSO agents and Claire being a BSAA operative, it was no easy feat.

"And we'll get you home soon so your sister won't have to worry about you for long," Leon added with a slight smile. "You're long overdue for a vacation, aren't you, Helena? Maybe take your sister somewhere after this."

"Maybe," she mumbled, uncomfortable speaking of personal matters with Leon, who was a co-worker and an acquaintance through Hunnigan and Sherry at best. "Is there a reason Advisor Simmons pulled you out of vacation to go on this mission with me?" she asked, her focus on the mission rather than what would come after.

"That was pretty obvious of him, wasn't it," Leon admitted, chuckling.

From up front, the chopper pilot shouted, "We're approaching the LZ, Chief! It's as close as I can take you to Holigrad without sending a welcome party your way."

"Roger that!" Leon responded. Turning back to her, he kept talking without missing a beat. "He's been pushing for me to be the DSO director since he let the position go to be advisor. He twisted my arm once and asked me who I'd want to take my place when I decide I'm too old for field work, and I said you. I think this is his way of telling me it's about time I get to training my protege, see if you fit the bill."

She scoffed, finding the very idea ridiculous. On record, she had done away with the behavioral problems she had shown in her CIA days, but only because killing BOWs was part of the job and her DSO superiors didn't much care if a bioterrorist had a few broken bones in or out of the interrogation room, just as long as he was still able to speak. Being the chief field agent meant she had to deal with people, distinctly neither BOWs nor bioterrorists; Leon was either severely overestimating her or out of his mind.

"We're meeting up with a CIA agent to pick up evidence, what does Advisor Simmons think is going to happen?" she asked, checking her gear and getting ready for when they land.

"You never know," Leon said, following suit, "you especially, Helena," he added, referring to what happened to her in Spain. "So, off to rendezvous with Scarecrow. Tin Man here. You ready, Dorothy?"

"You've got to be fucking kidding me," she grumbled, scowling when he grinned at her.

"It's protocol, Helena. You used to be CIA, you know how it goes."

"Yeah, yeah," she grunted, grabbing a sniper rifle as the chopper began its descent.

Making their way through the backstreets of Holigrad, Helena and Leon avoided the sound of gunfire and distant explosions. With her handheld out and a map directing them, they navigated easily.

Rounding the corner of an abandoned office building downtown, Helena came to a stop before an exposed street that led to the rendezvous point, positioned in a dark, underground parking lot.

"Contact at our twelve o'clock," she informed her partner, scoping out the area before proceeding.

Leon nodded, coming up beside her, and similarly checked the area.

"Looks clear," she reported, spotting no reflections of guns, pinpoints of laser sights, or any movement in the darkness.

"Let's proceed," Leon confirmed.

Before they took their first step, Helena's handheld began vibrating. She slipped back into the shadows to answer Hunnigan's unexpected call, signalling Leon to fall back with her.

"Hunnigan, we're moving into position, about to make contact with the target," Helena reported as her handler's face filled the small screen. "Is something wrong?"

"I'm afraid so," Hunnigan admitted, features unusually tight and drawn together. "Stay right there, Helena, I'm locking onto your position."

"Why?" Leon asked, echoing Helena's thoughts. "What's going on?"

"Leon, you're not going to like this," Hunnigan said, eyeing the older agent as he moved in beside Helena, "but I need you to listen. Your mission has been aborted. The US is pulling out of the country, and you need to retreat to the evacuation point immediately."

"What? A retreat order?" Leon asked a little too loudly, unable to contain the sudden twitch in his jaw.

Helena's brows drew together and she frowned.

"We have a job to do, Hunnigan," Leon said, voice lowering, but words firm.

"I understand that, Leon," Hunnigan said patiently, breathing out slowly, "and I'm sorry, but Washington and Eastern Slav have reached an irresolvable disagreement, so everyone has to leave, not just the embassy staff. All Americans have been ordered to evacuate the country."

"A disagreement?" Helena quietly growled, gripping the handheld so tightly, it creaked beneath her fingers. "That just means something's going on here, Hunnigan!" she snapped, but when her handler's regretful expression didn't change, she took a deep breath and tried to reason. "We're fifty feet from the rendezvous point; at least let us make contact with the target and get him out of here, too."

"Helena, it's not my decision to pull you out of there, but if you do not leave this second, you will be considered enemies of the state with no support or backup-"

Leon reached out and clicked off the handheld, startling Helena to look up at him.

"That's just her way of telling me that we have time to pick up Sanders," he said calmly, and Helena blinked.

She had pulled up Leon's file before their mission and his track record was nearly spotless, making her believe he was a dedicated, by the book agent who always followed orders.

"Perks of being chief," he said by way of explaining, starting to smile a little. "You get to know all the right people, including the ones who keep your record spotless," he told her, almost seeming to read her thoughts exactly.

"Should've figured; you're record was a bit too clean…" Helena said, eyes lowering to the handheld. She started to put it away, and then froze. "Shit."

"I'll tell Hunnigan it was me when we get to the evac," Leon assured, chuckling. He companionably put a hand on her shoulder.

Helena tensed, finding no comfort in his promise.

"Come on, pup, we'll face Mama Wolf later. Lucky for you, we have to go off the grid now. Let's head on down the yellow brick road," Leon said, turning once more to face them towards the parking lot.

Numbly, Helena slid the handheld back into its place and took a deep, calming breath.

"Okay," she agreed.

"And who knows?" Leon joked amiably, flashing her a smile. "Maybe we'll find something out here that's scarier than Hunnigan."

"Like hell," Helena muttered, and Leon laughed.

At the entrance of the underground parking lot, Helena and Leon stopped to put on their tactical goggles, which had a built-in night vision setting. Assault rifles drawn, they slowly descended the ramp, effectively severing the link Hunnigan must have made on them from an aerial position.

Helena glanced back over her shoulder briefly, getting the distinct feeling that they were being watched. Seeing nothing but no less convinced, she advanced with Leon.

The parking lot was huge; four lines of parking spaces stretched on further than than the eye could see. Even with night vision, there was no way for her and Leon to have eyes on the whole lot.

"I don't like this," Helena whispered to Leon as they took cover behind a wall. "Sanders was supposed to signal us at the entrance."

Leon nodded, looking to have been thinking the same.

"Yeah, we could be walking into a trap. What are you thinking? Split up?" he asked, giving her a chance to make the rest of the call.

"I'll go ahead alone," Helena said, surveying the massive area. "There's a few cars on the east side. I'll make contact, watch my left flank."

"Good plan, pup. Ballsy, and shows your good instincts. I like it. Going on your signal. And remember, you're not alone in this mission. I've got your back."

Helena nodded and signaled him with two fingers before taking off down the eastern wall, crouching behind cars for cover.

With the night vision goggles cutting off her peripheral vision, her sightlines were limited, but Helena was trained. She analyzed her surroundings every few feet, wary with her assault rifle held ready. Alert for any unusual sounds or smells, she continued further in.

She had made it past her fourteenth column and sixth car by the time she came up to an enormous semitruck with a giant bee on the side of it. Wrinkling her nose at a sudden, foul scent, she cautiously moved around the back and realized that the back trailer door was open.

Peering inside, she found it empty but for a couple of suspicious, dark stains on the floor and walls. Not willing to corner herself by investigating the stains directly, Helena sniffed the air in the trailer, paused, and then sniffed again.

The musty scents were unusual and hard to place, but the origin of the foul scent became clear, and one in particular stuck out.

Helena smelled blood.

Raising her assault rifle cautiously, she crept along the back to the other end. She peeked around the corner and located Agent Sanders.

He laid in the middle of the parking lot, flat on his back and unmoving.

Helena couldn't make out much through the goggles, and the scents from the truck masked his, but with nothing around him but a blood trail, Helena detected the trap easily. She frowned, realizing that they were dealing with amateurs, judging on poorly this had been staged.

Helena listened for any signs of life, but instead of breathing, she heard a low, guttural growl. Almost in the same moment, Sanders gasped, and the beast growled again, betraying its position, but didn't move in on the dying man.

Helena shook her head, instantly suspecting one of the plaga-controlled lickers. She knew that rumble wasn't human, and nothing short of an irrefusable order would hold a BOW back.

Holding her assault rifle limp in her left hand, she pulled a flashbang grenade from her belt, carefully slipped the pin out with her teeth, and then threw the grenade clear to the other side of the SUV. She turned turned her head from the explosive, closed her eyes, and plugged her ears.

When she heard the flashbang go off, she came out of cover and dashed across to parking lot. She moved to the far side of the SUV and found the creature moaning on its back, confirming her suspicions the moment she identified the licker.

Long, wet, and a sinuous body of pure muscle, it wailed and squirmed, sensitive senses having taken a beating. In the middle of its sticky chest, a giant heart lay exposed, distinguishable even in her limited night vision.

Advancing on it, Helena traded the assault rifle off to her right hand and slipped free the combat knife from her belt. Not precisely sure how durable these things were, she raised her arm up and brought it down with every ounce of strength she could muster, aimed straight for its heart.

Her aim was true, and the pulsating muscle gave way like butter under a hot knife, popping the heart and splattering her with blood. The strength of her blow sent the blade all the way through its heart to its spinal cord, which fractured, sending an uncontrollable tremor up her arm.

Pulling back her arm, Helena ripped free the combat knife, her hand sticky with its blood and bodily fluids. She wiped the bloody blade off on her pant leg, sheathed it, and then wiped her hand off after.

Checking the immediate vicinity, she found no further contacts, but knew they might be coming after that. Trading the assault rifle back into her dominant hand, she came around the SUV to the agent on the floor nearby. Hurrying to him, she knelt, and then braced Sanders up on a knee.

One look at the man told Helena that he wasn't going to make it. Fully half of his face was bloodied with one eye beaten in entirely. His skin was bruised and mottled, and all up and down his front, he bled profusely from deep, ragged scratches that were likely the result of the licker.

"Scarecrow, can you hear me?"

"Dorothy?" the agent asked weakly, almost choking on the word, knowing no other name for her.

Helena nodded, but before she could even ask, the agent spoke again, understanding his situation just as well as she did.

"The beekeeper… queen bee," he whispered, and Helena's mind raced.

"What? What does that mean?" she asked urgently, immediately thinking back to giant bee on the semi truck she had just been using for cover. "Who is the queen bee?"

If Sanders heard her, he gave no inclination of it, and in another frail second, Helena felt the agent go limp. She checked his neck and found no pulse.

"Damn it," she cursed.

Lowering him by the shoulders, she gently, almost reverently placed him on the floor and then patted down his body, searching for any documentation or clues he might have had.

Instead, she unexpectedly came across a small figurine. The keepsake didn't mean anything to her, but it was the only personal belonging he had. Helena pocketed it, unable to keep her thoughts from returning to Spain where she had done the very same thing for Smith, collecting up his badge for his family.

Helena stood, but a sudden low growling had her lifting her assault rifle. She listened, but couldn't pinpoint the sound, so she quietly relocated to a nearby pillar that provided a good view of both the licker and Sander's bodies. Taking cover behind it, her right hand dropped to her belt, fingering another flash grenade. She paused as a single licker came into view.

Knowing these creatures depended upon echolocation to see, she released the grenade and watched as the beast went to Helena's victim, drawn by the scent of its slain kin.

Hissing and growling, its tongue lolling from its mouth like a serpent, it bent its head over the body and sniffed it.

Silently, Helena raised her assault rifle and leveled it at the licker, foregoing the flash grenade in case she needed it later. She lined up her crosshairs on the licker and squeezed the trigger, sending a barrage of deadly bullets at the beast.

As soon as her gun fired the first round, the licker lifted its head and leapt from the spot almost faster than the eye could see, howling as a few rounds pierced its back on the way.

Helena lifted her gun to follow it, spraying the area with bullets, but the licker was already springboarding away out of the narrow scope of her nightvision, its inhuman reflexes unhindered by the shots she had landed.

Knowing her opponent to be stronger and faster with incredible abilities, Helena immediately evacuated her position against the post. Once she had cleared it by a few steps, she turned and showered her former cover with bullets an instant before the licker appeared in her crosshairs, having jumped down from above.

The creature squealed as dozens of bullets ripped through its exposed muscle at once. It stumbled back, and then was gone, leaving a splattering of blood and bullets against the column and a small puddle on the floor.

Quickly, Helena vacated her position. She moved silently to the next pillar and took cover again.

Helena turned her head, searching the rafters, but she was operating nearly blind with the limited range of her night vision. Depending on her other senses, she listened for it and realized she had a distinct advantage because the licker was dripping blood.

The wounded licker had gone quiet but for a low, pained rumble that echoed throughout the parking lot, but its injuries could not be so easily masked. After straining her sensitive hearing, Helena had the BOW in her sights again. She fired and caught it with a few more bullets before the injured beast disappeared, forcing Helena to find new cover behind a car.

The tactic was working excellently, but as Helena crouched, listening for that quiet drip of blood, a hissing filled her ears. That hissing was drowned out by another licker's growl.

Helena reached for the second flash grenade in her belt.

The growling grew louder as she pulled the pin of the second grenade, sliding it out with her teeth.

Despite her caution, the movement was heard. The second the pin came free, the heavy body of a licker smashed onto the car she was using for cover.

Helena jumped up at once, turning to face the creatures, finding one on the hood of the car and a second on the ceiling. She threw the flash grenade a mere second before a long, sticky tongue darted out from between sharp teeth.

Aware of how enormously powerful that dangerous muscle was, Helena ducked and rolled to evade it. She closed her eyes to shield them, and the flash grenade went off.

The resounding explosion hit her ears so loudly, an instant migraine shot through her head and her ears started ringing.

Helena came out of the roll cringing, braced up on her knees. She cradled her aching head with a hand and opened her eyes, vision blurred and spotted behind the goggles. She tried to shake the pain as quickly as possible, and lifting her head, identified the dim outline of one of her foes on its back.

Unable to hear anything but for the ringing in her ears and barely able to see, Helena leveled her assault rifle at the creature and shot its exposed heart until it burst like a bloody bubble. She turned her head and found one of her remaining targets similarly disabled, and then unloaded another volley of bullets into the second beast until the clip on her assault rifle emptied.

Cursing because the licker was already starting to right itself, heart in tact, she dropped the assault rifle and pulled her Hydra out of its hip holster. She snapped off two consecutive shots into its back before a sudden forceful blow smacked her in the back of the head.

Already disoriented, Helena lost her balance and fell as dark spots exploded across her vision. In the middle of her fall, she turned to her attacker, catching the merest glimpse of a tall figure in a trenchcoat, and then she was flat on her back, trying to blink away the impending darkness.

Helena lifted her Hydra to shoot, but the effort to move was incredible, like pushing a mountain. She had barely lifted her arm when a boot kicked the weapon from her hand.

Cringing, Helena tried to brace herself up on her arms, and then stopped when she saw two muscular lickers hovering over her on either side. At her feet, the tall man stood ominously, and then, suddenly, a hand grabbed her goggles and yanked them off.

"Where are the others?" a loud voice demanded, and Helena cringed as the harsh noise echoed throughout her aching head.

Gently, she laid it back against the concrete, taking in a deep breath.

"There is no one else."

The man closest to her savagely kicked her in the side, making her gasp and reach for the spot.

"Liar!" he roared, accusation resounding straight through her skull. "Your agents killed the lickers you wounded! We know they're out there!"

"I'm alone," Helena said and was kicked in the side again. The triple barrel of her own shotgun pressed up against her temple.

"Order them out or you're dead," the furious man snarled.

"Lower your weapon, I'm right here," a second voice said, one Helena vaguely recognized as her partner.

Helena didn't open her eyes. Her head hurt and she could barely move, everything seemed to take so much effort. In her current state, she couldn't attack or defend herself, which was why, she suspected, that Leon hadn't come in with a flash grenade.

She listened to their fading voices as unconsciousness loomed ever near.

"Drop your weapons and kick them this way now!" the angry man demanded, but even his loud voice had grown distant.

"Okay, okay, easy," Leon said very quietly, "I'm dropping them…" he said, words fading away. If he went on to say anything else, Helena didn't hear it, and with one final breath, she passed out on the floor.

The next time Helena opened her eyes, it felt like Spain all over again.

She had been knocked out and dragged into some hole, and now here she was, tied to a chair with her hands bound behind her back. She was left defenseless; they took her flak jacket, her guns and her handheld. A few feet away, Leon was similarly restrained, also without his jacket and gear.

"This one's awake," came a gruff voice with an obvious accent. "What about that one, JD?"

Helena lifted her head to find a man with short brown hair glaring at her, armed with Leon's assault rifle and suited with her flak jacket. Peripherally, she saw another man, this one with a short, stocky build and his blond hair styled into a faux hawk of sorts. He was wearing Leon's flak jacket and looked to be fumbling with her Hydra.

"Looks like he's coming out of it, Buddy," the man called JD said, peering at Leon as he started to stir.

Further in the room that was illuminated only through the gaps in the floorboards overhead, Helena saw the old man sitting in the corner, still wearing his sunglasses despite being indoors. He was watching them quietly, his hands weakly grasping a cane.

The cold barrel of a gun pressed against her neck, making her look back at the first man she had noticed. Suddenly, there came the sound of footsteps from the floor above, making the man stiffen. He hurriedly covered her mouth with his hand, his accomplice doing the same to Leon.

Judging by the worn and neglected furniture about, Helena assumed they were in one of the rebel hideouts, this one being the basement of an abandoned, rundown house. They must still be in Holigrad if the military was patrolling the streets and checking houses.

When the footsteps and the shadows disappeared, the hand covering her mouth dropped but the gun stayed. The single light bulb in the room was flicked on, its yellow light momentarily blinding her as her eyes adjusted to it.

"What are you doing here? Why did the United States send agents to our country?" the man asked, drawing the barrel of the assault rifle away, but keeping it pointed at her.

"Agents? Where'd you get that idea?" Leon suddenly responded, startling JD when he spoke. He smirked, first at JD, then at the man named Buddy, and said, "We're tourists, we got lost somewhere between the firefight and scenic route."

With a snarl, Buddy whipped around and stalked towards Leon, striking him across the face.

"You make another joke, I'll kill you," he spat, incensed when Leon calmly faced him, unfazed by the punch. "We only need one of you alive to get answers," he said, punctuating the threat by shoving the gun to Leon's chest.

"Buddy, hey! Hey!" the other man, JD, shouted as he hurried over to separate his friend from Leon. "Take it easy, will you? Give 'em a chance to talk."

When it looked like Buddy was going to turn on JD, the old man began to cough uncontrollably, his body jerking from the force of it. Buddy quickly ran to the old man's side, offering water that was refused. Before the old man righted himself, his sunglasses slipped a little, and Helena was sure she had seen red eyes.

She glanced at Leon then, who nodded in understanding.

"So," JD began, nudging Leon to get his attention, "tell us what you're doing here, and no more jokes, got that, smart guy?"

"They're not like the other CIA agents," Buddy said in the midst of attending to the old man, nodding at her direction. "She knew how to fight those things; they're trained for this."

"Those things," Leon snorted before she could respond. "I know it's hard to believe, they look so cute with all that slime and sinew, but those things are no pets, and sooner or later, one way or another, you're all going to end up dead because of 'em."

"We are?" JD echoed, turning to Buddy with a wide-eyed, frightened look. "Buddy-"

"Quiet, JD," Buddy snapped, coming over to grab the shorter man by the shoulders and giving him a firm shake. "He's lying to you, trying to get in your head."

"But you said it yourself, they're experts!" JD wailed in panic, his eyes now on the old man. "What if Ataman is-"

"JD!" Buddy hissed, cutting him off again. "We have it under control. Ataman has it under control."

The old man began to cough again, drawing Buddy back to his side.

"Doesn't look like it to me," Leon murmured, loud enough for JD to hear.

Visibly concerned, JD joined Buddy to check on the old man. Helena tested her restraints as the two men argued, finding the rope strong, but the chair old and brittle; she and Leon could work with these. She continued to observe the rebels, how they looked to be the ones backed into a corner despite her and Leon being the ones in ropes.

If the two men were any indication, then this group, however impressive and effective it was during the first civil war, was falling apart like the old man.

"Despite its development and distribution being illegal in most countries of the world, bio-organic weapons have been prevalent in black markets for nearly twenty years, with BOW-related activity in and out of the markets doubling the last decade. Furthering cause for concern, the BOWs sighted in Eastern Slav have never before been encountered, not by the USA's DSO nor the UN's BSAA.

Not only is the variant of the licker BOW deployed by the rebels the most advanced to date, having been developed just two years ago, it has also been successfully implanted with a parasitic organism known as the plaga. By attaching itself to the host's spinal cord, the plaga gains complete control of the host's nervous system. The plaga is a social organism, possessing a collective intelligence, and should there be a dominant-strain plaga present, it can command the numerous subordinate-strain plaga.

Dominant-strain plaga are extremely rare, the few known samples of it thought to have been destroyed or lost. Per these files and reports, the rebels have somehow acquired a cultivated variant of dominant-strain the plaga, which they willingly infect themselves with and in turn enables them to control the subordinate-strain plaga-infected BOWs.

The master-slave relationship that the plaga creates for the rebels has eliminated the indiscriminate nature that made BOWs a high risk, high cost purchase, and has instead transformed them into a formidable army that will only grow and topple country after country if it isn't stopped. It's for the safety of the whole world that we put an end to this bio-weapon here in Eastern Slav, and I assure you, Madame President, that you will have the BSAA's full cooperation and support."

Ada Wong faced her audience at the Presidential Palace, right past the military leaders at the flanks to meet the eyes of President Belikova. Amid the murmurs from the men, they held each other's gaze until President Belikova graced her with a serene smile.

"That is very good news," the president remarked, quieting her men just by speaking, "and the BSAA will be pleased to know that Eastern Slav will do everything in its power to reclaim the country from these traitors. I will see to that personally. Now, if I may, I have some questions."

"Of course," Ada responded agreeably, gesturing at the president to continue.

In the underground basement where the rebels hid, the old man hacked uncontrollably, spilling blood with every cough. It took a long moment, but when his coughing died down, the old man put his hand on Buddy's shoulder.

"We can't stay here any longer," he wheezed, out of breath.

Buddy was already moving before the old man even finished talking, the first thing he did was to turn off the light.

"JD, untie them from the chairs," he ordered, standing up to fetch the remaining weapons from the room, including her Picador and Leon's Wing Shooters. "If they try to get away, kill them."

"What?" JD blurted out, in the middle of untying Leon from the chair but not untying his hands.

The doors burst open before Buddy could speak again, and suddenly, the room was flooded with soldiers in full combat gear with guns.

They rushed into the room, assault rifles raised, and in less than a minute, had everybody standing against the walls except for Leon and Helena, who were left beside each other in the middle with only a couple of gunmen on them.

The gunmen eyed their bindings curiously, having separated them from the others because of the restraints. They quietly spoke to each other in another language.

Leon exchanged a silent look with Helena, and Helena tilted her head ever so slightly, indicating that she understood and agreed.

Then, suddenly, the old man started choking so violently, two of the soldiers pointing guns at him dropped their weapons to catch him as he fell face-forward, alarming most of the soldiers.

A few of them turned to look, and Buddy took his chance at the same time as Helena and Leon.

Lunging towards a soldier, Buddy grabbed the officer's gun and started firing.

At once, Leon spun and kicked the first soldier, his foot connecting with the head of a guard.

At the same time, Helena rocked onto her feet and twirled, smashing the fragile chair into the second soldier. Her chair split the moment of impact, and the soldier cried out, crumpling under the blow. Before she could even untangle herself from the ropes and sashed wood, she turned to the right and lunged.

Leon dashed to the left, and then soldiers open fired into the room, aiming for the rebel.

Lucky for Buddy, Judanovich took that exact moment to lunge.

Judanovich, his eyes red, lunged for the nearest soldier and knocked him down, sending a wild spray of bullets into his fellow soldiers and the wall.

Sparks flew as the glass lightbulb was hit, casting them all into darkness.

Helena worked fast. Freeing herself as much as she could from the tangle of rope, she kicked off the wall and squirmed to the disoriented soldier who had fallen. Ungracefully smacking into his stomach, she sat on him, leaned back, and groped for the hilt of his combat knife. Thankfully finding it quickly, she deftly repositioned the blade in her hands and cut through the remaining ropes.

When her hands were free, Helena punched the gasping soldier once, and then looked up for Buddy. She found him quickly, even in the dark.

The rebel unhooked a grenade from the vest he was wearing, one of theirs that he had stolen along with their guns and equipment.

"Leon, grenade at two o'clock!" she shouted, too far away to stop him. Seeking cover herself, Helena dove a few feet away behind an old armchair. She toppled it to its side and crouched behind it immediately.

Having just filched a pistol from the rebel's armory, Leon's head lifted sharply. He surveyed his surroundings, taking in the people, positioning, and the dangers, and then figured the safest course of action in a fraction of a second.

Jumping to his feet, he leapt for the fumbling, blond rebel and grabbed him around the middle, tackling JD through the open doorway into the safety of the hall outside.

"Hey!" JD squawked before his back hit the ground hard and he grunted.

In the other room, the grenade went off.

"Oh…" the rebel said, eyes widening suddenly, he tried to push Leon off him. "Buddy!"

Leon pushed him back down, sharply reprimanding him, "No, he's fine," Leon told the frightened man. "He's the one that threw it."

JD breathed out in relief, relaxing back down, but then stiffened suddenly and pushed Leon off frantically, reaching for the Hydra he had dropped.

"You stay right there!" he ordered, holding the Hydra incorrectly with the safety still on.

Leon noted it, but his eyes were on the ceiling.

"We need to get out of here," he said, hearing the stomp of boots from above. "There's more coming."

"But-" Buddy started to balk as Leon stood, "but what about your partner?" he asked.

"Helena can take care of herself," Leon said solemnly, noting that the gunfire had momentarily stopped. "I hope you can say the same for your buddy."

In wake of the small explosion, a pained moan filled the room as the only surviving soldier clutched the stump of his right arm, crying.

Helena glanced over the edge of the armchair she had been using for cover and saw Buddy run across the room to Ivan, who had fallen in a heap to the floor.

"Ataman!" Buddy shouted, kneeling beside his leader.

Helena eyed the table against the left wall. Upon it, she saw her sniper rifle, gleaming and untouched, and beside it, the ammo pouch.

Quietly as possible, she crept towards it as Buddy helped Judanovich into a sitting position.

"Go," Judanovich said, eyes red and bloodshot, skin pale and graying. He put a hand on Buddy's shoulder and pushed him away. "Create a new future."

Helena eyed them, stopping just a few inches short of the table when Judanovich's face started to shift and morph. Quickly, she reached out for the sniper.

Judanovich began to grunt and groan, making horrible noises, even worse than those of the soldier bleeding out on the floor. Blood gathered at the corners of his eyes and then fell, and his pale skin grayed like a statue as his face continued to bubble and morph.

Helena reached over for the pouch of ammo next, keeping a close eye on the transformation, and slowly, calm and quiet, loaded a round into the chamber.

Buddy backed up, staring in horror. He reached for his gun, but did not spare Judanovich any pain, only stared.

Helena lined up the scope in these small, close quarters, and Judanovich's head bubbled until it could morph no more.

He screamed, a painful noise that was only ended with the sickening pop of his head as it exploded.

One thick, red tentacle erupted from his head first, and Helena took her shot.

It ripped right through the center of the thickest mutation, ending the creature's life instantly.

"What the fuck?" Buddy cried out, turning to face her, and then balked. "You! You killed him!"

Helena dove into cover back behind the armchair a mere second before Buddy lifted his automatic and fired after her.

Above them, heavy footfalls stomped across the floorboards.

"They're downstairs!"

"Fuck!" Buddy cursed.

Deeming Helena taken care of, he stopped shooting and rushed out into the tunnels.

Behind the couch, Helena slung the sniper across her back with its shoulder strap, waited a couple more seconds, and then followed the rebel.

"You said these traitors managed to get their hands on this new, unique technology," President Belikova said, regarding Ada curiously. "You do not think they developed this bio-weapon themselves?"

"They would not have the means and the resources, Madame President," Ada stated, maintaining eye contact with President Belikova. "The brightest minds at the BSAA and the DSO determined it was impossible to combine plaga and virus. These rebels of yours, Madame President, are friends with someone very intelligent and very dangerous."

"It would seem so," the president remarked, calm despite the obvious concern from her men.

"We're to subdue the rebels and interrogate them, find out who their supplier is, and flush him," Ada paused, gaze lingering meaningfully at President Belikova, who looked back at her gamely, "or her out. I'll see to it that my superiors will be made aware of Eastern Slav's major role in apprehending this bioterrorist, word that will surely reach the United Nations and-" she paused again, this time interrupted by her phone. "Excuse me, Madame President," she said, answering the call.

"Urgent matter?" President Belikova guessed when the brief call ended, one Ada spent not speaking a word.

"Quite," Ada confirmed, putting her phone away. "It would seem you have two American agents who didn't follow your evacuation order, Madame President."

"Is that so? They'll be facing serious consequences when they're taken into custody," the president declared confidently, inspiring a chorus of agreement from her men.

"I'm requesting that you make an exception, Madame President," Ada said, rendering the room deathly silent.

President Belikova leaned forward, resting her elbows on her desk.

"I trust you have a good reason for asking this of me, Operative Harper."

"Oh, yes, Madame President," Ada confirmed, giving the president a winning smile, "a very, very good reason."

Back outside, the light of a new morning greeted Helena warmly. The rising sun would have made tailing Buddy a little more difficult, but the rebel wasn't even watching his back. His total lack of discipline and training made it easy to remain inconspicuous as she followed him through the city. After a couple of miles, he finally stopped in front of a grand, steepled church.

The rebel glanced to the right and left, checking his immediate surroundings, and then, satisfied that there wasn't anybody watching, he approached the ornate doors and called out to his friends.

The massive doors opened, and Helena caught a glimpse of a few armed men inside before they shut behind him.

Helena ducked back into cover. Operating on the off chance that they had scouts, she moved between the buildings surrounding the church stealthily, performing her own surveillance of the area.

She found no other scouts or guards.

After finishing her inspection, she started to scale a nearby building, but the sound of distant voices stopped her. She jumped down and listened. Pinpointing the direction, she followed noise until unexpectedly finding Leon and JD around the corner, the latter leading her partner at gunpoint with her Hydra.

Hiding in the shadows, Helena pulled out the knife she had stolen off the soldier. She tilted it towards the sky, creating a reflected beam of light on the ground. She angled the knife, making the reflection dance on the pavement until it caught her partner's attention.

Leon spotted the glare on the concrete, watched it wriggle once, and then raised his head. He searched the vicinity and found Helena at the corner of the nearest building.

As soon as he saw her, Helena retreated back, using the side of the building to conceal herself from view.

"I can't wait to bring you to the church!" JD practically squealed, as excited and lighthearted as he had been since escaping the tunnels. "My friends are going to be so impressed!"

"You may want to hand that gun over to me now, JD," Leon suggested to the enthusiastic rebel.

JD snorted, straightened his back, and strutted as he led them along.

"This isn't one of your American spy movies, I won't fall for that!"

"Your choice, but I'd recommend reconsidering," Leon said, casually passing the edge of the building without giving away his partner's position. "That gun is Helena's, and she's much less likely to kill me than she is you."

"Who's Helena?" JD asked a second before a muscled arm snapped out, grabbing him by the back of his bulletproof vest. He squeaked as he was dragged back and then thrown up against a wall.

Hydra completely forgotten and limp at his side, he brought up an arm to shield his face. He was rewarded with a solid punch to the gut that had him doubling over, and then a strong grip closed around his throat.

JD wriggled and tried to squeak as he was lifted off the ground by his neck.

Helena's free hand closed around the barrels of her Hydra, which she ripped away from the wide-eyed rebel.

"That's mine," she snarled, eyes dangerously narrowed.

Leon turned around, unsurprised to see JD squirming in his partner's iron hold.

The poor rebel whimpered, clutching his throat, and kicked his dangling feet meekly.

"Helena, put him down," he instructed.

Helena held JD suspended a few seconds longer, glaring, and then dropped him.

Coughing and gagging, JD collapsed to a heap on the ground.

"He had my gun," she said distinctly, pronouncing every syllable in her incredulity.

"I know," Leon said in a serious tone, "but let's not kill him over."

Helena looked at him to see her partner smirking. She growled, realizing she was being teased, and muttered darkly. She turned her back to the rebel.

"What do you want to do with him?" she asked gruffly, raising up her Hydra in hand to inspect the precious weapon.

JD coughed and wheezed, and then pulled himself up to all fours, wide eyes on Leon, and asked, "Are all American ladies this magnificent?"

Helena whirled on him and pointed the Hydra at his head.

JD held up his hands in surrender.

"No, no!" he assured, eyes filled with admiration and wonder. "I am not being forward with you! My American friend here," he said, gesturing to Leon, "told me that you, how do you say… swing for the other team? That you don't bat that way," he asked, bright and hopeful eyes returning to Leon excitedly. "Did I say that right?"

Helena lowered her weapon, but turned her glare onto her partner.

"Really."

"Did you prefer to have him hitting on you the way Luis did?" he asked, giving Helena a cockeyed smirk.

"I can't fucking believe he told everyone that," Helena grunted, narrowed eyes flicking between Leon and JD as if she blamed them.

"Hey, that was the best office Christmas party we had in a while," Leon joked.

Helena growled lowly, ending the conversation, and returned to inspecting her weapon.

"Lotta good you were gonna do with with only three shells," she grumbled, aggravated.

"Oh!" JD stood, reaching behind him to a to the bulletproof vest he had taken from them. He pulled out a shotgun shell and showed the agents excitedly. "More than three shots!" he exclaimed, looking proud of himself. "I packed all the shells for your Hydra!"

"What?" Helena snapped, grabbing JD by the vest to spin him so that she could see where he had grabbed those from. She found her vertical shotgun shell holder strapped to the back of his vest and cursed, yanking the detachable holder free. "How the hell did you plan to reload with them strapped to your back?"

"He was being covert," Leon said, stepping up next to JD to put a hand on the rebel's shoulder. "Looking to surprise the enemy, probably."

Helena gave her partner a disapproving look, but JD's eyes gleamed at the praise.

"I didn't think of that, but you're right!" he openly admitted, making Helena shake her head. "Some part of my instincts must've told me. See, I'm a natural at this!"

Leon nodded his head in affirmation and complimented, "Good job bringing the ammo, JD. Helena needs that, don't you, Helena?"

Helena wasn't thrilled with Leon's praises or being asked to give them, but she saw Leon's point.

"Yeah," she grumbled, humoring him, and then immediately began patting down the bulges in JD's vest. "Did you bring anything else?" she asked.

JD's eyes widened as Helena removed her handheld from one of the pockets.

"Did Bubby put that there?" he asked, genuinely shocked. "I smashed the other one so that you couldn't trace us, and he put a second one right there in my vest? Oh!" he said, eyes lighting up on Helena. "Is that how you found me?"

"Not this time, JD," Leon answered for her.

"You didn't even need it?" JD asked, slapping his hands together, resembling an excited child. "Oh, man! Americans are the bomb, yo! See, now I feel like I'm in a hollywood movie!" he exclaimed, eyes lighting up again when Helena removed a couple of small bottles from another pocket. "What are those?"

"They're regenerative pills," Helena said shortly, only humoring the rebel as much as she had to.

"Regenerative pills?" he asked, eyes big and full of wonder.

"Yeah, they're pretty cool," Leon told him, better at playing the friendly buddy than she was. "They accelerate your body's ability to heal. It's one of our newer innovations; was only released a few years ago. Pretty effective, but it makes you hungry."

JD's face lit up like it was Christmas morning.

"That's amazing!" he cried, "It's a super healing pill, just like in the movies! You have such incredible things! The way you just picked me up by my throat like that, do you have muscle enhancers, too?"

"No enhancements," Helena answered as she pulled out a few wires from JD's pocket. Upon finding them, she looked JD in the eye, keeping the rebel distracted. "Just hard work," she said, discreetly moving her hand to Leon's.

Leon took the wire, instinctively knowing what she wanted him to do.

"Oh, man! If we had half the training or gadgets you do, our country would be free already!"

"You've done pretty well without," she complimented, and then felt a little bad when JD beamed.

"You think so?" he asked, grinning madly. "Thanks! We try our best, yo! I learned all my moves from your movies!"

"You watch our movies?" Helena asked, keeping the rebel's attention as Leon raised a hand behind his back, discreetly threading the wire up under JD's bulletproof vest.

"Oh, yeah!" JD enthused. "I love those things! I have over 50 DVDs! None of them are pirated!"

"That's a lot of DVDs," Leon stated, putting a hand on the rebel's shoulder to grab the microphone bud and hide it under the collar of JD's vest.

"Yeah!" JD claimed, beaming. "It's one of my favorite things to do, watching them with my friends! We sit down with burgers or fried chicken sometimes, and-oh! The food! Your food in America is fantastic! I could eat it every day!"

"Maybe you will someday," Leon said. Having finished his task, he cut off JD before the excited man could go on another tangent, "but we gotta get there first, and only way that's happening is if Helena and I figure out what's going on in your country. To do that, we're gonna have to talk with your friends, JD."

"Talk to my… " JD mumbled, trailing off. The joy melted off his face, replaced by confusion, and then a sudden realization set in. "Wait. You're trying to trick me!"

"We're not tricking you, JD," Helena said, straightforward with the rebel. "We know where your friends are and we're going in to question them whether you help us or not. If you help us, it's less likely that they're going to get hurt. If you don't, we have to go in anyway, and some of them might get hurt."

JD's eyes widened and he stared at Helena as if she had just told him that she was a man.

"If I don't go with you, you're going to hurt my friends," JD said, stepping back from them to lean against the wall. He breathed in deeply, trying to control himself.

Leon stepped up and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, breathe, okay? We're not going to hurt them if we don't have to. If you help us, I promise no one dies," he said, maintaining eye contact with the panicking man.

"Do you mean that?" JD asked, short of breath and holding a hand over his heart. He searched Leon's face, and then looked at Helena's, begging for confirmation. "You won't… you won't kill them, will you?"

"If you help without blowing our cover, I guarantee it," Leon promised without even blinking. "Even if it costs me my life, I won't kill your friends."

Helena didn't blink as he said it, but the sheer genuineness in her partner's voice was surprising. Even she, a trained agent, couldn't detect the lie in his body language or voice.

Leon was either very, very good, or he was being sincere, and Helena honestly couldn't tell which it was right now.

"I don't really have a choice…" JD said, still looking worried. He took his hand off his heart and straightened, and then held it out to Leon, begging him. "Shake on it," he ordered and asked in a trembling voice.

Leon took his hand.

"You have my word," he promised the rebel.

From her vantage point on the tallest building she could find adjacent the church, Helena looked through her sniper's sights and zoomed in on Leon and JD, the pair waiting at a nearby building.

"I'm all set," she told Leon via transmitter, having been bugged like him.

"All right," Leon responded, which she heard clearly, the equipment test proving successful. "We're going in. It's showtime, JD."

After some hesitation from JD, the two began to head to the church, JD playing his part and holding the pistol Leon had stolen to Leon's back as they walked.

As they stopped at the entrance, Helena quickly looked around, seeing if any guards or snipers had turned up. Finding neither, she trained her sights back on Leon and JD just as JD opened the massive doors and pushed Leon in.

"Guys, it's JD!" she heard JD call out. "Is Buddy here? Tell him I got one of the American agents with me!"

"JD, you're alive! And you brought a guest, I see!" a man exclaimed. "Quickly, Marco, get Buddy!"

"Hah, JD, look at you, finally pulling your weight around here," a different man said. "Come over here! Showed this American who's boss, did you? About time they know how it feels to be on the other end of a gun!"

"You couldn't have caught the woman, JD?" a third man asked, followed by laughter from the other two. "Buddy told us the other agent was a woman. How'd she look, eh, JD? Heard she killed a couple of those mutant pets of ours. I always loved a woman who could put up a fight."

"Shut up, all of you!" came a booming order, the voice unmistakably Buddy's. "Why are you standing around and babbling like idiots? Search the American! You know he's an agent, he could be hiding something."

The three men mumbled their apologies, and there was no more talking as they marched over to Leon and began to pat him down.

"Nothing on him, Buddy," one of the men reported.

"All right," Buddy said, and judging by the footsteps, Helena guessed that he was approaching Leon. "Where is your partner?"

"No idea," Leon responded casually. "I'd give her a call, but JD here broke my phone."

"So they can't trace us, Buddy!" JD quickly added.

"So we can't trace you," Leon affirmed with such commitment it was obviously sarcastic, which earned him not one but two punches.

"Tie him up," Buddy ordered. "I'll deal with him later."

Shortly after Leon was unsuccessfully interrogated and then restrained, Helena began to pick up voices from JD's bug.

"Buddy, where's Ataman? Is he resting?"

"He's dead, JD."

"What? I thought you escaped with him!"

"Even if we weren't found, Ataman was not walking out of that room. Not as himself."

"It's that thing, isn't it? It's done something to him, changed him. The Americans were right!"

"So what if they were, JD? We're at war, we don't have the luxury to question the ethics of our methods."

"But what are we going to do now, Buddy? Without Ataman, we don't stand a chance against Belikova's army."

"We can still fight this war without Ataman."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm going to get it. You stay here with the others and wait for me. We'll see the plan through; we attack the Presidential Palace tomorrow."

"Buddy, have you lost your mind? You just told me what happened to Ataman! Why do you want anything to do with that thing!"

"That thing, JD, is what allowed him to control those bio-weapons. It has done for him exactly what it was meant to do, and it will do the same for me."

"You knew all along what was happening with Ataman and you allowed it to happen? And now you're willing to do it to yourself? Listen to yourself, Sasha! Irina wouldn't have let it get this far."

"Enough, JD! Irina is dead, Ataman is dead, and everyone we care about will die unless we stop Belikova and free this country from her filthy hands. If I must turn myself into a weapon as Ataman did to make this happen, then so be it. I'm willing to do whatever it takes, for our country, for our future, and so should you."

"Sasha-"

"The American agent dies when I leave. It's time you understand and accept our situation, JD."

Hearing JD's protests and fading footsteps, Helena focused her sights on the church doors, awaiting Buddy.

"Leon, Buddy's en route to the plaga," she informed her partner. "Get out of there, they're going to kill you."

Sitting on a pew with his hands tied behind his back and two guards flanking him, Leon saw Buddy making his way to the doors, followed by a worried-looking JD. Buddy stopped, not for JD but to call over one of his men, no doubt giving the kill order Helena had warned him about.

Buddy left, and as soon as the doors closed, the guards sitting beside him stood and faced him. Leon glanced at the higher floors, checking to see if their sniper had taken position. Seeing none, he looked at the two men in front of him and smirked.

"Guess I get to keep my promise, after all," he said, code to wave off backup from Helena, whom he would have asked to eliminate the sniper had it been necessary.

The guards frowned, but Leon didn't give them time to process his words.

Bindings already cut, courtesy of the combat knife Helena had slipped him earlier, he rose to his feet. Spinning fast in a sudden roundhouse kick, his foot caught caught the first man in the jaw. His momentum carried him, and the second rebel was struck in the side, all in the same kick.

The first guard toppled, and the second grunted, tripping. He caught himself and grabbed his gun, but by that time, Leon had already landed and steadied himself.

Leon cocked back his first and delivered a solid punch that smashed into the rebel's nose, breaking it.

Shouts and the clicks of safeties warned Leon to drop to the floor.

His victim dropped with him, clutching his bleeding nose and crying out in anguish.

Leon didn't check on him, didn't have time to as bullets ripped into the pew he was hiding behind, and worse, the first rebel began to sit up.

"I got him- " the rebel started to shout before Leon put him right back down again, landing a second smart punch, this one to his jaw.

The guard fell back and did not move again.

Crouching, Leon quickly moved from the spot just as the bullets began to rip through the thick wood of the pews. He made his way down the row swiftly, and then stood behind one of the stone pillars and listened as the spray of bullets finally died.

"Where are you? Show yourself!"

Leon peeked from behind the pillar, spotting the last man in front of the first pew. He stealthily crouched behind the second row and made his way to the angry man.

By the time he reached the rebel, the angry man was about-facing, waving his gun around, and calling out for Leon to surrender.

When the man turned around again, Leon easily stepped up behind him. He wrapped an arm around the man's neck, strangling him, and secured the rebel's gun arm in a tight hold.

The rebel's gun hit the floor in an instant. He grabbed at Leon's arm desperately, trying to alleviate the pressure, but couldn't. Within the minute, he was limp on the floor.

The whole fight was over within minutes.

At the back of the pews, JD finally stood from his hiding spot and rushed over to the unconscious bodies.

"Don't worry, they'll be fine," Leon assured JD as he was checking on his friends.

Getting signs of breathing, JD sighed in relief and looked at Leon, regarding him gratefully.

"Thank you," he said, slowly getting to his feet and staring at the gun he hadn't fired once. "Can you…" he started, shaking his head and gripping the weapon in his hands. "Buddy- Sasha. He's going to get that thing… that thing that turned Ataman into a monster."

"I get it, you know," Leon told JD, approaching him. "You're backed into a corner, you think this is it, it's over, you're beaten, you've lost. Then someone comes along, gives you this way out, and you're too desperate to ask what the catch is. There's always a catch, and sometimes, like now, when you're dealing with BOWs, you're going to lose more than you gain. I gotta tell ya, most people who get caught up in this don't live long enough for hindsight."

JD looked at Leon, the agent's words seeming to cut right through him.

"Help me stop him, please," he begged, handing Leon his assault rifle. "He's going to the parking lot where you and your partner were attacked. Ataman has that thing- what did you call it? Plaga? He has it hidden away in one of the cars. If we hurry, maybe we can stop him."

Leon nodded, accepting the gun from JD.

"Then we'd better get moving."

Helena fixed her sights on Buddy, targeting him as he ran down the street. She switched her aim from his head to his leg, squeezing the trigger but not putting enough pressure to fire just yet, still considering her options.

"It'll save you a lot of trouble later if you kill him now," came a silky, melodic voice.

Startled, Helena whirled around, using the sniper rifle as a melee weapon by swinging it. She caught a flash of red as her would-be assailant smoothly flipped backwards and landed gracefully.

She blinked but there was no mistaking it. Ada Wong stood before her, looking exactly as she had seven years ago in Spain.

"Long time no see, Helena," Ada purred, that familiar smirk on her face. "Did you miss me?"

Glaring, Helena began to lower her gun, and when she saw Ada's lips curve into a smile, she lunged, tackling the woman and ignoring the amused laughter.

"I'll take that as a yes."

From her position on top, Helena tried to pin Ada, but Ada wouldn't be so easily had.

Ada's legs slipped free from her thighs easily. Back arching, she wrapped toned legs around Helena's sides and squeezed.

Helena stiffened, suddenly yanked down against Ada's warm body. She squirmed.

"Nice to see you've made a full recovery," Ada said, an amused light dancing in her exquisite eyes. Gentle fingers brushed up Helena's arm and stopped when they reached her bicep. Ada gripped it, pulling up to whisper into her ear, "Looking better than ever, stud," she purred, breath warm and so close to her ear, it almost felt like her lips were touching it. Strong thighs flexed, clamping tight around Helena's sides.

Before Helena could so much as gasp, Ada rolled until she was on top, saddling her.

Helena blinked, involuntarily catching every detail as the tease slipped her handheld into the safe confines of a red bra.

It took a few embarrassing seconds, but Helena finally broke out of the trance, looking up to see a wire caught between Ada's smirking lips.

"Hey!" Helena blurted, spotting her missing earpiece. She braced her arms on the ground, starting to push up, but Ada held up a finger, freezing her.

"Helena, what's your status?" Leon asked, voice faint, coming from the earpiece.

Ada smiled faintly, perfectly curved lips parting to release the earpiece. She caught it in an open palm.

"Sorry, Chief, Helena's hands are full," she informed her partner, amber eyes absolutely glowing. "Something just fell into her lap."

Ada then held out the earpiece, looking at her expectantly, and Helena scowled, knowing exactly what Ada wanted her to say and hating that she was about to do it.

"I lost Buddy, you better go after him," she told him. "I can handle this," she added, glaring when Ada smiled at her.

"Good girl," Ada cooed, clasping the earpiece and effortlessly crushing it. "Now, then," the woman said, leaning in, "where were we?"

The movement drew Helena's eyes, and before she could stop herself, she was taking in the view that Ada generously afforded her.

"No time for that," Ada teased, the soft laughter that followed making Helena blush. "We have a military escort waiting for us."

Helena scoffed.

"What, and I'm supposed to just come with you?"

Ada sat back, amber eyes alight with amusement.

"Why don't we find out?"

In a blink, Ada was gone, dismounting her and leaping off the building.

Helena jumped to her feet, racing after the slippery woman as she glided through the air.

Ada smoothly landed on the ground three stories below and looked up, smiled invitingly, and then took off.

"Damn it!" Helena growled and moved fast, slinging her sniper rifle over her back and rushing for the firescape to give chase, just as Ada wanted.

She descended after Ada, catching sight of Ada's red collar disappearing around the corner of a building.

Helena's hands balled into fists. She followed Ada, and upon rounding the bend, she found an armored truck with five soldiers nearby.

Ada stood only a few paces away.

All five soldiers were advancing, and one was in the midst of a question, "-you found her?" he asked, almost cutting himself off, eyes widening as Helena came into view. "Good," he started to say, raising his arm to signal his band of soldiers.

Helena didn't need to hear anything else. Before he could so much as wave them forward, she charged and caught the unsuspecting leader around the middle. She lifted him off the ground, shouldering him like a football player, and then ran with him until they rammed straight into the armored truck.

The soldier's back hit the reinforced metal first, and then his head slammed back against it. His yelp abruptly ended, and he fell limp like a ragdoll on her shoulder, but Helena didn't let go of him.

She whirled around to see that two of the remaining soldiers had pulled out their sidearms. Thrusting her victim on his feet in front of her, two loud shots went off.

They struck him in the back where his bulletproof vest protected him, but the force of the bullets still had the unconscious man convulsing.

One of the armed soldiers holstered his gun and pulled out a combat knife, as did the soldier beside him. The third pulled out a machete, and the fourth trained his gun on her.

Helena knew it was time to move.

Picking up the deadweight clean off the ground, Helena hoisted and threw the leader at the gawking gunman.

The gunman squawked as the body crashed into him, knocking them both to the ground.

The other three knifemen approached, eyeing her warily. They formed a semicircle around Helena, pinning her back to the truck.

Helena caught a subtle exchange of looks between two of the soldiers, and instinctively, she ducked to avoid the soldier's combat knife that came at her from behind. Helena turned as she descended, catching the soldier around the stomach, and stood, lifting him off the ground. Using his momentum against him, she flipped the soldier over her back.

He crashed into his friend with the machete, who had advanced on her as soon as she had moved.

Yelping, they both fell into a tangled heap onto the ground.

Barely catching sight of the knife in time, Helena dropped to the ground in an instant, narrowly avoiding being sliced across the face by the third man.

As she dropped, Helena kicked out a leg and caught her foe in his knee, making him cry out and buckle under the force of her blow. She turned back to the two that had tangled up.

The soldiers had dislodged themselves and were attempting to stand, but Helena didn't let them.

She lashed out with a hard fist, catching the second knifeman in the temple.

He passed out in a second flat, and then the soldier with a machete was rising again.

Wary of the recovery rate of her opponents, Helena rose as well, and then hopped back to avoid a powerful chop of the machete. When he missed and toppled passed, she pushed the soldier into his conscious friend with the knife, and then jumped up on the armored truck's supersized tire as they collided.

Bullets followed her as she slid across the hood of the vehicle, and she ducked down immediately upon reaching the other side.

"Damn!" the recovered shooter cursed as his shots pinged off the armored truck.

"Quiet!" one of the others hushed.

Helena heard the soft swish of air as the soldiers sheathed their knives. She noted the pause before feet started to stomp, and then realized the soldiers had taken out their guns again.

Heart pumping like a hammer beneath her breast, Helena discreetly backed up to the rails on the hind side of the truck as the footsteps closed in. She only had a few seconds and used them to scale the armored bed of the truck, which painstakingly creaked.

"You hear that?" the soldier from the back of the truck asked.

Helena made it to the top of the truck bed and saw one of the soldiers at the front duck, checking underneath the vehicle. He rose and motioned to the soldier next to him, indicating the truck.

Helena turned to the man at the back end of the vehicle, the lone soldier. As the other two crept towards the side door, she pulled out her sniper rifle and crawled to the edge of the roof. Silently, she lowered the butt of the gun so that the soldier would catch sight of it out of the corner of his eyes.

He did, and as he raised his face to look up, Helena drew back the weapon. Surprise registered in his eyes only a second before Helena rammed the butt of the sniper down onto his exposed forehead, catching him under his helmet.

The soldier squeaked and then crumpled.

Helena dropped the sniper rifle onto the ground next to the soldier, drawing the other two men instantly. She backed from the ledge, moved to the side of the truck, and then slipped down from the roof into the spot they had just evacuated from.

She followed her foes to the back of the truck, and then grabbed the nearest soldier around the neck with an arm. She dragged him back and flexed, strangling her captive.

As his friend turned at the commotion, Helena caught the last soldier with an old fashioned punch to the face.

His nose gave way under her fist, and the soldier cried out in pain. He stepped back, lifting a hand to his face, and Helena used the distraction to take him out for good. She executed a swift chop to the neck, striking him in just the right spot that he collapsed under the blow.

The soldier she was currently strangling meekly continued his attempt to break free. He elbowed her in the side, and when that did nothing after four attempts, he kicked back at her shins, but his attacks were weak.

Just a few seconds later, he joined his fellow soldiers on the ground.

Helena bent to retrieve her sniper, but the distinct click of heels had her stiffening. She straightened, surveying the dangerous woman who casually approached her.

Coming to a stop right in front of her, Ada's amber eyes flickered over the fallen men around them.

"No casualties," she remarked approvingly.

"Figured they knew as much as I did," Helena muttered.

Amber eyes lowered down Helena, scanning, and then paused, eyeing her left hand.

"I didn't know you were ambidextrous," she said, light eyes almost seeming to glow as they rose again, finding Helena's.

Helena's glower melted into a frown, and then she glanced down at her right hand.

"I wasn't," she said, staring at the scar Ada had given her back in Spain when she had shot Helena through the palm.

"I'm impressed," Ada said in that pleased tone.

Helena puffed up, both honored and ashamed of how proud that little praise made her. She glanced up to see Ada smiling so warmly that Helena couldn't remove her gaze.

"Will you come with me to the palace now?" she asked, teasing nature returning, making Helena realize that Ada could read her like an open book.

Her ire returned quickly, thankfully, and Helena glowered once more.

"Not a chance in hell," she scoffed.

Ada's warm smile transformed into the smirk Helena was much more familiar with.

"I was hoping you'd say that," she said, barely giving Helena a second to raise her arms in defense before the attacks came.

In a quick, successive order, Helena blocked a jab to the throat, ducked a swing at her head, and then stumbled into Ada when a hard heel caught her in the back of the knee.

Shocked by the great strength behind the kick and boggled how it had come so fast, Helena reacted by pure instinct. She lifted her hands to brace herself for the fall and caught herself on Ada's magnificent bosom.

Ada's smirk split into a wide grin, and Helena felt her cheeks swell with heat.

"Looking for your phone?" Ada teased her.

Helena pulled her hands away as if they had caught fire, and Ada laughed.

Stepping in-between Helena's legs, Ada wrapped an arm around Helena's shoulders and bent her backwards over a knee.

"Try again," she suggested, and off-balanced, Helena swiped at that smirking face.

Ada laughed, simply letting go of Helena, and stepped back.

Helena's back hit the ground before she even touched the her foe. She grunted and winced, rolling to get out of range of a high heel, but as soon as she had turned a full 360 degrees, a heeled foot stomped onto the ground on the far side of her. Utterly stopped by it, Helena didn't even have a second before a fit, perfectly shaped ass sat on her hips, straddling her.

Helena jerked, sitting up to wrap her legs around Ada and flip her, but her plans were foiled in an instant.

With one graceful lean and a hard shove to the shoulders shoulders, Ada flattened her to the pavement. Gentle fingers brushed down Helena's arms until Ada reached her wrists, which she locked down under an iron hold.

Helena stared up at her, wide-eyed.

"Are you human?" she asked, and Ada laughed, a musical sound that reverberated throughout that glorious body and made voluptuous breasts dance in a way that was impossible not to notice as she leaned over Helena.

"You really like those, don't you?" Ada asked, and Helena felt the heat return flush through her cheeks again.

"Get off!" she growled, tearing her eyes away and bucking as she tried to dislodge Ada. She wriggled and thrusted and tried to use her legs or roll, but despite her great efforts, Ada didn't budge. "How are you even doing this?" Helena asked, panting, unable to lift her arms, no matter how hard she fought.

A few feet away, a low groan signaled the return of consciousness to one of the soldiers.

"And here we are again," Ada purred, not even breaking a sweat. "Now, you can either play along or go make nice with your little rebel friends and miss out on a chance to see for yourself that the old broad is the plaga supplier. Your choice."

"What do you need me for, anyway?" Helena asked, knowing it was the only question she could ask that would get some kind of answer.

"She's going to find you sooner or later," Ada said about President Belikova, "and I'm here to make sure that when she does, she won't become suspicious of BSAA Operative Harper."

Helena stilled, so confused that she had given up her feeble attempts to get free.

"What?" she blurted. "Are you impersonating me? As a BSAA agent?"

"No," Ada practically cooed, like she was watching a puppy chase its tail.

Helena scowled, not in the mood to play guessing games with the woman who spoke in riddles.

"So you created a fake identity," she said, hating how her voice hitched when Ada leaned closer. "What does it have to do with me?" she demanded, sounding more confused than angry like she wanted. "Are you posing as my sister or something?

Ada paused, perfect eyebrows rising. Her lips curved upwards, almost imperceptibly, and then she laughed. The laugh wasn't playful or teasing like the others Helena had heard from Ada, rather it was full of genuine mirth, so honest it had caught even Ada by surprise, and the sound of it had Helena blushing.

"W-what?" Helena stammered, her face feeling like it was on fire. "What's so funny? Is that what you're doing?" she barked, but only received more beautiful laughter in response. "Hey, stop laughing! Hey! What did I say, damn it!"

When Ada finally calmed down, she smiled at Helena, her amber eyes alight.

"No, Helena, the president doesn't think I'm your sister."

Helena grunted, again trying to buck Ada off and failing.

"Then what the hell-"

"She thinks I'm your wife."

"You think he made it back already?" JD asked, timid after having found the crate in the garage completely empty.

"Maybe," Leon muttered, keeping a watchful eye on his distraught companion.

Upon finding the case empty, JD had collapsed. It had been awful to see such a cheerful man in such pain and denial, begging Leon to provide him with an excuse.

Leon hadn't given one, and now, more than ever, he had to find Buddy. He couldn't be sure how JD would react when he finally did.

Following the rebel through the backstreets of Holigrad on their way back to the church, Leon gripped the assault rifle JD had given him and squeezed the handle in unease.

He had a bad feeling about this, and his bad feelings were usually right.

As if the fates had heard his silent reminiscing, Leon heard a faint noise in the distance.

"JD, stop," he ordered, holding up a hand to halt the rebel.

JD turned, confused, but closed his mouth when he saw Leon pause and tilt his head to listen. He waited a whole, fragile moment, and then whispered, "What is it?"

"Movement," Leon reported because he couldn't make out the sound. "It's not far away."

"Neither is the church," JD said unnecessarily, glancing from side to side nervously. "You think we'll make it before the soldiers find us?"

"It doesn't sound like the army," Leon said, nodding ahead. "Keep moving, but stay close to me."

JD moved closer to his armed escort, trusting Leon and his abilities to defend, and asked, "What does it sound like?"

Leon shook his head to quiet JD. As they drew closer to the church, the noises grew, and the sinking feeling in Leon's chest amplified.

Then, Leon heard a scream nearby.

"Stay back!" he whispered to JD, rushing around the nearest bend, which opened up to a main street and a plaza.

JD followed, not heeding his warning, and he pulled up to an abrupt stop behind Leon.

Across the plaza, a large gathering of gray-skinned, red-eyed humanoid BOWs staggered around a screaming civilian. Two of them held the man down in an iron grip, waiting for a third to approach.

"What's happening?" JD asked frantically, trying to step out in front of Leon. "We have to help!"

Leon put a hand on JD's shoulder and shook his head.

"It's too late," he said as a plaga-infested woman stumbled in front of the captive. He winced as a giant, plant-like protrusion erupted from her mouth.

Beside him, JD gasped, horrified as the creature reached into the middle of her wide mouth and pulled free a bulbous, sticky little seedling of a plaga. It was red and sweaty, covered in saliva, and had a bottom that resembled an octopus' legs. It wriggled in her fingers as she stared at it, analyzing the little creature she had just birthed.

Behind her, the rest of the plaga-infested had stopped, and they watched as well, echoing a faint, but deep-throated chant, saying, "Get him. Get him."

The gray woman grabbed the civilian's face in a hand, wrenched his jaw open, and shoved the wriggling plaga at his open mouth.

At first, it didn't look like the plaga would fit, but the creature found a way to slide into the man's gaping mouth.

The man's screams cut off abruptly as the plaga wriggled down his throat. He shook as it squirmed into his body, convulsing uncontrollably, and then finally, his struggles ceased, and his plaga-infested captors finally let go of him.

The man gripped his chest in obvious pain, looking as if he might be sick. He collapsed to the ground coughing, and when he finally lifted his head again, his skin had grayed with spidering, black veins all over his face and skin, and his eyes had turned bloodred. He lifted his face to the heavens and cried out in an anguished, inhuman scream. Blood dripped from his eyes in little tears down his cheeks.

The rest of the plaga-infested backed off disinterestedly, excitement gone now that he had successfully been cornered and turned.

"Oh, God," JD whispered, pale and trembling, eyes wide as he stared. "Buddy injects himself with that? He wouldn't," he whimpered, almost tearful. "If he could see this, he wouldn't do it. We have to find him, show him…"

Leon lowered his eyes and shook his head.

"We gotta get out of here, JD," he said, squeezing the man's shoulder. "Come on."

JD looked back over his shoulder as they departed, but then followed Leon without another word or complaint. They made it to the church within a few short minutes and entered through a smaller door on the right side of the building.

JD entered first, and Leon stayed in the shadows, moving in with him, but half hidden.

Tugging the collar of his vest, JD took a few steps into the church and called out, "Buddy, you here?"

No one answered, but the light spilling in from the giant stain glass windows revealed three others inside. All had their backs turned to Leon and JD, and they stood that way until JD's call. Then, in one slow shuffling movement, they began to turn.

Warning bells went off in Leon's head immediately, and he reached out for JD as the man went up to the nearest of his friends.

"JD, don't-"

"Marco-" JD started to say as his former friend turned around. He shrieked and pulled back his arm as if burned, eyes rounding in absolute horror.

In front of him, Marco stood gray-faced with red eyes and a mouth that opened to unleash an inhuman parasite.

JD backpedaled and tripped, falling to the ground in a terrified heap, and Marco lurched for him.

Leon fired, having already raised his assault rifle the moment he had seen them standing around like zombies.

A spray of bullets crashed into Marco's shell.

"No!" JD shouted, horrified.

Marco dropped like a stone, bloodied body falling to a heap on the floor next to JD, and then his head started to bulge.

"JD, run!" Leon barked, but JD didn't, just sat there and stared.

Leon unloaded the rest of the clip into the monster's head, splattering blood on JD in the process, but stopping a horrific transformation before it could happen.

Leon was familiar enough with Helena's case file to know, but JD wasn't, and Leon wasn't going to expose the distraught rebel to any more terrors if he could help it.

By the time the one on the floor stopped moving, the other two were already lurching towards him.

Leon smacked the first in the face with the butt of his gun and then kicked the second, toppling him. He reloaded the assault rifle with a pre-loaded clip, and then knocked back the first creature a second time and unloaded half the clip into JD's plaga-infested friend.

The second BOW had just started to stand when Leon turned his gun on it and took it out. The last two died swiftly, and their heads remained in tact.

When he was sure they were dead, Leon turned to JD.

The rebel remained frozen in place, staring at the bloody bodies, entranced.

"JD," Leon said, going to him. "JD, are you okay?"

As soon as Leon touched his shoulder, JD broke out of the trance, turned away from Leon, and threw up on the floor.

"Agent Harper," President Belikova greeted, standing as Helena and Ada were ushered inside her office. "I see your wife was right about you taking exception to the armed escort I sent with her," she remarked, glancing at the soldiers who stood guard, sporting various minor injuries. "I hope you understand, I had reasons for the precaution. After all, I issued an evacuation order, an order you and your partner brazenly ignored. Your wife asked that I grant you clemency. Tell me why that is."

"My partner and I were sent to evaluate the the BOW presence in Eastern Slav," Helena began, carefully twisting the truth just as Ada had instructed her. "We were to meet with a CIA agent who claims to have found out the identity of the bio-weapons supplier dealing with the insurgents. My partner and I were unable to comply to your evacuation order because we were ambushed by the insurgents and their BOWs, Madame President. They had killed our CIA contact and had taken us to one of their hideouts."

"I see," President Belikova said, looking intrigued. "And this hideout, where was it?"

"I don't know where exactly, Madame President," Helena replied, "but I do know it was still in the city. A patrol of your soldiers found us, but there was no time to identify ourselves because Ivan Judanovich, who'd made himself a dominant-strain plaga host, turned and attacked everyone. During the firefight, I took the chance and escaped into the tunnels, but I was separated from my partner. I was searching for him when my wife found me."

"Why did you turn on your escort?" President Belikova asked, glancing at Ada. "Did your wife not explain the situation to you?"

Helena took a moment to look embarrassed, not a difficult feat when she thought back on how much Ada teased her when they were discussing their cover.

"I… didn't give her the chance, Madame President," she said, which was actually true. "I had heard from the insurgents about your evacuation order, so when I saw your soldiers, I resisted. I didn't want to turn myself in without finding my partner first."

"So your partner, Agent Harper, do you think he's alive?" the president asked.

"I believe he is, yes," Helena confirmed, nodding.

"If that is so, my men will find him," the president said. "And your CIA contact? Did you learn anything from him before he was eliminated? Any data, hard evidence?"

Helena shook her head.

"The insurgents killed him before we even made contact. They used his body to draw us into an ambush."

President Belikova looked at Ada for a moment, and then turned back to her.

"These actions are very telling. Wouldn't you agree, Agent Harper?"

"What I have seen and experienced have not led me to believe otherwise, Madame President," Helena answered in agreement, earning an approving nod from the president.

"I believe you've made your case, Agent Harper," President Belikova decided, gesturing at the guards, who took a step back from her and Ada. "You, like your wife, are now a guest in my country. Do you need any medical attention? My personal doctor can see to your injuries."

"Thank you, Madame President, but that won't be necessary," Ada said, smiling pleasantly at the president. "I'll take care of her, it's nothing I can't handle."

"Very well," President Belikova responded agreeably. "My men will see you to your quarters. I bid you both a good night."

Wishing the president in kind, Helena and Ada followed their soldier escort to their room.

"You were right, Leon," JD murmured as he and Leon stood by the burning bodies of his fellow rebels, the first time he had spoken since he himself nearly died at the hands of his former friends.

Leon glanced at JD but said nothing, letting him talk.

"What good is independence if none of the people I care about will live to enjoy it? I never cared for it, you know, I just wanted to have fun with my friends," JD confessed, looking disgusted and angry. "Buddy always told me it was wrong to think that way, that it was selfish. Think of the future, JD, he would tell me, think of tomorrow. I thought he was so noble, the best of us, the one who could lead in Ataman's place."

JD shook his head, his balled fists shaking.

"He told me he was going to head back to the church after he got that plaga of his, but he wasn't here. Where was he?" JD roared, glaring at the growing flames. "Where was he when this was happening to our people, to our friends, when they were dying painfully and turning into monsters like Ataman? Where is he now! Where, Sasha, where are you!"

"Do you know?" Leon asked quietly, when JD had exhausted himself.

"He said after getting the plaga, we were to attack the Presidential Palace as planned," JD revealed with no hesitation. "You know, he used to be an elementary school teacher. Hard to believe, isn't it, and even stranger to say now, what he used to be. He and Irina, his fiancee, they loved the children like they were their own. Then, one day, the government burned down the school with Irina and the children still in it, claiming it was one of Ataman's hideouts. Sasha's never been the same since, I just refused to see it because it was easier for me."

After a pause, JD sighed.

"Tell me, Leon, is there no saving him at all?" JD asked, not bothering to hide the hope in his voice. "Surely you Americans have the technology, you have something for everything!"

"We actually do, and you'd be surprised to know it's not American-made," Leon said, making JD gasp. "Thing is, that was designed for a different kind of plaga, and the plaga here is nothing we've ever seen. It's a longshot, at best."

"But it's a shot, isn't it? It's better than nothing!" JD insisted, pleading with Leon.

"I'll do everything I can to help him, JD," Leon promised, squeezing JD's shoulder. "And when this is all over, I'm going to show you around America myself, anywhere you want go, anything you want to do."

JD's response was a weak laugh and a sad smile, but the hope in his voice remained.

"I'm looking forward to it, my friend."

Upon arriving at the door of their room, Ada turned to the soldiers walking alongside them and nodded.

"Thank you for escorting us, gentlemen," she bade, and the soldiers took the hint to leave.

Helena took Ada's bag from them, and once they had left, Ada caught her in that amber gaze. The corner of those red, perfect lips lifted, and then Ada opened the door with their keycard. She entered first, and Helena followed the beautiful woman into the room.

They walked down a short hallway that broke off into a master bathroom. As they passed, Helena spotted a huge Jacuzzi tub and a double shower. The toilet had was walled off in the corner by misted glass cubes, and everything in the room had a gold lining. From the crown molding around the ceiling to the full-length mirror that had been built into the wall, the bathroom sparkled with beauty. To call it elegant would have been a vast understatement.

They continued past the richly decorated bathroom into a divine bedroom. The crown molding continued down the hall into this room as well, proving a stark contrast against the meringue walls. The master suite had a queen size bed that sat in the middle of the room with smooth oak dressers on either side of it. The bed faced a large flat screen television that had been set into the wall, and the spacious area even had a dining table for two on the far right side.

The room had all the amenities Helena would have expected out of a five-star hotel. It left her wondering how the president afforded to upkeep such lavish living quarters for guest rooms in her palace.

The only thing missing from the room was a window view. There were no windows at all, Helena mentally noted, careful not to fixate on anything for too long.

"Nice room," she said. "Nicer than I expected."

"Yes," Ada agreed. "President Belikova certainly knows how to treat her guests," she said, and Helena understood the unspoken reminder that there were cameras in their room.

Helena's eyes drifted back to the bed.

It was a beautiful piece with four elegant posts and a red canopy over the top of it. Blanketed with a thick, red comforter and golden sheets underneath, it made quite an impression.

It was the only bed in the room. She would be sharing it with Ada tonight.

"Don't even think about it."

"What?" she asked, taken off-guard by the abrasive tone.

"You're filthy. You're not getting into that bed until you're clean," Ada said distinctively.

Helena realized her error in focusing on the bed, and she realized what Ada was doing.

"Does the president offer laundry services, too, or am I going to hand-wash my clothes?" Helena scoffed, the reaction genuine.

"No," Ada answered.

"No on the laundry or the hand-washing?" Helena asked, seemingly always one step behind when it came to Ada.

"Both," Ada said in that aggravating manner of answering her in riddles.

"Then what will I change into?"

Ada smiled in that way that played on Helena's instincts, and Helena blinked. Seeing Ada glance at the duffel bag, Helena dropped the bag to the ground and stooped to rummage inside.

She found a clean set of mission clothes inside. Helena frowned and pulled them out, additionally startled to discover that they were her size.

"What the hell…" she mumbled.

If Ada was going for authentic reactions from her, she was earning them.

"I'm your wife. I know everything," Ada explained as if it was obvious, as if that were an actual answer.

Bewildered, Helena pulled out a pair of pants and socks next. She found a set of undergarments beneath them, and then blushed furiously upon discovering red, lacy panties and a matching bra underneath.

The next time Helena looked up, Ada was at the bathroom door, beckoning her with a curling finger.

Helena blinked and followed. Cherry-cheeked, she carried the bag to the bathroom.

"Love," Ada chided, taking her forearm when Helena entered the room. "You're so tense today."

"It's been a long day," Helena replied, taking the silent cue.

"Just breathe," Ada comforted. Lifting a hand to her face, Ada stroked her cheek back to the hairline with a slow, delicate finger. "You're with me now."

They were alone, housed in the company of a dangerous dictator who had cameras on them, and they would be forced to play out the part of a married couple very soon, but when Ada reassured her, Helena felt it. Staring into those amber eyes, her quivering heart calmed.

Ada seemed to know the instant it happened. When it did, she stepped back and went to the side of the jacuzzi. She turned on the hot water, and then gave Helena one last look.

Helena understood the slight quirk of Ada's eyebrow perfectly. She inclined her head, and Ada's lips twitched pleasantly.

Then, Ada began to strip.

Skintight pants slipped off as if engineered to fall the instant she touched them. Helena stared at long, pale, smooth legs as they were revealed. Stricken with a sudden desire, she itched to rub her hand along them, they appeared so silken. It was as if nothing so much as the tiniest hair had ever marred Ada's flawless flesh.

Helena thought Ada's legs beautiful, and then the woman's top came off. She stared.

From the flat and creamy stomach to those beautifully rounded breasts that frequently teased her, Ada was nothing short of perfection.

Helena stopped everything and admired. Her eyes roved over that lingerie-clad body, and her mind memorized every curvy detail. Her brain calculated the steps she had to take to reach Ada, and her fingers twitched. She wanted nothing more than to grab that luscious body and prop Ada up on the vanity so that she could worship the goddess with her tongue.

She didn't blink, didn't even breathe.

Ada's bra and panties slipped off next, and despite herself, Helena couldn't keep her eyes away.

Ada's lips lifted in a gracious smirk. She flung the last garment at Helena and joked, "Time for that later, when you're clean."

Helena's blushed and tore the panties off her face quickly. She tossed them to the floor and grumbled for show, and then rose to her feet.

Ada stared at her, quirked an eyebrow, and the message was clear.

It was Helena's turn now.

Careful not to take too long, Helena stripped of her top and discarded it. The heat in her cheeks amplified when she realized that Ada was still watching her closely.

Amber eyes dashed over her body, drinking her in, making Helena regret having peeked at Ada. The woman was clearly getting her back for it now.

Trying to control her blush, Helena averted her eyes. She unbuckled her pants, but could feel Ada eyeing her every move. Painfully aware of it, she pulled down her pants and undergarments all in one go to get it over with.

She straightened, trying and failing to execute all these actions with the ease that Ada had, and then stripped of her bra.

It took everything in her not to cross her arms over her body, but Helena resisted the urge.

Imperceptibly swallowing, Helena glanced up and saw Ada staring at the scars on her side.

She approached, and Helena stiffened.

Ada's every step was graceful, every sashay of her hips, mesmerizing.

Unable to move, Helena could only wait as the gorgeous woman came before her and stopped.

Ada extended a hand and touched Helena's right arm. She fingered a scar.

It was one Helena had received seven years ago in Spain. It had come from a mutated knight.

Helena remembered when tentacles had shot out of the suit of armor, grabbing her. She remembered the casual ease in which Ada had joked with her, safe behind bars while Helena had scrambled for her life.

She remembered it so well because it had been one more of those calm, casual instances in which Ada had saved her life.

Ada's thumb moved from the scar on her arm to Helena's bruised and battered side.

The skin there was marred even worse, not only covered with scars, but with fresh, dark and mottled bruises.

Helena blinked upon discovering them. She remembered the rebels kicking her and recalled a dull ache in her side at times, but she hadn't thought anything of it until seeing the result. She hadn't even noticed it upon stripping, not until Ada had touched it.

"I'm glad you weren't hurt badly this time," Ada said, and Helena stared at her.

"Me, too."

Ada smiled then, and it was genuine and sweet like the one that had accompanied the laugh earlier. It warmed Helena, and when Ada nodded to the filled tub, she followed the silent request without fear.

Helena climbed into the tub first. Shutting off the faucet, she waited, and Ada followed her.

Unexpectedly, Ada climbed in behind Helena and made her scoot forward.

Helena blinked, not having expected the privacy. She wanted to share a look with Ada to convey her appreciation, but before she could even consider it, Ada touched her bare back.

Helena jumped, heart suddenly racing.

"I'm sorry," Ada apologized as graceful legs slid in beside Helena's, surrounding her.

The fingers on her back began to rub in gentle, smooth circles.

"Did that hurt?" Ada asked in the same breath, giving Helena a subtle reminder that normal couples would be doing this.

Helena exhaled, slowing her racing heart. Ada was simply playing the part of her wife.

"No, I'm just a bit jumpy. Sorry."

"Takes you back to Spain?" Ada asked casually, lathering her back with soap and water.

"A little," she answered, taking another slow breath as Ada's fingers gingerly grazed her side, "but at least you're here with me this time."

Ada's touch on her bruise was even softer this time, and then Helena felt a warm washcloth on her skin.

"This is nice," Ada confirmed, soothing her bruised side with the soapy cloth, "but maybe next time, try not to be in the crosshairs of the country's leader, hm?"

"You were there to get me out of it," Helena said, curious because Ada seemed to be there every time Helena needed it.

"Don't push your luck," Ada warned, silencing her question that would remain unanswered.

Ada's warm fingers left her side, and Helena missed the touch more than the washcloth.

"Too late for that. Married you, didn't I?" she said, leaning back against Ada to catch the woman's eye and remind the mysterious agent. For better or for worst, Helena had knowingly, willingly gone along with the plan, and she wanted Ada to know that.

Ada caught the look and glanced over it.

"Best decision of your life," she said flippantly. She softened the words immediately, wrapping an arm around Helena's middle, and pulled her in closer. Helena felt a warm forehead on her shoulder, and by those actions, she knew Ada understood.

Helena woke up with a start, her body reacting instinctively to the unfamiliar surroundings and the foreign body in her arms. Feeling resistance, she attempted to trap the woman, but she couldn't find a grip, and the next thing she knew, the room spun as she was pushed flat on her back.

"Helena, it's me."

She stilled at the voice, and slowly, as Ada Wong's beautiful face came into focus, the events of the day before came back to her. She let out a shaky breath and closed her eyes, feeling the tension in her body start to melt away.

"Do you remember where you are?" Ada asked, her voice as gentle as her touch, slender fingers threading through Helena's hair. "Do you remember what happened yesterday?"

"Yeah…" Helena breathed, looking away from the amber eyes that seemed to see everything of her. "Sorry you had to deal with that," she mumbled, hoping she hadn't given them away and berating herself for putting them at risk.

The fingers toying with her hair moved to her face, cupping her cheek and turning her chin, their eyes meeting.

"I'm your wife, it's what I do," Ada answered simply, and it was all she needed to hear to put her fears to rest.

Helena nodded, confirming to Ada her commitment to the charade, and touched the hand that was cupping her cheek.

"And how well you do it," she responded in kind, pleased with herself a little too much when Ada smirked in approval.

"It's about time we got out of bed, anyway," Ada said, gracefully dismounting her and scooting to the edge of the bed to stretch, the blankets sliding off naked body like water, a sight that had Helena staring. "President Belikova is expecting us for tea."

"She is?" Helena asked absently, the president the last thing on her mind right now.

"Yes, so if you want to keep staring at me, do it in the bathroom," Ada teased, reaching back and touching her right hand, caressing the scar. "Coming?"

Helena snorted, trying and failing to hide a blush.

"You just want to clean me up again," she pretended to grumble, though she took Ada's hand and let herself be led out of the bed and into the bathroom.

"Of course, I do," Ada purred. "After what I did to you last night, it would be criminal not to."

Later, they were escorted to President Belikova's enormous and lavish office. The room was huge with enough space to accommodate all of them and then some. At the far side of the room, behind an elegantly sculpted desk and chair, a set of large bay windows brightened the space. On the other side of them, they overlooked the whole city. Expensive, white drapes curtained the crystal glass, but were pulled back to allow natural light to illuminate the impressive room.

Twin couches sat opposite each other, both ornately carved, solid wood. Upholstered with archaic green and white designs, they fit the quaint style of the room. In the middle of the sofas sat a small, rounded table where a tasteful tea set had been laid out. The set was as grand as the room: sparkling white with a sophisticated red design circling the tops of each piece.

It was on these couches that Helena, Ada, and President Belikova sat. The two former faced the latter.

On her right side next to the couch, the president's secretary attended to the tea. Unlike yesterday, no guards had been permitted to stay this time.

Situated in the middle of the couch, back straight and poised, President Belikova delicately held a cup of tea by the small plate underneath it. She lifted her second hand to the petite handle to pick up the cup.

"I trust you both had a pleasant evening," the president began conversationally, taking a sip.

Sitting across from the president, Ada took a sip of the tea with no hesitation, and Helena followed suit.

"We had a very pleasant evening, Madame President," Ada affirmed, setting her cup down to place a hand on Helena's knee.

"I'm pleased to hear that," President Belikova said, smiling. "Agent Harper, I must confess, our unexpected meeting last night had driven me to look up your file. You were the agent who saved President Graham's daughter in Spain seven years ago, and your partner, Leon Kennedy, had tracked down her kidnapper and prevented a plaga outbreak in Russia. I'm flattered that the US government had sent such decorated agents to aid my country."

Helena nodded, fighting to hide her surprise. Her and Leon's missions in 2004 were classified, and President Belikova was using it for small talk.

"Yes, Madame President," she responded. "Advisor Simmons thought it was best to send us because of our experience with the plaga."

"What an experience it must have been for you, Agent Harper," President Belikova enthused, "to have been infected with the plaga. Would it be too forward of me to ask what it was like? As I read, you sustained many injuries, some very severe, and barely survived the plaga removal."

Helena, her own cup of tea now forgotten, felt Ada reach for her right hand, their fingers interlocking, the action expected of married couples.

"That is all true, Madame President," she said, giving Ada's hand a squeeze. "To be perfectly honest, I would have failed my mission if I hadn't been infected. The plaga made me stronger and unable to feel pain, exhaustion, hunger or thirst. It also made me susceptible to the dominant-strain plaga in Osmund Saddler's possession, but luckily, I had someone looking out for me."

"Luis Sera, the Spaniard scientist?" President Belikova asked, again revealing she knew more than they suspected. "He was the one who found a means to safely remove plaga from the host, yes?"

"Yes. Ashley-" Helena stopped, catching herself. "Ms. Graham and I were the first to survive the procedure. Rest assured, Madame President, Luis has refined the process since, and he should be able to find a way to help your people, should they be infected."

"That is good news, indeed," President Belikova said approvingly. "I saw the extent of your injuries, Agent Harper. What a fighter you must have been to survive what should have been certain death."

"I wouldn't say that," Helena murmured, seeming to look right past the president. "I just got lucky."

President Belikova's secretary took that moment refill the tea, apologizing for the interruption and quickly taking his place at the president's side. President Belikova took another sip, her eyes on Helena.

"I would not sell you so short, Agent Harper," President Belikova remarked, turning to Ada with a smile. "I'm sure your wife would agree."

"I do agree," Ada said, glancing at Helena with a smile before looking back at the president. "Thank you for the tea, Madame President. I think it's about time I contact my superiors. I'm afraid it had slipped my mind yesterday."

"I understand perfectly, Operative Harper," President Belikova responded graciously.

Thanking the president, Ada stood, gently tugging at Helena to do the same. Helena shook her head, suddenly feeling dizzy, and when she got to her feet, she stumbled right back onto her seat.

"Ada-" Helena managed to say in an attempt to warn her partner. She saw Ada stoop and felt soft fingers on her neck, and then Helena felt nothing at all.

"Is she alive?" President Belikova asked bluntly.

Turned away from the president, Ada exhaled imperceptibly when she found a pulse.

"She is," Ada confirmed.

"I knew it," President Belikova said, putting her cup back onto the plate, and then set the plate on the table. She stood. "And you, Mrs. Harper, you're still standing. Neither of you will be leaving Eastern Slav today."

The cocking of a gun marked the very end of their charade. Out of the corner of her eye, Ada noted that the secretary had the gun. She memorized his position.

Ada remained bent over, fingers on Helena's neck.

"We'll see about that," she said, calmly accepting Belikova's challenge.

Moving too fast to follow, Ada kicked back her leg, connecting her heel and foot with the table. She lifted the solid wood effortlessly and sent it flying at the president.

The president lifted her hands to cover herself and ducked under the heavy table.

Ada flipped into action before the secretary could process or recover himself. She crossed the distance between them in a few short steps, ducking low in case the gun went off, and then kicked the man in the chest and under the hand in one smooth movement.

He gasped, falling back, and the gun flew out of his hand up and in the opposite direction, per the route Ada had intended it to go.

Ada flipped, following the trajectory of the weapon as it flew through the air, and then righted herself an instant before the weapon descended. She extended a hand and caught the weapon by the grip. Sliding a finger over the trigger, she turned, aiming the gun, but President Belikova had already recovered.

More than recovered, the president was up, a mere step away from Ada. As soon as Ada turned to point the pistol, she grabbed the gun by the barrel in an impossibly strong hold.

Ada's eyes gleamed. She didn't try to yank the gun away a second time.

President Belikova stared at her in immense interest. The corner of her mouth lifted.

"Your reflexes are most impressive, Operative Harper."

Ada raised an eyebrow and responded only by squeezing the trigger of the gun.

A shot fired into the decorative wood beams on the opposite wall, but President Belikova didn't falter with the recoil. The gun didn't move an inch.

President Belikova's smile grew. She ripped the gun out of Ada's hand easily and grabbed Ada's wrist in the other hand.

Knowing she couldn't break that hold conventionally, Ada twirled. Loosening President Belikova's grip with an awkward angle, she ripped her wrist free. Before even finishing the spin, she lifted a leg to kick the smirk off the president's face, but missed as her foe stepped back out of range.

Ada landed on two feet and found her balance easily, and then swung at the president, but it proved no more useful than her previous attacks.

President Belikova lifted an arm, blocking the blow, and swatted away Ada's arm. She reached for Ada to grab her again, but Ada wouldn't be caught by that twice.

Dropping to avoid the grasping hand, Ada cartwheeled out of range and landed in a crouch. She lifted her head and found the cocked pistol pointed at her.

"If you were going to shoot me, I'd already be dead," Ada said, unafraid at the point of a barrel.

President Belikova seemed pleased. She pulled back the gun and clicked on the safety.

"Smart girl," she complimented, tossing the weapon to the secretary crouching behind the desk. He barely caught it, fumbling, and then shut it away into a drawer.

"You're stalling," Ada accused, rising to her feet elegantly.

"Yes," President Belikova openly admitted.

Ada glanced at the couch where Helena laid, unconscious, and then looked back at the president.

"I'm waiting for you to join her," the president said.

Ada's amber eyes narrowed.

"You know neither of us got any sleep last night, but no thanks," Ada graciously declined. "Maybe later."

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of an encased dagger on the wall behind the president.

President Belikova's eyes narrowed, but her faint smile betrayed her, revealing her delight.

"I believe you chose the wrong profession, Mrs. Harper," she said scathingly, the name rolling off her tongue in clear mockery. "You'd be a fine actress with a performance like last night's."

"What can I say?" Ada asked in answering, not breaking a sweat. "I'm an agent of many talents."

Ada dropped to the ground and slid, trying to catch the president by surprise and sweep her feet out from under her, but President Belikova was too quick.

Leaping into the air, she cleared Ada and spun to face the slippery foe.

Ada came to a sliding halt and stood, turned, and lashed out three consecutive times.

President Belikova blocked the first blow and evaded the Ada's high kick by ducking. When Ada twirled with a spinning kick to the side, she caught the leg.

Ada gazed at her captured leg in the hands of the president and jumped up, wrenching the limb free on the momentum of a backflip.

The president let go and watched as Ada backflipped several times until she landed in front of the fireplace where the dagger hung in a display case.

"Try it," the president encouraged, dark eyes dancing with intrigue. "You probably won't even bleed when you break the glass for that dagger, will you?"

Ada's lips pursed. Reaching back, she grabbed the candelabra off the mantle and hurtled it at the president.

The president sidestepped a fraction to avoid it, and Ada realized that her throw was a few inches off.

President Belikova's lips twitched again, and as if brought on by the president's desire, Ada was struck by a sudden fatigue that made her limbs feel heavy.

Realizing that she wouldn't be able to last, Ada smashed her closed fist into the glass case containing the dagger and extracted the weapon.

It took much more effort than it should have, and the president's smirk grew when she held the dagger in a ready pose, as if about to approach and strike.

"If you could not beat me before, what makes you think that you stand a chance now that the drug has begun to take effect? I admire your will to save her, my dear."

Breaking from the stance even before the president had finished speaking, Ada threw the dagger with deadly, pinpoint accuracy, aiming for the very center of President Belikova's chest.

It was the bulk of her body mass, and thus the hardest to evade, and Ada had the element of surprise on her side.

Neither was enough to catch President Belikova. She swatted the knife out of the air as if it were an annoying gnat.

Ada followed her dagger and attacked the president in quick succession, but her movements were slower than usual.

After a few easily blocked strikes, the president caught hold of an arm, twisted it back, and locked Ada into a chokehold against her breasts.

"You're a very generous wife..." the president began, hissing in her ear.

Ada gasped for air, trying to pull out of it, but President Belikova was stronger.

"You brought her to me," she said, looking at the unconscious agent on the couch. "She'd make a fine study."

Ada choked, but with a sudden surge of strength, she lifted her leg and kicked all the way back, smacking the president in the head with her foot.

Whether surprised or simply taking mercy on her, the president released her and Ada stumbled away. The surge of strength she had just felt drained away in an instant, leaving Ada standing there, breathless.

Amber eyes found the confident president a few paces away, but President Belikova didn't move on her, just watched.

Ada tore her eyes away, and with her last effort, she took a few, final steps to the couch and collapsed next to Helena.

In the middle of the main square outside the presidential palace, Buddy stood in cover behind one of the enormous, grand pillars that surrounded the building. A little further away, gunshots and growls echoed through the air.

Buddy peeked around the corner of his pillar, satisfied to see one of his lickers claw into the body of a female soldier. Smiling, he made the licker tear into the soldier's limp body again and again until a wild spray of bullets nearly took off his head.

Buddy pulled back behind the pillar, but didn't turn away. Controlling his lickers remotely, he sent two diving at the gunman who had just shot at him.

One licker was a formidable foe and could easily take out thirty untrained men by itself. With an army of them, Buddy could battle without even lifting a weapon.

The army was outmatched by Buddy's beasts, but they were putting up a formidable fight. After having taken out a couple dozen of his lickers, they had forced Buddy to relocate a couple of times, but the rebel wasn't worried. He had many lickers, and each one was good for at least three men. Sometimes, he even killed up to ten before one expired.

Buddy reckoned he had this war in hand and one foot out the door already.

High on the thought of his incoming victory, he jerked spastically as two agents rushed in from the back corner of the palace.

"What the- fuck!" Buddy swore as they appeared beside him, crowding in cover behind the pillar he was using for shelter. "Don't fucking startle me!" he growled after identifying JD with barely a glance. "I'm trying to win our goddamn war!"

JD's face, which had been full of elation at finding his friend alive, fell. He looked away, unable to stare at those angry, bloodred eyes.

"We tried to signal you," JD said, excitement completely sobered. "Leon reflected this light on the ground for the last eight minutes, trying to get your attention."

"How the fuck am I supposed to notice a speck of light on the ground?" Buddy demanded, still peeking from behind the pillar, refusing to take his eyes off the battlefield. "Even if I wasn't winning this goddamn war for us, who the fuck would see that?" he demanded, a tick working in his jaw. "And why the hell are you running around with that asshole, JD? He's supposed to be dead! Where are the others?"

JD closed his eyes. Tears formed at the edges.

"They…" he started to say and couldn't finish.

"They're dead," Leon said for him. "They died after you ran off for the plaga. The church was attacked by abominations, and your men fell."

Buddy's red eyes widened, and for the first time since their arrival, he actually looked away from the battlefield for more than a second.

"You were supposed to come back," JD whimpered. "I didn't want you to go at all. If you hadn't…"

Buddy stared at his friend and the bloody color started to fade from his eyes.

His control over the lickers relinquished, and the beasts continued to fight against the army without him, devouring even more men than they had before.

It lasted only a few precious seconds, and then his eyes hardened and the whole eye turned red again.

Two lickers died a few seconds after he regained his command of them.

He put a hand on JD's shoulder and snarled, "We'll avenge them."

JD finally looked up, having entirely missed the moment, and Leon was glad for it. The rebel had stopped crying, but the sad look didn't leave his face.

"I don't think we should," JD said in a fragile voice.

Buddy ignored him. Eyes back on the open square, he cursed.

Leon glanced around his side of the pillar, seeing one massive BOW in armor.

The creature was huge. Standing on two legs like a man, it reached a towering height. Its arms were the size of Gatling gun barrels, and its body, the width of two strongmen. Its face was gray and ugly with a perpetual scowl set into gaunt features, and it was decimating the battlefield.

The army, who had stuck around to fight hordes of lickers, was now retreating rapidly. They didn't even fire at the huge, hulking beast; they just broke rank and ran.

Buddy snorted in disgust.

"Look at them scatter like frightened women and children," he sneered.

"What? What is it?" JD asked, peering over Leon's shoulder to see.

"It's nothing," Buddy declared. "Nothing I can't rip to shreds."

Fearing a stupid, brazen reaction, Leon turned from his position at the other end of the pillar. He lunged around JD, reaching for Buddy to stop the man.

"Buddy, don't!" he warned, but was too late.

Buddy stepped out from behind the pillar. Summoning all four of his present lickers, he pitted them against the Tyrant.

He might as well have been throwing jelly beans at it for how long they lasted, and then the Tyrant saw him.

"Fuck!" Buddy cursed.

"We don't have a choice anymore," Leon said gravely.

"What do we do?" JD asked, panicking as the Tyrant's eyes narrowed on Buddy.

"See those tanks?" Leon asked, pointing the rebel to a pair of twin tanks that had been abandoned while fighting Buddy's lickers. "Steal one! Buddy and I will distract the Tyrant!"

"But I don't know how to drive!" JD squeaked as Leon grabbed Buddy's arm to force the other rebel to move.

"Run!" Leon said, shoving the guilty rebel to save his life.

Buddy stumbled, and then finally followed the order.

The Tyrant ran straight for the plaga-infested rebel.

Leon turned to the frightened man beside him and put a hand on JD's shoulder.

"It's okay," he told the rebel companionably. "My friends claim that I don't know how to drive, either, but that hasn't stopped me. I've driven all kinds of cars and trucks, jet skies, even flown a helicopter before."

"You have?" JD asked, eyes filling with that childish wonder.

"Yes, and you can, too," Leon encouraged, patting him on the shoulder. "I believe in you, JD."

"America's the bomb, yo!" JD repeated, suddenly giddy. "I'll make you proud, Leon!" he promised, and then ran off to the tanks.

Leon smirked as JD ran the opposite way across the square, safe out of view of the Tyrant, who was almost trampling his less-pleasant companion, Buddy.

"Hey, Big Guy!" Leon shouted, unholstering the Wing Shooters he had easily pickpocketed off of the distracted rebel when Buddy had been showboating with his lickers. He raised the guns and fired.

Six shots clinked off the fiend's armor and two smacked into his head, and then fell to the ground uselessly.

At this distance, Leon wasn't surprised his shots hadn't done anything. He wouldn't even have been surprised if the giant rebuffed his bullets at close range, but they did draw the beast's attention.

With a crunched up car held in its fist, the BOW turned at the shout after the bullets had hit and fallen. Snarling, it threw down the car within a few inches of crushing Buddy, and completely forgetting about the rebel, the BOW sprinted for Leon.

"It's your turn, JD," Leon said, faced with a charging Tyrant.

Unashamedly, he holstered his beloved weapons, turned, and ran for his life.

Helena came to on a cold concrete floor. She shivered, groggy, and opened her eyes.

She saw a gray ceiling a very high above her. Bracing her arms on the floor, she realized that her clothes were gone. Hissing at the effort it took, she forced her tired body up.

Helena found herself in the middle of a bare stretch of concrete. To her right, the dark gray walls disappeared around some corner, and to her right, Ada sat a couple dozen feet away.

The woman sat as if she had her back to a wall, but nothing was there.

Helena blinked a few more times, wondering if her eyes were playing tricks on her.

Ada didn't say anything, but the corner of those sensuous lips twitched, amused.

"What's going on?" Helena asked, confused, and still waiting for her brain to wake up. She took a few steps towards Ada before the woman finally answered.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Ada suggested, stopping Helena in her tracks mere inches from a pane of glass.

Helena startled when she finally saw it. Stepping back to distance herself from the clear sheet of glass, she realized that the glass not only separated her from Ada, it also encased her.

"Interesting cell..." she mused aloud, lifting a hand to the glass between their cells. She pressed her palm against it and put pressure on the glass, but it didn't yield at all.

Looking around her cage, Helena tried to find a tool or a sink, something that would help her break the glass, but there was nothing there. She didn't even have the clothes on her back to take off and protect her hand with.

"It's strong, probably bulletproof," she deduced, turning her head back to Ada, who hadn't moved an inch.

"It is," Ada confirmed, and Helena frowned with the certainty of Ada's words.

"Maybe I can break it," Helena suggested.

Ada quirked a curious eyebrow.

"You think so?" she asked.

"Maybe," Helena said, hoping Ada understood that she wasn't just acting out of bravado. Wary of the cameras that were surely watching, she didn't try to explain the statement. Instead, she laid her hands against the glass and tried to pressure it again.

Ada didn't tease her for it, just watched on, curious.

Helena grounded her feet and pushed against the glass with all her strength, but it didn't budge.

"That's a shame," Ada said when she finally gave up, realizing that even punching the glass wouldn't do anything.

Helena grunted, aggravated that it hadn't worked, and growing even more frustrated that Ada was so calm. She realized that, during this whole process, Ada's eyes hadn't wavered from her.

She'd been staring the whole time.

"You're not going to do anything?" Helena asked, crossing her arms over her body, which hid very little.

"Is there something I can do?" Ada asked logically, only further bothering Helena because the woman was right again.

"I don't know," she grumbled, losing her composure because Ada was still staring. "You always seem to have a trick up your sleeve."

Ada stood, and the movement caught Helena because it revealed her long legs and perfect body.

Helena steered her eyes up. She caught the slightest shimmer of Ada's hair, the gleam in those amber eyes, and the barest hints of a smirk that meant Helena was in trouble.

Helena guessed it right, because then Ada began stalking towards her. Her eyes dropped, and the swift, but precise movements of Ada's legs caught Helena completely off guard.

Helena stared as she approached, utterly unable to look away.

Ada stopped only about a foot away from her. She held up her arms in humble offering.

"But I'm not wearing sleeves," she purred, drawing Helena's eyes went to those lean and powerful arms.

It was ridiculous and she knew it. Helena wanted to be mad at Ada for the quip, for controlling her so completely. She wanted to grumble and glare at the woman, but none of those things happened.

Instead, Ada leaned closer, laying those strong and graceful arms up against the glass.

As she leaned over, Helena's eyes went to another part of the agent's beautiful body.

Ada's breasts stared back at her. Perfectly rounded, able to fit into her palm lusciously with a little overspill. Helena felt a powerful urge to rub those pink nipples between her fingers and grind them under her hand. Ada's breasts were so voluptuous and enticing, Helena's mouth began to water.

"Finding anything?" Ada finally asked, and it snapped Helena out of the trance in a second flat.

Tearing her eyes away as if burned, she found Ada's familiar smirk and knew she had fallen for the woman's trap.

Heat filled her cheeks, and Helena tried to hide her blush. She moved away, pulling back her hands which had somehow found themselves pressed to the glass.

Helena sat on her butt, curling up her legs to her chest, and hid her body from Ada. It was the biggest rebellion she could willfully give after falling for Ada's ploy, and Ada noticed it.

"Aww, not letting me see anymore?" she cooed and complained, sounding sad only for a moment. When Helena didn't budge, Ada sighed. "We might as well get out of here in that case."

"Oh, now you want to do something?" Helena muttered, grumpy.

"Well, ask me nicely first, then maybe."

Helena scowled.

"Probably can't even do anything to help us," she grumbled, because there wasn't. She had searched the entire cage, and the only possible weak points were the slits in the ceiling of the glass, but those were too high to reach, even for someone flexible like Ada.

Ada didn't say anything to her complaint, just tilted her head at Helena.

Helena muttered under her breath, looking away from the woman.

"So impatient," Ada cooed, using a tone that gave Helena the feeling that she was Ada's pet. "Good thing you aren't when it counts."

Helena growled lowly, and out of the corner of her eyes, she caught the woman casually lean back against another pane of glass as if they had all the time in the world.

"Fine!" Helena finally blurted, turning her red cheeks to Ada to meet those amber eyes. "Will you please do something," she asked, exaggerating the last two words, "to get us out of here?"

Ada's lips twitched, and once again, she wore that smile.

"Of course," she answered with a graceful air. "Why didn't you just ask?"

A deep rumble started up in Helena's chest. Her eyes narrowed at Ada, who straightened and moved up to the glass between them.

In one moment, Helena was glowering at the agent. In the next, Ada's palm was on the glass for about a millisecond before the whole wall shattered to pieces.

Helena's eyes bulged.

Ada stepped over the giant line of unbreakable glass, not a single scratch marring her flawless flesh. She dusted a piece of glass off her shoulder, and then reached out a hand to help Helena up.

"What are you?" Helena asked.

Ada smiled, and this one was even prettier than before.

Helena didn't know how this was any more possible than the glass she had just broken, but it was.

"I'm your wife, silly," she answered again, moving a hand under Helena's chin to shut her gaping mouth. "Now, come along," she ordered.

Helena blinked and finally stood, failing to grasp any of this.

There was no possible explanation behind Ada, but Helena trusted the woman, and it confused her more immensely.

"We're not doing that anymore," Helena said, meaning the marriage game that Ada had invented for their cover.

"No?" Ada asked, pouting. "Shame. It was fun."

Fun, Helena thought, and the word bounced throughout her head.

Ada had been having fun.

In another second, Ada lifted the other hand and broke a second pane of glass in the same, inexplicable fashion.

As the glass rained down from this one, Ada grabbed her around the middle with one arm and pulled her back.

Helena barely saw it happen, but she felt the lurch, and then found herself a few steps behind her original position, which was covered with shattered glass.

"You could've warned me to step back before you broke the glass," Helena pointed out, not ungrateful, just wary.

"And miss out on an excuse to touch you?" Ada teased, somehow on the other side of her now. "Come along, Helena."

Helena nodded once, and they were off.

Although Ada seemed to have no fear of being cut, she took precautions for Helena. Before they could take a single step, Ada stooped and picked her up. She balanced Helena in strong arms, and then casually stepped over the small hill of glass.

Helena stared as Ada cradled her to a warm breast, feeling the strong beat of Ada's heart.

"What are you?" she asked again with no expectation of an answer.

Ada didn't give one. She took a few steps until they were completely clear of the glass and then finally set Helena back down on her feet.

"This way," she said, and Helena didn't question it.

"We should take some glass," Helena said, realizing it as they began through a maze of cargo crates and supplies.

"We don't need it," Ada said, dismissing the thought to go back for some. "You've got me."

Helena couldn't argue with that logic, so she didn't.

Around them, huge steel freight crates rose up in organized rows that provided walkways between them. Most had been double stacked on top of each other, effectively cutting visibility down to the tight hallways in front of them, but Ada seemed to know where she was going.

As they made their way through the vast facility, Helena glanced up, noting that the ceiling was well overhead. Even the highest crate didn't come anywhere near it.

She wondered how President Belikova had managed to hide such a place.

"Where are you taking us?" Helena asked after they had been trotting along for a few minutes.

"I promised you evidence," Ada answered without revealing anything.

"... maybe we should find clothes first," Helena suggested, shivering as a chill passed over her naked body. "There has to be some guards we can- "

"Here we are," Ada announced as the narrow pathway between freight crates opened up to a large dome.

Outside of it, wires and pipes led into the spherical structure every few inches. It was so clustered, Helena had trouble identifying what each could possibly be for. It stood as a giant, hulking metal mess in the center of a clearing in the massive facility.

She rounded the corner of a crate and saw a bright bluish-green glow emitting from an opening on the side of the structure. As she came closer, she identified the opening as an entrance into the hidden center of the dome.

"Go explore," Ada commanded shortly.

"Where are you going?" Helena asked, turning to her companion, but by the time she had, Ada was already gone.

Normally, Helena wouldn't have walked right in. She would have found some gear first, found some clothes, scoped out the area, and then only would have headed in when she was absolutely ready to, but these were far from normal circumstances.

As far as she had seen when walking with Ada, the facility seemed empty. She had neither seen nor heard any signs of life, only the dull, constant hum of this central structure, but most importantly, she was with Ada. Or at least, she had been. Ada had disappeared, but she had left with the order for Helena to explore, and inexplicably, Helena trusted Ada. The mysterious woman had saved her more than once, and Helena didn't believe that Ada was misleading her now.

So, going off her gut instinct, Helena approached the dome as she was, naked, alone, and almost helpless if anyone found her this way.

The hum of the dome grew louder as she approached, and Helena found the source of the soft glow.

The dome was lined with glowing diamond-shaped cases, separated by panels. Starting from the floor, three rectangular panels lined the inner walls, stacked on top of each other with the largest panel on the bottom. Between these panels, large metal beams held up the structure. Placed on those panels were dozens of luminescent cases.

The glow reflected off the glossy floor, and opposite Helena, forked two other ways, two other slender openings also led into the dome.

Above her, the dome shrank at the top, but didn't close off. Instead, a mesh of hanging metal and wires loomed ominously, positioned right in the center of the spherical structure.

It all resembled one giant, glowing beehive, and suddenly, Helena understood Sander's message.

President Belikova was the beekeeper, and this was her hive.

The realization prompted Helena to approach the glowing walls. To her dismay, she found that the diamond-shaped cases were cultivated homes for the plaga. There were hundreds of them.

Helena stepped back from the wall of specimens, disgusted and horrified that someone could have such a collection of BOWs.

Feeling exposed, she started for the central console, but a familiar voice stopped her.

"Put these on," Ada said, appearing out of nowhere, fully dressed, with an armful of folded clothes. In her other hand, she held Helena's Hydra and the vertical shotgun shell holder that Helena had taken from JD earlier.

All the shells were still there.

"How…?"

"You're still amazed," Ada noted, seeming charmed. "So cute."

Helena took the clothes from Ada and began dressing. She put on her bra first and then reached for her shirt before realizing that Ada was watching her closely. She bit her tongue and sped up.

"Slower," Ada commanded suddenly, amber eyes analyzing every part of her body.

"Seriously?" Helena blurted, incredulous, only aware of it because of the sharp scent Ada had.

"Is that a problem?" Ada asked, and the next thing Helena knew, Ada was inches away. She felt the woman's warm breath on her chin, and the sudden proximity was enough to entrance Helena.

"It is now…" Helena said, feeling dizzy as warmth flooded her body.

Ada reached up, and smooth, gentle fingers pushed her hair back from her eyes.

"Is it?" the woman purred in her ear.

"You're unbelievable," Helena mumbled, but put up no resistance.

"So you've said. Maybe we should do something about it."

Helena pulled on her socks and shoes last, eyeing the woman at the center console.

In the middle of the nest, a circular platform stood beneath the hanging metal mesh above. Set off on a lower platform of its own with a futuristic computer, it was clearly the hub of the hive.

Presently, it hosted Ada Wong at the controls.

After their little diversion, Ada had recovered much faster than Helena and had scuttled off to the computer at her first opportunity.

Helena didn't ask what Ada was doing. Instead, she stared at the woman's pale, bare feet.

Ada had been wearing heels before, so Helena understood the choice to go without, but the floor was cold.

"Do you want my shoes?" Helena asked distractedly, pausing before she donned the shoe.

Ada paused, finding the question amusing, but rejected the offer.

"No," Ada stated, her tone gentle, "but thank you for the offer."

Helena nodded.

"If you're finishing up, we can leave. The BSAA's going to shut down President Belikova and take her into custody."

"Don't worry about me or Svetlana."

The answer did nothing to ease her.

Ada had been calm, and she wasn't rushing now. In fact, Ada had delayed them since the second she had woken up the facility, Helena realized.

"Ada," she said, "we need to get out of here before President Belikova-"

"Finds you? Too late for caution, Agent Harper," a new voice said, cutting her off.

Helena turned to face the newcomer, unsurprised to see President Belikova at the other end of the platform.

Ada had wanted this all along. Whether it was to kill President Belikova or to capture, Helena didn't know.

Ada continued to type on the console, but the president didn't seem worried about it.

"Yes, it is as your CIA contact meant to say. I am the creator and distributor of these specially made BOWs. You see, my people are vermin, and they needed to be crushed. You saw how readily they accepted my offer of BOWs, how foolishly."

Helena's eyebrows rose.

"That's very honest of you," Ada noted calmly.

"Considering you will never be leaving this facility, I feel I can be forward with my cherished specimens."

"As much as we love your laboratory, Madame President… " Ada started to say.

President Belikova's eyes flashed with surprise and malevolence. Her fingers twitched, and then her eyes narrowed at Ada.

While she wasn't looking, Helena discreetly reached for her Hydra.

"Helena and I won't be staying."

"I underestimated you, Mrs. Harper," President Belikova admitted, speaking the name mockingly as a fierce fire burning behind cold blue eyes. "Next time, I'll use stronger restraints."

"Next time?," Ada quipped, the faint hints of a confident smirk returning to her lips. "How presumptuous."

In a sudden movement, Ada grabbed the railing that circled the central platform and flipped over it gracefully. She continued to flip, performing an impressive series of acrobatic feats en route to her foe.

As soon as Ada began moving, Helena lunged the last few inches for her Hydra, fired once at President Belikova, and then rolled.

Helena came up out of her roll aiming low where the president should have been, but instead of catching the woman with a second bullet, she blinked.

The space where the president had just been was empty.

That was the only warning she received before her Hydra was forcibly kicked from her grasp.

It flew out of her hands, hit the edge of the glossy floor, and skidded outside of the hive.

"Don't use that in here," President Belikova reprimanded, easily jumping to avoid a low, sweeping kick from Ada behind her. She turned, greeting her second foe with an impressive arm block that should have been impossible to predict.

Ada followed the blow with a hooking punch that the president merely leaned away from and evaded.

Weaponless, but confronted with the president's exposed back, Helena leapt up from her crouch and grabbed President Belikova in a bear hug, hoping to slow the woman enough for Ada to land a hit.

President Belikova shrugged off the attack as if she were an annoying insect.

Reaching back, the president grabbed her by the shoulder and single-handedly detached Helena. Helena's eyes bulged as the president threw her straight into Ada.

Ada toppled under her weight, sending them both sprawling.

President Belikova tutted. High high heels clicked against the glossy floor as she approached them.

"We're not fighting in here," she admonished, stooping to pick up Ada by the neck.

Ada slashed at the president as she was plucked up, but President Belikova caught the limb. Ada struck with a second hand and landed the punch, turning President Belikova's head with the blow.

The sound of it echoed throughout the beehive, but despite the incredible force of the punch, the skin of the president's chin remained unblemished. It hadn't even reddened.

President Belikova's eyes narrowed.

"Don't make me kill you, Mrs. Harper," she warned, and then with inhuman strength, she threw Ada out of the hive.

Helena's heart stopped.

"No!" she shouted. Springing to her feet, she lunged at President Belikova, but within the space of a second, the woman was gone. Helena's outstretched fingers grasped at empty air, and it took a second too long to realize it.

She hit the ground hard and winced, skidding a few feet across the floor.

"I'm fine, Helena," Ada called out to her.

Helena lifted her head to see President Belikova and Ada engaged in hand to hand combat on top of one of the freight crates nearby.

"What the hell?" she blurted.

In the midst of exchanging blows, each of them successfully blocked and evaded, President Belikova smiled.

She fought with a speed and strength that matched Ada's, Helena realized. The two women moved so fast and gracefully, Helena could barely even keep track of their movements.

"Helena, be a dear and grab your Hydra," Ada commanded calmly, as if the rapid exchange of strikes and evasions didn't even wind her.

Helena got up to follow the order, unsure that she would even be able to help in this fight. She kept an eye on the two women, hurrying when she saw President Belikova grab both of Ada's forearms.

"You're stalling," the president, realizing Ada's tactic.

Ada kicked up off the ground, gripping President Belikova's forearms, and flipped over the woman's head in a full 360 degree rotation.

President Belikova's arms went straight up and twisted, and then Ada's bare feet crashed into her back. She screamed as if burned, tripped forward a couple of feet, and then crumpled on weak knees, gasping.

Ada landed smoothly a couple of feet behind the beekeeper. She allowed the president a few seconds to recover.

"Yes," Ada confirmed, drawing the president's gaze as she stepped up next to the woman.

Helena finally reached her weapon and bent to collect it up. She wasn't even sure they'd need it anymore, Ada seemed to have the situation under such control.

"Why?" the president asked, eyes narrowing, unamused.

"Because I set a bomb," Ada revealed without so much as a blink.

"You what!" Helena balked, almost dropping her Hydra.

"No," President Belikova whispered, going completely still.

Helena regained control of her gun and aimed it, hurrying back to the crate.

"I took it from you," she said in a quiet voice. "I personally searched you both."

Helena pulled up to a halt a few feet away, one level beneath them on the ground floor. She held her Hydra steady on the president, glancing to Ada for further command.

Ada didn't give her any more orders, just stood there, relaxed and serene.

"You did," Ada confirmed, "but then provided more than enough material to make another."

"You're lying," President Belikova whispered in a dangerous tone.

"Am I?" Ada asked, deathly confident. "Are you ready to bet on that, Madame President?"

"You won't steal that from me," President Belikova's growled, jaw tight and clenched. In a flash almost faster than the eye could follow, she lashed out at Ada with a low chop to the legs.

Ada jumped it and grabbed the woman by the shoulders. Further displaying an impossible strength, she lifted and threw President Belikova.

President Belikova sailed over another crate, flipping through the air, and landed without a crash or groan out of sight.

"When you have one, take the shot," Ada instructed, and then disappeared after the president.

Sounds of conflict ensued, and Helena cursed. Jogging in the direction that the two women had disappeared, she reloaded her Hydra en route.

Helena rounded the corner of the crate where the commotion had been coming from, but found the spot empty. Only a couple of seconds after arriving, she heard them further down.

Figuring they would simply play the same disappearing act again, Helena went to the nearest freight crate. She jumped up, catching the ledge with one hand, she pulled herself up, not wanting to lay down her Hydra. Crossing the crate to the opposite ledge, she surveyed the immediate area.

Despite the view that her new position provided, Helena didn't spot the fighters. She turned, frowning, and scanned the area. Briefly considering climbing up one of the double-stacked crates, she froze when she heard a resounding crash.

Turning to the source of the sound, she finally found Ada and President Belikova against one of the crates.

With her back to the side of a crate, President Belikova groaned. Red faced, features contorted in pain, she gritted her teeth, but still managed to duck Ada's incoming fist.

A resounding reverberation came from the impact of Ada's fist colliding into the steel, but neither woman slowed for an instant.

Helena started running to the combative women, leaping from crate to crate to get into range.

While low to the ground, President Belikova grabbed Ada's leg in attempt to topple her, but Ada was too good.

Kicking off the ground, Ada jumped with such momentum, she broke free of the deathly grip and backflipped before smoothly landing on both feet.

In the time Ada's jump took, President Belikova stood and punched through the air on Ada's downfall.

The blow missed, but President Belikova didn't slow. She aimed for Ada's stomach, swiped at her head, and then tried to grab Ada's arm.

Ada blocked each incoming blow.

With each failure to connect a hit, President Belikova's frustration grew. Jaw clenched, livid, she snarled at Ada.

Ada brushed away a forceful backhand, and then grabbed hold of President Belikova's forearms.

"Stop," she ordered, and President Belikova's eyes blazed with rage.

The president ripped her arms free and swung at Ada again.

Ada ducked the messy overswing, and President Belikova lunged

Unable to get out of the way of this particular attack, Ada toppled to the ground under the madwoman.

Helena cleared the last crate, landing in a breathless crouch as President Belikova wrapped hands around Ada's neck.

Ada wrapped legs up around Belikova in an attempt to regain the upper hand, but President Belikova already had begun to squeeze.

Heart pounding so hard it hurt, Helena raised her Hydra. Running the risk of the shotgun shell going straight through Belikova, she made a split-second decision and aimed for the back of the president's shoulder.

Remembering Ada's words, she squeezed the trigger without hesitation.

In the space of a millisecond, President Belikova disappeared from the spot, and Ada appeared a few feet west of impact. Neither of them had been harmed.

Helena blinked, seeing the shallow pockmark in the concrete where the shell had struck. Before she even had time to wonder how the incredible women had evaded the shot, hands grabbed her from behind.

Helena jerked as her wrist was grabbed and squeezed with such strength, she dropped her gun.

The president kicked the weapon away.

An arm came in around her stomach and clutched her across the chest, pinning her arm in an unbreakable hold. With the other hand, President Belikova dropped Helena's wrist and wrapped threatening fingers around her throat.

With one free arm, Helena elbowed President Belikova in the side, but the president didn't even flinch. Next, she tried to flip the slender woman over her back, but the president was immovable.

President Belikova squeezed her neck for these offenses, choking Helena.

"I'll kill her," the president hissed.

Ada's eyes narrowed. Gracefully, she stood and jumped from the floor to the top of the crate effortlessly. Her amber eyes seemed to glow as she stared over Helena's shoulder at the culprit.

"You won't," she threatened back.

President Belikova seemed to like that.

"Wouldn't I?" she mocked, and Helena felt a shift of position. Black dots began to dance in front of her eyes, but then suddenly, President Belikova released her throat. Helena choked with the sudden intake of air and began coughing.

Cold, sensual fingers glided across her cheek, and the air turned hot behind her ear.

Helena's coughing abated abruptly.

"Better she die by my hand than to have her slip from my fingers…" President Belikova purred, stroking Helena's cheek. "Don't worry, I'll make sure your wife joins you shortly."

Helena stiffened and her stomach soured. She wanted to puke, but couldn't because her limbs, body, and breath had all frozen. She felt more helpless than she ever had in her life.

Eyes already narrow, Ada's pupils seemed to slit as the amber color glowed.

At the other end of the factory, an explosion shook the facility.

President Belikova faltered, and that was all the distraction that Ada needed to swoop in.

Flipping almost faster than the eye could follow, Ada gave her a last second instruction mid-air.

"Duck."

Ada's voice broke her of the horrified trance, and Helena obeyed. Coming in feet first, Ada's beautiful, slender foot passed mere millimeters from her nose. Helena caught it as if they were all moving in slow motion, and then Ada's foot struck.

Helena was yanked as President Belikova flew back over the ledge of the crate, dragging her along. The impact upon hitting the ground shook Helena to her bones, but the president cushioned her fall.

Helena's head spun, but she felt the grip on her loosen. It prompted her to sit up too quickly, making black spots danced in front of her eyes.

Before her, Ada landed on two feet, just as graceful as a cat.

Helena's head throbbed, but when she saw Ada's face, she could've sworn those eyes were feline.

Ada approached quickly and stooped to swoop Helena into mighty arms, pulling her away from President Belikova.

Helena curled into Ada's body, preferring the warmth to President Belikova's scare.

When she glanced back at the ground, she had only a second to see that a small crater had formed around the president in the cement. Then, Ada took a few steps closer and viciously kicked the woman in the head.

The blow echoed horribly, turning her head, and President Belikova finally passed out.

"Ada?" Helena asked, still struggling to process.

Ada looked at her, and those amber eyes were normal again, making Helena wonder if she had just imagined the change.

"Are you okay?" Ada asked in a soft voice, and Helena's head pounded because it was so rare to hear Ada speak that way. There was no tease, no mocking, no severity in her voice, only care.

"I... I think so," Helena said because she really didn't know.

Ada stared for a few seconds, and then her eyes became sad.

"We have little time," she said, voice returning to its usual commanding tone. "Close your eyes, Helena."

Helena did so without question, and when Ada told her she could open them again, her Hydra was in its holster, and Ada was putting her down.

Helena blinked and realized that they had relocated to the elevator.

"Better hurry," Ada advised calmly.

"But-"

"Shh," Ada hushed, giving Helena a little push back into the elevator. It wasn't terribly forceful, but Helena tripped back and fell on her butt. "Just do as I say."

"What about you?" Helena asked, standing on shaky legs as the doors began to close. She threw herself at them and would have fallen headfirst, but Ada caught her.

Her body pressed against Ada's, and the woman smiled faintly, drawing Helena's eyes to the perfect curve of those lips. Helena's body grew warm, and then that smile turned into a smirk.

"You forgot this," Ada said, pressing something warm into her palm.

Helena didn't immediately look, but it didn't matter. In another second, her back hit the far end of the elevator, and Ada was outside the door, smirking affectionately. Helena didn't look away until the doors had closed, and then finally, she glanced down and found her warm handheld.

Warm not from usage, but because it had been resting against Ada's bare breast again.

Heat rushing to her cheeks now, Helena swore she heard Ada's chuckle even through the door.

With her handheld safely tucked away, Helena arrived at ground level and emerged into a long, marble hallway. She checked her immediate surroundings, and then rushed outside to behold a new horror.

Only a few feet in front of her, the bodies of a couple dozen or so soldiers lay littering the ruined courtyard. The perfectly manicured lawns and bushes were in tatters, marred with huge pockmarks. Pillars lay smashed and damaged, some had fallen, and huge chunks of the surrounding structures had crumbled to the ground.

Most notably of the destruction, a tank lay on its side near a decapitated BOW that Helena recognized as a Tyrant.

Then, there was Leon.

Only half a field away, her partner had slowed his own escape to help JD run away from the beast.

Nearby, Buddy tried to slow the BOW's advance by flinging licker after licker onto the mutant. The Tyrant stopped his advance only when one crawled over his face, obscuring his vision.

Mercilessly, he grabbed the creature and threw it with such strength, the licker's spinal cord snapped upon impact.

Another licker came in to take its place, this one lashing out its tongue at a distance and wrapping it around the Tyrant's arm. A second licker moved in front of its face again, and the third one slashed at the BOW's head. A fourth appeared moments later and wrapped the BOW's other arm up with its tongue, attempting to bind the Tyrant.

Helena didn't hesitate. Running out across the courtyard while the beast was preoccupied, she swiftly made her way to the Tyrant. Hopping onto its back, she clung to it as it roared and twisted its body, struggling to break its restraints.

Helena held on tightly, using the natural grooves of its dark body to climb the giant's back as it swiftly dealt with the lickers. She cringed to see the flying body of one licker crash into another one.

Knowing her time was limited, Helena determinedly found the grooves in its back and made her way up the Tyrant.

"Helena?" Leon's surprised voice hollered, swearing when he realized she was there. "Buddy, more lickers!" he ordered, and the command was followed by a few shots from his Wing Shooters.

Once she reached its massive shoulders, Helena ducked as a giant fist slammed into the licker on its face, crushing it.

Blood squirted everywhere, covering the Tyrant's face and shoulders, and Helena cringed as the surface of its body became slippery.

Clinging to the Tyrant with her knees, Helena grabbed her Hydra out of its holster as the BOW rubbed the blood from its face. She aimed into the back of its rounded skull and emptied her shotgun.

Blood splattered by the first shot, but Helena kept shooting until she couldn't anymore.

The force of the shots pushed her back. Prepared for this, Helena kicked back off its shoulders and somersaulted to break the fall.

The thunderous smack of the creature followed, and Helena glanced up to see the Tyrant dead on the ground, the last licker squished beneath its giant gut.

Helena winced as blood leaked out and puddled from the last licker, wishing Buddy had been smart enough to spare the creature.

Leon and JD raced towards her.

Helena reloaded her Hydra quickly, hurrying to meet them in the middle of the courtyard. She shook her head, nodding behind them. "We have to get out of here!"

"Why? More Tyrants?" Leon asked, slowing in his approach.

As if listening in for that exact question, the ground started to shake.

Helena turned to her left and found a fully mutated Tyrant coming around the corner of the building. Another stomping to her right revealed a second one just as far away.

Lastly, she looked at Leon, who winced.

"Sorry I asked."

"We don't have time for this," Helena growled. "There's a bomb!"

"What?" JD squeaked, fearful. "What do we do?"

"Would've been nice to have a distraction," Helena muttered, glancing at the last licker the Tyrant had crushed.

"We need another tank!" JD shrieked in panic.

Helena grunted in aggravation. Wary, she caught Leon's eye and nodded sideways.

"Go. I'll distract," she said, and then before Leon could protest, she took off down the middle of the courtyard, providing a clear target for the Tyrants.

They took it, and gripping her Hydra tightly, Helena sprinted through the courtyard. Her heart pounded, her legs pumped, and her throat grew tight and sore, but it wasn't enough. A quick glance over her shoulder confirmed what the increasing tremors in the ground were telling her.

The Tyrants would have her soon, and this time, she wouldn't be able to stop them.

Glancing towards the pillars where she might earn herself a few more seconds, Helena heard the jets in the sky before she saw them. Even at a distance, she recognized the US fighter jets by their design, and she realized they were closing in.

Helena pumped her tired legs harder than she ever had, barely able to breathe as the jets dropped altitude. The ground beneath her feet shook with the Tyrants' steps, making hers unstable. She only had a few seconds, but she waited until the jet dropped even lower. Then, as a crack in the ground split under her heel from the Tyrants' heavy footfalls, Helena dove for the pillars.

As soon as her tired legs propelled her into a leap, machine gunfire cut through the air in the space she had just been. It sliced through the Tyrants like a knife through soft cheese, littering their bodies with holes, and spraying blood everywhere.

Helena covered her ears and cringed, feeling as if her eardrums might explode.

It was over in a few seconds, and the bloodied bodies of the tyrants fell. One continued to twitch, so Helena braced herself up with the pillar and shot it in the back of the head until it stopped moving, and then she shot the other one for good measure.

Helena panted, looking around the empty square. There was no sign of Leon or the rebels anywhere. She trusted that meant that Leon had escaped with JD.

Dizzy and exhausted, covered in blood, and suffering from a severe migraine that made it hard to think, Helena holstered her Hydra and turned around.

There was a bomb, she vaguely recalled. She took a step, aiming to escape the city, but as soon as she left the support of the pillar, her legs gave up from under her. She crumpled to her knees, lifting both hands to her splitting head.

"Fuck," Helena cursed as her vision blurred to the point of indistinct shapes and colors. Blindly, she reached over her vest for a regenerative pill only to rediscover that she wasn't wearing her vest because Buddy had taken it at the very start of her mission.

Unable to see anything, Helena closed her eyes and cradled her aching skull.

"Deborah," she mumbled, dropping her hand to search her body for her handheld.

Before she could locate it, another loud noise began humming in her ears.

"No," Helena mumbled, suspecting the explosion might be starting.

Deborah would resurrect her from the grave to kill her again if she died without saying goodbye.

The humming grew exponentially louder, making her throbbing head nearly explode, it hurt so much.

"Fuck," Helena cursed again.

"Helena," she heard her sister's voice in her head. "Get up!"

Then, a pair of arms braced under her from either side, and Helena's head swam as she was moved.

"Oof, it's like she's made of muscle!" someone wheezed, and despite the pain, Helena cracked open her eyes.

"There she is," Leon's distinct voice whispered. Helena blinked a few times, but her eyes didn't clear. "I knew I had a good feeling about you, Helena."

"The bomb," Helena mumbled, barely able to drag her feet along. If Leon was here, he wasn't safe. They would all die with her slowing them down. "Leave me."

"Easy there, hero. We have a jeep," Leon replied, and Helena realized that must have been the loud noise. "It's over, Helena. You did your job, and look, we even have your Picador back. Buddy had it."

Helena stumbled, only slightly aware of stepping up into a vehicle. Leon continued to talk, but she didn't hear it. As soon as Leon and JD situated her into a seat, she rested her head back and passed out.

On a grassy knoll overlooking the whole city, the four of them had a clear view of the Presidential Palace when the bomb went off, the blast so massive it destroyed the palace along with the underground facility. The stone melted, and through the thick, billowing clouds of smoke, a faint orange glow could be seen. Overhead, American and Russian aircrafts began to head towards the site.

"Guess now we know why the US bailed," Leon remarked, scoffing. "Saw a chance to hop in bed with Russia and went for it. What's one little country with a few thousand lives?" he muttered in obvious disgust, shaking his head.

"You don't think the advisor was in on this, do you?" Helena asked, wary of the implications. After having been cleaned up and watered, she had taken a regeneration pill and recovered to find that Leon had driven all of them to safety, even Buddy.

"No. No way," Leon said with certainty. "He doesn't get mixed up in this bullshit."

Buddy went into a coughing fit, and Leon's expression softened as JD attempted to comfort his friend.

"Well, we don't have to stay off the grid anymore," he told Helena, managing a small smile. "Hunnigan's probably too worried to be mad."

"I wouldn't bet it on it," Helena muttered, pulling out her handheld and nearly dropping it when she saw a picture of a very familiar pair of breasts in lingerie on the screen.

Leon chuckled.

"Friend of yours, pup?"

Refusing to dignify him with a response, Helena was about to attempt to delete the picture when Ingrid Hunnigan's very angry face appeared.

"Helena Harper, you are in so much trouble!" the obviously distraught older woman roared.

Flinching at the tone, Helena turned to Leon for help, who could only sheepishly apologize.

"Hunnigan," she began, "we had a good reason to-"

With a loud groan, Buddy clutched at his chest and began to cough again, this time with more blood than before, and he would have fallen to the ground if JD hadn't been supporting him.

Exchanging a look with Leon, Helena faced Hunnigan again.

"I'll call you back, Hunnigan," she said, and before her handler could protest, she quickly added, "as soon as possible, I promise. There's something we have to take care of first."

"All right," Hunnigan relented, understanding her. "As soon as possible, Helena."

"I promise," Helena repeated, and then ended the call.

JD, who had been listening to the conversation, looked from Leon to Helena.

"Does that…. does that mean you can cure him?" he asked, stumbling when more of Buddy's weight sagged on him, his friend seeming to lose strength by the second. "Are there people coming for us? People who can help Sasha?"

"JD," Leon said, frowning "What's happening to him, it's already at the same point Ataman was at before he turned. Even if we could help him, it's too late. I'm sorry."

"No!" JD cried out. "You said you would try, Leon!"

Buddy heaved, reaching out a trembling hand to tug weakly at JD's jacket.

"JD," he wheezed, struggling to hold down a painful cough, eyes red and bloodshot. "He's right. I can feel it, this thing inside me, it's trying to take over, trying to come out. I know I'm in no position to ask this of you, not after what I've done, but please, JD, don't let me become one of them."

"Buddy…" JD nearly sobbed, looking at his friend helplessly. "I can't, I can't do that."

Leon stepped forward, and spoke quietly but clearly.

"I'll do it."

JD stared at Leon, incredulous, relieved and guilty all at once.

"Thank you," Buddy rasped out, looking nothing but grateful.

Slipping Buddy's arm around his shoulders, Leon began to lead him further away, leaving Helena with JD.

"I'm sorry," she said, and he nodded.

"I am, too."

When the gunshot went off, JD flinched and began to cry quietly. Helena didn't say anything, and instead put a hand on his shoulder. A few minutes later, when Leon had returned and JD had asked to be alone with Buddy, Helena called Hunnigan back, as promised.

Epilogue

It was late at night when Helena finally made it home, having insisted on dropping Leon off to where Claire and Sherry had been waiting for him. The trio had invited her to stay and join them for a meal, which she had declined and told them to enjoy the rest of their vacation.

Entering the house, she called out to her sister and pet wolf before she remembered they were both with Luis. She reached for her handheld, feeling an urge to hear Deborah's voice, but then saw the time and figured it was too late to bother her. It would be morning in a few hours, she reasoned to herself, she could see them then.

Turning on the lights, Helena went to den, completely foregoing her bedroom, and came back out with her work laptop. After a quick stop at the kitchen for a glass of water, she got settled in the living room, hooking up her laptop to the TV and streaming a news feed from Eastern Slav.

It had just finished a segment about the US and Russia when she tuned in, and was now moving on to the bombing of the Presidential Palace. There was no word of an underground facility, information not privy to the media. The rebels were believed to have been wiped out, and President Belikova was declared missing.

Helena took a drink as she listened, the reporter mentioning the Council of Elders when a message came through on her handheld. Reaching for it, she saw three simple messages from Hunnigan.

'The underground facility is currently inaccessible, caved in from the blast. President Belikova is being reported missing, but if she were anywhere near the bomb when it off, there's no way she survived it.'

'Turn off your laptop, Helena. Job's done, get some rest.'

'I mean it.'

Helena smiled a little, effortlessly imagining Hunnigan's scolding but caring voice in the messages.

"Do you ever stop working?"

Helena looked up, finding Ada Wong smirking down at her.

"You're one to talk," she said, leaning back against the couch, her guard completely down. "Here for another job?"

"Hm," Ada hummed, making herself comfortable on Helena's lap. "No."

"Then what are you doing here?" Helena asked, meeting Ada's eyes as the woman brushed back her hair.

"I thought I'd keep you company," Ada said, leaning in for a kiss.