"So what are you here for?"
This voice belonged to a man by the name of Leon S. Kennedy. Leon was a brown, blondish haired man with blue and green colored eyes. He was a well built man, from service in the United states Military, and he wore, as always, his blue jeans with a tight black shirt, and over the shirt was a brown leather jacket containing useful things such as extra ammunition, flash grenades, and of course his knife, strapped to the left side of his chest for easy use. He was sitting in a chair on one end of a dull colored table in a beaten down small shack with a single bare light bulb hanging from the ceiling.
"I could ask you the same thing, Leon."
This voice belonged to a woman by the name of Ada Wong (assuming of course, this was her real name). Ada was pure black haired woman with brown colored eyes. She was a sharp, intelligent attractive looking woman from her services in various organizations trying to rule the world. She wore, as always, a long red dress that extended down to her ankles and was tight enough to reveal her shapely body. The dress contained useful things such as extra ammunition, flash grenades, and of course her signature grappling hook, strapped to her left thigh hidden beneath her dress. She was sitting in a chair on one end of a dull colored table in a beaten down shack with a single bare light bulb hanging from the ceiling.
The two sat staring at each other at this dull colored table in these dull colored chairs, not once taking their eyes off each other. After all, one of them might pull a gun from nowhere and shoot the other. They had to keep their guards up, after all.
They were on opposite teams.
"Right. You expect me to reveal my mission to the enemy so easily?" Asked Leon, hand to his chin in thought, waiting for her response. Most likely witty or sarcastic.
"Well isn't that what you were hoping I would do?"
Amazing. The woman could pull both off in less ten words (or less).
Leon sighed. He didn't know why he was here. Yes, the rain on the outside was a bit grueling, and temperatures were below twenty degrees and he was without protection, but on the other hand this woman was probably more dangerous than those elements combined.
He debated that in his head for a split second, and realized that for now, the rain and cold were a bit more taxing on his body than Ada was on his mind. And so, he stayed.
Not five minutes ago, they were at each other's throats. Ada with her gun, and Leo with his knife. The usual witty banter was exchanged between the two, circling each other like cats before a violent storm came up and then there was this shack. And now they were talking with each other as if nothing of the sort had happened.
"Information for information?" Leon asked dryly, once again not knowing why he was even trying to bother. Ada smiled. The man could catch on after all. Leon took this smile as her version of the word 'yes', and sighed once again. Though, he supposed, Ada would keep up her end of the bargain. He knew her well enough to know that while she lied on a regular basis, he was the one exception, in certain conditions.
"All right, here's my story." Leon said. He explained to her what had happened, in condensed form.
As Ada was well aware (it was all over the news, and he strongly suspected the woman in red was supporting the whole thing from behind), there had been a new outbreak of disease in the California area of the United states. This virus was like the previous strains, it mutated the host into zombies that would in turn kill and make more zombies. The usual field of work for Leon.
However this virus in particular was strong. Dubbed the V-Iris, it mutated the host into something far more terrible than anything Leon had encountered. The things he faced were nigh indestructible, nearly bulletproof, and it was only a day ago did he fight what some might call "a boss", a monstrous twin pronged creature that nearly ended his life. He couldn't kill it with normal bullets, so he resorted to throwing exactly twelve grenades down the monsters throat, in hopes to kill it from the inside.
It worked, luckily for Leon S. Kennedy. Shortly after the outbreak, Leon had received a message from the president, telling him to go to Washington DC immediately and without haste.
And so, here he was. Trying to find his way to the capital of the United States. Stuck in a violent storm with the woman in red.
"Oh my, twelve grenades?" Ada asked casually, an elbow bent on the dull colored table, her head nesting on her open hand.
"Yeah." Leon put it blandly. "So what re you here for?"
Ada paused, before going into an explanation that she owed Leon. If it were someone like Chris Redfield, she would have simply leaped out the window and ran away with the information she had just stolen from the agent. But no, Leon was different. Leon was more respectable than the rest of those service agents, according to Ada.
She told Leon that she in fact was behind the scenes of the new V-Iris outbreak (a roll of eyes from Leon). The V-Iris, as Leon was aware already, was a new virus created from the strand of three previous viruses, including the Las Plagas from the previous mission. The virus was created to make its host completely indestructible, so that world domination would be a breeze.
However, there was a problem. Due to the work of the presidents secret agents, one of them had succeeded in bringing a contained live sample of the virus to the department of defense. This was horrific news for the Organization, as it meant that with enough experimentation, they could find a cure. Their worst fears came to light when they learned that a cure was entirely possible for the V-Iris, and it should be expected within a week or so, the base of operation occurring in the capital city.
And so, they had sent Ada to impede the creation of a cure at all costs. The usual, for Ada.
Leon stared at her, lips pursed as if about to say something. Ada returned his look with a smile, she already realizing what this meant for the both of them, though she smiled because it delighted her that her paths would inevitably cross with Leon
"So…" Leon glanced down for an instant. "We're heading for the same place."
"It seems so." Ada's coy voice pierced Leon's thought as to how he was supposed to get to DC with the woman in red also heading for the same location.
"Great."
"What? Am I that much of a nuisance to you?
"Yes."
"Oh come now."
"The last time we met you handed me a pair of jet ski keys (with a bear…) and I had to escape an exploding island with the president's daughter in the second seat."
"So?"
"You blew up the island."
"But I also gave you a way to get out."
"You could have killed me."
"You could have ignored my gift."
Leon sighed again. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately, though the reason was in front of him smirking and mentally laughing at his every movement as if whatever he did was already predicted by her.
"So if I'm that much of a nuisance, why are you still here?"
She asked the one question that he couldn't answer.
Why WAS he here in the first place? He could hear the rain slowing to a stop, he should be able to brave the elements now, and yet here he was. He was still with her, his mortal enemy, the one being who could outwit him at every turn and corner.
Why? Maybe it was because he was intrigued by her. The way she always threatened to kill him, yet never did so. The way she almost DID kill him, but always managed to give him one last chance to escape her grasp. The way how sometimes their roles reversed, and he was forced to rescue her on occasions. Maybe how they had to team up sometimes to eliminate a common enemy.
Maybe it was her red dress, that was parted at the collar bone in such a way that as Ada purposely bent down and stared at him he had a perfect view of her breasts.
"Why are you doing that?" Leon asked.
"Doing what?" she replied innocently.
He sighed.
She was mocking him, Leon realized. She was always a step ahead of him, no matter what he did. He had four aces in his hand at all times, while she always held a royal flush. She was teasing him, because she knew there was nothing he could do to stop her from knowing what he was going to do next.
No more. This time it was Leon's turn to be a step ahead. He was going to prove that this time he wasn't within her grasp. That he wasn't powerless before the woman in red.
"I know why you're doing that." Leon said. Ada cocked her head, sitting once more in an upright position, her arms folded across her chest.
"Oh?"
"Would you like to know why?"
"Enlighten me."
Leon paused for a brief instant, choosing his choice of words carefully.
"It's because you can't lay a hand on me." Said Leon S. Kennedy. "You've always been able to predict what my next move is, Ada, but now it's different. I'm no longer that RPD cop in Raccoon city who was fooled easily by your disguise. I'm smarter now Ada, and now I can even predict your next move."
Ada arched her eyebrows, the smile still planted on her face. Her legs swung seductively to the side.
"So you do all these things to me because you know it. While I admit I can't lay a finger on you, the opposite is also true. You can't kill me any more than I can kill you. That's why you like to do all these things to me, because you know it, and it annoys you."
Leon smiled at Ada. He placed his elbow on the table and gazed at her, waiting to see what she would do next, although he already had a pretty good idea. Ada swung her legs over to the side, and stared back at him in the same manner.
"You think you know me?"
"I know I know you."
"Interesting."
In an instant, Ada swung out her Blacktail and pointed it at Leon's forehead. This was possible because her legs had been swung to the side in the first place. Leon gazed at her, still smiling.
"So, if I were to kill you now, you would be wrong, right?" she asked.
"But you won't do it."
"I can."
"But you won't."
"Interesting choice of words."
She pulled the trigger.
Leon's smirk grew wider. Nothing had happened.
Ada blinked. She took her gaze of Leon and shook her gun. Empty.
"When did you…?"
Leon only smiled in response, holding up a case of ammo that was once inside of her Blacktail.
"Oh and by the way, you're gun was pointed just barely off the top of my head." Leon explained to Ada. "You would have just grazed my head, knocking me out from shock and impact, but not killing me. Afterwards, you would have given me a note saying something along the lines that I must have been extremely lucky to have you miss me, blaming it on the cold or a zombie that just attacked you."
Ada blinked again.
She laughed.
He was right, Ada would have done all of those things (in addition of course to a kiss mark at the end of said letter) in that order. She smiled at Leon, who smirked back at her. Yes, for once Ada was actually happy. She had found someone that could match her wits in this tense game of virus-chess. Finally, someone who could play with her on equal grounds.
And judging by the way he stole her ammunition, someone who was just as good as stealing as her too.
"All right." She decided to humor Leon by telling him what he wanted. "I admit it. You aren't the dumb RPD cop I met in Raccoon city. You've become a bit better at this game."
Leon placed his hands (one containing the ammunition) behind his head and leaned back. It felt good to outsmart the woman in red.
"However… I refuse to admit that you are able to predict me as easily as you claim." Ada added, posing a challenge.
"Even after I stole you're ammo, you still think that?" Leon asked. He hear the rain stop. He knew it was time to be going, but…
"I can steal it back." said Ada.
"Do it then."
"Stand up, tough guy."
Leon accepted her challenge to steal back the ammunition he clutched in his hands. He stood up, and, suspecting trick involved, moved the ammunition from his left hand to his right pocket. He placed both hands to his sides, ready to take on whatever method Ada planned to use on him.
Ada too stood up, her dress falling to its proper place to Ada's ankles. Her arms uncrossed, and hung to the sides as Leon. They stood opposite from each other, staring at their opponent intently. It was from this that Ada realized she was the one who was looking up at him. He was taller than her, this much she knew, but today she seemed to hang on to that fact.
"Ready, Leon?"
Leon nodded his head once, ready for the challenge. Ada too nodded her head, signifying the game to begin.
Ada did nothing at first, turning her head to the side as if nothing was happening, but Leon knew this was a feign and stared at her with the utmost concentration so to not be outwitted. He almost cursed himself for doing so because he unconsciously found himself tracing her curves in the form fitting dress she so loved to wear. He shook his head briefly and instead decided to concentrated on her turned head to keep these unnecessary thought away from him.
He noticed her short black hair, how it had been purposely cropped short because long hair would impede her movements as a spy, but found himself agreeing that it did suit her. The long trail of twin headpieces she wore also added to her look of graceful elegance. When she turned to look at him, he concentrated on her eyes, the supposed 'windows to the soul' as some claimed hem to be.
He expected her eyes to be full of twisted desire to destroy anything in her way. This was not what he found in her brown colored windows to the soul. He saw passion, he saw desire to be free, of hope, of sadness, of a small tinge of anger that she knew she was being used by her superiors. But above all he saw the radiance of her passion to be herself in all these things, to never lose sight of her goal no matter what she told. To be Ada Wong, regardless of what other labeled her.
Before he knew it, he was lost in her windows to the soul. Ada smiled again, not the mocking smirk she always held when graced with his presence but a sincere serene smile. It wasn't very large, but it was Ada's smiled nonetheless. A look she saved only to those she truly cared about.
She started walking. Hr hips swayed to the side with each step, Leon watching, but still vaguely aware she was approaching him. Finally she was inches from Leon. Her faced tilted a bit upwards and meeting the secret services own. She looked at him and spoke.
"Why do all of my missions involve you impeding my progress?"
Leon gazed back at her.
"That's my line, Ada."
She chuckled slightly, Leon taking in every detail of her expression. From far away she was his mortal enemy. From up close she was beautiful. She was a person. She was a tangible being not entwined within his crazy life of dealing with zombies and viruses. He wondered if she ever wished for a normal life. God knows he did. But if that happened, would he ever see Ada again?
She held up a finger and traced his chest with it, feeling his chest that lay behind the black shirt that could be taken off very easily. Leon simply watched, mesmerized by her movements. Some inner voice of his told her this wasn't right. That they were on opposite teams. That he shouldn't be letting her do this.
He ignored it.
Leon still unmoving, only looked down at her fragrant smelling black hair as he felt an arm wrap around his waist, followed by another arm on his shoulders. Her hands felt his torso, and Leon had the sudden urge to lean down just a bit more to smell her hair.
"You know, at least you're familiar face that I get to see." Leon finally admitted. It was nice, in all the death, to see this one woman who survived it all the same as he. Ada shushed him and leaned in to his wide chest. The secret service agent, following up, placed one hand on her waist, one arm wrapped around her like she was doing to him. The two stayed like this, a single moment shared by the two, for three minutes, rocking back and forth as they embraced each other in a feeling they both did not know. Finally, Ada gazed up at him, and he opened his eyes to gaze down at her.
"Leon." She stated, the one name she knew would never hurt her. The one name she knew who wouldn't dare think of harming her. Their windows to the souls locked.
"Ada." Stated Leon. Their faces were mere centimeters apart from each other. Their entwined arms unconsciously pulling each other in until their noses just barely touched. Leon knew that as they pulled into each other, their lips would inevitably lock and he would be kissing her. Yet he did nothing to stop it, and let the feeling overwhelm him. Leon wasn't even thinking, he let himself be overtaken by the unknown feeling that he was sure he could never feel towards any woman.
And then without warning Ada shoved Leon to the ground.
She leapt backwards to the window, the ever present smirk on her face once more coming back. She held up Blacktail Ammunition in her hands.
"You see Leon? You can't predict me. I have more than one trick up my sleeve." And with that, the woman in red was gone.
Leon blinked.
Leon cursed himself.
"It was all just a game to her…!" Leon realized. He had been manipulated from the start. He had let himself be overtaken by primitive emotions, and now she was gone with her prize. His hands were brought to his face. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
For a brief instant, just a brief instant, he thought it was all real.
All what? Was he actually attracted to her!
He cursed himself again. No, it wasn't real. It could never be real. He was a cop. She was a spy. They played on different teams and they tried killing each other on a regular basis. To think, that even for a brief instant, that they could be a couple…!
It was ridiculous, and Leon cursed himself a third time for actually succumbing to his desires that wanted it to happen. It wasn't possible, he told his desire. So shut up, we need to go to Washington.
Leon kicked down the door to the shack, and held in one hand his handgun. He paused for an instant, to see if there were any zombies about, he told himself.
However, he was really just checking to see if Ada was still around.
Reminding himself he couldn't possibly have feelings for her, Leon S. Kennedy began to run in the direction of Washington DC. He had inform the president his newly acquired information he gained from the woman in red, as well to see what he wanted with Leon.
He paused in midstep.
Leon S. Kennedy had just realized something else.
She was ahead of him.
She was always ahead of him.
It annoyed Leon S. Kennedy.