Chapter 2

"But Claire," Cheryl protested, "I don't get it. Why do you have to go?"

Claire dumped a pair of jeans into her suitcase, not bothering to fold them carefully. She pawed around in the tiny closet of her room for some more clothes. A few pairs of socks, a couple of shirts, and some underwear joined the jeans.

"I don't get it either," sighed Claire as she continued to stuff things into her case. "But I'm going because I haven't heard from Chris in three months. I know where he was last, so I'm going to go there and find him."

She didn't add the part about taking out Umbrella. Her suitemate, Cheryl Robins, already knew of her involvement in Raccoon City. Her face, along with Leon's and a few other survivors' were all across the country's newspapers. Cheryl didn't know, however, about her and Leon's intentions to do what they could to bring the company down. No one did.

They had come up with a simple plan: play dumb. A company as big as Umbrella might have the power to do a few shady things, especially when it came to their security. By acting clueless as to the cause of the Raccoon Outbreak, they were able to steer clear of the allegations already rising against Umbrella. This allowed them to move freely. Now, a few months later, they decided it was time to head to Europe themselves.

Right now, Leon was looking into flights to Paris, where Chris was supposed to be located. He'd called about an hour ago, saying that one was leaving that evening. Claire and Sherry were just stopping at her dorm to pack a few things, then they would meet him at the airport.

"But what's going to happen when they find out you're leaving?" Cheryl asked her from the doorway. 'They' were the university. At this point, Claire could care less about grades or an education. No doubt if the Dean caught wind of her leaving, he'd throw a fit.

"Tell them I'm living with someone else, I don't know," she replied, distracted as she fumbled with her computer. She was going to have to leave the printer behind. "You don't have to say where I'm going. I'm not even concerned about the rest of my stuff. With any luck, I'll be able to come back and get it when my housing contract is up."

But that's not likely...

Claire made one last run through of her closet. A lot of her favorite clothes were in there, jackets and vests she'd collected over the years. All of it couldn't go with her. She at least allowed herself the mercy of taking her second favorite item, the crimson leather vest with the 'Let Me Live' logo. This she folded carefully before placing it in her hastily packed case.

It seemed that Cheryl was intent on doing the worrying for both of them. "Do you remember the last time you went on an impulse like this?" she asked. "You were lucky that you only lost your bike!"

"I don't think I'm going to run into another zombie fest," Claire replied, irritated. If she did, she was cursed.

That was it for packing. She was going to have to buy more clothes once they got to Europe. Claire zipped the suitcase and stood it up, stretching her back as she straightened. Cheryl still stood in the door, a sad look on her delicate features. She was a good friend, and no doubt she didn't want her to leave on such a trip.

"Hey..." Claire said tenderly when she saw her face begin to furrow. She gently hugged her.

Cheryl sniffed. "Just be careful, damn it."

"I will. Don't worry, I'll probably be back before you know it."

They broke apart, and Cheryl managed to keep a straight face. Claire took her suitcase, then walked to the door of her suite with her friend. Once there, they paused again.

"Well...bye," Claire said, giving her one last pat on the back, then walking out the door.

Sherry was waiting for her in the floor lounge. After the brief 4 floor elevator ride back to the ground floor, they entered the cab that was already waiting for them outside the dormitory. Claire gave the driver the destination, and they headed to the airport.

"Hey Claire?" Sherry asked once they were through the hassle of getting their tickets. "What's Leon been doing?"

"Oh, I don't know," she replied, a bit distracted as she looked for the route to the security checkpoint. "He said he was trying to get in touch with the government."

"Do you think they're going to do something about Umbrella?"

"I certainly hope so, sweetie. They've already taken care of the city."

The three of them were far more lucky than Claire would ever have imagined. Not a day after they escaped the horror, Raccoon City was bombed, completely annihilating it. The US government took full responsibility for it, under the excuse of a massive viral outbreak. They didn't, however, release details as to the source of the outbreak. Whether it was due to lack of evidence or something more sinister, Claire didn't know. All she did know was that Leon had been working to get into the government for the last three months.

That wasn't all that Leon had been up to. He'd gotten his fingers into some anti-Umbrella movements as well. It seemed they been stirring up some things in other parts of the world. There was some incident involving Leon's friend, but he wouldn't give her the details. A bit shady for someone trying to contact the government, in Claire's opinion.

It took the usual hassle to get through security. Claire's suitcase was already on the way to be loaded into the plane, and she didn't have any carry-ons. Sherry had a small backpack with some clothes and other small necessities. That was run through the x-ray device.

Claire's windbreaker kept setting off the metal detector for some reason, which was the main source of their problems. It was an unusually warm day for late December, even at their current location, so she took it off and slung it over her shoulder. It was too warm even for a vest, so Claire just stuck to a black shirt that showed a sliver of her midriff, and a pair of jeans.

The two of them made their way to the correct gate. Their flight wasn't going to leave for another hour. The only problem was Leon; the cop was nowhere to be found. He was supposed to meet them.

"Where's Leon?" asked Sherry, reading her thoughts. "Didn't he say he was going to be here?"

Claire shrugged."I dunno. Maybe he's running late, or he's in the bathroom, or something."

No sooner than the words fell from her lips than the airport's intercom sounded over the buzz of the noisy commuters.

"Claire Redfield, please come to the nearest service desk, there is a call waiting for you. Claire Redifeld, please come to the nearest service desk."

The intercom clicked off and Claire sighed. "I'm going to take a guess and say that has something to do with it. Come on, Sherry."

She took a hold of the child's hand and they made their way to a desk. It took them a few minutes to find one, as the nearest one was almost back at the security checkpoint they just passed.

The woman working at the desk smiled as she approached. "Can I help you?"

"Um, yeah. I'm Claire Redfield, I was paged?" Claire asked uncertainly as she casually batted her hands on the counter top.

"One moment," the attendant said, then picked up the phone. She spoke on it for a bit, then pressed a button and handed it to Claire, who pressed it to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Claire, it's Leon."

"I thought so."

He sighed. "Something big came up. I can't make it to the airport."

"What happened?"

"Got a hold of the government. They finally want to talk. I'm meeting with them and a few others from the various underground units. This is huge."

It certainly was. The government was finally willing to take the fight to Umbrella. Maybe.

"That is huge," she admitted.

"It would help loads if you came, too."

Claire was afraid of that. She knew she was vital to the cause, having seen everything first hand. So was Sherry. But Chris was in Europe, and as long as she knew that, that's where she was going to go.

"I know," she said to Leon, "But I really have to go find Chris."

"Claire, it's been three months..."

"I know," she repeated, turning away from the desk. This was getting a little more personal. "...and I haven't heard from him. He's still alive, Leon."

"I wasn't suggesting otherwise," Leon said quickly. "I'm just saying that he's probably on the move, and he can't contact you. But you have to realize that he may be long gone already. What are you going to do when you get to France and find nothing?"

"I'll start looking," she said firmly.

Leon sighed again. "I'm not going to be able to talk you out of this, am I?"

Claire grinned. "Nope. And you're not here to drag me away kicking and screaming, either."

There was a pause. "Alright. Go to Europe, and find Chris. Just be careful. This is Umbrella we're dealing with. Don't do anything stupid, and look after Sherry as well. You know that I can keep an eye on her here if you want."

"Thanks Leon, but I'd rather keep her with me. I don't want her to be alone."

"Alright...Good luck."

"Thanks. Ditto."

An hour later, nature called.

"Sherry, I'm going to run to the bathroom real quick," said Claire. It would be better to go now rather than use the tiny airplane bathroom in mid-flight, though she'd probably have to use it anyway, as it was going to be a long one. "Do you want to come with?"

Sherry shook her head. "No thanks, I'm fine."

"Okay. Well, I won't be long. Don't move until I get back, alright?"

"Got it!"

Claire knew that under no circumstances should she leave a girl like Sherry alone even for a minute in a busy place, but she was going to be back in no time at all. Sherry was smart enough not to talk to strangers, and Claire was sure she knew what to do if someone grabbed her.

She left her on the seats near their terminal, then walked to the nearest bathroom. When she exited, she spotted her favorite biker magazine on one of the many kiosks littering the concourse. She walked back to where she left Sherry, half browsing the article teasers on the cover, then stopped in her tracks.

Sherry was gone.

Claire looked around, panic rising. At first, she thought she walked right past her, but no. The second seat from the end of the aisle was empty. Her backpack wasn't even there.

The college student's panicked blossomed; how could she have been so stupid? After everything, to have the little girl simply taken away when the person protecting her was too stupid to take her along where she was going. It was every parent's nightmare...

Or wait, maybe she just wandered off!

There were shops nearby, a gift store and a bookstore. Both had plenty of things that could catch the curiosity of an underage girl. She'd have a quick look, then-

"Claire Redfield?"

Claire spun. It was a cop.

"Oh thank God!" she exclaimed, heart hammering. "You have to help me. I was with this little girl-"

"We know," he interrupted with a raised hand. "We've already taken her into protective custody. Miss Redfield, you need to come with us."

Claire gave her head a brief shake. Nothing was making sense. The cops already had Sherry, and now they were looking for her?

"W-What?" she sputtered. Behind him, she saw two more men in uniform. That must have been what he meant by 'us'. "What's this about?"

"An APB was put out for your arrest. Please come with us," he repeated, reaching to his belt and taking hold of her arm.

Claire instinctively stepped back and raised her arm, trying to break his grip. The magazine she'd been holding in a death grip fell to the carpet, creased from her hands. There had to be a mistake! She hadn't done anything to get arrested. Sherry, she had to find Sherry...

"No, wait, there's some sort of mistake-"

"Miss Redfied, please come with us quietly or we will use force," the cop said firmly, his hand moving from the pair of handcuffs to his gun. Immediately, Claire settled down. This wasn't a joke.

"Okay, okay," she said breathlessly, then forced herself to relax.

The cop twisted her arms around behind her back, slapped the handcuffs around her wrists, then took hold of her upper arm and began to lead her away, flanked by his partners. All around her, people were beginning to stare, taking interest in the girl who had apparently broken the law. People always loved that sort of thing, watching someone else get in trouble. Red color flushed Claire's cheeks, and she avoided their eyes. It was humiliating, to be arrested in public, then paraded around in cuffs.

As soon as this gets straightened out, we'll be fine. I'll probably miss the flight, but I have to find Sherry again. Then I'm going to file one hell of a complaint for these bastards...

The cop and his partners led her across the airport lobby, then outside. It was here that something clicked for her, one critical mistake that she failed to notice before, due to the fact that she'd never been on the wrong side of the law: the cop never read her her rights. By the time she noticed it, they were already outside...

...and alone.

"Wait-" she said, pulse rising again as she twisted uncomfortably in the restraints.

One of the 'cops' opened the door to a regular car, not a police cruiser.

"Get in."

Claire shook her head, then tried to back away from the open door. "No...who are you guys..."

One of their hands grabbed her upper arm, steering her towards the door. Something cold pressed against the small of her back, on the thin line of bare skin where her shirt ended and her jeans began. Claire gasped, first from the shock of temperature change, then upon the realization of what it was.

"Get in the car, Redfield," said the cop with the gun pressed in her back.

Claire realized she had screwed up, big time. She remembered what Leon told her over the phone: "this is Umbrella we're dealing with." Was this Umbrella right now? Were they going to kill her for her involvement in Raccoon City? They wouldn't have had a hard time figuring that out; her face was plastered all over the newspapers for the last few months.

Oh God, what if they have Leon, too? What if that deal with the government is a trap?

She wanted to fight back, to not let them do the horrible things that flashed through her mind. She could try to scream, but the nearest people were what seemed like miles away. If they heard her, she would appear to be a delinquent resisting arrest. Then, no doubt, they would just throw her into the car anyway. Or worse

They had her cold, and it was all her fault. And Sherry...what were they going to do to Sherry?

The gun dug harder into her back. "Now..."

She had two options, so she decided to take the less stupid of the two. She got into the car.