The Facility Revisited -Chapter Two
It was just after midday when Chris finally woke up. His limbs were shaking and his head was pounding in the familiar symphony of a hangover. He had the bleary eyes and dry mouth that reminded him of his nights out in J's Bar. His whole body ached and he suddenly became aware of the various bruises he'd sustained whilst diving out of the way of the incendiary grenade. He tried his best to sit up, wincing in pain when the movement proved to be too much for his headache to cope with. An annoying amount of sunlight was coming through the gap in the curtains. He closed his eyes, resting his head back on his pillow, and moaned. He'd always known that he couldn't hold his own against spirits. Give him a few beers and he'd be fine. Whiskey on the other hand...
He didn't remember much after his talk with Leon about Raccoon and Sherry. He certainly didn't remember going to bed although he had a vague recollection of puking a few times in the bathroom. He rolled over gently and spotted a glass of water on his beside table. He knew that he wouldn't have had the sense to put it there.
"Leon..." He mumbled quietly, recalling their conversation from last night. The younger man's drunken revelation had made him seem a lot more human and it made Chris realise that the emotionless, iceman persona was just that, a persona. He supposed that he'd always known that someone couldn't possibly be that cold without good reason. He wondered if Leon would mention anything when he finally hauled his ass out of bed or whether he'd go down the route of pretending that nothing happened. Chris had a feeling that he hadn't yet broken through his partner's strong defences and that it was going to be the latter. He would've liked to have found out more about his partner's troubled past but it probably unlikely that Leon would let his guard down twice. There was a good chance that he would be hungover too and that would probably mean he'd been in a foul mood.
Chris took his sweet time showering and getting dressed. The cool water of the power shower broke through some of the fuzz in his brain and made him feel slightly more alive. He glanced at himself in the mirror and he didn't look too bad, just a little dark under the eyes. He hadn't bothered shaving since his arrival in Spain and, as a result, he'd grown some pretty impressive stubble. He ran a cursory hand over his chin and decided that he actually quite liked the look. He pulled on a pair of his new jeans and another fresh-from-the-packet t-shirt and wandered down to the kitchen. He was in the mood for a nice big fried breakfast. It would be just what he needed to clear his hangover but he had a feeling that Leon didn't keep that sort of stuff in the house.
Leon himself was already awake and sitting at the pine kitchen table. An array of breakfast things were laid out on it. There was a fresh pot of coffee, a rack of toast and an array of spreads. Chris wondered if he was supposed to just help himself. It didn't seem likely that Leon would eat the whole rack. He took a seat opposite his partner, grabbed a slice of toast and some strawberry spread and set about smearing it on thickly. There was another glass of water at his place with a box of painkillers beside it.
"I thought you might be needing those" Leon said, nodding at the painkillers. "You're free to do whatever you want today. I'm going to the office to debrief with Dennis" He explained, sipping from his cup of coffee. Chris noticed that Leon didn't look his usual groomed self. His hair was a little rumpled and he looked sweaty and pale. Too sweaty and pale for it to be the result of just a hangover.
"Maybe you should go to the hospital today" Chris suggested. "Get that wound checked out" He nodded at Leon's side and took a big bite out of his toast.
"Not necessary" Leon replied. His tone seemed to have snapped back to its usual mild irritation. "I've already completed the required paperwork regarding yesterday's incident in the cave" He continued, changing the subject. He turned his attentions to a file folder. Without another word, he opened it and started to flip through, obviously checking that everything was in order. His floppy blonde hair fell in front of his eyes and his shoulders were tense and hunched. He gave off the distinct vibe of being truly fed up. It reminded Chris of the way that he'd looked when he'd been talking about Sherry. Without thinking, Chris dropped his toast on his plate and reached over to touch Leon's shoulder. The younger man reacted as if Chris' hand was boiling hot and it had burnt him. He shrugged it off quickly, standing up and gathering his papers together.
"Don't you ever try to touch me again Redfield" He spat as he grabbed his jacket from a hook on the kitchen wall and slammed out of the house. Chris leant back in his chair and stared down at his half eaten toast. All of a sudden he wasn't very hungry.
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"I can't say that your findings are a total surprise" Dennis said as he scanned the folder on his desk. "Although the problem with the bullets is certainly something we weren't prepared for..."
Leon was leant against the water cooler barely listening. Dennis had offered him a seat but he'd declined. Hunching in a chair hurt his side too much. So he'd stood whilst Dennis read through his report, occasionally making a comment. Leon had given minimal replies. He was too busy thinking about the events of the previous night. He'd never recounted the story of him time in Raccoon so easily or so willingly before. He barely knew Chris and he'd spilled his guts just like that. It worried him and he couldn't work out why Chris Redfield was any different from any other person he'd ever met who'd wanted to know about his past. The thought had kept him awake most of the night and the only conclusion he'd been able to come to was that he'd been a little bit drunk. It seemed a pretty unsatisfactory conclusion though.
"Did you manage to get any samples of the creature that attacked you"? Dennis asked. Leon looked at him, trying to process the question and make it seem like Dennis had his full attention.
"No" Leon replied. "There wasn't time. We weren't equipped to deal with it and needed to get out as soon as we could" He skipped over the injury. That was something that was strictly on a need to know basis and Dennis didn't need to know. "If we're going to fully explore that facility and get everything we need that I'm going to need better equipment"
"Of course" Dennis nodded. "And I would very much like to give it to you" He closed the folder and placed it to one side. "But unfortunately it's not up to me and my hands are tied. My higher-ups, being the short-sighted people that they are, have convinced themselves that they have sunk enough money into this mission. Don't forget they'll be paying a considerable sum to the BSAA. As far as they are concerned, they've hired two of the best in the business and they should've seen some results by now" Leon made a face but Dennis continued. "If it was solely up to me then of course, I would give you everything you need but unfortunately it's completely out of my hands. I'm just the messenger. I know that it's frustrating and I know that you don't get along with your partner but you're going to have to deal with it. They're putting the pressure on me and don't understand why I'm not putting it on you"
"I understand" Leon said with a heavy sigh. His whole body ached and his side was really beginning to hurt. "I'm grateful that you're not. You've done a lot for me since I arrived here"
"More than you care to remember I'm sure" Dennis replied, raising his eyebrow suggestively. Leon shook his head and allowed himself a brief smile. Dennis was one of the first people he'd met when he'd come to Spain. It felt like years ago now. He'd barely been in the country a week when Dennis had insisted on showing him what the Spanish night life had to offer. Dennis liked to maintain a straight-laced, professional attitude at work but outside of work he'd been a good drinking partner. The two of them had gotten completely drunk that night and had somehow ended up back at Dennis' modest villa and indulging in a little bit of what Dennis liked to call 'overtime'. It was something that they'd often talked about and had agreed was a one off occasion. Neither of them had felt a need to turn it into anything more, casual or otherwise and at the time, Leon had been grateful for the opportunity to relax and truly be himself for the first time. They'd remained good friends and Dennis had since settled down with a lovely Spanish woman called Maria that he'd met at some restaurant.
"How about some armour piercing bullets"? Leon asked.
"I'll see what I can do" Dennis replied. "I'm sure that I can convince them to stretch to that" He regarded Leon for a moment. "You should go home and get some rest"
"Thanks Dennis" Leon nodded at the older man and turned to leave. As he put his hand on the door knob, Dennis spoke once more.
"Oh and Leon? When you come back for our next meeting, I'd like you to tell me that you went to the hospital to have your injury examined"
Leon smirked, wondering how the hell Dennis knew. But then, he supposed, Dennis wasn't in the Secret Service for nothing.
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Chris checked the oven for what felt like the tenth time. Judging by this reaction that morning, Leon was utterly fuming about last night's events. Chris wasn't the greatest cook in the world. In fact, he totally sucked as a cook but he did have one secret weapon. His home made chocolate chip cookies. Claire had taught him to make them years ago and they'd always been successful in cheering Jill up out of one of her moods. Chris hoped that he'd have similar success with Leon. The only flaw in this plan was that he hadn't made the cookies for quite a while and he wasn't sure whether he'd gone the temperature of the oven right. He put the cookies on a tray, turned up the oven and hoped for the best. At least the mixture had looked correct when he'd divided it onto the tray in sticky dollops.
"What on earth are you doing"? An angry voice demanded. Leon was standing by the doorway. He yanked his leather jacket off and hung it up. He threw a little white paper bag onto the pine table.
"Oh...just making a little something" Chris shrugged casually as Leon stalked to the fridge and pulled it open. He took out a carton of orange juice and poured himself a glass. He drained half of it before taking a seat at the table and ripping open the white paper bag.
"Just burning a little something more like" Leon snorted, pulling a package of strong painkillers out of the bag.
"Shit"! Chris exclaimed. "I just checked them a minute ago"! He wrenched the oven door open and, sure enough, a burning smell invaded his nostrils. He pulled the baking tray out and his cookies looked like dark brown lumps tinged with black. "Shit"! He repeated. What was with this oven? One minute something looked fine and the next it was totally ruined. He waited for some sort of sarcastic comment but when he looked at Leon he was surprised to see his partner actually smiling.
"You tried to make cookies"? He said with a hint of amusement. He popped a couple of tablets out of their foil container and swallowed them with a mouthful of juice.
"I was trying to make it up to you since you seemed so pissed this morning" Chris replied pathetically, poking at the remains of his cookies.
"Maybe in future you should stay away from the oven" Leon suggested as he watched Chris dejectedly dump his cookies in the kitchen bin and shove the tray into the sink. He opened the window to let out the burning smell and sighed. The older man looked so forlorn that Leon actually found himself feeling a bit sorry for him. He wasn't used to people wanting to do nice things for him. He decided to make good on his promise to be civil and reach out to him. "If you want to help me you could have a look at my wound" He said quietly. "It's really starting to hurt" He nodded at the box of painkillers, the strongest the pharmacy stocked.
"Sure, no problem" Chris shrugged. "Hop on the sofa and I'll see what I can do" Leon nodded and headed into the lounge area. He laid down on the sofa on his uninjured side and lifted his t-shirt up. Chris fetched the first aid kit from the cupboard and knelt down beside his partner. Remembering what Rebecca told him about basic wound care, he removed the bandages and gauze pad that Leon had used as carefully as he could. All the while, he looked for traces of pain in Leon's face. The younger man didn't say anything and kept his eyes focussed on a distant spot on the wall. He was obviously uncomfortable. Chris unpicked the last of the surgical tape and revealed the wound. The gash was as nasty as Chris imagined, deep enough to require stitches. It was very swollen and angry looking and Chris didn't even need to touch it to know that it was radiating heat.
"You're really gonna have to go to the hospital" He said. He'd had similar wounds in the past himself and knew how horribly painful they were. It annoyed him to think that Leon had obviously been suffering in silence.
"No" Leon said firmly.
"It's infected" Chris argued, examining the wound closely. "There's pus coming from the wound"
"Then you're going to have to clean it" Leon replied. "Do you know how"?
"Yeah but it's gonna hurt. And I want it on record that I don't agree with this" Chris said unhappily. Leon nodded.
"Duly noted"
"Right" Chris sighed. "I'll be back in a second" He hurried to the kitchen, silently cursing his partner's stubborn refusal to go to hospital. He quickly prepared a bowl of warm water and set about dissolving a generous amount of salt in it. He winced at the thought of how much it was going to hurt. He carefully carried the bowl back into the lounge area and placed it on the coffee table. He rummaged in the first aid box until he found a pair of latex gloves and a clean pack of gauze. He tore open the packet and pulled on the gloves. He grabbed the first piece of gauze and dipped it into the water. "You ready"? He asked. Leon nodded and fixed on the wall spot again. Chris dragged the damp gauze over the wound as quickly as possible. When he'd wiped away the dried blood and pus from Leon's skin, he set about dealing with the gash itself. Taking a fresh piece of gauze, he used one hand to squeeze the edges of the wound together as hard as he dared, and the other hand to wipe away the pus that oozed out of it. Leon didn't make a sound but Chris knew that it was hurting him a lot. He continued to squeeze and wipe, regularly replenishing his gauze, for fifteen minutes until eventually the flow of pus stopped. He dumped the last piece of gauze in the bowl. "I'm nearly done now" He said reassuringly. "I just need to put some antibacterial cream on it" Leon nodded. He was breathing heavily and his skin was red and clammy. Chris grabbed the cream from the first aid box and squeeze a liberal amount into his hand. Leon flinched when the cold cream came in contact with his body but said nothing as Chris carefully rubbed it in until a thin film covered the entire wound. He covered it with a large piece of gauze and removed his gloves before taping the gauze down and wrapping the whole thing up with fresh bandages. He stood up and set about cleaning up the bowl and first aid stuff, knowing that his partner would appreciate this attempt to respect the house rules. When he came back from replacing the first aid box in its correct cupboard, Leon still hadn't moved.
"How are you doing"? He asked.
"Peachy" Leon muttered, throwing his arm over his face and making no attempt to sit up.
"Well if you don't need anything else, I'll go for a shower" Chris replied. "I'll bring your painkillers in here with some water so you don't have to get up for a while"
Chris dutifully fetched the box of painkillers and a glass of water and put them on the coffee table, making sure that they were within easy reach. Leon hadn't moved his arm or said anything else so Chris took that as his cue to go for his shower. His foot was barely on the first step when he heard the quiet but definite comment.
"Thanks"
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Leon opened his eyes and was somewhat confused to see a white ceiling and a maroon light shade. He had a distinct memory of falling asleep on the sofa so, logically, he should be seeing a cream ceiling and an impressive brass and glass light shade in the shape of a large star. He didn't often suffer from lapses of memory so he found the situation a little odd to say the least. How the hell had he ended up in his bedroom? Surely those painkillers weren't that strong?
"Awesome, you're up"
Leon sat up slightly to see Chris easing his way through the bedroom doorway, having some trouble with a black tray that usually held Leon's tea set.
"What the-" Leon started to say as Chris slowly and carefully made his way over to him, the contents of the tray wobbling ominously.
"You seemed really out of it yesterday after I'd cleaned your wound. I figured it was because of the infection, so I helped bring you up to bed. You were burning up so I got you a cold flannel and you seemed to go to sleep after that. I figured you might wanna rest today" Chris explained. "I brought you a little something if you're up to it" He added, taking great pains to carefully lay the tray across Leon's lap. It was a rather haphazard concoction that seemed to be Chris' attempt at making him some breakfast. There was half a glass of orange juice which, judging by the liberal amount of pips still floating in it, had come from the oranges in the fruit bowl. Next to this was a stack of blackened toast and a strange bowl of yellowy froth that Leon could only assume was supposed to be scrambled eggs. Chris had laid out two of the strong painkillers on a piece of folded toilet paper which was obviously supposed to serve as a napkin. The centrepiece of this breakfast disaster was a dandelion from the garden which Chris had presented in one of the dirty milk bottles. "Dennis phoned. He says that he managed to get what you asked for and that he's pissed that you didn't go to the hospital" He grabbed a knife and fork from the back pocket of his jeans and handed them over. "I'm gonna go and collect the stuff today. He says if you dare to come to his office then he'll drive you to the hospital himself" He added smugly.
"I'm not going to a hospital" Leon replied sourly. "I'm not ill" He insisted, though his side was still aching and his whole body felt like it was on fire. Chris frowned at him and tried to put his hand on his burning forehead. "I asked you not to touch me" Leon snapped, batting the hand away albeit weakly.
"You're still burning up" Chris replied, crossing his arms across his chest. "You need to stay in bed. Eat your breakfast and then you can take your painkillers. I'm gonna shower then head to the office to meet Dennis"
"And who put you in charge"? Leon said snippily. He knew Chris had a point but it annoyed him. He felt terrible and knew that he was in no shape to make the trip to the office to pick up the bullets. Chris disappeared, presumably to take his shower, leaving Leon to poke at the unappetising food on the tray. He'd never had someone make him breakfast in bed before and despite the fact that the food was virtually inedible, it was quite nice to think that Chris had put in the effort just for him. It was strange to have someone taking care of him but if he was honest, it felt good. He'd always been the caretaker, looking after his elderly grandmother during his youth, looking after Sherry and then finally, looking after himself for the simple fact that nobody else would. He looked down at the breakfast tray and wondered what to do. He didn't want to eat anything on the tray but, at the same time, he didn't want to leave it untouched. He heard the shower start up from further down the hall. He considered hurrying down to the kitchen to dispose of the food but he was in no shape to get downstairs and then get back upstairs in time. He could try and slide the tray under his bed but that would probably be a bit too obvious. He looked around desperately until another idea struck him. Without a second though to the terrible mess, he opened the drawer of his bedside table and carefully tipped the contents of the various plates into it. As much as it bothered him to make such a mess, it would bother him more to hurt Chris' feelings. To make the tray look more convincing, he left half a slice of toast and a couple of forkfuls of the scrambled eggs on their plates. He put the tray to one side and hunkered back down between the sheets. He never thought he'd see the day that he gave a damn about Chris Redfield's feelings.
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Chris knocked on the office door. He hadn't been able to remember his way through the seemingly endless network of corridors but a very sexy young receptionist had been more than happy to show him the way. She only spoke Spanish so there was a bit of a language barrier but Chris had tried out some of the words he'd picked up from Leon. She'd been perfectly friendly until he'd done that. She'd pointed to Dennis' office with a frown and when he'd smiled and tried to say thank you, she'd responded with a very rude gesture. It looked like he needed to work on his Spanish. He knocked on the door again. He remembered how Leon had told him off for just barging in last time. He didn't expect to be kept hanging around waiting for Dennis to answer though. The few people that were milling around in expensive business suits were beginning to look at him like he was some sort of idiot. He gave one final knock before trying to door handle. It turned easily. Deciding that he'd had enough of standing around and being stared at, Chris let himself into the office. He soon discovered why he hadn't received an answer. Dennis' office was empty.
He hadn't really taken his surroundings in the last time he'd been here. It was pretty standard sort of office, not something he'd expect for someone quite high up in the government. He imagined it to be a lot swankier but it was actually quite boring. There was a small water cooler in one corner with a pot plant beside it. Dennis' desk was in the middle of the room with a black executive leather chair behind it and a less impressive looking wooden chair in front. There were a couple of grey filing against up against the back wall and above them was a map of Spain. Well, at least it look like Spain, Chris wasn't particularly hot on geography. Like Leon's house, it didn't seem to have any personal effects lying around. It was a pretty boring office. He decided to sit down and wait for Dennis to turn up. As he took a seat in the wooden chair, he noticed a few file folders stacked on the desk. He recognised one clearly as the mission brief folder Leon had had back at the house. The other folder than attracted his attention was the slim grey one that had his name written across the top of it. Unable to resist the urge to leave it where he was, Chris reached over and picked it up. It figured that the government would have some information on him but it would be interesting to find out exactly how much they had. He sat back in the chair and flipped through the pages. The first one listed his personal information such as full name, date of birth, last known address all the standard stuff which wasn't interesting. There was a basic resume of his working life that dated all the way back to his days in the Air Force. That explained how Leon knew about his military training. He smirked as he read the brief passage about his achievements. It ended with the sentence 'was summarily dismissed from the United States Air Force on the grounds of insubordination'. Whoever had complied the file certainly knew their stuff. Even Claire and Jill didn't know about the whole getting kicked out of the Air Force thing. All he'd ever said about it was that he'd left of his own free will and wanted a career change. The file went on to mention his time at the RPD and his subsequent transfer to S.T.A.R.S. It went into more detail as it covered the mansion incident and his anti-Umbrella activity that followed. It mentioned his trip to Russia with Jill and then it went on to chronicle his years with the BSAA leading right up until the present day. It was interesting to note that at the bottom of the report on his deployment to Spain it said 'No problems working with others. Will have no problems with our agent'. Chris snorted. He didn't have any problems working with others if the others he worked with weren't total assholes. The last page of his folder had a list of the BSAA's most recent funding applications. The last ones on the list were the US Government and pharmaceutical company Tricell. Chris frowned at that part. It had been largely Barry and Jill's idea to apply for funding from Tricell but he hadn't been convinced. It seemed that after all their past troubles with a certain large pharmaceutical company, applying for funding from another one was, quite frankly, dumb.
Chris tossed his file aside. It was extremely boring. He didn't really need to read all about himself because, obviously, he was himself. He had a quick look at the other files on the stack and raised his eyebrows when he saw another file, the same colour as his own but with 'Leon Kennedy' written across the top tab. Chris quickly looked around to make sure no Secret Service guys were lurking, behind the plant perhaps, and plucked the folder from the pile. He felt a twinge of guilt as he held the folder in his slightly sweaty hands but to hell with it. He'd tried his damnedest to get to know his partner better only to be cruelly knocked back so he thought he might as well go for it. Who knows? He could find something out that he bring him closer to the younger man, the Raccoon City thing had got him nowhere. He quickly skimmed though Leon's basic information page, learning when his birthday was, the fact that he was three years younger than him and that his middle name was Scott. Another page detailed his time at the police training academy. Unsurprisingly, he'd scored high on all of his assessments, sometimes coming out top of his class. He'd graduated in the top percentile with honours and there was a list of test scores attached. On the next page was a scanned copy of the letter confirming his transfer from the NYPD to the RPD and a detailed job description of his new role in what was called the SPD. Next followed a very long summary of the Raccoon City incident, including a transcript of an interview with a government agent and a medical report that indicated that he'd been shot during the outbreak. Intrigued by this, Chris continued to read on to discover that, as Leon already said, he'd been granted temporary guardianship of Sherry Birkin. It had been quickly revoked when he was assigned to attend a training camp for the government. There was also a detailed report outlined concerns for Leon's mental health after his experiences in Raccoon. Chris felt another stab of guilt as he read on, realising that Leon probably wouldn't want him to know that there'd been concerns about him suffering from PTSD as well as being observed to have 'self-destructive tendencies' in particular drinking and promiscuous behaviour. Chris quickly flicked forward a couple more pages. There were details of his training for the government and a report saying that he'd done well in O.R.E or 'Operational Readiness Exercises'. Chris found it weird that a lot of the reports he'd read had mentioned that Leon worked very well with others and was seen as a good communicator. He'd had a succession of partners during basic training missions. A name that kept cropping up repeatedly was 'Jack Krauser'. It looked like they'd trained together at one of the training facilities and had been recognised by their superiors as an efficient and high-ranking team that worked well together. There was a sheath of mission debriefs that carried both Leon and this Krauser guy's signature. It seemed like they'd worked together on a lot of missions. Chris' frowned deepened. Now he felt more confused. He knew that Leon didn't like to talk about his past but he would've thought that during their drunken night he would've heard something about this Krauser guy since the two had obviously been good friends. Flicking through some more of the mission reports he came across something that provided an explanation. There was a sheet of paper with the title 'Operation Javier'. It mentioned something to do with the Veronica virus which he'd seen himself during his time in Antarctica. Both Leon and Krauser were listed as being participants in the mission but strangely, the debrief only carried Leon's signature. As he turned the page, Chris came across a report that made for very interesting reading. It was a formal complaint against Krauser made by Leon. It listed Krauser's treatment of Leon in regards to Leon's sexuality. The file almost dropped from Chris' hands in surprise. Leon was gay? Mr James Bond Secret Service lady killer? The report stated that upon returning to the base camp following the mission in Brazil, relations were heavily strained between Leon and Krauser with the latter completely distancing himself from Leon and refusing to work with him. There was an interview with Krauser in which he explained that Leon had come out to him during the course of the mission and it had strained things between them. Krauser had been injured seriously enough during the mission to prevent him from working in the special forces and Krauser blamed it on Leon. Leon's interview said that he'd trusted Krauser implicitly and hadn't expected such a deeply homophobic reaction. In Leon's own words, Krauser had proceeded to make his life a misery. It seemed that Jack Krauser was held in such high esteem by the other recruits at the base that they'd instantly sided with him and Leon was left a virtual outcast, subjected to cruel and brutal treatment at the hands of his peers. Leon's interview ended with the interviewer asking what could be done to better accommodate him within the Government's ranks. He was a valued agent and they didn't want to lose him. Leon asked to be moved from the base completely and given another post. He didn't care where it was, even if it was out of the country. He was willing to take any job offer they had. It was here that he'd been offered the post in Spain. The interview and job offer attached had been signed by Leon, the interviewer and a present third party witness.
Chris snapped the file shut and hurriedly put it back on Dennis' desk. He had that horrible, slightly sick feeling you get when you discover something that you know you shouldn't know. He swallowed hard and stood up. No wonder Leon hadn't wanted to tell him anything about himself or his past. No wonder he didn't even want him as a partner. It was obvious that he'd put a lot of trust in this Krauser guy and had cared for him enough to tell him something that was a very big secret. He imagined that it had taken a lot of courage for him to admit who he really was and it had all backfired in his face in the worst way possible. It all fell into place. Leon's business like demeanour, his acidic comments and his unwelcoming attitude. It was all carefully designed to keep him at arm's length and reduce the risk of the same happening again. Chris shook his head. He decided that he would go back to the house and would tell Leon that everything was alright. Chris had no problem whatsoever with gay people and as far as he was concerned, who Leon banged was none of his business anyway. He knew that Leon wouldn't be over the moon at the idea that his personnel file had been read but Chris figured and hoped that the relief that he could finally drop the act and be himself would outweigh that.
"Ah Mr Redfield" A sudden smooth voice made Chris jump. He whipped round to see Dennis standing in the doorway, holding a black messenger bag. Chris had been so involved in what he'd been reading and then processing it all that he'd forgotten that the reason he was even in Dennis' office was to collect something. Dennis smiled at him and proffered the bag. "The bullets Leon asked for" He explained. Chris took the bag and slung it over one shoulder. "I trust you're finding Leon alright to work with"?
"Yeah" Chris nodded. "It'll probably be even better now-" He was about to explain why but then figured it wouldn't be a good idea to admit to Dennis that he'd been flipping through private files. He wondered if the files had been put in a specific order and whether Dennis would notice that they'd been disturbed. "So..um..." He said awkwardly. "Is this all I came for"?
"Indeed it is" Dennis replied, taking a seat behind his desk. "Although, if wouldn't mind giving me an update on Leon's condition, I'd be very grateful"
"Oh his wound"! Chris suddenly realised. "Yeah. I tried to get him to go to hospital but he wouldn't. His wound got infected but I cleaned it up"
"Excellent" Dennis smiled at him warmly. "I have a sneaking suspicion that Leon won't be acting very grateful but I would like to extend my thanks"
Chris nodded. The thought of Leon's ungrateful attitude would usually royally piss him off but now he understood why, he didn't mind so much.
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"Great, you're up"! Chris grinned at his partner as he breezed through the front door. Leon was sitting on the sofa, flicking through a newspaper and drinking a cup of coffee. It was the first time since they'd drunk the whiskey together that Leon actually looked relaxed. There was a bit more colour in his cheeks and it appeared that the lazy morning in bed had been just what he needed. Chris smiled as he dumped the black messenger back by the front door. A relaxed Leon was a sight that he could very easily get used to. His smile widened. He was about to make it more of a permanent state.
"So did you get the bullets"? Leon asked, looking up from his newspaper. Chris nodded and flopped down into the armchair, grinning from ear to ear. The older man's freakishly good mood instantly made Leon suspicious. "Why do you look so pleased with yourself"? He asked tentatively.
"You can relax now"! Chris announced triumphantly. On the way home, he'd been practising how he was going to tell him partner the good news and he thought he had it just about right.
"How so"?
"Well, there's no need for you to be all snarky and uptight anymore because I know"!
"You know what"? Leon asked, utterly confused. He didn't see how what his partner was saying had anything to do with Dennis or the armour piercing bullets he'd asked for.
"I know you're gay" Chris answered with a shrug. Whilst practising, he'd decided that the most straight forward way would be the best. "I know you're gay and that that Krauser guy got all freaked out by it and started being a total dick and that's why you act the way you do. I just wanted to tell you that you don't have to be like that with me 'cos I'm fine about it. Like I said before, I've got nothing against gay guys so yeah"
"Explain" Leon said darkly. Chris glanced over at his partner to see that the relaxed demeanour had completely disappeared. Leon threw the newspaper down and leant forwards with an expression on his face that could only be described as carefully controlled rage. Even Chris, who wasn't that great at reading people, could see that he was digging his own grave and rapidly.
"Um...well...y'see...I didn't really mean to" Chris scratched the back of his neck. "There was this folder on Dennis' desk...and he wasn't there...so yeah...y'know how it is. Hanging around..needing something to read"
"So you decided to read my personal file"? Leon was speaking calmly enough but Chris could clearly see a nerve in his temple flickering steadily. He could've kicked himself. Why on earth did he think that Leon would react positively to the news that he'd read his file? He nodded at Leon slowly. The younger man's mouth became a tight, grim line. Chris braced himself for a full on verbal assault. He was surprised when, completely wordlessly, Leon got to his feet and stalked out of the room.
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Chris stared moodily out of the Jeep's passenger side window as the increasingly familiar countryside whizzed by. Leon had taken another day to recover and then, armed with the armour piercing bullets, they'd decided to make another attempt at breaching the facility. Their plans regarding the facility had changed. Leon had spent most of the previous evening on a phone conference with Dennis who'd agreed that they needed to take action. If the facility was breeding monsters like the one that attacked Leon, it needed to be destroyed as soon as possible. Their new mission brief was to destroy the facility from within. A clean up crew were being put on standby for when they were done. Chris didn't get any of this new information verbally. He'd been sitting at the kitchen table, eating a bowl of soup, when Leon had flung a lengthy print out in his direction. After Chris had told him about reading Leon's personnel file, relations between them had hit an all time low. After he'd walked out of the lounge that night, Chris had barely seen him and they certainly hadn't shared any conversations. The only communication that he'd received from the younger man was that they'd be setting off for the facility that morning. Chris had tried his best to initiate a conversation over breakfast but every attempt had been rebuffed. He'd never expected Leon to take the news as badly as he did. Sure, he'd expected him to be pissed about the file but he'd expected the relief to outweigh that. If Leon had spent so long segregating himself from people just because he was worried about how they'd react when they discovered he was gay then surely it would be a relief to learn that he was being accepted with no trouble at all. Chris' head swam as he tried to make sense of it all. He supposed he didn't know his partner as much as he thought he did. Soon they'd be finished with the mission and he'd never have to deal with Leon and his moods again. Normally that would be the sort of thought that would cheer him up but, for some reason, the thought of never seeing Leon again made him unhappy. He sighed heavily. So much for the simple mission he'd been expecting.
The drive to the cave felt like it went on forever. Leon remained wordless as they parked the Jeep and readied their weapons. Their magnums were loaded with the armour piercing bullets. The ladder leading to the facility had been partially destroyed by the grenade so they were forced to rappel down the hole. As he dropped down, Chris couldn't help but feel like they were being watched. The walls of the hole were charred from the flames. As they reached the bottom, there was no sign of the tentacle creature which they'd killed or at least injured last time. Leon instantly headed to the left and this time, Chris didn't challenge him. As they moved down the corridor, the damage from the blast radius of the grenade became less and less apparent. Chris walked onwards until he couldn't stand the crushing silence any longer. He wasn't sure if it was because of the uncertainty of where they were going or whether he just needed to hear Leon's voice but he just couldn't take it any more.
"About the file thing...don't you think we should maybe talk about it or something"? He spoke awkwardly to Leon's black clad back as they reached the end of the corridor and found a door.
"It doesn't require our immediate attention" Leon answered coldly. "What does however, is this door. I need you to cover me. Do you think you can manage that"?
Chris nodded and sighed as Leon braced himself. The door was locked which meant that it would require a little brute force. Chris knew that it wasn't the best idea for Leon to be busting doors down with his injury. He'd offered to clean it again and Leon had refused. Instead, Chris had to sit and watch as Leon cleaned the wound himself and applied some steri-strips to keep it closed. If Chris offered to bust down the door himself, Leon was liable to smack him. He watched as Leon opened the door with one swift kick, wincing as he imagined the pressure the movement would be putting on the dressing.
They entered a basic storage room. There were a few oil drums stacked up in one corner and large wooden crates lined up against the opposite wall. There was nothing stamped on the crates to indicate where they'd come from or what they contained. Leon did a quick sweep of the room, making an irritated noise when he found nothing. There wasn't even another door that they could try.
"Looks like we're back to that door we went to when we first came here" Chris said. He was desperate to add something about him being right all along but he sensed that it probably wasn't the right time or indeed the best thing to do.
"There could be more of those creatures in there" Leon replied, looking thoughtful. "There has to be another way into that room that doesn't leave us so exposed and open to an attack"
"Well how about the air vents"? Chris suggested. He nodded to a grate on the ceiling in the right hand corner of the room. "They've got to lead somewhere and I bet we'll be pretty safe in there"
"Hmm" Leon looked at the grate, he titled his head to one side, considering. "As much as I hate to admit this but you might actually be on to something" The covering was right above one of the oil drums. He grabbed hold of it and shook it, testing it for strength. He climbed on top of it and started to pull at the grating. His left side screamed at him to stop but he ignored the insistent throbbing. After a lot of jiggling and pulling, the cover came away in his hands. He discarded it carefully, not wanting to alert anyone to their presence.
Chris watched Leon haul himself up into the vent. He hurried over to the opening and followed suit, pulling himself into the dirty and cramped space. Leon's backside was merely inches away from his face but he resisted the strong urge to make any kind of comment. Instead, he remained quiet as they started to crawl, heading back in the direction that they'd come from. If Chris' hunch was right, they'd hopefully reach the room where the creature had attacked them.
"When I joined the BSAA, I didn't imagine I'd be crawling through dirty old air vents" He said, snorting loudly as he inhaled another generous amount of dust.
"Quiet" Leon snapped. Even his ass looked uppity. "There's an exit ahead"
Chris looked around Leon's snobby ass and saw light flooding the vent from the gaps of another grate just ahead of them. Leon carefully crawled over the grate and rather awkwardly twisted around in the vent so they were now facing each other, the grate between them.
"You're...flexible" Chris noted, trying not to look impressed. "So what's the plan then? We pop that puppy open and dive down on them all guns blazing"? He asked hopefully. All this sneaking around wasn't really his thing. He much preferred action and shooting.
"Oh of course" Leon hissed. It was amazing how he could keep his voice quiet yet sound so sarcastic and snappy at the same time. "There's probably even a girl down there who needs rescuing and she'll be oh-so-grateful that you saved her from the scary monsters. Hell, she'll be so damn grateful you'll probably make hot love on whatever we killed"
"Now that's what I'm talking about"! Chris replied excitedly. He grinned at his partner goofily, pleased that Leon was finally talking to him and actually making jokes. Leon shook his head disgustedly and leant forward to look through the grate. From what little he could see, it appeared he was looking at a lab, similar to the labs back in Raccoon City. The floor was made of white tiles and he could see a monitoring station with a row of flickering images. There was a takeaway coffee cup on the desk of the monitoring station which indicated that it had been used recently. "So when are we actually gonna do anything"? Chris nagged. "It's too hot in this damn vent and I'm sweating like mad" He wiped his wet forehead with the back of his hand then wiped his hand across his t-shirt. Leon looked disgusted.
"Well I can't hear anyone down there" He answered, listening hard. "Get ready to cover me just in case" He ordered before he started to lift the cover off. There was a brief hairy moment when he dropped the grate but he managed to catch it again just as quickly. He pulled the grate up through the hole and rested it against the side of the vent.
The next thing Chris knew, Leon had dropped through the hole.
He had to marvel at the way Leon managed to execute a perfectly agile landing. It was quite a long drop to the tiled floor. Chris followed through he hole and landed in a heap on the floor, almost winding himself in the process. Well, grace had never been one of his strong points. He got to his feet as quickly as he could and dusted himself off to cover his embarrassment. He needn't have bothered. Leon wasn't even looking in his direction. He was too busy scouting the room.
Just as Leon had assumed from the vent, they were in a lab. There were cupboards along the wall with the biohazard symbol emblazoned on them. There was a huge water tank which took up most of the middle of the room and above them, a long gantry that offered a view of the depths of the tank. Leon wondered if that was where the tentacle creature lived. He could easily imagine Umbrella scientists standing on that gantry with clipboards in hand, eagerly scribbling down notes. The monitoring station was to his right and close to the cupboards was an immaculately clean operating table. The desk behind it contained various papers and test tubes full of different coloured liquids. Leon shuddered to think what was contained in those tubes. Everything around him was white and pristine, the total opposite of the corridor and the store room. He glanced over at his partner. Chris looked sick to his stomach. Leon wondered if the older man had seen something similar before. He almost felt a pang for him.
"So this is some sort of research facility" He said aloud, strolling over to the desk to examine the test tubes. He wondered if it would be worth taking some back to the office for Dennis' lab boys to examine. Chris, strangely silent, nodded and chose to check out the huge water tank. The water inside looked green and murky. Leon watched as Chris tapped the glass but nothing seemed to stir from the depths.
Suddenly, Leon heard a click from behind him. It sounded awfully close. Too close to be anything good. He turned around and a large fist collided with his face, instantly splitting his lip. As he reeled from the blow, a thick, muscular arm wrapped around his neck and pulled him close. He let out a strangled cry of surprise.
Chris, who had heard the punch, wheeled around quickly. He felt bile rise in his throat at the sight of a large, burly man gripping Leon tightly. The man was holding the serrated blade of a large combat knife to his partner's throat. Leon's grey eyes were wide with shock.
"Drop the gun" The man ordered. He tightened his grip and pressed the blade into Leon's throat. A thin line of red appeared on his pale flesh. The man's cruel looking face twisted into an ugly sneer. A thick scar ran down from his forehead, over his eye and ending at his cheek. His eyes were cold and full of hate and reminded Chris of Wesker. The man even had similar hair, blonde and slicked back but whereas Wesker was lithe and athletic, this guy looked like he bench pressed elephants in his spare time.
"Who the fuck are you"? Chris demanded. He'd dropped down into the lab with his gun drawn. It hung limply in his right hand. He didn't want to risk aiming it.
"Tell him Kennedy" The man said, his eyes never leaving Chris'. He gave Leon's neck another hard squeeze.
"Krauser" Leon choked out. Krauser smirked smugly. Small beads of blood were gathering along the faint line he'd cut into Leon's neck. Chris glared at the man. So this was Jack Krauser. This was the man who'd made Leon's life hell.
"They told you I died in a helicopter crash didn't they"? Krauser whispered teasingly into Leon's ear.
"They didn't tell me anything" Leon's voice was strained. "I didn't ask. After I left that camp I never wanted to even hear your name again"
"Ha" Krauser exclaimed, but didn't sound amused. "I told you to drop that weapon" He turned his attentions to Chris, nodding to his right hand. "Oh and anything else you might be carrying. I saw you come in here from the entrance so don't think I don't know what you're both packing"
Reluctantly, Chris dropped the magnum on the floor. He followed it with the shotgun he'd slung across his back and the grenades hanging from his belt. Finally, he pulled the combat knife out from its hidden sheath. The whole time, his eyes never left Leon's. Whether Leon was trying to silently communicate with him, Chris didn't know but there was no way he was going to put the younger man's life at risk. He hadn't ever lost a partner and he wasn't about to start now.
"Now it's your turn Kennedy" Krauser crooned in Leon's ear. "Drop what you're holding. Any of those fancy little moves of yours and I'll slit your throat"
Chris watched helplessly as Leon dropped his own weapons. When he was done, Krauser kicked them aside and, keeping a tight hold on him, walked Leon forward. When he'd almost reached Chris, he let Leon go, shoving him hard into the older man. As fast as lightning, Krauser withdrew his own magnum and pointed it at the pair as he collected their weapons in a neat pile.
"Now move" He ordered, nodding towards a heavy metal door in the corner of the lab. When they reached it, Krauser pressed a button near the door frame and the door slid open, revealing a pitch black room. "You first" He said, nodding to Chris. With great trepidation and, wishing he had something to hit the fucker with, Chris walked into the room. In the light from the lab, he saw Krauser lift his leg and plant his boot firmly in the small of Leon's back before kicking him into the room. Leon went sprawling, almost knocking Chris off his feet. He saw Krauser hit the button once more and the door slid closed, plunging them into darkness. Chris felt a very sharp elbow dig him hard in the ribs.
"You fucking idiot! You should've just shot him"! Leon spat. He couldn't see his partner's face in the darkness but he could easily imagine that it looked distinctly unimpressed.
"Oh I'm sorry" Chris replied sarcastically. The room seemed to be very small because he was certain Leon was standing so close to him by choice. "Shoot him! Why didn't I think of that? I mean, fuck it if that psycho bastard stabbed you"! He tried to step away from his partner and came into contact with a cold metal wall. "I understand if you wanna see him dead-"
"Of course you understand"! Leon replied acidly. "You read my fucking file! You know all about him and what he fucking did"! There was a metallic clang as Leon either kicked or punched one of the walls. "Fuck! Why don't you listen to me? Why don't you ever listen to me? I don't need a friend or a partner. I don't need you! Why did you have to read that file? Why couldn't you have just left it where it was? Why couldn't you've just waited patiently? Sat still and not touched anything? Why do you have to touch everything that isn't yours? Everything is Chris Fucking Redfield's property! You take what you want without giving a shit for the consequences"
Chris picked at a loose thread on his t-shirt feeling incredibly stupid. He should've known all along that Leon wouldn't take kindly to his file being read. He'd never heard his partner be so angry before. He used to sarcastic, he was used to acidic. It was a little unnerving to have Leon lose control like this.
"I'm sorry" Chris muttered into the darkness.
"Just leave me alone" Leon replied. "I need to find a way out of here" He was silently cursing himself for not equipping himself with his usual hip light. He figured it wouldn't be needed. He walked around the tiny room, feeling along the walls with his hands outstretched. From touch alone, he worked out that the room was probably no more than six or seven feet squared. The walls felt like they were made from the same metal as the ones in the first corridor and the floor seemed to be solid concrete. There appeared to be nothing else in the room apart from the two of them. Leon imagined that the purpose of the room was some sort of holding cell designed to make its prisoner go mad. Without light or sound or anywhere to rest, Leon knew that it would very effective. It would be even more effective if the unfortunate person was thrown in with Chris Redfield.
Chris could hear his partner slowly moving around the edge of the room, muttering inaudible things to himself. Chris felt like he was going crazy. He slumped to the floor and leant against the wall. The uncomfortable silence was back and it was obvious that Leon had no intention of apologising for his tirade. Chris had no idea what to say to make things better again. Maybe there was nothing he could say. Maybe this would be the extent of their relationship until the mission was over. He'd been arguing with Jill once and she'd accused him of being emotionally retarded. She told him that by the time he worked out what people wanted from him, it was too late. He wondered if Leon really didn't want anything from him. It certainly seemed that way. Reading the younger man's file had been an education to say the least. Leon was still fairly young to have gone through so much and Chris imagined the return of Krauser wasn't going to help anything. He sighed deeply and stretched out on the floor, resting on his elbow. Leon hadn't yet found a way out so it looked like they were stuck until Krauser decided to return. Without warning, he felt the toe of a steel capped boot dig into his thigh and a warm body collapse over him coupled with the dull clang of a body making contact with the metal wall.
"You fucking dick" Leon moaned. "Why the hell would you lay down in a dark room"? He asked as Chris felt him roll away.
"Well most people lay down in darkened rooms to go to sleep" Chris answered, mimicking Leon's snotty tone.
"You're really annoying, you know that"? Leon spat.
"You may have told me that before, yes" Chris replied. "Are you alright? It sounded like you hit the wall..."
"Nothing my arm won't recover from" Leon answered. "Look" He sighed, resigned. "I can't find a way out of here"
Chris got to his feet and dusted his clothes on. He hoped that nothing infected had been dumped in this room before them. Then again, he hadn't picked anything up from his years of chasing Umbrella so he supposed he was pretty resistant.
"Is there another air vent cover"? He asked.
"Maybe" Leon replied. "The walls are high and I can't reach the corners" Leon suddenly felt his shoulder connected with Chris' hard chest. "What the hell are you doing you oaf"? He demanded as, without warning, Chris attempted to climb up his back.
"Getting a boost" Chris explained as if it was the simplest concept in the world to grasp and Leon was being particularly stupid. "Let's see if we can find anything now"
"Jesus" Leon moaned as he walked forward with great difficultly. "How much do you fucking weigh? A hundred kilos"?
"Ninety-eight actually" Chris replied with a goofy grin, even though he knew that Leon couldn't see it. "Didn't want you to do yourself an injury trying to climb up my impressive physique. You might bust your steri-strips or something. Anyway, I thought you wouldn't mind my awesome crotch poking you in the back"
"Oh yeah. With me being gay I'd totally relish it" Leon said sardonically as he moved to the first corner.
"Did you just make a joke"? Chris asked, sounding genuinely surprised. He hadn't expected Leon to react positively to that comment but he figured a good tongue lashing was a lot better than their previous awkward silence.
"Just hurry up and find something" Leon said quickly. Chris' massive bulk and testing the very limits of his bench pressing abilities.
"Awesome! An air vent"! Chris exclaimed as his hands came into contact with something that felt very much like an air vent grate. Further investigation confirmed that it was another grate. He started to pull it and it came away easily in his hands. He reached up and felt into the air vent. "Feels smaller than the other one. I don't think I'm gonna be able to fit in it"
"Get down then"! Leon replied. His shoulders were screaming in pain. He felt the weight suddenly shift off them as Chris slowly climbed down from his back. "How about you give me a boost this time? I'm pretty sure that's less likely to re-open my wound than supporting your hulking form"
"Sure" Chris dropped the air vent cover and it fell to the floor with a loud clang. He waited for Leon to tell him off but his partner remained silent. "So, how do you want to do this? Ass to face or crotch to face? The choice is all yours partner"
"I'll tell you exactly how I want to do it you vacuous oaf. I'll shove my foot up your hairy ass and launch you into that metal door. Your thick skull is bound to break it down with no problems" Leon answered smugly.
"My, aren't we defensive"? Chris said with a chuckle. "Are you sure you'll be able to cope without me? After all, I can protect you with, what was it again? My hulking form"? He asked as Leon's hands dug into his shoulders. He grunted as he felt Leon's weight rest on his back.
"Go fucking die" Leon replied as he hauled himself upwards into the air vent. He didn't sound as vitriolic as usual. It had been more like friendly banter. "Try not to get yourself killed before I can mount a rescue mission" He added. "If I choose to rescue you that is"
Chris opened his mouth to reply but, judging by the rapid shuffling he heard, Leon was already in the vent and out of earshot. All he could do now was sit back down and wait.
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Leon tried to ignore the burning in his side as he ran down the corridor as quietly as he could. He'd managed to find his way out of the air vent system easily enough but it had landed him in a corridor that he didn't recognise. It had the exact same metal walls and grill flooring of the original corridor but this one was lined with doors. The few that weren't locked tight were offices, probably for the researchers. There was no sign of any staff which Leon found immensely strange. Either the whole floor wasn't in use or the people who used to work in the offices had run away. If they had run away what was it that they'd run away from? If it had been some sort of viral spill like Raccoon then he would've expected to see bodies but, with every room that he searched, he found nothing. The corridor was eerily silent except for the sound of his boots pounding on the grills as he ran.
Logic told him that eventually, he would come across a set of stairs or a lift. He was pretty certain that the facility would be larger than just one floor as the vent he'd crawled through felt like it had been going uphill for quite some time. The problem with using the vent was that he had no idea how many floors he'd moved up. He felt disorientated. It didn't help that he was completely unarmed and that he knew that Krauser was somewhere within the facility. He felt his stomach clench. He knew Krauser. He knew how he worked. This had been his plan all along. He'd taken their weapons and thrown them in a room he knew full well they could escape from. Jack Krauser was, by nature, a hunter. He was vicious predator who enjoyed the thrill of the chase. He'd get off on having Leon wandering around unarmed. It would make hunting him down all the more fun. Leon felt sickened that that had been the man he'd respected so much. The disciplined solider who become a close friend and ally. The same disciplined solider who'd made his life hell. He leant against a wall to catch his breath. He needed to stop thinking about Krauser. He needed to focus and assess the situation. He may be unarmed with no map or GPS but he knew he was probably in a better situation than Chris was. He knew that he needed to get back to his partner and quickly. The terrible thought dawned on him that it was entirely possible that by the time he got back to him, Chris could be dead. After all, it wasn't Chris that Krauser wasn't to play with.
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Minutes after Leon had left him, Chris had exhausted the entertainment value of his surroundings pretty quickly. He'd moved his hands across the walls a couple of times, looking for something that his partner might have missed but knowing all along that he probably hadn't. He'd tried to jump up to the vent opening but failed. He'd found a penny in the pockets of his combats so he'd tried to play catch but it was almost impossible in the dark. All the while, he'd been whistling through Queen's greatest hits to keep himself sane. He never could stand silence. He was about to start his own interpretation of 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love' when light suddenly flooded into his prison, causing him to screw his eyes up in pain. The glare prevented him from opening his eyes for a few moments but eventually he found he could stand to open them again. After a couple of minutes he could finally see what had caused the sudden influx of light. There was a halogen light fixture embedded into the ceiling. Now it had been turned on he could see his surroundings clearly. The small room was exactly as he'd imagined, metal walls, concrete floor and the vent in the ceiling. To his surprise there was also a bank of monitors high up on the wall, out of his reach. They started to turn on one by one. He was being shown the other floors of the facility. He wondered who'd turned the monitors on and why until a horrible wave of realisation washed over him. He could see Leon running down a corridor on one of the screens. On another one of the screens he could see Krauser in an office, arming himself with a powerful magnum and some nasty looking serrated knives. Another screen showed three zombies shambling down a corridor. The screen at the end was partially obscured by a mass of writhing tentacles. Now he knew why the monitors had been turned on. He was being forced to witness a sadistic game of cat and mouse.
End of Chapter Two