Wow, it's been a month. . .maybe two. . .since I've updated. I'm sorry guys, I'll try to get these out a little quicker. No excuses. . . until finals come up. . . and when I have major projects. . . you know, college has a nice way of taking up all your time. Other than that, no excuses.


Chapter 1 : No Mercy

Headquarters had always been filled with a certain breed of tension, but today it seemed to thicken the air. The hallway were white, the tiles just as white as the walls, and the people just as bland as the décor. Everyone allowed to passed through the heavily guarded entrance of HQ was either BSAA, CDC, or a field agent and despite popular belief, agents weren't always fun-loving thrill-seekers. As a matter of fact, most of them were rather cold and closed-minded, and Helena was getting that a bitter chill from all the glares she was receiving.

First day back in the U.S., having just eliminated a huge threat to home-land security and the safety of other cultures, and she wasn't welcomed with opened arms. Only smug looks from the other agents that hung around aimlessly within the narrow hallways of the heart of HQ. At first, she acknowledged their stares, even reacted to their disgust with confusion written in her features wondering what they could possibly be disgusted about. Then she realized that even though the commission had relieved her of her crime, didn't mean that other agents approved of her freedom let alone her reinduction as a field agent.

Leon, whom was walking at a slightly faster pace than Helena, glanced over his shoulder to see her head bowed in attempt to mask her shame. There was no doubt in his mind that she was thinking long and hard about the last couple of months. After everything that had happened to her, he wouldn't expect that killing the man that ultimately caused the demise of her sister and other innocent people would ever ease the pain of that loss. The only difference now, was that she had so many people displaying their knowledge of her involvement and casting silent judgment in a way that she could clearly see. He slowed his pace to match hers, their arms practically grazing passed each other.

"Ignore them," he suggested in a low tone. Helena's eyes met his and it made sense why she was bowing her head. Her features were riddled with guilt, and there was even a faint glistening in her eyes. She shook her head and looked straight ahead trying to avoid his concerned look.

Leon had the urge to wrap his arm around her shoulders to comfort her, but reframed from doing so. Agents, especially former partners, didn't touch one another. That was twice as true for partners of different genders. There was code, a tight knit system between all of them. One did not get close to another agent, one did not comfort another agent, they were not friends, they were co-workers. Normally, Leon would disregard such a ridiculous "code", but he was already in enough trouble as it was. He didn't need rumors spread around about him having a relationship with the woman who ultimately caused the president's demise. And judging from their carefully watchful eyes, they were looking for excuses to rid of their personal pests from their sights. Like they deserved such pleasures.

Leon looked straight ahead as well, taking his own advice and ignoring prying eyes. " I know how you feel," he answered coldly.

" You managed to commit a mass killing among a university and kill the president and get away with it," She answered with a bitterness in her tone, like she couldn't believe that Leon could ever understand her pain. He had such a good heart, he would die before doing something like that. She knew that for sure.

A somber smile graced Leon's lips, something that didn't get passed Helena. His expression caused her to feel even worse about herself, she snapped at him when he was only trying to help. More regret filled in her heart. She watched him dreadfully as he noticeably went deep into his own thoughts, thinking back to when he was a rash young agent willing to do anything, reckless or not, to protect people with a cheeky comment always on his tongue. He wasn't sure if he missed that side of himself or not, he was a far more collected now. His maturity had definitely grown with time. Now, that he looked back on it, he hadn't been called to see his briefing officer as punishment since Spain.

Helena's apology was caught in her throat, and for some reason she couldn't find the words to explain how sorry she was for being so rude to him. At the same time, she wondered if he was even offended by her comment. She was even more confused when a genuine smile graced his features.

" A couple of years ago, I let a high profile assassin go free instead of bringing her in," he began. " I honestly didn't even try to catch her, and I could have I tried." He began, thinking back to Spain six years before now.

" You mean Ada, right?" Helena answered just as bitterly as before, and she wanted to kick herself for showing any animosity. Leon avoided looking at her, though he was slightly taken aback by her quick answer. Had he become that predictable? He sure as hell hoped not, because that would almost be a tragic getting old realization. He would definitely start missing his younger days if that were the case, he felt like one of the things he had going for him was the fact he was unpredictable by nature. Then again, Helena had spent the last couple of months with him. More time than anyone had in a long time. She watched him carefully, practically studied him as he had her. They had to in order to establish trust between them and make sure the others safety was promised as much as it could be in their line of work. But this past mission had brought out a lot of his demons that he had successfully suppressed up until recently. Because with age he was beginning to give up on hiding everything, he was getting tired of pretending. Helena just happened to be the person to have to witness it all.

" Yeah," he answered, mimicking Helena's tone which caused her features to soften. She was, after all, lashing out at him. Helena thought about the notorious Ada Wong. She's cold-blooded, the exact image of a femme fatale, no feelings, no care in the world, and one of the best mercenaries the world could offer. She wasn't a stranger to the rumors of the assassin. Their first run in with her fed into everything that Helena had ever heard, but the more and more they encountered her it was like everything she had ever heard were simply that. Well fabricated rumors. On several occasions Ada had come to rescue both agents from danger and perhaps even death. Of course it was all because Leon was involved. Had it been just Helena, she probably would have let her die rather she had the ability to help or not. But it didn't matter, her and her partner were alive because of that mysterious woman.

"Well, I'm glad you didn't try to arrest her then. We would have probably been dead otherwise," she paused there, a sting of jealousy in her words. How could someone just passing by be of more help to Leon than she could have been. Never mind the fact that everything he had to experience was due to her. I put him in so much danger for selfish reasons and now he's getting punished for following me without orders, she told herself as she bowed her head again feeling more guilt upon admitting that to herself. They wouldn't even be walking down this hallway receiving such threatening looks if it weren't for her.

"I'm sorry," Helena said softly under her breath, trying her damnedest not to cry. Everything she had done was flooding to her, and she couldn't help but feel hopeless. Upon hearing her whisper something, Leon looked at her taking a few moments to realize what exactly she said. Before Leon answered, they arrived at the door of his director's office and stopped in front of it. When she stopped beside him and sniffled as quietly as she could he turned to face her. He placed both of his hands on her shoulders, trying to comfort her with distanced contact.

" I'm not here because of anything you did. I could have declined. I have a mind of my own you know, " he teased trying to comfort her. Helena smiled at his comment wiping the tears that were beginning to surface. He smiled back at her, causing her smile to get even bigger as she chuckled lightly. She didn't know why that was working so well, but she honestly was glad it was. His light-hearted nature became contagious to her. He always had a comment for everything, and sometimes it was hard to believe that anyone could ever take him seriously when it came down to it. Yet, she couldn't see how anyone wouldn't follow him into a burning building, he was a rather inspiring person. " You're far too nice to me, " she finally answered as she sniffled more.

"I tend to be when it comes to people I'm fond of." Her heart sank at that comment, but luckily he didn't stick around long enough to see that in her facial expresion. That was the last thing Leon said before opening the door and entering the office, quietly shutting the door behind him and leaving Helena alone in the hallway. Her smile disappeared, suddenly aware of the animosity in the air from bystanders. Her discomfort was obvious, which was what the others were hoping for. It showed they could break her down easier and that was good news to them. Helena tried to take Leon's advice and ignore them physically, but mentally she was giving them all of her attention. Slowly, she walked to the wall on the other side of the hallway and leaned her back against it for support. Please hurry, Leon, she thought to herself as she downcasted her eyes towards the floor.

Leon took long confident strides in the unusually large office. The room was dimly lit, a couple of lamps scattered around the room illuminated a bit of the neat, undecorated walls. There were no windows which made the room feel more like a prison, but the woman who sat at her desk lit up by a small lamp was as cantankerous as any prison warden. As always the woman in her mid-fifties kept her graying blonde hair slicked back in a tightly wrapped bun, her skin as pale as ever and her brown eyes that peered over the black rim of her glasses were just as dull as the room.

She glanced up at Leon, whom had stopped a few feet in front of her desk. "You're late, Mr. Kennedy," her diminishing voice announced before she went back to looking at the files scattered along the surface of her desk.

"Have you ever known me to be on time to these meetings we can't seem to avoid?" The director shot a glare up at him, a sign that she wasn't in the mood for his comments. She never was, but she surely wasn't going to stand for them today.

"May I proceed without your interruptions?"

" You have my word, Mrs. Denali" he answered devilishly as if to flatter the woman into a better mood which never worked, but it was an old habit he had held onto since he became an agent. There meeting wouldn't be the same otherwise.

The director paused for a moment as she looked back down at the files and began to open them to reveal some of its contents. Within seconds Leon realized that it was his file upon seeing a couple of pictures of him that he had first taken to be put on his badge. Granted seeing that picture was odd since he hadn't seen it for a while. He never carried a badge, because unfortunately yelling "I'm field agent Kennedy and I order you to stop" does nothing when you're being chased by zombies. What was even stranger is that he hadn't seen that file brought out since Spain. An indication that she was going to bring up old wounds. Here we go, he thought with a roll of his eyes.

The woman clasped her hands to together and gently placed them on top of all of the files. "Where should I begin?" she asked, not expecting him to answer which Leon caught onto. She shook her head in disappointment as she tried to organize her words in her head.

" You followed a possible terrorist without permission from the agency, you faked your death and went on a top secret mission without permission. You avoided arrest for six months, falsely accused or not that's still a crime. Worst of all, you put yourself in direct line of danger." He scoffed at that last part. When wasn't he in the direct line of danger, that was in fine print of the job description. He didn't voice that though, knowing that the fact that he interrupted with merely a sound had already ticked her off.

" I find it hard to believe that you find this funny, Mr. Kennedy." He grinned defiantly and took a couple of steps closer to the desk, leaning forward an firmly placing both hands on the edge. The director glared at him evilly, silently warning him to back away. Yet, he ignored it.

"That so called mass murder, is actually an agent now, because in the time we spent avoiding arrest we cleared our names and eliminated the real threat before he had time to destroy the rest of the world," he combated calmly. The director bowed her head, gaining her composure. While also realizing her defeat in the argument.

" I know, which is why the commission let Ms. Harper go free and become an agent in the first place. But we're not talking about what the commission thinks. We're not really even talking about Ms. Harper." The director glanced down at the files, inhaling deeply to calm herself down. Within that brief moment her eyes grew softer as they looked back up at Leon. There was actually a bit of nurture in her eyes, like she was dreading something for someone she actually cared about. That alone made Leon stand up straight and cross his arms over his chest.

"The agency doesn't know if they can trust you anymore, Mr. Kennedy."

Leon's brows furrowed as he absorbed her statement. He honestly never felt like he had their trust, not really. Of course, like well-trained businessmen they were they wore fabricated grins and killed you with kindness just enough to get you to do the dirty work. Their distrust had never stopped them from sending him into dangerous missions, sometimes with little to no help. The only reason that hearing it was so shocking was because, one it was said out loud and to his face. The second reason being, he always had Adam defending him, because he knew that Leon was one of the best. If he would have heard the same thing before the president's death, it wouldn't have been threatening at all. But now he had nothing to stand on.

Before Leon could open his mouth to defend himself further, or quarrel with the woman if he had to, the director raised her hand to silence him. Strangely, Leon complied.

"It's not what you did, it's what you didn't do," she beat him to the argument, ending it without question. With his silence, Mrs. Denali opened another file, it was considerably older and obviously looked over many times. The corners were slightly bent and the cease on the spine looked over used. The woman looked over the rim of her glasses at the papers. There was a lot of red ink on the pages, more than usual, which indicated that someone in the agency had gotten a hold of it. There were even lines crossed out in black ink over the original text. She looked up at Leon condescendingly, as if judging him based off of the red ink and everything about her went back to normal and all the sudden she was a bitter old woman again.

"First it was Spain and now this," she said closing the folder and tossing it to the side of her desk.

"I did my job in Spain. I saved Ashley Graham, I got her back with minimal injuries."

"Yes, but you hid the fact that you had contact with Ada Wong, which we had to find out from Ms. Graham, herself."

Upon hearing that name, Leon grew silent as like a child that knew he had done something wrong.

Mrs. Denali took his silence as a sign of guilt, something she wasn't a stranger to with Leon. She had seen that same look on his face for other reasons, even though those reasons were never really Leon's fault. That's what made all of this hard on her. She was aware he was a good man, even though she wouldn't know that from her experience with him.

" You didn't try to arrest her," she began.

"I had more important things to do," he lied.

"What about this time?"

He was silent again, and with that silence the woman took the chance to open up a fresh file. It had to be from the recent mission and again it was covered in red ink.

"The agency finds it odd that wherever you are, she is and she's always there to help you, isn't she?" the woman questioned as she threw more recent photos of Ada messily across her desk.

"Coincidence," he rebutted.

"That's what the agency believed for a while but they're starting to erase that from their considerations."

Leon's eyes went straight to the photos as he analyzed them carefully. Sure enough, they were taken in the last mission in China. How they finally got these photos of her was unknown, they never have had photos as clear as these before. He wasn't sure if they just got lucky with these or if Ada was being less cautious, and he hoped to god it was just luck.

"You have to understand that the President isn't around to protect you anymore. You're running out of important allies to defend your innocence." Leon looked back up at the director with distant eyes as if he was no longer in the room. He was deep in his own thoughts now, thinking about Adam and even more about Ada. Mrs. Denali took his silence as a sign of defeat, there was nothing to argue about anymore and they both were aware of that.

"With that said, after this meeting you must leave HQ, you're trial is on November the 22nd and that's when they will decide if-"

"Wait, you're suspending me?" Leon growled, not wasting time in coming back to the current situation.

The director looked over the rim of her glasses with less patience. "Don't think of it as a suspension, more like a break."

" And while I'm taking a break more bio terrorist attacks are popping up globally and people are dying," Leon argued, his eyes now alert and filled with rage.

"It's not up for negotiation Mr. Kennedy, don't worry we have other agents here to take your place for a while."

A look of defeat graced Leon's features, though he stood with confidence.

"You're dismissed."


" Leon, can you please tell me what happened?" Helena pleaded as she trailed behind the agent, her face riddled with bewilderment.

They had managed to make it all the way to Leon's car without him saying a word about the situation. Of course, Helena followed after him, making up for all the words he didn't say by continuously pestering him to tell her what happened. Yet annoyance wasn't going to make him talk about it. Partly out of sheer anger and not wanting to speak to anyone, and partly because he didn't want to admit that he had finally been tried by the agency board. He never thought it would ever come to this, as arrogant as that made him sound. Arrogance he was well aware he had acquired and now regretted ever giving into.

He quickly opened the door " Get in," was the first thing he had said to her in the last ten minutes and she did as told. Once in the car she sat with patience, staring at Leon expectantly. His eyes did not meet hers. He simply placed the key in the ignition and started the luxury dodge charger and let the engine purr as it came on. He didn't waste time throwing the car into reverse, backing from the parking space, and taking off down the isle. It happened so quickly, it forced Helena to slam against her seat hard enough to make her close her eyes to the impact to the back of her head. With a groan she opened her eyes and looked at Leon, now more irritated by his behavior. " Leon," she said in a tone that demanded his attention.

He didn't answer, which pissed her off more. She had the urge to hit him, but felt like that would only force him into further silence. This was a strange way for him to act, she had never seen him act this way. It concerned her just as much as it angered her. Though she was aware that he could be stubborn sometimes, and with that acknowledgment of that damn trait of his she laid back in her seat with arms crossed over her chest.

Leon glanced over at her once they had made it out of the gated parking lot, realizing that now he was being the one to take his anger out on her. He inhaled deeply as if gaining a little more of himself. It was hard to not be upset about this. Being an agent was all he knew. All he had ever been, other than a cop and that was only for a day. Even then he was basically volunteered to be an agent, and had been ever since. He had every right to be upset. There was more experience in his toes then there were in the entire board. They knew that. There was something wrong about all of this, and it made Leon think there was more to all of this. He found it strange that they accepted Helena, but denied him. Then again his instinct told him is was less about him and Helena, and more about him and Ada. Then again, he still felt like that was wrong. He just couldn't put his finger on it. But that gave him no right to be upset with Helena, after all he did ensure her before all of this that it wasn't her fault. He hoped that he hadn't made her think he was lying about that.

" I'll tell you later," he assured her. His soft eyes met Helena's and he instantly felt her frustration rolling off her in waves. There was a long pause of silence as the shared eye contact that was occasionally interrupted by Leon's need to glance over at the road ahead of them.

"When later?" she asked, her demeanor giving up slightly.

" After we go to the BSAA base outside of town," he answered, which didn't help his case in making her feel better. He didn't tell her that they were heading that way. Again, the frustration returned. It didn't really matter, she had no where else to go that day. It was the principle of the matter, what if she did? Then again, this was probably a small amount of revenge for what she dragged him into. She shook the thought from her head and stared at him in disbelief. " Wait, I thought no one was allowed to set foot on the base until Jake Muller was secured."

"That's true, but Chris requested by presence in place of his. They sent him back to Europe last week," he explained. Helena shook her head.

"But I thought he had received the job the government's gratitude for aiding us."

Leon chuckled at how naïve she made herself sound. "Gratitude is slapping a metal on your chest and sending you off into battle again," he explained. " Giving Chris this position was just an idea, and one they quickly took away from him."

" But he's the best BSAA soldier we have on this side of the country."

"I agree, which is probably why he was sent to Europe with a gun he was actually allowed to shoot." Leon turned the corner, accelerating the car and taking off down the off ramp to the main highway. "Either way, Chris asked me to be there, because if anything goes wrong with Jake he felt like I could handle it."

" There's about twenty BSAA agents watching him, what could you possibly protect him from that they can't?" she argued. Leon glanced over at her again. " I'm not protecting him from anything. I'm protecting them from him," he answered simply and all at once Helena understood what their presence was for. That young man was unpredictable after all.


Not a terribly exciting chapter, I'll have to admit. Then again it was necessary for story set up. Thanks to everyone who read my prologue and took the time to give me some feedback, it helped a lot. And yes kunfupandalover, you read my mind. I was going to have some SherryXJake in this story. Sherry will be a major part of Leon's life at this point so it's only fair.

Hopefully next chapter will be more exciting. . .and published quicker. Again, I'm sorry. Next chapter I'm introducing more characters and hopefully getting more action.

Also if anyone feels like I'm not setting up the characters right, please say so. I've been working on character development and interaction, plus there's nothing worse than getting one of your favorite character's personalities completely wrong. Any kind of criticism will help.