Special thanks to AdaLeon, Agent Ada Kennedy, Ada Wong-x-Leon Kennedy, Super Sandra, Chaed, SeeYouAround, Ada Adore, Lord of the Trees, …Wow and HeroOfDarkness2005. Your comments have meant a lot to me and are really the only reason I keep this story going. And I thank everyone who has clicked on this story and read it thus far.

Author's note: Sorry for the delay. I've been busy, working, schooling, partying. Mostly partying…………ok, that was a lie. The main thing is that this chapter is up. You guys finally get a good scene with you know who. I hope you enjoy it. You moochers.

III

"Oh yeah, he's dead"

People are so ignorant. If only they knew what they were doing they would be able to see what was really happening around them. Most importantly, a person is only dead when they've lost a pulse and the will to live. The crowd hadn't checked for either of those things. Leon had both of them.

His eyes fluttered open and all he saw were feet and legs around him. Like a sea of blue denim and shoes. It was all that he was able to make out. Leon registered that he was lying down on the pavement and wondered what had happened to him. He tasted blood in his mouth, felt the grit of the road against his skin and was sore in just about every place on his body. His hearing was completely shot to hell. Just a small ringing sensation and the dull sound of his own heart beat were the only sounds that made their way to his brain.

"What the shit?" he wondered.

Then, slowly, pieces of what had transpired came to him.

Ada, street, traffic, car, pain, air, broken glass, pain, metal, air, pavement, pain.

Leon finally realized where he was and what had happened to him in order for himself to be at the point he was.

"Okay, I was hit by a car and I'm most likely forty different types of fucked up right now. But that doesn't matter. I'm okay, I can work through this. I have to. Ada's out there. So,get off your ass and go to her Kennedy. Don't just lay there like a bitch"

Leon started to stir and the crowd backed off slightly as he pushed himself off the pavement with one arm, gritting his teeth as he did so. It was strange. Normally getting hit by a car hurt a hell of a lot more. That was when he noticed that his other arm was cocked at a weird angle at his shoulder. It didn't hurt at all, but Leon knew that it wasn't supposed to do that. Slowly his hearing started to come back and he could make out a choir of voices all around him as people spoke amongst themselves, voicing their concerns for him. Sitting up right on the pavement, he touched his hand to his temple and hissed in pain, trying to shake off his injuries. There was a dull pain in his head and when he took his hand away he saw a small amount of blood on it. Leon used the rest of his forearm to wipe away the rest. A man came up to him and knelt down to assess his injuries. Leon looked at him with a mixed expression of confusion, pain and disorientation. That's when he looked past the man and at the vehicle that was behind them both.

The hood of the Explorer looked like something heavy was dropped on it. A considerable dent pushed it down towards the engine it covered. The windshield was completely totaled. It cracked and spider-webbed across the entire pane, creating a familiar effect. It was rather large, like a cinderblock had been tossed at it for the desired effect. Had he really caused that much damage to the car just by colliding with the glass?

The man looked at Leon and, without touching him, tried to see how bad he was banged up. The whole situation was new to him. He had never been struck by a vehicle before. And Leon didn't particularly care either. Nothing felt broken and aside from the bloody forehead, his arm and disorientation, he felt alright for the most part. All he cared about was getting his bearings and going after Ada. But first he had to get some answers as well as get the crowd off his back. He turned to the man crouched down next to him. Even though he could still hear and see everyone, the crowd seemed to disappear leaving just the two of them.

"How long was I out?" Leon asked the guy.

"What?" the man asked him, a little confused by the question.

"HOW LONG WAS I OUT!" he asked again, this time yelling and shaking his good arm.

Leon didn't have time to play games. He had to get back on his feet and find Ada, no matter how messed up he was.

"Uh…like thirty seconds. Why should that matter?" the man asked, bewildered.

Thirty seconds. He had been unconscious for half a goddamn minute. That would have given Ada more than enough time to disappear into the crowd. That was if she wasn't still here, watching the whole debacle unfold. Leon started to get up to his feet and the man tried to keep him down, not wanting him to complicate his condition any more.

"No, no man, you need an ambulance" he said, putting a hand gently on Leon's chest as to make him stay put but to not advance any injury that he might have.

"It's okay, I'm fine" Leon said as he got to his feet again and roughly shrugged off the man with his good arm.

"No you're not. Not even close" the man argued. "Look at you" he said pointing to Leon's arm.

His curiosity peaked, Leon looked past the man and crowd toward the smashed Explorer. Then he put two and two together and figured that the only reason that this guy was bothering him was because he was the driver that had hit him. The man obviously didn't want Leon suing him and he had no intention of doing that. He was walking, breathing and had no broken bones or internal bleeding. In other words, Leon was just as well off as when he left the hospital. He had to find Ada and there was no way this guy was going to stop him. Leon then looked at his left arm and saw how bent out of shape it was. The driver continued to talk to him.

"You're shoulder's dislo…"

There was a loud "CLOCK" sound of bone popping and crunching. A few of the crowd members gasped amongst themselves.

"…cated" the man finished as he, dumbfounded, witnessed Leon nonchalantly relocate his shoulder back into the socket that it had come out of.

Perplexed, Leon moved his arm around. There was no pain. None whatsoever. That was what tipped him off that something was out of place with him. He remembered dislocating his arm once as a kid. And it had hurt like hell when it had been relocated. Thinking nothing of it he shrugged it off and turned his attention back to the motorist, moving his arm around in a show-offy, condescending manner.

"See? Good as new. Now let me go" Leon said as he begrudgingly moved past the man and started to move through the crowd. The people reluctantly parted as he moved through, not even caring that he was leaving the scene of an accident.

"No man, you need a doctor. We need to get you to a hospital" the guy said, holding out a hand to stop him, while trotting after him.

"I just spent two days in a hospital and I'm not going back there" Leon called over the back of his shoulder, not even bothering to turn and face the man.

Leon kept walking, leaving the people to stare at the accident site. For some odd reason, only the motorist was following him. The man was showing general concern for Leon. Either that or he didn't want any legal repercussions from the accident.

"Dude, I don't know if you understand how serious this is. I hit you with my car"

"Yeah, I'm lucky like that" Leon sarcastically told the guy.

The man was a little taken aback by this statement but kept on pestering Leon.

"Seriously. You need to sit down and wait for an ambulance" the guy pleaded with him.

"Look" Leon said, turning around and pointing his hand at the man. "I'm not going to sue you. I'm fine. Just leave me alone." he finished, getting more and more irritated. He started to walk away from the motorist again.

Truth was, was that Leon was fine. Aside from a little blood on his head and a lot of soreness in his body, he was walking fine and sitting pretty. That was until the guy kept bugging him. The man grabbed Leon by both of his shoulders in order to halt him. Leon's anger rose. This jackass was not going to stop him from finding Ada.

The man tried to make him understand, "You gotta stop and…"

That was it. No more distractions. No more waiting. He had a mission to do and he'd be damned if he was going to let a little thing like getting hit by a car stop him. Leon went strait for the knife he had on him and yanked it out of its sheath. At the sight of the weapon, a few people scattered, others screamed and a few stood their ground in stunned silence.

"GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME!" Leon yelled as he brandished the weapon.

The man did as he was told and backed away, arms up in a surrender position.

"Okay dude, just be cool" the guys said, scared shitless.

Leon looked around him at all the scared and startled faces that lined the streets. Coming to his senses, he put the knife back in its sheath.

"Sorry" he grunted and took off through the streets, not even to bother to look back at the scene of the accident. No one stopped him.

III

After hours of fruitless searching, Leon decided to call it quits and go home. This didn't sit well with him as had never quit anything in his life. But who was he kidding? Trying to find one person in a city of hundreds of thousands by himself was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. He eventually stopped searching for Ada and headed home, making sure to stop at a grocery store to stock up on food first. As he walked, he noticed that the sun was starting to set on the horizon and it made him move faster in order to get home before it got dark. This was made difficult by the two very large brown paper bags he was carrying in both arms.

It was in the early evening by the time he reached the apartment complex. After juggling his keys and the groceries, he was able to unlock the front door and eventually make his way upstairs to his floor. Leon opened the door to his apartment to find it just the way he had left it. The same boring pad with the same boring shades drawn. After putting his groceries, jacket and knife away, Leon went upstairs and made his way to the shower. He removed his day old clothes and threw them in a pile by the bed.

Leon stayed under the hot water for a long time, letting it take him into a trance. He felt that if he stayed under the stream long enough it would wash away all his pain, sorrow, and memories. But it never happened. All the hot water did was make him warm, comfortable and slightly pruned. He let his mind wander to the vehicle accident and Ada, but it just made him exhausted. He bowed his head and watched as rivers poured off of his body, pooling to the floor of the shower.

Leon turned off the water, stepped out of the shower and shook the excess water from his hair before toweling himself off. A light mist of steam rose as the warm air of the shower mixed with the cold air of the rest of the bathroom. The effect was something that Leon was all too familiar with. Kind of like a fire rising from his skin. He took a towel and wrapped it tightly around his waist, regardless of the fact that he was alone in his apartment. The act was a force of habit more than anything else. He walked up and wiped his hand across the bathroom mirror to clear away the steam that had clung to it. Leon then leaned on the sink while he caught his breath.

His own reflection stared back at him as he turned around and used his arm to grab at the opposite shoulder, so he could get a better look at the stitches along his back. Looking into the mirror he could see the black lines that brought his flesh together. He noted at how clean the wound looked but was a perplexed to see that it didn't look raw or read. It was almost like a light-ish pink color.

"Man, I must be feeling better" he thought as he lightly touched the wound. "This thing's already starting to heal"

Leon gave a small snort of laughter and moved into his bedroom to change into some nightwear. After rummaging around in his dresser drawers he came across a pair of shorts and a beat up old t-shirt. He had just pulled everything on and was about to head out of his room and to the kitchen when the lights went out. The entire bedroom was plunged into darkness as Leon waited for his eyes to adjust.

"Shit" Leon said in annoyance, "Power's out"

He had paid the utility bill before he left for Spain, and he wasn't running any sort of equipment save for a few lights. There was nothing that he was doing or had done that would have tripped a breaker. Moving to the window, he thought that maybe a transformer had blew somewhere along the street. But as he looked out at the city below, he could still see street lights on as well as lights in people's homes across the street. The entire grid was still intact.

"Is it just in this building then?" he thought as he listened for the sounds of his neighbors rummaging around and yelling in frustration.

There was nothing. So that meant the power failure was either only in his apartment or that it was throughout the building, spread in places he couldn't hear or see.

A sound, this time closer and somewhere below him, made him jump. Leon's survival instincts kicked in as the noise registered to him. It sounded as if something was moving downstairs. Almost like…

"Someone's in the apartment" he thought as he went to his nightstand to retrieve the Beretta 92 that he kept in there.

Ever since Raccoon, Leon had developed a nasty habit of hiding things within his dwelling. The 9mm Beretta 92 was one of three guns he kept in the loft. There was also his standard issue USP that he kept in the closet downstairs as well as a Glock 17 that he had cleverly hidden in a self-installed secret compartment of his coffee table. While he had to admit that leaving the ammo and weapons together in the same spots was dangerous, he didn't particularly want to fashion extra hiding spots should the need arise to defend himself quickly.

There was just one small problem. As he opened the drawer he saw that the weapon was missing. Not hidden underneath anything, because all he kept in the drawer was the gun. It was gone. Adrenaline surged through his body as the pieces to the puzzle started to come together.

"There's someone in my apartment. They've gone through my things, found my gun and are going to kill me in the dark" he mused as everything became so clear to him.

"Well, I've had worse days" he said calmly and quietly to himself as he slowly moved to his closet. "The least they could have done was knock"

The only other weapon he had was his knife, and that was in the same closet as his USP. So there was only one thing left that he could count on. As quietly as he could, Leon opened the door, reached in and removed the closest thing to a weapon he had present to him. An aluminum base ball bat. Simple, yet oh so practical. Now all he would have to do is move downstairs without being noticed and get the drop on whoever was slinking about. Easy.

III

For as long as he had been living in the apartment, Leon had gotten to know the place fairly well. He knew where everything was that would make a sound underfoot. All the creeks and moans of wood and floorboards. Anything that would stress underfoot. It was this that he tried to avoid as he slowly made his way out of his bed room and near the stairs that led down. Leon kept low to the floor as he walked, almost like a predator stalking prey. He wasn't scared, at least that's what he told himself. It was more like he had a higher sense of things as he trained himself to hear, see and feel for anything that was out of place.

As he neared the stairwell that led down, he gripped the bat tighter in his hands and looked at the metal stairs. He knew if he went down them that it would make too much noise and alert whoever was downstairs. Before advancing, Leon looked out over the banister and down into his loft. He traced the whole area with his eyes, like a sentry, looking for anything out of the ordinary. There was nothing at first, no sounds of anyone moving about. Just the distant sounds of cars passing in the distance. He noticed that moonlight had pierced the loft and settled on the floor of the living room. It cut a path across living room and entertainment center. It finally stopped near the base of the couch and coffee table and Leon focused his eyes on what was also there.

"Oh shit" he said inside his mind as his eyes made contact with the coffee table.

All three of his weapons as well as his knife were laid out on top of the small piece of furniture like they were going to be traded off at some swap meet. It was inconceivable. Someone had been in his home long enough to go through everything and remove the means he had of defending himself. And as he continued to look at the scene in front of him, he saw that the person most likely responsible was sitting on his couch with their back to him. The moonlight poured into the living area and fell onto their back, illuminating the back of their head and black hair. It was almost as if the person was waiting for him.

Leon took a few moments to let his mind process everything before he made his next move.

"Okay Kennedy, whoever broke in here is obviously a pro and knows you. That coffee table spot was full proof. They don't want to kill you" he stopped and thought about that point for several seconds, "Well at least not yet. So, what you're going to do is go downstairs and see what this person wants. And then you're going to take the bat in your hands and play t-ball with their head"

The only problem was that he had to figure out how to do that without getting shot at. A baseball bat was a far cry from a loaded firearm. And the person downstairs had three of those. If he took the stairs it would make too much noise and the intruder would be on him within seconds. He had to do this fast and quiet. The living room was about seventeen feet down. Nothing too difficult. After all the jumps and falls he had taken in Spain he knew he could make it.

Throwing caution to the wind, Leon leaped over the side of the banister and landed as softly as he could on the hardwood floor below in a crouch. The pads of his feet made audible "smack" sounds as they connected with the floor. As soon as he stood up a voice called out to him.

"I was wondering when you'd make your way downstairs" called out a sensual and familiar voice.

The person stood up and was instantly bathed in moonlight. She wore a tight fitting black, sleeveless button shirt and a pair of black slacks. But the view was something else. It was almost like he was looking like a ghost. The tall woman's pale, rosy skin was accentuated by the even paler white light that shown into the living room. Her raven black hair shown brightly in the moonlight, falling over her face in various locks. She smiled coyly as Leon lowered the bat, but kept a tight grip on the handle. Ada stood her ground and leaned against the couch with one hand.

"But you could have used the stairs you know?" she said, running her free hand through her hair.

The good news was that she wasn't pointing a gun at him. The bad news was that she had broken into his home, had probably gone through all his things in order to find his weapons, cut the power and to top it all off he had no idea what she wanted from him. It obviously wasn't to stop by and say hello.

"What are you doing here Ada?" he asked, eyeing her suspiciously.

Even Leon couldn't lie to himself. He was thrilled to see her. Had wanted to be with her for so long. But he wanted it to be under different circumstances. After everything he'd been through in the past week or so, he had had enough of surprises and shit fly his way. And when it came to Ada, he had no idea of what her motives were until it was too late.

"This is a nice place" she said walking closer towards him, her hips swaying from side to side as she shifted her gaze around the living room. "How come you've never invited me over for a drink?" she smiled, crossing her arms. "I hope you don't mind about the guns. I'm just being careful is all"

"You didn't answer my question Ada" Leon said as he lightly twirled the bat in his hands, ready to defend himself if necessary. "How long have you been watching me or going through my things or waiting for me?" he continued to inquire as he shifted from one leg to the other.

All she did was smile at him, making him angry.

"I'm serious Ada. I want some answers" he growled.

"People in Hell want ice water Leon. That doesn't mean their going to get it" she mused, flipping her bangs out of her eyes.

"Fine" he said as he dropped the bat and went to her. The aluminum clattered to the floor.

In three steps, Leon grabbed her roughly by her arm and started to lead her toward the front door. As much as he loved and cared about her. As much as he dreamed that this moment would be a reality, he wasn't in the mood to play games with her this time around. And he didn't care if she kicked his ass right here, right now.

"What are you doing?" she asked, stunned at his actions

"You want to crash here? That's just aces with me. But if you don't want to play by my rules and answer me then you can shack up at a motel. Quid pro quo, Ada" Leon replied, not taking his eyes off the door.

As he walked her to the door he flipped open the fuse box on the wall and switched the circuit breaker back on. The room was instantly flooded with light. He half mumbled "I don't have time for this shit" as he did so. She started to struggle to break herself from his grip.

"Leon! He's going to kill me!" she pleaded, giving her arm a slight jerk.

That made him stop in his tracks and loosen the grip on her arm. His heart turned to ice as the words rang through his head. It was the first time he had ever heard fear in her voice. The thought of her in mortal danger overwrote any sort of grudge that he felt towards her. His caring nature and love for her took over instead. There was only one "He" that she could be referring to. Leon let her go and she rubbed her arm lightly.

"What did you do Ada?" he asked as he sat down on a stool in the kitchen to collect himself, holding his head with one hand. "What did you do to piss off Wesker?"

"The Plagas sample" she answered.

"The one you took from me at gunpoint?" he asked. "I thought you were gonna put a nice red bow on it and hand deliver it to that snake"

"That's just it" she told him, crouching down so that she was eye level with him and touching him lightly on the shoulder. "I didn't give it to him"

Leon's head snapped up in astonishment. "What?"

"I sent Wesker a fake sample. I held onto the original. I have my own agenda for it"

Same old Ada, always with the ulterior motives. Leon saw right through her.

"And let me guess, these plans include me don't they?" Leon asked, tilting his head back and staring off into space. "That's the only reason you're here right? Or am I wrong?" he sat back on the stool. "Please, tell me I'm wrong and I'll apologize right now"

"I…can…it's late" she stammered, avoiding the subject and biting her lower lip. "Could we please discuss this in the morning. Please?" she asked worriedly, standing up.

Leon looked at her long and hard. She wasn't going anywhere. She needed him, after all. There would be time to talk later. He just wished that that time was now. However, he couldn't have everything he wanted.

"Fine, but we are going to play a hell of a round of twenty questions tomorrow. I mean it. Everything" he said, jabbing a finger at her.

Leon left Ada standing near the kitchen and went to the coffee table to collect his guns.

"Great, now I'm going to have to find a new goddamn hiding place" he thought as he looked down at the weapons, before stuffing one into his pants, near the small of his back. The metal was chilly against his skin.

He moved past Ada and was just about to make his way back upstairs when he turned to her.

"You can have the spare room on this level. It has its own bathroom in it and everything. You probably already know where it is" he said in a condescending way. Leon was just about to go upstairs when he turned back again and added "Oh, and the shower, uh, hot is cold and cold is hot" he added with a flip flop of his hand. "There are fresh towels in the cabinet underneath the sink"

"Why can't I spend the night in your room?" she asked seductively.

She was working his nerves. But in a good way. Leon almost wanted to smile at the quip. However, he still wasn't in the mood to play games with her. He turned and walked back upstairs.

"Good night, Ada" he said to her with a slight hint of coldness as he finished walking upstairs.

Ada was left on the lower level, smiling slightly. She enjoyed messing with him. It had become one of her favorite past times when she wasn't focused on business. Hopefully, when the time for business came, he would do what was needed. Ada then retired to the guest bedroom for the night and shut the door, hoping she dreamed sweet dreams of a man who was right above her.

Sometime in the middle of the night, Ada was awoken, startled by the sound of someone's muffled voice. She couldn't be sure, but it was close and sounded like someone was screaming for her.