Chapter 4: Its Complicated

Chris checked his tie for the third time in the rearview mirror, feeling anxious and paranoid. "I knew I should have just come casually." He muttered to himself. The suit he was wearing was little and restricting, but the shop he went to only had suits for men a size smaller than him. He looked out the window of his truck across the street to the house with the address he was looking for. The house was a peachy-tan color that gave the house a warm feeling. Flowers went up along the side of the pathway and along the foot of the house, giving it more color. Steps lead up to a white porch with a swinging chair at one end and a table with two small chairs at the other. The driveway was occupied by a Harley motorcycle and a jeep that looked recently cleaned.

It was Piers' house.

Ever since his death, Chris was suppose to honor him by paying respects to his family, and give them a speech of Piers' good deeds. However Chris couldn't bring himself to do it, he just felt that the only way to honor him was unloading bullets into the creature that killed him. Researchers at BSAA had discovered a few files from China incident, the creature Piers and himself had fought was identified as Haos.

But it had been nearly a year since Piers' death, so he knew the family would be offended by the amount of time it took for someone to represent Piers to come and pay their respects.

Groaning in frustration, Chris yanked off the tie and took off his jacket, deciding to go only with the shirt and pants; they were restricting enough. He threw the tie and the jacket in the passenger seat, throwing his door open and jumping out. When he shut the door, he turned in the direction of the house, took a deep breath, and began to walk across the street. This is something I have to do, he told himself over and over. He owed it to Piers, he owed this much to the man who saved his life.

Chris stepped onto the sidewalk and slowed his pace when he came to the same pathway leading up to the house. The flowers were a variety of colors, all in different sizes, hues, and kinds. Nailed to the beam on the porch was the American flag. Chris unconsciously gulped and walked up the steps to the porch, where he was a few steps away from the front door. He took measured steps and wrapped his fingers around the brass knocker, hitting it a few times. He took a step back and waited for the door to open.

After a few moments, the knob on the door turned. Chris braced himself for what he figured was Piers parents, but instead it was something he did not expect. A very young looking woman appeared. She had light brown hair that was held back in a high ponytail, her bangs slightly covering one of her hazel eyes. Her skin was tan but light, giving off that she probably went to the beach a lot before. She looked to be in her teens but based on the dog tags around her neck she was nothing of the sort.

This was Piers younger sister. The only family he had left.

Things just got harder.

The girl looked Chris up and down momentarily before actually making eye contact. "Can I help you?" She asked, her voice light and soft. For a moment, Chris forgot what he was going to say. He cleared his throat and took a deep breath, "This is the house of Piers Nivans, correct?"

The girls face instantly fell and she replied, "It was...May I ask why you want to know?" Chris instantly regretted coming here. He knew, based on the girls reaction, that this was going to be hard on her. Piers had mentioned to him before that his sister was closer to him than anyone, and that the only way he knew he could keep an eye on her was if she had some kind of training. So he sent her to the Marine Core to get some experience before he left her home alone all the time. The girl looked small, but Chris could ever so slightly see the muscle in her shoulders and arms.

"Ma'am," Chris began, "My name is Chris Redfield, I was your brothers squad leader and partner in the BSAA before he passed." The girls eyes widened, her breath caught in her throat. Chris waited for the door to be slammed in his face, for her to break down in tears, anything that would make him regret the decision to come here, but instead the girl opened the door wider. "Come in, come in." She ushered, moving to the side for Chris to enter.

At first he hesitated. He didn't think he was ready for this, but he couldn't turn back now. Swallowing his doubt and mustering his courage, Chris stepped inside.

...

"So this is what you do on a daily basis? I gotta say Kennedy, I like your style for a change."

Leon breathed a laugh and reloaded the gun in his hand, aiming carefully, then firing at the target a couple yards away from him. After a few moments it became silent once again. Jake squinted his eyes to see the target and smiled. In the chest of the target was a perfect spiral of bullets holes. "Nice craftsmanship." Jake complimented quietly. Leon nodded and set the gun down, reaching for the bottle of water on the table next to him.

Jake had been at the Redfield's apartment for the past three days now, nothing to do but play with the cat and watch TV; not the mention to occasional Wii matches between him and Claire, but he tried his best to avoid those. She beat him, every single time. When Chris realized Jake was close to destroying the screen with his bare hands, Chris told him to take a break. So Leon came by and offered to take Jake for a little trip outside New York, along the border of the city; the DSO Headquarters. At first Jake had refused, but when Leon told him it was the only escape he would receive for the next few days, Jake had never gotten into a vehicle so fast in his life.

It was only by a stroke of luck that the DSO had a firing range in their backyard.

Jake aimed carefully, closing one eye as he focused. Even though the target was close enough for him to shoot in his sleep, Jake found himself concentrating. Whenever Jake concentrated though, he began to feel things he normally wouldn't. He felt the hot air around him, soaking into his skin and making him uncomfortably warm. He measured each and every breath he took, tasting the dirt that was blowing around with the wind. He felt the small layer of sweat building on the back of his neck, giving him some relief from the dying heat. Now, his instincts screamed. He pulled the trigger and shots rang out in a succession. When he emptied his rounds, he set his gun down on the table and crossed his arms at his chest, a smirk on his face.

On the target a few yards away was a smiley face on the head. Leon chuckled, "Real mature Muller."

Jake didn't know why, but he had been getting along with Leon while he was here. It confused him greatly; the only person he really considered worth getting along with was Sherry. As a mercenary, you mostly worked alone, but other times you had partners; even though most of them died anyway. Jake never cared though, he only thought at the time the less that survived meant more reward for him. But he was changing, he was changing really fast, and he knew it wasn't good if he himself noticed.

But at the same time he had a choice, he could either be in a foul mood until Sherry came back, or he could suck up to the New York natives and try to enjoy himself.

He preferred the latter.

"So tell me something Kennedy," Jake started, leaning back against the table, "What kind of mission is Sherry on?" Leon looked at Jake with a quizzical expression. "What mission?" He asked. "The mission Sherry is on; you know the reason she is not here?" Before Leon had a chance to answer, another man dressed in a suit walked up to them, stopping when he was but a few feet from the two men. "Agent Kennedy," the man addressed, "Director Hunnigan has something she wishes to discuss with you." Leon nodded, setting his gun on the table and grabbing his ID tag and clipping it onto his shirt pocket. "Understood." He replied.

Jake grabbed his jacket and followed Kennedy out of the firing range back into the large building of DSO.

As they walked down the hall, people stared at the two men when they passed. Some of the male employees just snorted, ignoring the competitive tension in the room. However the females gawked and giggled, thinking how dreamy both were. Put both of them in the same room and you couldn't take your eyes off of them. They both gave off the 'Bad Boy' feeling and a bit of the 'Boy Wonder' image, but neither one noticed. They were too busy with their own thoughts. Leon couldn't stop thinking about Jake had asked him.

"What kind of mission is Sherry on?" Jake asked.

'Sherry is on a mission?' Leon thought puzzled. The last time he had heard about anything on Sherry was that she was in another state dealing with BSAA business with Jill Valentine, an associate of Chris Redfield, at the request of Hunnigan. 'I will ask Hunnigan when she finishes,' he confirmed to himself.

Jake however, couldn't stop thinking about Sherry. What was she doing? Where was she? Questions kept flying through his head, questions he wanted answers to. When he had asked Leon, the man acted as if he had no idea what he was talking about. So either he was pretending to make sure Jake never found out, or he really had no idea what Jake was talking about. But he works with her for Christ sake he should know, he argued with himself.

"Jake." Leon said, staring at Jake. Jake stopped and looked at Leon, blinking a couple of times. It took him a moment to realize that Leon had been calling his name for a little bit now, and that was slightly embarrassing. "What?" Jake snapped, acting annoyed. Leon sighed, "I said you can head back to the car if you want; I plan to leave once I'm done talking to my director." Jake simply nodded, looking anywhere but in Leon's direction. Figuring Jake knew the way back, Leon turned and walked away, leaving the mercenary in the middle of DSO Headquarters. He just prayed that he didn't start anything while he was away.

...

Jake wandered through the first floor of the building, no real destination in mind. He looked around at all the people working. Some in see through offices, others in cubicles. Everything looked so plain, so boring. How can Sherry stand working here, he suddenly thought. The Sherry he met was deadly yet girlish, courageous yet sometimes afraid, though she did her best to hide it. He couldn't imagine her working in here, locked up in a cage of some kind. From what she had told him before, she had been a pet of the government for years on end; how could she stand working in a place like this?

Suddenly, he had this overwhelming curiosity to see where exactly she worked; did she have a cubical like the rest of these pathetic people or did she have her own office? Jake wanted to find out for himself, but he knew he wasn't going to be able to find it on his own; after all it was his first time in the building.

'Well I'm not going to make any progress just standing here,' he thought to himself, and began working around on the floor he was currently on. As he walked, he glanced at the cubicles around him, checking if any were occupied or empty. He ran into three that were empty, but based on the small search he did through each one, it didn't belong to Sherry. He moved to the outside of the maze and checked all the offices with see through walls. They were occupied. After about twenty minutes of searching, Jake came to the conclusion she was not on this floor. Time for plan B, he thought. He moved back into the maze of cubicles and stood still, scanning the small amount of people moving.

But he stopped when he finally locked eyes with someone, a female employee. She had chestnut hair in a low ponytail, her outfit was a simple navy colored button up with tan colored pants. Her face was shaped like an oval and simple sculpted to show she wasn't extravagant. The most noticeable feature was her green eyes that were focused completely on Jake, a light blush spreading on her cheeks. Bingo, Jake thought, a small smirk coming onto his lips. When she held his gaze for more than three seconds, he knew he had found his new helper. Holding her gaze, Jake slowly walked over to her. The woman's blush deepened and her friends all whispered to her before walking away. She was alone.

"Hi," Jake greeted, a smile on his face, "I'm Jake." He held his hand out in her direction. Jake's forced smile must have worked because the look in her eyes said he had melted her on the inside. "Hi," she replied, taking his hand, "I'm Sarah." Jake nodded in acknowledgement, softly squeezing her hand before releasing it. Almost there, he thought, trying to think of ways to keep the conversation going. That was until she began to ask the questions first.

"You work here?" She asked, fiddling with the file in her hands. Crap think, he screamed at himself mentally. "I work at another agency; with the BSAA." He said smoothly, trying not to give anything away in his voice. Her eyes widened in surprise, "Really? That's impressive! Who's your squad leader; I might know him."

Jake unconsciously gulped and replied, "Redfield is my leader; I was just assigned to his squad not too long ago."

Sarah's smile widened and replied, "Captain Redfield huh? Even more impressive if I might say so."

Jake smiled and nodded, "It's an honor to work under such a man as Captain Redfield." Every time Jake said something about Chris, he felt like he should be punching himself in the face. This was definitely not something he enjoyed doing; the part about lying was easy, but the part of lying about working with Chris made him feel absolutely pathetic. It's for the cause, he told himself, boosting his determination.

Shoving his hands in his pockets, Jake switched feet to lean on and tilited his head slightly. "So Sarah," He began, "This is my first time at DSO Headquarters, and I was wondering if you could help me find my way around?"

Sarah seemed hesitant, but when Jake leaned slightly closer, his eyes gazing into her's, she caved in instantly. "Uh okay." She replied as if she were in a daze.

He smiled and leaned back, holding his arm out to her, "Shall we then? Sarah smiled brightly, and linked her arm through his, and began to walk with him throughout DSO Headquarters.

...

"Dammit." Jake cursed quietly to himself, closing the drawer.

After a good amount of flirting, Jake managed to get Sarah to take him to Sherry's office. He lied and said Sherry called him and needed him to get something from her office before leaving with Leon. After he arrived at his destination with Sarah, she received a call that an issue with her co-worker required her attention. Something about not being able to leave the airport without a passport. People can be so ridiculous at times, he thought as he checked the next drawer in her desk. He had no idea what he was doing. Looking through her desk and files, searching for something. He didn't know what he was looking for in the first place. All he knew is that something wasn't right.

Leon was Sherry's close friend, practically her father figure, and yet the news of her being assigned to a new mission was baffling to him. His reaction spoke for him before his words could exit his lips. Leon had no idea about it in the first place; he probably didn't even know where she was right now.

After her searching through her drawers, which revealed nothing to him, he searched through the papers that were scattered all over her desk, a small speck of hope still lit within his heart. "There has to be something." He mumbled to himself, his fingers brushing across the tops of each and every sheet of paper.

Nothing.

He made a noise of frustration and banged his fist of her desk, causing it to shake slightly. "Where are you Sherry?"

"Do I want to know how you got up three floors from where I left you?"

Jake whirled around in the chair and saw Leon standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame with his arms crossed at his chest, an irritated flame in his eyes. Jake unconsciously gulped, the back of his neck suddenly feeling sweaty. "Its called an elevator Kennedy, or did you not know the term until recently?" Jake replied, trying to hide his surprise.

Leon snorted, "This floor specifically requires a passcode upon entering. I just want to know how you managed that Muller." Jake leaned back in the chair, hands behind his head, "I had a little fairy help me out. Blinded her with my amazing charm."

Leon replied, "Well I feel sorry for the little fairy that had to give you assistance."

Jake placed his hand on his chest as if the comment had hurt, "Ouch Kennedy, and here I thought you and I had something." Leon sighed and stood straight, "Well unfortunately your charm doesn't work on me," Leon turned and walked away, muttering, "And hopefully the rest of the male population.

Jake grit his teeth and ran after Leon, "I heard that fucker!"

...

Sherry screamed as she jerked herself upright, trying to escape from the clutches of the nightmare.

No more...no more, she chanted in her mind, trying to keep herself from hyperventilating. The same nightmare kept coming back to haunt over and over every single night. It just wouldn't go away; she had no idea how to make it go away. Usually she only had a nightmare once and then she would never have it again, however this was different.

In the midst of her thoughts, Sherry felt something soft and plush hit the side of her face. A pillow fell on the floor after its attack on Sherry, lying still and showing no signs of life; for some odd reason Sherry expected it to stand up and start dancing.

"Seriously Sherry, another nightmare?" A girl groaned, rolling over so her back was to Sherry.

"Sorry." She murmured, feeling a bit embarrassed. Even though the place was huge, Simmons requested that all the girls be kept in one place. So he put them all in one big room. Its size reminded Sherry of the inside of a warehouse. The only downside was no privacy. Built on one of the high walls looking down at all the girls was a tinted window. Someone was watching them constantly; when they changed, when they slept, and when they ate. Sherry constantly got shivers from the uncomfortable feeling of being stared at.

Sighing, Sherry picked up the fallen pillow off the floor and laid back down on her bed, pulling the covers over her ears. She rolled over on her side and clutched the pillow to her chest, trying to offer herself some comfort. She didn't know what it was, but she just had this uneasy feeling being here. She was an agent, not a stripper. This wasn't anything like what she was doing before. Sherry was actually wishing she were behind her desk instead of being here.

This is for Jake's sake, she thought to herself, bringing some ease to her nerves. She was here for a reason, she was protecting someone from the same suffering she went through for more than half of her life. Sherry wished she had never gone through it and she didn't want anyone else going through the same thing, no matter the cost.

Sherry allowed herself to think about Jake a little longer. What was he doing right now? Was he still a mercenary? Did he go back to Edonia or did he stay in China? After the mission, she decided she would go find him. It had been a year since China and for some reason she found herself missing him.

"I miss you Jake." She whispered softly, clutching the pillow softly, wishing that she were hugging Jake. She normally wouldn't think about Jake like this, but it brought her some comfort so she allowed herself to give in to her selfish thoughts.

One day, Sherry would see Jake again.

But she had to put Gregory Simmons behind bars first.

...

Jake stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel loosely around his waist. His mood was ruined.

He had come back from DSO Headquarters empty-handed on where Sherry might be. He had tried asking Claire again, but that ended up in an argument and a knife thrown at him for a rude comment. He caught it of course, but it still pissed him off.

Walking into his room, he found the cat on his bed, curled up by his pillow...again. For the past couple of nights the cat had taken a liking to him and would sit itself on his bed every night. Even when he hushed it out of his room, he would wake up in the morning and find it at the foot of his bed. This cat was probably the most stubborn creature on the planet.

Jake dried himself off and dressed himself in his pyjamas; a pair of drawstring sweats. Walking out of the room with the towel on his shoulders, Jake made his way to the kitchen. To his surprise there was a large paper bag sitting on the island with his name written on it. Slowly, he opened the bag and peaked inside. Greeting him were three medium sized to-go boxes, the overwhelming scent of Chinese cuisine filled his nostrils. Hungrily, Jake ripped the side of the bag and took out the boxes, setting them side by side on the counter. Throwing the bag in the trash, Jake searched the drawers until he found the silverware, pulling out a fork, and slammed it shut. He pulled a stool up to the island counter and sat down. He opened each box and allowed his eyes to feast upon the heavenly sight before him.

The first box was full of beef slices and small broccoli pieces, drowned in a steamy sauce. He picked up the box and saw written on the side what he assumed what the name of the food. 'Beef Broccoli' it read. The aroma was unbelievable. The next box had pieces of bread chicken with orange sauce. This one was labelled 'Orange Chicken'. He didn't bother opening the last box; written on the flap was 'White Rice'.

"Where have you been all my life?" He asked aloud, digging in.

After finishing off the rest of the food, he threw away the boxes and cleaned up after himself, grabbing a beer from the fridge on his way out of the kitchen. While walking down the hall, he glanced at the clock to check the time. It was 11 o'clock on the dot. "Well, I guess there's nothing wrong with turning in early," He mused aloud, continuing down the to his room. As he turned to enter his own room, he noticed the cat was nowhere in sight. Though it made him happy, he began to become paranoid instantly.

Where did the cat go?

Just to be safe, Jake went over to his duffel bag and pulled out his handgun, making sure it was armed and loaded. He stuffed the gun in the backside of his waistband and threw the towel in the bathroom.

A few seconds later, he heard the cat meow in the hallway.

He released a breath he didn't realize he was holding and turned around. The cat sat outside of Sherry's door across the hall from Jake's room, scratching the carpet at the base of the door. Jake stood in the doorway of his room and crouched down, using his knees to keep him balanced. "Hey you," He greeted the cat in a whispery tone, "What are you doing? You wanna get in there?" The cat turned its head in Jake's direction and made eye contact before nodding once.

Jake nodded, "Alright then." He could understand the feeling of missing something, of someone; he did everyday because of his mother. He even missed Sherry from time to time was he wasn't forcing himself not to think about her well being. Jake often wondered why he found himself thinking of her so much; they hadn't known each other for that long. Maybe it was just the fact that she was willing to go such lengths to protect him. He didn't know and at the same time he didn't care. All he knew was that he owed her the world and he intended to pay her back one step at a time.

Jake pushed off of his knees to a standing position and took two steps so he stood before the door. His fingers enclosed around the knob and he went to turn but he stopped himself. He was about to enter Sherry's room and for some odd reason he was nervous, really nervous. It's not like I'm going to see a dead body, he told himself. He was just going to open her door so the cat could get inside, besides he didn't see the harm in just taking a peek inside of Sherry's life. He came here to see her, so since she wasn't here to stop him he was just going to see what her life was like when she wasn't an agent.

Slowly, he turned the knob and pushed against the door with his shoulder, listening to the sound of the creaking door as he entered. When it became large enough, the cat slid inside and entered the room before him. As the door opened even more, Jake found himself doubting his decision to see her room. He had no idea why he was feeling this doubtful and nervous, it was so unlike the mercenary Jake who was never worried no matter how bad the situation was.

"Dammit just open the door." He said aloud and pushed the door all the way open. His eyes scanned the room instantly, taking in the sight before him.

On the left wall was large, circular day bed adorned with a beige colored comforter and black throw pillows. Hanging above it was a fishnet canopy that covered more than half the bed. The strings were white with tiny fabric flowers sewn into the material. There was a bedside table on either side of the bed, but only one had an alarm clock with one photo frame. The walls were a murky light green with peony's painted around the edges, all painted in colors that were the same shade as the walls but not the same color. In the corner to the right farthest from him was a large sized chair that gave the impression it was very soft and plush. On the wall to the right across from the bed was a dark colored wooden desk with an open file atop it.

Intrigued, Jake stepped closer to the desk with his head tilted to the side. The cat had nestled itself in the nest of throw pillows on Sherry's bed, watching Jake with half closed eyes.

Jake pulled the chair out and seated himself, scooting closer once he got comfortable. Jake lazily moved the papers around, scanning for anything of interest. All he saw were scientific reports of lab reports or plastic bags of skin samples that looked recent. His hands continued to push the papers around when he felt a small lump in the pile. He moved the papers that were in the way to the side and picked up a large envelope with the word 'PHOTOS' stamped on the side with black ink. Finally, we're getting somewhere, he thought. He noticed a pen from the corner of his eye sitting at the edge of the desk. Picking it up with two fingers, he used the tip of the pen to cut open the envelope, and tipped it upside down letting the contents spill over the papers.

Jake felt his insides grow cold.

Every photo he saw was of him. And he was only looking at the ones on top; he was instantly afraid to look at the ones that lay beneath. One photo was of him walking down a street in Edonia, another was one of him attacking a J'avo in China during the Biohazard Incident. Others were of him in a room with no windows; one that he instantly recognized as the testing room in China when he had been captured.

"Someone's been watching me." He thought out loud.

Of course someone was always watching him, he knew that much, but this seemed more serious than any of the others he had found out about. Pushing the photos on top to the side, Jake scanned the next layer of photos. The first picture he set his eyes on was one of Sherry and Jake together; they were back at the facility in China, she was asleep and Jake was wide awake, sitting on the table next to hers. As he stared at the photo, his nostrils flared and he clenched the pen tightly, the plastic cracking.

Jake scanned each photo carefully now, memorizing every detail he was able. After he finished the photos, he began scanning every piece of paper. After about an hour of non-stop reading, Jake was on the last two papers when a familiar name caught his eyes.

Following the death of Derek C. Simmons, it became known that his younger brother, Gregory Simmons, succeeded Derek C. Simmons as the head of the Family. For the past year since his succession, Gregory Simmons has been continuing the production of the C-Virus and selling them secretly across the globe. He carries out these deals in many of his 'under the radar' clubs that Gregory uses to make an increased amount of money by selling women to government officials. Photos found in the recovered briefcase reveal Gregory Simmons has begun new testing experiments with his test subjects being women he has kidnapped across the globe. It had come to a conclusion that this sale of the C-Virus has been the reason that the after affects of Biohazard Incident in China haven't reduced. Therefore, Gregory Simmons is now the U.S.A's most dangerous criminal that threatens our Global Security.

"So the bastard had a brother." Jake frowned at the information before him and began reading the last piece of paper in the file.

Agent Sherry Birkin, you have been requested personally by the BSAA through the DSO to assist the BSAA in the quest to take down Gregory Simmons and end the threat of Bio-terrorism that he holds. Your mission is to infiltrate one of the clubs run Gregory Simmons as an employee and find a way to bring him out of hiding. You must bring him alive for questioning but you have been given permission to use any means necessary to achieve your goal.

Jake froze with horror. Infiltrating a club run by Gregory Simmons? From what he had gathered from previous information, Gregory Simmons had a hobby of stealing women to work in his whorehouses. And from what was written here, he owned a lot. In order for Sherry to infiltrate any of his workhouses, she was going to pretend to be a female hostess. One that didn't work in a restaurant.

Jake let the paper fall from his fingers. It was just too much to absorb, it was just too much. He couldn't stand it, while he wasting his time exploring New York, Sherry was in a government labelled whore house.

In a flash of movement Jake rose from his seat, knocking the chair over. He brought his fist down in her desk, sweeping the whole file onto the floor, papers and photos flying everywhere. "Dammit!" He yelled out loud, anger building up inside of him. Someone was going to pay for this, they were going to pay dearly. 'They're gonna wish they had never been born,' he thought angrily.

Suddenly Jake remembered that this mission was originally from BSAA, and they had specifically requested for Sherry Birkin. That means the person who requested for her already knew her outside of work and Jake only knew one person who was with the BSAA and knew Sherry outside of work.

Jake felt his throat growl in anger as he spoke the name out loud as if it were venom.

"Redfield."

I'm really really sorry this update took so long! I was studying for my finals and I have a two year old nephew I babysit a lot, so I didn't get much free time to write this. But now Summer vacation is here, I will have much more time to write! YAY:)

If you hadn't noticed, I also started writing two other stories at the same time, so my brain is all over the place LOL

Thank you so very much for waiting and thanks even more for taking the time to read my stories! If its not too much trouble, I would like it if even one person would read some of my other stories and tell me what you think of them. I value the opinions of others very much when it comes to my writing.

I want to give lots of thanks to Shakko taking the time to edit my story when I know she has her own to write! I seriously recommend her Resident Evil 6 story to anyone who likes JAke and Sherry as a couple!

Thanks again for reading! Please Review!