Love in a Danger Zone.

Chapter Seven:

Tickle his Doo-Dads?

*He entered the village after checking out his surroundings through his binoculars and was surrounded by these angry Ganado's. Slowly he was popping them off, but when it came time to reload he had to run. Up the path he went, looking both ways then quickly moved into one of the sheds. Once inside, he ejected the clip reaching inside his jacket to his holster and grabbed another one and slammed it into the butt of the Blacktail. Just as he was about to turn around, he heard someone whimper his name.

"Leon…." His heart stopped. He couldn't breathe but somehow he was able to move. His stomach shrunk because that voice sounded so much like…

"Inga!" He exclaimed before stepping forward. She was the woman freshly pegged to the wall by the pitch fork, only it was through her stomach, rather than her head. He stepped up to her, totally unsure what to do, but he knew he had to get her down. By God, the smell of blood turned his stomach and the sight of those rusted prongs in his beautiful girlfriend's stomach. He moved up to her…

"Inga…Inga. Sweetheart, stay calm. Please. This is gonna hurt, so take a deep breath, I gotta get you down." He reached up to the handle, looking at it before giving it a quick yank, but dropping it in time to help Inga down.

"Oh God…Oh God….Oh God…." He wimpereed as he crouched down to cradle her. He fought his jacket off and wrapped it around her waist to help stop the bleeding. He didn't have time, they were coming.

"God…. DAMN IT!" He exclaimed, but he knew he had to get his shit together. He wrapped his arm about her waist and proceeded to drag himself and Inga back up against the corner of the shed in an attempt to bottle neck them at the door.

They rushed in and Leon aimed over Inga's shoulder squeezing the trigger of that
Blacktail until it clicked dry. He ejected the clip and went for another, slamming it into the butt of the gun, yanking the slide back and continued to blow away villagers, having no guilt or mercy left in him. He held the coat to her stomach while keeping her back pressed firmly to his own stomach.

* Three shots left… *

He cried to himself before suddenly the church bell rang and they slowly turned around and started toward the church…

Inga had passed out, so Leon checked her pulse, which was there but of course faint. He pitched his gun off to the side before he removed the coat, swallowing the stomach acids that tried to escape through his throat. He reached into his cargo pocket and yanked out a small first aide kit, and with that he managed to get the bleeding to stop and get her bandaged, but she needed a paramedic or a hospital immediately. He stood up with her in his arms and cleared off the large, low shelf before laying her on it.

From there he would map out the way to her to the nearest town for the proper medical attention. He stood and then picked up his pistol, wondering if he would be able to leave her here. How safe would it be, and for how long until they realized church was over. He had to, because he could move faster by himself in order to get help to her…. He already spent the last five minutes thinking about it before he left. He was going to search the houses for something…ANYTHING that would be useful. After another 10 minutes, he returned to her and she was gone…

"What the?" He glanced behind him seeing nothing before he stepped forward to see his bloody coat and a blood trail that led out of the shed, so he followed it but stopped at the doorway because he heard her call his name weakly.

"Inga?" He rushed in the direction of her voice quickly before her voice turned sour, now saying his name in a vengeful groan. He would hesitate as it sent an all too familiar chill down his spine.

"Inga?" He questioned softly before he heard her voice behind him. He turned around to see the most horrifying sight. Inga's once milk chocolate, soft skin was purple and semi decayed and those once soft honey brown eyes were now a milky white.

"LEON!" She screeched before those cold hands reached up for his throat and squeezed. *

"LEON! Open up!" Claire pounded on the door as he sat up straight in his bed.

"Inga!" He called out in a gruff voice and then panted while he sat in a cold sweat. He swallowed before looking around only to see Inga still sleeping beside him. He smiled, ignoring Claire for another moment to casually devour Inga's healthy image. He reached down, touching her dark, curly locks before leaning down to kiss her cheek. He smiled again before leaping out of bed, clad in only his boxers.

He opened the door and Claire's fiery blues glared at him.

"What's gonna take next time? An air strike?"

"You're here early Claire. I wasn't expecting you until late afternoon."

"You should know better."

He chuckled, while trying to blink the sleep from his eyes. She was right, he should have known better.

"Come on in…" He opened his door while he rubbed his face, still trying to wake up. Claire stepped inside, casually looking about.

"Nice place." She mentioned.

"Thanks." He muttered. "Go ahead and make yourself at home, I'll be right back…" And off he went, going toward his bedroom. He stepped inside and closed he door, only to find Inga awake.

"Leon… What's going on?" She asked before yawning.

"My partner showed up early…" He explained, while slipping beside her on the bed.

"Does that mean you're leaving early?"
"It doesn't have to." He happily smiled to her, while resting on his elbow in order to face her.
"Mmmm. Good." She grinned before leaning into him with a hug while he happily took her in his arms.

She hugged him close and he leaned back on the bed, snuggling up to her. His eyes closed again he was recapping the dream, which caused him to immediately open his eyes and look at her face. He felt cold from the inside out at the thought of that happening to her and hugged her closer.

"Are you cold?" She asked with a hint of concern in her voice.

"A little yeah…" He answered back casually, while trying to recuperate from his dream.

"But I'm fine…" He added before he felt her coil a little bit closer and tighter to him. He trained his eyes on her face while her eyes were closed, remembering her image. Minutes had gone by like seconds as he simply looked at her and soon she was back to sleep. He smiled to himself before he kissed her forehead and quietly slipped out of the bed to at least put on some damned pants.

Claire was fending for herself and when he returned, brighter eyed and bushy tailed, he found a cup of steaming coffee on the table in front of him. He smiled, chuckling softly, before he looked to her.

"So…what time are we leaving Redfield?" He asked as picked up the coffee, taking a sip.

"5:00 P.M." She answered him clearly and he looked at his watch.

* 7:28 A.M. *

"So in less than 11 hours. Do you have anything on the Itinerary?" He teased with a boyish smile.

"No… Not exactly, but you could start off by telling me who you were talking to in there." Claire teased back with such a casual grin and Leon blushed a little before raking his fingers through his hair.

"My uh…girlfriend…" He cleared his throat and grinned chuckling slightly and Claire folded her arms as her brows went up in an impressed reaction.

"Well this is news. Since when did Leon Scott Kennedy, former rookie cop, now government agent, have time for himself, let alone a girlfriend?" She said with a grin and he chuckled.

"Since I have a month and a half off with nothing better to do than track down bad guys with a former S.T.A.R.S. member's little sister…" He joked back and she stepped passed him, giving a light jab on his arm.

"How 'bout some breakfast, Champ?" She changed the subject, and stepped toward his fridge to raid it.

"Good Idea..." He agreed to himself before he started preparing a meal for the three of them.

"So, tell me about her." Claire asked and Leon proceeded to tell Claire all about one Ingrid Hunnigan and their dates together.

"She sure sounds like a winner, Leon."

"Tell me about it, and to top it all off, she already understands my line of work…" He took an egg and cracked it open in the pan.

"Do I?" Hunnigan stepped around the corner fully dressed and well awake. He smiled, swallowing his sip of coffee before setting it down.

"Well, look who's awake." He teased with a grin. She smiled before Claire cleared her throat and the light bulb clicked on in Leon's head.

"Oh, uh, Inga this is my good friend and partner, Claire Redfield." He motioned to her and continued…

"Claire this is Inga Hunnigan."
Inga smiled and extended her hand to Claire who accepted it by shaking her hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Claire."

"You too, um…say Leon. I guess I should go get some supplies for us then… Give you two some space…" Claire stood up and headed for the door, but before Leon could protest she turned and smiled.

"Give you two time." She winked before making a quick exit.

"That…was odd…" Leon mentioned, before wrapping an arm around Inga's shoulders..

"Was it?" She looked up at him and grinned as he hugged closer.

"Yeah. " He leaned down, kissing her lips briefly before he would turn away to make the rest of the breakfast, and then spend their day however they wanted to. Meanwhile, Claire made the proper arrangements and triple checked them.

Later that day, Leon was dropping Inga off so they were parked outside of her house.

"Are you gonna be ok?" He asked, simply being concerned about how things were when they left on a bad note the day before, but she nodded.

"Yeah. I think so." She smiled.

"Ok." Leon smiled back before he leaned across the seat and kissed her and she hugged him tightly.

"Be careful, Leon…Please." Inga begged before he released the hug and kissed her again.

"I will… Besides I'll have you with me. " He grinned and she gave him a weak smile.

"All right." She gave him one last hug and a held kiss before off she went and he waited until she was inside and then he started up the jeep and left. He met up with Claire and boarded the chopper which would take them to England where Wesker allegedly had his hide out. Along the way, Claire briefed him on everything she knew about he place and it's defenses.

"Heh… Sounds like a perverted version of Mission Impossible."

She shook her head and smiled.

"But not something we can't handle, right champ?"
"Right Red." He grinned before they both fell silent with their thoughts. Claire's mind was wondering when she might find someone how Leon did, then again, who could possibly understand or tolerate her spontaneous, rebel side? She often saw herself being alone for the rest of her life, but it just seemed pressuring to see all of these happy couples around her, and she's left in the dust… Perhaps it just wasn't time yet.

Leon's thoughts of course, lingered on Inga, boy was she refreshing, although distracting. He hoped this wouldn't throw off his focus, like how he totally freaked in his dream, but he was sure he could handle everything just fine, the truth was, he had to. He had learned a lot and certainly toughened up over the years, but still mentally scarred from both Raccoon City and Spain. Just then a lingering thought tore him from the rest… Her! Ada Wong. His long time flame and the haunting ghost that was alive. She was so mysterious and calm all the time, no matter the situation, probably the most stable person Wesker's got, considering she's actually kept her sanity through both occurrences, and to top it all off, she was a beauty, and very easy on the eyes with an intense gaze. He wondered if he might get a glimpse of her while he was here, actually…he HOPED he would.

Leon was torn completely from his thoughts as the chopper lowered to the field near their destination and when the time came he and Claire bailed out, waving the chopper off then looked to each other.

"Should we split up now or when we're a little closer?"

"We'll part ways here. I'm going to insert through the A Entrance, you take B got it?"

"The shore side, right?"

"Right"
"Keep in contact if you need anything and feel free to ask Inga for any kind of assistance."

"Right…" She nodded and they parted ways.

Claire darted off through the field, going west using the roof as her entrance. Once reaching the gates, she scaled them before dropping down on the other side, making a quick sweep with those electric blues before she darted for the helipad.

She firmly placed her back against a nearby wall, holding the S&W .40 by her head as she looked about. She heard footsteps near her and waited them out before round the corner and scaling the ladder. She topped the building to see the helipad just above her to the left; however she glanced off into the distance to see her chopper heading west and another heading south….

"Interesting…." She muttered before climbing a nearby ladder to reach the helipad.

Her gaze followed the south bound chopper and her brows knitted together in thought.

*I wonder who that chopper belongs to… Maybe Leon and I aren't the only ones concerned for Sherry. Her parents were big shot scientists who even after their deaths managed to get the last word… *

"I have a feeling what was started six years ago is far from over…" She muttered to herself before moving over to the door. She reached down and tried the door, but it was locked, just before she was about to look for an alternate route, the door opened and she moved around the corner near the door.

Cc: The Helipad's clear. Returning inside.

The guard stated before turning around to walk back inside. Claire's electric blues narrowed as she quickly moved around the corner and in the door, turning sideways as it nearly closed on her and up behind the guard she went, slamming her booted foot into the back of his knee and bringing the butt of the pistol in her hand across the side of his head, which took him down, but didn't knock him out, so she straddled his butt and grabbed the back of his masked head before slamming his face off the cement floor. That did the trick. She quickly looked around to make sure no other guards were around before she searched his body for a key card or some kind of pass.

Meanwhile, Leon found the bay area, and felt a droplet of rain touch his skin. He glanced upward to confirm.

"Just Great…" He muttered to himself before looking at his surroundings. It looked like an old hangar full of broken down trucks and tanks, and one of them had been blown up.

"What the hell happened here?" He outwardly questioned before he started snooping around. It looked like the explosion had happened about 8 or more hours ago. He glanced down to see small footprints leading out of the water and followed them right on over to an exploded truck. Lo and behold, there laid his lady in red, out cold and speared through the left shoulder. She'd apparently been captured and tried to escape a second time; however, she didn't make it very far. Either that, or maybe Hunk was feeling generous enough to at least make it look good, either way it didn't work out so well for Ms. Wong.

"Ada." He said before he crouched down next to her. He checked her pulse, amazed and relieved to actually find one. He glanced down to see the door of the one of the trucks had her pinned so he scooted over and lifted it with a light grunt before moving over to her shoulder. He had to get that thing out of her shoulder, but he had to get it out of the ground to move her. This could have been easy with her unconscious, but those serene gray eyes opened.

"Le…Leon?" She managed to utter out before trying to get to her feet, but Leon stopped her.

"Don't move…" He warned, now trying to figure out to explain what happened to her and what he was going to do to fix it.

"What are you doing here?" She questioned barely above a whisper.

"Don't talk. You've got a piece of debris in your shoulder and I have to get it out. So just stay calm and stay with me, Ada."
She nodded and he proceeded to carefully lift her body, holding the rod in place as he pulled her and it from the ground, then leaned her body against this chest. She winced at the movements and didn't cry out, but she panted from it.

"Ok… Now I need to pull it out. Take a deep breath, Ada… One…Two…" He gripped the rod tightly and wrapped his left arm around her chest to hold her steady.

"Three." And he pulled the rod out the way it was already going through and the blood sprayed. This time Ada did cry out and her body collapsed against his chest while his right hand came to her wound. He grabbed her own hand and placed it over the front of the wound.

"Hold that, ok? Are you still with me Ada?"
She nodded and he quickly reached up inside his cargo pocket for the bandages and while he worked, she ended up passing out. He knew he needed to her out of the rain or those bandages wouldn't hold up.

He looked about, trying to see if he could find somewhere close to hide her and settled for one of the other trucks. Leon lifted her lithe form in his arms and carried her across the hanger, which reminded him of the time he carried her from the emergency trolley to the office. He worked the cab's door open and gently laid her across the seat, then climbed in over her to the driver's side seat and closed the door.

He pulled her torso across his lap to prop her upper half up and then reached to his radio and called in Hunnigan and Claire.

Leon: "Hunnigan, Claire. I found a wounded civilian in the complex. Her wounds are secure, but I'll need a paramedic to come in with the chopper. Can that be arranged?"
Inga: "I'm already on it, Leon."
Claire: "Got it. Leon, I'm inside, and heading toward the laps, I'll meet up with you."

Leon: "I'll try to hurry."

Claire: "Claire out…"

From there they ended their transmissions and Leon simply sat there waiting for Ada to wake up, because he couldn't just leave her here. He looked at her face, which was so serene and peaceful. She was the most beautiful creature he'd ever seen still. He reached up, gently petting her damp locks, and just looked at her. There was a time when he believed he was in love with her, but heart breaking to be in love with a dead woman who wasn't really dead after all. His thoughts frustrated him until suddenly she started to mumble in her sleep… All he could make out was his own name, and she twitched, knitting her brows together as she continued to whisper to herself.

"Leon… Leon… I'm sorry…" He gave her quizzical look, but remained silent as his heart rate increased. What was she dreaming? What was she dreaming about him? What was going on in her mind?

"Don't…. You can't leave…" She whispered and squeaked almost in tears it seemed which broke Leon's heart and he couldn't help but ask out loud.

"Why, Ada?" He questioned and looked at her face as her brows relaxed…

"Because… because… I love you." She confessed to Leon in her dream and unknowingly confessed to Leon himself and it felt like his heart stopped beating, and then suddenly started pounding in his chest as he held her in his arms.

"Ada… Ada, wake up!" He shook her gently and her eyes blinked open and widened as she looked at him, recapping her dream, terrified that he might somehow know what was going on in her mind. He gazed at her with those intense aqua pools and she blinked slowly.

They didn't say anything, and didn't need to with the way his chest rose and fell against her ribs and how her finger tips touched the hair at the back of his neck. He maintained eye contact as he leaned forward and she lifted as their lips came within a breath away from each other before Leon spoke up…
"We need to keep moving..." He said whispered, allowing his clean, warm breath to wash over her lips, and she blinked her half closed eyes open again as she looked up at him, hesitating before her eyes lowered and she spoke with that sad, disappointed tone.

"Okay." She nodded, before they both pulled back, blinking as they looked at one another.

Meanwhile, Claire wondered into the lab area of Wesker's HQ, looking around for any sign of Sherry, before she heard footsteps behind her and she turned around to see the silhouette of a female in dark BDU's walk passed the doorway slowly. The figure stopped and looked in Claire's direction before continuing on her own path. Claire didn't question the woman because she didn't attack, so Claire continued on her way. She hit a button and stepped inside to find Sherry there and a scientist with a needle in her arm.

"Get away from her!" Claire exclaimed drawing the gun level with his face. He obeyed and stepped back.

"Claire?" Sherry questioned and sat up.

"Sherry, Can you stand?"
Sherry nodded and proceeded to stand up, but gasped as Claire felt a gun at her back.

"Hold it right there, Redfield" Claire gasped and raised both hands, while Hunk took her pistol and motioned Sherry to sit back down, and then looked to the scientist.

"Back to work." His voice boomed, before he took Claire around the back of neck and started to guide her out of the room. As they walked out into an open room, there were three quick, sturdy steps before suddenly Hunk was shoved into the nearby wall and Claire was pushed forward onto the ground and she rolled over on her back to find that female figure giving a bit of a war cry as she shoved a booted foot into Hunk's Chest, which sent him and her foot through the wall he was slammed into. She stumbled back and quickly stepped forward and grabbed him by his tactical vest and pulled him to his feet, only to throw him over her shoulder and seven feet across the room where he rolled and came up on one knee.

Claire scrambled to her feet, grabbing her pistol and went back for Sherry, while Hunk was distracted.

Meanwhile, Hunk moved forward tackling her to the ground and drew back, aiming to nail her in the face, but both of her hands grabbed his fist and her hips thrust upward the same time she yanked, and he was forced over her head. She quickly rolled onto her hands and knees before standing, which he did the same.

"Who the hell are you?" Hunk questioned through the mask, but she didn't answer him with words, but rather her right fist, which he blocked, but was clipped by her left fist, before she proceeded to swing around and bring her right foot in toward his abdomen again with a spinning back kick, which he managed to catch and he chuckled at her.

She grunted and then pushed up with her left foot flopping her weight forward to send the heel of her left foot into his lower jaw and they both fell back onto the steel floor, before both stood up, looking at each other. The trained and keen silver eyes of the female blinked an eerie blink while hunk huffed slightly. At the same time they moved in on one another and spent the next five to seven minutes of the fight dodging and countering each other's blows…

Leon booted the door down, trying to find his way to the labs to find Claire, and also clear a path for the wounded Ms. Wong. He no more than stepped out into the large open room, before he was sent right back into and against the wall with a strange female body against his chest and they both slid down the wall together, and she landed on his lap, but she was instantly back on her feet, darting after Hunk, who sent a right hook after her, but she ducked, and came right up under him with an upper cut.

Leon coughed and watched the fight between the mysterious raven haired female soldier and Hunk, before he sent a glance to Ada who merely smiled.

"Friend of yours?" Leon grunted out as he caught his breath.

"Something like that. Call her Plan B."

"Plan B?" He coughed again and got to his feet looking to Ada for his answer."

"Should I have failed... Her mission is to eliminate Hunk, Wesker, and retrieve the sample, no matter the collateral…"

"What? All by herself?"

Ada nodded and Leon chuckled.

"What's she gonna do, tickle his doo-dads?"

Just then, the Soldier pushed Hunk back and took a few quick steps forward and sent the top of her booted ankle right into Hunk's groin, which lifted him off the ground and made him curl up on his side on the floor a few feet away from her, and he groaned, holding his "Doo-Dads".

"Holy shit…." Leon muttered and blinked before quickly turning to Ada and helped her up and out of the door, as Leon watched the woman holding Hunk now at gun point.

"Traitor…" She grumbled with those deep gruff tones and pulled the trigger of the H&K "Match", killing Hunk right then and there, and immediately aimed the gun at Leon and Ada, but Ada stopped her and Leon's movements looking to the woman, who lowered the gun after recognizing her as the insider. Ada's eyes widened then.

"LOOK OUT!" Ada warned.

Only for the "Plan B." to be jumped on by Wesker as he took her in a choke hold.

The woman's deep voice growled while she wrestled with Wesker before finally breaking free and twisted his arm, causing him to be flipped over onto his back.

Meanwhile Claire came back to the labs to find Sherry and the Scientist, but the scientist was on the floor out cold with Sherry standing over him.

"Sherry?" Claire questioned and Sherry turned around.

"Claire?!" Sherry quickly moved in to hug Claire.

"Did you do that?" Claire questioned while she hugged the teenager and gazed over her shoulder at the scientist. Sherry pulled back from Claire and nodded confirming that she'd downed the scientist on her own.

"Good job, kiddo." Claire commended.

"Let's get you home…" Claire finished as she took up Sherry's hand and the two women were off.

Together they turned and moved back through the lab trying to get to the helipad before they heard a shot fired. Claire's breath caught.

"Leon…" She whispered and started moving in that direction before Leon and Ada came through the door. Leon looked up to see Claire and Sherry there.

"We can't go that way…" He shook his head and the four of them started in the opposite direction.

"Why?" Claire questioned.

"You'll see…Ada?" He looked back to her and she looked at him to let him know he had her attention.

"I'm sure you know the place better than I do.. How can we get to the helipad from here quickly."

"Through these doors, up the stairwell and it'll bring use out above Wesker…"

"Ok.." He nodded and pushed the doors open and went in gun first. He saw a guard and shot quickly before he investigated further, finding it clear, then motioned for the other three. The lot of them went up the stairs and eventually came out on a cat walk above the two fighting down below.

Just then Ada fell forward, into Leon, who was there to catch her. He quickly crouched down with her and cradled her in his left arm and on his left thigh. Her eyes were closed and she seemed to have passed out again. Leon opened her eyes and checked, then looked to her shoulder to see it wasn't clotting very well because her bandage was soaked clear through with fresh blood.

"Leon. What's wrong?" Claire questioned as she moved over to see if she could assist but Leon shook his head, seeming very frustrated.

"She's bleeding to death. Her wound isn't clotting because she's too fatigued."

It was as if Leon was blaming himself for it and that caught Claire's attention as she eyed him up.

"What can I do to help..." Leon though for a moment and then answered her.

"Take Sherry and get her out of here. Contact Hunnigan and get our chopper in here immediately!"

"On it." Claire nodded and stood to lead Sherry across the catwalk and through the door.

Meanwhile…

* I shouldn't have done that. I should have just left her rest a little while longer, and this wouldn't be happening. Damn it, Leon. *

He was getting more and more flustered by the second, then suddenly he blinked, having a flash back of his 'dream with Hunnigan and how not focused he was. He immediately cleared his mind and picked Ada up, because his guts told him not to leave her there, and his heart wouldn't let him. He picked her up in both arms and started to carry her across the cat walk, before the cat walk was shaken and split in the middle. Leon looked to find the raven haired, solo army to be the one forced through the metal. Leon looked in the opposite direction to see Wesker in his thrust punching stance and his eyes widened. Wesker stood up straight with his gloved hands at his sides and a hint of a smirk at his mostly flat lips.

"Wesker." Leon growled, before looking around for a quick exit, and found only one, so firmly holding Ada in his arms, he took one step forward and the cat walk wrenched and dropped about a foot, before Wesker began to laugh.

"It appears the Mercenary did me a favor by killing Hunk…. Because SHE is still alive." He motioned to Ada and continued..
"Mr. Kennedy, make this easier and walk out of here…without Ms. Wong.

"No way, Wesker! You're gonna have to-"

The bridge lurched again and he stumbled forward and tossed Ada out of his arms; however he clawed after her only to capture her right arm in his hands.

"Looks like I won't have to try anything at all…Leon." Wesker said in such a degrading tone of voice, before another chuckle left him.

Leon looked down at Ada and blinked as history was about to repeat itself, that awful moment he'd regretted for six years, the core of his night mares, here it was all over again, like a second chance to redeem himself or an ugly reminder…