Ada left Kenny quickly and quietly, heading off towards the double doors that would led back into the castle. Kenny remained behind, looking on as she went, wondering what the secret agent was hoping to gain out of this. He took a step to follow her, and then hesitated, instead choosing to stay behind on the balcony while Leon rapidly approached, as he had finally found his way out of the garden maze down below.

She turned around and spoke to Kenny over her shoulder. "Aren't you coming too?" she asked. "If what you told me about Leon is true, he won't hesitate to kill you if you stay here and try to confront him.

Kenny shook his head. "I have some things to straighten out with him," he replied. "I can't carry on this mission while he has his misconceptions about me. I want him to know that I mean him no harm. It's my only chance of making it out of this place alive – to let him take me with him when he gets out of here."

"Are you so sure he won't kill you before you get the chance to utter a word?" Ada asked. "I have to confront him as well. You'd stand a better chance of not eating a bullet if I'm there."

"Last I checked," Kenny shot back, "You stabbed him in the back with a fucking meat cleaver. I'll take my chances alone, thanks."

"Very well, then," Ada conceded. "But keep in mind I won't come outside to help you if he decides to shoot you."

"My chances of making it out of here alive would be better if he doesn't think we've teamed up against him." Ada said nothing more as she disappeared behind the doors, closing and locking them behind her. Kenny panicked upon hearing the sound and jumped for the doors, tugging on the handles. Ada had deliberately left him out here to die! Not offering to come out and help was one thing, but ensuring that Kenny would have no chance of escaping if Leon did indeed decide to go medieval on his ass? That was too much!

Kenny noticed a hollow just above the knobs in which two pieces could be inserted. He guessed that if the pieces were found and placed, the doors would unlock and entrance to the building would be gained. But he didn't know where they pieces were located should he need them to escape Leon. Or … perhaps Leon had the pieces and was on his way up now to get inside and continue his mission …

He heard the click of a firearm behind him and Kenny spun around to meet the barrel of a gun pointing at him, a laser dot settling between his eyes. Leon was behind the gun, his brows creased angrily.

"You'll need these," he said, motioning to his belt with his free hand. Kenny saw two pieces of a single silver emblem in his side pouch. "But I don't think you'll live to get inside, unless you can think of an explanation within the next five seconds."

"Hold on, Leon," Kenny said urgently, raising both hands to the air, trying to indicate that he was unarmed and meant no harm. But Leon didn't look like he was buying it. "Please, don't do this."

"After what you did to me back at the church?" Leon asked, his voice eerily calm. "You could have killed me back there, kid. And I might have to kill you now to prevent any future risks."

"It's like I said earlier," Kenny pressed, "I'm not trying to get anyone killed here. I just want to get Ashley out of this godforsaken countryside and make it back home alive. I just didn't think you'd be here to …"

"And trying to kill me in the process? What the hell was all that about, Kenny?" Leon had lowered his gun by now and was speaking angrily. "What the fuck is going on? You tell me this, but your actions tell me something else. You want to give these freaks exactly what they want, and play their sick little game. I just want to get Ashley out of here safe and sound, and I'm doing it by the most direct means possible."

"You have the freedom to do that!" Kenny retorted. "I'm stuck in this crazy place without speaking the local language, ripped from school against my will by some crazy renegade army guy with nothing but a handgun to protect myself with – and lets not forget I've got them forcing me to co-operate with them, waving the safety of my friend in my face. You have nothing to lose in this but your damn job! I have a friend!"

"I have my life to lose," Leon said.

"And I don't!" Kenny was hysteric now. The stress of having being caught between doing what he was ordered, and having his old friend from Raccoon, now a government agent, threatening to kill him, was taking its toll. He thought he'd been handling the situation pretty well, but now the tension was starting to build up to intolerable levels. All he wanted was to jet the hell out of here, go back to school, study for his exams, get a job, and continue living a normal life. It was all Umbrella's fault for taking that away from him in the first place, arming him with skills that he had no idea would be so valuable to other rival organizations. He swore to himself then and there that if he ever made it out of this place alive, that he would try even harder to absorb himself into anonymity. And it didn't matter whether his friendship with Leon dissolved or not. He just wanted out of here. With Ashley, it would be a nice bonus. But he no longer really cared. Just to have his life back, his life that was taken away from him two days ago …

"Look," Leon said, approaching him slowly. Kenny let Leon close the gap between them. He felt a little better now, venting his frustrations at the government agent. He'd spilled his heart out, having nothing to hide and he could only hope that Leon saw it – that Leon saw the frustrated young man barely out of his teens caught in an intolerably unfair situation. "I don't know what's going on with you, Kenny. But you can't blame me for how I'm viewing things here. You can't nail me for trying to do my job. This is a crazy situation you and I are dealing with and I know we're both incredibly stressed out. Normally I would've shot you on the spot. But I'd like to think I know you better than that, especially what we went through in Raccoon City."

"I was hoping you'd know me better than that too," Kenny admitted. "That's why back at the church, when we were shooting at each other, well, I was just so surprised by your reaction that I didn't know what to do. I did what I knew how to do – survive."

"Then tell me what's going on," Leon requested. "Tell me why you're here, or better yet, what the others are planning on doing to Ashley."

"They'll kill her," Kenny explained, "if I leak anything. I want to be on your side, Leon, but I can't take the risk, for Ashley's sake. I just have to keep playing this game, keep doing what I'm ordered to do. And if they tell me to kill you …"

"I understand, Kenny," Leon said, putting his hand on the youth's shoulder. "I don't know what to tell you right now, but it sounds like we'll be facing each other in the near future."

The youth leaned back against the wall of the castle and sank to his rear, throwing his face into his hands. "I don't want to do this, I really don't!" he cried. "But what choice do I have but to kill you if they order me to? It's either kill you, or have you kill me! Ashley's life will be saved, at least temporarily in that case, but one of us will end up dead!" He punched the floor, bruising his fist, but the pain was all too welcome, for it numbed the emotional torture and frustration he had no choice but to endure."

Leon stood back and looked down at helpless Kenny with sympathy in his expression, though Kenny was unable to see it. "If I let you live now, I also take a risk," he explained slowly. "I run the risk of having you endanger my life and Ashley's. But I'm not going to do anything about it just yet. I trust you, Kenny, and I know you'll make the right choice. I'll give you some time to think this over."

"It's not as black and white as you think it is, Leon. Maybe for you it is. Get Ashley and yourself out safely. But for me, it's risking my life in the hands of these crazies, killing you – a friend, or letting my best friend in school die if I don't. Everywhere I turn, death's at my doorstep. I'm glad you have faith in me. But this time, I wouldn't count on me making any kind of a decision with a happy ending."

Leon stood quietly for a second, looking like he was contemplating the words just spoken to him. He extended a hand, which Kenny took reluctantly, and hoisted the youth to his feet. "Think about it," Leon advised, "and I'll talk to you later. I'm going inside," he said, inserting the pieces of the medal into the hollow carved into the door. "You coming?"

"Just give me a few minutes out here," Kenny requested. "I've got a lot to digest right now."

"Don't take too long," Leon said and opened the door.

"One more thing," Kenny interrupted before he could step inside. "There's one thing you should know when you go in there."

"And that would be …?"

"Ada's waiting for you."