A/N: A very Happy New Year to all of you. I hope 2017 sees you in good health and brings you lots of love and joy. I am really grateful to all the readers and reviewers Xaori and Shirahane Aikawa, for always encouraging me to write.

Chapter 9: Press Conference

(Leon's POV)

I rang the doorbell to Addison's apartment and it didn't take him long to get the door. He let me in the house and asked me to take a seat. There were a couple of files on his coffee table along with his notebook. I took a seat on the couch looking at the small tower of documents, as he asked me if I'd like to have something out of formality. I shook my head in negative, after all I was here to work and not play guest. Addison sat across from me and looked at the files and folders scattered on the coffee table.

"So this is all you need", Vincent told me slapping a hand on the pile of files, "These files have the on-site witness statements, and these are off-site witness statements. These are photographs I took on the murder site, and these are police reports."
"Police Reports?", I questioned surprised, "You need a permit to see those reports."
"Well it's not exactly police reports", Vincent smiled a little, "These are more of an interview of the investigating officers and a log of what I remember from the reports", and I gave him a inquisitive look, "I know someone there, who let me read and these are as good as official police reports."
"I see", I said in response. It might have been irresponsible and unethical on the part of whomsoever let him read those reports but still I was really not in position to complain, since it was all going to help me solve the case. I lifted the folder that had photographs of the murder scene to just have a look through them. They were very nicely taken and it seemed like the work of a crime scene photographer."It seems quite professional", I couldn't help but say.

"Well I used to work as a cop, so I know how it's done", Vincent told me, whilst doing something on his notebook, and I looked at him.
"Why'd you quit?", I asked him casually, since I shared a somewhat similar experience.
"I couldn't bring my wife's murderer to justice", he let out a sigh of regret, "As a police officer, one is tied down due to evidences, even when they know who the real culprit is; but as a reporter, you have much more freedom to bring out the truth as it is."
"So that's what she meant", I muttered to no one in particular, remembering what Kate had said to emotionally blackmail this guy.

"You said something?", Addison asked looking up at me.
"Not really", I told him with a slight shake of my head, "Is that all?", I asked, it seemed like he was a resourceful guy.
"Yeah, I was just copying the interrogation video clips on a flash drive, when you came in", he said grabbing his notebook off the table.
"Interrogation video clips?!", I wasn't really expecting him to even have that, "How did you even get that?"
"I told you, I have a contact and he let me see the interrogations from the monitoring room and I took the liberty to tape it", He said concentrating on his notebook, "Here, it's your wife being interrogated."

Addison played a clip and turned the notebook, so that its screen faced me, and moved by my side. I saw Kate entering the room with her lawyer. She carried a plain expression, much like all her public appearance. A little while later two investigators entered the room to question her. They introduced themselves and asked for her cooperation and she agreed to it with a nod. They asked for her lawyer to leave but the lawyer contested them, but they pressed on him to give them just five minutes alone with Kate. The lawyer still disagreed but Kate told him that she'd be fine for five minutes and after a brief discussion the lawyer left.

Usually interrogation begins with asking a couple of general questions, so the witness feels at ease, but in Kate's case it wasn't so. From the start, the investigators were a little aggressive. They started with the tactic that police uses, when they have already cornered the culprit and they just have to make them confess of the crime. They were telling her that she murdered her father and then ran away to save herself. They just kept repeating it over and over, without showing her any proof, possibly trying to mentally break her into admitting that she indeed killed her father.

However, Kate just calmly repeated things over and over to them as well, and it was really funny to see how two tall men couldn't even make an expression break on her face, let alone break her fortitude. I was about to let out a laugh, but it got stuck in my throat, as one of them rammed his fist on her hand, which was resting on the table, and finally a reflexive expression of pain graced her face. She looked at the man, as he apologized taking her hand, saying it was just an honest mistake, when clearly it wasn't. But even before she could say anything in response, the investigator was bending her fingers backwards asking her to admit that she murdered her father. Even in pain she repeated the same thing and fortunately her lawyer interfered and took her out of the interrogation room.

"Is that the final interrogation?", I asked Vincent, feeling slightly irritated.
"Actually, it's the first", he replied with sardonic laugh, "There are two more and it gets even worse", he moved to play the other clips.
"I'll watch them later", I told him; just one clip was enough for now.
"In my opinion they were either just too dumb or trying to frame her, don't you think?", He said getting back to copying the files. I didn't reply and just thought about it, "All done!", Vincent said from my side, "That's everything", he looked to the stuff on the table.

I looked at those evidences and let out a tired sigh. I pushed them away saying, "You keep them."
"Huh?", Addison said puzzled.
"If I took this research material with me, somebody's bound to find out that I am investigating the case", I explained to him in a monotone, "Kate wants to keep this a secret. I'll just have the digital copy of everything you have."
Vincent smiled and slapped my back, "She chose the right man", he said pulling out the flash drive, "I wasn't planning to give you the hard copies anyway. All these evidences that you see on the table are in this flash drive, photographs, reports, everything. I was just checking, if you could really solve this case."
"Do you suspect someone?", I asked him, taking the drive.
"I haven't got a clue but I am sure Keith Richardson didn't commit suicide", he passed his opinion, as I pocketed the memory device.
"For a minute, I thought you might give me a lead", I commented letting out a laugh.
"All I can give you are evidences", he said and we both raised ourselves off the couch, "Now you have to give me a story, by solving this case."
"Thanks for all your help, Kate and I really appreciate it", I said giving him my hand.

Addison smiled and shook my hand. I said goodbyes to him and left his place. I got in my car and drove to a place, where I could keep my car on parking for hours. I reached back to retrieve my notebook from the back seat of my car; my good judgment and preparedness had made me carry that. I powered it up and plugged in the flash drive that Addison provided me.

I immediately started to review the so-called evidences of the case, starting with the photos. I viewed each and every photo closely, taking my time to make a mental image of the crime scene, just based on those pictures. Keith's body was lying on a chair behind his desk. The letter that Kate had left to him was lying on the desk and an empty bottle of poison was lying under his desk, near his feet.

Next I started reading the on-site witness statements and the off-sites ones as well. A lot of people were interviewed for this case, even the airport security personnel, who found Kate in my car. It was odd that they didn't even once bother to call me, since I could have served as a first hand witness to this case as well. And the questions that were asked of all the witnesses were mostly Kate centric. How did she react? How is her mental state? Has she done something in the past that stood out too much negatively? How was her relationship with his father? And many more like it.

After spending considerable hours with the police reports and watching the interrogation videos, I just came to the conclusion that the police were biased on this case. It seemed they were in a hurry to solve the case, or they were more than convinced that Kate had a hand in it or like what Addison suspected that they were trying to frame Kate. However, it was possible that these cops were rookies or were just trying to get a breakthrough in their career from the amateur way they were handling this case.

I flip closed my notebook, letting out a sigh and a little thoughtful about what I have learnt. My train of thought hadn't really gained pace, when I heard my phone ringing. I retrieved it from my pocket and saw Kathleen Richardson's name flashing on its screen. I didn't waste too much time taking her call; after all I was working for her.

"Hello?", I answered, clearing my throat a little, my voice a little hoarse from not having talked to someone for hours.
"Leon, sweetheart where are you?", Kate asked me in a tone of urgency.
"I was busy with my work", I told her the truth.
"Did you forget we are having a press conference in next 15 minutes", she asked me and it was obvious that she was a little anxious at the other end.
"Yeah", I admitted my mistake. I got really occupied with the case and didn't realize when time flew by, and I totally forgot about the press conference.

Kate let out a sigh mixed of disbelief and annoyance, "Please get here, ASAP", she requested of me but it sounded more like an order.
"Yeah I'll be there on time", I assured her confidently, "Where is it?"
"The open event ground at Hotel Callisto", she answered.
"Okay I'll be there in few", I said starting the car and then we disconnected the call.

Although normally it would take someone somewhere around 20 minutes to reach Hotel Callisto, from where I was, but I was confident that I would reach there right on time if not early. I drove as fast as I could, avoiding the incoming traffic and taking care of the traffic rules, as much as possible. And as I expected it took me some 12 minutes to reach my destination, the luxurious hotel Callisto.

I parked my car and headed inside the hotel. I asked about the open event ground at the reception, and the woman there was more than happy to point me in the direction. As I was making my way to the place, I again got a call from Kate, once again. I informed her that I was making my way to her and she guided me through a back route so I could meet up with her before walking in front of the Press reporters.

When I was reunited with Kate, I was a little surprised to see that she looked as perfect as she did in the morning. One might say that she probably retouched her make-up but no makeup could cover up the tiredness on a woman's face. But there was not a single line of tiredness on her face and she even smiled beautifully when she saw me walking towards her.

"You're never on time", Kate complained looking at me, shaking her head slightly in disbelief but she continued to smile at me.
"It's helpful sometimes", I told her, remembering the time when I was late for my job at Raccoon City.
Kate smiled and moved closer to me, "Worked a lot?", she asked fixing my collar a little and I gave her a slightly taken aback look, wondering why she thought so, "You look tired", she answered as if reading my mind and offered me a glass of water.
"I am fine", I assured her with a smile. I had been reviewing the evidences all this time but I wasn't that tired, as she took me to be.
"So, shall we address the media?", she asked me in a very sweet tone, once I had gulped down a glassful of water.
"Yeah let's get over with it", I said giving her my confirmation.

Kate smiled at me beautifully and stepped next to me, and swung her arm around my left arm. We both walked to the area where the press was waiting for us. There were a number of reporters, more than what I had expected. They all looked at us curiously, possibly the way Kate had her arm around me were definitely intriguing them. We took seats on the chairs, behind the table that was directly facing the reports. Kate looked sideways at me with a smile and I gave her a nod that we could start.

"I thank you all for coming here on such a short notice", Kate addressed the media, and all the reporters were listening to her very intently, "I just wanted to announce that I got married and introduce my husband, Leon S. Kennedy!"
There was huge uproar of people talking among themselves, it was like the constant buzzing of the bees, "Is this some kind of joke?", one of the reporters asked.
"No, it's the truth", Kate answered to them in a confident tone.
"Why are you holding a press conference about it", one of the female reporters asked her.
"This is an attempt to control the possible gossips on the media", Kate replied to her still smiling, "I don't want my husband or my company to suffer because of the half truths and whole lies that some reporters might put on the papers and magazines."

"Is it a marriage on a diplomatic basis for mutual gain", a male reporter questioned in a quite objective tone.
"No, absolutely not", Kate lied through her teeth, "We married each other because we loved each other and saw it fit."
"We'd like to know more about your love story", one of the female reporter demanded seemingly curious for the juicy gossip.
"It's nothing unusual", Kate said looking at me, "We started off as friends when we first met at my engagement party, but after my dad's death Leon's been an incredible support and it so happened that we fell in love. And we got married", she lied brilliantly with a very convincing smile.
"What is the reason for your wedding to be so hushed up?", one of serious-looking reporters asked.
"Nothing as such. We are really two very busy souls and we didn't really want a gala wedding that takes too much time and energy", Kate answered in a pretty casual tone.

"Mr. Kennedy, what sort of business industry are you associated with?", another reporter questioned, looking in my direction.
"I am not from a business field", I replied and reporters began talking among themselves, but were looking at me for an explanation, "I work as a Law Enforcement Personnel", not going in too depth about my nature of work.
"Don't you feel a little intimidated by your wife's success and reputation?", another one of the lady reporters asked me.
"Why should I?", I questioned her back, "We are in 21st century. I'm really proud of her for the way she has been handling her father's business", I added looking at Kate. It was admirable how professional she was when it came to work, "Besides her single smile is worth a billion dollars, so I am richest man alive", I smiled looking from her to back at the reporters.

"Are you worried about your husband being in a dangerous profession", someone asked of Kate.
Kate didn't answer right away and then in a very low tone said, "Yes", with a couple of nods, "But I understand, what he does is important. And I am extremely proud that he's serving our country", she added looking at me and I don't know why I felt those words were for me, and for some inexplicable reason I saw a glint of tears in her eyes.
"What was the first thing you thought when you saw her for the very first time?", a young female reporter asked smiling up at me.

I couldn't reply to her immediately because her question really caught me off guard. It was one the question I was least expecting at the moment. I thought the questions would be more of a confronting nature but somehow everything took an informal turn, and we were being questioned about our inexistent relationship. Since both Kate and I had decided to keep it based on reality, I tried to recollect my thoughts and remember the very first time I saw her. The memory though slightly distant but still was fresh in my mind.

I still remembered that night, when I found her all alone in the balcony. It was something that was really hard to forget. Our meet wasn't something very special, it was plain, it was ordinary in every way, but still it was memorable. It was the only time Kate was Kate and not Kathleen Richardson. I looked sideways at Kate; she was looking at me curiously, waiting for my answer. At that moment, my heart really wished for the real Kate to show up.

(Kate's POV)

"I thought she was heavenly beautiful", Leon said very clearly, looking at me and staring deeply in my eyes, as if searching for something.

It was not the first time that someone had told me that I looked beautiful, but it was his sincere words that made my heart beat faster. I felt extremely happy for some inexplicable reason, but at the same time I wanted to cry as well because I felt a number of emotions hearing those words. I felt my face getting a little warm, probably because of all the blood rushing to fill it, and I couldn't help but smile at Leon, which he returned without a delay.

"Will you two kiss for the camera?", someone said and we looked back at the crowd.
"No!", Leon and I, both said together and then looked at each other.
"We are not that comfortable doing that in public", I made an excuse to slip out of this situation.
"C'mon", someone yelled from the crowd and other people followed.

I felt a little awkward as the crowd started to cheer us on to kiss each other. I fruitlessly tried to politely deny their request but it was like being in a crowd with high school students, who were hell bent on the idea of kiss. I looked at Leon a little bewildered about the whole idea and he had the same look on his face. I never thought that we will be stuck in such a situation, even when we kind of practiced to specifically deal with it. To be honest, I didn't really mind kissing Leon but I feared that we'd lose ourselves like last time, if we were to kiss, and I am sure Leon was having the same thoughts. It was more appropriate to lose ourselves in a closed room than in front of media. I let out a sigh and asked Leon if it would be alright if I kissed his cheek and he agreed with it.

"Okay, okay!", I said to calm them down and everyone became quite. I looked at Leon for a bit and quickly pecked his cheek.
"We want a proper kiss, c'mon", someone again yelled from the crowd and I let out a nervous laugh.

I turned my head to look at Leon once again, still unsure about kissing him in front of the media. I smiled and flicked my head slightly, asking if we should kiss or not and he briefly looked at the media before giving me an almost unnoticeable nod of agreement. I let out a discreet sigh, preparing myself to kiss him and telling my brain to not get carried away this time. I looked at Leon, so I could slowly lean in for a quick peck on the lips but even before I could put that thought into action Leon literally pulled me to himself, as the sound of a gunshot echoed in the area silencing the jeering crowd present at the ground.

A/N: Thanks a bunch for reading the chapter and I hope you enjoyed it. I am really sorry if there were some grammatical mistakes or typos that just made the context confusing. I would love to hear your thoughts or concerns about the story so far, so please feel free to leave a comment or just message, however you feel comfortable. Once again, Have a Great New Year ahead and I'll see you all next week!