Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV

Chapter Thirty Six: Ghost of the Starlight

For a good amount of time now, Leon had suspected the true identity of the Merchant, but now that the hooded man had unmasked himself, it was just… unreal to see the face of the man who had caused so much destruction onboard the Starlight. But how was this possible? Tobias Liquid had been completely out of his viral power, shot several times by Barry Burton, and then left floating face down in the swimming pool of a sinking cruise liner, so how had he survived? And more importantly, what was he doing there in Spain?

"So, what did you do, kill the real Investigator?" The Agent asked, letting go of his hand as the burning sensation started to fade. "What's your plan this time, Tobias, use me to get to Ashley, then kill me and ransom her yourself?"

"I am the real Investigator, you jackass." The hooded man replied as his eyes flashed yellow. "Allow me to introduce myself; Special Agent Tobias Liquid, CIA… and if I wanted to kill you, kid… I probably wouldn't have saved your life four times in the past eight hours."

That was actually… a good point. Under the guise of the Merchant, Tobias had seemingly been doing everything in his power to keep Leon alive for some reason, although that didn't make any sense at all, since the Agent had been responsible for killing his wife, Gillette, back onboard the Starlight. The hooded man also had a loaded revolver pointed at Leon while he was unarmed… only to holster it instead of just outright killing him, but how was it possible for someone like him, a terrorist who caused a viral outbreak, to be working for the CIA?

The Agent's thoughts were briefly interrupted when El Garrador started freaking out inside its cell, its claws sparking across the metal bars while letting out more of those muffled screams while desperately trying to find a way to get out. After a few seconds of being unsuccessful, the blind warden started to calm down, while starting to slowly pace around the caged room like it was searching for some kind of hidden exit. Bang! Leon couldn't help jumping a little when Tobias took out his revolver again, this time aiming into the cell, and firing a shot right into El Garrador's ear.

Disoriented by the hit, which caused a small spray of discolored blood as its right ear was completely destroyed, the blind warden started to scream again while flailing its arms, but this time it stumbled sideways, with sparks made against every bar its claws hit while it was falling to the ground. Being blind, this monster relied almost solely on its hearing in order to function, and it seemed… overly cruel and heartless for the hooded man to impair these senses further when the monster was already caged… as if he was now intentionally torturing it… especially when he waited for it to roll over before shooting the other one.

"Jesus, that's enough!" Leon yelled as the blind warden started screaming and flailing around as if it no longer knew which way was up. "You've got it contained, it's helpless!"

"And what happens when your midget buddy lets him out again, huh?" Tobias argued, replacing the spent bullets. "You know what your problem is, kid? You don't have a proactive bone in your entire body, you know that?"

This scolding continued with the hooded man explaining how he had watched the Agent blunder his way right into countless traps and ambushes, only to flop around like an idiot until he somehow got himself out of them as if Leon were the luckiest son of a bitch alive, and that didn't include the times that Tobias was able to rescue him. In the cell behind him, El Garrador was no longer screaming or moving at all, but just kind of lying there helplessly, but Tobias wasn't giving the monster a second thought.

"Kid, I didn't track the President's daughter halfway around the world just to watch you fuck it up." The hooded man continued, now starting toward him. "But that's no longer my problem; I've been ordered to stay as far away from Ashley as possible, so what you and Hostage Barbie do isn't my affair, but answer me this… how do you know Ada Wong?"

"Ada… Ada Wong?" Leon asked, unable to hide how surprised he was by the change of subject. "Ada died back in Raccoon City, what… what the hell does she have to do with anything?"

Tobias smirked again, shaking his head as if disappointed in the Agent's deductive skills, before explaining that both the muddy footprint at the lake house and the bullet casings in Mendez's house had led him right to her… being that she was wearing the boots and carrying a matching submachine pistol. No, this yellow eyed prick was lying, Leon thought as the explanation continued. There was no way that Ada could have survived falling from that bridge in the lab underneath Raccoon City, and even if she had, then… then why hadn't she contacted him at all in the past six years?

"Your name came up a couple times during a little conversation we had recently." The hooded man explained, stopping once he was within arm's length of Leon. "Right around the same time she told me she was working with Albert Wesker."

What? No, that was stupid, Leon thought, okay, sure, Ada had been an Umbrella agent back in Raccoon City, and she might or might not have been willing to kill him over the G-Virus sample, but Wesker? After her escape from Rockfort Island, Claire Redfield had told the Agent all about her encounters with the former Captain of STARS during their last communication, and the guy sounded more like a James Bond villain than anything else. Ada might have had questionable morals, but she was really smart, so if she really was still alive, there was no way she would work with a super-powered psycho like that guy.

On the other side of that, Leon's heart had skipped a beat upon hearing that the dark haired woman was still alive, and even more so when Tobias talked about finding her by using the boots and bullet casings, meaning that it had been Ada who saved him from the Chief's house and after his seizure by the lake. Granted, he and Ada had not left things off under the best of terms, for instance her wanting to shoot him to get the sample, and him hooking up with Claire for a while immediately after… but if she really was still alive…

"Great, once again, you don't know a damn thing." The hooded man continued, interrupting his thoughts. "All right, fine, let's focus on the current problems; my communicator stopped working, not that Old Graham is gonna send help until we get Ashley back, so I'm thinking we should head back to the ballroom, and start…

"Wait a second, hold on, I'm not going anywhere with you." Leon snapped, taking a step backwards. "You killed… you killed hundreds of people on the Starlight, and… no, I don't believe anything you're saying to me. You don't work for the CIA, you don't know Ada Wong, and you're just trying to manipulate me into helping you get Ashley for… for whatever awful shit you're planning to…

Smack! The Agent was caught completely off guard when Tobias suddenly smacked him in the mouth, but there wasn't much power behind the blow, so Leon could have easily stayed on his feet… if he hadn't slipped on more of the glass pieces. The hooded man mocked some of his words in a high-pitch squeaky voice, which only made the Agent even angrier after falling to the floor, but this time Tobias wasn't going to get away with it, so Leon jumped up while swinging his fist.

His plan had been to strike the hooded man on the jaw, but Tobias leaned backwards just enough to avoid it, before bringing up his own leg and kicking the Agent in the chest while he was off balance, sending him back to the floor. Now seeing red and he pulled himself to his feet, Leon advanced this time by spinning around and throwing out his foot using one of the moves that Krauser had taught him. However, the hooded man just ducked under it while grabbing Leon's other ankle, sending him face first down onto the floor once again after pulling it out from under him.

"God, who taught you how to fight?" Tobias asked as Leon started getting up again. "You telegraph your moves so much, that you might as well just tell me everything you're about to try. Meanwhile, poor little Ashley waits for her brave hero, who would rather fuck around with me than accomplish his mission."

"You're a danger to my mission!" The Agent yelled, throwing out another series of kicks. "You killed Amanda… you killed Cora… you infected everyone onboard the Starlight!"

There was enough rage and power behind each kick to kill a man, but that ended up being a moot point, since the hooded man just continued to avoid every single one, almost like he really did know every move Leon was about to make. Since Tobias's eyes weren't yellow, it meant he wasn't using his power, so all the Agent had to do was land one kick to the face and it would all be… suddenly the hooded man ducked around behind him, twisting Leon's arm behind his back and shoving him forward before he realized what was happening… right into one of the open prison cells.

Slam-clunk! Just as he had done with El Garrador, Tobias had forced the Agent into a cell, and then slammed the door shut, locking him inside. Enraged at being tricked by this guy again, Leon screamed while pulling on the door, but knowing damn well that it wouldn't open. Oh, great, now the hooded man was laughing at him, that was all he needed right now, but then Tobias did something unexpected… he reached into his jacket, and took out a very familiar looking utility belt… complete with the Agent's revolver and knife.

"You killed Amanda, you killed Cora." The hooded man mocked in that same high voice while looking at the utility belt. "Technically, you did after me and Gillette infected them, but I'm willing to put that in the past and give this belt to you, even though you don't deserve it, if you can answer a simple question for me."

"Oh great, more games form you." Leon scoffed, hating him but really needing that belt. "Fine, what is it?"

The question was one that felt like a knife being stabbed right into the Agent's heart, sending Leon back into a rage when Tobias asked it. That question was 'When I infected Cora and she became one of those red things, were you actually able to kill her, or did you just run away until she burned up on her own?'. Kicking and pulling on the door again, the hooded man just shook his head before sliding the belt across the floor toward him, where it stopped a few feet longer than Leon's arms could get to.

"You don't want to work with me, that's fine." Tobias said as the Agent reached for it in futility. "Then you can stay here nice and safe, while I go find Ashley; believe it or not, kid, your safety is my highest priority here, and you're just too stupid to be left on your own. Oh, and I left you something out here in case you manage to get out."

Putting his scarf and hood back on, the hooded man walked out of the room without another word, leaving Leon to keep reaching for the utility belt, which he would need if he wanted to get out of the cell before Salazar or his guards came back.