Pandemic: Resident Evil VI
Chapter Forty Nine: Kwun Lung Plaza
Waiyip, China
June 30th, 2013
This was it, Leon thought as he and Helena approached the construction fences of Kwun Lung Plaza, only a short walk from the end of the city's warehouse district. As long as Jake and Sherry hadn't beaten them there, this partially assembled set of buildings was going to be the site of the long-awaited confrontation with Simmons, the scumbag who was responsible for every last death back in Tall Oaks. It was anyone's guess how much backup the Security Advisor would have with him, and the Agent wasn't completely confident that Sherry would side with him against her direct superior without proof, but hey, at least now he and Helena were armed.
After escorting them out of the warehouse, Gillette had given him the large attaché case that she had been carrying, and inside were the exact tools that Leon and his new partner needed to finish the job. 9mm pistols with plenty of extra ammo, a few frag grenades, and even a replacement shock baton were all placed neatly inside, with the brunette cheerfully telling him that they were a gift from her husband. Apparently, out of all the people Hunnigan could have contacted for assistance, she had gotten in touch with Tobias, since the government was unable to track him, but… hell, at this point the Agent would take all the help he could get.
Once he and Helena had everything they needed, Gillette gave him a hug, and seemed uncharacteristically sad while telling Leon that she and her husband would be leaving China as soon as Tobias's business with Chris was finished. Saying only that she needed to get away from everything for a while, the brunette pointed them in the direction of Kwun Lung Plaza, and then she was gone. Normally the absence of the Liquids would have made Leon happy, but the end of this most recent encounter upset him… he had seen Gillette cheerful and pissed off, but never sad… that was a new one, and if there had been more time, he might have even asked what was wrong.
Unfortunately, there was no time, since if they missed Simmons at the plaza there was no way left to track his movements, so the two of them got moving right away. A train was passing on the nearby railroad tracks, masking any noise that would have been caused by the Agent lifting the latch on the construction fence and pushing the rusty gate open, allowing him and the young woman to enter the plaza undetected. Now they were inside of a wide open area where only the metal skeleton of each building's lower half was constructed, and all of the site's work lights had been left on, flooding the whole place with intense yellow illumination.
The good news was that Simmons was there, easily spotted on the scaffolding on the main building's second floor because of the white Colonel Sanders suit he was known for wearing, but… but the Security Advisor was also surrounded by armed men in black suits… most likely Secret Service agents who were loyal to him. Honestly it made Leon sick that there were so many people willing to betray their own country like that, but yet there they were, all carrying H&K MP5 rifles, and… and what was with all of the security? Wasn't he expecting Sherry and… oh… was Simmons planning to ambush them? What sense did that make?
Okay, Leon needed time to figure out a way to get past all those guards, so he motioned for Helena to find some cover so that they wouldn't be discovered… unfortunately, the last car of the train passed by at that same moment, taking with it their noise cover just as Helena bumped into a bucket of what looked like bolts, screws, and other things that would make a lot of noise if they fell. Thanks to his quick reflexes, the Agent was able to lean sideways and grab the bucket to stop it from falling over, but in his haste to keep them from being discovered, Leon's foot kicked out to help him keep balance… and knocking over a large metal barrel in the process.
Thunk! Whump! Crash! The metal barrel made as much noise as possible as it rolled and bounced down the slope, hitting every piece of equipment and every palette of supplies along the way, and as if ringing the dinner bell, the eyes of every armed man around the construction site were on them. Once the metal commotion stopped, the sound of startled gasps and cocking rifles filled the area as each weapon's mounted flashlight added to the amount of illumination already on the two of them, but surprisingly it was Simmons who told them to stand down.
"Ah, Agent Birkin, a bit late, but… Kennedy?!" The Security Advisor exclaimed after squinting and holding up his hand to block some of the light. "What the hell are… Harper?!, You're both still alive?! But I saw your plane go down!"
"You killed a whole plane full of civilians just to get us?" Leon called out from behind the palette of concrete bags they had ducked behind. "What, the whole city of Tall Oaks wasn't enough?!"
Now Helena chimed in, adding loudly that no amount of destruction was ever enough for a piece of shit terrorist like Simmons. In her opinion he was no better than Umbrella or Tricell, probably looking to do nothing more than line his own pockets, but instead of laughing like a cliché James Bond villain, the Security Advisor actually got angry about what she was saying. According to him, he was nothing like the corporation that destroyed Raccoon City or the terrorist cell that attacked Terragrigia, and that he was doing all of this in order to save the United States of America.
"Don't you simpletons get it?!" Simmons yelled as his guards tried to line up a shot at them. "Thanks to the BSAA and all the bleeding-heart liberals like our dearly departed President and all his spineless friends at the UN, the United States is losing its position as the rightful dominant power in this world!"
"And that justifies treason and terrorism?!" Leon called back, unable to get any shots of his own because of the lights. "You're exactly what's wrong with this world, Simmons… and a perfect reason why the UN should be in charge, not any single country… not even ours."
Now the Security Advisor was enraged, getting red in the face and leaning over the guardrail while screaming that Leon and Helena were nothing but wastes of life that should have died along with the President and every piece of shit whose life he ended in Tall Oaks… but then Simmons suddenly fell silent when the construction fence gate closed a second time. When the Agent looked toward the gate, he saw that Sherry and Jake and finally arrived, with the blonde just standing there with a horrified look on her face.
"Ah… Agent Birkin… I was starting to think you vanished on me again." The Security Advisor said, trying to calm down while clearing his throat. "Be a good girl and take these two into custody, would you?"
"I can't… believe this." Sherry said, her voice shaky. "I… I defended you, but… but Leon was right the whole time. You… you caused the outbreak at Tall Oaks… you… you killed all those people."
For a moment it looked like Simmons was going to try justifying his actions again, but instead he just sighed, before telling his men to shoot them. The only exception to this order was that they were to leave the boy alive if possible, and then the only sound that could be heard in the construction site was gunfire. Not a single sound could be distinguished as bullets peppered the area, kicking up a small cloud of smoke as they struck the bags of concrete near Leon and Helena, and sparking off the building's skeleton instead of hitting Sherry when Jake tackled her to the ground.
The Agent watched helplessly as Jake and Sherry scrambled to their feet, ducking behind every supply pallet and metal support beam as they ran for one of the construction site's other exits. Thankfully, the two of them were able to reach another gate and pull it open… but then something big was waiting for them on the other side… was it that Ustanak thing? Was it something else? The smoke kicked up by the concrete bags was obscuring the view, so one second they were backing away from the big thing, and the next all three were just gone… God, hopefully Sherry was going to be all right, since… since there wasn't much the Agent could do for her right now.
"Close in!" The Security Advisor's voice was heard calling. "Surround them before the smoke clears!"
"Leon, he can't see us." Helena said urgently. "Now's our chance to get away!"
Escape or find better cover, the young woman was right about the smoke concealing them, but it wouldn't last long now that the guards had stopped shooting the bags of concrete. Reaching for one of the grenades on his belt, Leon pulled the pin and tossed it toward the direction where he had seen some of the enemy moving during a brief clearing in the smoke, waiting to move until everyone was distracted by the screams that came along with the sudden BOOM!
Did the Agent like fighting other Americans? No, but these guys were all traitors, and deserved what the got… which was a face full of explosive shrapnel while Leon and Helena ran up the second grated staircase onto the catwalk. Bang! Bang! Bang! Gunshots were heard from up ahead, gradually being muffled by another approaching train, so the two of them ducked, and… and realized that Simmons wasn't shooting at them. He had been left alone when his guards went after Leon and Helena, leaving him to fend for himself as a man who… didn't look so good came after him with what looked like a tranquilizer pistol.
The Security Advisor quickly gunned down the sickly looking man in pseudo-military fatigues, only to groan loudly in pain… dropping his pistol and stumbling forward while reaching for the white colored dart that had been left in his neck. Simmons yelled something, but it was drowned out by the train as it started to pass right behind the construction site, and then he ran away. Ripping the dart out and fleeing to avoid getting captured by Leon and Helena, the Security Advisor made it about three steps before stumbling sideways and… and falling right over the edge of the catwalk.
Why this building was being constructed so close to the railroad tracks, the Agent would never know, but this allowed Simmons to fall right onto one of the passing train's cars, where it quickly carried him off. There was no way Leon was going to let him escape, not this time, and… and it was that moment that the Agent decided to do something really stupid… grabbing Helena's hand, and then kind of enjoying the startled look on her face when he pulled her along… to follow the Security Advisor onto the train.