34. Claire

Something inside Claire's mind kept bugging her as the days went by. She wasn't very sure of what it was, but it was probably related to the strange sensation of peace that she was feeling these days: no attacks, no haunting nightmares, and she was even -she had to admit it now- in some kind of serious relationship with Leon for the past weeks. The succession of good things was starting to scare her.

Claire couldn't remember the last time she had had more than 24h of peaceful and ordinary life, but since she had gotten back and started "working" in Leon's office, she had begun to feel normal. Any other person wouldn't have seen much into it, but Claire was not any other person, and when too many good things happened, Claire knew that something disastrous was on its way.

Moira called her a pessimistic paranoid, but it wasn't paranoia or pessimism. Claire preferred to call it experience. She could count each time her life seemed to take a turn for the better and then suddenly be torn apart by bad news. Eventually, she had learned that it was better to expect bad news and be surprised by good ones than anticipating the latter.

Things are always too good to be real. It'd be a matter of time for things to go array. You should wait for it to come and be ready.

Her after-work evenings hadn't changed too much, despite her current relationship status. She'd get home, play a little with Midnight before starting on dinner with the occasional help of Leon. Then, they'd eat together, sometimes with the sporadic company of Helena and Sherry. Leon and Claire had decided to keep quiet about their relationship for now, not because it was a bad thing, but because they sort of enjoyed the little bit of privacy that the secrecy gave them. However, Claire was sure that if someone was sharp enough, they'd probably notice the subtle changes in their interactions. Sherry had innocently dropped a comment about them acting more like a real couple every day and that they could sure consider a career in acting. At that, Claire had laughed as Leon had simply patted the young woman's head without saying a word.

If Sherry had known the truth, she would have probably thrown a party. Leon had amused Claire one evening by telling her how Shery had intercepted him earlier that day and to drop some, not so subtle, hints of what a wonderful couple they made. Helena had also commented on those lines, and Claire wondered why suddenly everyone seemed to be so into that "ship" as Wallace liked to call it. Had they noticed something, and that was their way of teaching?

That evening, like many others, they were sitting in the living room working on their things, enjoying each other's company. Claire had taken the habit of sitting, slightly leaning against Leon when they were sitting together on the couch. It was a modest position, but it made her feel comfortable and safe.

That day marked the third week since their spontaneous confession, which meant that it was also their third week together as an unofficial couple. Considering her experience in relationships - pretty much null- her current situation with Leon was perfect.

"How are those coming along?" Leon asked, resting his chin on top of her head as he looked at the set of complicated diagrams that she was going through.

Rebecca had sent her some of the results of the prototype vaccines she was developing; so far, none of them were working that well. There was one that seemed to affect, mostly positive, but it was temporary, and after 60h, the cells have entered the death stage. Claire was trying to compare the vaccine mechanism with the information that she had gathered with her little experiments. Unfortunately, there were still too many blanks on how the virus worked.

"If only we could access their research…"

You won't find answers unless you return. But do you want to go back? Are you ready to remember?

Claire pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed.

"Want my honest answer or the usual one?" she said, turning to look at him.

"I can take an honest answer."

"Not that good. None of the prototypes seem to be working well enough…" Claire sighed, " I'm trying, but the blanks in the data so far aren't I remembered more…"

Leon pulled her closer. They were sitting so close now that it was a miracle that they weren't squeezing the cat that slept curled between them.

"I am starting to believe she likes you better than me…" Claire said, frowning at the cat, "I never got him to curl like this before…"

"Nah, maybe he likes us together, that's all," Leon smiled as he patted the cat, "and about the memories, don't overthink it. What you need to remember will come back eventually, and if not, that's just fine..."

"I guess. What about you? Is Chris making any sense on that report, or is it all Jill's?"

"I'd think Jill had a hand at this by the way it is written," Leon replied, waving the file in his hand, " want to take a look at it?"

"Later...maybe. I have an idea of what it says, anyway…" Claire replied, tilting her head, "Nothing that helps my way, at least. Besides, Chris pretty much spoiled it for me after that call yesterday…"

She didn't need to read the files to know what they probably said. BSAA had not found anything about the whereabouts of Mobius. Chris and the others had checked each of the files and documents regarding the missing people in Wales; they had looked through maps, traced routes, made calculations, but they had found nothing. She wasn't too surprised when Chris had spoken to her the other night, obviously annoyed and frustrated. The man wouldn't say it, but Claire knew she was their only chance to find the terrorist group, her brother had freaked out after hearing that they had somehow tracked the origin of the Welsh Base hack to be a few streets from where she was

"I can't blame him for being concerned, Claire. The culprit of the BSAA server breakout was merely a few meters from us. Even I am edgy about that…"

"I already have you on my tail all day. The guy would have to be suicidal to try anything against me. Besides, it's a hacker. I bet one as geek as Wallace, and those aren't made for physical work…"

"We don't know that, Claire, and as far as we are concerned, he might not be the only one around."

"You're over worrying, Leon. I'm sure they think I'm hiding under the watchful eye of the BSAA since Chris would have me cradled tightly under his overprotective wing. Let's admit it, Leon, the last place they would think of looking would be in the DSO offices. That's probably why they attacked the BSAA in the first place. "

Leon wasn't as overprotective as Chris was, at least not in the same way, but he fit the role of the hero. Leon was protective of the people he cared for and loved, and even though Claire had been inside those privileged ones before, she had gone up a few levels in the past few days.

"We better be cautious, though," Leon replied, pulling her closer to him, "just in case…"

"All right...all right. I'll be a good girl, and I'll listen to you…"

Claire liked to be in Leon's arms. His closeness made her feel...safe?

"Huh...if Chris heard you. He would probably beat me up and demand to know what I did to have you be so agreeable."

"Ah...yeah, let's not have Chris know I said that."

"Why not?" Leon smirked.

"I don't want to have to go rescuing you…" Claire replied, tapping his nose, "I'm not sure Chris would approve your methods of persuasion."

Leon chuckled and leaned in to press a chaste kiss on her lips.

"Exactly why…" Claire mumbled, and he chuckled before kissing her again.

Snogging had become one of their favorite evening activities, but Claire wouldn't admit that his kisses were becoming her soft spot with him.

"Well...if it works to keep you safe, I don't see why Chris would have to complain about it."

"Haha...you think Chris would be that cool knowing you are kissing me to bribe me into behaving? "

" Well, if you put it like that…"

"Oh, no….no, no. I don't want to know what dirty idea went through that head of yours just now."

"Hey, what do you take me for?" he laughed. " I am a gentleman."

Claire laughed, but her laugh was interrupted by a sharp piercing whistle that rumbled in her ears, sending a wave of pain through her head. Claire brought her hand to her temple as the whistle began to oscillate painfully. Before Claire could even let out a moan, a blow of vertigo hit her, and she leaned a little forward as a few crimson drops fell on her hand.

"Oh, shit…"

Claire covered the lower half of her face with both hands, but it wasn't enough to hide the stream of blood falling from her nose. She saw Leon look at her horrified, but, as usual, his agent instincts would not let him lose his cool. Leon took some paper tissue from the box on the table next to them and handed them to her.

Claire leaned her head a little forward, pinching with her fingers and trying to stop the bleeding, but her efforts were frustrated by the continuous flow of blood. It wasn't the first time she'd had a nosebleed out of sudden, but it'd never been as intense.

"Well shit...just ruined a good shirt…" she said, trying to sound jovial. She hoped that her words would help Leon feel a little more at ease, but judging by the blonde's tensed lips. It was more than obvious that the man wasn't buying her attempt to sound okay.

"I'll get you an ice pack…"

Claire watched the man rush his way into the kitchen and returned, holding something wrapped up in a cloth. He pressed the cold object over the bridge of her nose, and Claire could feel his other hand rubbing the side of her jaw.

"That's too much blood…" he said, concerned, "I should call Hiwamura."

"It's just a nosebleed…" Claire mumbled in reply, "People don't die of nosebleeds…"

"People with blood problems die with nosebleeds, Claire…" he replied, passing her another paper tissue, "and you do have blood problems. Hold it in there. I'll call Hiwamura."

Claire sat quietly on the couch, holding the ice pack against her face as she watched Leon pace around the living room with his phone against his ear.

He's worried.

Of course, he is.

Claire looked aside. Her doppelgänger was sitting over the breakfast table with her head slightly tilted as she watched the blonde agent walk back and forth with a restless pace.

Unexpected, but it seems he likes you, after all.

Claire let out an irritated sigh, but another ring pierced her ears, making her scoff in pain.

They are calling

"Calling?" she thought, "who ?"

She looked at Leon, who was speaking through his phone. The man stole a few glances at her, but he didn't seem to have heard anything.

He can't hear it. The call is for you, and you alone.

Only we can hear them cry.

Claire had begun to feel dizzy. After receiving the blood injection, -if they could be called that-the symptoms had started to subside. The headache was no longer so strong, and she no longer heard the whistle in her ears. However, the episode had left her completely exhausted, so she hardly felt like interfering in the conversation that Leon and Saya were having, and she only made a couple of sporadic comments.

When Leon returned from escorting Saya to the door, the man paused for a moment to look at her. Claire could see a slight gesture of relief in her eyes, but the worry was still there, which made Claire feel a little guilty.

"Sorry…" she whispered weakly, "I gave you a scare, didn't I?"

"Well...you would be scared too if it had been the other way around."

"Yeah, I would…" she admitted. She would freak out if she found Leon or Chris covered in blood.

Claire was still getting used to the idea of being in a relationship with Leon; she was happy with it, but sometimes she just felt a little shy about what she could or should do. She had never had that problem before, but then again, at the time, Leon and Claire had only been friends. She took his hand and squeezed it affectionately. The agent responded with another gentle squeeze and a smile. Suddenly, he pulled her hand, and Claire found herself surrounded by his arms. The young Redfield could feel her heart begin to beat hard against her chest, and she cursed herself for reacting like a teenager. Leon knew what he was doing. Being a gallant heartthrob was his specialty, after all, and she couldn't help but feel slightly irritated by that small detail.

"You're a little cold…" Leon said, placing his hand on her forehead.

"It's just because the night is chilly…" she replied, "Not a big deal. Besides, by the way, you're holding me. I shouldn't worry about being cold for too long."

"Ah...so you want me to warm you?"

"Well, I don't mind, but if you're busy...I can always get myself a blanket."

"A blanket sounds okay, but only if you're sharing it with me…" he smirked, holding her closer.

"You're helpless, Leon. Do you need to turn every phrase into some sort of flirting talk?" Claire laughed, " Fine, we can share the damn blanket if you want…"

Leon used the chance to steal her a kiss, and Claire did not take long to respond to it. The first few times, Leon's furtive kisses used to take her by surprise, and Claire had to resist her instinct to flip him over, but now, his kisses were something almost natural for her. Suddenly, a memory of something that her mom had told her once a very long time ago popped into her head. She had been five years old, sitting on the eating table, having breakfast when her father had come into the kitchen, kissed her mom, and walked out to work. As innocent as any child would be, Claire had asked her mom why she always kissed her father.

Her mom had smiled, sweetly, as she brushed Claire's short auburn locks and replied: "One day, Claire, you'll kiss someone and know and know that those are the lips you want to kiss the rest of your life." At the time, the five years old Claire had not understood it. She was a child. To her, kissing was something too far ahead, so she had not given it more importance, but now that she was older, her mother's words seemed to gain weight in her mind.

"Perhaps you were right, mom. Perhaps you were right…"

Claire had been spending most of that week in the DSO office, alternating her time between Leon's office and Marie's workshop. The small brunette and she had managed to build a special type of ammunition based on a hydrogen isotope called deuterium. The small munition was a buffed down version of a hydrogen bomb with a less destructive reach; there was still a small, expansive wave, but it wasn't strong enough to harm the shooter. The destructive key component in this munition was the controlled UV radiation release it caused when the deuterium ignited with the impact. The mechanics of the ammo were a lot more complicated than Claire could understand, but the point was that the first tests using infected cells had given great results. They still needed an "In-use" tryout, but they had a very good expectation of them.

"Well...that sure seems to work." Claire smiled.

"Oh, yeah. This is great. This design could perfectly get adapted to use another inhibitor matrix…" Marie said, excited, "this may be a key invention for future BOW's confrontation!"

"Sure, it is…" Claire replied, tilting her head, "Did you already report to Hopkins?"

"Sent the results this morning. Hopefully, we'll get the green light to produce them, and then we can negotiate the use with BSAA. "

"They will be delighted to have these babies in stock. You can be sure of that…" Claire chuckled. "Especially now that the new BOW's threat is a real thing…"

"Well, I wouldn't have done it without you! Your scientific background and perspectives were the heart of the whole design after all…"

"I put up the theory, but the mechanics are all yours…" Claire replied, crossing her arms and shaking her head, "I have no credits on that."

"If all those ladies that were talking behind your back took the time to know you, they'll understand why agent Kennedy chose you…" Marie laughed, "They'd have to suck it once for all."

Needless to say, Claire actually felt gratified about Marie taking her side against Leon's pack of hyenas fangirls; but she said nothing and instead let out a careless laugh.

"I think I'm getting used to their glares by now. That's fine, though. As long as there are people like Helena and you, I can survive."

"Ah..but still. You're too nice of a person. Agent Kennedy should do something about that."

"There's nothing that Leon can do about that. Besides, it is a small thing. Honestly, I couldn't care less about what they have to say. It's just pure blabber. Leon has better things to do than worry about a bunch of office workers talking on my back…" Claire laughed, to think that she'd never had to go through that when she was in high school but was now facing such a predicament in her adulthood.

"Oh, how do you do that? I even feel my blood boil when I heard them talk…"

"Knowing you're getting mad for me is enough…" Claire laughed, "That's alluring, Marie. Thank you…"

"You're too nice, Clara. Way too nice, maybe I should persuade Helena to do something about it instead ."

"Oh, please, don't." Claire sighed, and they both giggled.

"Can I ask you something?"

Claire put down the datasheet she'd been writing on and looked at Marie, puzzled. She had no idea what she could be wanting to ask her.

"Eh...sure, what is it?"

"I'm just curious, but...how did you and agent Kennedy end up together?" Marie said with glowing eyes and an obvious excitement for new gossip. Claire wondered what she should answer since she had the sensation that whatever she said would probably end up rubbed in the faces of those fangirls if Marie could help it.

"I mean, agent Kennedy is handsome and popular with girls and all, but he's always all about work… how did he end up marrying a welsh biologist?"

Claire was glad that she'd always been good at memorizing things. Otherwise, she would have never linked up the threads of the very well elaborated story that Hunnigan had made up for Clara Driscoll and come out with a believable story.

"Well...let's say we kind of met up in stormy circumstances. I was a freshman in college. I had gotten myself a scholarship, so I came from Wales to study. Leon was still a rookie cop at the time and we kind of met in, well, let's just say he saved my butt, and I saved his. We became friends after that…"

"Wow, so you know him for a while…"

"Oh...I've known him for years, and I've even seen his not-so-cool face a few times. ." Claire chuckled, "but we were friends for many years, and we both had a thing for each other, and none of us knew it. We were both quite clueless about it…"

"Oh….oh...and what happened?"

"Well…"

"After some life-changing events, let's say we figured out where our priorities should stay…"

Claire almost dropped her datasheet in shock. She turned around in her seat and looked at the door where Leon had decided to make his gracious appearance. The man was standing with his arms crossed and his shoulder resting against the door frame and curious smirk.

The agent uncrossed his arms, entered the shop with his typical gallant step, and approached Claire. He put his arm around Claire's waist and pulled her towards him, making Claire stare at him, shocked.

"Oh, agent Kennedy!" Marie said excitedly.

"Geez, Leon. You know gentlemen don't eavesdrop on ladies' talk…" Claire said with a shudder and glared at him, but all she managed to do was broaden his smirk.

"I didn't intend to, but since the conversation involved me, I didn't see anything wrong at speaking."

"Still...not nice, Leon. Not nice at all. What are you doing here?"

"Well, I haven't had word from my wife since this morning, and it's almost lunchtime. I thought I should come and check on what was keeping my wife so busy."

Claire slightly rolled her eyes. She knew that it translated to "I came to check on you om case some psycho terrorist had tried to kidnap you under my nose."

"These are the ammunition you've been working in?"

"Oh yes," Marie said enthusiastically. "They still need to be tested on real subjects, but I believe they will serve their purpose well…"

"They should work well against the new kind of BOW…" Claire assured.

"Sounds useful…" Leon nodded.

"Well, I appreciate your help today, Clara, but I think your man is demanding your attention now."

Her sure sounded weird, but in the few days she'd gotten to know Marie, she'd realized that the woman was romantic at fault. It wasn't that surprising that she was pushing her out of the workshop just to let her have lunch with Leon.

Claire and Leon said goodbye to Marie and left the workshop together. The pair headed for the elevator and then to Leon's office. The man had taken her hand. That detail didn't go unnoticed by many of the people that passed them. Claire wondered if Leon was doing that purposely to annoy her, but she did not complain.

"So, I guess the lunch thing was just an excuse?"

"Not really. It is almost lunchtime, and I don't think I want you skipping meals…"

"I assume you already bought my lunch then?"

"You know me well… Hope you don't mind eating at the office."

"Always a gentleman…" Claire chuckled, "And no, I don't mind eating at the office. I did it all the time before."

Lunch turned out to be grilled chicken with baked potatoes and spinach salad. A smart choice and healthy, too. They sat at their respective desks and ate their meal between casual conversation and some jokes. The lunch turned out to be quite pleasant until suddenly it was interrupted by a timid knock on the door.

Claire recognized the blonde woman who was looking at them timidly from the door. It was Miss Smith, the assistant of the agent that Leon and Helena disliked so much.

"Oh, hi…" Claire said friendly,"Can we help you?"

"Oh, yes...excuse me, Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy, I am sorry to interrupt your lunch, but…"

"That's okay. We were finishing up anyway…."Leon replied, "Did something happen?"

"Oh, well...I was going through Mr. Mercer's mail, and I am afraid that your mail and his got accidentally mixed up in the reception, Mrs. Kennedy."

"What?" Claire replied cluelessly, "For me?"

"Yes, I am...sorry I didn't bring it earlier, but Mr. Mercer had a busy schedule this week, and I hadn't had a chance to look through the mail and…"

"Oh, it's okay...don't worry about what I understand."

Claire walked to the door and reached for the letter that Ms. Smith was extending to her.

"Thanks for bringing it. "

"Not at all. Well, I have to go. Busy schedule and all…"

"Sure, see you."

Ms. Smith walked away at a rushed pace, and Claire walked back to the desk, looking at the envelope with a frown. The letter was specifically addressed to her, well, not her but to Clara Driscoll, but there was no return address. The envelope felt a little heavy, and she could hear a soft tinkle when it moved.

"Huh…" Leon said, looking over her shoulder, "Were you expecting mail?"

"No...I wasn't. You know there's no reason why someone would write to...Clara."

Leon's face darkened.

"Maybe I should be the one to look at that…" Leon said, grabbing the envelope.

"Wait…"

Claire dug into her bag and pulled out a pair of lab gloves that she gave to Leon.

"Put these on. You don't know what might be inside that …"

"Gloves...are you always so prepared?"Leon said, taking the gloves and putting them on.

"You never know what you'll stumble with," Claire shrugged, "Biologist, remember?"

Claire saw Leon smirk, but his face quickly switched back to agent mode as he turned to the letter and examined it carefully. After a couple of minutes, he finally tore the envelope open. There was no note inside; in fact, there was nothing inside it, except a small and old looking silver locket and a bunch of old photos.

But when Leon began to look through the photos, Claire felt her blood go cold. She was frozen in her spot as the color began to drain from her already pale face. The people in the pictures were familiar to her, she could sense it, but she couldn't make out from where. Suddenly, everything around her distorted, and every noise except her own agitated breathing, seemed to get muted. Images were starting to pop up in her mind. They seemed like scenes from a movie.

She was sitting in a dimly lit room, the place was cold and damp, and a sickening metallic scent floated in the air. Claire was holding her knees to her chest, the light gown she wore was torn and dirty, and several catches covered her pale naked arms. There was a man by her side. He was an older man with a gray beard and, like her, scratches all over his wrinkled face.

"Why are they doing this to us?"

"Wish I could tell ye, lassie….. Wish I could. "

The image was quickly replaced by another. This time it was day time, Claire was sitting on the bed inside a white room. A nurse with a stern look entered and handed her a cup of pills.

"Let's not make another scene, Ms. Redfield, be good, and take your medicine.."

"Why? I am not sick."

"They all say that… yet you're here, aren't you?"

The scene changed once more. Claire was lying in bed, curled between the covers and trembling. She heard screams and howls in the distance, and she could only pray for the light of day to come soon.

Memories are sneaky ...they come and go, but the truth is...they're never forgotten.

The images kept coming. She saw herself with several other people. Sometimes they seemed happy, some others were sad, and some were terrifying.

It was too much for her to take at once, and she felt her strength leave her. The last thing Claire was able to hear was Leon's voice calling her before everything around her was devoured by darkness.