Evelyn rested at a small table while Leon checked out what appeared to be an employee break room. She had found a few protein bars in the small employee kitchen, and consumed them like they were the first thing she'd eaten in days. Which was the case. A TV mounted on the wall played the news. They were covering the events that had transpired in the capital. As usual, they cycled through disturbing footage, while spouting speculation and little facts. She zoned out, staring at the television, no longer hearing the words coming from the speakers. She snapped out of it when a towel hit the side of her head.
"Use that to clean yourself up," said Kennedy as he grabbed a second towel from an open locker.
The agent wiped his face and neck, scowling at the filth her left on the cloth. Moving on to his arms, he resumed checking the lockers for anything of use. It was all clothing and personal items. Davis got up and went to the small sink in the kitchenette tucked away in the corner of the room. She wet the towel and got to work scrubbing off the grime. Leon watched her for a moment. It was clear she was nearing the end of her rope. She was obviously exhausted physically as well as mentaly. He knew he needed to get her out of here as soon as possible. There was also the issue of his mission. The resignation letter he had pocketed provided some insight into what had happened here, but it wasn't enough. There had to be more. He only hoped Bluth hadn't had time to hide his tracks.
Evelyn walked to an open locker, examining the clothes hanging inside it. "Turn around," she instructed, "I'm gonna change into something… less disgusting."
"Right," the man obeyed, spinning to face the wall. Not wanting the awkwardness to win, he started talking. "You said you're married? What's your husband like?"
The woman chuckled. "Derrick? He's a big dork. Can't do anything without me." She stepped out of her torn skirt, tossing it to the side. "He's probably worried sick right now…"
"Don't worry, you'll see him again," Leon assured her.
"I hope so. If I don't, he'll hunt you down," she laughed, "And cry all over you."
It was Leon's turn to snort out a little laugh. "So, he's a softy, eh?"
"Big time," the tour guide smiled and buttoned a pair of slightly too-big jeans, "but that's what I love about him. When we were dating, we'd stay up all night just talking. He would write me songs and even poetry. He tells me every day that I'm the best thing to ever happen to him. I'd tell you our proposal story, but you'd probably throw up." She pulled on a purple t-shirt with a picture of a cartoon panda on it. "You can turn around."
Leon turned back to the final lockers he'd yet to check. "You'll have to tell me the story after we get out of here." The last locker was locked, so he used his knife to pry it open. There was a small box at the bottom. He opened the latch and popped it open. "Bingo."
He picked up a Glock 19, and checked the clip. It was full. He held it out to Evelyn. "Here, take this."
Davis hesitated, "Are you sure about that? You saw how useless I was before."
"That's why I'm going to teach you how to use it." The man stepped closer, and began pointing out and explaining the important features on the weapon. "The most important thing to remember is to keep your finger off the trigger unless you're ready to fire, and keep the barrel pointed down."
Davis exhaled, and nodded. "And, you aim with these little thingies?"
"Yes, you aim with the sights," Leon confirmed, suppressing a grin. "Point the gun," he guided her arms, "Keep your arms straight," he nudged her elbow, "And line up your sights. Aim for the 'in' on that poster."
She followed his instructions and pointed the gun at the cheesy poster across the room. A kitten clung to a branch with the words "Hang in there!" written across the top in a goofy font. Leon stepped in close behind her and gently redirected her aim, his face uncomfortably close to her ear. She loved her husband with all her heart, but she'd be a liar if she said she didn't find the mysterious agent attractive. She let out a breath and pushed the intrusive thought from her mind. From what she could tell, her shot was lined up pretty well.
"Go ahead and shoot," he said as he stepped back, exiting her personal bubble.
Resisting the urge to close her eyes, she pulled the trigger. The shot rang out, loud enough to make her ears ring. The kick made her arms bounce up. She had fired Leon's gun before, but at the time she hadn't been able to really pay attention to anything but the fiend trying to bite her face off. This time, she could smell the gunpowder and feel the slight tingling going up her arms from the recoil. She was disappointed to see that she hadn't hit the spot in between the i and the n as she had hoped. There was a bullet hole about 4 inches to the upper left of where she had aimed.
"Much better," Kennedy said with a pat on the shoulder. "You don't need to be a perfect shot. Just make sure you take the time to aim. It's easy to fire blindly when you're in a panic, but it won't do you any good to waste ammo. Better to spend a few seconds to make a good shot than to lose three bullets making an okay one."
"Uh… yeah, right." Evelyn lowered the gun awkwardly.
"Don't fire unless you need to. The sound will attract more B.O.W.s. Leave it to me to take these things out. Only shoot if there's no other option," he paused, then added, "and don't forget to keep the safety on."
She nodded and looked at the piece in her hand. She felt like she was in some alternate reality. She'd never dreamed she'd ever hold a gun, let alone fire it.
"Okay, let's keep moving." Leon made for the door at the end of the room and immediately realized it was locked. There was a keypad next to it, but no slider. "Dammit."
"It needs a code?"
"Yeah, let's look around here one more time. Maybe we'll find something."
The pair each started at one end of the lockers, checking them thoroughly. At the third one, Leon noticed a note taped to the inside of the door. It read only "John + Samantha = Door"
"Look at this," he held up the note.
"What is that supposed to mean? Is that some kind of code?"
"Beats me." Leon looked around the room, hoping for some kind of clue. "Let's keep looking."
A few moments later, Evelyn called out, "Leon, look at this!" She was holding an I.D.. It belonged to John Remington.
Taking the card, Leon examined it, "Could it be the birthday?"
"What about the locker number?" Evelyn suggested, closing the door to reveal a 12 on its front.
"If that's the case, we need to find Samantha."
The two set to work with renewed motivation. They tore apart locker after locker, with no hint of Samantha.
"I'm not seeing any other I.D.s or anything else that points to this Samantha," Evelyn said after slamming another locker shut.
"I found a dress in locker 18," Leon offered half-heartedly.
"Let's try it." Davis walked to the door and entered 1218 on the pad. It beeped and the sound of a lock clicking open brought a grin to her face. "It worked!"
"Well, I'll be damned…" The man joined her at the door, turning the knob. "Good work, Evelyn. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you've done this before."
She smiled sheepishly, "I play a lot of escape room games on my phone."
The man shook his head and grinned.
"Thank god Samantha has style," Evelyn mused. "I should have checked her locker first." She tugged at the bottom of her brightly colored shirt.
Leon opened the door, wary of what lay beyond it. A trio of undead proved his intuition correct. The man quickly put down the enemy while Davis hung back in the break room. She followed him in upon hearing him shout, "Clear!" following a series of other alarming sounds. This room was much larger than the last. Rows of desks held computers and dual screen monitors. Filing cabinets lined one wall. Out of context, one would think it was an ordinary office. Maybe a bit on the small side, but nothing aside from the dead bodies on the ground made alarm bells go off. Kennedy was already attempting to log into a computer as the tour guide made her way into the room. He tapped away furiously, his expression that of frustration.
"No good," he spat, "someone's already wiped them." He moved to another to confirm it was true for the whole office.
Evelyn opened a filing cabinet. It was empty. She tried several others, seeing similar results. "I think Bluth beat you to the punch."
Leon slammed a fist down on the keyboard he had been using. "Dammit!"
"What exactly are you looking for?" Davis asked.
"I told you, that's classified."
"I figure it's either proof that Bluth did this…" She slid her hand across the top of the filing cabinets as she walked, "or you're after his research for yourself. Or your superiors, I guess."
Leon's face grew deadly serious. "I can assure you that I don't want anything to do with what happened here. I'd be more than happy to see this place go up in flames, research with it."
Evelyn held up her hands in a gesture of defeat. "Okay, okay, sorry! You can stop glaring at me now." She smiled slyly, "Does that mean my first guess was right?"
"Believe what you want," Leon said as he began a cursory search of the remainder of the room.
"Jeez, touchy…"
There were two doors leading forward. One was labelled "Manager." Leon swung the door open recklessly, letting his sour mood lower his guard. Immediately, a B.O.W. in a grey suit bursted from the room. The creature latched onto him before he had time to raise his weapons. The agent twisted his body away from gnashing jaws. He was able to free one arm, using that hand to press against the thing's chest, putting some space between them. Evelyn realized this was her time to step in. She pulled the gun out from where she had tucked it into the back of her waistband, doing her best to remain calm as the man and creature wrestled back and forth. Raising the gun, she aimed carefully. The two forms jostled back and forth, making it difficult to make the shot. Leon twisted his body partially free, and Davis took her opportunity. Exhaling, she pulled the trigger. And nothing happened.
Leon heard the click, his eyes resting on the weapon, apparently only just realizing Evelyn had been about to use it. "The safety!" He shouted before spinning his body into a roundhouse kick.
The zombie let out a grunt as it was launched backwards into a wall. Evelyn quickly released the safety, and levelled her aim once more. The creature seemed to notice her for the first time. It locked onto her as it started to scramble upright. Davis held her breath and pulled the trigger once more. This time she was rewarded with a loud bang as the bullet screamed toward it's target. The round connected just above the thing's right eye. Gore exploded from the wound, painting the wall behind it. The undead office worker dropped to the floor, limp and lifeless.
Evelyn stared at the corpse, and then her smoking weapon. Her eyes were wider than dinner plates. She turned to Leon, and broke out in an astonished grin. "I did it! Did you see that? I really shot it!"
Kennedy tried and failed to hide a smile. The woman's genuine pride and happiness were practically tangible. "Good job, Davis. Maybe next time you'll manage it on your first shot."
She waved off his thinly veiled criticism. "Say what you will, but I'd say I did pretty damn good for someone who never even SAW a gun before today!"
The brunette chuckled. "You're right. You did good." He slapped her on the back. "Now, let's get the hell out of here."
o-o-o-o-o
Apologies for the short chapter. Also, let me know if you think it was a bit slow. I thought we could use a little lull to include some character interaction. I'd love to know what you think.