Resident Evil: The Recurring Nightmare of Hope

Chapter Three: Rabbit-Hole Logic

"Next time, they will spring for first-class… My back feels like a pretzel…" Claire slowly walks with Leon through Charles De Gaulle International Airport in Paris.

"I think they have fresh pretzels over there…" Leon replies with what he believes to be the correct answer to her statement as his eyes scan the airport for threats of any kind.

Countless couples are being reunited just past the Security Checkpoint, parents anxiously await their children returning from a trip out of country, several groups of kids are apparently excited about taking in the sights of Paris and most of Europe, and then there is a strange man sitting on the bench stationed between the bathrooms on the eastern wall. Leon wraps his arm through Claire's, smiles at her, then watches as the man eyes the couple for a second before returning to his newspaper. The man's details are planted firmly in Leon's memory as the two make their way out of the airport and into the early Parisian morning light. All around them the city is alive with men and women on bikes with baskets on the front filled with bread and other groceries. Entertainers line the streets around them doing what they do best; with some painting, others doing mime skits, while some are just content with a gathered crowd listening intently to stories told with great fervor in French and other languages.

"I can't believe a place this breath-taking could be the site of a bio-weapons sale…" Claire continues to take in more of the imagery around her before something strikes the back of her neck.

"Leo-"

"You noticed him too? Just keep walking, will get a cab when we get to a main road," Leon guides them through the fast-moving crowd of people moving from the airport entrance, the dirty-blonde ex-cop doing his best to keep tabs on anything odd around them and working to keep them hidden amongst the crowd of tourists.

Who the hell could it be?

11

Claire lets Leon guide her through the crowd, using his guidance to buy her time to focus on the person or persons following the couple. Whoever this person is, they are taking great care to remain hidden amongst the crowd, which is working against them it seems. At times like this it is better to locate the person who blends in too well; like a cop, a paper-boy, or a person handing out pamphlets or samples of food or drink. Out of the corner of her left eye she spots someone who is doing too good of a job moving through the sea of people, the camera hanging around their neck a little too large and expensive for someone wearing cheap off-brand sandals.

"Seven o'clock, typical tourist with a paparazzi camera," she whispers it into his ear before kissing it softly, trying to keep up an appearance that they are a couple on holiday in France.

She feels the goosebumps pop up on his neck as she pulls away, which peaks her curiosity, "Like it, do you?"

Leon clears his throat and ignores the question, which makes Claire smile as it is really hard to get under his skin, "We can lose him at the train station, quickly before traffic starts to move again…"

As Leon attempts to step into the cross-walk, Claire holds on tight and stops him from stepping in, "What are you doing?"

"Hold on a second…" the redhead keeps an eye on their follower as time ticks down before the light changes and cars fill their escape route.

She feels her partner becoming more agitated, but she keeps her calm, watching as traffic slowly begins to move. From the northern side of the road an impatient taxi driver starts to barrel through the intersection, which causes Claire to push Leon forward and they pass just in front of it and land safely on the other side as traffic begins to fill the crossing, with their pursuer on the other side of it, glaring at them behind tinted glasses.

Claire smiles at Leon who barely manages to wipe the shock from his face after their near-brush with a fast-moving yellow death machine, "You okay there, sport?"

A glare from the taller male incites a laugh from Claire as they make their way into the train station finally stalker-free for the time being, "Where are we going to now?"

Leon studies a map of stops and stations before replying, "We're meeting Jennings at Saint Lambert Square.." a finger points to the spot on the map, which is a little bit south of the Eiffel Tower, which makes Claire ache for some small part of the tourist experience.

11

The train ride would be pleasant if Claire's senses weren't forced into high-alert after their escape from the stalker, "We're passing the Eiffel Tower now, Claire."

A slow roll brings Claire's vision from the inside of the train car to the Eiffel Tower as it passes a good distance away. It's much taller than she expected, but almost seems surreal as the large tower of metal contrasts with the surrounding organics of stone and wood. A light flashes across the window of their car as the sun reflects off the pool of water in front of the Tower. Suddenly Claire's view of the Eiffel Tower shifts from the serene scene before her to a scene of death, destruction, and terror as bodies lie strewn around the ground while the moans of undead bounce through the steel girders overhead. Blood flows down the path like a river of life as someone falls from the top of the Eiffel Tower, their throat torn out by human teeth.

Claire's hand squeezes Leon's arm tightly as she forces her eyes closed to force the nightmare away, "Claire? What's wrong?"

Red hair flips around as the woman shakes her head furiously to detach the vision from her mind, "Claire!"

Frantic blue eyes lock with calm and worried green as Leon pulls her head up to look at him with both hands around her cheeks, "Talk to me!"

"It was like Raccoon City all over again… Blood, bodies, zombies, and the moans… Oh god, Leon, the moans!"

"Hey! It was just a nightmare… We've faced much worse since then and survived because we are prepared… Claire, Raccoon City won't happen again because we have already survived it… It'll just be another infected zone… We'll be fine, together…"

Claire's expression softens as the panic begins to subside and give way to her own grasp on reality, "Thanks, Kennedy…"

"No problem," he still has her face in his hands, but she lets it go, finding comfort in his caring touch.

He lets go soon after that and pulls out the small map of the train lines, noting that their stop is coming up soon, "Better get ready to hop off as soon as the train stops, we only have fifteen minutes to make it to the meeting with Jennings."

11

"Get him the hell out of here before I pull a favor to get him on the fucking black list!" the door to Cranston's office is slammed shut as Jill does her best to push her pissed off partner from the equally angry Director.

As Chris punches the water cooler with a punch that would surely destroy a zombie's head, Jill sighs and glares at him, "You PUNCHED HIM!?"

"Bastard deserved it… Did you hear him, Jill? He effectively called my little sister a non-essential asset to this organization!"

Jill runs a hand through her shoulder-length brown hair and slides her beret back on, "He said, and I quote here, 'If she deviates from the mission and pursues Sherry Birkin, we will have to declare her a rogue asset and take precautions'. And I am pretty sure that right as you drove your fist into his face he was going to order you to stay in the states."

"Good thing I didn't let him give that order…" the smile on Chris Redfield's face causes Jill to sigh in exasperation and throw her hands up in defeat as she follows him to their shared office.

"How do you do it?" she leans against the door frame as Chris begins to assemble the beginnings of a travel bag.

A shoulder holster is tossed on top of the pile as Chris opens a few of the books from the shelf behind his desk, "Do what?" the clips of ammunition hidden within are added to the pile.

Jill ignores the not standard-issue ammunition and answers his question, "Go from completely pissed off to a smartass in the span of three seconds? You were ready to kill the man in there and now you're acting like a kid about to go on a trip to their favorite place in the world…"

A short laugh from the man hidden in the closet before he reappears with a small metal case, "You think he'll try and stop me from going after my sister knowing what I just did to him for even considering it?"

"You went in there with every intent of hitting him!?" Jill somehow finds herself surprised by Chris every once in a while.

"If I didn't get the answer I wanted, yes. Most of the organization seems to think I have an attitude, so why not act on it? Legend is stronger than truth, Jill.."

11

Claire and Leon slowly approach the figure lounging on the bench at the park, a bag of popcorn being shared between them, Are we still pretending to be a couple? Or is there more to this with Leon?

Leon ushers her toward a table close to the bench but far enough away to not grab attention, "The moon is brightest during the day."

Claire holds in a laugh as Leon slowly turns toward Jennings, "What in the hell is that? A code phrase? Seriously? The only people to use those anymore are spooks that still follow the rule-book…"

The scrawny man blinks a few times in astonishment and turns around, draping his body over the back of the bench like a beggar would, "Here for the Deal, or the girl?"

Claire grits her teeth and clenches the bag of popped corn in her hands, "The… The…"

"Both," blue eyes stare at Leon in amazement at how he's going against orders.

"Take this on the girl," a small file, about the size of an index card, is flipped toward Claire as Leon is handed a bigger folder filled with documents and photos.

Claire's hands shake as they reach for the tiny collection of information on Sherry, but Leon swipes it up and stares at her before placing the larger file between them, "Sherry is attached to this file as well, if we focus on this first, we might have a better understanding of the contents of the other folder. The mission first, then Sherry, agreed?"

Her throat tightens from the weight of his words, her heart screaming no, but her mind forcing her to reply with a choked, "Yes.."

Claire hangs her head in defeat, watches Leon slide the smaller file on top of the larger one, and before he gets the chance to pay attention, she slides the smaller file off and into her back pocket, "Let's go, Claire, we can get a nice hotel room and study all this."

The two of them slowly make their way to the street where Leon hails a taxi, "Radisson Blu Metropolitan."

"Oui," the driver nods and slowly merges with traffic as they begin the drive to the hotel.

We'll catch the damn bioweapons at a later time….. We always do… Why is Sherry such a secondary target for everyone? Claire sighs and stares out the window absentmindedly as they pass a decent shopping district with people window-shopping.

11

Claire did not expect this, not in a million years, definitely not with the world in such secret turmoil and filled with dark events floating on the horizon. Her eyes glisten with wonder as they lock with a view of the Eiffel Tower framed in a picturesque circular window. Her brain doesn't want to register how they got the best room in the hotel, not with the fact that Leon is trying really hard to get things that Claire wants crossed off a list they talked about years ago.

"I still can't believe you remembered that this was the exact room in this hotel I wanted…." Claire slowly walks through the room, letting her fingers brush over everything as she takes it all in.

"Well if we are staying in Paris, there is no better place to be.. Plus, while on the hunt for the remaining Umbrella scum, we may as well get something nice out of it on the Organization's dollar…" Leon places their bags on the floor by the bed then sits down at the small table and begins to open the folder and rifle through the contents.

"Hand it over," Leon's voice is sharp and calm, hiding the agitation well as Claire turns from the window.

She smiles innocently and attempts to inquire as to what he wants her to hand over when she catches the look in his eyes, "Fine…"

Leon catches the file as it spins across the table and plants it firmly under his arm as he pulls up the first bit of information on the deal that went through a few days ago, "Looks like this buyer was more interested in BOWs than any of the viruses or research data. This looks more like a weapons deal than a black market trade to be honest…"

"How many of what?" the redhead spins her chair around and sits on it backwards, crossing her arms over the back of the chair and glancing over the files and photos as Leon starts spreading them out.

"Looks here like they wanted a small battalion of MA-121s… With the amount of data they requested on the T-103 my first guess would be they are going to use the Tyrants as a squad leader for small squads of the Hunters… If that is indeed the case, then why didn't the buyer also ask about the NE-Alpha parasite?" more questions are raised than answered as more of the information is absorbed by the duo.

Claire holds up a photo of the buyer, "What nationality is he? Spanish?"

"Looks to be… Hold on…." Leon pulls out his laptop and quickly begins searching the internet after hooking in to the hotel wifi.

"Yeah, a report from the DHS about the kidnapping of the president's daughter back in 2004 the Organization received… It talks about how Ashley Graham was returned to the States after a few weeks with a slight health problem that quickly turned into a major outbreak of some strange parasitic organism. The few details Homeland Security revealed seem to suggest that this parasite can control others, or that there might be two types, one master, other slave."

Claire's ears perk at the repeated mention of the word parasite, then snaps her fingers as a memory surfaces, "I think my brother handled the clean-up of that fiasco… Maybe he can give us some more details…"

Leon smiles as Claire picks up her phone and hits speed-dial two for her brother, "Chris? I need to a- You are WHAT!?"

11

"We've reopened our investigation of the G-virus and are currently heading to Paris to assist you two in locating Sherry Birkin," Chris replies slowly after Claire's rage-filled rant about how his mission to find Wesker is more important.

"Claire, Claire.. CLAIRE! Wesker can wait.. For all we know he could be the man in the shadows behind all this anyway. You have something weighing you down and it's my job as your brother to help fix that. Stop arguing with me. Sherry's situation is delicate and requires a level head. No you do not have a level head. Ugh, no it doesn't sound like you have a level head. Claire-bear, put Leon on the phone before I fly over there just to burn the god damn file," he hears Jill chuckle as Chris's left eye starts to twitch with the frustration only an irate Claire can give him.

"Yo," the voice is a lot calmer this time, which causes Chris to feel a bit of happiness.

"Finally a rational voice. What did Claire want?" Chris's demeanor changes as Leon spills forth the details of their finds in Paris.

"Parasite involved in the DC incident? If I remember right the kidnappers referred to it as Plaga. Yeah, the plague or some derivative of that I am sure. The analysis confirmed that there appeared to be a slave-master relationship inherent in the parasite. Theoretically, yes it could be adapted to BOWs, but that would require a lot of time, research, and money," Chris immediately feels stupid as the next question is relayed over the phone.

"You do realize it has been about five years since the President's daughter was returned to the States, right?" anger wells up inside the mind of the male Redfield.

A glare at Jill to relay the anger, "Yes, but it still demands research and money. The kidnappers didn't ask for ransom, which probably means they are loaded… Yes, Leon, if they made the parasite it also means they have the research… Okay, I'll get Jill on finding out who was involved in the attempted rescue."

"Oh, you're going to get me on that, huh?" Jill smirks coyly, turns from Chris, and walks out toward the offices where a computer awaits her touch.

"Just get what you can… See what your contact in Homeland can scrounge up, what was her name again, Hunnigan?" Chris drops into his desk chair and rubs his temples, aggravated at how this whole mission is becoming a departmental nightmare.

"How did the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance go from a BOW bloodhound to a globe-trotting police force?"

"The same reason you went from our best operative to a desk-wielding commander of a cell of BSAA agents in the Eastern half of the planet," Cranston Reed steps into Chris's office with a piece of paper in his hands bearing the BSAA letterhead.

"That is what exactly?" Chris is referring to both the response from Reed and the letter in his hand.

The letter is slapped down on his desk as Cranston sneers at him, "Times change, and we as human beings change with it."

Chris reads the starting line of the letter aloud, getting angrier as he reads more, "Chris Redfield is hereby ordered by the BSAA to remain at the home office until his recent actions can be investigated!? Is this because I cold-cocked you an hour ago, you son of a bitch!?"

"That will be determined after a thorough investigation of your recent activities both here at the BSAA and at home, Chris."

You slimy bastard! The letter is promptly torn to shreds and tossed at the empty doorway.

The farther they all look into the matter, the more holes that open up… Which hole will get them where they need to go, and which others will just make them spiral out of control? Chris grits his teeth and prepares to tumble down the rabbit hole opening before him.

END