As Cold Blood Runs

by Fuuraibou

(Complete Prequel to Eyes of the Beholder) In a short matter of weeks, Leon Kennedy's life will be shattered as he discovers love, hate, fear, and even himself in a struggle for his own life.

6. Time Drain

COLD BLOOD RUNS

CHAPTER SIX: TIME DRAIN

Leon:

Fire Down Below: 10:30 PM

Anger. A fire burning through my veins, coursing through my heart. Every inch of me burned as I looped the footage of the siege on my parents' home over...and over...and over again. Watching as the black clad troops with the blue and gold vortex stormed through the door; how Chris and Carlos jumped to stop them; watched as they were brutally knocked to the ground and a stun grenade, which emits a bright flash of light to knock out any opponents was fired, and my friends...and Claire...and my sister all collapsed to the ground. I felt such helplessness...and such anger at the sight of my sister, Sherry, and those two British kids, Rott and Lily Klein, that Ark brought with him dragged out like cattle. The footage soon ended, and began to loop again. I heard soft footsteps, but I didn't pay any attention.

"Hey," it was Claire, in a pair of black shorts and a matching t-shirt, with her hair let down around her shoulders, instead of the ponytail she always insisted it being in.

"Oh...hey," I said as I turned back to the computer screen. I heard the sound of a chair being dragged up next to me. Claire wrapped her arms around my waist and rested her head on my shoulder.

"You ok?" she asked.

"Yeah...just fine," I answered, unfortunately rather coldly. Claire looked at me, and I felt the focus of her soft blue eyes on me. She put her hand up against my cheek, and I turned my face and met her gaze.

"Leon," she began. "I know what you're going through...but please...don't distance yourself from me. I don't want to lose you." Distance? My God, I was pulling away from her.

"Claire...I..." I sputtered. "I...I am so sorry." I pulled her close to me, and I leaned my head on top of hers. "Please...don't think I'm trying to distance myself from you. I can't do that. I won't do that" I saw her eyes close, and she smiled.

"God, I love you so much," she said.

"I know," I told her. "And, of course, you know that I love you even more." She leaned her head back against my shoulder, and I rested mine on top of hers. Touching, isn't it. For a moment (that seemed like an eternity), I felt at peace...and everything was serene. Quiet. Peaceful. Even somewhat...normal. But as things come, they must go, and such was as with this event. I heard a loud cough, and we were startled by Ark. He stood, leaning up against the doorway, with a coy smile on his face.

"If I ain't interrupting something," he said, very smugly. "Chris has called a team meeting. You may want to take a rain check on the tonsil hockey and come in and listen." With that said, he flashed me a wink, and left the room. Claire had turned beet-red, and she stood up.

"Sometimes..." she began. "I really hate that guy!"

I just sat back and smiled.

Trevor:

Hostile Intentions: 10:30 PM, Lansing, Michigan

"Yes, sir, we followed your orders to a 't', sir," I spoke into the cell phone. President Wesker, although we had pulled the mission off without a hitch, seemed unhappy.

"What about the Redfields, Valentine, Oliveria, Hartford, and Kennedy?" Albert asked.

"Both Redfields accounted for, along with Valentine, Hartford, and Oliveria. Kennedy was not on the premesis, sir," I replied. I didn't understand completely the president's thinking. Why not kill them all, and bring that freak Hartford back with us? Instead, we were stuck with the brats from hell.

"Where are you at?" he asked.

"Just outside the city, sir. The chopper will be on the premesis ETA 10 minutes," I answered.

"Good job, Commander Peters. Thank your team as well," he said as he hung up. I turned the phone off, and threw it down. I stepped back out of the cockpit, and back into the personell carrier with the remainder of my RAID Omega Squadron: there was Geoff Burke, our weapons specialist, a tall, lanky black-haired man; then there was Vic Sparks, our resident sniper and covert op expert, a medium-tall bald guy, heck he was about 40-something; Nathan Myers, a short redhead, was our communications guru; and rounding out the strike force was Calvin Adams, a demolitions expert if you ever did see one. He was awfully recluse, and he really didn't want anything to do with anything that didn't have to do with his next job.

"That was the prez, guys," I said. "He wanted to congratulate you."

"Fuck him," Geoff said, with a thick British accent. "That bastard didn't have to deal with these little shits!" he shouted as he pointed at the children: 3 girls: about 16, 12, and 8; and a little boy, about 12 or thirteen years old. Geoff was right...they were pains in the ass...literally. My butt was probably bruised three or four different ways, thanks to them. Nathan's face was red, where the oldest girl, Amy Kennedy, had slapped him. But, most of the attempted bites, punches, and kicks were deflected thanks only to our body armor. But still enough, the kids had hammered at us, and quite frankly, it was really starting to get to me. Daycare wasn't my business.

"I agree, Geoff," Nathan said. "I don't see why the hell Wesker wants these brats."

"Something about a Redfield guy," Calvin said. "The boss wants them for some reason. I think it's to act as bait."

"You know, Cal," Vic started in. "You're really good at stating the obvious." I swear, Vic really enjoyed taunting Cal, probably Cal would just cower down and take it. But not tonight.

"Listen, you old screwball," Cal stated. "Don't start any shit with me tonight."

"What's wrong, kiddo? Can't take the heat?" Vic replied. Cal jumped up, and I caught the glimpse of a combat knife in his hand.

"HEY, SIT DOWN!" I shouted. Cal looked at me, and sheathed his blade back in the sheath on his belt. Vic just sat back, and laughed.

"Same goes for you, sergeant," I said, scorningly. Vic looked at me, and gave me a sly look.

"Well, looks like Mr. Big shot commander is under control," he said.

"Enough, Vic," I said.

"Hey!" I turned, and Gary Wallace, our pilot, was shouting.

"What?" I shouted back.

"We're getting ready to land, so y'all get strapped back in!" he shouted, with a dominant southern accent.

"You heard the man! Strap up!" Nathan shouted. We did, and began to feel the descent of the chopper, and then the soft thud of the landing. We stood up, and I turned to the kids.

"All right, let's go!" I shouted. "One at a time, no funny stuff!" We saw the spiteful looks they gave us, but they followed orders, suprizingly without much prompting. We stepped out onto the dimly lit helicopter pad, and I saw the president waiting for us, in his typical black three-piece and his dark sunglasses.

"Welcome back, Commander Peters," he said. "And to the rest of Omega squadron. Very good job, boys."

"Thank you, sir." Cal replied with a sharp salute. The kids looked frightened, and they had every right to be.

"These the ones?" Vic asked. Wesker had a folder, and he opened them.

"Hmmm..." he whispered. "Birkin, the Kleins, and Kennedy....good job fellas. You got the right ones." Sometimes, his cool nature just...bothered me.

"So what's your planning here, sir?" I asked.

"We're going to lure their adult counterparts here," he said. He gave a signal, and more of the RAID members, probably somewhat new recruits, took the children, and took them to a black van on the other side of the pad. I signaled my team to follow, but President Wesker stayed.

"Oh, Chris," I thought I heard him whisper. "You're in deep shit now." He then broke out in a soft chuckle, and turned to the black Chevy Blazer on the other side of the pad.

Leon:

Let It Roll: 11:30PM

"All right, folks," Chris said, as he sat at the head of the dining room table. "Thanks to Seth and Ark's efforts, we have accessed a map of the Bio-Port facility in Lansing. The conference room that Wesker wants to meet us in, is up here on the 3rd floor. An unarmed, but wired, team will meet with him. The info will be relayed to the second team, which will be armed to the brim and ready to go at the first sound of trouble. Jill, Barry, Seth, and I will make up team one. Leon, you will lead the second team, comprised of Claire, Carlos, and Ark."

"Gotcha," I said.

"OK, guys. We have one objective, and ONLY one objective," Chris said again. "We have to get in, get the kids, and get out of there...quickly and without bloodshed. Now, listen close."

We all gathered in around Chris and the map.

"OK," he began. "Leon, your team will wait at a distance that is unsuspicious, but at one where you could easily penetrate the compound quickly. As shown by the map, there is an unguarded entrance here, near the vehicle compound. If you can get in, then pass quickly through the back and to the cargo elevator, take it to the third floor."

I nodded, and Chris turned to the other three that would accompany him.

"Listen. No weapons in, hopefully Wesker won't try to start anything. If so, we got the others out there waiting for us," he said. Barry looked distressed at the mention that he would be encountering his old captain without his Python .45 with him, but he nodded.

"Get some rest, folks." Chris looked worn out. "We have a real big day in store for us tomorrow." He gave a brief wave, and took off up the stairs towards his room. Seth had already crawled off, and Barry grabbed his bags and took off after Chris. Jill headed down the hall, and that left Claire and I.

"We need to get some sleep," I said as I went to the living room. I didn't go in right away, and I saw a distressed look in Claire's eyes.

"Leon...I'm worried," she said. I went over to her, and took her hands in mine.

"Don't worry. We'll be together, no matter what happens," I replied, trying to be reassuring.

"I know, but I'm worried...worried about you and what might happen," she said, referring to what I believed what happened after the raid in Lebannon.

"Don't worry," I said. "I drove that crazy son-of-a-bitch out of my head."

She lowered her head, and laughed. A sweet, musical laugh that goes straight to my heart.

"Dammit, why do you have to be so funny?" she chuckled.

"I don't know, but if it makes you happy, then that's what I'll be," I said as I kissed her cheek. She looked at me with a smile that could melt iron, and I drew her close to me.

"Now, we need to get some sleep," I said. She kissed my cheek, and headed towards the staircase.

"Hey!" I shouted out.

"Yes?" she asked.

"I love you."

Leon:

Operation: Snakebit Commences- 6:00 AM, Northchester Villiage, New York. 7 hours until Deadline

We chose a little town on the western border of the state, called Northchester Villiage. It was a quiet little burg, just the perfect place for a fugitive strike team to assemble. Barry's chopper was on a private pad near the town, but only Chris' team would be flying in. My team was stuck with a large cargo van, stocked to the brim with monitoring equipment, weaponry, and tactical gear. Barry claims he got ahold of it from his buddy, who happens to be the captain of the Albany S.T.A.R.S. branch, Captain Jerry Greene. Frankly, I didn't give a damn, as long as it would get us there. Chris pulled into a local resteraunt, we piled out, and went inside. We filed into a little booth in the back, and Chris pulled out a map. A young waitress came over to the table, and put down several glasses of water.

"What can I get you today?" she asked.

Chris looked over at a little chalkboard, and saw that the daily special was cheap.

"What's the special?" he asked.

"A large omelet, Western style," the waitress answered. Chris looked back at the rest of us, and we all nodded to him.

"Give me eight of 'em," he said.

"Anything to drink?" she asked.

"Coke, please, with all of them," Chris answered. She smiled and nodded, and headed back for the kitchen.

"OK guys, here we go," he said, unfurling the map. It was a map of the Bio-Port facility, and the surrounding area.

"Barry, Jill, Seth, and I will enter here," he said, pointing to the main entrance. "Wesker is expecting us, so his guards should let us through. We will take this elevator to the meeting. As I said before, we will be unarmed. But we will be wired. So," he said, as he pointed at a red 'X' on a street near the facility. "Claire, Leon, Carlos, and Ark will be waiting here in the van, waiting for our signal. Once Wesker's motives are clear, then we will give the signal, and Leon, your team will come busting in, get the kids, and get us the hell out of there." I looked at him, and nodded.

"Gotcha, chief," I said in my best fake Brooklyn accent. Chris shook his head, and Claire laughed. Chris got his 'dammit, let's get serious and do this right' look on his face, and turned up to Jill, Barry, and Seth.

"OK guys, Leon's getting us to the airfield, and then we're on our own until then," he said.

"Hey, bro!" Claire shouted.

"Yeah, what is it?" he answered.

"What's the signal?" she asked.

"What, you can't tell?" he laughed back.

"No, what is it?" she asked again.

"Oh, shit!"

"What??"

"That's it, Claire, 'Oh shit!'"

Oh, Shit is right, Chris ol' buddy, because these people don't know what they're dealing with. In fact, neither do you. So, I guess you'll have to wait for chapter seven to find out!