Ding-dong!
"I'll get it!" Buffy walked to the front door.
She opened it and, when she saw who was standing there, smiled. "Leon! I'm so glad you came by. Come in!"
Leon grinned at her as he stepped inside the Summers' residence. The man was cute, even all scratched up and bandage-y. Hey, she couldn't discriminate against the bandaged, since she herself had a rather enormous one on her arm.
"Looks like you're healin' up pretty fast for someone who was just infected with a deadly virus a couple of days ago," Leon said, looking her up and down.
She smiled. "I come from hardy stock, I guess. We heal fast."
"I guess. So, I thought you'd want to know what happened with Wesker."
"Yeah, what're those crazy kids at Umbrella up to now? Hey, let's go sit down in the living room."
"Sounds like a plan." They sat down across from each other.
Leon continued. "Well, you were right about Wesker and his plan to make off with the virus. For all the noise he made about the advancement of science and what not, apparently he was planning to sell the D-Virus to the highest bidder. His pal Gary, who very kindly ratted him out, was going to make sure there weren't any security hassles. Chris and Barry had had dealings with Wesker before, so they knew what he was like. They weren't surprised by anything the crazy bastard had planned to do."
"So what's going to happen to him?"
"Right now, the doctor is sitting in jail. He's going to be charged with murder, believe it or not. The S.T.A.R.S. team was able to prove that the soldier zombies were actually Umbrella employees, like your friend John, whom Wesker had been using for test subjects."
Buffy's eyes flashed at the mention of John's name. "Do you think the charges will stick?
Leon smiled cynically. "Can't say for sure. But, I suspect that Umbrella just might let the good doctor hang. Even if the research was performed with Umbrella's approval, they'll, of course, disavow all knowledge of Wesker's escapades.
"What about the underground lab and the Umbrella facility? Can't say I really want a virus manufacturing plant in my backyard."
"The organization I work with is going to take care of that. With Wesker being charged with murder, my group thinks that giving a heads-up to a couple of newspapers about the illegal scientific research going on in Sunnydale will really put Umbrella in the dog house for awhile. With any luck, the bad publicity from Wesker's trial, combined with Umbrella's past screw-up in Raccoon City, will force them to shut the facility down."
"That's a super-sized relief." Buffy said. Really, she had more than enough to do, what with all the native evil in Sunnydale. She'd rather not import any foreign evil. "So, what's your plan now, Leon?"
"Another day, another Umbrella facility to take down. Umbrella has enough money and power that even a screw-up like this one won't be enough to keep them down. Next time, however, I think I'll hitch a ride with a S.T.A.R.S. team." Leon paused, then said, "Listen, Buffy, I just wanted to say thanks, you know, for everything and… I know that if you hadn't been there, I'd probably be Leon the Zombie by now and… you were so brave and…"
"Okay, don't get mushy on me, kid." Buffy said, smiling. "We worked together, we're alive, we're not zombies… it's all good."
Leon nodded, and gave her a cute little crooked smile. "Well, I'd better get going. I'm driving back to L.A. with Barry and Chris, so…" They both stood. He approached her uncertainly.
Buffy was not so shy. She grabbed him and gave him a hug. He grunted a little.
She stepped back and looked at him. "I want you to be careful, Leon. Fighting evil is a dangerous business. Promise me you'll be careful, and, hey, if you give me a call from time to time, I wouldn't mind."
Leon smiled. "I'll be careful." They walked to the door. "Bye, Buffy. Take care of yourself."
"Bye, Leon."
The door shut behind him.
Buffy stood for awhile, smiled, shook her head a little, then walked into the kitchen. A newspaper was sitting open on the counter.
"Okay… clerical assistant wanted, full-time, $7/hour…"
THE END