Chapter Two

*****************

Leon rested his head against the back of his seat. Sweat had begun to trickle down the back of his neck and onto his white t-shirt. He reached out and clicked on the air-conditioner, and almost immediately, cold air began to blow into his face. He turned on the radio and heard a voice belting out lyrics in a type of rock-and-roll beat. He didn't understand Japanese, but he found that he enjoyed it all the same. He bobbed his head to the beat absently, until a loud tapping sounded on the passenger-side window. He sat up and saw Claire's face smiling at him through the window. He leaned over and pulled up the lock, letting Claire into the Jeep. She was carrying a large bag full of bread and meat, along with other sandwich-essentials. "Jeez," Leon said. "Think you got enough?" Claire offered a smile. "Nah. Chris is a big-eater, and I think that Barry can put away quite a few as well."

Leon rolled his eyes. He had met Chris only once, when he had sent word to him that Claire was being held in the Umbrella prison on Rockfort Island. He didn't look like a "big-eater," though, but then again you never really could tell about people at first-glance. Leon turned his attention to the present, and shifted gears to allow the Jeep to pull out of the parking space. His hand clutched the stick and moved according to the speed that was was required. Leon liked Jeeps. They were rugged, durable, and good for off-roading. He had one when he first arrived in Raccoon City, but was forced to abandon it when he was nearly surrounded by the walking dead. He had been travelling with Claire for the past several months, doing both reconnaisance missions and taking more direct action against Umbrella. His eyes looked back-and-forth across the road ahead of them. "Which way?" he asked.

Claire pointed. "Take a left up here. They're probably waiting for us." The others had sent word to Claire and Leon about a rumored Umbrella lab in Japan, and said to meet up in a motel near the edge of Kyoto. Leon turned where his passenger had directed him, and heard her say, "There it is."

Leon slowed down, and turned into the motel parking lot. They didn't see Barry's SUV, but Leon pulled into an empty space just the same. He turned off the car and stepped out, helping Claire with the bag. "Which room did they say it was?" Leon asked. Claire pulled a small piece of paper out of her pocket and unfolded it. "213," she answered. Leon looked at the doors that stretched off in either direction in front of them. There were no actual numbers, just a bunch of characters which he guessed signified the number of each room. "Um..." he started.

Her college offered several different foreign language courses, and she decided to take Japanese. Ever since her trip to Raccoon City, she hadn't gone back. Because of that, Claire knew a little Japanese, but not as much as she should, so she began to study the doors. "Hyaku is one-hundred...nihyaku is two-hundred...and thirteen is....juusan. So nihyaku-juusan is 213." Within moments, she found it, and tried the knob. It was locked, so she tapped on the door with her knuckles. There was no answer. "Well, now what?" Leon said loudly. Claire looked at her watch. It was 4:40 in their time-zone, so she figured that the others were just running late. She sat down on the curb next to the Jeep and Leon followed suit. "I guess we wait," the young woman replied.

Not far away, against a small shed adjacent to the pool, a figure leaned casually. Claire Redfield... we meet again. A smile slowly spread across the figure's face. "I guess I'll have to re-introduce myself," he said to no one. "She probably wouldn't even recognize me anymore."

===========

"Ten says they're already waiting for us," Jill said. Neither Chris or Barry bothered to take her up on her bet, for they thought the same thing. Claire and Leon were most likely bored out of their minds waiting. Barry turned left at a nearly-empty intersection, and pulled into the motel parking lot. He parked quickly and the three of them piled out. Claire stood up and hugged her brother as soon as he was within reach, nearly knocking him over. "Well, I missed you too!" Chris said with a laugh. He looked past his sister at the young man that had just gotten to his feet. "Leon Kennedy," the young man said, extending his hand. Chris took the hand and shook it.

Jill and Barry stepped up, introducing themselves in turn. "We're sorry to have kept you guys waiting," Barry said, digging into his pockets. Leon shrugged. "It's no problem. We just got here ourselves, actually."

The larger man produced a small key and walked over to the door. He had some trouble getting it into the lock, but he finally did it, and unlocked the door. The five of them entered he room. It wasn't much more than a typical setup: two beds, card-table, a TV, and off on the far end of the room, was a large mirror set up with two sinks just to the right of the bathroom. Jill headed for the bathroom as Claire flopped onto the bed closest to the door, sighing loudly. At least the beds are soft, she thought to herself. Leon pulled out a chair from underneath the table and sat down, relaxing his tired body. Chris did likewise, but at the same time, he pulled out a deck of well-used cards. "Five-card draw?" he asked Leon. The younger man nodded, and a smirk spread across his face. "Sure," he replied.

Chris dealt the cards, and announced the wilds. "Acey-ducey," he said. Leon looked at his hand, and frowned inwardly. He had a three, a five, a four, and two sevens. In short, his hand sucked. Chris, however, had a fair hand: a king, a jack, a six, an eight, a nine, and an ace. Leon looked over his cards once more, then turned them face-down and slid them to Chris. "Five new ones," he said softly. While Chris dealt Leon a new hand, Barry busied himself by surfing channels on the TV, hoping to find something in a language he could understand. Naturally, he was unsuccessful. He grunted and clicked off the set, just as Leon threw his cards down to the table and said loudly, "Royal Flush! All diamonds!"

Jill stuck her head out the bathroom door, wondering what all the commotion was about. Water cascaded down her shoulders from her hair. "What's going on?" she asked. "Chris just got whomped in Draw Poker," Barry said with a laugh. Jill smiled, and went back to her shower.

Claire rolled onto her side, facing the window of the room. Her eyes fluttered as exhaustion began to take her. She began to drift into a light sleep, her body seeming to sink deeper into the mattress, and was almost completely asleep when a car alarm blared throughout the motel. "That's my SUV!" Barry said loudly, practically flying toward the door. He yanked it open, and reached for his revolver at the same time, which was tucked inside his vest. "Damn!" he said aloud, looking out the doorway. Claire sprang from the bed and looked over Barry's massive shoulder. The SUV was fine, except for the shattered passenger-side window. Chris squeezed out the doorway and hurried over to the scene. He stuck his head inside the window, and pulled it back slowly, his expression grim. Jill, in the meantime, had heard the alarm and thrown on a towel, and was now standing near the doorway. "What happened?" she asked.

"The envelope is gone," was Chris' reply.