Darkblade: I'm glad you're enjoying this story. I'm also very glad that more and more people are taking the time to review. I remember when I first started this fic, hardly anybody was reviewing. I didn't even know if people were reading my shit. But I'm a little more confident now.
AnimaSola: The only thing you missed by not reading Kenny's other adventures is … the stories. I try and keep each story completely separate from each other, with the exception of a few elements crossing over. The Shadow Technology was featured in my fic entitled "Act 1" based on the street fighter video games. But the background is also explained in this fic, so reading the others is never a prerequisite to enjoying this one.
Lost Survivor: Kenny's not gonna be fighting alongside S.T.A.R.S. As you'll see further in this chapter, he'll be allying himself with the one, the only, Umbrella corporation. But why? Read on to find out ;)
E-Z B: Ah! I'm not trying to incorporate any story elements from street fighter into this story! I just want people to understand Kenny's background a little more in-depth. Looks like I may have to fix something …
Twin Snake: I'm happy to hear you're enjoying the stuff I'm producing! I only used Billy because he was a free character to use. He's virtually unheard of by the time RE2 comes around, so I felt like I was free to use him however I want, unlike Leon and Claire who have to retain their roles in the original games (since this fic is supposed to follow the events of the Resident Evil series to a T … pardon the pun … T … T-Virus, get it? HAH!!! *ahem*)
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I trudged from the hallway of the house deeper inside to the kitchen with Ada closely behind. I couldn't physically feel it, but I sensed the gun pointed at my back. I eyes jolted around the room looking for some means of escaping. I didn't know what I was thinking at the time. If I actually managed to escape, she would tell Captain Wesker about Barry and Chris and I couldn't risk putting them in danger. I had to co-operate with the crazy woman.
Knowing that she already had me on a leash, Ada suddenly said, "I'm going outside to wait for you. Don't be too long." At least she was polite enough to give me some privacy.
There was a blue cell phone lying in the middle of the kitchen counter weighing down a sheet of paper. I walked over to the counter and looked at the note.
Kenny,
Barry's gone out to search Raccoon for Jill. I've gone with him to help refuel the copter. Use this to call us if there's any trouble. I'll be back in a few hours with some dinner. Don't leave the house.
Chris
After reading the last note, a terrified whimper escaped from my lips. I hardly noticed it. I was too busy wishing they were back so they could kick this bitch's ass. I couldn't let my fear get the better of me though … doing so would endanger me and the others as well. Clearing my mind of any thoughts, I reached for the pen lying adjacent to the note. I quickly sketched a cartoon umbrella and scribbled the letters S.O.S. underneath. I then pocketed the phone, slipping it gently into my pocket – as if it was going to make a sound that Ada could hear from outside – and headed for the main door. At least now I had a way of communicating with Chris, but that would have to wait for now, not with the crazy woman paying attention to me.
"I'm ready to get going," I said, stepping onto the porch. The cool night air blew around me. It felt good to get some fresh air after all that sleep. The sun was beginning to dip below the horizon, spreading its last rays of day across the land, tinting everything around us with an orange hue. "Where are you taking me?"
"Back to headquarters," she replied, her long straight locks of black hair gently swaying around her face.
"Are you going to kill me?"
She looked back at me and smirked. "Not if you make things easy for me."
"How do you plan on removing the thing from my body?"
"It's called the Shadow Technology, Kenny," she explained. "We're hoping a simple surgery will be enough to do the trick." She was being so nice … and just a moment ago, Ada had a gun pointed at me. "Killing you isn't a priority for us. But since you know enough about our organization to do some serious harm, you will be undergoing a complete memory wipe after the technology is extracted from you."
So they weren't going to kill me, but the thought of them ripping something from me was terrifying enough. I didn't want to go through an unnecessary surgery, not then and definitely not now. But by the way she dangled the threat of killing other people above my head, I didn't have much choice.
I made my way over to the van, kissing away my last chance at freedom. I could run, but people would die. I could stay, but then I'd be violated. I weighed the pros and cons in my head, deciding that other people's lives were more important than a few hours of violation. This was one of those times where I had to suffer for other people. Though something inside of me told me to run, I struggled to suppress the temptation and hesitantly climbed into the passenger seat of the awaiting white van.
Ada walked around to the driver side and shut the door. She tilted her chin at the dashboard, where I saw a blindfold sitting comfortably, waiting for me. "Put that on," she ordered. "I don't want you seeing anything you're not supposed to see."
I reached over and wrapped the black piece of fabric over my eyes. It was long enough to go around twice and I tied it into a knot. "I need your finger." Ada groaned and put her finger on the knot while I tied a second one, making sure it was secure and tight.
"Are you done?"
"Yes," I replied.
"Good." The van's engine started immediately, zooming away from the side walk. The sudden motion was hard to handle, especially since my vision was obscured in darkness and I almost fell out of my seat. That was when I remembered the seatbelt. My fingers fumbled around for a bit, looking for the buckle and the clip. After clicking the straps together, I leaned my head on the window and tried to get myself to sleep – like I needed anymore.
* * *
I awoke with a start. I tried opening my eyes but I still couldn't see anything. Then I remembered the blindfold. I struggled to take it off, then remembered that doing so would be making things difficult for my captor.
"Ada?" I called out. There was no answer. I was sitting in an upright position in what felt like the same leather seat in the van I fell asleep in. I ran my fingers along my sides, feeling the metal door. I finally established that I was still in the car. But where was Ada? It had stopped moving and the only thing I could hear was the chirping of birds far off in the distance. I felt like some kind of blind mouse trapped in a cage and quite frankly, the feeling was getting the better of me. Despite what my gut told me to do, I ripped at the blindfold … but I guess I tied it too tightly. I could get it off but doing so would put me through a lot of pain.
"Kenny! Are you awake?"
"Uh …" I groaned. Funny, all I wanted to do was let the guy know I was alright but that was all that came out. Hold on a second, someone was outside the car tapping on the window. "I'm awake!" I suddenly called out, my mouth finally deciding to cooperate with me. "Get me out of here!"
"Are you alright?" the stranger asked.
"I'm fine, just … who are you?" It suddenly occurred to me that whoever was talking to me might have been the person Ada wanted to take me to see.
"It's Leon …"
"Leon! Get me the fuck outta here!" I screamed, kicking at the door.
"I can't," he replied, it's locked from the inside. "I'm going to have to smash the window." I heard his footsteps scurry away.
"Leon? Get back here …" I said.
"I'm over here." His voice now came from the driver's side of the car.
"Is Ada still here?" I asked. Then I bit my tongue. She didn't want Leon to know she was still alive. If I told him that she was, Ada would tell Wesker about Chris and Barry …
"What did you say?" Leon shouted from outside. Apparently my voice must've been as muffled as his was right now through the glass. Relief washed over me.
"Nothing! Just break the glass!" I ordered. I could hear him smash something big and hard against the glass. It took three strikes to shatter. I could tell when some of the fragments fell onto me. But it was tempered glass that shattered into cubes, so there was little chance it could hurt me.
I heard Leon swiping at the glass fragments, brushing them off the chair before he climbed in. "Come on, Kenny," he said, "climb over the seats slowly. Make sure there's no glass." I hesitantly made my way over to the driver's seat. As soon as I got close enough, I heard the metallic swipe of a blade.
"What the hell is that for?" I asked.
Without responding, Leon grabbed me by the shoulder with one arm. Something tugged at the back of my head and suddenly, the blindfold fell from my eyes. I don't know why I expected daylight to come shining through because it didn't. Night had fallen and there was not a soul in sight other than Leon.
"What happened?" I asked.
"I was going to ask you the same thing. If it hadn't been for him, I would've never found you. It looked like you were being kidnapped."
"If it wasn't for who?"
Leon motioned to the van. And for the first time, I actually saw the vehicle – its front smashed up in an accordion style against a thick tree. Thick, suffocating plumes of smoke was pouring out from under the hood. Out of all the smoke, a figure appeared and walked through it into full view.
He was a rather largely built man covered in some kind of caramel army suit. He was old, probably in his late forties or early fifties. He didn't have many wrinkles but the ones around the corners of his mouth and the sides of his eyes were pretty deep. His gray hair was cut short in a style similar to Chris's, only shorter – the typical hairstyle for a soldier.
"You're lucky that Mr. Hunk found this van when he did," Leon said, introducing me to the man.
I held out my hand to shake his, but he just glanced at it for a second, and then looked me straight in the eye. "I recognize that woman you were with just now," he said, skipping over the greeting formalities. "She was sent in to spy on Umbrella. Do you know why she wanted you?"
"N…no," I lied. I didn't want to get entangled in this mess anymore. I just wanted to find a place with hot shower and a warm, comfortable bed. "She took me from where I was hospitalized and ordered me to come with her."
"She was trying to take something that belonged to Umbrella," Mr. Hunk explained. "I couldn't let her do that."
"What do you mean?" I asked. "I don't belong to Umbrella. My father had a business deal with them and …"
"He died, right?" Mr. Hunk asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes …"
"That's what I mean. So you're the next person in line to go to, since he's no longer alive."
"Hold on a second," Leon said, stepping protectively in front of me to face the mysterious army man. "Just who are you, anyway?"
"They call me Mr. Death," the man replied, "but I also go by Hunk, or Mr. Hunk. I am an operative of the Umbrella Biohazard Countermeasure Service."
"What the fuck?!" Leon cried jumping back. He quickly drew a gun from his belt buckle and pointed it at the man. His experience in Raccoon must've been good training for him.
"Trust me, Junior," Mr. Hunk said, "You don't want to be messing with me."
"Try me," Leon countered, his voice bursting with confidence – confidence that was shot down in a matter of seconds after Mr. Hunk dashed at him, swiftly grabbing Leon's arm and twisting it behind his back, forcing Leon to drop the gun.
"Listen up, and listen well," Mr. Hunk viciously spat into Leon's ear while he grimaced in pain. "I came to the hospital to find a certain spy. Because we ran into each other, and you just so happened to be looking for the same person, I decided to be nice and bring you along with me. Now is this the way you kids thank people nowadays?"
"B…but Ada died!" Leon cried through clenched teeth.
"Then why did you come with me?!" Mr. Hunk demanded.
"Because I hoped she was alive …"
"And have you found your answer?"
"No."
"I said, have you found your answer?!" He increased the pressure on Leon's arm.
"Yes, now let go!"
"Good, so what must you say?!" Mr. Hunk twisted further.
"Thank you!" he screamed, suddenly getting released. Leon cradled in his injured arm with his other.
"Wow, you were OWNED!" I exclaimed in excitement. "You gotta teach me how to do that one day, Mr. Hunk."
"I got my answer," Leon said, bending down to pick up his gun. "There's no way Ada can still be alive."
"I saw her driving with him with my own eyes," Mr. Hunk said, nodding his head in my direction. "But if you don't believe me, let the Squirt tell you himself."
"Leon," I said, not knowing how to put what I was thinking into words. "You didn't actually SEE Ada, did you?"
"She got away before rookie over here could catch up in his car," Mr. Hunk replied. "But she's alive and well, and she tried taking you to her headquarters, didn't she?"
"Well, I …"
"Come on, kiddo, tell the rookie over here who kidnapped you. Tell him so he knows."
"Ada's alive, Leon. Alive and well."
"Good, now if you would be so kind to come with me, Kenny," Mr. Hunk requested politely.
"I don't want to …" I said.
"Do you think we're going to harm you like that spy who kidnapped you?" Mr. Hunk asked. "You were bought by Umbrella nine years ago."
"How?!"
"We paid for the technology inside of you fair and square. Your technological makeup cannot be separated from your biological makeup. Doing so would kill you. Therefore, you are much more valuable to us alive."
"I'm afraid I don't follow," I continued, trying to play the innocent role for as long as I could keep it up.
"Do you want to know more about yourself and your father?" Mr. Hunk asked.
"Well … yeah but …"
"Then come with me, and I will tell you everything."
"Don't go, Kenny. You know you can't trust Umbrella."
"Ada told me about the technology inside me," I admitted. "But I don't know anything about my family. I … I would really like to know."
"I can't believe you're saying this!" Leon exclaimed. "How could you go with Umbrella after everything they've done to Raccoon City!?"
"Because if I go with Mr. Hunk," I explained, "then Ada and Wesker will come after Umbrella to get me. Chris and Barry will no longer be their target."
"And Umbrella is better equipped to handle this new, mysterious organization," Mr. Hunk continued.
"What!? Who the hell is Wesker!?" Leon cried in confusion.
"I'm more involved with this than you can imagine," I admitted to Leon. "I'm doing this to protect you, Chris, Jill, Claire, Barry … everyone. If I can help to emphasize the conflict between Umbrella and this unknown organization Ada work's for, Umbrella will have their hands full. They won't be able to track the S.T.A.R.S. members down."
"This is ridiculous," Leon said.
"This is my choice," I countered.
"Let's go, Kenny," Mr. Hunk said, putting his hand on my shoulder. We both turned around and began heading in the opposite direction, leaving Leon behind. Mr. Hunk turned around and spoke to Leon, his final words to him before departing. "Be thankful you have someone who's brave enough and smart enough to put his life on the line for you. If I were in his shoes, I would've let the dogs come after you to save my own skin." Leon remained silent as we walked away.
I glanced back at him, and saw his gaze of fury directed at me. He never stopped staring. He was so angry. Even as I lowered my eyes in guilt, and turned my head, trying to tell myself it was for the good of everyone else, I could feel that gaze of fire burning into the back of my head. He was labeling me a traitor.