Resident Evil: Hallelujah
Chapter One: A Secret Chord
It's been twenty-three years since normal was nuked into oblivion, twenty-three years since he traded his life to the Government for Sherry Birkin's safe-keeping. Twenty-three years since he was last just Leon Kennedy, and it only took Ada Wong fifteen seconds to destroy it all. He stands before the Congressional Committee brought together to investigate the D.S.O. and its supposed ties to the trade of bioweapons. He answered all of their questions perfectly, giving them no lies, no half-truths, and no omissions. That was until the sniveling little rat of a man heading up this committee played a video for the room.
"Mr. Kennedy, can you confirm that this is you in the video we just played?"
He leans into the microphone and answers clearly, "Yes, that is me in the video."
"Can you confirm who else is in the video?" God damn it all, God damn the demon in the red dress.
"The other person in that video," he takes a deep breath before finishing, "is the spy and international terrorist known as Ada Wong… Most recently she was working for The Family which consisted of the late Dere-"
"That's enough, we just wanted the name," the gray-haired man almost smiles as he asks the next question. "What are you handing to her in this video?"
Fuck it all, she's finally got him, finally broke him, "That would be a sample of the Nefertiti Parasite the B.S.A.A. and the D.S.O. worked together to prevent the release of."
"For the record, are you admitting to passing a bioweapon to a known terrorist?"
The room grows eerily quiet, like the entire Capitol Building has held its breath, waiting for his answer, "Yes."
Six Days Later, October 7th, 2021
"You got to give us something to go on, Leon," he shrugs at the voice, reaching for the mug of water placed almost out of reach of his chained hands.
They were quick with the judgement, even quicker with the sentencing, and Sonic himself would be impressed at the speed with which they tossed him into prison. Six days, six different visitors, all of them demanding the same thing: information on Ada Wong, information they know he doesn't have. She always reached out to him, but they all know that. Even when he gets a brand new phone she somehow has the new number. Chris Redfield sits in front of him now taking his shot at getting Leon to spill the beans, but they just don't seem to get that he has nothing to share.
"You're wasting your time, Redfield," a short answer before he gulps down the water, already knowing what's going to come.
A fist is slammed onto the table, "Damn it, Leon! What possessed you to give her that parasite!? We don't even know what it's capable of!"
"Nefertiti is genetically similar to Las Plagas Type Three, but the Master is able to control who mutates and how. It doesn't bond with the host's nervous system; it instead completely replaces it. You cease to exist for the most part, at least from what data I've seen on it," he watches the emotions change through Chris like crashing waves. "I sent you an email on it before I went into that hearing."
"Good," Chris clenches his fists, Leon knowing the question that comes next, "you have all of that, but no information on the terrorist you gave it to?"
"She always contacts me, Chris, you know that. The only way to get her to come out of her little hidden kingdom is for me to get out of here," the shake of the head matches the shake of each of his previous visitors.
"Not going to happen, Leon, you're going to have to fight your way out if that's what you want," ah, so that's the game; they want him to break out, be a fugitive, hope that draws Ada out and they'll track him right to her.
Leon closes his eyes and scratches the tip of his nose, "It doesn't matter how I get out of here, she's going to be extremely suspicious. Once I'm out there, the hunt is on."
"What do you mean?" Chris arches an eyebrow.
He shakes his hands to grab the guard's attention to let him know he's ready to go back to his cell, "She took everything from me, Redfield. I'm going to take the only thing she has left: her life."
October 21st, 2021
Leon steps out of the transport van, his eyes struggling to adjust to the blinding sun, "Where the hell are we?"
"Your new home," the voice is heavily modulated, leaving Leon with no clues to who his mysterious benefactor is. "Hunt her down and you get the freedom as well."
"Oh," he taps a foot in the dirt as his eyes finally adjust and he sees the small house in front of him in all of its dilapidated glory, "you guys shouldn't have… Does it have running water?"
The van takes off down the road, kicking up enough dust to chase the former agent into the house, the termite-ridden door nearly flying off as he opens it. A sink, a couch, one single cabinet with a counter, a small coffee table, and a toilet/shower combo are the only amenities in the one-room shack. He drops onto the couch, grimacing at the smell of stale water and old upholstery that greets him. He props his feet up on the table, mind already racing over what his next steps are going to be.
"Long time no see, Rookie," out of every single person in the world he expected to meet in this shack, Claire Redfield was not one of them.
Her form is silhouetted by the setting sun behind her as she rolls into the single room, her wheelchair not having any trouble on the cracked and warped wood floor, "Yeah, same to you, Red… What are you doing here?"
It's been a long time since Leon has seen Claire Redfield and she still looks as elegant as he remembers. As she rolls toward him and gazes up at him, Leon can't help but feel the embodiment of his mistake staring into his eyes. Ada always told him that defying her would have a price, that not giving her what she wants means she'd have to take something. Leon never expected her to go through with it, or for her to target the people closest to him. Ada fired only a single shot that night and it wasn't at him. As he watches the redhead examine him, Leon only feels that Ada really should've just killed him, because all she did was give him another reason to break her face… That porcelain doll face…
"Well, since Hunnigan isn't available to be your support through this, I volunteered for the job. Care to help me unpack all this?" She points to the case strapped to the back of her wheelchair.
Leon nods at the redhead, lifts the case from the straps, and drops it onto the coffee table, "What's in it? The Batcomputer?"
"How many," she shakes her head slowly, "Oracle jokes are you going to make from here on out?"
The lid is opened to reveal a pretty decent Government-funded computer setup, complete with trackers, com-units, and what Leon hopes is an untraceable phone. Claire wheels up to where he has it set up and runs her hand over the touchpad, the device kicking to life. Leon watches her work, admiring that her injury hasn't killed her hopefulness and fighting spirit. They've been through a lot together, Leon and Claire, and they've never really been more than the best of friends. He shakes his head, admitting that some of that time, their friendship had some benefits, but he just hasn't been able to take it past that.
"So, what's it going to take," he watches her shake her head before he even gets the question out, eliciting a chuckle from Leon, "for me to get you to call me Batman?"
"More than you have, hotshot, since they seized all of your assets and accounts. Patriot Act and all that."
Leon curses his fate, making a mental note that Ada has broken his throne and trashed his name. Wait, my name is still good, right?
He drops onto the couch and sighs heavily, head leaning back and eyes staring at the ceiling, "Is my name at least still worth something?"
"Well," she goes silent after that, which just causes him to groan.
"Jesus, Claire, she rendered me worthless with a single video clip…"
He feels her burning glare, which causes him to tilt his head toward her as she asks, "Why did you give Nefertiti to her? We could've made a vaccine for it, or found a way to render it inert, something by now…"
"I've been asking myself that question since I passed it to her," he pinches the bridge of his nose. "I managed to fight her requests before, and I don't have an answer to why I gave in this time."
"Wait," Leon finally notices the small glasses resting on the tip of Claire's nose, they suit her very well, "she's tried to get other samples from you before?"
"Oh yeah, G-Virus, Plagas, T-Abyss, you name it she's asked me for it," he can't help just answering her questions, even after fighting everyone else, Leon just can't hide anything from Claire anymore.
She doesn't say anything at this, just resumes typing on the laptop, Leon silently thankful for her lack of continued prodding. The pair remain in silence for about an hour before the redhead tosses a soggy lollipop stick at him. He picks the offending item from its perch in his hair and he tosses it back, smiling as it lands perfectly on her left eyebrow.
"Dick," she tosses the stick into the trash and adjusts her glasses. "Why are you staring at me?"
He holds his gaze on her, only letting up on it when she blushes and looks down at her laptop, "I've never seen you in glasses before, Claire. It…suits you."
She flips a few loose strands of hair behind her left ear and she smiles, "It's not like you to be so flattering with your clothes on."
"Ouch!" He feigns like she just shot him. "That cuts a little deep. I'm not all pick-up lines and puns, Red. There is more to me."
"I remember," she smiles and rests her chin in her right hand. "I remember you used to smile a lot more back then, too."
"Not a whole lot to smile about in the world," he hears the disgust in the sigh she lets out, but it's not going to deter him. "Look where we are in this war on bioterror… Jill and Chris are no longer on the front lines, you are paralyzed, I've been deemed a traitor to the US Government, and we have lost how many good people to this God-damn loop?"
A bottle is dropped, hard, onto the table, Claire's eyes showing no amusement, "I didn't think I'd ever say this, but you are actually more tolerable when you're drunk…"
Leon's gaze slowly bounces between Claire and the bottle before he takes it in his grip, spins the lid off with his thumb, and slides it back over to her, "How long has it been since we last saw each other?"
"2018, I think?" she looks down at the monitor, enters a few keystrokes, and nods, "Yeah, was shot in 2018, you saw me in the hospital, once, and that was it...wait, are you saying you've been sober since then?"
"Not long after… I spent a lot of time thinking about that night and I came to a realization," the blonde smirks, "and I know that if I was sober during that mission, you'd still be walking."
She laughs, actually laughs at this, "In order for that to happen, you'd have had to kill Ada, and we both know you really don't have that in you."
His fists clench at her words, "Don't think I have it in me? That's why I'm out, to hunt her down and end her."
"Do you have a death wish, Leon?"
A dark chuckle, but he slowly nods, "Probably, why do you ask?"
"Ducati on the roof, drinking your liver into submission, fighting that C-Virus Tyrant with your bare hands almost, using your own unprotected body to shield Ada from an onslaught of bones, and a whole host of things I can continue spitting out there if you'd like? I'm seriously worried about you, Leon," Claire has rolled around the table and is now facing him directly, her hands on his knees, trying to grab his attention.
"Trying to be my shrink, Redfield?" His eyes shift from her and down to the bottle on the table. "Not in the market for one."
A shake of her head, "Not a shrink, but I am one of the only people truly capable of speaking to you, so you're gonna have to open up eventually."
"Am I able to have you pick up things for me? Place is," Leon looks around, obviously ignoring that he will have to open up to Claire at some point, "kind of spartan…"
Claire leans back from him and tilts her head a bit, "Should I start a list?"
"First request is simple," he smirks at her and arches an eyebrow when she blushes, "a guitar."
She smirks back and smacks his left knee with her hand, "That's an interesting request there, Leon, but I think I can make it happen. Electric? Acoustic? Steel?"
"Surprise me," Leon reaches up, attempts to cup her cheek in his hand, and smiles as she moves her face into his hand, "but I bet you already know what to get me."
A flash of red has him pulling back away from her, Claire gasping at his sudden movement, "What's wrong, Leon?"
"Nothing," he shakes his head to clear the image, "nothing at all. Nothing to quiet the demons since I stopped drinking."
You think getting sober is going to save her? The voice laughs at him. We both know you're going to relapse and end up being the death of her. Better save her the trouble and strangle yourself with the guitar strings.
He grits his teeth, closes his eyes hard, and turns from Claire, trying to silence the demon by sheer force of will, but it's her hands on his face, her thumbs rubbing his cheekbones to open his eyes, and her soft voice that does the trick, "Hey, I'm here with you. Don't shut me out again, got me?"
Leon nods slowly, his eyes taking in her face, ears taking in her voice, brain accepting her help, and his lips reaching out for her own, "Thank you, for everything, Claire. I know I've never said it enough, but…"
She closes the gap and finishes his offered kiss with her hands still holding on to his face, "Shh… You don't ever have to say it."
Another flash of red forces him to back away from her once more, shaking his head, "What? What's wrong?"
"Demons," he sighs and rubs the bottoms of his palms into his temples, " still too many demons, Claire."
She leans back into her wheelchair and crosses her arms over her chest, "I see."
11
It's been a few more hours of pretty awkward silence with the occasional bit of conversation and Claire has finally had enough, "Talk."
"What?" he shakes the nearly empty bottle of water. "We have been."
"No, not us, you. You have gaps to fill in. What happened to you after you left the hospital?" She stares straight at him; he's not getting out of this.
A long sigh leaves his lips, he runs his hands down his face, back up, and through his hair, "They weren't happy with me dropping a hint to Chris about Dulvey, so was on suspension, again…"
"Who has the power to suspend the Director of the D.S.O.?" He knows that she knows the answer, but he appreciates her cool attempt at humor.
He chuckles and shrugs before continuing, "That suspension lasted about three months, but they needed me back on the field when some jackass decided to mix the A and C viruses together, which I guess was the start of what would become the Nefertiti Program. Nasty bit of business that was, it took Rebecca a few weeks just to create a test to discover who was infected."
"I remember, I was directing TerraSave's efforts from the home office. No one has ever seen anything like it… Hey," she tilts her head again, "what do you know about the E-series Mold? Since you dropped that hint to my brother."
"Ah, yeah," he smirks, "the 'miracle mold' as the lab-rats in the D.S.O. called it. Capable of healing even severed limbs instantly, causes horrible hallucinations as the E-Series B.O.W., Eveline, tries to assert control over anyone infected by the spores."
"Kennedy," Claire gives him a deadpan expression; she means how did he get on the trail of Dulvey.
He leans forward, arms resting on his knees, "I can tell you immediately it wasn't Ada. For once, it was old-fashioned detective work. Chasing the threads left when The Family 'imploded' led me to Dark Web Forums where hints were dropped to something called The Connections."
"Chris mentioned them, who are they?" She adjusts her glasses and patiently waits for his response.
Leon shrugs, picks up a bottle of water, and takes a long sip before continuing, "No idea. We've been digging, the D.S.O., B.S.A.A., even the NSA and TerraSave. Going on four years since the Dulvey Incident and the only names we have connected to them… Hah, connected. The only names we have are Lucas Baker and Mia Winters. Mia is still alive, but her time under Eveline's control screwed with her mind, she can't remember anything before 2014, when she was transferring Eveline. The US Government has spent a lot of time and money working to restore her memory, but it hasn't bore fruit."
"Jesus, to think we actually have more information about Wesker's own HCF than a group that made potentially one of the most dangerous bioweapons we've ever seen," she gasps as Leon scoffs and slams the bottle down. "What did I say?"
Her friend squeezes his temples and growls, "Know what they said about the G-Virus? 'Most dangerous bioweapon'… T-Veronica? 'Most dangerous bioweapon'… T-Abyss? 'Most dangerous bioweapon'… They are all the most dangerous bioweapons we've ever seen, until the next one is created, Claire."
"When they show up, we do what we've always done, Leon. We'll adapt and overcome."
He's at her side in an instant, hands grasping the wheels of her chair, "Is THIS adapting, Claire!? Adapting is too slow anymore. We're getting too slow… Us, the veterans, we're slowing down… And the newbies? They don't have the drive anymore."
Leon steps away from her and runs his hands through his hair as he groans loudly, "One of the last recruits they brought in to the D.S.O. told me he accepts the job, but he can't start for another three weeks because he was taking a trip around the world. I told him that the work we do is important so there will still be a world to see. Know what his response was? 'Better to see it now before it's gone'. What the actual fuck, Claire?"
"I know, I get the same thing from new hires at TerraSave. Someone quit on me because I didn't think their idea of a Soy-Bar was worth spending sixty grand. The fuck's a Soy-Bar, Rookie?"
A good laugh from her best friend, "No idea, Red. Hey, I got another idea for something you can pick up for me."
"What's that?" she gasps as he leans in against her ear and whispers it. "Are you kidding me, Leon? You want me to buy that for what reason?"
Leon smiles and pats Claire on top of her head, "Because a change is needed. A desperate change if I am ever to see the end of this."
END