Her words drove straight into his heart and yet, his demeanor remained unchanged. His crystal blue eyes drilled into hers and his face appeared as if carved from granite. Why? Why after all this time did she still have the ability to get to him?
She asked him tentatively, "Aren't you going to say something?"
He let out a short mirthless laugh, "Like what? What do you want me to say?"
She looked away, out over the city as she formed her words, "I don't know. The truth I suppose."
"The truth?" he barked. "You want the truth."
She nodded as he turned from her and began to pace the rooftop. "I take it you aren't happy with what I said."
He snorted but didn't say anything.
"Would it help if I said my feelings were real? I know we haven't had the most honest of dealings…"
He laughed again, "That's an understatement."
She closed her eyes, determined to finish, "…but what I said….it was true."
He turned back to her and jabbed his finger at her, punctuating his words, "That may be but how do you expect me to react? Hmm? We work for completely different sides. You call our 'dealings' less than honest. How about we talk about the times you betrayed me?"
Her whiskey brown eyes shot open, "Betrayed you! I never betrayed you."
"I'd say that's a matter of opinion. I felt betrayed. Perhaps you see it differently because you were always the one holding the gun to my head."
A little humor found its way into her voice, "It's not like it was ever loaded. Besides, I was always helping you out. Some might consider you're dismissal of that ungrateful."
Leon's brows stitched together. She says she loves him but when he brings up legitimate differences between them, she acts like he's over reacting to some practical joke or something.
He spreads his arms wide in surrender. "Please explain to me how I was supposed to know the gun wasn't loaded. Was there some kind of note or memo or something you forgot to give me?"
Ada was beginning to tire of his line of reasoning. She tried to change the subject, "So you never loved me?"
He ran his fingers through his hair, attempting to collect his thoughts. "Since you want the truth, I'll tell you. Yes, I did. You were the first woman I ever saw in the way a man sees a woman. You're death almost destroyed me. In the end, you're death was also what gave me the strength to become who I am today. When I found out you were still alive, I became obsessed with the idea of finding you…just to see you."
"Why didn't you?" The ghost of a smile touched her lips. He had loved her all this time. If only she could resurrect those feelings in him.
"I realized you had been alive for years and never once tried to contact me. If you wanted me to find you, you'd have let yourself be found. I got over you Ada."
She nodded sadly, looking a little lost for the first time since he had met her.
"If it makes you feel better, things might have turned out differently if it wasn't for Pueblo."
She looked up at him, "What do you mean?"
"You saved my butt, still, in the end, you did exactly as Wesker wanted."
"He is my boss after all."
"And you're the model employee. My point is I can't trust you."
Ada sighed deeply, "But I have to do as he asks. He's a very powerful man."
Leon tries to drive his point home. "This is what I mean. Let's say hypothetically, I share your feelings. I don't want to share the woman in my life with her boss, especially one who operates on the wrong side of the law. As an officer of the law, I swore an oath to uphold the laws of this country with my life. How can I involve myself with someone who would force me to go against my duty?"
"I would never ask you to do anything illegal."
"That's not the point. Being with you would be a conflict of interest. I've worked hard, gave my body and soul to my job. I'm not going to throw that away for you or anyone else."
Ada followed his pacing with her eyes, "Your problem is you're too bound by your duty."
Leon stopped in his tracks and looked at her over his shoulder, "Ada, why do you love me?"
She thought a moment, "When I look at you, I see what I could have had if I hadn't become a corporate spy. I see a house in the suburbs, kids, barbeques with the neighbors. Things I never even wanted until I saw you. You're pure at heart. Being around you makes me want to be a better person."
Leon nodded his head, "A nice speech, but selfish. Every statement was about what you wanted. You never once mentioned what our relationship would do for me."
Ada huffed at him, "Talk about selfish. You want to know what's in it for you."
He shook his head in disagreement, "You miss my point. I was talking about your thoughts, not mine. You want me to help you become a better person. Being with you will corrupt me. I may not have to do your work, but I'll have to turn a blind eye to it. By doing that, I'd be condoning it. You're right, I am bound by duty. Duty gives me a true purpose, a path to follow when all else fails. I cannot do what I've sworn to do and have a relationship with you."
Ada looked at her hands then back up at Leon, "I suppose telling you I want to, how should I say it, 'retire', won't change your mind."
Leon smiled, "You've thought of everything haven't you?"
Ada smiled back, "My job demands it. Why should this be any different?"
He looked away, "If you truly want to leave Wesker, I will do whatever I can to help you. I'll do exactly what I would do if anyone else was trying to get out of a life-or-death situation."
Ada decided to give it one last try. So there's nothing I can do to persuade you?" She waits until he's looking at her and drops the corner of her coat, revealing a bare shoulder.
Leon walks over to her. Ada can see a softening in his eyes. He stood in front of her and reaching out, takes the shoulder of her coat and pulls it gently back over her shoulder. Looking into her eyes he said gently, "Promise me, if nothing else, you will never do that again."
She can't hide her disappointment. "Why? I didn't think it would work but…why?"
Leon is directly before her. "Let's recap shall we? First, you are basically a criminal. As an officer of the government I should be arresting you. Second, I can't trust you. You've broken it one too many times. I can never be with someone I can't trust implicitly. Third, you may think you love me but you really don't. You're thinking solely of yourself. Lastly, a topic we haven't covered yet. You're alive because of something Wesker did to you. We could never have a physical relationship, ever. The risk of possible infection is too great and that's a risk I am unwilling to take and one you have no right to ask of me. Have I made myself clear?"
Ada stood before him, her head down. Her voice barely reached his ears, "I'm going to tell you something I've never said to anyone before. I'm sorry. I'm sorry that things worked out this way. I suppose I've made a mess of things. I only hope that you can someday forgive me and not think too horribly of me."
He took pity on her and taking her chin in his hand, lifted it until she looked at him. "I will never hate you and yes, someday I will be able to forgive you for all the things you've done. I wish things had been different for us. But we can't change the past. You were my first love and I will always have a place for you but we can never be."
She smiled sadly and nodded, "I guess I should be going then. Goodbye handsome. Maybe I'll see you around sometime."
He stood in the middle of the rooftop and watched her walk to the stairwell. "Goodbye Ada. If I don't see you again, have a good life."
She looked back at him around the open door and nodded. Then she was gone.
His legs failed him and he sank to the floor. Dredging up all those painful memories and emotions had drained him. Dealing with Ada had taken an emotional toll as well. She was a tough woman to fight with. Still, he had made his points and she seemed to have accepted them.
He found his feet and walked to the stairway. Grabbing the knob he turned it and found it refused to open. He ran his other hand over his face. Ada had gotten in a final shot. She had locked him on the roof.