Leon's rental car pulled into the parking garage and came to a stop. He got out and put on his jacket and grabbed his leather bag. He locked his doors and began walking down the garage towards the entrance and stopped to take a look at the weather. It was raining. It wasn't surprising that it was, this after all was the time of year when it rained the most in Seattle. He just hadn't planned on it being as cold as it was.
"I'm so glad I don't live here." He said as he made his way to the door and walked inside. He walked down a few flights of stairs and ended up in the lobby of the hospital. The first thing he noticed were the bars on the windows. It didn't look much like a hospital, but more like a prison. Thoughts were still racing around in his head as he headed to the help desk. Why was Claire here? What exactly did she do? Were the others aware of her situation? Were the others even still alive? He approached the elderly looking woman at the desk and placed his bag up on the desk beside him.
"Can I help you?" The receptionist asked.
"Yes, I'm Leon Kennedy, here to see Dr. Tomlinson." He replied.
"May I ask what this is about?" she asked him eyeing him and then his bag.
"It's about one of his patients. Claire Redfield. I'm with the federal government." He answered her as he picked his bag up and set it down on the floor.
"If you don't mind, before I let you in, I need to see some identification and you will have to sign this form here for your visitor pass." She said as she handed him a small clipboard and clip on badge. Leon pulled his badge out from his pocket and showed her and then signed the paper. He placed his pass on his coat and stood aside as he called for the doctor.
As he waited, Leon began to look at the various doctors' pictures on the walls and the dedication of the newest wing, the "G" wing to the hospital. It had been established 3 years ago with an unveiling ceremony by Washington States own Senator Denton. Leon found this extremely intriguing and was just getting into looking at the picture and reading about the ceremony when someone came up behind him and spoke.
"Agent Kennedy? I'm Dr. Tomlinson. Hope your trip was fine." Said the older looking gentleman. Leon whipped around and shook hands with the man. 'Looks like your typical ass.' Leon thought. He was only making this assumption based off of the thousand dollar watch on the doctor's left wrist, the slightly gray slicked back hair that looked like someone was trying to hide his actual age and the cell phone and beeper hidden under his coat.
"I hate flying. Makes me anxious. I prefer driving, but unfortunately the Federal Government doesn't seem to trust sending there people out on a bus or a car. They prefer airplanes." Leon said to him giving a slight chuckle.
"Yes, I prefer the ground myself. Trains are the best. Especially when you get your own car." He started. "I trust you are here because of last weeks incident?" Tomlinson asked as they began to walk down the hall and into another corridor.
"I am. There are a lot of questions I would like to ask you before I see the patient. Can we get some privacy?" Leon asked.
"Sure, my office is just down this way." The doctor said happily as they rounded the corner into yet again another corridor. They finally stopped in front of a metal gated door and were buzzed through. Leon took notice of this and saw that there was only one guard in the small little room watching the monitors and Leon. Leon just nodded to him and the guard did nothing as he followed Dr. Tomlinson into an office.
"Here we are. Go ahead, take a seat." The doctor said as he shut the door behind him.
"Thank you. Is everyone here always this friendly?" Leon asked him with some concern in his voice.
"Only when we know someone from the government is coming. Trying to put our best foot forward. Make this place seem better than what it really is." Tomlinson said as he sat down in his chair and leaned back.
"What is that exactly?" Leon asked him.
"A hell hole. I won't lie to you Agent Kennedy. There is only so much we can do for people who are mentally gone. You can try to keep them calm and be friendly and nice with them, but once they cross the point of no return. It's hopeless." The doctor answered him with care in his voice.
'Maybe this guy isn't as bad as I thought.' Leon said to himself. Then again how could you not find ways to help someone who is obviously in need of help? Surely there had to be something you could do. Leon thought it was best not to get into that with the doctor and turned his attention to the matters at hand.
"Dr. Tomlinson, what do you know exactly about the man that was here last week?" Leon asked him pulling out a file from his bag.
"Nothing more than what I told your superiors. Janice at the help desk said a good looking man came in and flashed a CIA badge and asked to see one of our prisoners. He said it was something about a federal case having to do with the Senator's death. I didn't think that much of it. Figured it was just another routine situation. There was something odd about his company though. There was another man with him that seemed disturbing. He didn't say anything. He just looked around constantly and seemed like he was always aware of his surroundings. He just wanted to watch. I thought it was this agents boss. But something just didn't seem right about him." Tomlinson said as he took out a cigarette and lit it up. He motioned to Leon who just waved it off.
"What did this other man look like?" Leon asked him.
"Oh I say he was about 6 feet tall, extremely athletic. I didn't get a good look at his eyes because he was wearing dark sunglasses but he did have blonde hair." The doctor said taking a drag from his cigarette and blowing up into the fan above them. Leon knew who this man was. He knew it was Wesker. But the main question was, how could Wesker still be alive and what exactly was he doing here, in Seattle.
"About how long did this 'agent' visit the patient?" Leon said as he smartly emphasized the word agent.
"Not longer than 35 minutes." The doctor replied.
"Doctor, was there anything funny about the patient when they left?" Leon asked him as he now opened up his folder and took out a couple of pictures.
"Other than when she went in there, she was awake. When the orderlies went in to get her, she was unconscious. It was the weirdest thing. On the tape, she was just fine, then…well you have seen the tape haven't you?" Tomlinson asked him as he put his cigarette out now and looked at Leon with nervous eyes.
"Yes I have." Leon swallowed. He saw what that bastard did to her. He saw exactly what his hands had did to her. He wanted to kill Clinton Portis. He wanted to make him wish he had never been born.
"I don't care who you are, but no female should ever have to be put through that." The doctor said looking at him.
"Doctor, if you thought there was something wrong, why didn't you get in touch with us sooner?" Leon asked him as he was fixing his gaze back on the doctor.
"We honestly didn't think it was something to be too concerned about. If they were here for a federal matter, we step aside and don't ask questions. It's policy. All state, local and government officials are allowed in the building, no questions asked." Tomlinson said as he lit up another cigarette.
"Doctor, I want to show you these pictures. I want you to tell me if this is the same man. Just for verification." Leon said as he tossed the pictures up onto the desk towards the doctor.
Tomlinson picked them up and stared at them. One of the pictures was of Clinton Portis standing with his classmates at the FBI for a graduation photo. The other was of Portis when he moved to the CIA. The last, was a still from the surveillance tape that showed him looking up at the camera. A shiver ran down Tomlinson's spine. This was the same man he had seen. But what significance did this have with his patient. What was going on around here.
"Agent Kennedy, I'm going to be honest with you. I really do no know who this person is or why he was here questioning my patient and why he did to her what he did? But in order to try and help you, I need to know exactly what is going on." Tomlinson said as he placed the photos back down on the desk.
"Doctor, I'm afraid that most of it is confidential. What I can tell you is who this person is. The man in that photo there is a CIA agent that went missing three years ago. Just around the time the new wing was built in this hosptial. His whereabouts were completely unknown until now, last week he shows up to question one of your patients and walks out unquestioned with the patient unconscious." Leon said to him. This caught the doctor off guard and wasn't sure exactly what to make of it. He was a little taken aback at the statement and had almost decided on taking it as a personal shot, but quickly let that go because of the seriousness of this Clinton Portis person.
"Mr. Kennedy, I assure you, had we have seriously thought there was a problem, we would have informed someone immediately. It wasn't until the guards looked at the tape and informed me and the management of what happened in that room." The doctor started, "In fact, there is something you might find interesting. But I need to find it. I'm sure you would like to see the patient now?" he finished with his question as he stood up and walked to the door.
"Yes I would. It is rather important." Leon said trying to hide his anger and happiness. He was going to see her. He was going to see Claire. He wanted to do nothing but hold her in his arms and tell her things were going to be all right. But he had a job to do first and foremost. Regardless of personal feelings, he needed to do this.
"If you will follow me Mr. Kennedy, I will escort you to her room. I trust you will want some privacy with her so if you need anything, the guards will be right outside." Tomlinson said as Leon stood up and followed him out the door.
Claire was asleep. She wasn't dreaming. She was just laying there motionless. At first glance, one might think she was dead. She wasn't though. Her chest was rising and falling and her nostrils were flaring ever softly with every breath. She was startled awake at the sound of someone banging on her door and a set of keys jingling in the lock. She quickly stood up out of bed and ran to the corner to kneel down like she was awaiting impending doom. She covered her head with her forearms and waited. When nothing happened she slowly started to lift her head up and opened her eyes to see a familiar face.
"Hello beautiful." Leon said softly as he took a step toward her. Claire at first didn't realize it was him. She blinked her eyes to get them to fixate on him and she began sobbing as she leaped up and ran over to him.
"I knew you would come. Somehow, I knew you would find me." She said with tears of joy as her sobs were making her speech somewhat jumpy.
"Easy now. You're all right. I'm here." Leon said as he softly stroked her head. He almost cried a few tears himself. He was extremely happy to see her and the emotions in his head were dancing around in circles. A bomb could have killed them both right there and he would not have cared. He was with the person he loved.
"Are…have you…come to get me out of here?" Claire asked as she kissed him on the lips and looked deep into his eyes.
"Claire, I want nothing more than to help you get out of this place. But right now I can't." He said as he let go of her. She looked into his eyes as she backed away and she knew what was going on in an instant. She walked over to her small bed and sat down. She was looking at the floor when Leon pulled the chair by the window over to face her and sat in front of her.
"It's business, isn't it? How else would you have found out where I was?" She said to him still looking down to the floor. "I guess a part of me figured you would realize I was missing and then come and find me on some daring rescue mission. But the other part of me knew that if you did come, it would be business." She finished this time looking up at him with her eyes still wet and red.
"Claire, I wanted to come here and find you. I had absolutely no idea what happened to you. I couldn't find you. I couldn't even get a hold of Chris and the others. Every time I tried, I couldn't get through. So don't believe it's not just about business ok? I don't need that right now." Leon said as he gave her a comforting look. They just stared at each other for a few minutes locked in each other's gaze. This was one of the moments that true love was all about. These were the reasons it was worth going the extra mile for.
"I need to know what happened Claire. I need you to tell me what you told Clinton Portis." Leon said as he switched his mood from caring to business.
"You know him?" She asked.
"Not really. Apparently he was CIA." Leon responded.
"What do you mean 'apparently'?" She asked again this time looking confused.
"He went missing three years ago on assignment. Now it looks like he's back flashing his badge around."
"Leon there's something you should know about him." Claire said. "Something isn't right about him. There was something oddly familiar with the way he looked at me." She continued. And so for the next several minutes, she explained to Leon what had happened. She told him about her tip off from the so called informant and finding Senator Denton's dead body and being caught. She explained how she was being interrogated constantly before pleading insanity. Leon thought this was probably the best for her since nobody was believing her about Umbrella being back in business. It was when she got to her meeting with Portis that Leon had the most questions.
"Ok, Umbrella nonsense aside, what did he want to know?" Leon asked her as he took out a small tape recorder.
"For some reason, he wanted to know where Chris and the others were hiding, especially Sherry." She answered as she took out a cigarette from a pack she had hidden under her bed.
"You know you should really quit that." Leon said as he watched her light it up.
"I know, but you've never complained about it before. It's not like you haven't…" she was cut off.
"Claire, back to the point." Leon said.
"Leon, I don't know. He didn't really say much. He promised to get me out of here if I talked. I didn't. Next thing I know, I took a cigarette and after that…things went somewhat fuzzy." She said starting to sob again. Leon knew what was going to come next. He didn't want her to relive it and he didn't want to hear about it, but he had to.
"Then what happened?" Leon asked her, writing down a couple of notes.
"He wanted to play a game with me. He said if I answered correctly to his expectations he would keep his hands away from my…" she paused, "me. If I didn't, he would get closer. I don't think it was about answering the questions right or wrong. He just wanted to do it. Something about his eyes. They were very intoxicating, even with the drugs kicking in. I couldn't help it. I couldn't move. Leon…he…he…did something to me that I will never be able to forget, it was so awful." She said breaking down in tears.
Leon quickly hugged her and then kissed her forehead, he now let out one small tear and then quickly wiped it away with his fingers. They sat there for a few seconds. It was silent, until Claire broke the silence and spoke again.
"I did something wrong, Leon. I told him where they are." She said as she started crying again.
"There, there. Everything is going to be fine. I think the others will be able to take care of themselves. I don't think this guy could hurt them." Leon said.
"You don't understand. He did things I hadn't seen anyone do for years. He was able to manipulate his fingernails and his eyes…they were bright red, just like the stories Chris had told me about Wesker." She said trying to calm herself down. "I don't think they are safe." She finished.
"Listen Claire. I am going to find them. I need to talk to them as well. This is when I use all of my available resources to get to the bottom of the problem. But for the time being, you have to stay here. It's too dangerous for you to be out there right now. Whatever is going on, it is obvious that they are not done with you." Leon said as he kissed her on the lips this time passionately. He let go of her and stood up to put his things back into his bag. She got up and walked to the door with him.
"There is one thing. This informant of yours. How did he contact you?" Leon asked as he knocked on the door.
"E-mail. It was strictly E-mail." She answered him kissing him again.
"I need access to your Laptop, Claire. It's important." Leon said again as the door started to open.
"Fine, find Chris, tell him where I am. Get what you need and get me out of here. I know I can take care of myself Leon, but I am totally helpless right now." She said to him as he started to walk out the door.
"I know, Claire. I know." Leon said as he stepped through the door and out into the hall. He was stopped shortly after by Claire who was calling to him.
"I love you, Leon." She said to him, crying. Leon turned around and gave her a smile. He walked back into the room and gave her the biggest hug and kiss he could and turned around and just before leaving he turned to her and spoke.
"I love you too, Claire." He said as the door to her room shut and she heard the lock click tight.
Leon began his walk back through the guard station and pass Dr. Tomlinson's office. He had just made it back out to the main entrance to the hospital when he was stopped by someone calling his name. He turned around and saw Dr. Tomlinson jogging after him. Leon stood there staring at him, trying not to let his emotions and concern for Claire show as the doctor came up to him, panting.
"Mr. Kennedy, I found something that might interest you." He said as he handed over an envelope.
"What is it?" Leon asked as he took it in his hand.
"Something about those photos of that man got me to thinking. I had seen him somewhere before, I just couldn't put my finger on it. I did some digging in our archives and found this. I think it might be of some assistance to you." Tomlinson said as he wiped his brow and then grabbed his now beeping pager from his belt clip.
"Thank you, I'm sure I will be able to use this." Leon said.
"You're very welcome. If you need anything else, the hospital and I would be happy to help you anytime you ask. Now if you excuse me, I need to head back to work. Lunch break for the patients." Tomlinson said as he turned around and walked away from Leon.
Leon had reached his car now and was taking his jacket off. It was still raining, just not as hard. He quickly sat down and shut the door. He turned the engine on and grabbed the envelope and opened it. Inside was a photograph of the opening of the "G" wing of the hospital a few years ago. In front stood Senator Denton. That wasn't what caught his eye. Right behind the Senator, in the background were two men. Leon recognized them both immediately. The one on the right, his blonde hair slicked back, Albert Wesker. The other, to his left, was none other than Clinton Portis, who was also wearing black sunglasses. Leon quickly checked the entire photograph for any kind of writing. The only thing he saw, was a date. October 24, 2007.
"Impossible," Leon started astonished. "That's exactly 4 days after Portis went missing." He paused. "What the fuck is going on here?" He finished as he threw the photo down on the seat next to him, backed his car from the parking spot and drove off and out of the parking garage to his next destination, Steve's Bar.