Carlos turns in his swivel chair to the sound of the door opening and heavy footsteps. Seeing Chris enter, Carlos grins as he looks him over, "Whoa, you look like crap," he says before turning back to his computer screen and scrutinizing the contents on it.

"Thanks." Chris says dryly, shrugging off his jacket and slinging it across the back of his chair.

"No problem." Carlos says. "Bad night?"

Chris slumps in his seat, bringing his feet up on the table. "You could say that…" he says, reaching to fix the angle of his computer monitor.

Carlos turns around again, "Good night?" he asks with a sly smile.

Chris laughs. "Sorry to disappoint you there."

Carlos joins in the laughter and shrugs, not bothered to pressure Chris any longer. After all every man had his own demons. Carlos thinks that what he's really had is his share but of zombies. The lesser of two evils. Mentally debating in his head, he decided demons were the preferable choice since they did not have to resemble your dead comrade or a human being, did not try to chew on you alive… Demons, he thought, just want your soul not your still living flesh.

Goats, Carlos… humanoid with goats heads. As scary as someone saying "Boo!" from behind while you're watching Ghostbusters on a sunny day. Not a ghastly walking-dead thing that would risk dying twice out of want to eat you…

Realising this, Carlos shook his head. That was one stupid debate. One he'd probably bring up for just for fun later to Rebecca.

"So, what's up today?" Chris asks, momentarily snapping Carlos out of his stupor.

"Huh? Oh, today… right." Carlos says quickly, tapping in commands on his console. "Keeping tabs on this new guy. He's been in regular contact a few ex-Umbrella top notches. He runs a large company – cosmetics and pharmaceuticals, to be specific. The company is pretty established, has stood the test of a century anyway."

"He inherited a fortune from his forefathers… and, well… you know how sharks smell blood." Carlos further explains. "If only we could all have it that easy." Carlos sighs.

Chris exaggeratedly shudders, "Comes to mind a cross-dresser that went by the name of Alfred and Alexia Ashford."

"Something like that, huh?" Carlos chuckles, knowing the story. "Well, it's nothing substantial… just something's not right. I just have to pin down exactly what it is, until then... I'm just happily playing stalker. With the help of Leon, of course." He adds quickly, stealing a look at Chris. There was no love lost between them, just the link called Claire.

Apparently, Carlos isn't finished. "I can't get a clear view of his face. That's what bothering me. Anywhere there are camera's to be hacked for visuals, his face is never in full view… It's got me bugged. So that's what the great Scott is there for." He says, as a way of explanation. "And he's always got great stuff, from his 'undisclosed' source."

"Ah… Mr. Scott Kennedy." Chris says, straightaway thinking of Claire. "You ever wonder where he gets his stuff from?"

Carlos chuckles, "All the time, Chris. All the time."

Chris finally looks around, noticing the quiet of their usually loud and boisterous office. "Where's Rebecca by the way? Where's Barry too, for a matter of fact?" Chris asks, realising their absences.

"You finally noticed there were people missing." Carlos says. "It took you a while. Anyway, Rebecca is testing out a sample at the basement lab and Barry called in advance to say he'd be late."

"Oh... What sample?" Chris says, feeling a headache coming on. He rubs his temples.

"Something the Leon dropped off yesterday." Carlos says. "It's something this company is working on. How he got his hands on it, I have no idea."

"Did you try asking?" Chris said dryly.

"Nope." Carlos laughs. "It's like talking to a wall when you question Leon about these things. You know what I think would work though?"

"What?"

"Ask your sister to do the asking." Carlos says.

"Claire?" Chris says, late to catch on to what Carlos was insinuating.

Carlos grins, "Yeah, Claire. They're close right? And I think Leon likes her."

Chris frowns, "Yeah… they are." He grudgingly admits, selectively ignoring the other statement Carlos had made. "I'll ask her then." He says, closing the topic.

"Claire…" Leon begins.

"No. Wait. Don't "Claire" me yet," Claire interrupts, mocking the patronizing way he said her name. "So anyway, we've determined that I am delusional and an utter nut that has odd notions now and then… but again could I also be right however slim that may be?"

"Claire… she's dead." He says flatly.

"But so are a lot of people, apparently." Claire says, thinking of Wesker.

"I know who you're thinking about…" Leon says, cutting her short.

"Well… yeah. So what if I am? There's always someone conveniently being erased somewhere." Claire says.

Leon suddenly feels queasy as the thought of Ada enters his mind. He is the only person in the team who knew for a fact that she is alive. "Yes… but…"

Claire sighs exaggeratedly, "But what, Leon?"

"Relax, will you? Don't jump to conclusions. It's what got you sent off to Rockfort Island, remember?"

Claire suddenly loses her enthusiasm, "Yeah… Rockfort… My bad there. I shouldn't have jumped the band wagon to find Chris."

Leon frowns, Claire still has not told him of what really happened there. Mostly what he knows is from Chris, and it doesn't amount to much. And that too if you used your imagination by a thousand fold. But he knows better than to press her about it. Something big had happened, a different sort of big, and Claire was sorely changed after it. He has often wondered why she hasn't told him about it yet.

"What are you doing now, anyway?" Claire asks, changing the subject.

Leon tries to match her mood, "Having a cup of tea. No sugar. At Le Garde De Monte's if you would care to join me."

Claire rolls her eyes, "Leon, you pansy. Seriously."

"I am serious. But actually in truth, I'm having a glass of red wine."

"Liar. You can't afford a sugar packet there."

Leon laughs. "Mr. President pays me well." Claire feels a sudden burst of annoyance, remembering a blonde slip named Ashley. Leon had been her 'date' to her senior prom, if she remembered him telling her correctly. Claire recalls the ridiculous crown that she had found at his apartment the next morning. They had even bagged King and Queen. With a sudden burst of clarity, she knew just what exactly he was doing there.

"I'm sure he does. And you're probably there with Miss Graham, I suppose? Out to impress the ditz with the money her dad fattens your wallet with?"

Leon laughs even harder. Claire thinks she'll hang up in a few if he doesn't stop. Finally, after a couple more hiccups, Leon runs out of fuel. "Whoa there, Claire. Where'd all that venom come from? And Ashley is not exactly what I'd call a ditz either, she's cool, Claire. You two should meet."

"Humph."

"How ladylike."

"Who ever said I was ladylike?" Claire retorts. Leon clears his throat.

"Actually, I'm here on a job for Carlos." Leon says.

"Huh?" Claire is now utterly confused. "What does Carlos want in Le Garde De Monte's?"

"A cup of tea?"

"Leon!"

"Alright, alright. Claire, you've definitely lost your sense of humour." Leon grumbles. "Why don't you ask him? You're on his team, after all. I'm freelance, remember?"

"Freelance, my ass. You're in it just as much as I am."

"Yup, a volunteer." Leon says, stretching the word. "As someone once put it."

"Shut up, Leon." Claire says cheerfully. She hears some movement in the background, the sound of chairs begin moved.

Leon watches from the reflection of his glass, watching the blonde man shake hands courteously with three other men in suits. They leave with the same hush-hush way they had entered. The man makes a phone call from his mobile, and sharply gestures with a hand to a passing waiter indicating payment of the meal. He stands up, ready to go.

"Hey. Claire. I got to get moving, my targets moving out of my view." Leon says, all traces of teasing gone from his voice, himself motioning to a waiter.

"Target?"

Leon looks at the bill and inwardly groans at the amount. Carlos better reimburse me."Got to go, Claire. Talk to you later." The line goes dead. Claire stares at the handle for a few seconds before replacing it on the line. A small smile gives way to a wide grin of relief. No Ashley there. Meanwhile, Claire decides not to let go of her hunch. Her head was still reeling with questions. A wedding? To whom? Shaking her head, she focused on what the question really was: Is Jill Valentine alive? Claire gritted her teeth, thinking of her brother. For better or worse, he had really cared for her. More than he'd ever admit, even to himself. But there are some things that younger sisters can sniff out with more skill than that of a tracking hound, Claire thought, smiling ruefully. She needed to know, she decides – standing up and stretching before quickly changing and heading out… if even just for his sake.

Five minutes later, Claire runs back up into the apartment. She's forgotten something. Chris would break her neck if he knew the places in his room she was going through. His desks and cupboards were not spared. He had to have one somewhere.

Finally she finds what she was looking for. Somewhat hidden, in a small box behind his bedside table, a picture of Jill. The edges were creased and the picture looked pretty old. Jill in the picture was unlike the Jill Claire knew. The photograph was obviously a candid one, looking like it was taken without Jill's knowledge. Caught unawares, Jill's face looked softer than it had in real life, the picture taken at a side angle, catching her profile. Her eyes looking off to somewhere far away. Jill turns the picture around, "Did Chris take this picture?"

Behind the picture there is a phase written in her brother's handwriting, Claire gapes. She would have never thought her hot-headed brother to be a poet of sorts. But there is something in the lines that causes her to ache for him... for her... for everything that had gone wrong in their world.

Why do I love in despair? When you're not there...

Claire feels a sob catch at her throat. For Steve.

Leon steps on to the pavement outside the restaurant, standing while everyone else is moving about him. The blonde man is still on his cell phone, leaning on a lamppost. Leon lights a cigarette, hoping it'll warm him up a little while he's waiting. It's cold outside. Leon shivers as he pulls his brown jacket tighter about him, looking at the ground, he crunches bits of dirt and melted snow beneath his boot. The clouds are overhead, making the day overcast and gloomy where it had been bright when he had entered the restaurant.

That long already. A long lunch. Followed by a very long phone call.

"Seems pretty normal to me." Leon says to himself, absently watching the man. He has been following the guy for a few days now, as a sort of favour part job for Carlos. The guy, from what Leon sees, does pretty much what a normal guy does. Eats out often, stays late nights at his office, has lunches with clients, and heads back home.

Leon takes out his PDA from his pocket and scrolls through it. Still some things he needs checked out though. Carlos enjoys ragging 'freshies', enjoyed referring Leon to the greenhead rookie cop he was during the outbreak at Racoon City. Anyway, back to business, Leon reminds himself browsing through the guys info: his name was David Cameron… age twenty – eight, sole inheritor of some cosmetic's distributing company…

A movement catches his eye and Leon starts. David was moving again.

"Just great." Leon mutters, looking out the window of his cab. The traffic isn't going anywhere and he really hopes he has enough cash for what the taxi fare is going to be by the end of this ride. His cab can't help but follow the sleek black car that Mr. Cameron is seated in since the traffic is not moving at all. Leon closes his eyes, tapping his foot to the tune that is playing over the radio. That he could die of boredom would be an understatement.

The door to his cab suddenly opened and a figure nimbly jumped in. Leon jumped, startled, hitting his head on the roof of the cab while reaching for his combat knife. A throaty laugh stopped him dead in his tracks.

"Ada." Leon breathed. "Are you trying to kill me?" He asked incredulously, looking at her easing herself into the next seat. In the driver's seat, the cab driver didn't even bother to turn around or bat an eye through the rear-view mirror, his actions made it seem like people jumped into occupied cabs everyday. Ada crossed her legs, the flimsy dress falling away at the long slit bared her long folded legs from thigh to high heels.

"Your time's not up yet, Leon. I'll give you a little notice when it's finally decided that it is." Ada said coolly, her lips curved in a smile, her eyes sparkling up laughingly at him. Leon has never learnt to differentiate Ada's sarcastic humour from her lies and her truths, but there's a tug that he feels when he's around her that he wishes he never felt. There is something so untouchable and cold about the woman, but Leon can't help but be drawn to her charisma. It doesn't help that he never knows which side she plays for either. If it was… it would probably be doomed to a very destructive relationship, Leon thought.

But he still wants to be with her. Cares for her.

Is in love with her…

Though he felt she could easily expire his life had her orders been to do so.

One of her hands travels to his knee where she casually rests it. Leon looks at her looking at him. "So, Leon… out on a wild goose chase again, hmm? Did you manage to analyse the sample I lentyou?"

Leon lets out a breath, and runs a hand through his hair. He realises he has missed the sound of her voice. Ada watches him.

"Not yet, Rebecca is working on it." He says, "What's the hurry?"

"There is no hurry." Ada says matter-of-factly, surprising Leon. "But then my employer does take Ms. Chamber's work very seriously."

"Then?"

"Then what?"

"To what may I owe this honour to?" Leon asks, still puzzled but many, many times more cautious now of her. He had learnt that the hard way when Ada had forced him to give up the Las Plagas sample at gunpoint after he had defeated Saddler with her help. Ada chuckles. The hairs on Leon's back stood up. When Ada laughed, it meant something. Subtly, she moved a little closer to him.

"Well… Nothing really." She says.

"You can't expect me to believe that." Leon says with a bitter laugh.

"No, I don't… I didn't." Ada says.

"Then?" Leon repeats himself.

"Then… Could it be… that I…"

"You what, Ada?" Leon says a little bit impatiently.

Ada catches herself, sucking in a drawn breath. That was close. She looks into his eyes while freely letting her hand run through the hair that carelessly fell across his forehead. Leon's expression is a little pained from her touch.

She decides not to torment him further, knowing the feeling would come back around full circle back to her. "Leon, I came to tell you something I thought you might find interesting."

"Took your sweet time just to tell me that…" He says, savouring the feel of her touch, but not allowing it to show.

"We're in a traffic jam, Leon. We have all the time we need, you know." She retorts softly, letting her fingers roam over his face, running them down his cheek in a caress.

"Ada…"

"The man you're following. He's harmless."

"What do you know about him?" Leon says, not surprised at her knowledge. She's the spy by profession, not him. And her employers were abundant. From what Leon knew Ada was a more than capable double-agent, freely exchanging her services and often played her own bosses. Ada would get a job done, no doubt, and on time. But the way she carried out her missions would be hers alone. The only thing that worried him was what dice she played. Whether or not she was playing him… and not just from their there-but-not-there relationship, but more of that she could actually make the difference when it came to success or failure for his teams' goals.

"He's a shrink."

"Huh?"

"That's his true profession, Leon."

"A psychiatrist?" He asks, more than a little surprised.

"Yes."

"So…?" Leon closes his eyes as her hands brush past them. His arm automatically reach out to her despite his opposing will.

"He's harmless. Like I said. But his money is making him a nice target. Lately, he has been refusing to fund several research projects, the latest having been Umbrella's." Ada's breathing deepens, she feels a little flushed. She continues, "Someone is going to kill him pretty soon if it's not me."

"A man dies just for that?" Leon asks sarcastically, hating himself for his reaction to her.

"Wake up to the real world, Leon." Ada is now slowly leaning in, softly nibbling his jaw. Her hands are toying with the hair on the back of his head.

"Ada… is that all you came to tell me?" He asks, wanting to know everything she had wanted to say before kissing her. They are speaking almost mouth to mouth, his eyes looking into her darker ones. He knows there will be no talking after their lips meet.

"Well…"

"Yes?" He says, a little breathlessly.

"Well, I think you'll find his fiancée very interesting." Ada murmurs, before forcefully pulling his head down to hers to claim his lips with hers.

"Miss Miller…"

She snaps out of her dream-like state, turning from her reflection with a soft smile. "Yes?"

"Would you like to try out another dress?"

"Actually, I would." Jane says, lifting her wrist up to check the time. David was late. She looks at the young eager-to-please salesgirl and feels something akin to sympathy for her. "Let me see some others."

"What type of dress would you like?" the girl says as she leads the way to the racks where all the dresses are hung, "I could help you pick a few out."

Jane is fiddling with her tiara, following a little slower than the pace the salesgirl set. She keeps on thinking of something just a little sexier. But she felt a little stifled with David's choice. Just then her cell phone rang, sending her running with her bare feet to get her bag from the chair in the corner of the changing room.

David would be late.

Should she just go along with his choice of dress then? It didn't exactly appeal to her, Jane thought, but apparently it appealed to him. But it wasn't going to be him that was going to wear it. In the sitting room, she sips her tea while pondering what to do.

She slips out of the larger, more elaborate gown with the help of the salesgirl.

After a while, she stands up and browses through the racks for something that appeals to her, regardless of what David may think of it.

Time and time again, she's drawn to a chic version of a short but full skirted ball gown. The tube-like top was satiny to the touch, and the full skirt bloomed outward in many layers out at a point higher than her waist and ended at her mid-thigh, leaving much of her upper body and legs bare.

Looking at herself in the mirror now, she knows that this is what she wants. Stretching upwards, she feels absurdly free wearing it. She runs her fingers down the dress, delighting in how she looks now. She knows she wants this dress, and as she looks herself up and down in the mirror again she knows this is what she's getting. And for once in a long time, she doesn't really care what David will say. But she'll get the other dress as well, casting a look to where the other dress lay draped over the seat.

Just as a precaution…

"Could you wrap this one up for me?" Jane says, pointing toward the chair.

"You're choosing this one?" The girl asked, perplexed. "I thought you didn't like it."

"I'll take both."

"Both?"

Jane smiles at the girl's shocked expression. "Yes, both. Please wrap them up for me." She says, handing the girl a charge card. While rummaging through her handbag, she notices her bottles of pills lying at the bottom. She had forgotten to take them again… but she felt well enough. But she knew David would freak out if he ever knew she'd been skimping around her medication.

Leon reaches up and unbuttons the top two buttons on his shirt. The cool breeze seeps into his clothing and cools him somewhat and dries his sweat dampened shirt a little from his encounter in the cab. Ada had slipped away as suddenly as she had come.

Following the blonde man, he steps into the bridal couture shop, and begins to absently browse through the racks. He wondered why Ada had said what she had about the guys fiancée. Ada never said anything without purpose. Did she want him out of the way?

From the corner of his eye he noticed Mr. Cameron greeting someone with a chaste kiss on the cheek. His fiancée most presumably. Leon moves to another rack to get a better look. The woman was petite and chic, wearing a smart white pants suit that looked perfectly tailored to her curvaceous body. The guy obviously had taste.

Leon, what are you thinking? He could almost hear Claire's exasperated voice every time she caught him staring at a striking woman. But unfortunately the woman was also wearing large, fashionable sunglasses that covered most of her face up to her eyes. Her face was a delicate heart-shape and he could see she had beautiful mouth though, lips painted a deep red.

He wished he could hear what they were saying, but there was no way to do that without looking very obvious, so Leon continued to observe them from a distance, occasionally waving away an annoying salesgirl who kept on twittering at his elbow now and then.

The man was wearing a frown on his face, gesturing to the two bags that he carried, wanting to give one back to the salesgirl that hovered around Leon.

"Mr…." The salesgirl started. This time Leon took notice.

"Kennedy." Leon told her with a charming smile, much to her relief that he was now acknowledging her. She nudged her glasses upward and smiled.

"Mr. Kennedy, that lady over there bought two dresses today. I should like to be able to assist you in choosing one for your bride as well." She said with a hint of pride.

"I dare say you could." Leon said. "But I'd like to know what kind of dresses that lady over there liked." The girl nodded wisely. She thought Miss Miller was the type of woman that looked like she had stepped straight out of Vogue magazine

"Miss Miller over there liked the simpler types of gowns, here, like this one." She said, bringing him towards a simple but elegant ball gown. "She also preferred shorter skirts. And between you and me, I think that's what Mr. Cameron is not too happy about now."

"Really?" Leon asked, suddenly finding himself actually interested in gossip. "Why not?

"Well, sir… He chose a gown for her, it was beautiful really." She girl began. "But…"

"But? Didn't Miss Miller like it then?"

"Well, if you were someone very conservative and traditional, romantic… I supposed you would like it… but Miss Miller didn't. And to make a long story short, she purchased both of them."

"Two wedding gowns?"

"Yes… the one he picked for her, and the one I helped her pick out, that she liked."

"Would you happen to know Miss Miller's first name?"

"I don't know that, sir." The girl is looking at Leon strangely, coming to the conclusion that this man here had a bit of love-at-first-sight for Miss Miller. "She's already engaged, sir, as you can see. Her wedding is next weekend, she told me that much. She bought her dress rather late though." She said sympathetically, seeking to dissuade this Mr. Kennedy.

"Ah, well. I know that." Leon says, amused by her banter.

The girl sees Mr. Cameron walking towards her. "Just a minute." She says to Leon before turning and talking to Mr. Cameron. Jane comes and stands behind him. They begin to argue on which gown to return. Leon decides to stick around a little to hear it, but it quickly becomes boring, even to him. He does pick up one thing of interest though, that the man called the woman 'Jane'.

Leon smiled before quietly exiting the store. He briefly wondered what Claire had dug up today, what she was working on this time. Oh yeah, Leon remembered, she was looking for ghosts and digging up the past. Anyway, at least he found out the fiancées name. Jane Miller. He calls Claire up and passes her the name. He knew Claire could hack out the name pretty quickly. Feeling as if at least something has been accomplished, he makes his way back towards the make-do headquarters.

At the office Claire was laughing over a soda at something Carlos just said. Rebecca had just returned from the lab and was looking rather pale, she had not disclosed what she had found. "It's looking a little strange at the moment, a little hard to tell what it is. I haven't finished running all the required test on it though." She had said quickly, before plunking down on the chair closest to the television and began flipping the channels.

Barry strolls through the door with a beer in his hand.

"Hey, since when are employees allowed to drink during office hours?" Chris jokes from across the room, his table already littered with empty cans.

Claire rolls her eyes, "Since never, obviously."

"Nobody's watching." Barry says, taking another swig. "Anyway, there's nothing to do. We're almost where we were before the mansion incident."

"Well, yeah – almost." Chris said. "Wesker hasn't popped up anywhere yet, so that means nothing is happening… yet."

Claire's cell phone begins to ring. It's Leon.

"Claire, I need you to do me a favor."

"Hello to you too, Leon."

"Can you find out some stuff on a person named Jane Miller?"

"Who is she?" Claire asks.

"I don't know yet."

"You don't know? How come I'm doing your homework anyway?" Claire says.

Leon chuckles, "You're the genius. And you're at the office, whereas I'm not. Happy hacking." The line goes dead.

"Pshh, that idiot man." Claire mutters before heading to her console.

"I suppose you're talking about Leon." Chris says gleefully.

"Yeah," Barry says, "Who else could idiot man be?"

Rebecca speaks out from the couch, "Well, it could easily be either of you."

Carlos laughs out loud.

"Or you." Rebecca says turning around at the sound. Carlos lifts his arms over his head in surrender. Chris is waving a white piece of paper. Barry is waving his sock.

Rebecca starts laughing, flopping back on to the couch. "Gross, you guys."

Claire chuckles. Turning on the screen, she first decides to do her research first before Leon's.

Jill, Jill… What happened to you?