Chris stood up and tried to get the blood flowing back to his arm. The fucker was fast. Barry was already searching the unconcious man over, and he came up with a modified handgun (very modified; Chris had never seen one like it before), and a six inch combat knife. No clues as to who had sent him, though.
"Do you need any more help?" Barry asked. The aging man looked beat; he and Chris had been searching the city over for any sign of Leon.
"No, pal. I've got it from here. Go get some sleep, and try to keep my sister calm." Chris said. His old S.T.A.R.S. partner said a curt thanks, and then was gone. "Just you and me, Leon." Chris lifted the man with little effort, and tied him securely to a wooden chair. Now just to wait for Mr. Kennedy to wake up. In the meantime, Chris took the opportunity to check out the modified handgun. It weighed almost a full pound louded, had a laser sight, but what was really puzzling about it was the slide action.
"It's called the Punisher." Leon's voice grated out. Chris put the gun down, and sat on the dresser facing Leon.
"I don't give a damn what it's called. I want some answers." The elder Redfield met Leon's faded colbalt blue eyes, and continued. "Who sent you"
"I'm going to tell you, but you won't believe me. I came on my own." Leon didn't break eye contact; didn't blink. Chris was starting to feel uncomfortable under Leon's scrutiny; when he knew damn well that it should be the other way around. The asshole had spied for Umbrella before; and once a sneak, always a sneak.
"Bullshit, Kennedy." Chris moved off the dresser, and dug in his sidepack. A syringe; still in the packaging, and a small bottle of clear liquid were the items that he pulled out. "You know what this is, don't you"
"Sodium Pentothal." Leon didn't elaborate on the subject.
"Who sent you? Last chance." Chris was already filling the syringe, and when Leon didn't answer, Chris shoved the needle into Leon's neck and pushed the plunger. The pair sat in a strained silence for a few minutes, and when Leon's head started to nod to the side, Chris repeated his question.
"I came on my own." Leon's voice was faint; and his eyes were drooped low. A small snore escaped his lips, before he jerked himself upright drunkenly. He was fighting the drug; that was easy to see.
"But nobody asked you to come? No one asked you to find us? Claire and I, I mean?" Chris knew how to work with sodium pentothal, aka, truth serum. Ask the same damn question over and over again in fifty different ways. If he was lying, the bastard would eventually slip up; they always did.
"No. I came by myself." Leon sounded drowsy, but angry. "I had to see"
"See what, Leon?" Chris was patient as Leon tried to wiggle out of his restraints.
"Missed you in Athens." Leon's head swayed drunkenly to the side, like a child trying to fight sleep and losing.
"You were in Athens?" This Chris was alittle disturbed to find out. "Why are you here? Why did you follow us"
"Athens, and Zimbabwe before. Miss her. Need to ask." The drug was starting to put Leon to sleep fast; time was running out.
"Miss who, Leon? What do you need to ask"
"Claire. Love me, why." There was more to his answer, but it was so faint; so jumbled, that Chris couldn't decipher it.
"Did you tell Umbrella where we were in Arizona?" This was the question that would decide Leon's fate. If he were responsible for the explosion; for Jill's capture, Chris would kill him on the spot.
"No. Thought you died." Leon's eyes began to swim with tears; and he vomited on the floor before he passed out. Chris sighed heavily, and pulled his cell out of his pocket.
"Chris? Did you find anything out? Was it really him?" Claire's voice was nearing hysterical on the other end. She sounded like she had been crying, and Chris' heart broke all over again for his sister. Just what he needed; his sister in love with this scum still.
"He said this is a personal visit; no agencies involved. Leon's been tracking us at least since Zimbabwe; probably before, too. Said something about asking someone something." Chris was loath to tell her he'd used the sodium pentothal; seeing as he'd promised her that it would only be used if Leon wouldn't co-opperate.
"What did you do to him? You gave him the drug, didn't you!" Claire sounded furious. "You promised"
"Leon wasn't giving me the truth, Claire"
"No, he wasn't telling you what you wanted to hear! I told you before that he'd never do that to us! And never to me." Claire hung up before Chris could get anything else out. Chris sat on the bed, and waited for Leon to wake.
"Barry!" Claire shook the big man's foot furiously. Instantly, Barry grabbed for his handcannon and was on his feet.
"What's wrong? Who's here?" Barry whispered out between a yawn. Claire felt kind of bad for having to wake him; he'd not slept but two hours.
"Take me to Leon." Claire said. Barry groaned, they had been through this before. "Claire, damn it.
That boy is nothing but trouble for us. You know he's the reason Jill's not here." Barry ran his hand through his greying hair, and looked at Claire's face. "I'm not going to win this arguement, am I"
"Leon would never turn spy, Barry." Claire's lip trembled as she fought tears. She knew that her brother had it in his head to kill Leon, and she had to stop it.
Barry grumbled something close to, "Females.", and holstered his gun. "Let's get going"
The pair drove in silence, and when Barry stopped outside of a hotel, Claire didn't wait for the engine to shut off before hurtling herself out of the vehicle. The older man kept in step with Claire, but by the time they reached the right room, he was out of breath.
Claire turned the knob, only to find it locked. The door shook in it's hinges when she hit it with her palm, and Barry had to admire Claire's determination. Of course, love did that to a person.
"Christopher Allen Redfield! You open this door right this instant! Do you hear me! Or I'll break it!" Claire's fury made Barry take a step back.
Inside the dingy little hotel room, Chris flinched at his sister's voice. She only used his middle name when she was either very angry or very scared. He knew Claire to be both right now. It hurt Chris to hear the pain in her voice, and he could no more deny her than he could have denied Jill.
The door swung open, and Claire bustled into the room. She made quick work of the ties binding Leon, and as he fell, Claire provided a safe landing in her arms. Her fingers ran through his hair, and over his face, as if the sight of him alone wasn't enough. Claire looked up at her brother pleadingly.
"Claire..." Leon's hand came up to Claire's face. Chris pulled his gun.
"Don't try anything funny, Kennedy. We're just having a nice, friendly conversation." Chris knew he was in a pickle. The last thing he wanted to do was to kill Leon in front of his sister. Barry moved into the room, and closed the door behind him. "Help me with this fuck, will you, Bear"
Chris felt a gun against his head. "Sorry, man. I can't. This is starting to get messy." Barry hit Chris on the back of the head with the back end of his handcannon, and Chris fell to the ground in a heap. "Move, Claire"
"Barry?" Claire's blue eyes were wide. Leon sat up, and put himself between Claire and Barry.
"Claire, get out of here. You don't need to be here for this." Leon knew that he was going to die; but he didn't want Claire to die as well. If Barry thought that she might have any inclination to go to the police or even one of her brother's other contacts, he would kill her. He had to buy her at least some time.
"No...Leon! What's going on? Barry, what are you doing?" Claire was angry and scared.
"You'd better get out of here, Claire. I don't want to have to kill you as well." Barry didn't take his eyes off Leon for a second; he knew the former agent was faster than him.
"You can't kill him." Claire tried to put herself in front of Leon, but the blonde haired man pushed her back behind him.
"I have to. They have my girls." Barry sounded so conflicted.
"Don't worry, Claire." Leon smirked at her, then kissed her lightly on the mouth. "I'll be waiting."
Claire's eyes got big as she recognized that phrase. It was code; their code. Leon had a plan.
Claire moved out onto the fire escape, and took the ladder down to the street level, where she then looked left and right, before setting off across the street. She heard a gun go off; Barry's handcannon. The girl held her breath, and just when she started to give up hope, a second shot rang out; This time, a smaller caliber weapon. It was time for Claire to do her job.
The parking lot across from the hotel contained all sorts of cars and trucks; even a motorcycle. Claire was very tempted to hot wire that, but she knew that they had Chris to think of as well.
Instead she found a blue mini; not her personal style, but something that would work. They needed something low profile; and there had to be a million other minis in the city just like it. Before getting into the vehicle, she crossed behind it to a car parked on the other side of the lot, and jumped on it. The alarm went off. Enough cover for her to disable the mini's own alarm.
After a minute or so, Claire heard another shot, and sirens. A man, cursing violently in german, came out of the building, and shut off his car alarm. Claire waited for him to go, and it seemed like an eternity before he finally left back where he had come. The engine was slow to start; it took Claire three times before it finally caught. She put the vehicle in reverse, and backed out onto the street; Then she cut the engine, and waited.