Four
Rebecca looked up at John, startled. "Goodbye? To Leon?" Her eyes wandered wildly back and forth between the three men. "What's going on? Isn't he coming with us to London?"
David sighed apologetically and took her hands in his. "No, 'Becca. Leon's not coming with us to London." He peered over at Leon, who nodded. "He's—ah—going to Paris to meet up with the other team…"
Paris? He's going to Paris alone? What kind of sick joke is this?
Rebecca stared at Leon, who held an expression that said "I'm sorry, but there's nothing else you can do" kind of look. She dropped her head.
"What the hell are you guys thinking?" she fumed. "You know that Umbrella would be tracking us down—and you're gonna let Leon go solo?" Her hands were clenched into fists, her knuckles white.
Leon reached over to her and placed a hand lightly on her arm. "Don't do this, 'Becca…it's hard enough already." He looked into her eyes, and she saw that it was filled with heartfelt sorrow, making her feel guilty all of a sudden. "But I promise I'll take care of myself."
Rebecca sighed reluctantly. "Okay…but you better stay alive until we get there." She punched him lightly.
"Of course," Leon answered. "And plus, I heard that Chris' team can kick ass." He grinned.
Leon's light-heartedness made Rebecca smile back foolishly. Why does everything have to end up in good-byes? she thought gravely.
The team stepped out of the vehicle with David leading. Rebecca observed the plane strip they were on, noticing how incredibly plain it was. Besides the several lights that were set up and the planes themselves, there was nothing extraordinary about it. There were no people around either, except for the two pilots that David contacted.
When the time came for them to board the plane, Rebecca stopped and looked back at Leon's beaming face.
"I'm fine," he mouthed, and waved his goodbye.
Rebecca smiled and gave him a thumb's-up before stepping into the small plane and letting the door close behind her.
The flight to Paris was not as bad as she thought. Paris leaned back into her seat and waited for the flight attendant to dismiss them. Paris smiled as she saw Asia sitting up eagerly beside her, knowing that she absolutely hated anything that has to do with flying. It must have been that time when, during training, she had to jump out of a plane that was several hundreds of feet above the ground. She had missed her count and jumped too early, the harness not being held yet. Once the captain knew what was happening, he grabbed the rapidly uncoiling rope and yanked it, Asia coming to an instant halt a few feet from the ground, her breath catching as she felt the pull. Asia was screaming the whole way down, aware that she was descending really fast, and was even sure that she was not going to make it. After that, she always became hesitant when boarding anything that flies.
At least she didn't pee in her pants, Paris thought, silently laughing as she remembered their other trainee, who had wet his pants during training under fire.
"Miss," the attendant said, "You and your friends may go."
Being in the back was probably killing Asia, for they were the last go. Paris grabbed her bags and walked down the aisle with Chris and Asia.
I still don't know why we have to carry these rag-filled bags, she thought, frowning at the fake luggage they brought. Chris had suggested that they leave their weapons back at the warehouse and carry along a few bags filled with useless rags to have the impression of travelers. It's not like Umbrella doesn't know who we are already. What's the point in trying to hide it…but then again, we still have to go through airport security…
They got through security, relieved as they got out of the law enforcement-filled place. Paris grunted and threw her bags into the nearest trash bin.
"Sick of these wretched things," she said as Asia joined her and dropped her bags in.
"Tell me about it," she replied.
Chris led them towards a small cab, opening and holding the door for them. Paris climbed in first, proud of her contributions to Chris and Asia, forcing them to sit together. She squirmed as she noticed the cab driver giving her lustful looks, so she spent the whole ride to the dock staring out the window. Chris and Asia did not seem to talk either, probably in fear of the driver finding out who they really are. It sucks being the renegades that people looked down upon.
They stepped out of the cab as they reached the dock that leads to the safe house. Paris shivered as she saw Chris pay the driver, noticing again that disgusting "I-wanna-undress-you" look.
Talk about desperate…
They walked over to the dangerous-looking wooden platform, creaking as they stepped over it. Paris prayed that the wood would not give in on them, mainly because it was dark and she did not want to go swimming when she cannot see a goddamn thing. Chris climbed into the small canoe that waited for them, holding on to their arms as she and Asia jumped in after him. The water around splashed and rippled as the boat rocked, taking in the group's weight. Once it steadied, Chris reached in to the side and pulled out two oars. He gave one to Paris.
Paris took it, but stared at it as if it were from another planet. "What the hell am I gonna do with this?" Her jaw dropped as Chris gave her a half smile and a shrug. "Oh hell no—I'm not paddling our way there…"
Chris started rowing, his muscular arms bulging out from his shirt. "Sorry, but we won't get there 'til morning if you guys don't help." He grunted as he picked up the pace.
"Does that mean I have to help too?" Asia asked helplessly.
Paris shoved the oar into her hands. "Yes, and you can go first." She smiled at her sweetly.
Asia glared back at her, taking the oar. "Fine…but you're still my bitch." She splashed Paris with lake water.
"Hey!" she sputtered, wetting her back. "I'm cold enough already in these clothes!"
Asia laughed. "That's what you get for dressing up like a slut."
Paris gasped, splashing Asia even more. "It's not that slutty!" She ducked as Asia prepared to wet her again. "Just a little."
Again, Chris got in the middle of everything. "Will you please stop, for chrissakes?" He looked slightly irritated. "We've got a way to go." He started rowing again.
"Well sor-ry for bursting your bubble," Paris mumbled, Asia giggling beside her.
Oops! Hopefully he didn't hear that—I don't want to get on his bad side…
Asia started to row, her arms straining to keep up with Chris' pace. Paris felt guilty for making Asia go first, her conscience stabbing at her as she watched her struggle.
"Damn—is he ever gonna slow down?" Asia asked, panting.
Paris gave her an apologetic shrug, biting her lower lip. Her mind was killing her now, hating to see her friend suffer all of that physical exertion.
"Hey, I'll take over for now," she said softly, taking the oars from her hands. "I'll do double time since I made you go first."
Her conscience was at ease as soon as she saw Asia's grateful smile. She smiled herself, too, knowing that she could never resist helping out.
"Thanks," Asia whispered, sitting back on the canoe, her hands dangling off the sides and slightly stroking the water.
Paris nodded back, bringing the oar over the side and sweeping the water. As time passed, she felt the excruciating burn that people tend to get when working muscles too hard. Her face contorted in pain every time she brought the oar down and rowed. Lungs burning and arms hurting like a son-of-a-bitch, she rowed even faster and harder as Chris gradually sped up.
Gotta…hold…up—can't…give…in—push…harder—don't…let…fatigue…get…to…you...
Her arms kept moving, forcing the water back to propel them forward, numb from the pain. She could not recall a time when she felt more pain than that, which probably meant that she hardly did anything at all.
Yup…just me and my lazy ass…
She was too caught up in her daydreams to notice the distant sounds of water sloshing behind them. She just kept on pumping her arms, unaware of the boat that was approaching them. It was not until Chris yelled that she shook away her mind wanderings.
"Get down!" he cried, pulling her and Asia low to the bottom of the canoe as shots rang out from the boat behind them.
"Umbrella!" she growled, searching for her semi on her thighs—
"SHIT!"
—but finding them gone. Paris silently swore at Chris, feeling fury wash over her as she dwelled on to Chris' urgency a short while back to leave their weapons at the warehouse.
Now we're in terribly deep shit.
She kept her head low, frantically trying to come up with a solution for their desperate situation. Her heart skipped a beat as a burst of fully automatic nine-millimeters permeated through the air, firing blindly in the dark. A little lower and they would become fish food…or worse—Umbrella lab rats.
"To the dock," Leon told the driver, leaning back on the seat.
The cab driver gave him a funny look. "Which dock?"
"The closest one," Leon answered absent-mindedly.
The driver shook his head and stepped on the gas, running a red light.
What the hell is his problem?
Leon stared out the window the whole way, eager to meet the team, especially Chris, Claire's brother. He was sure that Claire would be glad to know that her brother was all right.
He felt the cab slow down, the vehicle shaking as it ran over the uneven field. Finally, it stopped beside a tree, the gloomy dock visible in the pale moonlight. He slid out of the cab, paying the driver a little extra, feeling too lazy to count exact change. The cab drove off, leaving him in the desolate field.
Leon heard the shots. Running up to the dock, he strained to see in the darkness for the ones responsible for the noise. He drew his gun, much obliged to David for contacting a pilot for him. Otherwise, he would have had to leave all of his weapons back at the apartment. He re-holstered his semi, flipping over an overturned boat and quickly hopping in. His hands reached out over the wooden transport, feeling around for the oar, sighing relief as his hands touched the distinct feel of a wooden oar. Drawing in a shaky breath, he pushed off from the side and started towards the shots.
Leon effortlessly caught up to the perpetrators, immediately drawing his gun. Even in the darkness, he noticed the familiar symbol—
"Umbrella," he said under his breath.
He trained his gun on one of the Umbrella agents, aware that they were attacking someone, probably one from Chris' team. After all, that was the way to their safe house. Once he got a clear shot at the enemy, he squeezed the trigger, the bullet flying and accurately hitting the target on the back of his head. The man fell into the water, echoing a loud splash. Another sound of a falling body, but that time it came from the ambushed boat up front. A woman's voice called out, but the ringing of more shots from the Umbrella agents muffled it. The yelping of that same woman and the yelling of a man made his heart race at an increasing speed. He instantly aimed at the attackers again, scolding himself for wasting time. He shot at the remaining agents, each one blundering into the water.
Leon heard more shouting, but assumed that they were the allies. He could have sworn that he heard "Chris" yelled out, but he was not completely sure. He quickly stroked the water and approached the attacked boat.
Paris screamed out to Asia as she heard her fall into the water. In their panic, they had rocked the boat a little too hard while trying to lay low, forcing Asia into the water. Umbrella was only sixty feet away, but, thankfully, it was too dark to aim accurately. Paris sat up, struggling to find Asia, but ducking instantly as a spray of bullets flew over her head. Once the round was over, she got up again and reached out to Asia, calling out her name. She looked frantically around the boat, looking for Asia—
"—help!" she heard Asia sputter from several feet away, frequently diving back underwater to avoid getting shot. Numb from fear, she stood up—
Bambambam!
"Uhn!" she yelped, clutching her bleeding right shoulder where the bullet hit her. Chris came to her side, pulling her down and supporting her.
"Oh my god—lay still," he said, gently pushing her down.
She shoved him away. "NO!" She struggled to sit up, gasping as a fresh wave of pain washed over her.
No time for babying around!
She leapt over the side of the canoe, Chris yelling and reaching out to pull her back in, but she broke free from his grip. She heard more shots, but it came from somewhere further back, followed by the sound of bodies falling into the water. Then everything went still except for the water lapping as she swam towards Asia.
Oh god…first thing I'll do when we get back—work out…actually, sleep first.
Paris' arms were still fatigued from the rowing, and her throbbing shoulder made it much worse. She reached Asia, but could not find the strength to drag her back into the boat. She cried helplessly, straining to keep her and the passed-out Asia afloat. But, seconds later, Chris appeared in front of her, grabbing Asia while another figure seized her with strong arms and swam her back into the boat. Then everything went dark.
ok. just to let you know...in the beginning of this chapter it mentions flying to Paris. Paris, France. and then there's a character named 'Paris' (if you haven't figured already). so there. just in case it needed some clearing up hehehe