12. Leon

It took Leon a few minutes to finish with all the protocol procedures to request his assignment to Claire's case. He was sure that Hopkins would approve it, so he wasn't that concerned, and after all the things were ready, all he had to do was wait for Hunnigan's call with his instructions.

The man walked to the small window in the room and rested his arm on the frame while he contemplated the distant welsh sea. It was November, and the weather was a little chilly even when the skies were clear. The view of the bay was a beautiful sight. The blue, vast sea, a couple of ships, most likely fishing ships, gliding over the gray surface of the water surrounded by seagulls, and he could even catch a glimpse from the white sand of the shore.

If he ignored the fact that he was on high alert due to the recent bioterrorist attacks, he could have even considered taking a walk through the place. Maybe he could make a mental note for future vacation references. His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by an incoming call on his mobile.

"Hunnigan," He answered in his typical greeting voice reserved for the woman. "I was expecting your call."

"I'm sure you were, Leon. You know, it isn't like you to request assignments, especially an escort mission," Hunnigan said, teasingly, "So...any ulterior motives I should be informed about..."

"Chris was being picky about the candidates, but he seemed to be okay with me doing it…"

For a fleeting moment, Barry's words seemed to resonate in her mind:

Oh, it's just a little bit of brotherly jealousy for Claire. She sort of had a crush on you when she was younger, and Chris still can't get over it

Leon shook his head, trying to push away the growing sense of satisfaction that Barry's comment had generated. He shouldn't feel so pleased about Claire's secret affairs, even if those involved him.

"Yes, Mr. Redfield. He was very emphatic about not having any random agent watching over his little sister…" Hunningan said with a slight hint of amusement "It's funny how some men can change when the safety of their loved ones is at risk, don't you think?"

"I guess it is reasonable."

"I thought you were fed-up with bodyguard duties…"

"Chris is…"

Leon was not sure what state his relationship with Chris was. They were not colleagues, and friends seemed somewhat a bit overestimated. They sure respected each other and were, most of the time, on friendly terms.

"A friend...sort of, it is the least I can do…"

"Of course, but are you sure you're not doing this for another Redfield's sake?"

"You mean Claire…" Leon said with a frown. Of course, it was about Claire. The whole point was protecting her, after all, "Well, she's the subject that needs to be protected, so yeah. I am doing it for her sake…"

"No, I didn't mean it like that." Hunnigan chuckled, "You know, Leon. There was a little debate about whether you should be given this mission or not…"

"Let me guess the suits? Now, what was their excuse?"

Hopkins held Leon in good esteem. However, the other members of the board weren't that kin to him most of the time. It wasn't the first time they put arguments against him.

"Personal feelings…"

"Excuse me?"

"Some suit-ups think that your apparent link with Ms. Redfield will interfere with your performance."

"And where the hell did they get that idea from?" Leon asked with irritation.

"Hard to tell. Either way, due to Chris Redfield's demands and Hopkin's words on your behalf, you have been successfully assigned as Ms. Redfield's bodyguard for the time being. However, under a certain condition…"

"What now?"

"A second agent has been assigned to assist you."

Leon held back a sigh. Claire wasn't going to be thrilled when she found out he'd be tailing her as her shadow for a while, but once she found out she'd get TWO shadows, the woman was sure going to throw a temper tantrum. Leon couldn't avoid a smile as he imagined the woman pouting in annoyance.

As if Claire would pout.

"I guess I'll have to suck it up. Who was assigned?"

"The good news is that it is agent Harper."

"Helena?"

Well, at least it'd be a familiar face. Helena and Leon had had a quite bumpy start, but after the events on Tall Oaks, China, and pretty much ass-kicking Simmon's mutated form, the two had become close friends. They had worked in a few missions together during the past three years, and she was someone he could trust.

"I don't suppose you were the one to suggest, Helena, were you?"

"I might have put my five cents in there…" Hunnigan admitted, " I don't think it is a bad idea. Helena's presence should come in handy, considering that Ms. Redfield is also a female, you know?"

As if Leon would forget such a thing, but Hunnigan was right. As a male, there were sure things that he'd find himself hand-tied about, and Helena could handle those without a problem.

"Well, that's settled then."

"Yes, Helena will meet you when you return to NA, with Ms. Redfield. I already sent her the catch-up information, and she should contact you herself sometime today…"

"Yeah, that should work. Thanks, Hunnigan…"

"No need for that...I'm here to assist you, after all."

"Talking about assistance… Hunnigan, I need a favor."

"Yes?"

"Can research about a terrorist group named Mobius?"

"Mobius? I've never heard of them before…"

"They're the ones that kidnapped Claire and are currently after her…"

"I thought the suspects were Neo-umbrella…"

"Yeah, we all thought that, but apparently no."

"I'll see what I can find then. I'll call you later to feed you in with further instructions, Leon. For now, send my regards to Ms. Redfield."

"Of course I will...goodbye, Hunnigan."

Leon put down his mobile and looked outside. The once clear skies had turned gray, and it looked like it would rain soon.

What a pity. It was such a nice day.

Leon ran his hand through his hair as he checked his phone. Jill had been kind enough to send him their current location, so it wasn't hard for him to find the local pub where the large group was enjoying their breakfast. It was relieving to see Claire out of her hospital attire. The casual clothes - clearly borrowed- made her look a lot healthier and more like that badass biker, he knew. The redhead sat squeezed between Barry and her brother, and both men seemed quite busy filling her plate with as much food as they considered appropriate. Claire kept rolling her eyes and looking at Jill with begging looks, but the blonde woman was too busy laughing to notice.

"Oh, thank heaven...Leon, save me. These two are trying to feed me like Christmas pork." Claire cried out.

"Bullshit, you gotta put up some weight, Claire," Barry nodded, " You look like a malnourished boy right now…"

"Well, thank you, Barry. That sure builds up my self-esteem."

"Oh, let them have fun pampering you, Claire. God knows when will it be the next time I get a chance to see this again…" Jill snickered, "Besides, you do need to eat."

"I am eating, aren't I? The problem is that the food on my plate keeps appearing. Saya, some medical supervision over here?"

"You've been almost two weeks under IV and no feeding. The food will do you good."

"Not helping…"

Leon smirked as he pulled out the chair at Jill's right and sat down watching Claire bicker with Chris and Barry about the food. Jill had turned to him and smiled.

"You should take a picture of this…" Leon said, pointing at the group with a nudge.

"Are you kidding me? I took a video." she laughed, "so did you make your calls?"

"Yeah, all is ready. Hunnigan will give me further instructions later on, but for now, it's just about trying to tell Claire…"

"She'll manage. It is you, after all," Jill smiled, "Breakfast?"

Leon ordered a traditional plate and turned back to face Claire.

"Maybe you two should stop for now…" Leon said, and he caught on Claire's grateful gaze, "She's been out of food for a while. If you keep feeding her like a sausage, she might get sick.."

"Thank you…" Claire said, and Leon smiled.

"She can eat that later…" he added.

"Guess he's right. I got too caught up in the moment." Chris said, shaking his head, "Yeah, I guess she can take this back and eat it later when she gets hungry…"

Barry nodded.

"Then let's call for the waiter…"

The woman that came was a small brunette with pretty green eyes. She smiled at the group with a toothy grin as she dried her hands in her apron.

"Beth alla i ei wneud i chi?" (What can I do for you?)

"What? Sorry, girl. We don't speak…" Barry had begun, but he was soon interrupted by Claire.

"A allech chi becyn y bwyd hwn i ni? (Could you pack this food for us?)"Claire had automatically replied to the question surprising everyone at the table, and judging by her face, surprising even herself as well.

"Ah! Rydych chi'n siarad ein hiaith (Ah! You speak our language)?"

"Ie, felly mae'n ymddangos.(Yes, so it seems.)"Claire replied.

Something about her expression made Leon curious. Claire seemed confused like if she couldn't understand where the words had come from as she answered the waitress.

"Mae'n brin cael twristiaid sy'n ei siarad (It's hard to find tourists who speak it.)." the woman smiled, she picked Claire's plate and smiled again.

"Fe wnaeth rhywun fy nysgu, ond dwi ddim yn meddwl fy mod i'n dda (Someone taught me, but I don't think I am good at it.)

"Dim o gwbl! Mae'n dda iawn (not at all, it's very good)," the waitress said, cheerfully, "Byddaf yn iawn yn ôl (I'll be right back)."

The waitress walked away, leaving the group in awkward silence.

"You speak Welsh?" Chris asked, surprised, "Since when?"

"I...I...have no idea…" Claire replied, "I replied in automatic, I didn't even think what I was saying…"

All the people at the table seemed confused, except for one. Dr. Hiwamura was stroking her chin deep, in thought.

"Huh, I think I might have a theory about it…" she said, looking at Claire, " I think Claire might have learned welsh at some point before she suffered her retrograde amnesia. The effects of the memory loss caused by the use of drugs and PTSD probably blocked out the memories of her learning it, but since language is a semantic memory. When the waitress came out asking in welsh, her brain must have unconsciously made the association, and Claire answered. That would also mean that the use of the language was more or less some habit. Otherwise, your response wouldn't be this fluent. "

"I am sure I've never studied Welsh. I did Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, and even a little Russian, but Welsh?"

"Semantic memories work in curious ways sometimes," Hiwamura replied. "if you learned the language and became habituated to use it daily, for example, you will remember it. Sort of like body memory, even if your brain can't make out the background or the context in which you learned, it can still use it on instinct. That is why amnesiacs can retain their language memories even if they don't remember who they are or where they came from."

"I can remember the languages I learned before, and Welsh wasn't among them. I mean, I've never been to Wales, until now."

"Well, there's a small gap of eight months missing, is it not? So what do you know? You might have learned during that time, and that's why you can't remember. We know most of the memories from the past eight months seem to have been selectively blocked out from your head."

"So you mean, Claire must have learned the language while she was in captivity?" Jill said with wide eyes, "that would mean she was captive in a Welsh-speaking location."

"Naturally, what I just said is a theory, but by due the facts we know, it is most likely, yes."

"That gives us a lead to look," Chris said, rubbing his chin.

Claire smiled apologetically. She was probably feeling guilty for not being able to provide them with more information.

"Sorry that I can't be of more help. I just can't seem to remember," Claire sighed, "I mean most of the memories from before that returned eventually. I can still remember when we got attacked in the underground lab when, but then everything is….so confusing after that…"

Claire rubbed the back of her neck, and Chris circled her shoulders with his arm, hugging her close.

"It's not your fault," he said gently.

"True, if you want to blame something, blame it on a heavy dosage of drugs you were under, or PTSD. I am sure you didn't get treated like royalty in the past eight months. It's only natural that your brain wants to block the memories," Saya said, stirring her cup, "Repression is the unconscious act of burying distressing memories or feelings. Once buried, these memories are no longer a part of the subject's awareness unless they are, somehow, triggered."

The last comment caught Leon's attention. He was not familiar with psychology terms, but he had heard about Repressed Memory Syndrome. Some victims of abuse or other acts of violence often suffered memory loss about the event. If Claire's amnesia was psychogenic, it would mean that she'd gone through a terrible experience.

Claire let out a frustrated sigh.

"Hey, don't worry about it. We'll figure it out…" Chris said, patting her back.

"Chris got that right, but hey...let's not think about that now. We have Claire back, and we should let her enjoy herself for a while. What do you say, Claire? How about a walk around town?" Barry said, putting an arm around her shoulders in a fatherly way.

"I need the green light from my physician first," she smiled weakly.

"Since she has mostly recovered, I think the exercise should do her well."

"Ya heard the doctor, Claire." Barry laughed.

"Besides, someone needs to get some new clothes…" Hiwamura said, amused.

"Oh, yeah...I am going to miss the hospital gowns…" Claire said sarcastically, "They were so fashionable, bloodied and all…"

"Oh, you surely looked high fashion…"

"Yeah, like someone from a damn horror movie…"

Leon snorted at the comment. It was nice to have the old Claire with her sarcastic humor back, but the image of the Claire that had gone through hell with him the night before was still fresh in his mind: scared, fragile, and so unlike the one sitting in front of him; and he wondered if it'd come out again any time soon.

He saw the woman make a soft frustrated groan at, probably, some overprotective comment from her brother, and she playfully punched him on his arm. A low beeping interrupted their little friendly chatter, and the three members of the BSAA pulled out their comlinks almost at the same time.

"They're calling us…" Jill said, checking the message, "Strategy meeting…"

"For what?" Claire said, looking puzzled.

"Recon mission of sorts…" Chris replied, "Nothing you should worry about."

"But well, say goodbye to our plan, "Barry said, shaking his head.

"Oh, never mind about that. It's fine," Claire said, waving her hands, "I'll just find something to entertain myself back at the base... "

"No, I'll go with you," Leon said, looking at Chris. Claire did need to get some shopping, and she deserved a little bit of fresh air. Keeping her at the base would do her any good, "You three go ahead. I can escort the ladies around town…"

Claire had looked at him, shocked, and he could probably guess why. Claire knew how much he hated escorting tasks. It was not a lie that he hated those bodyguard jobs, but he could make an exception.

"Well, look at that; what a gentleman…" Claire grinned, shaking her head, "Don't you have some super important secret mission to attend?"

"No, I've got another important mission at hand," Leon said, shrugging. "Keeping you out of the problem."

If only she knew how true that was, but even if he hadn't had that mission, he would make the little sacrifice nevertheless. Chris seemed to ponder his offering for a couple of minutes until he nodded.

"Well, I guess that's settled." Chris said; he then put his hand on Claire's shoulder, "Go have some fun and buy whatever you need, Claire. Just set it to my account. We'll meet at lunch…"

Claire nodded. Chris, Jill, and Barry got up from their seats and headed to the exit. Chris stopped a few seconds and gave Leon a meaningful look that the blonde could only interpret as "Give me a report every 10 minutes".

The blonde agent smirked. He would have never pictured Chris as an overprotective brother, but the proof of it was standing right in front of his eyes, and he found that quite amusing, but he couldn't blame him for his paranoia. He, too, had developed a small sense of overprotectiveness over Claire since they had found her again. Even though it wasn't as intense as Chris's, he could relate to the man.

He looked at the three BSAA members, who disappeared outside the pub and turned back to the remaining woman on the table. Dr. Hiwamura had an amused expression as she was speaking to Claire; the last one seemed to be quite confused. Leon checked his watch. It was quite early.

"Well, should we go?" he suggested.

"Now that I remember…" Hiwamura said out of sudden, "I need to fill in some papers before Claire can travel to the United States, so why don't you two go ahead?"

"You are not coming?" Leon asked, looking at the Asian who seemed to be amused by something.

"Oh, I am afraid not this time. See you two around and have fun…"

The woman got up, picking up the packed food that the waitress had brought back a couple of minutes ago, and put a hand on Leon's shoulder with a secretive smile. The blonde agent looked at her puzzled, but before he could formulate a question, the doctor was already gone.

"Oh, now you're fast, aren't you, Saya?" Claire mumbled, rolling her eyes.

"It seems like it'll be only you and me…" Leon chuckled at Claire, "Sounds like a date…"

"A date, huh? Let's hope we won't get any party crashers, then."

"Don't worry. I'll shoot their heads off for you."

"Aw, that's charming. That's what you tell your girls these days?" Claire snorted, " I'll shoot a hundred headshots for you. Can't get any more romantic…"

"Unfortunately, I don't think all girls can appreciate the art of zombie's heads exploding at a perfectly aimed headshot…"

"You're right. Most girls probably won't. Guess it is a bad flirting phrase…"

"Well, that depends on the girl. It worked with you, didn't it?"

"Kennedy? Aww, well, maybe it's because I can see the art in zombie brains flying all over the place; but how about shooting them together instead of you shooting them for me?"

"Reasonable," Leon said, raising his arms in defeat, "I couldn't expect less from you."

Claire laughed, and Leon could feel the enjoyment at the sound of her laugh and the easygoing atmosphere. He got up, and with a mocking gesture of a gentleman, he pulled out Claire's chair and offered her his hand.

"Should we?"

Claire took it, laughing as she shook her head.

"You'll always be such a player."

Leon smiled and thought, for the first time that he could remember, that perhaps he would enjoy this emission.