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60. Leon

"What?" Helena said with wide eyes once that Leon had finished updating her about the meeting from earlier. His partner had listened carefully to every detail, but when he told her about Claire's resolution to go back to the island, the woman's eyes had gone wide. "Are you sure that's a good idea? I mean, she already has nightmares just by remembering, I can't imagine what will happen if she returns."

Claire had left to work with Rebecca in the labs, leaving Leon and Helena sitting in the resting area with a cup of coffee and no other company but each other.

"I know," Leon sighed. "But Chris couldn't convince her otherwise, so I doubt she'd listen to me. All I can do is make sure she's safe while she's there."

"Well, count me in," Helena said, "My leg healed up, and I can jump back into action again. I am sure you'll need the second pair of eyes."

"Yeah, that's good. Claire will be happy to hear that your leg is alright."

"Yeah. She's such a mother hen. I don't think I've ever had anyone fuss over me like she does" Helena snorted.

"That's Claire for you. She's always worrying over everyone."

"The mom-friend of the group," Helena chuckled. "By the way, what was that that you wanted to talk about? I don't suppose it was about the mission, was it?"

"No. Well, it is related. " Leon replied. "Hunnigan said someone was trying to erase Blackwell from the map by blocking its information in the sensible data archive."

"Wait. isn't that the archive where the government puts the data that they don't want others to know they ever existed?"

"You've heard of it?"

"You haven't? It is like an urban legend. My sister loved to talk about it saying that that's where all UFO research ended. She always asked me if I had ever seen it."

" UFO's?"

"Deborah loved all those paranormal stories. I never paid much attention to them, but well, that's how I learned that archive existed," Helena asked, "but I thought only a high member of the government had clearance to put things in theret."

"Exactly. Do you know what that means?"

Helena sighed, placing the cup on the table, and rubbing her temple.

"Not this again," she said with a tortuous voice. It had to be difficult for Helena, considering that she had, at one point, been a traitor herself. Of course, Leon didn't judge her since her actions had been forced and not done at will. "We have a traitor? But who...?"

"Hunnigan was looking into it. With some luck, she might figure it out." Leon replied.

"But this is serious," Helena said. "I mean if someone in the high tiers is allied to Mobius, then…"

"It might mean that they were closer to Claire than we thought," Leon nodded. "That would explain how they attacked the DSO on Christmas."

"God. Well. I guess that would make sense..."Helena said thoughtfully. "I mean, the hacking incident happened very near to our office, too."

"Yeah, that is something I thought as well.."

Helena crossed her arms in thought.

"So, you think they already figured out that Clara and Claire are the same person?"

"That's what I fear," Leon answered. "Letting Claire tag along with Chris might let her fall out of the radar for a while."

"You have a point," Helena nodded. "So what's the plan now?"

"Going to Ireland, getting to that island, and getting whatever we need to shut down Mobius," Leon answered.

"If only it were as simple as it sounds," Helena sighed.

Leon scoffed with irony. Things were always more difficult than they sounded.

"Chambers is joining the team as well."

"Chambers? I know she's smart, but can she even shoot a monster?" Helena asked.

"She is an ex- S.T.A.R.S, so yes. She's tougher than she looks," Leon replied.

"Ok, I believe you, but why? Regular missions don't require medical support, and to be fair, if it required it, I believe Claire would be qualified enough to do it. She's almost a medic herself."

"Yeah, well, she's going because of Claire," Leon sighed. "You know her condition is not exactly great."

"Then, shouldn't it be Hiwamura who goes?"

"Hiwamura works for TerraSave. There would be too many questions to request the assistance of a civilian," Leon answered. "Chris wants to keep this discreet, and I agree with him. Rebecca is an auxiliary member of the BSAA, so her assistance in the mission is easier to justify."

Helena pondered the explanation and nodded.

"Is it necessary, though? I mean, aside from the nightmares, she seems a lot better, right?"

Leon would have agreed with Helena if he had not seen Claire's reaction the day before and that morning. Claire's condition could take a critical turn, and they would all be more comfortable knowing that there was a licensed medic there to help. Then, there was that other factor.

"Leon?" Helena said with a frown. "You went quiet suddenly. Is something wrong about Claire?"

Leon sipped his coffee and sighed. Yes, something was wrong with Claire, but as much as he wished he could do something to help her, he was aware that he couldn't.

"I don't know. Some things have happened recently and well, it worries me," Leon whispered. "The virus hasn't changed, which seems like good news, but her symptoms are worsening, I think.."

"What?" Helena asked, concerned. "Did something happen?"

"Claire says it is similar to what happens with addiction. Her body is becoming dependent on the medicine she gets in those injections, and when she misses a dosis, her condition just worses. She almost fainted yesterday and this morning because she missed one of those shots by only minutes," Leon explained, "and last night..."

"Last night?"

Leon hesitated. Should he tell Helena? She was his partner. Claire's safety was as much her responsibility as it was his, but part of him feared that Helena would turn judgemental if he told her that Claire had had a BOW-reaction-like in her sleep.

"She had a nightmare," Leon replied. "I am not clear what it was about, I didn't ask. However, I guess it was a memory or something. She became violent and a little defensive in her sleep..."

"Violent?"

"Not violent, violent..." Leon clarified. "She struggled as if she was trying to release herself from someone, and well...she scratched me."

"What?"

Leon lifted his sleeve, revealing his bandaged arm. Helena stared at it in surprise.

"Wait, wow. How long are her nails if they scratched you that deep?"

"That's detail," Leon sighed. "I didn't tell Claire, but her nails during that moment.."

"What?"

"They grew longer and sharper, too," Leon replied. "I don't think she was conscious of it, and they turned back to normal when she woke up."

"Wait, that's..." Helena began, "That sounds like a BOW thing."

"I know, but nothing has changed. I saw the results with her today and, even I can see they are the same as always, so I don't think it is a mutation or that Claire might be turning into a monster."

"But then..." Helena said thoughtfully. "Could it be that she has always been able to do it?"

Leon looked at Helena. He had not thought of that before, and Helena could actually be on to something. Maybe it was a side effect of her infection that had always been there, but it'd not gotten triggered since Claire had been repressing the memories of her captivity.

"Maybe..." Leon sighed.

Helena clicked her tongue and sat back against the chair. The coffee had grown cold, but neither of them seemed to notice. Both agents were deep in their thoughts. Leon was reliving the incident from the night before, and as the images flashed through his mind, the agent wished he could tear Mobius apart.

"You know, I think you were supposed to drink that coffee hot."

Both Leon and Helena almost fell out of their seats in surprise. The two agents had been so deep in thought that neither had noticed when Claire had entered the room.

Claire chuckled, shaking her head from her, and proceeded to pour herself a cup of tea.

"What's up with you two?" Claire said, sitting down next to Leon. "it's not very secret-angent-cy to get surprised like this."

"Oh, nothing. We were thinking about the upcoming mission, and you took us by surprise," Helena answered.

Claire sipped her tea and sighed.

"Sorry you got dragged into this," she said, putting down the cup on the table. "Originally, I wasn't planning for you two or Rebecca to come, but Chris can be...difficult.."

"Do you think I would let you go alone?" Leon asked.

"Well, I wouldn't exactly be alone. Chris is there, isn't he?"

"He'll be busy. Someone needs to be there to keep an eye on you."

"I am sure Jill or Barry could do that."

"As if Leon would agree to that," Helena smirked. "What kind of husband would he be?"

Claire snorted, and Leon frowned at his partner. Helena seemed a lot more enthusiastic about his relationship with Claire than he had anticipated. Then again, Claire had earned the woman's trust and even her fondness. Claire rubbed her neck as if she was hurting or trying to ease the tension in her neck. Leon instantly reached out to massage it for her, earning an amused smirk from Helena, but the woman made no comments.

Leon didn't need to hear comments, though. He could read the mocking look perfectly, but he decided that he didn't care. Right now, he was more than content with his current situation.

"It's going to be dangerous, though," Claire said, leaning slightly against his touch. "I wasn't lying when I said things could get unpredictable on the island."

"We have gone through that before. It's not the first time we deal with BOWs blindly," Leon said. "Don't worry."

"Yeah, I know, but this is a little different."

"Hey, don't underestimate us only because we are not BSAA," Helena chuckled.

"I wouldn't dare," Claire smiled. "I know what you two are capable of; I just don't want you to get hurt."

"I am sure we can deal with it. Don't worry about us." Leon said. "Are you done with Rebecca?"

"Yeah, I had a crazy idea, but I needed some help to achieve it, so I recruited Rebecca for the cause."

"A crazy idea, huh? Should I worry?"

"I don't know. I guess it depends..." Claire shrugged.

"That's not an answer."

Claire turned to Leon, and the two had a short staring contest. The woman chuckled.

"You worry too much, Leon," Claire replied, sipping her tea. "If it works, things would be a lot easier, and we'll return from that hellish place in one piece."

Claire's tone turned a little bitter at the end of that sentence, and Leon's hand moved from her neck to her back, rubbing it comfortingly.

"I am sorry that you have to go back," Helena said sincerely.

Claire shook her head.

"I don't have to, but I choose to because it is the right thing," Claire sighed. "I know that place, and I can lead Chris and his team safely. As I said, these BOWs can be tricky. You can fight them the hard way, or you can save ammo and effort by playing smart."

"Playing smart? Usually, it goes more in the lines of shooting anything the moves," Helena said. "I mean it usually works…"

Claire sighed.

"That's precisely what I want to avoid."

"What exactly do you mean by playing smart?" Leon asked,

Claire took a deep breath and sipped her tea before answering. Leon felt her tense up again, but her face remained impassive.

"The researchers in the facility put us through challenges against those creatures. They called it Adaptive Response to the Predation test. Basically, they were just putting us through forced evolutionary pressure; pure Darwinism, survival of the fittest. Subjects like me had three options: we survived by adapting, we died, or we mutated. If you wanted to make it out alive from those experiments, you had to learn how to survive without weapons and pretty much on the losing side."

"They threw you to the BOWs unarmed?" Leon said with anger. Helena's hypothesis was starting to weigh more. Maybe Claire had learned to use her body as a defensive mechanism, taking advantage of the infection.

"Many wouldn't make it alive; others would come to be part of the monsters that hunted us. It was that easy," Claire sighed. "One mistake and they notice you. That's all it takes."

"That's horrible, " Helena grunted.

"It is, more or less. My brother is great, but those conditions can mess up the best of the soldiers," Claire said. The woman stared blankly at the table while she traced circles on her cups.

Her look seemed lost, but her face wrinkled in a bitter and cold expression.

"I saw too many people die there. I don't want to see more."

Claire closed her eyes and exhaled deeply before drinking more of her tea. Leon felt the impulse of hugging Claire, but he restrained himself, conscious that Helena and other people were in the building. Helena wouldn't mind, but it'd be hard to explain to Chambers,

"Well, we are not going there yet, but there has to be something we can do in the meantime," Helena said.

"Prepare yourself psychologically, maybe," Claire suggested with a slight tone of irony. "I don't know. Relax, rest, enjoy life for a bit before hell breaks loose."

"That's a good idea. Perhaps you should follow that advice, too."

Claire scoffed. She pulled the long braid she had over her shoulder and twisted the tips on her finger.

Claire's patented look was her ponytail. She always tied her that style, except for that year when she had chopped her long main off. However, ever since becoming Clara and having the hairstyle banned, Claire had started using her hair in a side braid. It was the closest to her ponytail. Leon thought that even if he loved ponytail, that style made her look beautiful, too.

"I've got things to do," Claire said. " I need to gather as much intel about the potential enemies we'll find so that Chris and everyone else has a little better chance of survival."

"How are you planning to do that?" Leon asked.

Claire pointed to her head with a tired look.

"It's all in here, somewhere..." Claire replied, "The box is open. All I need to do is some digging."

"Don't you think you've had enough of it?" Leon asked.

"I'll have had enough of it when this crap is over," Claire replied. "You guys rest up. I'll be in the lab if you guys need me."

Claire drank down her tea and washed the cup before walking out of the room. Both Leon and Helena watched her walk out in silence. The two agents said nothing at first, but once Claire's footsteps were no longer audible, the two exchanged meaningful looks.

"That's going to make things worse, you know?" Helena whispered. "I understand what she means, but it can't be healthy."

"I know. That's what bothers me..." Leon sighed. "I am afraid that the more she digs inside those memories, the worse it will get for her."

"Well, you're her husband. Won't you do something about it?" Helena asked, teasingly.

Leon looked at her with his eyebrow raised.

"Like what?"

"I don't know. Talking helps, I know it helped me."

"I don't want to force her into talking. She'll talk when she feels ready…"

"Well, then you could at least tell her to relax a little."

"She won't listen to me. She's just like Chris when it comes to stubbornness," Leon said, almost rolling his eyes. "It's a Redfield trait."

"And yet, you find that charming, don't you?"

"Honestly, there are many things in Claire that I find charming."

"Yeah, no doubt about that," Helena laughed, "seeing how you stare at her, I am surprised her brother doesn't suspect anything yet."

"Chris isn't the most observant person," Leon replied. "Especially when there are other things in his mind."

"I guess that's a reasonable excuse," Helena nodded. "So what do we do now?"

That was a good question. What was there to do besides wait?

"Contact Hunnigan," Leon answered. "See if she found out anything about who tried to erase Blackwell from the map."

"Ok," Helena nodded, " but what are you going to do?"

"What else?" Leon answered in a more playful tone. "I'll be with my wife."

Leon entered the laboratory quietly. He was greeted by the sound of the fans and beeps of the equipment. He looked around, but Claire was nowhere in sight, and he guessed that the woman was most likely hiding in the office.

He was about to knock when he heard Claire's voice. That was odd because he knew Claire was alone. Then, with whom was she talking?

"That's not gonna work," Claire said in a whisper. "I can't let them go through that..."

Leon frowned as he listened. No voice answered back.

"There's always an alternative," Claire sighed. "Go away. I need to focus..."

Go away? Leon frowned. Someone wasn't inside the office, but there was no one else besides them in the lab. No one could have entered without them noticing. The agent raised his knuckle and knocked at the door.

He heard a soft shuffle of papers and the screech of Claire's chair turning.

"Come in."

Leon pushed the door open and stepped into the small office. Claire was sitting at her desk, with her glasses on and a bunch of papers. There were no signs of any other person in the room, and the door through which he just entered was the only entrance to the room.

"Leon? Is something wrong?" Claire asked, taking off her glasses.

"I thought I heard you talk to someone..."

"Oh, that," Claire answered, "I do that a lot. Scientist habit, you know. Saying stuff out loud helps when you are thinking."

"Right," Leon said, but he wasn't convinced. That had sounded like a conversation.

However, he let it pass and instead moved to stand behind her.

"What are all these?" Leon replied, picking up one of the papers from her desk. It was a sketch -and a pretty good one- of a creature that looked like a design for a horror movie monster. It was large, and it sort of reminded Leon of a giant, pale, fleshy slug. Its arm was disproportionately small, and its legs had merged into some kind of tail. The back arcked in a hump, and its tiny head was faceless.

"Told you I was gathering intel," Claire replied. "That one is the easiest to handle. They aren't very smart or fast, but they are quite resilient."

"You drew this?" Leon said, checking at the other scattered papers. The artwork wasn't the one of an artist, but the sketches were clean and detailed.

"I took Scientific Drawing when I was in University. It was an elective course for biology majors," Claire said. "I am not an expert, but I am decent."

"These are really good, Claire."

"Thanks," Claire answered. "I don't think my professor ever expected me to use his lessons to draw BOWs, though."

"I am pretty sure he'd be proud." Leon commented honestly. "So, how many are they?"

"Many, unfortunately, probably more than I can catalog. Blackwell was a testing facility," Claire answered. "Not all of them were successful cases. I saw many people turn into monsters in front of me; some were people I had never spoken to, some others were friends. It didn't matter in the end. One way or another, they were gone."

There was a soft tone of sadness in Claire's voice, and Leon knelt in front of her, taking her hands and staring at her eyes.

"I know it is hard," he said. "I understand you are doing this to help us, but if it's torturing you, you don't have to do it. You already did enough with the regression therapy and by offering to accompany Chris into the island. You don't have to do this."

"Don't I? Sometimes, I feel like I am the one who has all the clues," Claire answered. "I can't shut it only because I am scared of it, can I?"

"Being scared is normal, Claire. That doesn't make you less brave than you have always been," Leon tried to soothe her. "You were way braver than me when we met at Racoon City, and you still are, Claire."

"Are you using your charm with me, Leon?"

"Maybe."

"The worst part of it is that it is working," Claire said, locking her arms around his neck.

Leon snorted. The bitterness in Claire's demeanor had vanished, and he was pleased that his antics had somehow improved her mood. His hands traced her waist before finally circling her in a hug.

"Well, good for me," Leon smiled, resting his forehead against hers, kissing her delicately.

Kissing Claire had become so natural that sometimes Leon was amazed at how easily he did it without realizing it. His lips only fluttered to hers, and they rejoiced when Claire's lips accepted them.

"We shouldn't be kissing when we are working," Claire chuckled.

"Why not?" Leon smirked. "You need a break once in a while?"

"I just came back from a break," Claire laughed.

"I'm not telling anyone that.."

"Dork. Wallace is going to throw a tantrum when he checks the security feed," Claire said, nudging her head at the camera.

"Yeah, he had a crush on you, right? Well, maybe he should know you're taken."

"You are lucky Chris doesn't check my security feed, or you'll be in trouble."

"Who knows," Leon smirked. "That might actually help me break the news on him."

"Oh, no. Chris would lose it if he finds out like that, and he might kill you. I hope my boyfriend won't die at my brother's hands..."

"Husband," Leon corrected, kissing her hand. "You still have the ring."

"Isn't it supposed to be fake?"

"The papers are signed. I think it is pretty valid."

"You're terrible, Leon."

"You already knew that."

Claire slapped his arm and laughed. Suddenly, their little flirtation play got interrupted by knocks on the door, and Claire looked at him with wide eyes. Leon laughed.

"I guess Wallace came to check?" Leon whispered in her ear, and she rolled her eyes.

"Come in," Claire said. The door opened, and Hiwamura stepped into the office.

"Sorry to interrupt, lovebirds," Hiwamurs said, smirking.

Leon snorted, but since Hiwamura was one of the people who knew their little secret, he didn't let go of Claire.

"Hey, took you long enough. I thought you wouldn't come today at all." Claire said, ignoring the medic's giggles.

"Yeah, I am just checking in with you. I'm heading back to Terra Save-HQ in a bit."

Claire nodded.

"How bad is the situation?" Claire asked.

"Bad," Hiwamura sighed. "BSAA took care of the monsters, I think, but there were too many casualties and injuries. Terra Save is doing what it can, but I'm afraid we are not enough."

"That's bad news. Anything we can do to help on our side," Leon asked.

"No, DSO is pretty out of it right now." Hiwamura answered, "You guys should stay out of it. For all we know, they are trying to lure Claire out by doing all this."

"No, they don't need to do that to get me. Alphas would easily track me down. If they wanted me, they would be right over us now."

"So the attacks have nothing to do with you," Hiwamura said. "That's a relief. I need to get back to TerraSave. We don't have enough hands, but I got you this. I figured you could play miracles with it."

Hiwamura walked to Claire's desk and put a small tin canister on the flat surface. Leon noticed the small symbol of biosafety marked on the label, and he frowned.

"BSAA took the bodies, saying they would dispatch them, but I managed to take this with me when they weren't looking."

"Why didn't BSAA send the bodies our way?" Claire asked.

"That's a good question," Hiwamura said. "I don't know. Maybe they thought the DSO was busy, who knows, ask your brother."

"We just talked this morning," Claire said. "He didn't even mention it."

Claire looked at the canister. She took it and spun it in her hands.

"Is it from an alpha?" Claire asked.

"I don't know. I just picked up the ugliest one," Hiwamura shrugged. "Those are your favorite, aren't they?"

Claire rolled her eyes. She opened the canister and took out a thin tube of what seemed to be blood. The woman stared at it closely and frowned.

"What's wrong?" Leon asked.

"This is a beta," Claire said. "Did BSAA get the alpha?"

"I wouldn't know. This one gave them problems, however," Hiwamura replied. "They lost several men trying to kill it."

"This one is a pure beta. It has at least 72h of infection. For such a good one, the alpha had to be an almost perfect one. He or she would look normal unless it mutated." Claire said. "Where is this from?"

"A recent attack on a suburban town called Poppy Hill. It seems BSAA has it under control now..."

"No, if they didn't get the alpha, the attack isn't under control. The alpha will infect new betas, and the attack will continue," Claire said. "Have people gotten evacuated?"

"Yes, survivors had gotten taken to TerraSave refugees. Why?"

"I'm just...paranoid, maybe..." Claire replied, "Forget about it. I'll take a look at this, but Saya."

"Yeah?"

"Be careful..."

"Of course. I am always careful," Hiwamura smirked."I'll see you around. You two behave, would you?"

Hiwamura left the office as quickly as she had arrived. The woman was evidently in a hurry.

Leon turned to look at Claire. She was looking at the contents of the tube with a certain air of concern that made Leon feel that she'd realized something terrible.

"Claire?"

"What? Sorry, I spaced out. Give me a minute, alright? I'm going to prepare this sample real fast, and I'll be back with you."

Leon watched Claire put back her glasses and grab her lab coat before entering the laboratory. The agent stood at the door, watching her work as he sent a quick message to Chris.

Claire was surprised that the BSAA had not sent the corpses to her lab, and she had reasons for it. So far, all the bodies had been analyzed by her team; so there was no reason for it to be different this time.

To his surprise, Chris was as clueless as they were about that incident, and he promised to check the matter himself.

"Something isn't right here..." Leon mumbled to himself.