Had to re-post this one, something went hell wrong, sorry about the spelling!

It is currently 27 degrees. at 9pm. No, not AM, but PM, ya' know, in the night. I am melting here, rather surprised my computer hasn't blown up in my face. Eesh.

Well... A long one here, didnt think it would be this much! I'm proud of this one, a few things are missing though, but I'll make up for it in the next chapter.

So... hope ya'll enjoy. Until next time my freaky darlings!

CHAPTER 4:

Marco - Polo

"So far all our leads have come to dead ends. There is no paper trail leading back to the person who did all this, and with your theory of a man working on the inside seems to be the reason."

"Have you told anyone about that theory? Its best to keep it under wraps, we don't want the person to catch talk of our plans, as we do not yet know what they really want, and what their capable of should their cover gets blown."

Jake watched from where he sat on Leon's office chair, feet kicked up on the desk as he eyed the other man who was pacing in the apartment room and talking to the other person on the phone. The coffee that the older man had made was sitting on the dinner table, somewhat forgotten, the steam rising in relaxing misty patterns, a complete contrast of the situation at hand made Jake wonder just how screwed up their lives were from the normal scale.

He had woken up at 7am feeling refreshed despite the short amount of sleep he'd managed to get, and after a short moment of thinking, he'd taken the time to walk around the hero's apartment, familiarising himself with the layout then the rest of the building, taking note of every floor and all the necessary things like escape routes and entry points. Smiling mentally when he'd realised why the hero lived in this particular part of the building. It was right next to the fire exit.

"Are you sure this line in secure?" Leon pressed, the thought of it being bugged wasn't entry comforting.

"Yes, after your email about the suspect that tracked you, I made a note to avoid using anything thats from here to contact you. Which means I'll be calling you from here onwards, and I'd advise you to do the same. Your home laptop is likely tapped."

Nodding, Leon agreed. "Yeah, I guessed as much. Though I'm still in the dark of how they tracked me in the street." He paused, thinking. "Hunnigan, what about surveillance cameras?"

"Like the one in the store? Yeah, considering our man's skills so far, I'd say that hacking into those would be too easy. You'd need to have access to a computer, maybe we can trace it back?"

"Possibly, but the man I saw across the street didn't have access to a computer. What about phones?"

"Not likely, you need a direct link to the camera, something you can't do wirelessly using a phone."

Leon signed, bringing up a hand to message the bridge of his nose, "Then its not just one man." He was hoping that there was only one man, despite the job they had pulled of required a lot more. He was tired still, and all he wanted to do was get a good weeks worth of rest, but it seemed the world was against that idea, and kept throwing obstacles at him, like the one currently sprawled out on his desk like he owned the place. He'd woken up this morning to an empty apartment, and thought that the ex-mercenary had left after all. That though vanished as he was making a much needed cup of coffee when the man let himself back in the front door, Leon's keys in hand. He didn't even want to know how the younger man got those.

"I'll tell you one thing, I'm not sitting around. I think its time to pay a visit to Mr Dee's family, and try and find him. If there's any paper trail, it starts with Benjamin. Every plan has a bread crumb, It's just a matter of finding the first one."

"Alright, just keep your head low. I'll keep in touch."

"Will do, and be careful Hunnigan. Your the only one I can trust, so keep this between us." He said, before ending the call.

"You didn't mention me?" Jake asked as the other man finished the conversation.

"No," Shaking his head, Leon walked over to the table, picking up his coffee and signing, before going to the kitchen and pouring the now cool coffee down the sink. "It's better that your detail is left out for the time being. We don't know what we're dealing with here, or who would be listening in." Moving to the other side of the room, Leon pulled out some clothes from his draws, arranging them on the bed before pulling out other various items, such as his Berretta and his knife, badge and ID.

Jake shrugged his shoulders, "So, where are we goin'?"

Leon looked at the man, his gaze fixed on Jake's face, not missing the 'we' part. "So your going to help me?" He asked, wondering.

Taking his feet of the desk, but still remanded sitting, Jake dismissed the idea of 'helping' the agent, and simply said, "I'm a mercenary at heart, there's got to be some kick in this." Even to his own ears, that didn't comfort him like it did before. After all, this time, its not about the money, and that confused Jake.

Leon could see the doubt that briefly clouded the younger mans eyes, what happened in China changed him, and now he wasn't sure where he stood amongst everyone else. It wasn't the money that was driving Jake anymore. Leon decided not to question him, and simply nodded. "In that case, since your here now, I'll fill you in on the details." Walking over to stand beside the seated man, he opened his laptop and entered in the requirements, taking note that he couldn't risk contacting anyone or using it much. He opened all the files on every detail linked to the weeks past events, and sent them to his printer located on the corner of the desk.

"Everything that concerns this situation is all here, all up to date. Everything that has happened in the past week, as well as the information that went missing. If your going to help me, I'd advise you to read this."

Leon said, watching the younger man who nodded before taking the first of what was many pages to come. He didnt look like the sit down and read type, but accepted the papers anyway. "We leave in an hour, that should give you enough time." When Jake didnt answer as he started reading, Leon took that as a good sign as he then moved to the next room, gathering the things that they would need for the trip to Mr Dee's home.

~{{Page Break}}~

'-They tellin' me its all good just wait,

You know your gonna be there,

Someday.

Sippin' on Jim Bean ok,

Gotta get these things one day.

Till then do another line you know,

Searching for that other high,

Stop or I gotta steal then steal,

Kill or I'm gonna be killed-'

Leon mentally cringed at the volume of the music blasting through his car speakers, and although he didnt mind the song choice, his ears did at the volume, but it seemed that the ex-mercenary in the passenger seat beside him insisted on turning the volume up every time Leon turned it down. Another reason that the agent argued that in no way was Jake ever going to sit behind the wheel and drive his car. An argument that the younger man found rather amusing.

"So," Jake started, having to raise his voice a little to get over the volume of the music. "How is our dead guy going to help us track down the people who did this?" He asked, the information he'd read now stuck into his mind, and now he has a better understanding of how serious the situation is, considering the reports that were missing.

"He's not dead, he's missing." Leon replied, eyes on the road ahead of him.

Jake nodded. "Fine, how's our missing dead guy gonna help us?"

Leon signed, shooting a glare at the younger man's way, reaching over to turn the volume down just a little bit, and giving Jake a warning look. "I believe he's still alive, and has connections if not the location and names of who we are dealing with here. We are going to talk to his family, find out as much about Mr Dee as we can, and maybe we'll find a bread crumb." Now talking normally that the music was down.

"We find a bread crumb, we find our Dee-" Jake started.

"We'll find our suspect." Leon finished. "Everyone makes mistakes, even the best. Mr Dee is still out there. He's not our mistake, but he's the start of it."

It was just before 11am when they pulled up in front of a small house nested in a neighbourhood, people were walking their animals, mowing their lawns, chatting over fences. All and all, it looked like a street that knew each other well, that got along, people who would know outsiders when they see one. Such as the questioning glances their car got when they parked on the side of the road. The house was one story, a well cared for garden at the front with potted plants lining the foot path up to the steps of the front door, the letter box read the number Leon had been looking for. 41 Amber street.

Turning off the engine and unclipping his seat belt, Leon halted Jake before he could move. "I'll be doing the talking, alright." He looked at the ex-mercenary, simply reminding him that he was an agent, and that the other wasnt. Jake looked at him, expression unreadable, before nodding once and opening the door, exiting the vehicle. Leon signed, this was going to be interesting, in a slightly bad way.

Walking up the foot path with Jake tailing slightly behind him, he could feel the eyes on his back from curious neighbours, he guessed it was because they were not in a uniform that made their identities known, and therefore their identity was unknown to the people who were looking in, curious and yet weary.

Reaching the dark green painted door, Leon pressed the bell located on the side, and waited. It was a typical family home, white fence, garden at the front, various toys here and there, he smiled briefly at the thought, the life of a normal family, but it seemed that life was now running down a bumpy road, unsetting the peacefulness. His smile vanished as quick as it came. These people shouldn't have to go through this. No one should.

A few moments passed, Jake was shifting on his feet, bored. His hands were itching to do something, preferably to push the button again. He exchanged his look with the older man beside him, noting that the agent was calm and patient, his aura had changed, marking a presence of a Secret Service Agent, even without a uniform. He was the most respected agent working for the U.S Government.

"Maybe no one's home." Jake mumbled, causing the man next to him to look, his expression unreadable. However, the silence was broken by the sound of a lock turning before the door opened.

A tired looking woman stood on the other side of the green door, looked to be in her early 30s, long straight brown hair framed her face, dressed casually in a shirt and jeans.

"Ms Dee?" Leon asked, his posture was professional but his voice soft, not wanting to intrude.

The woman nodded slightly, "Yes." She sounded as tired as she looked.

Leon reached into his jacket pocket, pulling put his ID and showing it to her. "I'm Agent Kennedy, this-" He gestured to the man on his right, "-is Mr Muller,-" Jake looked at him, before nodding to the woman. "I'm here concerning your husband." He finished, keeping his ID out until Ms Dee was satisfied.

She nodded at him, before opening the door all the way. "Come in."

Leon looked at Jake, passing a silent message for him to keep quiet, who looked slightly annoyed. 'Really,' Jake thought. 'Mr Muller?', than makes it sound like he's married.

They stepped into the home, Jake closing the door behind him as Ms Dee lead them to the lounge room area, which was simple and modern, but coloured in browns and greens, as well as light coffee shades. The windows were closed but the curtains had been pulled open, lighting the area up. It was also warm inside compared to the cold sunny day outside. Ms Dee motioned to the couches with her hands, which to two followed suit and made themselves comfortable.

"You don't look like Government." She said as she sat down, across from them. Her eyes looked slightly red, probably due to lack of sleep and the stress and worry of her missing husband.

"I'm off duty, ma'am. But I have made it my duty to work on this case until Mr Dee is home safe." Leon said, wanting to reassure her why he was hear.

She looked at him, her respect for the agent went up, even though she hadn't a reason to trust his word yet. "But why would the Secret Service be looking into this?" As much as she appreciated more people trying to find her husband, she was concerned at why higher ups were looking in on the investigation. The thought not exactly comforting, because it was her husband that was missing, and what she thought was a simple hostage situation being a random act of violence. If it had Government agents knocking on her door step, then maybe this was more serious than what she first thought, and considering the man in front of her was off duty but still working on the case, it must seem the Government wanted this resolved as quickly as possible.

Leon thought for a second before replying, choosing his words carefully. "Your husband, Benjamin, works for E'World. A global network, which I'm sure your aware, was robbed a few days ago."

She nodded, but looked a little confused. "Yes, I'v seen that on the news. About the Government loosing valuable information." She paused, before asking in a restrained angry tone. "You dont think he had anything to do with that, do you?"

Leon looked down, eyes catching on a photo of the family on the table in front of him, both husband and wife were holding hands, and two kids, one younger and the other older, smiles were lit up on there faces. "I will not lie to you, ma'am. I believe there is a connection to Mr Dee and the theft of E'World, but I dont think he was responsible." Looking back up at her, he said, "I believe, that finding Mr Dee will have the answer to this entire investigation. I want to find him, and hopefully, bring him home."

She looked back at him, her anger melting away into tears that threatened to fall. "S-amantha, call me Samantha." She said, her voice wavering and thick with emotion. "Will you bring him home, Agent Kennedy?"

"Call me Leon." He said, looking at her softly before his face turned determined and set. "And I wont stop until I find him."

Samantha smiled, well, tried to, but it didn't reach her eyes as a few tears trailed down her face, stopping when she wiped them away with a tissue she'd grabbed from the table. She looked at the agent, gratefully, her trust in him now something of a comfort. She knew he meant what he said.

Leon sat forward, looking intenty in her eyes. "I'm going to need you help," He said gently, "You know your husband better than anyone else in this room." He watched as she nodded, "Are you up for it?" He asked, making sure she understood, and was calm enough to help him.

She swallowed dryly, before nodding a few times. "Yeah..."

Leon looked at her, waiting for a few moments, before deciding to go ahead. Jake had gotten up from his seated position, and started wandering the small space of the living room, looking at all the details. Something neither Leon or Samantha objected to.

Leon spoke carefully and slowly, not wanting to rush her. "I need you to think about the past 6 months, I know its a long stretch, but our Intel believe this has been going for a while. Don't worry about every detail, or even much detail at all. Just anything that you, even slightly, found odd or strange. Doesn't have to centre around Benjamin, but anything that has happened that you thought to be out of place."

She blinked a few times, her emotion now in check as her mind processed what the other man was telling her.

"He.." She started, "Came home one afternoon, about 4 months ago, saying that he was being promoted. I was happy for him, even though it was rather out of the blue." She shrugged. Looking at the agent, who nodded at her to continue. "The next day, we had a man show up at our door, claiming he worked for the company."

"What did he look like?" Leon asked, listening intently.

"He was tall, I'd say just under 6 foot, brown hair, green eyes." She answered, the man's image clear in her head.

Reconisation flared in Leon's mind, the imaged of the man that he saw across the street a few days ago flashed in front of his eyes. "What was he wearing?" He pressed, gently, but wanting to confirm his suspect.

She though for a second, "A brown coat.." She looked at him in question.

Leon nodded, that was all he needed for the identity. "Anything else that was odd?"

"Benjamin started getting... paranoid, i think would be the word to describe it. He would call me everyday about 5 times, wanting to know where I was, and how the kids were doing. Then when he would come home, making sure all the doors and windows were locked, asking me all these questions, telling me not to speak to strangers, keeping the kids indoors. After dinner, he would lock himself in his study, and forbid anyone from disturbing him, saying that he had a lot of work to do."

"Did he say what kind of work?"

She shook her head. "No.. I always assumed it was because of his promotion." She stopped for a moment, thinking. "It wasn't until a month ago that he started getting calls..."

"Calls from work?"

She paused again, stuttering.

"Just take your time." Leon said reassuringly.

She sat there tiredly, gathering her thoughts before she began again. "I dont know, but every time his phone rang, he'd stop everything to answer it, going to his study again and closing the door..." She stopped again for a moment, looking confused, a frown marking her face.

Leon noticed he hesitation and confusion, and knew it wasn't just directed at the bizar calls that her husband got. "Samantha?" He asked her, leaning forward slightly, looking at her with concern.

Samantha looked up at him, her thoughts going back. She had a gut feeling that it wasn't work that was calling her husband all the time, for a simple reason that the word she heard one night wouldn't be the word you'd use greeting your boss when they'd call you, nor would be the reaction that Benjamin gave every time the ring tone of his cell would sound, startling the man every time. "Polo..." She said. "He would answer the phone every time and say 'Polo'." She clarified the detail at the confused look the agent gave her at her words.

Jake was across the room when he heard the word, turning to look over in their direction. Even though he had no idea what that meant, the word struck an interest in him, he had a feeling that he should know what it meant, a connection, but what ever it was that bugged him seemed to slip from his fingers before he could even get a grasp.

Leon too looked thoughtful, trying to peace together what sort of meaning that was behind to what Samantha just told him. Polo could mean a wide range of things, things that didn't make sense to their current situation. A few things went through his head, only to be mentally thrown aside when they didn't fit with the scenario. Why would someone answer the phone saying 'Polo'? The room was quiet for a moment, before something hit him, it wasnt much, but he voiced his thoughts. "Like Marco and Polo?" He said in confusion.

Jake clicked his fingers, causing the others to look at him. "Exactly like Marco Polo." He said to them, looking at Samantha before directing his gaze to Leon. "Its a line of code, the caller to identify himself and vice versa without actually giving away any real profile of his identity." A code that sounded familiar to Jake, and yet it didn't at all.

Leon nodded in understanding, that sounded exactly right. He turned to Samantha, "That man who stopped by that day, did he give you a name?" He asked her.

She nodded quickly. "Steve... Jen..." She trailed off, trying to remember the last name.

Jake looked at her, a frown on his face, "Jension?" He asked, not too sure if that was what she was after, but it was the first thing that came to mind due to what he read before. But that didn't make sense.

She looked up at the younger man, and nodded. "Yes, Steve Jension." She watched both mens reactions, noting that they looked at each other, a silent message passed that she was only partly able to identify. "You know him?" She asked.

Things just got a little complicated, Leon didnt know if this information was a good thing or a bad thing. He knew the name, read about it in one of the emails Hunnigan sent him. It didnt make any logical sense, after all, why would the suspect who visited Mr Dee every 4th day of the new month take the name of a victim he didn't kill until weeks later?

He was about to say something when the sound of a ringing phone took his attention away from his thoughts. He looked up as Samantha stood, giving him a 'one moment' look before she went to answer the source of the noise and leaving the two men in the room to ponder over what they'd just been told.

"I don't get it." Jake said, shrugging as he walked over to where Leon was seated, leaning against the arm of the couch next to the agent. "I thought he was dead, and worked for charity."

Leon nodded, "I thought so too." But not only thought, it was confirmed at the crime scene, they had the body and all the evidence of Steve Jension.

Foot steps came into the room marking the presence of Samantha, causing both to look in her direction and seeing that she held her house phone to her ear. It was the look on her face that caused Leon to stand up though. She looked...

"Agent Kennedy.. I-Its for you." She said nervously, walking tentatively over and holding the phone out to him.

Leon shared a glance with Jake before he reached to take the phone, bringing it to his ear for a moment, listening before speaking. "Agent Kennedy." He said, letting the caller know who he was talking to, as requested. The room was silent for a few moments, Leon's face remained the same indicating that the caller hadn't spoken yet. Jake looked on and waited, Samantha was biting her lip, looking edgy.

"...Leon Scott Kennedy.. Nice to finally talk to you."

The voice on the other line was deep, a man obviously, and completely untrust worthy. If this guy was acting on first impressions, he just made himself a target. Although Leon didn't know who this man was, he knew who he was talking to. "Steve Jension. Right?" He asked into the phone, taking a few steps around the room, walking idly. He knew it wasnt the Steve from the crime scene though.

"Steve Jension is dead... You know that."

Yes. He did know that. And he had a feeling that this is only a social call, nothing about business, only game, and Leon was part of it. Jake took a few steps towards the agent until he was within reach, standing just so he was in the agents line of sight, looking the older man directly in the eyes, waiting.

Leon looked back at the ex-mercenary as the caller continued.

"Marco..."

The voice drawled out lazily. Leon replied accordingly to the phrase. "Polo." He said as Jake looked at him with realisation, as Samantha too looked at him. Many thoughts ran through Leon's mind, questions he needed to ask but knowing all to well that he wont receive any valid answer in return. It was too early in the game for the caller to show his cards. So he waited, let the caller do the talking. It was shortly after that thought when the light breathing on the other end was cut off by the voice of the caller.

"...Found you."

There was un-mistakenly the sound of the line going dead, indicating that the other had hung up.

Jake was momentarily stunned when the older man suddenly moved to the open window all the while keeping fast and low, his urgent tone took a moment to register in Jakes mind.

"Get down!"

Alarm spreaded like wild fire through Jake as he understood, running to a scared Samantha and grabbing her, pulling her out of the line of sight from the open windows.

Leon crouched by the window, the phone lay forgotten as he took out his sidearm, holding the weapon close with caution, his mind expecting an attack at any given moment. He glanced over to Jake who had taken cover behind one of the couches, Samantha behind him. The fact that he couldn't see her meant she was well hidden from prying eyes, she was safe. Leon could just see Jakes face peering out from the side, no doubt that he too had his weapon free should he need it.

Taking a breath, Leon moved slightly so he could get a good view out the window. His eyes caught the world outside, seeing people walking, chatting, all like before when they arrived. Something that striked a nerve, made him wonder. They were being watched, that much was certain, but who ever was out their hasn't yet carried out any possible threat, but that didn't mean it wasn't there, and Leon was taking no chances.

"What the hell? Leon?" Jake called out from where he was, tense and ready for a fight. When he got the agents warning, he was expecting bullets to go flying, not absolutely nothing, but he kept himself low and his guard up.

Leon glanced out the window a moment longer, risking standing up to get a better view and putting himself in line of sight, but calmed when nothing happened, and didn't see anything that was out of place. Maybe his new found friend had played him, just to see his reaction to a possible threat. What ever it was, it worked, but falling for it was something he accepted, better to react to something thats not going to happen, then not reaching to something that does indeed happen. He signed. "He could see us.."

Seeing the agent relax, Jake soon did to after confirming that it was safe to step out from cover. He holstered his weapon, the silver disappearing within his jacket. Moving over to stand beside the agent, he too had a look outside, eyes scanning the area, every detail, every window and car, people, he couldn't see anything that wasn't there before. "What does he want?" He asked in annoyance.

Leon stood there, having holstered his weapon too now that there was no visible danger. Despite the disappearance, he still felt uneasy, that someone was still watching. Their travel it seemed was unsuccessful, he was hoping for a location, somewhere that will lead him to the nest, the people behind all this, and although that phone call helped, he wasnt sure which side got the bigger slice of the cake. "I dont know." He finally said, turning to look at Jake before walking over to a still scared Samantha.

"He's out there? The man who took my husband?" Her voice was slightly panicked, when she answered the call, she knew straight away that something was wrong on the other end. But the fact that the caller appeared to have been right outside her property, watching them, that scared her like nothing before. "What do I do?" Looking at the men in worry, she didnt want to leave her house.

"You do nothing." Leon said to her, placing his hands gently on her shoulder and drawing her eyes to his. She looked confused at what he said. "You stay here, with you children, don't panic, don't run. If you run, we wont be able to help. I know its hard, but you cant be part of this investigation, don't give anyone a reason to suspect you." He walked over to the table and picked up a envelop that was there, pulling a pen from his pocket he wrote something down. "This is my number, If you see anything, hear anything, or is something goes even slightly wrong, you call me." He said, giving her the paper.

She looked at the paper, before nodding quickly, biting her lip again. "W-What are you going to do?" She looked back up.

"I'm going to call in a unit, they will supervise the street, keeping an eye on you. As for the rest, I'm going to get to the bottom of this, I will bring Benjamin home." He replied, nodding at Jake and started walking to the front door.

The short walk back to the jeep was cautious, both men keeping their guard up, the possible threat staring at them, following their moves, eyes burning into the back of one, but lingering on the other. This game had only just started, one piece was set already, but the new piece came as a surprise, something he will greatly use to his advantage, something he delighted in, like the coin sitting in your pocket, a coin you didn't know was their, not until you took out the trash. He was going to enjoy this game, this was his story now, with his role play set, pages in motion, he will write it out his way.

Eyes followed the younger man as he disappeared into the vehicle, which sooner drove down the street.

His favourite character just joined the picture, and he was going to enjoy writing him.