Here's part two, due to such positive feedback of chapter one. (Mainly due to one person leaving a request for more in her glowing review. That, and the burning need to answer the ultimate question; why did Chris have that ring with him?)
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Several months earlier….
Chris sat a little more upright, spotting the man weaving through the crowds and among the tables. Leon Kennedy walked over, pulled the chair out, and sat. It will still a mystery to him why Leon had called him and demanded to meet. Who does he even work for now? Chris wondered. Is it the secret service, or the NSA? He was evidently with some powerful agency, as he was the special agent sent to the Harvardville Airport incident.
"Leon." Chris said in greeting. The man nodded briskly. "So, what is it?" Leon ignored his question for a moment, taking a long sip from his drink. "What was so important you couldn't tell me over the phone?" Chris continued. Leon took an envelope out of his brown leather jacket and dropped it on the tabletop.
"Some information, that concerns you." Kennedy said in a low voice. Chris leaned a little closer, trying to make sure he heard everything over the noise of the mall's food court. Chris opened the envelope to find a map.
"Kijuju?" He asked skeptically, reading the name printed on the paper. "I've heard about it. BSAA is probably going to be deploying there soon. What about it?"
"I received a tip." Leon said. "There seems to be reason to believe that your old partner, Jill Valentine, is alive."
"What?!" Chris asked, startled. "She's alive?"
"And in Kijuju." Leon confirmed. "My informant implied that there's heavy TriCell activity in the area, and that your best lead is to start there. Check the map. There's not enough information for me to get you government assistance, but the BSAA should be able to handle it. I think."
"This informant, is he reliable?" Chris asked, his growing excitement evident on his face. Leon paused for a moment, thinking over his answer.
"She's helped me out before." Leon said. "If she says Jill's alive, it's probably true."
"Thank you." Chris said gratefully. Leon stood.
"Chris…" Leon said. "It's not guaranteed. Don't get your hopes too high." Chris nodded, but it was obvious he hadn't really heard him. "Good luck." Leon finished, walking away.
Chris sat there for another minute, thoughts racing through his mind. He took the map out again and studied it. If he waited for the BSAA to movie in, it might be two months before he got to the area. Going in by himself would be faster, but very dangerous. Working alone, without support or any other help, could get him killed. He stuffed the map back in the envelope, pocketed it, and left, walking briskly among the mild crowd of shoppers. His car was on the other side of the entire mall, and it had taken him a little while to get to the food court. He paused at an 'intersection' in the mall. He hadn't paid any attention to it before, but at the corner was a small jewelry store. After a moment's hesitation, he was at the counter, looking at a case full of rings with various gemstones and price tags. If I find her, I'll propose. Chris decided. No stalling, waiting, or trying to plan out the perfect way.
"Can I help you with anything, sir?" An employee asked, noticing the way he was staring intently at the objects.
"Yes." Chris said, nodding. "I'll take one of those, size seven." If Leon had seen him, he probably would have warned him again about not building his hopes up… at that moment, Chris didn't really care much about Leon's opinion.
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"And here we are, safe and sound." Josh said, touching the helicopter down lightly. Chris snapped awake, the jolt startling him out of his rest. Jill was looking around eagerly, unfamiliar with the base. Sheva appeared just plain relieved to be back somewhere safe. Chris glanced out the window. An officer, along with several medics, one even pushing a wheelchair, was running towards them. Sheva gave a slightly nervous laugh.
"Let's hope they're not too upset about us disobeying orders." She joked.
"What?" Jill asked, stretching out a cramp from the long ride. The ring on her hand glittered, catching a ray of sunlight and reflecting it.
"You didn't hear?" Sheva smirked. "The mission took several bounding leaps for the worse, and we were ordered to retreat. Chris refused, then explained to me that he had received word that you were still alive. So, we proceeded on."
"You mean…" Jill asked Chris, "that it wasn't about Wesker? Or uroboros? Seriously?" Chris hesitated for a moment, trying to gauge what her reaction would be.
"No." Chris admitted finally, watching her face closely. "It wasn't about any of those things. Not for me."
One of the medics yanked open the door, flooding the small cabin with noise and shouting, cutting off Jill's response. Sheva hopped down, then saluted the officer.
"Ma'am, this way, you'll have to be tested before accessing the base." The medic said to Jill, pulling her slightly towards the wheelchair. Josh or Sheva must have radioed a status report in while I was asleep. Chris realized. He grabbed the medic's hand and shoved it away from Jill's arm.
"Maybe later!" He said, his boots hitting the concrete of the helipad.
"Sir, we have to follow proto-" The medic started. Chris glared daggers at the man, then offered a hand to help Jill down. She smiled, more than a little amused at how protective he was acting.
"Captain." He said politely, saluting the officer.
"I must admit, I did not expect you to come back alive." The man said, shaking his head. "You're reputation was not exaggerated."
"Thank you, sir." Chris said politely. The officer looked at Jill, eyebrows raised. Chris got the hint, as tired as he was. "I'd like you to meet my fiancée, Jill Valentine." He said courteously. "Jill, this is Captain Fictner." She nodded. Fictner gave him an odd look.
"Long story." Chris said, aware of the strangeness of the situation.
"I'm sure." Fictner said. He looked the exhausted four over and starting walking towards one of the buildings, motioning for them to follow. "Debriefing can wait, but I am afraid you all will have to be examined and cleaned to make sure none of you have been contaminated."
"Understood." Sheva said gloomily. It was necessary, after contact with biohazards, but everyone hated it. Blood was drawn for multiple tests, then once the person was cleared, they were stripped, scrubbed, and literally hosed off.
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Now wearing clean cloths, with skin raw from the cleaning, Chris collapsed on the bunk, making the frame shake slightly. Even with the shades closed, the room was still light. After all, it was only early afternoon.
"You do that again, the entire thing might collapse." Jill mumbled from the bunk directly over him.
"Don't worry, they're tougher than they look." Chris said. "I resigned from the BSAA." He added suddenly.
"That was fast." Jill said. "Hmm." She mulled over something. "I don't think I got my last paycheck."
"They're not going to give it to you." Chris said, a smile tugging at his lips. "Man, you're going to have so much paperwork to fill out when we get back to the States."
"I suppose you already bought the tickets." She laughed quietly. "Tell me, why will I have so much paperwork?"
"Well, you're legally declared dead." He said. "After the Spencer Estate…"
"You have me declared dead?" Jill asked. Chris heard the mattress squeak slightly as she rolled over, then suddenly her head appeared over the side. "Dead, buried, my estate sold or given to charity? That kind of declared dead?"
"Most of it's still there." Chris said. "Your estate. Your dad held onto most of it. But there was a funeral."
"Wow. How was it?" She asked curiously.
" 'How was it?' How exactly do I answer a question like that?" Chris said. "I hated it."
"Sorry." Jill apologized. "Wasn't thinking for a moment there."
"Forget it." Chris said. "You better call your dad, let him know you're alive."
"I think I'd rather just show up on his door." Jill grinned. "That'd be great. 'Hi, Dad, I'm not dead and I'm getting married!' " Footsteps could be heard approaching, and Sheva walked in."One report down, six more to go." She said, adding in jest, "Now I know why you turned your resignation in."
"It wasn't because of that." Chris protested.
"Ah, I know." She waved a hand in dismissal. "Still, I'm sad to see you go."
"Sorry." He apologized. "It's nothing against you. I'm just done. Everything's over, so I'm going home. We're starting a new life."
"I'm happy for you both." Sheva said. "What will you do, though? Since neither of you are BSAA agents now."
"Who knows?" Chris grinned. "Open a gun store?" He reached into one of the pockets on his cargo pants… and took out an emerald the size of a golf ball. Jill gasped.
"Where did you get that?" She demanded, almost falling off the bunk in surprise.
"Found it out there, in a treasure chest." Chris said proudly, turning the green stone around several times. "My bonus."
"You greedy little…" Sheva started, her voice trailing off. Despite her obvious irritation, she couldn't help laughing. "We could have bought another gun!"
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There you have it. Now everyone knows why he had that ring with him on a mission, and I fulfilled that request and made another chapter. I hope you all enjoyed reading it, I had fun writing it. Leave a review! (I read and appreciate every single one of them.) If you readers would like it, I can add a third part. Let me know! And yes, Leon's informant was Ada Wong, doubtlessly harming The Organization's rivals by leaking information that would hurt TriCell.