Chapter 24

"You know, we're pretty lucky to be getting anything at all," Fischer said as he and Leon walked out into the parking structure. "The Italian government wasn't too keen on handing Wong over to us."

"So what made them budge?" Leon asked.

Fischer sighed. "Fortunately, they've signed on with the BSAA, and it was their recommendation that we get to interrogate her first. After we're done, though, we hand her back over. The Italians want to try her under their laws."

The finality of his statement dropped like a rock in Leon's stomach. It was one thing to know Ada was an enemy operative, but now she was being classed as a wanted terrorist. If you looked up 'Wong' on the terror alert list now, she'd be grouped with middle-eastern extremists and Russian political activists, the kind that blew up public buildings, and were ordered to be shot on sight or executed in federal prison.

"She's lucky the police got to her before what was left of the conference's security," Fischer continued as they made their way deeper into the parking structure. "They might have put her down outright after the spree she went on; at least the cops arrested her first."

That was the other thing that sent a chill down his spine when Fischer told him what happened. Ada had killed over a dozen people and destroyed the inside of a five star hotel. That wasn't her method of operation; she didn't go in guns blazing, slaughtering whatever was in her way. Something wrong had to have happened for that. What's more, he got wind that she was injured pretty badly.

The gate on the far side of the structure opened, and an armored van pulled in, flanked by two SUVs. The van pulled in first, with the two SUVs pulling up alongside it, disgorging more than half a dozen agents. Armored troops with automatic rifles stepped out of the driver and passenger seats of the truck.

It was going to be tough. Fischer insisted on Leon's presence, since it was Ada they were dealing with. However, he wasn't sure if he could handle what he was going to see. Dangerous, high profile terrorists weren't treated with the elegance that she should be treated with.

She's not a terrorist. Stop thinking like that.

As Fischer and Leon moved to the back of the truck, the other agents flanked them, clearing their suit coats from their holsters and releasing their weapons. The two guards from the truck opened the rear doors, and he prepared himself for the worst: a bloodied and battered Ada Wong, chained like an animal at gunpoint, and that was the best his imagination could offer.

What he didn't expect was an empty interior, two unconscious armored guards, and a pile of cuffs and chains.

He stood, dumbstruck, as did Fischer and the rest of the agents. Ada was nowhere to be found. How she escaped in transit, restrained, and under guard would be a mystery that was only known by her and God.

At last, Fischer sighed, though it sounded more like irritation than anything else. "Well, I guess I better go call President Graham…"

There were still some things that never ceased to surprise him. In hindsight, it was stupid, because he knew exactly what, and who, he was dealing with.

Still, when Leon walked into his apartment that evening, he was taken aback to see Ada sitting at his kitchen table.

It was only a temporary move for him, a pre-furnished one-bedroom apartment closer to the inner city of DC. Just enough to get by until he could find time to pick out a place that he actually liked. With things getting as chaotic as they were, he wasn't sure when that would be exactly. The GSA was still watching him like a hawk after his own apartment was targeted, which played into the delay of finding a new apartment. Hopefully, he could get something soon.

Again, how she made it through downtown DC with an all-points bulletin out was something he wasn't meant to know.

She didn't say anything when he entered. Of all the times he imagined suddenly walking in a room with Ada Wong waiting for him, a silent greeting with a mournful expression wasn't even on the list. He figured it would be with a gun, or a different weapon, or with an offer and a plan to screw him over somehow. Maybe she would be waiting for him behind the door, in the dark, ready to jump him by surprise before he could react. In his fantasies and dreams, she'd be alone, sometimes wearing sexy lingerie, sometimes nothing at all.

"I guess I'd be lying if I said I wasn't surprised," he admitted as he shut the door, tossing his coat over the single kitchen counter next to the stove. She still didn't say anything. Instead, she sipped from a cup of something she had helped herself to. Leon looked down. "I'd also be lying if I said I wasn't worried, too."

And pissed, he reminded himself.

He stepped up to the table and sat down at the only other chair next to her, a rickety folding chair of plastic and metal that squeaked every time it moved. In the better light and up close, he was able to see the new injuries: a few scrapes on her face, a sutured cut on her smooth, creaseless forehead, a splint on her right ring finger, and a few other bandages that covered who knew what, and that was just what he could see. There could be even more hidden under the plain shirt and jeans she wore.

Without even thinking, he reached out and clasped her hand. The motion felt natural, as if he'd been doing it for years instead of for the first time. She squeezed back gently, her grip comparatively weaker. Not at all like Ada, who he expected to return it with just as much vigor. But despite her injuries, the unkemptness, she looked even more beautiful than ever. If it just wasn't for the emptiness in her eyes.

"What happened?" he asked.

"I screwed up," she said without even looking at him. Her voice was a little more than a shadow of its usual purr, now more of a deadpan croak.

"No denying that," he agreed, hoping it didn't sound as cynical as he thought it did. It was merited, however. She had taken off, with no request for backup or help, and from little he had heard from Fischer through the Italian government, she was lucky to be alive. He was pissed at her, but felt more relieved than ever that he could still feel the warmth of her skin. "You messed up big."

"I had him, literally in my hands, and I let him get away. I could have ended it, ended him, and I screwed it up."

It was as if the revelation hit her again harder when she told him aloud. She inhaled deeply, her eyes widening slightly. Her hand twitched in his, but he squeezed gently again, and that seemed to make her relax. She brought the cup to her lips with a shudder, taking another sip of whatever it was. It looked like water, but he could smell an aroma; probably the single pack of tea he never opened from the back of his cupboard. Somehow, it made the quick move to his new place.

Instinct wanted to reassure her that, somehow, it wasn't really her that messed up, but then again, he couldn't honestly say he progressed that far in a relationship to know if that really worked. Plus, he also felt like he shouldn't be sugarcoating anything. If Ada screwed up, she screwed up. The simple fact that she was telling him outright and not simply denying her involvement was astounding. Patronizing her might just make it worse.

Ultimately, he just sighed, but still held her hand. At least he could do that.

"I screwed us up."

Now he had to draw the line. "You didn't screw us up."

"Bullshit," she swore. Her voice wavered on the expletive. He hadn't heard that tremble since Raccoon City. "I went feral at a pharmaceutics convention, let Crow get away, and now I'm a terrorist. If they see me with you now you're—"

"Shut up."

She did, her face in a grimace. Her eyes still didn't meet his. He didn't try to make them meet either. He just didn't want to hear it. She was right, as she usually was. Her notoriety had gone up even further, and even if it wasn't the case, the government saw her as a loose cannon now. Whatever points she scored working with them were gone.

"They messed you up pretty good, huh?" Leon asked, trying to steer her thoughts to something else. "I'd hate to see the place where it went down."

It seemed to work, if only for a moment. He couldn't read what was going on behind those blank eyes, but she gave an airy laugh, then lifted her other hand, nodding at the splint on her finger. "This one goes to the cops. One I haven't broken before, so I guess that's something…"

That was it. Back to silence. He really wasn't sure what else he could say. Well, there were some things he could say, but he didn't want to. He just wanted to hold what was left of the moment while it was there. Maybe that way, he could make it seem like forever.

Eventually, she was the one to say it. "I have to go again."

He sighed heavily. It had come quick, but at least it didn't hurt as bad as he thought it was going to. Like ripping off a band-aid. "Yeah, I know."

"I'm sorry."

"Stop apologizing. Do you know where you're going to go?"

She sighed, toying with the handle of her cup. "I have a few places I can lie low. Not inside the States. I was always sure to keep a few places off the organization's radar, just in case."

Exactly like her. He noticed she didn't tell him where she was going, or how she was going to get there. He wanted to ask, but for her safety, as well as his own, he was better off not knowing.

He lifted her hand off the table, bringing it to his mouth to kiss it. She smelled normal. No fancy perfume, no painted nails. Her scent mixed with his own, clean and soapy, but tinged with a hint of grime and sweat. She really didn't react to that either, but at least she squeezed a little harder.

She got up, wincing and favoring her right leg. He wondered again just how badly she was hurt. That need to make her stay and care for her came back stronger than ever. Then he remembered how effortlessly she seemed to escape her transit to the GSA; there were some things that she just couldn't turn off. Wanting to take care of her was one thing, but actually needing to was a whole other story.

The walk to the small front hall was agonizing. Leon wished they were somewhere else other than a cramped apartment.

"If I ever find anything out about Crow, I'll find a way to get it to you. Probably not personally, but it will reach the GSA somehow."

She was leaving again. For the first time, she was leaving and he couldn't even say 'wait'.

He nodded. "Thanks. Maybe it will help convince Fischer and the President that you're not…you know…"

A terrorist? An enemy? The woman he loved?

She nodded softly. "Yeah, maybe. We'll see." She looked down at her feet like a shy schoolgirl, her mouth still open as if she was thinking of the words she wanted to say. "Listen Leon, I just wanted to say I'm…" She wanted to say 'sorry', he could see her mouth trying to make the word. She stopped herself, and instead looked up. "…I'm glad I got a chance to say good-bye this time."

There was brightness in her eyes, but he had never seen her this sad before. She tried to hide it with a forced smile, but the whites of her eyes shimmered. Leon returned the smile, hoping he could mask his expression better than her. It wasn't likely.

"Yeah. So, I guess this is good-bye—"

She caught the word right out of his mouth when she leaned in and kissed him. It was deep and passionate, not anything like the fiery heat during their fight. Her taste flooded his mouth, and he relished it, returning the kiss. He held her in his arms, content to remember the moment for the rest of his life if it had to be this way.

When she finally broke away, her breath shuddered on his lips, but stayed strong. "…for now," she finished, blinking away the shimmering. "For now."

"For now," he agreed.

He didn't want to let his grip loosen on her, but he had to. Her body slipped away from his, its soothing heat vanishing, and she went to the door.

It may not have been the first time Ada walked out of his life, but it was the first time he had to let her go willingly. For both of their sakes. It didn't mean that he couldn't, and wouldn't, love her like he always had.

He stayed hopeful as the door shut behind her. She was just one woman, and she brought him through hell and back more than once. Every second he was with her threw his life in a new direction, and there was nothing he could do to control it. But the one thing he held on to was that no matter how drastically things changed, they always stayed the same. He always waited, but she always came back, and every time she did, they got closer and closer.

He waited for Ada Wong because she was worth waiting for.