Hello everyone, my day job has picked up in hours. So my writing has slowed down, I would expect that chapters would release at a similar pace as it will be now. I will say that I am thrilled to see so many people making guesses and sharing ideas on who the traitor is. I hope that you all will be satisfied with the overall mystery. Thank you all for continuing to read, I do respond to comments, so feel free to review and comment away. Now without further ado, here is chapter 5.

Chapter V: Perceptions

"You have to be kidding me."

Carter's shock was understandable, after all, the solution was so simple it was almost stupid. Leon had brought Ashley and her primary agents in a room with no windows to be easily seen from outside. Which in this case was the study adjacent from the living room. Which was very cramped as the study was only really meant for maybe two people? They were now cramming in five people and everyone was pretty much touching shoulder to shoulder. But Leon insisted them to be in it so they couldn't be seen from outside, he was used to cramped spaces so it didn't bother him. It helped that Ashley, who was to his right, had a small frame so he had a bit more elbow space. But Mikhael and Carter had wide frames, Clara too was not as small as Ashley so it was a rather cramped uncomfortable sauna like experience. A hot box was probably a better comparison. They hated Leon for doing this, but he had his reasons and it would be for the best. The group was huddled over his phone as Leon had found the address of the place he had figured out where Ashley's stalker was hiding.

"The Chambers Hotel?"

It would be funny if this was the place Leon was looking at, but it wasn't. The Chambers Hotel wasn't on the same street Ashley's house was, in fact it was several streets away you could see the building from Ashley's front yard. Too far for a cellphone camera, but a professional camera with a powerful lens could got a good angle on the place. Since the stalker showed a perchance for taking pictures and apparently selling them, Leon was able to figure out what place had the right angle to take a picture of him and Ashley. Ashley leaned in close to look over at the phone, her shoulders rubbing against Leons and making the room feel hotter than it should. She looked at the picture of the hotel and made a purring noise that made parts of Leon heat up.

"Never been there. They made an offer for me though, the sauna room made me almost consider it."

Saunas were not something he wanted to think about given the uncomfortable lack of space he has right now with everyone in the room. What he was thinking about though was what was going to happen next, despite Leon having figured out the vantage location for this photo to have occurred it wasn't actually proof. They could live a tip with the local PD sure, but without the context Leon was sure it would be too late by the time they mobilized or worse they would bungle the operation and the stalker would book it. In Leon's mind the answer was simple he would have to go in there, grab the target and then get their answers to turn them into the local PD. Whether the others felt the same that is what he was about to find out. Leon knew though this was the only way to keep Ashley safe, this stalker proved they could become vicious. Dropping a sandbag on her, wrecking his loft, he couldn't leave this in the hands of the police it had to be him. Lucky for him the others didn't need much convincing.

"So why aren't we heading over there and knocking on doors?" Carter asked.

"Given whoever this is had preplanned to sleep inside of the school auditorium to bypass all security measures, we have to assume they are equally well planned that someone may find their perch. I also only have an idea on what floor they're on, not which room." Leon explained.

Mikhael perked up, which was the first time he did since they were all cramped in this study. "If you know which floor they are on we can at least isolate the rooms, watch the floor for people coming in and out and work on it from there."

The others looked at Leon expectantly, if he really did isolate the exact floor then all they had to do was focus on the side of the building that faced Ashley's house. Leon hesitated for a second, looking at them before seemly nodding to their logic, "Tenth floor. It's the best floor that would have the angle to get that photo."

Mikhael nodded, the older man going into action as he turned to his fellow agents. "I'll rent a room for the night, we'll alternate who watches the tenth floor on who comes in and out on which door. When we have narrowed down who we think it is, we'll detain him and inform the local PD."

"You want to split us up?" Clara asked, "What if it's a trap and someone comes to the house while we're playing Scooby Doo?"

"Mystery Inc." Carter cut in, "Scooby Doo was the name of the dog…Mystery Inc is what they were all called…"

Clara rolled her eyes and tried to adjust herself so she wasn't smushed between Mikhael and Carter, sweat was gathering on her brow as all the agents were finally starting to feel annoyed by the gathering heat of too many bodies in one room. But Clara was determined to not let her point be forgotten by a technical distraction. "My point is if we are pulled away we leave Ashley more vulnerable, they already broke into this house before they'll do it again."

Clara did have a point they were risking Ashley's security on a whim, and it was a whim, Leon was very sure of his deduction by there was no surefire way to know if the stalker was still there. Splitting Ashley's team could mean danger if the stalker was tricking them, taking the chance to strike at them while they were elsewhere. Leon knew that, but, he was sure there was a traitor in Ashley's team: if he didn't have them within his sight or left them alone with her while he was elsewhere they could strike. He was caught between a rock and a hard place as both approaches had flaws, but he knew he couldn't be reactionary for too long if they weren't proactive in catching this person it would be too late by then. Despite his objections on leaving Ashley alone, he didn't think every single member of Ashley's team were against her: otherwise she would have been taken or dead a long time ago.

"I'll go." Leon suggested, "I can watch the place and make a move when I'm sure on who it is."

"Doesn't this stalker know who you are?" Clara asked, pointing out what they learned this morning. "They would recognize you."

"Maybe." Leon responded assuredly, even though internally he wasn't sure about if his confidence was well placed. "But the rest of you are more well known, harder to hide. I can keep a low profile and I know what I'm looking for."

It was flimsy and Leon knew it, but they were running off a worst case scenario that the stalker had eyes and ears everywhere. This potential gap in their knowledge was a bit weak, at best, but it was a chance and Leon knew they couldn't be paralyzed with fear trying to come up with the perfect foolproof plan. The three agents exchanged looks with each other and Leon could feel Ashley's eyes burn into him as they considered the plan. Call it seeing sense, or call it wanting to be out of this boiling study, Leon knew before they even said anything that they all agreed.

When Leon saw Hunnigan's name on the call list he stepped into the guest bedroom's bathroom and shut the door, clicking the accept button he put his phone to his ear. "Go."

"Alright, listen carefully because I don't have time to repeat everything." Hunnigan's voice came through, it sounded like she was breathing heavy. Like she was out for a run or working out. "Carter Jones enrolled in the U.S army at a young age but only stayed on for a few years, afterward he applied to secret service and was signed onto to Ashley's detail. His parents were teachers for their local school, he grew up an only child and was his schools track and run star until he left highshool."

"Why did he leave the army after a few years?" Leon asked in a low voice.

"He didn't." Hunnigan huffed, he could hear the sounds of city life on her end. She must have been on a job. "Carter got into the army on a program that was started during President Graham's first term. But when he was reelected a senator that he sponsored helped vote on ending the program and Carter, as well as others, were cut finding and support to stay in the army."

Leon vaguely recalled a program President Graham put into effect, an emergency army fund after BOW's killed so many of their own law enforcement and militia over the years of them hunting down Umbrella. They created a program to fast track people back into armed forces to replace their numbers, but after President Graham 'saved the world' from BOW's the programs were stripped and several people lost their funding and places. The whole program was stupid, fast tracking people into the military and creating a kill switch when the program defunded. It was one of President Graham's most notable failures in his presidency. Carter likely got his skills from his time in the army.

"What's more is that after that program, Carter's family were avid detractors of President Graham. I have pulled some posts from Carter's social media, Carter himself posted very little but his family were open in their dislike in the President for allowing this to happen."

Smart on Carter. Knowing likely government recruitment looked into things like social media posts and that stuff to look for any potential issues, especially if he was going to be in secret service. But, knowing that the president did he still applied for Secret Service? Leon wondered if Carter had ill intentions toward the Graham family, applying for the position to get close to the family? For what, revenge? It seemed stupid, but people could be stupid and if Carter was working with the stalker he could be prime for being the traitor.

"Thanks Hunnigan, what about Clara?"

"Clara Jane Redmond, also an only child, grew up in a military family and enrolled in her local police force as a deputy. She served for a few years and promptly applied for secret service, she was accepted without hesitation and fast tracked into Ashley's service." Hunnigan paused for a second, Leon could hear some people chattering and likely she wanted to wait until people passed before continuing. "Her father was killed during Harvardville Airport."

Leon's stomach went cold, Harvardville Airport, he remembered it well. He was dispatched to help get survivors out of the situation, including Claire Redfield - another Raccoon City survivor. He had remembered that a first response unit was sent in before Leon and the team he was with came in as well, he heard they didn't make it. One of them was Clara's father? Could she have developed a hatred to the Grahams for not 'ending Bioterrorism'? Maybe or maybe not. This wasn't good, both Carter and Clara now had potential motives to turn against Ashley. Motives weren't evidence, but they put Carter and Clara on his suspect list. Something he hoped he wouldn't have to do, the suspect list got wider. Then there was Emma, Ashley's intern, who gave him the cold shoulder. Ashley said it was likely stress as that was unusual for her, but Leon noted the sudden reaction. Almost dismissive. If he didn't confirm that Ashley's stalker didn't camp out that night at the place, he would have almost thought it was her but according to Mikhael she arrived with Ashley the entire time.

"That's all I have on them." Hunnigan puffed at the other side of the phone. "I'm about to come back into work from break, if you need anything else message me after 9pm. Small things, Leon, I'll do what I can."

Leon didn't get the chance to thank her because she promptly hung up, she likely took a jog on her break to give Leon this information without her superiors over her shoulder. He made a note to send her something nice as a thank you gift. Leon heard knocking from his bedroom door, along with the soft call of his name. He stood up from the bathroom, walked back into his guest bedroom and opened the door. Ashley stood there. She was holding a clear glass of light yellow lemonade with four well shaped cubes of ice topped with a red and white striped straw. The moment he opened the door she greeted him with a big smile, holding the glass out to him.

"Hey, I thought you might be parched from being in that hot study. So I made some lemon naked." Her eyes widened and she blurted, "Nade! Lemonade! Not…oh here."

Defeated she held the cup to him, Leon smiled and took it from her. Capturing the straw between his lips and sucking in the liquid, it was sweet but had that lemon tang to it. He made a grunt of appreciation that brought Ashley out of her self inflicted misery, he took a second sip that was longer and his enjoyment reached his face. "It's good, thank you."

Her smile was one of relief and reassurance, Leon gestured for her to step into the guest room and she did so. Albeit little hesitantly, it was her house she should have been comfortable to come in her own room. Did he make her nervous? She seemed a bit more…frantic, when she was around. He worried he said or did something to unsettle her. After draining the glass to halfway he set it down on a desk before turning around to her. Ashley had decided to sit on the edge of the bed, her hands smoothing out the blanket comforter that was a little crumpled. She lifted her head to look at him, the smile she had on early had faded into a far more somber expression and her eyes seemed worried.

"Ash…?" Leon prodded.

"After ten years you become my bodyguard…only to leave very quickly." her tone was teasing, but a little sad. "You know how to keep a girl waiting."

Leon walked over and sat down on the bed next to her, "I'm not leaving Ash, but I'm the best chance we get at getting them."

This didn't seem to reassure her, Ashley looked away from Leon and kept her gaze down. "Do you know what I felt when I saw you two days ago?" he shook his head. "I was overjoyed…and sad. I was so happy to see you, but I was so upset that it took something happening to me to get to see you."

Leon winced, he knew he had a terrible communication streak with Ashley since her father left office. He had half wondered if she was upset by that, stupid question Leon: she was. So much so that she was afraid the moment he had to go do something he was going to leave her behind, again.

"And now you want to go, alone, to try to get someone who not only tried to kill me but broke into your home to threaten you. You want me to just sit here and watch you throw yourself into danger, again." she bit her lip, trying to stop it from quivering. "My worst memories of that place are watching you getting ripped and torn apart by everything around us, and all I would do is run and get out of the way. Those are my worst memories Leon, watching you nearly die 'for the mission'. For me."

"This isn't like Valdelo-"

"It is!" Ashley cut in, standing up and rounding on him. An action that actually caused Leon to lean back. "This is you fighting alone with no one to watch your back! At least back then I was sort of useful! Now I can't even be along with you, I just have to sit here and hope that everything will be okay."

Ashley was starting to get emotional, her voice was beginning to break and her lip couldn't be held back by the barrier of her own teeth. It was a grim stark reminder to Leon that no matter how much time passed they still carried their scars. Valdelobos left scars on Ashley on what happened to her, so much within 24-48 hours. When they came back he was told that Ashley would have trouble sleeping, wake up in screaming fits, often times looking for him…as if he was going to ride in and come save her. Leon knew how much trauma like that could destroy someone, when Raccoon City happened Claire left to find her brother while Leon made the personal sacrifice to keep Sherry safe. He had no one to talk to, his fellow soldiers were not the type to talk and Krauser was the type of mentor who preferred to get over things at the end of a knife. Leon knew how much he just wished to have someone to talk to, he could be there for Ashley when no one was there for him. That's how they started to talk, once a day for a few weeks until Ashley started to settle. Then it was at least 4-5 times a month when Leon wasn't on a mission. Time and space helped Ashley return to some semblance of normal, got back to college and began to build a life for herself again.

But time doesn't heal wounds, it just dulls them.

"You're going to leave." Ashley just about sobbed, "Again. You're going to leave me alone, again."

Leon stood up, walked to her and placed his hands on her arms. Using them to ground her from losing herself and get her to meet his eyes. Hers were shiny with tears about to form and stuck gazing out into the future in which she was alone. His met back with a steadfast resolution that was harder than steel and enough to weather the uncertain future. "I'm not leaving you Ashley. I'm sorry for the last few years, I failed you. But I'm here now, I'm not leaving."

She looked so lost, like a small raft adrift at sea looking for a lighthouse to bring her home. The second he said that to her she became a little more steady, like she saw the light from the shore and was making her way to it. She searched his face as if she could see if he was lying or not, when she didn't find anything she still didn't relax. She wanted to believe him, she truly wanted to. But Leon had already left her behind before, she would always be a little hurt by him vanishing. Words can only assure someone for so long while their actions dictate otherwise. She gently pulled away from him, Leon releasing his grip as he felt her shift away from him and head for the door. She placed her hands on the door frame for a second and turned her head to look back at him. She could see him looking at her, his gaze unreadable. She wanted to say something to him, convey to him how she was feeling but she couldn't put to words the emptiness she felt at the entire situation. She just left without a spoken word.

The happy mood that Ashley started out with the at the beginning of the day was contrasted by the depressed mood she came to dinner with. She busied herself with meetings with Emma about the upcoming conference in a few days but she found her attention waning. She should have doubled down and focused, this event meant a lot to her and if it went off without a hitch there may be big changes. In a few days Ashley would be meeting with major relief organizations, including but not limited to Terra-Save, and if it all panned out there would be efforts placed toward various isolated towns and cities in other countries to give them special aide and attention. This was a huge deal for Ashley, it would be a big step in preventing another Kijuju, another Valdelobos, create less opportunities for bigger companies to use smaller villages as test subjects for more viruses. It wasn't a perfect solution, but it was hopefully a big step to draw more awareness to them and then get the next step moving. But Ashley was distracted, Leon had left not too long ago to check into the hotel Mikhael set up. They hadn't spoken much to each other since their last conversation and the way things ended between them sent her in a sour mood, she had regretted everything that she did. It was absolutely selfish of her to believe Leon would be with her,that objectively the plan was actually quite solid. She just wanted him close, she felt safer with him around and he was already leaving the very same day he arrives. She was looking forward to sleeping soundly knowing he was there, now that was taken from her.

Dinner was a silent affair, she ate with Emma but there was barely any conversation. It didn't help that after the meal she felt another migraine coming on, she took some medicine and decided to head straight up to her room. Every now and then she could hear Mikhael talking to the others about Leon and the plan, he would convey to her that if things went south for any reason Clara would be taking her straight to her panic room. She would just nod and mumble she was going to head to bed, walking up to her room and avoiding the concerned looks.

As she climbed up the steps to her room, opening the door she noticed something was different right away. On her bed was a small box, not a present box or even a package, just a small compact black box. She froze in her spot, that wasn't there earlier. Her hand was on the door knob and it shook slightly, how did this get into her room? A part of her wanted to call out for Mikhael, Carter, anyone but she found herself rooted on the spot. Eventually she found her courage and slowly walked over to the bed, her eyes darting around as if she could find someone hiding in the corners of her bedroom. She gingerly picked the box up, shook it slightly and heard no noise from it. It wasn't heavy, but she didn't think it was empty either. Against her better judgment, she cautiously took her hand and lifted the lid of the black box. Inside was an ear piece nestled perfectly in a foam cut, her body went rigid: who would leave her this? Was there someone on the other end waiting for her? She slowly picked up the ear piece and turned it on, pressing it into her right ear she spoke hesitantly.

"H-hello?"

There was no response, Ashley was starting to feel fear grip her heart. She was beginning to think she made a mistake and should have just called one of her agents up here, but again she found her courage and her voice came through stronger.

"Whoever this is, you need to speak now. Stop being a coward and-"

"Hey Ash."

The voice sent jolts through her body: it was Leon. His voice was as clear as if he was right next to her and she let out an audible gasp, stepping backwards before catching herself on the table.

"I didn't have time to give this to you and you seemed to be avoiding me, I left it on your bed. This is a one way communication unit, private line just you and me. I…thought it might help make you feel less alone tonight."

Ashley felt all the tension leave her body as soon as she realized this wasn't the stalker, she sat down on the bed and gave a slow sigh of relief. Though there was a second reason for her relief, she had worried she had upset Leon and would drive him further away from her and now here he is, making the time to speak to her. She got up to walk to her bedroom door, close and lock it and then plop down onto her bed. She bounced a bit from the buoyancy of the mattress, but she was bouncing on the moon as far as she knew. With a small smile forming across her lips she spoke, "So…is the place nicer than my house?"

And they just talked, they talked about the weather, their homes, something stupid they saw online, strange encounters out in public. Very little did they talk about the stalker or the darkness in their lives, it was the little stupid things they talked about. Slowly, as the sun drew lower and the moon crested higher. Long shadows casting outside like darkened fingertips reaching out, none of that reached within her bedroom. Over the courts of the couple hour conversation she had changed into something more comfortable, a sort of sleep wear t-shirt and slacks. Her shoes were by her bed, ready to slip on and run at a moment's notice in case something happened. But she was laying on her bed, relaxed and content as Leon was in her ear. Complaining how hot the hotel was and how people kept trying to get ice from a broken ice machine.

"I don't know how you can stand it." Ashley finally asked, "Doesn't it bother you seeing so many people walk to that machine? Don't you just want to stop and say something?"

Leon chuckled quietly on the other end, "A little, but, it's just a distraction and I know how to maintain focus."

Ashley lifted up on her bed slightly, her voice prodding, "So…what does distract Agent Kennedy?"

Leon's response was something non-committal, but Ashley wasn't registering it exactly. Suddenly wicked thoughts were crossing her mind and the past couple hours have done nothing but embolden her into making decisions that she might otherwise forget. She paused for a moment before speaking, the voice that came out was lowered to a pitch she didn't realize she was capable of doing. "Do I…distract you?"

"Uh…" Leon's response was a little faltered, like he didn't know how to answer. That made her happy, the idea of Leon being flustered was adorable and trying to imagine him and his rugged handsomeness made her bite her lip a little. She didn't feel deterred she wanted to keep going, she laid back down on the bed. Imaging there wasn't any distance between them and that he was right there in front of her. At the end of her bed, being flustered and unable to give an actual response.

"Do you know what I do when I'm…distracted?" she purred, enjoying the noise he made on the other end of the phone. His voice was a little strangled like he didn't quite understand what was going on, but had no attempts to want to stop it. She kept going, "What I think about when I'm distracted…?"

A wonderful sultry smile crossed her face as she imagined Leon at the end of her bed just staring helpless, she wasn't a young woman anymore she was fully grown and she wanted him to know it. The device in her ear may be a damned reminder of their distance apart, but in her thoughts they were together and she knew she would never get the courage again to try this. She took a pose that in her head was seductive and inviting, to no one that was there but in her mind Leon was ensnared as her victim. She liked, no loved, that feeling that it gave her. To know Leon could be putty in her fingertips with a well placed smile, a look, a movement of her hips. She took her own finger to her mouth and wetted it, guys liked that imagery right? The guys she knew seemed to and they knew what it hinted at as she heated her voice up from a simmer to a boil. "Would you like to hea-"

Then there was a loud knocking at the door and Ashley let out a frustrated scream, "What?!"

The response on the other end was a little timid sounding as Emma called through, "Uh, Mikhael wants to talk to you downstairs. He says it's urgent."

Ashley wanted to let out a slew of frustrated noises and pointed opinions on what Mikhael wanted, she then heard Leon say he needed to sign out for a moment and the line go dead. She gritted her teeth and reluctantly took the ear piece out of her ear and set it back in the case. Swinging her legs off the bed it was the moment the high ended when she realized what line she was about to cross between her and Leon. It hit her like a train for a moment but she wasn't filled with shame, no she realized in that moment that she liked it and she was already wishing she crossed that line with a big ol' leap. It didn't seem like a big deal anymore, she reasoned to herself as she began to walk downstairs to the second floor. He wasn't working for her father anymore, there would be no notions of career suicide if he did something and she was in her early 30's. What was her father going to do, ground her? Who cared if she wanted something a little...heated, with Leon. He was an adult, she was an adult, capable of making their own informed decisions and if that was something they both wanted to do then there should be nothing in their way. The man had been the center of all her romantic and her very romantic thoughts for years, even the men she sometimes went out with she couldn't help but compare to Leon. Without realizing it, Leon Kennedy became the gold standard for anyone she dated. Sure, they were nice, but would they fight a whole cult for them?

Her feet hit the bottom of the steps of the first floor before she realized that she was in trouble, everything could be blamed as a 'crush'. But now even she knew this extended beyond a crush at this point, this was walking into the 'painfully real' levels of wanting to be something more than his boss's daughter or this kid he went and saved. She wanted to be someone he could maybe see as…something more. A partner, maybe even…a lover. Thoughts on this matter ended when she stepped into the living room and saw Mikhael, Clara, Carter and Emma in the room. They turned when they saw her come in, but none of them were offering up any greeting or any reason why she was told to come down here urgently.

"What's…going on?"

"Leon didn't check into the room." Mikhael informed, a statement in which shocked Ashley more than they knew. "Front desk informed me that 'Paul Mercier' failed to check in and his room was given away. I tried calling Leon's cellphone, but he turned his phone off. We're trying to find him, but we may need to move you off location for awhile until we can find him."

"No, he's at the hotel." Ashley insisted, her voice rising to almost anger when Clara looked at her sympathetically, "No, he's there! We've been talking for the past two to three hours, he's there!"

That caused a jolt in everyone, as they turned to her in surprise. Mikhael took a half step forward as he asked, "How are you talking to Leon…?"

"It doesn't matter." Ashley incorrectly, and stubbornly, decided. "I can prove it, the ice machine on the floor had been broken since he got there. How would he know that if he wasn't even there?"

That caused some confused exchanges between everyone as they took in the persistence of Ashley's voice and the flimsy proof of Leon being at the hotel. Clara reached into her pocket and pulled out her cellphone, dialing some numbers she pressed the phone to her ear and waited until someone picked up on her end before suddenly she launched into an almost pristine valley girl impression. "Like, oh my god you picked up. The ice machine on the tenth floor has been busted for like, an hour, and I wanted to make my famous strawberry keto smoothies. Could you tell me when the machine is going to be fixed?"

Carter just stared at Clara, his jaw dropping as she went into this near perfect imitation. Emma had a more mixed reaction while Mikhael and Ashley seemed unbothered by the voice and more concerned with what she was learning. Clara waited as she heard someone talking on the other end, a pause for information being exchanged before Clara spoke again in the same imitation, "Oh my god really? That's so stupid! I'll get some right, thank you so much, kissies!"

She hung up the phone without another word and Carter looked as if he watched someone committing a murder, he wasn't sure how he could handle a voice like that coming out of her. "What just happened?"

"The ice machine on the tenth floor is in perfect order." she said, ignoring Carter. "In fact, none of the ice machines are broken at all."

The news hit the group of them as if someone took a baseball bat to their brains, Ashley shook her head. This couldn't be right, she told herself, Leon had to be there they were talking no more then ten minutes ago. As the information sank in between all of them is was Carter who started to get angry, no longer concerned with Clara's little performance he rounded on Mikhael as the older agent seemed to be lost for words. "He lied to us! That asshole lied to us!"