The Goliath Protocol:
Chapter Forty-Six:
Prisoner
Obscure Outpost - Himalaya Mountains - Nepal
Alesio had made it to Asia.
He'd had help. There was no other way he'd have been able to flee that far.
It was fitting that he'd found his way to the Himalayas, aptly known as the "land of snow." The beautiful peaks and valleys were evident as the Osprey found a place to set down in the abandoned outpost below.
In their ears, Kennedy told them, "Kangchenjunga is the third highest mountain in the world. It loosely translates to the five treasures of the high snow."
Kevin snorted, "...thanks Wikipedia."
Chris, missing the humor, remarked, "Five treasures...Progenitor. T. G. Plagas..."
He trailed off, and Jill whispered, "...and Goliath."
Leon nodded, "And Goliath."
Kevin intoned gruffly, "Fuck Goliath."
He put a fist into the center between them. Jill nodded and stuck hers forward to bump his. Chris added his and supplied, "Fuck Umbrella."
Leon laughed and shrugged and joined the gathering of hands. "Fuck Albert Wesker."
Jill nodded and finally said, "Fuck all of it. Let's finish this."
Damien hooted, "Hell, yeah! Then we can all go somewhere and fuck!"
Nadia slapped him upside the back of the head. D.C. sighed, "...heathen."
The Osprey planted itself happily on the ground and kicked up snow by the bucket full. They alighted, running through the churning air toward the gathering of soldiers that waited.
As they neared the base camp, Leon caught Jill's elbow to whispered in her ear, "...I'm a heathen too."
She laughed and shook her head, "...oh, I know it."
He winked and let her go.
She watched him run to join the contingent of his men. Chris was already shouting to the uniforms gathered around him. They'd established a perimeter. They had boots on the ground and secured air space. They were laying off coordinated strikes for now due to the small populace living in surrounding areas. Getting the go-ahead to drop missiles on sweet village folk wasn't done in a blink of an eye.
Prevention of loss of life was paramount.
The tiny outpost was built into the side of the mountain. What gathered at the base were thatched rooves and harkened back to an earlier time. Circular homes lay empty, left long ago by those who'd found more than they'd bargained for at the mountain's base.
The teams swept and cleared in turns. It was careful. It was by the book. No more bravado, they'd promised, and they meant it. Nobody was going to run in with one handgun and hope for the best here.
It was curious to see Leon move around with that AKMSU he carried. It wasn't for game playing. He was there to kill it dead and leave a splatter behind. She didn't really think he needed the tracer bullets, but they couldn't hurt. Leon didn't miss. He didn't need to correct himself when he shot.
Maybe it was for his men to follow his lead.
How long had she been out of the fight regarding coordination with others? It was almost pathetic. She'd forgotten the dynamics of close-quarters team combat. Ridiculous.
Knowing her limitations, Jill stuck with her Sig Sauer MPX K. She was so familiar with it by now that it was almost an extension of her arms. She hefted and loaded it, clearing and securing it with a strap around her chest as she moved. It was difficult to move in the bulky body armor, but she worked with it.
Everything went according to plan as the morning progressed. The cold left something to be desired. There wasn't room for more than hovering around a trashcan fire to warm up.
Jill's ears perked up when she heard Leon order, "-I mean it, Kevin. You stay here."
Kevin grumbled angrily, "Sit, Kevin. Stay Kevin. What am I, a fuckin dog?"
There was a thump, and Kevin's voice came again, "...what the-is this a goddamn dog treat!?"
"I thought maybe it would encourage you to heel."
"...Kennedy, sometimes I want to punch you in your ass. Just so we're clear."
"Get in line, Ryman. My ass is a popular target these days." Leon came around the corner of the building, caught sight of Jill by the trashcan fire, and joined her beside it.
She arched her brows, and he grinned sheepishly, "He's not completely recovered. He had some little nurse fudge the reports to get into the fight."
"He always was good with the ladies."
Leon matched that arched brow as he queried, "Oh? Speaking from experience?"
She laughed lightly. "Why? You jealous of a single date and a drunken grope by a dumpster that happened a hundred years ago?"
Leon chuckled. "Apparently."
She touched his arm and then inquired, "I saw Rebecca at the medic tent. Maybe you'd like to stop in and say hello."
Oh. His face. He gave her a cool look, and Jill batted her lashes, "What? You think women don't talk?"
He shifted where he stood and surprised her by stating, "...that feels like a lifetime ago."
Jill shook her head with a smile for him, "I'm not bitter about it. You weren't mine then. You aren't now. It's not my place to judge."
He glanced down at her and held her look. Someone shouted about snakes in the distance. Someone else muttered about goats near them. He held her look until Jill laughed lightly under the intensity. "...what?"
He didn't smile back. He just kept looking at her until he decided, "Let's do this."
She stood there watching him go with something wiggling around in her chest like a parasite.
Kevin joined her at the fire, and Jill gave him a piercing look. "...what?" His shaggy hair looked a mess around his handsome face. When she said nothing, he shifted uncomfortably. "It was the right thing to do."
Jill said nothing.
He surged into the silence, "It was! You needed me."
Her eyes flared as she looked up at him now. "I nearly got you killed."
Kevin gave her a confused expression. "Did you? When you pushed me off that cliff on the river that time? I'm made of sterner stuff than that, Valentine. I just cannonballed when I hit the water and made everyone nearly drown."
Jill shook her head with a short laugh, "Damnit, Kevin. I pulled you in with me and left Leon out of it because I was stupid and jealous...and it nearly got you killed."
Kevin gripped her arm and turned to face her as she stated, for once as serious as a heart attack. "I did my job. I backed you up. You called me in and didn't block me this time, Jill. You knew, and I knew what she was capable of. We just didn't think she'd go full psycho killer on the spot like that. It's not your fault. Or mine. It's just shitty fucking luck."
Jill gripped his left bicep and gushed, "It is my fault. All of this. It's mine. Because I should have killed all of these assholes a hundred years ago when I was in Wesker's hands, I should have bombed the whole goddamn place and killed us all in a blaze of glory. And I didn't. This? It's all my fault."
Kevin studied her face in the firelight. Beautiful, he thought absently; she'd always been beautiful. Not just her face, her spirit, that beat like angel wings behind a heart that was so goddamn pure it put the rest of them to shame. She meant it. She'd have died to save them all if she could have. And the wave of regret tasted a little bitter in his mouth as he told her, "None of this is your fault. Or ever has been. All you did, Jill, was survive. And now you live. Right now? You live. And fight like hell to finish it."
Jill held his look and finally nodded. She stepped into him to hug, and that was good; it was good. Because he could count the number of real friends he had on one hand, quietly, he grunted when she brushed his side. She leaned back and gave him a narrow look as he stated, "Maybe it's a little sore. But go easy on me...I've been mostly dead all day."
Jill laughed and let go of him. She started away and stopped, turning back to face him, "Kennedy's jealous of you."
Amused, Kevin returned, "Good. He should be. In another life, I'd have made you mine..., and he wouldn't be around to worry about."
Jill tilted her head. They held eyes, and she looked, really hard, for the joke on him. But it wasn't there. It was just truth. And something she'd spent so long missing in her life. Without letting a moment pass, she answered, "I'd have given you a helluva chase."
He laughed, "I know it. But goddamn...your ass in that skirt? I'd have enjoyed it."
She winked. He watched her go. He caught Kennedy's eyes on the other side of the camp. They held for so long Kevin felt a bead of sweat start down his spine. It was unlikely the other man would murder him for flirting with his woman...unlikely...but not impossible. Kevin gave him a thumbs up. Leon glanced at Jill and back at Kevin and arched a brow.
Kevin shrugged a shoulder. Leon laughed.
It was guy code for - it's totally ok to covet my woman. Sure. Kevin snorted and watched the fire and thought about a dumpster a hundred years before.
Jill made it into the tent to check munitions when it ruffled behind her. Without turning, she simply said, "They should call you the Watchdog. Enjoy the show?"
His hand caught her arm to spin her around, and she laughed before he kissed her. A good kiss. Sorta possessive and incredibly sweet. Jill mused when he let her go, "I like the jealousy on you. Looks good. But what if someone walked in and saw us?"
"Who gives a shit?" Their vests clunked as he tugged her to him with his hands on her arms above the elbows. "You're good at making men want you, Jill Valentine."
Jill's eyes twinkled. "Am I? Maybe I'm the one farting pheromones."
The tent rustled, and Jill advised, "You better let go before someone walks in and sees us."
"Let 'em. Jill, I-"
The tent opened and a face poked in, "Sir? The camp is secure."
The last hut at the outpost was clear. As far as basic maneuvers went, they'd covered all the bases. It was evident here. It was empty. What were they missing?
Jill stepped back and turned back to the table. Annoyed, Leon faced one of his men and advised, "Good. Fan out and cover a four-square-mile radius. I want to know that we're alone before expanding the search."
The man glanced at Jill and back at Leon and couldn't stop the twitch of his lips, "Yes, sir. On it. Ma'am?"
Jill gave him a small smile as he closed the flap on the tent.
Amused, she stated, "Cats outta the bag now, Kennedy."
"So, what? I'll survive it. I'm bulletproof, remember? You though? You just became my woman. God help you."
She laughed as she turned to him and just...slayed him. "I've been your woman for a long time. I just don't think you were paying attention."
He opened the tent flap for her, and she ducked out beside him. They stood in the cold as Leon started to say, "I think you sh-"
And then? A piercing shriek split the sky. Just like that, the quiet complacency was shattered.
The thing from Asgard circled in the sky and came toward them. A dragon? A demon? Something. It descended at lightning speed while people shouted, and Chris roared with Leon to take positions.
Bullets lit the air like fireworks. The dragon reached the ground, destroyed three huts with its curling talons, and tossed bodies with those sweeping arms. People scattered, they regrouped, and they kept firing. In the ensuing madness, it was hard to track everyone.
Leon dispatched another contingent of men to guard the medic tent.
Kevin took up the mounted machine gun on the back of the all-terrain vehicle. The answering one operated by D.C. joined the fray across the camp. The noise was explosive. The dragon screeched and screamed. It devoured. It tossed bodies and ripped heads and shoulders from spines.
Blood flew in a macabre rain and fell hot and red around them.
And out of the shower of blood, Alesio arrived in a white suit turned pink in places with death with sunglasses covering his horrible eyes. Even here, her enemy wore sunglasses.
He lifted his hands in joy. He grinned from a face covered in blood. He raised a katana over his head like a conquering warlord. He opened his mouth to speak, and there were no words. No more words.
There was no more anything.
Slightly to the side and behind her, that big gun sounded. Boom.
Boom.
...boom.
No hesitance. No concern for what her nemesis might say. Leon didn't care. He was done caring. He fired. He moved forward as he did. Alesio's chest exploded, the side of his face erased in a single shot. He was spun to the side and put a hand out, and Leon blew it apart without a second thought. Jill lifted her gun but hesitated. She wasn't needed here.
He had it.
Leon?
He had it.
While the battle raged around them, Leon walked through screams and echoing bullets while the fire raged and just...blew him away.
No knife fighting. No heroics. No great moment of defeat.
It was anti-climatic.
And it was perfect.
He approached; Alesio was on his knees, moving his mouth like a landed guppy. He grunted. He burbled blood. Leon shoved a syringe in the side of his neck to get a sample and then stuffed a grenade in his gaping mouth to stop the noise. Leon declared, "Send me a postcard from hell, bitch."
He lifted his leg and kicked. A solid blow. A single strike. It hit and sent the other man's pathetic form backward. The pin was ripped clear of the grenade as he went. The mountain did the rest. He tumbled, lost to the wind.
The dragon went down at the exact moment, taking out huts as it hit the ground, and the people cheered behind her. It was a victory, it seemed, for once...just victory.
The explosion rocked behind him as Leon turned, slow as a movie, and started back toward her. Fire burped into the snowy sky, and something fell six inches from her left boot.
Sunglasses - tossed clear, missing an earpiece. He ducked, picked them up in his gloved hand, and put them on his face.
Jill blinked.
She'd seen what she'd seen, she thought wildly; she knew what he was. But with that fire burning behind and the sound of the dragon smote on the ashes of its own ruin, it was surreal.
Hero.
Because he was.
And he was the guy in the sunglasses now.
He cocked his head and wondered, "How do they look?"
She considered him and answered, "...badass."
He grinned. "That's my middle name."
Her mouth quirked. "Is it? I thought it had an S."
"Mmm...that stands for Sexy. Sexy Badass. I like it. I think I'll change it legally."
The chatter of victory swelled around them, peppered with relief for those alive and regretting those they'd lost. Jill took his vest in her grip at the shoulder and pulled him forward. He cocked his head in those sunglasses, and she purred, "...you like to throw bad guys off cliffs."
He laughed and kissed her. Right there. Right on the mouth.
Smooch.
Just a moment. Over and done. She let him go with a push and a laugh. He swatted her butt like a teammate in a job well done.
They did clean up. They mourned the dead. They'd lost eight men. It was awful, but it might have been so much worse. Somehow, the dragon had been tied to Alesio. How? Why?
Hunk had had one too.
What did it mean?
One more thing to ask Miracella when they found her.
Leon, Chris, and Kevin were at the table looking at maps and information and trying to locate Miracella and possibly Hunk. Hunk was difficult. He'd gone so far into the wind there was no whisper of where he might be.
Jill stepped out of the tent to find a gathering of soldiers around the fire. They were lamenting their dead comrades and telling stories. She watched their faces in the flickering firelight with a sigh.
Today was a success. It was hard to feel it with those they'd lost. But it was.
She turned toward the small hut where she'd stashed her gear for the night. As she ducked inside, she laid her weapon on the little makeshift table beside the straw bed. Her hands lifted to rub at her tired eyes.
Today had been a victory for the good guys. At some point, the men would feel that too. She was sure of that.
Jill heard the tarp over the door rustle and turned, smiling, to greet Leon.
But it wasn't Leon. It was Ada Wong dressed in black with a gun aimed at her.
Jill tilted her head at the spy. "Sneaky, I'll give you that. Did you kill anyone to get in here?"
Ada smiled sweetly. "One or two. Why? Think I should write them a letter of apology?"
Jill itched to pull the knife on her vest. "Mmm. The battle is over, I'm afraid. You missed the fun part."
Ada sighed in the shadows. Her lips were red as blood as she stated, "...it's just beginning, I'm afraid. At first, I was sorry for what I had to do. I like a bitch with balls, and you've got plenty. But...you just kept pushing. You just kept ignoring the signs I was sending you. And then...well...you decided it was time to seduce Leon and turn his eye from what I need from him."
Jill felt her brows fly up. "Going to kill me for it?"
"...no." Ada sighed again, "Leon is easy. A desperate puppy. You lick his face, and he follows. You offered him the one thing I couldn't."
Jill stayed silent as the spy told her, "Love. Leon wants love. I was never going to give it to him. He knew it. I knew it. And then you came along and batted big blue eyes and made him remember there's more to life than blood and revenge."
Jill laughed lightly. "Are you jealous?"
Ada scoffed softly, "Not for that, darling. Never that. Dicks are a dime a dozen. Leon's included. But when he's happy, he loses focus. I need him focused. I need him ready. And I need you gone for that. But first?"
She lifted the gun, Jill dived toward her to fight it, and the dart went off. It sank into Jill's throat and sent her skidding on the floor on her side.
Ada crouched beside her when Jill started to go numb. She put her mouth beside the former blonde's ear and cooed, "...Leon was never the first part of the story, darling. You were. But there is one thing Leon is in this one...the guy who kills monsters."
Jill made a slight sound of fear as her arms and legs lost feeling. She gasped, and Ada finished, "...after all...David always bests Goliath."
She rose and holstered the tranquilizer gun. She sighed and toed Jill with her boot as the brunette went still on the floor. Into her communicator, she stated, "It's done. Stage one amplification is in progress. Stand by for testing."
The tarp rustled again, and Leon came inside, stating, "Goddamn, it's twelve degrees out there. My balls are stuck to my ass in regret."
Ada simply returned, "A waste of good balls, to be sure."
He froze. His hand grabbed for his pistol, and she declared, "Don't. We both know even you aren't fast enough for that."
He stared down the barrel of her gun and swallowed the panic of Jill on the floor. "...what do you want, Ada?"
She smiled a little. "What we all want, of course. Absolution. Will you give it to me?"
He gave her nothing. He bored holes through her with his carefully leashed rage. She laughed a little. "There you are. I like you angry. Hold onto it because it's going to be what keeps you alive. Don't bother chasing me, Leon. There's no time for that. Your girlfriend here? She's on borrowed time. Do what you can to stop it. But it's already too late."
Ada clicked her nails over his vest as she passed and purred, "Come find me when you're done. I'm always ready for you."
He grabbed her arm and warned, "You don't want me for your enemy, Ada. I promise you."
She gave him a small smile. She pressed her body to his front, and his other hand fisted at his side. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend, Leon. Surely you know that."
She pressed a kiss to his mouth, making his blood curdle in his veins as she tugged her arm free.
The tarp shivered, and Leon raced across the floor. He shouted a warning as he went to his men for all the good it would do. He slid to his knees and pulled her up into his arms. Boneless, Jill flopped into his grip. The dart in her neck was more alarming than her slow even breathing and pale face.
He shouted the alarm. His voice boomed like thunder. The roar of it startled even him as people came running.
Rebecca went to her knees beside him. She took pulse and respiration. She measured vitals. She removed the dart and checked the insertion site.
Softly, she stated, "Without more tests, I can't tell you what happened to her. Maybe just a sedative?"
Leon started to answer, and Jill groaned. Rebecca put a hand on her thigh and encouraged, "Jill? Are you alright? Can you talk?"
Her eyes fluttered. They trembled weakly. Leon soothed, "It's ok. I've got you."
They opened.
And they were red.
Red.
Red.
Like Ashley in Spain.
Like him...before he turned into a monster.
Rebecca made a sound of fear. Jill whispered, "...I'm dying, right? It's why you're looking at me like that."
His hands gripped her where she lay across his lap. "Nope. No."
Her gaze flicked over his face, "...liar. Tell me."
Rebecca spoke first. "We need to get her contained. Now."
Jill jerked as if she'd slapped her. "Wait...what are you saying? What happened?" She gripped Leon's vest, clutching, "What did I do!? What happened?"
He shook his head at her. From the hut doorway, Chris commanded gruffly, "Get the goddamn cuffs."
The panic on her face broke his heart as Leon soothed, "It's ok. It is. It's ok. You didn't do anything. It's...precautionary."
Jill shook her head desperately. "...don't let them take me. Don't let them. I can't." She pleaded it quietly but urgently, "I can't, Leon. I can't. You hear me? I can't."
Rebecca cooed gently, "Just for a little bit. Just until we know what's happening, it will be ok."
Her eyes held Leon's, and the light drained from them, turning them cold and broken. "...it'll never be ok if you let them do this. Please, Leon. Please. I can't go back into a cage."
He listened to them bring the cuffs. Chris commanded, "Let her go, Kennedy. Now."
Jill panicked harder. She gripped his vest and put her face against his neck. His hands shook as he told her, "I won't let them hurt you. I swear to god I won't let them."
Jill whimpered sadly and broke his heart. "...please."
Chris reiterated, "Now, Kennedy. You want her to fucking turn and eat you!? Hand her over."
Against his neck, Jill was whispering wildly, "...I won't...I won't...I won't...I won't..."
And then? She did.
She stopped crying. She stopped shaking. She stopped begging.
And she reached for his throat like she'd...what? Kill him?
Nothing made sense in the next few minutes. Rebecca shouted in horror. Leon peeled Jill back and tossed her to roll across the floor. People scrambled. People shouted. Chris faced off against his former partner and tried to contain her.
He didn't pull his gun. He left it holstered. It said something about Redfield that he didn't try to put her down.
Leon commanded the men around him, "Don't shoot her! You hear me!? Contain her!"
She was lightning fast and lethal. She tossed away attackers. She kicked people trying to stop her. She kicked one clear through the wall, which shattered in a burst of straw and sand. But she didn't kill.
She didn't kill anyone.
She was still in there.
Leon tackled her around the middle and took her out into the snow. They rolled, and she roared to aim those killer fists at his face. She didn't swing. Her arm trembled above him.
Still there, he thought wildly, still you.
He deflected, reacted, leveraged her up, and sent her rolling.
Someone raised a gun, and he roared, "Put it down!"
"Sir!?"
"I said don't shoot her! You think I was just talking to hear myself say it!?"
When she started to rise, he tackled her again and took them both on a slide along the wet. As she rolled, he struggled and got those cuffs on her.
Into the shouting, he heard Chris roar, "Get the goddamn device!"
What device?
What was he talking about?
Leon tied Jill's ankles as she struggled, snapping like a wild dog at him. But she let him restrain her. She let it happen. He crouched over her on the ground and pleaded, "Stop. Jill? Stop." And then? His voice shook as he begged, "...please? Please. I don't - I can't...don't make me hurt you. Please?"
Through the haze of fire, Chris arrived. He carried something in his hand. The size of a half-dollar. Glittering like a jewel. Even in the wavering flame, it was ominous.
Rebecca was pleading, "Don't! Goddamnit! It was just experimental! Redfield!"
He shook her hand off his arm. He crouched beside Leon and drew his gaze to that thing in his hand. A bug. A spider? Something. It was like an ugly medallion nobody wanted.
And just like, he understood.
Jill Valentine had never been free.