Notes:- Major apologies! I've been so slack with writing this! I think I kind of burnt out after Aftermath but hopefully you'll all take the 'better late than never' attitude!
The Facility Endgame
Chapter Two
"Oh fuck! Shit! Dios Mio"! A horribly familiar voice gasped from the doorway. Chris let out a growl and looked up. Carlos was standing in the doorway, his brown eyes as wide as saucers.
"What the fuck are you doing Oliveira"? Chris snarled. At the mention of Carlos' name, Leon turned around in Chris arms, careful not to expose himself, to stare at the intruding man.
"Carlos. Since you're part of a couple yourself, I'd have thought you'd have realised what couples get up to in hotel rooms" Leon said levelly.
"Particularly couples as hot as us" Chris added, still sounding and indeed feeling, mightily pissed off. Carlos didn't seem to be making any moves to leave.
"Well that's the problem" Carlos explained, looking away as Leon retrieved his boxers from the floor and put them back on. Chris however, made no moves to cover himself. He was, and there was no denying this, a thing a beauty and if he was too much man for Carlos to handle, well, then that was Carlos' problem not his. "Jill kicked me out of our room"
"And that's our problem why"? Chris asked. This was going to be his last relaxed night for a while and he was damned if he was going to let Carlos Oliveira spoil it. Leon was looking incredibly ravishable right now and he wanted to take full advantage of it.
"I need somewhere to sleep" Carlos said rather sheepishly. "The person behind reception says all of the other rooms are full"
"Go and ask Kevin" Leon suggested helpfully. "He's in a room on his own. He probably has more room than we do"
"What Leon is trying to so tactfully explain" Chris added. "Is that we want to fuck like newlyweds and that, as open-minded as we are, you're not what we had in mind if we were ever going to consider a threesome" He grabbed hold of Leon by the hip and pulled the younger man back down onto the bed. He lightly danced his fingers down the length of his spine, which made Leon shiver with pleasure.
"Well, I wouldn't have put it as…creatively, but yeah, that's pretty much it" Leon said with a nod. "I'm sorry Carlos," He continued, sounding apologetic. "But you can't stay here tonight"
"You heard the man" Chris grinned; now playing with the waistband of the boxer shorts. He was mightily tempted to just rip the damn things off with his teeth. "Now, as your people would say, fucko offo"
Carlos made a noise akin to a snarl before he left the room, slamming the door behind him. Chris nodded triumphantly before turning his full attention back to Leon and his silly little boxer shorts.
"That was slightly harsh" Leon complained as Chris started to kiss his neck once more. He playfully bit the younger man before whispering in his ear.
"Forget Oliveira," He said breathily, his hand wrapping around Leon's hard cock. "I want to fuck you"
Leon watched the red digits of the black alarm clock change to read 6:25am before he pressed the alarm button. The alarm itself was due to go off at six thirty but he'd already been awake for the best part of an hour. He and Chris had fallen asleep sometime just after midnight having had glorious sex twice. Leon smiled as he remembered some of the things they'd done to each other. Sex with Chris was, he could confidently say, nothing like he'd ever experienced before. Despite the fact that the older man had never been with another man before, he was talented and attentive, knowing and indeed doing all the right things.
Leon rolled over to look at the sleeping bulk of his partner. He longed to reach out and stroke his skin but Chris hated that sort of thing. Whereas Leon found strokes and tickles relaxing and somewhat sensual, Chris found them annoying. He settled for just looking at the older man instead. It was warm in the small hotel room, despite how cold Scotland seemed to be, and Chris was sleeping with the thin white sheet barely covering his genitals. His amazingly muscled torso was mostly on show. The latest addition to his body was a tattoo on the right hand side of his ribcage, a complicated black tribal design stretching the length of his ribcage and ending at his hip. Leon had liked the design so much that he'd had a matching one done on his own body. Another smile played across his lips as he remembered the sex they'd had when he first showed it off to Chris.
He sat up and stretched. He decided to get a shower and try and organise some breakfast before waking the older man. He carefully peeled back the sheets and swung his legs over the bed. He jumped, startled, as his left foot came into contact with something that was definitely not the slightly stained hotel room carpet. The something moaned slightly and uttered a half-unconscious curse in Spanish before rolling over and seemingly going back to sleep. Leon looked down and saw Carlos, still fully dressed, asleep on the floor using Chris' hooded top as a makeshift pillow.
Leon aimed a swift kick at Carlos' ribs. It was calculated so that it was soft enough to not leave any sort of bruising but hard enough to wake him up. Carlos brown eyes shot open and stared up at Leon who glared down at him. Carlos must've sneaked back in at some point during the night. Pervy bastard. Leon was beginning to understand why Chris didn't seem to like him much.
"When did you come back"? He hissed, not wanting to wake Chris up. If possible, he wanted to get Carlos out of the room before Chris woke up and saw him there.
"Only a couple of hours ago" A sheepish looking Carlos replied. "I stayed in the hotel bar until they kicked me out" He pulled himself into a sitting position. "I didn't see anything. Honest"
"I thought you were gonna go to Kevin's room" Leon whispered. Carlos shook his head, running a hand through his already ruffled hair. His clothes were rumpled from sleeping in them and Leon found himself almost feeling sorry for him. "What's going on with you and Jill anyway"?
Carlos looked as if he was about to explain but a knock at the door stopped him in his tracks. At the sound of the loud knock, Chris sat bolt upright in the bed before collapsing back down, startling both Leon and Carlos. Carlos leapt to his feet, accidentally pulling the sheet with him. Obviously bored of waiting for someone to answer, Kevin strolled in, his mouth twitching as he caught sight of Carlos with the bed sheet tangled round his ankle and Leon frantically groping for something to cover up his nudity before finally settling on a pillow. Chris was watching the scene with amusement, seemingly unfettered by his own naked state.
"What the hell did you guys get up to last night"? Kevin asked, folding his arms across his chest and leaning against the doorframe. He smirked as Carlos started uttering some explanation about Jill at the same time Leon was trying to explain that no way, not now, not ever, would Carlos Oliveira be part of his and Chris' sex play. "Well whatever you were up to," Kevin continued. "You'd best get ready. We're supposed to be meeting our contact in an hour" He added, checking his watch. Leon took in the older man's appearance. He was already dressed in his tactical gear. Black combats and a black t-shirt with the BSAA logo stitched on either sleeve. "We'll be picking up our weapons on the chopper" He turned to leave. "I'll see you downstairs. I heard they do a pretty good breakfast here" His mouth twitched with a hint of a smile as he added. "Nice ink Kennedy"
Leon felt a blush creep onto his cheeks as Kevin left. He leapt off the bed and pushed past Carlos to look for his boxer shorts.
"You won't find them." Carlos stated, running his hand through his hair and quickly checking his reflection in the mirror above the tiny battered dressing table. He'd obviously sneaked back to his own room at some point during the night as he was dressed in his own BSAA uniform, olive green combats with a tight green top bearing the BSAA logo. It was the same shirt that Chris wore only Leon personally thought that Chris made it look way better.
"What do you mean I won't find them"? Leon asked. He was painfully aware of his nakedness. He wasn't as confident as Chris. He actually gave a damn as to who saw his ass and dick.
"Chris threw them out of the window in a fit of passion last night" Carlos explained. He was facing Leon now but his eyes were thankfully looking anywhere but the pillow currently guarding Leon's privates. "He said you wouldn't need them again 'cos you were never leaving that bed"
If it were possible for Leon's cheeks to get any redder, they would've done right at that moment.
"It concerns me that YOU know that" He said, making for the black canvas bag that Chris had dumped on the floor upon their arrival. Forgetting all about the pillow, he let it drop and started to rummage through the bag, looking for his uniform. "Anyway. You never did tell me what's gone on between you and Jill"
"Search me" Carlos shrugged. "She's a senorita. You and me both know they act loco" He replied. "I came home and she was just annoyed but wouldn't tell me why" He sighed heavily. "I can understand why you'd rather be with a man. Got to be far less complicated"
"You'd think wouldn't you"? Leon muttered as he stepped into his navy blue combats. Having not served on a field mission yet, he hadn't been given a BSAA uniform. Instead he was making do with what was left over from his Government days. He pulled on his black 5.11 tactical shirt before delving into the bag and brought out his handgun.
"Now there's a weapon"! Carlos remarked as Leon checked over the gun. "I thought Kevin said we were getting our weapons on the chopper"?
"You are" Leon replied simply. He tucked the gun down the waistband of his combats and pulled the shirt down over it. If he slipped his hoodie on over the top, it would be safely out of sight.
"Oh I see" Carlos nodded sagely as Leon moved around the side of the bed. "Government issue"?
"Nope" Leon answered. He gave Chris a gentle shake. "C'mon, time to get up" He sighed when no movement came from his lover. "Chris"! He said, shaking more forcefully. He was still aware of Carlos watching him. "Look, are you going to stand there all day"?
"Mmm…that's what I like to hear" Chris suddenly shifted on the bed, his eyes opening, a smile stretching across his face as he saw Leon looking down at him. "The sweet sound of my Honey-Bunch putting Oliveira in his place…" He yawned loudly, scratching his stomach as he did so. "You find your boxers"? He asked with a smug grin as Carlos made a hasty exit.
"Surprisingly no" Leon replied sardonically.
"Excellent" Chris sat up and planted a kiss on Leon's forehead. "The world needs less underwear"
"But the world does need you in clothes" Leon picked his hoodie up from the floor and pulled it on over his head. "So get a move on"
"Sure thing Agent HB"!
Chris glared at the back of the shiny black helmet. The letters BSAA had been stencilled onto it with red paint. Chris snorted, probably self-importance on the wearer's part. He had an overwhelming urge to tap on the top of it as hard as he could.
"Chris" A sharp voice momentarily distracted him. He didn't need to turn around to know that Jill would be wearing a look of disapproval. She'd used that tone often in their brief relationship and it had always been accompanied with a disapproving face.
"What's Redfield's problem anyway"? Kevin asked. The group were in the chopper, somewhere past the Shetland Islands, making their way to the oil rig. Chris and Jill were sitting on one of the benches in the chopper's cabin, with Kevin, Leon and a reluctant Carlos on the bench opposite. Carlos had made an attempt to sit next to Jill, but she'd quickly hauled Chris into the cabin and sat him down beside her.
"Yeah Chris, what's up"? Leon asked. Chris smiled at his lover. Amongst Jill's disapproving look and Kevin's mocking one, the younger man's concerned smile was welcome.
"It's Brad" Jill replied shortly before Chris could even open his mouth to reply. Chris rolled his eyes expressively. He figured that after getting out of a relationship with Jill, she would stop speaking for him. Turns out that wasn't the case. She indicated the black helmeted head of their pilot.
"Jill. Please" Chris shook his head. "If you're going to refer to him then do so properly," He added pompously. "It's The Chicken"
"That's Brad Vickers"? Leon asked incredulously. Chris nodded and smiled. At least Leon would understand. He'd told the younger man all about Brad and how he'd abandoned Alpha Team stranded during the events of the Spencer Mansion. Chris hadn't seen Brad since then so it had come as a rather annoying surprise to clamber out of their rented Jeep and find Brad waiting for them in the abandoned field beside the chopper. "You told me he was short, fat and ugly" He paused for a moment to remember. "And that he smelt bad" He added.
"Chris"! Jill exclaimed as if Chris were a naughty child speaking out of turn. "Don't you think it's time you got over yourself? Brad came back and he helped us escape"
"He came back"? Leon's grey eyes looked back at Chris reproachfully. "You didn't tell me that"!
Chris snorted and shrugged. Judging by the look on Leon's face, he'd just lost his support. He supposed, deep down, there was a small part of him that had actually been pleased to see his old S.T.A.R.S colleague again. Not that he was going to admit that to the others of course.
"Guys, check it out" Carlos interrupted, pointing out of the cabin window. "Looks like we're here"
Chris stared out of the window. Below them, a tiny man-made island sat in the middle of the massive expanse of the ocean. The blue waters lapped four, thick cylindrical metal struts that disappeared beneath the depths of the water. Orange and red cranes stuck out from various points along the body of the rig, making it appear, from the air at least, like a demented spider preparing to scuttle across the water's surface. A range of white platforms sitting at different heights made up the rig's body. One of these platforms had a large brown 'H' painted on it. In the middle of the rig was a tall, black metal structure, resembling a ladder from a child's jungle gym. It stretched upwards into the sky, an orange light sitting on top of it.
"Bringing her in now" Brad's voice came from the pilot's seat. Chris felt his stomach turn as the helicopter slowed and started to descend towards the landing pad. It was hard to believe that this seemingly benign construction secretly housed another one of Umbrella's twisted facilities. He looked across the cabin and saw Leon staring at his hands, clad in their leather fingerless gloves. He gave the younger man a nudge with the toe of his boot. Leon looked up at him immediately, his grey eyes unreadable.
'You ok'? Chris mouthed at his lover. Leon responded with a simple nod. Chris however, was far from convinced.
Brad landed the helicopter with apparent ease. The group walked onto the main platform, weapons drawn. The rig seemed, just as Barry had said, deserted. Chris had expected that Brad would leave as soon as he'd dropped them off but, to his surprise, he grabbed his own weapon and joined them.
"Nice of you to join us Bradley" Chris said, heavily sarcastic. He gave Brad a hard clap on the back which almost sent the other man reeling. "Hell, you're only thirteen years late to the fight but better late then never eh"?
"Chris"! Jill's tone was, once again, like a mother scolding her child. Chris pulled a face at her and she turned away, shaking her head. They continued to move forward as a group, sweeping the area carefully, until they came to the centre of the rig.
"So how are we going to get under the surface"? Carlos directed the question at Jill but it was Kevin who answered.
"Over there" He said; nodding towards the large, ladder like structure that Chris had seen from the chopper. It was even taller and more expansive now they were up close but they could see that at the base of it was a set of, what looked like lift doors. "Well" He continued, stopping by the doors and turning to face the group. "It's now or never guys" He pressed the call button at the side of the doors and a soft 'ding!' indicated that the lift was on its way.
"Hmm" Chris heard Jill murmur beside him. He looked at her questioningly. She nodded at the lift shaft. "Wouldn't you think that if they'd been a mass evacuation of the facility, that the lift would be here and not at the bottom of the shaft"?
"So what you're saying is-" Chris felt his stomach turn again. Jill nodded gravely.
"That its likely there are people down there," She continued.
"Doesn't come as a surprise though really does it"? Leon was at Chris' other side, his tone serious. "I mean, it's Umbrella" He shrugged. "There's going to be something down there"
"We'll take care of it" Carlos butted in confidently. He held up the Beretta he was holding and grinned. "We're well leaded"
"Some of us more than others eh Oliveira"? Kevin said suggestively as the lift doors opened. He stepped aside. "Ladies first" He nodded at Jill who shook her head but smiled at him anyway. Carlos shot Kevin a glare before pushing past him to follow Jill. "Hey man, just because I know how to treat the ladies"
Stepping into the lift was like stepping into another world entirely. In total contrast to the cluttered, industrial look of the oilrig, the lift was white and airy and could've easily fit fifteen people comfortably. The back wall was entirely glass so as the lift started to descend, they could see out. As soon as the lift shaft went below the surface, it too seemed to be constructed entirely from glass so that it resembled a thick, clear tube. They could see the slightly murky waters of the ocean. Upon seeing this for the first time Brad, who had been previously leaning against the back wall, leapt backwards and almost collided with the doors.
"Jesus Bradley, you're not scared are you"? Chris teased as Brad appeared to be looking anywhere but the glass wall. "That's not like you…"
"You ever gonna let the man forget Raccoon"? Carlos asked. He looked over at Jill, obviously hoping that this display of maturity and gallantry for Brad would impress her. If it did, she certainly didn't show it. Instead she looked out of the lift, seemingly interested in the ocean.
"I don't know U.B.C.S" Chris sneered. He took great delight in using another one of his favoured nicknames for Carlos. It wasn't like he hated the guy or anything; he just didn't like the fact that he'd once worked for Umbrella. It was obvious the guy's morals could be dictated by however much money he was offered and, as someone who'd fought the good fight for years with very little to his name because of it, it irked him somewhat. It had bugged him even more when Jill had decided to get together with him. Apparently she didn't care about his past.
A silence fell over the group as the lift continued to descend. Judging by the serious expressions on everyone's faces, they were obviously deep in thought as to what horrors awaited them. Jill and Carlos were staring at the floor, Jill's look thoughtful, Carlos' somewhat blank. Brad was now leant against the doors, his thumbs hooked into his belt loops in an attempt to look casual and relaxed. The effect was ruined by the fact that his hands were visibly shaking. Kevin was looking out into the ocean, picking at a loose thread on the sleeve of his BSAA top.
Leon looked thoughtful too, staring down at the bump in his glove where his engagement ring sat underneath the soft leather. Chris wondered if the younger man was thinking about Sherry again. Chris stared down at his own, matching ring. He hated to see Leon suffer and it seemed like since they'd met each other, he'd done nothing but suffer. That was why he hadn't been too happy when Leon had told him about wanting to join the BSAA. The day that he'd been released from the Secret Service had been a happy day for Chris. It had given him hope that Leon would take some time out for himself and try to recover from the problems his PTSD brought him. The nightmares had been particularly horrible. It had pained Chris to hear his lover's frightened cries as he was cruelly yanked from sleep by his own mind. The sleeping tablets had helped but then came the flashbacks during the day.
Chris couldn't stand the silence any longer. He needed to say something, anything to try and break it and stop his mind wandering off to think about his lover's mental health. If he thought too much about it, he'd stop the damn lift right at that moment and insist that Brad fly him and Leon back to America. He struggled to think of something to say that might possibly lighten the mood until eventually, something came to him.
"I hate you Brad" He said it simply, casually, almost as if he was having a friendly conversation with a neighbour. Jill rolled her eyes at him and Carlos smirked. Kevin shook his head but also smiled. Leon, obviously wanting to maintain the mature high ground, stifled his chuckle behind his right hand. Brad just looked at him wearily. Chris grinned. It was amazing how quickly Brad had got used to Chris ribbing him again. It was almost like they were back in the S.T.A.R.S office during those good old days when Brad was often the butt of his jokes or pranks. Sure Brad had once taken a week off due to stress but it had all been in good fun. Chris looked over at Jill to see if she was also experiencing this nostalgic feeling but she just looked irritated. Chris held up both of his hands. "Hey, just breaking the tension" He explained. "Anyway" He nodded towards Brad. "He doesn't mind. He would've said if he minded"
"I did used to mind actually…" Brad started but Chris cut him off.
"Bradley. Please. Jill and I were talking" He shook his head in, mock disbelief. "Some people are so rude"
Eventually, after what seemed like hours, the lift came to a stop. The doors opened up with a gentle ping and, as they stepped out of a lift into the corridor, Leon realised that it was made entirely out of glass. He supposed that if it weren't an Umbrella facility they'd just stepped into, it would be pretty impressive. The corridor curved away from him at both ends, almost as if they were standing in the middle of an inner tube. Leon looked through the glass and out into the murky waters. He could just about make out the other side of the glass ring. If he looked down, he could see dull lights.
"Check this out guys" Leon turned to see Kevin pointing to a large picture frame fixed to the glass wall. Stuck inside the frame was an artists' rendition of what was presumably the facility they were in. Their current location seemed to be the centrepiece of the structure with four lifts, each leading to a separate cylindrical sections labelled, North, South, East and West. Attached to each one of these sections was a diagonal freight lift that attached to the disc, which was labelled 'Maintenance Staff'. The painfully neat line drawing also showed a section that appeared to be underneath the sea bed which had been labelled 'Brig and Generators' in the same neat, sloping script. The drawing reminded Leon of the pictures he'd seen in his Uncle's old Sci-fi fantasy books from the 1960's about people living on the moon.
"Oh this has gotta be another one of Spencer's fucked up ideas" Chris said, regarding the drawing and shaking his head.
"This feels really unsafe" Brad was looking down at the glass beneath his feet as if he was expecting it to crack any minute.
"Where do you want to start then guys?" Kevin asked, motioning to the drawing. Jill seemed to stare at it thoughtfully for a second before she answered. There seemed to be an unspoken agreement that Jill was the most organised of the group and therefore the one who would be taking charge. It felt rather jarring to Leon who had been used to working alone for so long to be suddenly part of a group.
"I think we should start on the top levels and work our way down" Jill replied. She tapped the drawing. "Start at the North section here and work our way round clockwise before going down to the Maintenance Staff level," She added thoughtfully.
"Sounds like a plan" Carlos said with a sycophantic nod. Leon couldn't help but smirk as Jill rebuffed him once again. He wondered what Carlos had done and remembered that the older man hadn't actually gotten round to explaining.
"That's a woman's logic for you" Kevin gave Jill a gentle clap on the back. "Infallible" He grinned at her and she blushed slightly and smiled back at him before adjusting her cap and stepping towards the North elevator. Leon heard the low growl from Carlos. So did Kevin.
"What's up Oliveira"? He said teasingly as the group started to follow Jill's lead. "Jealous because I've made your girl laugh more than you've obviously done recently"?
The growl turned to a snarl. Chris and Jill were deep in conversation, completely unaware of the situation. It appeared that although Kevin was teasing, there was possibly some serious tension between the two men.
"They say people are either lovers or fighters" Kevin continued, unaware of just how pissed off Carlos was. "Which are you Oliveira? Cos from where I'm standing, you're neither…"
Luckily, years of Secret Service training meant that Leon was fast. Fast, accurate and very effective. He stopped Carlos just before the older man made a grab for Kevin's throat. Brad, who had been hanging around at the back of the group, suddenly surged forward and grabbed Kevin by the shoulder, turning him away and effectively leading him in the direction of Chris and Jill. Leon gave him a grateful nod. Carlos was squirming in his grip, muttering a hail of curses in a mixture of English and Spanish. Occasionally, the two languages merged, creating new and interesting insults which, had the situation been different, Leon might've found amusing.
"Should've let me strangle him" Carlos said, after Leon finally released him.
"We're supposed to be working as a team," Leon reminded him. "Stop acting like an overly macho idiot" He added harshly. Carlos uttered a final curse before appearing to take Leon's words on board. The pair of them walked behind the others, Carlos continually shooting deadly looks at the back of Kevin's head.