"You're gonna be fine" Leon said hurriedly, giving Ginny's shoulder a quick squeeze. "We'll make sure of it, ok"? She nodded at him gratefully and rushed to the front of the group to be back with Brad. Leon ran a hand through his hair and rubbed his face hard. He wasn't so disconnected with reality that he wasn't aware that he was transferring his feelings about Sherry to Ginny. It seemed so easy. Another scared girl who needed him, needed his protection. He'd failed with Sherry but with Ginny there was still a chance. Still a chance that he could save her. He would save her.
He was so involved in his thoughts that he didn't realise the others had stopped and he almost collided with Kevin. They were at the end of the corridor now, standing in front of two sets of lift doors. Ginny pressed both of the call buttons and she and Brad shared a celebratory high five.
"So Kev, what's the first thing you're gonna do when we get out of here? Visit a monocle shop"? Chris asked, leaning against the wall. "Perhaps get fitted for an eye-patch? Maybe you should consider auditioning for the role of Cyclops? I hear horror's gonna be big this year" He added with a smirk.
"Very funny Redfield" Kevin shook his head with disdain. "Have a laugh all you want but we all know that I'm still better looking than you, even with one working eye"
There was a ding as one of the lifts arrived. This was followed only seconds later by the second lift. The left hand doors opened and the group started to pile in, Leon at the rear. He stopped in his tracks when he heard a strange noise, like raindrops pattering on a tin roof followed by a horribly familiar and unmistakable noise of dead weight hitting the floor. The right hand lift doors opened and like toppling dominoes, a horde of zombies spilled out from the lift carriage, filling the corridor with the stench of death and decay, their monotone moans ricocheting off the walls.
"Shit"! Leon heard Chris' curse. "Leon! Get the hell in here"! He yelled as the left hand lift doors started to close. He saw Chris' gloved hand reach out to him but it was too late. The horde, single minded in their actions, grabbed at Leon, tugging at his clothes, his limbs. Their combined strength pulled him back easily and all he could do was watch as the lift doors closed on Chris' horrified face.
He struggled in the grips of his attackers. He could feel the adrenaline begin to pump through his veins, that same adrenaline that helped him through Raccoon, through Brazil, through countless encounters with the monsters of Umbrella…
First things first. He needed to put some distance between him and them. There would be no helping him if the damn things cornered him. He turned around in the grip of the horde and reached out, dealing with the first zombie he got his hands on. A hand on each side of its head and one deft twist was all it needed for its neck to snap. Despite the grimness of his current situation, Leon couldn't help but smirk a little at the sound. When it was the bones of something out to get you, it was a damn satisfying one.
Years ago, or so it seemed, Krauser had complimented him on his speed. And yeah, he was pretty darn fast. And it was that speed that was going to be his best ally. The zombie that he'd disposed of dropped to the floor, taking a couple of its 'brothers' with it. This gave Leon enough room to quickly twist out of the others grips and run forward, barely pausing to stamp down hard on the two fallen zombie's heads. He felt them burst under his boots like over-ripe pumpkins.
Now with space on his side as well as speed, he could really start to make some headway. He glanced at the row of lights above the lift, Chris and the others were still travelling upwards. He could only hope that the zombies weren't on top of their lift carriage either. The horde was still pouring out of the lift as well as dropping down into the carriage, seemingly from the lift shaft. It seemed that when Spencer released the zombies on the lower levels, there'd been some on the upper levels too. Leon withdrew the Silver Ghost and fired off every single bullet in the chamber, each one hitting one of the advancing creatures directly in the middle of its pallid forehead. Knowing Umbrella, he was sure he'd need his remaining clips for something a lot bigger so he reloaded then slipped it back into its holster. His knife came out next, just as one of the creatures reeled forward to attack. With a careful, calculated movement, Leon jabbed his knife upwards, into the zombie's open mouth, through its rotting palette and into its soggy mess of a brain. As it dropped to the floor to join its buddies, Leon yanked his knife free and drove it straight into the forehead of another zombie. He turned around, snapped the neck of one of the others before turning back to retrieve his knife.
He dodged inbetween the bodies, dodging the rapidly spreading pools of blood and gore as he continued his relentless attack. The onslaught from lift seemed to have stopped leaving him with five of the creatures still standing. He could've laughed. Five? Five was nothing. It was gratifying to know that despite him being stuck behind a desk for his fledgling career with the BSAA, he still had it in him. But now wasn't the time for complacency. His heart was pounding and he was breathing hard as he moved towards his next target. Some poor soul in a torn and tattered lab coat. Abandoning his knife for now, he hit it directly on its rotting nose with a strong palm-strike. It reeled backwards from the power of his strike and Leon seized this opportunity to sweep its legs. It crashed to the floor with a piteous moan and Leon was on it immediately, crushing its head underneath his boot.
The next one was almost too easy as it slipped in a pool of its fallen brother's blood. It fell headlong towards Leon and he wrapped his arms around its soft torso, pulling it up and over his head in a graceful suplex. Which just left three. He was getting tired and the wounds from Spencer were aching. As the three stumbled towards him, clumsily sliding in the blood, he once again pulled out the Silver Ghost.
Chris kicked the side of the lift, willing the fucking thing to move faster. He'd had to wait until it had made its long journey to the top before being able to send it back down. The others had piled out of the lift and before any of them had had the chance to argue, he'd pressed the button and the lift doors had closed on their shocked faces. He vaguely heard Jill shouting after him but he hadn't taken notice of what she'd said. All that mattered was getting back to Leon. His heart was pounding a fierce tattoo in his chest and his stomach felt like it was turning itself inside out. He knew that if he thought about it logically, Leon wouldn't have any trouble bringing down a group of zombies. After all, he'd dealt with a city full of them. He was a trained killer. But Leon's greatest ally was speed and Chris didn't know if the mysterious injury his lover had sustained would affect that or not.
His hand tightened around his gun, so much so that he could feel it cutting painful grooves into his palm. After everything that happened in Africa, he'd assumed that the fight with Umbrella was finally over. He never thought he'd have to worry about this sort of thing again. He and Leon had had so many lucky chances, so many near misses, superior skills would only get them so far. As long as their fight with Umbrella continued, there would always be that possibility that their luck would run out.
He took a deep breath and swallowed hard when the lift made its ping noise and the doors slid open. He'd expected to see Leon fighting his way through the horde, taking them down in that skilled, methodical way of his. What he found inside was his lover, his beautiful, amazing lover, sitting on the bloodstained floor, his back rested against the wall, breathing heavily with at least a dozen dead bodies around him. When he heard the lift doors he turned his head and smiled as soon as he caught sight of Chris, his face covered in blood and gore.
"Hey" He greeted as if they'd just met up in a restaurant. He carefully got to his feet, smearing blood down the front of his scrub pants as he wiped his hands on his thighs. Even covered in the mess of a dozen dead zombies, he still looked hot. "I ran into some old friends" He surveyed the mess around him. "Looks like I've still got it". He smeared some blood across his cheek as he wiped it. "But then, you knew that"
"Never doubted you for a second" Chris replied as Leon picked his way through the blood and gore, taking great care not to slip. "The others are waiting for us in the maintainence reception. How does getting the fuck out of here and blowing it sky high sound"?
"Add a shower, a steak and some hot sex to that deal and I'm sold" Leon answered, flicking his blood streaked hair out of his eyes as they headed for the lift. "Oh and, before you suggest it. We are NOT having sex in the lift"!
The maintainence reception was a tiny room between the lift and the outside of the rig that had once, according to Ginny, been where newly arrived staff signed in and given their security tags. It was a simple room, designed to ensure lower level staff knew their place. It was carpeted with ugly grey cord carpet and its wall were a horrible sickly cream colour. The Umbrella symbol was painted above the chipped oak reception desk next to two signs, one reading 'All Personal Possessions Must Be Declared' and 'Contraband Will Be Confiscated And Rule-breaks Will Be Punished'.
"I can imagine the sort of punishments these guys would cook up" Kevin snorted as he read the signs.
"Just ask Oliveira, I'm sure he can tell you all about it" Chris said, pulling a hideous face at Carlos who responded with a vulgar hand gesture. "Come team! Time's a wasting! I've got some hot sex promised to me and I wanna cash in"! He winked sleazily at Leon.
"Subtle Chris" Leon muttered when Ginny blinked in surprise and went bright red. He shook his head at Chris and put his hand on her shoulder. "You ready Sweetheart"?
"You'll stay with me right"? Ginny asked. "You too Maverick"? She added, reaching out for Brad's hand.
"Everyone will be with everyone" Chris waved his hand impatiently. "Now let's go"! He announced, pushing open the door that lead to the outside of the rig. The first thing that hit him was a blast of cold air. It seemed that the weather had taken a turn for the worse since they'd last been outside. Rain was coming down in buckets and a whistling wind was blowing it across the floor of the rig in sheets. The sky above was grey and cloudy and could best be described as looking ominous. Chris braced himself against the wind and stepped out. The force of the wind nearly made the door slam shut behind him. Leon came out next, followed by Brad and the others. Chris screwed his face up against the biting wind and scanned the rig. He could see the BSAA helicopter across the other side of the rig's expansive surface. Never before had the BSAA helicopter looked so welcoming.
Fifteen minutes later, they were up in the air. Ginny was sitting with her face pressed up against the glass, marvelling at the sights below. She was sitting next to Leon who had flopped exhaustedly against Chris. Jill and Kevin were sitting opposite, Kevin slumped against the window, his hand clamped over his injured eye. Jill was watching him worriedly, playing with a loose thread on her combat trousers. Brad and Carlos were sitting in the cockpit, Brad piloting and Carlos filling Barry in on everything that had happened over the helicopter's radio.
"They're blasting the facility within the next hour" He called to the others.
Leon gently squeezed Ginny's slim shoulder. She turned to face him, the wonderment from the flight seemed to have vanished and had been replaced by sorrow. He knew it must be hard for her, leaving the only home she'd ever known.
"What's going to happen to me"? She whispered. She reached for his hand, barely flinching at the dried blood that stained his skin all the way up to his elbow. Leon felt his heart constrict. He looked around and it seemed that nobody else had heard Ginny's question or if they had, they were pretending they hadn't.
"Hey Ginny" Chris leant over and offered her a smile. "Why don't you go and check out the cockpit? I'm sure Goose will show you what very little he knows"
"It's Maverick silly"! She shook her head with a smile but didn't argue. Leon helped her stand and she slowly moved towards the cockpit. Chris turned his attentions to Leon, his face serious.
"I know what you're gonna say and no, we can't" He said flatly.
"We could" Leon replied quietly. He glanced over at Kevin and Jill. Luckily, Jill seemed to be too involved in checking Kevin's wound to notice what they were talking about. "We could get a bigger place, home school her until she's ready to maybe go to college…"
"Leon, baby, she's not Sherry" Chris said gently. Leon instantly felt his face grow hot. How much longer were the people he loved going to throw Sherry in his face? He stiffened in Chris' hold, trying to shrug the older man's arm from around his shoulders but, Chris being Chris, remained steadfast. "You're still not recovered. Hell, I'm still not. We've never had the chance to just be us without fucking Umbrella getting in the way. It wouldn't be fair to her"
"And what? Dumping her in the foster care system would be"? Leon snarled. "She's seventeen Chris. She'll get one year as a ward of the court and then they'll expect her to fend for herself. And as far as they're concerned we have nothing to do with her so they won't let us see her…"
"Look" Chris held on to his struggling partner tightly. "Now's not the time. We'll talk about it when we've had the chance to rest ok? But before you say anything I promise that I'll help find a solution that both of you are happy with. You have my word" He continued, forcing Leon to look at him. "Anyway. The problem we need to sort out is how we're gonna get her into the country. She doesn't have a passport"
"That's not a problem" Leon replied with a hint of a smile. He didn't want to drop the issue of who was going to look after Ginny but he trusted Chris and knew that the older man would help him find an answer. He'd already thought of how to get her into the country. Chris looked at him, confused, until Leon reached into his gun belt and pulled out a small leather case that held his old Secret Service ID card. "She's with me, on important business" He said by way of explanation as he flashed his ID at Chris.
"Weren't you supposed to hand that in when you left"? Chris asked, one eyebrow raised. The corners of his lips quirked in a proud smile. Leon slid the ID back into his gun belt and offered his boyfriend a smug, satisfied smirk.
"What ID"? He said nonchalantly as he leaned back into Chris' hold.
It was the middle of the night by the time the group arrived back at Barry's cabin. After checking out of the hotel in Scotland and grabbing a change of clothes, Barry had arranged for a private jet to bring them back to America. There'd been a hairy moment at the airport when questions had arisen over Ginny's passport but, as predicted, Leon's Secret Service ID had silenced them all.
As soon as they stumbled through the heavy wooden door, filthy and exhausted, Claire bore down on them, hugging Chris as hard as she could before turning her attentions to Kevin who seemed far more concerned with her and the baby than his injury. Despite his fierce protestations, Claire bundled Kevin into their car and took him straight to the hospital.
The others settled on the squashy sofas, barely speaking as they each took their own time to come back to earth. Barry seemed to realise this and dispensed drinks and food without prompting anyone to talk. Finally, after a few minutes of silence, Jill and Carlos excused themselves to one of the bedrooms saying they had a lot to talk about. Brad managed to settle a nervous Ginny in one of the other bedrooms before joining the others back on the sofa.
"Poor girl" He said exhaustedly as he helped himself to another drink of juice. Chris and Leon were sitting on the sofa opposite, Leon idly tracing light circles on Chris' thigh. He'd taken a quick shower at the hotel and changed into some fresh clothes.
"We'll make sure she's taken care of" Barry said adamantly. He was sitting in his favourite armchair with a grave expression on his face. Chris recognised that look. Years of working with Barry Burton had acclimatised him to the older man's looks and he knew that that look meant Barry was hiding something, something important. He seemed to be radiating an aura of tension, an exhaustion different to theirs, not of someone who'd been fighting for their life but of someone who carried a heavy weight on their shoulders. Chris imagined that it was a similar look to the one Barry had had back in the mansion when he'd been forced to hide his brief alliance with Wesker.
Before Chris could question his old friend's mood, Barry stood up and clapped his hands together.
"Well, I think it would be best if everyone tried to get some sleep" He said firmly. "We can discuss your findings in the morning. Brad, I'm afraid you'll have to sleep on the sofa but there's plenty of pillows and blankets. Chris and Leon, you're in the attic"
Leon nodded thankfully and stood up, rubbing his eyes and yawning. Chris followed suit, the graze on his back suddenly throbbing and his muscles aching. After bidding Brad and Barry goodnight, they climbed the stairs.
Barry's attic room looked as comfortable as the rest of the cabin. The wooden floor and walls were left bare aside from a few family photos and an old, thick maroon rug. The double bed was large and inviting with fresh red bedding. Two small wooden tables stood at either side, one holding a silver lamp with red lampshade and another holding a small, old fashioned tin alarm clock. Chris looked at the thick, plump pillows and suddenly longed to sink into them. Before he did so however, there was something he needed to check out first.
"Right" He said, folding his arms across his broad chest and glaring at Leon in what he hoped was a firm way. "Let's see your leg"
"Not now Chris" Leon replied, pulling back the bed sheets and fiddling with his pillow. He'd already taken his t-shirt off to reveal the cuts along his side which Chris was certainly not happy with.
"Why? Gonna sleep in your jeans"? Chris shot back. "Cos if you're not, I'm gonna see it anyway" He added with a shrug. "So you might as well get it over with"
Leon sighed heavily, knowing full well that Chris had him there. He had no intentions to sleep in his jeans. He'd hoped that he could read a book or something and wait for Chris to go to sleep before he could undress and slip under the covers. By the look on Chris' face and his general demeanour, it didn't look like the older man was intending to go to sleep any time soon. Sighing heavily, because he knew what was coming, Leon slowly unbuckled his belt and slid down his jeans, revealing the injury to Chris.
Chris sucked in his breath. He'd hoped that Leon had simply fallen or badly bruised his leg. What was revealed to him instead was something that had obviously been a gun-shot wound that had been partially and ham-fistedly cauterised. The whole area was red raw and swollen. He picked up his jacket from where he'd slung it over the end of the bed.
"Where are you going"? Leon asked, pulling his jeans back up quickly and re-doing his belt.
"Hospital" Chris replied stiffly. "I'm taking you. Get your shirt back on"
"Chris…" Leon started to protest.
"Get your fucking shirt on" Chris cut him off. Leon grabbed his t-shirt from the bed and yanked it over his head. The last place he wanted to go right now was the hospital but he knew that when Chris was like this, there was no arguing with him. It reminded Leon of their time in Africa when he'd been entirely focused on finding Jill. He had that same look of grim determination. It also reminded him of when he'd been wounded by the creature in the Spanish facility and Chris had tended to it. Leon remembered how much of an ass he'd been to the older man when all Chris had wanted to do was help. He hadn't realised back then that Chris was doing it because he cared. He certainly realised now. Which was why, when Chris held out his arm to help him back down the stairs, Leon didn't argue.
Brad wasn't sure what it was that woke him up but he knew that he was freezing cold. Luckily for him, Barry's sofa was nice and comfortable and with the extra pillows and blankets he'd been kindly provided with, he'd managed to settle down and go to sleep. Now though, he was totally awake. He grabbed his phone and checked the time, groaning a little when he saw that it was only four am. He rubbed his eyes and ran a hand through his hair. There was a cold draft coming from somewhere.
Throwing off his blanket, Brad decided to find the source of the draft. Dressed only in his t-shirt and boxers, Brad crossed the lounge area and saw that the front door was open a crank, letting in all the cold air from outside. As he moved towards the door, he could hear voices, muffled at first then clearer the closer he got.
"Didn't know you still smoked" He heard Barry say. It sounded like Barry and someone else were standing on the porch. Brad crept closer to the door, not wanting to disturb them.
"Only when I'm stressed" came Chris' tired reply. "They kept us hanging around for ages at the hospital" He grumbled.
"How's he doing"?
"Well as I thought, that wound on his leg's infected. They're gonna keep him in for a couple of days to clear it up so it looks like I'll be sticking around here for a few days. Leon's pissed at being kept in but he'll get over it"
Brad was at the door now. He knew he should really close it and let Barry and Chris have some privacy but something, his nosiness he supposed, made him stay.
"You're welcome to stay Chris. You know you are. I'll take you back to the hospital in the morning so you can take Leon some things. I've got a spare pair of pyjamas he can have. Got to be better than what they'll give him at the hospital"
"Thanks Barry. So, what's up with you anyway? Don't try and fob me off. I've known you long enough to know when you're hiding something"
Brad was shivering from the cold now but judging by what Chris had just said, things were about to get interesting. He wished he'd brought his blanket over though.
"I really don't want to do this now Chris. You've just got back and Leon's in hospital. You don't need it"
"Neither do you"
"You know, sometimes I think I'm getting too old for this" There was a rustling that sounded like Barry was stealing one of Chris' cigarettes. "Kathy thinks I am. She thinks I'm on a fishing trip. She'd kill me if she knew the truth" He paused, presumably to take a drag from the cigarette. "It's not that easy to give up though is it? It's the sort of thing you want to see through to the end. Umbrella changed all of our lives. That's not something you can just forget"
"There's a point to this isn't there"? Chris replied grimly.
"While you were exploring the facility, your sister and I tried to do as much fact finding as we could. She used her contacts in Terrasave and I was in contact with a friend of Leon's"
"Dennis"? Chris offered.
"That's the guy. Apparently, the Secret Service were aware of the facility's existence and were in the process of launching an investigation. Dennis was kind enough to share some of their intel and it made for interesting reading"
Brad's teeth were practically chattering now but there was no way he was going back to bed. The conversation had taken too far an interesting turn.
"I know you Chris and I know that what I'm about to tell you isn't going to be something you'll want to hear. So before I tell you, you need to give me your word that you won't over-react and that you'll give me a chance to work out how we're going to act on this"
"You have my word" Chris said quickly. "What's going on"?
"There were some files that insinuated that Wesker is still alive. Research notes, memos and lab reports all signed with his name and all dated after Antarctica. This has all been uncovered recently within the last couple of weeks. The Secret Service were due to send a team to the underwater facility to try and find him but they hit a snag"
"Which is"? Chris sounded perfectly calm but Brad knew that this was probably just a front.
"There's nothing in any of the intel to suggest that Wesker had anything to do with that place. It seems like it was a pet project of Spencer and his son, something Wesker knew nothing about. They've been trying to track him and yesterday morning they got a break through. A group of local witnesses spotted a man matching his description heading into the woods near the Arklay Mountains…"
"Arklay"? Chris sounded taken aback. "But that's near…"
"I know. The remains of Raccoon City were built on a few years ago and the city is now known as New Arklay. The remains of the Spencer Mansion still stand and the woods and surrounding area are completely out of bounds for civilians. I don't exactly know how they enforce that but if Wesker can just stroll in there, it's obviously not very effectively. The witnesses reported it to the local police so when the Secret Service did a search of police reports, it came up"
"That's just like him" Chris snarled. "Wanting to go back to where it all started. This is all one big game to him"
"We don't know that it's him Chris" Barry's tone was one of warning. "Judging from the way you and Leon dealt with him, I'm guessing that it isn't him at all. Just another one of Umbrella's staff who've idolised him to the point that they've taken on his identity"
"Either way it needs investigating" Chris pointed out. "I can be ready to leave in ten minutes"
"Chris. What did I just tell you? You need to give me a chance to work out how we're going to deal with this. I asked you not to over-react"
"Who's over-reacting"? Chris asked irritably. "You wanted this ending so I'm offering to end it. You don't need to work out how to deal with it cos I'm gonna deal with it for you"
Brad jumped backwards as Chris pushed on the door. He bolted for the sofa and pretended to be asleep as Chris and Barry came back into the cabin.
"And I suppose I'll have to be the one who tells Leon and Claire where you've gone"? Barry whispered harshly. "You need to promise me that you'll stay calm and let me work something out" Brad opened his eyes a crack to see Barry grab hold of Chris' arm. "Do you promise"?
"Barry…"
"Do. You. Promise" Barry said quietly, gripping Chris' arm. Chris glared at the older man for a second before shrugging helplessly.
"Fine" Chris muttered. Brad watched him turn on his heel and stalk up the stairs. He heard Barry sigh heavily and mutter something before heading up the stairs himself. Brad thumped his pillow and turned over on the sofa, trying to make sense of what he'd just overheard.