Family Matters
~ Friday October 30th, 1998 12:02 PM ~
The breaks of the large mobile home dubbed The Kennedy Express squealed as the family pulled into the quaint town of Summerset Falls, Texas. It was just after noon on the last weekday of the month. Texas was always Leon's intended destination since his family first boarded the bus after escaping Raccoon City. The state was the largest in the country, and many areas were not covered in traffic cameras nor wired into the greater internet. That is not to say they didn't have internet, they were simply not utilizing it to its full capacity as many major metropolitan areas were. However, after buying their mobile home and getting married to his beloved, Leon discussed their options with his wife and the pair decided it was best to take an extended family road trip across the country to throw off any would-be pursuers that might be on their trail.
The trio immediately decided to backtrack to the start of their journey to collect the remainder of the weapons that they had stashed due to making them too conspicuous. Leon had worried when they originally left them behind that some inquisitive adolescent would happen upon the arsenal, which is why they separated the weapons from the ammunition. Once their trove of weapons was stowed in the cargo compartments of their RV, the Kennedys proceeded Eastward. It was after their stop in Des Moines, Iowa that Sierra dubbed their mobile home The Kennedy Express. Her parents laughed at the name but it stuck. By the time the trio pulled into Texas both Leon and Claire were aces at driving the large vehicle and Sierra had even been taught the basics of driving and allowed to drive a mile on an empty strip of Route 66 before returning control to her mother.
Sierra was the first person out of the RV after her father parked it in the large lot beside a Timberland Steakhouse. The family had stopped at a truck stop earlier in the day to refuel and only picked up some breakfast sandwiches as they wanted to make it to Texas by noon (which they did). During an earlier stop in Illinois, Claire and Sierra had ventured into a salon while Leon restocked their supplies, and when the mother and daughter exited the salon Leon was surprised to see that his wife had decided to darken her hair to a chestnut brown while his daughter's blonde locks were now strawberry blonde. Leon informed his daughter and wife that they looked beautiful but Sierra shouldn't get used to the color... unless she really wanted to keep it. Sierra just smiled.
As the weather was still in the eighties despite being at the end of October, Sierra was sporting a short sleeve white shirt and a pair of blue jean shorts. Her strawberry blonde hair bangs were being kept out of her face by a simple thin sky blue headband. She had on gold stud earrings to go with the locket that she had been gifted by her birth mother. While she still thought about her mother from time to time, the majority of her thoughts dwelled on her last few moments of life when she showed how much Sherry actually meant to her as opposed to the years of neglect. While the locket now had pictures of Leon and Claire, the symbolic memory would always remain as it was the last physical gift that her mother ever gave her.
Claire was the next out of the RV. She had her now chestnut hair pulled into a ponytail much like when Sierra first met her. Claire wore a pair of fancy sunglasses and a tank top in her trademark red (her favorite color). She was currently in a pair of dark blue denim shorts but had opted not to put on any Jewelry. She had a blue satchel draped over her left side. Inside the satchel were her standard essentials. Her wallet, her Ruger Blackhawk, and a belt that holds .45 caliber bullets as they had in the old west. Claire had found the belt when they made their first stop in Oklahoma and it even came with a holster. Claire opted the remove the holster as her satchel basically served that purpose.
Leon exited last and locked their mobile home from the outside. He tossed Claire the keys and she caught them in her left hand lifting the flap, she placed them beside her wallet. Leon was the only member of the Kennedy family to wear long pants. He had selected black cargo pants, and a dark grey t-shirt and was wearing a short sleeve button-down light grey shirt. Under his shirt and holster at his back, was one of the new firearms he had acquired from the drug dealers when they deprived them of their money bag. In a holster, concealed by his shirt, was a Beretta M8000 Compact Cougar.
The family made their way into the restaurant and were seated by a pretty young woman who Claire immediately saw size up her husband. Claire took Leon's right hand in her left and the young woman (probably the same age or slightly younger than Claire) caught the wedding ring on her left hand. Taking the hint, the woman politely leads the family to a round table toward the back of the restaurant so that they can eat.
~ 1:45 PM ~
After paying for their excellent meal and heaping praise upon the staff, Leon, Claire, and Sierra exit the family-owned restaurant and begin making their way to their mobile home. Now that they were fed they wanted to drive around the quaint little town after talking with the waitress who gave them some ideas on places to check out if they thought they might like to stay in town.
The family had not moved ten steps from the doorway when they heard a commotion from the parking lot. A group of five young men, all wearing various cowboy-esque garb are hassling two young men that don't appear to be locals. Leon looks the pair over and guesses that they were gay, a fact proven when the five locals begin hurling homophobic slurs at the pair. While Texas has come a long way some people just wouldn't accept people being different in one way shape or form.
Seeing the situation was about to get back Leon says, "Take Sierra to the RV." Claire wanted to stand by her husband's side but Leon insists she get their daughter to safety first. Leon removes his shirt that is concealing his firearm. He knew that Claire didn't need protecting, but their daughter did until she was safely inside the vehicle.
Claire takes their daughter's hand and leads her to the left, going around the situation so as not to draw attention to them. Leon slowly ducks down and stealthily makes his way over to the group. At the halfway point a police SUV pulls up beside the encounter. Out of the vehicle slowly steps an elderly man. If Leon didn't know better he would swear that he was living the scene from the movie Tombstone, the sheriff was that old and commanded about that much authority.
"All right Junior..." the old man says in the same grainy voice as the actor. He draws a revolver from its holster and cocks back the hammer. "Back away from them and put your hands in the air."
As Leon watched the scene play out he knew that these locals were less than worried about what was about to happen. The sheriff, or deputy, was old, he was slow physically and his weapon was lacking in Leon's mind. Heck, if he didn't know better, he would swear that it was an old police .38 caliber pistol.
"Geeze Sheriff," The cowboy in the center starts, "We were just having a little fun at the queer's expense." His voice and tone are very arrogant and it is apparent that this boy has no respect for the sheriff's authority.
"Yeah Sheriff," the young man to the leader's left chimes in. "No harm, no foul."
The three locals with their backs to Leon move and the pair cautiously begin to move out from the center where they were trapped. Leon watched as the local on the left trips the boy closest to him sending him face-first to the ground. Before his friend can help one of the others kicks the second boy in the side sending him down to his knees.
"Wow... I bet you're used to being down on your knees like that." The first local says laughing hysterically at his comment. His associate joins in.
"All right Brad Huxton Jr... you're going to jail for assault and battery."
"Yeah right... my daddy will have me out before you can even start writing the report," Brad states.
"That's if we even get in the car." One of the others informs the sheriff. "Someone is bound to have seen you pull up and one of our many friends has more than likely already called the mayor. By the time we walk over to the car, you'll be getting a call saying to let us go."
Annoyed at the pompous jackasses, the sheriff replies, "Your family money wouldn't keep me from hauling you in." Sheriff Fred White sternly states.
From his vantage point, Leon can see that the fifth member of this group has a pistol holstered at his back. It is a revolver of some type, Leon can't tell for sure as it is holstered. Much like Leon, the young man is right-handed as the butt of the weapon is pointing to the right. The sheriff sees Leon moving behind the group and he hopes that the stranger is moving to help. Leon draws his weapon and begins quietly inching closer to the quintet.
"Sam... raise your hands or else." The sheriff tells the young man reaching for his gun. Leon knows that it's the one with the weapon as his hand froze the moment he was named.
"Now Fred... be reasonable. This only ends one way as there are five of us... and only one of you." Brad states trying to intimidate the elderly lawman.
"Yeah, Fred. When was the last time you even fired that old six-gun?" Sam asks as he slowly reaches for his revolver.
Sheriff Fred returns his aim to Brad. He knows that the young man that is just out of arms reach has Sam covered. The rest are bound to be armed as the group of local cowboys seldom go anywhere without their weapons. They are the town bullies and they rely on their parent's money and influence to keep them out of trouble.
Brad is bored now and he quickly draws with his left hand and fires. Leon didn't see the movement as the cowboy was standing off-center and couldn't see the weapon. The bullet he fires strikes the sheriff in his right shoulder causing the elderly sheriff to drop his weapon and sending the man to the ground. Before the cowboy and his associates can say or do anything further Leon fires two shots warning shots between the center boy's heads and the quintet hit the ground.
"If any of you even twitch you'll be dead before you can ask what just happened... isn't that right honey?"
Brad dares to look up and squatting beside the wounded sheriff is a brown-haired woman. Brad doesn't recognize her but he does recognize that she is holding a Ruger Blackhawk revolver pointed directly at his head. He can see all the chambers are loaded with bullets and the hammer to the weapon is currently cocked back. He is literally staring death in the eye.
"Do you feel Lucky... punk?" Claire asks the cowboy who can see that his weapon is within arms reach.
As he looks into Claire's eyes he sees resolve. Some people boast when they are armed and have a weapon pointed at someone. This woman however will shoot. From the look in her eyes, she would have no problem doing so.
So no, Brad does not feel lucky.
He puts his head down on the ground and his hands behind his head. Whoever was behind he and his friends began patting down each member of the quintet before he zip-tied their hands behind their backs. All the while, Brad can hear laughter and the sound of camera phone shutters going off.
~ Wednesday November 11th, 1998 11:09 PM ~
It was late in the evening as Claire Kennedy sat in her living room with a cup of hot cocoa and looked out the large picture window of her family home. As she mulled her thoughts, she enjoyed the silence that she knew was short-lived. The entire Kennedy family was tucked into their beds. The ranch-style house that Claire's husband had traded their mobile home to the now retired Sheriff Fred White and his wife was everything that they could have hoped for. After the incident at the end of October, the Kennedys were required to stay in town and testify against the group of cowboys. Leon and Claire were not surprised by the way the boys talked and that the parents indeed tried to use their money and influence on them to get them to "forget" what happened that night. The Kennedys however were not swayed. If anything their attempts to bribe them just spurred them to stay and see the boys penalized to the full extent of the law.
Fred's wife begged her husband to retire as sheriff after this latest incident. She told him that this job was a young man's game and he had put in his time... more so in fact. Fred would have retired ages ago if he could have found a worthy successor but the only person interested was Brett Davenport and while he was firmly an Army MP he was also a cousin of Brad Huxton which meant there would be no justice if he stepped down.
The Kennedy family's arrival changed all that. Fred saw in Leon the same fire and determination for right and wrong, law and order that he had at that age. While Leon and his family visited the sheriff in the hospital, Fred asked to speak to Leon alone. Fred laid out his plan to Leon. Sheriffs are elected every 4 years and Fred was currently two years into his term. He would make Leon his deputy for the month. He would announce his retirement due to age and medical reasons at the beginning of December thus promoting Leon to sherrif. Leon would then be in the position until the next election in 2000 when he would have to run for the position.
Fred White was sure that Leon was the man to replace him and even told the young man this. This was just the opportunity that the directionless Leon was looking for and he eagerly accepted. Fred's wife was over the moon excited at the news and Claire's only issue was that she insisted Fred deputized her so that she could stand by her husband. Fred, having seen Claire's metal as well as Leon's didn't need convincing. She had stared down Huxton and made him give up. Not only that but after that tense situation Claire did not exhale sharply as most in that situation might have. She was ready to kill the cowboy and any of his friends that so much as twitched wrong.
When Fred announced his retirement the Whites planned to travel the country and enjoy their golden years. Mrs. White took one look at the Kennedy Express and broached the offer of trading their family home for the mobile home. Sierra didn't like the idea of giving up the first real home she had ever had but Fred White came up with a solution for that as well. He and his wife planned to live out their life traveling, and on the day that they both left this Earth, their will would require the Kennedy Express to be returned to Sierra.
Sierra readily agreed to their terms.
The Kennedys took a walk through the soon-to-be former White homestead and instantly fell in love with it. However, as much as they loved the house as is Claire knew that they were going to need to expand. Leon didn't get it when she first said that to him but his squealing daughter who ran up and just about tackled her new mom to the ground knew exactly what was being said. It was only when Sierra reached for Claire's stomach and placed her head beside it that the lightbulb went off in Leon's head.
Leon knew that it wasn't uncommon for women to get pregnant shortly after the honeymoon. Sure they didn't have a traditional honeymoon alone with Sierra around, but the young girl gave her parents plenty of leeway and alone time as she was eager for her parents to give her siblings so she could become a big sister. Sometimes Claire thought Sierra was more excited about her pregnancy than she was. Claire was overjoyed the day she took the home pregnancy test and it came back positive. She found an OBG/YN that she liked in their new town and the woman confirmed that she was expecting. Fred and Ellen White had finished selling off the household items that Leon and Claire didn't want or that they would replace. Anything not personal that was left was donated to charity. The elderly couple had moved into the mobile home and were both enjoying getting the handle of driving it around in preparation for their retirement tour.
Claire is roused out of her pleasant thoughts by the sound of something falling from the back end of the house. Their Ranch home was still a single-story like all other ranch homes (which would change next year) but theirs home was in an L shape with the short end on the back right side of the house. That section of the house was vacant save for the few boxes they were storing for the Whites and a few items Leon and Claire don't want anyone to know about.
Claire stands up and quietly makes her way to the bookshelf. Reaching for the top shelf, she reaches for The Art of War. This book has been hollowed out and opening it to the marked section, she finds a Smith and Wesson 586 chambered in .357 magnum. Taking the weapon from the book, she puts the book on the coffee table and slowly makes her way down the hallway toward the room the noise came from. Claire tried to decide how best to continue. Entering the room seemed like a stupid thing to do if there were an intruder as the person could be hiding anywhere. No, if there were someone in that room they need to make the first move.
Claire moves to the right side of the hallway and kneels down to one knee. She raises her weapon and breaths normally as she stares intently at the door. She loses track of time but does not dare look away from the door as Murphy's Law dictates the moment she did would be the moment that something happens.
As if on cue, she catches movement and the doorknob slowly begins to turn. Whoever is in that room is very cautious as Claire watches the door slowly open without the faintest noise and the doorknob return to its original position with no sound either. Claire can see a weapon, It's an automatic pistol, but it's too dark to make out the type.
"Freeze." Claire coldly states before the person can make their way through the door opening. "Take one more step and I'll blow you away through the door."
Claire can clearly see that the weapon is not moving. She's pretty sure the person on the other side of the door is weighing their options.
Is the door thick enough to offer some kind of shielding should a bullet fly through it?
Will the person threatening to shoot them actually fire?
Heck, does the person have a gun?
Claire decided to answer that last question by cocking the hammer on her weapon. Her revolver is fully loaded and ready to unload if the person doesn't comply in a matter of seconds.
"Claire?" A deep masculine voice inquisitively asks from the other side of the door.
Claire is thrown off guard at first, then, her auditory memory kicks in. "Ch... Chris?"
Claire watches as the weapon is pulled back into the room and the door slowly opens. Stealth no longer seems like a factor for the person as the door is now fully open and standing on the other side of the storage room door is Christopher Redfield. Gone is the baby-faced man she has known these last few years. Whatever he has been through since she last saw him has aged him. His hair is cut very short like in his military days. He has stubble on his face implying he hasn't shaved recently. He has added weight but instead of it being around his gut it is all in his muscles. He is wearing a white compression shirt with green short sleeves. He has on tan cargo pants and has on a shoulder holster. His pistol is currently resting in said holster and the oldest Redfield child seems much more relaxed now that he knows it's his sister on the other side of the door.
Claire decocks her weapon and standing up looks at her brother for several long quiet moments. It is only after the tears she didn't realize were in her eyes fell down her cheeks that she rushes to her older brother. The two share a warm and loving hug for the first time in ages.
"I was beginning to think I would never see you again?" Claire informs her older sibling.
"I'm sorry. I never wanted you to get dragged into this life." Chris informs his baby sister.
Claire just holds him tightly, afraid this moment was a dream and she would wake up on the couch alone. Finally, his words register in her mind.
"Wait... so how did you find me?" She asks him suspiciously.
"After my encounter with Umbreall during the summer my teammates and I began investigating the company and we quickly surmised that the whole upper echelon of the town in one way shape or form was involved with them. While Barry and I were out rummaging through the remains of the Spencer Mansion we were found by... let's say "Special" Government Agents. After exchanging information I was recruited into the US Stratcom and began specialized training. It was only after I finished my training that I learned what had happened to you in Raccoon City."
"That was two months ago Chris."
"Yes. To be fair, you did a lot of moving around, and changing your identity did throw me off some too."
Claire was still skeptical until Chris extends his left wrist and shows her a band. It was a simple band made from colored shoestrings but Claire wouldn't forget it to save her life. She had made this for Chris growing up shortly before their parents died. The string was from her favorite shoes when she was younger and once she outgrew them wanted a way to always remember them and to make something special for Chris. Her older brother had smiled when he put it on and promised he would do his best never to lose it.
It was something only four people knew about and two of them were dead.
"I take it everything is all right?" A voice asks from behind Chris Redfield. Claire feels her brother stiffen but she holds him tight and whispers that it's ok.
"Yes, Leon... everything is great," Claire informs her husband.
Leon hesitantly lowers the weapon he had trained at Chris' back. He makes his way over to the pair. Claire takes great pleasure in finally being able to introduce her husband to her older brother. Leon extends his hand which Chris takes. Chris is much stronger (Leon suspects he might be on steroids as he doesn't look like Claire described him).
Chris sizes up Leon and while he doesn't know if he likes the man yet he does get the sense that he is capable of protecting his sister as the young man managed to sneak up behind him without alerting him to his presence. Releasing the man's hand, the trio make their way from the storage room to the living room. Leon leaves the siblings in the room and goes to get Chris a drink and CLaire a fresh cup of cocoa. He suspects it will be a long night.
~ Thursday, November 12th, 1998 07:15 AM ~
Chris Redfield slept the night at the Kennedy family home on their foldout couch at his sister's insistence. It was the first restful night's sleep that he has had since he left Raccoon City. While he was eager to see the Umbrella Corporation fall he realized that he needed some special skills to aid him in his quest. The training had been grueling, he suspected that it was what special forces troops went through. Not only were the nights short but sleeping on a mattress of any kind was a luxury. Once upon a time, the first light of day would have woken him from his slumber but his body has been trained to get the minimum rest he needs. On a day like today, when he can relax, he is completely at ease and ignores the bright sunlight.
However, he is not yet immune to being awakened by someone tapping his forehead with their finger. Chris opens his eyes. Staring back at him is a young strawberry blonde-haired girl. "Hello," Chris says.
"Hi." The young girl says staring at him intently. "Who are you?"
"My name is Chris... who are you?"
"I don't know if I should tell you. I live here, you don't."
"I was invited to stay by my sister," Chris informs the young girl.
"Your sister?" The young girl asks with a puzzled expression.
"Sierra." The sweet-sounding voice of Claire Kennedy calls out to the young girl.
"Mom... do you know this man?" Sierra asks.
"Mom?" Chris says looking super puzzled at his sister.
"Sierra, allow me to introduce you to Christopher Redfield, your uncle."
"Ohhh... Hi." Sierra says smiling at the older man.
"Chris, Leon, and I saved Sierra while we were in Raccoon City. She is the daughter of two Umbrella researchers. To keep her safely out of Umbrella's hands we created a new identity for her and now that Leon and I are married I am in the process of adopting her."
"But she's already my mom as far as I'm concerned," Sierra tells her Uncle Chris in between bites of her cereal. "Where's dad?" Claire smiles at the scene before her. Her daughter and her brother are at the table having breakfast. She wouldn't have dared to hope to see this and she was living it.
"Mom?"
Claire shakes her head and looking at her daughter says, "He had to go in early today. Martha called two hours ago about a break in downtown."
"Wow." Sierra took several more bites before turning the conversation back to her new favorite topic.
"Soooo when did Uncle Chris get here?"
Chris had to smile. It seemed unreal to hear this young girl call him Uncle Chris. During the night Claire revealed that she was pregnant but she had refrained from mentioning the girl that was adopting. Based on the little tidbit of info he had been given he understood why.
"He arrived late last night sweetie," Claire answered. "I know you have numerous questions hunny but you have to get ready for school.
"Ok, mommy." Sierra finished drinking her milk, wiped off her mouth with a napkin, and then carried her empty bowl over to the sink and placed it in. She kissed her mother and made her way over to Chris. The government agent looked at the girl who gave him a sideways look. "Can I hug you?" Sierra asks.
Chris smiles and scoots his chair back, allowing the young girl to slip onto his lap and hug him."It's very nice to meet you, Uncle Chris."
Chris smiles and replies, "It's very nice to meet you, Sierra. I will see you when you get back from school." The young woman raced from the kitchen to her room to finish getting ready for her day.
"Will you?" Claire asks her brother.
"Will I what?"
"Will you be here when she comes back from school?"
"Yes. I don't have to leave until tomorrow. Now that I know you are ok I can head back to... well, I can leave without worrying about you."
Claire's hands come down hard on the table. She wanted to slam them down but she didn't want to worry her daughter. "But it's ok for me to worry about you right? What about Sierra? She's enjoying having you around. Her life has been nothing but neglect. We are the first family that she has really had."
Chris gets what his baby sister is saying. Still, as he looked at the annoyed woman he can't help but say what he is thinking. "You are an amazing mom Claire."
"What?" She says in disbelief.
"You rescued this little girl, took her in, and made her your own... Mom and Dad would be so proud of you."
"Don't do that," Claire says sitting in the chair beside her brother.
"Do what?"
"Change the subject."
"I'm not trying to. I just see so much of Mom in you and the bond that you have created with this young girl over such a short period of time... that was a mom thing."
Claire sat back and thought about her brother's words. "You're right. All of my friends treated Mom like a second mother."
"She just had that effect on people Claire. You are very much like her."
"Thanks," Claire says smiling.
Chris takes his sister's hand. "I know you don't want to hear this, but I am needed out there."
Claire hears her brother and agrees. She doesn't want to hear this. She wants him to say that he'll stay here with her, settle down with a nice girl and have a family of his own. But she also knows that Chris has a purpose that he must fulfill.
Chris continues his passionate explanation. "Umbrella is an evil that can not be allowed to exist. I need to be out there to stop them and to keep you and your family, and others safe."
"I know... but that doesn't change the way I feel."
"Nor did I expect it to Claire... just know that I am fighting for specifically to one day return to you and your family. I can give you a special E-mail address to use in cases of emergency. If you need me, I'll show up."
Claire and her brother both stand and hug. Chris then feels his niece once again make her presence known as she hugs both her mother and him. He had forgotten what it was truly like to be part of a family. He never took his relationship with his sister for granted but it had been just the two of them for so long he didn't realize what he no longer had until now.
"I know you don't need me to tell you this Claire Kennedy, but cherish this. Cherish your loved ones and never take them for granted."
"Never," Claire says holding Sierra's hand.
"Don't forget Uncle Chris," Sierra chimes in, "You're our family."
Chris squats down, he presses his right index finger into Sierra's nose earning him a radiant smile."I won't forget." He replies before hugging his niece.
The scene is interrupted by the sound of a horn from outside.
"That's my bus. See you after school." Sierra announces. She grabs her backpack that she left by the door and races out.
Chris Redfield stands beside his sister and the two watch the young girl wave to them before racing to the waiting bus. She tasks the steps post haste and takes one of the front seats on the left side. She lowers the window and waves to the siblings one last time as the bus's doors shut and the large yellow bus pulls away.
Chris hugs his sister and she rests against his right shoulder as they watch the bus make its way with all its passengers to school. "See you when you get home kid," Chris states. He can feel his sister smile at his statement and he knows that he has to keep his word to these two amazing women.
~To Be Concluded ~
