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Chapter 4: Who Invited Him

Leon Kennedy stifles another yawn as he grips the steering wheel lightly, focusing on the road ahead. The dark blue Buick drives smoothly down the highway, lit by the first rays of morning light. It's chilly outside, but Leon is quite warm in his jeans, combat boots, long-sleeve shirt, and brown leather coat with wool collar. Beside him, in the passenger seat, sits Claire Redfield. The young woman is asleep, her head nodding slightly against the seat with each subtle bump on the road. Although she's dressed in only her jeans, boots, and somewhat skimpy t-shirt and vest, Leon has placed a small blanket over her to keep her warm. He glances at her, smiling as Claire shifts a bit in the seat. Her eyes flutter lightly and then open, and she stretches. They share a brief glance, and Leon smiles sheepishly, Claire smiling softly as well,-

"MnNNNmmMMMMMmmhh!" The two of them freeze, turning to look at the backseat of the car. Steve Burnside, sporting his prison shirt and camo pants, wriggles about in his seat, asleep. He starts kicking the back of Claire's seat, tossing and turning wildly.

"Hey!" Claire cries out, as she is rocked violently in her seat.

Leon sighs deeply, hands tightening on the wheel as he forces himself not to throttle the teen behind them. "Steve," he pleads quietly.

Steve continues to whine and thrash, whacking Ada Wong in the head.

"OW!" Ada exclaims, covering her head as best she can and ducking low in her seat, which is beside Steve in the back of the car.

"STEVE!" Leon yells. Claire sighs, rubbing her eyes. She sinks down low in her seat and stares out the windshield sleepily. Ada just crosses her arms, shaking her head as she too settles back in her seat. She straightens her ever-in-style red silk slit dress and the large black hoodie that is pulled over it.

Steve opens one eye, then the other. "Mmmmh...we there yet?" he asks, yawning and stretching. Ada glares at him and ducks as his arm passes over her head.

"No," Leon replies quietly. "We're almost in California right now. Once we hit the coast, we'll take a plane," he explains.

"Won't that be expensive?" Claire asks.

"Well," Leon replies. "I made enough cash selling all those gold chicken eggs to last us for a while."

Claire is looking confused. Ada is looking amused. Steve is looking at Claire.

"I'm thirsty," he blurts out in a whiney voice. The tension dripping from Leon is thick enough to choke a Licker. "Claire, could you get me a drink?" Steve asks.

"Uh, sure," she replies, reaching down to the cooler in-between the front seats. She flips it open with one hand, revealing sandwiches, fruit, and drinks. Claire picks a random juice box and-

"Oh not those ones," Steve interjects. A slow smile crawls across his mouth. "...The ones on the bottom," he whispers. "They're colder." He winks.

"Um...ok," Claire says with a nervous smile, bending over further in her seat to dig into the cooler

Steve leans forwards anxiously in his seat, watching as more and more of Claire's bare midsection is revealed. "Oo-oh…mmmmmhhh…mmmmmm….MMMMMH…"

You can practically hear Leon's teeth squeaking in protest as they grind together. His pupils are the size of periods in the rearview mirror. It is amazing that the steering wheel hasn't broken in half yet, with how tightly he is gripping it.

"Hey, what's this?" Claire sits up, frowning at a vial of blue liquid in a double helix that she's holding.

"Um, NOTHING!" Ada bursts suddenly, looking out the window, eyes wide. "Oh wow, look at the...cars and stuff!" she rambles.

Claire shrugs and puts it back, then grabs a juice box. "Here you go, Steve." She hands the box back to Steve, who has a big smile on his face.

"Thanks Claire," he drawls seductively as he takes the box, his hand lingering on hers. "You know, you've got a really nice ass."

"WHAT!" Claire cries, shocked.

"Um, I said I like largemouth bass!" Steve blurts.

The car is silent for a few moments. Claire turns and leans back against her seat, frowning nervously. Leon's grip on the steering wheel grows even tighter. Ada is giving an overly sarcastic thumbs-up/open-mouthed grin to Steve, who is plucking at the straw on his juice box and staring wide-eyed at the windshield.

"Oh my gosh, a rabbit!" Leon yells over-dramatically, jerking the steering wheel. The Buick swerves sharply on the empty, rabbit-less road. Claire squeaks in surprise, Ada calmly keeps her balance, and Steve pokes himself in the eye with his straw.

"AAAAH MY EYE!" he cries, clutching his face. Leon smirks as his vengeance is exacted.

The Buick continues to drive down the road...