Alright everyone, here's the new chapter. Sorry it took so long. School has been pretty busy for me lately. Anyway, hope you all enjoy it. ^w^

Ada awoke reluctantly to the sunlight streaming in from her bedroom window. Thoughts of what had transpired the evening before had kept her mind racing. She had tossed and turned for most of the night, sleep only coming in the small hours of the morning. Last night she had gotten drunker than she intended and had a heart-to-heart with Carla. After that however, there had been an…incident. Ada had kissed Carla while the woman was asleep on the couch.

With a groan, Ada roused herself and shuffled to the bathroom to wash her face. As she turned on the warm water, Ada sighed at the realization she had reached the night before. Running out onto the balcony had helped to clear her head, allowing her to process what had happened. It took hours of arguing with herself for Ada to admit that she was attracted to Carla.

She didn't really have a problem with being attracted to a woman. Ada had taken both male and female lovers to her bed over the years. What really bothered her was the fact that it was Carla. The woman had been genetically modified to be Ada's clone. Not to mention the she had tried to kill Ada and infect the entire world with the C-virus, thereby destroying humanity. Then again, Ada had willingly allowed Carla to live with her after all that. The whole situation was one giant cluster fuck.

Ada decided to just act as if she hadn't kissed the other woman until she figured out how to solve her dilemma. She knew Carla wouldn't let her live it down if she found out about the kiss. Shaking her head, she splashed some water on her face to wash those thoughts away.

She dried her face and brushed her hair like she did every day, her mind wandering back to Carla. From the moment they met Ada had sensed something in Carla, perhaps a kindred spirit, that had resonated with her. As bad as it sounded, Ada admired the intricate plans for world destruction Carla had created. The woman was always thinking five steps ahead of everyone.

Ada smirked as she exited her bathroom to get dressed in her workout clothes. Well, everyone except for me. She got the white cotton martial arts robe out of her closet and shed her pajamas in exchange for it. One of the rooms in her safe house had been made into a workout room. Ada used it to practice her martial arts and gymnastic skills every morning.

Exiting her room, Ada saw Carla in the living room watching the morning news. Carla turned to her and smiled.

"Someone slept in late. Was your hangover that bad?" she teased as Ada made her way over.

"Just had some trouble getting to sleep." She paused by the couch. "Did you sleep well?" Ada watched Carla carefully, searching to see if the woman remembered what happened the night before.

"Like a rock. I actually woke up here on the couch. Don't quite remember how I got here though…" she replied, her thoughts trailing off at the end.

Ada was relieved by the response. It looked like Carla didn't know about the kiss.

"Breakfast is in the kitchen if you were wondering," Carla motioned with a wave of her hand.

Going into the kitchen, Ada saw a pot of curry and rice on the stove. She figured it'd be a good idea to eat before her workout since she'd been drinking the night before. Didn't want to get dehydrated or hungry and pass out. She dished some up for herself and ate it quickly. Ada didn't like to admit it, but Carla was a way better cook than her.

She put her dishes in the dishwasher and headed to the workout room. The room had lovely dark hardwood flooring, which stood out rather nicely against the rather plain white walls. One of the walls consisted entirely of floor-to-ceiling windows that gave plenty of natural lighting. There was a punching bag, a treadmill, and a few other machines on one side of the room. A large gymnastics mat covered the dark wood floors on the other side. Some quarterstaffs and swords were stored on racks on the wall. Ada hardly ever found use for them, so they mostly served as decoration. There was a mannequin sitting in the corner that she used when practicing her martial arts.

Today she'd start off with some meditation to calm her mind. Heaven knows she needed it. Ada walked to the middle of the mat and sat cross-legged. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and began to clear her mind. She measured her breathing as she brought to mind a single candle burning in the darkness. It was what she always used as her focus point to concentrate her thought patterns. In her mind, the candle was all that existed. She had little measure of time while meditating, so she would stop when it felt right to her.

After some time had passed, Ada's meditation was disturbed by the sound of the door opening behind her. Annoyed, she let out a sigh.

"What do you want, Carla?" she inquired with her eyes still closed, quite irritated by the other woman's interruption.

"I thought I'd join you in your exercise routine." Carla's footsteps came a bit closer. "What are you doing?"

"I'm meditating," Ada answered. There was silence for a few beats, then she heard Carla walk closer and sit down in front of her.

"I'm game."

Ada sighed and returned to her meditation, doing her best to ignore the woman's presence. She recalled the image of the candle and cleared her mind. The clarity didn't last long however, a nagging feeling telling her to open her eyes. When she did, she was startled to find Carla staring at her intently.

"Umm, can I help you?" she asked, disconcerted by the mysterious look in the woman's eyes. She noticed that Carla was wearing an outfit almost identical to her own. The woman had apparently procured a karate uniform somewhere and decided to wear it. Her sleek, black hair was pulled back into a low ponytail to keep it from getting in her face. Ada had the sneaking suspicion that Carla had "borrowed" the uniform from her closet.

"Sorry. I got distracted. You looked quite relaxed though," Carla replied as she shifted her position slightly.

Ada rolled her eyes and decided it would be useless to try and meditate with company like this. She got up and began stretching.

"What do you plan on doing?" Carla wondered as she joined Ada in stretching.

"Well, I was going to work on my martial arts today. Maybe do some kickboxing." Ada slowly lowered herself into a split. Looking to the side, she was amused to see Carla doing one as well.

"With that nasty mannequin in the corner? I would think you'd rather have a more worthy opponent," Carla retorted as she stood and bent over backwards into a handstand.

"Is that a challenge?" she asked with a wry smile.

"More of a suggestion. But, challenge works as well," Carla said, getting into a stance and beckoning Ada.

Ada felt a genuine smile spreading across her face. It had been some time since she had fought anyone who could give her a real challenge. However, she wasn't even sure that Carla could fight on the same level. Well, I guess I'll find out, she thought as she shifted into a fighting stance.

They both remained still for a few moments, each waiting for the other to strike first. Carla smirked and led with a right hook, which Ada easily brushed aside. She redirected the momentum into a low sweep with her leg. Ada flipped out of the way of the strike only to see an uppercut heading towards her as she righted herself. She narrowly avoided it, landing a kick to Carla's abdomen. However, the woman caught Ada's leg and wouldn't let go. Ada jumped and swung her other leg around to try and land another strike. Carla was forced to let go and duck as she rolled away from the attack.

Ada landed as gracefully as a cat. She began to circle Carla, thoroughly enjoying herself. Her breath came a bit more shallow than normal, but this fight was hardly a challenge so far.

A single bead of sweat that glimmered on Carla's cheek caught her eyes. Good to know I'm giving her a good fight. She followed the drop of sweat as it trailed its way down the woman's slender neck and collarbone. Carla's top must have loosened during their little sparring match because the overlapping sides opened up enough to show a good amount of cleavage. Ada watched, enraptured as that droplet descended to those lovely breasts.

Carla must have noticed that she had been distracted because she used those moments to close the distance between them. Ada snapped to attention as Carla lunged at her. She barely had enough time to tense her body as the other woman slammed into her. The force of the blow knocked the wind out of her and she stumbled back into the wall, several quarterstaffs clattering to the floor in front of her. Carla stepped forward, bending down to pick up a staff.

"What's the matter, Ada?" she taunted. "A 'cheap knockoff' too much for you?" Carla twirled the quarterstaff around, a Cheshire grin spreading across her face.

Ada scowled as she picked up a staff, as well. She stood and thrust the end at Carla, the woman evading to the left and swinging her staff downward. Ada blocked, a loud crack sounded from the blow.

Strike, swing, evade, block.

She began to see patterns in Carla's movements. With every strike and movement, Ada came closer to identifying the style. Her mind went into overdrive, carefully deconstructing Carla's moves as she developed a strategy.

Swing, swing, pivot, jab, block.

Ada finally pinpointed Carla's fighting style and went on the offensive. She utilized a combo that sacrificed power for speed. It worked and Carla was now on the defensive, using only blocks and evasions. Even though they were locked in a heated battle, both women bore mile-wide grins. The strategizing, the careful calculations, they were in their element.

Now, Ada was going to go for the win. She switched to a more power oriented style, throwing off the other woman's footing in the process. Carla recovered and countered, hooking her staff underneath Ada's. With a swift movement, she disarmed her.

Ada, now without a weapon, dove to the side and rolled to get some distance between them. She had underestimated Carla at every turn. That wouldn't happen again. She did a roundhouse kick as Carla swung to strike her. The staff shattered in two, but Carla simply used the halves as batons. Ada dodged the strikes, then grabbed one of the woman's wrists. She held on tight, dodging a kick from Carla. The woman twisted around, slid her leg behind Ada's, and slammed her body backward. This caused the two of them to fall to the floor, with Carla landing on top. The two struggled with one another, Ada landing a head butt. She wrapped her legs around the other woman's waist and flipped the two of them over. Now on top, Ada pinned Carla's wrists. She had finally won.

Ada's breathing was ragged and she felt her bangs sticking to the sweat on her forehead. Carla had proven to be a more than worthy opponent in a fight. Looking down, her heart skipped a beat. In the scuffle Carla's shirt had come almost completely undone, opening up all the way down to her navel. The woman's breasts were barely covered and shimmering with a thin veil of sweat.

The more she looked, the more heat Ada felt coloring her cheeks. Her eyes were pulled upward to Carla's face, where she saw something that made her heart race. Carla tilted her head to the side, a sultry smile curving the lips that Ada knew were so soft.

"Something wrong, Ada?" she crooned, her amber eyes gazing in a way that belonged in the bedroom. Carla arched her back, her shirt opening a bit more to come dangerously close to exposing her nipples. Since Ada was straddling her, the motion stimulated her in a way she enjoyed far more than she should have.

"Damnit," Ada hissed through her teeth.

Carla's smile widened. "Anything you'd like to talk about, hm?"

Ada realized that Carla had been playing her this whole time. It really got under her skin that Carla had been able to manipulate her like that. Her anger mixed with arousal to send her into quite a mood. She let go of Carla's wrists and stood up to walk away.

"I gotta say, being attracted to someone who looks exactly like you seems pretty narcissistic Ada," Carla said in a mocking tone.

"Shut it, Carla," she growled at the woman. "And exactly what the hell is your angle here!? What do you even want from me?" Ada shouted, her anger rising by the second.

Carla stood up and adjusted her shirt. "I think the better question is to ask yourself what you want from me. After all," She approached Ada and wrapped an arm around her waist, leaning in close. "You are the one who kissed me first."

Ada felt indignant, but the woman was right. She sighed defeat. "You're a very good actress, Carla. I didn't even think you were awake."

Carla shrugged. "It's a gift."

Shaking her head, Ada pulled the woman in close. "You're infuriating."

"And you want to get in my pants. Of the two of us, I think you're the one with the problem here."

"Well, there's a solution to that," she murmured, tipping Carla's chin up. Their lips met and Ada felt heat blossom inside her. She knew she was playing a dangerous game with the other woman, but she also knew that resisting her desires would be even more dangerous. Carla's lips parted willingly beneath hers. This made Ada smirk as she deepened the kiss. She ran her hands through Carla's hair, delighting in the moan it elicited from the other woman.

Ada backed her up against the wall, hands traveling over Carla's curves. She slid her thigh between the other woman's legs as her hands slipped under Carla's shirt.

Breaking the kiss, Carla grabbed Ada's hands and removed them. "Woah there, tiger. I didn't give you permission to go to second base."

Ada huffed. "I thought you gave me the green light. Would you make up your mind, woman?"

"You think I'm going to give it up just like that? You haven't even bought me dinner."

Ada pinched the bridge of her nose. "So, you want a date?"

Smiling, Carla patted her cheek. "Precisely. Now don't give me that look, Ada. It'll be fun." She leaned in again. "Your enthusiasm was quite invigorating, though."

The two kissed, the pace a bit slower than before. Something happened that Ada had not expected. She began to lose herself in the kiss, forgetting all but the moment they were sharing. It was as if the world had fallen away beneath her feet.

The sound of both of their phones ringing shattered the euphoria. Ada groaned and walked out to the living room to retrieve her phone. She answered it, listening to the mission briefing that came through. She accepted the mission and received her instructions, making sure to memorize the details. She hung up and turned to see Carla writing down some information on a notepad. As the woman thanked the person on the phone, Ada wondered what the call was about.

Carla hung up and looked at her. "A facility has been compromised in eastern Europe. My source tells me they may have been experimenting with the C-virus."

Ada smirked. "Well it's a small world then, isn't it? I just got a request to retrieve that facility's research data and survey the extent of the outbreak. Probably one of their competitors trying to get ahead."

"Guess we'll have to do a rain check on that date then," Carla said as she walked to the kitchen. She punched some numbers into a keypad, which opened up a hidden panel in the wall. A rack of guns was revealed, along with plenty of ammo. Carla picked up a handgun and proceeded to load it, retrieving several ammo clips as well.

Ada sauntered up beside her, picking up her sniper rifle. "I don't recall giving you the passcode for the gun stash."

"It wasn't hard to figure out," Carla commented. "You really shouldn't use something as important as the date of the Raccoon City incident as a passcode."

"I'll keep that in mind," Ada said as she packed the sniper rifle and its ammo into a case. She also grabbed her crossbow and an uzi to cover all her bases. "We leave in 20 minutes."

"Enough time for a quick shower," Carla said with a wink as she headed off to her bathroom.

Ada supposed she was right. She was still sweaty from their fight and wanted to be nice and clean for this mission. Walking to her master bathroom, Ada wondered what contacts Carla had to alert her of something that was most likely being kept under wraps. She'd have to ask her about it later. The most important thing was to get to the location before any of the information was compromised. A nagging feeling in the back of her mind told her there was more going on here than what was let on. Either way, she'd get to the bottom it.

Such suspense. Very cliffhanger. Wow. I'll be working hard on this next part. An old friend will make an appearance and the true plot of this story will begin to take form. You'll have to tune in next time to find out.