Phoenix:
5.
Bodyguard
2004
Serpiente Rojo, Spain
The castle loomed before them. It was beautiful, stately, set against a cerulean sky that made Ashley wish she was anywhere else, somewhere she could pretend she was a painter and was there to make something beautiful from the darkness. The closer they got to it, the more she realized that what might have been impressive from a distance looked like rubble up close.
It was dilapidated, falling around its disrepair, derelict in a way that spoke of years of neglect. The smell of burning was less here, she thought with some level of relief as they moved over the drawbridge, but death still shrouded the darkness with a cloak made of misery. She paced beside Luis as the Spaniard kept a careful watch behind them.
Luis mused, "Maybe we should have cut around this damn place."
And Leon returned, "We could've, but Ashley just had to see this castle first."
Another joke. He was getting easier with them. It was still thick with sarcasm so heavy you could walk on it, but he was trying. She appreciated the trying. It proved under that armor he wore; he was a guy who enjoyed a good joke.
As they finished crossing the bridge, a metallic grinding halted them. Leon gestured, and Ashley hurried toward him, stepping behind his back as Luis ranged himself at Leon's side, and they watched the drawbridge rise as if someone had been expecting them. Ashley huddled, one hand on Leon's back to give herself a steady sense of safety, and the agent mused, "Welp, I guess the chances of sneaking through here just went way down."
Luis answered, "We killed their Chief, but apparently, he was expendable. I should warn you - what's inside here will make that village look like child's play."
Leon glanced at him as they stood in the crumbling entryway, "You wanna tell me what he was talking about back there?"
Mendez had mercilessly called Luis a pathetic orphan and a vengeful degenerate. Clearly, the two had antagonistic history, but Luis was his usual flippant self regarding it. "Let's just say The Big Cheese and I had...some moldy old memories between us."
Ashley murmured, "You're the boy in the diary."
Surprised, Luis glanced at her face. There was a real moment of emotion behind the mask of humor he wore. He studied her, curious about what she knew and careful about what she didn't. But finally, he answered, "Si, there was bad blood between the village and me. My grandfather was the first to meet his death in their self-righteous fire."
Leon cleared them into a narrow walkway to the parapets as he returned, "He was infected."
"Si," Luis picked through the pile of things one of the ganado had left stacked in a small bowman's perch to the left of the walkway, "They didn't know what it was then. They were afraid. They burned the house with him inside it. They held me and made me watch it burn..."
He paused and glanced at Ashley, adding, "The image drove me from the village. It worked like...an infection of its own, you see."
Ashley said softly, "It's what drove you to want revenge on them."
He held her eyes as he returned, "We were always outsiders, my abuelo and I. They never liked us. Too curious, too odd, if you will, and I think his curious nature appalled them."
Leon accepted the flail Luis handed him from the pile of random weapons tossed negligently about, "They were devout."
Luis nodded and replied, "They were zealots, even before their conversion. They didn't take to anything that contradicted their faith. Mi abuelo was a man of science, and he rejected faith. When he was...infected...they saw it as a sign of god's punishment...and his approval to burn him to save his soul."
Ashley eyed him quietly before saying, "I'm so sorry."
Luis shook his head, "No, carina, don't be sorry for me. I let that anger spur me to do stupid things, selfish things. I deserve no pity."
He lifted a sword and held it over his head, "Now I must become a savior to make my amends. I will be like Don Quixote! A knight! Gallant and handsome and loved by the ladies!"
Leon plucked the sword from his hand and let it drop, "Stop trying before you kill yourself."
Luis chuckled as they headed toward the small staircase beside the opening where they stood. "I accept your shame, grumpy Sancho. For I am not a good man, and I think it would take more time than I have left on this rock to become one."
Ashley murmured, "I think that's all we can do sometimes...just try like hell to do something good before we die."
Luis smiled, "You are wise beyond your years, it seems. Maybe I won't be a knight...but I can still do my best as a bodyguard."
Bodyguard. Leon would likely think of himself as the same. They were doing their damnedest to make sure she was safe. It wasn't enough to earn Luis a righteous place in whatever heaven might exist, but it was enough to earn him their respect. It didn't make him a good man; he was right about that. But sometimes, all there was after falling prey to your need for revenge was a single chance to do one thing right before you met your maker.
He was doing his best to prove worthy of that little forgiveness.
They reached the top of the parapets, and the first flaming ball of death struck a wall to their left. The heat smacked her in the face as Ashley cried, "Really!?"
And Leon returned, "I guess this is their idea of a warm welcome."
Luis snorted and replied, "They've decided to kill you is worth risking her, it seems."
Leon grumbled, "Fools."
Luis answered, "Oh, they are that. Made dumber, it seems, by the parasites inside them. They don't seem to understand that killing the girl kills any hope for their plans to succeed."
He paused and stated, "Let me draw their fire," when the other two looked at him, he nodded, "It's best this way. I can cut through and bring their eyes off you. You get through the gate when it's clear and head toward the courtyard. I will meet you there."
Ashley argued, "We should stick together."
"Ah, we will," Luis winked at her, "but you stick with Leon...he's better with the ladies, I think."
Leon rolled his eyes. Ashley teased, "But you're the lady's man."
Luis chuckled, "Not quite, but I'm working on it," he moved a little further out and warned, "There are sentries inside...they are blind, but their senses are made stronger from it. Stealth is required. In this case, the clown and his jokes aren't your best friend."
Leon nodded, "Be careful."
Luis tipped his imaginary hat, "Always, mis amigos. I will have what we need soon enough. Stay together. Do your job, bodyguard."
He ran out into the open and shouted at the top of his lungs, "The orphan has returned! Come make him join his family in the beyond!"
The catapults started firing. The sound of battle was loud and thunderous. Leon gestured with his head, and Ashley followed him as he snuck through the smoke and circled the battlements while Luis made a distraction. They kept to the shadows, using the cover of night and the flickering torches to obscure their movement.
As Luis picked off attackers, Leon shifted to the side and fired a single shot. A clunk and a canon rose from the parapet beside them to make itself visible. Impressed, Ashley murmured, "...dead-eye."
He just smiled.
They waited. They watched. Luis took the cue and ran for the canon. There was a rustle of noise; Leon picked off a few men to help the Spaniard get to the canon, and a cacophonous boom signaled its firing. The gate blocking their entrance was obliterated, and the Spaniard loaded another ball into the canon to keep on firing. He went for the catapults as Leon shot those he could through the smoke to help him.
It was teamwork, and it seemed effortless. It was impressive as hell that Leon could hit anything in the wind and the smoke. He not only hit but never missed, which spoke of training and skill she had to admire.
They snuck into the castle while Luis kept on using the canon to hold all the eyes on him.
But they didn't get too far before the sound of clapping drew their eyes. On a balcony, smiling down at them, a three-hundred-year-old dwarf called, "Ahhhh...Mr. Kennedy...you've brought the girl home to us."
Leon called back, "You need another one? I was sure Snow White would be enough. If you're looking for a house to clean, you could start with your own. This place looks like shit."
It seemed he'd been telling the truth - in times of great stress, Leon Kennedy became a man who threw out cheesy dialogue like a bad video game.
The man eyed him and mused, "You are full of bravado, my friend, but it won't save you. I am Ramon Salazar, and I offer you this one final time - join us and learn the essence of true belief. Give us the girl, and you will be offered a place at the side of history."
"Nah," Leon returned while Ashley clutched the back strap of his shoulder holster in fear, "the girl's just fine...with me. As for your hospitality? It sucks, Ramon, and I'm gonna have to decline."
Salazar sighed dramatically, "Very well...destroy him. He will never appreciate our gift. Bring me the girl, or face the wrath of my righteous fire."
He turned away as the doors below the balcony opened, and men in cloaks began to emerge. They chanted, hummed, and were somehow more frightening than what had been left behind in that village.
Leon commanded firmly, "Stay back. Stay behind me. Keep a wall between you and anything coming up from behind you. When I move, you move."
She nodded. She shivered with fear. And she listened.
When he shifted, Ashley shifted. When he ducked, Ashley ducked. Bodyguard, she thought as they moved, and he killed like a well-oiled machine; he was the best she'd ever seen. She wondered if the big man who'd taken her would have lost if he'd come up against Leon that first night.
When the cultists were dead around them like swatted flies, Leon led her through a small crack in the wall. They moved through the darkness with only his flashlight to guide them. The bodies they found hung on doors and walls, split open like ripe fruit and gutted. Tortured.
Ashley made a slight sound of horror, and Leon assured her, "I won't let this happen to you."
She looked at his face in the dark, and he urged, "Ever. You hear me? Look away from it. Anywhere else. Look at me and keep looking at me. Because I will get you out of this."
Ashley let out a soft sob but nodded. She closed her eyes and breathed twice to gain some strength. Leon shifted over the boards in the closest room, and they groaned. He demanded, "Get ba-"
And the floor gave out.
It shattered, the wood splintering, and down he went as Ashley gasped, "Leon!"
After a moment, when the sounds of his dissent dissipated, he called back, "I'm ok. I'm fine. Stay there. Hide. And wait for me."
"O-ok. Yeah. Ok."
Terrified, Ashley ducked into the shadows behind a small cabinet. She waited, body shaking. She heard gunshots. She heard grunts and the sound of metal striking metal. The eyes of a dead man stared down at her from the wall above her.
Her heart beat so hard she heard it in her ears.
She was ashamed of her own fear. It nearly choked her. It made her feel useless and small. But she needed her bodyguard. She needed help. She couldn't do this alone. She couldn't.
She wasn't strong enough.
The truth of that made her feel guilt and grief that nearly made her give up on the spot. She huddled, she hid, and she hated herself for it.
Leon found her, looking tired, looking spent, but determined. She joined him again and was so quiet as they moved. They crossed through cells and into the open air again—some courtyard or gathering place.
A fountain bubbled prettily. The air smelled clean. As they walked, Leon encouraged, "Are you ok?"
Ashley said softly, "You're hurt. Luis might be dead. Can we just stop? Just for a minute..."
The look of pity on his face didn't match his tone as he stated, "I'm fine. I'm good. And we have to keep going."
Ashley nodded sadly. She let the grief and the guilt and horror nearly choke her. She felt dizzy, exhausted, starving, and scared, and she hated herself for getting everyone around her killed or wounded.
And then?
Then she wasn't her anymore.
She felt her mouth speak. She felt her hands move. She fell forward, and Leon caught her against his chest in abject concern, "Ashley! Oh god, are you alright? Hey!"
She ripped the knife from his chest sheath and breathed, "She's fine...but you..."
He let her go, and Ashley jabbed the knife at his throat as he'd taught her. He caught it in his gloved palm, and the big blade sliced into his palm, slashing open the heavy leather. He grunted as he bled, but he kept holding on.
Ashley kicked him in the knee, and he stumbled back, his hand dripping blood on the ground.
She put the knife to her throat and grinned, "Temperance, child."
Face a mask of horror and failure, Leon urged, "Easy. Easy, goddamnit. Ashley, it's me. It's me. I know you can hear me."
She backed up, the knife angled at her throat, "Strike fast. Hopeless, not helpless." Her grin widened as a gate smashed between them, sealing him on one side and her on the other, "...you've failed her...bodyguard."
Leon grabbed the metal bars and jerked, making the metal scream as his muscles bunched, and he spat, "Ashley! Fight it off. Stay. Stay with me."
She heard him; wherever she was inside herself, she heard him enough to battle back from the dark, where it kept her. She felt the second she snapped back into her body. Her trembling hands tossed his knife through the bars toward him. She looked at his blood on those traitorous palms and lifted them at him.
"Oh god," She breathed, horrified, "What have I done?"
Leon shook his head; he looked desperate as he urged, "Not you. It wasn't you. It's ok. Wait there for me, ok? Just wait."
Ashley backed up. The guilt and horror and shame were all she could feel now. It hammered at her. It left her reeling. It left her terrified she would kill him. Him.- the only thing standing between her and death. Him - her friend.
She backed up. Leon cautioned, "Please...Ashley...please. Don't."
"I'm sorry," she whimpered, and she ran. She left her bodyguard. It was her first real moment of self-sacrifice. She left him to save him. It was the only thing she knew how to do at that moment.
She did what he told her. What Luis had told her. She ran.
And it was the first time she felt like she was doing the right thing by running.
2005
The daughter of a President always had a bodyguard. After a certain age, you didn't have to accept them anymore, but the offer was always there. When she'd turned down a detail to go to training, her father had nearly shit a brick.
He'd demanded. He cajoled. He threatened. Ashley had faced his ire and told him, "The detail didn't save me last time, Daddy. It won't save me this time, either. I have to learn how to do this myself. I have to."
Graham had demanded, "Let them follow you then. I won't make them escort you, but damnit, Ashley...you need a bodyguard!"
Bodyguard.
She had one.
She was nearly certain her father had sent Leon to train and guard her. She couldn't prove it, but his showing up at the bar right as she was leaving the night before had been too much of a coincidence not to suggest it. She wasn't a fool. She knew she had Secret Service following her.
But apparently, she had The Executioner too. It seemed like a waste of his skillset to have him play babysitter. But it wasn't her time being wasted; it was his.
The Executioner - it was a good name for him. He killed swiftly and without remorse. He did it professionally, not to hurt or wound, but to end his opponent. It was a title that suited him. Even his enemies didn't suffer when he decided to finish them off.
Ashley was hoping she'd be able to one day do the same. Kill to save; it had a nice ring to it. She wanted to help people. She wanted to do what Leon had done for her - with just a little bit of the flair Luis had brought as well.
She stood in the courtyard on the second day of combatives, ready to prove she could.
When Leon stepped onto the grass, Carter and Kyle rushed him as they'd done before. They pincer attacked, coming from both sides. He parried, ducked, grabbed Carter, and used him like a human shield against Kyle. As Kyle swung in like a determined boxer, Leon shoved the man in his arms at him. Kyle caught Carter, and Ashley whistled.
Leon turned, and she threw a handful of dirt in his face for it. He sputtered, she kicked him in the knee, and he grabbed for her as Sue threw a whole bucket of cold water into his face. "Blinded," Ashley had told them, "he has to be blinded. It's our only shot."
Kyle kicked him in the back of the knee while he staggered, Carter grabbed his shoulders and jerked on his body, Leon went down on his back, and Ashley leaped on him where he lay. He grabbed for her to throw her off him, and she did something she'd never done before - she balled up her fist and punched him square in the nose.
It hurt. Her hand cried in pain, and her arm went numb. His head snapped back as his nose threw blood around for the effort. She straddled him, threw her jacket over his face to blind him, and Kyle and Carter grabbed one of his arms to pin them to the dirt. Misty sat on his legs.
Leon went still on the ground. He lay there, breathing harshly behind Ashley's jacket on his face, and she demanded, "Do you yield!?"
After a moment, a soft chuckle emitted from the lump of cloth that was Leon. "...is that a Robin Hood joke?"
Her lips twitched as she tugged the jacket off his face. His nose looked swollen and bloody. But his face was impressed. He warned, "I could still get free."
Ashley gave him a droll look, "Then do it."
Amused, he demanded, "You organize this coup?"
She smiled at him. "Someone told me once you had to work together to defeat your opponent."
His lips twisted, "...you hit like a girl."
Ashley lifted a brow, "I'm gonna take that as a compliment."
And he advised in a sarcastic tone, "Take it any way you want."
She gestured with her head as the others let go of him. She rose off his waist and offered a hand down to him. Eyes shrewd but sparkling, he took the hand, and she jerked him to his feet. "We'll work on that sad excuse for a punch," he told her and glanced at the rest, "this was good work today, recruits. But remember this - a real enemy isn't going to hesitate to kill you. I did. I hesitated. That's my mistake."
He glanced at them and warned, "I don't make the same mistake twice."
Ashley backed up to get in line with the rest of the recruits. He jerked a head at the dummies on metal stands around the courtyard and demanded, "Now show me whatcha got in terms of melee skills. Go."
They worked on punching and kicking for the rest of the afternoon. He taught them the right way to throw one, the right way to stop one. He demonstrated on volunteers how to hip toss or discombobulate an opponent. He showed them how to grapple for self-defense when a dogfight with their enemy wasn't an option.
When training was done for the day, Kyle drew Ashley to the side and invited, "I thought...maybe you'd like to get a drink."
He reminded her of Micah. When he dropped the arrogant asshole act, he was an ok guy. He was handsome and knew it, so the charm was long gone, but he smiled and seemed genuinely interested in her. She hadn't really thought of anyone since Leon had rejected her.
Maybe part of finding her way back to herself was allowing the possibility of finding someone to share her time with.
So, she said yes. She let him take her to dinner. He wasn't exactly sweet, he was too self-centered for that, but he made a lot of jokes and complimented her a lot. He talked about stuff she'd cared about once - fashion, finance, politics, and parties. He talked about television shows and video games. He spoke of his family and their expectations of him. He mentioned wanting to buy a Porsche. He spoke of going to Europe after high school and backpacking with his friends.
Nice things. Normal things. Simple things.
And none of it meant anything to her anymore. She couldn't remember who she'd been under what she was now. She couldn't see that girl anymore. She'd died somewhere between infection and survival.
And what remained was still a mystery.
Ashley wasn't sure what she wanted from her personal life anymore, but she knew what she was called to do in her professional one. There was no more lawyer or soccer Mom or doctor. The Ivy League couldn't help her now. Her sorority was a remnant of a dream she'd stopped having the first time she woke up on the floor of a cell with blood in her mouth and a parasite in her body.
Kyle had plans for a whole life - it just wasn't going to include her. She was glad she'd come on the date. She'd needed it to make a few more decisions about who she would be.
When they stood outside the restaurant, Kyle leaned down to kiss her.
She thought - why not? And lifted her face. It wasn't the sweet kiss she'd wanted from Micah, nor the desperate one she'd given Leon. It was simple. Unassuming.
He pressed a kiss to her mouth, and she smiled.
Because she felt nothing when he did it.
He said goodnight and escorted her home. She went to her room and washed the makeup off her face. It was nice, and it was normal. It felt good to do something simple without any expectations of more.
As she emerged from her bathroom, she was nearly into her living room when a light switched on beside the couch.
Fear had her grabbing the little knife she kept at her thigh under her skirt and pointing it at the man on the couch.
Her breath was still caught when she realized who it was.
Tone light, Leon inquired, "You gonna stab me with that toothpick?"
Voice sharp, she warned, "I should. You did ask me to warn you the next time, right?"
He had. He'd comforted her on that couch when he'd found her and warned her not to run from him. Don't run, he'd said; keep moving forward. A contradiction to Luis's advice and what he'd tell her later about leaving him behind. He only wanted her to run when he was done; it was hopeless, and he couldn't help her anymore.
She flashed back to the other as he sat on this couch looking at her. And she thought how times had changed. She wasn't a scared girl anymore and was trying to learn to be strong. He'd tried so hard to help her then.
She wondered if he was really going to help her now.
Without compunction, she demanded, "My father tell you to guard me?"
His mouth twitched, "What do you think?"
"It's either that or you're here in my room like a pervert stalker," she lowered the knife and put it back in the sheath on her thigh, "so which is it?"
Leon shifted on the couch and remarked, "Have a good date?"
She eyed him drolly. "Why? You jealous?"
He said nothing. She felt a little niggle in her belly as she urged, "I'm fine, Leon. I'm good. You can return to your master and tell him you were a good boy and kept me safe."
The insult on him made her feel like shit. She hadn't meant to hurt his feelings, but she wasn't happy. Her father had attached her a bodyguard against her wishes. It wasn't Leon's fault. None of it was.
Taking it out of him was just cruel.
And she was never cruel.
Softly, she offered, "I'm sorry. Jesus," she moved over to sit beside him on the couch, "I appreciate what he's doing. I get it. He's worried someone will snatch me again...but you're wasted on me, Leon."
He glanced at her face as she added, "You're better than what he's got you doing."
Leon shook his head lightly, "I'm a dog, Ashley. I go where I'm commanded."
Guilt had her putting her hand on his arm at the elbow, "You're not. I'm sorry I said that. I didn't mean it. It's my fault you're here, forced to play babysitter again. I'll call him and get you reassigned."
Leon gave her a smirk, "Why? This is a cushy gig for me: no bodies or blood. No monsters. And I rarely get the opportunity to have such good company."
Ashley tilted her head, "Is that a compliment?"
They'd had a similar conversation once in that castle. He'd tossed off some remark about her taking it as she wanted then. This time? He said, "Yes."
Her brows arched, and he added, "I can't be any worse at it than that chode you were scarfing down pasta with."
Her lips pursed as she decided, "He's ok. You said a nice, normal guy, right? Kyle's normal."
Leon gave her a droll look, "He's not nice, Ashley. He's a douche. Guys like that are too busy counting their family money to give a damn about the girl they're dating. You're a legacy to him, not a woman. He'd probably do a Patrick Bateman and wink at himself in the mirror when he was on top of you."
"You think he's a psycho?"
"I think he's a yuppie bag of dicks, and I'm looking forward to watching him fail training."
Her laughter made him grin. Funny, she thought, outside of the fight - he was funny. It was like discovering a fantastic alternate universe where he could be a guy who said corny things and made terrible jokes. She liked it.
She liked him. It was nice to know it, and it would undoubtedly make bodyguarding easier on them both.
Ashley slapped his arm as she rose and headed into the kitchen, "Maybe so. But he asked. And I hadn't been on a date since before..."
She trailed off, thinking of Micah. Leon stayed quiet, watching her. After a moment, he offered, "It's not your fault."
She shook her head. She forced a smile. "We say that a lot to each other."
"Seems that way."
Ashley smiled at him, "Bleh. Let's not get melancholy. You want a drink?"
He rose from the couch. "I do. But I should go back to blending into the shadows. I don't want people to talk about you if they see me here."
That was sweet. He was protecting her honor. She watched him approach the door and asked, "You never answered me."
He glanced back at her as he opened the door, "About...?"
"Being jealous. Were you jealous about Kyle?"
He smiled and shrugged, "Take it any way you want."
His favorite phrase to her. She cocked a brow, "You could stick around for a little while."
He winked at her as she stated, "Can't. On duty...it's the story of my life."
"Your job sucks, Mr. Kennedy."
"True, but there are perks - bad pay, terrible healthcare, the constant risk of life and limb...and never getting to eat. So... who doesn't want to do that kind of gig?"
He closed the door. She laughed lightly. It wasn't a yes, and it wasn't a no. It was as vague as he was. She could still remember the taste of him on her lips. And that wasn't vague at all.
The idea of him being jealous? It was almost as lovely as the feeling of doing something normal again. She took the promise of it to bed with her like the knife on her thigh to keep her safe.
