Phase 13: Escape Route
The four are going down the path with Ashley curious about something. "So how do you guys know each other?" Ashley asked.
"Well, I and Ark have been best friends since high school. Me and Mako here have been a couple since 2001 onwards," Leon said.
"Oh okay, I have a friend Veronica who has been friends with me since middle school. She has been my best buddy for a while, my wing woman always trying to hook me up with some guy," Ashley said.
"I know that feeling but I got lucky with my lady friend," Leon teased Makoto.
"Yeah, yeah," Makoto said playfully.
"Oh, that is so cute. So, you do have a lady friend too Ark?" Ashley asked.
"I used to have a girlfriend but that was a long time ago. I have my eyes on someone much better," Ark said as Ashley giggles at this.
"Oh, I see, good to know. So, what did you guys do before becoming agents?" Ashley asked.
"I used to train to become a cop but I was one for a single day," Leon said as Ashley feels sorry for him.
"Oh, that is pretty bad, where did you serve?" Ashley asked.
"Raccoon City, ring any bells?" Leon asked.
"Oh yeah, makes sense why you would be a cop there for one day. My father always keeps a hush-hush tone about that," Ashley said.
"Can't imagine why, how are you hanging there Ashley?" Makoto asked.
"I am doing okay, just shocked. It's crazy here," Ashley said.
"We got each other. We can get through this," Leon said.
"Yeah, I feel safer already. So, what is your deal Ark, what did you do before becoming an agent?" Ashley asked for this piqued her interest.
"Well, I was a US soldier to then becoming an Umbrella PMC soldier. Then I got fed up with their crap and went to be a Private Detective who aided Leon on some mission before joining USSTRATCOM," Ark said.
"I see. You worked for Umbrella as a mercenary. You have a colorful history," Ashley said.
"That is not a time I look on fondly," Ark said.
"Of course, you must have done nasty stuff got them as a soldier," Ashley said.
"Well, I was young and dumb then. Now I am using my skills to keep you safe," Ark said as Ashley nods her head.
"I am grateful for that," Ashley said as she turns over to Makoto. "What is your story?" she asked.
"Similar to yours," she said as Ashley looks confused by this. "Well, I used to be a student dragged into a situation I can't control but I managed to use my skills to overcome that. Ever heard of Haze?" Makoto asked.
"Oh yeah, I have seen the news about this, and my father talking about it. It was owned by Umbrella and a big research lab there. There was an outbreak and the whole island was destroyed by bombings," Ashley said.
"Yeah I was able to escape my home and got picked up by the US government for my abilities to survive against the undead along with other monsters," Makoto said.
"That must be so scary and yet you are here now. You all seem so amazing," Ashley said as she admires their ability to survive.
"If you watch us, you can learn a thing or two," Leon said as Ashley nods her head. They go down the road back to the building they went through to see a familiar face.
"Oh, good Strangers. You managed to find your princess. Be warned, they are going to track you down and skin you all," the Merchant said as Ashley is bothered by this guy.
"Who is this guy?" she asked.
"He is a mutual friend. He is the one gearing us up for the right price," Ark said.
"Damn it mates," Merchant said as Ashley noticed a cute white dog to go over to pet it.
"Oh, you are so cute. Little man," Ashley said as the white-furred dog is licking her face and hands.
"Oh, that dog who was helped is here," Leon said.
"Yeah he came out of nowhere but he seems to like being around me. So, I am keeping around, being a guard dog would be useful," the merchant said.
Ashley stops petting the dog to see if she has anything to sell. She pulls out her broken flip phone which she is upset about. "Oh, this was the newest model. Oh well, can you take this?" Ashley asked.
"I could. You are going to need something to carry extra things for your safety," the merchant hands her a shoulder sling bag which she put on her person. "You be able to hold extra items for yourself and your group," Merchant said.
"Which will be handy, thank you," Ashley said.
"Well, I will see you all later. Remember to find treasure around here and give it to me to get some extra gear," the Merchant said as they four head back into the building which is as creepy as always.
"Well, you can be our pack mule," Leon joked as Ashley pouts at this.
"Hey," she said as this lighten the mood with Ashley going along with it.
"Yeah, do you have stuff you want me to carry? Not too heavy though," Ashley said as she takes some healing sprays and a flashlight.
"Just in case," Ark said as Ashley nods her head.
"Okay, I can hit them with the flashlight," Ashley said.
"Don't do that, you could break it," Makoto said.
"Yeah, your right. Can we take a break?" Ashley asked as Ark and Makoto looked at their squad leader Leon.
"Okay, five short minutes. Then we can go outside," Leon said as the rain is getting worse outside. "I need to contact Hunnigan anyway to give her our status," Leon said as he begins to get their operator on the radio.
"How is your leg?" Ark asked.
"It's doing well, that healing spray is magic," Ashley said.
"The wonders of medical science," Ark said.
"Yeah, they were an Umbrella product. They are spread all over the place but they serve their role well," Makoto said as they sat down at the table with Leon trying to get Hunnigan. "How are you feeling Ashley?" she asked.
'Nervous but we can do this. You seem very capable with your backgrounds and all," Ashley said as Makoto gives her a playful wink.
"Yep, we are going to rip through these assholes like no tomorrow," Makoto said.
"I feel comfortable in your hands," Ashley said as Makoto playfully taps Ark on the shoulders.
"You want to be held by Ark right Ashley?" Makoto teased the younger woman to make her blush in the face.
"Gee, I would like that very much," Ashley said.
"Me too, you are very soft," Ark said.
"Your hands were so warm. Speaking of which, I am soaked," Ashley said as she pats down her sweater.
"Yeah, it's pouring outside," Makoto said.
'Oh, are there other agents like you in your group?" she asked looking curious.
"Oh yeah. We have Bruce McGivern who has taken out a former umbrella researcher/bioterrorist Morpheus along with a former Chinese Agent Fong Ling. Then there is Nasreen who was a former Soviet soldier who did wet work in the Central Asia take-out bioweapon programs made by former umbrella researchers. Then there is Cortez who was a Security officer on Sheena Island before things hit the fan with him managing to escape that hellhole," Makoto said.
"Wow, your friends are very colorful indeed," Ashley said.
"Indeed, we are all experienced in fighting Bioterrorism to deal with Umbrella's mess after their downfall," Ark said.
"I see, makes sense," Ashley said.
"Well Leon, the weather is getting worse out there. Your copper will get there soon but later than expected," Hunnigan said.
"Thanks, Hunnigan. We will manage," Leon cuts off the radio. "We would need to head to the edge of the village to get to the extraction point," Leon said.
"Good," Ark said as he checks his M1A marksman rifle to adjust the scope.
"Man, I am going to catch a cold with this rain," Ashley said as she braces to get into the heavy rain again.
"Well, you got a bear with it until it lessens up," Leon said.
"Okay I will follow your lead," Ashley said as they are ready to head outside to see the center of the village with the rain pouring down.
"Gee, we need to stay close. We need to get to the farmlands. We can get out of the village from there," Leon said as they noticed some villagers trying to find them.
"We need to get to the gate. Still close to me and we will sneak attack these guys," Ark said as Ashley nods her head.
"Okay," Ashley said as Makoto and Leon are leading the way to begin picking up targets with neck slicing. "Nice jacket," she commented on his green jacket.
"Thanks, it's my favorite lucky jacket," Ark said.
"Oh, your lucky jacket?" she asked.
"I always wear it on missions. Never leave home without it," Ark said as Ashley giggles at this. "What is so funny?" he asked.
"It's kind of cute for you to have something like a lucky jacket," Ashley said as Ark's heart raced from hearing her cute laugh.
"Well, it helps me cope with all the crazy things around here," Ark said as they move into a house which has a bunch of Ganados. Makoto uses her burst pistol to put a few of them down with Leon splitting a nearby Ganado with his R870 shotgun.
He cycles his shotgun with a pump and fires another buckshot to turn the head of a Ganado into red mist.
"They are going back into the farmlands. Don't let them escape, grab the girl," a Ganado said as Ark pulls out his machine pistol to spray incoming villagers to knock them down onto the ground. He fires single shots into their heads to put them down for good.
Makoto pulls out her bolt action rifle to see a few Ganados on top of roofs trying to rain down axes and mallets. She fires rounds into the heads of the monsters with Leon switching to his TMP to use the shoulder stock to aim careful bursts into the heads o the Ganados. Sparks of the bullets light up the dark downpour as they wipe out the rest of the group.
"Time to move on," Leon said as the four head towards the gate to exit through it to be back in the farmlands.
"We should find another gate around here to get out of here," Ark said as they see the dark lit up with torches held by the villagers.
"Find the outsiders and take the girl alive," a villager said as they were searching around the wide-open farmlands.
"Gee quite a bit of bad guys here," Makoto said as they see a fair amount of Ganados wandering the barn houses and fields of hay.
"Time to cut through the heat and head for the outskirts of the villager," Leon said as they go through the houses to sneak inside to see a few Ganados there. The three agents managed to kill them with their knives leaving no sound when they killed them.
Makoto looks through her scope to see multiple Ganados around the farms including A Brute with a large hammer and a Chainsaw Man. "This is going to be rough," Makoto said as the rain is still going down hard.
"We need to pick them apart. Ashley stays with Makoto here in the barn, she will set up the house with traps. We and Ark will go out to take out the Ganados outside," Leon said as Makoto kisses Leon for good luck.
"I will be watching your back," Makoto said.
"I bet you would Mako," Leon teases her as Makoto glows in the face.
"Shut it pretty boy," Makoto said with a playful smile as Ashley is envious of them.
"Wow, they are so comfortable and they have total trust to have each other's back. A true battle couple," Ashley said as she goes up to Ark to give him a small kiss on the cheek. "This is for luck as well. Be safe out there," Ashley said as Ark nods his head.
"I will princess," he said coining a cute nickname for her.
"Well, this princess will wait for your safety," Ashley said as her smile gives him warmth within his heart.
"Okay, lover boy. Let's go," Leon said as they go out into the rain together with Ashley helping Makoto set up beartraps, mines, and proxy grenades around the barn to secure her sniping spot. They are both on the second floor with Ashley shoving a dressing over a window preventing the Ganados from using a ladder to breach through the window.
"Thank you, Ashley," Makoto said as she sets up on the window to use the bipod to steady her aim into the farmlands to see cows and chickens moving around.
"No problem, I want to be useful. I don't want to be a burden," Ashley said to be near her side. Makoto hands her binoculars to be more helpful.
"Here, you can be my spotters. Highlight targets and keep an eye on our boys out there," Makoto said as Ashley nods her head.
"Okay," Ashley said as she looks through the optics to see it has a range of visions including thermal which she can see clearly through the thick rain.
"Mark my targets," Makoto said as Leon and Ark came into contact with the enemies. Leon uses his R870 shotgun to blast a Ganado in half with them hearing the spinning of the blade of the chainsaw. The Brute roars a big bellow as the Ganados approach them with Ashley spotting targets which allows Makoto to pick them off with headshots.
"Cool shots," Ashley said.
"Yeah, keep going," Makoto said as she is two women giving their guys support while Leon and Ark split up to divide attention between the group of Ganados. The Brute follows after Leon and the Chainsaw Man goes after Ark.
"Well, here it comes," Leon is peppering the beast with a wave of bullets which is not showing it down. He switches to his shotgun to blast it in the chest to stun it while tossing a grenade to take out a group of enemies while knocking down the Brute.
He leads through the window of a building to get some cover as he uses his TMP to pop open the heads of the Ganados with some of them sporting twisted heads spreading out their bone blades via tentacles.
"Twisted bastards," Leon said as Makoto takes out the twisted heads with her bolt action rifle take them out.
"Thanks for the save," Leon said as he peppers several targets with his TMP and grenades.
"No problem, Ashley helped out as well," Makoto said.
"Be careful, there is more coming your way," she said on the radio.
"Thanks, girls. I got angels watching over me," Leon said as he sees a barrel of oil to knock it over and kick it towards the crowd of infected villagers. He draws his Silver Ghost to fire onto the barrel to set it into a blaze engulfing the Ganados in flames.
He is firing his pistol to put several rounds into the head of the Brute while it's on fire. The Brute swung his hammer to smash through a group of Ganados getting them out of the way to climb through the window.
"Shit," Leon kicks over a table with the Brute smashing anything in his path. He pulls down a shelf to knock it over into the Brute to make him fall onto the floor. "Eat lead," he puts up his pump action shotgun to put into a few buckshot to turn his head into red paste. "Oh finally," Leon said.
Ashley notices several Ganados coming to their farmhouse to encounter the traps they put out. Ashley hears explosions within the perimeter of the building. "Got caught in our traps," Makoto said as she switches to her M93R.
"Get behind me," Makoto said as she begins to shoot three-round bursts into the groups of Ganados trying to get inside. More explosions were heard to take out chunks of Ganados. Makoto tosses a grenade to take out a bunch of enemies.
"Is that all of them?" Ashley asked.
"Yep, pretty much," Makoto said as she double checks to see no one is there with Makoto going to support the two guys out there.
Ark is dodging the Chainsaw Man while he is rolling away from the attacks. He sees the Chainsaw man rushing in with his weapon to use his M1A rifle to block the strike. He shoves the blade away and kicks the big Ganado with enough force to knock it to the ground.
He sees his rifle is broken and unusable. "Well shit," Ark said as he whips out his MAC-10 to shoulder fire the machine pistol to put a ton of lead into the Chainsaw Man stunning him for a bit to gain some distance between them.
Makoto is putting rounds into the Chainsaw Man's head until he drops down into the wet mud face first. "Got your back Ark or your little girlfriend would be angry with me," Makoto said as Ashley pouts at this.
"Gee," Ashley said as she is happy they managed to take out all the Ganados within the farmlands. "Okay I don't see any more villagers here," Ashley said as Makoto takes back her binoculars to put them back into her pouch.
"Thanks, you make a great spotter," Makoto said as she slings her rifle onto her back. They go down the stair to meet with the others.
"Well, I lost a gun," Ark said as he only has his M1911 pistol and a MAC-10 auto pistol.
"Oh well, we get you another gun later. Let's head for the gate," Leon said as they get over to the gate to see the rain has been lessened by the time they get there.
"This gate is very tall," Makoto said.
"Shoulder me up and I can unlock the gate," Ashley said pointing upward.
"Cool, let me do it," Ark said as he allows Ashley to get onto his shoulders.
"No peeking, my shining knight," Ashley teased him as Ark wants to look to see what her butt would look like under her skirt but he let her do her thing. Ashley gets over the gate to land on the ground to unlock the gate. "Here you go," Ashley said happy to be helpful.
"Well, you make a great Swiss army knife. Let's get going," Leon said as the group heads towards the outskirts of the villages to get a helicopter out of there.
Elsewhere Chief Mendez is looking over the situation which has the American agents cutting through his forces like a hot knife through butter. "Seems like this is becoming a problem," Mendez said as he is talking with someone on the radio.
"Seems like you underestimate Ark and his friends. They are quite capable in a group," a woman said.
"I will take this under my hands, Mimi. They are heading for a lodge where Luis is located. I have sent a huge amount of my forces to kill them off to get the girl and the traitor," Mendez said.
"Luis is becoming a problem, we need to deal with him before he comes in contact with the US government," Mimi said.
"That is our problem, you are busy with your little experiments," Mendez said as this angers Mimi.
"My experiments will change the world. It's very important to me," Mimi said.
"Lord Saddler's will is what matters most. Do your job and do research on Las Plagas," Mendez said as he cuts off the radio.
Mimi shows an evil laugh on her face. "My T+G Virus will be the path to a new world order. Saddler is going to seek his demise," Mimi said as she is doing her own thing within her lab deep underground within the region.