9. Leon
Leon had never denied that he had entertained the thought of settling down and starting a family before. In fact, when he was younger, he had thought about it often. However, after joining the DSO and facing the harsh reality of their work, the idea gradually faded away.
But the months he spent pretending to be married to Claire reignited that desire, and it became even stronger after they made their marriage official. While there was the downside that Claire couldn't conceive, it didn't matter to Leon. He knew they could always adopt a child, and that wouldn't make him love them any less.
However, the revelation that he would be a father was a bombshell of emotions for Leon. He felt a surge of joy, excitement, and anxiety all at once. He wanted to pick up Claire and kiss her endlessly, but seeing how sick she looked, he restrained himself and opted to hold her hand instead.
Part of him was still in disbelief, and if not for the photo from the ultrasound, he would probably still be in denial. But now that the reality had sunk in, Leon felt a newfound sense of responsibility and protection. He was determined to do everything in his power to keep Claire and their unborn child safe. He knew that Mobius wouldn't hesitate to come after them, but Leon was ready to face any danger head-on. He would do whatever it took to make sure that his family was safe, even if he had to dirty his hands. All that mattered to him now was that his wife and child were safe and watched Claire as she furrowed her brows in deep concentration, her eyes scanning through the board in front of her. He couldn't help but notice that she looked thinner and more tired than usual. Leon knew that pregnancy could take a toll on a woman's body, often making them exhausted and affecting their appetite. If Claire didn't know she was pregnant, she might have neglected herself while he was away on his missions. He made a mental note to ensure that she took good care of herself and got the proper nutrients she needed for her and the baby's health.
"Do you know anything more about the human trafficking situation?"
"I told you Leon almost beat up the guy for not being cooperative," Helena shrugged. "Alll we know if that people often went in willingly. Do you suppose they were made test subjects by some mad science experiment?"
"Most likely," Leon nodded. "But if Obares was a test subject, she wouldn't have made it out that easily, and from what I understood from you, she was here visiting her family, no?"
"Uhm, I'm not really sure why she was here, but Leon is right. If Obares had been a test subject, she wouldn't be moving around freely. Wait," Claire said. She turned to Leon with a frown. "You said they provided the Malabrisas with drugs, right? What kind of drugs?"
"It was something new. All we know is that it seemed to increase strength and senses in some way. It was widespread in the underworld and marketed as something that increased physical and mental performance."
"So a stimulant," Claire said, grabbing her chin. "What other effects did it have? Aggressiveness? Recklessness? Loss of common sense?"
Leon recognized the spark in glittering in his wife's look. It was a glow that appeared whenever she seemed to have found something interesting.
"What are you up to?" Leon asked.
"You don't happen to have some of those drugs with you, do you?"
"What? No."
"Actually, we do," Helena answered.
Helena dug into her hip pouch and retrieved a metal canister that she passed to Claire. Leon looked at his partner with a frown.
"Sorry, I forgot to tell you about that one. I found it among Cortés's things when we arrested him."
Leon sighed and turned back to Claire. The woman was dropping the pills into a petri dish and was putting them apart. She added a clear liquid. And then, put a drop in a glass slide and proceeded to look at it through a microscope.
"Bingo..."
"What did you find?"
"Eggs..."
"Eggs?" Leon and Helena asked in unison.
"Uh-huh..." Claire nodded, "Come and take a look. Those are worm eggs."
Leon looked through the lens and saw the small, translucent, round forms floating in front of his eyes.
"Claire rubbed her temples as she spoke, the weight of her discovery heavy on her shoulders. "It's been bugging me since I saw those sequences on the parasite's DNA," she said, her voice laced with concern. "The parasite we found in the Obares and the cows is bioengineered. It has genes from Ophiocordyceps unilateralis and Toxoplasma gondii. The two organisms cause a disease associated with behavioral changes induced by the organism hijacking the host's nervous system."
"Hijacking?" Leon asked.
"T. gondii, for example, is known to control rodents' behavior through epigenetic remodeling in neurons, causing the animal to lose its fear of predators," Claire said. "In other words, mice become reckless, which eventually leads to them getting eaten by a larger animal, usually a feline. The parasite then passes to a second host in its cycle..."
Claire crossed her arms before continuing.
"O. unilateralis is a fungus that colonizes ants' brains. It secretes metabolites that modulate brain functioning, causing zombie-like behavior in them. There are also other genes added to the puzzle, but I still need to identify them." Claire paused to take a sip of water before continuing. "What's alarming is that these two organisms have completely different life cycles and hosts, and yet they've been spliced together to create this bioengineered parasite. It's like whoever created this wanted to create a super-organism that could control the behavior of multiple hosts."
Leon's eyebrows furrowed, his expression turning serious. "So you're saying that the parasite we found is designed to take over the minds of its hosts?"
Claire nodded grimly. "It looks that way. And if someone intentionally created this parasite, it's possible that they could be intending to use it as a weapon.T. gondii can alter brain chemistry, increasing aggressiveness and impulsivity. If the parasite is infecting the local animals, maybe that's causing the local animals to go rampage."
"But what about the virus? " Helena asked.
"It's Mobius," Leon said. "Don't they love to use cocktails of pathogens?"
Mobius was known to combine viruses and bacteria in their test subjects. What was stopping them from using parasites, too?
"Leon is right," Claire sighed. "Mobius philosophy is based on adaptive pressure. I wouldn't be surprised if they tried to use the virus and the parasite simultaneously to see what phenotype appears by modeling certain conditions."
"Sick bastards," Helena sighed.
"Yup, wouldn't have said it better."
"Still parasites marketed as drugs…" Helena groaned. "That's just nasty?"
"Well, half of the buyers wouldn't know, and the other half wouldn't care," Claire shrugged. "Have you ever heard of the tapeworm diet?"
"The what?"
"Tapeworm…" Claire replied. "People swallow a pill that has a tapeworm egg inside. When the egg eventually hatches, the tapeworm will grow inside your intestine and eat whatever you're eating. The idea is that you can eat whatever you want and still lose weight because the tapeworm is eating all your "extra" calories."
Helena made a disgusted face.
"Does that even work?"
"Theoretically, yes," Claire sighed. "If you ignore all the side effects of the infection…" Claire said as a yawn escaped her. "Sorry."
Leon looked at her with concern. Claire did look like she needed some sleep, and he wasn't sure if it was because she was pregnant or because she hadn't had a good night of sleep in a while. Had she been sleeping well while he was away?
"Maybe you should sleep."
"Yeah, maybe," Claire admitted. "I'm fine, I already slept almost twelve hours before hell broke loose."
"It's never too much sleep when it's about you," Leon said, shaking his head. Claire had the bad habit of overworking and skipping sleep sometimes. It was worrying on a normal basis, but it got even more critical now that her body wasn't only dealing with changing viruses, but the growth of the baby.
"Don't look at me like that.I will work a little, then I'll take a nap if it makes you feel better."
"You do that," Leon nodded. He leaned to kiss her head before turning to Helena. "We'll go check on Carlos and the others. It should be about time to go out."
"Ok," Claire nodded. "Be careful."
"Always."
As the morning light slowly crept through the rain, the group observed a peculiar behavior among the hostile animals. Carlos's suspicion was confirmed - most of them retreated into covered areas as soon as daylight arrived. It was a clear indication that the LysMorph virus was at play.
The group decided to split into two smaller teams to make the most of the situation. The first team would venture out in search of resources and any potential survivors. The second team would stay behind to clear out the pests and secure the MedCenter building. It was a risky task, but they couldn't afford to have any infected creatures lurking around and posing a threat to their safety.
Leon and Helena trekked through the dense forest for two miles before finally finding a spot where they could establish contact with Hunnigan. The heavy rain made the journey more challenging, but once they were far enough from the city, they were able to make a call without any issues. Hunnigan was visibly relieved to hear from them and even more so when they confirmed that Claire and her team were safe.
Although Leon was tempted to share the news of Claire's pregnancy with Hunnigan, he held back, knowing it wouldn't be a wise move.
"That's terrible news," Hunnigan said. "So we don't know how many hostiles could be around."
"Yeah, that's a problem," Leon nodded, "and I don't think it will be easy to fix. We need backup."
"I can contact BSAA asking them to send some support," Hunnigan suggested. "But things will be difficult if we can't keep in touch."
"We know there is a jammer in the city. That's cutting all communication with the exterior," Leon said. "I guess we can try to find it, but that would take too much time."
"Well, for the jammer to work properly, as it seems to be doing, there are certain setting requirements," Hunnigan replied. "If we followed that, maybe you could find it easier."
"That, assuming that there's only one jammer here," Helena sighed. "For all we know, there could be several of them. We had to walk two miles to make a call. There's no way that one jamming device is so efficient."
"Well, that's true," Hunnigan admitted. "I don't suppose you want to spend your time looking for jammers with Mobius on the loose."
"No, not particularly. I've other things to worry about..."
Leon heard Helena snort, and he frowned at her. His partner shrugged, shaking her head, but he could see the teasing smirk on her lips. Helena just loved to have a reason to tease him.
"I suppose you do. With Claire around, you must be stressed," Hunnigan nodded. "But Claire knows how to take care. Don't hover too much over her. You know she doesn't like that."
"I don't think she finds it that annoying anymore," Helena said. "She's much more willing to accept Leon's overprotectiveness lately."
"That's new," Hunnigan said, amused. "The three months separation must have made her miss you."
"That goes both ways," Leon sighed. "Hunnigan, I need another favor. Would you check at the order that brought Claire here?"
"The WHO's?"
"Yeah, and the one from the Ministry of Health."
"Sure, I can do that, but what am I looking for?"
"Anything suspicious…"
Leon looked up at the sky. The menacing clouds had filled the sky, and the rain was beginning to get stronger. The flash of lightning and the thunder announced that another stormy night was coming.
"Weather is getting worse. We should head back before we get trapped in here," Leon said with a worried look. He couldn't shake off the feeling of unease that had settled in his gut with all the recent events, and Helena seemed to have the same thought.
"The last thing we needed is getting trapped in the middle of a forest filled with bloodthirsty animals." Helena sighed.
"Is the situation that bad?"
"You have no idea," Helena sighed. "Hopefully BSAA won't take too long to show up.I don't think survivors will hold for too long, and this storm is not helping."
"I'll make sure to enphasize that."
"And don't forget about the BOWs."
Hunnigan gave a nod, bidding farewell to the two agents as they set out on their journey back to the city. However, it wasn't long before they began to understand why Carlos had disregarded the idea of escape. As they journeyed, the weather took a sudden turn for the worse, the once gentle rain now becoming a harsh downpour. While it wasn't as severe as the previous night's tempest, it was evident that it would worsen as time went on. Leon and Helena battled against the wind, the mud, and the icy rain as they fought their way back to the city.
As soon as they returned to the Health Center, Leon couldn't help but be impressed by Carlos' resourcefulness. Despite the chaos outside, Carlos had managed to secure the building using materials salvaged from the debris, boarding up all the windows with panels and wire. The arrangement effectively blocked entry to any hostile animals while still allowing sunlight into the building.
Furthermore, Carlos had expertly barricaded the doors and, with Wallace's help, they had managed to get the power plants running again. This meant that the building now had a source of light for the night ahead, which was a huge relief for everyone.
"Impressive," Leon said when the man approached them with a wide grin handling them a set of towels to dry themselves.
"Credits go to my boys, everyone helped. It's not the best solution, but it's better than nothing," Carlos sighed. "Did you manage to contact your friend?"
"Yeah, she will contact BSAA and help should arrive soon," Leon answered, taking the towel and drying his now damped her. "You were weather isn't going to help."
"I've lived here for a few years now. Weather in this region is too unpredictable and looking at it, it seems we will have another stormy night," Carlos sighed. "Sorry that I don't have dry clothes for you."
"Never mind," Helena said. "It is almost dried , how can it be stormy and this hot at the same time?"
"Welcome to the Amazon region," Carlos scoffed. "Or, as Claire would put it, welcome to Global warming."
Helena snorted at the quote.
"I can't wait to be out of here…" she sighed.
"If help is on the way, I guess we just need to stay alive until dawn, right?"
"Sounds easy," Helena sighed. "Let's hope it is."
"My guys gathered supplies. I know pregnant women need to eat all the time, so I saved some things for Claire in the back office. Just letting you know."
"Thanks," Leon said.
"No problem, pal," Carlos smirked. "By the way, sorry."
"What for?" Leon asked in bewilderment.
"Well, usually, the father should be the one to find out first and well…"
Leon scoffed. He hadn't expected Carlos to be bothered by that, but he appreciated the man's feelings.
"Don't worry about it. I should be thanking you for taking care of her instead."
"Claire and I are friends, that's a given."
"Where is she now?"
"Where else? Back in the lab in full mad-scientist mode, of course. Although, I believe she was finishing up when I checked on her, so maybe you should try back at the office room."
"Thanks," Leon replied, making his way to the back.
"Sure, for your cuddles," Helena snorted.
Leon smirked and shrugged.
"Don't mind if I do."
Leon found Claire fast asleep at her desk, surrounded by scattered documents. The papers she had been reading had fallen haphazardly on the flat surface, but her hand still clutched onto them tightly. The sight brought a fond smile to his lips. As he approached her, he noticed two empty boxes of crackers and a half-eaten one sitting next to the sleeping woman. It seemed that his wife was already on her third round of crackers, which was a relief considering how sick she had looked earlier. While they weren't the healthiest option for someone in her first trimester of pregnancy, at least she had eaten something.
He knew that Claire had been under a lot of stress lately, and seeing her finally getting some rest was a much-needed relief. Quietly, he reached out and brushed a strand of hair away from her face, careful not to wake her up. He lingered there for a moment, just taking in the peaceful scene before him, before finally turning to leave the room, feeling content in the knowledge that his wife was getting the rest and nourishment she needed.
The agent made a mental note to call his sister as soon as they were out of that place and ask her for tips to help with Claire's nausea. Bella was an obstetrician and a mother herself, so she would probably have some valuable advice to offer. The thought suddenly reminded him that he still needed to tell his parents about Claire's pregnancy. He knew their reaction would be explosive, just like when he told them he'd gotten married without their knowledge.
Although his parents hadn't been too thrilled about his surprise marriage, their initial resentment was quickly forgotten once they met Claire. After all, it was impossible not to love her, and the woman soon won over the entire family, including Leon's rambunctious nephews. Leon knew that his parents would be over the moon to hear that Claire was expecting.
Leon gazed at his beloved wife as she slept, taking in her serene expression and the way her chest rose and fell with each breath. Despite the exhaustion etched on her face, she looked breathtakingly beautiful. However, he knew that her slumbering position would only cause her discomfort and possibly a sore neck. Gently, he scooped her up into his arms, relishing in the feel of her weight against his chest. Claire stirred slightly, but then settled back down, snuggling into his embrace.
"You were not lying when you said you wanted cuddles, huh?" Leon whispered, putting away a loose hair strand from her face. "I bet you're tired."
With careful steps, Leon carried her over to the nearby couch, laying her down with great care. He fluffed the cushions behind her head and arranged a soft blanket over her, tucking it in at the sides to ensure she was snug and warm. Claire remained blissfully unaware, her breathing steady and deep. He kissed her forehead and let her sleep. It wasn't long before he, too, dozed off.
Leon wasn't quite sure what had woken him up, but whatever it was, it wasn't good. His years as a DSO agent had sharpened his senses in such a way that even while fast asleep, his instincts seemed to react to danger when it was close enough.
The agent looked around him with a frown. It didn't seem like anything was out of place in the room: lights were on, the door was closed, and it was only him and Claire, so why did he feel so uneasy?
"Leon?" Claire whispered from his side.
"Sorry, did I wake you?" Leon asked, glancing at his wife. She looked troubled, and that immediately set off an alarm in his mind. "What's wrong?" he inquired with concern etched on his face.
Claire didn't answer right away. It seemed as if she was pondering her answer.
"I am not sure," Claire whispered. "It feels…like trouble. I think something is outside."
"Outside room?"
"No, not the room," Claire replied, looking around. "The city.."
Leon knew better than to ignore Claire's gut feeling, especially when it involved Mobius. If it had been anyone else, he might have brushed it off, but he had learned the hard way that Claire's intuition was rarely wrong.
"Is it the alpha sense?" Leon asked her.
Claire's uncanny ability to detect other LyMorph-alphas in the vicinity was one of the lingering side effects of Mobius's inhumane experiments on her. Leon didn't fully comprehend the mechanics of it, but he knew firsthand that both Claire and other survivors from Blackwell Asylum possessed the innate ability to sense the presence of BOWs of that strain.
Claire had described the ability as a double-edged sword. On one hand, it helped them predict and evade potential enemies, but on the other hand, the connection also brought unwanted side effects. It had been a while since they had to use the ability, thankfully.
"Yeah," Claire replied thoughtfully. "But it feels a little off."
"Perhaps it is the animals. You said they were infected with the virus, too."
"Maybe. I don't know," Claire answered. "Perhaps I'm rusty."
"Getting rusty at that, actually sounds good. I'll go check," Leon said. "Stay here..."
Leon got up, but Claire grabbed his hand and stopped him. The agent looked at her with confusion as Claire stood up and stood by his side.
"I'll go with you."
"No, stay here," Leon answered. "You still look tired. I'm sure everything is just fine. I'll be back in a minute."
Claire wanted to complain, but instead, she only sighed and nodded. Having to worry about the baby had turned Claire much more compliant. Leon kissed her and headed out.
Leon entered the common area, which was tense and quiet. The survivors had moved to the top levels, leaving the basement's original occupants with more space. Everything seemed normal at first glance, but he could feel the tension in the air. Helena was huddled together with the rest of the group, her eyes fixed on Wallace's computer with a worried look.
"What's wrong?" Leon asked after approaching them.
Helena looked at him with surprise. She hadn't noticed his arrival.
"Oh, you woke up," Helena smirked, but her expression turned grim soon again. "The security cameras caught some bad news."
"What do you mean?"
As Leon approached the computer screen, his heart sank. The camera displayed a gruesome scene outside the medical center building's entrance. A humanoid figure, with pale skin and abnormally large hands and feet, was hunched over a cow, devouring it like a savage beast. Leon knew all too well the mutations induced by the T-Lys and T-Morph, and it was clear that this creature had been infected. Even with the low resolution of the camera, the outline of its visible spine sent a shiver down Leon's spine.
"Betas. So far, we've seen four of them," Julie said. "They have been eating everything in their path for the last 10 minutes."
"Pure LyMorphs?" Leon asked.
"Yeah, and if there is a beta..." Helena replied.
"There is an alpha," Leon sighed. That was, probably, what Claire had sensed earlier.
"Do we know what they are?"
Julie shook her head.
"It might be a new morphotype. I've never seen it before," the woman replied. "We would need to ask Claire to be sure though."
"The light from the building seems to keep them at bay," Carlos said. "So I guess we are safe for now."
"Let's hope it stays that way," Wallace sighed. "Is Red up?"
"Yes, she was uneasy. She told me she'd felt something but wasn't very sure what it was. I'm guessing she sensed those things."
"My sensitivity isn't as good as hers, so I didn't notice them until we saw them," Julie shrugged. "I guess Claire is as sharp as always."
"Or the hormonal thing is starting to bug her," Wallace added.
Helena elbowed him, rolling her eyes.
"Any idea of what we are going to do with those?" Helena asked. "We'll be in trouble if they get in. We don't have the special ammo to deal with them."
"Well, we have Red. Her blood is poison to them, no?"
"You're not suggesting to use my wife as a weapon, are you?" Leon said, frowning.
"Of course not, but a drop of blood might be enough to deal with them, no?" Wallace replied. "God knows there's no virus or pathogen in general that could stand its ground against that virus of hers."
"We are not bleeding Claire out," Leon said adamantly.
"Well, then we should consider a plan B," Julie said. "We don't know how long we'll be in this place and if one of those gets in, we are screwed."
"Do you have so little faith in your skills?" Wallace asked, and Julie flicked his forehead.
"I know my limits. I can handle some of those, but I know I can't take a whole horde. Claire probably could, in another situation."
"Yeah, well, that's not an option..." Leon sighed, shaking his head gravely. "Let's keep an eye on them. If we see any sign of alert, we'll think of something."
"Tell Red," Wallace said, crossing his arms. "She's good at improv."
Leon knew better than anyone that Claire was an expert at improvising when the situation seemed to fall apart. But the context was different, and at the moment, there were many other factors to take into count. When Leon returned to the room, he found Claire going through her notes again while snacking on a bag of nuts.
"Nuts?" Leon asked, amused.
Claire shrugged.
"They looked appetizing, and I don't have room for being picky. Want some?"
"No, you need those more than I do," Leon snorted.
"Liar," Claire pouted. "I might be pregnant, but you still need to eat. Open up..."
As ridiculous as it looked that Claire was giving him a nut, Leon obediently opened his mouth so that she could feed him one. The nut was something Leon hadn't tried before, so he assumed it was something local.
"What's that?" he asked after swallowing it.
"Brazil nuts," Claire replied. "Rich in Selenium."
" And selenium deficiencies can lead to gestational complications, miscarriages, and the damaging of the nervous and immune systems of the baby," Leon nodded.
"Wow, how did you know that?" Claire snorted.
"You forget my sister is an Obstetric doctor. I've heard lots of random things from Bella. I just never thought I could use them."
"Ah, dear, Bella," Claire snickered. "She's going to tease you."
"Yeah, don't remind me," Leon sighed. "And then she'll probably slash on me for not taking good care of you."
"You saved me from becoming panther food," Claire smiled. "Isn't that taking care of me?"
Leon rolled his eyes but snorted. Claire seemed to have recovered her usual energy.
"So, what bad news do you have for me?"
"What makes you think I've got bad news?"
"Please, Leon. How long have we known each other? I can see it all written on your face."
Leon always thought he was good at keeping his calm and stoic demeanor, but surprisingly, his antics never seemed to work with Claire. Maybe it was because she'd met him when he was nothing but a nervous rookie or just because she was Claire. The woman always knew when something was bugging him, and Leon had already given up trying to hide things from her. To her credit, Claire was understanding, and when Leon told her he had reasons not to reveal something, she would, although reluctantly, accept.
"Beta forms are roaming outside," Leon said. "Julie said there are at least four."
"Four betas?" Claire said with a worried look. "That's too much, even for Julie and me."
"Considering that you won't be moving a finger in your condition, that's not even an option. " Leon said, making Claire snort. "We don't have ammo to fight them, so all we can do is wait until the BSAA arrives."
"I suppose. That if they come at all," Claire nodded. "I analyzed the drug you got from the Malabrisas. Morphologically speaking, the parasite is the same as in the cows and Obares, but when you look at their genes, there is a 20- 30% mismatch, thus we have three different variations of the parasite."
"So they are not the same?"
"Yes, and no. It is the same parasite, but the ones in Obares and the rabid animals have a mutation that seems to turn the infected violent and causes a total organ collapse in a few hours I believe the LysMorph virus to be the the cattle variation, it only seems to cause multi organ failure."
"The virus is present in those samples then?"
"Not precisely, looking at the information I've gathered, the virus doesn't infect the host perse. It infects the parasite, changes its DNA, and makes it switch its phenotype. Under normal circumstances without a trigger, the parasite doesn't become aggressive or infectious, and it works as a conventional the parasitic infection reaches a climax, the organism dies, and releases the lyMorph into the system. At least, that's how it looks, theoretically speaking."
"So the bugs in the drug won't turn the users aggressive?"
"Yes, most likely not," Claire replied. "The parasite was bioengineered to be a neurostimulator."
"In what world does a brain bug become a good idea for a drug?"
"When the bug produces diverse substances and releases them into the brain, the worm part doesn't sound that bad," Claire replied. "I looked through several of the genes I found in its genome and those sequences coding for the production of multiple psychoactive substances naturally occurring in mushrooms: psilocybin, psilocin, aeruginascin, baeocystin, nor baeocystin, ergotamine, and even bufotenine."
"Magic mushrooms...in a brain worm?"
"Yup, I won't say it's safe, but consumers will have one hell of a ride with the amount of psychoactives released into their brains."
"What happens if they consume too much? Won't people have too many worms in their brains?"
"I suppose," Claire shrugged. "Honestly, I don't know how it works. My guess, it is an experimental thing. The LysMorph virus has different interactions depending on your brain chemistry. That's why Mobius experimented on people with diagnosed psychiatric disorders. Maybe they were trying to modulate and shape the brain using this thing. I don't know."
"Using a bioengineered worm to wash people's brains, "Leon said with disgust. "Mobius is just too much."
"Exitus ācta probat," Claire sighed. "The outcome justifies the deeds. This is speculation, but maybe Mobius used the Malabrisas to test the parasite first. The cartel liked the product and continued selling it without knowing what they had in their hands. The animals are most likely runaways from the testing ground you and Helena came to investigate., but the other big question, though, is how the made it to the cattle.""
"Sometimes, I forget how smart my wife is," Leon snorted, hugging her. "I think you might be right. Who knows how many people are infected with that parasite now."
"There is that. I might have to write a report to WHO, so that we can at least stop the drug from circulating," Claire snorted, popping a nut into her mouth. "Either way, it is good to know you appreciate my wit."
Leon chuckled softly and wrapped his arms around Claire, pulling her closer to him.
"Of course I do, along with your is one of the things I love the most about you."
Claire rolled her eyes playfully but couldn't help but smile. "Well, someone's gotta keep you on your toes. Jokes aside. What are we going to do about the beta forms outside? They might not attack us if there is light in the building, but that's not a fail-proof option. Energy could get cut off at any time."
"Yeah, we can only hope that won't happen;" Leon sighed. "Our hands are a little tied up here."
Leon was not someone who relied solely on hopeful thinking, but at their current predicament, he could only hope their only source of protection would withstand until BSAA made its glorious appearance.