Resident Evil/Biohazard: Hostage Rescue

Rating: T

NOTE:

All characters of Resident Evil/Captain Commando/Street Fighter are under the copyright of Capcom. All characters of Martin Mystery are under the copyright of Marathon. All characters of Kara no Kyokai are under the copyright of TYPE-MOON. All characters of Spriggan are under the copyright of Hiroshi Takashige and Ryoji Minagawa. All characters of Jiraishin are under the copyright of Tsutomu Takahashi. The appearance of Kenneth "Kenny" Feng is under noctorro's jurisdiction. All others are under my jurisdiction.

Summary:

Leon and his group moved deeper and deeper into the castle after nearly escaping with their lives, fighting against the Los Illuminados' Zealots. Can they keep up, survive being ambushed and find Ashley safely before she's captured by the cult? Stay tune to this chapter to find out.

Chapter 17: Castle Exploration


Balcony, Mansion, Salazar Castle, somewhere in Spain


Leon took the chance to search the dilapidated balcony while he had his Benelli M3 shouldered.

Good thing a shell's in the shotgun.

"How did it go, partner?" Kevin moved right behind Leon, already armed with his Glock 21 Mariner.

"Balcony looks okay." Leon replied while he pointed to the ruined railing. "But it seems that parts of this area looks old that it may give way eventually."

"So what do you suggest?" Cammy asked Leon after she and the others heard him out.

"We still move." Leon told the Delta Red operator. "Except you need to watch your steps carefully."

The group moved up and turned right, which led to a short corridor to another part of the balcony. This part of the balcony had a water fountain that was still working.

"Over there." Martin pointed to the crows perched on the fountain.

"Crows." Diana eyed the fountain carefully when her stepbrother pointed out the birds.

"Let's check this area carefully and slowly." Jill suggested.

"Agreed." Kevin nodded when he saw the metal door and an open entryway above. The brown-haired DSO agent checked the metal door and noted that it was locked. He caught sight of a window with bars on it.

"Anything?" Chun-Li asked Kevin.

Kevin shook her head. "It's locked. But I saw a chest in there. Probably locked."

"From the inside, I bet." Chun-Li surmised. "We can give someone a boost."

"Fujino!" Kevin called for the Japanese SHADOW agent.

"Yes?" Fujino came to see Kevin after her name was called out.

"Can you do me a favor and see if you can get inside?" Kevin asked Fujino, pointing to the locked door.

"Hai." Fujino nodded.

Kevin positioned himself below the opening below, placing his hands on the bars so that Fujino can walk on his back and jump. She grabbed the edges of the opening above and got inside.

"Well..." Chun-Li asked the purple-haired girl.

"It's open." Fujino unlocked the door and opened the small chests, getting a Red Herb and an Elegant Perfume Bottle.

"I'll get a look at the big chest." Kevin approached the big chest and slowly opened it to make sure it was not rigged to explode. Once he was sure that it was safe, Kevin opened it and got a Colt Single Action Army revolver. He checked the chamber and saw that it was already loaded.

"I shall give this to Tea-san." Fujino excused herself and left the room to hand the Perfume Bottle to Tea. Chun-Li and Kevin left the room a few seconds later.

Tea examined the fountain and picked up a couple of Velvet Blues and a Spinel left in the fountain water. She turned around and saw that Fujino was handing her the Elegant Perfume Bottle. She accepted it.

"Wonder who left them there?" Jean was confused to see why those jewels were left in the fountain.

"Beats me." Yu shrugged. "I'm just glad that we can get more money for our buck later with the merchant guy."

Fujino and Java examined the path leaving the fountain area, except that numerous barrels were in place to block the path to anyone trying to walk around the balcony. Sho maintained vigilance by standing on top of the fountain to get a good view of the balcony.

"Java punch barrels." The caveman told Fujino, ready to destroy the wooden barrels blocking his way.

"Please go ahead, Java-san." Fujino stepped back to allow Java to do his work.

"Java know, Fujino." Java nodded before he clenched his right hand into a fist. He pulled his arm back before he punched the barrels with his fist, destroying a few of them. This was followed by a strong kick, which ensured that no other wooden barrel was left standing.

"Looks like we got some money." Hiryu knelt down to examine the contents of the barrels, earning 2500 pesetas. "Two more barrels, big guy."

Java made a short run to kick one of the wooden barrels after Fujino destroyed some of the others with her bending ability, which revealed nothing. The other barrel was destroyed with another kick.

"We got something." Dan whistled when he picked up an Incendiary Grenade and 1000 pesetas. "I'll go and keep the grenade with me."

"There's a door up ahead." Hien murmured. "Wonder where that leads us?"

"Hopefully not into another trap." Leon said as he approached the double wooden doors. He laid a hand on the door handle to see if it was locked.

"Guess it's not locked." Jill commented after she saw one of the wooden doors open slightly.

"How shall we proceed?" Eriko asked while she checked her Sig Sauer P228 via brass check to see if she still has enough ammunition for the pistol.

Leon slowly opened the door, aiming the M3's barrel inside.

"Kevin. With me."

Kevin patted Leon's right shoulder after he arrived at the double doors in time to see him open the door. He gestured to the others to follow him after he went in with Leon.


Unknown Control Room


Wesker had been contacted by Krauser despite the fact that he was busy trying to plan ahead in case the ex-Umbrella employee needed to be in the public.

"Can this wait or not, Krauser?" Wesker asked Krauser while he reclined in his seat.

"I'm afraid not, Wesker. It's a big situation." Krauser replied, who sounded a bit worried.

This raised Wesker's eyebrow. "Do tell on this... situation, Krauser."

"Everyone's getting a bit restless. I think they want some action instead of just waiting for the big boys to come to us."

Wesker thought about Krauser's comments.

I see. I think we may need to move eventually.

"So you got a plan there?" Krauser asked Wesker again after the former didn't hear an answer for a few minutes.

"For now, get them to intercept them if you wish." Wesker said before he added, "Same thing with the boy too."

"Understood." Krauser replied before he asked, "But what about Ada?"

"Let her concentrate on her own objectives."

"All right. I gotcha."


Delta Red Team Headquarters, Secret Intelligence Service Headquarters, Vauxhall Cross, London, United Kingdom


Deep underground SIS Headquarters in Vauxhall Cross was the main headquarters of Delta Red, the SIS' anti-terrorist team mandated to conduct mainly anti-terrorist duties. Delta Red has also been known to cooperate with SIS agents or other British police forces abroad (a domestic operation would require consent from SIS) to ensure the safe return of British nationals, whether they are kidnapped, trapped in another country due to a coup/revolution or if they are needed to be extradited to Britain on criminal/terrorist offenses.

All Delta Red operators off duty and not deployed in any operation wore OD BDUs and boots with an inverted triangle on the right side of their chests to indicate Delta Red membership. A red beret with an inverted yellow triangle was the required headgear, worn over the right side of their head.

"Bollocks! I refuse to believe that we already lost contact with Cammy in Spain!"

However, today was not a good day for anyone in Delta Red HQ because First Lieutenant Lita Luwanda, one of the first members of Delta Red and an unarmed combat expert, was seen yelling in front of the desk of her superior, Keith Wolfman.

"Do I need to repeat myself, Lieutenant?" Colonel Wolfman sighed in frustration that his subordinate couldn't accept his explanation. He rubbed his scar when he explained. "GCHQ and the DIS have confirmed that there is a strong radio jamming signal coming from Spain."

"What?" Lita was confused at the news. "I thought that Cammy was investigating leads on some backwater cult in the countryside."

"I'm afraid that the Colonel is right."

Lita turned around to see her short colleague, Warrant Officer Class One George Ginzu, walked in close beside her.

"I think Mr. Ginzu can explain things around here." Wolfman gestured to allow George to explain himself.

"Of course, sir." George nodded before he showed a satellite image of Spain. "This area in red in the photo showing the southwestern area of Spain has been confirmed to have the strong jamming defenses. And that's the same area where Cammy is."

Wolfman nodded while he listened to George's explanation.

"GCHQ confirms that someone is responsible for establishing the anti-jamming area."

"Do we know who did it?" Lita asked George.

George replied. "According to intelligence supplied by the Division of Security Operations," The Delta Red operative showed Lita and Wolfman another satellite photo of an area of the countryside with the broken wooden bridge. "they have credible information to suggest that an anti-paranormal organization has helped the cult set up the jamming area."

"And does this group have a name, Warrant Officer Ginzu?" Wolfman asked George after the latter showed the appropriate satellite photos.

"Word is that the Creature Intelligence Hybrid Laboratory or the CIHL is the culprit for the jamming. Most likely that it was planned months before the First Daughter was kidnapped."

Second Lieutenant Matthew McCoy made himself known while George was still explaining the situation in Spain. "Greetings, Colonel. Everyone."

"Hey there." Lita greeted Matthew before she faced George. "Continue with the explanation, George."

"Okay." George replied to Lita. "As I've said earlier, the CIHL is responsible for the mess Lieutenant White is in right now."

Wolfman asked George another question. "Do we know who's currently leading the CIHL?"

"An Octavia Paine is leading the CIHL. But she rarely shows herself in the public, which kinda makes things hard for us to get a good photo of her."

"Unless someone else has a good photo of her, then I guess we'll be going nowhere." Matthew chimed in.

"I'll ask GCHQ and other friendly agencies if they got a photo of her." George suggested to Wolfman.

"All right." Wolfman nodded. "Report in in case you find anything significant."

"Understood, sir." George saluted before he left.


Hedge Maze, Mansion, Salazar Castle, somewhere in Spain


When the group went through the double doors, the hedge maze literally blew their minds away in terms of the layout and appearance.

"Really? A hedge maze?" Hien grumbled after he saw the hedge maze for himself.

"This'll be hard to search." Martin sighed and scratched his head, wondering how they can cover the entire maze.

"I can provide sniper support with Kevin." Jill crouched and flipped down the bipod on her Heckler & Koch SL8-4.

"Agreed with the lady." Kevin shared Jill's sentiment when he crouched and flipped down the bipod of his Steyr SSG P IV.

"Okay. The two of you provide sniper support for the rest of us." Leon gave the two instructions as Kevin and Jill got prone and shouldered their sniper rifles. "I'll need someone to stay with you guys so that no one does a sneak attack.

"I'll stay with them." Yu volunteered himself. "Besides, 7.62 NATO ammo should be good to shoot with from this distance."

"Anyone else?" Leon waited for another person to volunteer him or herself.

"I'll stay behind too." Hien volunteered himself also.

Leon nodded before he said, "I'll lead the rest to secure the hedge maze and see if we can find a way around it."

"Let's do it." Jean said before he pumped his Franchi SPAS-12 to load a buckshot round into the shotgun.

Leon led the group in going down the path that led to the hedge maze. But before he could walk the first step down, Leon noted that he was receiving a transmission.

"It better not be him..." The blond DSO agent grumbled as he got out the radio and examine the vid screen who was contacting him and Kevin.

Oh crap! It's Salazar...


Chairman's Office, ARCAM Japan Headquarters, Ichigaya, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan


Chairman Yamamoto had received word from its intelligence division that Yu, Jean and the other Spriggans still can't make contact with ARCAM's Spanish branch ever since the jamming area was established.

"Still nothing." Yamamoto murmured when he tossed the printout, which contained a detailed report from intelligence. "Still nothing from them."

"Excuse me, Chairman."

The bald man turned around, having stood behind his chair to look at the streets of Shinjuku.

"Yes, what is it?"

Yamamoto saw that Rie Yamabishi, known college prodigy and ARCAM linguistics expert, had got inside his office after she knocked on the door three times.

"I need to ask you something if Yu is alright?" The glasses-wearing woman asked the chairman of ARCAM's Japanese branch.

"I don't think so." Yamamoto sighed. "Neither the main branch in New York or the Spanish branch in Madrid has been able to make contact with them."

"Do you think he and the others will be alright?"

Yamamoto grabbed a cigarette from a Marlboro pack in his jacket pocket.

"To be honest Rie-san." Yamamoto sighed before he lit up one end of the cigarette. "I wish I really knew."


Hedge Maze, Mansion, Salazar Castle, somewhere in Spain


Leon and Kevin picked up their radios and noted that Salazar was making contact with him.

Hold it.

Leon gestured to his comrades to hold up while he used his radio. Kevin placed the buttstock of his SSG P IV down while he answered his radio.

"What do you want, shorty?" Kevin glared at Salazar on the vid screen.

Salazar sighed and shook his head. "You know that it's not polite to be rude to your host."

Leon opted to roll his eyes at Salazar's comment in disbelief. "What the hell do you want, Salazar?"

The family head chuckled before he replied, "I'm just checking to see if you people are still alive."

"Then I guess you're disappointed that we're alive huh, shorty?" Kevin sarcastically answered after he heard Salazar's reason for contacting him and Leon.

Salazar did not bother to answer Kevin's , he asked them, "So I assume that you two and your friends have seen my garden. Do you like it?"

"I doubt it." Leon replied. "I see you've managed to work in a little of your twisted taste here too."

Salazar chuckled even more when he said. "Sagacious as I am, even I get lost here sometimes. Even if it takes your whole life, you'll never get out. Do you know that no one dies without a cause? You will satisfy the stomachs of my cute pets. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to tie up a few loose ends. Like chasing down a couple of rats."

"Hey you! What are you talking...?!" Kevin shouted at Salazar before the brown-haired DSO agent saw Salazar give an evil laugh and end the radio transmission from his side.

"Dammit..." Hiryu hissed after he heard Salazar end the transmission.

"What do we do now?" Eriko asked Leon after he heard Salazar end the connection.

Leon was silent for a few minutes to ponder over what he heard from Salazar before he replied, "Kevin and Jill will stay behind to give us sniper support with Yu and Hien to protect their rears. The rest of you, we'll divide ourselves into a couple of groups in order to search the hedge maze."

"What does Salazar mean that a couple of rats?" Chun-Li asked Leon for clarification as Leon led the group towards the stairs down to the maze.

"I don't know." Leon admitted to the Interpol detective. "It could be Luis, but I don't know who the other one is."

"For now, let's search the maze." Tea suggested to Leon. "Let's worry about the other intruder's name later."

"Y-yeah." Leon nodded before he went down the steps.


Delta Red Team Headquarters, Secret Intelligence Service Headquarters, Vauxhall Cross, London, United Kingdom


"I'm back, sir!"

George was back in Delta Red HQ with just Wolfman behind his desk while the others were away for various reasons. He also saluted Wolfman after he arrived.

"Good timing too." Wolfman saluted George when the officer saw him in. "I trust that you've acquired good intel for me to go over?"

"Yes, sir." George handed a folder to Wolfman that had the words "TOP SECRET" stamped on it. "GCHQ and intel from within indicates that a lot of groups are involved in the operation."

Wolfman reclined back on his seat and nodded. "If I recall, the Division of Security Operations, INTERPOL and the Japanese National Police Agency are involved with it for their own reasons."

George nodded. "Indeed, Colonel. But there are two more groups that are also involved in Spain."

This raised Wolfman's curiosity when George said that a few more groups are involved.

"One group involved with the thing in Spain is another paranormal organization called the Center." George began his debriefing for Wolfman while he went over the folder's contents.

"The Center?" Wolfman stopped reading the folder and eyed George. "They're suppose to be doing anti-paranormal and anti-alien operations." The scarred man sighed. "The last I heard, they've been doing anti-Umbrella operations after Raccoon City was wiped out in 1998."

"That's right, Colonel." George replied. "They're taking the leading on anti-Umbrella ops while the BSAA's investigating the attack on Terragrigia by Il Vetro alongside the Federal Bioterrorism Commission."

"And what about this other organization involved, Warrant Officer Ginzu?" Wolfman asked his subordinate again after he heard him out.

George coughed a bit to clear his throat when he said. "Colonel, I'm getting intel that the ARCAM Corporation is involved."

"ARCAM?" Wolfman was a bit shocked that a multinational corporation involved in mostly archaeological digs and expeditions, as well as conducting talks and whatnot on archaeology, history, linguistics and other fields that relate to archaeology.

"Yes, Colonel..." George answered his superior with a bit of hesitation.

"Not those guys." Dammit! Anything but those guys! Wolfman felt a headache was coming on to his temples. "It was only a few years ago when a few of its elite agents called Spriggans attacked and fended off SAS teams protecting an Army research centre with that artifact those damn... scientists obtained."

"I'll assume that you were involved with that operation somehow, sir?" George warily asked Wolfman, not wanting to do something that can get him into trouble.

Wolfman closed his eyes and placed his hands on both sides of his head. "Let's just say that I had some experience confronting them."


Hedge Maze, Mansion, Salazar Castle, somewhere in Spain


"Kevin, how's our path? Is it clear?" Leon used his radio to make contact with Kevin as soon as the former made it down the steps.

Kevin peered through the Leupold riflescope on the SSG P IV before he replied to his partner. "Looks clear for now, Leon. I suggest you make your move now before Salazar gets his lovely pets to greet us."

"Understood. Make sure to watch our backs or you'll be sorry." Leon replied sarcastically.

"Come on, you know I got one of the highest marksmanship scores in the DSO."

Leon and Kevin ended their transmission and began their operation.

We'll need to split up. Leon mused as he checked the hedge maze grounds to make sure it's clear. But I wonder how we're going to do this?

With the exception of Hien and Yu to guard the rear of Kevin and Jill, Leon counted Martin, Diana, Java, Fujino with Chun-Li, Cammy, Eriko, Jean, Sho, Tea and Hiryu with Dan.

"All right." Leon faced the others who went with him to the hedge maze. "Here's how we're going to do this..."


MOM's Office, The Center


MOM received two reports from Billy after she came into the office. One consisted of Billy's personal report into the ranks of the SID. The other one consisted of the report concerning Daisuke Sawamura's activities ever since SID reported him to be a mole in the Center.

"More headaches..." muttered the head of the Center as she picked up the SID folder.

When the black-haired woman opened the folder, she read the detailed report from Billy regarding his personal inspection of the SID.

"Nothing concrete." MOM noted that Billy didn't find out anything out of the ordinary that would determine that the ranks of the SID were infiltrated from the outside or that a mole or a double agent.

"Coming in MOM!"

MOM had just finished browsing through the SID folder when Billy entered her office.

"Glad to see you, Billy." MOM greeted Billy before she started to read through the Sawamura folder. "I'm about to read up on the SID's report on Sawamura."

"The SID's made a new update to the report a few minutes ago."

MOM raised an eyebrow upon hearing the news, staring at Billy since she stopped temporarily reading the Sawamura folder.

"They got word that he's making another call from his mobile phone. They're already starting the intercept."

MOM nodded. "Good. Tell them to stay on him at all times."

"Right."


Hedge Maze, Mansion, Salazar Castle, somewhere in Spain


"Jill, can you see anything while prone?" Kevin peered through the riflescope as he eyed Leon approach the gate leading to the hedge maze.

"I doubt it. Being prone doesn't look good for my vision from up here." Jill replied when she tried to get a good view of the hedge maze.

"Okay. Let's do this while we're standing up."

The two snipers stood up and positioned the bipods of their sniper rifles on the balcony railing.

"All right. Now this is a good position." Kevin shouldered his SSG P IV when he viewed the hedge maze through the riflescope. He saw Leon kick the gate leading to the hedge maze.

"Kevin, can you see me and the others from up there?" Leon made contact with Kevin through their DSO-issued radios.

The brown-haired man got out his radio and spoke to Leon. "Yeah, Leon. Me and Jill already got a good vantage."

"Anything out of the ordinary?"

"Not from what I can tell. Though I suggest that you need to stay on your ties, pal."

"Okay, Kevin. Watch our backs."

"Looks like they got in." Jill watched Leon and the others enter the hedge maze via riflescope.

"Perfect. Now for us to do our job." Kevin sighed as he eyed Leon and Jean further divide themselves up into two groups. After they went underneath the staircase to secure 700 pesetas and a Velvet Blue, Leon and Jean fired their shotgun at an incoming Colmillo from the hedge maze. The two fired their shotguns after the Colmillo tried to get in close to them.

"I think they got some company." Jill eyed the entire event through her riflescope.

"Looks like our host is getting really serious with us this time." Kevin murmured when he placed his right index finger on the SSG P IV's trigger guard.

Leon was the first to move deeper into the hedge maze, taking Cammy, Chun-Li, Eriko, Fujino, Java and Tea. Meanwhile, Jean leads another team with Martin, Diana, Sho, Tea, Hiryu and Dan.


Roof, somewhere in Mansion, Salazar Castle, somewhere in Spain


Geki observed from a rooftop somewhere in the mansion Leon and Jean exploring the hedge maze, slowly dispatching Colmillos trying to attack them. The ninja saw that Leon and Jean told their comrades not to stop to pick up for anything, except for the important stuff they need to pick up that aren't from wooden barrels.

"Finally, that gaijin is here." The tekko-kagi-armed ninja and ex-Street Fighter tournament participant watched the teams weave through the maze. "And Sho is here too."

Geki picked up a portable earpiece from a pocket in his shinobi shozoku. He then placed the earpiece on his left ear after he made sure that it didn't snag anything with his mask.

"I assume that you're observing them, Geki?" The ninja received a transmission from Krauser.

"Indeed I am. I'm also watching these gaijin make their way through the hedge maze." Geki replied to the ex-special forces commando. "It'll be a matter of time before they'll be able to get through the area."

Krauser stayed silent for a short time.

"Shall I butcher them while they navigate around the maze?" Geki asked Krauser as he broght the tekko-kagi up to his face before he brought his left arm down in a swift motion.

Geki watched Leon's team dispatch Colmillos as they moved in towards the fountain on the other side of the hedge maze. Leon was seen picking up a piece of the Blue Moonstone, which was fortunate for him since he didn't need to pick it up from the fountain water.

"Nah, I think they'll be able to get through the maze even as we speak." Krauser replied on Geki's earpiece as Jean's team ascended a staircase towards another fountain to secure another piece of the Blue Moonstone.

"So shall I continue to shadow them?" Geki asked Krauser again when he saw Leon and Jean retracing their steps back to the entrance of the hedge maze, shooting up a few Colmillos with Tea and Sho stepping in if one of them tries to take a jump and bite them. Geki looked at the side to see Kevin and Jill providing sniper support by firing at Colmillos that broke out of their dog pens.

"For now, yeah. I think we'll need the others if we're going to effectively ambush them." Krauser suggested to the ninja with some hesitation in his voice. He saw most of them just reloading their weapons.

"I understand." Geki too appeared to be hesitating to agree with Krauser's instructions since the teams were now moving back towards the hedge maze's main entrance. "I'll shadow them from a distance when I can."


Hedge Maze, Mansion, Salazar Castle, somewhere in Spain


"You guys made it back! Not to mention free of any wolf bites!"

Yu greeted the Leon, Jean and the others while Kevin and Jill reloaded their sniper rifles. Hien stood near them and guarded their backs in case of a sneak attack.

"We got these pieces." Leon said as he and Jean showed off the two halves of the Blue Moonstone.

"Anything else?" Hien asked Leon out of curiosity.

Sho stepped up next to Leon and showed him what he got from searching the hedge maze. "I did acquire some pesetas with a flashbang, a yellow herb, a Spinel, a First Aid Spray can, a Red Gem, a box of 7.62 NATO subsonic bullets and a box of shotgun shells."

Tea divided up the valuable items Sho got with her and handed the healing items to Jill, being familiar with handling them next to Leon and Kevin. The ammo was handed off to Kevin and to Leon, since the latter fired his M3 a lot more than Jean did. The British Spriggan kept a total of 1300 pesetas with her.

"Let's head to the door there." Jean advised to everyone else. "These pieces appear to fit on the door as a key."

"Let's roll." Yu told his Spriggan teammate.

Everyone began to make a run for the door near the staircase, which had the same shape as the Moonstone. Kevin took the pieces from Leon and Jean and combined them together when he inserted the two pieces onto the door. He heard a soft clicking sound when the DSO agent did this.

"Looks like the door's opening." Kevin immediately drew out his Glock 21 Mariner when the door opened upward.

"You know what to do, Kevin." Leon shouldered his M3 when he moved to Kevin's side.

Yu, Jean and everyone else with a firearm moved to the other side of the door. The others without any firearms moved to the back as usual in order to let those with a gun clear the interior first of all hostiles.

!, 2 and...

"GO! GO! GO!" Kevin shouted out loud, moving into the mansion interior and aiming his pistol. Leon and the others followed him inside to clear the interior. Martin and the remaining company outside got inside once Leon gestured to them to come inside.


Long Gallery, Mansion, Salazar Castle, somewhere in Spain


"Clear left!"

"Clear right!"

Kevin and Leon moved in to secure the long gallery, appearing to be clear of anyone inside. They were followed by Yu, Jean and anyone else who had a gun with them.

"Get the others inside." Kevin told Leon before he holstered his sidearm.

"Got it, Kevin." Leon replied. As the two men turned their backs around to face the entryway inside the long gallery, they failed to take notice of a familiar Asian woman in a red dress with the barrel of her Springfield Armory XD pistol pressed at the back of Kevin. She wore a pair of red shades with slim temple arms.

"What the..." Kevin was alarmed when he felt someone press the pistol's barrel at his back.

"Hey guys, thanks for the save..." Martin was about to compliment Leon for securing the long gallery when he remarked, "I think someone's behind the back of Kevin with a deadly weapon."

"What?!" Leon replied when he aimed the barrel of his M3 at the intruder behind Kevin.

"Stand back, Martin. It might get a bit hairy." Jill gently pushed Martin aside when she aimed her Beretta Px4 Type F at the intruder.

"Put the weapon down!" Eriko aimed her P228 at the intruder from another angle.

"My, my..." The intruder was not fazed by the amount of firearms aimed at her. "I do get quite a reception just like the good old days."

"We're not going to repeat ourselves, lady!" Hiryu aimed his Heckler and Koch G36C at the Asian woman. "Put the pistol down!"

"Dammit guys..." Kevin muttered, feeling worried that he may not be able to survive the encounter. "Don't just shoot, you know? I'm in your way."

"Listen to your friend for a change." The Asian woman advised her adversaries. "I'm sure that you don't want me to ventilate your friend with a lot of bullet holes, right?"

"I'm not liking this as much as the next person." Hien trailed off before he asked while he aimed the Pindad SS-1M5 Commando at the pistol-armed woman, "But how are we going to get Kevin out of there before she can put a bullet or two at his back?"

"That is a very good question to ask." Cammy muttered to the masked Spriggan agent.

Tea calmly brought out a handkerchief with a painted image of the pentagram without catching the armed woman's attention.

Jean eyed what Tea was doing, but didn't say anything. Instead, he pumped the SPAS-12 after he had just recently reloaded with the weapon with shells to load one into the chamber to distract the woman's attention in case she noticed what Tea was doing.

"Leave this one to me." Tea murmured to Jean. When Jean nodded to her direction, the British Spriggan hurled the handkerchief towards the Asian woman.

"Just what the hell are you trying to do..." The woman aimed her pistol at Tea when the pentagram-painted handkerchief changed into a winged lion.

"WHAT THE HELL MAN!" Kevin yelled as he got out of the way when the woman fired off a shot at the winged lion, which didn't work since the fired 9mm bullet was lodged into the ceiling of the long gallery. The brown-haired DSO agent did a side roll to avoid being caught in any crossfire.

"Shit..." The Asian woman fired off a couple of shot at the winged lion that was leaped at her. Like the previous shot, it didn't do much except to add more 9mm bullets into the ceiling.

"Move in!" Cammy dashed in low and executed a roundhouse kick to disarm the woman of her sidearm.

"Hah!" The woman executed a double backflip of her own in an attempt to get away.

"I'm heading in!" Hiryu activate the artificial muscles of his Trident Armored Machine Suit so that he can move fast before the woman can get away. He had slinged the G36C on his back so that it won't get in his way.

Leon decided to move in as well, putting his M3 aside in order to draw out his Mercworx Sniper combat knife.


Roof, somewhere in Mansion, Salazar Castle, somewhere in Spain


"Our friends are busy being engaged by the woman in the red dress."

Geki reported his findings to Krauser while he watched the fight from another side of the roof to get a better view.

"Ah let the bitch handle them." Krauser replied with some animosity towards the "familiar" woman. "We've got bigger things to worry back there."

"Understood, Krauser. I shall make my way back then."

"Besides, she can handle herself out there."

The ninja nodded and dashed away from the rooftop, making minimal noise as he moved back to rendezvous with Krauser and the other hired mercenaries.


Long Gallery, Mansion, Salazar Castle, somewhere in Spain


Hiryu was at arm's length near the shades-wearing Asian woman when the two engaged each other in unarmed combat. The woman used the butt of her pistol as a melee weapon, swinging it in the hope of striking the SHADOW agent's temple to score a hit.

"Up, up..." Hiryu moved his head left to right before he used his right forearm to block the incoming strike meant for his forehead. "HAH!"

"My, my, my." The Asian woman smirked upon seeing that her attack was blocked. "I never thought that I'd see you here."

"You're quite familiar, lady." Hiryu gritted his teeth before he shoved her away. "Let's see if I can recognize you."

The SHADOW agent executed an uppercut to disarm the woman of her pistol.

This gave Leon the opportunity to move in when the woman performed a backflip in order to get the falling pistol. The blond DSO agent held his combat knife in a reverse grip and timed it carefully so that he would move in behind the woman and grip her left arm. In doing so, her movements were restricted.

What the? The woman noted that Leon and Hiryu trapped her from both sides.

"Gotcha, lady." Hiryu moved in to disarm the shades-wearing woman of her XD. "Looks like you're not going to be quite agile now without your pistol."

"Next time, do yourself a favor and buy yourself a knife like some of us here do." Leon advised the woman as he eyed Hiryu pulling the slide of the XD to empty it of a total of 13 rounds out of 16 rounds since 3 rounds were fired a while ago. "Besides, they work better in close encounters."

The woman smirked after she watched Hiryu toss the unloaded pistol onto the ground, magazine included, to show her Leon's point. Leon, for his part, twirled the Sniper in his right hand before he sheathed it.

"Leon..." Everyone in the long gallery was shocked to hear the woman call out Leon's name. "Long time no see."

"Leon, buddy." Kevin was a bit cautious when he heard the Asian woman call out Leon's name after she took off her shades. "How you do know this woman?"

"Yeah, Leon. How do you know her?" Jill was now raising an eyebrow when she faced Leon, still aiming her sidearm at the disarmed woman.

"I do know her, guys." Leon told his allies. "Her name's Ada Wong. I met her back when Raccoon City was under the zombie infestation in 1998."

"All the more reason why we SHADOWs should rub her out." Hiryu said in anger before he shouldered his G36C and aimed it at Ada's chest. Dan shouldered his SIG SG 552 Commando and aimed it at Ada's forehead.

"So it is true, Ada." Leon sighed when he watched Hiryu and Dan aim their assault carbines at her.

"True?" Ada tried to play innocent in front of Leon and the others. "About what?"

"You. Working with Wesker."

"I see you've been doing your homework."

The group failed to note Ada casually dropped her shades, which was set to detonate after 60 minutes.

"Just because of you working with him..." Yu glared at Ada with his G3A4 aimed at her. "A lot of good people had to die in Japan."

"What's it to you guys anyway?" Ada was not fazed by the SHADOW agents and their weapons.

"Why are you here?" Leon interrogated Ada, not believing that she was alive in the first place. Dammit, I remember her being dead in my arms.

"Hey, hey, hey..." Kevin tried to interrupt Leon for a few seconds. "Are you saying that this hot chick is in cahoots with the ex-STARS guys Albert Wesker?"

"It sure sounds to be the case." Eriko told Kevin as she kept her sidearm aimed at Ada.

"Besides," Leon continued to talk to Ada. "You just show up like this and..."

Ada casually glanced at the side, looking at the ground to see the lens of her shades saying that the countdown is already at zero.

"Crap! The shades!" Hiryu quickly moved in and grabbed the shades with his right hand. However, the shades detonated before it could be disposed of.

Everyone in the room got temporarily blinded as the shades detonated like a flashbang, except that it had a lot of flash and smoke than a conventional flashbang.

This gave Ada enough time to execute a flip in order to retrieve the dropped XD and the magazine. The spy moved in to the entrance and used her grappling pistol to fire a line from the long gallery, smashing a window in the process.

"I'll see you around." Ada smirked at a dazed Leon.

"I cannot see." Fujino was dazed that she was forced to kneel.

Ada then stared at a fallen Hiryu, who was temporarily blinded by the flash. The black-haired woman gave another smirk. "I'll see you around too, boy."

"Why you!" Hiryu snarled while he tried to fight off the flash effects. "Come over here so I can...!"

Sho dashed over to help his protégé recover from the flash, coughing from the overwhelming smoke. He was quite far from where the shades detonated, which gave him a lot of recovery time from the flash.

"Aww..." Ada cooed. "Don't be like that, boy."

With that, Ada leaped over the broken window and pulled the trigger of her grappling pistol, which led her to a safe distance from Leon or from the others.

It would take a few more minutes for everyone to recover from the flash.


Adam Benford's Office, DSO Headquarters, somewhere in Virginia, United States of America


Adam was now back in his office in DSO Headquarters, pondering over the information he got from Bruce. To make sure that the information can be corroborated, Bruce was ordered to come to his office and sit down.

"So Bruce, are you certain that you can say to my face that the CIHL scientist you brought in is green as a whistle?" Adam asked Bruce, who was leaning back in his seat.

Bruce pondered on Adam's question before he replied, "I'm pretty sure, chief. The scientist in custody looked green all right. I think he didn't know what his superiors were doing besides their so-called work as an anti-paranormal group."

Adam nodded when he heard Bruce's answer. "I've been told by Hunnigan that the Center's been doing anti-CIHL operations aside from doing anti-Umbrella operations. To be honest, I don't know if they'll be good enough to pull two ops at once. That information was provided by the Center's Security & Intelligence Division."

"Sir. Are you saying that..."

"Yes, Bruce. I'm certain that the Center and the CIHL have been in a little war of their own over the CIHL's attempt to attack the Center."

"Is that important in our investigation with the First Daughter's kidnapping?"

"Not really. For now, we keep the scientist here for a while. I have some fears that the FBI may have been penetrated."

"I'll assume that you won't let them know about it?"

Adam shook his head.

"Excuse me, sir. There's a call from Washington." Adam was briefly interrupted from his secretary via intercom.

"Do you know who the call is from?" Adam replied to the secretary's call.

"From the White House, sir. They said it's pretty urgent."

"Understood. Tell them that I'll answer the call in a few minutes."


Long Gallery, Mansion, Salazar Castle, somewhere in Spain


"Everyone okay?!" Sho shouted when he helped Hiryu sit up. Minutes later, Dan moved in to help Sho do the same thing.

"I-I'm fine!" Martin replied loud while he rubbed his eyes to ensure his vision was fine.

"Leon." Kevin shook his head to clear out the flash from his eyes before he patted Leon's left shoulder. "I think you and me need to sit down and talk about what happened back there."

Tea went to work by placing the Red Gem on the Elegant Mask.

"Look." Leon sighed. "I know this looks bad for me..."

"I think it does." Jill faced Leon, who wasn't a bit impressed with the confrontation between Leon and Ada. "I think... you better come clean with whatever it is you got between you and this Ada Wong."

"All right, all right." Leon raised his hands up in defeat while Cammy and Chun-Li went to check on Hiryu to see if his eyesight has recovered. "It's a long story, so I'll cut it short."

"Fine by me." Kevin told Leon.

"As long as most of us here can get the message." Jill replied to Leon's insistence.

"Long story short it is." Leon sighed and placed a hand on top of his head. "I met Ada Wong when I was suppose to be reporting with the RPD's Select Police Force when I got word that the STARS was suppose to be disbanded. After I got there and noted that the city was under chaos, I met with Ada at the RPD's main station. She claimed that she was looking for an Umbrella scientist who went missing."

"I have a feeling that her cover story didn't last for long." Kevin said with confidence.

Leon agreed with his partner's assessment. "You're right. While I was trying to escape before the city was destroyed in a missile strike, I was told by a scientist named Annette Birkin that Ada was hired to steal a sample of the G-virus. Well..." The blond DSO agent sighed again, remembering the events like they were yesterday, "I found her dead in my arms when she was shot. Or at least the way I saw it."

"But it looks like Ada survived the encounter to live on another day." Jill said, summarizing the events from what Leon had told them.

"Is... is everything alright?" Diana asked Jill. "Especially with Leon."

"Don't worry Diana." Jill reassured Diana that things are alright. "Things look... to be alright. It's just a coincidence the woman Leon spoke to a while ago was thought to be dead."

"I thought so too, young lady." Leon told Diana. "Until recent evidence the DSO acquired suggests that Ada's still alive and working with Wesker and a few of his associates."

"What about him?" Eriko pointed to Hiryu, who was being helped by Sho and Dan to stand up due to his proximity near the detonated shades.

"He may need a few more minutes." Dan told Eriko and the others. "He got really too close to the shades when they detonated."

"Okay." Leon nodded. "In the meantime, let's use the time to search whatever we can from this room."

"Already on it!" Martin ran around the room, taking out his I-Cutter to smash open a vase and acquire an Incendiary Grenade. Later, the blond Canadian teenager smashed open another one to secure a Spinel.

"Java got this one." Java went over to armoire to take a box of 9mm Parabellum ammo.

"Java." Jill approached the caveman and told him. "You can hand that to me. I might be running down on ammo."

"Okay, Jill." Java nodded and handed the box of ammo to Jill.

"Thanks, Java. You're the best." Jill accepted it with a smile.

Java nodded again and smiled back at Jill.


Adam Benford's Office, DSO Headquarters, somewhere in Virginia, United States of America


Adam told Bruce to leave since he needed to take the call from Washington at once.

"I'm afraid not, Mr. President. I spoke to our allies who are involved in the operation." The head of the DSO spoke calmly to the president before he added, "Yes, sir. They're having much difficulty like us."

Adam reclined back on his seat while he listened to what the president was telling him.

"I'm trying to get FOS to crack the jamming wave prior to communications being cut off." Adam replied to the president's concerns on the line. "I understand, Mr. President. That's taking top priority."

The ex-military officer took an anti-headache pill and drank it with a glass of water.

I think my conversations with the president are going to take a toll to my health if this keeps up.

Adam thought about Leon and Kevin and wondered if they'll be able to come back alive with Ashley in tow.

"Understood, Mr. President. I'll update you when I have significant news."

After he ended the call, Adam pressed the intercom button and told his secretary to get Hunnigan summoned straight to his office. When asked what it was about, Adam told her that it was about intel updates from the FOS.

I wonder if it's not too late to make future plans soon about becoming the next president of the United States?


Long Gallery, Mansion, Salazar Castle, somewhere in Spain


Dan and Fujino assisted Hiryu to sit down on a chair and await for his eyesight to be normal again.

"By the way," Kevin asked Martin and Diana while the group took a break from fighting in the hedge maze. "what's Hiryu's deal with Ada?"

"Yeah. I never understood that part with him." Leon added. "From the look on his face, it seemed that he wanted to fire his assault carbine at her until his ammo's all used up."

"Look guys..." Martin replied to Leon's concerns. "Diana and I don't know much about the details here." The blond teenager turned his head around before he faced the DSO agents. "But before he joined up with the Center again, he was involved in another operation against that Ada woman in Japan a few years ago.."

"And..." Kevin pressed the Center agents for more details.

"That's all we know really." Diana replied and shrugged her shoulders. "Hiryu is just... a private person when it comes to details like that."

"I see." Leon sighed. "I guess the thing we can do for now is to take a little break."

"I agree." Kevin nodded. "Considering that we didn't have time to eat or drink, I think most of us are pretty tired from the fighting going on back in the hedge maze."

"The thing is, where do we get food? Unless the merchant guy is around..."

"How's about we go and check the nearest room then?" Tea suggested to Leon when she pointed the nearest open door to him.

"Thanks, Tea."

Leon and Tea went to check out the nearest room, the former drew out his Silver Ghost since having a shotgun may not be suitable if he needs to fire the weapon in close quarters.

"Kevin. Stay here with the others in case things get a bit messy here." Leon conducted a brass check on his Silver Ghost before he proceeded towards the open room ahead.

"You got it, Leon." Kevin gave a thumbs up.

"I'll go and check this room here to make sure it's clear of hostiles."


Den, Mansion, Salazar Castle, somewhere in Spain


"Ah! Welcome back strangahs!"

Leon had just aimed his sidearm inside the den when he just heard the familiar greeting from the Merchant.

"Jeez!" Leon groaned before he holstered his sidearm. "You could have least tried your best to know our names by now since we're your only customers ever since we're under attack by the cult."

"I know strangah." The Merchant nodded. "But where's the fun in that?"

"You know what?" Leon sighed in frustration. "Never mind."

"Excuse me for a few minutes, gentlemen." Tea went over to over the double doors of a wooden cabinet and took out a Mirror with pearls and rubies on all sides.

"What's this here?" Leon saw a note on a small roundtable. But as usual, he wasn't able to read it since it's in Spanish.

"Eriko! I need you here!" The ex-SPF recruit called out for the Japanese detective to see her.

"What is it?" Eriko came inside the den while Tea kept the mirror she recently picked up.

"Here." Leon handed Eriko the note he got. "It's in Spanish, but it could provide us more clues as to what happened here."

"Alright." Eriko took the note from Leon and read over its contents.

There seems to be a female intruder among us. We believe she's connected with Sera. We also believe that she was the one who removed the egg injected into Sera before it hatched. She may have had him retrieve the "sample" before the the arrival of the intruders.

It's obvious that her objective is the "sample". We must get to her before she is able to re-establish contact with Sera. There's also reason to believe that she's working for somebody. We need her alive for interrogation.

The female should be able to answer all our questions. After we have captured her, Sera will no longer be of any concern. As long as we retrieve the "sample", you may dispose of him as you see fit.

"Anything substantial?" Leon asked while he checked his M3 to see if it needs to be reloaded.

"Looks like Ms. Wong is the intruder the cult's looking for." Eriko told Leon as she waved the piece of paper. "But so far, it seems that she's one step ahead of them."

"That's..." Leon was about to speak when he was silent a bit to think of the proper words to use. He then said, "probably a good thing for her. Least I don't need to worry about her."

"Are you sure that you're not hiding anything from us about her?"

"No. I'm positive."

"Hello." Tea greeted the Merchant. "I hope that you're ready for some bartering."

"Indeed." The Merchant said while he nodded. "I have some rare things for sale after all, strangah."

"Of course." Tea gave a slight nod before she presented the mirror. "Allow me to sell this to you, then."

"Ahhhhh..." The Merchant looked very pleased when he held the mirror in his hands. "I'll buy it at a high price."

"How much?"

"How does 12,000 pesetas sound to you, strangah?"

"That's a done deal."

Next, Tea presented to the Merchant three Velvet Blues the group had collected over time. "I'm selling these Velvet Blues for the usual price."

The Merchant picked up the Velvet Blue and examined them closely with his eyes. He then nodded and pocketed them. "Understood, young lady. I'll buy them for a total of 7500 pesetas."

"Not at all." Tea replied, satisfied with the price the Merchant had agreed on.

"Anything else you need to sell, strangah?"

"Three Spinels." Tea showed the Merchats the Spinels on her left hand. "I'll sell them to you for 6000 pesetas."

"Agreed, strangah." The Merchant took the Spinels from Tea's hand and pocketed them.

"One more thing." Tea handed to the Merchant the Elegant Perfume Bottle. As usual, he looked very pleased when he saw the item.

"Ahhhh..." The Merchant was very glad to see the item. "I'll buy it at a high price!"

"For how much?"

"10,000 pesetas. Take it or leave it."

"A done deal."

The Merchant took the Elegant Perfume Bottle and handed all of the money the two had agreed on for the items Tea had sold to him.

"And what kind of rare item do you have for sale, if I may ask?" Tea asked the Merchant after she allowed him to get the Spinels from her.

The Merchant nodded and grinned. "Then allow me to show you the latest wares that I have."

The hood-wearing man placed his wooden backpack down and opened the compartment door, showing off a rifle-like weapon.

"This, my dear, is the Mine Thrower." The Merchant took out the Mine Thrower from the wooden backpack. "Quite the versatile weapon, if I may say so myself." He then subsequently placed the Mine Thrower so that she and anyone else who wanted to get a good look can look at the weapon from all sides.

Leon turned around to see the Merchant place the Mine Thrower on the roundtable. He gave a whistle in approval of the new weapon.

"How much is this guy?" Leon patted the buttstock of the Mine Thrower. If we're to buy this, I just hope that we got some dough for this.

The Merchant pondered on how much the Mine Thrower was. "I believe the Mine Thrower costs around..." He patted the buttstock before he snapped his left thumb and middle fingers in unison. "Ah yes. This costs 28,000 pesetas!"

"W-what?!" Leon said in shock of the Mine Thrower's price.

"And then..." The Merchant placed the Mine Thrower's riflescope down on the roundtable next to the Mine Thrower before he told Leon, Tea and Eriko, "this Mine Thrower riflescope costs around 8000 pesetas."

"Which means that costs around 36,000 pesetas in total." Leon sighed after he was told of the prices. "That'll cost us a lot of money just to buy this weapon."

"I have this too for sale, strangahs." The next weapon the Merchant got from the wooden backpack was a Colt Single Action Army, which had a brand new condition. He placed it on the roundtable next to the Mine Thrower.

"A Single Action Army?" Leon asked the Merchant.

"I see that you're very familiar with your small arms, strangah." The Merchant grinned at Leon before he said, "This here is the Single Action Army made by Colt. Has a total of 6 rounds in .357 Magnum caliber."

"How much is it?" Leon took a hold of the SAA and ejected the cylinder to see if it was loaded with bullets.

He didn't need further confirmation since .357 Magnum bullets were already loaded onto the cylinder. Satisfying his curiosity, Leon placed the cylinder back into the revolver before he left it back onto the roundtable.

"The retail price for this revolver is for 38,000 pesetas." The Merchant replied.

"That's a lot of money." Eriko commented when she heard the prices for the Mine Thrower and the riflescope with the SAA.

"Is there any way we can talk about lowering the prices to make things very easy for us?" Leon was now trying to haggle his way with the Merchant in order to settle things with a much more fairer price.

Which would depend on how fair the price would be for the Merchant since he needed to make money for a living.


Long Gallery, Mansion, Salazar Castle, somewhere in Spain


Java could feel his stomach grumbling shortly after he sat down on the floor to catch a break.

"Something wrong, big guy?" Martin went over to see if Java was all right.

"Java's stomach make noise." Java sighed and pointed to his stomach with his right index finger. "Not feeling bit good."

"You're not the only one who's hungry around here." Kevin pointed to his own stomach. "Heck, I'm not even sure if all of us remembered the last time we had the time to go and take a leak."

Yu saw that Dan was trying to press his hands towards his crotch in order to hold off the pressure of needing to piss.

"You need to piss, Dan?" Hiryu massaged his eyes and blinked them a few times when he saw Dan doing his antics.

"I think it's about time we took a small break." Cammy surmised her thoughts. "And that would consist of eating, drinking and pissing."

"The thing is..." Chun-Li pondered on her thoughts. "Where do we get food and where can we piss at a time like this?"

"I'm pretty sure that's a good question that we all like to answer." Sho told the Interpol detective when he was seen leaning on the wall to relax a bit.

Chapter 17 END


PS - Hope this chapter is good. It's also about time I debuted Delta Red in here. To those who don't know, Delta Red is an anti-terrorist team that operates under the auspices of MI:6 aka the Secret Intelligence Service, the British external intelligence service. The group has six-seven members, counting Cammy in the unit.

IIRC, Delta Red doesn't have that much exposure aside from the usual Street Fighter supplementary material with Cammy. I just wish more material can come up soon to explore more about the unit aside from the UDON comics.

To be very honest, I had a pretty hard time doing the stuff on the hedge maze with the Colmillo. I just decided to streamline most of the stuff, but with important stuff like finding the Moonstones in the maze so that things are easier for me to handle and not let my brain have a mental overload and perhaps, get another headache. I hope that I didn't piss anyone off because of that.

I recently heard a fanfic author, Resurrection of Kouryuo Sabre, has passed away recently. I really enjoyed this guy's work with his take on the Gundam SEED series. My late condolences to him and to his immediate family. I dedicate this chapter in his memory. I didn't have much opportunity to interact with him, but I surely enjoyed reading his stories. I just hope that the other authors who took the step to continue with his discontinued stories (after talking with Sabre obviously) will continue to do those, as long as the stories are still being done.

In the meantime, read and review the chapter and let me know how it is, regardless of your opinion. If you got an idea that you may want me to try, shoot it too in a review. Thanks and good day/night, wherever you are.


Pesetas in Total = 205,900