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.

There's a cameo of characters, but you'll see them later on in this chapter. Also, I don't own any copyright to them. They belong to their respective creators/distributors.

Summary:

Leon and the group had met up with Ada Wong, corporate spy and now ally of Wesker in seeking the Las Plagas virus from the Los lluminados. Seeking refuge in another part of the Salazar Castle, can they survive the odds being thrown against them and rescue Ashley? Stay tune to this chapter to find out.

Chapter 18: Castle Exploration, Part 2


Long Gallery, Mansion, Salazar Castle, somewhere in Spain


Sho leaned on the wall at the castle's mansion in order to concentrate. The ninja commando/vigilante concentrated his thoughts on being hungry, especially since he hasn't eaten or drank anything since he had infiltrated the countryside on his own accord without the other Commando team members by his side.

He wondered if it was the right thing to simply conduct the operation in Spain against the cult without Captain Commando or the others as usual.


MOM's Office, The Center


"I did not expect to be summoned here back at the Center after my stint as an unarmed combat instructor was over."

Sho stood in front of MOM's office table, standing at full attention with his arms crossed near his chest.

"I know." The head of the Center sighed. "And I'm sorry that I had to call you away from your duty with the Commandos."

The ninja knew that she would need his help. "What's so important that my presence is needed?"

MOM showed him a folder that had the words CLASSIFIED stamped on the cover in blue stamp ink.

"And this is?"

"Some of your protégés have been deployed in Spain on an assignment." MOM sighed. "But I fear the worst is yet to come."

Sho read over the folder, which contained information on Los Illuminados.

"I suppose that the underworld knows about the cult's responsibility for kidnapping the First Daughter?" The ninja asked MOM.

"I also got underworld chatter that the cult has hired some muscle for a showdown in case my agents or the DSO would intervene and covertly send their agents as a message to not interfere with them."

Sho nodded. "Alright. I'll go and help..."

"Try and keep it low key as well. I don't want the enemy to know of your arrival..."

"Understood, MOM."


Long Gallery, Mansion, Salazar Castle, somewhere in Spain


"Master!"

"Hm?"

Sho was about to draw out Lightning Light on instinct, if he did not see Dan right in front of him. One of the first generation SHADOW agents trained under his watch.

"Apologies." The ninja sighed in relief that he might have killed him if he did not confirm that he was still in safe territory. "Is there something up, Dan?"

The Malaysian SHADOW agent nodded. "Yeah. I think Leon and Jill tried to speak to the Merchant if they can get some food from him."

"How did it go?" The ninja asked his protégé.

"It's good." Dan said when he showed Sho a wrapped piece of sandwich. "It's not much, but the guy's kind enough to sell them from a bulk package that he has for a few pesetas. I think it's a hundred for one package that contained fourteen pieces of sandwiches."

"I just wonder how he lugs around this much merchandise with him?" Sho mused, wondering how the Merchant can do despite the fact that he's alone in Los llluminados territory and away from Madrid's control.

"I don't know that myself, master." Dan shrugged his shoulders. "I'm just glad that we can get to eat something before we move out again."

"And the others?" Sho examined the sandwich wrapped in a plastic sandwich bag.

"Either they're eating or they're trying to get an early opportunity to get a toilet break. I don't know if they'll try to be tidy, considering we're still in enemy territory."

Sho took out the sandwich from the plastic bag and sniffed it. The ninja then stared at Dan afterwards.

"I tried it. It's Peanut Butter Almond." Dan told Sho. "Actually, it's not that bad."

The ninja commando looked carefully at the sandwich at his right hand one more time.

"Ah..." Sho murmured. "Well it's better than nothing."

While Sho brought down the scarf in order to bite the sandwich, the ninja saw that the others were either still eating, preparing their weapons or returning back from their needed toilet break.


MOM's Office, The Center


"Billy."

MOM spoke up as soon as her personal assistant came back inside her office.

"Here, MOM. I've checked in through all the media outlets in America and Canada." Billy handed her an electronic tablet. "So far, they're still quiet. But the forum boards that are used by conspiracy theorists and the like are making suggestions that the White House is covering something up."

MOM frowned when she read the tablet. I'm not liking this at all.

"Is there something you want me to tell the Security & Intelligence Division later?"

"Get them to continue surveillance on our mole and see if he's met up with Wesker." MOM gave her instructions to Billy before she handed the tablet back to the green alien. "Also, get SID to run an information campaign against the conspiracy theorist forum boards in the internet. I suspect the DSO will do the same thing to keep things very quiet until the First Daughter is secured from the cult."

"Understood, MOM." The alien left her office to get back to work.


Long Gallery, Mansion, Salazar Castle, somewhere in Spain


"You guys done yet?"

Leon approached Dan and Sho alongside Kevin after the latter had just finished eating the sandwich.

"Better than no food at all." The ninja commando told the DSO agents. "What's our next move?"

"Obviously to get in deeper in Salazar's own castle." Leon told the vigilante hero. "I'm just waiting to see if anyone's ready to move out when we're done eating and answering the call of nature."

"I know I'm done." Kevin said as he stretched his arms up high.

"How do we do this then?" Dan asked. "We split up into the usual teams?"

"Most likely." Kevin replied to the SHADOW agent's question. "One of us will have to venture forth and clear out the hostiles while the other stays a bit behind to help secure the rear and make sure no one tries to do a sneak attack against us."

"Alright." Leon nodded. "I think we better start things up right now."


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


Adam had just returned from a toilet break at DSO Headquarters when he received a call from his intercom.

"Excuse me, sir. President Graham has just called in."

The DSO head pressed a button on the intercom in order to speak through it. "Thank you. I'll take care of the call myself."

Adam quickly went back to his seat and answered the call by picking up the phone handle.

"Yes, Mr. President?"

The white-haired man sighed when he leaned back on his seat. This is not good.

"I understand the pressure you're facing from the Joint Chiefs on sending in Delta..." Adam began to speak up after the president spoke up first. "But like I've said before, the ones responsible for kidnapping your daughter came fully prepared."

Adam waited to listen to the president before he replied, "That's right, Mr. President, the kidnappers have complete control to the point that they're able to block all forms of communication between us and my DSO agents in Spain."

The glasses-wearing man sighed again and massaged his temples. Right, that isn't going to go well at all.

"Please, sir. Don't try to act in any way that can get us in trouble with the Spanish government." Adam was silent for a few seconds before he continued, "I'm getting some help from the Center."

A reply came from the president. "Yes, sir. I'll continue to monitor for any changes to the situation. Thank you, sir." Adam placed the phone handle back to the cradle when Bruce came inside after he knocked.

"Sir, what do we do with the CIHL scientist we took into custody?" Bruce stood in front of Adam's desk, clearly looking very tired.

"Let's keep him in our custody for a few more days, see if we can get more details on CIHL's involvement in the kidnapping." Adam replied, who tapped his left index and middle finger on his desk.


Long Gallery, Mansion, Salazar Castle, somewhere in Spain


"I assume that you're speaking with the Merchant?" Sho asked Leon when he drew out his Silver Ghost.

"Aside from being able to pick up a 1000 pesetas and no attempts to haggle down the prices for a couple of weapons, then yeah." Leon shrugged when he did a brass check on his Silver Ghost.

"What?" Kevin frowned when he showed a Single Action Army. "You mean you didn't know about this SAA that I picked up recently?"

"Uh..." Leon was shocked to see Kevin show off the revolver in front of him. "Actually, where did you get that?"

It was Kevin's turn to shrug. "Ah, I just picked it up from a chest a while ago."

"So you're using it?"

"I think it's about time that you need a weapon that can pack some heat aside from your Silver Ghost."

Leon took the SAA from Kevin and ejected the cylindrical chamber to examine the bullets inside.

"Looks like this one's chambered in .357 Magnum." The blonde DSO grinned when he examined the revolver chamber. "Perfect for those monsters that are hard to kill."

"Okay." Kevin nodded. "I can stay here with the others while you lead your team to clear out the way ahead."

"Maybe next time, we should decide on who's going to go next." Leon said before he mused. "Maybe rock, paper, scissors?"

"Sure. Whatever rocks your boat."

Leon gestured to his comrades that he was about to leave and explore the area ahead of them.

"We'll see you later then." Hien gave a thumbs up to Hiryu while the others checked their gear and weapons to make sure that they were ready.

"Sure." Hiryu returned the gesture too.

"Don't die on us, you hear?"

Leon and his team gathered up near the door leading out of the area they're in. Prior to stacking up near the door, he had tucked the SAA in his waistband since he doesn't have an appropriate holster for it.

Hopefully we won't encounter a lot of opposition. I'll probably ask the Merchant if he can sell me a holster for the SAA.

Leon was the first to position himself by the side of the door. His Silver Ghost was at his right hand while he used his left hand to reach for the door knob.

Go. Eriko patted Leon's left shoulder, which gave the latter the signal to open the door and get inside to wherever they're suppose to go to.


Dining Room, Mansion, Salazar Castle, somewhere in Spain


Leon was the first to enter the Dining Room, with his sidearm leveled at each and every nook and cranny of the place to ensure that the place was safe from hostiles.

"Looks all clear to me." Jill said when she took a quick scan of the room when she drew out her Beretta Px4 Type F pistol.

"Something tells me that it means that the enemy's going to come, sooner or later." Hien commented on their situation when he shouldered his Pindad SS1-M5 Commando compact assault rifle.

"Let's go and look around first before we do anything hasty." Dan suggested when he checked his Sig SG 552 assault rifle to make sure it was loaded.

"I found something." Cammy went to search a nearby dining table for a Green Herb.

"Nicely done." Leon said before he inspected a commemorative plaque mounted on the wall and read the inscription. What does this say?

Bread begins the meal of life.

"Is something wrong?" Diana approached Leon when the female Center agent saw the blonde man check out the plaque.

"This one." Eriko pointed to the plaque after he faced Diana. "It says that bread begins the meal of life."

"Sounds like something from the Christian Bible." Hien commented when he heard Leon's voice from reading the plaque.

"I'd agree." Jill replied to Eriko's comment when she took a good took at the plaque for herself. "But considering that they're a cult with bioweapons attached to their name..."

Jean broke a vase with the butt of his Franchi SPAS-12 and looted the shotgun shell box for himself.

"Found another one!" Dan shouted when he read another tablet mounted on the wall.

"What does it say?" Leon asked him.

"See for yourself." Dan stepped aside to show the DSO agent what the tablet said. It was in Spanish, but Eriko was able to read it fluently.

Meat to savor the time at hand.

"Meat to savor the time at hand." Eriko read the tablet in English while Jill stopped at another dining table to grab the box of 9mm bullets.

"There's a door up ahead." Diana went to the metal door with bars on it to see if it can be opened. "And it's locked..."

"Come on." Leon once again raised his Silver Ghost. "Let's clear the rest of this place out."

"Right." Jill nodded. She and the others with a gun raised their weapons, taking no chances with the possibility of being attacked by cultists at any time in the area.

Eriko stayed behind a bit to read another tablet on the wall.

A dessert to cherish our remaining years.

And then she found another one right next to the metal door.

One last drink and the bottle breaks, returning us to the dust from whence we came.

"I found this." Cammy found a counter and rang the bell on it.

"What the heck..." Dan muttered when he saw that it didn't do anything, except that a painting of a dinner table with French bread on a basket, a bottle of wine with a wine glass, a candle, a platter of assorted fruits and a roast chicken were found on the table.

"What we do now?" Java asked his teammates when he saw the painting.

"I'm running out of ideas..." Hien said out loud. "Doesn't help that the tablets don't say much, except that they probably refer to this painting."

"The tablet quotes do seem to end with reference to the wine thing." Diana said, suggesting something regarding the tablets.

Leon approached the counter and aimed his sidearm's iron sights at the painting. Specifically, right at the wine bottle.

"What the heck are you doing...?" The masked Spriggan was about to question Leon's decision to aim his Silver Ghost at the unveiled painting when the blonde man fired his sidearm at the wine bottle.

The said shot resulted in the wine bottle breaking up like an actual wine bottle made out of glass.

"I didn't expect to see that." Diana remarked after she saw Leon fire the shot at the painting.

"It's opening..." Jill said when she saw the door open up.

"I can head inside to scout ahead." Jean smirked when he got his SPAS-12.

Hien rolled his eyes. "My, aren't you cocky, Jean?"

Jean smirked at his comrade. "Heh, aren't I always?"

"Anyone else want to help Jean scout ahead?" Leon asked after he admired his "handiwork".

"I could." Dan shrugged his shoulders. "Provided that I don't get killed."

"What? You got some crystal ball that can predict the future?" Diana raised an eyebrow at Dan.

"Come on you two..." Jean was starting to get irritated. "We need to move." The French Spriggan agent made the configuration to fire his shotgun from pump-action to semi-automatic mode instead so that he wouldn't need to waste time firing the weapon.


Traffic Section, Bokuto Police Station, Sumida, Tokyo, Japan


"Morning."

Miyuki Kobayakawa entered the office of Bokuto Police Station's Traffic Section.

"Hey." Yoriko greeted Miyuki before Natsumi Tsujimoto came in a few seconds later, who yawned since she appeared to be dead tired.

"What happened to her?" Aoi Futaba asked Miyuki before the latter took her seat.

"Gundam marathon again." Miyuki sighed when she told Aoi. "I already told her to not watch the entire marathon if she can't handle waking up by 7 in the morning."

"Morning everyone." Kachou came inside the office and stood near his desk. "I just got information from Headquarters that we need to check new information regarding the culprits responsible for kidnapping the First Daughter of the President of the United States."

"Kachou." Yuka Endo addressed Kachou before she asked her question. "Do we need to help the Criminal Investigation and Security Sections?"

"They're making this a top priority. Especially since Headquarters has agreed to cooperate with the FBI and the Spanish Civil Guard to keep this a secret in order to avoid tipping of their kidnappers." Kachou sighed before he continued with his debriefing. "An anonymous source trusted by HQ said that the Americans have arrested a Secret Service agent for allegedly leaking details on Ms. Graham's travel route from college."

"Hello, Kachou." Ryosuke Arisugawa greeted Kachou when he entered the office alongside Tokuno.

"Does Criminal Investigation have something to add, Tokuno-tantei?" Kachou asked the veteran detective.

"Nothing new." Tokuno sighed. "Except that the detective in Security has requested to still keep this under wraps until we get word from the FBI and the CG that the First Daughter is rescued successfully."

Ryosuke then added. "Considering that a Secret Service agent was the mole for the kidnapping, we can't take any chance of our involvement in the rescue operation to be leaked out. You all know the consequences of leaking this investigation, even by accident..."

"Understood, Arisugawa-tantei." Kachou told the young detective before he eyed his subordinates. "Did you get all that?"

"Yes, sir!" All the uniformed Traffic Section officers replied in unison.

"We'll take our leave now." Tokuno thanked Kachou for his time before he and Ryosuke returned back to the Criminal Investigation Section office.

"I have something for you." Kachou went to his desk and took out an envelope. He then handed it to Miyuki.

"Thank you, Kachou." Miyuki was puzzled to see the envelope. "But what is this?"

Kachou didn't reply to the ponytailed officer's question, which made her curious that she decided to open it up.

"Miyuki, look." Natsumi pointed to the insignia printed on the letter.

"It's the emblem of the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance." Miyuki murmured when she began to pull the letter out of the opened envelope.

"Um... Kachou?" Natsumi asked Kachou while Miyuki began to read the letter. It was written in English, so Miyuki has no problem with it since she's fluent with it aside from her native Japanese.

"I got it yesterday from HQ as well." Kachou explained to Natsumi. "Apparently, the BSAA caught word of Miyuki's actions back with the crisis regarding the Hachi-Ichi-Go Plan a few years ago and they want to give her a position in its East Asian division."

"You mean?"

"That's right. The BSAA's looking for potential candidates. You should read the letter later when Miyuki's done."

"Why do I have to..." Natsumi then realized what Kachou had just said when she found her name included in the letter. "Okay... Now things are going to get interesting around here."

"You don't have to decide right away. They're giving you a year at least to make the decision."

"I understand, Kachou."

"By the way, your friends at the LAPD's Parker Center are also being scouted out for the BSAA."

Miyuki and Natsumi looked at each other, feeling very worried on what the BSAA could do.

"Natsumi, do you think the BSAA would even bother to recruit the likes of... them for instance?"

"Yeah, I'm getting that feeling right now, Miyuki."


Gallery Display Room, Dining Room, Mansion, Salazar Castle, somewhere in Spain


Jean, Hien and Dan went inside the room and saw a treasure chest in the middle of the room. It was placed on top of a small pedestal.

Jean stared at the carpeted floor before he said. "Why do I get the feeling that this is all a trap waiting to be sprung?"

"So how do we know when it starts?" Dan said as he wondered near the pedestal.

"HOLD ON!" Jean started to run to Dan in order to make him stop moving around too much. But since the two of them were near the pedestal, their steps had activated a cage trap.

"Shit's getting bad here!" Hien turned around to see a metal gate that lowered itself to seal off the entrance from the dining room. He quickly changed the Pindad SS1-M5 Commando's fire selector from single to full automatic.

He could hear Leon trying to get the gate open, but he couldn't. Not even Java could help turn the situation around, despite being a caveman with near superhuman strength and everything.

"INCOMING!" Jean began to blast the lock on the door that would lead to him and Dan to escape from the trap. The former began firing his shotgun, thanking himself that he had the time to change its firing rate to semi-automatic.

"You better hurry there!" Dan took one of the incendiary grenades that he saved up. "Because we're about to get some company coming for us!"

Hien looked up and saw one of the Zealots leaping in over the cage trap from a ledge located over the area, armed with a flail.

"Oh shit..." Dan immediately took off the safety pin from the grenade when he saw the Garrador leap down over the cage from the same ledge.

"¡Que sí, quiero matar!"


Briefing Room, Los Angeles Police Department Pacific Division Community Police Station, Los Angeles, California, United States of America


In the LAPD's Pacific Division Community Police Station, the Captain held a meeting at their Traffic Division office where he announced that most of the officers are needed to be present, except those who have shifts that conflict with the meeting time. Because of that part, they are excused from attending the meeting.

"Now with the exception of officers who can't make it due to conflicting schedules with their shifts, I'll go and start this meeting." The Captain said while he adjusted his shades.

"Excuse me, captain." Sally Hancock, one of the Traffic Division's officer known to be a gun nut by her fellow officers, raised her hand. "But why did you summon the majority of the officers from the Traffic Division?"

"I'd sure like to know that too, captain." Ken "Cain" Matney, one of the few Traffic Division officers stationed at Pacific Division who uses a motorcycle in the course of his traffic enforcement duties, said from his seat next to Sally.

"Well, whatever it is, I'm sure that it's significant that we're summoned here and not the other officers from the other divisions and bureaus." Aoi Tipton sighed from her seat behind Sally.

"I'll address that question, Sally." The captain replied to address Sally's question when he showed a folder with the words CLASSIFIED stamped on it. "To begin with, the contents of this folder is very important that each and every officer in this room needs to pay attention to what I have to say."

Rico Weidner eyed the captain as he began to debrief the officers. "The chief wants to pass the word that the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance is starting to look for potential candidates, considering the recent events regarding the Terragrigia Panic launched by the terrorist group, Il Vetro."

Sho Moss, a plainclothed officer who recently transferred to the LAPD's Counter Terrorism and Special Operations Bureau's Major Crimes Division from the Robbery-Homicide Division's Robbery Special Section under the Detective Bureau, came inside the briefing room and greeted the uniformed officers. For today, the detective wore a white shirt with a black windbreaker with a hoodie on alongside jeans and black combat boots.

"All right. To continue where I left off, the chief's announcing to all division that the BSAA's looking for candidates that their representatives will come to the station and interview everyone here to see if you're suitable for their line of work. When that time comes, I don't want to see or hear anything that can jeopardize your chances of joining them if you're thinking about signing up with them. That is all for the meantime. Questions?"

Rico raised her hand. "Captain, are you sure that we don't have to submit anything to the BSAA?"

The captain shook his hand. "I don't think so. The BSAA's being updated on the roster of active officers. But they'll be responsible for weeding out officers who they feel won't meet up with their standards."

Sally felt the captain glare his eyes through his shades.

"And that means don't do anything stupid that'll gain their attention in a negative way. Understood?"

"Y-yes, sir." Sally said with the other officers, albeit a bit nervous.

"Okay. You're all dismissed for now."

As the uniformed officers filed out of the briefing room, Sho approached the captain and spoke to him.


Gallery Display Room, Dining Room, Mansion, Salazar Castle, somewhere in Spain


"Dammit!" Dan finally got the safety pin out of the incendiary grenades and threw it towards the flail-armed Zealot.

The Zealot, in turn, began to burn up as the flames began to consume him.

"Here they come!" Hien opened fire with the SS1-M5 Commando at every Zealot he can see, hitting them with full automatic. So far, he counted a total of four armed Zealots with the same weapon. With his back near the gate that sealed off the dining room from the room the trio, there wasn't any way for the masked Spriggan to expect reinforcements.

Guess I need to take them out ASAP!

Hien focused the sight of the mounted red dot and went to clear the room of the Zealots while Jean's shotgun blast made short work of the lock that barred the use of the door. The blonde man kicked it hard, enabling him and Dan to escape.

"Let's move!" Jean shouted when he shot one of the Zealots at the back with a blast from his SPAS-12. He then emptied the magazine at the downed Zealot until his body dissolved. Afterwards, he began to top off his shotgun to full magazine capacity.

"Hah!" Dan used the other incendiary grenade, safety pin removed of course, and hurled it towards the two Zealots that tried to corner Hien. They began to burn up when the flames consumed them.

Hien took the opportunity of finishing off the downed Zealot by proceeding to reload his his compact assault rifle with another 30-round magazine.

The Garrador, in the meantime, was slowly walking towards the opening Jean had made, already seemingly ready to fight after it heard gunshots.

"Now to take care of this guy." Jean motioned Dan to come to him.

"What?" Dan asked the shotgun-armed man.

"According to what Jill and Kevin told me about their last encounter, that thing uses sound to sense us." Jean said while he watched the Garrador slowly walking about the interior part of the cage trap. "You be the bait and I'll shoot him from the back at the parasite."

"Okay..." Dan said and sighed softly.

"And be careful. Unlike the last time, we're in close quarters. One wrong move and we're done for."

Dan nodded in reply before he shouted. "HEY UGLY! I'M OVER THERE! I BET YOU CAN'T GET ME SINCE YOU'RE LITERALLY BLIND!"

This made the Garrador walk a bit faster towards the open path out of the cage trap. Jean gestured to Hien to walk silently.

"COME ON! I'M OVER HERE!"

The Garrador smacked its claws together and got ready to pursue Dan. This, however, gave Jean the opening he needs by firing the SPAS-12 twice after he reloaded it. This attacked forced the Garrador to kneel down before he tried to execute a backfist attack with his clawed hand.

"Hah!" Hien shouted when he kicked the glass off a cabinet in order to secure an unused flashbang.

This sound made the Garrador charge for the cabinet, stabbing it with its claws.

Jean had a grin written all over his face when he shouldered and fired the SPAS-12 again, this time with three blasts at the exposed parasite. This worked until the Garrador collapsed onto the ground, parasite already destroyed.

The Frenchman approached the corpse and secured the body of its loot worth 15,000 pesetas.

"Two more!" Hien shouted when he loaded his SS1-M5 when two more Zealots leaped down from the ledge and into the interior of the cage trap.

"On me!" Dan fired his SIG SG 552 carbine at one of the flail-armed Zealots while Hien did the same with the other one. When both Zealots were riddled with holes in their bodies, their heads exploded and exposed the parasites from the neck.

"That's kinda gross." Dan said out loud. "Probably will need to see the psychologist later."

"Let's try this for size!" Hien removed the safety pin from the newly acquired flashbang and tossed it onto the carpeted floor, killing off the parasites after they detached from the necks and began to move around like scorpions.

"Cover your eyes!" Dan shouted as he, Hien and Jean covered their eyes with their arms as the flash of light from the primed flashbang killed off the parasites in an instant.

After a few seconds, the light died off and the gate leading to the dining room opened up.

"Let me check this out." Jean slung the shotgun on his back while he began to check if the treasure chest's lid was rigged or not. After seeing that it was not the case, he opened it up and saw that the contents only consisted of an hourglass with gold decorations around it.

"Found it." Jean showed the others the hourglass before he pocketed it.

"Now the only thing left to do is to search and secure anything that we can get." Dan casually reloaded his SG 552 carbine after the fight was over.

"Right." Jean told Dan. "Let's search the place and secure whatever we can."

While Dan and Hien swept the place to make sure that they can secure either money or ammunition, Jean casually walked to Leon and told him that the coast is clear and that they need to pull back in order to sell the hourglass he got, as well as to refill their ammo.


Long Gallery, Mansion, Salazar Castle, somewhere in Spain


Leon led his back to the long gallery, being greeted by Kevin and the others. Jean approached Tea and handed her the hourglass he acquired.

"So what did you guys get?" Kevin asked Leon.

"Just some shotgun shells and some money worth 3500 pesetas." Leon said while he shrugged his shoulders. "Also found an hourglass that could be sold to the merchant."

"Any ammo?"

"Here." Leon handed him a box of 7.62 NATO subsonic bullets with a box of 5.56 NATO bullets. "For you and Jill. You could use them when you need to reload."

"So what's our next move?" Chun-Li asked while Tea went off to see the merchant.

"The only way out is to proceed to the dining room." Jean told the INTERPOL agent. "I've found a door that could take us further into the castle, but I convinced the others to stop by and restock and reload."

"I just hope the First Daughter is all right with our present situation." Yu sighed while he unslung his Heckler & Koch G3A4 from his back and ported it in his arms.

"Okay." Tea regrouped with the others and told them of her news. "I sold the hourglass Jean found for 12,000 pesetas."

"The merchant agreed to it?" Jill asked the British Spriggan.

Tea nodded. "Seems that he was fine with the price."

Leon looked at Hien and Dan, the two of them done with reloading their weapons. "You guys are done?"

"Yeah." Dan replied after he pulled the bolt on his SG 552.

"Same here with me." Hien replied as well when he pulled the bolt of his SS1-M5 Commando.

"Ah, Leon." Tea approached the blonde DSO agent and handed him a shoulder holster. "Take this."

"What is this?" Leon asked Tea, feeling very curious about the shoulder holster offered to him.

"The merchant said that he offers this on the house." Tea explained to him.

"Okay..." Leon went to work and took off his shoulder holster and examined the shoulder holster Tea handed to him. It appeared to have holster provisions for a revolver and a semi-automatic. To his luck, the holster also has a provision for him to hold semi-automatic magazines on it.

"Great." Leon wore the new shoulder holster. "As long as it doesn't slow me down."

"So you're just going to leave it there?" Hiryu asked Leon when he was done wearing the new shoulder holster.

"Yeah. I was due to have that thing replaced anyway." Leon said when he got the Benelli M3 he handed to Kevin while he changed shoulder holsters.

"Let's move out and get the heck outta here." Kevin said when he got out his Glock 21 Mariner from his personal shoulder holster.


Gallery Display Room, Dining Room, Mansion, Salazar Castle, somewhere in Spain


"So this is the place that you guys got stuck in? Quite impressive for an elaborate trap."

Kevin admired the cage trap as the teams walked inside the room. They stopped and looked around to make sure the coast is clear.

"I would assume that the corpse of the clawed being was done by your team as well?" Fujino asked Leon when she saw the corpse of the Garrador.

"That's right." Jean said when he stared at the Garrador's corpse. "I have to admit that he's one tough opponent."

"Which reminds me..." Yu asked Jean. "Isn't its eyes stitched up?"

"That's..." Diana felt creeped out when the Japanese Spriggan asked the question. "kind of gross."

"But that tactic makes things more interesting for its masters when it fights us." Sho stepped in to say his point. "It does seem to indicate that the cult has ambitions to create their own unique supersoldier to use against their adversaries."

"I'd rather not see those things again in the near future." Jill sighed. "I'd be worried about us running out of ammunition at a certain point."

"I'll take the lead." Kevin took the lead in opening the door, but he did it slowly so that he can use the element of surprise in case an enemy would be waiting at the other side of the door.


Art Gallery, Mansion, Salazar Castle, somewhere in Spain


Kevin peeked through the door that led to the mansion's large room that serves as its art gallery.

"Let's have a look first." Kevin gestured to his comrades to wait while he walked out to scout out the short hallway. He held his Glock 21 Mariner in a weaver stance.

The only thing that the brown-haired DSO agent noted was the absence of any path that would lead to the other side of the room. Kevin clearly saw that there was a door on the other side on the upper floor of the art gallery.

How do you get across from there?

Kevin turned around and gestured to his allies that the coast is clear. He started to crouch down to prevent the Zealots from seeing him to a minimum.

We better proceed more carefully. I can see someone prowling on the other side of the upper floor.

"What's up, Kevin?" Leon was the first to see Kevin before he crouched next to him.

"Spotted an enemy on the other side of the room." Kevin pointed to the presence of the Zealot who was still prowling on a hallway corridor that led to the other door.

"You think there's more?"

Kevin nodded.

"We better get ready then."


Command Center, Field Operations Support Division, DSO Headquarters, somewhere in Virginia, United States of America


Hunnigan was busy getting updates from FOS staff in regards to the jamming zone Los Illuminados had installed. There has been only little news since they lost contact with Leon and Kevin in Spain, which was turning desperate.

If we can't gain any good news, the Army or the Navy might step in and get their men on the ground, even without authorization from Senior Agent Benford himself.

"Hey, Hunnigan!"

The woman turned to see Bruce enter the FOS' command center with a folder in hand.

"Ah, Bruce." Hunnigan adjusted her glasses when she greeted the bearded DSO agent. "Is there an update on the files seized from the recent raid on CIHL?"

"I think so." Bruce handed her the folder. "The guys went over the files and they're suggesting some good intel that we can use."

"Like what for example?"

"Well aside from the files that confirms that CIHL has a hand in installing the jamming zone, it also shows some notes on a monster they're creating."

This revelation made Hunnigan more curious on the new intel they acquired.

"Is there further information on this?"

"I'm not sure. They're double checking, but initial assessments says that the files on the said monster aren't present."

Hunnigan sighed after she heard the answer from Bruce.

At least we're getting somewhat somewhere.


Art Gallery, Mansion, Salazar Castle, somewhere in Spain


Kevin and Jill went to set up their sniper rifles after they flipped the attached bipods down in order to be used while they were prone. Leon and Jean got their shotguns ready for close quarters.

"Hold up a second." Jill got the bipod of her Heckler & Koch SL8-4 steady on the floor. She then peered through the Leupold riflescope. "I can see multiple hostiles."

"How many?" Kevin asked when he got the bipod of his Steyr SSG P IV already set up.

"I count four. Two of them in red hoods and two more in black hoods and masks that resemble the ones used by the KKK." Jill made sure that the adjustments on her riflescope were still okay. "They're all armed with flails."

"Okay." Kevin nodded when he peered through the SSG P IV's mounted riflescope.

Leon knelt down next to the snipers and used the binoculars to scout the area in order to act as the spotter. "Okay. Get ready to fire."

Kevin concentrated on the Zealot walking near the door on the other side of the room while Jill took aim at the three Zealots at the lower floor.

"Now."

Kevin took the first shot at the Zealot walking around on the upper hallway corridor near the door, firing a subsonic 7.62 NATO bullet at his chest. This forced the Zealot to slam his back against the wall.

Perfect. Kevin quickly pulled the bolt back to eject a spent cartridge before he pushed it back to the sniper rifle to load up on another subsonic 7.62 NATO bullet. He pulled the trigger after he got the weapon aimed at his forehead.

"Good kill, good kill." Leon complimented his partner's shooting skills after he saw the Zealot's head explode.

"Looks like we've got the neighborhood's attention." Jill sarcastically remarked when she scoped the red Zealots pointing to their sniper position.

"You have the shot?" Leon asked the ex-STARS officer if she could snipe the red Zealots, taking to consideration the angle and position of Jill that she could have a hard time in shooting her sniper rifle.

"I can take it, Leon." Jill made sure the buttstock was very close to her right shoulder before she pulled the trigger, scoring a headshot on one of the red Zealots.

"Nice one, Jill." Kevin complimented Jill's shooting when he helped out by firing the next shot at the downed red Zealot when he went down onto the floor, back first. "I'll take the next shot." The brown-haired man ensured that his shot went through the downed Zealot's left temple, which killed him for good after his head exploded.

"Good kill there, Kevin." Leon observed the situation while he motioned to the others to wait until Kevin and Jill could clear the area of all present enemies.

"Got another one." Jill fired the SL8-4 again at the second red Zealot, hitting him at the chest. She saw that he took a few steps backward. She then fired again at his forehead so that he can go down.

"I'll take care of the other cultist there." Kevin worked the bolt to extract the spent cartridge and back to load up a fresh bullet. He opened fire at the black Zealot and struck him on the left shoulder. He worked the bolt backward and forward again before he fired again to hit the Zealot on the head.

"That's two good ones." Leon said when he observed the second red and black Zealots killed off by another shot to their heads once again. "All right. Good kills, good kills."

"I shall go forward and scout ahead." While Sho dashed down to the lower floor and pulled the crank, Jill and Kevin focused their attention on the now rising footbridge. The Ninja Commando took advantage of this by executing a double jump. He landed on top of the footbridge.

"I got incoming from the other side of the room!" Leon shouted, which made Sho retreat temporarily as Zealots with flails and spiked wooden shields stormed the room to hunt down their targets and eliminate them for their master.

"Up there!" Hiryu shouted when he pointed to the overhead lamp.

"I got this one!" Jill took aim at the overhead lamp and fired a 5.56 NATO bullet, which shattered the lamp and dumped flammable liquid on them.

"DAN!" Hiryu gestured to his fellow SHADOW agent to link up with him. The masked agent had just shouldered his Heckler & Koch G36C and took aim with the Bundeswehr-issued reflex sight at two Zealots since they stormed the room and were now coming near the footbridge.

"OKAY! GO!" Dan shouted to his comrade, being the first to open fire at the Zealots. Hiryu joined up and they gunned them down after they expended a magazine's worth of bullets. They both did quick reloads and proceeded to lay waste to the downed Zealots until they shouted and cringed in pain before their bodies dissolved.

"We'll secure the area." Leon said when he kept his binoculars and got his M3 ready.

"We can make this quick." Kevin told his partner when he gestured to Sho, Fujino and Yu to follow him. They crossed the footbridge and turned to the left, heading towards the other side of the art gallery, which included a glass display case.


"Here we are."

Kevin said when he led Sho, Fujino and Yu to a small flight of steps down, only for them to encounter resistance when a crossbow bolt with a burning arrowhead came very close to killing Kevin.

"Hold it." Kevin extended his right arm out to show the other three that someone is still out there.

"What kind of trouble?" Yu asked when he got his G3A4 ready.

"Someone with an itch to fire a crossbow."

"Allow me then, agent Ryman." Fujino said before she started to concentrate on her spiritual energy, which made the crossbow-wielding Zealot scream and gurgle in pain when his body began to twist itself... in different places where they can't be described or someone might vomit.

"I'm... starting to feel quite sorry for the cultist that tried to attack us with a crossbow." Kevin said when he knelt down and unslung his SSG P IV.

"Is the coast clear?" Sho asked when he drew out Lightning Light.

"Yes." Fujino replied. "I believe so. I don't think he'll try and attack us again."

"I'll stay here and provide covering fire." Kevin said when he checked the bolt to make sure the sniper rifle was loaded. "Fujino, you can go with Sho to secure the area."

"Yeah, yeah." Yu sighed when he shouldered his G3A4. "I'll stay here and protect the sniper in case he gets attacked."

Sho took the lead in getting near the glass case, taking out the Zealot with the flail and spiked wooden shield by stabbing it at the left temple with Lightning Light after he sidestepped to avoid being hit by the weapon.

Fujino armed herself with the Karambit she got from her O-Watch and used it to smash the glass on the display case. She then secured a box of shotgun shells, 9mm bullets, 7.62 NATO bullets, an incendiary grenade and a flashbang.

"I can see someone up there!" Yu aimed the iron sights of his G3A4 when he spotted a Zealot slowly walking towards the staircase. The Japanese Spriggan agent took aim at the Zealot's chest and fired at his chest.

The Zealot was struck by the bullet several times, feeling very weak in the assault. Fujino saw it and charged at the Zealot. The Japanese SHADOW agent subsequently struck the Zealot at the head with the Karambit blade.


Unknown Control Room


Wesker went over the details with the Bee Number One plan that he got from Emoto a few months ago before his assassination at the hands of the Center's SHADOW force.

"I didn't realize that the National Police Agency asked Emoto to devise such a plan." The ex-Umbrella researcher and STARS officer murmured when he stared at the screen in front of him. "It's only a shame that I don't know if Emoto had such plans for Bee Number Two already written up before he went underground."

"Wesker." Wesker greeted Ada, whose face appeared on the screen. "I didn't expect to see you again after a while."

"There's an additional task that I want you to do after things are done in Spain." Wesker told Ada calmly.

Ada raised an eyebrow, a bit curious. "And just what kind of task do you want me to do, Wesker?"

"It's quite simple, Ada. I need you to look and see if you can retrieve any data from Emoto's possessions regarding any Bee Number files he may have drawn up, but didn't have the time to type it up on a computer."

"I thought Emoto only had two files."

"True, but I seemed to remember a conversation with him before he was killed."


"Before we go, there's something that I need to tell you."

"And what is this about, Emoto?"

"I previously made drafts on other Bee Number assault plans when I was still with the Tokyo Metropolitan Police. Before I disappeared to go underground, I carefully hid the completed draft so that public security wouldn't be able to find it."

"I see. May I ask where have you stashed these plans of yours?"

"That answer is quite easy to answer, Wesker..."


"I got it." Ada sighed after she heard Wesker tell her about the conversation between him and Emoto. "I'll see what I can do after the job in Spain is completed."

"I'm glad to see that you're not resisting my orders." Wesker grinned when he heard Ada reply.

"But seriously, couldn't you give me an easier job to do, Wesker?"

"My dear, this kind of problem comes with the territory."

"Right... And you're just saying that because you're sitting there in your little command center."


Art Gallery, Mansion, Salazar Castle, somewhere in Spain


Fujino had just killed off the last Zealot when she caught sight of a door that was literally locked up with a huge padlock.. She used her bending powers to weaken the lock before she destroyed it with one slash from her Karambit.

"All clear." Kevin saw through his riflescope that the corpses of the Zealots began to dissolve since they were already dead. "They're dead."

"Right." Kevin and Yu retraced their steps back to meet up with Leon while Fujino and Sho went through the unlocked door with the former kicking it open. On the way back, the latter stopped back to pick up a total of 4800 pesetas, a Velvet Blue and the RPG-7 from the shattered display case.

This may prove useful to us later on.


Leon greeted Kevin and the others when they made it back. "I see that you guys found an interesting weapon."

"Indeed, Leon-san." Sho showed off the RPG-7. "We found this by a display case in the gallery."

"Mind you, the paintings are quite interesting for the master of this castle." Yu commented when he got the RPG-7 from Sho. "The castle's gallery has Raphael's School of Athens for crying out loud."

"So our host is sophisticated in the arts?" Cammy suggested. "I guess that would make sense."

Yu checked out the RPG-7 he got from the ninja, including the warhead already attached.

"Well, Yu?" Hiryu asked Yu when he looked at the mounted rocket.

"Definitely Russian-made. I'll go and carry this."

"Guess we need to move now."

The teams moved in towards the door by crossing the footbridge, being careful so as not to fall over. They eventually got the door open, which was not locked and went inside to leave the art gallery.


Staircase Landing/Hallway, Mansion, Salazar Castle, somewhere in Spain


"Looks like we're safe." Martin murmured when Sho began to dash around and smash the vases to pick up a Spinel and some more .45 ACP bullets for Kevin. The teams walked a short flight of stairs up to a hallway.

"Welcome, strangahs!" The merchant greeted his customers. He poked his head out of the makeshift stall that he had set up in the hallway.

"I'm not going to even ask how he got here." Diana sighed in confusion. "He just might beat Sho's speed if we see him again later on."

"Lampshading this now huh Di?" Martin asked his stepsibling.

"Greetings." Tea calmly walked to the merchant and placed the Spinel and the Velvet Blue down on the makeshift marble counter. "I believe that we can sell this to you for a good price."

"Ah... yes indeed." The merchant picked up the Velvet Blue first and examined it. He then placed it down on the counter and picked up the Spinel. "I'll buy them at a fair price."

The hooded man collected the Velvet Blue and Spinel before he handed to Tea a total of 4500 pesetas.

"Appreciated, good sir." Tea grinned at the merchant while some of the others asked him if he can help in reloading empty assault rife magazines.

"Ready, Kevin?" Leon asked Kevin when he got his Silver Ghost ready.

"Yeah, I am." Kevin told his DSO partner. "We ought to end this."

"I'll go and check the door." Jill reached out to the doorknob.

"Door locked?" Chun-Li asked the brown-haired woman.

"No, it looks fine."

"Sorry we're a bit late." Hiryu greeted the others. "We got our empty magazines taken care of, so we're loaded up."

Jill got her Px4 Type F ready when she opened the door slowly and peeked to see what was on the other side.

"All clear." Jill turned her head around and whispered the two words to her allies.


Concourse, Mansion, Salazar Castle, somewhere in Spain


The teams had just cleared up the concourse level when they found Luis approaching them.

"Hey you guys!" Luis had a grin on his face. "I just got something to..."

"LOOK OUT!" Kevin shouted when he saw someone was behind the rogue researcher. He had his sidearm at the ready.

"Wh-!" But by the time Luis turned around halfway, he was stabbed by a tentacle that pierced his chest.

"HOLY F*CK!" Dan shouldered his SG 552 at the being responsible for stabbing Luis.

"Dammit!" Leon aimed his Silver Ghost at the tentacle as well. Soon enough, Hien, Jean, Jill, Eriko aimed their weapons as well. Yu and Hiryu prepared to raise their weapons should they need to.

"AAAHHHGH!" Luis screamed in pain when the being revealed himself to the teams.

"YOU!" Yu aimed the iron sights of his G3A4 at Saddler.

"Greetings to my humble guests." Saddler said when he allowed the Plaga sample that fell from Luis' hand to land on his palm. "As you may see, I have decided to dispose of Señor Sera since he has outlived his usefulness to me."

"SADDLER!" Leon was ready to fire his sidearm at Saddler when he allowed his tentacle to withdraw from Luis' chest and deposited his dying body on the ground.

"Hmph." Saddler felt very confident with his attack against Luis as the tentacle went back under the cult leader's cloak as he made his exit. "My boy Salazar and his allies will make sure that all of you will meet the same fate as him."

"Curse you, Saddler!" Yu only fired off a few rounds from his German-made battle rifle before Jean seized the foregrip, which made him stop.

"It's no use." Jean told Yu. "Besides, he already made his disappearance."

Leon, Kevin and Jill went off to check on Luis while Hiryu, Hien and Fujino checked to see if they can still track down Saddler and get the Plaga sample.

"Stay with us, Luis." Jill told Luis when he started to cough blood.

"I'm one of the many researchers hired by Saddler and his little cult." Luis felt very weak when he spoke up. "He... he found out about what I was doing."

"Do not speak." Tea said when she knelt next to him. "You are dying from massive blood loss."

"H-here." Luis slipped a bottle of pills to Tea's gloved hand. "This should suppress the growth of the parasites. Saddler... took the sample. You guys need to get it... back."

"Will it be enough for all of us?" Leon asked.

Luis weakly nodded before he gave his last breath.

"He died helping us." Sho knelt down to close Luis' eyes. "Such sacrifice should not be made in vain."

"SHIT!" Dan punched the wall in anger hard, not being able to do anything to stop Saddler from killing off Luis.

"Hey Dan." Diana placed a comforting hand on his left shoulder. "It's not your fault. Believe me, you're not the only one who feels like this."

"The young lady is right." Sho told the Malaysian SHADOW agent. "For now, let's concentrate our efforts to locate Saddler and seize the Plaga sample from him."

"Yeah, I'd agree too." Leon spoke out next. "I think we better follow Luis' advice and take the anti-parasite growth pills as soon as we can. That way, we won't have to worry about potential fainting spells."

"Of course, we'll need to save a few for Ms. Graham when we can find her." The Delta Red operative spoke to Leon, feeling very worried that Luis' unfortunate could backfire any of their plans to escape easily.

"I'll go and search the concourse with Java." Martin told the others when he motioned to Java to go with him. "With luck, we should secure some items on the way."

Martin and Java began to explore the concourse with the latter using his caveman fists to break vases and found a Spinel, 2200 pesetas, a box of 5.56 NATO bullets and a box of .357 Magnum bullets.

On the way back, Martin motioned to Java to take the painting off the wall, which revealed gold bars worth 5000 pesetas.

A few minutes, Hiryu, Hien and Fujino managed to rendezvous back with the others.


Ashley groaned when she woke up and found herself pinned on the wall, being held by steel restraints that surrounded her body and legs.

Where the heck am I?

The First Daughter could hear voices from the upper part of the concourse, all of them very familiar to her. What pissed her off right no is that they didn't seem to notice her.

I better get their attention.

And she got the attention of her saviors in one of the many ways possible that can attract trouble.

She yelled at the top of her lungs in order to get their full and undivided attention.

"OVERRRR HEREEE!"

Chapter 18 END


PS - Another major update for my fanfic writing stuff. Well, I got a lot of excuses. Among them complications from my radiotherapy treatment and my father showing me the ropes of handling a business in the "Bamboo Network". Also includes laziness since I'm resting from writing fanfic chapters almost all the time.

Also a major one is that I've been told not to return back to college and finish off the last semester to get the needed credits to be admitted again to university level so that I can get my uni BA degree. For now, I've been trying to search for alternatives like distance education, though I don't know if distance education taken from another country away from Canada can be considered, although I know that one university in BC says it's not against their policy.

Right now, I'm getting ideas of doing crossover stories of Assassin's Creed and Sakura Taisen, though I'm not sure if I should place it at the same time when ST1 (I'm not sure if the game starts by 1923) or as a AU in the Cold War era. I just hate when these story ideas pop up when I'm in the middle of something major. And since I'm wrapping this up with another major story later on, I'll probably my main universe in the fanfic world as the "Ominaeverse" 'cause it has no name. Or maybe I'll choose another one.

Yeah, suddenly I feel like doing short stories sprees for Patlabor and YUA since they're neglected nowadays, although more emphasis is on the former since a Live-Action version is going to air in Japan with a ETA of 2014. No exact month yet though. Yeah, I'll need to figure on the story ideas...

And I hope you guys enjoy the cameos who show up from Japan and in the US in the chapter, although they're not involved with our heroes. As for those who show up from America, I had to combine their name from the official Japanese credits (e.g. Ken's expy from the LAPD is credited in Japan as "Ken", not "Cain" from a fansub that I saw before years ago) with the surnames of the VAs who play the actual characters since they don't have surnames. I hope that helps in case start to pump a review and ask about the cameos.

Also, the Japanese way of addressing a police officer as a detective would either be tantei or keiji. As far as I'm told, they're the same thing. I may change them around by mistake or fluke, so no need to worry about this thing.

For now, let me know how it is when you review. Let me know if you spot anything else like mistakes or whatnot. After this, I'll start preparations to get back on track and write up another chapter of "Peacekeepers".

And by now, we should be ending here at chapter 3-4. Now I don't know if I should make Ashley a bit of a badass that she can fend off for herself without running away all the time or get someone to accompany her. Probably Sho since he's a ninja badass.


Pesetas in Total = 247,700