By Head Crook, Esq.
Denver, Colorado 90 miles
southeast of what was Raccoon City.
Fighting dizzyness and fatigue. Leon Scott Kennedy leaned up
against the wall eyes closed, trying to focus, despite the fact
that he was shot. He had the disk that would open the door that
would lead to the loading dock, although he had to use his Desert
Eagle to blow away a couple of zombified scientists in order to
do so.
He didn't hear the hydraulic door in front of him open and close,
but he did hear the sound of a handgun hammer being pulled back.
"You!"
The RPD officer opened his eyes only to store at a barrel of a
nine millimeter Browning handgun, held by…
"You murdered my husband!" Annette Birkin ranted.
"I know what you're after!" With her other hand, she
pulled out a small vial filled with a purplish fluid from her lab
coat. "You came for the G-Virus! But you can't take it from
me!"
The demented scientist pulls the glass vial close to her and
begins to tremble uncontrollably. "This is my husband's
legacy!" She quickly regains her composure (what's left of
it) and gives Leon a bitter smile.
"Now, where's that spy you were working with? You know what
I'm talking about."
Leon didn't have the slightest clue to what Annette was talking
about. Annette saw the expression on his face and she began to
laugh." You don't know, do you? You are so dumb. I did a
background check on Miss Wong and she was sent here by Umbrella,
you idiot! She seduced John Howe in order to steal my husband's
research."
"You're lying!" Leon shot back. "Ada wouldn't do
anything like that!"
"I don't care what you think," Annette said raising her
gun at Leon's chest. "You're about to die anyway."
Oh, hell, Leon thought
Suddenly, the entire laboratory started to shake. Annette
momentarily last her balance, but she managed to stay on her feet.
She was about to pull the trigger, when a series of lead pipes
above Annette gave way and crashed on top of her, half burying
her, and knocking her out cold.
Leon crouched down over Annette's body and checked for a pulse. She's
still alive, Leon thought. He looked at the
G-virus vial, still enclosed in Annette's hand. Leon hesitated
before yanking the vial out of her hand.
It was then the P.A. system came on.
"The self-destruct sequence has been activated. Repeat: the
self-destruct sequence has been activated. This sequence may not
be aborted. All employees proceed to the bottom platform."
The recorded voice began to repeat the message. Leon stood up and
headed for the door that led to the Y-shaped bridge. He bolted
across the bridge and turned left, running across the metal
bridge when someone called his name.
"Leon!"
Leon stopped in his tracks. He turned around. A Chinese woman
with short black hair and clad in a red tunic dress with black
stockings approached him, a Browning handgun in her hand.
"I've been waiting for you, Leon." Ada Wong said,
raising her gun at Leon, her voice cold.
"What are you doing?" Leon asked.
Ada kept her gun raised at Leon. "You know what this is
about. Hand over the G-virus."
"I don't believe this." Leon mumbled. "Annette was
right…about everything."
Tears began to well up in the woman's eyes. "That's why I
told you to leave without me, but you wouldn't listen!" Ada's
voice broke, "Give me the G-virus. Don't make me kill you."
Leon looked at the gun, then he looked at Ada. "No."
Leon replied flatly. "You can't do that."
For a long time, Ada kept her gun raised at the cop. Then she
lowered the gun and it fell from her hand. It landed on the metal
floor with a clattering sound. Leon breathed a sigh of relief, as
he watched Ada cry silently to herself.
Leon couldn't help but feel sorry for her. "Ada, I—"
BANG!
Ada's head jerked back and she let out a scream of pain. Groaning,
she tried to stumble over towards Leon, but her legs felt weak.
She fell over the railing, but Leon was there, holding onto Ada's
hand.
"Ada, I got you!" Leon shouted. "Don't give up!"
Behind them, Annette aimed her gun at the cop, but the effects of
being clobbered by lead pipes was starting to kick in and she
sank to her knees, moaning. "G…G-virus…" She
then fell over.
"Leon." Ada moaned. "It's too late for me. Get out
while you still can."
"Shut up!" Leon snarled. "You're gonna make it!"
Leon tried to pull her up, but the gunshot wound in his left
shoulder stops him.
"I really wanted to escape with you, Leon." Ada
whispered. "Escape from everything."
Leon felt Ada's hand slip out of his. "Goodbye."she
whispered. Leon then lost his grip on Ada's hand and she was
falling.
"ADA!!!!"
Leon woke up in his living room. He wasn't in the Umbrella
Laboratory, he was in his apartment in Denver. Leon took a deep
breath and he blew it out.
"Calm down Leon, it was just a dream." He told himself.
Following the events after Raccoon City, Leon joined up with the
surviving S.T.A.R.S. members in Europe, where they were preparing
to storm Umbrella Headquarters. Claire Redfield followed him, but
a couple of Umbrella goons kidnapped her and her brother and
dumped them on a zombie-infested island. Both siblings escaped
and rejoined their friends in Europe and they stormed the
Umbrella HQ. They were successful in destroying White Umbrella
and nearly all of their research. Shortly after the planned raid,
they returned to the United States and settled in Denver. He got
a job with the Denver Police Department, thanks to a
recommendation from Claire's older brother. Chris Redfield.
Leon got up from the sofa and walked over to the kitchen. He
opened up the fridge and pulls out the remainder of his lunch, a
sub-sandwich and a bottle of water. The T.V. was on and he was
watching the news. He wasn't paying attention to the news, but
then the anchorwoman began to speak about Raccoon City.
"Earlier this month, we were told about the destruction of
Raccoon City. We weren't told exact details about why the
President and the federal council have passed judgment over the
mountain town, but we have received a statement from the Umbrella
Corporation, who had a medical and research facility located in
the downtown area, concerning the events that took place on
September 27th through October 2nd."
The video footage of the Umbrella interview came on next. A
middle aged man stood behind the podium. Behind him, was the red-and-white
insignia of the Umbrella Corporation.
"During the last two weeks of September, the scientists at
the research facility in Raccoon City were studying a new and
mutated version of the Hong Kong chicken flu virus. Somehow, the
virus escaped and the citizens of Raccoon were caught up in a
epidemic that engulfed the city in a matter of days. It was then
we turned to the President and the federal council and we decided
that the bacillus-terminate operation was the best course of
action. The death toll stands at over 100,000 civilians. Among
the dead are Michael Warren, the mayor of the city, Brian Irons,
the Raccoon Police Department Chief, and William Birkin, our
esteemed scientist, and his family."
The news footage ended and the anchorwoman was back on the screen.
"The unit that carried out the order, the Special Forces
unit, led by Colonel William F. Guile, gave us this statement
when we asked him about the President's and Umbrella's decision
to destroy Raccoon City."
Guile's face appeared on the screen.
"The decision made by the federal council and the Umbrella
Corporation was one of many bad choices," the Air Force
colonel said. "There were survivors in that city, but as
evidence clearly shows that most of Raccoon City's streets were
barricaded, thus the fleeing civilians of Raccoon City could not
escape and were infected by the virus."
Leon had heard enough and he pointed the remote control at the
set and he turned it off. Sighing, he raised the bottle of water
to his lips and took a sip.
It was then he heard a knock at the door.
I'm not expecting any company,
Leon thought as he walked over to the door.
"Who is it?" Leon asked.
"Army intelligence, Detective Kennedy," came the reply.
Leon opened the door. It wasn't Army intelligence. It was Ada
Wong.
"Hello, Leon," she said calmly.
Leon just stood there, his blue eyes wide open as if he was going
into cardiac arrest. "Y-you're dead," Leon blurted out.
"I saw you die. You're a ghost."
"If I'm a ghost, Leon," Ada began to reply, "could
I do this?"
Before Leon could do or say anything, Ada moved in and kissed him
fully on the lips. Her arms wrapped around his waist, locking
Leon in a warm embrace. Ada felt Leon's lips relax and he started
to return the kiss. After a few moments, Ada broke off the kiss
and her pale face turned crimson.
"I'm sorry, Leon, " Ada said, turning her head. "I
was only trying to…."
Ada felt Leon's hand on her chin. He gently turned her head so
that she was looking at him fully in the face.
"It's okay, Ada. I understand."
Later on, Leon and Ada were sitting on the couch. Leon looked at
Ada, who was looking outside the window, looking outside at the
snowy Denver night. Ada had somewhat changed her appearance since
the events in Raccoon City. Ada had bleached her hair, then she
dyed her hair medium brown.
"Ada, are you ready to talk yet?" Leon asked.
Ada looked at Leon. "when you lost your grip on my hand, you
thought I was dead, right?" She shook her head. "From
where I fell from the bridge, the main shaft was about ten feet
deep. Luckily, something broke my fall. The last thing I saw
before passing out were members of Umbrella's mercenary army
looking down on me.
" When I came to, I was in a hospital. The doctors said I
was in a coma for three weeks. I asked the doctor about what had
happened to Raccoon City, and he told me that the entire city was
destroyed."
She paused for a moment. " Shortly after I was released from
the hospital, I was summoned to Umbrella Headquarters. I told
them what had happened and I received my pay and some bonus pay
as well. They offered me another job, but since my contract with
Umbrella had expired, I refused.
" Since I knew what Umbrella was capable of, I faked my
death. Afterwards, I changed my appearance, as well as my name.
Right now, everyone else think I am dead."
"How did you find me?" Leon asked.
"That was the easy part," Ada replied, brushing a
strand of brown hair out of the way. "When I arrived in
Denver, I hacked into the police department's files and got your
address." She took a deep breath before continuing. "Leon,
I want to apologize… about trying to kill you back in the
laboratory."
Leon stood up and walked into his bedroom. One minute later, Ada
heard Leon call her into the bedroom. Ada stood up and walked
into his bedroom Leon was standing by his bed holding something
in his hand.
"I don't know why I kept this thing, Ada" Leon began
"Sentimental reasons, I don't know."
He hands the weapon over to Ada. Ada looked at the weapon. It was
her Browning handgun.
"Ada, when you pointed that gun at me back in the lab, it
wasn't loaded." Leon said.
Ada looked up from the gun. "What?" she asked.
"The gun wasn't loaded, Ada."
A tear ran down her cheek. The gun slipped out of her hand and it
fell to the floor. Leon felt the same pang of pity that he felt
for her in the laboratory.
"Oh, Ada…." Leon whispered as he wrapped his arms
around her waist. Ada was surprised when Leon did this, but she
finally surrendered to her emotions and she leaned up against
Leon. Her arms wrapped around his waist, holding him close to her.
Ada looked into Leon's eyes and sighed. Neither person didn't
notice the distance between them was closing until they shared a
very romantic kiss…
A couple of blocks away…
Chris Redfield quietly opened the door to the roomy condo that he
shared with Jill, his sister Claire, and Sherry Birkin. He found
Sherry in the living room, reading a textbook, and his younger
sister Claire at the dining room table, studying for a midterm
exam. Sherry was fully aware of Chris' presence, but Claire was
too absorbed in her studies to notice. Chris quietly closed the
door and quietly snuck up behind his sister.
"Hi, Clare."
Claire jumped up with a yelp and turned around, only to relax
when she saw it was her brother." Big brother!" she
cried, throwing her arms around her brother in a bear hug. Sherry
was amazed by the bond between Claire and her brother, and in the
past few months, that bond had gotten stronger.
After the destruction of Raccoon City, and following the raid on
Umbrella Headquarters, the surviving S.T.A.R.S. returned to the U.S.,
trying to figure out what they were going to do next. That's when
the Denver police chief appeared, offering them a job in his
police force.
Naturally, the S.T.A.R.S. were suspicious of the police chief,
until he told them that his brother was Marvin Branagh, one of
the RPD officers who had died in the zombie invasion. The S.T.A.R.S.
accepted Chief Branagh's offer and they decided to stay in Denver.
Since Claire was a minor, Chris and Jill have taken Sherry as
their ward. They've changed Sherry's appearance by dying her
blond hair red and they also changed her name. Sherry was no
longer Sherry Alexis Birkin, she was Alexis Valentine.
The trick worked, and Umbrella thought that the Birkin family had
died in Raccoon. Chris, Jill, and Claire had welcomed the now
thirteen-year-old into their family with open arms.
"Where's Jill?" Chris asked.
"She's in the bedroom, asleep." Sherry replied.
"Hey, kiddo. I didn't see you." Chris said, ruffling
her hair. "How was school?"
"Okay." She turned to Claire. "Claire, can you
help me with my history homework? It's on the French Revolution."
Claire stood up and walked over to the little girl. "Sure, I'll
help you."
Chris decided to leave them alone and he walked up the stairs to
the master bedroom, hoping to surprise his fiancee.
In the master bedroom, Jill Valentine was having a horrible
nightmare. She was in Raccoon City and she was in the courtyard
of the Raccoon Police Department. Just as she reached for handles
of the double green doors, she heard the main gate creak open and
close. Jill whirled around, the custom Beretta aimed at who or
whatever came in.
It was a man in a yellow vest and a t-shirt, stained with his
blood, some of it dripping onto his fatigues.
"Jill…" the man groaned.
"Brad!"
Brad Vickers, the S.T.A.R.S. helicopter was injured very badly,
since he was holding his side in an attempt to stop the bleeding.
He began to limp towards Jill.
"Jill, we gotta—WHOOAA!"
Chickenheart Vickers stopped limping when the Tyrant landed in
between Jill and himself. Despite his serious injury, Brad began
to run, with the monster close behind him. Jill then realized in
the numb horror that this was the monster that Brad was raving
about.
The monster that hunts S.T.A.R.S. members.
"Jill, help!" Brad screamed.
Soon, Brad felt the cool hardness of the stone wall behind him.
The monster reached out and with the hand the size of a human
head, grabbed a handful of Brad's vest and hoisted the injured
pilot into the air.
"NOOOOO!" Brad screamed.
The Tyrant placed its other hand in front of Brad's face. He was
still screaming when the purple tentacle shot out of the monster's
hand and into Brad's mouth—
--only to come out of the back of Brad's head, covered in blood.
"No!" Jill cried, turning her head away. After the
tentacle returned to its open palm, the monster tossed Brad's
body to the ground. The Tyrant then turned to face Jill. Its
upper right half of its face was split open, but a series of
surgical staples held its face together. Like the first Tyrant,
this one had a lipless mouth, its gnashing teeth in the form of a
homicidal grin. A weird looking—one sleeved trenchcoat and
black pants covered its body. Jill could see the purple tentacles
around his neck. Its one eye glared at Jill, who was staring at
Brad's body.
"Brad…" Jill whispered. Of course, Brad couldn't
hear her. He was dead.
"…stars…" the thing said.
Its next target was Jill.
Jill had just met her Nemesis...
"NOOOO!!!"
Jill woke up with a scream as she shot straight up in she bed.
Jill looked around in the room. Just a dream. Just a dream, she
thought.
"Jill, are you okay?"
Chris's voice caught the ex-S.T.A.R.S. member off guard. Jill
looked into the face of her former teammate, who was also her
love interest. She collapsed into her boyfriend's arms.
Jill sighed as Chris's arms seem to engulf her in its warm
embrace. "No, Chris," she replied. "I'm not okay."
She looked into Chris's eyes. "I saw Brad die, Chris,"
Jill whispered.
"I'm not okay."
"It's okay, Jill," Chris told her. "Raccoon City
is nothing more than a memory. The raid on the Umbrella
Headquarters, its nothing more than a memory. You're here with me."
Jill looked into Chris's eyes. "Oh, Chris," Jill
started. "hold me, please."
Chris did just that.
In Chapter Three:
A close call for Chun Li. Enter Carlos.