Chapter Text
“Leon!”
“I’m listening.” Leon muttered absentmindedly as he tinkered with his latest project. A motorcycle he’d been given by Claire before his departure. It had been acting up ever since his roommate, a young male named James, had taken it out for a spin. Leon hadn’t wanted to point out the damage, nor had he wanted to make James feel like he was responsible, but he had made a mental note not to lend his motorcycle to anyone else after the ordeal.
“You’re not listening, that’s why you haven’t answered my question!”
Leon sighed and turned towards the woman at the door. He still wasn’t sure about her exact relation to James, but as far as he knew, they were second or third cousins, once removed. Their parts of the family weren’t super close, and they were each the black sheep, so to speak, so one Thanksgiving dinner, they both decided to run away and help each other the best they could. “What is it, Lucy?”
“Does the name ‘Redfield’ ring any bells?” Lucy questioned, watching Leon carefully for his reaction. He subconsciously glanced at the motorcycle before frowning at Lucy.
“Why are you asking?” He asked, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.
“Because a woman called for you today.” She explained. “She said she wanted to speak to a Leon Kennedy, and when I told her she had the wrong number, as you instructed, she told me to tell you that ‘the Redfields are in danger’, whatever the hell that means.”
Leon stared at Lucy for a moment, trying to gauge whether this was her idea of a bad joke. Finally deciding that she was being truthful, Leon sighed. “Did this woman tell you her name?”
Lucy shook her head. “And I have a feeling she won’t be calling again.”
Leon nodded. “Right. Thanks for telling me.” He turned back to the motorcycle and kept on his tinkering. Lucy stood at the doorway uncertainly for a moment, wondering if he was going to act on whatever she had told him. When Leon didn’t make a move to stop his work, she nodded and left the garage.
Leon, Lucy and James met at a rundown diner in the middle of nowhere. The three of them were in poor condition, barely had any money left, no gas and no place to stay. They had all been running from something. They shared a long conversation, where they spoke of pretty much everything involving their lives (Leon keep some parts to himself, though he did say more than he probably should have) and during that conversation, they had decided that they would stick together.
They found odd jobs and saved up some money, Claire and Sherry pulled through and helped Leon disappear from the face of the planet. They were the only ones who knew of his escapade, though they were not aware of his current whereabouts. He hadn’t wanted to tell anyone about his desertion… But he found it fair that those two should know, especially considering that they would probably have to face some form of consequence for it. They both encouraged him to leave, however, and told him not to worry about them.
When they finally settled, Lucy found a job almost immediately. While Leon all but got them a place to stay, Lucy made sure to maintain that place. It wasn’t big, a two-room apartment with one bathroom, but they made it work. Leon told them what he deemed necessary about his past, and he made sure that they understood that if anyone ever came searching for him, they would always respond saying that there wasn’t a Leon living under their roof, that they had the wrong house, the wrong number, the wrong people.
So far no one had come searching for him… Until today.
‘The Redfields are in danger.’
If both Chris and Claire were in danger, and the warning had come from a woman, could it have been Sherry? He had an inkling that the only people who would probably have luck finding him would be Claire and Sherry… But if so, why hadn’t she insisted on speaking to him? Lucy and James knew that she had helped so why…
Leon was not sure of what the safest course of action would be. He wondered if it would be wise to contact anyone, or if he should attempt to find out what was wrong on his own. What if Chris and Claire weren’t actually in danger and it was all a ruse to lure him out of hiding?
Whatever the case, he couldn’t lose his mind and charge right into danger guns blazing. To be honest, he didn’t even know where the danger was, he wouldn’t even know where to start.
But if he did decide to charge right in… He would probably want to contact someone with connections, someone who wouldn’t immediately rat him out. He wasn’t on best terms with the government and his friends over at the Division of Security Operations. The moment he got caught, he’d likely get tossed in a federal prison for insubordination, or desertion, or one of those fun little offenses. Though considering his history with them, there was always the slight possibility that they might just give him a slap on the wrist and tell him to get to work. Either way, the moment he got found, his new life was over.
And he just so happened to like his new life. Two incredible housemates, freedom from the government’s peering eyes, a normal job, none of the killing and training, no BOWs, no undead, no spies, no danger.
If he decided to go out to find Chris and Claire, he wanted to do it in a way that he could return home afterwards and disappear once again.
Which meant that if he wanted help, his contact should be someone who owed him a favor perhaps, someone he could trust.
Or at least someone who cared about the Redfields enough to accept help from Leon in exchange for not selling him out. He had a few ideas of who to contact, but none of them seemed ideal, basically all of his contacts were heavily affiliated with the government, only a select few weren’t and either he couldn’t contact them, or he didn’t think they’d be able to help in this specific situation. He couldn’t think of any good options.
If only he could get in contact with the person that had called him…
Leon was about to quit his tinkering to find Lucy and ask for the number when his phone chimed. He paused and reached for it, finding a message from an unknown number.
Meet me in Phaeton Plaza at noon. Alone, and don’t tell anyone of our meeting.
If that wasn’t the definition of suspicious right there, Leon didn’t know what was. However, a strange message with a meeting place and a warning not to tell anyone about it? Leon would be a fool to refuse. Not only was he intrigued for reasons unrelated to the identity of the person, he also couldn’t help but wonder if this mystery sender was a certain someone he knew who always delved in mystery and covert operations.
Leon completed his work with the motorcycle and put all the tools back in their place. The Plaza wasn’t too far, and he did want to take the motorcycle out for a ride to check if the problem had been fixed.
Was the person who sent the message the same person who had called for him?
And the question that now wouldn’t leave his head no matter how much he tried to stop thinking about it…
Could this person be… Her?