| 10:48 pm |

Chris's POV

"Leon? What are you doing here?" I questioned him, while his was back facing me.

The dirty-blonde agent was wearing a black leather jacket, overlapping his blue v-neck t-shirt, a pair of dark blue skinny jeans, a brown leather belt with a matching leg holster fastened around his right thigh, fingerless biker gloves, and a pair of black. Leon slowly turned around—walking over to where I was sitting to catch my breath. When he reached me, the agent held out his hand out.

"I came here to help, seeing that you guys got yourselves in quite the predicament," Leon responded, as I grabbed his hand. Helping me up off the ground.

"Good to see you too, Leon. Where's Levi?" I questioned the dirty-blonde, asking him about his son.

"I left him with Jill. She offered to look after him while I was gone."

"Wait— Aren't you supposed to be on a mission right now?" I inquired.

"Well... I still am Chris, but it's kinda complicated though— Anyway, we need to get going right now. I'll explain along the way." He handed me a couple full magazines for both my Nine-Oh-Nine pistol and my XM8 rifle.

I immediately reloaded my rifle, storing the rest of them away in some of my vest pouches. Before instantly moving on—proceeding deeper within the facility while my thoughts were elsewhere. I was starting to get worried about them. Laura and Tyler. Especially Laura. Right now, my main objective is to find them, and regrouping with Piers ASAP. So we can continue our search for Claire.

I'm starting to regret bringing them with us. But Laura just had to be as willing and stubborn as her own mother. I just didn't want to get them both involved in all of this, mainly since things have started to escalate pretty quickly.

"Leon, there's something I have to tell you—"

"It's about Claire's disappearance and Laura's existence, isn't it?" He abruptly cut me off, stopping in the middle of the hallway and glancing at me.

'How the hell does he know about Laura??? Does he know what happened to Claire and why we're here??'

"How do you know about Laura, Leon?"

"After hiding that fact for so long, Claire thought that I should be the first person to know. So she told me about Laura before she left last week."

***Flashback***

September 21th, 2015
| 7:42 pm |

Leon's POV

Whilst Claire was in our bedroom, packing for her upcoming business trip, I was sitting on the sofa in the living room. Taking it easy for time being by watching the "John Wick", with the volume turned most of the way down while our twenty-one month old son, Levi, was taking a nap in his room.

The instant I heard his faint, forlorn cries coming from his room, I knew straight away that Levi was awake, and not happy not one bit. 'Crap, it's my turn this time.' So I grabbed the remote off the coffee table—pausing the movie before sitting up off the sofa and making my way upstairs towards our son's bedroom. Getting ready for what I'm gonna have to deal with this time. Upon reaching his bedroom door, Levi's cries only seemed to get louder by the second. Resonating throughout his entire bedroom.

After I grasped ahold of the door handle, I started to turn it, opening the door all the way. The moment the door was opened, my eyes immediately landed upon Levi, standing inside his dark oak baby crib. Using his tiny hands to clutch onto the edge of it—supporting himself as he constantly kicked his crib with his tiny feet. The little boy's short, dirty-blonde hair was partially disheveled, with some strands sticking out of place. His greyish-blue eyes were slightly puffy and red; countless tears were trickling down his tiny, chubby cheeks, as he kept crying and blubbered hysterically.

"Hey little man, what's the problem?" I inquired, using a soft tone of voice as I lifted my son out of his crib. Holding him solicitously in my arms.

I knew that Levi couldn't be hungry, he was last fed two hours ago before he got put down for his nap. I carried him over to his changing table—checking his diaper to see if it needed to be changed. Much to my surprise, his diaper was still fresh and clean. As I was buttoning his blue monkey pajamas back up, Levi started shouting,

"M-mama! Mama! M-mama!"

"Is that it, Levi? You want to see Mommy?" I questioned him, picking him up once again off the table.

He nodded his tiny head, putting a few of his fingers in his mouth. Sucking on them and continued to whine.

"Alright buddy, let's go see Mommy," I cooed to him. The two of us left his room—holding him comfortably in my arms.

Whilst I was making my way towards our master bedroom, from outside I could see my wife, Claire, finishing up with packing for her trip. With only a couple articles of neatly folded clothing left on our bed to be put away into her suitcase. Right as I reached the doorway, she turned around—greeting us with her soft smile.

"Hey honey. What's up?" Claire inquired using a soft tone of voice, before briefly covering her mouth with her hand and yawning. Appearing more tired than usual.

"Somebody woke up cranky and wanted to see you," I notified her, as I glanced down at Levi in my arms.

She directed her gaze from me to our son, as I casually held him in my arms. "Awww... Did you miss me little man? Don't worry, Mommy's here now," Claire cooed softly to him, taking him carefully out of my hands.

The moment I was no longer carrying our son, she gently rocked Levi in her arms, while amiably walking around our room. Claire whispered words of reassurance using a gentle tone of voice to our son; to help calm him down and to put an end to his fussing.

It didn't take very long for her to bring an end to Levi's crying and whimpering. She instantly helped our son calm down—causing the little boy to fall asleep in her arms. His chubby little arms were draped around his mother's neck; his perfectly shaped head resting on top of her shoulder as well.

Quietly, my wife and I tiptoed out of our bedroom and back towards Levi's. Claire delicately laid him down into his crib. Taking care to not wake our sleepy little boy up, stirring restlessly in his sleep. Once Claire let go of Levi, I covered him with one of his blue baby blankets up to his shoulders. Leaning down towards him, I planted a gentle kiss on his tiny forehead.

"Goodnight Levi, sweet dreams buddy," I whispered faintly to him.

Claire and I then cautiously exit Levi's room, closing the door behind us before glancing over at me. "Hey Leon. Can I talk to you for a moment? Preferably in our room, privately," She questioned me, using a partially hesitant tone of voice.

"Sure babe," I replied. 'What does Claire want to talk about? From the looks of it, she appears kinda worried about it.' I thought to myself.

Just as the two of us walked into our bedroom, Claire closed the door behind us, locking it in the process. I headed over towards our bed, sitting down on the edge of the bed. Then I motioned towards my wife to come sit down next to me. Claire easily obliged, coming over and sitting down on the edge of the bed next to me. I genuinely wrapped my arm around her shoulders in a comforting manner, caressing her arm tenderly.

"Claire, is something wrong? You haven't seem like yourself lately," I inquired, calmly meeting my wife's gaze.

Claire looked away; her vibrant, blue eyes darting towards her folded hands on her lap. "Leon, there's something I need to tell you. Something... something that I've kept hidden for far too long. So please, don't take this the wrong way. No matter how wrong it may sound." She took a long deep breath, before turning her head to look at me.

"I have a daughter."

"What...?"

"Leon. I... I have a daughter."

'What did she mean??? How's it even possible she had a daughter??? Unless...' I thought to myself, still feeling completely baffled.

"Claire, what are you talking about? How's that even possible?! Are you—?"

"No... No! I'm not cheating on you, Leon There's no way in hell I would ever do that! You're my husband, and I love you very much! I know all of it sounds very confusing Leon, so please. Just let me explain," Claire suddenly cut me off. My wife sat up—standing in front of me. She began to pacing back and forth within our room; occasionally gazing down at me from time to time. As she attempted to explain herself to me.

"It all started long ago, a couple weeks after the Rockford Island Incident. Way before we started dating or we even got married. One day, I wasn't feeling very well. I was having cramps; not period cramps, but cramps that were abnormally more painful that they usually are for me. Other symptoms included fatigue, nausea, dizziness, and unusual food cravings. At first, I thought I had the flu. Since I was throwing up on a daily basis, usually during the morning. So, I scheduled an appointment with a local physician, and I went in to see the doctor about my condition. After they ran a couple of tests on me, it turned out that I didn't have the flu at all. Rather that I was actually about three weeks pregnant."

Claire paused for a moment—glancing down at me before continuing on. "I was very scared about it Leon; not only about the fact that I was pregnant, but also how I got pregnant. I couldn't recall or remember doing it with anyone within the last two months. Then..." She trailed off, dazed by the very thought of it.

"Then what Claire...?" I asked her, using a considerate tone of voice. I sat up off the edge of the bed—walking over to her and engulfing her soft, sweaty hands with my rough, muscular ones in a gentle matter. Showing my wife sympathy and solicitude she needed to carry on with where she left off with her explanation.

Claire looked back up at me, before continuing on. Her grip in my hands tightening instinctively. "I remembered something else... It was a dream I had a few days after leaving Chris and returning home to my apartment I had in Rochester, Minnesota. At first, I thought it seemed too vivid to be a dream. It felt so real... Since I woke up the next morning feeling extremely sore; bruises and hickies were littered mainly all over my neck and chest. I thoroughly thought about it for bit, long enough for me to realize it wasn't a dream. It really did happen... I. . . I was raped..." Claire barely finished. By the end of it, she was in tears—sobbing uncontrollably about it. I pulled my wife into a compassionate hug, letting her cry into my shoulder, as I rubbed her back soothingly. Part of my shirt getting soaking wet in the process.

At that very point, I was boiling deep down with an unexplainable rage. I'm beyond pissed. Beyond infuriated. I wanted to find the son of a bitch who did this to her, who robbed the love of my life of her innocence and purity, and make the bastard pay, dearly. Despite the fact that it happened so long ago.

"Claire, why didn't tell anyone about this? Why bother keeping it a secret?" I inquired, using a serene tone of voice.

My wife lifted her head, gazing up at me with her watering, blue eyes. "Because I didn't want anybody knowing I had a child with him, especially Chris of all people. It would've made things worse; it would've only put my daughter in unimaginable danger. I did what I thought was best to keep her safe. Safe from this kind of life we live, that we were dragged into without warning," Claire told me. "Besides, even if you tried finding him, you wouldn't be able to, Leon. 'Cause he's already dead. Chris killed him over six years ago."

At that moment, I was able figure out exactly who it was. It was easily a dead giveaway. 'I can't ducking believe it! Out of all people, it had to be him! HIM! Wesker, that fucking no good son of a bitch!!! How dare he do this to Claire and get away with it!?' I thought angrily to myself. Thank the heavens Chris killed him, or else I would've hunted him down nonstop until I've eliminated him myself. At least he got what he deserved in the end.

After a while, Claire had finally stopped crying, calming down a bit. I cupped one of her cheeks gently with my hand—stroking it tenderly. Using my thumb to wipe away all of her leftover tears, streaming down her cheeks.

"After finding out, the doctor and I then started discussing my options. Basically whether or not I would want to get an abortion, if I wanted to keep the baby, or carry her out to full term then give it up for adoption. I chose the third alternative straight away. 'Cause no matter what the circumstances were back then, I wanted the best for her. I wanted to give my child the best chance at a happy, normal life. Even if I wouldn't able to be a part of it. After about nine crazy months went by, I had a c-section and gave birth to a healthy seven pound six ounce baby girl on September 28, 1999 at precisely 8:25 in the morning. The moment I finished contemplated the perfect name for her, I decided to name her Laura, after my aunt. My mom's little sister, who died of a stroke a few months prior to my daughter's birth. Once I've said my final goodbyes to Laura, she was taken away from me. Placed right away into the foster care system until a suitable family could be found to care for her. It wasn't until a couple weeks later, I found out a loving family was found for her. They adopted her—taking her in as if she were their own. Which made me very glad and happy, knowing that my baby girl was in the best possible care. Even so, it doesn't mean I love you or Levi any less, Leon."

"I know Claire," I reassured her. "I believe you."

I really couldn't blame Claire for hiding this from everybody, including me. I totally understand why. She wanted to protect her daughter from the truth. The truth about her father, her bloodline, and her origins. To keep her safe and out of harms way. To allow her to grow up, and have a normal childhood. Even with the escalating number of bioterror outbreaks around the globe.

"So that's all. Ever since then, she's been living in Seattle with her adoptive family. Where I'm going for my business trip."

"Are you planning on seeing her while you're there, Claire?" I questioned her.

"Yes Leon, I'm surprising Laura on her sixteenth birthday. It's next Sunday."

"She's gonna be sixteen soon? Seriously? Wow, time has really flown by for all of us. It feels like just yesterday we got married and officially tied the knot."

"I know babe, you're not the only one getting old," Claire reminded me, as a smile decorated her lips.

Using my other hand to cup her cheek, I leaned in and pressed my lips gently against Claire's. Pulling her into a simple erotic kiss. Within seconds, our lips are moving in sync. Creating a rhythm just as passionate as our undying love for one another. After a while, we pulled away from each other—feeling shortened of breath. As we were staring at one another.

"I love you, Claire."

"I love you too, Leon," She responded back, after giving me one last kiss on my lips.

***End of Flashback***

Chris's POV

"I'd never thought that out of all things, that finding both my wife, Claire, and my stepdaughter, Laura, would be my assignment," Leon thought aloud. His statement taking me by surprise.

I raised my eyebrow at him—giving him a dumbfounded expression. Feeling a tad bit confused at what he's referring to.

"Here Chris, let me explain," Leon justified. The dirty-blonde agent pulled out his PDA. Turning it on, he opened up some files he had on it.

"Last week, shortly after Claire left home for her business trip, I got a call from one of my superiors at HQ. She explained to me that they needed to see me ASAP, regarding an important mission they had in store for me. Even if it was bad timing, I still wouldn't have been able to back out of it. Knowing how very crucial the assignment was. So, I packed Levi's bags and dropped off him at your place with Jill, then drove straight to work for the mission briefing. Upon arriving, I was instantly informed that for my assignment I was gonna head to here to Seattle in a couple hours; to go undercover as a cop. Working for the Seattle Police Department. The D.S.O. has reasons to believe that there was some sort of private, illegal black market dealings or trafficking going on somewhere within the vicinity of the city, between about four to five unidentified suspects. Two of them are believed to be former FBC agents, whilst the rest of them we're still uncertain about at this time. According to the intel retrieved by another of our fellow undercover agents, it was confirmed that some of the viruses like the T-virus, G-virus, C-virus, and the original Las Plagas parasite were involved in the trade, but that's wasn't all. After reading and reviewing the rest of the intel, not only did they want to trade biological weapons, two of them are after something else. Something of more value to them. A woman, and a young girl."

My eyes instantaneously went round. "You mean Claire and Laura, don't you?" I questioned him.

Leon nodded his head. This only confirmed my worst fear.

"It seemed unlikely at first, but they were mentioned when Hunnigan hacked into one of their private channels. Listening in to one of their undisclosed conversations. That's the only clue we had at first. After Hunnigan did a little more research and investigating, she was able to confirm that both Claire and Laura were the girls they were talking about. The two that they want to get their hands on. Still, my superiors are highly unaware of the fact that Laura is legally my stepdaughter, since Hunnigan wasn't able to access a few of her background files. Containing information about her disclosed adoption. A couple hours ago when the outbreak first happened, Hunnigan contacted me. Notifying me that Claire had went missing, not being able to pinpoint her location at all. Until I received a major lead from her not too long ago. That Claire is being captive in an abandoned underground Umbrella Research Facility located right beneath the Space Needle."

"How'd you get here though?" I asked him, with an attentive tone of voice.

"Through the underground subway system. There's a mini train station here, with a couple trains and an abandoned network of underground railroads that connect to most of the other ones all over the city. Hunnigan was able to find an underground route that was much safer; more efficient then traveling up above. Now, my mission includes me having to find both Claire and Laura, ensuring that they're both safe, and get them out of here alive," Leon explained to me; his eyes glued to his PDA screen. Checking his GPS. Particularly, looking at the small red glowing dot moving on its own.

"But why Leon? Why would Jessica, out of all people, be after my sister and my niece???" I questioned him using a debatable tone of voice, checking if he knew about thing else about that.

"I'm not entirely sure Chris. We still haven't be able to figure out exactly why. Didn't Jessica Sherawhat used to work at the BSAA along with you?" Leon inquired.

"Yeah, she did. Jessica betrayed us during an important mission back in 2005. After that, she and another former FBC agent went rogue and off the grid for the past ten years. Now, after endless efforts of trying to track her down and pinpoint her location, she's here. And she's after my family. We have to hurry Leon, or else—"

"Don't worry Chris, Laura's just a couple meters up ahead. Over here," Leon cut me off once again with an assured tone of voice; his pace quickening all while gazing down at his PDA screen.

I was about to ask how he knew, until it finally hit me. 'How could I've been so stupid?! I should've done this way before splitting up with Laura.'

"You placed a tracer on her, didn't you?" It was more of a statement then a question.

"Just a precautionary measure I took in case something did happen to her. This way, it would be a hell of a lot easier to track Laura down instead of having to search the entire place without running into any trouble," Leon clarified. "Here." We arrive at a large metal door with a large red biohazard sign on it. If Laura is close by, that means Tyler should be as well.

"According to the GPS, Laura's located inside of this room."

"Are you sure she's in there, Leon?"

"I'm positive Chris. The tracer is emitting a strong signal from within the room. There's no doubt about it."

Cautiously, the two of us approached the door. Tilting our backs against the wall on both sides of it; with our guns locked and loaded in hand. Using his free hand, Leon slightly pushed the door open. For enough for both of us to peek inside.

He glanced up at me, nodding his head. Notifying me he's ready whenever I am. Without waiting any longer, I nodded right back at him, before charging head on into the dark room. The D.S.O. agent following right behind me.