Chris's POV

"What do you mean they want me back right now at HQ!?" I practically yelled over the phone at Scott, as I was getting dressed in the hotel room.

"Captain, they want all of us back home for the debrief. ASAP."

I groaned, as I sat on the edge of my bed. Using one hand to slip on a pair of grey socks, and the other to hold the phone against my ear. "How soon?"

"They want all of us back at base, by tomorrow," Scott answered. I lightly groaned again, before changing the subject.

"What's the status on the prisoner?"

"She's secured and all ready to go. Parker, Devin, and I are leaving here soon to transport her back to base. While Jackson, Mark, and Austin are almost done marshaling the rest of the other BSAA units that are stationed just outside of the quarantine zone to maintain containment protocols and help look for any survivors at the same time."

"Alright then, I better get going–"

"You're worried about Laura, aren't you," Scott cut me off. "Did something happen–"

"Scott," I cut him off. I was to about berate him again, until I stopped in my tracks. Now wasn't the time. 'Give a kid a break. He's just asking out of curiosity. Besides, there are more important tasks at hand right now that he should be focused on.' "I rather not talk about it right now."

"Okay then, that's understandable. We're all here for you if you need anything. Bye Captain."

After Scott hung up, I texted Leon.

———————————————
From: Chris
To: Leon (Agent Pretty Hair 💇🏼‍♂️)
7:35am

Hey Leon, Piers and I are gonna be late since some work-related issues came up that we need to take care off first. Keep me posted about Laura's condition.
———————————————

After I set my phone down on the end table beside me, I grabbed my boots. Taking one of them—slipping it on my right foot. I couldn't help think but about Claire and Laura. How I saw my little sister tumble out the window with Wesker. Falling out of that twelve story building. Her vibrant blue eyes shimmering with tears, with her arms wrapped tightly around the blonde bastard's waist. Then quickly disappearing from our sights within a matter of seconds.

And then Laura. Picturing her pale, stiff form laying on her hospital bed. The only thing keeping her heart pumping, was the life support was she's hooked up to. That image of her was practically burned into my memory, for as long as live. I couldn't help but feel responsible for what happened to them. To the both of them. 'Only if we've gotten there sooner–'

My thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sound of my phone ringing. I quickly finished tying my other boot, then grabbed my phone off the end table. I checked the caller ID—seeing that it's my wife, Jill. I immediately answer it, holding the device in front of me.

Jill's POV

As I was waiting for Chris to pick up, I was sitting on the couch in the living room, with Levi on my lap. Holding the adorable twenty one month old boy with one arm, while using the other to hold cellular device in front of me. When my husband finally answered, his face appeared on the screen.

"Hey sweetheart," Chris greeted to me, with a slightly agitated tone of voice. 'Something's definitely wrong...'

"Hey Chris. Are you alright?" I inquired, using a worried tone. "You don't exactly sound too happy at the moment."

"Yeah, I'm fine Jill. I'm just tired, that's all," He replied, as I hear him yawn on the other line. "How are Nathan and Levi?"

"They're doing good. I just dropped Nathan off at the preschool this morning. So I'm chilling in the living room with Levi on my lap," I tell him, as Levi gurgled and began to play with my fingers.

"That's good. How are you and the baby?"

"We're doing alright for now," I tell him, as I rubbed my growing belly. "Chris, what's wrong?"

"What do you mean?"

"You exactly what I mean Chris. I can tell when something's wrong. I'm your wife, remember. You can talk to me."

"I know Jill," Chris sighed for a moment, pinching the bridge of his nose before continuing. "but I don't want to cause you any unnecessary stress or tension. It would be bad for you and the baby's health."

"Still, if something's bothering you, I need to know, Chris. So I can do anything that I can to help you," I say to him.

"But Jill, you don't know how bad it is."

"Is it really that bad?"

"Yes," Chris took a deep breath before going on. Beginning to explain to me what happened last night and the gravity of the explanation.

Leon's POV
———————————————
From: Chris (Big Old Bearfield 🐻)
To: Leon
7:35am

Hey Leon, Piers and I are gonna be late since some work-related issues came up that we need to take care off first. Keep me posted about Laura's condition.
———————————————
I sighed in relief after reading the text. Knowing that they were gonna be delayed by an hour or two at most. That wasn't my main concern though. I placed my phone back in my pocket—taking a small sip from my cup of coffee I got from the hospital's cafeteria. I gazed out the window in Laura's room at the busy outskirts of Seattle—waiting for Ada to show up. While I patiently waited, I recall my conversation with Hunnigan from last night.

***Flashback***

5 Hours Eariler

***3rd POV***

After he left the hospital, Leon headed back to the rental penthouse he was currently staying in. Which happened to be located only a couple blocks from the facility. When Leon arrived, he let out a sigh, as his shoulders slackened and relaxed. Finally feeling the heavy weariness and fatigue settling into his body.

By the time he reached the master bedroom, Leon had shed his filthy leather jacket, socks, and shoes. Leaving him in a pair of navy blue jeans with his gun holster still strapped onto his thigh, and a blue v-neck t-shirt.

Leon sat down of the edge of the king-sized bed—unhooking his holster from around his thigh and placing it in the drawer in the end table next to the bed. Next, Leon stripped off his shirt. Revealing his well-toned muscular chest, pecs, arms, and his heavily built six pack. Some parts of him still remain covered in bruises, cuts, and old scars.

As Leon took a whiff of himself, he scrunched his nose right away. 'God, I reek like shit...' He thought to himself. 'I better go shower before I hit the hay.' Leon grabbed a pair of grey sweats and underwear from his armoire, before heading to the bathroom.

After he got the shower going, he stripped himself of the rest of his clothing. Leaving him completely bare from head to toe. Leon gazed at the mirror—staring at his grimy, mucky appearance for a moment, then hopped inside the shower. He positioned himself right underneath the running shower head, as he used his hands to wipe off all of the blood stained all over his flawless body.

The moment he finished rinsing off all of the blood, he grabbed his container of shampoo. Pouring some of the soapy substance onto his hand, before using it wash his hair. Leon dug his fingers into his scalp—scrubbing his whole head and washing his hair to remove all of the grease and grime that practically covered it.

Once he rinsed off all of the shampoo, he applied some conditioner to his hair as well. Nourishing his short dirty blonde hair to perfection once again. When Leon finished rinsing the conditioner out of his hair entirely, he turned the knob to the right. Ceasing the flow of hot water from the shower head.

After hopping out of the shower and drying himself off, he changed into the clean pair of underwear and sweatpants he brought with him. As he walked out of the bathroom, he threw his dirty clothes into the hamper, as he sat down on the edge of his bed, with his smartphone in hand.

Leon let out a tired sigh, as he turned on his phone—dialing Hunnigan's phone number. While he was waiting in the lobby area with Chris and the others earlier, she kept constantly trying to get ahold of him. To get a status update on their situation. Leon sent her a quick text. Informing her that they all made it out of the quarantine zone, and saying that he would give her simplified account as soon as he made it back to the penthouse.

Yet, there something else that he was more worried about. One significant detail he was reluctant on sharing with Hunnigan. Laura's ancestry. He was starting to see why Claire made sure that any information about Laura's undisclosed adoption was privatized, down to the very last detail. If any of the higher ups from his department found out about who's blood is flowing through his stepdaughter's veins, he knew that they would take Laura away from him.

Just like they did with Sherry when she was just a little girl. The idea of Laura secluded in a secret government laboratory—being poked and prodded with needles like a lab rat nearly petrified the blonde. Claire wouldn't want that for her daughter, no one would.

Should he tell her the truth or not? The question was simple, but the decision on the other hand, was more complex than it seemed. Although Leon trusted Hunnigan on a personal level, he wasn't very fond of the idea of risking Laura's safety.

The blonde had a hard time making up his mind. Leon knew that there was too much at stake. But either way, there were still gonna be consequences and would bear a high level of risk, no matter what choice he makes. His worries were put on hold, when Hunnigan finally picked up.

"Hey Hunnigan."

"It's about time Leon," She stated. "Where are Claire and Laura? Are they alright?"

His breath hitched in his throat—causing a lump to form within it. Leon has never been this quiet before. She could immediately tell by his abnormal silence that something was wrong. Terribly wrong. "Leon, what happened?"

Leon sighed. "As we were heading to the rendezvous point, some of us were assaulted by Albert Wesker. Causing us to sustain some severe injuries."

"Wait a minute, Albert Wesker is dead. His death was confirmed by the BSAA over six years ago."

"I thought so too Hunnigan, but apparently not, because he made one hell of an appearance last night."

"But you're okay, right?" She inquired.

"Yes, except for Claire and Laura," He answered with a slightly shaky tone, before going on. "After Wesker left us beaten, bruised, and hammered to a bloody pulp, he went after Claire and Laura. Once Wesker managed to catch up to the both of them, he immediately pummeled Claire and took her down before going after Laura next. When he was right about to escape the city with her, Claire went flying out the window with Wesker. Pushing him off Laura before he could harm her any further."

"What happened to them Leon?"

"I don't know Hunnigan," His eyes began to brim with tears. "By the time I was looking out the window, I couldn't find any of them. They just suddenly disappeared. Vanishing without a trace."

"What about Laura?"

"While we were heading for the helicopter, one of the Tricell agents had managed to follow us to the rendezvous point without being noticed at first. Laura was the first one out of all of us to spot him, as he had his rifle trained on her. When we tried to get Laura out of harms way, it was already too late. He shot Laura in the chest and stomach—intending to kill her. Only to critically injure her. Now, she's in a coma. Barely hanging on to dear life, but's that even the worst of it." By the time he finished his explanation, tears were vehemently pouring down his cheeks. Dripping onto his sweatpants. If anyone saw Leon's current state of being right now, it would feel like as if you just saw one of your closest friends die in your very arms.

"What is it Leon?"

Leon took a deep breath. "If I tell you, you have to promise me Hunnigan. Promise me that you won't tell anyone. No one. Not even the president himself." Leon wiped away some of the tears trickling down his cheek. "It must remain of the highest confidentiality, If anyone else from the D.S.O. finds out, Laura's life will potentially be put in more danger, and I do mean it. Do you understand?"

From how serious Leon sounded, Hunnigan knew that whatever the agent had to tell her was very crucial and profound. Something that already changed the very course of Laura's life forever. "Yes Leon. I promise, I won't tell anyone. My lips are sealed."

"Alright, there's a particular reason why Wesker was after Laura." Leon paused for a moment, before continuing on. "It's because she's his daughter."

Hunnigan's eyes widened at Leon's statement. "Are you 100% sure, Leon?"

"Yeah, I'm 100% sure Hunnigan," He stated.

There was a long pause of silence between Leon and Hunnigan. The information operative felt the strain of tension shift from the D.S.O. agent to herself. Weighing on her shoulders like a ten ton brick. Now she knew why Leon wants to keep the girl's heritage a secret. Laura's legally his stepdaughter, and still considered a minor.

The moment they find out about this, they'll immediately whisk Laura away from him, and send her to one of their private laboratories she within the country. Free to do as they please with the young girl. And once they do, the odds of getting Laura back would be nearly impossible. They already did this once with Sherry. What would stop them from doing it again?

"Alright then, I'll do what I can here to make sure that it's remains confidential. Keep your radio on."

***End of Flashback***

Leon's POV

Things have never been this bad. Never. Not in once in my seventeen years as a government agent. Sure I've seen many things in my line of work that would leave practically anyone virtually paralyzed with trepidation and disquietude for the rest of their lives. But I this... This was entirely different.

Thousands of lives were lost last night. Not just the lives of civilans, but also the lives of our loved ones too. All victims of the raging war of bioterrorism. Including Claire and Laura. Countless gallons of innocent blood spilled over the urban streets of Seattle. By the hands of wicked, and by the hands of the righteous as well.

'Claire... Oh god...' It finally hit me. The realization that the love of my life, my other half could be dead. My best friend. Gone. Along with the possibility that Laura was on the verge of joining her as well. I inadvertently dropped my coffee onto the pristine tile floor—causing the hot drink to spill everywhere beneath my feet.

"Shit," I kneeled down—picking up the the spilt paper cup off the ground. Tossing it into a nearby trash can.

As I was about to leave the room to get some napkins to clean up the mess, I halted in my tracks. The moment I spot Ada leaning casually against the doorway. Wearing a red leather jacket over a buttoned up black blouse, a red pencil skirt, a pair of red high heels, and a red lace choker around her neck.

Ada was holding a cardboard drink tray using one hand—containing a full cup of dark coffee, and a grande white chocolate mocha. While holding a handful of napkins in the other hand.

"Need help, handsome?" Ada extended her hand—holding out the napkins to me.

I glanced at her, then down at her outstretched. I walked up to her, taking the napkins from her.

"Thanks."

Once I've cleaned it all up, I throw the wet napkins away in the trash can, while Ada closed the door behind her. Locking it for the time being. She walked to one of the empty chairs—placing the cardboard tray down.

Ada took out the mocha and the coffee, holding out the bitter drink out to me. "Here, you look as tired as hell right now."

I gazed down at the steaming bitter drink, before I take it from her. "If I didn't know any better, I say that you're trying to kill me by envenoming my drink," I remarked, then took a sip of my coffee.

"If that was case Leon, you would be dead already. No hard feelings," Ada stated firmly, as she took a sip of her mocha while walking away from me. Her heels clicking loudly against the tile floor. "But, fate has other plans in store for us. Especially Laura."

I diverted my gaze over at Ada, as she was hovering over Laura in her hospital bed. Gazing down at my stepdaughter, while the machines all around her beeped and reverberated persistently.

"Whoever is targeting her, they obviously know about her parentage and the kind of blood flowing through her very veins," Ada stated, as she momentarily glanced up at me.

I took a sip of my coffee. "Tricell?"

"I doubt it, but it's still considered a likely possibility."

"Then who?" I inquired.

"Don't know, but whoever they are, they're practically willing to do anything to get Laura. She's indeed a Wesker after all."

'That's why Wesker was so intent on getting to her first... To make sure that they don't get their hands on her. So the son of a bitch has a heart after all, but he only seems to care about Laura though.' I thought to myself.

"You know who her father is?" I questioned her, as I raised an eyebrow at her.

"Of course I do, I used to work for him after all," Ada replied, as a smile curled onto her lips.

"Ada, what else do you know about Laura?"

"A lot more than you think, Leon." She tucked some of Laura's bangs behind her ear, then shifted her gaze over at me. "But that's not the only thing I know about." Ada dug around in her pocket—pulling out a small white hard drive with the Tricell logo on it. Holding it out to me.

"I found this while I was infiltrating one of their old research facilities back in 2013. The data on this hard drive should give you guys a decent idea who you're up against, including locations of some of their hideouts." As I walked over and reached my hand out to take the drive, Ada jerked her hand back.

"But there's something I want in return for the hard drive. Since you do owe me a favor," She added, as she grinned.

"Oh yeah? What would that be, Ada?" I asked her.

"A small sample of Laura's blood," She answered.

My eyes went round. "Her blood?"

"Don't worry. All I want is just a small sample, that's all."

I frowned at her. As I calculated all of the possibles risks of what could happen if I let Ada leave the faculty with a sample of Laura's blood. "Even if I let you, there's no telling what you would do with it."

"One tiny sample can't hurt you, Leon."

"But that depends on what you plan on doing with it though," I pointed out.

"Only to run a set of blood work. To find out if Wesker has managed to infect her with any viruses yet. Aren't you a bit curious as well?"

I directed my gaze over at Laura. If I were to let Ada leave with a sample of Laura's blood, anything could happen. She could sell it on the black market, trade it with any of her employers, literally anything. Knowing Ada, doing anything that would put Laura in harms would definitely make her a potential target by her former employer, Wesker. But she knows better than that.

If Ada was actually going to run some tests on it like she said, then we would be able to find out if Laura is infected or not. To find an explanation why she was able to turn into a superhuman like her father within a matte of seconds. I shifted my gaze over at Ada, with an answer in mind.

"So, do we have a deal?"

I sighed. "Alright Ada, we have a deal."