Chapter Text
Leon S Kennedy dove head first into his job ever since his daughter was taken from him. He took the riskier jobs, the ones most didn’t walk away from. Between jobs he desperately hunted down any leads he could. But with Umbrella going under, it was difficult to track the former employees down. He’d asked Chris to help, and the BSAA agent hadn’t found anything either. It was dead end after dead end. But Leon wasn’t one to give up easily.
The DSO agent limped into his apartment, having gotten back from a mission. He grit his teeth, checking his bandages. Nothing had bled through, but they needed to be changed. He sat on his couch, opening up the first aid kit he kept on hand. Rebecca was always kind enough to give him extra. “Shit,” he hissed, removing the gauze and replacing it.
His chest ached with an emptiness he couldn’t fill. Leon kept a picture of Luisa’s ultrasound. It’s all he had left of her. He never got the chance to have a picture of her. He barely got to hold her. Angry tears blurred his vision before he roughly dried his eyes. So many people kept telling him to accept that his child was gone, most likely dead. But he couldn’t accept it. He wouldn’t. Deep down, he knew Luisa was out there. He just had to keep looking.
Life was a blur of work, eating, and sleeping. He barely slept, waking up from nightmares of all the people he failed to save. Half the time he ordered out, too tired to cook anything for himself. Work was the same old same old.
“Where’s Chris?” Leon asked Rebecca Chambers when he made it to the DSO headquarters. He saw some BSAA agents, correctly assuming a joint mission was being created. While she wasn’t technically part of the DSO or the BSAA, Rebecca was the one everyone consulted for virus strains. Leon really hoped he wouldn’t have to deal with yet another virus.
“Hey, Leon! He’s investigating some rumors about Wesker in South Africa,” Rebecca told him, looking up with a smile. Her smile faltered when she saw how tired Leon looked. “You doing okay?”
“As good as I can be,” Leon assured her. “So, what’s going on now? Don’t tell me it’s another T-Virus.” He could feel a headache coming on. Was one day too much to ask for?
“Thankfully not,” Rebecca grinned. “The DSO is just asking Raccoon City survivors to come in. Everyone who survived to make sure no one is showing symptoms of being infected.”
“But it’s been years since then,” Leon raised an eyebrow. “And I haven’t felt any different.”
“While true, this is uncharted territory,” Rebecca explained, typing on her laptop. “There’s so much we don’t know, and you were infected by Las Plagas. The two viruses might have cancelled each other out, or they enhanced each other. We don’t know.”
Leon sighed, shaking his head. “Okay. Where do I go?” He wasn’t looking forward to be poked and prodded, but it wasn’t like he could refuse. He’d never forgive himself if he became the reason someone got infected.
“Down the hall to the left. I’ll be there shortly,” Rebecca smiled, pointing Leon in the right direction. Leon was happy to see Sherry and Claire again. He didn’t recognize the other man in the room, sitting at a table. He was tall, muscular, and had shaggy brown hair. Sherry had grown up. If he remembered correctly, she’d be close to 21 years old. Claire hadn’t changed at all.
“Leon!” Sherry grinned, running up to him. “It’s good to see you!” She pulled Leon into a tight hug. Leon hugged back with a tight smile. Sherry was like a daughter to him, but she wasn’t Luisa. “I missed you.”
“Missed you, too, kid,” Leon ruffled her hair. “Claire, good to see you.”
“Likewise,” Claire chuckled, putting her hand on Leon’s shoulder, squeezing gently. “Are you doing okay?” While Claire didn’t work for BSAA or DSO, she still tried to help Leon look for Luisa when she could.
Leon shrugged, forcing a smile. “Hanging in there. Got hit on my last mission, hurt like a bitch.” Forcing a chuckle, he walked over to the other man in the room. “Who’re you? I don’t remember seeing you in Raccoon City.”
“Ah, I’m Carlos. Carlos Oliveria,” he extended his hand for Leon to shake. “I was there after the outbreak. Fought a nasty guy with the help of Jill.” Carlos’ eyes scanned Leon up and down. “Heard a lot about you, Agent Kennedy.”
“Just call me Leon,” Leon shook Carlos’ hand, sitting down. “Are you BSAA?”
“Nope, I’m a mercenary. Used to work for Umbrella before I knew what they were,” Carlos admitted, looking guilty.
Leon froze when he heard Umbrella’s name. “You…worked for Umbrella?” Hope bloomed in Leon’s chest. Maybe he could find a lead on Luisa. After all these years.
“I didn’t know they caused the outbreak until too late. Wish I never did business with them.” Carlos shook his head. “Nothing but monsters. They hurt you, too?” he asked, hoping that wasn’t the case.
“They hurt a lot of people,” Leon sighed heavily. He looked up when Rebecca called Sherry into another room for a blood draw. “I have one question,” he hesitated, glancing at Carlos.
“Shoot,” Carlos replied, fidgeting with one of his pockets.
“When you were in Umbrella, did you ever…” Leon sighed, shaking his head. “Did you ever come across any babies? Or young children?” Leon felt wrong asking that. Carlos had said he didn’t know anything. Was he grasping at straws? “Never mind. It’s—”
“Babies?” Carlos incredulously questioned. “I didn’t hear anything about babies, but I wouldn’t put it past those bastards.” He closed his eyes, shoulders hunched. “I do remember this one base I was assigned to. I was meeting a client.” Leon looked up, eyes hopeful. “There was this crying child, begging for help.” Carlos clenched his fist. “A man in a lab coat showed up, claiming the child was just overreacting and had a vivid imagination. Said it was his own child. I should’ve…”
Leon quietly listened, watching Carlos took a shuddering breath.
“I should’ve asked more questions. Should’ve shot them all and taken the child with me.” Carlos released a deep breath, clenching his jaw. “I tried to go back after my mission, but the place was abandoned. I don’t know if the child is alive or not.”
“It’s not your fault,” Leon told him. “Umbrella is cunning. You couldn’t have done anything. If you had tried to save the child, you both probably would have died.” Rage coursed through his veins. He wanted to burn the remains of Umbrella, to kill every last one of them. But this wasn’t nothing. “Do you remember where the base was?”
“Yeah,” Carlos nodded. “How could I forget?” He frowned. “Why?”
Leon smiled. “I want to look around. Maybe I can find something to help you find closure and to stop any potential Umbrella cells popping back up.” Maybe he could find Luisa. Even if she was dead, Leon wanted to find her. A dead body was better than wondering if she was being tortured or not.
Carlos blinked in surprise. “Are you sure?”
“Yes,” Leon said firmly. “Consider it a follow-up mission making sure the place stays abandoned.”
Carlos chuckled, shaking his head. “You’re crazy.”
Leon smirked.