Chapter 1

Leon and Manuela stared at the floor between them silently as the vehicle rolled along the road, bouncing in almost tranquil fashion compared to the situation at hand. Geared in their agent uniforms, grim expressions accompanying them. Both seemed to be lost in thought.

Finally, Manuela looked up, hesitating a moment before speaking.

"Leon…" The words died on before she finished, unsure of how to continue. Leon looked up, meeting her gaze with his own. The usual glint in his eyes had been replaced with a hard as steel gunmetal grey that made Manuela recoil at how serious they were. Seeing her reaction, Leon softened slightly, but still looked as grim. Gently, he touched her leg, giving a reassuring squeeze to her knee.

"Sorry. Just tense is all. Is everything alright?" he asked, concerned. Manuela nodded, staring at his hand for a moment before looking back to him.

"Yeah it's just...I guess I'm still a little afraid," she admitted with a laugh, averting her gaze in embarrassment and anxiety. Leon smiled slightly, leaning forward.

"So am I. It's been seven years since Raccoon City, and the virus is still a threat. But we have a chance to rescue people here. We were lucky this time; we caught it quickly. We should be arriving in time to help some people." As if in response, the vehicle pulled to a stop and Leon turned to the door, nodding his head in its direction. "Guess we're here."

Taking the lead, Leon hopped out of the back of the vehicle, his boots grinding against the dusty earth, Manuela's lighter steps following his own shortly. Looking over his shoulder, Leon nodded to the driver, who nodded back before driving away, disappearing passed a tent.

Leon and Manuela looked around, taking quick stock of the situation. The entire area had been turned into a tent town, with various armed personnel moving about in the twilight, only lit by the floodlights and dying embers of the airport behind them. Towering over the triangular roofs of the tents, a chainlink fence had been hastily erected surrounding the building, and Leon could easily make out several armed patrols around the edge, clutching their guns nervously. No doubt everyone had one eye to the wall at all times. The feel of the air was tense, and the faint scent of burning and corruption wafted from the derelict structure.

"Hunnigan said the insertion team would be located near the center of the camp," Leon commented, and Manuela nodded in confirmation, falling into step beside him as the two walked along the aisle, passing personnel performing various tasks. Manuela's gaze caught on several people in a fenced off section, in various states of depression, begging with the doctors on the outside to be let out to see their families. Manuela forced herself to look away, knowing all too well how important the quarantines were.

"If everything goes well, they'll get to see their families," Leon commented, as if hearing her thoughts. "They didn't die in the initial outbreak, and soon, they'll be processed through and cleared. Then they can go home to their families. It's our job to get to the people still inside."

"I know it's just...I wish none of this had to happen…"

"It's a terrible situation, no matter how you look at it. The people who have to deny them access to their families on the risk they might pass the infection on aren't the bad guys; it's the maniacs who made the virus. If we can track down the guys who did this, then we can prevent this from happening again…" Leon cut himself off as they approached the command tent, over hearing the end of a discussion from within.

"...what do you think the suits are trying to cover up?," a male voice asked insistently.

"If I knew that, I'd have a hell of a lot more clout. The White House sent a pair of special agents to handle this mess. They should be here soon. You can ask them," a female voice replied authoritatively. Leon turned to Manuela, nodding before stepping in quietly.

"Ask all you like, but honestly, there's nothing to discuss on that subject," Leon assured flatly. Manuela followed him in, gently closing the tent flaps as she entered. Looking at the group inside, Leon began planning mentally. The two voices that had been discussing seemed to be the main pair in charge. The feminine voice seemed to belong to the squad leader, a woman with light brown hair and slender features that seemed almost out of place when compared to her heavy combat gear. Then again, looks can be deceiving, Leon reminded himself, casting a glance at Manuela.

He determined the other voice had belonged to the larger man across the table from her, since they seemed to be discussing when he entered. The man had a thicker face, with thin brown hair cut in the standard style. His gear was similarly heavy, and Leon quickly figured out from their gear and the labelling that they were the insertion team.

"Who the hell are you?" the man demanded, almost disbelievingly, shifting his gaze between the pair, almost as if trying to figure out which he disbelieved more.

"I'm Leon S. Kennedy."

"And I'm Manuela Hidalgo. We were sent to help," she explained gently. The man and woman shared a moment of shared confusion and disbelief before the woman spoke.

"So...you're the ones?"

Leon watched as the woman, Angela, outlined the possible points of entry, as well as the general layout of the building. Already, it was looking like a best possible approach out of a crap situation. The area the senator and the other survivors were held up in seemed to be at the end of a series of narrow halls with various high density rooms in them. Perfect infected grounds.

"We believe our best best is to fly in by helicopter and enter through the roof," she explained, drawing the trajectory path. She backed away a moment so she could address the troop. "The team should be comprised…"

"I'll take the two of you. No one else," Leon interrupted, his survivor instinct kicking in. Manuela looked at him for a moment, before realizing why.

"What? Why?!" Angela demanded, turning to him in disbelief. Leon's hard gaze met hers, unflinching despite her surprise.

"Because I don't care to risk increasing the number of infectees," he explained simply before tilting his head questioningly. As he spoke, he looked over her to the rest of the crew, accenting his next point. "You don't want to be forced to kill any of your friends, do you?"

Without waiting for an answer, he turned walking towards the tent flaps. Manuela followed after a moment, glancing back. The man, Greg, started forward, gesturing angrily. "Hey. Hey! Hold on a second! Who does this guy think he is? He doesn't even look military! And she can't be more than a greenhorn..!"

"They're the special operatives assigned to this incident. Let's just...see what they can do," Angela defended with a sigh. With an angry, defeated look on his face, Greg threw up his hands before shaking his head.

Once in the air, Leon began quickly checking his pistols, the familiar motions coming swiftly to him as he turned and tilted the weapon in his hand. Manuela performed a similar action with her submachine gun, seated on Leon's right, further away from the drop door. Angela and Greg sat across from them, specced in SWAT-style gear compared to the light armour of the two special agents.

As they approached, Leon gave them the rundown on infected targets. "Those infected with the virus will attack other people with one exception. The people that are bitten become infected and go on to attack others. The only way to stop the infection is to destroy the infectee's brain."

Angela looked at Leon quizzically, her face twisting in confusion. "Destroy...their brains?"

Leon looked up from his gun, clicking it back for punctuation. "Shoot them in the head."

"We're here," he commented, looking out the window. The helicopter swung around and he dropped out a rope, taking the lead. Angela motioned for him to wait, but he was already gone. She turned to Manuela.

"What did he mean by one exception?" she demanded, stopping Manuela as she grabbed the rope to descend. Manuela smiled mischievously at her as she spoke.

"That would be me," she answered simply before kicking off, sliding down the rope after Leon. Angela shared a concerned look with Greg before following the pair down, landing safely on the ground. Wasting no time, the pair pulled out their weapons, making sure the roof was clear, before moving in synch towards the door. Angela and Greg landed shortly after, unslinging their weapons.

Leon moved towards the roof access, motioning silently for Greg to take one side while Angela took the other, with Manuela standing in the back. After clearing readiness, he opened the door, stepping in to point his light down the stairwell, searching for life signs. Seeing nothing, he motioned for the others to follow. Angela looked to Greg questioningly, and he shrugged. Angela stepped in immediately, heading to the stairs, and Greg waited a moment, seemingly waiting for Manuela.

Manuela however, simply motioned with her weapon for Greg to go first, and after a brief moment between them, he grunted and went in, leaving Manuela to bring up the rear. In the silence of the staircase, their footfalls fell heavy on the stairs. The squad moved down, clearing each landing and peering down to make sure the next was safe until the reached the target floor. The door opened, and Leon stepped through, their lights catching flicks of dust in the silent air.

It was not silent for long, as Manuela stepped beside Leon and motioned to her ear, before motioning ahead. Leon nodded, turning to the other two. "The song of the infected."

"What are you talking about, I don't hear any…?" Greg began, but he stopped as they walked, and the sound managed to reach his ears. It was a low moaning, and Leon could recognize it as the sounds of an undead mob somewhere in the darkened halls.

Leon was about to motion for a slow advance when Angela rushed passed, avoiding both his and Manuela's attempts to stop her.

"Wait!" Leon hissed, moving to go after her. Greg's hand shot out to stop him, but Manuela slammed him in the stomach with a backhanded fist, dropping him despite his body armour and Leon moved quickly but quietly after Angela.

"I'll be right there," Manuela called quietly to him, and he flashed a thumbs up over his shoulder before disappearing the same way as Angela. Turning, she knelt by Greg, thrusting his gun back in his hands. "Come on. We have to catch up to them."

Hoisting him to his feet, Greg groaned but managed to shrug off his momentary stunning, pushing Manuela away as he stood. "What the hell? What kind of punch was that?"

Manuela frowned, pointedly ignoring him. "Come on. We have to catch up to Leon."

She didn't wait long before setting off after him, satisfied when she heard the heavy footfalls of Greg behind her.

Leon turned into the open doorway, spotting Angela in the darkened room. More worryingly, he saw the man she was picking up, one arm slung over her shoulder. The grey pallor of his skin was all it took for Leon to realize the situation.

"Help is on the way," Angela assured the man. Leon rushed forward, reaching the pair just as the man reared back, aiming to sink his teeth into her throat. His hand clutched the back of her collar and he pulled her back. The infected man fell to the ground, his balance lost. Leon took a half step back, stopping as Angela failed to follow him. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Look," was all Leon replied, his grip on his pistol tightening as he looked into the room. Angela gasped as infected began to crawl from the dark places of the room, pushing aside bookshelves and chairs as they began to amass, taking up much of the rest of the room. One particularly close to them began to lunge, and Leon pushed Angela back, firing a single shot into the thing's head, ending it simply.

Going back to back, Leon aimed carefully, firing precisely for the heads. Angela meanwhile, was staring down a zombified woman, hesitating with the shot. The woman tottered forward, and Angela held her hand up. "Stop or I'll shoot!"

Her grip on the gun shook as the infected woman stumbled forward, aggressively gaining ground. Steadying her aim, Angela moved her gun down at the last minute, firing a shot through the woman's leg, causing her legs to fling back, face planting her. To Angela's surprise, the woman didn't stop moving. Instead, she attempted to use her leg from the knee up to push herself along, dragging her face along the floor, determined to attack her. Angela stared in disbelief, muttering to herself. "That's impossible…"

"Angela!" Whipping her head, she turned to see that Greg and Manuela had arrived. Greg was waving frantically to the pair from the open doorway, while Manuela was beside him, firing concentrated machine spray at head level across the room. Several heads exploded in a red burst as both Manuela's bullets and Leon's found their marks, and the two exited the room. At the last moment, Greg burst passed Leon, holding his gun with an overhand grip before spraying indiscriminately into the mob. Compared to Manuela's spray, these bullets hit about chest height, knocking back the infected, as well as destroying various monitors and cubicle walls. "You like that, huh?"

Leon reached out, trying to stop him, but Greg just shrugged him off, firing more, emptying his clip into them. When his clip clicked, he looked at his devastation, nodding to himself. Leon tried again to guide the an out. "That's enough. Stop."

"Get off," Greg warned, shrugging him off again. Stepping out into the hall, Greg did a little combat pump, throwing about his arms victoriously. "Freaks. Yeah!"

Leon and Manuela watched with bare tolerance as he began to head towards their objective, reloading. As he went to remove his clip, a crack appeared on the glass, and a moment later, an infected woman jumped through, tackling Greg to the ground, the gun falling from his hands. The pair hit the ground, and Greg's hands went to her shoulders, holding her at length. His eyes flashed wide with fear as her jaws clicked open and closed in a desperate attempt to find his flesh. He managed to pry her far enough away from himself that Leon could get a clear shot, and he popped one right through her skull, spraying blood across Greg's face. The limp body shrugged to the side and Greg pushed himself back, kicking her body away as he rifle dragged itself by his side because of its strap.

Reaching up, he wiped his face of blood, looking down in terror at his hand. "What the hell man? I shot her point blank there's no way I could have missed her!"

"I told you," Leon started, stepping beside Greg to drag him up by his vest. "The only way to stop them is to shoot them in the head. It's their only vulnerable spot. Don't forget it, otherwise you'll waste time and ammunition. And that can prove to be fatal."

Angela tapped Leon's back and motioned to the room, where the infected were rousing. Leon nodded, stepping back as they bottlenecked towards the window. Angela spoke. "Let's go."

"Manuela, think you can take care of these ones?" Leon asked, causing Angela and Greg to look at the woman in question with confusion. Manuela nodded, unstrapping a simple canister from her belt. She motioned for everyone to stand back as she tossed it into the group, where it bounced off one's head, falling to their feet. Instantly, it burst forth in flame, engulfing the mass, the flames spreading from one foul corpse to the next, quickly burning through tissue until their muscles could no longer support their weight.

Greg and Angela watched in amazement as Manuela moved up beside Leon, neither pausing to watch the fireworks as they headed down the hall. Angela fell quickly in line behind them, while Greg spent a moment looking at the felled woman. A flash of indecision crossed his face, and he delivered an angry kick to her corpse before catching up.

They hadn't gone far when Manuela motioned to one of the doors to the side, tapping her ear again. She paused a moment, and flashed a thumbs up, and Leon quirked an eyebrow. "Someone who's not infected."

"But we're not even close to the VIP lounge," Angela noted, to which Leon only nodded. "How do you know? I can't hear anything."

"Manuela heard them," Leon answered simply, letting Manuela take point. Flashing hand signals, Manuela prepared a breach, knocking the door aside, aiming her weapon just in case there were infected, or possibly even the terrorist who started the infection. Instead, there was only a middle aged man in a business suit, cowering behind a desk, his hand flying up in defense as the flashlights swept to him.

"Don't shoot!" he cried. Manuela motioned for weapons down as Leon crossed over to the man, scanning him briefly for injuries. Assisting the man up, Leon fixed his gaze.

"Who are you? Any injuries?"

"I'm Tyler Statwell, the Senator's secretary. When the outbreak happened, we all were travelling in a group, but the undead massed on us and I got separated. I've been waiting here for someone to find me…None of them got me, don't worry," he assured.

"Mr. Statwell, we're looking for the Senator and any other survivors. Can you tell us where they were headed?" Manuela asked, using a gentle tone to help calm the man. He nodded, stepping into the hall, briefly orienting himself. He pointed down the hall, towards their suspected destination.

"We agreed to head to the VIP Lounge, since it's at the end of the hall and has only one door. I know the way there, since I helped the Senator pick it out. I can take you there," he offered nervously.

"Thank you. Stay between us and we'll all be fine," Leon confided, clutching the man's shoulder. The motion of solidarity seemed to help him, and the man nodded as he took his position in the middle. With the man secured, Leon lead the team down the corridor, reaching a division.

"A right here should be the quickest path," Statwell commented. Leon nodded, leading the team into the dark hall. Silently, the group tracked through the building, diverting course when Manuela detected large amounts of infected. With Mr. Statwell's help, their course was significantly faster, and they soon closed towards the objective.

Once more, Manuela tapped her ear, motioning quickly forward, and both her and Leon rushed forward, turning the corner. Leon quickly reacted as he saw an uninfected woman standing between him and a group of infected.

"Get down," he commanded, aiming his gun. The woman responded quickly, dropping to the floor, allowing him to get the headshots. Turning his light down, his eyebrows raised in surprise as he beheld the familiar face of the woman he had saved.

Claire Redfield, one of the only other survivors from Raccoon City. She looked much the same as she had then, with long red hair held back mostly by a hairband in the back, though sections of hair still draped the sides of her face, giving her a taller appearance. Her blue eyes stared into the light questioningly, as if trying to gauge who was in front of her, and who had just saved her. As her eyes adjusted, she seemed to gasp at the sight of who it was.

"Leon! What are you doing here?" she asked as he extended a hand to help her up. She looked between Leon and the rest of the team, putting together all the pieces as Leon took a step back.

"I could ask you the same thing," Leon replied, a slight tone of humour in his voice. Claire smiled slightly as she looked at the team before spotting the secretary.

"You're the one?" she asked questioningly, realizing he had lead them. The man smiled nervously, nodding as if he didn't deserve to be recognized. Claire thanked him before turning to face the way she had come. "Follow me, I can get you to the others from here."

Leon motioned for the others to follow, and together they headed to the end of the hall, where Claire knocked on the door, informing them that the rescue team had arrived. A moment later, the sound of furniture moving could be heard and the door opened. Before the doors had even fully opened, a little Indian girl ran up to Claire, hugging her around the legs. Leon could only just make out her floral vest and dark black hair from between Claire's legs.

"Claire! You're okay!" she exclaimed, disbelief in her voice. Claire smiled gently, bending down to pick the girl up so that she could rest against her chest.

"Of course I am Rani. I told you I would come back, didn't I?" Rani nodded quietly and Claire tilted her head, motioning for the team to head inside. Once through the doors, they closed them up, sealing the room into silence.

Leon took quick stock of the survivors they had found. There was the Senator of course, a shorter, broad man in a fine suit. He had a certain, Nixon-like look with his wrinkly face and somewhat puffy cheeks, but his head had a rounder appearance to it, with short grey hair. He regarded the team with barely concealed disappointment, as if he had expected a host of angels to descend from the heavens to escort him personally. Leon frowned as he noticed the Senator sitting, realizing he had sustained some form of leg injury. That'll slow us down, Leon thought bitterly.

The other survivors seemed alright. Aside from Claire and the girl, there was another woman. Her nervous appearance, accompanied by her slightly managed blond hair and her uniform told Leon that she was the VIP lounge hostess. In contrast to the Senator, her only problem seemed to be her stress.

"Is this it?" Leon turned to look at the Senator as he spoke, his tone halfway between amused and annoyed.

"Yup," Leon answered plainly. He knew better than to aggravate an escortee, particularly one with as much pull as the Senator had. A glance at Manuela told him that she was just as annoyed, but he noted with a hint of pride that she was restraining herself as well while she talked with the hostess, gauging the situation.

"Reinforcements?" Senator Davis inquired, motioning as if to say "you better or else." Leon shook his head.

"None. We're getting out alone." Senator Davis sighed as he pushed himself up, groaning slightly with the exertion. With a slight limp he began to circle Leon, sizing him up with his politician's gaze.

"Is it too much to hope you at least have some sort of plan?"

"We're going to run across the lobby." The Senator turned on point, looking at Leon with a horrified and disbelieving expression.

"Are you insane?" he demanded, shifting his gaze to the other three members of the team, as if trying to get one of them to countermand Leon's statement. Seeing no one was backing him up, he searched for some excuse. "The lobby is crawling with those creatures!"

Manuela was the one to step in, having caught Leon's logic. "It's the widest area in the airport. It's too dangerous to go around it."

"She's right. They aren't fast. We can get around them," Claire added, nodding to Manuela. Davis looked between the two of them, his face twisting into a frown.

"Since when did the NGO member and the foreigner become such an authority on the subject?" The Senator questioned, glaring at both of them. Leon stepped forward, gaze uncompromising as he snapped his attention to him.

"She's one of the rare survivors of Raccoon City and my partner," Leon said with an emphasis on Manuela's role in the operation, "is the only survivor of the T-Veronica virus. They have more experience with this kind of hellish nightmare than anyone else."

There was a moment of awed silence as people absorbed the information that had just been dropped on them. Greg leaned towards Angela, keeping his voice low. "Hey, Raccoon City, isn't that where the…?"

"Yes," Angela confirmed before he could finish, glancing at Manuela and Leon. Leon seemed not to have noticed their conversation, but Manuela had glanced at them. Angela looked at her with suspicion and a hint of fear. The woman seemed to have skills beyond anything she seemed capable. There's more going on here than I thought, she realized.

"We all set?" Leon asked, snapping everyone's attentions back to him. A few hesitant nods came, and after a minute, the Senator threw up his hands, giving in. Leon nodded, standing tall. "Alright, here's how it will go."

"I'll be in the front. All unarmed personnel will be in the middle with Manuela. If worse comes to worse and an infected gets passed one of us, she can fight them off. Greg, you'll follow up the back with the Senator, since you've been trained for this kind of thing and can fire your weapon one handedly. Angela will be with you to provide extra firepower."

"Stick close to the group and stick together. If we get split, stick with someone who has a gun, but stay behind them. Any moment's delay due to having to adjust your aim can mean death. If we all stick together, everyone should make it out alive."

"Why is she in the middle?" Greg asked, annoyed. "I don't see why she's any more physically capable than me."

Leon turned, fixing Greg with a cold stare. "Quite simply put, she could rip your spine out through your stomach bare handed if she felt like it. Besides, we were trained for combat insertion, not rescues. That's your specialty, and you'll do a better job than we would at it. I trust you to protect the Senator."

Manuela smiled lightly at the skillful diplomacy Leon demonstrated and watched as Greg's anger faded into a faint look of pride in his skill. She didn't miss the slightly scared glance at her though, which nearly made her laugh.

As Leon touched a hand to the door, he looked back at the nervous people as they gathered into position. Nodding once, he kicked the door open, preparing for a fight to escape.