𝐒𝐦𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫 || Leon S. Kennedy

𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞

"Luis," Valerie spun around in her swivel chair, "talk to me." She pinched the bridge of her nose, running that same hand through her hair. Her lab partner spun around to face her, dragging out a long sigh, pressing his tongue against the inside of his cheek.

"Nothing. Val, I'm telling you that there is nothing we know about this strain, not a single shred of information. Not enough for a vaccine at least." Luis stood, rummaging around his desk before making a sound of accomplishment upon finding a sheet of lined paper. "Read over this, I need a smoke." He said, sending Valerie the smallest hint of a smile before walking out of the lab, his steps echoing off of the bare walls.

Valerie was at a standstill, one filled with frustration and despondency. Recently, she and her colleague, Luis Serra Navarro, had become engrossed in research on the incident occurring in Spain five years ago.

The title of the lined paper Luis had handed her was 'Las Plagas (again)' with a frowning face doodled next to it. Valerie huffed a laugh, standing up and stretching before going to find Luis, joining him in a much-needed break.

She walked through the lab and observed the many empty beakers and test tubes on the floor that had been pushed off their stand from anger and vexation. Papers were strewn across both of their desks and on the tile floor, in no particular order. It was a wonder Valerie and Luis could focus in such an environment. But it worked for the pair, even if their organization methods were deemed unorthodox by their peers.

"Thought you needed a smoke," Valerie spoke up, spotting her colleague lingering in the hallways outside of the lab rather than outside of the facility itself. "I do, I- I just needed a minute." He replied with a weak grin, digging around in his pocket for his lighter, before taking it out and flicking the flint wheel, alighting the flame though had no cigarette to burn.

"Shall we?" He jerked his chin towards the elevator, closing the lid to the zippo lighter he had carried with him at all times. Valerie nodded and followed beside Luis, watching his eyes focus on nothing except for the floor ahead.

"Something wrong?" Valerie could see the exhaustion evident in his features and sympathized with him.

Luis had been hard at work since dawn, refusing to stop unless to use the restroom. Set on these tests and data analytics, he wanted to be a part of it all and give as much effort as he could to help. Since he had experienced what happened in Spain, the bloody, gruesome, and disgustingly deep rabbit hole of it all, he wanted to know what really happened there. To its full extent. Not just the exterior mutations, the near-death experience he had gone through, or the bare minimum of the Las Plagas' effect on a person's DNA.

"I feel like we should just give this up, Val." Luis ran a hand through his hair, his tone was serious, which made Valerie raise a brow. "Are you serious? I thought you wanted to research this-"

"I do, I do, but we've found nothing. Three consecutive months of research and we've found nothing," a dry, humourless chuckle, "what are the odds this strain spreads anyway? The last recorded subject with it is dead." He made a good point, but Valerie didn't want to take such a risk.

"You know about Raccoon City, you know how fast that virus spread." Valerie was fumbling for words, pressing the button for the elevator to go down to the ground level. The doors slid shut in front of her, blocking the sight of the hallway.

Luis' jaw set, eyes trained ahead before meeting the gaze of his partner.

"I want to talk with somebody about this, somebody who can maybe help us." He said, his voice nothing above a whisper, very subtle.

"We shouldn't get the public involved when we know nothing about this-"

"He was infected with Las Plagas, in Spain when I was. Though, the complication is he thinks I'm dead." He rubbed the back of his neck, but his posture and expression hardened as soon as they had made it to ground level, peers sending them dirty looks as they mingled about in the lobby.

Valerie bit the inside of her cheek, dragging out a long sigh, releasing the breath she'd been holding the moment they'd made it outside of the facility. Luis took out a cigarette, lighting it with ease, playing around with the lighter between his fingers. He eyed his colleague for a moment, digging around for another cigarette and handing it to her.

Valerie took it with a small smile, placing it between her lips before pulling out a normal lighter, and struggling to flip the spark wheel against the rust. She really needed to invest in a new lighter. The tobacco burned her throat, but when she exhaled, everything felt just a bit lighter.

"Who is this guy?" She didn't look at Luis, keeping her eyes trained on the concrete, leaning against the wall. "An old friend. A damn good fighter, and he was also infected with the previous strain of Las Plagas. But he managed to get it extracted before it took ahold of him completely." He explained, exhaling smoke into the crisp night air.

"So how would he help us?"

"We're going to take a little...vacation to Spain." He proposed the idea, which left Valerie with wide eyes and her mouth open slightly. Pure surprise-and stupidity on his part, she thought. A light shake of her head left Luis scrambling for his next words, one he would pick carefully.

"I know how it sounds! Hear me out-" he was abruptly cut off by Valerie who let out a small chuckle. "You almost died, Luis and you want to go back?"

"Eh, it's been five years." He shrugged, smirking just a bit, knowing it would get on her nerves.

"Unbelievable." Valerie scoffed, realizing the cigarette had gone down without her taking very many drags. She tossed it on the damp concrete, stepping on it with her sneakers. She started the commute back to the lab, without checking with her partner was behind her.

While she was itching to test this out, to see if she and Luis were correct, was it worth this trouble and possible trip? What if this mystery man didn't agree to help Luis? So many things could go wrong and Valerie hated the idea of putting anybody in danger, especially her colleague. Luis knew the risks. He knew that he still hadn't fully recovered from Spain, but he also knew there was another strain of this virus that needed a vaccine. Or a method of extracting it. There didn't need to be another Raccoon City incident, not after what he'd already caused in 1998. Not after Nemesis.

Luis felt guilty still after his creation was killed eleven years ago. Even if Raccoon City was long gone, and he was a changed man, despite popular belief, he couldn't and wouldn't sit idly by and allow yet another strain of T-virus get out there.

Quitting Umbrella meant he had to give up his lab, equipment, and research documents. Now he felt like he was back at square one. Joining a new scientific community, new colleagues, new problems. A fresh slate. But even after escaping those horrors, they crawled back to the surface, infecting his life. Raccoon City, Spain, everything resurfaced. But this was a final stand.

"What is this man's name? I have connections to get ahold of him," Valerie turned to look at Luis, "if you're serious about doing this?"

"I'm positive, querida (darling)." Luis grinned, extending his hand to meet hers in the middle. The handshake lingered for a moment, solid, knowing glances sent to the other.

"His name is Leon Kennedy."