No more tears - Leon Kennedy

Chapter 12

As we entered the aircraft hold and I quietly sat on one of the metal crates, most likely part of the cargo as it was strapped to the wall, I watched Leon pacing back and forth, seemingly contemplating the events to come.

This situation brought a smile to my face for a moment, amused by the sight of so much hesitation and forethought from someone who was accustomed to speaking without dwelling on words.

"I hope the turbulence won't be as severe as announced..." I sighed with a slightly tired voice as I looked thoughtfully at the door leading out of the hold.

I tensed in my seat when the first jolts were felt, while Leon calmly leaned against the wall.

A questionnaire on an airplane amid turbulence, how romantic.

"Why are you here?" he finally asked as I turned to him, surprised that he still hadn't figured it out.

Maybe he just needed confirmation.

Taking a deep breath, I chose, despite myself, to remain patient.

"I'm investigating Simmons." I replied as he nodded as if my partial answer was enough to satisfy him.

"What we saw in Tall Oaks... He caused that?" he inquired as I looked at the ceiling, nodding hesitantly.

"He's responsible for much more than that, Leon... But yes, in essence, that's it." I informed him, sighing slightly as another jolt occurred.

I gripped the crate I was sitting on so tightly that my fingertips turned bright red.

"Are you okay?" he asked as I blinked several times and forced a strained smile.

"Yes, I'm fine. Thank you."

Another moment of pause followed, where a heavy silence set in. For once, I decided to break it myself, letting out my thoughts.

"I really wonder what would have happened if we hadn't crossed paths that day." I whispered, my voice slightly broken as our gazes met briefly. He furrowed his brows slightly as if this possibility had never crossed his mind.

"I knew you had come back." he admitted as my eyes widened in surprise.

Emotions rising slightly, I felt the arms supporting me begin to tremble as I gave him troubled looks.

"Why didn't you come to see me, if you knew...?" I asked as he crossed his arms, his face closed off.

"Because it wasn't my place."

With turbulence seeming to have subsided, he stood up, checking something on his phone as I bit my lip, slightly frustrated. I took a deep breath.

"Simmons heads a large organization called The Family. He manipulates ministers, senators, and has hidden relationships with foreign politicians for far too many years." I added, hoping the information I shared would interest him enough to ask me more questions.

I scratched my neck, wondering if it was just his attention that I wanted at that moment.

He ran his hand through his hair, his eyes seeming pensively fixed on the wall in front of him.

"This mission... Who gave it to you?" he finally asked as I hesitated for a long moment to answer, knowing that once I revealed names, he would inevitably have to take sides.

Yet, I strangely felt confident about the subject.

"President Graham, a few months before his resignation." I replied clearly as he cleared his throat, strangely immobile.

It had been over seven years since I was assigned this mission.

"Don't tell me that-" he began to remark as I smiled sadly at the idea that he might have understood.

"It wasn't supposed to go this far, yes." I added, stunned as his gaze darkened.

He became silent for a few moments.

"Is that really why you disappeared for over seven years? Stop messing with me." he finally asked as I clenched my fist, not feeling the pain even though my nails were just a slight pressure away from piercing my skin.

His remark was bitter, and at that moment, I was there only to defend my ideals. Understanding and empathy would have to wait.

"I'm sorry if I messed with you, then. But I had a duty and fulfilled it."

He let out a slight laugh, which stretched me even more as he quickly moved on to something else.

"What else has Simmons done?" he asked again, in such a formal tone that I regretted for a brief moment having let even a fragment of my emotions show.

As he leaned against the plane's wall, I took the opportunity to discreetly wipe away the tears that had begun to form at the corner of my eyes, wondering why they had arrived there when I felt absolutely nothing.

"The cassette we saw, in the Tall Oaks laboratory..." I began to mention slowly, hesitating.

When our eyes met for a moment and I saw the emotion in his eyes, I understood that I had managed to capture his attention.

"I don't think that's the real Ada on it... Otherwise, it would be anything but coherent." I began to explain, looking at the palms of my hands as I lost myself in my thoughts.

"The fact that Simmons appears on the video, and that Ada knows him... There's really something wrong." Were my last words as Leon said nothing, probably lost in his thoughts as he didn't move an inch.

There was just a huge silence, masked by the noise of the plane's engines. This silence comforted me in my theory.

"Ada and you... Did you see each other again? During these seven years, I mean..." I ended up asking Leon out of context, wanting to gauge his reaction.

He quickly put his hand on his chin, apparently not expecting it.

"Oh, she does look interested." were the only words that came out of his mouth as I turned to him, wide-eyed.

"But?!" I exclaimed in response, surprised that he managed to turn that against me when I asked a simple question, which, after thinking about it, didn't seem like me at all.

It's not me who...!

I unconsciously directed my hand to my neck, the pressure of my fingers on its base helping me feel more serene. Starting to slowly get up to get out of this uncomfortable situation, he allowed himself to add a remark.

"Who would've thought..." was his remark as, under the shock of surprise, my feet got tangled. Trying to regain my balance, I moved backward without success as I painfully tumbled to the floor, under Leon's mocking gaze.

Remaining dignified nonetheless, I endeavored to get up before another one of those damned jolts nailed me to the ground.

"Clumsy feet." Leon finally emphasized, an unmistakably amused look in his eyes as he offered me his hand to help me up.

On my part, I was struck by a curious nostalgia, as if I had already heard these terms, yet so common, in the past.

"I feel like my life is just a repetition of events..." I sighed as I grabbed his hand and stood up, lightly wiping the dust off my knees.

As I headed towards the door leading to the exit of the hold, the sound of his voice, both hoarse and gentle, made me turn around.

"Tell me about it." I looked at him for a moment, in his absolute calm betrayed by the hint of a smile at the corner of his lips, making me smile despite myself.

Maybe he hasn't changed as much as I thought.

As I turned around again and headed towards the door, my fists clenched, as if a part of me hoped he would call out to me one last time.

If that had been the case, I could already imagine turning around and suggesting that, once out of our respective hells, we meet for a date. An opportunity to get to know each other again.

But that wasn't the case. And that's how it was supposed to stay.

The door that was in front of me was now behind, these questions giving way to a few regrets.

I didn't have the right to happiness, so why even hope for it?