Black Swan ~ LEON KENNEDY

NINE

Leon and I sat in silence for five minutes after attempting to break down the door. Exhaling in defeat, i leaned against the now shorter statue, allowing myself to relax against the cold stone behind me. Ashley had never been trained to defend herself; in fact, she couldn't even hurt a fly if she wanted to.

A lump formed in my throat as tears welled up in my eyes. Attempting to hide my emotions from Leon, I curled my knees up, hugging them against my chest and resting my chin on my knees.

"What are we going to do?" I asked hoarsely, reluctant to accept the likelihood that she had been taken again, and there was nothing we could do.

"I'm not sure yet," Leon replied from beside me.

I sighed, raising my hands to cover my face. "Oh god, I'm such an idiot," I whispered.

I heard Leon huff out a laugh. "An idiot? I wouldn't say so."

Confused, I furrowed my eyebrows. "How so? I managed to get the president's daughter and myself kidnapped from her own school," I stated, pulling my hands away from my face to look at Leon.

"You know you're the agent who has the highest test score, right?" he said, turning his head away from the cage door to look at me. Giving me a small smile, he continued, "You're the best of the best Sophia, I've seen it."

"You knew who I was?" I asked curiously.

"I knew who you were when I first met you in your second week of training. I was very impressed," he said.

We sat in silence, staring into each other's eyes. The air between us crackled with undeniable tension as I found myself inching closer to him. His eyes, pools of warmth and understanding, drew me in like a moth to a flame. The world around us blurred, leaving only the echo of our breaths and the sensation of being on the precipice of something extraordinary.

I could almost taste the sweet anticipation as our lips hovered dangerously close. But then, an inexplicable fear clawed at the edges of my consciousness. Doubts and insecurities surged like a tidal wave, threatening to drown the fragile courage I had mustered.

In that split second, I hesitated. The fear, like a ghost from the past, whispered haunting doubts in my ear. The warmth in his eyes turned to confusion as I pulled away, a palpable distance growing between us.

Coughing to ease the tension that now filled the room, I rested my chin back on my knees and asked, "Do you think she'll be okay?" trying to forget the kiss I almost shared with him.

I heard him sigh, "I think so; it seems like she can handle herself."

"So how did you become an agent?" I asked him, wanting to talk about something else to distract myself from my worry for Ashley and pass the time.

There was a pause for a moment. Looking over, I was met with Leon's confused blue eyes.

"What? I told you my story. I think it's only fair you told me yours!" I teased, nudging my shoulder against his.

He said nothing for a moment. "My parents were criminals," he started. "My whole family was killed when I was young, and I ended up in an orphanage."

I stayed quiet and rested my head back against the stone, not wanting to interrupt him so that he could continue.

"I managed to survive thanks to a single police officer who helped me out. That experience inspired me to become a police officer too, with the goal of protecting as many people as possible." He paused for a moment before continuing, "When I graduated from the police academy at 21, I specifically asked to work for the Raccoon Police Department. I was drawn to the widely publicized but unsolved bizarre murder cases happening in and around the Arklay Mountains."