Old Vendettas

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The BSAA were as swift as ever with their rescue and clean up efforts in the aftermath of the New York attack. People were already being evacuated from the worst affected areas, a precaution they were told, nothing more. It was a chance to sweep the bodies from the streets and remove the charred remains of one Glenn Arias. There were emergency medical units being errected in many buildings. People were thankfully vaccinated, but there were still a great many wounded wandering the streets. Even the heroes themselves had found their way the one of the larger medical units, though one of their number would soon be regretting that decision. 
Chris Redfield would be given little warning before his wife zeroed in on him, lean limbs pushing people aside before she slapped him hard enough to make a sound that echoed. “You force me behind a desk, and this is how I have to find you?!” She hissed, holding up her PDA with a flashing red dot that showed Chris’ current location.
The small nurse who had been treating Chris for superficial wounds stared at the brunette with wide eyes, already quite terrified of this formidable looking woman.

Chris had fallen asleep in his chair, his head back and his mouth open. He was snoring loudly. It had been a long day and he was completely done. 

Ciara slipped out the window, nearly getting the too long pant legs caught on the sill. She didn't look at the grave as she ran across the lawn and into the trees. She couldn't. She didn't want the reminder that she'd murdered the only man who'd ever been nice to her. 
She'd left a note behind for Jill, thanking her for the bath and the clothes and promising to pay them back some how.

Jill couldn’t wake him. After the hell they had just been through, sleep was what he needed most right then. She simply grabbed the worn blanket from the couch and climbed into his lap, covering them both over with it. She would later regret her moment of simple indulgence, once she learned that Ciara had made a break for it.

Chris wrapped his arms around his wife and kissed her neck, though it was more out of habit than waking up. He too would be frustrated to find Ciara gone.

The young blonde hit the woods at a dead run. It was starting to rain harder and she needed to get somewhere off the beaten path. She'd stolen Jill's phone but now was not the time to use it.

A pillow would smack each BSAA agent across the head before they woke to find Claire standing there scowling at them. She clearly hadn’t slept, and the redness to her eyes betrayed that she had spent most of the night sobbing. “Ciara is gone.” She told them simply.

"What?" Chris opened one eye and looked at his sister, cranky that she'd hit him. He was stiff but he managed to tighten his grip on his wife.

Leon took in a gasping breath, every part of his body on fire. He opened his eyes to a strange darkness. "Claire..." He whispered, not sure why her name had come to him.

Jill groaned, her body feeling even more exhausted than it had been before she had fallen asleep. She rubbed at her eyes, then glanced to the window; it was still dark out, but dawn was approaching. “Chris, you and Claire head into town, I’ll check the woods.” She was already on her feet and looking for her boots. 

Wesker, as always, wasn’t too far away from his new project. “Of course that would be your first words.” He remarked icily. “What is it about Redfields that has people moaning their name?” He sneered, though hadn’t actually looked up from the screen he was entering data into.

"Why don't you stay here and we'll do both." Chris told Jill gently. "It's been a long time since Claire and I caught up any way."

Rebecca leaned over Leon, checking his vitals. She shook her head. "How do these guys manage it? His heart is fine like nothing ever happened."

“You can’t do both at the time time.” Jill replied. “That’s why you and Claire should drive the road into town together. I can cover the woods on my own.” She assured her husband with a gentle squeeze of his hand.

“Perhaps there is something to be said for genetics.” Wesker replied. “We can test that theory soon enough. He will draw his offspring back to us.”

Chris sighed but gave in. If he didn't things would never change for them. "All right. Come on, Claire."

"I'm not sure about that. The girl didn't seem to have the Redfield sense of family." Rebecca snorted.

Jill hugged Claire tightly, though they younger woman didn’t return it. Claire simply seemed like losing Leon had taken the spark right out of her. 
Jill nodded to Chris with worry in her eyes, then headed out the back door to the woods behind their home. 

“We know very little about Kennedy.” Wesker pointed out. “For all we know family is less than important to him, also.”

"Claire, you gave me hell for acting that way." Chris reminded his sister. "And besides, no one actually saw Leon's body. There's always the chance he's still alive." He was trying to help though he doubted it would work.

"Screw you." Leon groaned, trying to force himself to wake up fully. "She didn't tell me about the baby. She didn't give me the chance."

It had the opposite effect, from the way his sister narrowed her eyes at him. “After 6 months! Not the next fucking day!” She hissed. “And if you never saw his body, who was in that grave?”

“Well now...” Wesker finally looked up and smiled at Rebecca. “Little baby Redfield was just full of secrets, wasn’t she?”

"Billy Coen." Chris said, his voice soft. He had just been trying to help. They'd dealt with so much loss and grief before. It seemed insane for them to keep doing it. "Wesker was using him like he did Jill but...he got smart I guess...used a poison on him. Ciara...hell, I'm not really sure where she fell into the whole thing or why she was with him."

Rebecca nodded. "She wasn't the friend I thought she was." She admitted. "I guess I wasn't good enough for the secrets." She snorted at the thought. But in the end it had probably been a good idea. At least then she couldn't betray the Redfield's anymore than she already had.

Claire stared down into her lap, ashamed she had snapped at her brother like that. “It’s not like he was mine to mourn, or anything...” She whispered, then sucked in a deep breath before turning her gaze out the window to watch for Ciara. “I risked everything, lied to everyone... all to keep her safe, and it was for nothing.”

”Don’t think like that.” Wesker told Rebecca firmly. “She is a worthless toad, just like her brother.” He added as her at Leon’s side. He slid something into the younger man’s IV and suddenly the device on his chest lit up in a bright shade of blue. “You can watch her beloved boyscout rip her apart piece by piece, soon enough.”

"I used to think the same of you." Chris said with a soft laugh. "She had to grow up some time, Claire. And..it's the Redfield curse you know. We can't stay away from each other. Even if we know it will hurt."

Leon's eyes snapped open and he spit at Wesker. "Fuck you. Nothing you can do will....make me hurt her..." He snarled.

Claire glanced across at her big brother, wishing he had things easier. “I was worried about you... that’s why I came home to Raccoon City to find you.” She breathed. “My friends at college kept hassling me, asking when you were coming to visit. It was so annoying, everyone always having a crush on you.” She added, the slight ghost of a smile pulling at her lips.

“Oh please, you think Valentine didn’t spit the same threats at me?” Wesker purred. “And you are so much more... malleable, than she ever was.”

"No wonder Jill kept telling me to let you grow up and leave you alone." Chris laughed. "Remember when we moved you there?"

"What is that supposed to mean?" Leon growled, turning his eyes on Rebecca for a moment. He knew her. How could she be doing this?

Claire groaned and rolled her eyes. “How can I forget. Suddenly every girl needed help carrying boxes.” She replied with a smirk. “Then you got mad when some guy started hitting on Jill.”

“Ever lose control before, Mr Kennedy?” Wesker asked, though he already knew the answer, Ada had told him everything. “Imagine how it will feel to squeeze your fingers around Claire’s throat, watching the life fade from those captivating Redfield eyes everyone seems to love so much.”

Chris laughed harder. "Yeah. And you two had to break up the fist fight I started. Jill wouldn't speak to me for hours after that. I had to resort to..." He paused, giving his sister a smirk. "Nevermind."

"How did that work out for you?" Leon asked, his eyes blazing with hate. "If the big bad wolf can't manage it..."

Sherry elbowed Jake, worried when all he did was stare at his father. "Come on." She hissed. "We have to go."

Claire groaned, knowing exactly what he meant. “Yeah, yeah... Jill can’t resist the charm.” She snorted. “Too bad I never got that particular Redfield gift...” She added, thinking of how terrible her own track record was.

“She won’t fight her darling boyscout.” Wesker purred. “Just like Chris refused to injure Jill. They don’t have it in them to fight that kind of battle.”

Jake shook out of his daze and glanced down at the small blonde beside him. She was right, he was putting them in danger.

"Yeah. That's why every time you'd call Leon would drop everything and run to you. Except...you know that time." And just like that they weren't laughing anymore.

Leon spit in Wesker's face again. "No matter what you do, I won't hurt her. Ever." He hissed.
Sherry tapped the gun at Jake's hip and pointed at Rebecca. There was something in the way Wesker was acting toward the woman that they needed to exploit.

Claire was again staring down into her lap, knowing they could trace this current shit storm right back to the moment she sent that message to Leon. “I was being unfair to him. I held him at arms length, until I wanted something. It was cruel, and I... never got to tell him how sorry I was.”

Wesker took a moment to wipe his face, then held Leonks gaze as he tapped something on the tablet he had hold of. A few seconds later the device on Leon’s chest started glowing again, forcing a massive dose of the control serum into his blood. “Oh trust me, you will. But first, you will rip away everyone she loves.”

Make gave Sherry a questioning look, wondering if he understood her right. He saw the resolve in her bright blue eyes and slowly unholstered his gun. “Who is she?” He mouthed.

"He told Jill to tell you he loved you." Chris said softly, not wanting to look at her as he pulled to a stop in the town.

"I'll explain later. Just...do it." Sherry whispered, prepaing herself to take on Wesker himself. The sound of Leon's anguished howl was making it hard to think.

This brought fresh tears from Claire, no matter how hard she tried to suppress them. “I loved him right from the start, and I was too much of a fucking coward to just tell him!” 

Jake didn’t hesitate this time. A single bullet caught Rebecca in the shoulder with enough force to instantly floor her, given her svelte build. Wesker snarled like a rabid animal when he realised his security had been breached. “Leon, dispose of them!” He commanded, too focused on Rebecca to do it himself.

"I know that feeling. I was the same with Jill. You and I are so much alike it's scary." He whispered, patting her arm. 

Leon couldn't disobey, no matter how much he wanted to. He went for Jake, grabbing the young man and lifting him off his feet. 
Sherry went after Wesker, tackling him only by surprise, before he ever reached Rebecca.

Claire wiped at hers eyes, Chris finally able to coax a slight smile from her again. “Nah, you have more self control than I did.” She replied.

Jake slammed a foot against Leon’s chest, directly into the device that was attached there. Nothing. No sparks, no malfunction. Wesker did indeed learn from his past mistakes. 
In that moment, the man himself had tossed Sherry over his shoulder and her pinned to the ground by her throat. “Birkin...” He sneered the word, having as much contempt for Sherry as he had her father.

Chris gave her a serious look and nodded his head. "You're right. I totally had Jill at my feet begging for mercy. I'm a total stud."

Leon threw Jake into the wall, no expression on his face.
"It's actually Wesker now." Sherry purred.

“You didn’t jump on her in the middle of an outbreak, right?” Claire replied with a snort. 

Make hit the floor, but was quickly back on his feet. He hadn’t expected such strength from Leon, as he didn’t yet know about the serum in the other man’s blood. “Shit...” He shook his vision clear and rushed him again, getting a few blows in this time. He knew he couldn’t shoot him, Sherry would never forgive him for that.
That caused Weskerka blood to boil further, until suddenly he smiled. “So, the boy took my name after all.” He purred.

Chris couldn't help but laugh. "Nope. She and I never locked ourselves into the other Spencer mansion and took advantage of things." He chuckled. 

Leon didn't so much as flinch, this time tossing him toward where Wesker had Sherry pinned. 
"Not exactly." Sherry hissed. "It's kind of a legal thing. He still calls himself Mueller."

The look on Claire’s face said it all. “Ew, old people.” She told him with a teasing grin, though something quickly drew her gaze as it ran past the car.

Jake picked himself up once again, this time his gun was drawn and he had dragged the wounded Rebecca back to her feet. “Call your pet off, or I’ll put a bullet through that pretty little head.” He warned his father.
Wesker looked at Jake like he was a fool. “Hardly a wise move, considering I have your wife here. One little press, and she never opens that’s annoyingly optimistic mouth ever again.”