Blue on Black

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Leon Kennedy starred at his gun as he heard the truck shudder into the drop zone. It was never going to get any easier. It didn't matter how many times he came into these towns and cleaned them out. 
It had nothing to do with the people. It was Claire Redfield. He saw her everywhere. The same scenario played out in his mind. In the end he was in her arms. Except...he wasn't. For the most part, he was alone. Until he was calling a phone number that made his chest hurt just to make the chill inside him go away. 
"Claire..." He breathed as he stepped off the truck and looked around. "Will you ever forgive me?" 

Rebecca Chambers didn't share Leon's sense of loneliness. The mousy haired woman was rather happy living alone. She'd seen far too many of her friends and loved ones die to believe in anything but science. 
At the moment she was seated on the floor of her office chewing on her pen, watching a video about the bio-experiments that had been newly discovered from Raccoon city. She didn't seem to be buying a word of it.

"Jill..." Carlos rolled her underneath him careful to make sure she knew she was able to free herself at any moment. "You know I would never walk away from you." He breathed. "I would follow you to hell and back as many times as you need me to. I love you, super cop. Even if you are a monster." He purred, dipping his head to nibble at her shoulder. 

Rebecca frowned ever so slightly, not sure what he meant other than he hadn't been the one to give them to her. She shook her head. "So why are you here? Vacation? Getting married? Need a favor? That's the only reason people seem to come looking for me these days." She said almost sadly.

That was the problem; she knew he would truly do that, and she didn’t want his death on her conscience. Carlos was so open with how he felt for her, that Jill hadn’t really known what to do with it at first. The last few months with Chris had been hell when he started taking out his grief on her. “Hey, I’m your monster though, you now that, right?” She breathed, taking his face between her hands and simply gazing up at him. 

“Dead men don’t need any of those things.” Billy commented, returning to biting into his bagel. He would simply have to investigate this basketball thing later. “But I get the feeling that that’s why you’re in Paris, right? Favour to Redfield? What’re you looking for?”

The next morning Carlos stood outside the hotel room, watching the snow that had covered the ground and was still coming down in heavy sheets. He lit his cigarette and took a deep drag. 
Jill was never going to be his. It never failed. During their love making and even during her sleep she called out for Redfield. He knew this was simply something he was going to have to live with but this morning he wanted to strangle someone. He was admittedly glad when his phone rang and he could walk barefoot in the snow to the truck to answer it. 

"Yeah. I'm supposed to be helping find an antidote for this virus that Umbrella just came out with." She said softly, leaning across to steal a piece of his bagel. Some things never changed. "My brain is swimming and I haven't slept in three weeks. Everyone is yelling at me...I'm not getting laid and all I do is drink coffee and eat bagels. But overall...It's fine. It's at the end. I'm satisfied with the product."

Jill was awake when Carlos left to take his call. She stared at the door after he left, able to tell from the stiffness of his shoulders that she had done something wrong. This was how it was now. She had thought Chris the love of her life, then he left her alone in Raccoon City as it burned. She forgave him. He ran off alone on countless missions to be the hero. She forgave him. He made her life hell when she tried to help him through the grieving process after Claire was lost… he broke her into too many pieces to count over the years. She was too broken to forgive that one. Carlos was just how Chris had been in the beginning, and it scared Jill to think he too would come to hate her. She didn’t even know what she had said in her sleep, only that finally she didn’t dream of the creature that had hunted her like a rat. 

“You, miss can do, are never satisfied.” Billy commented with a playful smirk. “You just point me at the people yelling, and I’ll be happy to break a few faces.” He added, cracking his knuckles for dramatic effect. “You know, I’ve found this one magic word does wondering for getting people to leave you alone…  fuck off, oh right, that’s two.” He broke out into another grin.

Carlos returned little more than fifteen minutes later, his toes red and a hand behind his back. His grin had returned. "So I saw a Waffle House across the street. You have to get dressed. We are so going there." He purred, jumping on the bed and shoving a handful of snow underneath the covers and firmly under her bottom. 

"My grandmother always said you catch more flies with honey than vinegar." Rebecca said with a grin. "Besides, you know what a disaster I am. It's hard not to yell at me when I can't understand the language and I knock down the power grid to Eiffel tower at least twice a day." She added with a blush.

Jill shrieked like a banshee, knowing it was likely payback for all the times she put her perpetually cold feet on him in bed. She was out the bed like a shot, running to the other side of the bed and rubbing her now rosy behind. “A Carlosless world sound pretty good right now.” She teased, poking her tongue out at him. 

“Good, that laser show is an eyesore.” Billy confirmed with a nod. “How about you blow off whatever you’re doing, and run away back to my naked desert island?” He teased.

Proud of himself Carlos laid back on the other side of the bed and grinned. "Sure. I'd like to see you try, super cop." He laughed, putting his hands behind his head. 
Later in the day they were already far away from the snow and heading toward an area Leon had been certain would be good for Sherry. The warm ocean breeze and sandy beach had been good for the young girl but not enough for her to tell her what had happened with her father. "Florida? Even Mexicans know Florida is trash." He grumbled. 

Rebecca grinned. "Oh I know right! I may or may not have done that on purpose." She reached across and grabbed his hand. "Lucky for you I'm off today. But no desert island." She added, a wicked look in her eye.

“Oh shut up, you’re just mad I said we don’t have time to go to Disneyworld.” Jill responded. She hadn’t seen Sherry in so many years… she worried the little girl wouldn’t even want to entertain the. Orion of family. 

“Right, so just naked. I gotcha.” Billy replied with a wink. “But I can bring pastries… right?”

"Never. Can you imagine?" Carlos scoffed. "All those kids? All that whining and...Have you thought of the fact that if the zombies get in there it's...you thought a subway full of people were bad! How about a giant group of girls in princess dresses!" He began cursing in Spanish. "But I do want to steal a kiss from the mermaid." He teased, giving her a wink.

Rebecca shook her head as she stared at the line in front of them. Something was happening. They'd just been walking and talking until they'd run into the massive crowd in the center of town. The noise of people arguing and yelling was deafening.

Jill poked out her tongue in mock disgust. “But you hate sushi!” She declared. “But I get it… blonde, redheads, anything but a boring brunette. I can take the hint…” She added with a dramatic sigh, even pretending to reach for the door handle. 

Billy was glancing around him and scowling, he had many hidden talents, but unfortunately speaking French wasn’t one of them. “What going on?” He shouted to Rebecca, even taking her hand to keep her from getting swept away in the crowd.

"What are you going to do jump out into traffic?" Carlos asked her with a grin. "You know, if I was honest none of those things excite me half. What excites me is a super cop who stands up to monsters of all kinds so she can save the world. She doesn't even care if she dies. No damn mermaid can do that." He said passionately. "I love you, Jill. I don't even look at the other women. Well...maybe the blondes...just a little..." He snickered.

"They're saying...Little woman with a gun..." Rebecca said with a frown. She was trying to stand on tip toe to see. She could almost hear the shouting. It was raw screams. This woman was in agony. "She's saying...Give...back...boy..." She added. "Billy, we have to help her."

“Yeah, yeah…” Jill smirked, leaning across to drop a gentle kiss against his cheek. “Supercop can’t exist in a Carlosless world.” She breathed. 

Billy didn’t like this. If felt too exposed. “Rebecca… this isn’t our fight.” He insisted, still keeping a tight grip on her hand. “You said someone left you twisted gifts… this doesn’t feel right.”

Carlos stopped the truck outside the very place he'd sworn not to go. He knew Jill wouldn't have mentioned it if there wasn't a reason. "You know a kid could live here if she was smart enough not to get caught." He breathed, looking at the large expanse of the theme park. Once again he cursed in his native tongue. "I took my brother to one of these places once. My dad got drunk and was beating our mom. I just wanted him to smile for a little bit. He saw a clown...and it was all over. I won't even mention stealing a hotdog and throwing up on the rides." He added with a soft laugh. 

Rebecca wasn't listening. She was pulling Billy with her through the crowd. 
As they drew closer it was easier to see the slender, dirty strawberry blonde with the wild eyes. She was brandishing a military issued automatic weapon at the advancing group of officers. "You took him!" She screamed, this time in English. "Give my son back!" 
"Mary!" Rebecca had no idea who this woman was but she knew this was the only way to help her. "What are you doing here? You should still be in the hospital." She spoke softly in French as she advanced, her hands out. The woman turned to her, her dirty face streaked with tears. 
For a moment she seemed calm until she pulled up her weapon and aimed it at Rebecca's stomach.

“Your brother was lucky to have you.” Jill assured him, taking his hand and squeezing tightly. “My dad didn’t believe in family.” She snorted. “Once I was too big to squeeze through the gaps he couldn’t fit… he lost what little interest he had.” She added, the most she had ever told Carlos about her childhood. Hell, she had never even called her father by name. Jill didn’t even know if he was still alive at this point. 

“Shit…” Billy’s whole body tensed up and he glanced around, wondering why the police weren’t even here. He kept his eyes on ‘Mary’, or more specifically, her gun. He could disarm her no question, he just didn’t know if he could do it before her trigger finger twitched.

"Okay. Let's not talk about that stuff." Carlos cleared his throat. He hated talking about the past. He knew it was hard for Jill. She rarely talked to him about anything other than what was happening in the moment. "Let's get in this place and find that girl. Do you have an idea?" He leaned over and kissed her forehead, hoping to distract her as he locked her door. Then he kicked his door open and made a mad dash around to open hers before she could get out on her own. This time he was sure it would work. 

"Don't try it." The woman hissed. Her green eyes blazed with fury as she glared at Billy. She seemed to know what he was thinking as she shifted her weight to another foot and aimed the gun at Rebecca's forehead. 
Rebecca didn't budge. "Please, Mary...Let's go back. We'll find your boy." She said gently, holding her hands up. "It's fine." Without caring about the gun aimed at her, she turned to the officers. "She is my sister." She spoke in French. "She lost her son a few days ago. The grief is too much. Let us take her home. She won't cause anymore trouble." The officer pointed at the gun and shook his head. "Registered." Rebecca lied. "It's mine."

Carlos would find himself opening the door to an empty truck. Jill had scooted across and slid out of the drivers door. Poor Carlos was having a hard time breaking down the last few of her walls; she was simply not accustomed to chivalry. 

“Honey, I thought we agreed you would both meet me at the metro station?” Billy shouted, strong arming his way through the crowed in the hopes all attention would be on the loud, tattooed American.

Inside the park, Carlos was not having a magical time. He was not used to the crowds. He hated the massive groups of people that surrounded them and was constantly searching for areas that they could be alone. 
When he finally found somewhere he was quick to pull Jill in with him to the alley behind Gaston's pub. His chest was heaving. "Does it ever stop?" He whispered. "I can see how the girl could hide here...but how are we going to find her?" 

Rebecca quickly took the gun from the distracted "Mary" and gave Billy a grateful nod. Soon enough the three of them were heading back toward the bagel shop, Billy practically strong arming the taller of the two women.

Jill could see the hard time Carlos was having and gently took his face between her hands, forcing him to look down and focus on nothing but her. “We will have to do as she obviously does… find somewhere to hide until closing time.” She told him, dropping one hand from his face to rest it lightly against his chest, over his pounding heart. “We got this, you’re with super cop, right?”

Billy had said very little when they made their escape, behind furious with Rebecca for putting herself in such obvious danger like that. This woman had more than ample chance to pull the trigger. Right now he could be scooping her brains up off the French boulevard.

"We could stay here?" Carlos asked. "Or maybe go into the bar there. Or whatever the hell it is..." He snorted. "I've never in my life heard so much singing. What the hell is wrong with them? Have they all been gassed? Why the hell are they smiling so damned much?" 

Rebecca was trying her best to carry the gun without looking like it was too heavy. "What were you doing out there?" She asked as the finally arrived at the outside seating area. "Don't you know they would have killed you and you'd never have seen your boy?" 
"They took him." The woman hissed, looking around her as Billy shoved her in the chair. "They burst into my home and took my son!"

“Oh come on, you smile all the time.” Jill replied, squeezing his chin and giving it a little shake. “Would it make you happy if I bought you an ice cream?” She teased. “In the shape of the mouse overlord?”

“Alright. You have our attention, who took him?” Billy asked calmly as he slid his lean frame into one of the metal seats. “And why don’t we start with your sons name too.”

Carlos shook his head. "Pretzel. That way I can tear it apart slowly." He grinned almost evilly. "Then a beer. They have to have one around here somewhere." 
Nearby a young girl in a light blue princess dress was watching them carefully. She knew who the woman was and she was terrified. Her entire body was alive with what was inside her. She wasn't about to let them find her. No matter what Claire had once told her. 

The green eyed woman was looking at the dog tags Rebecca had before she turned back to Billy. "You were a Marine, right?" She asked, gesturing to the other woman. "Same. The name is Molly. I served in Africa and Iraq. I'm not telling you my son's name until I know I can trust you." She said with the shake of her head. "Not after what just happened."

Jill grinned, reaching up on her top toes to press a loving kiss to her lover’s lips. “You’re adorable when you panic.” She teased, unaware they were being watched as her fingers gently toyed with his shaggy hair. 

“Africa?” Billy echoed, a chill settling at the base of his spine. “How long ago did you serve?”

Carlos watched the last of the fireworks thour Jill's eyes, surprised to find a rare smile on her face. "You know you think you'd be used to those." He teased, kissing her neck. "You get the Carlos sized  ones every night." He danced with her to their hidden spot, his hands sliding under her top and along her rib cage. "You know you make that Villain lady look good." He purred.

"I'm still serving." Molly said, her eyes locked on him. She knew who he was. "The bastards took my son." She added, her chin quivering ever so slightly. "Things may be changing."

Jill was still smiling even as her lashes fluttered slightly. “You’re going to get us caught…” She murmured, but was beginning to lose the will to care. She had to cling to these moments, as this was how things started with Chris… Then he soon acted like she was the enemy. “Besides… no firework compares to flying through a nuke blast.” She teased. 

Billy wanted to flip that table and grab Rebecca before disappearing into the crowd. He didn’t like the way this woman looked at him; it was the way Rebecca had looked at him when they first met on that train. “Who took him?” He finally managed to ask, though his voice was thin.

"Wow. I'm good." Carlos laughed, abandoning the his venture under her shirt. He lifted her legs up and wrapped her thighs around his waist. "I think we need to add a magic kingdom to our list." He breathed against her throat.

"It was a group of special service operatives." Molly said, looking around her. She glanced at Rebecca and the gun she held. Billy would know how quickly the younger would would be disarmed if the choice was made. "I don't even know how they found me. He... His father doesn't even know where I am."

Jill was biting her lip as she grinned, swatting at Carlos’ shoulder as he lifted her up. “You’re going to get…” she didn’t get to finish, certain she saw a pair of blue eyes watching them through a gap in the foliage. She as soon as she thought they were there, they were gone again. 

“And who would his father be?” Billy asked, that feeling in his stomach returning. “We can’t help you if you play the vague game with us… lady.” He snorted.

"What?" Carlos felt Jill's sudden uneasiness and his hands went still. He groaned, his head resting against her chest. "This isn't fair." He grunted. "You know you can't leave me hanging." He knew they weren't here for this sort of thing but that didn't mean anything. 
Sherry was already sprinting for the service tunnels below the theme park. If she could lose herself there, the couple would never find her. Last time she'd gone down for food it had taken her weeks to find a way back up. 

Molly shook her head. "Look, I remember you. But that doesn't mean I trust you. Semper Fi turned into a long line of bullshit when I was left for dead in Iraq." She pushed out of her chair, again looking around her. "We're not alone. You two need to get out of here. I made a scene for a reason."

“Shh…” Jill hissed, trying to will her own raving heart to cease pointing as she listened. The park was going quiet, there were far fewer people around now, but she was sure if what she had just seen. “I swear… someone was just watching us.” She breathed, unhooking her legs from around her lover to stand on her own two feet again. “And I don’t mean some voyeur getting off on the thought of you undressing me.” She added with a half smirk. 

“If you remember me, my guess is you are still believing what they apoon fed you, given the way you’ve been afraod to tirn you’re back on me. Like… you think I’m about to shoot you?” Billy replied. “Why don’t you just tell us who the kids father is? Maybe we can track him down.”

Sherry slid through the gate just as it was closing and rolled under a truck. For over an hour she laid there until she was sure all the employees were gone. When this was done she dug out her flashlight and got up, illuminating the sign on the wall. Theater room B. She'd been here for three years. That should mean something to her but it didn't. She'd just have to hope she somehow remembered how to get back here and Jill Valentine didn't.

"I just don't know who you're working for. There's so many people who are..." Molly shook her head, now making sure to keep her back to the bagel shop. "I can't contact him. I don't want anything to happen to him too. There's a pharmaceutical company involved too. A man...fuck..." The green eyed woman looked like she was grieving deeply and trying to hide it. "I sound insane. You two wouldn't believe me." She shoved her fingers through her knotted hair and sniffed hard. "I'm so stupid. I should have been watching him better."

Jill knew a little something of having to fend for yourself at Sherry’s age, and really hoped what she had seen was wrong, after all… why would Sherry see her and run? Did she really have that bad of a resting bitch face, as Chris had always said? The happiest place on earth was suddenly much less so after dark. She to keep closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, telling herself to quite imagining how bad this night could turn if the park were infected. 

Billy only glanced to Rebecca briefly, but it was enough. He leaned forward slightly, pretending he was reaching for the sugar in the middle of the small table. “Let me guess… the Umbrella he hides under is vast?” He asked with a snort.