Resident Evil Series Fan Fiction ❯ A Deadly Mistake ❯ The Penalty ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: Alright. As you all may very well know already, I do not own the Resident Evil/Biohazard franchise or any of its characters. Those rights belong to Capcom. Also, I have only been able to play Resident Evil 0 and 4, but have done rather thorough research on all the characters' backgrounds and history to make sure I didn't screw up somewhere, but if I do have something that conflicts with the canon of the series, please email me and let me know and I'll have it fixed. Just please don't flame me over it; it's not that big of a deal.

 

So, without further ado, I bring you...

 

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Resident Evil: A Deadly Mistake

 

Chapter 1 - The Penalty

 

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I felt like a child sitting and waiting outside the school principal's office waiting anxiously for my punishment, only the stakes were just a tad higher: I had been caught in bed with President Graham's only daughter. It's not smart to get involved with the child of the most powerful man in the world, but then again, if I were any smarter I wouldn't have signed up for a job that could get me killed at any moment. Raccoon City, then Los Illuminados, and now this. I had shit for luck.

 

I imagined that the other room was filled with the screams and tears of a brokenhearted young lady, but the walls of the President's personal chambers were obviously soundproof. At the door stood Jason Van Wert, my colleague in the president's secret service, dressed up in the standard black tailored suit with a necktie and transparent earpiece. He was a moderately sized black man with a nearly bald shaven head and eyes that were even darker than his skin. He stood at attention with his arms held loosely in front of him, holding his wrist so that his hands rested just below his crotch. He looked like a cardboard cutout, shaped to be exactly like every other SS member: plain, simple, and robotic. I could never have accepted this job if I had to dress like that; luckily my prior experience gave me enough credibility to bypass that regulation. But I supposed it didn't matter anymore. Now I just had to think of what my next job would be.

 

“Man...” The single word was followed by a small chuckle, snapping me out of my gaze as I looked over at Van Wert, who now had a smirk painted on his previously stone lips. “You fucked up, Kennedy.” Another chuckle. I shrugged, not budging from my seat.

 

“Whatever.” I wasn't quite as dressed for the occasion as he was; there was little to no chance I would still have a job within the next hour, so why bother looking nice for the boss? I wore my most comfortable blue jeans with a plain black t-shirt and my relatively new black boots. On me, I still had the Punisher handgun I had received back in Spain strapped to my waist and my trusty knife tucked into the side of my boot. As I sat on the chair resting on my knees with my elbows and stared a hole straight through the ground, Wert persisted in trying to pour salt into my wounds.

 

“What was going through your head, Kennedy? You think that just because you saved the Ashley you can fool around with her as your prize? Jesus, man! She's the president's daughter!”

 

“I said whatever,” I repeated, not looking up for but a moment, my face expressionless as my hair shielded the eye closest to the man I was talking to.

 

His tone softened a bit, his voice going lower. “Well, I can't blame you. She's a sweet girl… with a fine ass to go with it.” He gave another quieted laugh before finally shutting up, thank God.

 

“Tsh.” I continued trying to break through the floor panels with my eyes, twiddling my thumbs in impatience. I wasn't edgy because of what my punishment might be- I already knew I'd get a “Thank you for saving my daughter, but you're out of here. There's the door.” talk- I was actually more nervous about Ashley's reaction. It wasn't out of `love' or anything like that, I just hated to see any young lady cry because of me. I knew she would be disconsolate to a pretty high degree; after all, I took her virginity after saving her from a horrific near-death experience. Perhaps she had really fallen in love with me, I wasn't sure, but regardless of if it was love or a teen-like crush, it would be hard for her to watch me leave and never be allowed to see me again. It wasn't like she could sneak out at night through a window in her room like an every day high school kid- her buddies in the SS would make that impossible. But perhaps things were better this way... At least I could move on with my life, too.

 

Suddenly, the sound of a twisting doorknob and a shouting girl storming out caught my ear. I sat up in my seat and beheld Ashley, teary-eyed and red-faced, stomping out like a sixteen year-old in her brown flats on the hard floor. She hardly resembled a twenty-one year-old as she looked at me, instantly breaking into more tears at the sight of me. As she reached her hands up to her face to shield herself from being seen, I suddenly felt compelled to hold her, and did so in a split second, not giving it a second thought. I stood and wrapped my arms around her, hugging her close and letting her bury her sodden face into my chest. I didn't have any words of wisdom or comfort for her, but the way she clung to me, wanting me even closer, made me wish I could come up with something.

 

“I'm sorry... Leon...” she got out amidst the coughs and gags as she poured her tears onto my shirt. I rubbed her back gently as I looked up to see Wert looking directly at us, a hint of sympathy in his eyes that should never be shown by an SS agent. We locked gazes and he gave me a nod, which I returned. I supposed it was a farewell nod, an affirmation of respect. I was happy enough with that.

 

Just then, though, the President came out of his room, whispering something to Wert who immediately walked past us and down the hallway, holding his earpiece and talking to whomever was on the other end of the line. As he brushed past us, Ashley reluctantly pulled away from me, turning to face her father with a visibly heavy heart.

 

“Dad, please...”

 

“Mr. Kennedy, my room, please.”

 

The order was direct and simple. I responded with a casual, “Sir,” and walked past Ashley without a second glance; there was no need in getting her even more upset. It was my time to own up for my mistake and move on.

 

As I entered the room, the First Lady exited, leaving the room to only me, the President, and the two SS agents standing at the back of the room, Jacobs and Ungerman. Each was dressed identically to Van Wert, only both sported sunglasses. The President closed the door behind me as I looked around his room for the last time, noticing that the curtains had been drawn tightly shut; it was clear that this entire situation was to be kept under wraps.

 

“Leon...” he started, shaking his head and wiping his brow of sweat and frustration. His hand trailed all the way to the back of his head, where he scratched a bit, as if thinking of exactly what he should say next, or how to word it. I simply answered, “Sir,” and let him continue: “I'm speaking to you as a father now, not a politician. And I have to say... that I'm disappointed. I trusted you, Leon, I trusted you alone with my daughter's life, and you came through for me, for her. But now... Now you've absolutely killed that trust. Killed it!” I remained emotionless in my expression, not wanting to look overly guilty despite my feelings of culpability. He went on, “Now what am I supposed to do, Leon? Huh? I obviously can't let you keep your job, or any other job in the government for that matter!” Again, I didn't say anything. Pleading my case would be useless and juvenile. But the fact that I wasn't speaking out seemed to upset the man, like he expected me to confirm Ashley's probable comments on how we were in love and whatnot. He tried to draw it out of me, but, sadly, there was nothing to draw out.

 

“I deserve whatever punishment you deem necessary, sir.” Well, it at least broke the awkward silence.

 

The President once again shook his head as he paced around, looking at the ground and then the ceiling, avoiding eye contact with me at all costs. It was almost as if he felt guilty for what he was about to do. “Leon...” he began, his voice no longer harsh and loud, but only just soft enough to be heard. “I'm going to send you on one last mission, one that has been kept top secret for the past two months. We sent 2 CIA operatives to a suspicious area in Alaska, where we tracked multiple large shipments of different vaccines and biochemical supplies related to the makeup of the T- and G-Viruses. Neither of the men was heard from again. Their last transmission to us consisted of nothing but illogical screams of terror.”

 

I think he could tell by the expression on my face that I already knew the rest of the story, but he continued anyway. “We sent in the nearest SWAT unit available to investigate and retrieve the men, but they were ambushed once they found the bodies in an apparently deserted warehouse full of rotting bodies. It's safe to say that the ambush was carried out by those corpses, created by the same virus that infected Raccoon City.”

 

“So,” I interrupted, “you lost two CIA agents and an entire SWAT team without so much as one survivor and now you're sending me in on a one way trip? Have I got it straight?”

 

The older man nodded. “Yes. Firing you for whatever reason would be suspicious enough for the media to get their noses into the affair, and we can't have that in this time of war. The American people have enough to worry about besides corruption in the White House. Besides, you're the only one we've got that has extensive experience dealing with these... these things. Your mission will be to find out the cause of these events, who is behind it, and bring back any survivors you can find. Hunningan will brief you on everything else when you depart.”

 

“I see... I'll be your last test dummy before you just nuke the place and eliminate the virus for good like the last president did. And it's also a perfect way to get rid of me, so in the end you win.” I shook my head with a small, unbelieving grin spreading across my lips. “I can't believe the punishment for unwedded sex is death...”

 

“Kennedy, now is not the time to act cocky,” he warned. “Personally, I don't care whether you live or die. If you survive, then you will help us keep the virus under wraps and I will give you an honorable discharge in return. If you die, then it will be the perfect cover for your own mistake. Just think of it as your reconcilement.”

 

“Heh, win/win situation.” The President shook his head at me again as he turned back towards the door, giving me a few last words as I followed behind him.

 

“Consider it a charity from me, Leon. I liked you, really. I just never expected...” He stopped, as if trying to push the image out of his head. I didn't blame him. “I think we're done here. Report to the SS quarters tomorrow morning, and they'll get you prepped to go.” He opened the door, generously enough, for me, and bid me farewell with an almost silent, “Good luck.”

 

“Thanks.” As I strolled out of the President's room, I found Ashley, still in the same exact spot as before, waiting for me with what seemed like an even redder face than she had before. She held her hand up to her mouth to hold back another cough as I approached her, smiling a hollow smile to try and ease the mood. It didn't work; she broke down again and latched onto me, trying to suffocate me with a bear hug that seemed far too strong for her delicate arms to be able to make. I hugged her back as her father and the two secret service men passed by us, none of them looking back at us, leaving us alone in the hall. Ashley sobbed a few more times before speaking again.

 

“What's going to happen to you. Leon...?” She lifted her head to look at me as she asked with a sniffle at the end. She undoubtedly had already been told what my dead end mission was to be.

 

“I don't know,” I answered, “I'll just try to come back alive if I can.” She refused to look away from me, expecting some sort of promise that I'll see her again, or a final loving goodbye, or something, but I just didn't have anything to say. She was a beautiful, wonderful girl, but this part of my life was over, assuming I even had many parts left to experience. Who knows, maybe I could have fallen in love with her as well with time, but this mistake made sure that would never happen, and her now shattered heart was my doing. What a way to go, knowing you broke a young woman's heart, only to die and make things worse soon after. Fate can be a dick sometimes.

 

“Come back alive,” she said before pressing her face back into my chest again. Her usual scent of warm vanilla sugar filled my nostrils as I gave her a long peck on the top of her head, hoping to help ease her crying at least a little bit. I would miss that aroma more than anything, that wonderful scent that matched her sweet personality perfectly. I rubbed her back through the material of her shirt slowly, tracing it with my palms and kissing her head again. All I wanted was for her to be happy again, but that was the same reason I made my mistake in the first place. Perhaps happiness was too ephemeral to make sacrifices for, but if I could just see her smile one last time... Perhaps it was worth it.

 

“Please... come back alive...”

 

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