A Beautiful Nightmare (Leon Kennedy x OC) [BOOK 1]

Chapter 21: Growing on me

I carefully grabbed the wristband from Dr. Li's limp wrist, still hanging out of his partially closed cot nestled in the wall, and turned to head back toward the door. I focused on the hall ahead, trying to ignore the scent of freshly singed flesh hanging in the air.

As the door slid open, Leon moved away from his spot against the wall. I held up the new wristband, showing off our new ticket into the arboretum. He nodded, and fell in step beside me as we moved toward the lobby. I moved straight toward the arboretum door, slipping the new wristband beside the original one. 

The door hissed open and my mouth fell open as I took in the new area. "Shit," I mumbled as we stepped into the massive cylindrical room. There were three platforms splitting away from the outer walls, with catwalks connecting our platform and the one to the far left to a central catwalk wrapped around a  large glass tube. Large black print labeled the two areas on either side of the arboretum, East on the left and West on the right.

Leon stepped forward, making my attention shift from the room to the body slumped against the railing on the right, a soldier with a massive wound where his heart once was. I followed, hand curling around the railing as I stole a glance over the edge as Leon crouched next to the man. The darkness beneath was impenetrable, giving not clues to how deep it goes.

My eyes flicked back as Leon reached into the soldier's pocket, grabbing the small dark device just barely visible. He studied the small box, flipping it over in his hand and looking at the small speaker at the top before pressing the play button beneath it. 

— Alpha to Ghost. Target moving to the West Area. He must be going to retrieve the G-Virus and antiviral agent.

— This is Ghost. Understood. Rendezvous at Point W-3.

— Roger.

— This is Alpha--arrived at destination

— Understood. Stand by for target.

— This is Alpha, I've got eyes on the target. He's going to open the safe.

— Roger. Awaiting the signal.

— I've got eyes on the G-Virus.

— We're going in...

— Doctor Birkin, you'll come along with us quietly.

The recording sizzled out, the voices dying like a burnt match before the recording stopped.

He. The word struck like a bolt of lightning. It was Dr. Birkin, but they said he. That can't be Annette.

"Well, now we know the G-Virus is in the west area," Leon said, standing back up as he slipped the device into his own pocket, "Let's make this quick and find Claire."

"Music to my ears," I replied, taking the first step onto the metal bridge as I chewed at my bottom lip. Something isn't adding up, this whole time we'd been hunting for Annette Birkin, and now this. He. Was it a simply trick of the tongue, and accidental misgender in the heat of the moment, or was Ada wrong?

We made it to the central platform, where the glass tube in the middle somehow still looked freshly polished. I glanced at the small control panel beside the tube, the number four printed in bold roman numerals along with the symbol for elevator. So there is something at the bottom of all this.

Leon went straight for the small control panel near the West side of the circle that must controlled the catwalk. An unpleasant sound came from the area, followed by a hissed curse that had me moving toward him.

"Let me try," I said, extending my wristband clad hand to the button, only to be met with the same unpleasant chirp of denial, "Well shit."

Leon's gaze flicked up the the bold labeling above the door on the arboretum walls, "We'll need another wristband," He turned, glancing over his shoulder to the East side.