ʟᴀᴅʏ ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇ ʟʏᴄᴀɴs : ᴋᴀʀʟ ʜᴇɪꜱᴇɴʙᴇʀɢ

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ꜰᴏᴜʀ

Hours passed as Sophia sat at a table with documents sprawled out in front of her and Heisenberg paced the room elaborating what she didn't understand. All these years, Sophia had no idea how deep the history went. How long all of this had gone on outside the village and all over the world.

She learned about the baby that Miranda wants to get her hands on and the mother. The woman Miranda had Sophia look for. Her name was Mia, and her husband Ethan. They were both genetically effected by the Mold. Their bodies at one point bonded with it making them bioweapons just like Sophia. Their daughter, Rose, she truly is one of a kind and if Miranda were to get her hands on her, she would finally get what she's desired. She would get Eva back.

Sophia couldn't let that happen.

A photo peeked out from underneath all the papers and Sophia pushed them aside to reveal a man. He was older, maybe in his fifties, but he was – appealing to the eye. "Who's this?" Sophia asked with interest.

"Chris Redfield."

She lifted her head and looked at him, silently asking for more information.

"He's your typical mentally disturbed solider with a lot of unresolved trauma."

Sophia huffed unamused, "How eloquently put." She returned her gaze to the photo and studied it. He looked so...serious. Maybe this was how all soldiers looked, but she could sense the pain in his eyes. She pushed a few other papers out of the way to reveal the rest of his file, but before she could read anymore it was snatched away from her.

"Excuse me? I was reading that!"

"It's not important," he grumbled.

"If it isn't important then why is it here?" she questioned.

He groaned, and she wondered if he was starting to regret asking for her help. "All you need to know about him is that he works for the company Blue Umbrella. A private military organization. They're protecting Winters and his family."

"I take it that's not a good thing for us?" Sophia guessed, and her tone made Karl smile slightly.

"No, it isn't."

Karl continued rambling and somewhere between arriving to the factory and now, she was starting to enjoy the sound of his voice. Especially, as he talked now. It was relaxed and soft – it was nice. Nice enough to slowly start luring her to sleep. Something she desperately desired and although she fought against the drooping of her eyelids, it was a battle she was bound to lose.

Heisenberg's focus on the topic caused him to miss this. It wasn't until he heard a slight snore from the table that finally broke his attention and brought it to her. It was only a glance at first, thinking she might have been mocking him, but he did a double take to make sure he wasn't imagining things. An amused chuckle brushed passed his lips seeing Sophia in her current state. Somehow, she managed to make even the most uncomfortable and embarrassing positions look graceful.

"What am I going to do with you, Sophia Finch?" he wondered out loud as he walked toward her. Towering over her, he removed the glove from his hand and delicately brushed away a strand of hair that had fallen in front of her face.

He studied her features as if he didn't have them memorized. He couldn't understand why her feelings toward him were as strong as they were – why she allowed her anger to come in between them. He knows the feelings he has for her are real, because they have never faded, since the moment he saw her – he knew. But for so long, she has denied his advances, and he only wishes that she would look at him the way she looked at that photograph of Chris Redfield. The way her eyes lightened at the sight of him, it made his blood boil with jealousy.

Heisenberg brought his hand to her shoulder and gave it a small shake to wake her. "Sophia..."

Her head popped up instantly and for a moment, it looked like she forgot where she was. She blinked a few times then let out a soft sigh once she remembered. She looked up, meeting the yellow eyes of Heisenberg, and she smiled softly.

"I'm terribly sorry," she apologized, while rubbing her eyes.

"I didn't think I was that boring," Heisenberg grumbled, backing away from the table to give her space.

The corner of her mouth lifted as a sarcastic response came to her mind, "Actually...your voice is quite soothing when it isn't trying to be an egotistical ass."

"Egotistical?" he reiterated. "Have you met the bitch in the castle?"

Sophia laughed, "You two are so similar which is why you bicker the way that you do. Fighting for all the attention."

He rolled his eyes at the woman, "You couldn't be more wrong..."

"I don't think that I am," Sophia answered confidently as she rose from her chair. "Why else would you act the way that you do? With the theatrics and dramatics all the time..."

"You're wrong, Sophia," he said once more, this time staring her right in the eye. "It's never been Miranda's attention that I was fighting for."

Sophia drew her brows together out of confusion and before she could ask what he meant by that, he spoke again, "It's late. I can walk you back if you'd like."

She nodded, "Sure, that would nice. Thank you..." She took her cloak, and he took his hat. Walking side-by-side, they proceeded toward the peak of the mountain where the small shack on the hill resided.

The moon was full and bright in the dark blue sky. Sophia could barely make out the sea of stars that surrounded it. She always loved the moon and the stars – she's always loved the night. There was a certain peacefulness about it that you couldn't quite achieve when the sun was out. At night, the whole world is asleep, so it feels like it's only you – it's all for you.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" she asked, staring up at the sky as they walked. "And it's so quiet...and serene."

"It's calm," Heisenberg chimed in.

"Exactly!" Sophia agreed excitedly. "It's calm..." She sighed, dropping her head between her shoulders. "During the day, all I do is listen to voices, gather so much information. See through a pair of eyes that aren't my own. It's never quiet. It's never calm. But once everyone is asleep, that's when it's my time to be awake – to see the world through my eyes." She laughed when she realized what she was saying. "I know that doesn't make any sense, but –"

"It does," Heisenberg interrupted, and her head turned to look at him. "It makes perfect sense."

She wasn't sure what clicked in that moment. What changed to have caused the sudden skip of her mutated heart, but what she did know was that she didn't like it. And surely it meant nothing – it had to mean nothing.

They walked the rest of the way in complete silence. Sophia even walked a few paces ahead to avoid any conversation being started and when they reached the top, she almost went inside without a word, but couldn't allow herself to be that rude.

She paused at the door, her hand wrapped around the handle and turned to face Heisenberg. "Thank you for accompanying me. That was thoughtful."

"It was my pleasure, my lady."

His words brought a small smile out of her. "When will we continue this...new venture?"

"I'll come to you," he told her, and she nodded. "Goodnight, Sophia."

"Goodnight, Karl," she said, dipping her head and retreating inside to the comforts of her home.