No more tears - Leon Kennedy

Chapter 12

"𝐈 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐮𝐩. 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐩. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐝. 𝐈𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐞, 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐮𝐩 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐚 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐝. 𝐈 𝐰𝐨𝐤𝐞 𝐮𝐩 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐞."

★ ---------------------- ★

The helicopter journey was silently long. Between me taking my time to lie down properly at the back and doze off, Leon carefully piloting, and Helena relaying the latest updates, we went from absolute warfare to calm after the storm.

A feeling of emptiness, which we all contributed to with our intense fatigue.

Furthermore, at that moment, I knew it was of no use for me to share my findings, especially since, despite the recent moments of camaraderie that moved some, it was undeniable that the trust I had tried to establish was dead and buried.

At least, that was the case until my radio decided to turn on.

"Lucy, it's Wolfe. Still alive?" 

When I realized that my dear colleague's intervention could work well in my favor, I decided to reverse the situation instead.

"Yes Wolfe, I'm still alive and on my way back. How is your research going?"

"Well... I looked through the Neo-Umbrella files you sent me and passed them on to my superiors. However, there's a slight hitch..." 

"Since the president is dead, it's the vice president who's handling the state of emergency, and it turns out he's caught wind of your affair, and..." He formulated as I cut him off, annoyed by his tendency to beat around the bush.

"What, he wants me to give him a little rundown on why Simmons corrupted half of America by shaking his money-filled little behind?"

"In fact, Miss Castle, I would prefer that this conversation occur in a more official setting. But my office will do just fine for the 'little rundown' you're proposing."

As I heard Leon chuckle, I understood who my new interlocutor was and froze in place.

"Apologies for the rudeness, sir." I reacted shortly after, still pondering his words.

"I want to see you in my office in 2 days." He eventually imposed as I exchanged a glance with Leon, paralyzed. 

I was good to go there crawling.

"I mean... I'm sorry, but I don't think I'm ready to..."

"I don't care for your qualms, Miss Castle. Our president is deceased, and you're supposed to be the only person capable of explaining to the public. Have a safe trip." 

I dropped my walkie-talkie in shock, not believing it.

Of course, I wasn't in the mood to mince my words, but Helena was the first to let her thoughts slip. 

"What a prick!" 

"Two days... I'm good to pay a fortune in hotels..." I ended up complaining, already counting the hundreds of dollars that would go. Moreover, if there was one type of place I hated to frequent, it was hotels.

"Sorry... I would have offered to host you, but I have to prepare for Deborah's funeral..." Helena replied softly as I dropped it, quickly caught up by reality and guilt.