ꜰᴇᴀʀꜱ (ᴸᵉᵒⁿ ᴷᵉⁿⁿᵉᵈʸ ˣ ᴿᵉᵃᵈᵉʳ)

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 25

As they caught their breath in the cold night breeze, Nikola had already thought about how they were going to get out. She came to the conclusion, that their only chance of getting out of this mess alive was to navigate through the sewer system. This is at least the story she's gonna tell Leon.

She had to get him to come with her trought the sewers towards the NEST so she could get the sample she was looking for. If she had to be honest, even if her and Leon maybe had a rather rough start, she can't help but to like him somehow. So he had to come with her. There was no other way. And after all... There WAS a way out of this city throughout the sewer system. Coincidentally, they also had to navigate through Umbrella's second laboratory. And she wanted Leon to survive this. He was just a cop after all.

Nikola always hated anyways that the good people, the kind heartet people, always die in situations created by assholes.

She glanced at Leon, knowing that he wouldn't really believe her reasons. After all, he believed she was just here for research. "Leon," she began cautiously, "I think our best bet is to head through the sewer system. It's our only shot at getting out of Raccoon City safely." Leon's eyebrows furrowed and Nikola could see that he wasn't really putting trust in that Idea. "Are you serious? That's your brilliant plan?" Nikola sighed internally, bracing herself for his reaction. "Yes, I am. It's our best chance." He still looked unsure.

"We could also... I dont know.. Walk through the City?", he said as if it was the clearest thing to do. "That's the thing, we can't. Who do you think is also gonna be there?",
"Alright I get what youre saying but here are cars everywhere, we can just take those..,
why risk our life down there?", he asked, still not convinced. "Okay listen.. Umbrella's NEST is down there, and they have SEVERAL ways out of here, you hear me? Several.", she said and pointed urgently down the big hole in the street. Leons expression changed. Also his opinion on her plan seemed to change pretty quickly.
"Fine. But you owe me big time for this."

Why did the information about the NEST convince him so quickly? He just didn't want to go for the life of him. And now?

Nikola still managed a small smirk. "You're the one who's always saying we're a team, right? So consider it a team effort."

⋆｡°✩

As they made their way through the dark and damp sewer tunnels, the tension between them lingered, thick and palpable. After a while, Leon broke the silence. "What just happened back there..." he began, his voice trailing off as he struggled to find the right words. Nikola glanced at him. Her expression was telling him nothing. "Yeah, that was... something," she replied as she noticed Leon wouldn't go on talking. He nodded, his jaw tight with suppressed emotion.
"Honestly, I thought we were done for."
She just nodded. "Yea.."

As they continued their journey through the labyrinthine tunnels, Nikola couldn't shake the feeling of unease gnawing at her insides. She needed to find the sample, but she couldn't risk revealing her true intentions to Leon.

Eventually, they emerged from the sewer tunnels and found themselves in a desolate alleyway. Nikola took a deep breath, trying to steady her nerves."We need to find the cable car," she said, her voice determined. "That should lead us to their NEST."

Leon raised an eyebrow, curiosity flickering in his eyes. "Their NEST? What makes you think we could just use their Calbe Car?"
"My agency gave me the authority armband that we need to access the calbe car." Leon's eyes widened in surprise. "Your agency? What are you not telling me?" Nikola shrugged, a small smile playing at the corners of her lips. "Just doing my job, Leon. Just doing my job."
"I didn't know biologists had agencies", Leon said distrusting. "Well how the times change right?", she replied, hoping he would just stop asking questions. "What are you not telling me Nikola", he asked while he stopped right on the Spot behind her. "Do you trust me?", she asked and apruptly stopped, turning around to him. "Tell me Leon, do you trust me?"

He looked at her, his face expressed nothing.
"I dont know Nikola, Do YOU trust me?", he returned the question to her. She wanted to be sarcastic, mean, snap at him, but this wasn't the right time for her. "Partially", she than admitted and looked right into his eyes. "I want to trust you", he said with a firm voice and stepped closer to her. "But I can't tell if I should"
"What about you huh? Cop? Can I trust a Cop that knows his way around guns that well?"

She spat the words at his feet like they were poison in her mouth.
"You're making things up now, every cop is good with guns", he said but Nikola had a feeling that he wasn't really telling the truth. He didn't come across as down-to-earth to her. She wanted to believe him, but unfortunately there was something about him that made her distrustful. "Can we not do this right now?", she asked and turned back around to a staircase that was in the distance. "Lets just... get out of here, okay?"

Leon said nothing and just walked past her, towards the staircase. She followed him without a word. She didn't want him to find out anything, so she was fine with him leaving it alone, even if that meant that he was a little mad with her.

Trust.

She never really got this whole 'Trust' thing and why its so important for people. But she also knew that it WAS important. Even if she doesnt get it. Sometimes things are important even if you dont get why.

"Hey, come on, heres the Cable Car", it came from above, where Leon headed. She started climbing up the staris.