RESIDENT EVIL • Assignment Ashley: Rescue Condor One (RE4)

Iron Walls

I stood on the steps of White House, the cold morning air brushing against my skin, making me give an involuntary shudder. The warmth of the sunrise still lingered in my chest, but the creeping chill of reality was already taking hold. The night's adrenaline had faded, and now the weight of what came next pressed heavily on my shoulders.

There were barely any people around—just a couple of guards in the distance, who had let us through without a word.

Leon was standing a few feet away, leaning against his bike, his gaze fixed on me as if he wouldn't be satisfied until he saw me go inside the house himself. The silence between us lingered, just as it had the entire ride back.

Despite his usual stoic composure, I could sense the quiet exhaustion in the way he stood—the subtle slump in his shoulders, the faint dark circles under his eyes, and the heaviness in his stance that he tried to mask.

Without realizing it, I had managed to drag him into my mess again. I knew it had been only a couple of days since he'd returned from a mission overseas. As soon as he got back, he'd resumed his duties with my Dad. And now, despite the chaos at the Ball, here he was, still watching over me.

He must hate this.

The thought made my chest heavy. He deserved a break—more than that, he deserved peace, something I felt like I kept pulling him away from.

My lips parted, an apology on the tip of my tongue, but before I could speak, he moved.

He stepped away from his bike and walked toward me, his boots echoing softly against the stone steps. He stopped two steps below where I stood, close enough that our eyes were perfectly level.

"I'm sorry, Ashely."

Why was he sorry? It's all my fault.

"No, you have nothing to apologize for!" I blurted, the words coming out almost too fast.

He smiled faintly. "Just hear me out," he said, his voice was so steady, so controlled. "I shouldn't have lost my cool back there. I get that you and Luis...you have your own thing. I'm just..."

"You were just doing your job," I cut him off, crushing any kernels of wistfulness that it might have been something more. "I know. You were looking out for me."

He gave a small, understanding nod, but there was a flicker of something else in his eyes, something deeper I couldn't quite place.

The silence stretched between us, thick with everything we weren't saying. His gaze lingered on me—not like I was some mission or a task to be handled, but something different. More personal. Something that sent a flutter in my heart, even as I tried to shove it down.

"Leon," I couldn't help but call out his name.

He blinked, as if caught off guard by the way I said it.

Shoot.

His name had just slipped out. I hadn't meant to say it like that. Now, I had nothing to follow it up with.

"I...uh—how did you find me tonight?" I clenched my hands at my sides, masking my fluster.

Leon shifted his weight slightly. "I placed a tracker on you," he admitted, his voice low, his gaze never wavering. "I had to. Couldn't leave you out there alone."

I should have been mad, but I wasn't. The way he looked at me—so steady, like he needed me to understand—made my heart pounder harder.