Chapter Text
He was pouring over the photos and analysis report from the past crime scenes of dead Racoon city survivors when he got the call from sherry.
"A new body has turned up."
"Again?" - he stood up from his desk "Thats 6 now. I still havent even gotten the latest analysis report for the previous scene come through yet and theres already another?" a decrease in time between bodies was never good.
"This ones up by the traintracks on the east side of town, found about an hour ago" she sounded hesitant "resources on the case getting stretched thin, you will have less support on the scene with this one"
"Fine by me, i know what im looking for" Leon wasnt one of the specialists but he knew what he was looking for on the crime scenes better than them, looking for umbrellas hand. "and besides" - he picked up the latest report he had recieved and squinted at the index notes "I trust G. Ashcroft to fill me in on whatever I might have missed later."
it was 3 hours later that he shut the door to his car and calling up Sherry,
"the team has settled on a person of interest" she said, he swiped through his phone, checking the pictures Sherry sent him "Dr victor Gideon, ties to umbrella. he has a clinic where they do "experimental" treatments, ive sent you info and the adress". yeah he had the look of one of Umbrellas Associates, worth going and having a chat. He was just about to ask for an adress when she spoke up again
"hey, I just got a report of a missing police officer by crime scene five, might be unrelated though" as he pulled his gloves on, hiding the black marks on them. he drew a deep breath. would this be a waste of time? this Victor Gideon was the first real clue in the cases for a while. No, better to be thorough.
"im on my way, ill do a quick check" he said as he reversed out and into the late night city traffic.
"You have got to be shitting me" it was almost insulting how sloppy this was. As he stopped his car and took in the very tall figure of doctor Gideon hauling the body of a blonde over his shoulder down the street. They used to put in some effort. a remote village, an offshore floating lab. this...this was, he eyed the people walking down the streets, terrifying.
a woman came up to the doctor and were clearly talking before Leon could get out of the car and stop her. Then it all went to shit. god let this not turn into another racoon city. his chest was heaving with exertion by the time backup had arrived. far too late for his taste. He jumped into the car and sped off towards the adress of the asylum. something told him the doctor would be in.
Whatever they were pumping into her veins felt like fire, and the feeling of blood draining out of her other arm felt like numbing ice. Neither sensation was helped by being upside down. oh god please don't let her throw up while in this position. Fighting the panic she tried to think as her mind raced like a rabbit. she was soaked in sweat, could that help her wring her hands loose? she tried the restraints, that was a no. ok, breathe Grace, breathe. she summoned the voice of her mother in her mind. was there anything in her reach? yes? yes!
oh god this might go so wrong. she steeled herself and angled the broken glass in her hand to the best of her ability. please don't let this end in her accidentally cutting her wrist open instead and bleeding out. she screwed her eyes shut and slashed. It worked! oh god, yes, it worked! a panicked relief laugh bubbled out of her. Now, just for the other 3 and to not snap her neck trying to get off the tilted gurney.
She crashed onto the floor. Rubbing some life back into her wrists and feet Grace looked around the room. Where the hell was she? and she had been expertly patched up. why? Working for the FBI came with "scenario" training that had lots of nightmare situations covered, this wasnt one of them. it was why she had been very set to become part of the analysist division, fieldwork was not really something they did and if it was, all the bad things had already happened when they came around.
No, focus grace, focus. what is the next step? what did she still have on her? she didn't know how much time she had before someone would come and check in on her, a lot less if they had heard the racket she'd made. she needed to get out. Wherever this was, if it was where that crazy man had taken her, she did not want to stay.
it was simple, all she had to do, was to leave the building. Don't think of anything else grace, or you will start to want to scream and you cant do that. its a simple one step plan. just follow the one step. she took a trembling steadying breath and started moving.
"come on, come on, come on, come on!" he didn't recognize the wailing blonde that was being snatched back the dark as the one previously on Victor Gideons shoulder, only as that she was someone who needed help. He stood in the doorway as she scrambled past him as he shot the creature while backing up into the lit square entrance room. no need to let something in the dark ambush him.
"Breathe...breathe" she looked like she was going to faint. he put a hand on her shoulder while still surveying the door opening she had been snatched through, just in case the creature decided it was not going to stay down.
"You ok?"
"y-yeah. Th-thanks. G-great"
"Leon Kennedy, DSO" he opens and flashes his agent Identification, a grate slammed down on the openings making her jump and almost hyperventilating.
"S-sorry. DSO? I'm G-Grace, Grace A-Ashcroft, uhm, F-FBI"
"FBI? what are you doing here?" the FBI should not have the intel that the DSO had just yet. certainly not the lead on Victor Gideon.
"Someone kidnapped me!" it clicked then, she was the woman he had seen before.
"Victor Gideon?"
"I-I don't know, I'm just an analyst I usually don't even ever leave my-my desk" She really didn't seem to know anything, why would he have kidnapped her? a dark though crossed his mind as he studied her of why this particular woman had been snatched by Dr Gideon, even scared out of her mind she was beautiful. he chided himself for noticing how her shirt clung to her chest as she took deep breaths. It wouldn't be the first time one of these people turned out to have a twisted side.
"Do you have a badge on you Agent Ashcroft?" He doesn't want to be suspicious but she could be a plant. it wouldn't be the first time he met a pretty woman working with hidden motives about umbrella business.
"N-no, he took all my stuff I, I don't know where it is."
he looked at the barred doors and windows, no easy exit there.
"There must be cameras" someone was watching them closely, know to block their escape. he felt restless and very exposed staying put.
"lets find another way out"
"Y-Yes!" she followed closely behind him. "There is s-some sort of outbreak of a crazy sort of-of virus, it was the same at the crime s-scene I was looking at-at the Wrenwood h-hotel. Thats where he took me. a-and you saw the, the creature that was just behind me just now its just...insane" he recognized the panic, appreciated her efforts in trying to hold it at bay enough to function.
"I know, I saw some of it in the city. And Ive encountered it before. I think I saw you get taken, unless he has more than one kidnapped blonde laying around here." He softened his voice, "you've done great to have made it this far Grace" He meant it, few people would hold together half as well as her in their first encounter with the T-virus and the infected. And she had not only evaded being killed but gotten out alive after encountering a special mutant as well. who knows, she might have a future in stars.
she gave a pale half grimace he thought was supposed to be a smile. He tried to make his answering one as reassurring as he could. "Now, how good are you with a gun Grace?"