(A/N): I decided to be a little daring and add some extra stuff concerning Leon and Ada. I may or may not change the tones of other scenes as well, but for the most part, I intend to keep most of the cutscenes from the game intact, with perhaps a bit of extra dialogue and such to show that it is indeed a retelling rather than a regurgitation.

I hope you all don't mind the extra scenes; there wasn't all that much room to fit in more given the few scenes Ada and Leon have together, so I added where I saw fit. This may end up adding another arc much like I did with Claire and Kit, but the goal of this is to present a more organic relationship as opposed to the Leon chasing Ada like a sick puppy type of ordeal.

Also, for those who are asking: no, my intention last chapter was not to make Claire look weak because she's not at all that. I just found it highly unrealistic how she just powers through watching a guy get his throat torn out, fighting all the monsters and such... and she's just smiling it all off. Wanted to give her a much more realistic reaction to all of that stuff, while still preserving the light-hearted, easygoing retelling of the character.

Please guys, if you have thoughts you'd like to share, don't hesitate to hit the review button and let me know.

Sorry for the long wait for the update. Things came up and delayed me greatly.

Back to the action!

Stranded Deep

Chapter Three: Promises

~ o ~

Several Minutes Later- Outside The Kendo Gun Store

I continued forward, just vaguely hearing what Ada was listening to on the recording. Once she finished, I cleared my throat.

"Is that the intel you needed?" I asked.

She shook her head and sighed.

"Unfortunately no. Ben didn't come through." she replied.

It was clear that she was irritated, because it seemed as if she gained literally nothing for her investigation at this point... and I was sure that she was deeply affected by Ben's death at the hands of that giant monster.

"Well, What exactly are you looking for?" I inquired.
"More info on the people responsible for this mess." she replied.

I nodded in response as we continued forward. Soon, I could see a huge red sign on a building that read "Gunshop Kendo". However, what interested me more was the fact that a giant chunk of the road was missing... and looking down, I could see what appeared to be some kind of underground railroad system. However, I don't think that Raccoon City really made use of the system, considering that it was relatively new. It just sucked to think that all these people probably died to this virus that's been spreading around... and no one would ever get to make use of it all.

"...Road's out. Going through that gun shop looks like the only way." said Ada.

I nodded and followed her to the door of the shop. She tried to open it, only for the doors to not budge. I then saw her reach into her coat pocket and pull out a set of lockpicking tools. I smiled to myself.

"She's really capable. Pretty sure a rookie like me is only slowing her down... yet she's saved me several times. I wonder why?"

It didn't take her long to get the doors open and once she did, we were greeted to a completely ransacked room. Shelves were overturned and empty, papers and random garbage was strewn about the place... just like everywhere else. I didn't imagine anyone else surviving besides us, the others at the station and Claire who was on her way back with Kit. My mind hovered on them for a moment and I couldn't resist pulling the radio back out again and dialing Claire. However, it was Kit that answered this time.

"What's going on Leon?"
"Where are you two? Is Claire okay?" I asked.
"She's fine. We're nearly at the station, shouldn't take more than about fifteen minutes. We've had to dodge a bunch of those things, but we're just fine."

I sighed in relief as I looked up at Ada, who was examining a shelf, likely looking for ammo or something useful.

"Leon... there's another problem. We might be in a lot of danger... not just from these monsters."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"We were passing the main road and we noticed that there were some people... dressed in all kinds of state of the art gear and they were going around, exterminating the infected without remorse."

I shook my head.

"That sounds like they're here to help." I retorted.
"That was until I tried to approach them. But before I could show myself, they got a radio call... which Claire and I listened in on."
"What did they say?"
"Kill any survivors you find. No one can know about our involvement... I think they were sent by Umbrella."

I gasped audibly, enough to gain Ada's attention.

"What the hell?! They're trying to take out all the witnesses!" I cried.
"Sounds like Umbrella alright."

I turned to see that Ada had joined me and was staring intently at the radio.

"Are they your friends Leon?" she asked.
"Yeah... they just told me about some kind of squad that's going around killing the infected, but apparently have a mission to kill all the survivors they come across." I explained.

She looked visibly disturbed and she put a hand to her chin.

"Sounds like they sent one of their elite units... I heard that they already sent another team, but they were wiped out early on in the outbreak. They must've regeared and handpicked this squad. We can't run into them; we can't take them on." she explained.

I shook my head vigorously and turned back to the radio.

"Alright. You two get to the station. I lost radio contact with Yanni so if you guys can find him and Marvin, start heading through the underground passage. We'll run into each other at some point I'm sure." I instructed.
"Got it. Be careful Leon."
"You too. Don't take those bastards on if you can help it."

I placed the radio back into my belt as I looked at Ada.

"What a mess..." she sighed.
"Yeah... you're telling me."

I shook my head, trying to process the fact that there was now a unit of elite soldiers who were on the hunt for survivors. As if the monsters weren't enough to worry about...

"We have to keep moving. If these guys are as good as your friend is describing, it's only a matter of time before they catch up to us." she said.
"Yeah. Good point. I'm just gonna check around the back to see if there's anything we can use." I suggested.

She nodded in agreement.

"Make it quick, I'll watch the front." she replied.

I made my way towards the back, going behind the shelves as she looked to the front door. However, it didn't even take a few seconds for me hear someone breathing.

"Don't move." he said.

I didn't even get to move before the man held a shotgun to my head. I raised my hands in surrender.

"I'm not going to hurt you-"
"I said DON'T MOVE!" he snapped.

Taking a deep breath and doing my best to keep my nerves, I tried to sound as calm as possible.

"I'm just passing through. I'm going to ask you to lower that weapon." I requested.
"Like hell you are. You're gonna turn around and go right back out the way you came in." he growled.

He refused to lower the gun even an inch... but I then caught something in the corner of my eye.

"...Oh my god... no... what the fuck..."

The figure that was approaching... was a little girl. No older than ten years old. From what I could tell, she was extremely sickly... and it took me a few moments to realize...

"...She's infected..."

It took everything within me to remain calm; a sudden move could cause him to pull the trigger. I took a heavy breath and closed my eyes in an attempt to steel my emotions.

"I think your daughter needs help sir." I said.

He cocked the gun, sounding even angrier.

"Don't tell me how to deal with my daughter." he growled.

Ada's familiar footsteps got louder and I knew that she had her gun raised at him.

"Drop it." she ordered.

The man immediately aimed at her, giving me a chance to grab my pistol and aim at him. However, once Ada caught sight of the little girl, she pointed the gun at her. The man got in front of her.

"No! Wait!" he cried.

It was difficult for me to believe that Ada was willing to shoot a child dead... but at the same time, wouldn't that be a better fate than to turn into one of those things? I didn't even want to imagine myself in that kind of situation... because even though she was infected, she's only a child. Is it really okay to shoot a defenseless child dead?

"Step aside. We need to terminate her before she turns." said Ada.

I couldn't believe how cold and calculated she sounded with those words, as if she viewed the girl as a monster already.

"Terminate? That's my FUCKING DAUGHTER."

I could tell that if we continued to push him, he would likely shoot one of us... or Ada may kill them both. Seeking to avoid anymore conflict, I lowered my weapon and looked at Ada.

"Ada... just let them be."

The little girl started breathing... and it was a heart-breaking sound of half-wheezing, half-coughing. It was clear that if she was infected... it wouldn't be long before she succumbed. Ada looked at me questioningly at first but once she saw my face, she nodded slightly and lowered the gun. The girl started walking forward.

"Emma, sweetheart... I told you to stay put." said the man.

She looked at him, and it was then that I noticed that one of her eyes were light blue... just like the zombies. I felt my stomach wrench and I had to close my eyes and look away to prevent myself from thinking further.

"Jesus Christ... what kind of sicko could make a virus that does this? Don't they know that defenseless children live here too?!"

"D...Daddy?"

Her tone... was so weak, I felt my heart shatter. My fists automatically clenched and I had to shake my head to keep the emotions welling up within in check. The man turned back and lowered his shotgun before approaching her.

"Yeah... Emmie. Daddy's here. I'm here... Okay?" he whispered.

He hugged her close with one arm, holding the shotgun in the other. I could sense the desperation in his voice as I struggled forward, wanting to see what he would do next. Perhaps he could point us in the right direction? Maybe he could give us some ammo... or at least a place to catch our breaths. There was a short pause, before the man let out a very heavy breath.

"Those fucking things outside... look what they did to us." he cried.

He started sobbing audibly and I turned to Ada for a moment only to see that she had holstered her gun and was now watching intently. It was difficult to tell because of her sunglasses, but she looked distraught based on her inability to keep still. I guess she wasn't as cold as I thought she was.

"You're... you're a cop. You're supposed to know something... how did this happen?! HUH?!" he bellowed.

Ada's face softened, and I could tell behind the glasses that she was beginning to struggle with her own emotions, though she remained adamant in order to not lose her authoritative stance in the situation.

"She... was our little angel." he continued.

My eyes locked onto the girl... and merely seeing her like this was making me hate Umbrella more and more by the second. How could they be experimenting with viruses that do this to people? What kind of sick, twisted asshole could conceive this?

"M...M...Mommy?" she groaned.

She looked at Ada, and right then... was when I knew that Ada only had a few moments before she too would start reacting the way I was. My eyes narrowed as the feeling of helplessness began to grow. Now, I regretted even raising my gun to the man before; he was only trying to protect his daughter... and he was in an even deeper sense of despair than I was. He knew that at some point, his daughter would have to be put down... but he just couldn't bring himself to do it. He turned to her and held one of her hands with both of his.

"Mommy's sleeping honey... Okay?" he sobbed.

His voice cracked... and that was the moment I fully resolved myself to not only get out alive, but to do everything I possibly could to prevent this from happening ever again to anyone. His tone indicated that he had already killed his wife, who had likely turned earlier in this mess. The man paused for a moment and took a deep breath.

"And... I'm gonna put you to bed too... okay?... Emma?" he cried.

The girl couldn't even respond, instead she groaned, not unlike the zombies I dealt with beforehand. The man picked her up into his arms and started carrying her towards the door that she opened to come outside in the first place. After he entered the room, he turned back to face us.

"Just go... just give us some privacy... if you're just passing through... there's a small room through the fence over there. There's some ammo and a little food in there... take it and get out of here." he sobbed.

I shook my head vigorously.

"What about you?!" I cried.

The man closed his eyes and shook his head.

"...I've already lost my world. Save yourselves."

He shut the door violently behind him... and I turned to Ada, feeling anger boil within me.

"You know... it's one thing to keep the truth from me. But why him?!" I cried.

I barely got to finish my sentence... before I heard a gunshot. I flinched and stared at the door... before gritting my teeth and feeling even more rage take over.

"He... just killed his daughter..."

I turned back to Ada after a moment, and she continued to look at me, doing her best to maintain an emotionless face.

"I want to find out what's happening here. And stop whoever's behind it." I bellowed.

I pointed my finger at the door.

"Helping people like them... that's why I joined the force!" I growled.
"Leon... you know that things aren't going to get any easier from here on out. Right?" she asked.

I nodded, and even though it was difficult to maintain my composure, I didn't back down.

"My mission is to take down Umbrella's entire operation. We may not make it out." she said sternly.
"Whatever it takes to save this city... count me in." I said firmly.

She scanned me for a few moments, but she finally nodded and gave me a slight smile, clearly impressed at my refusal to back down. She then approached the fence.

"We'd better restock; I'm very sure that there's only going to be more of those things as we get closer." she said.
"Good plan."

She opened it and just as the man said, there was a door to the right. I opened it to see that there was a table with several boxes of ammo, some TV dinners and a microwave. Evidently, this was a room he used to spend a lot of time in considering how many gun stocks and shells were strewn about the place. Feeling hunger begin to kick in, I reached for some of the TV dinners and turned to Ada.

"You want one?" I asked.
"...Thanks." she replied.

I placed one inside and set the timer before turning back to her. She had already started cleaning her gun and had grabbed several boxes of ammo before laying the bullets out.

"Heard of the Umbrella Corporation?" she asked.
"Just a name I keep seeing." I replied.

Ada nodded and shrugged.

"They're a pharmaceutical company secretly making bioweapons." she explained.

She finished brushing her pistol clean and took out her knife, before beginning to slice small grooves at the head.

"...She really knows what she's doing. By doing that, it'll cause the bullets to split upon impact, doing a lot more damage to the brain if she shoots them in the head."

"They have a virus- it turns people into indestructible monsters." she continued.
"That explains the horrible things I've seen..." I mused.
"That's only what we know of so far. That thing that I crashed the van into back there... I wouldn't be surprised if it was still alive. That's probably the toughest one of these things that I've seen yet." she said.
"Yeah... I've had to deal with those dogs, those blind things with blades for nails... I guess whatever this virus thing decides to do is what we're gonna have to face." I said.

She nodded as she began to load the newly carved bullets into the empty magazines she pulled out of her coat pocket. The microwave finished and I removed the meal before setting a second one. I then brought the hot one to her, placing it next to her handiwork. She gave me a slight smile and nodded.

"Thanks." she said.
"Least I can do after you saved my sorry ass twice."

She laughed softly and shrugged.

"You're not so bad; you've made it this far haven't you?" she retorted.

I then started to clean my own guns, especially the shotgun I had strewn on my back which I had to make extensive use of; it was the only effective weapon I had to deal with the zombies, seeing as I could blow their heads clean off. I began cleaning it with a cloth as Ada began to eat.

"Yeah... this virus did a hell of a lot more damage than anyone could've predicted. But the question is why? Why Raccoon City?" I asked.
"That's why I'm looking for Annette Birkin... she's the one at Umbrella responsible for unleashing the virus... I'm going to bring her down." replied Ada firmly.

It took me a few minutes, but I managed to clean up the gun enough to not worry about it jamming on me. By the time I finished, the other meal was ready. I quickly took it out and started eating as Ada reached for the kettle on another table towards the back of the room.

"Coffee or tea?" she asked.
"Coffee sounds good."

She then began to fill the kettle with water from the tap.

"There were some rumors about the virus spreading through the drinking water... HQ was saying something about that. Did you drink any?" she asked.
"No. I haven't been here more than a day yet."

She nodded and sighed.

"Dawn's coming. We're gonna have to move. I don't think it's going to be long before the government decides to take matters into their own hands." she said.
"How would they even know? There's no communications in this place because there's no power and all the lines are probably inoperable." I replied.
"Trust me... they're very much aware of this. They're probably trying to figure out some bullshit to tell the press before they make their move." she retorted.

I nodded slowly and finished my meal. She then brought two steaming hot mugs. I took a deep gulp and smiled at the comforting warmth; I've been in rain for the past several hours so I was beginning to get a little cold. We drank our coffee in relative silence, until I decided to speak up.

"So... where are you from? Raised here in the US?" I asked.

She looked at me and smiled.

"No. Born and raised in China, but I moved to Washington when I was 17." she continued.
"So how'd you end up in the FBI?" I inquired.
"Always wanted to help keep a lid on terrorism. I ended up getting recruited when I finished my degree in law enforcement." she replied.
"Where'd you go to school?"
"Westpoint."

I smiled and nodded, knowing full well how reputable the college was for producing quality soldiers.

"What about you rookie?"
"Went to the police academy and graduated at 21. I requested to be placed here in Raccoon City because I heard about all of the murders taking place in the Arklay Mountain region. Wanted to do all I could to help." I explained.

She nodded slowly and let out a deep sigh.

"This... was not how I imagined my first day."

Meanwhile- Warren Street, Raccoon City

"Where are they? We've been chasing these heat signatures for nearly an hour."
"They seem to be staying just ahead of us... but it won't be long before they arrive at the police station."
"Good... soon they'll just be fish in a barrel. We'll get this job done quickly and then we can head home."

Loud roars broke the team from their conversation and within moments, six rifles were aimed at the oncoming monsters before they all opened fire, killing every last one of them. The gunfire dialed down after a few seconds, and five of them turned to their leader. He was dressed in state of the art body armor and armed to the teeth with all sorts of gadgets and weaponry. On the right side of his chest, the name Exdeath was embroidered. He cleared his throat.

"Remember our mission. Ladies and gentlemen, we are to ensure that no one gets out of this city alive; they'll be able to pin the mess on Umbrella." he explained.

He turned to the first pair in his squad.

"Jigsaw. Spectre. Continue tracking the targets, but we don't have to engage just yet; intel says that they're in contact with several other survivors. If we let them reach their destination, we can kill all of them at once." he said.
"Yes sir."

The two masked soldiers moved ahead after reloading their rifles. The leader than turned to the remaining trio.

"Bandit. Mako. Killjoy. All three of you know why you were selected. Because not only are you among Umbrella's elite, but all three of you are also very much aware of how this virus works. It will be your job to ensure that no one in this squad gets infected, else this entire operation will go up in flames... and our lives forfeit. Understood?"
"Understood commander."

A wicked smile found itself on Agent Exdeath's face.

"Excellent... now then. Let's get this done so we can get paid."