Chapter Text
As the first gunshot echoed in the corridor, Leon closed his eyes and leaned his shoulder against the wall. From the very first moment he’d realized the old man was carrying the plaga he’d known it wouldn’t end well, but it still never got easier witnessing yet another life needlessly lost to the twisted world of BOWs. It was bad enough that the plaga had resurfaced again, allegedly as a stronger, modified version, but these people clearly didn’t understand how much they were playing with fire.
Eyes still closed, Leon listened to the overly enthusiastic guy who had introduced himself as JD and his dark and broody friend he’d called Buddy exchange a few hurried words. He wasn’t close enough to make out what exactly they were saying, but he had a feeling it was for the best to keep his distance, judging by how eager they had been to keep him tied up and at knifepoint.
Goddamnit, could his day get any worse? He’d already been pulled off yet another vacation and sent here with laughable amount of information, lost his local contact to a licker attack, gotten some serious Spain flashbacks, been in an explosion, gotten zip-tied to a chair, watched those idiots steal all of his equipment and smash his communicator, and basically gone rogue and had no backup to speak of. And the worst part was that he hadn’t even gotten any breakfast.
Sudden footsteps caught Leon’s attention, and within a second he’d snapped back, alert and ready to act. He slipped around the corner, his back against the wall, and silently he cursed that he hadn’t taken the time to at least get his zip-tied hands in front of him. It would be a pain in the ass to dispose of a threat with his hands behind his back. There was no way that the person would just pass him by though, the corridor was so narrow he’d be spotted the second they rounded the corner.
Waiting patiently, Leon held his breath, and just at the right second he stuck out his foot and tripped whoever had been about to jog past him. He sort of expected the person to fall flat on their face, so he couldn’t deny being slightly impressed when the man just cursed and used the momentum to tuck himself into a roll, landing back on his feet with only minimal wobbling. Pretty nice. Even so, Leon was prepared for a fight, only to be stopped in his tracks when the man turned around and immediately upon noticing Leon lowered the gun he’d been holding.
“Agent Kennedy!”
Alarmed, Leon straightened his shoulders, still wary of this stranger. He didn’t think they’d ever met, because he would’ve remembered those bright eyes and kissable lips. The guy was handsome in a sort of a boyishly charming way, and had they met at a bar Leon would’ve definitely considered approaching him. Now though, all that just flashed through his mind in a split second before he blurted out a “Who the hell are you?” followed up by “What the hell are you doing here?”
The guy laughed, and damn. He had dimples. “Chris did warn me that you’d be kind of prickly.”
“Chris?” Leon echoed, relaxing a fraction. Oh. This guy was clearly military, and even though there were no actual patches or identifying markings on his clothing, if Chris had sent him… “So you’re BSAA? But there’s—”
“Yes and no,” the man cut him off. “I am, but I’m not here as BSAA. I’m here as a favor to Chris.” He tilted his head a little, giving Leon a slow once over. “Did I catch you at a bad time? You seem to be a bit tied up.” There was a small grin dancing on his lips, and the bastard must’ve known how charming that looked. Damnit. Why did Leon always meet the hot guys at moments like this when it was definitely not appropriate to even go there.
“Hilarious,” Leon said, trying not to smile. He wasn’t sure if he managed to seem as unimpressed as he’d hoped, but at least he sounded deadpan enough. “Did Chris send you in just to mock me or are you actually going to try and be helpful?”
The man laughed, and damn, was everything about him charming? “Turn around,” he said, motioning for Leon to turn. Leon just arched an eyebrow at him, and the man reacted with a half-amused huff. “Unless you want to keep going with your hands behind your back. Fine by me.”
Leon did roll his eyes a little, but he turned around. Even if he didn’t yet trust this stranger, he would be able to escape if they tried anything funny. “I had everything under control,” he still said, maybe just to be defiant, as he would’ve survived this on his own if he’d had to. Having backup for once was a nice thought, but it wasn’t like he depended on it.
“Sure,” the man said, amusement in his voice, as he used his knife and snapped the zip-ties so Leon’s hands were freed. “I bet watching you fight with your hands behind your back would’ve been a real treat.”
Leon turned around, rubbing his wrists. The gloves had helped and his wrists weren’t completely chafed but they were still sore from how tight the zip-ties had been and from how he’d had to actually fight while still restrained. He was about to ask the man if he was trying to flirt, but then there was a handgun handed to him, and he automatically grabbed it, checked it over, and nodded in acknowledgement. Then he realized the guy was looking at him with a bit of a frown.
“I don’t have another vest to give you,” he said, and the way he eyed his own protective vest was a dead giveaway that he was actually considering whether to give it to Leon or not.
And to hell with that. Leon would not be responsible for someone else getting in even more danger, so he immediately cut that train of thought. “Don’t need one,” he said, and well, he had been on more missions without one than with one so in a way it was a completely factual statement. “I could use a knife, though, if you’ve got two.”
“Only the one, but you can take it,” the man said, already handing the combat knife over. “What even happened? How did your equipment get stolen?” He gave Leon a once-over, then, and there was a slight smile tugging on his lips. “Or you just didn’t bother with any?” He met Leon’s gaze. “Jeans, really?”
Leon shrugged it off. Not the first time he heard that. “I like my jeans,” he said, simply.
The man nodded slowly, then gave a sort of a what-can-you-do shrug. “They do look good.”
That rendered Leon speechless for a second. Chris would’ve told him to focus or just rolled his eyes, he was rarely in the mood for actual safety lectures anymore, as he’d probably noticed it didn’t have any effect. Hunnigan had tried to give him the same talk before she’d realized it was no use. As had multiple others. This guy though? He just went with casual compliments? Was he actually flirting or was Leon just so desperate for attention he was imagining it?
Leon shook those thoughts off, instead arching an eyebrow at the guy. “Are you going to tell me your name, or do I need to come up with a nickname?”
“Piers Nivans,” the man – Piers – said, with a grin and a quick half-assed salute. He got more serious then, though, and finally went on to explain. “The BSAA has had eyes on this place for a while now, but we never actually got official clearance to do anything about it. Then Chris got tipped off that you’re here and he was adamant you should get some backup.”
Made sense. The BSAA had to deal with a lot of political and bureaucratic bullshit. Leon had no idea how Chris put up with it. “So, he too lazy to come rescue me himself?” he joked. “Or did you piss him off and he’s using me as a punishment?”
Piers laughed. “He’s a big shot captain now,” he said, amusement in his voice. “If he ran off to a war after he’s been explicitly told not to, it’d be a political nightmare.” He grinned. “Me though? I’m nobody. Low enough in the foodchain that no one gives a shit if I disappear for a while.”
“Impressive.” Leon huffed out a laugh. “Once upon a time Chris would’ve charged in without listening to anyone. He’s all grown up now, I’m so proud.” He felt strangely touched that Chris had actually worried for him enough to send in someone to help him. And if Chris trusted Piers enough to get the job done, Leon extended the same trust to him. If anything, he and Chris had been in this for so long, they both knew what it was like.
“Oh, I almost forgot. Here,” Piers said then, holding out something for Leon. For some reason it didn’t really connect in Leon’s brain and he just stared at the small item in Piers’ palm, not making a move to grab it, and as he waited for long enough it resulted in Piers losing his patience. Piers huffed a little, and stepped closer to Leon, so close that their chests were almost touching, their faces only inches apart.
Suddenly Leon’s heart was beating madly in his chest and he didn’t know how to even react. What the hell was going on? He wasn’t going to—Oh. It all clicked in place when Piers simply reached out and slotted an earpiece into Leon’s left ear, tapping onto the button in the middle of it to activate it.
“Say hi to Hunnigan,” Piers said, smiling at Leon. He was still so very close, something so achingly soft in the way he looked at Leon, and Leon was fully aware they didn’t even know each other but all of a sudden he was yearning, unable to stomp on the wave of strange unbidden emotion.
“Leon? Hang up on me once more and I’m going to cut off your nuts.”
Oh. Trust Hunnigan to ruin the mood. Leon couldn’t help but chuckle at that, though. It was easy to tell already by her choice of words that she’d been actually worried. “Sorry,” Leon said, and he partly even meant it. “I meant to call you back but I…” he trailed off, glanced at Piers, and couldn’t help but smile as he went on. “I was a bit tied up.”
It was well worth it just for seeing Piers stifle a snort.
“We’re going to follow the locals. I’ll update you later,” Leon promised Hunnigan, before turning to address Piers next. “I’m calling the shots, alright. You fine with that?”
“Sure,” Piers said easily. “Lead the way.”
Leon bent down to pick up the flashlight discarded on the ground, left behind by his captors. A few paces away there was the still corpse of the old man who had controlled the lickers earlier. It made Leon’s stomach drop, remembering the way these people were using the BOWs as a last ditch effort to fight their war. He didn’t have time to focus on that for long, though, as there were loud running footsteps somewhere above them, the sound of gunfire echoing further from the labyrinth of corridors.
“Friends of yours?” Leon asked, arching an eyebrow.
Piers frowned. “Hardly. Let’s try to avoid them.”
Leon wasn’t going to argue with that, and quickly and quietly they headed off, making their way further into the maze and away from the gunfire. It was the same direction that JD and Buddy had taken earlier, Leon was fairly sure of that, so maybe it would lead them to wherever the rebels were hiding. Leon wasn’t sure what was going on here, but he was inclined to side with the rebels, judging by the scarce information he had. Not that it still justified using BOWs, which was something he’d need to address.
They took a few wrong turns, ending up in dead ends, most of which looked like they’d been used to store food and ammunition and other various supplies. There was hardly anything left, though, and certainly nothing they could use.
Although they didn’t even talk, it was nice to have someone to back him up, Leon thought. It was so rare he got anyone to work with, that it was shocking how easily he got used to it, how fast Piers’ presence right behind him became a comfort instead of a distraction.
Before long, they stepped into a room that looked like an old cellar. There was a body lying on a crate right in front of them, an axe embedded into its chest. Leon grimaced. Not a fun way to go. Then a sound caught his attention, and quickly Leon turned and pointed both the flashlight and the handgun towards the corner the sound came from. The flashlight hit wide eyes and a terrified face, and it didn’t take Leon more than a second to recognize JD.
“Who—” Piers started, but that’s as far as he got before JD made a shushing motion, lifting his finger in front of his mouth. Then he pointed behind them, the motion exaggerated to get their attention.
Leon huffed. Oldest trick in the book. “Do you really think I’m gonna fall for that!?” he demanded, relaxing from his stance. JD might’ve been an idiot, but he wasn’t a threat and didn’t need a gun pointed at him. “You—”
This time it was Leon who got cut off, as suddenly something solid collided into him, throwing him onto the floor. The impact pushed all air from his lungs, but thankfully he’d been doing this for so long he acted before thinking and managed to keep his arms up to hold the attacker back. The gardening shears missed his head only by an inch, though, sending a wave of shock mixed with annoyance through Leon. “Do I look like I need a pruning?” he huffed, before pulling his knee up so he could slam it against his attacker, kicking it off him. Quickly he got his gun, and only after landing a bullet between the eyes of the infected he straightened and took stock of the situation.
Piers was standing close to the door, aiming his sniper rifle at something beyond the doorway, and judging by the sick splat followed by the gunshot he’d nailed the approaching threat. That left JD, who was helplessly struggling with another one of the infected that was pinning him down on the ground. The gun he’d stolen from Leon was trapped between their bodies, effectively useless.
Not wanting to risk shooting JD on accident, Leon took a quick step closer, and sharply kicked the attacker in the head. It fell off JD, rolling onto its back, and Leon aimed. Before he could pull the trigger, though, a hand grabbed the hem of his jacket, JD’s voice frantic. “No! Don’t kill him!”
Leon wasn’t unsympathetic. To someone new to this, the distinction between what used to be your loved one and the zombie they had turned into was not easy. Leon had learned not to hesitate, to act first and to save the nightmares and the guilt for later, but he knew it wasn’t like that for everyone else. Even then. What had to be done, had to be done. “That’s one request I can’t grant,” he said, before pulling the trigger.
“No!” JD cried, struggling onto his feet. “Mr. Chenkov! I told you not to kill him, he was my teacher!”
“Look, man,” Piers spoke, slowly approaching them. “It wasn’t your teacher anymore. Once they’re gone, they’re gone. There’s no reversing it.”
“It was him or us,” Leon said, as softly as he could, but it probably didn’t end up as gentle as he was aiming for with how his own frustration and anger at the never ending world of bioterror was bound to show. “Blame whoever infected him first.”
“But…” JD started, but he trailed off himself, eyeing the cooling corpses on the ground. He seemed too shocked to even be devastated about it, but those feelings would certainly hit later.
“Why the hell do you even carry a gun around if you’re not gonna use it?” Piers asked, eyeing the rifle that JD was holding. He looked at Leon, then, frowning slightly, and Leon just knew he was piecing the puzzle together in his mind. Leon without any equipment, some random asshole with a military grade vest, and a type of a gun he’d very unlikely have. He met Leon’s eyes then, and arched an eyebrow, but thankfully he didn’t ask anything out loud so it was easy to ignore.
“Look,” Leon said, addressing JD, “if you ever decide to shoot those things, shoot them in the head. Got it?”
“Don’t worry,” JD said, clutching the gun in a way that really did not speak of much experience or capability. “I’ll use it next time.”
Leon huffed, not really feeling up for arguing. JD was harmless, and Leon couldn’t help but hope that he somehow would survive this conflict, despite his clear lack of competence. He eyed the doors around them, trying to figure out which direction to take now, but then JD took him by surprise by motioning for them to follow. “Hey, this way. Come with me.”
A little hesitant, Leon glanced at Piers. He wasn’t certain if following the person who’d been a part of the group holding him hostage earlier was the smartest move. Then again, they might as well. It’s not like they had a solid plan, and any information would be a step forward.
So Leon nodded, accepting the offer. “Alright. Let’s go.”
*
JD led them through the maze with such well-practiced ease it was obvious he’d spent a lot of time in there. Yet he obviously wasn’t the only one, as more than once they heard the mumblings of the infected from close by, only avoiding them as JD knew how to take a detour to get around them. They ended by a metal door that had rusted shut, and only with the combined efforts of all three of them they managed to get it open and avoid being attacked by yet another group of the infected.
Once they climbed outside, sun was already shining, the day so deceptively beautiful that it created a clear contrast to what was actually going on in this country. There was a commotion down the street, and they instinctively crouched down to hide, all three of them. Even JD followed the example wordlessly, peeking around the garbage bins to see what was going on.
There was a man, a soldier, lying on the ground with several of the infected holding him down, while one of them sat atop him and forcefully fed him what looked like the plaga. Leon’s fingers twitched, and he had to use all of his self control not to just dash across the opening in an attempt to save the soldier. There was nothing they could do at that point, though. There were only three of them, and JD hadn’t fired a gun in his life by the looks of it, and there were dozens of infected. Now, maybe, if he had some grenades… but that was a moot point.
Within seconds of them noticing the commotion, the soldier staggered up on his feet, with a pained continuous noise.
“Well, fuck,” Piers huffed, his brow creased as he glanced at Leon and then at the group of infected. “They’ve released it on the streets?”
“What happened to everybody!?” JD cried, standing up, and immediately Leon grabbed his elbow to yank him back down.
“Anywhere we can hide?” he asked, giving JD’s arm a little shake as the man didn’t seem to even notice him. “Hey!”
“Y-yeah,” JD nodded, finally, shaking himself out of it. He motioned towards one of the streets. “This way.”
Quickly, hoping that the horde of infected wouldn’t notice them, they made their way across the clearing, and down one of the narrow alleys. Thankfully they didn’t run into any threats, and soon enough they reached a church, with gorgeous stained glass windows and massive stone pillars. Leon took in the sight as they walked inside. Maybe one day he could appreciate local architecture as an actual tourist, instead of always ending up in churches and castles in an attempt to escape or neutralize a massive threat.
Piers was a step behind Leon to his right, while JD was behind them and closed the doors after them. After the doors slammed shut, JD made a frustrated sound, and when Leon turned to look he noticed he was behind held at gunpoint. “What did you do to everybody!?” JD demanded, anger flashing in his eyes, as he raised the rifle a little higher. “Why are they like that!?”
“I’d say the plaga you were hiding got loose,” Leon answered, calmly and truthfully. There was no doubt that the plaga had been released, and was now spreading on its own as the infected kept on spreading it to everyone who had been spared so far.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” JD raised his voice, still aggravated, slowly approaching them.
“Hey, calm down,” Piers cut in, but he was promptly ignored by JD. He raised his gun, but Leon quickly shook his head. He was fairly sure that JD wasn’t just going to start randomly shooting, they could still talk their way out of this.
Still, Leon couldn’t help the wave of annoyance. These people were trying to use the plaga as a weapon without even understanding what it did? Without understanding the dangers? How many lives were lost just because they hadn’t bothered to get informed properly? “Your precious townsfolk are being controlled by a parasite,” he said, and the irritation was right there clear as day in his voice. “It attaches itself to the central nervous system via the spinal cord. And you’ve seen the results.” He paused, for emphasis. “They’ll never be normal again.”
Devastated, JD lowered the gun, his shoulders slumping. “There must be something we can do…”
“If you destroy the plaga, it destroys the spinal cord. The best you could hope for is paralysis. Most likely death.”
“You’re lying!” JD tried, but his heart clearly wasn’t in it anymore.
Leon noticed the shift in JD’s demeanor, and he softened his voice, hoping he could appeal to him, to defuse the situation and maybe gain an ally. “That’s why you killed the old man. Because you knew he would never be human again.” He took half a step forward, but that’s as far as he got, before suddenly the church doors slammed open, startling them all.
“What he says is true.” It was that Buddy person who had held a knife to Leon’s throat earlier, but he wasn’t alone. Already as he spoke, four gunmen flanked him, their weapons drawn.
“Leon,” Piers said, subtly, and so low it was meant only for Leon. As Leon looked at him, he gestured up to the gallery, where more people were aiming guns at them. They were completely surrounded, and it would make no sense to try to shoot their way out of this. Piers knew it as well, and he lowered his gun, although he still carefully watched the scene unfold, ready to act.
Buddy looked straight at Leon, raising his chin when their eyes met. “You. I have some more questions for you.”
Fucking fantastic, Leon thought inwardly. Nothing he could do, though. “Sure,” he said easily, aiming for casual and unaffected, “maybe this time we can get to the truth.”
Okay so maybe Leon had a tendency to mouth off in unadvisable situations, and that had gotten him in trouble more than once. Even so he didn’t expect Buddy to simply cross the distance between them in a few brisk steps and punch him right in the face. At least Piers’ angry “Hey!” made him feel a little better, but quickly he held a hand up to stop Piers from doing anything else. They really didn’t need to annoy these people any more right now.
They were screwed enough as it was. How amazing.
*
Suppressing a groan, Leon shifted in his place. Why hadn’t anyone invented a church bench that would actually be comfortable to sit in? His ass was already numb, and in the grand scheme of things they hadn’t even been captured for that long. If he’d need to guess, he would’ve said a couple of hours, but it wasn’t like he was that good at telling the time by approximating the angle of the sun through the stained glass windows. Piers had been fairly still right next to him, but he was beginning to get squirmy too.
Their captors had been quiet at first but now they’d hit a disagreement that most of them seemed to take part in. They spoke in a mix of languages, so Leon wasn’t certain of the specifics, but he knew enough from context that he could parse it out. The rebels had probably stolen the plaga from the government, but then again, he wouldn’t put it past the people in charge to deliberately give the rebels something they couldn’t handle. These people were in way over their heads.
“So let me get this straight,” Piers suddenly spoke up, his voice low not to attract any attention from the arguing locals. “They’re arguing about who gets to control the lickers. …with the plaga?”
Leon resisted the urge to sigh. He knew it was in his imagination but suddenly he felt the plaga in his chest again, moving in his ribcage. He’d never be rid of that memory. “I wouldn’t volunteer,” he said dryly.
Piers huffed. He turned his head, looking at Leon instead of at the arguing people. “You really think the plaga got out by accident?” he asked. So Leon hadn’t been the only one to think along those lines, then. Made sense, if the BSAA had been around gathering intel for a while, they probably knew about the same as Leon did.
“Impossible to say,” Leon said. He eyed Buddy, who seemed to be some kind of a leader of the pack, judging by how the others listened to him. Not that there weren’t still arguments, but there was something different about him compared to all the rest. Leon pinched his mouth to a thin line, before glancing sideways at Piers. “I have my doubts.”
“There’s been whispers about the local government,” Piers said, still so low that no one paid them any mind. “That they’re manufacturing an army of tyrants. Wouldn’t put it past them to set the plaga loose, too.”
Tyrants? Yeah this wasn’t Leon’s day. Or his week. He closed his eyes, tilting his head back. “Fantastic. This just keeps on getting better.”
Piers ignored his tired sarcasm, just going on. “And not the old ones either,” he said, “apparently these are an enhanced model. Bigger and badder.”
That now pulled a grin from Leon, and he couldn’t help but chuckle as he opened an eye and peeked at Piers. “Badder?”
Sadly, Piers didn’t manage to respond beyond a grin that had no right to be so charming, before someone noticed them talking and slammed the butt of their gun against the end of the bench. “Hey! Shut up!” he snapped. “You don’t get to talk!”
Tired, Leon opened his eyes properly, lifting his eyebrows as he looked at the man. “Oh, I’m so sorry. The instructions we got were very unclear.”
The man opened his mouth to respond, but Buddy cut him off, speaking up in a way that drew everyone’s attention. “The case is closed. I am going to go get it. Take over for Ataman.”
“No!” JD burst out. He’d been the most vocal opponent up until now, and he apparently wasn’t ready to give up just yet. “That can’t happen to you!”
Buddy was visibly annoyed but he forced it down. “I’ve got no choice,” he said, slowly and deliberately, meeting JD’s gaze head-on. “What we do today will carry the country into tomorrow.” He cut off JD’s protest with a curt hand-gesture, giving him a hint of a reassuring smile. “I’ll be back soon. And tomorrow we’ll plan an attack on the Presidential Palace.”
JD nodded and stood down, not arguing any further. It seemed to be what placated the rest of them, too, which Leon found interesting. This funny little guy was apparently popular amongst his peers, judging by this. Maybe if he could get JD on their side, he could talk him into freeing them and working with them. He tilted his head towards Piers, opening his mouth to speak, but the gunman closest to them banged the church bench again. “Shut up!”
So Leon did. Wasn’t exactly helpful when he couldn’t make a plan with his current partner, but he’d have to bide his time. Maybe they’d get the chance soon.
Without anything better to do, Leon watched JD pace the front of the church for a long time, while the rest of the men wandered to the back of the church, or up onto the gallery, gathering into small groups. No one was paying them much attention anymore, but again when Leon was about to try to talk to Piers, he was immediately cut off. It was as if the universe didn’t want them to communicate.
“Up,” JD said, grabbing Leon’s sleeve to tug on it, gesturing for him to stand. He looked past Leon, obviously addressing some of his comrades. “I want a word with him. Alone.”
Leon could feel Piers tense next to him, so he glanced at him and gave a quick headshake, before letting JD haul him up and out of the church. This was an interesting development, but Leon didn’t say anything, didn’t even try to resist, even when JD practically slammed him face first against the wall. What was it about him that made people and monsters alike want to manhandle him and throw him around?
JD placed one hand on Leon’s shoulder, and used the other one to jab the rifle against his back in what he probably thought was a badass intimidating move. Leon just hoped that the gun wouldn’t go off on accident, judging by JD’s obvious incompetence in handling it. “You need to stop him,” JD stage whispered, then, clear urgency in his voice. “We can’t let him get it!”
“The plaga?” Leon asked, although he knew fully well what the other man meant.
“I don’t know its name!” JD burst out in frustration. “All I know is that it was given to us by the elders. To control the monsters, so we have a fighting chance!”
Leon felt the ties around his wrists snap, and immediately he acted. He spun around, grabbed JD’s arm, and pushed him into the wall so he could get in his face. “Some compassionate elders you’ve got there, then!” he snapped, unable to hold back. “That stuff will turn you into a monster. Is that what you want? To no longer be human?”
“What other option do we have!?” JD asked. “The whole world ignores us! We’re in danger of extermination!”
There was clear panic in both JD’s voice and his eyes, and Leon wasn’t made of stone. He wanted to help these people. He wanted to end this war and help those who suffered from it. But he couldn’t get behind using the BOWs to do it, that road would only lead to misery, there was no question about that. “Save your breath,” he said lamely, not even sounding convincing to his own ears.
“Please,” JD said, and where he’d been almost yelling earlier, now his voice was small, like all wind was suddenly gone from his sails. “Help us. I don’t want to see him change into a monster.” He looked down, but then seemed to make up his mind, and when he looked up at Leon again there were actual tears glistening in his eyes. “Buddy lost his fiancée, along with a school full of children, when the government bastards attacked. They claimed it was a rebel base. It was full of defenseless children!” There was anger alongside sadness in his whole demeanor. “He hasn’t been the same since. He can’t stop. Not unless someone stops him.”
Leon didn’t know what to say. He knew there was a chance none of that was even true, maybe JD was just trying to manipulate him to get what he wanted. Even so, JD didn’t strike him as a master manipulator, he was pretty much the exact opposite of that. Leon took a step back, releasing all air from his lungs, and apparently the deep sigh was answer enough.
“I’m going to pretend you escaped,” JD said, handing the rifle over to Leon, who wordlessly took it. “You must get a hold of it before he does.”
“So now you trust me?” Leon arched an eyebrow, but he didn’t actually wait for an answer. He already knew he’d do it, but he didn’t want to leave Piers here. “I’ll need my partner.”
“No.” JD shook his head. “He’ll stay here. To make sure you’ll return.” He looked at Leon for a moment, before nodding as if he’d made up his mind. “You’ll find him in the central marketplace.”
Leon knew when to pick his battles, so he just met JD’s gaze straight before turning and jogging off. He’d be back for Piers, that much was certain, and there was no way he’d leave him captured and alone. Yet his best course of action right now was to find Buddy, to stop him from using the plaga, and then maybe JD would see him as enough of an ally that they’d be willing to let Piers go too.
If not, Leon would come up with a plan B. Like he always did.