Little Sister

Three months had passed since that fateful conference and in this three months Chris, Leon and Claire had pulled every string they had to fnd out, what had happened exactly and where that goddamn island was. Leon had even asked the president for permission to use one of the surveillance-satellites of the CIA to update the pictures they had from that part of the ocean where Claire had been found, but without results. After the death of Neil Fisher and with no replacement for him, TerraSave had fallen into chaos and after speaking with Chris and Claire, the BSAA had decided to take the lead of the organization until they had managed to reinstall a trustworthy leader again. TerraSave was needed, no doubt about it – but it needed a working and functionating head.

Claire’s faith and believes were shattered though. While she had fought against Bioterrorismn, a man she considered a friend had orchestrated another outbreak under her nose and she hadn’t noticed. Claire had trusted Neil, she would have put her hand into the fire for him... well, she surely got her fingers burnt. And while she had been stuck in the hospital, Claire had a lot of time to think some things through. And it was dangerous, when a Redfield had enough time to think about something.

Chris and Leon both nearly shot up like poked by a needle, when Claire stormed into the office of her brother without knocking. When Leon saw the look on Claire’s face he mentally made a checklist if he had done something wrong in the last few days. Burnt something, threw something away which had been precious to Claire, forgotten an anniversary or a birthday, but he couldn’t find a good reason and when he looked to the side, he saw on the look of Chris’s face, that he did the same. Checking the last days for eventual misdeeds.

But Claire ignored her brother and then stopped in front of Leon. “Train me,” she sad without any greeting.

Leon’s eyebrow rose a bit. “Train you?” he asked. “Why? I doubt that you need more training, because normally the threat is already over, when TerraSave is reaching the destination of a viral outbreak. And so far you’ve been holding yourself better in these situations than some seasoned soldier.”

Claire shook her head. “I’m through with TerraSave... I’m through with fighting with words alone. I’m through with Neil’s lies,” she replied. “And you are a government-trained and supported killing-machine. You have been trained for these things, trained to do what is needed without questioning, without hesitation. I doubt there is a better one for teaching me.”

Chris Redfield felt his heart fall down to his knees with a loud and heavy "Plonk" and the panic begann to rise in return. Had his sister in her emotional outburst even realized what she had said? Had she realized that this could be taken from two sides? Not everyone took it as a compliment if someone described him as a killing-machine. Chris knew, that he could be labeled that as well and for him it would definitely be an offense – especially if it came from the woman he loved more than anything. The silence in the room was defeaning and Chris was about to make a step forward when he saw the hard and displeased look that appeared on Leon’s face. But then that expression changed to one of disappointment and pain.

“Alright,” Leon answered and his voice sounded exhausted. “I will train you – but you of all people should know, that I never wanted to become a government-killer, I never wanted to become this kind of monster... But I had to protect someone... and for the record – I do hesitate and there have been a lot of decisions that I questioned.” Without anymore words, Leon left the room and with a soft click the door closed behind him.

Claire turned to Chris and the doubts that started to show on her face were plain to see for everyone – especially her older brother. “That was low, wasn’t it?” she asked with a shaking voice.

Chris nodded. “Yep,” he replied.

“It was out before I knew what I was saying,” Claire said and looked at the closed door. “But I was so angry...”

“... because you think you are weak?” Chris asked. “Because you felt so damn helpless?” Claire nodded and Chris let out a sigh. “Claire, you are not the only one hurting and who is blaming herself for what happened. We all feel like this. Leon because he wasn’t there to protect you, Barry blames himself that he never made a step towards Moira and now she has been torn away from him and I fret over the fact that I wasn’t fast enough to help you. Even Jill is asking herself if there was anything she could have done.” Chris took his younger sister into his arms und rubbed over her back. “You are not weak, Claire – you are stronger than most people I know. And Leon knows that too – he won’t hold his outburst against you... but I would recommend bringing home is favorite dish for dinner – works wonders, when I had a fight with Jill!”

Claire laughed. “Alright – I get a takeout from the chinese then.”

The BSAA-Captain let go of her and smiled. “That’s my girl,” he said with a grin and moved Claire back, before she sat down on Chris’ desk with her legs pulled up. “And now what’s going on in your head?”

Claire raised a brow. “That you still treat me like a child sometimes,” but the hint of a smile appeared on her face.