Having dismissed the anxious cab driver with the jarring fee of 7,200 yen, Leon deboarded the taxi and rounded to the trunk to collect his and Sara's meager luggage.
Sara came up beside him to help. "7,200 yen?!" she hissed, taking the two cases bearing their concealed weapons. "How much is that in American dollars?"
"About sixty eight bucks. It's a rip-off in any currency. That was barely a fifteen minute drive," Leon replied flatly.
"I don't think it's as much about the distance as it is about location. He got pretty nervous when you told him we were heading to Kuraishi. I didn't even think he was going to take us," Sara said.
"Well, a fare's a fare, I guess." Leon closed the trunk.
The cab driver quickly did a U-turn and took off, swerving slightly as he sped away.
Leon scoffed. "Like the devil on wheels," he muttered. Now he looked about him, getting his bearings as he finished gathering the bags.
They stood in the middle of a small, shabby town flanked with several ramshackle buildings on either side of the cracked cobblestone street. There were a few businesses among the forlorn-looking edifices, their signage reduced to bare, rusty awning frames or faded metal signs that were scarcely legible. The other buildings stood empty; boarded-up and left to ruin. Sparsely-placed street lamps cast pools of dull yellow light on the broken pavement, offering weak illumination in the gathering twilight.
"This is Kuraishi, right? There actually is a living populace here?" Sara mused, looking around in dismay.
It would have been easy enough to believe that the town was forsaken had it not been for the odor of greasy food issuing from the izakaya―or bar and grill―behind Leon and Sara, and the occasional pedestrian meandering down the street. Those who noticed the two strangers cast apprehensive glances at them as they hurried past.
The distinct feeling of dread hung heavily in the air like a rolling fog. Kuraishi indeed felt like a ghost town.
"Everything is wrong with this picture," Leon said under his breath.
He turned his attention to the small hotel directly in front of them. It was as disheartening as the rest of the town. A dim neon sign read:
"ゴールデンロータス"
Leon took out a small notepad and checked it against the sign. He exhaled sharply. "Welcome to the Golden Lotus," he deadpanned.
Sara snorted. "You're kidding."
Shrugging, Leon led the way into the hotel.
The vestibule was dimly lit and grungy with racy pictures of scantily clad women. The clerk, a thin man with a scraggly goatee, sat at the front desk reading a novel. He looked up as Leon and Sara approached, smiling broadly and greeting them heartily in Japanese.
Leon shook his head. "Sorry, we don't speak Japanese."
"Ah! Americans!" the man said in heavily-accented English. "Welcome, welcome! You want stay by hour or full night?"
Leon arched a brow. "Say what?"
Sara leaned over to him. "Damn it, Leon, this is a 'love hotel'," she whispered. "For... intimate trysts."
Leon blinked and looked back at the clerk who eagerly awaited his response.
"Uh-huh. That wasn't in Olmire's travel brochure," he muttered. To the clerk he answered: "For the night."
"Very good! You pay cash or plastic?"
"Cash."
"4,800 yen."
Leon suppressed a sigh. Nearly forty six dollars for one of the world's seediest hotels. He handed the cash to the clerk who took it gleefully, passing Leon the room key in exchange.
"Put in number for open door. Room upstairs, bathroom end of hall back here," the clerk said.
Sara bristled. "One bathroom?!"
The clerk nodded. "Towels in room. Have excellent sexy night," he said winking. He then withdrew to a tiny back room.
"God, he didn't just say that," Sara sighed, drooping her head.
"Yep, he did," Leon said, punching the room number into a small electronic keyboard beside a black security door. He smiled slightly, somewhat amused at Sara's mortification.
The computer buzzed, releasing the lock. Leon opened the door and led the way up the stairs and to the room.
The room was small and sparsely furnished. Instead of a bed, two futons were placed side by side. A small, dim lamp stood on a low table at the head of the futons. At the foot of the bedding was a low console with a small television. The waning light of dusk entered the room through a single window on the opposite side of the room.
"Seems clean enough," Sara remarked. "Thank God for small favors."
She put the cases down, eyeing the joined futons with some discomfiture.
Leon likewise put aside the bags. "I'm sorry about the arrangements," he said. "I know this must be kinda awkward for you."
Sara broke into a smile and waved dismissively. "I'm a big girl, Leon," she laughed. "I can deal with it. It's not like you're going to ravish me in the midnight hour."
Leon chuckled, but quickly turned serious. "We'd better call Hunnigan; give her an update."
"Right."
Sara stood beside Leon as he drew his comm device and turned it on. "Hunnigan, come in. Do you read me?"
A moment later a woman with wire-rimmed glasses appeared on the screen. "Leon, Sara. Good to see you. What's your status?"
"We just checked into the honeymoon suite at the Plaza Hotel," Leon replied.
Hunnigan smiled. "That bad, huh? What's the situation like in Kuraishi?"
Sara shook her head. "Things aren't exactly what we expected. Kuraishi's practically a ghost town, and the citizens seem very edgy. Something's off here."
"We're gonna take a look around; get the lay of the land and see if we can find out anything useful," Leon said. "Then we'll settle down for the night. Tomorrow we'll head to the local police station and inquire about an escort into Fukushū."
"Okay. I'm gathering all the satellite images and mappings of Fukushū's layout and some very basic data on the town's buildings and structures. I'll send everything over to you as soon as I've collected everything. Rest up in the meantime, and be sure to keep me posted if anything unusual pops up," Hunnigan said.
"Copy that," Leon replied. He disconnected the call.
"Boy, I could sure use some coffee," Sara said, stifling a yawn.
"I could use something a little stronger myself," Leon remarked.
He stepped over to the window and looked out. Kuraishi lay shrouded in shadow as twilight gave way to night. A single streak of light remained in the western horizon, painting it persimmon orange. The jagged silhouette of the Akumu forest at Kuraishi's northernmost border rose against the darkening sky. Just beyond it lay Fukushū.
Leon didn't have to imagine what awaited them there: horror, bloodshed, and destruction. It was anyone's guess if Hana Matsuo was even still alive among those ruins. Suddenly, he felt exhausted. The war on bioterrorism seemed interminable for all the efforts put forth to end it.
"It's overwhelming for you sometimes, isn't it?" Sara had approached him unnoticed.
Leon sighed deeply. "This job... it's what I do; who I am. But sometimes... it just feels like one big hamster wheel. It never ends. Like the Hydra, you cut down one bioterrorist only for two more to pop up."
"Leon, look at me," Sara said.
Leon turned to her. Sara's golden brown face was set firmly. Her dark, brilliant eyes glittered, alight with her resilient spirit and lending her plain features a radiance and beauty which transcended that of mere physical appearance. Just then, the earthy harmony of those features reminded Leon of autumn incarnate. In that moment, she was the most beautiful woman he had ever beheld.
"I know how tired you must feel. I've only just started this fight while you've been at it for years. I get it. But I'm living proof that despite everything, what you do―what we're doing now―makes a difference. You saved me and eight million people during the Halcyon Isle incident alone! That counts for a lot, Leon.
"You said it yourself: no matter what, we can't save everyone. But without people like you, Chris, Jill, Claire and so many others who are in this fight, it'd be game over for us all. Look at me―I'm scared to death here, but I am ready to go to war. Every life saved is a victory, and that is progress. That makes it all worthwhile."
Leon gazed at her silently for a moment, his spirits rallied by her words. "Thanks, Sara. I really needed to hear that," he told her, inclining his head solemnly.
"What's a partner for?" Sara asked, smiling cheerily.
Leon smiled back. "Okay, then. Let's go see about that nightcap. But we'd better keep our eyes peeled. Things seem kinda heavy here; I get the feeling some of the locals might be a little hostile."
☆☆☆
The izakaya was dimly lit and rather rundown. Like Kuraishi itself, the establishment was nearly empty with its few patrons occupying the worn tables along the shabby walls.
Leon and Sara were greeted with nervous or suspicious glances and murmurs as they advanced. Several unsavory-looking guests eyed them surreptitiously.
"Stay sharp," Leon told Sara quietly.
"Mm-hm."
As near as she was to him, Leon felt Sara's uneasiness, but her eyes flashed fiercely.
They hadn't gone more than a few paces when a man suddenly stuck his leg out, barring Leon's advance. Leon looked up at him, his gaze steely.
The man rose and stood before Leon with a challenging sneer. He uttered something in Japanese of which Leon only understood the word "outsider". His breath reeked of liquor.
"We don't want any trouble," Leon said.
Becoming irrationally incensed, the man shoved Leon hard, shouting loudly.
"Hey!" Sara stepped forward, but Leon held up his hand to stop her.
The man laughed. He gestured at Sara tauntingly, guffawing derisively. "Tsudzukeru; josei ni anata no tatakai o tatakawa sete kudasai!(Go on; let the lady fight your battles!)"
Leon set his jaw, his eyes smoldering with suppressed anger.
The man suddenly took a swing at Leon who caught his arm swiftly and twisted it behind his back in one deft maneuver. As the man cried out in surprise and pain, Leon pushed him onto the table, crushing his face against the worn tabletop.
"I said we don't want trouble," Leon reiterated calmly despite his vise-like grip on his assailant.
A group of men at a nearby table rose, exclaiming in protest. One of them seized Sara from behind, trying to pin her arms behind her. She thrust an elbow into his stomach. Whirling about quickly, she dealt him a hard kick to his abdomen, hurling the stunned man backward into a group of vacant seats.
The situation was escalating rapidly, but a cool voice suddenly interrupted the tension. It spoke in a warning tone. The men glanced over in the direction of the voice then reluctantly backed down, taking their seats once more. Beneath Leon, the man spread his hands in surrender.
Leon released him and straightened up, scanning the barroom for the unseen speaker. At last his gaze locked onto a pair of pale, crystal blue eyes that watched him unblinkingly.
A storm of memories overtook him as he found himself looking at a fair-skinned youth several years younger than himself with coppery red hair shaven close to his head. His features were handsome enough, but stony. An ugly, jagged scar ran diagonally across his left cheek, marring his face.
"Jake Muller," he murmured.
Leon approached Jake who sat in his chair languidly, toying with his glass and studying Leon and Sara alternately.
"Well, well, Hero. Long time no see," Jake greeted him in a semi-sarcastic tone.
"You know each other?" Sara asked, surveying Jake critically.
"We met a while ago in Tatchi, China," Leon replied. "This is Jake Muller; the man whose blood was the cure for the virus released there."
Even as he spoke, Leon's mind was transported to that horrible night in Tatchi. He had traveled all the way to China in pursuit of Derek Simmons, once National Security Advisor to President Adam Benford, whom Leon had been forced to terminate after Simmons betrayed him. Simmons had launched a bioterrorist attack against the city of Tall Oaks that ultimately ended in its destruction. A virus had been released on the city which had turned its victims into flesh-eating zombies; a hellish déjà vu for Leon who had barely survived an identical outbreak in his hometown, Raccoon City.
Simmons had used Leon as a scapegoat for the destruction of Tall Oaks and the president's murder, forcing him to temporarily fake his death while he ventured to Tatchi to stop Simmons and clear his name. It was there that Leon had encountered Sherry Birkin; the young DSO agent whom he had helped rescue as a child back in Raccoon City, and Jake Muller; a moody, wisecracking mercenary whose blood held the key to mankind's salvation.
With some difficulty, Leon untangled himself from the dark memories.
Sara's brows shot up. "That was you?" she asked, staring at Jake incredulously.
Jake leaned back in the chair, smirking slightly. "Yep, you're looking at the world's savior."
Sara arched a brow. "Ever gracious and humble."
Jake shrugged. "Just stating a fact, babe. So what brings you all the way to this hell pit?"
"We're following the trail of another bioterrorist," Leon answered. "This is my partner, Sara Rios."
Jake raised his chin at Sara in acknowledgement. "Might as well sit down," he said, jerking his head at the chair across from him. He reached over to the table beside him and dragged forth a chair for Sara, motioning for her to sit.
"So what did you tell our kind hosts back there?" asked Sara, complying.
"I already tenderized some of their sorry asses this afternoon. I reminded them about it and told them if they didn't want a repeat performance from Hero here, they should lay off. Damn punks."
Jake glanced at Leon coolly, but there was respect in the younger man's eyes. "Sherry wasn't exaggerating about you. I admit it took a real badass to survive the shit that hit the fan back in China."
Leon scoffed. "Thanks."
"How's Sherry doing, anyway?" Jake's icy eyes softened ever so slightly as he pronounced the girl's name.
Leon caught the passing expression. "She's doing okay."
Jake bobbed his head, feigning indifference. Leon was unconvinced.
"So, you two want a drink?"
Sara shook her head. "Coffee for me," she replied.
"Any chance I could get some whiskey in this place?" asked Leon.
"You're outta luck, pal. Cheap sake's the only booze here."
Leon huffed. "What else is new? I already live dangerously; what the hell?"
Jake beckoned to a nearby server and ordered for his companions.
"So who's trying to destroy the world this time?" he asked presently.
"That's what we're here to find out," Sara replied. "Have you heard about the recent viral outbreaks going on worldwide?"
"Ain't been watching much TV lately, but I've heard about the crazy shit going on here in Japan. There was an outbreak near Tokyo," Jake mused.
"The whole thing's rooted in Seishin Cosmetics. Eito Matsuo, Seishin's CEO, was murdered with a transdermal virus disguised as a perfume prototype, and his daughter was kidnapped. These international outbreaks all have one link: everyone who received the viruses was involved with the company," Leon said.
"The DSO got hold of an SOS message from the abandoned town of Fukushū just a few miles away from here. We're checking it out," Sara added.
Jake gaze flitted first to Sara then Leon. "Fukushū? Damn..."
Leon frowned. "What?"
"That's why I'm here. I was hired to investigate and eradicate the reason why this town's gone to pot, and that reason is in Fukushū," Jake said tightly.
" 'Hired'? As in 'mercenary'?" asked Sara gravely.
Jake regarded her icily. "I prefer 'freelancer'."
The beverages arrived, and everyone fell silent until the server departed. Leon took a sip of his sake, nearly spitting it out as the overpoweringly bitter flavor of vinegary ethanol hit his tongue.
Sara concealed a smile behind her coffee cup.
Jake's mouth twitched wryly. "Cheap sake's an acquired taste."
"Thanks for the warning." Leon pushed the glass away, grimacing. "So what the hell's the story with Kuraishi?" he asked, careful to keep his voice low.
Jake ducked his head down and leaned forward. "There are things that go bump in the night here in Kuraishi, and a lot of people have gone missing. There are rumors that creatures have been spotted near Akumu Forest, too. Because of that, most of the citizens have left this place. The ones that stay either have nowhere else to go, or are too stupid to leave.
"A week ago I was at a bar in another town not too far from here. A guy there was going on and on about how monsters had taken his wife and son away. He said he was offering a reward to anyone who would head to Fukushū to search for them. Everybody thought he was nuts, but I heard him out and accepted his offer. Pay ain't much, but a deal's a deal. Anyway, I doubt I'll find them, but maybe I can get the poor bastard some closure, and take out the sons of bitches responsible for his family's kidnapping."
Leon glanced at Sara grimly. "The plot thickens."
"But what about the local authorities? Aren't they doing anything to help; search parties, investigations?" demanded Sara.
Jake scoffed. "Authorities?"
He pointed at a man in a dark corner of the izakaya. He sat in a chair, his head resting on the table. An empty sake flask and an upset glass lay before him.
"There's your authorities. He's supposed to be heading up the kōban; instead he's in here lapping up this piss."
"Kōban?" asked Sara.
"Neighborhood police station. See, in a town this small, law enforcement's always a joke anyway, but with these rumors and kidnappings, the law has pretty much bailed."
Leon sighed gustily in frustration. "Shit. So much for our transportation. We've got to get into Fukushū."
He looked up at Jake again. "How are you getting there?"
"The owner of that shitshack hotel will do anything for money. For ten thousand yen, he'll drive me as far as Akumu Forest. I can take it from there," Jake answered.
Leon exchanged glances with Sara. It was clear they shared the same idea.
"Why don't we join forces?" suggested Sara. "We're all essentially on the same mission. I think our chances are a lot better if we work together."
Jake frowned. "Three's a crowd," he answered flatly.
Leon leaned forward. "There are billions of lives at stake here, Jake, and the threat is hiding in Fukushū. If we join forces, we stand a better chance of putting an end to it."
Jake drummed his fingers on the table, considering. At last he turned his flinty gaze on the agents. "Deal. Be ready to leave at dawn."