It felt like a huge weight had been lifted off Kenny’s shoulders. Things were well on their way to getting fixed and Kenny was going to see it through. The first order of business had been taken care of – leave Ashley in Leon’s capable hands and stop interfering with the two of them. Leon had invited him to join him and Ashley so that the three of them could make it off the island together, but it wasn’t as easy as that … not with a Plagas Queen still in his body that had to be delivered to those who assigned him to this mission.

Kenny’s transmitter beeped. It was likely Dr. H, wanting an update on his progress. Remembering what he had told Ada earlier, he realized this was his chance to find out more about the mysterious Doctor, how she had managed to hijack the transmission to his transmitter, and what her motives were. He loosened the device from his belt buckle and turned it on, seeing Dr. H’s face fill up the screen.

“Report, Rockfort,” she ordered with a stern tone and an equally stern look on her mousy features. Kenny had to smirk at her act.

“Game’s over,” he said. “I want to know who you are, and what you want with me and the Plagas sample.”

“This isn’t funny, Rockfort,” Dr. H countered. “You are on a crucial mission for Umbrella and we want to know your progress …”

“I’m sure Wesker would be happy to fill you in. Oh wait, he hasn’t been able to get in touch with me. I wonder why.”

Dr. H’s face wore a look of alarm but only for a brief moment. “We have been in touch with Captain Wesker on your behalf, Agent.”

“That’s why he’s had to contact me through Ada, huh?” Kenny asked. “Look, Doctor, I refuse to give you anymore information or the Plagas sample until you show some proof of your affiliation with Captain Wesker or Umbrella. I realize this is an important classified mission I’m on, and though I should have done it sooner, I’m going to have to ask for some clarification as to who you are before I can continue reporting to you.”

“I ...” Dr. H stammered, trying to get something out, but all she could voice was a string of incomprehensible rambles.

When she could produce nothing that satisfied Kenny, he continued. “That answers my question. I want to know who you are and how you were able to interfere with my transmissions to Wesker.”

Dr. H began to say something but was rudely shoved out of view by another figure, also a woman, with bright red hair tied into a ponytail. This new character had rougher features, tired bags under bright green eyes that looked vaguely familiar to Kenny.

“You’ve found us out,” the woman said, talking urgently into the headset that she’d managed to wrestle out of Dr. H’s grasp. “No more secrets.”

“Who in the world …” Kenny began to say, but he couldn’t quite understand what was going on.

“We’re not Umbrella,” the woman explained, “as you might have already figured out. In fact, we are anti-Umbrella – a group of … professionals, dedicated to making sure the organization stays defunct. But we’ve received information recently that leads us to believe Umbrella is anything but. And your service on this mission, your transmissions to us is proof of that.”

Kenny began to feel regret and despair rising in his throat. So it was true – he had been communicating with a group of people who he believed to be Umbrella. What would Krauser do to him if he found out? What would Wesker do? Especially now that he had the sample they were here to snatch?

“What do you want with me?” Kenny asked. Now that he knew their true identity – or at least, their affiliation – he began cursing these mysterious women for choosing to involve themselves in this, as if his situation wasn’t complicated enough.

“We need the sample, Kenny,” the woman with red hair said urgently.

“And what makes you think I’ll give it to you?!”

“Because …”

“You’ve got a lot of balls interfering with Umbrella’s interests – let alone ordering ME to do your bidding! As soon as my superiors get word of this series of transmissions we’ve been having, they’ll track you down and …”

“Kenny, NO!” the woman cried. She was getting visibly upset, as if his words were hurting her. Krauser and Ada were among the most efficient, cold hearted people he had ever dealt with and this kind of sensitive reaction to his words caught him off guard.

“I’m sorry …” he began to say, and then reminded himself that if he was to successfully complete this mission with his head on his shoulders, he would have to begin acting like the calculating agents that Krauser and Ada were.

“This isn’t who you are!” the redheaded woman insisted. She had composed herself somewhat, but still spoke to him in a tone laced with disappointment. “What … what happened to you?”

“… Do I know you?” Kenny asked, studying the lady’s features carefully. After all, her eyes looked vaguely familiar and there was a very good chance he would recognize her further with continued observation.

“What happened to the little boy who used to volunteer at the Raccoon City precinct, who performed the most mundane tasks the officers would dump on him with such enthusiasm?” The woman ran her hands through her hair and held herself by the shoulders. “What kind of person has he become?”

The guilt that Kenny felt when he realized he’d captured Ashley and sent her to her doom was nothing compared to what he felt at this moment. If that guilt had taken his heart in its cold, nasty hands and crushed it mercilessly, this new one tore it out of his chest, still beating, stepped on it with its full weight and fried it with a blowtorch. He realized instantly who this woman was – one of the only officers at the precinct who treated him like a person with real hopes and dreams, not a kid trying to fulfill some kind of childish fantasy about being a cop. He thought she perished along with the rest of Raccoon City but here she was, behind this tiny monitor embedded into the palm sized transmitter given to him by another Umbrella Agent. Her last memories of him were true to what Kenny was six years ago. And now, so many years later, she had seen him at his worst …

“Lieutenant Bernstein …” Kenny gasped at the screen. “A … Amber …” His voice shook and a few seconds later, his body joined it. Continuing to hold the transmitter to his face, Kenny sat on the ground, right where he stood and spoke into the screen. “I … I’m sorry you had to see me like this. I thought you were dead.”

Lieutenant Amber Bernstein held the back of her hand to her nose and sniffed, holding back an emotional sob. “This isn’t the time for hellos,” she said. “We’ve got a lot to catch up on. But business first. The reason we’ve been wanting a sample of the Las Plagas embryo is because we’ve gotten word that Umbrella is after the same thing. If we are to fight them we will need a sample in our possession as well. That’s why we had to get you to do the dirty work for us. We knew Umbrella had a small team of Agents on the job under Wesker’s command so we did background checks on who the agents were. Unfortunately, we were unable to find much information but going by what we had, we chose you. But I had no idea it was … YOU.”

“Yes,” Kenny said so strongly that it had startled her. “Yes, I will give you the sample, as soon as I can get it out of me.”

“A simple operation should do the trick,” Amber continued. “After all, the Shadow Technology inside you should have prevented the Queen from assaulting your body in any way. Christ, Kenny, I had no idea the agent with the technology inside them was …”

“Yeah, it’s me,” he replied. “I’m ready to get out of here, then. I’ve done what I’ve needed to do. Just get me the hell out of here, take the sample from me and I’ll be more than happy to going back to whatever I was doing. But … you’re gonna have to take the fall for me if Umbrella chooses to pursue me.”

“That’s why we were established,” Amber said. “We all have our own personal vendettas against that corporation. Don’t worry, Kenny. The moment we get our hands on you, I promise Umbrella won’t ever be able to lay a finger on you, or anyone else again. I promise.”

“I believe you. Just, please … come get me.”

“According to the few satellite images of the island we’ve managed to get our hands on, there should be some kind of control tower within a mile of your current location,” Amber explained. “I want you to head there, and send a distress call. Our chopper will be able to read that transmission and zero in on you.”

“Why can’t you just use the signal from my transmitter right now?”

“Because we’re jacking the line, there’s a chance the information you’re sending off could be corrupted. The information about the control tower in relation to where you are could be wrong as well. That’s a risk we’re going to have to take but once you find the tower and send the distress call, your location will be set in stone and we will send a chopper after you.”

“How long will it take for you to get here?” Kenny asked excitedly. His ordeal was coming to an end a lot sooner than he had envisioned. This was the best bit of news he had heard in a long time.

“Approximately 2 hours.”

“Where are you?”

“I can’t tell you that, as much as I would like to. Just hurry to the control tower and send a distress call as soon as you can. We’ll be waiting until then.”

“Okay, Amber. I’m on my way. I’ll talk to you soon.”

“Kenny?” she called out just as he was about to hang up. “It’s good to see you again.”

He smiled at her. “Back at you.”

XXXXX

It turned out the information Amber had given Kenny was right. It took a little bit of navigation through the military compound with the aid of a couple of soldiers at his request, but he had finally found the control tower. It had taken him a good couple of minutes to scale the ladder that led to the very top. There was nothing to prevent a fatal fall if he were to slip on the metal rungs of the ladder that led all the way up. And his fear of heights didn’t do anything to alleviate his worries. When he was about halfway up, Kenny looked into the distance and spotted the rocky shores of the island, waves crashing against them with the force of a truck. The wind was stronger up here, sending his clothes and hair into ripples. He could barely keep his eyes open against the sting of the salty air. And then he did the stupidest thing he could ever do in a spot like this – he looked down.

Instantly, he began to feel dizzy. His vision blurred. He grasped the rungs tighter and pulled his body up, keeping his eyes closed the whole way as he fought off the nausea. He cursed himself for looking down so early for he was only halfway up the ladder. He continued to climb, trying his hardest to ignore the realization of just how far he was off the ground.

When he finally reached the top, Kenny scrambled onto the balcony, pulling himself with every ounce of strength his arms and legs could muster, rolling onto the platform, well away from the edge. He took a second to gather himself from the terrifying climb, breathing in and out at the pace his body demanded. Slowly, Kenny got to his feet and headed for the door to the control tower on the opposite side of the structure, holding onto the walls the whole way. When he finally reached the door, he grasped the handle roughly, turned it, and put the full force of his body behind the door, charging into the room.

He found Krauser standing inside by the control panel, tossing a knife toward the ceiling, catching it handle first in his palm. Ada stood leaning on the opposite wall with her arms folded, looking down at her feet. They both stopped mid-conversation to see Kenny, pale, out of breath and sweaty.

“Nice of you to join us,” Ada said. “What happened to you?”

Kenny wasn’t expecting them both to be here, and the discovery worried him. What were they discussing behind his back?

“I don’t like heights,” he replied, earning him a snort from Krauser.

“What’s the news on our friend Leon?” Krauser asked Ada, ignoring Kenny.

“He’s not making it easy,” she said. “And the sample?”

“Saddler’s got it,” Krauser replied. “It seems he sniffed out our little game.”

“Perfect,” Ada said so quietly, turning her back to him.

“Just so we understand each other clearly,” Krauser continued, his tone becoming more menacing with every word, “I don’t trust you. Nor does Wesker. If you try to do anything clever … “ he held up a knife towards her. If Ada noticed, she didn’t act threatened. “I will kill you.”

“Is that so?” Ada asked, her eyes narrowing like a cat readying itself for the kill. The tension in the room was so thick, you could cut it with a knife. Any worries Kenny had about what they’d been discussing immediately dissolved. It seemed like he had walked in on an argument between the two of them. “You know, I met Wesker long before you.”

“We’ll see soon enough if you did.”

“Yeah, we’ll see …” Ada said with finality. She headed for the door, brushing by Kenny without a word, and slammed it shut behind her.

Krauser snorted behind her back, turning his attention to Kenny. “What are you doing here, Squirt? Shouldn’t you be hunting down the sample?”

“I’m …” Kenny began thinking quickly of an explanation. “I … I noticed this place was pretty high up. I wanted a good view of the compound to see where the sample could be located … SHIT!!” Kenny ducked after spotting a flash of silver in the air between him and Krauser. The knife Krauser once held in his had was now embedded in the wall behind him, at eye level, right where he had been standing. A few strands of Kenny’s hair floated towards the floor, sliced off clean by the blade.

“I sent out a message to Ada to meet mere here,” Krauser explained. “The message should’ve reached your transmitter too. Of course, we know for some reason, yours isn’t working, so I find it odd that you showed up only a few seconds too late.”

Krauser dashed at Kenny, right hand bared into a bricklike fist. Just before reaching the youth, Krauser twisted his body and threw a hard punch. Kenny slapped his fist away and dodged to his left, rolling on the floor to put some distance between himself and the crazed soldier. Krauser turned around to face him and continue the attack when his transmitter rang. He picked it up, keeping his eyes trained on Kenny in case the youth tried anything funny.

“Krauser here.”

“Seems like Leon’s turning into more of a pest than I imagined,” Wesker said from the other end. Kenny recognized Wesker’s cold, reptilian voice well. “I’m going to need him taken care of.”

“With pleasure,” Krauser growled.

“Don’t worry about the sample. I’ve got Ada covering it. And Kenneth, too … that is, if you and Ada are keeping him in check as I ordered.”

“Well I got some news for you, Wesker,” Krauser continued, his eyes darting between his transmitter screen and Kenny, who stood by the far wall from him. “The brat’s not co-operating. He managed to jam the signal to his transmitter somehow and I just caught him in the act of making a distress call in the control tower.”

“Pity,” Wesker said without a trace of emotion in his voice. “You haven’t seriously damaged him?”

“Not yet.”

“Incapacitate him, then. But I will need him alive.”

“Yes, sir.”

“And Krauser, as soon as you are finished with Kenneth, your next objective will be to eliminate Leon. As I have said, it is now Ada’s responsibility to get the sample.”

“Got it. Over and out.” Krauser shut off the transmitter and returned his full attention to Kenny, who now stood before him shaking with fear or adrenaline – he couldn’t tell. “You just used up your last chance. Say goodnight.”

Krauser pulled his knife from the wall and came at Kenny again, thrusting the knife forward. The youth parried again, jumped over a low slash, ducked under a high one. Before Krauser could return the weapon close to his body to set up for a third slash, Kenny head-butted the soldier in the face, seized his wrist and kicked the weapon out of hit. The blade flew out of Krauser’s hand and clattered to the floor, skidding with momentum towards the door. Still with Krauser’s wrist in his hand, Kenny brought is elbow down onto the crook of Krauser’s arm, causing the soldier to cry out in pain. He released the wrist and followed up with an elbow to the face. Krauser reeled back in pain, clutching at his face, blood seeping through the fingers of his hand.  

“I’m through taking your orders,” Kenny said. “I finished being beaten around by you. You brought me here on a mission and I intend to accomplish that mission my way!”

Krauser retaliated with a vicious uppercut connecting with Kenny’s jaw. The force of it picked Kenny clean off the ground and sent his body flying backwards in a graceful arc. He recovered midair, tucked his knees into his chest and performed a back flip and landed into a crouch, kicking his right leg out that swept Krauser off his feet. Pulling the handgun that Krauser initially gave him from his waistband, Kenny fired a round without missing a beat as Krauser was getting to his feet. A normal person would’ve taken the bullet. But Krauser’s body disappeared in a blur and appeared right beside him. Kenny’s free arm was seized, so he brought the other around with the weight of the gun in his fist and attempted to clock Krauser on the side of the head with it, but the soldier grabbed that hand too. Giving Kenny’s hand a savage squeeze, he forced the youth to drop the gun, and brought a savage knee to his solar plexus, knocking the wind out of Kenny. He fell to the ground, clutching his body, gasping for air while Krauser stood victorious over him.

“Wesker gave me orders to bring you in alive,” Krauser said, “but you are making that real difficult.” Sometime while Kenny was busy gasping for air, Krauser had retrieved his knife, as he now had it in his hand, tossing it casually up into the air, only to catch it handle first in his open palm. “You were nothing but a liability to this mission from the start, what with your affiliation to the president’s daughter and all. Wesker wouldn’t mind seeing your body in a bag after I give him my report on you.”

Krauser leapt down onto Kenny, blade first for what was meant to be a fatal stab. But before the knife could make contact with his chest, it was knocked out of Krauser’s hand for the second time in five minutes, this time by a thrown axe. The two weapons tucked themselves away in a corner of the room and Krauser looked towards the door to see who had dared to intrude on his assassination. Kenny took advantage of his distraction and kicked Krauser in the head, flooring the larger man in an instant, giving him time to get up to his feet. Krauser groggily picked himself up off the ground and found himself standing between Kenny and a group of the island’s Plagas possessed military.

“What is this?” he demanded.

“I forgot to tell you,” Kenny replied, “I got the sample. It’s a Queen. And it’s inside me.”

Krauser gawked at him, mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. “You little fucking twerp …”

“Like I said, I’m going to accomplish this mission my way.”

Before he could say anything more, Krauser jumped out through one of the control tower’s windows. He cleared the outdoor balcony and fell the full height of the tower. But Kenny had a feeling the fall wouldn’t kill him. There was something wrong with Krauser, how he was able to dodge Kenny’s bullet with superhuman speed. Just to be sure, Kenny ran to the edge of the balcony, grasping the railing tightly the moment he felt that familiar wave of nausea looking down that far, and sure enough, he spotted Krauser running towards the military compound. Running towards …

What was that Krauser had said to Wesker? When he was done with Kenny, he was going after …

“Leon!”

Kenny turned to the Ganados who were already leaving the room, some of them climbing down the ladder in pursuit of Krauser, urgently ordering them to stop him from getting to Leon. Realizing where Krauser was headed too little too late, and the fact that he’d been overpowered mere minutes ago, Kenny realized there was no way he could have physically stopped Krauser. But he hoped the Ganados would be able to delay him.