@lvl99
the mission was supposed to be easy — at least, that's how it came across both on paper and in the briefing. (nothing is ever easy, though. not in leon's life.) it was meant to be a clean retrieval of president graham's daughter, in and out, before anyone could even blink. instead, leon has a trail of bodies behind him, a parasite problem no one warned him about, and a wildcard at his side who very clearly wasn't sent in by hunnigan as backup. (and he can't even ask her for a background check since his commlink has been jammed by salazar, the tiny bastard.) leon's still not even entirely sure who the guy is, where he came from, and why he's even here in the first place. just knows his name's travis, he's an assassin (clearly), and is good at cutting through ganado. makes easy work of them like this is just another afternoon in his life — easy peasy, lemon squeezy. maybe it is. leon understands that feeling far too well. he also hasn't slowed the stratcom agent down yet; yet being the key word in that sentence. the moment that changes — if it changes, leon won't hesitate to cut him loose.
in many ways, the castle is worse than traversing through the village. not only is it bigger and more confusing, but the building hosts a maze within itself. as if it was built to mislead them intentionally. if only ashley hadn't ran off; not that leon can blame her. he remembers that feeling of fear all too well, but he also didn't necessarily run. (definitely didn't run away from the only people helping him either. though, hindsight's twenty-twenty on that, and when he looks at ada wong... maybe he should've ran.) his jaw tightens as he pushes forward through another set of heavy doors, his matilda raising as cerulean eyes scan every inch of the room they've wandered inside. a dining hall of sorts. he doesn't even bother calling out ashley's name because this isn't where they need to be. they've already been here once before. "shit." leon exhales slowly, frustration simmering just beneath the surface of his voice as he glances back at his companion.
"escort mission's turned into hide and seek, and we're just going around in circles."
