The Rebirth of Veronica (Phase One)

[craaazyisland]

[ooc: PLOT POST IS HERE! Read it!]He stalked through the hallways like a shadow, moving too quickly for anyone to keep a bead on him for long. There almost seemed to be a purpose in his movement as he made his way through the dark corridors of the ship, though it was impossible to tell where he was headed. Perhaps the young man whose body had been

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In the Contagion Lab/Engineering

[craaazyisland]

So an innocent kid has been warped into a rampaging nine-foot monstrosity. What's the next course of action?

And does it involve a high-powered plasma cannon?

Re: In the Contagion Lab/Engineering

[governmentninja]

Damn right it involves a high-powered plasma launcher. Which is what Leon just arrived there to pick up, after he checked on a couple of people first.

"Claire, Luis!"

[notlewis]

Luis was the first one he ran into, leaning on a table with a makeshift splint and a bandage strapped to his badly bleeding right arm. The lab was looking a little worse for wear, with one of the tables smashed and all its former contents scattered all over the ground.

"We're all right. Just a little banged up."

[redfield]

Claire wasn't much further in, sitting on another table with one arm draped around the Linear Launcher that sat in her lap, the other holding a cold compress up to a good-sized bump on her forehead. When Leon came in she immediately dropped it though, exposing the bandage she'd messily taped over the cut accompanying the bump, but she seemed unconcerned enough with her minor head injury, wrapping her other arm around the gun. Almost like she expected him to attempt to take it away from her.

"Any idea where he's escaped to, yet?" She hoped he was still off-grid. Not only did that mean he couldn't hurt anyone, but it gave them more time to get this crazy idea of Luis's to work.

[governmentninja]

Leon gave Luis a concerned look, then focused his attention on Claire. They'd both live, and now that he knew that, he could switch back into full work mode. Next item on the agenda: Get big damn gun.

"No idea yet, but I'm sure he'll make his presence known soon."

He didn't try to take the Linear Launcher, but he did approach Claire and hold his hand out for her to hand it over.

[notlewis]

Luis had already anticipated this, and planned to stay the hell out of it unless his opinion was called for.

[redfield]

She looked at him for a beat, her tongue in her cheek, before she shifted a little, getting a slightly better grip on the gun.

"You heard Luis's idea, right? About the suppressant?" She knew he had; she'd been reading over Luis's shoulder during that whole 'private' conversation. But the intent of the question was clear enough. She wasn't parting with the Launcher so easily.

[governmentninja]

"Yes, and I told him to put one together. But until someone manages to cobble together a prototype, it isn't a viable option, and we don't have time to wait anymore."

He stepped closer, but still didn't try to take the gun away from her. He knew how she felt about Steve, and how much she wanted to save him, but they were past that point now.

"Claire. I need the Linear Launcher."

[redfield]

"You don't even know where he is, right now!" she snapped at him, looking off to the side briefly before her eyes were back on Leon. "For all we know he's still aware enough to know what's going on and he's hiding." It was clear that she'd been thinking about this since she woke up after Steve ran off.

[governmentninja]

"Or he's trying to kill members of the crew," he pointed out. "Either way, I need to find him and deal with him before anyone else tries to."

[redfield]

"Well I'm not letting go of this gun until I've got the suppressor one to take its place," she replied, giving him an even, if a little indignant look. She wasn't going to give up on this. If there were a chance to save him, she was going to wait until she couldn't anymore.

[governmentninja]

"Its a miracle the two of you weren't broken in half, and I'm not going to wait for someone else to get hurt!" This time, he did grab the gun.

"I know how badly you want to save him, but we don't have time for this."

[redfield]

Claire wasn't going to let go of it so easily, so when Leon grabbed the gun she held on, standing up.

"He hesitated when he saw me! The only reason he attacked was because I grabbed the launcher and he panicked." At least, now that she'd replayed the scene a thousand times in her head, that was how it seemed to her. She furrowed her brow, tilting her head towards Leon. "I will kill him if I have to, but right now we don't even know where he is, and there's still a chance to save him."

[governmentninja]

His glare at her hardened. That was him not saying And how many more people have to get hurt before you realize its already too late?

He didn't have the time to stand there and argue all day. So he didn't bother arguing anymore. He let go of the gun and backed away from Claire.

"If you manage to get it done in time," he told Luis, "contact me when the suppressant is ready."

[notlewis]

"Engineering is already on it," Luis answered, since he was now sure neither of them would snap at him in the crossfire. "I told them to hurry. It can't be very far off. When it's done, it's worth a try if the suppressant will work."

He brushed his hair out of his eyes with his good hand. "And if not... well, we have a contingency plan."

[redfield]

Somehow Claire didn't feel all that relieved when Leon backed off, though she did let out a slightly frustrated sounding breath of air. Part of her felt guilty, not only because she knew well enough that if Steve hurt people because she was trying to bid for time there was no one to blame but her for it. Though for the most part she was going to hold onto the anger at Leon from trying to take the control of the situation away from her.

When Luis spoke up, she looked towards him, nodding her head while throwing the launcher's strap over her shoulder.

"Yeah. Umbrella's always got their contingencies covered."