Leon walked out of the office, chuckling and Claire shook her head, making Helena laugh.

"Your relationship goes well, I see," Helena said, sitting in the free chair in front of the desk.

Claire snorted. She was sitting at the desk, playing with Leon's things. The woman had acquired a recent habit of leaving random messages on post-its for him. She would scatter them around on the desk so that he would randomly find them when he worked. In general, they were silly messages or little doodles that, for her immense satisfaction, made the agent show out one of his real smiles whenever he casually stumbled with one.

It was a silly thing to do, but since she had nothing else to do in there, she often grew bored and found herself doing childish things that she hadn't done in years.

"I suppose we are doing good," Claire said, making a small caricature of a zombie on a green post-it, "I mean, we have always got along, so it isn't difficult."

"He's been in a good mood since you came," Helena smiled.

"What? Is he usually a grumpy cat, then?"

"Not quite grumpy. He was a little gloomy."

Claire sighed.

"That might have been my doing, too, though..."

Leon's gloomy mood was because of Claire's supposed death, so technically, it was her doing.

Suddenly, a timid knock on the door made them lookup. The guard from the reception, Baker, was standing at the door. He was holding a small-sized cardboard box.

"Oh, hello?" Claire said kindly.

"Baker? What are you doing here?" Helena asked, looking up from the file she'd been reading.

"Ah...hello, Agent Harper...Mrs. Kennedy. Ehm, a woman came by with a delivery for you, Mrs. Kennedy. "

"Oh! For me?" Claire asked, surprised

"Eh...yes. She said she is a friend of yours, her name was Dhriti Sa...naya?" he said, checking a piece of paper that rested on the box.

"Oh, Dhriti. Those are my flowers then…"

"Your flowers?" Helena asked.

"Leon said I could decorate his office…" Claire shrugged.

"And you got flowers?" Helena smiled teasingly, "He sure is gonna like that…"

"Leon said I could do whatever I wanted. Besides, he owes me that after all that teasing." Claire replied, taking the box from the guard. The man was listening curiously, but Claire was already used to their gossiping ears, "Thank you, Baker."

The guard smiled and left. He would probably spread some random rumor about them, and soon everyone would be giving them weird looks. Claire sighed and set the box on the table as Helena got closer, curious to see what flowers she had gotten to decorate the sad office.

"What did you get? I really can't picture Leon sitting here surrounded by violets or petunias…." Helena chuckled.

"Ah, what's the fun in those? " Claire chuckled.

Helena peeked inside the box, and her eyes widened in surprise. The crate was full of pots with very unusual plants that didn't match Helena's concept of a flower.

"What...are those?"

To Helena's surprise, Claire giggled and began pulling out the plants from the box.

"This one is a Heliamphora; this you probably know, Venus flytrap, and these are bladderworts…."

"You got carnivorous plants to decorate his office?" Helena snorted, "I changed my mind. He might actually like it…"

"They're useful things and look nice…"

Claire took the plants and began to arrange them on the window sill, leaving one of the Venus on the desktop. Then she took one of the plants with violet flowers and gave it to Helena.

"Here, I saw you looking at it the other day in the shop. This one is pretty."

"Thanks, "Helena replied, taking the plant, "It's ironic that you decided to decorate his "lifeless" office with killer plants…"

"Do you think he would have preferred tulips? I prefer exotic ones, though…" she added, winking at her. The auburn headed picked a splasher from inside the box and looked at it, " Oh, I gotta water them… care to join me for a walk?"

Claire and Helena left the office and headed to the kitchen to fill the bottle.

"Leon wasn't kidding when he said you had a peculiar sense of humor."

"Oh, he said that? Well, I wasn't the one making silly jokes and flirting in the middle of a zombie apocalypse …" Claire chuckled, "Did he flirt with you when he met you?"

"Ahm...I don't think we started that well with our relationship," Helena replied, shaking her head, "Maybe...later?"

"Yeah, I guess he would do that. He's a flirt by nature…" Claire chuckled, "I wouldn't…"

Claire could not finish her sentence because, at that moment, she crashed face to face with a woman of low stature and blonde wavy hair who had several folders in her arms, blocking her sight. The files flew out with the collision, and the papers scattered all over the floor.

"Oh, god, I am so sorry. I wasn't looking..." Claire said apologetically.

Claire leaned over to help her pick up the papers that had flown in all directions, but her hand stopped in mid-air at the sight of one.

They were photographs. They were photographs of a place that Claire did not recognize but found strangely familiar. The young Redfield took one of the photos that laid closest to her and looked at it. It was black and white, and it was evident that it had been taken several years ago. The image showed a group of nurses and doctors posing in front of a large iron gate and an old stone building. Over their heads, there were some letters that writhed, forming the words: Blackwell asylum. The name was vaguely familiar, and a chill ran down her back.

"It's okay. It was an accident. I wasn't paying attention either…"

The woman must have been the same age as Moira, but unlike the oldest of the Burton girls, whose fashion tastes tended to be dark and punk, this woman was typical of the American stereotype with her blond hair and light eyes.

The girl looked shocked when the young Redfield handed her the handful of a photograph she had picked up. That reaction left the auburn headed bewildered.

"Is something wrong?" Claire asked.

"Eh? Oh, no, no…" the girl quickly answered, "I was...um...surprised."

"Am I that...intimidating?" Claire chuckled, "I am Clara…"

"Of course. I've heard about you, Mrs. Kennedy."

Claire felt like facepalming herself. So she was one of Leon's followers. She should have expected that.

"I am Adalind Smith…" the woman said, shaking Claire's hand, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"The pleasure is mine." Claire smiled, "those are quite old…"

"These?" Adalind said, looking at the bunch of photographs and pushing them into a folder, "Yes, I suppose. My boss seems to be quite interested in these old buildings lately."

"Your...boss?"

"She must mean Mercer…" Helena said, passing some folders to the girl.

"Oh, agent Harper. I didn't notice you there. Thank you"

"Uhm… why is Mercer interested in old buildings?" Helena asked, crossing her arms.

"I don't know. All I know is that he's been researching them a lot lately." the girl shrugged, "I better go. It was a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Kennedy."

Adalind smiled at both women and walked away with the folders firmly gripped. Claire watched her walk away, biting her lip in thought. Something about those photographs made her uneasy, but she did not know what.

Claire and Helene entered the small kitchenette, and the auburn headed began filling the spray bottle with water.

"Who's...Mercer?" Claire asked curiously.

"Andrew Mercer…" Helena said softly, "he used to be an agent of the CIA. He was later promoted and made one of the DSO board. Good credentials and highly respected in the organization…" Helena said despondently.

"If he's so good, why do you sound so annoyed?"

"He's been quite a pain in the ass for Leon and me for a while…" the woman shrugged, "Let's say we aren't exactly on friendly terms…"

"I see…" Claire said, tilting her head, "I see a story there?"

"Not really. Let's say he's not exactly convinced about our loyalties since China. "

"Friend of Simmons?"

"Doubt it. The guy is obsessed with eradicating bioterrorism. The thing is, Leon and I don't really shine for our actions…" Helena sighed, "I caused the Tall Oaks incident because of my sister, and you know Leon has his...issues with a certain spy…"

"You two are human. Acting on feelings isn't a sin."

"I guess it is when you pretty much decimate a whole city because of it…" Helena sighed.

"That wasn't your fault. That was Simmons and Carla Radames. Either way, if action on feelings were a sin, I'd be burning in hell now, and honestly, I think I'll pass on that. Tanning is not my thing," she added, entering Leon's office.

Helena stared at her dumbfounded and broke into a laugh. Claire smiled as she sprinkled the plants. At least Claire had managed to lighten the mood with her silly joke. Suddenly, a loud beeping from her laptop announced to her that she had received a new email, and she headed to the desk to check it.

The email was encrypted with Wallace's patented seal, which was, basically, a small cartoon with a big head and eyes that moved around the screen, waving her arms like crazy.

"What's that?" Helena asked, looking at the screen puzzled.

"Wallace…" Claire replied, rolling her eyes, "It's the security thing he made to safe proof our mails and files. He's a genius, but he sure has a strange taste for things."

"So good or bad news?"

"Oh, just some results on a couple of tests I was running.." Claire replied, opening the file.

Claire's eyes scanned the words and the diagrams on the attached file and sighed. She already knew the results, but seeing it confirmed, was still a little shocking. Claire's research on Rebecca's sample had been successful, and she had managed to assemble the sequence for the virus, but it was after she had seen the sequence of DNA that she realized that it wasn't exactly complete. The virus had an incomplete genome. After hours of sitting in front of the sequence, she came to a realization. She had seen that segment before. It was in the viral genome sequence from her own blood sample that Saya had given her. So, she had run a matching test with both samples.

"...90% match…" Claire sighed, "Well, shit…"

"Uh? What did you say?"

"Ah, nothing...just talking to myself…"

Claire clicked off the file and closed her laptop just in time to see Leon walk into the office. The man looked around the office and noticed the recent addition of some very singular plants.

"Okay, that's not what I expected when you said you were going to redecorate my office…" Leon said, raising an eyebrow at her, "What happened with the cheesy colorful flowers?"

"Too boring…" Claire shrugged, "Besides, carnivorous plants suit you better."

"How come?" Leon asked skeptically.

"A badass plant for a badass guy…" Claire winked at him, and she saw Leon laugh.

"Wow, that's one way to turn a plant into a compliment…" Helena snorted, "How did the meeting go?"

"Went fine…" Leon said, sitting down, " Chris is back…"

"Huh? Did he return? And he didn't even tell me he was coming back."

"Oh, then I might have screwed his surprise…" Leon shrugged with a smile, "I told him to drop by the apartment later today."

"Oh!"

Claire smiled. Somehow, the idea of Chris being around made the burden of her revealing her findings on Friday's meeting feel less heavy.

"Since Leon is back for husband 's role. I'll take my leave…"

"Oh, come by tonight, too. I'm sure Chris will love to meet you…"

Helena tilted her head and looked at Leon. It was funny that the woman usually looked at him as if she was asking for permission or something.

"Way to be influential, Leon…"

"Sure, why not? Join us, Helena." Leon said, "It'd be good if Chris meets the other agent, too."

"Eh...okay. I guess that I'll go. I'll see you guys later then…"

Helena waved them goodbye and walked out of the office. Claire tilted her head and then moved back to her task of watering the flowers. Leon was reading the papers inside a folder. However, Claire could have sworn that he'd been sneaking looks at her, or maybe she was being a little too self-conscious.

But wouldn't that be nice?

Claire shook her head, shutting that thought away. She really had to stop herself from getting the wrong ideas with Leon.

"What are you reading?" she asked, talking would distract her from random thoughts.

"Chris's report…" Leon replied, "Mobius attacked again. They set a computer virus in BSAA Wales main system, and it seems they haven't been able to fix it."

"What? They hacked in?" Claire said, stunned. Even Wallace had praised the level of security the BSAA had.

"Not only that. Chris fought some BOW's, too…"

"Oh, my god. Is he alright?" Claire said, feeling horrified.

She left the sprinkle bottle on the desk and sat down in front of Leon.

"Is he hurt?"

"He was a little beaten up, but knowing him, it's probably nothing. The BOW's that attacked them were different from the ones we saw…"

"Did he tell you how they looked?"

"He didn't...but the description is in here…" Leon added, passing her a sheet of paper.

Claire read through the words; each sentence sent an image of herself running across a narrow tunnel followed by the same moaning creatures.

If he is okay, that means he just met a failed one.

"Do you know it?"

"I...I do, I think. I'm not sure. It is similar to the ones we met, but they are a bit slower, and they can release poisonous gases, similarly to the Lepotica. Do you remember that one?

"Yeah, as if I would forget a walking virus spreader as ugly as that one."

"Well, they are ugly, too. Just not as ugly as your friend. They usually lurk in packs with an alpha. The alpha is capable of infecting new hosts; however, this infection usually ends badly..."

Claire wasn't sure where she got all that info, but the small voice in her mind was whispering it into her ears, and before she knew, her own voice was repeating them for Leon.

"End...badly?"

"The mutation rate is too high for the host to survive…" Claire said, "They are a little easier to handle compared to the ones we met since they don't have the armor skin. They do have a very fast regeneration rate, though. Not as fast as a Regenerator, but fast enough. If you can deal more damage than what they can regenerate, you can beat them; but still, they can be quite a handful…"

Leon was looking at her with an expression that Claire didn't know how to interpret.

"So they really are from the same strain…"

"Unfortunately, yes."

"Great…" Leon sighed. "Either way, BSAA lost a complete team, and their base is in no better state. They were wondering if they could ask your cyber specialist for an opinion."

"I'll have Wallace call in to help. "Claire replied, texting to the man through her phone, "I hope he can help…he may be a foolish joke sometimes, but he really is a prodigy with computers."

"I am sure he will. The FOS will be lending assistance, too."

Claire was never an office person, and the fact that she was now impersonating Clara didn't mean that fact had changed. She and Leon had looked through Chris's report together, and she was a little frustrated by the fact that she felt as if she should remember something important, but she could not know what. Between the report, the results from her analysis, and the photographs, her head was beginning to hurt.

Maybe Leon had gotten good at reading people, but she was sure that he had purposely kept the car trip chat as light as possible. He had asked if they should buy something for dinner so that she didn't have to cook, but Claire had dismissed the plan saying that it'd been a while since she cooked something for Chris. Needless to say, the real excuse was that she needed a task to keep her mind busy for a while.

"If you feel so bad about me cooking, you can always help since you seem to be good at that too…" Claire laughed, "and maybe you can teach Chris a trick or two…"

"I hardly think he would be up to it…"

"You men and your manly pride…" Claire laughed.

Their laughs were interrupted by the doorbell, and Claire looked at Leon with a teasing smile.

"That's probably, Chris. You should go open before he thinks we are doing inappropriate things and decides to kick down the door…"

"Inappropriate things…" Leon asked, raising his eyebrow, " Like what?"

"I don't know...something that Chris would consider improper." Claire shrugged, laughing.

"You know, that had never crossed my mind until now, but since you suggested it...we might as well try it. "Leon asked, teasing as he grabbed some of the potatoes peels from the bin and threw it at her…"

"What the hell? Leon!"

"How long do you think it'd take for Chris to break into the apartment?"

Claire rolled her eyes and punched his arm playfully.

"You really are considering that? Save that for your girlfriend, Leon…"

"Last time, I checked. You are my wife…"

Claire could feel her face reddens, but she quickly pushed Leon out of the kitchen before the man could notice her flushed cheeks.

"Door, Leon. Door…"