Perfect Sacrifice (40 page)

Ray reached out and took her queen, making the first move.  She didn't take any of his pieces, but when she was done with her play, she looked up at him.  There was a smirk playing on her face, something he currently loved seeing.

"Make your move," she said, seeming rather smug at the moment.  Leon only sat down across from her and picked up a pawn.  The game had begun.

* * * *

Abby walked into general Gordan's office, not saying anything.  She hadn't startled him at least, since he had been more or less expecting her.  He sat behind a pile of papers.  Recently they had been stacking up, and he was putting less effort into finishing them.  It was no surprise.  He had a lot to do right now.

"Well?" he asked Abby as she took a seat in front of his desk.

"I talked to Brian," she began rather sadly.  "He's really taking it hard."  She lowered her head.  "But not nearly as hard as Ray."

"What do you mean?" asked Gordan rather interested in the topic.  He was always worrying about Ray.  She gave him so many reasons to.

"She said she'd be okay, but…I don't know," responded Abby as she began fumbling with her fingers.  "She wasn't saying much, and she looks so…zoned out.  She reminds me of the living dead."

"I see," said Gordan with a sigh.  "What do you expect?  In only two days, one third of her family was taken from her.  You know how things like this affect her.  Ray is alone the way it is.  This just makes things harder."

"I know," responded Abby, sounding rather depressed.  She could still remember the look on Ray's face, how she lacked her usual flare.  She was so very lifeless.  It was painful watching her like that.

"Abby," said Gordan, snapping her from her small stupor.  "I want you to investigate this thing.  Organize the information about the Geno that we already have.  We need to figure out what this thing is."

"I'll get right on it," she assured him while standing up.  She dismissed herself from his room, heading towards their main command room.  It had all the equipment she would need.  She had some serious work to do.  This was going to be anything but easy.

The game was almost over, and Leon was really giving Ray a run for her money.  Had he suddenly gotten a whole lot better, or was she slipping?  Either way, she really had to think to get herself out of this.  Both of them were equally close to winning.  It would all be decided in a few moves.

Ray smirked when she realized that she had already won.  Leon had just missed the only way out of it.  It was easy to tell that he hadn't been paying attention.  It was a move he often missed when he was playing with Chris.  This would be it.

Ray picked up a lone pawn, placing it at a point where he was in check.  Like a normal player, he moved his king, but he had made the wrong move earlier.  He was going to be trapped now.  All Ray did was pick up her last rook and place it in the right spot.  She smiled brightly at the way this had turned out.

"Checkmate," she said rather softly.  "Checkmate!"  She stood up enthusiastically, laughing to herself.  "I win!  Yes!  I told you I would!  No one beats me!"

Leon just sighed in disappointment.  He really had been close to winning.  However, he smiled as he realized that he had won.  He had accomplished what he had set out to.  Ray was smiling, laughing, and gloating.  She was back to normal again.  Even though she was rubbing her victory in his face, he didn't care.  He had been the real winner.  She just hadn't known that the game was even being played.

"Congrats," he said as he stood up.  "That was a good game."  Ray stopped cheering, but her smile remained.  She was finally feeling better.  One small victory was all it had taken.  However, the road to recovery would be a long one, but she made a decision.  She wasn't going to let this bother her right now.  She had to deal with Ramirez.  She'd focus on what had happened when she finally encountered the mysterious Geno.  Right now, she needed to just do things like play chess with Leon.

"Hey Leon?" she questioned, drawing his attention.  "Thanks for playing with me."

"You're welcome," he said as he sat down on the couch.  She sat down next to him as he turned the television on.  There had to be something good on TV.  If worst came to worst, they could always watch a movie…

They just sat there watching random television programs for about two hours, and it was steadily approaching dinner time.  Chris and Dr. Solaris had yet to return with the rest of the groceries.

"I'm hungry," Leon complained as he set the remote down and stood up.  "There has to be something to eat around here."  He walked into the kitchen and began to rummage through the cupboards, only to find that they were empty.  He moaned in annoyance as he realized that the refrigerator was practically empty as well.  He went over to the bag of groceries, but there wasn't anything in there that he could just eat.  It all involved cooking.

Ray got up off the couch, a smirk on her face.  Her suspicions had been accurate.  Dr. Solaris really was the only one of them that could cook.

"So Leon, you can't cook can you?" she asked with a smirk.  He only shook his head, looking rather pathetic as he sat at the kitchen table.  He really was hungry.  It's not like she wasn't.  All she had eaten within the last twenty four hours was a sandwich that she had gotten off of Sam.  She had completely forgotten about skipping dinner the night before.

"I hope dad comes home soon," said Leon as he rested his head on the table.  "I'm so hungry."

"You're so pathetic," Ray said as she walked into the kitchen.  Leon turned to glare at her, but she ignored him.  Instead, she began emptying the grocery bag of its contents.  It's true that she wasn't a world class cook, but she wasn't exactly bad at it.  Besides, Leon looked pathetic enough to eat just about anything right now.  This wouldn't be hard.  She did know a few recipes.

"What are you doing?" he asked as he watched her look over the groceries.

"Well, since you're
so
hungry, I'll cook something," she said.  "That way it'll be ready for when Chris and Dr. Solaris get back."

"You cook?" he asked, sounding rather shocked at the idea.

"Only one or two things, and I can't guarantee you it'll taste good," she said as she turned on the stove.  "I haven't cooked in a while."

"Yeah, usually you scrounge a meal from Sam," mumbled Leon.

"I heard that," she said without turning to him.  She was too busy getting the kitchen ready.  "I only go to Sam when I'm in Torran and don't have money."

"Which is practically all the time," he mumbled again.  This time she spun around and glared at him.

"I could just not cook and let you starve for a few more hours," she threatened with a rather large knife in her hand.  Leon just shook his head, feeling threatened not only by her voice but by the knife.  He knew that it wasn't a good idea to make any girl mad when they had a weapon at their dispense.

Ray said nothing but went back to cooking.  She smirked as she began mixing things.  It really had been a while since she had cooked anything.  After all, she was usually busy with work.  Now that she was only on call for emergencies, she'd have a little more time to do other things.

In only a half an hour, she was done cooking.  Leon was still just sitting at the table, resting his head against it.  It wasn't until Ray set a plate down in front of him that he moved.

"What would you do without me?" she asked with a smile as she went and sat next to him.  On their plates was one thing: a rather large helping of fried rice.  Leon couldn't tell what was in it, but at the moment he didn't care.  He was hungry. 

He began eating, taking one bite before stopping. 
Amazing.
  He quickly began to eat more, and Ray just watched him, somewhat happy.  By the way he was eating, someone would think that he hadn't had anything in days.  It was nice to see that he was enjoying the food, however.  It meant that she wasn't that bad of a cook.

Leon finished rather quickly, giving out a relieved sigh.  That really had been good.

"Well?" she asked him, wanting to know what he had thought.

"That was great!" he complimented enthusiastically, a large smile on his face.  "Where did you learn to cook like that?"

"From my brother, Lee," she responded, a smile still on her face.  "It was his favorite dish, so he'd cook it rather often.  I learned by watching him."  She began to circle her fork in her mountain of the fried rice.  "It took a few years to get it right though."

"You'll have to cook more often," suggested Leon as he got up and took his plate with him.  "You're very good."  Ray just smiled, feeling slightly flustered by the compliments.

The door opened, and Dr. Solaris and Chris walked in, carrying bags of groceries.  They quickly set them down on the counter.

"Sorry we took so long," apologized Dr. Solaris.  "I'm sure you're both hungry."

"Not anymore," said Leon as he began emptying the bags.  "Ray cooked dinner tonight."  Dr. Solaris and Chris both looked to Ray, who sat alone at the table with her plate.

"There's some over there if you're hungry," she said, pointing to the rather large bowl sitting near the stove.

Both Dr. Solaris and Chris were shocked for two reasons.  First off, neither of them had known that she could cook.  Second, she was talking.  When they had left the base, she had been basically dead.  Now she looked more like her old self, like the Ray they knew and loved.  Why the change?

Dr. Solaris glanced at Leon as he began putting away the groceries.  Perhaps leaving him alone with Ray had been a good thing.  He had to admit, he had been worried at first.  Leon wasn't the most tactful person in the world, especially when it came to dealing with Ray.  It looked like everything was turning out alright this time.  Dr. Solaris couldn't help but smile.  He was enjoying the current course of his thoughts.  He wasn't about to voice them, however.  After all, he didn't want to embarrass Leon or Ray…at least not right now, anyway.

CHAPTER 21

Childish Fear

A week had gone by without any disturbances.  There hadn't been one sighting of the mysterious Geno, no problems in Torran, and there was no word on Ramirez.  It had just been a nice, quiet week.  In fact, a lot of good had happened in those seven days.  Brian was out of the hospital and back at the base.  Ray had stopped by to greet him on returning home.  Everyone had been happy to see that she was also doing well.  They had Leon to thank for that.

Currently, Ray was alone in the rather extravagant bathroom at the Solaris base.  It was similar to the ones you saw in mansions.  Everything was made of white tiles and marble.  The bathtub was more like a hot tub, which Ray was currently using.  She was taking a rather relaxing and luxurious bubble bath, her head being all that was still above the water.  It was rather soothing.  She loved the bathroom.  Everything about it was very serene.

Her mind was currently wandering, but she was mainly thinking about her predicament.  The Solaris base was feeling more and more like home.  She felt more relaxed and comfortable each and every day.  This building wasn't just the Solaris base.  It was her home.  Everything about it was home, even the people she lived with.  They were just like her family.

Ray sighed in content as she relaxed further into the warm water.  She opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling.  She was starting to get a little lazy.  There hadn't been anything for her to really do.  She went shopping, she watched television, and she worked on her Geno.  There had been a battle, but Leon had taken it, just like he always did.  He had won too.  For a regular pilot, she had to admit that he had skill.

She glanced around at the bathroom, realizing just how safe and at home this place made her feel.  However, her eyes quickly landed on something black near the sink.  It stood out against the white marble. 
What is that?
  She narrowed her eyes, focusing in on the black object.  As it began to move, her eyes widened in fear.

* * * *

The three men of the Solaris family were currently sitting around in the living room.  Leon wore an impatient scowl on his face, as if he was waiting for something…or someone.

"Man, how long does it take just to take a bath?" he wondered, looking down the hallway.  Ray had been in their bathroom for nearly an hour now.

"She's a girl, what do you expect?" asked Dr. Solaris.

"Besides, what do you care?" questioned Chris as he lazily flipped through the channels, finding nothing of interest.  "It's not like you don't see enough of her the way it is."  Leon didn't respond to that, but Dr. Solaris found the situation rather amusing.  This was the perfect opportunity to tease his eldest son.  The mildly lazy and carefree boy could use a good shaking every once in a while.  This opportunity was one he, being a father, couldn't pass up.

"Wow Leon," he began, drawing his son's attention.  "I never thought you'd go for someone like Ray."

"What?" questioned Leon, looking rather confused and a little nervous.  Just where was his father going with this?