Sherry's heart sank as she eyed the helicopters on the landing pad. The sky was just lighting up to the east casting long shadows past her. Each step was bringing her closer to separation from Jake. This time would be very different from the normal job. Sherry hesitated. This was happening too fast. Too soon.

She tightened her grip on Jake's hand. She felt his own hand grip hers in turn. He didn't say anything out loud. He didn't need to, she knew he was feeling the same trepidation that she was. Both of them knew their lives would never be normal, but even in the midst of that, they'd found a rhythm to call their own together. That was about to be disrupted.

Ada Wong had met them at the hangar. Since she had often come to help Leon in the past he had stopped to listen to what she had to say. Leon had sent them on ahead. He hadn't been able to reach Ada but her appearance out of nowhere seemed out of place. Leon called Jake back.

Jake released Sherry's hand reluctantly. "Go, wait by the platform, I'll be right there," he said to Sherry giving the area one last scan. She nodded her face pinched. Anja was moody and gave a small cry. Sherry smiled down at her. At least the infant could express her feelings without anyone telling her not to break down. Sherry couldn't afford to break down. Not now. She adjusted the carrier and moved towards the helicopter blocking the strong winds that were sweeping up from Anja's small head.

She turned around as she neared the helicopters for a quick glance at Jake. He was shaking his head at whatever Ada had just said. His face a mask of anger.

That's when shit hit the fan.

The J'Avo swept over the platform from behind. Sherry barely had time to register her own shock before reaching for her handgun. How long she was going to last against them she didn't know but the odds were against them being here to kill her.

"Jake!" The grotesque mutated bodies swept towards her and around her, everywhere at once. Rough bleeding hands clamped down on her arm as she fired one shot off, not even knowing if it hit. She felt the gun leave her hand, hot breath on the back of her neck as arms wrapped around her and pulled her off her feet. At her chest, Anja was screaming as loud as a newborn could from being jostled.

"Sherry!" Jake immediately bolted in her direction. Behind him, Leon and Chris struggled to keep up his pace.

There were so many J'Avo there was no way to reach her. She still had Anja strapped to her chest. Even the J'Avo were taking care not to jostle her too much. She struggled against the arms that held her. They moved her towards the helicopter, as she fought to no avail.

Jake, guns drawn, had leaped into the fray. "Sherry!" He yelled firing at the J'Avo indiscriminately. Many he shot straight in the head dropped straight to the ground. Others who were not so lucky mutated on the spot as the virus tried to repair the damaged limb or organs. When he ran out of bullets he dropped the guns and started swinging.

Leon glanced around. Ada was nowhere to be seen.

Ada did this. Leon thought. For once he didn't wonder about the woman behind the mask she projected. Sherry he had rescued, Ada knew that. This was betrayal pure and simple. There was no questioning her motives. Sherry should have been off limits. Not a target. And if she was a target, Ada should have told him. He put Ada out of his mind. He would deal with her later if she showed up.

Leon had kept moving forward, Chris on his right, Claire on his left. "Shit!" He said to Chris, "he's going to get himself killed!"

Chris only grunted a reply, firing off being sure to hit the J'Avo in the eyes.

The J'Avo had overwhelmed Jake and pinned him to the ground. They couldn't pick him back up again without him fighting like a madman. Any second now and Leon knew one would attempt to knock him out. Leon pushed through.

Jake let out a yell of frustration. He could no longer hear or see Sherry. One of the helicopters lifted off and flew away. He was still pinned to the ground on his back staring up at J'Avo as they moved around him.

Suddenly the J'avo were gone, swarming away and Jake was on his feet. Leon and Claire were moving forward surrounding him. There was one helicopter missing from the pad. An extra baby blanket Sherry had been carrying to cover Anja in when they traveled was blowing towards them in the wind.

Jake dropped to his knees in front of the blanket, grabbed it up, and held it to his chest. Then he punched the ground with both hands until his knuckles bled.

For the first time since his mother had died, Jake Muller sobbed. "Sherry, damn it!" He swore, banging a fist on the ground again. The sounds of J'Avo died away and Leon and Chris pulled up just behind him.

"Shit," Chris swore watching the helicopters recede. He spoke into his earpiece. "We got a destination or direction for that chopper?"

"Negative, our radar is scrambled."

"Well fix it!" Chris barked into the microphone.

"Ada," Leon swore again. Ada never hurt innocent people as far as he could tell. Her style, while questionable, tended to find every loophole in the job for the minimum damage. While he tended to get in guns blazing, Ada was a bit more tactful.

Usually.

He couldn't understand what had happened here exactly.

He put his hand on Jake's shoulder. Seeing Jake's shoulders shake in helplessness was the most disturbing sight he'd come across in a while. He glanced over at Claire who was pursing her lips in a tight line.

There wasn't any love lost between Claire and Jake, but they both would protect Sherry at all costs. Without Sherry, he was going to have to buffer between the two.

"We'll get her back." Leon was telling himself more than anyone. Chris stood back, still not certain any overture would be welcome from him.

"You know what he'll do with them," Jake said in a loud whisper. His head hung forward as he struggled to maintain control of himself. He hated feeling helpless and that threatened to engulf him. He tried to hold onto fury instead. Anything that would keep him going.

"I have an idea," Leon said back to him keeping a firm grip on his shoulder.

Jake's shoulders stopped heaving and he slowly stood up. Leon released him and stepped back.

He turned around, the baby blanket clutched in one large hand the other balled into a fist. His jaw was clenched, and it was not despair that Leon noticed but pure rage. His eyes were red-rimmed from crying, but also cold and full of fury.

Claire actually took a step back. This was what Jake was without Sherry. Briefly, she wondered what he'd been like when Sherry had first met him. Sherry had to convince him he was needed to save the world. He'd been convinced at some point.

"We'll get them back," Leon said again to Jake. Leon meant it to, first, he would deal with Ada though.

"Yeah, you bet we will," Jake said in a low dangerous voice, looking at Leon. "I don't care what sort of fucking monsters they create. I will go through ALL of them if that's what it takes." He glanced over at Chris. "And I'll even put a fucking bullet back in that bastard's head."

Chris nodded. "I'm in."

Leon nodded. "I think we're all in," he said glancing over at Claire who only nodded.

"Good," said Jake, "Then let's go put my dear old Dad back into his fucking grave again."