And she smiles over the lip of her glass, quietly musing over the taste of the bourbon they shared.
"Sharp as ever. It's cute how quickly you catch on now."
Was she being sincere? Or still playing around? Ada couldn't honestly say. Feelings that had no business in the world of espionage, and frankly interfered with her work, she had rationalized as being attributed to the persona of 'Ada Wong.'
And yet, she never dropped the alias.
The conflict wasn't something she could talk about with anyone. And of all the people in the world that could truly understand? Was the woman manufactured in her image.
She understood Ahab. She really did.
That's why she agreed to help.
Ada lowers her glass on the table with a soft clunk, the weighted glass leaving a ring of condensation.
"I thought I'd just give you the courtesy of a heads up. Things are about to get hectic for you, Agent Kennedy. You may want to put in for leave now, so you don't have to go rogue later."
She props her elbow on the table to rest her chin on her palm, "Or maybe you like the thrill of disobedience. Go off and do your own things, follow your instincts, and somehow manage to do the right thing."
She laughs quietly and shakes her head, "I don't know how you always manage to do the right thing, but I do know that's how you always manage to get away with it in the end."
"I..." The beginning of a sentence runs off his tongue, unfinished. She had no difficulty flustering him, that was for sure.
It's infuriating, the way Leon was a measly minnow, snatching onto Ada's romantic soliloquies like cheap bait. He'd never learned, not after all these years, and would continue to do just that.
Was it predictable? Maybe.
Did he secretly enjoy this dance of cat and mouse? It wouldn't be a secret anymore if he admitted to it.
They're getting older, and Leon had long since begun to make peace with the premise that she'd never settle down with him, as delectable as it seemed.
Just like the bait.
It was a selfish idea, anyway.
"I got a lotta' names that answer to me, nowadays. It's not so much the other way around, anymore." He sips his drink propping his chin on his hand as though to mimic his companion's own movements, "Last time I took leave, I was chased out of it. I'll think about it." A puppy-like sparkle shimmers across his eyes, the same kind he maintained while being at her side in Raccoon City.
"I appreciate the courtesy call, but you said it yourself. I'll be alright." The agent leans up from his spot, looking at Ada with slight promise. "I take it I'll be seeing you soon, then?"
