Abduction of the President's Daughter Incident

Prime universe
(Capcom's primary storyline)

Abduction of the President's Daughter
Details
Location:	Valdelobos Village Salazar Castle The Island
Date:	Autumn 2004
Deaths:	Hundreds
Combatants
Perpetrators:	Osmund Saddler Jack Krauser Ramón Salazar Bitores Méndez
Defenders:	Leon Scott Kennedy
Weapons used
Plaga-parasitised humans and B.O.W.s
Motive and Outcome
Motive:	Manchurian candidate operation using mind-altering parasites to influence US politics
Result (Outcome):	Collapse of cult authority, loss of R&D facility, theft of Plaga samples
Chronology
← Previous	Terragrigia Panic (Mid-2004)
Next →	St. Cloud incident (2005)

The Abduction of the President's Daughter Incident was an international incident in which the American First Daughter Ashley Graham was abducted from Massachusetts and trafficked to Spain on the behalf of Los Iluminados, a pagan movement which worshipped Las Plagas. American and Spanish authorities collaborated and were successful in rescuing Graham in a mission which exposed Los Iluminados' ties to illegal bioweapons development. Though the cult's leadership and R&D capabilities were decapitated, the animals they worshipped found their way onto the black market as bioweaponry. As of 2012, the cult's former mountain hideout in Valdelobos and the surrounding mountain range lie within an exclusion zone imposed by the Spanish government.

Background

The crusade against Los Iluminados was extreme.

Los Iluminados is a primal religion whose origins lie within the Neolithic woodlands deep in one of Spain's mountain ranges. Due to the relative isolation of Plaga worshipping communities, missionary efforts by successive Christian and Muslim states failed to make inroads until the end of Reconquista, when the Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella centralised authority within a small group of loyal nobles and established the Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition. By the dawn of Early Modernity, the Salazar family's crusade had succeeded in pacifying the region under Catholicism, with practitioners forcibly converted or otherwise tortured and executed and the Plagas hidden in ancient caverns beneath Salazar Castle. This violent grasp over the region finally gave way with the dawn of the Millenium five hundred years later, when the orphaned and infantile Ramón Salazar surrendered control to Prophet Osmund Saddler, who sought faithfully or otherwise with reintroducing Los Iluminados' teachings to the region through modern advancements in genetic engineering which could both repopulate the region with a Plaga species, and make them susceptible to a rare subspecies. Over the next several years, Los Iluminados had successfully replaced Catholicism as the dominant religion in the region, something recognised by Spanish authorities though not actively pursued.

By 2004, domestic matters had been settled, with the Plaga-controlled local population under Fr. Bitores Méndez compelled to follow a perverse inversion of Salazar's crusade, engaging in the ritualistic murder and desecration of those deemed heretics and Crypto-Christians. This ultimately benefited Saddler's long-term plans by defending the region from investigators, who Ganados were ordered to kill on sight unless told otherwise. What Saddler did not foresee however was that Dr. Luis Sera, one of the senior researchers on the project, had made contact with a third party and was negotiating the sale of information in exchange for his rescue. Soon after, Saddler was approached by Jack Krauser, a mercenary linked to Dr. Albert Wesker, who offered his expertise in exchange for a dominant Plaga egg. Saddler took him up on the offer and appointed him as one of his lieutenants alongside Salazar and Méndez, and he trained his Ganado slaves as a paramilitary force. A spy agency was also established with operatives based in Madrid.

Events

Abduction

In the Autumn of 2004, Ashley Graham was abducted by Krauser on her way home from a college of the University of Massachusetts where she was being educated and smuggled her out of the country to Spain. The exact means are uncertain, though the working theory at the time was that a mole within the Secret Service was providing information to Krauser. All special agents in Graham's Secret Service detail were subject to an immediate investigation along with any other federal agent with access to information relating to her protection. To prevent any hypothetical moles from leaking further information, the abduction was declared a state secret and agents not privy to information until after they had passed the background checks. Los Iluminados' plans for Graham were to implant a Plaga within her along with several eggs. She was then to be released and returned to the United States, and from there begin implanting eggs into influential congressmen, judges, military chiefs and CEOs, who would become agents of Saddler.

Not long following the abduction, American spies in Europe reported a sighting of Graham in Spain being taken to Los Iluminados' hideout in the mountains. Though little was known of Los Iluminados itself, American and Spanish authorities believed it to be connected to a shadowy group operating in the region, meaning there was a strong possibility Graham was being held captive by a terrorist organisation who had, as yet, not declared their intent. With the consent of the Spanish government, plans were drawn for the region to be subject to be searched, though it is uncertain to what extent they were aware of the abduction. Due to the existing investigations into federal agents, however, a rapid incursion into the region was not feasible, and President Graham consented instead to a much smaller operation consisting of agent Leon S. Kennedy and an extraction helicopter, overseen by Spain's Cuerpo Nacional de Policía (National Police Corps) who could act as interpreters.

Morning

One of the CNP officers was ritualistically impaled and burnt in mockery of the historic persecutions.

Los Iluminados' plans were extremely delicate, requiring Graham to be in custody long enough to become a Ganado. As such, a series of black swan events risked ruining their plans. The first such event was Sera, who had negotiated his rescue in exchange for a stolen Dominant Plaga sample. The theft quickly exposed Sera as a traitor, and he was forced to hide the sample when capture became inevitable. This act ensured his survival for the time being, as the sample was deemed too important to risk falling into enemy hands. Until it could be located, he was bound and gagged and left in a dilapidated hamlet north of the village centre.

The second black swan was Kennedy himself. Though Graham was always to be returned to the United States, the leadership underestimated the extent at which the US and Spanish governments were aware of their operations. While their spies in Madrid were able to send advanced warning of the arrival of an American agent, Chief Mendez lacked sufficient countermeasures. Kennedy soon arrived on the outskirts of the village with two CNP interpreters, and although a party was able to abduct the interpreters and kill them, he was able to escape after an attempt at his life by a homeowner with an axe. The two officers' bodies were thereafter collected; one was thrown into a bonfire in the village centre while the other was prepared as a sacrificial offering.

The third black swan was Wong, Sera's contact, who arrived to find the village in chaos. Using the vast knowledge of Plaga biology Sera had provided, Wong lured the villagers to the local church by ringing its bell, and in doing so saved Kennedy from the mob. Unable to locate Sera, she infiltrated Méndez's residence and remained there while he could be located on satellite feed. By sheer coincidence, Kennedy's own investigation directed him to the hamlet, where he was cornered by Méndez. Wong arrived at the hamlet as Kennedy and Sera were taken away to another location.

The fourth black swan was a merchant who had taken up shop in the area. Through unexplained means, he was immune to the mind-altering nature of Plaga infection. This individual's true identity has never been confirmed, though it is known he is an associate of The Duke.

Afternoon

Kennedy and Sera captured by Méndez

Los Iluminados was, for a time, successful in foiling their plans. While Wong was at large, she could neither retrieve Sera or the sample. Seeing promise in Kennedy, Saddler prohibited his execution in favour of him becoming a Ganado agent, perhaps as a cover for her rescue. Anticipating a rescue attempt by Wong, Saddler arranged for the two men to be held at a fortified position until the process could be completed. Although Saddler was ultimately proven correct, incompetence on the part of Méndez's militia undid their victory; having survived his injuries, the first Ganado who had fought Kennedy outside the village made his way into the fort with the intention of hacking him to death with an axe. During the murder attempt, Kennedy and Sera were able to untie themselves, defeat their attacker and escape.

Del Lago stalking Kennedy

Within moments, Los Iluminados' control of the situation had quickly reversed. Against their expectations, Sera and Kennedy agreed to cooperate in their respective goals, and Kennedy was informed of Graham's location within the church. Furthermore, having anticipated usefulness in his own plans, the merchant made contact with Kennedy, offering him aid in exchange for historical artefacts. Kennedy forced his way back towards the village, wiping out the militia sent to guard him. Though Méndez soon intercepted Kennedy, he chose not to execute him owing to the Plaga within his body, but still took pleasure in beating him. It was this act which finally drew the action of Wong, and ended in her capture and sentencing for sacrificial ritual while Kennedy earned a temporary reprieve. Having recognised the likelihood of Kennedy successfully rescuing Graham, Méndez made steps to prevent this, first by releasing a mutant salamander, del Lago. Though he was successful in defeating the creature, he passed out after a bout of pain from his parasitic infection.

Evening

Over the course of the evening, Los Iluminados' leadership made a series of contingency plans to prevent Graham's rescue. Anticipating a rescue by helicopter, the cult's activities focused on the area to the north of the village. A blockade was formed which was to put Kennedy and Graham to a halt while more Ganados were to follow and corner them, with two Gigantes deployed as back-ups. Krauser meanwhile monitored radio traffic for signs of helicopter activity, with his elite paramilitary having orders to down any on sight. In an attempt to prevent Sera's own escape, Wong was taken to a cave and prepared for ritual sacrifice, but escaped her captors.

Kennedy confronting Méndez

Some six hours after his defeat of del Lago, Kennedy woke up in a shack and continued with his mission, defeating the first Ganado and rescuing Graham from her church prison. Once the military was alerted to the rescue, the helicopter was directed towards the village and immediately shot down, while Saddler allowed the two to continue escaping the church. As planned, the two Americans moved northwards where they were forced to take shelter in a house with Sera. While Kennedy and Graham continued fighting through the blockade, Sera had finally made contact with Wong and went out in search of the Plaga sample to ensure his rescue. With their contingencies unravelled, Méndez and his Ganados soon feared a violent reprisal from Salazar's forces should Kennedy and Graham make their way into Salazar Castle. The doorway to the castle bridge was sealed by Méndez, who ventured to the abattoir intent on ambushing Kennedy. During their fight, the abattoir caught fire and Méndez, wounded from battle, mutated into a spider-like creature. He was however unsuccessful, and his body was incinerated in the fire. With nowhere else to run, Kennedy and Graham made their way eastward and into the castle for shelter.

Salazar Castle

Sera meeting with Wong

As night fell, the castle became bustling with activity as the various factions continued vying for power. While Kennedy and Graham themselves sought shelter, Sera chose against evacuating with Wong to provide the two with anticonvulsants, and likely warned her of the situation. Anticipating further use, the merchant set-up shop in the castle to continue his own plans. Unlike Méndez, Salazar had more thorough defence plans for the castle. The more sadistic of the two, he had already prepared booby traps in the event of an incursion, testing them on his enslaved monks with often fatal results. To prevent any further outside activity, both Krauser and Salazar began broadcasting on military frequencies, preventing any more meaningful communication between Kennedy and the US military.

Salazar introducing himself to Kennedy and Graham.

Shortly after their arrival, Kennedy and Graham were confronted by Salazar, who offered Kennedy an ultimatum: surrender Graham and become his hostage, or be killed and her taken by force. Although his Verdugo bodyguards were more than capable of doing the job, Salazar chose instead to let them go, enjoying the idea of either falling victim to his booby traps. This was eventually successful when Graham became trapped behind a revolving door at the monks' shrine. Kennedy's search for Graham led him through a series of traps, from the dungeons in Novistador territory, to an arranged ambush by monks armed with machine guns and rocket launchers, and finally to a garden maze populated by Salazar's pack of Colmillos.

Sera's death

Following the exploration of the maze, Kennedy and Wong's paths intersected, leading to a brief stand-off. Already familiar with one another after the 1998 Raccoon City Destruction Incident, the two agents chose not to kill one another, but resolved to complete their missions with minimal interference. This choice ultimately saved Kennedy's life, as Wong and Krauser's handler, Wesker, ordered his killing should he do so. The various factions soon after converged on a concourse, where Graham was behind held prisoner. This was also where Sera and Wong had arranged for the sample delivery. Saddler meanwhile had determined Sera was in possession of the sample and, consequently, his survival as a prisoner was no longer of interests. Immediately upon entering the room, Saddler impaled Sera with his parasite's enlarged tail and recovered the sample from his hands. Wong, who had seen the attack, was unable to both prevent Sera's death or capture the sample due to Kennedy's presence in the room, whose assassination order was revoked shortly after. Graham meanwhile was forced to fend for herself against a group of Armadura in order to reach Kennedy, and the two agents went their separate ways.

Kennedy arrives to rescue Graham.

Having lost his grip on Graham, Salazar became increasingly obsessed with having Kennedy killed, and began exposing his more sadistic tendencies, openly disregarding Graham's own safety to achieve this objective. As the two Americans ventured further north through the castle, Salazar stayed behind without his bodyguards to lure the two into a room with a booby-trapped ceiling, which led to a corridor set to be destroyed by a custom-built death machine. Following this, the two were attacked by Armadura after triggering a door locking trap in an armoury. In all three instances Graham's life was directly put in jeopardy. Salazar's erratic actions came to a close when the two entered the ballroom where Novistadores had built a nest; it was here that Graham was captured and delivered to Salazar's throne room, where she would serve as bait. Having caught up with Graham, Kennedy fell down a trapdoor Salazar often used to dispose of slaves but survived the fall.

Salazar submitting himself to the Queen Plaga

As Kennedy climbed down the shaft to an old aqueduct, the situation for Los Iluminados began deteriorating once more. Furious at Salazar for his repeated failures, Krauser received orders to personally retrieve Graham and bring her to the island where she could be under more competent protection. At the same time, Salazar sent out one of his Verdugo on an ultimately failed mission to kill Kennedy, while Graham was prepared for a ritual at the Queen Plaga's tower to welcome her as an official disciple of Los Iluminados, whereupon she was to be implanted with the eggs needed for quickly parasitising their American VIP targets once returned. Following his fight with one of the Verdugo, Kennedy was forced to navigate the caverns beneath Salazar Castle, where enslaved miners from the village were at work recovering desiccated Plaga carcasses for research, where they had been sealed in the ruins of an ancient civilisation. Following this, Kennedy closed in on the ritual tower, ascending an elevator to a church connected to it by a bridge. As yet another booby trap devised by Salazar, the church harboured a mechanical statue of himself, which pursued Kennedy across the bridge before collapsing it. When Kennedy reached the ritual tower, he was greeted by Salazar and his remaining Verdugo guard, who sent down many of his remaining monks to prevent interference in the ritual. The ritual, was a success, and Graham was handed over to Krauser for evacuation, while Salazar remained behind intent on sacrificing himself to the Queen Plaga. The subsequent battle resulted not only in the death of Salazar himself, but that of the Queen Plaga and Los Iluminados' only means of mass-producing Plagas naturally.

Island

Saddler takes away a mind-controlled Graham

With the demise of Salazar, all attention from the various factions was moved to Saddler's island fortress. Seeking help in his divisionary abilities, Wong waited for Kennedy at the castle's boathouse so they could cross the lake together, while the Merchant crossed the lake by his own means. Anticipating Kennedy's arrival, the militia was entrusted with guarding her at their jail on the west side of the island. Kennedy and Wong arrived in the early hours and went their separate ways on arrival, with Kennedy searching the west coast for the entrance to Los Iluminados' complex. Kennedy himself was able to breach the western entrance to the facility which housed their laboratories, and was set-upon by Regeneradores; nonetheless, he was successful in liberating Graham from her cell and, with advice from Wong, jumped down a garbage chute to the facility underground. While navigating the underground, the two commandeered a bulldozer and pushed onward through the fortress' honeycombed tunnels and back to the surface. Because of the cumbersome nature of the bulldozer, however, their escape route was easy to determine, and Saddler made sure they were driven off the road on the island's east coast and into the antechamber. Soon after emerging from the crashed vehicle, Saddler was able to take control of Graham's body through the parasite, and she surrendered herself as a prisoner to be taken to the north-east.

Krauser meeting with Wong

Elsewhere on the island, Wong met up with Krauser, where they awaited updates from Wesker. As the dominant Plaga was still in Saddler's possession rather than in the lab, Krauser recognised his own situation was at risk and the mission could no longer be delayed. Having determined Saddler's militia was no longer capable of functioning, Kennedy's purpose was rendered moot and Wesker ordered his execution to prevent unforeseen complications with the sample retrieval. The two began a chase to reach Kennedy's position, with Wong taking the tunnels. While navigating, she found herself in the militia's naval dockyard, which was dug through the cliffs to hide their battleship, which was rendered inoperable. With the delay from the detour, Wong arrived late to stop the attack from happening, and found Krauser and Kennedy engaged in a knife fight. Recognising Wong's hostile intentions, Krauser abandoned the fight and escaped north to the ruins of one of Salazar's mediaeval forts, where he rigged the ruins to explode if Kennedy were to try and get past. During their duel on the top of a castle, Krauser began mutating and his left arm became mangled; in spite of the performance boost he experienced, Krauser was knocked out, and Kennedy was able to escape before the explosives were set-off. Krauser himself survived the explosion, and met-up with a team of fighters intent on getting revenge. He soon after confronted Wong with his squad, but it was only then that he was truly defeated. Having already been prematurely declared KIA by Wong, her new orders from Wesker were to allow Kennedy to kill Saddler if the opportunity occurred, and kill him after.

As the sun began to rise, the US military made a second attempt to rescue Kennedy and Graham, who they assumed was still with him. In spite of the radio jamming which prevented communication between HQ and Kennedy, they were successful in plotting his position, possibly through the use of satellite data. A modified Bell UH-1 flew over the island's east coast and destroyed much of the militia's remaining defences. This act however made the helicopter an easily identifiable target, and Saddler personally sent out a team to shoot it down, killing the pilot instantly. Sensing their chance for success in the next few hours, Wong and Kennedy agreed to work together in defeating Saddler and removing the parasites from Kennedy's body, having been warned he would become Saddler's elite bodyguard otherwise.

Saddler's body, warped by his Dominant Plaga.

With Los Iluminados' capabilities of waging any kind of resistance against the expected American reinforcements now moot, Saddler held guard over Graham at the encapsulation laboratory on the island's northern shore, where he planned to ambush Kennedy. The ambush was thwarted by Wong, who held off Saddler and was ultimately captured, while Kennedy brought Graham away to an old operating theater where equipment for killing the parasites remained in operation. Rather than track down Kennedy to get Graham back, Saddler brought together what remained of his militia and rallied them at a construction site. Wong was tied-up and hung from a crane as a further incentive to lure out Kennedy. Saddler's initial plan was to incapacitate or control Kennedy and allow for Graham's recapture, but this fell apart due to the surgery and Kennedy was able to free Wong. Cornered, Saddler finally relented and willed himself to mututate, with his Plaga soon growing far beyond the confines of his body. While he and Kennedy sparred, Wong engaged the remaining fighters and recovered a rocket launcher which Kennedy used to kill Saddler.

Kennedy and Graham escapes the island

Saddler's demise concluded the alliance between Kennedy and Wong, who's employers quickly arrived to recover the Dominant Plaga sample Saddler was carrying. As her orders to kill Kennedy stood, Wong chose to save him indirectly. During her time on the island, bombs had been carefully placed around the island's facilities to destroy Los Iluminados' research data, and their detonation made it certain Kennedy and Graham would perish. Having ordered a jetski be brought to the island as an alternate means of escape, Wong threw Kennedy the key to ensure his accidental survival. As the buildings on the island detonated, Kennedy and Graham were narrowly able to escape, and drove back to shore to arrange for rescue.

Consequences

In the immediate aftermath of the incident, the BSAA and the Spanish government was made aware of Los Iluminados' use of bioweaponry, and an exclusion zone was declared across the region and any surviving Ganados were killed. In the years following, a number of Catholic refugees who had fled Los Iluminados' rise to power illegally entered the exclusion zone to reclaim Valdelobos, and were parasitised by feral Plagas which had successfully reproduced in the local wildlife. These villagers were killed in 2012 during a raid by an illegal paramilitary group. Los Iluminados however, continued to survive in secret, supported by its spies who were not in the region at the time of the abduction. Around 2013 its new leaders sold Plaga samples to bioweapons developer Glenn Arias.

Wong was successful in recovering a number of Plaga samples for Organisation. Suspicions Wong was part of Wesker's plot to syphon their research data, the Organisation's leadership demanded she hand over the Dominant Plaga to them, with Wesker to receive a Recessive Plaga which would give them an edge over Wesker's new business partners at Tricell. This advantage did not last, as Tricell themselves sent a party to recover anything of value. During this search, Krauser's body was recovered, allowing them to take a blood sample from his Dominant Plaga which could be cloned. The fruit of Tricell's labour was genetically engineered Type 2 and Type 3 Plagas, which by 2009 were being produced as a weapon for terrorists.

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