So I was watching Die Another Day on the way back from skiing, and I thought, Hmm, what if that happened to Desmond? So there's this. The title doesn't make much sense, I just really loved the scene with Sixteen and Desmond in Revelations :3
Also, Beautiful is being gay (pun intended) and not giving me any inspiration. I'm sorry D:
"What's going on...?" Desmond asked foggily as the ceiling of the Sanctuary came into focus. He looked to his left; Shaun was practically throwing papers and files into boxes, and Lucy typed frantically at her computer screen, apparently too restless to sit down, a determined yet panicked look on her face.
To his right, Rebecca began unplugging everything she could reach as soon as she made sure he was disconnected. "Lucy thinks the Templars have a lead on our location."
"Well, that worked out so well last time," Desmond muttered to no one as he blinked a few times, trying to clear his head, then stood somewhat unsteadily, using the head of the Animus chair for support. Being pulled out abruptly was always worse than choosing to come out.
"Desmond, be a chap and help!" Shaun called tightly across the room; he'd finished stuffing papers into their box and had moved on to his computer.
Despite their situation, Desmond still grumbled as he crossed the space between the Animus and Shaun's desk. He hadn't been getting much sleep lately, and as a result he was irritated simply by the fact that Shaun had spoken to him as if he was a child or something.
"Reporting for duty," he muttered under his breath as he arrived at Shaun's desk. The historian looked up for half a second, clearly not too impressed, then gestured to his monitor. "Help me with this, will you?"
Oh, you need help with your computer? Desmond asked him mentally as the monitor was unplugged. Is it too heavy for you? You need the strong-yet-brainless Assassin to help?
"Stop scowling or I will wipe it off your face," Shaun said firmly as he straightened up. "All right, bring it here."
Seething, Desmond lifted the monitor - it actually was pretty heavy - and lowered in into the box Shaun was holding.
"Wait," he pondered as he let go. "You can't carry the computer, yet you can lift it when it's in that box?"
Shaun raised his eyebrows. "I can carry it fine," he stated. "I just needed someone to put it in the box while I held it up. We could've switched roles, but I didn't want to be getting all sweaty, did I?" Then he casually began untacking pins and red string from his poster board.
"Shaun, this really isn't the time, don't you think?" Rebecca called while she loaded equipment onto dollies—which Desmond suspected he'd have to push.
"Well why don't you—?" Shaun began to fire back a retort, but Desmond held up his hand, listening intently.
"What the hell—?" Shaun tried again, but Desmond cut him off.
"Shh!" He titled his head, taking a small step toward the entrance. There were small noises floating down the passageway.
"You do realize that we'd be trapped like carrots if anyone were to come down here," Desmond whispered, remaining calm. Then, suddenly, he strode over to the statue of Altaïr and began shoving it to the side.
"Now what are you doing?" Shaun demanded.
"I don't know about you, but I want a way out of here," Desmond grunted between pushes, until the statue was moved far enough for a person to fit through. "See? Now I just saved us about thirty seconds if we need to get out in a hurry."
"'Get out in a hurry'," Shaun repeated, scoffing. "Why don't we just use the front door if we need to 'get out in a hurry'? Sure smells less up there."
"Who knows Shaun, you might thank me for this one day." Desmond shrugged, because he didn't really care any more.
Shaun scoffed again, then muttered something under his breath that sounded like "wanker" before continuing to pack.
Deciding he'd had enough of being made fun of, Desmond made his way around boxes to where Lucy stood bent over her computer, her chair sitting empty next to her leg.
"How are we doing?" Desmond asked quietly when she didn't react to his presence.
Without looking up, Lucy responded quickly, "Not too good. I'm pretty sure the Templars know we're here."
"Well, it took us a good day to drive here," Desmond assured her. "How fast could they possibly go?"
She just shook her head. "I'm not sure."
There were noises come from the entrance again, something like scuffling, and a small but there humming noise.
"I'll be right back," he said to no one in particular, moving cautiously to the bottom of the ramp.
"Desmond!" Lucy's sharp cry cut across the room; the bartender turned to find her standing up up straight with a not-too-pleased expression on her face. "Where the hell do you think you're going?"
"Uh... I heard a noise," Desmond explained lamely. "I was going to go check it out."
Lucy stole a quick glance at Rebecca and Shaun; they were both staring at the conflict. Hurriedly, the blonde strode over to Desmond and turned him toward the entrance.
"All right, look," she whispered briskly. "I didn't want to tell the others this, but there's nowhere else for us to go in Italy. And since the Templars are watching the border..." She trailed off, not wanting to say the words aloud.
But Desmond knew the rest. We're pretty much screwed. However, he slapped a smile on his face and was about to say something reassuring when movement over Lucy's shoulder caught his eye. He didn't know what it was, but as the smile faded from his face, he felt a chill pass up his spine.
Suddenly, an overwhelming need to move coursed through his body. Without words, Desmond pulled Lucy to the ground, scraping his hands and probably hers in the process, as the first bullet whizzed over their heads.
And then they were everywhere. Abstergo employees, with actual guns this time, not those wimpy sticks, began to swarm down the tunnel. As quickly as they'd gone down, Desmond and Lucy were back up again. Desmond started to back away, but his lower back hit the short wall beside the stairs. He turned around, panicked brain confused, to see Shaun hesitating at the statue. Desmond could tell he really wanted to get out of there.
"Go, Shaun!" the bartender hollered. Shaun shot him a look full of thanks and apologies, then slipped through the narrow passageway.
Desmond's eyes flicked to Lucy, who, for some unfathomable reason, was on her computer. She yanked a flash drive out of it, then called, "Becca, catch!"
Rebecca, who had been hurriedly fiddling with the Animus, looked up just as Lucy released the flash drive. The brunette snatched it out of the air, then pulled another flash drive from the Animus' computer. She tucked both into a pocket, then hurried toward the tunnel entrance, hesitating outside the statue.
Then they were on him. Four guards grabbed him, two on each arm. Desmond twisted around, his blade coming out of its sheath. He managed to get the metal into a guard's thigh, who cried out and fell away, but another replaced him.
Panting, Desmond raised his head to see Lucy was in a similar situation, but the guards at least hadn't grabbed her; they were just aiming their guns directly between her eyes. She had her arms in the air, and her eyes were wide, staring down the barrel of each pistol.
Desmond growled and heaved his body over the short wall, landing on his back on the table pushed next to the stairs. The guards fell away from him, and he quickly scrambled to his feet, blade shooting out of its sheath.
It didn't last long, however. Though Desmond had a height advantage over the guards, the Abstergo employees had weapons nine hundred years more advanced than his. They pointed their guns at his head, barking orders.
"Hands in the air!"
"Put that blade away!"
Desmond spun around, feeling like a trapped animal, finding whichever way he turned he'd be staring down the barrel of a gun. Just one of those guards needed an itchy trigger finger, and it'd all be over.
Slowly, defeated, Desmond's hands rose, his blade sliding back, retreating into its sheath. A guard jumped on the table and grabbed his left arm, fiddling with the buckles, while another grabbed his right in case he decided to try anything. Soon enough, his blade was confiscated, his hands behind his back, cuffs slapped on his wrists. He looked to his left to find Lucy in a similar situation. Rebecca was nowhere to be seen; she'd escaped.
Apparently, they weren't worth Vidic's time, because he never showed up. Instead, the two Assassins were tossed into the back of a truck, a guard with a much larger gun sitting on the only bench.
Desmond closed his eyes and felt every bump from where he sat against the wall closest to the driver. His hands were still bound, and he felt the maddening need to stretch, which clearly wasn't happening.
Lucy sat against the wall opposite him, cross-legged, staring at her legs, deliberately avoiding making eye contact. Neither of them had said a word since being captured, and now clearly wasn't the time; it looked like the employee guarding them was just itching to shoot one of them.
Derp. I'll be posting two more chapters.
Simpsons reference FTW.