Somehow, Evie hadn't imagined her last hour or so still living ending up like this. Sitting calmly between two blokes who learned the hard way to leave her some space, she leaned back against the wall and closed her eyes. It had gone all wrong so quickly. The Assassin had been in the middle of helping free the children in a labor factory when several police officers had arrived. Grateful for the help, she had dropped down and began to fight the Blighters as well.
When the gang members had been dispatched, the woman turned to the group of children closest to her. She had just freed them when she felt cuffs around one of her wrists. Suppressing her instinct to stab the person attempting to restrain her, Evie had carefully maneuvered so at least one hand was still free.
"Good day, officers. Is there a problem here?"
"Evie Frye, you are under arrest. If you resist, we will use force," answered one of the officers as he reached for her other hand.
Still deftly avoiding restraint, she quickly and quietly stole a key from the officer in front of her. "Before I comply, I would like to know why I'm under arrest."
"For assisting in the murder of Pearl Attaway."
"Excuse me?"
"Ma'am, if you continue resisting, we will use force. Come quietly."
Finally, she relinquished her other hand after slipping the stolen key where she could still reach it. The men weren't rough with her, but they weren't gentle either and she grit her teeth to keep from ripping her hands from their control. Quietly, Evie stepped into the police carriage. It felt odd to be the one inside for once, when she was used to pushing her bounties in instead.
The drive was rough and she sat up straight to avoid being jostled. It was unsettling to be in the hands of the same men she usually avoided like the plague. Once they arrived, she let herself be led to a cell. Sergeant Abberline already passed by earlier to give Evie a look but didn't say anything due to the thugs and other officers surrounding them. She had read apprehension, and a small bit of hope in his eyes but none of it had reassured her. For now, she kept her hands cuffed to use the key later for a better element of surprise.
"Evie Frye," Lucy Thorne's sharp voice grated on her ears. "It is so pleasurable to see you behind bars where you belong."
"Lucy Thorne. I should have known this was because of you."
"Yes, well. We can't have murderers wandering the streets, after all."
"Then we best to get you in here as well."
Miss Thorne scowled and Evie felt a small sense of pleasure from seeing the expression mar her face. "Such wit, Miss Frye, will not save you from your fate."
"And what fate is that?"
The imprisoned woman kept her face carefully neutral as her enemy smirked viciously. "The gallows, for you."
Jacob felt an odd pit in his stomach as he headed back to the train that he and Evie called their home in London. From years of personal experience, the man learned quite a few things and the most important was to trust his gut. So, he headed to meet up with Evie and see if anything was amiss. However, he was worried when he found the train stopped in the City of London station.
"Jacob!" Freddy's voice could barely be heard over the locomotives. "Jacob, come here!"
"Freddy! How rare of you to call on me like this."
The policeman's face held no hint of a joke and Jacob's stomach clenched. "Jacob, your sister has been taken into custody by the police."
He raised an eyebrow. While strange, it wasn't the most worrying thing he had ever heard. "Why haven't you gotten her out yet, then?"
"Unfortunately, it's not that simple or I wouldn't be here. Lucy Thorne has demanded that she be hung within the next few hours. If I try to remove her, I will be considered a criminal as well and be hung beside her."
Jacob took a step back from the man as his heart leapt to his throat. Hung? His sister? The thought simmered for half a moment before a fiery rage roared through him. She would be hung over his dead body. Looking up, the man found Freddy giving him a look of remorse.
"I would hurry if I were you. And watch yourself as well. That vile woman is out for both of you."
"She won't make it out alive against us."
"Good. I will try to see if I can't gather your cohorts."
Without another word, Jacob turned and shot off his rope launcher. He needed to get to the Newgate Prison and rescue his sister. Hurrying past St. Paul's cathedral, he soon found a crowd of people. Among them, most wore red or black as a sign of loyalty to the Blighters or the Templars. High above the crowd, the Assassin narrowed his eyes in disgust and searched for Evie using his eagle vision.
Finally, he found her being escorted by a group of policemen as they followed behind Lucy Thorne herself. Sprinting across rooftops, he watched the procession, particularly the way Evie kept her head held high, though her hood had been pulled up. The mass of people booed and hissed and Jacob concentrated on first freeing his sister and then murdering everyone in sight.
In the thick of the crowd, Evie felt calmer than she thought she would. Somehow, the idea of death wasn't all that frightening since she faced it on a daily basis. The only thing that she regretted was not being able to see Jacob once more, if only to apologize. London had struck a divide between them and she had hoped to make up with him before she died. The woman wasn't worried about Starrick's death or the liberation of the city, though, as she trusted Jacob to manage both, whether she was there or not.
Walking up the steps, Evie felt the hands of the officers forcing her into position while the noose dangled before her. Facing the crowd of Blighters and Templars, she couldn't find a single friendly face. The Rooks had taken every borough but the last bit of Westminster so she guessed that this was every member who stayed loyal. She smirked as she thought of how Jacob's Rooks swelled in number the more the twins proved their worth as leaders.
"Don't think you'll be wearing that expression for long, Miss Frye," sneered Miss Thorne. "Your brother won't be here to save you this time."
"How many of your precious Templars and Blighter pawns are left now, Miss Thorne? Do you really believe this few could stop us and the Rooks?"
The woman glared and yanked the noose over Evie's neck. "You know nothing of the Templar power."
A roar went up amongst the crowd, difficult to distinguish from before, but clearly different. A hook embedded itself into the top of the gallows, surprising the group onstage. Evie spent half a second using eagle vision to see Jacob's golden form gliding towards her and then kicked the woman in front of her. Yanking off the noose, she revealed that the cuffs hadn't been locked as Jacob dropped down and assassinated the guards.
Once Evie had a small blade slicing across Lucy Thorne's throat, Jacob let out a sigh of relief. He watched the final exchange between the two women before Evie took her proof of kill, the amulet and Thorne's cane sword. The man had never been more afraid in his life than watching the noose be forced around his twin's neck. If he hadn't known Evie wanted revenge more than he, then Jacob would have murdered the woman himself. The twins glanced at each other and grinned, relieved.
"I'm glad you made it," commented Evie, ignoring Miss Thorne's now still body.
Jacob smirked. "You should have sent an invitation."
"Get 'em!" A stray Templar leader reminded the two that they weren't alone.
"Ready?" she asked, tilting her head towards the crowd.
Jacob nodded. "Always."
As they sprang into action, the crowd descended on them. The two fought viciously, keeping close to guard the other's back especially since Evie was bare of her normal amount of weapons. Within a few short moments of fighting, they caught sight of a very welcome scene. A sea of green and yellow began to overpower the red and Jacob glanced behind him at Evie, as he stabbed another Templar.
"Aren't you glad we have the Rooks, now?"
"Is this really the time for that?"
"So you want to put off saying I was right? Or would you rather be dead?"
She swung the cane she stolen, killing a Blighter, and then deftly stabbing another with the back swing. She reached around Jacob to bash a Templar while Jacob guarded her back with the clean slicing of flesh with his kukri.
"Fine, Jacob! I am glad that the Rooks are here!"
"Hear that boys? Evie thinks I'm right!" Jacob laughed joyfully as he took out two more of the men he had just spoken to.
Within a few short minutes, the remaining Rooks and the twin Assassins stood surrounded by a plaza full of dead bodies. Although many members had sacrificed their lives, Evie noted that she saw far less green and yellow dead than the sea of red. She knew that surely plenty of Blighters and Templars had escaped the massacre but they had just knocked out most of Starrick's remaining forces.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, it has been a real pleasure fighting with you all."
Jacob had climbed back onto the stage where the gallows stood. The Rooks, even with the losses, stood in greater number than the group that had stood in the same place less than an hour ago. Evie clambered up to stand next to him and grinned as she stared at the gang that was technically also hers.
"We will remember those who gave their lives to free London from tyranny!" she called out, eager to honor those who had come to rescue her.
"And we will never again let London be ruled by those who wish to take away the freedom we've won today!" Jacob raised a fist as his members cheered and hollered. "Today, we have freed London!"
A deafening roar arose and the twins let themselves revel in the excitement. It was a day of celebration and rejoicing. A small gang of Clinkers who didn't have a prayer had risen to the mighty and powerful Rooks that it was today, all thanks to the Frye siblings who led them. Slowly, the crowd dispersed as they went off to celebrate with drinks or return to what they were doing before. Jacob and Evie took a moment to talk with each other without realizing who all headed towards them.
"You know, I had worried that London was driving us apart," Evie admitted, quietly.
Jacob gave a wry grin. "I know what you mean. It's very different from Crawley, isn't it?"
"Yes, very." She paused for a moment before continuing, "Jacob, I want to apologize for all the arguments. Father isn't right on every matter, and I'm slowly coming to realize that."
"And I'm sorry as well. I've been ignoring the work that you've put in, cleaning up all of my messes and working to continue the Creed."
"Would it be possible to continue where we left off?"
"I would love nothing more."
They grinned, eyes glimmering with happiness. Evie felt relieved that she had made peace with her brother, while Jacob was grateful that he hadn't lost the most important person in his life. The twins made a move as though the hug each other when a throat cleared behind them. Jacob looked around his sister, who turned to face the newcomer.
"Miss Frye, while I am glad to see you alive and well, I'm going to have to ask you both to vacate the premises," explained Sergeant Abberline. "The police are already on their way to clean up what they can, though from what I see, it will take a flood to clean up all the blood."
"Thank you for getting my brother, Sergeant Abberline. I would hate to die being accused of something he did," Evie said as she reached out to place a hand on the officer's shoulder.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. What is this all about?" Jacob interjected, throwing his hands up.
"Didn't you know? I was sentenced to death for assisting you in the murder of Pearl Attaway."
Jacob scoffed. "That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard. At least let me take all the credit for that murder."
Evie and Freddy shared a long look before shaking their heads in Jacob's direction. He gave a mock hurt expression and Evie laughed as the policeman shooed them away. He handed her the items that had been taken from her in the police station and she gratefully reattached her gauntlet. However, they didn't get very far before running into Henry Green.
"Miss Frye, I am very happy to see that you're alright."
The trio walked away from the gallows, headed towards the train station. "Yes, thank you for coming," responded Evie, who walked between the two men.
"Of course. I just hope it doesn't happen again."
"It won't," Jacob interjected, decidedly. "It won't happen again."
Sensing a need for a change in topic, Evie glanced over at Henry. "Would you happen to know anything else about Starrick's plans from here on out?"
"At the moment, no. However, I am sure that within the next day or so, I will receive plenty of news about his coming actions. This is not something to take lightly."
"The Frye twins never are," Jacob said. "Anyways, I'm off to grab a drink to celebrate. You should join me."
"I have got to get back to my shop, but thank you for the offer," politely declined Henry. "We will be in touch, soon, I am sure."
As the Indian man walked away from the siblings, Jacob looked over at Evie. "Well? Going to join me?"
"I think I will. At least this time I know that I'll get a good drink in before my next near death experience."
"Excellent! I'll race you to the bar."
"You're on."
And they were off, laughing and smiling for what felt like the first time in ages. For now, Starrick and the Shroud were the last things on their mind. Both lived to see another day and that was all that mattered at the moment.