The Meeting

From: faster cheaper meds

To: Lucy Stillman

Date/Time: September 6, 6:25

Subject: Problems DOWN THERE?

WondEr Why it Is everyone Laughs at you? i'll Let you guess. let's just say she's proBably gEtTing it bigger and better from someone else tHat isn't you. how can you hope to compEte? REst asSured there are sOme gOod ways. click the liNk to see!

Sitting in the park, looking at her laptop: Lucy Stillman couldn't stop looking at the e-mail.

At a first glance, the e-mail would have seemed like just another piece of spam sent by some website looking for a cheap way to get hits, or somebody wanting to infect a computer with a virus. Yet, it was the conversation that had taken place through the other e-mails prior to that message which would have betrayed its true purpose. It was a code, which was obvious: hidden behind the veil of a poorly written ad. She had expected no less of those she worked with: true professionals, every last one. Lucy had been sent in to Abstergo with the full understanding that her life was in danger, which it had come close to many times, and yet she always had faith the whole time that she had a guarding eye watching over her. They had always looked out for her once she had joined the order, and so she had no doubt that rescue would come.

She just wished it hadn't been "Thomas".

Thomas wasn't his real name, of course. Thomas McLaughlin was a cover name: a socially repressed, under-sexed, and shy kid who made his living making other people miserable with a modest armory of weak viruses and other computer problems. By his description he was a lanky, soft-eyed young man, and had only very recently hit his twentieth birthday. He was a chain smoker, hardly in any really healthy physical shape (except that he wasn't overweight), and he was a huge fan of several Japan-exclusive anime series that had been released about a year ago.

Ross Burn was nothing like that. He was a cold sort of spirit, with an unrelenting devotion to what he coldly referred to as his "job". He was 6'2, with close-cropped matte-black hair, a noticeable widow's peak in his hairline, light green eyes, a pointed jaw, a slim nose (though it had obviously been broken before over the years), and a cold kind of stare that could bore through a man's soul (or a woman's heart). Lucy had known him for years, well before the assignment on Abstergo or Desmond, and for a short time it wouldn't have been a lie to say she wouldn't have minded being Mrs. Burn. Yet he wasn't the kind of guy for that sort of thing. He rarely showed his human side, even to those who he said he trusted. The Templars had taken far too much from him for it to ever feel safe for him. So he sealed himself in to a cold shell of death and determination to get a job done - regardless of the costs. Then again, if you looked at his record (under the assumption he had an existing file) then it would be no surprise that their mutual superiors had picked him for this.

She had known from the e-mail she was now looking at. It was his signature introduction for something like this.

"Thomas" had told her where the meeting would take place, to wait at the park indicated, and that her contact would meet her there. So she had taken the day off, with Desmond being physically examined for reasons which her superiors neglected to inform her of. Of course, to avoid suspicion she had said it was so she could catch up on some of her work while getting some fresh air. Besides, she had made no secret that she loved places like parks. They were so green and vibrant, with this one in particular still blessed with the deep green of the grass after a fresh rain, and the lingering scent of ozone that was such a fresh reprieve from the stuffed and cramped Abstergo offices. It was a sort of refuge in the city: a defiant spot of nature, surrounded on all sides by the tall and imposing glass and steel giants which marked mankind's attempt to take over the world, along with all of its beauty, by sheer violent force of construction. Lucy had always loved places like this for that very reason. In retrospect, maybe that had been why Ross had told her to meet him here. Because deep under that professional exterior that she had fallen in love with so long ago, there was some glimmer of human emotion.

Or maybe it was because it was right under the collective Templar nose, in sight of the Abstergo building. He always thought like that: you can always hide from the world's greatest detective by placing the clues right in front of his face.

Still keeping to her role, despite her location, Lucy hadn't changed much from her "professional science girl" appearance. Her hair was pulled back in to a ponytail, a slight break from the utilitarian bun she normally wore, and only a few rebellious strands of hair hung in front of her face as she made a show of typing up a daily report that she really had no interest in. Instead of the Abstergo-white button-up shirts she normally wore, she was wearing a dark-blue button-up shirt, and a pair of plain-looking black slacks to go along with it. She topped off her appearance with some black heels, and a small touch of make-up to get her through the day. After all, where was a fashionable office girl without her makeup? However, it wouldn't have been a lie to say she rather liked the way she looked. After all, she loved a professional appearance and attitude. Or at least she had when she had met Ross. However, that sort of thing was in the past, so she simply worked on her laptop, and kept a watch from her peripherals to keep a lookout on anybody who might be approaching her.

The clock on her computer read 11:30 A.M. when she saw him approaching.

Over the years, Ross hadn't changed much at all. He was still as tall as she remembered, with those same eyes, and his hair was kept in a professional and close-cut manner. Of course, one rather out-of-character feature which had most likely been to go with his current disguise was the five o' clock shadow that marked his obvious neglect to shave for the past one or two days. He wore a pair of faded blue jeans, the kind that you could get for a cheap price at any clothing store of your choosing, and the plain black sneakers he wore were obviously the same kind of thing. He had a black hoodie with some exotic-looking white-outline floral pattern across it, ending halfway down each sleeve. Said sleeves were pulled halfway up his forearms, revealing the ends of the colorful sleeve tattoos he had gotten years ago during a mission in Cairo. In fact, he was still visibly toned and in shape: a must for a type of work that required one to stay in shape. At least, that was the way it was when you had to operate in the field so often. Yet, even after all of the years they hadn't seen each other: he didn't seem to have changed one bit. She imagined that to him, she looked similar as well.

Walking up casually, he sat at the opposite end of the park bench she had chosen to sit at, with a well-played lazy sigh, and then he proceeded to fish in a pocket of his hoodie. He retrieved a crumpled pack of run-of-the-mill cigarettes and a lighter like one of millions that could be bought at any of the local gas stations for ten miles. That was all typical of him, she had learned. He was a master when it came to his own operational outline. He wouldn't put forth any extra effort to conceal himself other than what their superiors ordered him to do. If he didn't need to get a piece of equipment, then he usually wouldn't. His clothes, his vehicles, and anything else he could possibly get away with were as "average" as possible. Of course, even he knew going too nondescript would set off sirens in Templar HQ, so he tried his best to blend in as an ordinary citizen, and he did remarkably well by the looks of it.

"Lucy." He began, pausing with a long drag on his cigarette, "Looking utilitarian as usual."

She didn't hate the man anymore, but sometimes -, "Ross. It's good to see you're okay." She gave a forced, polite-looking smile.

He shrugged, "As okay as one can be in this kind of work." Glancing to a young couple having a picnic a distance away, "I was told you wanted rescue. You seem relatively unbound."

"Not me." Lucy said, shaking her head, "I could leave at any time. The problem is a special 'package' that Abstergo has locked away in its offices. I need to get it out and I won't be able to do that unnoticed."

"So what do you want from me?" He asked.

"I need a distraction, Ross. It's the kind of job where a lot of people are going to die. Not all of those guards know about the Templar plot, but -" She shook her head, "- they'll still try to stop me if I make a run for it."

Ross stayed silent for a moment, burying his hands in the pockets of his hoodie as he looked to the Abstergo building in the distance. With the rising sun, the light seemed to wash out the surrounding structures, and gave the glass a brilliant-looking gleam. It was something to be marveled at in terms of seemingly simple human achievements, but who it was that made up the staff prevented either person from really enjoying the sight. Neither one spoke as Ross grabbed the cigarette lightly between two fingers. Neither one of them liked the idea of killing innocents, yet they both knew it had to be done. It was no longer the days of old, when not killing innocents was always possible. Times had changed since then. With increased populations, combined with an increased level of subterfuge amongst those in this sort of "invisible war", made it hard, and sometimes nigh impossible to avoid the deaths of civilians. While that helped make an assassin's mission be presented with far more clarity, it didn't mean that assassins enjoyed their grim work. Not even somebody as set on completing the mission as Ross.

"So how do you want it?" He finally asked.

Lucy bit her lower lip, "I need it loud, Ross. People are going to have to die. You need to get as much attention in that place as you possibly can, and keep them off me while I get out. I have all the details of where I plan to go: so you'll know where to keep them off of. There's also somebody important in there I think might be of note to you."

"Who's that?" Ross asked, looking to her laptop.

She brought up a single I.D. photo, "Doctor Warren Vidic. He's the head of the project I was assigned to infiltrate and I've worked with him personally for a while now. He's influential, well-funded, well-equipped, and dangerous. He's not a priority for this mission, but if you get the chance to kill him: don't hesitate." She closed the picture, "He's deserves to die."

Ross nodded, "Understood."

"I'll send you an e-mail with all of the details in it." Lucy said, putting her laptop away, and moving to stand.

"Lucy." Ross suddenly spoke up, causing her to stop mid-rise, and then there was a moment of hesitation, "It's good to see you've stayed safe after all of these years. Keep up the habit."

She gave a small nod and moved to leave the park.

Ross lingered, finishing two cigarettes by the time he left.

WE WILL

BE THERE

SOON

Author's Notes: This is going to be a three-chapter, AU story with a strong implication of Lucy/OC. I just had this idea one day when playing through the first Assassins Creed game and it's taken me quite a while to get this written down how I wanted it. I don't really plan for it to be longer than three chapters, however: if the reviews are good then I may expand it further in to the overall story. As a side-note for those of you who are confused: the e-mail and translation will come in to play in the final chapter.

Also, for a time reference: this takes place the day before Desmond escapes Abstergo with Lucy.

Disclaimers: I do not own anything within the Assassins Creed universe. The only character of my own creation is Ross Burn and the three other members of his team. This universe, the story-line, and all other characters or corporations are not mine in any way. Nor do I intend to make any sort of financial gain by using them.