Warren Vidic had expected the email to come sooner than it did.
From: Alan Rikkin.
To: Warren Vidic.
Sept 10, 2012,
9:45 PM.
Subject: Recent events.
Warren:
With some deliberate manipulation, it does not take much for a researcher and our subject to breach the security of Abstergo Industries. The minimum and incompetent security force that attempted to detain them has been suitably incapacitated. It would take a fool to believe that the amateurish escape was in effort a valiant one. I hope you know what you are doing, Vidic. It is unwise to lay all your eggs in one basket.
Alan.
Vidic smiled and typed out a reply.
i know what i am doing. she will take care of this.
Message sent: 9:50 PM.
Vidic knitted his hands behind his head and leaned back into his swivel chair. There was one innate difference between them and the assassins. The Templars knew better. Always. Very soon, the Assassin Order would not stand a chance…
Spain 1491.
The cobbled roads looked beautiful at night. The lamps on street corners flickered, illuminating the Gothic structures around. Those and the gathered silhouettes in an open ground stood tall as mute witnesses. Completely still. All was quiet, but for the rustling of wind. It was muted too, afraid to disturb the quiescence which was torn asunder by a shriek.
The terrified man was suspended from a tree branch by his arms which tied behind his back. It was a form of Inquisition torture – the garrucha. His gleeful tormentor, of burly build and rotten teeth tugged at the rope to let his prey bounce wildly in the air. The man's shoulder joints burned fiercely, just another violent jerk away from dislocation. The crowd watched, some in shock, others in resignation, not moving to rescue an innocent man from a gruesome plight.
None, save for a spinning knife.
The rope was sliced apart and the man fell to the ground with a thud. Before the executioner could turn, Ezio Auditore was upon him, and the hidden blade through his heart. The assassin laid him to rest, avoiding the spurting and pooling of blood as he approached the civilian.
"Go, my good man," he whispered to him, "tell them of Ezio Auditore's arrival."
The blade cut through his ropes and the man escaped past the guards who came charging for Ezio. The silent streets were alit with a blazing inferno of torches, soldiers and fiery arrows. Ezio dodged the clanging swords and armors, scaling the nearest turret that his nimble fingers could latch on to. A trail of arrows missed him by inches in his ascent, either embedding themselves into the stone or falling off.
He heaved himself up the turret and in the line of vision of two archers. They alerted the other soldiers. Ezio acknowledged the futility of escape and drew out his sword. He was always dressed for occasion. Ezio deflected one strike, broke through another. Bodies were slashed, necks slit open. It was a garbled, mindless carnage, with the scales no longer tipping in his favor.
The guards countered the assassin in skill and number. His armor had sustained enough blows. But with a final flash of strength, he swung his arm, taking on three soldiers with his hidden blade while deflecting the rest with his sword. It was a desperate move, one that would have proved fatal had the guards behind him successfully plunged their swords in.
They were thwarted by a few well-aimed throwing knives. Ezio felled the last of the guards as he turned to see his beckoning savior.
"It would do you good to watch your back on occasion, assassino," said the cloaked figure.
Ezio flung a knife towards the figure, which whistled past its hood into an oncoming guard.
"So would you yours, ragazzo (little boy)."
The frail shadow grunted and broke into an impressive free-run. Ezio, quite easily kept up. The savior was armed with a small sword with which it swung away at the zipping arrows. "Here!" said the silhouette and ran to the edge of the citadel wall. The arrows rained on them from the adjoining rooftops as they raced along.
A few of them knocked the shadow out of its running path. The person tripped and fell sideways, holding on to the edge for dear life. More daggers were flung by Ezio, till the barrage of arrows was momentarily discontinued.
In the clean for now, he stooped with an outstretched hand to help his ally. He gasped. The hood had fallen backwards, revealing a fair countenance, with raven-like hair and razor-sharp eyes. He held the woman's hand to pull her up, but she resisted.
"We jump from here," she said and fixed her feet firmly into the cool, grey wall. Then, with a slight tug, she let go of his hand and fell backwards. It was a leap of faith and how! Her face was calm as she executed the freefall, tumbling once in the air, before landing in a pile of hay.
Convenient, grinned Ezio as he leaped spread-eagled into the golden heap. The woman jumped out first and whistled. A white horse came galloping. She effortlessly mounted it and gestured for Ezio to do the same.
"You thought to bring only one?" he asked.
The woman offered no repartee to his remark. Still, Ezio was curious to know more.
"You are trained in the ways of the assassin," he observed. "What is your name, stranger?"
"I possess their techniques, assassino, but not their temperance. I have no patience for the Order and its duties."
"What compelled you come to my aid?"
"I saw a stranger in need and offered my help. I find it unfair to witness a man disadvantaged by circumstance."
"Where are you taking me?" he asked, peering into the shrouded darkness.
"Where I know you are awaited," said she.
They approached the home of Raphael Sánchez – nobleman, treasurer, and assassin. The woman had used an effective detour to bring Ezio into the colony, undetected.
"I still do not know your name," said Ezio as he alighted from the horse.
"Discretion is the utmost tenet of your Order. Perhaps we ought to maintain that, Auditore."
"You use my name. How do you know it?"
"I keep my ear to the ground, assassino. May Providence guide you in your endeavors."
"As would He in yours," said Ezio.
The woman gave him a quick, two-fingered salute before rearing the horse and riding into the smoky mists. Ezio knocked on the door and entered when it opened.
"That's enough," said Lucy, looking away from the monitor.
"Should I stop?" asked Rebecca, seeking confirmation.
"Yes."
"Okay, then. Desmond, we are logging you out of the Animus."
"Isn't it too soon?" protested Shaun. "This was just getting somewhere."
"We will keep it for next time," said Lucy, "Desmond needs to take breaks."
"Next time?" Shaun sneered, "There is no time, Lucy! Forget 'next'! Our fraternal tenderness will get us killed!"
"Maybe," she said, "but I am not taking my chances… after Subject 16."
"Everything okay?" asked Desmond as he slowly sat up.
"It's all good," said Rebecca.
Shaun shook his head and walked back to his table. He threw his notepad down noisily, to make a point.
"What's with him?" asked Desmond, motioning to Shaun as he got out of the Animus.
"Nothing serious," said Rebecca.
Lucy wanted to make a point of her own. "Shaun doesn't like people." It was deliberately said aloud.
Shaun's ears flushed when he heard that. It was almost true; he wanted to say, not completely. He liked some people, in varying degrees. Lucy Stillman was placed just a little higher in his list of priorities and affections. Still, he ignored the comment and listlessly sifted through his accumulated database.
Shaun felt a pair of eyes burn into his skull, but Lucy glanced away by the time he turned around. Rebecca and Desmond had left the room. When Lucy turned to look at him again, her face was burning red. Flustered when their eyes met, she walked away. Shaun Hastings smiled with the shy, quiet satisfaction that she remembered their little 'accident' from last night.
It had been a casual conversation which went in the direction he had never imagined… but rather enjoyed. A mid-night chat about the life in New York City, the normality of their own which was long gone, now took a wistful turn.
"It's so strange…" he had sighed.
"I know," she had said, her head resting on the sofa.
She had looked sad, troubled even. Shaun had put a hand on her knee.
"It'll be fine," he had said in a rare moment of empathy.
"Sometimes, I'm not so sure."
She had shaken her head and risen from the sofa. "Do you want a refill on your coffee?"
He had still been looking at her.
"Shaun?"
He had stood up and walked slowly towards her. Brought his arms around her waist. He had brushed his lips against hers in fair warning before kissing her. His mouth had been firmly on hers, his ardor fired by her passionate reciprocation and his prior abstinence. It started out as a series of quick, sweet kisses. Just the sort Lucy did not expect Shaun to be capable of giving. But then his searing mouth captured hers in an urgent frenzy, his tongue gliding and sweeping inside her. She tasted marvelous, exquisite and he wanted so much more from her. A moan caught somewhere in the back of her throat and his as their lips crushed against each other in a delicious, intoxicating tussle for domination.
Shaun Hastings had almost forgotten what it was like to touch a woman. Unfortunately, Lucy Stillman had pulled away before he could completely recollect. He definitely did not remember a woman walking faster away from him. Especially with a look as if she had let a reptile shove a tongue down her throat.
There goes normality…
To his relief, she was fine the next morning. As if the previous night had not mattered. That little thought niggled at him slightly, but he brushed it aside.
"Hey Shaun, you coming?" Rebecca called out from the door.
"Yeah."
He let her walk on ahead. She sat next to Lucy and Shaun plunked himself beside her. He would use either Rebecca or Desmond (preferably Rebecca) as an ideal buffer zone before things began to… settle… with Lucy.
He was not particularly a patient person, but with Lucy he was willing to wait it out. Shaun Hastings crossed his fingers, hoping there would be time for that.
Author's note: Hi, all! :D This is my first Assassin's Creed fanfic on . I have been playing Assassin's Creed II and got so involved in the plotline that I just had to write a fic on this, never mind if I hadn't played the rest of the games. But I'll definitely stalk the Wikia page and scenes on YouTube to get a better understanding. Also, I would love your feedback on this, so that I may be able to continue. I have a rough idea where I would want to go but this was a shot in the dark. If there is positive feedback, I will definitely work at making a more cohesive, complex plot.
This chapter was written in two hours. Much love to Sarah for her feedback and Lydia for her constant encouragement in my fanfic endeavors.
Sorry for the sucky summary. If only they allowed more characters! That way I could've mentioned that this is an AU. So expect things to take a bit of a diversion from the games's main plot.