One week later, and Haytham found another letter waiting for him on his desk. Unlike the other letters there was no seal or other method of the letter being healed. He set the easily opened letter to one side and dealt with Templar correspondence. Haytham occasionally glanced at the letter, curiosity filling my.
Only after every other bit of paperwork was done, did Haytham begin to reach or the letter, start to unfold it when a knock startled him a little. He re-folded the letter silently as he called out. "Who is it?"
"Charles Lee is calling for you at the bar sir." The tavern owner and were honestly. "I apologize for disturbing you, but mister lee is being quite insistent."
"Very well, I shall see what is bothering Charles." Haytham responded, tucking the letter into an inner pocket.
Haytham walked downstairs, finding Charles pacing and occasionally muttering under his breath, looking around the tavern room as if he expected to be attacked at any moment. He cleared his throat as he approached the other before asking "Charles, it is good to see you. You have the look of someone who is…Bothered. Come up to speak with me, as I rather suspect that you wish to talk privately?"
"Master Kenway! I would indeed like to speak with you privately, if you have time to do so." The rebel general answered, stopping his pacing to face his boss.
"Follow me then." Haytham responded as he gestured for the other to follow him. A small part of him wondered if he should mention the two letters to Charles. Almost as soon as he thought of it, Haytham shook himself mentally – this was a private matter. He had no desire, nor a good reason to involve any one of his inner circle in this as of yet. Additionally it was entirely possible that one or more of them was in on assisting this mysterious admirer of his.
As soon as they were in a secure area of the tavern, Charles started to pace around the room, muttering irritably "Several of our Agents have spotted multiple Assassins in Boston and New York. Each in differing uniforms, so they are certain that they spotted different Assassins, rather than the same one in different places. It seems as though he has been recruiting. Or different chapters of the Brotherhood have decided to meddle."
A soft sigh escaped Haytham as he answered soothingly "Connor has a few recruits – no more than a dozen. I have told all of you that the two of us have struck a truce that holds true Order-wide on both sides. They are in uniforms now to show their numbers as a show of trust."
"What purpose will this truce serve? The Assassins are an ill-disciplined group of outcasts and malcontented criminals. They will stab is in the back and leave us for dead at the most opportune moment for them! If I may speak freely sir, simply because that the bloodthirsty if noble sentiment-espousing son of yours seems to lead it does not mean that allying with them will lead to anything good in the long-term." Charles growled, eyes flashing as he watched the man he admired above all others carefully. It was unfortunate that the Assassins had found one of the few weaknesses that his grandmaster had – the love for and the want of family and was using it against him in such a fashion.
"Charles! We have a chance for peace – which is one of the things that our Order strives for. If we can keep the Assassins from killing us while we regain full control of the colonies – and better yet as we are tentatively allied with one another, Connor assisted me in tracking down and killing the traitor, Church. If this truce can last, and develop into something more permanent, more useful the Assassins will see that we are not so differently aligned – that we can and would be able to work together." Haytham scolded, a hint of annoyance entering his voice, before he quickly recovered. He understood why his second in command was upset – after all Connor hunted him relentlessly and hated Lee with a passion. But he would not allow Charles, nor any of his other Templars to die during this truce by Assassin hands. "Their ability to strike silently and quickly, taking down those who could become much bigger troubles if they were not taken down quietly… and They can make it seem as though those targets died peacefully, or by the hands of political opponents, making sure to lay a trail of evidence back to them. Their contact with the criminal underworld, and their more close alignment with such people would also be a valuable asset to our cause. It was one of the things that Thomas – may his soul rest peacefully – was doing."
"If you say so, sir. I still think that this venture is much more likely to end in blood and death, then it is to end with peace. If such a thing were possible, surely then it would have been successfully attempted before." Charles pointed out. The tactician in him knew that his grandmaster spoke the truth, and the streak of naiveté that he had been told was within Connor should prove useful… If the stubborn pigheadedness that the Assassin had doubtlessly gotten from his mother did not doom them all to death. Still, the previous incarnation of the Colonial Brotherhood would have never once dreamed of peace with Templars. Perhaps the desire for a connection ran both ways? Charles could only pray that it was so.
Haytham hummed a little at that, considering it briefly, before discarding the sentiment. Charles had no idea what it was like in Europe – England in particular, as that was the part of the Order he had the most contact with, as a member. "We have a chance to start anew here, whereas in Europe, the fighting, bloodshed and bitterness has been stewing for centuries. There have been times when the Templar Order has been taken over by glory and power seeking idiots who tarnish the name of Templars, claiming that their goals and that of the Templars are the same, when in truth, that is far from reality. For example, the Borgia's reign in Italy a couple of centuries ago. I would have likely either joined the Brotherhood if I had been born in that time, or tried to kill the Borgia to re-take the Templar Order from their hideous leadership and try to fix what they had done."
Charles had gotten a crash course in Templar history after he had been fully inducted into the Order, and the name rung a bell in his mind. Moments later, he clearly remembered the Borgia's power grabs and unending thirst for power, which had been cut short – righteously so- by the Italian Brotherhood, under the leadership of one of the most feared Assassins of all time, Ezio Auditore. There was only one whose name was spoken with more fear, lest they wake his angry spirit and be haunted to an early grave. "Yes sir. I will do my best to follow your orders. The Patriots continue to fumble under the leadership of Washington – why the Congress continues to keep him as Commander of the Army, I do not know. They think I am here to gather supplies and to try to rally a few more to their cause… Which I shall. By your leave?"
Haytham smiled softly at Charles, to try to reassure the other further. "Thank you for all of your hard work, and thank you for informing me of the robed Assassins. I had not meant to stress you to the degree that you have. All I can counsel you to do, is to be patient and to help draw battle plans to avoid as much bloodshed on the Patriot side and hope that they will listen to you, at least in part. Good luck and godspeed."
"Thank you sir. I am as ever, in your service." Charles responded with a formal bow and left to tend to his other duties.