Zeke stared, open mouthed, before reaching his hand out. She was much smaller than he was, but just by looking at her, he could tell she was not to be messed with. Her very frame rippled with energy, like a tiger ready to pounce on prey.
"I-I'm Zeke." He stammered, withdrawing his hand. From what he could see, she smirked.
"I know."
"ZEKE!" Voices were calling his name, shouting in alarm.
"Shit." He murmured, looking the other way. He knew he wasn't supposed to wander, but he couldn't stand around anymore. Besides, he'd found who they were looking for, hadn't he?
They trudged into sight, running slowly across the soft riverbank sand. Zeke grinned sheepishly.
"I found her. Do I get cash reward?" They ignored him.
"So. We meet at last." Will remarked, crossing his arms. Rebecca nodded, reaching her hand out.
"It's great to finally meet you in person." Shaun wasn't nearly so welcoming. He crossed his arms as well, but remained silent. Zeke scratched his head mentally. What, none of them had met her? How did they know her so well?
"How…?"
"Now is not the time." Iris cut across, looking towards the sky. "Nor is this the proper place. Come, we need to find shelter. Right now." Zeke looked up as well. Apart from a few wispy clouds, the sky was a pure, clear blue. However, a helicopter buzzed across it.
"Are you afraid of a simple helicopter?" He asked, following her. She had set off towards the wall of the beach, running her hands across the multilayered sand stone.
"Not afraid, just paranoid. People in our profession need to be."
The others following, Zeke pressed on. "What do you mean "our?" There is no our. I'm here to find my mom."
Even though her back was turned to him, he could tell she was smiling. Irritation flared up. Did this woman think she knew him?
"It was a figure of speech. Plus, I'm including your companions as well." She turned around. Her face stills shrouded in shadow, she nodded at the three, who came up short.
"We've arrived. Have you seen other Freedom caves, or is this your first one?"
Shaun snorted. "Freedom caves? What sort of pathetic name is that?" Zeke shifted in his spot. Something told him Iris wouldn't take kindly to her names being chastised. However, he was wrong, as she laughed.
"I really wouldn't expect a British man to understand our ways. We strive to protect freedom. Your freedoms have already been stripped. Shall we now? Before any of us meet people we'd rather see at the end of our blade?"
Silence. Zeke looked at their faces. Will looked rather amused, Rebecca downright laughing, and Shaun disgusted.
Iris reached around, her palm running against what looked like smooth, iridescent stone in the mouth of the cave. At once, the rock began to grind, shifting the sand and rock like large pistons. Zeke stood back, suppressing a yelp as a huge doorway appeared, giving them entrance to what looked like the most secret and high tech base he had seen. He'd seen movies. Touchscreens, eye scanners, and of course the black and blue coloration, but that was nothing compared to this.
Upon first glance it looked like a flat grey surface, but it was actually a rock.
"Obsidian. It took years to carve out. Plus, a lot of stolen tools." She laughed, and led them down the steps into the darkness. As they stepped, lights came out. To his disappointment, they were normal LED lights, but still, he was amazed at the tunnel.
"Are you here alone?" He asked, his hand trailing against the tunnel wall. He was trying to take in every sense, every bit of the smoothness of the wall, the smell of the tunnel, the taste of the air. He had to tell Darion about this. It was amazing.
"Yup. I'm the Minnesota branch. Although, I will admit, there aren't many of us. I'm a hitman. I kill, and many of us Freedomfighters don't wish too. It's understandable." Her voice fell flat.
"You…you don't like killing?" He asked, rather awkwardly.
"No one ever likes killing." She hissed. He made to apologize, but she cut across him.
"There are a few rules. The adults will understand them, but you Zeke, need to hear them."
Despite all he'd been through, the lack of answers, the tantalizing hints, the aching of his body and stomach, and his intense tiredness, he respected this woman. She had earned it. He was determined to follow her rules. He knew, but some stroke of wisdom, that she was the key to finding his mom.
"Ok. What are they?"
"You will not touch the machines. You will enter only the rooms I tell you may enter. You will not, and I repeat, NOT, touch the weapons. Do you understand."
"Yes. I do. Completely." He nodded.
"Good. I think its fine to show my face now." She reached up and pulled back her hood, and Zeke was surprised. She had much softer features then he had imagined. Her pale skin looked almost ghostly in the bright LED lights, and her grey eyes shone with a mixture of deviousness and superiority. He knew that she fooled many, many people with that face, not to mention bar tenders.
"You don't look like an assassin." Shaun commented. Zeke noted he looked rather taken aback by her presence.
"That's what gives me the edge I bring to the movement. Come on. Let's go." She swiped her palm against a flat, black board near the edge of the doorway, and a set of panels slid open, a la Star Trek. Zeke smiled despite himself. He was going to get the answers he so desperately craved now. He stood back while she waited for them to open, and followed first as she entered.
The room was vast. Lights came on automatically as they came through the threshold and the others murmured tones of agreement as they took chairs. Zeke remained standing. He didn't quite know where to place himself. He was the odd one out. The other three, they knew this woman, at least partially. All he knew was that these four were the key to his mother's release, and that he was just a bag of rocks getting in the way. He felt a bit annoyed at himself for a moment.
'It's not my fault.' He thought, gazing around the room. 'I needed to go after her. I am important and I'm not in the way!'
Iris walked up to a blank wall, and ran her palm on what appeared to be bare rock. At once, a bright screen illuminated the dark room. Zeke blinked. It was pure light, but she was manipulating parts with her fingers.
"…How?" He asked, walking up to her, his past uncertainty gone.
"Oh this? This has been around for a decade now. Pretty old technology, to be honest. But the US government holds many secrets…" She muttered darkly, prodding a dot with her finger. It moved to the right, and joined a cluster of dots in the center. A map of the US came up, and the dots ran towards the east, near what he knew was the capital. He heard her sigh, and with two fingers, she swiped the screen off.
"Your mother is being held in Washington DC." She stated, slumping into a chair. Shaun snorted.
"How do you know that?"
"Because my mark is the one who took her. I failed to kill him, and he was able to kidnap her." She snarled, her anger more directed at herself then anyone in the room. Shaun chuckled slightly. Will crossed his arms once again, staring hard at Iris.
"What made you fail?"
"My own petty ADHD and my attention on other targets…" She explained, bringing up the screen once again. She pressed a box in the corner, and window popped up, with two men's faces. They were almost like mugshots.
Rebecca rummaged in her bag.
"I know those men…" She muttered, opening her laptop, and typing furiously.
"Well, they are European. I wouldn't be surprised if they were Templars." Iris remarked, staring at one of the pictures.
They were both bald. One had a tattoo on his left temple, the other had a scar across his eye. Zeke remembered him as the one he saw coming out of the apartment building. His hand clenched in his pocket.
"Yes, yes, they were at Abstergo. Funny, I'm surprised they don't have a Minneapolis branch." New images popped up on the screen. Data from Rebecca's computer.
"Ah, thanks for the cloud info, Bec." Iris clapped her hands and began organizing it, her hands working furiously against what appeared to be thin air. Zeke watched, feeling helpless and small.
"I…" He began, not sure where to start. He wanted answers. Now was as good a time as any. Will glanced at him.
"Iris." He stated. She stopped her jazz hands for a moment to look over her shoulder.
"Yes?"
"Now is as good as any to give the boy answers. I can't keep him from the truth any longer."
She smiled, and with a slide of her hand, the screen blacked out.
"I think you're right. Why don't you all get comfortable and I'll fix us something to eat." She disappeared into a separate room, while the others settled into the cushy chairs and couches surrounding the circular room. Zeke noted that it was all very mismatched, as if taken at different times. He settled into a big red recliner at the northeast section of the room, watching the others. That feeling of uncertainty welled up again. He clenched the arms, swallowing it.
"Now Zeke…Ask away." For once, it was Shaun who spoke first, his glasses glinting in the soft lighting of the sparse lamps.
"I, er…" Now that he had the chance, he couldn't pick which question should be able to cross the threshold first.
"Who were the guys who took my mom? Where is my dad? How did you know him? What do you guys do? What is that thing in that bag? And why didn't I know you?" They all burst out, rapid fire, like a machine gun.
"Who is Iris? What are the Templars? Is my dad really…dead?"
"Whoa whoa whoa, slow down tiger!" Rebecca laughed. "We'll answer them all, one at a time, ok?"
"First things first. The men who took your mom work for the Templars, who we'll get into later." Will explained, eyeing the blank wall where the screen used to be. "We think they took her because they feel they can use her to gain information on you, and ultimately, where a certain piece of ancient technology lies."
"Why didn't they just kidnap me then?"
"Because a child being taken would be a little more press then they would like. Your mom wouldn't be missed by anyone but you." Shaun piped up from behind his laptop screen.
"Her jobs miss her! She has friends!"
"Yes, but let's be honest. You're mom has been in and out of jobs for years. She can't hold one. It's not her character, it's her status. She has no education past high school, and she lives in poverty with a teenage son. It just doesn't look good." Will continued to stare at the wall as he explained. Zeke's ears sagged with the information that his mother wasn't worth much to the world.
"However, she means a lot to us, and she means a lot to you, and of course, Desmond." Rebecca chimed in. "And if we can do something for him, even after his…" She trailed off, realizing where she was going.
"So…what did happen to my dad?" He directed this question to his grandfather, but he appeared to not have heard him.
"He…he died." Shaun stated, his voice quite weak compared to his usual pompous manner. Zeke wasn't really surprised.
"How…?"
"He…well, to put it simply…"Shaun began, but Rebecca cut across him.
"You're dad saved the world. He gave his life to protect everyone on earth. I know it sounds crazy, but it's the truth. We were there. We saw it."
Zeke looked at his grandfather again, disbelief flowing through him. He always remembered his dad as a bumbling bartender, someone coming home tired and almost ill at the early hours of the morning and sleeping all day. But he also remembered the fun Christmas where he received tons and tons of presents, a smiling mom and dad. His mother didn't have to work then.
Things were so much simpler.
"Is that why he hasn't been here? He died years ago?"
"Yes and no. Desmond died 5 years ago, but he was kidnapped a few months before that. That's when we met him."
Zeke's mind sagged. What? So his Dad's been dead for 5 years? How come nobody told him? As if reading his mind, Will spoke up.
"We didn't tell you or your mother because none of us knew you existed until recently. Desmond kept your existence very quiet.
Zeke fired up. Why? What, were they not good enough for his dad?
"Why? When he went missing, we had to move to a shitty apartment in Minnesota! What, were we not good enough?" He realized he was clutching the chair arm so tight, he was punching through the fabric into the soft stuffing inside. He released his grip.
"No. Quite the opposite. He was trying to protect you" Shaun remarked. He still wasn't bothering to look at Zeke.
Iris reappeared, pushing a cart heaping with foodstuffs. Small sandwiches, little cakes, CapriSun Juice packs, it was perfect. Zeke jumped up immediately and grabbed the nearest thing he could find. The others stared.
"You must be hungry." Iris chuckled.
"I haven't eaten in ages." He admitted, tearing into a sandwich.
"Take all you want; I get it all for free, anyways." She wandered over to her panel and began working on something. Zeke turned around, and looked at the rest of them.
"What? Are you hungry too?"
"No, we felt we'd leave it all for you to eat." Shaun sneered, shutting his laptop.
"Of course we're hungry, kid. Move."
Zeke stepped out of the way as they helped themselves, muttering to each other. He wanted to carry on with the discussion, but they seemed in need of a break, as well. He focused on his sandwich, thinking hard.
So that's what happened to his dad. But why was he kidnapped? Who were these Templars? They seemed to be bad guys…
It struck him how much of a little kid he felt. So reliant on these grownups to hold his hand and string him along. Without realizing it, he was crushing his sandwich into a ball in his fist. Anger coursed through him. He set off on his own, right? Yes, he knew he wouldn't survive a night on his own, so he wanted to learn the basics. Why couldn't they just help him, instead of forcing him to abide by strict rules and not telling him anything?
'They're telling you stuff right now!' a voice murmured, deep within his brain. He shook himself. The voice was right. He didn't know the entire story yet. He ate the rest of his food in silence, letting his mind settle on happier thoughts.
"Ok. What next?"
Zeke jumped, his head swiveling to Rebecca who was smiling at him, her eyebrows raised.
"You must have been in some pretty deep thought."
"Was just thinking about…never mind." He shook his head, looking at her.
"I want to know why they even kidnapped my dad. What was the point?"
"Ah…that's gonna be a long story. Better get your pajamas on, kid." Shaun smirked. Once again, he was hiding behind his laptop screen.
"Why? And what is so important? You haven't shut that thing off!" Zeke's annoyance was mounting. He was 15. Hardly a child. He was tired of the condescension.
"I have better things to do then answer the questions of a 15 year old. But alas, here I am, sitting here listening to you. Also, my business!" He singsonged, leaving Zeke to stew.
"For once in your life, Shaun, stop being a prick. Regardless of what you think, this is important." For once, it wasn't Rebecca telling him to shut up, but his grandfather. He stared at them both.
"Fine, but I am working on something rather important right now…"
"Then tell me!" He was tired of being meek. He never let himself get pushed around before, why now?
"I'm in this as much as you are. I can't ever go back! I'm stuck in this life, right? So tell me, damnit!" He voice had risen to a shout, and Iris turned around in alarm.
Shaun seemed taken aback by the outburst.
"You have a point. Fine." He shut the laptop with a snap.
"I'm inputting data collected from on top of the IDS Tower. Happy? Not as exciting as you thought it would have been, is it." He scowled.
"So that's what was in your pouch?" Zeke questioned, his fist clenching around an empty juice pack.
"…among other things." Rebecca gave him a look.
"Alright! Alright!" He rummaged around in the pouch, taking out a few items before throwing it to Zeke.
Inside was what looked like a normal camera, a USB drive and…a glowing, rectangular object, with symbols imbedded and pulsing in a brilliant electric blue light. He held it up, amazed.
"What…what is this?" He breathed.
"A fragment of the ancients, to put it simply." Shaun explained. Zeke continued to stare at it. Ancients? What in the world did that mean? Really, really old people? Biblical people?
Before he could continue his train of thought, it had been snatched out of his hand.
"Hey!"
Iris had grabbed it. She was so silent, he hadn't heard her creep up.
"Oi! Be careful with that!"
"Oh, keep your britches on. I'm not going to break it. As if mortal hands could break such an object." She gazed at it, mesmerized.
"I'd always wondered what you people got up too. You know, the Brotherhood isn't so foreign to us Freedomers. We've been around since the Revolution, and so has the American Brotherhood. It's these ancients you guys commune with, isn't it."
"We don't commune…we just protect their technology from getting into the wrong hands." Rebecca stated.
"If I…If I could have it back, please." Shaun almost pleaded. Zeke could tell that this woman kept him on his toes, whether he liked it or not. He smirked.
Iris smiled slightly as she handed the fragment back to Shaun, who pocketed it quickly, as if afraid someone else would come along and snatch it.
"I…Well…" Zeke stammered. He couldn't quite get back on his train of thought. The others were still staring at Iris, who was already back at her station. Her hands once again whizzed around the screen.
"You were asking why they kidnapped your father." Zeke looked at his grandfather.
"Yeah, that's it. Thanks…So…why?" He sat forward a little in his seat, eager.
"Like Shaun said, it's a long explanation, so keep your hat on. Rebecca, explain." His grandfather motioned to her. She smiled, and scooted her chair over to his, the better to show him her screen.
"Basically, we all contain DNA that also contains our ancestor's memories. And don't worry; I'm getting to your Dads part in a bit." She smiled, giving him the thumbs up.
"The reason they took your dad is because he is part of an elite group of Assassins. Some of the only remaining Assassins in the world. Your grandfather, William, among them." Zeke glanced at his grandfather, who nodded, his hands in a pointed steeple.
"Anyways, because of this, he had ancestry dating all the way back to one of the first Assassins, Altair ibn la Ahad, as well as Ezio Auditore and well, you get the picture." Zeke was confused. Who were these people? Assassins?
"Abstergo, the company behind all of this, kidnapped him. Wanted to gather these memories to find Ancient artifacts. The first thing they wanted was the Apple…which is long gone."
"An ancient apple?" Zeke knew it wasn't a literal apple, but still…what?
"It was a name given to the artifact by century old people, but still. It's gone. They've since moved on to other artifacts. Including the whole to that fragment you saw."
"How did they get at these memories? You said they are stored in DNA?"
"They used a device called an Animus…Hard to explain." She winked at him. "I developed one myself but that baby is gone. Gone with a lot of things…" Her voice trailed away, and Zeke eyed her. These people had been through more than he had ever been through, including his mother being taken away.
He swallowed, and continued. "So, then what?"
"He escaped with the help of Lucy…who happened to be a double agent." She closed her eyes for a moment.
"She fooled us all, to be honest." Shaun said. His voice went suddenly quiet.
"What happened to her?" Zeke asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
"She…She died." Rebecca recovered her poise. "She was killed in action."
Shaun snorted. "She was killed by your father." Zeke felt a shock roll up spine.
"Shaun!" Rebecca shouted, glaring at him.
"There is no use keeping a secret like that from him! His father killed people! We all killed people!" They stared at each other for a moment, while Zeke studied his knees. So, his father had killed a friend?
"So…but why? Did he find out she was working for…Abserwhatsit." Zeke felt stupid. Information was weighing his brain down, making him forget key details. Despite him skipping class every other day, he was a good student. He remembered everything, even stupid things.
"Abstergo. And no. Your father was being controlled by Juno." Zeke saw Iris shift in her chair out of the corner of his eye.
"Juno?"
"One of the ancients we told you about." William said darkly, his eyes shadowed. Zeke looked at him, listening intently.
"She was the one who saved the world, but…not without your dads help. He had to sacrifice himself in order to release her." Rebecca's voice was barely above a whisper. Her lips slightly trembled as she looked away.
"Ok, I think I get the picture. I…I'm good for now." He didn't want them to continue. They were obviously trying to suppress these terrible memories of loss and despair, and he didn't want to trigger anything awful for them. Besides, he himself was shaken but the information given to him. He had half hoped his dad had been mugged and dumped, instead of this much darker path that has taken him. The path that has caught up with him, and now engulfed him.
He swallowed.
However, one person in the room pressed for questions. Iris was sitting with her legs and arms crossed, her face set at Rebecca, who hadn't noticed her glare.
"Actually, I'd like to hear more about these ancients. Who is this Juno?"
"Like we said, one the ancients. She's still around-."
"Where?"
"We think in the Abstergo building France, but…"
"How would you know?"
"Let her finish, will you?" Shaun spat, exasperated.
Iris smirked, but went quiet. Rebecca clearly didn't want to continue. She began to scoot her way back to the side of the room she came from, her face set in a way that clearly said: "Don't bother me."
They sat in silence for a while, all of them deep in thought and memories, until Zeke stood up. He hadn't noticed, but his legs were aching and his head pounding. He needed to sleep.
"Do you have a place I could lie down?" He asked, noting how weary he sounded.
Iris turned towards him, her slate eyes seemingly piercing through him in their stare. He noted that they were slightly bloodshot and red, as if she had been crying. Perhaps this woman wasn't so hardened after all.
"Yes, I have a space where all of you can lie down. No beds, but plenty of cots. Take your pick. If you need blankets, tell me." She pointed to a room to the left before sitting back down on her seat, her hands a blur of movement once again.
Zeke trundled off in the direction she pointed in. The entire area was very dim; even the bright LED lights couldn't illuminate the giant carved out space that well. The rock was so dark, it didn't take in any light. He doubted whether 1000 giant lights could brighten the place up. It made him feel strangely empty, although he couldn't doubt he felt safe. Nothing could touch him within these smooth, hard walls.
He was followed by Shaun and Rebecca. Both seemed tired and world weary; the talk seemed to have sapped the strength out of them. Zeke was surprised how strong they were, yet as well at how weak they could get.
'Even the strongest have their limits...' Zeke thought to himself as he pulled a cot towards the wall and curled up. He was slightly too large for the small bed, and it sank under his girth. Pulling his legs up to his chest, he turned to the wall. Trying to quiet his mind, he thought of better things. He allowed himself to think of his mother and what he would do when she came back.
Perhaps by then, he would be something different. He couldn't suppress the wonder at this secret organization and life these people had. A part of him wanted in on it. He wanted to be free; to live an undercover life…but another part of him wanted nothing to do with it. Why couldn't he just be a normal kid like all the teenagers in the world? A kid with a mom and a dad and a couple of good buddies and a girlfriend?
He snorted. That would never happen. He began to doze off, glad to finally be safe, and taking action.