"Desmond Miles – it's been a while," Vidic laughed over the intercom, eyeing his men who stood at the door of the laboratory.
Desmond nearly jumped out of his skin, hearing the familiar, disturbing voice. He stood in a long deserted hallway, having just finished off two security guards. Their bodies lay slumped against the bloodied walls, eyes shut in their final moments of life. The corridor seemed to stretch on forever and the Assassin had no doubt that he would be able to find what he came looking for. The British historian probably would have escaped his captors by now, evading the alert guards to meet Desmond somewhere along the exit. He looked up at a camera that was watching him, zooming in close enough to see the slight line of sweat forming on his brow.
Vidic barked out a laugh, playing with a pen in his hand. He would have full coverage of the reunion, much to his delight.
"Shaun?" Desmond shouted, breaking out into a full sprint as he made his way down the hallway, watching it stretch out longer and longer as he pressed on. He ran past glass panels, holding back guards who were eagerly waiting to get a piece of out Desmond Miles – after all, he had made them all look bad in his single hand escape. Though, Desmond was a still confused at why none of the doors were opening, unleashing the guards to swarm him. Perhaps they have given up on that tactic and were going to allow the assassin to get what he needed, then get out of there.
Suddenly, a man in a familiar grey sweater walked out and Desmond immediately recognized who it was. "Shaun!"
He ran up to the historian, looking him over quickly for any wounds. "Shaun, are you alright? Man, Lucy is going to be so relived! You look as if they hadn't touched you the slightest bit, lucky dog," Desmond grinned, sheathing his hidden blade back into its mechanism. He placed both hands on the man's shoulder, shaking him slightly, trying to get a rise out of him. "Hey, Shaun – are you there? Hello, anyone home?" He smiled weakly, shaking him a little harder. Then the worst thought suddenly ran across his mind – what if the Bleeding Effect had torn him apart? He quickly looked at his eyes, only to feel a sudden sting across his torso. Instantly, he jumped back to see a sharp point coming out of Shaun's sleeve.
"Shaun? What... what are you doing?" He looked down to see that there was a large tear across his sweater and a small tint of red.
"You thought you could save me? Rescue me? What is there to protect me from here, Desmond?" Shaun laughed, baring his hidden blade with a grin. Desmond winced as he took a step back, on the very edge, hands shaking slightly. What could they have done to Shaun?
"Are you an idiot with a death wish? It's the fucking Templars, Shaun! Once they're done with you, they'll kill you! Either that or drive you insane like Subject Sixteen!" He watched as Shaun merely raised an eyebrow, amused at Desmond's retaliation.
"Dr. Vidic said he would keep me alive – that I was important to them," Shaun replied with a smug smirk, leaning on his toes slightly. Desmond could see he was getting ready to jump and that he had no other choice. Something was wrong with him and Desmond just needed to get the fuck out of there. If perhaps, he could lure him out of the facility and get him to Lucy and Rebecca, they could help him.
"Warren Vidic is lying, the filthy bastard!" Desmond shouted and instantly turned on his heels, sprinting full speed down the hallway. He could hear Shaun immediately take after him, both of their footsteps in sync with his furiously beating heart.
"Oh Desmond, your words sadden me so. And you can't expect Shaun to stay on the side of constant danger, can you? The Templars are a more... suiting place for him," Vidic's voice echoed through the hallway, causing Desmond to shout out in frustration as he heard Shaun getting closer. The man wouldn't actually kill him, would he? Desmond cursed himself internally for forgetting which way he came in because now, everything looked the same. There were twists and turns, like a maze made especially to throw him off this chase. He took a sudden right turn, almost slipping as his sneakers skidded across the flooring and for a moment, he thought he wasn't going to make the turn. But instantly, his legs flexed and he was up and running again.
"Lucy and Rebecca were worried sick about you!" Desmond shouted as he ran, between quick pants. He heard no reply, only the sound of his shoes hitting the floor over and over again, hot on his trail. He took another turn, manoeuvring himself quickly around a random guard who fell over as Shaun pushed past him. Quickly, Desmond looked over his shoulder and felt his stomach drop. Shaun had leapt against the wall then instantly ricocheted off the other wall and without missing a beat, leapt for Desmond and tackled him down onto the floor roughly.
Quickly, Shaun's hand slipped under Desmond's neck, applying pressure to his Adam's apple. Straddling him on his back, the historian leaned forward and brought out his hidden blade and pressed it tightly to Desmond's neck. Already he was drawing blood as it ran down his fingers and began to drip in small quantities onto the floor.
"Shaun, don't kill him!" Warren's voice came out through the intercom and Shaun growled, not budging as Desmond was still as a statue. "As much as I can see you wish to finish him, we could still use the man. Just take him back to the laboratory."
Shaun scowled and instantly sheathed the hidden blade, allowing it to give Desmond a quick slice before he grabbed him by the back of his white sweater and yanked him upwards.
"You're lucky – I would have killed you," Shaun sneered, pushing Desmond forward back to the offices in which he came from. Desmond cringed as they stepped forward, feeling the burn of the quick run and the injury on his torso.
"Shaun, you've gone insane... We need you back at the stronghold... with the Assassins..." Desmond mumbled, feeling the world spin a little. His feet shuffled lazily as Shaun pushed him on, threatening him with the slight poke of his hidden blade. "The Templars are only using you for what they need, especially Vidic. He doesn't care at all, Shaun. He's not going to keep you safe, no matter what he says. He's a manipulative bastard who will do anything to obtain what he desires the most and-
"Shut up! You know nothing of him and by staying by his side I've come into no harm what so ever. He's making me stronger and with this company, we're going to make the world a better place. Your 'rescuing' was in vain," Shaun snorted, his lips turning into an insidious smile. "The Assassins are wrong, Desmond. To stop the Templars would stop a giant global change, one for the greater good-"
"No, now you're wrong!" Desmond broke free of his grasp, his chest burning with pain as he turned around, only to have Shaun's fist connect with the right side of his face. He fell back and Shaun jerked him up again, shoving him down the hallway aggressively.
"Move, or else I will kill you whether Vidic wishes it or not," Shaun hissed, noting how close they were to the doors of Vidic's office. He managed to get the reluctant Assassin to the door and open it with a quick swipe of a borrowed key card, then push the man inside. The main office was larger than most regulars in a building – it was quite spacious with a desk at the end, surrounded by enormous glass windows, allowing the resident to see below into the brightly lit up city. Tapestries hung from the wall in limited colours; dark red, luminous gold or a solid black – the colours of the Templars. The rug was woven together in an exquisite design, something that no one else would possess with its unique, complex patterns and distinctive swirls. Desmond noted that on an open spot of wall, there was a sword hung up on display – the tip shone with a tiny fraction of sun reflecting off its surface.
"Mr. Miles, what a pleasant surprise," Vidic grinned, sitting behind his grand desk, palms splayed out as if he was welcoming an old friend. Desmond merely scowled, pushed forward from the man behind him. "What happened to your neck?"
"I don't exactly know myself, Vidic," he hissed between gritted teeth, feeling the sharp sting when he turned his head slightly. Already, he felt a small stream of blood spilling into his shirt, running down his chest. "It couldn't have been Shaun Hastings fault, because that's not him!"
"Oh that is very much so Shaun Hastings, just as much as you're Desmond Miles and I am Warren Vidic-"
"No! You've brain washed him or something... He's an Assassin, not a fucking Templar!" Desmond shouted, cutting the doctor off. Fists clenched, he watched as Vidic sighed heavily and closed his eyes, shaking his head slightly.
"I'm not a Templar either, Desmond," Shaun shoved him forward to the desk and finally stopped when Desmond bumped against the edge. "Warren's simply protecting me from the war I've already proved myself worthy of. He's keeping me safe – something I haven't been able to be for the longest-"
"What about Lucy? Or Rebecca?" Desmond broke free of Shaun's hold and shoved him back, deeply regretting it as the wound flared with pain. "Have you forgotten about them? They've been worried sick!" He breathed, trying to fight the pain that was building at a ridiculous pace.
"What about them? The Templars will find them and do whatever Vidic desires them to do," Shaun smirked, ready in case the Assassin made a move against him. But he could see that he was hurting, and was in no position to make a dangerous and costly move.
"Oh! Shaun, you're going to tell me the whereabouts of their hide out then? This would make keeping you safe so much easier," Vidic smiled at the historian, leaning his elbows on his desk as he interlaced his fingers together in a sinister pose.
"I know," and Desmond couldn't believe what he was hearing as he watched Shaun tell the man their location, how many people were there and how exactly to get past the security they set up. He was betraying his friends, his colleges. An instant rage built up in Desmond and he couldn't stop himself from leaping out at the historian, hidden blade extracted. Shaun had caught it early, but hadn't moved fast enough to completely avoid the attack. He fell to the ground as Desmond jumped on top of him and attempted to plunge his blade into the man's neck, but missed and slid it through it shoulder like butter.
For a moment, Vidic thought he had lost his most favourable tool but within a second, Desmond had been bucked off and fell back. It gave the doctor just enough time to quickly open his drawer and pounce on the struggling Assassin. In a heartbeat, he bit off the cap and pushed the needle into Desmond's neck, instantly knocking him out. With him rendered unconscious, he turned back to Shaun, who was sitting up and clutching his shoulder, which was bleeding heavily.
"Y-you bastard! You were supposed to protect me but you failed!" Shaun shouted, wincing when Vidic crouched down beside him and gently touched his wound.
"Oh you'll be fine – stop being such a whiny wuss," he grunted, carefully brushing away Shaun's hand – which was acting like a magnet to the injury. Shaun pulled back away from him, eyes bitter as he slowly got to his feet, the world spinning around him. Much to his distaste, he felt an arm grab his shoulder and steady him.
"Let me... go..." He murmured, trying to pull away pathetically. All he was concentrating on was the pain and before he could get another word in, he passed out.
A/N: Woo! Sorry for the late chapter. It's late because, well, none of my beta editors have been around. So I read this outloud to myself to look for any errors, so I hope I did I decent job of that. Anyways, this is easily becoming my favourite story. Want to see more of it?
Well, just review! D And should I include any slash in this? If so, drop a line and suggest why!
