Chapter 4

Isolation

A horse of good breed is not dishonored by his saddle

-Arabic Proverb

The image faded and I felt my mind return. The screen above my face slid away and I sat up, letting out a long sigh. I was still dizzy and the transition of memories made me a bit-what's the word?-queasy. I rubbed my face, a gesture that told me it was mine. I wouldn't have believed in the ability to travel back through genetic memories had I not just experienced it first hand. Though I found the concept neat (I mean, come on, what's not cool about running around in the crusader era as an assassin?), the transition left me light headed and a bit freaked out.

A cold hand placed itself on my shoulder and I jumped. I looked over to see the blonde assistant smiling at me. Her face was oval shaped with a slightly squared chin. Above her rounded nose sat two clear blue eyes. She was very pretty, the ideal blonde. For the first time I noticed the ID card around her neck that read "Lucy Stillman." She seemed like someone I could trust but…

I looked over at Doc, and wanted to cringe away. Compared to his assistant's comforting face, his was, er… harsh. He face told me he frowned way too much, all the skin seemed to drag down. Though his beard was clean, and his hair, with the receding hair line, was combed neatly, it didn't give him a very trustworthy look. Not unless he gave me a reason to believe other wise, I was not trusting this old fart.

"You seem to be handling the treatment much better, Ms. Rivers." He said.

"Uh, yeah, I guess." I said.

"Well, I would suggest returning to your room and getting some rest. You're going to want to be refreshed for tomorrow."

With that he turned and headed towards a meeting room toward the back of the room, the glass windows giving a clear view of the scene. Taking advantage of his turned back, I flipped ol' Doc the bird. It was then, starring at my left hand, I noticed my amputated ring finger. Of course I had known it was there, but, I hadn't paid much attention to the detail for some time. It had been tradition, or so my uncle said, and bam, off it went. My ancestor was also decorated with the same trait.

I felt Lucy starring at my back and I quickly pulled my hand back, stroking the stump of flesh with my opposite hand.

"Can I ask you something?" She asked.

"Go for it." I said, crossing my legs as I spun around to face her.

She paused, biting down on her lower lip. "Vidic was asking if anyone was going to come looking for you, what did he mean?"

I stared at Lucy. At her eyes. Not only were they beautiful but they were filled to the brim with intelligence. My aunt was that kind of person. She had face with sharp details, framed by loosely spiraled brown hair. Her eyes could read a dog or the tea leaves at the bottom of a cup with just a glance. Nothing- and I mean nothing-got past her. She and Lucy were the same; the kind of person who didn't just ask questions to make conversation, but to learn. That's what my knowledge of reading people told me at least.

"Growing up I lived in a rural area of Okayama, it's a nice place, clean. Anyways, I lived with my uncle, Carter, and aunt, Shelia. My uncle had built our house out there, off the map; you couldn't find the place unless you were seriously searching."

"Why?"

"Dunno, really. Uncle said we were much safer out here, and that the only people we could trust were our fellow's around the world. They were the only people we could contact as well. I never met any of 'em. My uncle trained me in martial arts, and about any kind of self-defense you can name. Sometime we went into town, but we never used our real names, you know. We were all, incognito. When I turned fifteen I was allowed to leave the house but I was warned not to let my identity get out. I haven't been in contact with them ever since."

"You never even went to school?"

"My aunt taught me just about everything you could learn at school if not more."

Lucy paused a second time. "What about you parents?"

I shrugged. "I never knew 'em."

Her delicate eyebrows kneaded together. "What do you mean?"

"Apparently I was found on the steps of an orphanage, yeah cliché I know, but I grew up almost three years there before my aunt and uncle came and picked me up. They told me my parents had died, though they wouldn't tell me how."

"I'm sorry." Lucy said sympathetically, placing a hand on her chest.

I smiled. "Don't be, can't miss a two strangers I didn't know right?"

Lucy sighed. "No, I suppose not."

The blonde turned and walked away, scribbling on her notepad. I slid from off the Animus and followed after her. Though she was probably a few years older that me, we were about the same height.

"So," I began as Lucy sat down in a chair. "Now that I given you my life story, wanna tell me what I'm doing here?"

She didn't even glance up from her notepad. Lucy had heard me, but she was choosing to act like she didn't. I waited patiently, starring down at the way her hair was pulled back tightly, different shades of blonde strained to be styled. Words of a one of my co-workers came to mind. A few minutes turned to seven and it became obvious that Lucy wasn't going to become unnerved by my presence. Nor was she going to answer my question. Frustration began to heat.

"You gonna answer my question, or not?" I asked.

Lucy let out an impatient sigh. "Look, Sistine, I can't really talk about it. I'm sorry."

"Sorry my ass!!" I blurted. "Isn't Abstergo, like, a drug company? For pharmacies and shit?! Why the hell would I be kidnapped to be a lab rat for some 'genetic memory' machine?!"

"I really am sorry." Lucy insisted. "Besides, Abstergo is so much more than-" Her mouth snapped closed and she paused, looking around. "I-I can't talk about it. You should turn in."

I was smart enough to know that her last statement meant this conversation was over. I wanted to continue pressing but, I had admit that using the Animus did wipe me out a bit. Besides, maybe if I was able to ease questions towards my captors and at least collect tid-bits of information, I might get a vague idea of what I was doing here.

"Hey, Lucy?"

She turned to me as I began to walk towards my "room."

"I wouldn't suggest pulling your hair back that tightly." I said. "It's bad for your skin."

I didn't get a response. I wasn't expecting one. The door of my quarters slid open and I stepped in side cautiously. It was a small place, the colors as bland and lifeless as the rest of the building. I was given a queen sized bed, a glass desk (complete with plastic chair) and a closet placed next to some shelves. Cheery. What was even worse was that there were no clothes in the closet. What was the point then? To my right was a large and rather empty looking bathroom. Everything here was so clean and perfect looking, made me want to break stuff and reek havoc.

"Pleasant dreams, Ms. Rivers." A voice said from behind me followed by the sound of released air pressure.

I looked back quickly to see the door of the room being closed, Vidic standing just outside, before the lock blinked to red. The bastards locked me in. Damn. Obviously they didn't trust me, with good reason. Which meant I was stuck in this room till they let me out. Double damn. There was a loud rumbling sound and my stomach churned.

"Oi! Doc!" I called out, pressing up against the wall. "You got some food? I'm starving in here! I haven't eaten since you guys grabbed me and I don't even know how long ago that was."

Well, the last thing I had eaten had been that chocolate bar, which wasn't exactly what you could call nourishing. Even though I was pretty sure they weren't going to be feeding me, I enjoyed the idea of possible being a nuisance.

"You know, a big fat burger with onions and barbecue sauce sounds pretty good!" I continued, testing how far I push could push the limits. "Oh wait, no, scratch that, how bout some nice carne asada? Mmmm, grill it up with some lime juice, marinate it in some salsa. Oh! Make sure you serve it up with some corn cakes and tortillas, with a side of salad. You know, the kind from El Torito? How about that Doc? Sound good don't it? Think you could bring me a gameboy or somethin while you your at it? Hmm?"

No reaction. Either theses walls were sound proof or I was being ignored. Not only did I succeed in failure but I made myself even more hungry. Karma; it has a way of coming back around and biting you in the ass. I sighed and slammed my forehead into the door. Shit, this was bad. I was in a place, well, a place that supposedly sold prescription drugs. It was cold, like a damn hospital, the though made me shiver (and not from the low temperature). I had no way of escaping, any time soon at least. And worst of all, I was hungry. My stomach always, always, came first.

With heavy and angst steps, I dragged myself over to bed and flopped down. The pillow next to me jumped into the air slightly before settling back down. I glared at it over my arm.

"You calling me fat, bitch?" I snarled, with not much enthusiasm.

The pillow sat there, looking plump, soft and plushy. If the thing had a face I would be laughing, I swear. Now that I looked harder, though, I noticed some of the wrinkles in the fabric looked like a wide smile. Yeah, laugh all you want but you stuck here with me all the same.

My revenge on the smug pillow? I plopped my head down on it and wiggled myself around to get comfy, imagining the stuffed bag screaming out in mercy. Satisfied, I pulled the dull grey blankets up to my nose and curled up into a ball. Ugly as they were, they did their job by keeping me warm through the night. They did their job well.

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I groaned softly, my body telling me to wake up but my mind protesting greatly. I pressed my face farther into the pillow, which smelled like old cloth. The blankets around me weren't keeping me warm enough, so I pulled them tighter around my body. Geez, what time was it?

I had this strange feeling I was being watched but I ignored it. Damn, did I really have to get up? Five more minutes? My wanna-be-mother body wouldn't even allow me that. This mental struggle continued for a bit before I raised the hands along with the white flag. I cracked open an eye.

I wished I hadn't.

"Whoa!" I cried out, jumping back, which was a movement handicapped by the surrounding blankets.

Vidic had been right there, hovering over my face when that first eye had popped open. Now that was disturbing. Even now he still regarded me calmly, as if I was just some animal he had had startled.

"Yeah, uh, that's not creepy at all Doc, waking up to you standing over me and all." I said when I had finally scooped my mind up off the floor. "Apparently it's not creepy enough to kidnap a girl, you've gotta watch me sleep too?"

Vidic straightened, his expression never changing. He turned around smoothly, a uninterrupted movement, and walked over towards the now open door. Woot, freedom…well, sort of.

"Come along, Ms. Rivers, we have more work to do." He said, obviously not fazed by my reaction or preparing to offer an explanation.

I scooted off the bed and followed after him, my bare feet making a quite slapping sound against the hard floor. Lucy was already out there by the Animus, typing away on a computer. She gave me a quick smile before returning to her work.

I glanced out the windows. It was bright and sunny out there, a few light weight clouds sprinkled here and there. Some tree tops were visible, swaying in some invisible breeze. Birds preformed figure eights as they chased one another. Though it was barley audible, they chirped high pitch notes without pattern. I really, really needed out of this place.

"Now, lie down on the Animus, Ms. Rivers." Vidic instructed, gesturing towards the machine. "The sooner we start and the farther we get, the sooner we can be done."

I looked at the odd contraption, then looked back out the window. I sighed mentally and hopped up on the Animus. The moment my head was down, the screen slid above my face. There was that bright light and I found myself getting pulled into another era.

Author notes: Chapter about Sistine where we got a glimpse into her past. I didn't want to make it like Desmond's, where as he grew up on The Farm, so I changed it around a bit. It's hard to figure out how to have Sistine react to her situation because me, honestly, would be reacting similar, if not worse, to being in a strange place and being strapped to a stranger machine like Desmond. The two of us are pretty similar….mmm, carne asada.