Vera awoke not long after to find her head resting on Eluveitie's shoulder, who was still fast asleep. Torstein was asleep as well, his iPhone resting in between his legs as it played music through his headphones. She lifted her head, then reached for her bag under the seat and pulled out her lap top. She powered it on, then opened up the Word Document she had started. She added some new information to what she already had, then saved it before closing it out. She reached back into her bag and pulled out a personal hot spot device and powered it on before jumping onto the internet to check her email. Nothing yet from Sarah. She sent the document to Sarah, then began to do some reach search.

An hour passed by and she could feel the pressure in the plane starting to drop slightly, which meant that they were close to landing. She put her lap top and hot spot device back into her bag, then leaned back and tapped Eluveitie on the shoulder.

"I think we're going to be landing soon...my ears are giving me hell." She whispered to him as he slowly began to come to.

Eluveitie groaned as he slowly started to wake up. He sat up slightly and allowed his eyes to adjust to the lighting in the plane, "How long have I been asleep?"

"I don't know because I fell asleep reading." Vera replied to him, then leaned over him and tapped Torstein on the shoulder.

"I guess I was asleep for several hours." Eluveitie replied in a sleepy voice, "What time is it, anyways?"

"I really have no idea." Once Vera saw Torstein starting to wake up, she leaned back, then pulled up the blind and had a look outside, "Close to dark. You're going to be up all night."

"Don't we stay up at night, anyways?" He grinned slightly as he leaned over and whispered to her, "We work in the dark to serve the light."

Vera grinned slightly, "Yeah, yeah."

Upon their arrival, they claimed their bags and went to wait for Hawk to come pick them up. Vera had emailed him before shutting down her lap top, so she figured he couldn't have been too far away, or, perhaps, was there already. She pulled out her phone and gave him a call.

"Hey, where are you?" She questioned as she covered her other ear in order to cancel out the sound of the vehicles driving around them.

"I'm here. Come towards the back of the line." Hawk replied.

"Be there in a few." Vera said, then hung up. She headed in the opposite direction as Eluveitie and Torstein followed after her. Soon, they came upon a black Viper and all she could do was give herself a face palm, "Really?" She walked up to the car and watched as the window rolled down, "This isn't really keeping a low cover, you know."

"Rental! Enjoying it while I can." Hawk replied as he leaned over and popped open the trunk.

"Just hope no Templars follow after us...or any rogue Assassins." Vera walked to the trunk and placed her things inside. She waited for her fellow Assassins to do the same, then walked to the passenger side. She allowed them to take the back, then got in the front with Hawk. She closed the door and had just enough time to put on her seat belt as Hawk sped away.

"How was the flight?" Hawk asked.

"I slept most of the time." Vera said, "They slept the whole time."

"Any chance we can stop and get some coffee?" Torstein said as he yawned a little, "I still need to wake up."

"You can have some once we arrive at base. The quicker we get there, the better." Hawk said.

"More rogues?" Vera questioned.

"Not that I've seen, but one can never be too careful."

After twenty minutes of driving, they arrive at Tiber Island, one of the Assassin bases. They were greeted by Desmond and a few other Assassins who lived there. They offered to help Vera, Eluveitie and Torstein bring in their bags, then guided them inside and showed them to the rooms they would be staying in. Vera followed Hawk to the room they were keeping the rogue Assassin tied up in. She opened up the door and saw him with his head down, as if he were sleeping. She walked up to him, then tapped him on the shoulder. With a start, he lifted up his head and looked at her through the pale light. She sensed his discomfort as she knew he was able to a spot a sword at her waist and her hidden blade, which was easy to see on her forearm. She wasn't taking any chances. She stepped away from him, then grabbed another chair and pulled it up. She seated herself in front of him.

"Do you know English?" Vera spoke to him in Italian. She knew the language, but it was becoming a bit rusty. She needed a good way to communicate with him in order to get information out of him. With a nod of his head, she replied, "I apologize, but my Italian has gone a bit rusty over the years."

The young man nodded slightly, then glanced over her shoulder to see Hawk standing in the doorway, leaning against the door frame. He had removed the jacket he was wearing earlier in order to show his hidden blade. He was prepared in case something happened to Vera.

Vera caught this action, but allowed it to slide. Once his eyes were on her, she said, "What is your name?"

He stayed quiet for several moments before saying, "Joel."

"Nice." Vera replied as she sat back slightly, "There's a band I like with a guy named Joel in it. Good start to this conversation. How old are you?"

"Twenty, madam."

"You don't need to be formal with me. We're all Assassins here." Her eyes narrowed slightly when she caught a snicker from Hawk. She turned her head to look back at him. Once he had caught her stare, he stopped, then she turned her head back towards Joel, "Ignore him. He's not all there in the head, sometimes."

"I heard that." Hawk replied.

Vera sighed a little, "I thought it was your eye that was better, not your ears."

"You spoke loud enough for me to hear. Next time, keep your voice down, Master Assassin."

Vera hissed under her breath when she saw Joel go into a state of shock, which she was trying to avoid in order to keep him calm, "Hawk, you're already not on my good side, don't make it worse."

"You have yet to kick me back to the states, you know. I'm still waiting for that."

"Can I get back to business, please?!" As soon as the room fell silent, she turned her attention back to Joel, "I apologize about that. Anyways, how long have you been an Assassin?"

"About three years." Joel replied, trying to remain calm, but it wasn't working well knowing that a high ranked Assassin was in his presents and questioning him. His heart sped up slightly.

Vera nodded, "Where are you from?"

"Avellion."

"Who trained you?"

"Master Pluchino. He's a high ranked Assassin as well, very well respected down there."

"He wasn't with you when you ran into my friend and the other Assassins with him, was he?"

Joel shook his head, "No, he wasn't. My friends and I were out inspecting a crime that happened involving the Templars."

Vera's head tilted slightly as she thought, "What kind of crime?"

"From what I understand, the Templars broke into an old jewelry store and demanded something from the owner, which he didn't have. They killed him and searched the place. We're not sure what they were looking for, but I'm assuming they found it...I think."

'I think I know how they got the medallion now...but, how the hell did it end up in Italy?' Vera thought to herself before speaking to Joel, "What happened once you got there?"

"I felt a strange sensation within me, like something was trying to control me. I heard a voice in my head and I thought my heart was being pulled out of my chest. After that, I don't remember. I just remember waking up here."

"Did you go into the store? Did you even get that far?"

"We were able to get inside and that's when everything started to go blink. I don't remember seeing anyone in the store and it was very well cleared out by the time we got there. The police must have beaten us to it."

Vera nodded, "Anything else you can tell me?"

"That's all I have right now, madam; as I've said before, everything between then and now is blank."

Vera turned slightly and looked over at Hawk, "Contact Pluchino and let him know we have one of his students with us. Tell him to come pick him up."

Hawk nodded slightly before leaving the room, closing the door behind him.

Vera stood, then reached into her back pocket and pulled out a necklace with a black pendent at the end of it, "I'm sure you're sick of being stuck in that chair."

"Someone's always with me whenever they untie me, but I'm not a bad person, I swear." Joel said as he watched her carefully, fear showing in his eyes.

"I believe you." Vera said as she walked up to him, then placed the necklace around his neck, then tucked it into his shirt, "Whatever's going on seems to be affecting Assassins only. This will help protect you on your trip home." She released her blade, then sliced the ropes.

Joel breathed a sigh of relief as he stood up and stretched his legs. He walked over to the bed that was in the room, then sat down. He laid down and made himself comfortable, enjoying the sensation of the soft mattress compared to the hard chair.

Vera watched him, then walked over to the window that was in the room and had a look out. From where she was standing, she was able to see the lights of the city shinning in the night and reflecting off the water around them. She turned her head slightly when she heard Joel's breathing pattern change, which meant that he had fallen asleep. Moments passed and she heard the door open. She saw Hawk walk into the room.

"Master Assassin Pluchino is on his way. He made a comment that his Assassins have been acting strangely. He's bringing them with as well. I asked around and they're allowed to stay here until they can figure out what's going on." Hawk said to her.

Vera nodded, then lead him out of Joel's room. She closed the door behind them and noticed a lock on the outside. Just to be safe, she locked it, "He's not armed, is he?"

"We took all his weapons when he came here." Hawk said as they started down the hall, "I don't think he'll have any plans of jumping out that window."

"He should be trusted. It's just a shame that you couldn't save his friends."

"They put up one hell of a fight, but there was nothing we could do. They were well armed and attacking as if they were about to chop our heads off. We tried, but, sadly, it had to be done."

"Sadly, we have to do what we can in order to protect ourselves." She walked to her room, then went inside. She grabbed a jacket and threw it on, then went back over to him and lead him down the stairs and towards the door. She walked outside.

Hawk followed after her, then stood at her side as he noticed her taking in the sites of the lit city just across the way, "Need a breather?" He asked.

"I need to talk to you." Vera said, then moved a little ways from the door to a nearby tree. She climbed the tree and sat on the lowest branch, her feet we able to touch Hawk's shoulders once he stood next to the spot where she was sitting.

"What about?" Hawk questioned as he kept his eyes locked to the city, feeling her boots on his shoulder every so often when she would swing them.

"Before we got on the plane and when we were on our way here, I kept having a dream. A dream about one of my ancestors, but it felt as if I were in the Animus."

Hearing that caught Hawk's attention and he turned his head to look up at her, "Come again?"

"I know it's not normal."

"At least you ain't like that Daniel Cross guy you all were able to capture several years back." He saw her giving him a strange look, "Word gets around fast, especially when it's something like that. Heard you took a nasty lick to your stomach."

"Lucas gave me hell about that for months." Vera sighed a little, "But, I get what you're saying at him. He was, literally, a living Animus. He'd lose touch with the real world and begin to speak Russian. Then, when he'd come to, he'd attack at random, but he wouldn't mean to. Just a shame he had to turn to the Templars. And, what did he gain from all of that? Nothing. Just, nothing."

"Pretty sure they were using him for that purpose, being a living Animus and all."

"I'm sure there's more to his story than meets the eye. But, back to my situation. What if this keeps up? What do I do?"

"It could be an omen for something to come, or it could be trying to tell you something. As long as you don't wake up trying to kill someone, or start sleep walking, then I'd say just let it be. Keep a journal on it, if you have to. Have a session when you have time."

"I have been writing all of this down...or, what I can remember of my dreams, that is. I talked to Sarah to see if she could dig up anything on my ancestor. I've got nothing on my lap top about her, or Jacob Frye."

Hawk turned slightly and looked up at her, "Jacob Frye? Never heard of him."

"From what I understand, he ran a gang in London called The Rooks. My ancestor made a comment that she's there on family business. What kind? I'm not sure."

Hawk shook his head slightly, "Never heard of them either. Sorry, not much help, am I?"

"This whole thing isn't much help." Vera sighed a little, then jumped slightly when she heard her phone go off. She answered it, "I'm alive in Rome right now."

"Well, at least that's good to hear." Sarah said, "I'm afraid I haven't been able to find anything on your ancestor. I did receive the e-mail you sent me, but I still can't find anything about her."

"This is really strange." Vera said as she tapped Hawk with her boot. When she had his full attention, she slide to the end of the branch and jumped down.

Hawk caught her, then put her down.

"Vera, I know you're a vampire and everything, but do you think your ancestor might still be alive?"

Vera raised an eyebrow, "I'm not sure. I mean…why would I be having a dream about her if she's still around? Isn't that how the Animus is suppose to work? They need to be dead in order for us to 'live their life'?"

"Well, you're not really having a session in the Animus. You're living her life through your dreams. That's a totally different thing."

"Good point there. I really don't know. I don't know anyone in my family…just a select few. I don't have strong ties with them, as you well know. But, did you find out anything about Jacob Frye?"

"I haven't gotten that far yet. I was trying to find out about your ancestor before I looked into him."

"That's alright. I'll do the research, but if you manage to find anything, then send it my way."

"I'll be sure to do that. Oh, and, Lucas wants to talk to you." Sarah passed the phone over to her boss.

'Lovely.' Vera thought to herself as she listened to the silence before hearing his voice.

"It appears you have arrived safely in Rome." Lucas said.

"A Viper picked us up." Vera glanced at Hawk and caught the grin on his face, "Jonathan was behind the wheel."

"How the devil did he get the money for that?"

"Rental!" Hawk had heard Lucas over the phone and decided to add his input, "Gotta live it up while I can."

"I don't think he's old enough for a midlife crises."

"He just likes fancy cars." Vera said as she walked over to the tree trunk and leaned against it, "So, what's up?"

"Have you had a chance to speak to that rogue Assassin?"

"Yes, I have, and he's not rogue. He was under the control of the Templar who has that darn thing. Tomorrow, we'll start our journey to Avellion, that's where the Assassin is from. His master is on the way to pick him up."

"Who are you taking with you?"

"Just Eluveitie and Torstein."

"That's it?"

"We can handle ourselves. We are Master Assassins and are highly trained. I trust they won't fall pray to that thing."

"What if you can't find it in Avellion?"

"I have contacts who can keep me up to speed as to where these rogue Assassins are popping up at." She glanced over at Hawk, "Sarah already made a comment about Syria. I'll allow that to be our next 'port of call'."

"You be careful if you have to go down there, you hear?"

"I understand what's going on down there. We'll try and avoid it if possible. My guess is if they've gone down there, then they've probably hit up Masyaf Castle. Sound familiar?"

"Altier."

"Correct. But, I don't even know if the castle is still there, or not. I'll do some research prior to our journey there, if we have to go there, that is."

"Vera, I understand you're going after a family related object, but I really hope you don't get sent back here in a body bag."

Vera grinned, "If they're smart, then they'll have to either take me down with a Colt, or chop my head off. That thing will brainwash the hell out of the Templar who has it before he even has the chance to do one of the two. But, I can't promise I won't come back with a scar or two."

"Just as long as you're alive."

"Yes, yes. I will be back there alive, I promise."

"And, one more thing, no more side trips, got it?" Before Vera had the chance to respond, Lucas said, "Have a good evening, and victory to the Assassins." He hung up.

Vera looked at her phone, then shoved it into her pocket.

"Any help from him?" Hawk asked as he walked with her back towards the building.

Vera shook her head, "No help from anyone. I'll do some research once we get in. I'm not tired yet."

"You have all night." Hawk stepped in front of her, then opened up the door, "Just hope you're able to find what you're looking for."

Vera stepped inside, then looked back at him, "I really hope so."