Chapter Three – Strike a Match

"So, we just keep him as a hostage until we find his brother?" Shay asks as the two walk, the Irishman just a step or two ahead of the Grand Master, who nods.

"Yes, and if we must use him as a source of blackmail, we will," he replies, putting his hands behind his back.

Shay swerves to his left to avoid crashing into an angry looking woman, frowning slightly. "Then what? We goin' to let him go, or kill him?"

Kenway gives the Templar a questioning look, raising a brow. "Most likely the latter, Master Cormac, why?"

The boy shrugs, not meeting his gaze. "Just think it's not fair to him. He obviously doesn't even know who the Assassins are, or that his brother was one. He doesn't know who we are, or why we're doing what we're doing."

Haytham continues to give him a confused look. "You believe we should just let him go?"

"The more I think about it; yes," he answers. "Didn't Lawrence Washington ask you to leave his younger brother alone, so he didn't become an Assassin target? It goes the other way around, right? What good are we to the world, if we can't show mercy?"

Whatever Kenway had ready to say was wrecked by Shay's questions. As much as he wanted to deny it, the boy had a point. This man was as innocent as George Washington; oblivious to the true nature of their brothers' jobs.

Shay was right.

"I suppose so," the Grand Master finally admits. "Depending on how well this goes, if you wish for him to live, he will."

Shay smiles. "Thank you." Spotting his ship from behind Fort Arsenal, he looks back at the other. "So, to Fort Louis?"

The man nods. "Yes. Supply your ship with what we will need, then we make haste."

Shay nods. "It shouldn't take too long. An hour at the…" he stops.

Whispers.

Haytham frowns at Shay's pause, watching him slow his walk and hold out an arm to slow him as well, his eyes narrowed and suddenly alert. He knew Shay's second sight extended to his ears as well; a unique ability never heard of before. The ex-Assassin was focused as he attempted to pinpoint the source of the noises he was hearing.

The moment Shay stops walking, Haytham knows he's found it.

"How many?" he asks quietly. Shay nods forward.

"Four. One behind us, one on that roof, one around that corner, and one sitting on that bench."

Using his own vision, he spots them for himself, glancing behind him to see the Assassin following them, walking closer to them through the crowd of people.

"I'll get the one behind us," he starts, as Shay reaches in his belt pouch to grab a small knife.

"Go now," the boy replies, before flinging the knife with incredible aim at the Assassin on the roof, right in the side of his head. He takes off forward, and Kenway turns around to grab the one behind him, stabbing him through the throat with his hidden blade.

Shay meanwhile pulls out the smaller of his two swords, striking right in the back of the woman who had jumped up from the bench as her dead comrade fell from the roof above her. The Assassin around the corner runs out at the sound of blades and civilians screaming, only to be ended by a bullet in the head as Kenway turned around and pulled the trigger of his gun.

Shay stands up, removing his sword from the Assassin's body and sheathing it, as Haytham runs up to him, putting his gun away.

"Guards! Help!" are the screams of people all around, and the two Templars share exasperated looks before bolting; British soldiers yelling as they attempted to chase them.

They take an alley, through someone's yard and underneath their laundry line, over a few picket fences and around a corner, dodging trash cans and stray cats, over a homeless man lying on the ground, before turning left and out onto the crowded street, over the bridge and passed two of Shay's guards at Fort Arsenal, who stopped the three British soldiers hollering at them.

The two jog up to the entrance of the building, opening up the door and shutting it quickly behind them. They stop, both of them panting, looking up when Gist clears his throat.

"Uhh…afternoon run?"

He watches as both men look at each other, Shay smirking, and Haytham actually smirks back.

"Something of the sort," the Grand Master answers, and Shay laughs.

Gist only stares in slight surprise. So the two had inside jokes now? He only slightly wondered if they were both drunk, drugged, or both.


"I thought I heard the Old Man say, 'Leave her Johnny, leave her!' Tomorrow you will get your pay, and it's time, for us, to leave her…"

Shay had a small smile on his face as he listened to his crew sing their shanties, one hand on the wheel as he guided the Morrigan up further and further north. It shouldn't take them too much longer to get to Fort Louis, he thought to himself. The ocean was fairly calm, the wind on their side today as it pushed them steadily along the North Atlantic.

Gist stood on his left, whistling along with the crew's song, while Haytham stood on his right, hands on the railing in front of him, watching the northern lights wave through the night sky in greens and blues.

It was these calm times that Shay really appreciated. After taking the Morrigan and sailing her for the first time, the Assassin at the time would spend many nights just sailing like this, with his crew singing contently and Liam talking with him about their childhood together, before life, before trauma, pulled them away from each other.

He missed Liam.

Truly missed Liam.

The Liam that stood up for him when he was bullied around. Pulled him away from bar fights before he got hurt. Beat up those sick freaks that tried to kidnap him when he was too drunk to know where he was. The Liam that hugged him and let him cry when his father was killed…

"Shay?"

The now-Templar blinks out of his thoughts at Gist's call, seeing both he and Kenway giving him almost concerned looks. "You alright, Captain?" the man continues, as Shay clears his throat.

"Aye, just thinking…"

Gist grins. "Well, you almost 'thinked' your way into that glacier. It's a good thing the wind is looking out for us."

Shay rolls his eyes, but smiles.

At least he had Gist, Weeks… Haytham…

They may not be the friends and family he grew up with, but they were the people to take him in at his worst and bring him up to be better.

At first, it hadn't been about the Templars, or their Order. It was about saving the world, avenging all the lives lost because of that damn Precursor Box, and repaying his debt to Monro. Monro wanted Shay to join the Order, to better help the world. He did in the man's honor, and with each passing day, he knows more and more that it was the right decision.

"Fort Louis, Captain!" one of his crew members call out, pointing towards the crumbling structure jotting out of the sea.

"It still looks abandoned," Gist comments, giving Shay a skeptical look.

"Better a place to smuggle ancient artifacts, without gettin' caught," Shay answers. "I wouldn't doubt if there's a good amount of Assassins hiding there."

"The British should have at least kept the fort under watchful eye," Kenway frowns. "In the wrong hands, falling apart or not, this place is a danger to any ships that sail passed it."

"I think they could have fixed it up," Gist adds. "They were just too lazy."

"Or stupid," Shay corrects, and his first mate laughs in return.

Docking the ship, the three men exchange looks. It was quiet, but for all they knew it was just a trap, and the Assassins were ready to ambush them.

"Gist, stay here and be ready to move her if things go awry," Shay orders, and the man nods.

Jumping from ship to broken dock, both Shay and Haytham slowly make their way up towards the entrance; Shay listening for enemies, and Haytham looking for them.

The fort walls are crumbling and nearly all torn down, wood planks and posts laying smashed and splintered everywhere. Snow is covering almost everything in a thin, white layer, crunching under their boots as they walked slowly into the fort.

It was still and quiet, the air heavy and cold with tension and a bitter anticipation. Shay listens for any possible threat, but hears nothing but the howl of wind in his ears as it glides passed him.

"Anything?" Haytham asks beside him, and Shay shakes his head.

"Nothing, but that doesn't mean they're not here."

The Grand Master hums in agreement, turning to look down an old, worn, snow covered path leading into another yard. He tried with his Eagle Vision again, as they got closer.

He saw them the moment Shay heard them.

They take cover as two Assassins walk by the bridge over the path, towards a building with two more Assassins standing guard. There was a large, large group inside, there having to be at least twenty or more Assassins in there, and more in the building next to it.

"What did I say?" Shay asks quietly with narrowed eyes. "There's Vardon."

Haytham finds the man in yellow, his own eyes narrowed. "He has the box. We need to get it from him."

"We're heavily outnumbered," Shay looks back at him. "We need a plan, or we'll be losing more than what we came here for."

"A distraction," Haytham thinks out loud, turning to look at a large amount of gunpowder sitting in barrels under a shed, three Assassins talking amongst each other right by it. "Do you have any of those fire cracker darts?"

Shay reaches into one of his belt pouches, pulling out one of the mentioned darts. "I do, and I see where you're going with this." He loads it into his rifle and aims it at the barrels, Haytham getting ready to move it the moment the boy pulls the trigger.

The barrels explode in a fiery mess and loud boom, killing all three Assassins at once, and getting the attention of the ones inside both buildings. The explosion takes out a large section of the fort's walls, while flames start spreading along the wooden beams and dried grass and hay just untouched by the snow.

"We're under attack!" one of the Assassins yells, as a group of them run out. Haytham and Shay make a run for it, hiding in shrubs just inside the yard. Shay grabs one of the men running passed them, killing him with his hidden blade and laying him in the shrubs behind him. Kenway does the same and they creep forward through the bushes, both praying none of these Assassins had Eagle Vision.

"Where are they?" someone yells, and Shay kills two more simultaneously as he approaches them. Haytham watches as Vardon runs out, his eyes narrowed as he searched the area for them.

Unfortunately, it seemed he did posses Eagle Vision, because just two seconds later, he's pointing directly at the two Templars.

"Shit!" Shay exclaims as he pulls out his sword, just narrowly missing the first Assassin that attacked him. Kenway pulls out his own weapon, fighting off two men that ran right to him as well.

Shay stabs one man through the chest with his right sword and slices through another's throat with his left, while Haytham fires his gun through the eyes of one man and stabs another through the shoulder. One Assassin fires his gun at them and Shay just dodges it, as a support beam explodes nearby as the flames consume it, tumbling down and almost smashing him beneath it. Haytham curses as one Assassin slices his left arm with the blade of his sword, before kicking the man's legs out beneath him and slashing across his neck. Shay stumbles backwards as one of the large men runs towards him with an axe, swinging it and just shy of taking his head off. He ducks as the axe swings again, but stumbles back into another Assassin who swung his sword at his back.

"Dammit!" Shay hisses as he falls forward, rolling over to the side just in time to avoid an axe to his face. He rolls to his feet and swings his sword once more to stab the guy through the chest, pulling his own gun out to shoot the guy who got him in the back.

Another support beam cracks and thunders loudly as it splits at its base and starts to fall, Shay's eyes widening as he watches it fall.

"Master Kenway!" he exclaims, running forward to push the man out of the way.

He's too late.

The beam falls on both Haytham and the man he had been fighting, knocking him on his back as the fiery post landed on top of his stomach.

Shay slides down to kneel beside the man, grabbing at the beam and trying to lift it with all the strength he had.

"Vardon!" Kenway exclaims, before coughing and spitting out blood. "He's getting away!"

"Let him go!" Shay yells, starting to panic. "We need to get you out of here!"

"Goddammit, Shay!" Haytham yells, looking up and shooting the Assassin that was running towards them. "You can't let him get away with the box!"

"I'm not leaving you here to die!" Shay argues, again trying to lift the beam, his boots digging into the ground as he attempts to take on the weight of it.

"That's an order, Shay!" Kenway nearly growls, before coughing up more blood.

The boy shakes his head. "I can't…"

He wouldn't leave him here. Damn the box and damn Vardon…he wasn't going to let Haytham die here.

He lets out a grunt as he manages to get the beam up, hearing Kenway fire another shot at another Assassin in vain attempt to keep them both alive. Someone yells that they need to get out of there before the place falls into the ocean, and Shay feels another surge of anxiety fill him with adrenaline, just enough to lift the beam off of the Grand Master.

"Move out!" he yells, and Haytham does, rolling out and coughing up more blood, holding his abdomen in pain as he tries to get himself on his knees. Shay drops the support beam and runs over to his leader, throwing his left arm over his shoulder and helping him to his feet.

"We need to get out of here…" he huffs, turning the two of them around and making way for the nearest opening, where he can see the Morrigan sail nearer with Gist waiving at them. Kenway coughs again, the both of them flinching as another explosion goes off, someone in the distance screaming as he's caught on fire. They make it to the hole in the wall, limping through it, another explosion going off right behind them.

"We need to jump," Shay breathes, his hold on Haytham tightening. The Grand Master nods, and just when the final explosion shakes the ground and breaks the wall apart behind them, they both jump, feeling the heat of flames on their backs as they missed being scorched alive, diving into the water with a cold splash.

Shay surfaces, still with a hold on Haytham. They manage to swim to the ship, Gist and the crew leaning over the side to help pull them up. They all turn and watch what's left of the fort, crumble apart into the ocean.

"That…could have went better…?" Gist tries, turning to look at both injured men; Shay covered in blood and Haytham holding his torso as if his life depended on it.

The Grand Master also looked pissed.

He turns to Shay, pointing back towards the fort.

"That, was our only lead in the Precursor Box, and you let it get away!"

Gist's mouth drops open, and Shay stares at the man in slight shock.

Then Shay's eyes narrow.

"So I should have let you die?" he snaps, angrier than anyone has ever heard him sound. Kenway only glares at him.

"Nothing, is more important than that box," he takes a step towards the other, menacingly. "I gave you an order, you disobeyed. Now the Assassins have the box, and we don't know where to!"

"Nothing?" Shay questions, sounding choked. "And what would have happened if you died and I still couldn't get to Vardon in time? Then how much better would that have been?"

"You would have the box!" Kenway throws the arm up that isn't holding his stomach. "For all we know they could be on their way to another Precursor Temple, and yet again destroy it!"

"That's all you care about, isn't it?!" Shay yells back. "Those damn temples hardly matter in any of this. It's the people that will be killed if those temples are interfered with."

Kenway's wvoice lowers considerably. "And those people will die because you thought one life was worth all of theirs."

Gist and the crew members feel the burn of his words themselves, watching with wide eyes as Shay stares, looking almost betrayed, horrified.

"It takes," Shay starts quietly, "one life, to make a million. Maybe, you should learn the difference, between your damn Order, and the people who would die in your name."

He turns around, stomping across the ship to his cabin, slamming the door shut behind him.

Haytham stands there, looking almost dazed, as Gist slowly makes his way to the wheel.

"Let's get back to New York," the man says to the crew members, who glared at Kenway as they lowered the sails and prepared the ship for home.


"Pneumonia," Dr. Andrews says with narrowed eyes. "I told you he needed two weeks of rest."

Kenway only stares blankly across the room, one hand playing with a feather, the other holding his chin up. "How bad is it?" he asks quietly.

The doctor lets out an aggravated sigh. "Bad, Kenway. It's bad. It looks like he's had it for some time, but the symptoms haven't shown until now. Ice water can do that to a person."

The Grand Master closes his eyes and rubs them tiredly. "And his injuries?"

Andrews scoffs. "Well, because the old ones didn't have the proper time to heal, many of them have reopened, and the one on his back caused him to lose a lot more blood than he should have lost. He's in bad shape. If the pneumonia doesn't kill him, it's going to take almost a month now for him to fully recover." When Kenway doesn't answer, or even look at him, the doctor continues: "As for you, you need at least a week or two to heal up. Your lucky he got you out of there when he did, or you would have died for sure."

The man lets out a sigh of his own and waves the doctor away. "Very well. Anything I need to know or do to help with his sickness?"

Andrews only frowns. "He needs sleep. Keep a watch on his temperature. Make sure he eats and sleeps properly."

Haytham nods, but is quiet, not even looking at the doctor. Andrews frowns at him, before sighing again and shaking his head.

"In all respect, Kenway," he starts, his voice a bit softer. "You seem to have a bad habit of using your friends as weapons." This earns him a confused look from the Templar, and he continued: "You need to learn the difference between work and people, especially the one that would take a bullet for you."

Kenway's brows furrow and he turns away from him. "You're dismissed…" he grumbles, and Andrews in turn glares at him.

"Very well, but this is it, Kenway. I don't want to hear of any more accidents like this. Shay's a good kid. He would do anything for you, because you're all he has left."

He turns and leaves at that, with Haytham to sit and ponder his words. He wasn't sure how to feel about anything, anymore. If Shay were any other person, he would have killed him for not only disobeying the Order, but arguing with him as well, and letting their only lead on the Precursor Box escape.

…but this was Shay, and Shay was different. He couldn't figure out why, or how, but when it came to Shay it was as if everything Kenway was known throughout the Order for crumbled into nothing. Shay made him feel things he couldn't fully understand, if at all. He kept telling himself it was because he needed Shay in the Order, but…

He just didn't know.

He rubs a hand over his face and stares blankly for a moment, before deciding to pull out his journal from his desk and flip it open to a new page. He writes the date, and then keeps going…

…and he writes everything about Shay Patrick Cormac since the day he first heard his name.