Shaun and Rebecca sat on the couch, in their pajamas and wrapped head to toe in both of Lucy's quilts. All of the lights were off in their apartment; the only light source was the small TV that was playing one of Rebecca's favorite movies. Other than that, the place was completely encased in darkness. The two were snacking on a still warm popped bag of microwave popcorn, but were soon depleting it.
As the night grew longer, the two assassins found themselves coming closer to each other subconsciously, snuggling in a way. Shaun wasn't enjoying the movie as much as Rebecca, and was soon shuddering in fear. Rebecca, however, was thrilled with showing the Brit her favorite monster/horror from the 1980's. To her, the film was a cult classic.
"Now, what is this called again?" Shaun asked. His voice was sheepish as he dug himself further into the couch's cushions.
"Duh, Shaun, it's The Thing." Rebecca stated it as if it was obvious. She quickly opened up another can of her favorite energy drink and chugged half of it down. She smiled as her body buzzed with the overflow of caffeine. "Staring Kurt Russell, it's a horror movie classic! In my opinion, it's one of the best ones too, even if it didn't do well at the box office."
"This is utterly repulsive and dimwitted, Rebecca. I honestly don't understand why you enjoy it so much." Shaun muttered, cringing when the film got to a considerable gory part.
"Hey, don't knock it until we get to the end." Rebecca said as she nudged the Brit with her closest elbow, which caused him to flinch at her touch. Her smile flashed in the dark, and to Shaun, it looked like the computer techie had gone insane. She probably had with the amount of sugar in her sleep deprived system. "Trust me, it gets worse."
"Worse?" He voice literally squeaked.
Rebecca laughed at Shaun's sheepish response; he reminded her of herself when her father first showed her The Thing. She was five years old at the time, and she could remember when jumped into her father's lap at the climax of the movie. Her father just laughed at her and took her into a great big bear hug. They watched it again a week after that, and Rebecca's fear had vanished instantly, she had been laughing at it with her father.
She smiled at the memory. She missed her father.
She quickly returned her attention back to the movie, which was finally at her favorite part. She grabbed a handful of the popcorn and kept her eyes glued onto the television screen. A piercing scream filled the air, and Shaun practically jumped off of the couch. This only gave Rebecca the right to laugh her ass off for a quick second.
"Relax, it was just the movie." Rebecca stated as she grabbed the Brit's arm and pulled him down, trying to control herself from laughing again.
Suddenly, Lucy jumped through the window, breaking the glass pane. She jumped in sync with the movie; another scream highlighting her daring break in. Shaun couldn't take it and he screamed like a girl himself before covering his head with a quilt. Rebecca was undisturbed by Lucy's entrance and smiled at the assassin.
"Hey, Luce, what took you so long? And where's Desmond?" Rebecca asked. It took the woman a second to realize what she had just said. "Oh god, where's Desmond?"
Her bun was falling out, she was covered in what appeared to be dirt and grease, and she was panting like she had just sprinted several hours. Basically, she looked like a wreck. And Lucy knew it too, because she didn't answer Rebecca and went to the fridge for a bottle of water. She had to quench her thirst first before doing anything else.
Lucy looked at the two other assassins before quickly turning the television off. Any other time Rebecca would have complained and grabbed the remote to turn the TV back on. But one of their own was missing, and Lucy had to tell them what happened.
"Shaun, get out of the covers now. Desmond was kidnapped again. We need to get him back now." Lucy said, talking at a million miles an hour. She was panicking herself, and she knew she was at fault here. "They've probably already brought him back to—"
"Wait, calm down Luce. What happened exactly, and say it slower." Rebecca ordered as she sat up and turned a lamp on. "Sit down while you're at it, too."
Lucy sighed and sat down on the kitchen table, staring at Rebecca and Shaun with panicked eyes. Every second she spent telling them was a second that something back was happening to Desmond. As soon as the other two assassins were ready, Lucy went into great detail about what had happened in the past hour or so.
She started with their unexpected encounter with Alex Mercer and how he turned murderous when they mentioned Gentek, and then how they were almost killed. Lucy also explained how she was forced to leave Desmond back with Mercer and how she had perched herself on a nearby fire escape. She had finally reached the fire escape, only to watch a bunch of Abstergo thugs carry both Alex mercer and Desmond out to load them into the back of a truck.
"Trust me, if there was any way I could've done to help without killing myself, I would've done it." Lucy said after she brought the others up to date. "I felt so helpless just watching them cart him away next to that monster."
Shaun sighed and placed his right hand on Lucy's shoulder. He knew how bad she must have felt, and he somehow felt equally guilty. He rubbed Lucy's should slightly to comfort her, and she ended up bursting into sobs.
"It's alright, luv. We'll get him back in no time." Shaun said softly. He didn't know how exactly, but he knew that they would get Desmond back. "Rebecca, can you hack into Abstergo and see where they're taking Desmond?"
"Already on it." Rebecca stated as she typed away on her computer. Shaun and Lucy patiently waited as Rebecca hacked into the company's database and searched for the assassin. After a couple seconds passed, the computer techie smirked. "Either I'm getting better at this or Abstergo's getting worse at protecting their files. Looks like they're taking him south. You know, down to their New York Headquarters in the Financial District."
"What's their plan?" Lucy asked, her voice still hitched.
"Give me a sec, 'kay?" Rebecca muttered. She continued to dig in Abstergo's files until she found it. "Here, they want to put him in the Animus again to see if his other ancestors knew where some Pieces of Eden are. From what it looks like, their directive is to induce him into a permanent coma . . ."
Lucy put a fist to the kitchen table, startling the other two assassins. Her gaze had turned from fretful to forceful in an instant. She knew that they didn't have much time before Desmond was lost forever. She shot up into a standing position and then barged into her small room, leaving the door wide open for Shaun and Rebecca to see she was arming herself for an attack.
"What do you think you're doing, Lucy?" Shaun asked Lucy as she grabbed Desmond's hidden blade and strapped it onto her forearm.
"What does it look like I'm doing?" Lucy retorted, her voice grave. The assassin tested the blade out and was relieved when the hidden blade seamlessly slid out. "I'm getting Desmond back."
"Whoa, whoa whoa whoa! You can't just barge into that place and expect to live, let alone coming out unscathed." Shaun pointed out. He grabbed Lucy by the shoulders as if to shake some sense into her. She patiently waited for Shaun to stop, but time was running short. "We need plans, the building's blueprints, and an entry and escape route. If you go now, we'll lose both of you."
"Shaun's mostly right, Luce." Rebecca stated before Lucy could respond. "If you go in, they win. We can't afford to lose you two. But one of us should go and get him before it's too late."
"Who, then?" Lucy asked, a bit flustered.
Rebecca flashed an immature smile. "Me."
"What, you? You can't be serious?" Shaun exclaimed; he was flabbergasted at her response. "You'd be best behind the scenes providing logistical support."
"Well, here's how I see it: I've been good at infiltration my entire life due to playing sports as a young age and by training with other assassins. I'm a pretty good gunslinger, if I do say so for myself. Plus, I've been working on a couple gadgets that are perfect in this situation." Rebecca pointed out.
Rebecca walked to her desk and opened a drawer, revealing the gadgets that she talked about. She pulled one out in particular and put it on her head. They were a pair of futuristic looking goggles. "I've modified these night vision goggles that I stole a while ago so whatever appears on my desktop will appear in the right lens."
"And this is helpful . . . how?" Shaun pointed out.
"While I'm running around Abstergo looking for Desmond, you guys will need to keep me updated. My headphones have a connection with this computer, so I'll be able to hear what you're saying and talk back. I've even pulled everything up while you were talking. All that you'll need to keep me in the loop is there. You just need to follow the instructions on my computer and everything will work out." Rebecca stated as she adjusted the modified night vision goggles. "Trust me with this one, guys."
"How many more floors?" Rebecca whispered softly. Half an hour had passed since she departed from their safe house. She was currently climbing up the Abstergo's duct and ventilation system. It wasn't an easy task; there were only a couple small ridges every foot or so where she could support her whole body weight. It was tough work, and it wasn't made easier in almost complete darkness. But it reminded her of all the times she went rock climbing with her father. It still exhilarated her. "Am I close?"
"Er . . ." Shaun muttered as he tried to find the right file on her computer. "Oh, here it is. Yes, you are. Just a couple more feet and you'll reach the 27th floor. After that, you'll end up in what appears to be a janitor's closet."
Rebecca nodded and pushed herself slowly up towards her destination. If she lost her balance now, she'd plummet down back to the first floor, or below that, killing herself. She steadied herself as she pulled herself up and found her exit: a poorly constructed ventilation grate.
With one swift and steady punch, the ventilation grate popped off and clattered against the floor. It hurt her hand a bit, but she could ignore it for right now. Rebecca shook her hand for a couple seconds and then pulled herself out of the ventilation system and steadied her breathing.
"Okay, I'm in. Keep an eye on those security cameras, or shit'll hit the fan." Rebecca whispered. She looked at her surroundings, and sure enough, she was in a janitor's closet just like Shaun had told her. She stood up and tried to open the door, only to find out that the handle wouldn't move. "Fuck, it's locked. Is there a code or something to open it?"
"That won't be necessary, Rebecca." Lucy's voice filled the woman's ears. "After years of snooping around in that place, you learn a thing or two. There's a weak spot in the doorknob's design. If you hit the doorknob at a sixty-five degree angle with enough force, it'll break silently. But wait for a second, a guard is passing by your position."
Rebecca waited in silence, hearing footsteps pass her after a while. She instinctively stopped breathing, thinking that the guard could hear her pants from her ascent up the ducts. Rebecca looked at her computer screen through her modified glasses and mentally swore. From what data files she could see displayed, they were running out of time before Desmond became a vegetable plugged into an Animus.
"Do it now, Rebecca." Lucy ordered the computer techie in a hushed voice.
Rebecca didn't hesitate to hit the doorknob after estimating which angle was the correct one. As soon as she hit it, the doorknob snapped in half, and Rebecca could open it with ease. Rebecca exited the janitor's closet and waved at a nearby security camera, knowing that only Shawn and Lucy could see her. She had been smart enough to tap all the important cameras before leaving.
"Good, it worked. The next guard will come by in about eight minutes. That's your time limit to find Desmond before the guards tip someone off."
"Thanks, Luce." Rebecca nodded; she liked the rush of a time limit. She headed down the hallway, running at a safe pace and avoiding any security cameras she forgot to tap beforehand.
"Head to your right. There's only one guard stationed there, and he'll be easy to take out. Just do it silently." Lucy ordered her.
Rebecca rolled her eyes and turned around the corner to see the guard that Lucy was talking about. He was slacking off, leaning against the wall and dozing. The guard started to snore for a second before waking up and snapping his head up. He grumbled about something before crossing his arms and getting somewhat comfortable again. He had a pistol by his side, and Rebecca eyed it warily.
She quietly crept up on him. He didn't even notice her until her arms were around his neck, and by then, it was too late. Rebecca twisted his neck, snapping his spine in the process, and let the dead body fall to the ground. She didn't give him a passing glance as she sprinted down the halls.
"Good job, Rebecca." Shaun praised the woman, a hint of awe in his voice. "Back here, it looks like Desmond is being held in what I think is a detention cell. The cell's number is 17-HU. Find it. There will be plenty of guards stationed, so instead of trying to kill all of them, try to sneak past them."
"That's easier said than done, Shaun." Rebecca softly whispered as she almost ran into a pair of guards.
She managed to dodge them before they spotted her. As they passed her, she quickly knocked them out, but not before taking a swing to the face. Stumbled back, holding her chin as she felt a bruise start to form. She took great pride in her skills, even if they weren't as good as most assassins. But that was a little too close for comfort.
"And keep an eye on those security cameras, just ran into a couple of guards." Rebecca muttered as she spat at the unconscious guards. Her spit was red in color.
"Sorry." Lucy apologized quickly. "That was my fault. I went to fix myself a cup of coffee."
Rebecca didn't respond, she was too busy trying to look at the map on her goggles. From what she could tell, Desmond's cell block was one of the further ones, and that meant she would have to pass more guards on the way. She picked up her pace once she was done checking out the floor's blueprints.
The computer techie finally entered the detention center. She saw how many guards there were and silently swore. There was no way she was going to be able to sneak by them all. And somehow, the other two assassins knew this.
"Change of plans, Rebecca." Lucy stated. "Take as many out as you can."
Rebecca nodded and took off her backpack quickly. She pulled out two pistols and loaded them as if it was one of her bad habits. As she pulled her backpack back on, she aimed her weapons and stood out in the open. She kept her eyes focused on her targets. The guards saw her, but couldn't react in time. Rebecca swiftly shot any guard she saw in the head. Fortunately, she had been quick enough to not get shot at again.
"Wow, Rebecca, I'm impressed." Shaun said through the sound of shots being fired. "I didn't know you could handle guns that easily."
"Told you I was good. My old man was smart enough to teach me at a young age." Rebecca muttered as she reloaded her pistols. "But now they know I'm here."
Rebecca continued to run through the Detention Center. But she noticed how empty the cells were. The assassin barely saw anyone other than a couple old men that she assumed they had wronged Abstergo in some way or another. She wondered if they were assassins, but she would've known by now if there were others in the Order that were being held. It wasn't until she reached a fork in the halls did she finally see someone she faintly recognized.
Alex Mercer, thee Alex Mercer, was being held in the detention cell to her left. She practically tripped when she saw the man being drizzled with the cells' emergency fire system. He wasn't moving, but rather sitting perfectly still like a statue. He was just sitting in the middle of the room, looking exceptionally miserable as a constant stream of water dripped onto him. Occasionally, he would go into a mad coughing fit like a man that had the Black Plague.
Rebecca just stood there, entranced in a way. The monster that she had watched, horrified by his actions, and heard would rip a man to pieces instantly looked almost weak and vulnerable right now. Why on earth would Abstergo hold a valuable asset in a detention cell?
"Probably because Mercer wasn't an asset of Abstergo's." Rebecca thought to herself. She knew. He was just like Desmond, just another prisoner.
Something was wrong, and she didn't know if that was a bad thing or a good thing.
Mercer finally noticed that he was being watched and stiffly looked up to see Rebecca staring at him, guns in hand and mouth agape. He nodded as he coughed again, understanding her confusion. His action confused Rebecca even more; it was as if it was an act of surrender. They continued to share their gaze for a while, his blue predator-like eyes entrancing her, until Mercer's shifted to Rebecca's left.
It was a warning.
Rebecca quickly turned to see a group of Abstergo guards aiming. She reacted quickly and expertly shot the guards down, but not before taking a hit in the shoulder. It felt like something exploded in her, and she instantly went to grab the damaged area. She cried out in pain, but checked to see that the bullet had only grazed her. Through her shock, she was extremely grateful.
If Mercer hadn't warned her, Rebecca would have been dead.
Rebecca looked at Mercer again and nodded as thanks. He smirked and returned her nod before pointing to the right fork in the hallway. She didn't hesitate to sprint down the hallway that he had pointed at. Somehow, he knew what she was looking for.
She was injured now, and she needed to find Desmond quickly before their time was gone.
"What's taking so long?" Shaun finally asked. "You have two minutes left, probably less than that now that you fired your guns. If the alarms go off, you'll be trapped in the Detention Center without an exit."
"Sorry, ran into some trouble. A bullet grazed me, but I'm fine." Rebecca muttered as she sprinted down the hall, searching for the other assassin. "Where is Desmond?"
"Just a couple more cells down. The lock's code is 5FN1C3B." Shaun said in a clear voice. "Do you need me to repeat that?"
Rebecca shook her head. She heard it loud and clear.
Finally, she found Desmond. He was lying on his cot, looking as bored as hell. Rebecca couldn't help but roll her eyes at the thought; his life was in the hands of mad men and he was bored. Sometimes she didn't understand the new assassin. She quickly found the electronic lock's small keyboard and started to type in the code, each key making a beeping noise. The sound of the beeps caught Desmond's attention, and he practically jumped off the bed like a small child.
"Rebecca?" Desmond muttered in disbelief.
"Hey, Des, I'm busting you out." Rebecca said as the door unlocked. Desmond instantly stepped out of the cell, already tasting premature freedom. She pulled off her backpack and dug in it before pulling out Desmond's hidden blade and a spare pistol. "Here you're gonna need these."
Desmond thanked the woman and took his hidden blade and strapped it on without hesitating. He tested the weapon out, letting the blade slide out, and he looked content with the results. The two assassins started to move then, weapons ready. Rebecca knew where she was heading, so Desmond adamantly followed her and covered their backs.
"Where are we heading?" Desmond finally asked.
"Back where I came from. I passed an abandoned elevator shaft on the way here. That's our escape route. We just have to make it before the alarms go off." Rebecca stated as she sprinted down the hallway.
As if her words were bad luck, the bright white lights were turned off and were soon replaced with red flashing ones. An ear-splitting siren went off, signaling that they had been caught. Already, they could hear the faint steps of guards rushing towards their position.
"Shit, we're too late." Rebecca swore.
The two stopped where they were. There was no need to continue any further, they were trapped in this part of Abstergo. Without an escape route available, they were sitting ducks.
"We're trapped, Shaun. Any ideas?" Rebecca asked the assassins who were safely back in the hideout. They must have known that she had failed at this point, but it wouldn't hurt to ask.
The other line was silent as Shaun and Lucy tried to come up with something helpful.
"Um, how about don't die?" The Brit said, obviously stressed that things had turned for the worse. "Other than that, we can't help you."
"This is just fucking great." Desmond finally muttered.