Chapter 7
"Buongiorno amico mio. Awaken Desmond, for we have much to discuss. Bring the Apple."
Ezio's voice intruded on his rather nice dream, and he felt a presence in the room. He could smell the other man, a mix of cologne, dust and leather. Desmond's eyes opened to the dimness of the room, and he could see the movement of the Master Assassin's black robes in the faint light.
He felt strangely calm about seeing the form standing at the foot of the bed, despite his mind telling him matter-of-factly the Italian Assassin had been dead some three hundred years. The Apple glowed brightly in his messenger bag.
Lucy had obviously come to bed some time before. She slept on, her blonde hair spread out around her like a wreath. Desmond looked down at her, feeling his throat close. He'd studiously tried to avoid thinking about her appearance before, but now her beauty struck him to the heart.
Desmond slid carefully out of bed, not wanting to wake Lucy. He paused to pull the blankets over her before he silently pulled on his clothes, picking up his shoes in one hand. He froze as Lucy stirred, but she didn't wake, and he let out a soft sigh of relief.
He heard the Italian chuckle softly, and he raised his honeyed eyes to meet the other man's dark ones. Ezio's gaze was knowing and surprisingly tender. Desmond padded silently out of the room, holding the bag that contained the Apple close to his body to muffle any sound it might make. Closing the door carefully, he stepped into his shoes.
Ezio waited somewhat impatiently while he bent and tied his shoes, and Desmond muttered a curse as he heard someone speak.
"Who's there?"
What Desmond was going to say froze in his throat as he watched a guard round the corner and stop dead, his eyes staring not at Desmond, but at the tall, robed figure beside him. Ezio gave the man a quiet order, but the man just looked confused.
Desmond realized the man couldn't understand the Italian Assassin, and translated.
"He says to go back to your patrol."
The man simply continued to stare in shock, and Desmond sighed, muttering quietly to Ezio. "I think he's in too much shock to understand you."
Ezio sighed somewhat impatiently. "Si. I am afraid we do not have time for anything but direct measures."
Before Desmond could stop him, the Italian stepped towards the guard, and between one breath and the next, Ezio was laying the unconscious guard gently against the floor. "Give the man my apologies when he wakes. Come."
Ezio moved swiftly through the compound, and thankfully they only had to knock out one more guard before they reached the exit. Ezio scaled the facade of the building over the hideout easily, and Desmond followed him, their movements perfectly synchronized.
Desmond followed the Italian over several buildings. It was exhilarating for Desmond to run freely over the rooftops, the wind in his face, and the slight dampness of the rain felt delicious against his skin. He felt free, and he reveled in the feeling.
He saw Ezio shoot him an amused look as he climbed to the top of a now-unused church bell-tower.
Desmond landed silently beside the Italian, and Ezio nodded at him. "Your training has served you well, my young descendant."
Desmond sat on a box under one of the eaves, and his curiosity finally won out. "I know I followed you here without asking many questions...but now I gotta ask...how the Hell are you here? I didn't use the Apple and...you've kinda been dead hundreds of years."
Ezio chuckled softly. "Your use of the Apple in the meeting has allowed this...miracle, Desmond. I was able to manifest because you charged the Apple." Desmond frowned, opening his mouth to ask a question, but the older man shook his head. "I know you have questions, but I have little time."
Desmond watched his seemingly-solid ancestor seat himself across from the younger man on a crate.
"In order to receive the answers you seek, there is more yet to be done. In the twilight of my life, I came upon a letter from my father. It spoke of a Vault under Masayf, and of Altair. Seek that Vault, for it contains the next step in your journey. You must hurry."
Desmond nodded, rising to his feet. "I will Ezio...thank you."
Ezio began to flicker around the edges like an afterimage of the sun.
"One other thing, Desmond."
The younger man turned.
Ezio paused a moment, then said quietly, "Do not wait too long to cherish what you have with her."
Desmond was silent a long moment, then said, "I won't. I promise."
The Italian Assassin nodded. "Perhaps we will talk again. Until then, peace to you, brother."
Desmond's response was automatic. "And also to you, brother."
The sun rose over the edge of the bell-tower as Ezio faded completely, and almost on cue, his headset rang in his ear.
"Desmond, where the hell are you?"
His father's voice was irate, and Desmond growled as the light from the Apple faded in his bag.
"Gee Dad, I thought I'd celebrate the end of the world by going clubbing and getting drunk. Calm the fuck down, I'll explain when I get back."
Desmond was forced to take out the earpiece for a few minutes while he climbed down the church tower, the morning sun casting shadows over him. When he cautiously held to his ear again, his father had hung up.
He made his way back to the hideout, and just inside the door, Kyle was waiting for him. The other man's hood was down. Kyle was middle-aged, his blonde hair in a short military cut, and his blue eyes were amused.
"Welcome back. Have a nice run? Mentor Miles was really irate when he discovered you missing and John and Michael unconscious. He said John was babbling something about seeing you with a ghost."
Desmond sighed. "Yeah...Ezio asked me to apologize to them about that."
Kyle's eyes went wide.
"You mean...he wasn't a ghost?"
Desmond shook his head. "It's...sort of complicated. Let's just say he was an aftereffect of what happened with the Apple yesterday."
They walked in silence, and as they approached the conference room, Desmond said, "By the way, I never got a chance to thank you for helping me."
Kyle grinned. "No worries."
"Desmond! Get your ass in here, now!"
Desmond sighed, rolling his eyes theatrically, drawling, "Aw, the old man is really pissed now. You'd better cheese it before he sees you."
Kyle laughed, shaking his head.
Desmond went into the conference room. The two guards he and Ezio had disabled were sitting across from William, whose face was mottled red with rage.
"Desmond! Where have you been? What part of 'this isn't a vacation' didn't you get yesterday? You need to focus on finding out what we do next, not going on nightly walkabouts whenever you feel like it!"
Desmond waited patiently until his father ran out of breath, then looked at the two guards. He bowed deeply to them, and said, "Ezio wants me to pass along his sincerest apologies for knocking you guys out last night. We had to get out of the hideout to discuss some things, and he only had a limited amount of time to pass on the information. I hope you'll forgive us both."
The guards looked at each other, and then one said, "Uh...don't...don't worry about it, sir. If...if you don't mind me asking...was he real?"
Desmond grinned. "In a manner of speaking. I'm sure you've got the headache to prove that at least his gauntlets were real. Kyle told me your name was John, is that right?"
John nodded, then suddenly grinned and ribbed Michael. "See, man? I told you I wasn't hallucinating. He was really there...I got knocked out by the Grand Master Ezio himself."
William's voice broke into their fun.
"No matter how famous he was, you still failed in your duty to prevent Desmond from leaving the compound. You're both on cleanup duty for a month."
Desmond frowned.
"No. Dad, if you're going to punish someone, it should be me. I'm the one who left, and honestly, there aren't many people who would have been able to fight off Ezio. It's not their fault. Let them go."
William looked at Desmond, his gray eyes narrowed.
"Fine. Then you will take both of their punishment terms. Two months of cleanup duty...after you use the Apple again. I want to talk to Ezio myself."
Desmond was going to protest, but he saw the familiar look in his father's eyes that meant he wouldn't accept any argument. Desmond set his jaw. "Fine."
Lucy's guilt choked her as she dialed the familiar number, knowing she was taking a huge risk being so close to the hideout. She had left the compound on the excuse that she was looking for Desmond, but here she sat at a local diner, half-wishing the person she was calling wouldn't pick up.
Luck was not on her side, and Warren's voice came over the line.
"You'd better have a good explanation for the long silence, Lucy."
Lucy took a breath. "There are too many people watching me...I'm taking a huge risk even calling you. They have the Apple, and it doesn't look like anyone can activate it...something...happened to it in Rome, and since then no one's been able to get it to work."
She held her breath anxiously at Warren's silence, carefully letting the breath out when he said, "Well, bring it with you. It's time you came home."
Lucy hesitated. The thought of leaving Desmond caused an almost physical pain.
When she'd first met him, she'd thought him brash and arrogant like his father – but the weeks of hiding in the ruins of the Sanctuary and watching him in the Animus, the way he'd resisted the compulsion to kill her without a thought for himself – the tender way he'd made love to her...she was forced to conclude she'd misjudged him terribly.
Not only had she misjudged him, she was fairly sure she was in love with him.
No...she couldn't leave, and the thought of betraying him now made her stomach churn with disgust.
She had to stall until she could figure out a way to protect him, as he'd protected her.
"I...I can't leave now. Give me some more time...maybe they will figure out what's wrong with it."
There was a long silence on the other end of the line, then Warren spoke.
"Lucy, you know as well as I do that we don't have much time before the satellite launches. When it does, the Apple needs to be on it."
Lucy's guilt rose again, and she fought back a quaver in her voice.
"I'll bring it to you soon. Just...just give me some time, please."