Today is a busy week.

Today I'm going the dentist and on Thursday I'll be on vacation but I'll try to get a chapter in. Hopefully the hotel has Wi-Fi so I can post it.

If not, sorry in advance, and I'll post as soon as possible.

Harper paced outside the medical room, wondering why she hadn't got any answers yet.

She hadn't had time to speak with Arno or anyone else, and no one else was out in the hallway.

Word had spread fast, though, and when the carriage arrived, everyone gathered. But when they saw one of their number was wounded, they respectfully left her alone.

Arno approached her, an angry look on his face. "I thought I could trust you."

"I thought you could trust me." Harper countered, walking forward, and even angrier look on her face.

Arno backed up a bit.

"Lynx was a spy and you didn't tell me?"

"Now Harper, I"-

"You thought I would go around blubbering about Lynx being a spy. After two months?!"

Arno was trying to calm her down.

"No, just shut up, Arno! Nothing you can say can redeem you!"

She paced, Arno left speechless.

"I'm ready to kill Templars. I thought you knew that after I saved your life."

He owed her after the ambush on the road to the village.

"You're just a blind old man. Too blind to see that."

Now, she was cashing in.

"When Lynx is healed I'm taking a group of assassins to kill DeFalco. You're either with me or against me."

She stormed off to her room.

It was empty, the three Initiates she shared her room with probably out practicing.

She pulled a list of names out from under her bed.

Lynx

DeFalco

Thomas

Henri

Shadria

Terminus

Hikaru

The Grandmaster

She crossed out the name of the handsome Templar, and then hesitated over Lynx's name.

Should she?

She crossed it out along with Henri.

Lynx

DeFalco

Thomas

Henri

Shadria

Terminus

Hikaru

The Grandmaster

DeFalco was next on her list. He would've gone after Lynx's death but things had gone a bit out of whack.

A mild way of putting it.

He would die soon enough.

And then Arno would finally acknowledge that she was his equal…

Arno was beginning to see corruption in his apprentice.

Just like poor Cedric Tobias… Driven away from his apprenticeship from anger towards the brotherhood letting his parents die…

At least he remained loyal from a distance…

Arno looked towards Lynx's room.

He couldn't let this injured boy go into battle.

He formulated a plan.

He would tail them to the Bastille, where DeFalco was, hiding from the Assassins.

No, he would get there before them, and then he would present DeFalco's body to them indirectly.

Perhaps hang it by a rope at the entrance?

"Prepare my carriage." Arno ordered a nearby initiate. "I have a real mission for the first time in decades…"

Harper had selected five to serve under her:

Lynx, of course,

Wilhelm (with much protest)

Alexander as the carriage driver,

Wolfe, and initiate from the Berlin brotherhood,

And Omar, an initiate from Ghana.

The group of six, now having thrown off Arno, were leaving to kill Hikaru.

Who was in hiding. They'd have to find her first.

They arrived in Paris. "So… What now?" Someone asked.

Truth was, she wasn't sure. Arno would've told her what to do.

Screw Arno.

"Arno took you in and trained you." She muttered to herself.

She got everyone off and into a line to address them. She started nervously pacing.

"Arno always spoke of how everything revealed itself in time. One clue led to another, and then another. Eventually he reached a Templar."

She stopped pacing and stood facing them. "We have no clues. So… We're going to ah…"

"Interrogate Templars?" Wilhelm suggested.

Wolfe's gaze slowly drifted to Lynx.

"What about you?"

"I- I uh, think we should do what the um… Guy in the blue said."

"We know you're an ex-Templar." Wolfe said casually.

Omar gasped and Wilhelm put a hand on his weapon, pulling Wolfe back. Alexander gulped.

"Are you telling me none of you saw the tan robes when Harold and Reginald were killed?"

"Well, there goes your little charade." Harper said to Lynx.

Wolfe straightened out his blue and white robes. "Surely an ex-Templar would know where a Templar is hiding, no?"

"I know where she was, but they probably moved her since I killed Henri."

He met eyes with Harper. "She's very powerful. Can't we just go with DeFalco? We know where he is and"-

"No. I'm in charge here. We're killing Hikaru."

Lynx dared to walk forward. "What do you have to prove, Harper? Why can't you accept my help? Arno's help?"

The other four backed away a bit. Lynx narrowed his eyes and joined them. "Hikaru lived in an apartment by the river. I'll take you there."

The five fell in line behind him. Harper was last. Just like that, he'd taken her leadership.

She noticed he was limping a bit. Leaning on Omar and Alexander.

He'd taken four shots.

She knew they hadn't healed completely.

There always was the possibility he was a double agent. Or in this case, a triple agent?

Either way, she could fight him injured.

Arno's normal way of getting in was blocked by an overturned cart.

"Damn…"

He did know of another way in, but it would require he kill most of the guards.

DeFalco would most likely be surrounded by guards somewhere at the top, probably the roof.

Arno went back to the heavily guarded main entrance, glad he packed so many smoke bombs. There were two drawbridges. Arno could smoke one and go, but the other one would pursue him.

A cherry bomb would make very little noise against the crowd. And where would he lure them, anyway?

He finally settled on his berserk blade. There was a heavy spear man pacing along the two entrances. He could see him inside.

Arno climbed the roof of a nearby building. He took out a vial of red poison, dipping the blade projectile in it.

The man came into view.

He fired.

Lynx had guided the group to a run-down apartment building overlooking the river that divided Paris. He used Eagle Vision. He was a bit rusty, but he could see Hikaru. She was on the top floor.

"There"-

"Two guards at the door. Sniper on the roof." Harper interrupted him. "Wolfe will get the sniper. Omar, I want you hanging underneath her window. Alexander, get on the balcony. The rest, on me."

Lynx gave a low growl. He was trying to show her he could be trusted, he really was an Assassin, but she wouldn't let him prove himself. "Harper, I think it's a good idea if you put me-"

"I said move, Lynx!"

This was outrageous… But he followed her anyway.

All he had was a small knife to fight with. He limped up the stairs. If she ordered them to attack, Wilhelm would have to work double time to compensate for his injuries.

They walked up several flights of stairs. At one point, Lynx saw Omar's black and green robes flash in front of a window for a split second.

They neared her closed door, the last one on a hallway. The two guards locked spears.

Harper didn't flinch. "Wilhelm, Lynx, deal with them."

Wilhelm drew a heavy sword and charged. He had the man practically pinned to the wall.

Lynx unsheathed his knife and dashed towards one, his leg feeling like it was being stabbed over and over.

He jumped awkwardly on one leg, crashing into the man and sending him into the wall. He stabbed him with his knife again and again. What a half-assed plan.

Arno and DeFalco circled each other. DeFalco knew Arno was too powerful for him, and Arno knew sooner or later he would go for his gun.

Arno dashed in and they clashed wildly, sparks flying.

DeFalco pushed him off, using his advantage of strength. He reached to his back for a pistol.

Arno ran in once more, knocking the pistol out of his hand and running him through. DeFalco clutched the rapidly bleeding hole in his chest, falling to his knees. Arno realized something was wrong. This man, now that he got a good look at him, didn't have the scar on his chest. He didn't have one on his eye running under the eyepatch either.

Instead, there were pinkish stains on the areas.

They ran like ink.

They were colored ink. Arno turned around to see the real DeFalco, aiming a pistol.

"I've been waiting so long to do this…"

Arno jumped just as he fired. The bullet got him in the side, but over decades being an assassin, his pain tolerance was so high it didn't faze him.

The moat was under him. Arno rolled onto his back, hoping it was deep enough in this area.

He braced for impact, robes flowing in front of him…

There was a huge splash, and Arno thanked God he was still in one piece.

DeFalco would have to wait. He had to draw them away from Harper.

Harper kicked in the door, leaving Wilhelm and Lynx to deal with the guards. Part of her wanted Lynx to die. Everything happened so fast... She wasn't sure of his allegiance.

Hikaru already had kunai drawn, ropes on the ends of them. She threw one at Harper, the rope trailing behind it. It was coiled around a gauntlet of metal.

Harper avoided it but to her surprise, it curved around her, then coiled again, pinning her arms. The kunai was more a weight than a weapon, and even without Hikaru constricting her, she was pinned.

The kunai finally jerked her over and stuck in the wall, pinning her to the wall, arms bound, defenseless. "You really thought it would be this easy?"

Another wave came to fight Wilhelm and Lynx. They couldn't help her now. Her plan involved stealth killing Hikaru, not head on combat. If she could get her in a certain area…

"I have backup right here, in this room."

"No you don't! Foolish child!"

"Yes, I do. They're pointing guns at you as we speak. In that closet. Under the bed."

Hikaru aimed a gun at her. She walked over to the bed, just to be sure. No, go to the closet!

Hikaru looked under and laughed. "You have nothing!"

She then walked to the closet. Better safe than sorry. But she wouldn't be safe once she was adjacent to the balcony…

Alexander kicked in the door, aiming a gun. "I shall kill you!"

Hikaru backed up instinctively to the window, where Omar's black and green robes were showing…

A hand crashed through the window, in it, a sword. The sword impaled Hikaru, and she cried out in pain. Omar pushed her down and climbed through the window, dusting himself off.

Wolfe followed him, then drew his mace and sawed the ropes off Harper with the sharp parts.

Wilhelm and Lynx managed to hold off the waves of enemies.

"A job well done, team."

Harper's first mission as leader had been a success.

Arno's carriage bumped along the trail to St. Denis. With luck, he would meet Harper along the way and turn her around.

Suddenly, a horse came out through the fog and stopped by him.

Its rider was one of the initiates.

"Harper instructed me to give this to you at 7 am." It was a letter.

Dear Arno,

If you're reading this, you just killed DeFalco. That means another Templar dead. Unfortunately, you did it for no reason.

Our real target was Hikaru. I needed to throw you off track so I could kill her with my own team. Without your help.

You don't believe me when I tell you I'm ready. I'm your equal. Hopefully, I've killed 2 Templars. That proves you can trust me

more than anything else.

Harper

P.S, that meeting between me and Lynx?

It was for your safety.

When you think about this on a grand scale it was all your fault.

Arno didn't know what to do. His apprentice was running a rebellious streak.

And if he didn't stop her soon…

Hi.

I'd like to thank TheProficientPenman for his critique!

I'll try to develop more voices for each character,

And make more little things happen.

Promise I won't make Arno talk like a cliché Frenchman, though :)

Cheers,

TorrentOfIrony