The trip to Boston proved fruitful – with Pitcairn soothing the mishap with the fort commanders, and the evidence against the Templar Agents mysteriously disappearing as if it had never existed, they did not have to break anyone out of jail, nor even have to pay fines for the charges that had been leveled against them. Haytham had been prepared to negotiate for their release using currency if need be, but he was glad that it was unnecessary.
Williams and Bauers had been largely quiet during the entire affair, observing him. Were he a less confident person, he might feel a bit anxious or uncertain as to why they were doing so. As it was, Haytham did note their watchfulness, but was not bothered by it. They left New York after making sure that they had all the provisions they would need for the trip back to Boston.
Alistair spoke up quietly "How did you find out so quickly that a few of your people were in danger? I overheard the guards saying that they had been caught and wrongfully imprisoned for no more than a week and a half by the time that you arrived… Given that it take three days to get from New York to Boston on a fast horse in good weather… It is remarkable how fast you were able to get the information."
Connor had gotten the information from one of his fellow Assassins, who had sent it via carrier pigeon to tell him of their capture. It was a much faster and more efficient way of sending correspondence, but not one that Haytham was willing to share. "News can travel quickly in the colonies, and as I do watch and listen for potential trouble with those who work for the Templar cause, it is not as odd as you seem to think."
"Except that when we first arrived, you spoke with the local Templar leaders – they had not heard anything about what had happened to those four agents until you told them." Bauers countered, a frown appearing on her face as she impatiently waited for Kenway to tell them the truth as to how he had found out so quickly. If the information did not come from his Templars, and it was unlikely that the fort commanders would inform Pitcairn of a handful of suspected low-level rebels… Where had he gotten the information from?
"Does it matter where I gathered the information? One of them left a letter, telling their spouse that they were being arrested and they sent a letter to the address specified by their Templar spouse." Haytham lied easily, turning a little in his saddle and staring at the two of them directly, waiting for a response.
"Because, Grandmaster Kenway, it is well known that you killed the entire inner circle of the English Rite a little over twenty years ago. Your reasons for doing so have been never made clear to anyone. You killed them using the Assassin's blade you carry to this day – and there are whispers that the Brotherhood has gained a foothold in the English and French colonies on this side of the world. That there is at least one Assassin who goes by the name of Connor." Williams ground out, hands clenching around the reigns in his hands tightly, shaking a little. Grandmaster Birch could be cruel, but he had been a highly intelligent and effective leader. Kenway had been one of Birch's favorites and had been loyally following his orders until he had come back from Istanbul. The English Rite had still fully not recovered from the loss. "And Connor happens to be the name of your son."
Bauers shifted a little, urging her horse closer to Haytham's face hard and deeply suspicious "In addition to that, this son of yours seems to barely tolerate all of our presence and has a willfully wild streak which you seem to have done nothing to attempt to curb. He is suspicious of all of us and occasionally outright hostile when startled. He climbs much better than any Templar I have met, including myself. Explain yourself! Is he the Assassin who we have heard of, and if so, what games are the two of you playing!"
"Connor was raised by his mother and her village until he was a teenager. The Mohawk are excellent climbers and tree-runners, using the canopy to hunt and evade wolves and other predators with more ease than we who travel on horseback, or on foot. Birch and his inner circle were smearing the name of the Templar Order and acting in a manner that would poison the populace of England against us. Freedom appeals to him as it appeals to all youths, a fantasy that while it does sound wonderful in theory… Often means the suffering and exploitation of many in practice." Haytham answered back, still infuriatingly calm. "I came by these blades after killing an Assassin. They are excellent short range weapons that are easily hidden. It is unfortunate that they are difficult enough to make that only a highly skilled weaponsmith can make them, as otherwise I would have quite a few more of them created for use by my agents who occasionally require the use of a stealthy, short-range weapon."
"The name of his ship." Williams spat, livid at the thought of Kenway trying to get away with colluding with the Brotherhood. "And the first mate The Aquila and Robert Faulkner. Before you and Cormac destroyed the previous English Colonial Brotherhood, that ship was the flagship of their fleet and he was their first mate. Are you trying to tell me that Robert Faulkner would willingly work under the direction of a Templar-allied mercenary captain? That he would allow his precious ship to be sullied in such a fashion? I have crossed blades with that stubborn arse in the past. He is loyal to a fault and would never abandon the Creed that the Assassins profess to, even at the cost of his life. Even if it meant that his precious ship was repaired to full working condition."
"That is all quite true. But what is it that you are asking?" Haytham asked, calm as ever as he waited for their answers with almost insulting patience.
"Are you working with the new incarnation of the chapter of the Assassins' Brotherhood in the English Colonies?!" Bauers demanded, her eyes narrowing as her left hand gripped the hilt of her sword in anticipation.
"And if I was? Assassins can be highly useful, if utilized and approached in the correct manner. Or manipulated subtly." Kenway answered, still calmly amused, watching them both.
"Then you are a traitor to the Templar cause, and we will bring you up on charges before the others to decide what will be done with you, former Grandmaster Haytham Kenway." Williams announced "Surrender your weapons to us, and we will not have to fight and disarm you. Resist and you will be injured."
"What is it that Templars seek? Order, purpose and direction. We seek to protect humanity from themselves and ensure peace. How are we to do that, if at every turn, we are fighting and killing and being killed by the Brotherhood of Assassins? We have been fighting them unsuccessfully for nearly a thousand years, if not longer. War is the opposite of what we stand for, and in areas that we control, war and major disharmony is attempted to be corrected and contained, if not done away with entirely. The first of war has proven to be a fruitless and bloody endeavor, with both sides gaining temporary and often Pyrrhic victories." Haytham pointed out, trying to dissuade them from what they had in mind. He had a good point, but then again, he was well known for his silver tongue. "Extending the hand of… Well, not friendship, but truce has proved fruitful in the months that we have set aside fighting one another for working towards common goals."
"The Assassins are harbingers and creators of chaos, misery and bloodshed, the fact that you would even consider allying yourself with them proves to us how far you have fallen from the ideals of the Templar Order. If you will not surrender your weapons, we will take them by force." Williams warned, giving the former Grandmaster one last chance to surrender his weapons, hoping that Kenway would be reasonable. It was not entirely the man's fault – being tempted by the prospect of getting to know the only family one had was something that even the staunchest Templar might fall for… And young Connor had an earnest sort of gentleness to him that was endearing.
"I will not be surrendering my weapons. Was this the entire purpose of your trip here? To see if I had supposedly left the Templar Order, or betrayed our ideals? Or is this arrogant presumption something the two of you have come up with on your own? You will find if either of you attempts to take my place, that they will not listen to you, and that you will be dead by the end of the week, if not the day. If not by my people, then at the hands of the Assassins here. We have a truce, but I have a feeling that you will seek to try to break it if you even could take my place." Scoffed Haytham, a hand on his own sword hilt as he waited for their response, tensing somewhat.
"We decided this as we realized what was going on here. Neither of us is going to stand for this, traitor! Your stubbornness will be your undoing." Bauers snarled. Crouching forwards, not quite resting on the saddle of the horse she was on, Adalinda charged at Kenway, drawing her blade and swinging heavily towards his left side as he did so, intent on knocking him off of his horse, towards Williams.
Kenway read the blow, however and leapt off of his horse, tackling Williams who had been closer of the two of them, as well as non-moving, extending his hidden blade and slashing at his right arm in an attempt to disable the other's sword-arm.
Williams cursed and twisted, trying to grapple Haytham and avoid the deadly blade in the traitor's left hand, causing them both to fall off of the horse and onto the ground with a painful thud that winded both men for a couple of seconds. The two of them brawled on the ground, each trying to pin the other on the ground. Haytham had managed to get the upper hand on Williams, starting to press his hidden blade into the other Templar's throat when the thundering sound of hooves split the two of them apart as Haytham jumped and dodged out of the way.
Adalinda urged her horse to a galloping speed, swinging her sword up and over in a heavy, two-handed strike, intending to hit Kenway's unprotected back, missing as the bastard dodged… But not completely, as she felt the tip of her blade bite past cloak and into the flesh of his back.
Haytham stumbled for a moment, drawing his pistol, aiming and firing at Adalinda, scowling as the horses scattered in panic at the loud, sudden sound as Williams had realized what he was doing and had dragged her off of the horse, avoiding a deadly blow – but the bullet hit her lower left leg. His back stung painfully, and he felt a small trickle of blood sliding down his back, but the injury felt minor, and he needed to finish this, if he was going to survive.