Malik and Altaïr had been gone for hours and Maria was only now beginning to notice just how much time had elapsed. She and Kadar spent the night eating cold pizza and taking about childhood, his was much more fun than hers so she had listened far more than she spoke. Kadar possessed much of Malik's wit but none of his cynicism and the result was an utterly charming boy.
Maria was on her fourth bottle of water from the vending machine in the lobby, when he came back after this last trip he brought three bottles "To save another trip." She gulped down almost half the bottle in one go and grinned sheepishly when she saw the way the boy was watching her... amused horror was the best way to describe his expression.
"Are you part camel Maria? I don't see you eat or drink for almost 24 hours and now you are shovelling pizza and water down like it's your last meal."
Drawing the back of her hand along her mouth to wipe off the surplus water she offered the simplest explanation, "I think the stress of last night killed my appetite but it's back to normal now."
He looked at the crusty remains of the pizza then back to her but said nothing, his mother had taught him what became of men who commented on women's weight or eating habits and he was in no mood to be slapped.
Altaïr and Malik had met with their contact a small red head called Sophia who had taken them to an assassin hideout and brought them up to speed with everything they had amassed as per Altaïr's instructions from Syria. She had pictures of Maria shot mostly from a long lens camera, in a great many of the pictures Sophia was able to point out the person the Templars had assigned to follow her.
"Basically we believe she was being followed from the moment she stepped off the plane in the UK. This guy here is James Turner the man we told you about but we have literally no Intel which suggests he is anything other than a banker but like you I hate the timing of his move and his subsequent attachment to Maria." She spread the pictures across the desk and chuckled, "I mean yeah she is gorgeous but most of the time she is a miserable faced cow, why would any man want to hook up with someone like that unless he was told to?"
Malik lifted a few of the photos and had to admit the woman in them bore little resemblance to the woman he knew. "I think we can assume being shot twice and stuck in a mini war zone would impact anyone's sunny disposition."
Altaïr too was looking at the photos and seeing the same thing they were but he saw more, she smiled in some of the pictures they had taken of her and James together. But there was one picture in particular that caught his eye, her standing in the rain in a churchyard looking more lost than he would ever care to admit.
Sophia leaned over to see what had so gripped his attention and began to give him more information but not what the answers he was looking for, "Can you believe she went there? I mean the fact that she went to the Temple shows that she had made some connection between the assassins and the Templars and what does she do? She wanders right into their bloody church!"
Altaïr was more interested to learn what she feeling in that moment but this woman wouldn't have those answers and he was not inclined to comment on her acidic remarks about Maria, Malik once again took the lead. "It was probably a historical connection I am told she showed some interest in the old castle at Masyaf as well perhaps she was trying to better understand the history. That being the case going to their church makes perfect sense. The Templars have no religion so we can hardly class it as their church any more."
"It's still a place they use for meetings and drops Malik they like the history associated with the building it seems. Anyway enough of this small talk, time for me to introduce you to some of the men who pull the strings for out ancient enemies in this part of the world."
Sophia gestured to the men behind her to move back behind the wall where she rejoined them. "It looks like they are just arriving we should wait here to give them time to get inside."
Malik looked behind at the vast expanse of waste ground between them and the nearest houses and undid the clip on his holster. "How many of them do you think will show?"
Sophia dropped to her knees taking off her backpack to recheck the photos she had shown the men earlier. "At every other meeting there have been at least half a dozen but there are always twice that number of armed men guarding the perimeter."
Altaïr glanced at the pictures she was looking through, even with the ambient light from the city behind them there was almost nothing to be seen; the woman was simply going through the motions but he noticed she showed no worrying levels of anxiety and they each had their own way of handling the moments before conflict. She put the pictures back into the bag and slung it back over her shoulder.
"We should wait until the main doors close that is the best indication that they don't expect anyone else to show." She pulled a hunting knife from a leather pouch on her thigh and paused to take a deep breath before standing to face the warehouse they were here to raid.
They each took two guards from the back of the building leaving only the four at the front. Altaïr looked over the edge of the roof to the luxury cars below. They looked so out of place here he wondered if the men had made mistake using this warehouse but then they had probably been using it for many years and it had taken until recently for the assassins to learn of it. Malik would be coming around the left and Sophia from the right with him dropping down from above. They needed to keep this silent; any warning would have the men inside fleeing in all directions.
He saw Malik's head pop out, he confirmed Sophia was ready then he dropped down directly on top of the two men standing at the door. His left wrist blade ended one man's life without a struggle but the other had only been wounded. He dropped a knee into his stomach and leaned over his mouth with his forearm as he thrust his blade deep up behind his ribcage. Malik and Sophia joined him; the woman was bleeding badly on one side of her face, "Are you okay?" he whispered.
She nodded and pulled her gun from her holster, "Good to go."
Malik pushed against the door and slowly made his way inside, there were five men sitting at table and another 4 armed men standing behind them. He fired the first two bullets at the nearest men who were visibly armed as he moved fully into the room, hearing gunshot from behind him he saw another two fall. The men at the table jumped and scattered but they were taken down within seconds, only one of them managed to make it outside and into his car but the assassins had no intention of letting him get away.
Maria shifted in her bed and lifted her head, was that water she heard running? She leaned over to the side and saw a crack of light from under the bathroom door. "What the hell?"
She crept to the door and pushed it open a fraction and saw the back of a man wearing dark clothes, "How did you get in here?"
Altaïr turned as he dropped his jacket to the floor, "Your door was once again unlocked and Malik needs to use the shower in our room. I didn't think you would mind."
She joined him inside and watched him wince as he pulled off his shirt revealing a huge bruise on the left side of his chest. "What happened you look like you got kicked by a horse?"
"Hit with a car actually but its fine he didn't escape Malik got him from the other side."
Lifting his arm she saw the bruise went right under his arm, "Your ribs must be horribly mashed up."
He smiled and leaned his body against the sink.
"You go for a shower and I'll find something to wrap around your chest until you get to hospital."
The warm water cascaded over his aching body and he dropped his head against the tiles to let it work its magic on his back. Hoping she wouldn't make a big deal about his ribs he began to reach for the soap when he felt soft hands against his flesh, his mouth tugged into a smile when she reached past him and took the shower gel from the shelf.
He kept his eyes closed until he felt her move between him and the wall, felt her hands gently massaging the lather across his chest then he opened them to watch. She obviously hadn't planned on joining him in the shower she was still wearing her nightgown but the water had it clinging to her like a second skin leaving very little to the imagination. He reached out to pull her body to his but her hand slapped his away, "Just relax and close your eyes."
Her gentle ministrations continued to lull his tired brain with such skill he was disappointed when he felt the water stop and her hands left his body. She reached outside for a towel and wrapped it around his waist. "Go dry yourself off and lie down."
As he passed her to leave the shower he lowered his head to kiss her intending it to be soft but tasting her lips for the first time since Masyaf his body reacted immediately ignoring the pain he moved closer to her deepening the kiss until she pulled away. "Go lie down I'll be right behind you."
Remembering her reluctance to let him see her naked in Masyaf, he dropped another kiss on her cheek and moved into the main room. Lying on top of the bed his body still wet from the shower because he lacked the energy to dry it off his eyes dropped closed. Feeling the mattress depress beside him he uncurled an arm to let her lie beside him pulling his arm back over her when she had settled.
"I couldn't find anything to wrap you in but you seem not to be too interested in seeking medical attention. So what you go to sleep and hope there is no internal bleeding?"
He decided to steer the conversation away from his aching ribs, "I'll have to write to Adha and ask her for a divorce."
She chuckled against his chest, scared to move in case she hurt him "It's fine I'm happy being your bit on the side."
He dropped his head and narrowed his eyes at her, "Happy? Until this evening I couldn't get you to so much as look at me and now you're happy!"
"Shut up assassin and go to sleep."
"I won't always do as you say you know."
She kissed his chest and whispered, "Yes you will."
"We have to leave here tomorrow and go to another place, we got some of them tonight but not the men we really after."
"Shut up Altaïr or you can go back to the other room."
He smirked and pretended to move from the mattress but thankfully she pulled him back before his ribs punished him too heavily for his foolishness. "Good night assassin."
The image of standing alone in the rain once again flashed across his mind he couldn't associate it with the woman lying beside him they seemed like two different people but he was determined to discover the cause of her sadness.
Maria stood slack jawed looking into the boot of the car with Malik standing next to her smirking. Her stunned gaze moved to him, "What is this?"
"This is the car Sophia delivered to us this morning. Last night we struck a blow to the Templars but some of them were absent and we must now hunt them down."
"Is it the men who are after me, if you kill them does that mean I'm not in danger any more?"
"Yes and no Maria it is the men from that organisation but their numbers are great, there will always be more to take their place."
She watched the red haired girl hand Kadar a back pack, one side of her face was covered with gauze and Maria wondered if whatever lay below would scar her face, "I can't believe you just drove this car here with all this stuff in the back. How do you even know where to find all this stuff?"
Sophia patted Maria's shoulder but moved her hand when she saw the woman flinch, "Join us Maria we have all the best toys." She spoke to Altaïr briefly before getting into another car and leaving them with her gift.
She climbed into the back seat of the car much against her better judgement it had to be said, what she had just seen troubled her no end. When Kadar joined her in the back he noticed how wary she looked, "What's wrong Maria?"
"What could possibly be wrong? I mean this is all just perfectly normal every day stuff right." He raised his eyebrows encouraging her to continue, "Well a woman who doesn't look old enough to drink legally just dropped you off an arsenal big enough to overthrow a small government."
"There is not that much there Maria the ammunition takes up half the boot."
She rubbed her temples hoping it would hold back the headache she felt begin to tap at her skull. "Still look on the bright side if there is a zombie apocalypse my team is sorted!"
When Altaïr moved behind the wheel Maria asked, "Which of them is mine?"
"Hmm?" Moving the seat back to gain extra leg room but not really listening to her.
"Which of these weapons are you going to teach me to use? All of them I hope but we should start small and move up from there."
"Why would you need to learn we will take care of everything?"
"I'm not leaving my safety in the hands of a group of fanatics, you will teach me."
"Thought we were your Zombie crew Maria?"
Malik responded for her, "Zombies aside Kadar I don't think there is any real reason for you to start messing with weapons Maria, you would probably be more of a danger to yourself than any Templar." Taking a map from the pocket on the back of Kadar's seat, he asked "How long will this drive take?"
"Sophia said it will take about six hours depending on the traffic."
Maria was still digesting Malik's words when she heard the length of the drive and scowled. "Where are we going?"
Altaïr turned to her smiling, "Wales have you ever been?"
She leaned past him and saw this car had no satnav, "We're going to Wales just that Wales... not Cardiff or Swansea? You do know Wales in a country don't you?"
Malik showed her the map and pointed to their destination. Maria chuckled, "You just don't want to say where we are going because you can't pronounce it." When neither man responded she chuckled, "We are going to Aberaeron, if you can find out how to read the map that is. First you have to negotiate the London traffic and find your way to the motorway. Give me a shake when we get there."
Altaïr started the engine and grunted he would get them out of London if it was the last thing he did. Quite determined to wipe the smug grin off her face he shifted into first gear and pulled into the street.
When he took them from the M4 to the A84 four hours later he couldn't resist asking Maria if she wouldn't mind helping them with the signs now that they were no longer in English but she growled from the back seat pointing out the English word was beneath the Welsh and he was doing just fine.
"I need a break."
Everyone in the car sighed, "What? I need a break we've been driving for hours and I need a short stop for personal reasons."
Malik scoffed at her sudden genteel ways, "Now we are in the UK its personal reasons but in Syria you jumped out of a moving car and peed on the road!"
"Firstly Malik there were no rest rooms, or rocks or bushes come to that. There was nothing to hide behind except the bloody car! Secondly the idiot in the front seat had me believing I was sleeping in some rapists holiday resort so had been too afraid to pee on the off chance they would hear me taking my trousers down."
"There are services a couple of miles ahead we'll pull over and have some personal time and some food."
She stood in front of the mirror in the over lit rest room and grimaced at what she saw. She looked exhausted and pasty; she pulled her bag to her and started rummaging for a hair brush and a clip. Her phone was flashing angrily at her, how had she forgotten to check her phone? She had been AWOL since a multiple murder practically outside her house and she hadn't bothered to contact anyone.
She dealt with the messages from her Mum first telling her she was sorry but she had decided to get out of town for a few days and not until just now had she read of the trouble in her street. Perfectly believable she felt since their last encounter had been a bit of a disaster.
James was next she read his messages and shut off the phone without looking at anything else. Rejoining the men in the restaurant she found her meal waiting for her but once again couldn't face eating what she was looking at. She noticed Altaïr watching her and tried to brighten her attitude but knew she was being forced and obvious.
"I need to find a charger for my phone; it had almost no power left."
Malik swallowed a mouthful of pasta, "Good let it die, in fact leave it off. You shouldn't be contacting any one until this is over."
Instead of arguing she looked at the food on her plate, she felt the anger raise from the pit of her stomach its progress to her brain being mapped by a red flush spreading across her face. "I'm not hungry I'll just go wait in the car." Aware they were all watching her she kept her head low and walked away as fast as she could.
Maria sat in the back her eyes firmly focused on the window not inviting conversation from anyone in the car and when they did try to engage her she offered terse responses. It was all becoming too much, her brain was trying to process information she simply didn't have the experience to handle. She had helped these men almost without question and since then taken almost everything they had told her at face value offering little more than scant objections to their outlandish tales but what James said... That she did understand, she had been in the news room long enough to know all about men like these and their nasty little hate filled goals. The question now is what could she do about it?
"Stop the car!"
Altaïr threw a quick look back at her, "Maria what is wrong?"
"Stop the car now please I want out." She tugged at the handle but Malik reached over and grabbed her as she pushed the door open.
"What the fuck are you trying to do?"
"I'm trying to get out I want out now. I should have done this in Syria I should never have gotten mixed up in this but I did and all I can do now is stop."
Altaïr brought the car to a screeching halt on a small side road leading to a village and Maria got out and began walking in that direction ignoring his calls for her to stop.
His hand on her arm stopped her progress but he wasn't ready for the fury which greeted him, her fist caught him solidly on the cheek. "You touch me again and I'll break your fucking arm!"
Malik and Kadar caught up just in time to see her launch a kick at their friend's sensitive area, his arm blocked it easily but that only seemed to make her madder. She began lashing out at him with everything she had some of the blows connected but most went wildly past him. "You need to just let me go I want no part in this, I don't know you I sure as hell don't trust you."
Malik tried to do what Altaïr seemed unwilling to do, restrain her. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her away from her chosen victim but she turned on him. Her teeth clamped on his forearm while her hands scrambled wildly behind her to claw at his eyes.
"Kadar, get in the front seat and drive us the hotel."
Kadar was about to question Altaïr's plan until he saw him reach for her and lock his arms around her, her snapping teeth inches from his face. He took her kicks but never let go, carrying her back to the car. Malik threw open the back door for him and both men loaded the manic woman into the back seat with Altaïr maintaining his grip on her he forced her to lie down and held her there with his body weight.
The brothers both sat in the front snatching brief looks behind them as they heard her utter endless curses and threats but the assassin kept his hold on her and never reacted to any of her insults.
"We will be there soon and we will talk Maria. If you don't trust us to help you I swear you are free to go but not like this, not in this panic." He continued talking to her in this manner until gradually her struggles slowed but Malik was sure it was a tactic, she was saving her energy for her next assault and she already had a taste for his blood.
"Let me up I'll stop hitting you but you better not be lying to me I want a taxi to take me to the nearest train station as soon as we get to the hotel."
"Not as soon as Maria we will talk first but you are not a hostage."
She snorted and shoved him away from her. "I'm not a fucking puppet either."
She never spoke again instead she sat face forward with her arms folded over her chest, he could see the rise and fall slow as she regained control over her breathing but her puckered mouth told him the anger was on a temporary hiatus; it would be back and soon.
Soon turned out to be about half an hour later, she stood hands on hips facing the three assassins in their new hotel room. The Travel lodge was nowhere near as purple as the premier inn but she found herself missing the colours of her last room.
"Would you prefer to talk to Altaïr alone?"
Kadar's hopeful words had her snapping at the boy when her real anger was intended for Malik, "No stay where you bloody are, you all need to hear this." He scratched his head and widened his eyes at his older brother but stood where he was.
Malik gave Altaïr a sideways look and made another appeal to her common sense. "Maria, surely you see that this would be better handled in private, your anger has nothing to do with Kadar and me."
She rolled her eyes and moved her face until it was within inches of the unflappable Arab and despite all his years of training he felt defenceless against her glare. "You think this is some feminine reaction to him for what forgetting my birthday perhaps? No, Malik this is about you and your words and your decisions that impact my life."
She moved back to once again have all three in her eye line and groaned inwardly, they all see me as his lover even though we have done nothing more than kiss since he came here they think of me in that way. She was beginning to feel light headed and warm, a flop sweat now glistening on her skin she took a deep breath and began to lay it out for them.
"What I said in the car stands, I'm leaving. I will not submit my will to you or anyone else and no more of this bullshit about assassins and knights of old I know that is crap so you can drop it. More likely you are here on some wild fucking jihad mission and I followed you like some guileless puppy, well no more!"
For the first time since the lobby Altaïr spoke or at least tried to but she slammed her foot on the ground, "NO! You will hear me out!" Her head was swimming now she felt like she was speaking to them from underwater but this needed to be said then she would go. "I may not be like Miss fucking Scarface you got the weapons from but I'm not an idiot either." She began walking around mimicking Malik's voice, "You would be more of a danger to yourself." "You shouldn't be calling anyone until this is over and so on and so forth." "Well fuck you I am not taking it any more that man James you mentioned, he warned me about you, he said some government agents were killed two nights ago they were from the anti-terrorist branch. Yes he admitted to being involved in some undercover scheme but to protect me and to find and stop what he called one of the deadliest terrorist cells they have ever known of."
Her heartbeat was hammering in her ears and her eyes could no longer focus, she saw Altaïr move toward her and she put up her hand to push him away but when she tried to turn and exit the room the world and everything on it began spinning as her face raced towards the carpet at high speed.
Altaïr grabbed her dress and yanked her into his arms before she could hit the ground, "I'll put her on the bed in the other room."
Malik opened the door for him and whispered, "When she is recovered we will show her what we have it is unfair of us to keep some of this from her and expect her to blindly follow. But brother with a temper like that do you really think it would wise for us to show her how to use a gun?"
The next part is written I'll submit it soon I didn't want to post an 8k information chapter :( but we need this crap to move this thing along
Thanks for the reviews and glad you liked the last one :)
