So I'm now working more days at work, which means I can type more on my fanfiction. XD I love my job.
Chapter Eleven: Argentum Oblinit
"He's in jail!" Desmond shouted, mostly in disbelief though partially in anger. "I knew I should have gone with him!"
"And somehow land in jail alongside him?" Ezio asked coolly, receiving a glare. "What? You know it's true."
"We'll figure something out." Achilles stated calmly. "Don't worry. He knows he has allies."
"In the meantime, we have to somehow figure out how to protect George Washington."
"Don't worry over it." Benjamin, who had been the one to inform them of Connor's imprisonment, reassured them. "Thomas Hickey is in jail with Connor."
"Not for long, knowing the Templars." Altair stated. "And if this Haytham is as resourceful as we've found he will no doubt ensure a way for Hickey's release."
"You seem to know an awful lot about Haytham considering you've never met him." Achilles observed, eyes narrowing slightly.
"He's a Templar." Desmond came to Altair's rescue. "They're all alike. Resourceful. Smarter than we care to admit. Assholes."
Ezio chuckled at this. "So we should head to Boston then? We will have to come to his aid in some way or another."
"I have a feeling I'm not going to like this." Desmond groaned before helping his fellow Assassins prepare for the trip.
"That was far too close for comfort." Desmond stated as he lowered his musket only to see the Templar Hickey begin moving through the crowd. "Ezio!"
The Italian spun on his heel at his friend's shout and lifted his pistol, but lowered it in the same motion, knowing it did not have the necessary range nor accuracy for the job. Connor was shoving through the crowd, his tomahawk in his hand, but Desmond's heart still raced as he reloaded his gun with fumbling hands. Calm settled over him the moment he noticed Altair standing not too far away from Washington. If Connor failed, at least, Hickey would die by the hand of the Syrian.
Desmond watched the younger Assassin land the killing blow and relief flooded through him. At the same time, he melted from the world.
"Sorry, Desmond." Shaun stated as Desmond tried to reorient himself. "We've found another power source. How do you feel about Brazil?"
Desmond forced a grin. "Sounds great."
"We've found another one." Shaun announced just as Desmond began to sit into the Animus.
"What?" He stood back up. "Already? Where?"
"Cairo." Shaun replied, glancing at Desmond.
"I guess, Connor will have to wait." Desmond mused.
"No. You stay." William shook his head. "We need to find that key and time is running out. I'll make the trip."
"Are you sure?" Desmond eyed his father in a mix of worry and a lack of trust in the older Assassin's skills. "What about Cross?"
"Everything's going to be fine." William reassured him with a pat to his shoulder, which Desmond quite nearly shied away from. "I'll be back soon."
As the older man turned to leave, Desmond tailed after him. "See that's what bothers me. You saying that is just like you announcing it's not going to be fine at all!"
"Pessimistic much?" Shaun called as William turned to Desmond.
"We need you here." William stated sternly. "More accurately, we need you in the American Revolution. See if you can't skip ahead again."
Desmond grimaced. Without full synchronization with Connor, skipping through the young man's life was nearly impossible.
"Bill..." Desmond continued to argue, but his father would have no more of it.
"Do this, Desmond." William glared at his son. "Do it now."
As the older Assassin left the Temple, Rebecca called Desmond back to the Animus.
"He'll be fine." She reassured him. "He's tougher and smarter than he looks and I'll be monitoring him the entire way."
Desmond couldn't resist frowning.
"Look on the bright side, Desmond." Shaun threw in. "Now he's not here to boss you around."
He almost smiled, but couldn't bring himself to.
"I'm ready."
"All right." Rebecca took her seat. "Let's go."
Desmond's eyes opened slowly to a familiar smell, though he couldn't immediately place it. It wasn't until he heard the words being spoken that he registered where he was. He sat up sharply, eyes flying about wildly until they rested on Dogan and Kasim speaking in hushed voices not too far away.
Standing, he immediately drew their attention.
"Desmond, wait." Dogan came over to force Desmond back into a sitting position. "You are still recovering."
"I'm not supposed to be here." Desmond argued, pushing Dogan back. "I'm sorry. I need to be...elsewhere..."
Dogan frowned briefly before once again shoving Desmond down. "And right now you should rest and explain to us what is going on."
A sick feeling had filled his stomach and it had nothing to do with feeling irresponsible for being in Istanbul rather than the Colonies.
He had been wrong. He was in Istanbul now, which meant his guarantee he survived this dilemma was now gone.
"Explain." Dogan demanded.
"I wish I could." Desmond finally responded gloomily. "I guess, for now, I'll just spend some time here and hopefully be of use."
"Since when?"
This new voice made Desmond's ears sting and he looked up to see Heyreddin approaching, a warm grin on his face.
"Couldn't resist me, huh?" The man said victoriously. "Glad you're back."
"Yeah..." Desmond feigned a smile and decided it was probably best not to let them know how much arriving here dampened his hopes. "Me too."
It had been a long time since the last time he had felt this miserable, but a part of this misery was eased the moment Heyreddin plopped down beside him, pulling a hookah in closer to offer him.
"You haven't changed at all." Desmond laughed, his throat sore despite his determination not to show how much he was bothered.
"You seem to have." Heyreddin's eyes were knowing. "How long have you been gone?"
Desmond rested back on his elbows. "You know, I think I'll let you guess."
Wow. I just now realized how close I am to the end of AC3. Eek! Which means, I'm also closing in on the end of this fanfiction. Eek! Ah, well. As much as I love writing it, it turned out far longer than I had originally anticipated. I have no idea how many more chapters I have left on this. I'm thinking ten, but I could be wrong. If I am wrong, it's because it's less than ten. I hope you're all enjoying this so far! And I'll post soon!
