His fist connected with the cave wall as he let out a growl of frustration. Nothing was there. Nothing that would give him the answers that he was seeking, and so the trip had been in vain. There was nothing there but old cave drawings, and an indent in the wall that looked to be just big enough for the Apple of Eden. Unfortunately, that was still back in his time, and he was far removed from that place.
Altair cursed out loud in Arabic, a habit he had tried to control when he was angry or upset. Connor and Haytham, who had accompanied him into the cave, gave him the same raised brow, and in that time frame, he knew there was no denying that they were father and son.
"Would you like to clue us in on your temper tantrum?" Haytham leaned against the wall, looking around the cave.
"There is nothing here. No answers, just nothing." He shook his head in frustration, and had to resist the urge to pummel the wall with his fist. Oh, it would make him feel better now, but he knew his fist would not do well after it was over.
The Syrian assassin saw the older man roll his eyes. "I told you that before you came here, but you insisted on coming. Next time, listen to me when I speak, it will save you some time, and frustration in the end."
"And there are times I am still wondering how I have not run you through yet." Altair took a step towards him, eyes narrowed, but Haytham picked up Kara, and held her on his hip. "Classy Haytham, using a child as a shield."
The Templar smirked and poked the child lightly in the nose, getting her to squeal in delight. "I am not using her is a shield, Altair. I merely just picked her up so she would not get harmed in this cave."
You keep telling yourself that, Altair growled in his head. He knew the man cared for the child's safety, as did the other two men, but he was using Kara as a shield from the assassin's rage.
Connor, who had become the peacekeeper between the other two men, kicked a small rock across the cavern floor. "If this place does not hold the answers you seek, then we should be heading back to the Homestead. Hopefully one of the others has news for us." Turning on his heels, he headed into the sunlight, followed closely by Haytham and then an aggravated Altair.
Their horses grazed nearby and lifted their heads when their riders' scents wavered past their delicate noses. Altair let out a sharp whistle and Swift was at his side in seconds. She nuzzled his shoulder, asking for treats that she knew he always carried.
Pulling an apple from the saddlebag, he was about to hand it to the horse when Kara pulled at the front of his robes. "You want to give it to her?" He asked, letting a small smile pass his lips. She nodded eagerly, and he picked her up, feeling the pain his leg flare up from the extra weight he placed on it. "Mind your fingers. Keep your hand flat."
Swift gently took the apple from the child's outstretched hand, and Kara giggled when the horse nudged her cheek. "Pretty horsy." She ran a hand over the horse's velvet nose.
Connor cleared his throat, and Altair brought his attention to the younger assassin. "Shall we?" He asked as he mounted his own horse.
Merely nodding, he sat Kara in the high saddle and with a small amount of difficulty, he climbed in behind her. Haytham had already mounted and held the reins of his roan. Gathering the reins, he clicked his tongue and the horse followed the other two men.
"What are you to do if we arrive back at the manor and someone as sent word on a possible location for Lee and McCain?" Altair asked as he came abreast of Connor's speckled gelding.
The younger man looked down at the pommel of the saddle he sat on. "I will have to go see if they are there, or if it is another wild goose chase."
They had a few leads on the two men, but every time it had been false or they had already left. They did not stay in one place for more than a few days to a week at most. Both men knew they had the assassins on their tail, and now they were just trying to hide until the winter fully broke so they could board a ship to England and escape them for now. That was not going to happen. For Altair to go home, he had to help Connor get the key that Lee now cared.
"And if they are there? What will you do then?" He questioned.
"Kill them." Connor ground his teeth and turned his brown eyes on the Syrian. "Why are you asking?"
"To see if you have let go of that rage that you have in you. I see now that you have not. That is going to cause you to do something foolish." Altair just shook his head slowly.
Haytham had been quiet during the whole questioning. He cleared his throat and the two assassins looked at him. "If I may butt into this lovely conversation. Son, I believe, and I cannot believe I am about to say this, the ancient corpse to your left is correct." That earned a glare and few unflattering words in Arabic from Altair. "You are twisted up in your hate and rage against Charles that you will get yourself killed."
"And what would you have me do, Father?" He sneered the last word and Altair sensed there was about to be a fight. "Let them escape and let them live? I cannot do that."
Haytham sat tall in the saddle and kept his eyes forward, ignoring Connor's hostility. "Nothing of the sort. I want you to kill them. They deserve death after what they tried to do to the people in your community, but your approach is speaking from rage. It will do you now good if you go in there pissed and they shoot you. Where would that get you? Six feet down in a hole, if they decide to be so kind. Most likely they would dump your body in the frontier for the animals to feast on."
Altair looked down at the child in front of him. She had picked up in Connor's anger and was trying to get over to him. "You should stay where you are, little one."
"Connor." She called to him and held out her hands.
The larger man reached over effortlessly and lifted her over to his saddle. She tilted her head back at an impossible angle and gave him a large toothy grin, which he could not help but return.
The remainder of the ride was done in relative silence. Altair reflected on the dream and what he could remember of it. It was still a mystery, on who this Desmond man was, but he had read the memoirs of Ezio Auditore, and the name was mentioned in there as well. Another pawn for the ancients to move around at their will or was he something else entirely to them?
*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*
They arrived back at the manor in the dead of night, and Connor carried the sleeping child up to her bed. Once she was under the covers, he came back down to see his father and Altair having a heated debate in French. He knew nothing of the language, other the few curse words he had picked up from Stephane when the man would go off on a tangent about something that pissed him off.
"What are you two arguing about now?" He rubbed his sore temple and felt a headache coming haunt him. The two men always did that to him when they were not seeing eye to eye. Unfortunately, he had become the peacekeeper to them and that was getting tiresome. Could they not go a few hours without making a snide comment about the other?"
"It is nothing. Haytham merely thought that he should accompany you on your next trek out to find Lee, and I believe he should stay here." Altair leaned against the back of a chair.
His father looked at the ancient assassin with a blank expression. "I am trying to get this man to understand that I am no longer the enemy and I am trying to help. But he will hear none of it."
Hearing enough of their squabbling, he groaned. "Grow up, both of you. I am tired of playing the adult to the both of you. Altair," his eyes met the older man's amber orbs, "you yourself vouched for him in front of the others. Why are you fighting with him now?"
Casting his gaze onto Haytham's proper stance, he sighed. "I still do not trust him fully. I know he will not harm the villagers here, but I question his motives when it for him to leave with just you."
"And should we not have reason to question you motives as well? You are an assassin that was brought forward from the past. That in itself is a bit strange. For all I know, you could have studied the life of Altair Ibn-La'Ahad and using that identity to get your hands on something." Haytham raised his brow.
That caused the Syrian to explode. "I am who I say I am. Who are you to question it, Templar?" He took a menacing step towards the older man.
Stepping in the middle of them, mainly to stop the, but he felt the overwhelming urge to punch both of them in their faces. "I have had enough of your squabbling and bickering with each other. I have no plans of taking either of you with me when I leave." He shot a glare at the man he called friend. "You cannot fight at this time. You would be nothing more than a liability to me if you were to go." Then he turned on his father. "And as for you. Lee and McCain want you dead along with the rest of us. They will not hesitate to turn you into a corpse along with me. I did not go through all the trouble to keep you alive just for one of them to place a lead ball into your head."
Haytham snorted. "I can damn well take care of myself, son. I have been doing it for far longer than you have been alive, but not longer than him." Pointing a thumb at Altair, who picked the cane up off the table, and Connor could see the Syrian cracking the thick wood across Haytham's face.
"Altair, don't." He warned. "And would you quit goading him into violence? One day you are going to push too far and you will find him standing over your bed with a knife."
Altair snickered. "I have already done that."
Connor's jaw fell and gave the man an incredulous look. He then turned to look at his father, and Haytham just nodded. "He has. Honestly, it scared me out of my wits. Of all nights, he had to pick one that there was storm raging outside."
Throwing his hands into the air, he stormed out of the room. "Grow up!" He yelled over his shoulder.
Slamming the door to the study, he heard his father's amused voice. "So, I take it you would not like to join me for a spot of tea before bed?"
Oh he could tell the man where he could shove that tea, but he refrained and just simply laid his head down on the mahogany desk in front of him. Living with the two men for this long, there were times that a firing squad brought a small smile to his tanned face.
"You really should muzzle both of them."
Connor jumped at the voice and fell out of the chair onto his ass. Clipper sat over on the couch trying in vain to control the laughter that threatened burst from his lips. "I am in no mood for jokes, Clipper. What are you doing in my study?"
He cleared his throat, but the smile was still on his face. "I am sorry, Connor, but all of the beds are taken. I just needed a few hours to rest my eyes. We did not think you would be returning until the following day. Jacob has brought word that McCain was spotted in a remote fort deep in the Frontier and Lee was seen in New York."
Picking himself up off the floor, he looked at the man that was maybe a bit older than him. "How long ago was he seen?"
Standing, he popped him back. "Jacob just delivered the letter tonight, and he rode straight through. A few days at best it would seem."
Thinking to himself, he knew the Aquila would be the quickest way to enter New York. The problem was the fort he was talking about was over near Valley Forge, the opposite direction of New York. "Damn it all." He sighed and sat heavily into the chair. "I cannot be in two places at once."
"Me and the others are at your disposal." He met his eye.
"So you are." He felt the pain behind his eyes and knew that is was only going to get worse. "I am going to head to bed. I will figure this out in the morning. Between my father and Altair's fighting, and now this news, I just want to crawl into a bed and hide for a time." He was feeling overtaxed and pulled in too many directions.
He nodded. "I guess I will just stay here and wait on you then. Goodnight Connor."
Standing, he shook his head, and watched his black hair fall into his eyes. "Goodnight Clipper." And dragged himself up to his room. Gathering the strength, he pulled his boots off, his overcoat, and fell into bed.
*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*
Lee paced the small room he had taken up residence in. With the assassin Connor, and now Haytham, tracking him, he knew it was only a matter of time before he was caught. Then he would never see the dream of the Templar Order come to fruitation in the colonies.
McCain was safely tucked away and out of danger, since he was surrounded by his men, and heavy artillery. It would take sheer luck to get past all of that. Luck and a large army. The man was planning another run on taking the Homestead, but Lee knew it would be pointless. There was nothing there to bother with and once Connor was dead, and their protector gone, the people would leave the land.
A knock on the door made him stop the endless pacing he had been doing. "Enter." Straightening his jacket, the door opened to a barmaid bringing him his nightly meal. She smiled politely and sat the tray on the small table in the corner. "Have a goodnight, sir." And she left the room, closing the door behind her.
He could smell the delicious aroma of the stew from his place across the room. He stomach rumbled from the lack of food he had been putting into his already thin frame. The constant moving and hiding was wearing him down, and his nerves were on end every time he walked out the door. Even when he had gotten on Braddock's bad side for a time, he did not feel fear like he was experiencing at this time.
Pulling out the chair, he sat door and inhaled the smell, and felt his lips twitch in slight smile. How good it felt to sit at a table and eat food like a civilized gentleman once more, instead of eating cold, salted meats in a saddle while hiding on the back trails of the blasted frontier.
He spooned a hearty portion into his mouth and nearly wept with joy at the warm spreading from his tongue to his gut. Enjoying the sensation that was now nearly foreign to him, he spooned more of the stew into himself and damn near licked the bowl clean.
Once his dinner was finished, and his belly full for once, he decided it would be a fine time to go to sleep. He knew he would be moving once more in few days, so he would take the opportunity to sleep the best he could.
Hey all you people out there in internetland, it's me once more. I cannot believe it has been damn near a week since I wrote anything. I just haven't had the time. Between watching my friend's daughters two days a week and working on my house, I am lucky if I have time to breathe. But big smiles! I am having fun with the summer.
*Sassiersphinx*