Author's Note: This is a work of fiction using the setting presented in the Assassin's Creed world. I do not claim ownership over any copyrighted material. If you as a reader have any comments/suggestions/feedback that you would like to provide, please use the review box below. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy the story.
Chapter 12: Chasing Clues
New York City, NY - April 2014
Julius reclined in his office chair after removing his animus equipment. For the past two weeks, he has been diving into Jennifer Scott's memories to try and find information about the Piece of Eden that the Templars were looking for and all he had been able to uncover thus far was a bunch of young adult drama. Jennifer and Bryson were, at first, completely incompatible for one another. The angst was so bad that Julius had to cleanse his palate each night with a healthy dose of action movies and combat training with Master Josh Ricker.
At first, Julius was ready to tell his boss that there wasn't anything worth reliving in Jennifer Scott's memories until Rebecca Crane sent him a message telling him that from what little information that could be dug up about Jennifer was that she was part of the Assassin Brotherhood during the 1730s and 40s before disappearing into history. The Brotherhood's records indicated that she was seeking the killers of her father as well as a man named James Anderson and a Piece of Eden, which matched the story he had relived so far. Based on those clues, there was definitely something worth finding in her memories, Julius just needed to find it.
It wasn't yesterday that Julius was finally able to find the start of Jennifer's true story involving the Templars, Eden, and the Brotherhood. Now that he had finally found the start of the memories sequences, he would have to up his game in synching with Jennifer and find the information that the Brotherhood needed before the Templars could.
"Julius?" A woman's voice broke Julius from his thoughts. He blinked and looked over to the side of his half moon shaped desk and saw Mara standing there is a white blouse and black blazer, her brunette hair pulled up into a bun.
"Huh? Oh, hi Mara. I didn't see you there." Julius said as he sat up and casually hit the power down button his his terminal.
Mara flashed a pretty smile while her storm colored eyes danced with amusement at catching him off guard. "Did I catch you at a bad time?"
Julius shook his head, "No, not at all. I was just finishing up for the day. What's up?"
"I just got off myself and wanted to see if you wanted to catch dinner and a drink. Maybe perhaps I could also pick your brain on the England project you are working on." Mara said as she leaned on the edge of his desk.
"Uh, well...I'm not sure..." Julius started to say, but was distracted by Mara's pose.
Mara gave a pout. "Aww, please? I could really use some help. See things from your perspective. I'm also having trouble with my synch ratio. Since you are in the same time period, I was hoping you could help me out a little."
Unable to say no to a woman in distress, Julius nodded, "All right. Let me finish up here and I'll meet you in the lobby in ten minutes?"
That beautiful smile returned in an instant, "Great. I'll see you in a few," Mara said before walking away towards her own desk at the other end of the floor.
Julius looked at this watch and wondered if he would be able to make his evening training class with Mentor Ricker. Josh was always going on about being on time for each class as it showed dedication and commitment to the training. To be late would mean extra work and a more harsh lesson than normal. Yet, the opportunity to pick Mara's brain about Bryson and Jennifer was too good of an opportunity to pass up. He just hoped Ricker agreed with him.
After finishing up his paperwork, Julius headed out of the cubicle farm and took the elevator down to the lobby. Mara was standing next to the receptionist desk chatting with a large burly man stuffed into an Abstergo security uniform. William Killwic held a stoic expressin on his face as Mara talked while he also watched each and every person walk into and out of the building. A brief moment of panic took control over Julius' thoughts. What if William recognized him from their rooftop chase two weeks ago and tried to capture him in the lobby?
Julius slowed his walk as he watched William turn his attention towards him. The large man's eyes appraised every aspect of Julius within two seconds before moving onto the next person. A moment later, Mara noticed Julius herself and said her goodbyes to William before walking over to him.
"Ready to go?" She asked, still holding the smile from before.
"That I am. What are you in the mood for?" Julius asked as he smiled back to try and show that he wasn't unnerved by William's presence.
Mara motioned to the door and started walking. "I'm thinking pizza and beer. There is this little shop down two blocks that has the best food and a killer home brew."
Julius risked a look over at his nemesis one more time to verify that his cover had still not been blown. When he saw that William wasn't paying him any attention, Julius kept pace with Mara as they walked out the door. "That sounds great. I could use a drink."
The two of them walked the two blocks down to Little Italy Pizzeria at the corner of the street. Inside, the room was covered in cheap wood paneling and a checkered green and white tile floor. It was also apparently a popular spot as it was filled with people, which based on the smell that was coming from the kitchen, Julius could see why. The smell of fresh beer and pizza made his stomach grumble with need.
After ordering a pizza and a pitcher of beer, the two of them found a little table at the back of the shop. Mara removed her blazer and hung at the back of her chair while Julius settled into his seat and poured himself a drink.
"Nice place." Julius said.
Mara gave a nod, "I've been coming here since I was a kid. Very little has changed, which makes me happy."
"I bet." Julius said and then took a drink of his beer before continuing, "So tell me about your work. You mentioned once before that you were diving into a thief named Moore?"
"That's right." Mara said pouring herself a drink, "Bryson. He received a bunch of training in Italy before going on a secret mission to England with his mentor, a guy named Angelo Auditore da Firenze. But just as I think I'm about to get to the good stuff, the mentor leaves Bryson behind to babysit this whiny teenager and her kid brother."
"What were they after?" Julius asked.
"Something called a Compass and a guy named James Anderson. I honestly haven't gotten a lot of details yet." Mara said.
Julius took another drink. Mara was still a little behind him in the history of the two people. As she was unable to see Jennifer's thoughts regarding the atter, it didn't surprise him that she would call Jennifer whiny. What she did have though, was more background information about the Compass and what the Brotherhood wanted. Julius knew that he would have to be careful on how much he gave away. Mara was a beautiful and intelligent lady, but she was also an innocent in all of this. Just another person caught up in Abstergo's machinations. The more she was kept in the dark about what was truly going on, the better off she would be.
"A compass? That doesn't sound all that exciting." Julius said.
Mara chuckled. "That's what I thought at first too. When I dug a little deeper though, there apparently was this organization of assassins that wanted to get their hands on it and they recruited Bryson to help them do it. Apparently it is some alien technology or something like that. The Freemasons discovered it during a dig in northern England. From what I was able to figure out thus far, the Compass is supposed to point in the direction of anything you are looking for. Wouldn't that be exciting? Imagine if we had something like that now. Think of all the things we could find that haven't been discovered yet."
"That certainly sounds interesting. Maybe you need to jump forward a little further in time past the boring parts to this compass artifact?" Julius suggested.
Mara gave a sigh, "I'm trying, but I'm having problems with my sync ratios. I'm not able to get farther ahead because the data becomes unstable."
"What's problem are you having with the sync?"
"It's embarrassing to say actually." Mara said looking to the bottom of her glass of beer.
Julius flashed a smile, "I promise not to tell anyone."
"It's because I'm having problems thinking like a man. Bryson is so young and impulsive that the control of the memory keeps buckingme all over the place. I swear it's like trying to ride a crazed bronco or something."
"Ah." Julius said with a grin.
Mara eyed him suspiciously, "It's not funny."
Julius shook his head, "I didn't say it was."
"Look, you have the best ratios out of the whole department from your Kenway project and now this new one that you have you've hit the top mark again. How do you do it? What's your secret?"
Julius considered for a moment about how much to reveal. If he mentioned Jennifer at all, he could jeopardize his work and that of the Brotherhood. Not to mention putting Mara in danger. He knew it would be best that he kept his thoughts general in nature.
"For me it is about riding the memory rather than trying to control it." Julius said. "The animus system lets you dive into the memory, relive what the person lived and see what they saw. The impulse feedback system is there to let you know what the target is feeling so rely on that feedback to guide your actions rather than using your own."
Mara eyed him curiously, "So go with the flow as opposed to try and direct the actin how I see fit. Interesting idea, but that isn't the way they taught how to use system in training simulations. They said that if you dive too deeply that you could get lost or have some sort of psychotic break."
Julius nodded, "It is possible, but the best sync ratios are found in the deeper dives. You have to become the person rather than just watching. Try to be that person in every way and soon you will start to think like they would based on past experiences. You can only truly learn those experiences by riding the emotions."
"Have you ever tried to sync with the opposite gender?" Mara asked.
"Actually, I'm going through that right now actually." Julius said as he looked to the bottom of is glass. He knew he needed to be careful now.
Mara's eyes lit up. "Oh please do tell! What is it like pretending to be a woman?"
"It's a lot like being a guy really, just different goals and desires. I look at it like being a human being rather than gender specific." Julius replied.
"What is she like?" Mara asked.
One of the wait staff walked up to the table and set down a pizza for two at the center of the table. The smell of cheese and pepperoni made Julius' stomach growl. He thanked the lady and put a slice on his plate as Mara did the same.
"Well?" Mara asked again.
Seeing that he wasn't going to get away without answering, he reminded himself to keep things vague. "Well she is smart and independent. She would have done well in this time period with her desire to learn. Nice lady really." Julius said.
Mara nodded. "Between the two of us it sounds like you got the sane person."
Julius chuckled. "Time will tell. I'm not very far into the dive yet so we'll see what the rest of her life has in store for me. I'm sure it will be a hell of a ride though."
"Well, I could use the help if you happen to have any free time later on? Maybe some hands on training with the best will help me out and figure out how a guy's mind thinks?" Mara said.
Julius quickly took a bit of pizza, unsure as to how to reply. He knew instantly that he needed to be careful with this woman as she was an innocent in the centuries old war between the Brotherhood and the Order. Yet, the hinted offer hit on a nerve that Juilus had begun feeling since his adventure with Edward Kenway: the feeling of connection to the normal. His life had become training and the war so much that he was beginning to lose touch with what he was fighting for. Perhaps Mara was that connectin he needed to hold onto his humanity. But could he expose her to the dangerous life that he was living? Was that fair to her?
With an mental frown, Julius went about making small talk with Mara as they are their dinner while silently wondering to himself what he was going to do.