Chapter 12

10/21/2013

0900

Brooklyn, New York, USA

Juhani blinked as he woke on the rooftop across from Desmond's apartment. The morning sun burned his eyes, and he looked around, confused. Had it been a dream then? He shook his head, checking his watch. It wasn't like him to fall asleep while on surveillance, and he growled, wasting no time as he made his way over to the apartment, unceremoniously kicking open the door.

He stopped and stared incredulously. The apartment wasn't the same as the one he remembered watching. He frowned. The last thing he remembered was seeing a golden light in the bedroom...or had it been the right apartment at all?

Juhani shook himself, angry now. What was wrong with him?

He stepped out of the apartment, and as he did so, his cell phone buzzed.

He picked it up, growling. "Yes?"

England's voice came over the speaker.

"Juhani! Where in the name of the Father have you been? You haven't answered your phone in days...we'd feared the Assassins had killed you."

Juhani shook his head. "What in the name of all that's holy are you talking about? What do you mean I've been gone for days?" A coldness settled into his stomach.

"Where's Ansa?"

England's voice was slow as she replied, "She's still our guest. What's gotten into you? Have you found the Assassins?"

Juhani looked helplessly at the apartment he'd broken into...the one that definitely wasn't the one he'd been watching all this time...or was it?

He was so confused.

"I...I don't know," he whispered, and England's tone became concerned.

"Juhani? Have you found the Assassins? Last word was that you had them under surveillance..."

The blonde Templar shook his head. "I...I don't know. I...I thought I had...but the apartment isn't the same...it's...they're not here."

England's tone became cautious. "What are you talking about?" Juhani shook his head. "I don't know! I...I don't know."

England was quiet a moment, then said, "Report back to base immediately."

Juhani nodded almost absently, looking back at the apartment once before he left.

Desmond cautiously opened the bedroom door, his steps silent on the carpet as he closed the door that hung open. Lucy looked out after him. "Did it work?"

Desmond nodded grimly. "Seems so."

Lucy breathed a soft sigh of relief as Desmond quietly closed the door to the apartment. "If nothing else, it'll give us a few days to regroup. We'll need to head to an Assassin camp for awhile. He may or may not figure out he had the right place."

Lucy nodded. "I'll get us packed." Ezio and Altair crept from the bedroom, Ezio holding a content Kyle, who stared entranced at the heavy ring that adorned Ezio's finger.

Altair eyed Desmond as Lucy left the room and spoke quietly.

"I had not thought of using the Apple in that manner, Desmond."

Desmond frowned.

"I figured if Al Mualim could use it to make you believe you'd been killed, I could use it to convince Juhani he'd had the wrong place."

Altair nodded, his gaze shrewd. "There was more than that..." Desmond nodded. "When I touched his mind, the first and foremost thing he's worried about is his little girl." His gaze settled on the contented form of his son, still playing with Ezio's ring.

"I know how that feels."

Lucy appeared, a suitcase in her hands. "Most of the camps were destroyed thanks to Cross...where are we headed?"

Desmond deftly took the car keys from her as he said, "You'll see when we get there. I sent Harlan and the others on ahead to set up awhile ago. John and Mike should be waiting with the van."

Ezio handed Kyle to Lucy as he disappeared, and Altair and Desmond shared a glance before Altair too faded. Desmond looked at his family. "Let's get going."

Rikkin frowned as he read over the report from England. Juhani had been brought back to the New York headquarters, and he'd seemed confused and agitated, unusual for him. He'd ranted about losing the Assassins, and when England had questioned him, he'd said only that he'd had a strange dream, but refused to tell them what it was about and had woken up on a building adjacent to the wrong apartment.

England had recommended Juhani be taken off the retrieval of subject 18 until he could be evaluated. Rikkin scowled. He was positive subject 17 had something to do with Juhani's mysterious breakdown, but he had no proof if Juhani couldn't explain what had happened. He was still scowling as another e-mail dinged in his inbox, and he clicked it open, his gaze narrowing.

To: A. Rikkin

From: D. Miles

Subject: Juhani

You really should let him go home with his daughter. Kidnapping her was a real dick move, even for a Templar.

- Desmond

Rikkin stared incredulously at the message. Growling, he attempted to trace it back, but the header information just bounced him between random mail servers until it timed out. He snarled, slamming his hand down on the keyboard before picking up the phone and dialing an extension.

When Laetitia picked up, he snarled, "Why am I getting snide messages from Subject 17 about Juhani and his daughter?"

England was quiet for a long moment, then said, "I had his daughter brought here to ensure he'd bring us Subject 18."

Rikkin snarled. "What I want to know is how Subject 17 apparently knows about it!"

England sighed. "We can only presume it's the power of the Apple. Short of studying 17, there's no way to know for sure...Vidic kept terrible records to begin with, and quite a few were destroyed when the Assassins blew up his lab."

Rikkin resisted the urge to slam the phone down. "I want answers. Get me some, at all costs!"

Lucy dozed as Desmond drove the Assassins' van, singing softly along to the radio. Kyle slept in his car seat, and in the back of the van sat Michael and John, playing cards.

She roused as Desmond pulled over. "Just grabbing a fill up, Luce."

Lucy frowned, rubbing sleep from her eyes.

"Where are we going, Des? We've been driving for hours...this looks like the area around Turin."

Desmond nodded. "Probably because it is."

"Where do you think I've been storing all the Pieces I've been having the teams gather?" Lucy blinked, staring at him. "You stored them in the Grand Temple?!"

Desmond held up a hand as she opened her mouth to protest. "Think about it Luce...this is the only place the Templars can't trace us to...or get into, without me opening the door. It's the perfect place to store the artifacts."

Lucy closed her mouth, trying to figure out an argument. Desmond waited patiently as the van filled, and Lucy frowned.

"I can't refute your logic, but that place creeps me out Desmond...I mean, it's the place Juno intended to be your tomb..."

Desmond sighed.

"I don't like it either Luce, but as far as security goes, it was the best choice. The camp is outside the Temple, if that makes you feel any better."

Lucy shuddered.

"Sorry Des, it doesn't."

Desmond wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"Well, I'll try to make sure we're not here that long, but we've got to make sure the Templars are off our trail. We've got one more Piece to acquire...and it's going to be the hardest of them to get."

Lucy frowned. "What is it?"

Desmond grimaced. "The Papal Staff. Rikkin keeps it in his office in a glass case."

Lucy stared at him incredulously. "You're joking."

Desmond shook his head mutely, and Lucy sighed heavily. "Desmond, I thought we'd talked about things being boring for awhile."

Desmond smirked a little. "If I remember correctly, when I asked you to marry me I said I promised it wouldn't be boring...and I've kept my promise."

Lucy sighed, resting her head against his chest. "Yes, you have."

The gas pump dinged, and Desmond guided Lucy back to the van.

A/N: Updates are slow tonight...I'm tired, but I'll get more written probably Friday.