By the time Lucy's taxi had pulled up to the assassin's current safe house, Alex had been chillin' down by the front door for over ten minutes. Gliding above rooftops saved massive amounts of time, and Alex enjoyed Lucy's initial surprise to see him when she hopped out of the taxi. But then Lucy just gave him a stiff look as she fixed her jacket and came over to the front door. She unlocked it and hurried inside, Alex following right behind her like her shadow. The two climbed the stairs silently, much unlike earlier that day when Alex was carrying Rebecca up with Desmond.
As the two reached the right floor, Lucy turned to look at Alex. She still looked unconvinced that he wasn't here to kill everyone. But with a sigh, she shoved away her instincts, against her better judgment, and stared into Alex's deadly cold eyes.
"One false move, and the deal's broken. If you ever try to lay a hand on any of them, or even if I think you are, you're out of here and you won't ever see us again." Lucy threatened the virus, once again risking her neck foolishly. "Trust me. I'll make sure of it."
Alex scoffed at her darkly. "I don't think you're in the position to threaten me, Lucy."
"Maybe, maybe not." Lucy said, her expression hardening more so. "But I know some people who I believe would be happy to help us out if something ever went out." That seemed to stupefy Alex, and he gave the female assassin a questioning look. "I've been doing some side research without the others knowing. Blackwatch, huh?"
A second passed, and it was so quiet that Lucy would have been able to hear a pin drop.
Alex really had to control himself before he moved to snap Lucy's head right off. Still, his body seemed to shudder in a mixture of nausea, terror, and sheer anger. He could feel his lips curl up subconsciously into a snarl, baring his teeth like an animal. He even heard a low rumble that quickly turned into a loud roar. At that point, Alex couldn't consider himself human-like.
The last thing Alex wanted was to get Blackwatch involved again after years of staying under the radar. Blackwatch would easily track down Dana and Ragland to get to him, and that was too much of a risk.
"You wouldn't." Alex said, his voice soft but still menacing. Alex's hard protective shield of self-confidence had been shattered by a human. His hands tightened up into fists, but remained by his sides. "You don't know what you're getting yourself into."
"I would, if you put us into any unnecessary danger. Don't give me a reason to, and we'll be fine." Lucy said, finally noticing that she had gained the upper hand. She was a little smug about that fact too. As she turned to unlock the door into the safe house, the same door that Alex had broken down earlier, Lucy found herself happy with haughtiness. "I've called the others beforehand, so they should be expecting both of us."
Alex quickly tried to compose himself, but he was still livid from Lucy's threats. Alex somehow managed to cool his trembling body down, but he still had a deep scowl splattered on his face that clearly showed how ticked off he was. Lucy opened the door, and the two of them were introduced to a mess.
The other assassins had gotten a call from Lucy, that was true. Lucy had told them not only that Alex had joined them in their endeavors, despite the unwelcomed feelings they all shared, but that it was time to pack up. Shaun and Desmond were frantically packing up the computers and important paper files, Rebecca wheeling right behind them, ordering the men about. They didn't notice the two's entrance until, Alex spoke up.
"What the hell is going on?" Alex asked, his voice like a shot from a canon in a quiet night.
Even with Lucy's warning, both Shaun and Desmond flinched at Alex's naturally harsh voice. Shaun practically jumped out of his skin, but Desmond only turned to look at the virus. As Shaun recollected his composure, Desmond answered Alex.
"Packing. We need to get out of here before midnight." Desmond stated as he nudged Shaun. Shaun snapped back into reality and the two picked up a small filing system. The two carried it to what appeared to be an old elevator and then placed it into the elevator. "Regulation standards, I guess. The Order needs to make sure we actually arrive to our new base. Instead of, you know, disappearing."
"Yeah, and if we don't, Desmond's father will freak out." Rebecca said as she wheeled over towards where Alex was standing like an idiot. She smiled at the virus, and then stuck her hand out. "Never had the chance to thank you, Alex. I'd probably be dead in the middle of that street right now."
Alex didn't hesitate to take Rebecca's hand and give it a soft squeeze, showing again that he appreciated the woman's kindness. "Nice to see that Ragland patched you up. I'll have to thank him sometime soon."
With that, Alex decided that he should make himself useful and helped the assassins pack the remaining objects into the elevator. The assassins left the amenities like the cots and the couch that went with the place, but they took the television, knowing it would be a smart idea to keep up with the news.
The work went a lot faster now that there was an extra set of hands to pick up the slack. Soon, all that was left to be packed up was the Animus, and that would be difficult.
"Rebecca, where did you put the wheels for the Animus?" Lucy asked the woman in the wheel chair as she wiped some sweat off of her forehead.
"Don't look at me, Luce. Shaun was the last one to use the wheels." Rebecca stated as she positioned herself in the elevator, waiting for someone to take the load down into the white van. Shaun looked at Rebecca, exasperated, but Rebecca just gave him a questioning look. "Hey, what did you want Baby's wheels for anyways?"
"I never asked to use the bloody wheels." Shaun frowned. He fixed his glasses and then entered the elevator. He pushed the button, and the two's argument could be heard all the way down to the garage floor.
Desmond and Lucy shared a glance, and then gave an unsteady look at Alex, who was completely lost. Without the wheels, the Animus was impossible to move. Even with Baby being a lighter version than the Animus in Abstergo Industries, it still weighed a ton. Even with the wheels, Baby took forever to load into the van. They had to find the wheels if they were going to meet the deadline.
Without sharing words, Desmond went into his room and searched for the wheels while Lucy went into her shared room with Rebecca. Alex just watched them, confused. No one had told him that the machine that had caught his curiosity was the Animus. Now that he was alone, Alex examined the Animus, running his left hand across the smooth trim.
However, when he felt the assassins watching him with hard eyes, he stopped and retreated back. Once he was in the furthest corner away from the assassins, Alex looked up to see that they were empty handed. The wheels to the Animus were nowhere to be found. Lucy let out a sigh and sat down on the dusty old couch.
"I better go call Shaun. If we can't move the Animus, then we're stuck here." Lucy said as she took her cell phone out of her pocket.
It was then that Alex decided to speak up.
"You know, I think I can take it." Alex muttered as he went over. He bent down and easily picked up the heavy machine and waited for the others for a sign of approval. The assassins just stared at him. Both Desmond and Lucy knew that Alex was strong and powerful, they had witnessed it several occasions. But it still blew their minds that he could pick up things like the Animus with such ease. "So are we leaving or what?"
"Uh, sure. Let's get going." Lucy said after a faint pause. Lucy thought for a second before she put her phone back away. She got up and opened the door to the stairwell. She and Desmond looked up at Alex, and he stepped forward, the Animus still in his capable hands. "Can you carry that down the stairs without damaging it?"
Alex just stared at Lucy. "I can carry this thing all around New York without getting a scratch on it."
With that, the assassins and Alex left the safe house. Desmond locked it up, and then followed Lucy into the front of the White Van. Alex deftly placed the Animus in the back of the van, where Rebecca was waiting for it and him. Once the machine was inside, Rebecca strapped it down and then motioned for the virus to sit down next to her.
"I'll catch up with you there." Alex muttered to her. "I don't do well with small places."
"'Kay, see ya later, Alex." The computer techie said with a grin as she gave the virus a thumbs up.
Alex closed the back of the van, and Shaun floored the gas. Alex remained where he stood and watched the van travel down towards Hell's Kitchen. As soon as the van was out of his sight, Alex jumped to the roof's top. Once there, the virus started to glide into the interior of Manhattan, cutting through the overpopulated middle section. He wasn't going in any particular direction, just away from the assassins' old place.
Finally, Alex directed his gliding path down towards Hell's Kitchen. As Alex glided between buildings towards the chapel, he kept his eyes on the traffic down below. Soon, he spotted a familiar van that had been stuck behind a large construction project. Alex smirked as he directed himself to the top of a nearby building, his eyes glued to the van the whole time. When the assassins' van finally pulled forward, Alex moved again.
This continued for some time. The van would stop at a red light, and then Alex would wait for them. It was rather irritating, but Alex wanted to make sure they didn't do any funny business with him not around. Call it trust issues. He only advanced ahead of them when the chapel was in his sight.
Alex landed in the alley behind the chapel just as the assassins were pulling in. They witnessed his stunt, and Shaun prematurely stepped on the brakes. The van came to a halt, jerking the people inside of it viciously. Alex motioned for them to come forward, and the van slowly crept forward. Once Shaun was at the end of the back alley, he shut off the van, and the assassins exited the van like a Chinese fire drill.
"Come on, boys, let's move." Lucy ordered, clapping her hands, claiming authority over the group. "Get the stuff in the place, ASAP. The more time we're outside, the more we risk losing our position."
Shaun and Desmond grumbled as they helped Rebecca out of the back and then started to take out all the mechanical components for the Animus and the computers. Alex waited for them to clear the way out for him before he picked up the Animus again. Once everyone was inside, dropping off the first of many loads, Alex grabbed the Animus and put it over his shoulder and entered the chapel.
"Where do you want it?" Alex glumly asked as he looked over at Rebecca, who was wheeling around and through the ancient pews, directing Desmond where to put the smaller machines for later use.
Rebecca looked up at Alex. "Just put it down in front of the altar. We can leave it there while unpacking the rest of the stuff that we need."
"Since when is it 'we'? Shaun and I are the only ones doing the heavy lifting." Desmond grumbled as he set down Shaun's desk and laptop.
"Shut up, Des." Rebecca said teasingly as she wheeled out of the others way and into the back of the ancient chapel. She motioned for Alex to follow her, and he did so. Rebecca twisted her head around to look at the hooded man right behind her. "Thanks for the help, bud, I really appreciate it. But could you do something else for me, please?"
Although he was a little hesitant at first, Alex nodded his head in agreement.
"I kinda need someone to remove the pews if we're going to have enough room for our later plans. Our old place had a gigantic parking garage under it, and that's what we were planning to use. But since we moved, we need to find an alternative." Rebecca informed as she knocked on a couple pews with her right fist. And then, rather dramatically, Rebecca motioned to the high ceilings of the Chapel. "And this place is a great alternative."
Alex had no idea what the assassins were planning and why Rebecca wanted the pews removed, but he didn't say anything as he grabbed a pew and went outside. The sound of ripping and crackling wood filled the room, and the four assassins paused in their work and listened to Alex destroying the object with his bare hands, or claws. They didn't which one for sure.
After the noise finally stopped, Alex walked in, dusting a few wood chippings off his shoulder. The assassins kept their eyes on him, but he just shrugged them off.
"One down, fifteen more to go." Alex jokingly stated to himself, his voice barely above a whisper. But the assassins heard it, and the virus got a couple smirks.
Once the place was cleared out, and everything in its respected place, the group finally stopped and looked at their work. With the pews gone, and destroyed with no evidence other than wood chippings in a dumpster, the place seemed eerily empty and haunted. The only sources of light now in the dark night came from the computer screens and a few camping lanterns Lucy had been smart enough to bring.
The five of them stood in the middle of the Chapel, admiring their work, however, Alex stood a bit away from the assassins, still not comfortable around them. They just stood there, silent. There was no need to share any words between themselves. All five understood that it had been a long stretch of hard days, and for most of them, it was time to rest.
"We'll explore the place tomorrow, when we're fully rested and refreshed." Lucy stated as she turned to face the assassins and Alex.
Shaun let out a small groan, rubbing his forehead roughly with disappointment, but complied. He was actually very interested in how and why this was a forgotten Assassin refuge, more interested than the others, and he had been spewing out hypotheses about the place while they had been unpacking.
"Hope you guys don't mind sleeping in the same room." Lucy said as she pulled out four sleeping bags from under her desk. She tossed one to Desmond and then another to Shaun before getting down on her knees and unrolling one for herself. "We were lucky that our last place actually had rooms with cots. Now it's time to see how the other half lives."
"Hey, I don't mind it." Desmond muttered as he readied his own bed. "But I'm not so sure that Shaun will be fine. Sleeping Beauty needs to make sure his sleeping schedule is perfect."
"Don't be daft, Desmond. We've gone through harder scenarios before Lucy even rescued you." Shaun snapped as he started walking away from the group and found a comfy corner to settle down at. He didn't like it when Desmond cracked jokes about him, or anyone else for that matter. "Once you've experienced sleeping on a whimsy tree branch in the dead of winter, then we can talk about my sleeping habits like sophisticated men."
Desmond grumbled something to himself, clearly mocking Shaun while using his hand as a puppet, and then took off his shoes. He set his shoes down and then crawled into the sleeping bag. It was only a matter of seconds before he started to fall into a deep sleep. Snores going along with him.
"Hey, what about me, Luce?" Rebecca asked. "Where's my bag?"
"You, are sleeping on the Animus until your legs get better." Lucy ordered. "It's the most comfortable thing we have to rest on, and you need to get better as quick as possible."
"Sounds like a good idea, so then Alex can have my sleeping bag. That is, until we can get him one, right?" Rebecca asked as she wheeled over to her Baby.
"I don't sleep." Alex stated. It was the first time he spoke since the group had finished packing. He had somehow melted into the background, making the assassins forget that he was with them at all. Alex didn't mind it; it gave him time to observe his newfound friends without a disturbance.
Lucy looked at him for a second. And then it looked like a light bulb went off over her head as she made a quick decision. She smirked, and Alex didn't know whether that was a good smirk or a bad one.
"Good, so you can take the first shift." Lucy stated as she helped the other woman out of the wheelchair and gently placed her down into the Animus. Lucy took out a thermal blanket from a box and put it on top of Rebecca before returning her hard eyes on the virus in front of her. "Wake me up at three, and I'll watch for any movement for the rest of the night."
Alex shrugged. "Fair trade."
With that, Alex jumped to the balcony in one swift motion. Lucy kept her eyes on him until Alex sat down on the edge, his legs hanging from the balcony. She waved him off, deciding to ignore him and the creepy idea of Alex watching them sleep for most of the night. But even when she slipped into her sleeping bag, the lights almost turned completely out, she could feel his ice blue eyes boring holes into her back.
"Guess I deserve it." Lucy thought to herself as she started slipping into unconsciousness. "I did threaten him after all. That probably wasn't the smartest move on my part . . ."