Chapter 21

Daniel had to admit to himself that airports were far from his favorite place, always making him on edge and uncomfortable and as a large woman hauling a larger suitcase bustled past him, he realized what it was. The people. An endless sea of humanity, and his expression twisted into a contemptuous sneer.

Sheep, all of them. How little they knew.

All the better, he supposed, that the Templars would soon have what they'd sought for so many decades...an Apple of Eden, and its power would finally give them the means to save humanity from itself...and perhaps, from something larger. Vidic had hinted at it after he'd left the Abstergo building in Rome.

Daniel handed his ticket to the flight attendant, who smiled at him, her eyes tracing over him. He was for once dressed in formal clothing, his normally unruly hair neatly trimmed and combed back. Vidic had insisted he "dress to impress" since his cover was that he was an Abstergo executive being sent to Syria to protect their interests there.

He would fly to Syria and meet with Abstego's military contacts, and from there he'd be transported to Masyaf. With any luck, he'd arrive before the Assassins would, since he knew from talking to Vidic they were going to have a difficult time getting in-country.

The Templars had spent literally hundreds of years in power in the region, carefully controlling the balance of power there, and as their power grew, the Assassins had been forced underground, many of the individual cells being labeled as terrorist groups.

He took his stamped ticket from the attendant, offering her a quick smile and wink. He watched her blush, and then he turned to wait for his flight. He sat in the hard plastic chair, feeling the tug of the suit jacket and fidgeted. He was used to wearing more casual clothing, but this was necessary, and so he suppressed a sigh.

He hated waiting. Daniel was a fan of action versus stealth, but Vidic had been most adamant he follow orders to the letter. He had protested, but Vidic had threatened to send someone else after Desmond if he didn't obey, and so Daniel had allowed himself to be dressed in the monkey suit and forced to wait. His eyes narrowed as he watched planes taxi to and from the gates. Desmond was his to kill...and if he could arrange an accident, perhaps the traitor Lucy as well.

The thought of killing the last of the Assassins made him smile, and suddenly his wait was more bearable.

Desmond set down the shopping bags with some relief as they returned to the van. He heard his father talking, and Lucy's lighter voice responded as he knocked on the van door. The talking stopped as his father pushed open the van doors.

"Welcome back, son."

Desmond nodded, handing Lucy the shopping bags he held, and she immediately rooted through them looking disappointed. "Did you forget my chocolate?" Desmond grinned, and with his other hand he offered her a delicate box. "Of course not, Luce."

Lucy snatched the box out of his hand, opening it eagerly and taking a deep inhalation of the chocolate tart within. Desmond watched her take a bite of the tart, her face taking on an ecstatic expression.

"Mmm." Chocolate dripped slowly down her chin, and Desmond silently handed her a napkin, his dark-honey gaze amused. The others unpacked the rest of the gear and clothing, and Kyle winked at Desmond, inclining his head to Lucy, who was busily licking the last of the chocolate from the inside of the box.

To Desmond's surprise, his father said, "I have to give you credit son...it took me a month before I figured out cravings were serious business to a pregnant woman." Desmond looked at Kyle, and they both laughed.

Lucy frowned. "Are you making fun of me, William?"

William shook his head. "Not at all, Lucy. Just...commenting on the situation."

Rebecca's voice broke into their conversation. "Okay...everyone get their stuff ready!"

Desmond and Lucy were first to enter Leonardo Da Vinci airport. Desmond was dressed in his usual jeans and T-shirt, thought he had replaced his sneakers with more practical hiking boots. His hoodie was stowed in his carryon, and Desmond felt vaguely naked without it.

Lucy wore a surprisingly feminine dress, loose-cut and light. It was white with blue accents that matched her eyes, and Desmond's frankly admiring gaze had made her blush hotly as they'd exited the van. She moved easily in a stylish pair of low-heeled boots.

They approached the counter, and the attendant smiled at them, her gaze settled firmly on Desmond. He smiled, speaking easily in Italian, and Lucy privately ground her teeth together as the woman said something back, practically simpering. Desmond turned up the charm, leaning onto the counter and giving her a good view of his corded muscles under the tight T-shirt.

The woman stamped their tickets without taking her eyes off Desmond. Lucy grabbed them, putting them in her purse quickly, tapping Desmond with her foot.

Desmond ignored her, his voice dropping to a whisper, and the woman blushed.

Desmond winked at the attendant as they turned away from the counter. Lucy waited until they were out of earshot, then grumbled, "Laying it on a bit thick, weren't you dear?"

To her surprise, Desmond laughed softly, his amber gaze shining with mirth.

"No need to be jealous, Luce. I had to do some pretty fast talking to get her not to look too hard at our ID's." Lucy still looked upset, and Desmond chuckled again, pulling her aside into an alcove and kissing her in a way that took her breath away.

When she managed to recover, Desmond's eyes were liquid honey as he looked at her seriously. "I promise you'll never need to worry about me loving anyone else, Luce."

Lucy swallowed, unable to do anything but nod. Behind them, they heard a snort from Shaun. "If you two lovebirds can't even make it to a bed before you go at it, I'm sleeping in the car."

Desmond frowned, looking at the historian as they started off again. Rebecca caught up with them, holding a bag and four drinks. They sat at a table outside their gate, and Rebecca passed out the food.

As they ate, Rebecca's eyes settled on Lucy, who was unceremoniously wolfing down a sandwich as she unwrapped her own veggie burger. She leaned close to Desmond, and said quietly, "You need to keep an eye on her when we get there...make sure she doesn't drink the local water, and make sure she eats lots of snacks. She'll be hungrier and more easily tired the further along she gets till the second trimester."

Desmond nodded, and as Lucy finished her sandwich and started on the fries, she sat back with a happy sigh. "That was really good, Becca." Desmond looked up as an announcement came over the intercom.

"That's our flight."

They saw a line forming near the gates and hurried to join it. Desmond glanced around, pretending to stretch, his eyes scanning the area for his father and the others. As he did so, his cell phone dinged with a text message.

"Saw u looking 4 us a mile away. Calm down, we're on the next flight out. - K"

Desmond suppressed a grin as he replied, "Contact me as soon as u land. - D"

They made it up to the gate, and it took all of Desmond's willpower to look nonchalant as the gate attendant stamped their tickets. As the group walked down the ramp onto the plane, Lucy heaved a quiet sigh of relief. Rebecca just grinned, and Desmond knew she was proud of herself for having faked their ID's so well on such short notice.

They boarded the plane and Desmond stowed their carry-ons under their seats. He sat next to Lucy. Rebecca and Shaun were seated across the row, and Desmond moved over as a middle-aged woman seated herself in the aisle seat, oblivious to them due to her earbuds. Lucy looked a little concerned. "Des, you gonna be okay in the middle?"

Desmond nodded. "I'm fine...and it'll be easier for you to sleep against the window Luce. I never sleep on planes anyway."

Lucy looked concerned. "Des, are you afraid of flying?"

Desmond sighed, and his gaze flickered over to Rebecca and Shaun who were settling in. "Breathe a word of that to Becca or Shaun and I'll...I'll...I don't know, but don't. Please." He went quiet, and Lucy realized something with a sinking feeling in her stomach.

"If you're afraid of flying...you must have been terrified when they took you to..." Desmond shook his head, his gaze fierce. "Let's just drop it, okay? The less I think about it, the calmer I might stay."

Lucy went silent, looking guilty. Desmond sighed. "Look...why don't you talk about something other than the miles and miles of empty sky we're going to be in?"

Lucy nodded. "Sure, Des." At that moment, the middle-aged woman who shared their row turned to look at them. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't notice you..." Her eyes fell on Desmond, and she unsuccessfully tried to hide a blush. "...uh...there."

The announcement came as the plane taxied into place. "All flight attendants, prepare for takeoff."

Desmond sighed, bracing himself as Lucy silently took his hand in hers, squeezing it reassuringly. The middle-aged woman noticed and smiled at Desmond. "First time flying?"

Desmond shook his head, his golden eyes glinting in the light from the plane window. "Second...but the first was...not fun."

The plane accelerated, and Desmond saw spots as they climbed. After a few minutes, the pilot announced cruising altitude and Lucy nudged Desmond.

"Des, take a breath before you pass out. We're in the air, it'll be alright."

The middle-aged woman piped up. "Until we land, of course..."

Lucy shot her a dark look as Desmond winced. It was going to be a long flight.