Chapter 26

11/10/2013

09:30

Queens, New York, USA

Lucy woke slowly, feeling groggy. Probably the aftereffects of whatever drugs Trish had given her, she mused.

She lay on a pile of sleeping bags, a blanket tucked tightly around her. She blinked, looking around. Sunlight streamed in the dirty windows of the warehouse they had taken refuge in. Desmond slept beside her on another sleeping bag, Kyle nestled in the crook of his arm, fast asleep against his father's warm side.

She watched Desmond and Kyle sleep, feeling her chest tighten. It was rare that she was up before Desmond, since he usually took the early morning feedings to let her sleep in a bit longer. A ray of sunlight crept over the concrete floor to fall on them, and she started as she heard a quiet voice speak beside her.

"How do you feel?"

Christine knelt beside her, her blue eyes reddened from crying. The bags under her eyes spoke mutely to the fact she'd likely not slept the night before, and Lucy regained her composure enough to whisper, "Pretty good, in fact...I take it Trish got the bullet out?"

Christine nodded, speaking quietly. "She had to warn Des away with a scalpel." Lucy grinned despite herself. "That sounds like Des...he gets overly protective of me, sometimes. When Ky was born, he kicked the door down after the doctor made him leave."

Christine's eyes closed, and Lucy saw pain on her face. "I've known Des for 9 years...at least, I thought I knew him." She shook her head. "But that guy there...he's not the Des I knew. The Des I knew was a wild child...fairly immature, prone to taking risks...pretty damn angry most of the time – but a good guy."

Lucy waited as Christine swallowed, then said softly, "I didn't get to meet the Des you know until yesterday, when he told me that his first responsibility was to you and Ky. The Des I knew wouldn't have put anyone before himself...not even me."

Lucy was silent a moment, then said, "Thank you."

Christine nodded. "You're a good match for him, Luce. Better than I would have been, as hard as it is for me to say. He loves you and that baby more than...more than anything." Lucy swallowed the lump in her throat at that.

"I know. At some point, we'll have to tell you all of what happened...before." Christine nodded. "I look forward to hearing that story, but that's not why I came over here. I need to wake Des up. I got in contact with someone who can help us, but he wants to meet Des first."

She looked uncomfortable.

"I'm going to be the first one to say I trust this guy about as far as I could throw him, so Des is gonna have to be really careful about the impression he makes and what he asks for."

Lucy frowned.

"How do you know this guy, and who is he?"

Christine sighed. "His name is Louis Ithaca...yes, really. I never found out if it was his real name or an affection. I used to be his mistress. After I escaped my uncle's pimp, I got into the high-end escort services." Her gaze narrowed. "After a few years of being his favorite date, he took me on as a mistress, and eventually he helped me out by getting my uncle and my pimp put in jail."

Desmond's voice was quiet as he spoke from his sleeping bag.

"I remember that guy. He came into the bar a few times."

Christine's gaze went to Desmond. He lay comfortably, one arm pillowing his head, his golden eyes slitted in the sunlight. Her breath caught in her throat momentarily before Lucy spoke.

"Des, if what she says is true, maybe it's not the best idea to go to this guy. Are we headed for the airport?" Desmond shook his head. "No. There's cameras everywhere, and there's too many of us to sneak onto separate flights. I have a ride arranged once we get to the docks, but getting there is going to suck. I had Lucas check, and we're on every no-fly list in the country, and several European ones as well – they even put Ky on there, as the kidnapped son of a federal agent."

Lucy and Christine looked at each other. "What are we going to do, Des?"

Desmond sighed, stretching carefully to avoid waking Kyle.

"We'll eat something and I'll go over what I've got planned."

Desmond looked at the assembled team seriously. "As much as I hate to do it, we're going to have to split the team. Gavin will be waiting in Gravesend Bay from 10:00 PM to 10:45 PM." Juhani's narrowed.

"That's a pretty tight window, Des. If anything goes sideways with Mr. Obnoxious Affectation, some of us might not make it to the ship."

Desmond nodded, motioning John over with a map of the coastline.

"Gavin's only going to be able to dodge the Port Authority for so long, and since Hurricane Sandy, the bay's a lot shallower than it used to be from all the debris. The longer he circles there, the more risk he runs of tearing out the Altair II's bottom...and I'm sure none of us want that."

John spoke up. "If Gavin's our ride sir, why do we need to risk working with the crime lord anyway?"

Desmond sighed. "We still need a way into Rome, and we don't have any Assassins in Florence at the moment. My contact at Abstergo informed me that Rikkin's been in Rome for the past week and showing no signs of moving. I think he's waiting for us."

Juhani looked at the map and frowned.

"If we're taking a ship, it'll take at least a week to get across the Atlantic, if not a week and a few days, depending on whether or not we run into any trouble."

Desmond nodded. "I know. It's a long time to travel, but there's no help for it if we can't fly." Lucy spoke up next. "Des...what about using your power?" Desmond frowned. "I can control quite a few people the closer they are to me, but too many people suddenly forgetting about seeing us will raise suspicions, and I'm sure Rikkin has warned his people about that kind of thing. I'll use if it I have to."

William looked at the map, then said, "How did you convince Gavin to come all the way out here? The last time I saw him on the East Coast, his father was at the helm."

Desmond grinned a little at Altair, who pretended to cough and directed his gaze at a suddenly fascinating spot of sunlight on the floor. "Altair convinced him we needed the help after I sent him the watch lists."

William nodded.

"You mentioned splitting the team, Desmond. Who is going with you, and who is waiting on Gavin?"

Desmond's gaze narrowed at his father.

"I'll need some volunteers, and I'll need your word Dad – you won't try what you did in Philadelphia again. We can't afford any more of that."

William was silent a long moment, then said, "You have my word, Desmond."

Desmond nodded. "I'll go to meet Ithaca with Chris, John and Michael." Juhani frowned. "If John or Michael don't mind, I'd like to go instead." Trish looked at Juhani, her gaze disapproving.

"You just got stitched up from the brawl in the bar, Juhani. This is likely to be very strenuous." The blonde Templar shook his head.

"I know what the risk is Trish, but I've got experience in dodging the Feds, and I'm sure we're going to wind up doing that at least once." He looked at Desmond. "Ansa will obviously stay here...she's pretty attached to Becca." Desmond nodded, looking at John and Michael. "John, Michael, which one of you wants to come with us?"

The two Assassins looked at one another. Surprisingly, Michael spoke up.

"I'll go, sir."

Desmond crooked a finger at John. "Then I want to talk to you and Lucy in private. Mike, get Juhani some equipment. Chris, what time did Ithaca want to meet?"

Christine looked at her watch. "He said around 11 AM, Des."

Desmond stood up. "Okay...let's get ready to go."

Lucy looked seriously at Desmond as he helped her into the back of the Assassins' van. "Be careful, Des." Desmond kissed her gently, his eyes glinting beneath the hood he wore. He wore dark tactical gear beneath a robe-like trench coat like the others, but unlike the black leather hoods Michael and Juhani wore, his was white, embroidered with the red Assassin compass.

Lucy smiled. "White suits you better, Des." Desmond snorted. "It's for appearances only, Luce. I want any Templars watching us to know who I am. The longer we keep them distracted on our trail, the easier time you guys will have getting to Gravesend."

Desmond kissed her again, lingeringly, his gaze melting to liquid honey. "I love you and Ky, Luce. No matter what happens, make sure you guys make it onto the ship."

Lucy nodded. "I will, Des. After this is over...we should go be boring for awhile, okay?"

Desmond laughed softly. "Sure thing, Luce."

The van door closed, and Desmond turned to Juhani and Michael. Juhani eyed him from beneath his hood, grinning slyly. "I have to say, these hoods don't make much of a fashion statement."

Desmond snorted.

"I dunno...I think the hood suits you, Juhani." The blonde Templar went silent, and Christine spoke up.

"Let's get going Des, Ithaca will be waiting at the diner."

A/N: Lots of action coming up. Stay tuned. Edit: Oy, with the sleep deprivation. *shakes tiny fist* One of these days I'll actually get more than 5 hours at a whack. Today I can blame *flips excuse book* ... Daylight Savings Time. Yeeeeah.