Chapter 26
Everyone was startled from the nightly news as the house shook, golden light spilling from beneath the door of Desmond and Lucy's room. There was a stunned silence as the light faded, and as one the group of Assassins got up, but before they could get to the door, it opened, revealing Desmond's battered form.
The Apple he held was dark, and he himself was changed. His skin was traced with white lines in intricate geometric patterns, the same ones Lucy remembered seeing beneath his skin at Abstergo when she'd worked to save his life.
They pulsed softly beneath the skin of his body now, lit by the same inner fire that brightened his honey gaze to gold. Lucy was relieved to see that his face remained unchanged, though when he looked at her she was unnerved by the almost inhuman resolution she read there.
"Des...you should be in bed..." She heard herself say automatically, and the others all stared at her, some incredulously. Desmond blinked, seeming to come back to himself. "I know Luce. But we don't have time. We've got to get to Turin, New York. That's where the Grand Temple is." William looked at his son, some fear in his gaze. "Do you know...when?"
Desmond's expression hardened. "Before Christmas."
Sayeed spoke up. "The plane can be ready in an hour." Desmond nodded. "Do it." Sayeed bowed. "At once, Master Miles."
Vidic was beside himself with rage as he threw the cell phone across the room, where it skittered and slid, smashing against a wall. Daniel's failure to secure Altair's Apple set their plans back an immeasurable amount, and the fact they'd done it quite literally under his nose just rubbed salt into already raw wound.
He'd warned the arrogant young man not to underestimate Desmond's use of the powers of the Apple. He snarled angrily, looking for something else to destroy when a timid voice interrupted his tirade. "Uh...Dr. Vidic?" Vidic whirled on the cowering guard, snarling, "What?!" The guard held a package in his hand, and handed it to the irate scientist with a shaking hand.
"This arrived for you sir, just now..."
Vidic snatched up the package. It had no return address, and he tore it open to reveal a tablet.
Frowning, he turned it on, and Daniel's face appeared.
"I made sure this would arrive after you got done throwing things, Warren. You always did throw stupid temper tantrums. I didn't get the Apple, but I did manage to plant a tracking device on Desmond." The tablet switched to a video of Desmond staggering back from a shot to the shoulder, and after that, a map appeared. Vidic smiled as the blinking dot moved along a road in Syria to a private airport.
He might forgive Daniel for his screw-up. It all depended on what their unwitting Assassin guides led them to.
The airfield was dark except for a single plane as the Assassins pulled up. The plane lights came on as they approached, and a Syrian man in a suit exited from it as the group exited the van. He shook hands with Sayeed, his eyes tracing over the group and stopping finally on Desmond, who was dressed in his usual jeans and hoodie, the hood pulled up to conceal the Apple's glow in his eyes.
The man in the suit approached Desmond. "You are the descendant of Altair?" Desmond nodded silently, his uninjured arm wrapped around Lucy. He sighed. "You realize you are putting me in an awkward position. If I am discovered, years of work will be undone. I am a politician, not a fighter."
The suited man folded down his left ring finger, and Desmond inclined his head.
"I realize the risk. But if we don't get to the States as soon as possible, the world may pay the price. Thank you Brother." The man sighed. "I have heard tales of the first Mentor, since childhood on my father's knee, and you do indeed resemble him greatly." Desmond looked thoughtful.
"Would you like to meet him?"
The suited man blinked, staring. "Meet him? The Grand Mentor has been dead hundreds of years!"
He whirled on Sayeed, his expression angry, but the other man merely grinned as a flash of golden light illuminated the airfield.
Desmond spoke quietly to Altair, and the suited man turned abruptly, going still with shock as Altair beheld him, a stern expression on his face.
The suited man couldn't speak as Altair said, "My descendant tells me you are providing us passage on your..." His golden gaze settled on the plane with some confusion. "...vessel so that we may complete our mission." The suited man stammered something and then fell to his face on the pavement.
"Forgive me, Grand Master Altair! I...I thought your descendant quite mad..."
Altair actually laughed, and his weathered hand took the suited man's arm. "Stand, my Brother. I am hardly a god worthy of worship." Desmond might've argued that point, judging from the look of awe on the man's face as Altair spoke next.
"What little I have seen of the world in this time saddens me greatly, my Brother. Brothers fighting Brothers, the Templars ruling much of the land via their machinations. War, suffering and poverty. I had thought in a thousand years, the world might be different...but I see now that it is not the world that must change – it is the hearts of men."
Altair looked into the eyes of the suited man. "My descendant tells me you are a leader among our people. It is those men who wield power who can effect the greatest change. Do not disappoint me, my Brother."
Altair stepped back, and in another instant he was gone as if he'd never been. The airfield was silent, and the suited man had tears streaming down his face.
"You have shown me a miracle, descendant of Altair. A true miracle, of a kind I had not thought possible. May I know your name?"
Desmond nodded. "Desmond Miles. This is my wife, Lucy. I won't ask your name, I know you're worried about security."
The suited man bowed deeply to them both, and as he rose his eyes lit upon Lucy's thickening waistline, concealed under her wrapped burkha. His eyes widened, and he offered Lucy a nervous smile. "My congratulations to you both." Lucy blushed. "Thank you."
Rebecca called, "We're loaded up and ready to go Des."
Desmond nodded, and the suited man bowed deeply to him as they boarded the plane.
They settled themselves on the plane, and William looked over at Desmond. "Desmond...I noticed you've referred to Lucy as your wife since we've been here...is there something I should know?"
Desmond shrugged.
"It's easier for them to accept. Don't worry Dad, Mom would kill me if we eloped." He glanced at Lucy. "She did say yes when I asked, so it'll be formal soon enough."
Lucy smiled at him, taking his hand in hers tightly. "I have to say Des, you definitely kept your word so far about it not being boring...but to be honest...when this is over...I think I could go for some boring for awhile."
Desmond feigned a shocked look. "You could go for boring? Does this mean I was right about you being an in-bed-by-six type?" Lucy laughed, leaning over and kissing Desmond deeply. His gaze melted when he beheld her next, and she said, "I'm perfectly happy to be in bed at six Des..." Her gaze became sultry. "As long as you're in it, that is."
William cleared his throat uncomfortably, and the silence was broken by Shaun's indignant, "Oh for Chrissakes, get a damn room, some of us are trying to get some sleep!" Desmond looked at Lucy and they both laughed. Shaun groaned and put in his headphones. "I was bloody serious," he muttered, and then William joined them in their laughter.
Daniel practically ran off the flight as it landed in Rome, only to almost run over Vidic, who waited impatiently outside the gate. "What the fuck? What are you doing here, Warren?" Vidic sighed. "Come on, or we'll miss our flight." Daniel frowned, following Vidic down the terminal. "What flight? To where? Did the Assassins leave Syria?" Vidic nodded.
"They left several hours ago, and from what intel we have managed to gather they're headed for the States. The two largest airports on the East Coast are in New York and Washington D.C. They'll likely be headed for one of those." Daniel frowned. "Do we know where they're headed in the States?" Vidic shook his head. "No, but your excellent little tracking device ought to show us, as long as we make sure they are able to get where they are headed."
Cross skidded to a halt in front of the elevators. Vidic pressed a button and tapped his foot impatiently. "Wait, so we're going to help them get into the States?" Daniel demanded. Vidic smiled. "Yes. The techs finished going through all the recordings we took from Desmond when he was in our...care. Some of them show some kind of central Temple. I think that's where the Assassins are heading, and if they're headed there in such a hurry, whatever is there must be powerful." Daniel shook his head. "I don't get you, Vidic. Why would we help an enemy?" Vidic frowned. "For the greater good, my dear boy...the greater good."
A/N: Right...I'm on a roll tonight, mostly cause I'm going to lose my time to write to homework for part of this weekend, so I wanted to get the chapters I'd written posted. Edited cause for some reason I'm writing thousands instead of hundreds. Too much math on the brain, methinks.