Chapter Eighty-Four: Plans in Motion


A scowl was the only thing present on Vidic's face the last couple of days. He had at first thought the situation he was in had more positives than negatives. However, as the days went on, the difficulty of the matter at hand became clearer.

This was not an easy matter at all. In fact, it was rather stressful.

Even with all the perks he had on his side, it wasn't enough. Knowledge, weapons, technology, and his wit. That's all he really had at his disposal.

The ignorant fools of the past should have posed no issues to them, and yet he had come into more trouble than he had anticipated.

While he was able to handle this situation, many of the men who had been brought to the past with him seemed to not be coping well.

Seven men from the tactical team had been transported with him. However, one died shortly after they were transported. He had been shot in the neck by Connie, and while he was still alive when they got here, they had no means of saving him. Vidic put him out of his misery.

Another of his men had been shot in the leg, however it had not hit anything vital. They were able to apply basic first aid to the man, but they didn't have much to help him with the pain. Vidic was glad his men had basic first aid knowledge and supplies, he was sure they were going to need it.

With six remaining men by his side, he thought he was in a good position. Many of them had supplies that were very useful, not to mention their guns could be loaded with live ammunition. They hadn't wasted any of this ammo at their first encounter with the assassins, having only used tranquilizers, so they were still fully equipped.

Vidic also thanked his lucky stars he still had his earpiece. It was Abstergo tech that allowed him to communicate. While he had used it in the present as a mere radio to his men, it also had the ability to translate. That was a very useful tool for him, especially now.

His only issue currently was the mental stability of his men.

Some seemed to be dealing with the reality of the situation rather poorly. This irritated him to no end, as they were trained professionals of high standing.

His first mission was to secure food and shelter, which was easy enough for him to acquire with his assets. He took his time to formulate a plan then, allowing his men to get used to their situation in the meantime.

By the second day, they had all been able to face the reality of the situation.

Owen, who was the tactical team's leader, had no issues since the beginning. He was a man of fierce will. Because of that, Vidic had left him to take care of the teams mental shortages. He didn't care how Owen did it, but he wanted to be able to move out shortly. Two days was all he needed it seemed.

Vidic didn't tell his men the whole plan, however he gave them all the key knowledge they needed to do their jobs. After all, Vidic had explained to them that if they ever wanted to get back to the present and see their families, they would need to follow him.

He had told them they needed to complete the mission they had failed, as Connie was their only ticket back. She was the one who brought them here after all. This wasn't actually a lie, so they easily believed him.

He was glad a least, that the men who got pulled to the past with him were easily manipulated.

Currently, they had been heading to a few cities to gather information. He needed to get in touch with this time periods Templar leader, Robert de Sablé.

Vidic knew Robert de Sablé to be a man of high caliber, and a Grand Master of the Knights Templar. If Vidic could secure the help of Robert, he would be in a much better position to finish his mission.

He didn't want to stay in the past, a place like this didn't suit a man of his standing.

Of course Vidic knew aligning with Robert would not be easy, but he devised a few ways to secure such an alliance. He just had to play his cards right.

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The group of four had returned to Altair's house, having decided to enjoy a small dinner together as they continued to formulate their plan. This house offered them the most privacy, which would help them keep away from prying eyes.

The plan was not nearly full proof, nor was it complete. They did have many unknown factors to consider after all.

The four were sitting around the hardwood table once more. This time they had a meat stew, and some bread to enjoy.

They had discussed a few things as the stew was cooking, but as soon as it was time to eat, everyone grew silent to enjoy their meal.

It was this quiet time of contemplation where everyone seemed to be lost in their thoughts.

Altair had explained earlier that he had sent letters to the Assassin bureaus of a few cities. The letter had contained the news of their Masters passing, and of their new leadership. There were also details on their Masters murder, and for the brotherhood to gather any information they could. Altair was not mentioned as one of the new leaders, this was something he and the rest of the group had decided to do. It was part of a possible scheme.

Since they couldn't speak of Vidic to the assassins freely, they had only wrote of a possible prime suspect. Of course they knew who was actually responsible, but it was not something the assassins had to worry about or solve. The group had to redirect their assumptions.

Connie ate her soup slowly, the hot liquid a little too much for her. She didn't mind however, as her thoughts were quite occupied.

Hey you, she called roughly. She knew the necklace was very much present, but it had not spoken a word since she had told it to shut up.

'Yes Master?' it replied right away.

How do we fix this situation? She asked, she knew it would know what she meant. She had been thinking about it for a while now, that being the matter of sending everyone back to their proper time.

'What is there to fix Master? Do you wish to send them home?"

Of course.

'Wouldn't it be easier to just end their lives? Its faster and more energy efficient.'

Connie placed her head in her hand then as she looked down, trying to cover her expression. She really shouldn't be surprised at what it said anymore, but she just barely resisted the urge to shake her head and sigh. If anyone else heard what it said right now, they'd probably be …a little worried.

'…Master?'

That's not going to happen, so you better watch what you say. Lucy and Desmond are not expendable.

'My apologies, I will reflect on this matter.'

You'd better, she warned.

'So only Desmond and Lucy are not expendable?'

They are the only ones I want to return to the present.

'Not yourself?'

I thought you said it wasn't safe anymore, care to explain?

At this point her soup was starting to get cold, and Altair's concerned gaze made her quickly begin to eat.

'That is correct Master, we should not return to that time anymore.'

Connie couldn't help but notice it didn't actually answer her question. No matter, she had plenty of time to ask it.

So you can do it? You can return them to the future?

'Yes, two people is very much within my means Master.'

Is there anything else that is within your means? Asked Connie in curiosity. If the necklace could help them in anyway, she really wished it would tell her.

There were many times she absolutely hated the necklace, but at other times she had been really thankful. It was only now that she could look back and accept everything, the good and bad. It had all got her to where she was now, and she didn't want a life where she never met Altair.

'Don't worry Master, I will always protect you to the best of my abilities. Think of me as your secret weapon.'

Connie contemplated its words before slowly asking it of certain possibilities.

So… can you make bombs?

'…no.'

What about bullets? I don't have that many left.

'…I'm afraid not.'

Do you have any kind of weapon I can use?

'Not specifically…"

You're pretty useless after all. Thought Connie, cutting it off.

'I don't specifically have a weapon, but you do.' It continued, sounding slightly irritated by her insult.

What?

'Your bloodline.'

You gotta give me more than that to understand you know.

'Many of my previous Masters were quite skilled, all of which have come from your bloodline. I can use these skills through you.'

Are you serious? How?

'You have experienced it once before. Do you remember that sword fight you won against Altair?'

How could I forget, smirked Connie. She quickly pulled her spoon to her lips to hide it though. She didn't want to look weird in front of everyone at the table for randomly smirking at nothing.

'It is similar to that Master, I'm glad you remember.'

Of course she remembered. It was such an unexplainable thing back then, she remembered it almost felt like her body was in auto pilot. She never felt like she wasn't in control, but rather that she could regain control at any moment. It was an odd feeling, but now that she understood what had happened, she found she was a little excited.

That's very handy, I'll take back what I said before. But how come you haven't helped me since then? I've been in a lot of tight spots you know.

'I dare not take over unless my Master wishes.'

Hmm, what if I was going to die though?

'Since I cannot save you from death again, I would do so if that is what you wish.'

Yes, not dying would be nice.

'As you wish, I will do my best.'

I guess my ancestors were pretty cool if you say they were skilled. What kind of skills did they have?

'Swordsmanship, and hand to hand combat.'

Ooo, I wish I could have met them.

'Your marksmanship skills are also quite good Master, I am learning a lot from you.'

Why thank you, learn them well.

Connie couldn't help but think this was the first time in a while the two had such a civil conversation. She even gained some very interesting information from it, information that was actually quite valuable to her.

So lost in her thoughts was she, that when loud banging could be heard at the door, she jumped.

Connie's spoon had dropped from her hand, and the action had drawn Altair's concerned gaze once more she noticed. She quickly sent him a reassuring smile, before the banging on the door started once more.

"Altair! I know you're here, what blasphemy have you done this time!" Shouted an irritated voice from beyond the door.

Altair calmly got up from his chair before approaching the door to open it. The moment he did, a man stepped forward right up to Altair's face, before pointing at him disdainfully.

"A novice like you? Master? How did this come to be?" He questioned quite aggressively.

It was at that moment that everyone at the table had their eyes wide as they recognised the man before them. It was Malik.

Desmond suddenly began to laugh, and Lucy was trying her best not to follow suit. Connie could understand why, these two had quite the history.

Malik was probably one of the very few people who could get away with talking to Altair in such a way.

"Malik, it's good to see you Brother." Said Altair calmly, before motioning for him to come inside.

Malik dropped his arm then, his aggressive attitude disappearing as quickly as it came when faced with Altair's calm voice.

Slowly walking in past Altair, Malik soon found they weren't alone in the small house. With a narrowed gaze, he quickly tried to figure out who was in his presence. They were all wearing robes of the assassins, and his expression became shocked when he made eye contact with them.

He recognised Connie right away, but his attention was drawn to the other man and women he didn't know. The man looked shockingly familiar.

"Allow me to introduce my companions. I'm sure you remember Connie, and this is Desmond, and Lucy." Spoke Altair, coming back to his chair before taking a seat once more. He motioned for Malik to sit in an empty chair, but the man did not move.

Malik stood before the table, taking in the scene before him as he stood in silence for a moment.

"…What is going on here?" he finally questioned, slowly descending into the offered chair. He had come into Altair's house in a whirlwind, his thoughts heated, but now he wasn't sure of the situation he found himself in.

What was Altair doing, casually eating dinner with foreign strangers? Malik was sure he had never seen such faces in the Brotherhood before, he was a Rafiq after all.

"Malik, you arrived quicker than I thought. Which is great, I need your help." Said Altair drawing Malik's attention away from the others. It seemed to do the trick in snapping him out of his pondering. Of course Altair needed his help, a man as foolhardy as him could not accomplish much.

"Of course, that's right. Care to explain this?" asked Malik, pulling out a piece of parchment from his robe. The action drew everyone's attention, but it was only placed before Altair.

When Altair looked down, he knew what it was immediately. It was one of the letters he had sent to the assassin bureau. However what Malik was specifically referring to, was the hidden message Altair had left especially for Malik. Altair knew that Malik would be able to decipher his words fairly easily. He had written his involvement in the leadership of the Order, and said there were important matters to discuss.

This had been part of a deception plan they had come up with, in the off chance their information was leaked. Every letter sent to the assassin bureaus had a straight forward message of news. However if Vidic happened to intercept any of this information, he would have to assume the past had not changed, since Altair was not the new head, but in fact Abbas. They were banking on the fact that Vidic would think Altair was accused of betrayal by Abbas like the previous timeline.

He wouldn't know they changed to past to such a degree so far.

The group was hoping Vidic would underestimate them, thinking the assassins were too focused on finding the culprit, and not expecting an attack. If he assumed the previous history, Vidic would think the assassins would be weak after the death of their Master, with no clear leadership.

If Vidic took this bait, like they thought he would, they would have one more advantage.

This of course, was only a small factor in their plan. A plan that seemed to grow larger with each passing day.

The only one who had been provided with accurate information was Malik, which is how he knew about Altair as a new appointed Mentor. The information was written in code.

"It is exactly as written, but I will answer all of your questions." Replied Altair, crossing his arms as he remained seated. He had finished eating not too long ago, and so he sat anticipating Malik's questions.

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It didn't take long for Vidic to locate the Grand Master Robert.

He knew that Robert would be in Arsuf, as in the original past, he had gone to align himself with King Richard.

Robert had gone to help King Richard in his battle against Arsuf. Afterwards he would convince Richard to ally himself against their common enemy. The Assassins.

This was the perfect situation for Vidic to take advantage of.

Not to mention, in the original timeline, Altair had been involved in such a battle as well. It was this battle in fact, where the assassin was able to end Roberts's life, and learn the truth of Al Mualim.

However Vidic knew that the probability of such events happening once more were rather low, especially now that Connie was back in the past.

Altair would surely not continue his mission, in fact he was sure Connie and Co would have blown the whistle on Altair's Master already.

No matter, Vidic had his own plans to follow through with, and the absence of Altair could only benefit him.

He had decided to make contact with Robert after the man had already aligned himself with King Richard. After all, why would Vidic get in the way of Robert expertly manipulating Richard?

The current situation was that Vidic had finally uncovered information on where Robert was after such occurrences.

He was stationed in a camp near Jerusalem, his men securing the perimeter. The sun was still high in the sky, indicating it was still the afternoon. But as Vidic looked down at his watch, he knew that the sun would be setting soon.

Vidic didn't have time to be delicate with such matters, so he brought two of his best men with him. Owen, and a man named David stood on either side of Vidic as they began to approach the Templar camp.

Both were still in their tactical gear, equipped with their guns loaded, bullet proof vests, and helmets. They were in all black, and Owen even had a pair of black sunglasses on. Their dark appearance was a stark contrast to the Templar knights white tunic and armour.

Even if the Templars could not recognize what equipment they had, it was still true that their presence was very intimidating, even if there were just three of them.

It was rather audacious for Vidic to just walk into a Templar camp without any prior invitation, but he just didn't care. If any of the Templars got too close, he had told Owen to take care of them.

It was when Vidic and his men were rather close to Roberts's tent that a commotion started. The Templars had formed ranks in front, aiming to create a blockade between the intruders and their Master.

Vidic stopped walking then and stood in his spot, glaring at the men in front of him. He knew that Robert would come and figure out what the disturbance was. Robert was aware that a special Assassin was after his life, and he was surly the type of person who faced such things head on.

Not a moment later, Grand Master Robert burst through his tents opening, his white cape billowing behind him as he came to see what the disturbance was.

Robert's eyes were narrowed as he took in the sight before him, his expression conveying the confusion Vidic was sure he was feeling.

"What is the meaning of this?" Robert asked his men, pushing through their makeshift line of defense and standing before Vidic and his men.

When Vidic made eye contact with the man, he saw no signs of fear, but rather annoyance and contempt. As expected of a noble from birth, thought Vidic, a smirk coming to his face.

Vidic's earpiece was easily translating the conversation between Robert and his men. And when Robert realised they had no clue, he turned his glare towards Vidic.

"Speak." Was all Robert said as he glared down at Vidic. Robert was a rather tall individual, and it only added to his intimidating aura.

Clearing his throat, Vidic began to speak.

"I have come to deliver some very valuable information," he began, waiting for his Abstergo tech to translate and broadcast his speech to the Templars.

When the Templars heard such a disembodied voice speak to them next, their reactions were rather amusing.

A few drew their swords, taking a ready stance. Some shouted amongst themselves. Robert was silent as he stared down Vidic, his expression harder to read this time. Without breaking eye contact with Vidic, Robert motioned with his head for one of his men.

Without a moments delay, the Templar rushed forward, sword raised to strike at Vidic.

Vidic paid no mind to this man, and instead kept his cold stare directed at Robert as well. He paid no mind to the man rushing towards him. Intimidation games were his forte.

Owen reacted quickly on his own and raised his hand in a signal. Not a moment later, a loud shot was heard from afar, and the Templar with his sword raised suddenly fell to the floor.

With a gurgling sound, blood could be seen rushing out of the Templars helmet on the floor. Not a moment later, the sound stopped and there was silence once more.

It was a perfect head shot, one performed by the tactical team on standby. They all had their sights set on this location, waiting for the word to strike if needed.

"I would advise you against that," said Vidic coldly, his words being translated aloud once again.

This time, no one reacted, and instead stayed silent as they waited for Robert's command.

It was a silent battle of intimidation, one in which both sides were rather good at.

"What is it you want?" asked Robert then, crossing his arms.

Vidic was sure this man had many questions, but Robert kept himself composed. He didn't seem surprised at all when faced with Vidic and his men.

It's a shame a Templar of such standing died so early, Thought Vidic.

"To deliver information on the Assassins," responded Vidic.

The word 'Assassins' easily drew their attention, and Vidic could only inwardly smile.

"I know of your plan to attack the Assassins headquarters and reclaim control of the Holy Land. I also know of your alliance with King Richard." Continued Vidic.

"How have you come to learn this?" asked Robert, his eyes narrowed.

"That is because, we are also Templars." Answered Vidic easily.

"…I have never seen nor heard of you."

"And why do you think that is?" asked Vidic simply.

"For you are trying to deceive me, much like the Assassins." Said Robert.

"The answer is rather simple, and yet complex. We are Templars of the future," answered Vidic, watching closely for Robert's reaction.

This was a crucial point. Robert could either try to believe him, or he could simply choose to ignore him. However Vidic was sure he showcased enough for Robert to believe him. From their clothes, to their technology, it should be obvious they were foreign.

"The future?" said Robert as he contemplated the words. "What is your name?"

"I am Warren Vidic, a member of the Templar Order. It is a great honour to meet a Grand Master such as yourself." Answered Vidic, heaping on the praise.

"Great honour?" echoed Robert, his head tilted. However Vidic could see the gleam in his eyes.

Vidic smiled, it seemed praise was the correct path with this man. Vidic had been under the impression that Robert was a manipulative individual, and an ingenious strategist. However, Vidic knew that he was not held in high regard by his fellow Templars…. Vidic would give him what he lacked.

"Yes, of course. Grand Master Robert de Sablé was a key figure of the Templars in this time period." Said Vidic, he even threw in a short bow of respect as he spoke. Lying came easily for Vidic, and this was nothing but child's play to him.

"I only wish to help you achieve your goals," continued Vidic.

Which man wouldn't want to believe they were a key figure of the past?

Robert straightened up at the words Vidic spoke, and a small smirk seemed to make its way to his lips.

"Tell me, do you know of the Assassin after my life?" Robert suddenly asked.

Vidic could only guess why Robert asked such a question. It was either because he himself knew the answer and wanted to test Vidic further, or because Robert had no idea and wanted to use such information.

"It is the same assassin who has killed many of our brethren, Altair." Answered Vidic.

Robert said nothing in response, but rather seemed deep in thought as he received the information.

"Come, we have much to talk about." Said Robert suddenly, before motioning for Vidic to follow him into his tent.

"Indeed," muttered Vidic before following after Robert. Owen and David easily followed behind him, their dark presence causing many of the Templars to back up out of the way as they moved forward.

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Hope you all liked the chapter! I'm having a lot of fun with this :)