Haytham Kenway; 15 November 1754, Fort St-Mathieu
Over the next few hours, the both of them had arrived at General Edward Braddock's camp: Fort St-Mathieu. The wind was blowing very hard now, causing a blizzard. Haytham kept his stance, kneeling near some shrubbery next to Ziio, as he watched a supply cart head toward the fort.
"Use the snowstorm to mask your approach," Ziio ordered. Haytham didn't say anything. He continued to watch the convoy.
"Having second thoughts?" she asked a little louder, interrupting his flow of ideas."
"Hardly," he answered her, "but I'll have to approach this carefully."
"Go on, then. I'll keep watch from here."
Haytham gave her a nod, then proceeded to run over to another tall grass area so he could get a better view of the convoy. He could hide in that cart, Haytham thought to himself. As the cart neared, the storm picked up its pace. The harsh winds blew much of the snow in front of the driver, obscuring his sight. Haytham used this to his advantage and sneaked into the back of the wagon of supplies. Once he situated himself under a pile of Redcoat uniforms, the convoy picked up its pace once again along the snowy dirt road. Haytham was a bit nervous for the mission. He had never done something like this before in his 30 years of life in London. He hoped he wouldn't get caught.
A few minutes later, the cart came to a slow halt.
"What's in the wagon? I need a full inventory," he heard one Redcoat speak, presumably a guard.
The driver responded, "As you wish. Let's see - 2 barrels of salt, 12 pounds pork, 10 pounds beef, 7 dozen eggs, 16 wheels of cheese - none of it French, don't worry, 5 bottles of whiskey, a couple dozen new uniforms, boots, and leather for patching. Blankets, too, and a cart of feed for the horses. Wot else… Wot else… That's it. That's all there is."
"You're free to pass," the guard said.
Once the cart was properly within the fort's boundaries, Haytham exited through the back and hid in an area of tall grass. He spotted two key targets: George Washington and John Fraser. The two men headed near to where Haytham was, and were talking.
Fraser asked Washington, "Tell me you've good news?"
"General Braddock refused the offer. There will be no truce."
"Damn it! Why, George? What reason did he give?"
"He said that a diplomatic solution is no solution at all. That allowing the French to retreat would only delay an inevitable conflict, one in which they'd have the upper hand," George explained to his colleague. Haytham continued to follow the men discreetly as they walked up a staircase. The rest of the conversation was mainly focused on Fraser's and Washington's negative opinions on Braddock's plans. Not much of it was useful - nor interesting - to Haytham, until they started speaking of where Edward and his troops were heading later.
"Where's the general now?" Fraser asked Washington.
"Rallying the troops."
"And then it's onto Fort Duquesne, I presume?"
George answered his friend, "Eventually. The march north will surely take time. There's a copy of the plans in the command tent should you wish to review them."
Fraser nodded and said, "At least this will be ended soon."
"I tried, John."
"I know, my friend, I know…"
Both John Fraser and George Washington had dispersed after their talk about Edward Braddock. Haytham was lucky that they had managed to tell where Braddock was headed in the near future and where the maps were located. That map would surely be of use. He needed to find it. Haytham jumped into a nearby hay cart, as a British soldier was currently walking up the staircase. The man entered one of the tents, and Haytham saw that he was sifting through and reading the map. Once he finished, he exited the tent and stood watch outside. Haytham waited to see what the soldier would do next. Reginald had taught him to always spend a couple minutes analyzing his target, seeing their patterns and how they performed things before acting upon them.
After standing outside the tent for about five minutes, the soldier returned back into the tent. Haytham took his chance, jumped out of the hay cart, and hid in the grass next to the tent. He waited yet again, and the same soldier exited the tent. Once he was on guard again, Haytham quickly covered the man's mouth and locked his arm around his neck, silencing him and dragging him over to the hay cart. He threw the Redcoat's body into the hay, took the maps, and then continued down the wooden staircase.
Haytham had managed to leave Fort St-Mathieu in one piece, to his surprise. Though upon exit of the fort, he was stopped by some English soldiers, which he managed to take out easily. He had always thought that their combat training wasn't the best. He saw Ziio still crouched behind the bush where they had originally met.
She saw him coming, and asked, "What news?"
"Braddock has left to rally his troops," Haytham answered her, "They're marching on Fort Duquesne. It'll be a while yet 'til they're ready, which gives us time to form a plan."
Ziio took a closer look at the maps that Haytham had looted.
"No need," she said, and pointed to an area near the fort, "We will ambush them here, near the river. Go and gather your allies. I will do the same. I will send word when it is time to strike."
