*Hey everyone, here's another chapter.

Hope you enjoy it!*

"Scott?!" Ashley's voice echoed through the small open part of the warehouse.

"Ashley."

Suddenly, a rusty blade of an axe flew above Scott's ducked head. He immediately kicked the attacker in the side before slicing his throat and shoving him to the ground. "It's been a while."

Ashley's nature and expression immediately changed. "No shit, you never bothered to contact me after we joined the Creed, you bastard!"

Scott's face got serious. "You don't know half the shit I went through, Ashy. Don't assume anything, please."

"It's still not right that you didn't even try to reach out, though." Ashley's face poofed up in disappointment.

Scott turned his back to her and stayed silent for a few moments.

"I couldn't."

"You *couldn't*?" Ashley's tone slightly changed. "What kind of contracts have you had to do?"

Scott's calm voice filled the room. "They call me Swift. That's all I am to these people. Just a fast and small bird who flies around the land. I can't remember the last time I spent a week in a single country." Scott turned around and faced Ashley directly. "I'm on constant missions, so I essentially can't interact with anyone. I'm sorry, Ashley."

Ashley didn't reply for a few moments as her expression eased up. "Don't worry, you couldn't help it."

A single thought circled her mind. *The Scout, going around the world on different missions, hardly interacting with people...* Her mind paused its thinking for a moment. *Everywhere we go, we can't escape hearing something that will remind us of him.*

She spoke out loud this time. "I knew an assassin similar to you. I get it entirely."

"Wait, is he ranked?" Scott brought up a question.

"He's #4 right now."

Scott's eyes widened as they simultaneously spoke this time. "Ryo Galler."

"I've heard of him, of course. His name only carries positive news nowadays within the inner workings of the Creed." Scott's tone began improving.

Ashley's eyes tightly closed as she lowered her head. "You don't know, do you?"

You could practically see a question mark forming above Scott's head.

"He's dead, Scott. He died during a contract not too long ago. The funeral arrangements have been tough."

Scott lowered his face. "Oh...I'm sorry for your loss."

"It's okay." Ashley brushed her hand against his cheek and directed her attention at Kane. "Let's regroup with Kane."

As soon as they could see the entire space of the warehouse, they were met with the sight of Kane standing on a floor full of bodies. A single Templar remained standing. Kane began slowly approaching him as the Templar retreated step by step. He sprinted into a room and locked the door behind him. A few moments went by as Kane began winding up a blow so he could knock the door down. Suddenly, a female voice could be heard coming from the ceiling.

*SELF-DESTRUCTION SEQUENCE ACTIVATED.*

"Why in the fuck does a storage unit have a self-destruction sequence?!" Kane shouted at the ceiling before practically smashing the door in half. He activated his grappling hook and stabbed the only man left alive through one of his eyeballs. The Templar died on the spot. He walked out of the room and looked at Ashley and Scott.

"Introduce me later. For now, let's book it the fuck out of here!" Kane waved his hand towards the exit as Ashley and Scott immediately followed. They made it across the street and climbed to the top of an apartment building.

"So..." Kane began talking. "Who am I looking at?"

Ashley began opening her mouth before she was interrupted by several explosions coming from the warehouse.

This went on for some time.

Kane checked his wristwatch.

The explosions eventually calmed down.

"So..." Kane cleared his throat before trying again. "Who am I looking at?"

Ashley took a deep breath before answering. "Kane, meet my twin brother, Scott Richardson!"

Kane's eyes and mouth slightly widened. "Twin brother?! How long did you think you would keep this from us?"

"I wasn't keeping it, it just never came up." Ashley pouted her lips and slightly turned around.

"Bullshit excuse, junior!" Kane's voice unexpectedly grew louder as it grabbed Ashley's attention. He quickly looked at Scott once more before speaking up. "Scott, huh? Good to meet you, lad."

"Same to you, sir." Scott nodded in this exchange.

"Call me Kane before you make me feel like a retired war veteran." Kane lit a cigarette after finishing his sentence. "Right, juniors, that's enough for one night. Why don't we accompany Scott to the sanctuary?"

"Up to you." Ashley turned her head towards Scott.

Scott jokingly stared into his wristwatch. "I can stop by."

Kane chuckled. "Good, let's parkour back, then."

...

Rome was quiet that night.

A blond Croatian just exhaled more smoke than usual from the drag of the cigarette he was smoking. His face stared out into the open world from the beautiful and spacious balcony. A lukewarm breeze carried the smoke away from the sanctuary.

Hugh opened the creaky door of the balcony. "Sheesh, someone should oil this door sometime." His comedic timing was impeccable. Luka calmly looked at him and smiled before turning his head back towards the city. "You alright? Mind if I join you?"

"Go for it, big lad." Luka's usual positivity wasn't showing up that night. He took a few moments before he spoke up again. "Just a lot on my mind tonight."

Hugh sat in a chair near Luka's toned figure. "Does that 'a lot' have Ryo in it?"

Luka chuckled under his breath. "Of course it does. We just keep getting reminded of him."

"Yeah, no matter what, we can't escape it." Hugh placed his head in his hands. "I mean, it's only natural. I get that while we're near the Creed he will always be mentioned in some way, shape or form."

"Yup." Luka loudly sighed. "I wish Ashley and Kane were here."

"I do too, Luka." Hugh looked at his pupil's large back with a sad expression on his face.

"It's just unfair, man..." Luka paused for a moment. "It should have been me."

"Don't fucking start." Hugh's voice got serious. "That's the last thought that should be circling your brain right now."

Silence followed for a few moments.

"Luka, it's not your fault."

Luka's expression didn't change. He began lightly tapping the floor with one of his heels. Seems as though Hugh's words helped him a bit as he slowly nodded a few times. That was the small but necessary confirmation that eased Hugh's tensions a small bit.

Their little conversation was interrupted by the rest of the Italian Creed.

"Bad time?" Gabriel politely asked from the back of the group.

Luka sighed again. "No. Actually, I could use the company."

Ruth and Nicole sat down and relaxed their bodies due to their injuries sustained a few hours ago. Lucio grasped the edge of the balcony and sat on top of it while Gabriel took a seat next to Hugh.

"How're you two doing?" Luka quickly directed his attention at Ruth and Nicole.

After a moment of silence, Ruth spoke first. "Holding up. I've never been great at recovering from damage. I'll be fine within a couple of days."

"I'm fine, hun. You don't have to worry." Nicole's reply was cheerful like always.

Luka nodded in confirmation as he subtly winked at her.

The conversation died down as Luka threw away his finished cigarette and lit another one.

"Why don't we revive the conversation?" Hugh suddenly spoke up as the assassins all looked at him. "How about we share a few tales, eh? What are your favourite contracts you've done, lads?"

Hugh looked around the room for approval and got rewarded with positive remarks and smiles. He playfully gazed through Gabriel who chuckled after looking back at him. "Don't give me the spotlight. Save the best for last, that's what I always say."

"Confident bastard, aren't ya?" Ruth chuckled before slightly raising his voice. "Alright, I'll go first."

Ruth began explaining his story as he began getting flashbacks inside of his mind.

"Have you lads ever had the pleasure of tailing someone throughout the entire city without being noticed before learning a valuable piece of information and killing them instantly? Well, that's pretty much what's happened to me. And I loved it."

...

I was on a contract in India at the time. I might not be regarded as high as some of the people in my vicinity right now, but I've been around a few places. Anyway, I operated in Delhi, around New Delhi specifically. You can imagine how unorthodox it would be to do work there, especially if you're a British bloke like I am. I had to adapt to their culture, religion and weather differentials, all whilst trying to find a specific Templar that did his dirty work there. His name isn't important, it was a lackey that was working for someone else anyway.

But lads, when I tell you the city was a freerunning masterpiece, I seriously mean that.

You could leap around the entire city just jumping from rooftop to rooftop of the place. That was definitely my favourite freerunning session, place, whatever you wanna call it. It took me a good while to find my target at first, but once I caught him in my sights his face never escaped my eyes and his voice never escaped my ears. I felt so accomplished. I tracked him down to the rat hole where he talked to an associate. He revealed some important information about the government as soon as he thought he was alone. This lad was careful. He wouldn't risk anything if he knew he'd be followed. He relayed it all to his buddy before attempting to leave the area.

Here's my favourite part, though. I climbed up a small church on the corner of the street he was walking down. As soon as I saw him walk anywhere near the area of the church, I jumped off with faith in my heart and adrenaline in my veins.

Ironic, isn't it?

Getting murdered in front of the church like that.

That was a couple of years back.

I wouldn't trade anything for the experience I had in India.

It was just extraordinary.

...

"What of his accomplice? You gotta clean up the contract, you know?" Hugh's expression became a bit annoyed but he jokingly replied after Ruth stopped talking.

"He lived..."

Hugh playfully smacked his knee and shouted. "Dumbass, what do you mean he lived?!"

"...until the next day. One of my lads got a hold of him the next day."

The balcony filled with joy and laughter as Ruth concluded his story.

"Mind if I grab the spotlight?" Nicole's smile was the biggest mood lifter out there. It was so infectious the men gladly let her speak up. She directed her attention at Luke for a moment. "Hun, what was the name of that Hungarian Templar that Ryo sometimes mentioned?"

Luka calmly stared at her until Ryo's name was mentioned, then he immediately stared upwards into the night sky. He took a deep breath and almost silently sighed, but he didn't reply for a few seconds.

"Hun?"

"I'm just trying to remember..." The edge of Luka's mouth shifted to the side a small bit. "Something that started with F...Far...Farkas, that's the one!" His eyes briefly lit up as he remembered.

"Right, I knew his name meant 'wolf' in Hungarian, but I wasn't sure what it was...okay, here's the interesting part. He had a sister!"

"A sister?" Luka calmly questioned before Nicole replied with a few nods. "So his entire family was Templars or what?"

"I don't know that much, but the two of them certainly were." Luka quickly raised his eyebrows as Nicole continued talking. "Either way, Ryo had a brilliant contract eliminating Farkas back in Hungary, but his sister travelled to Austria a few years after."

She briefly stopped talking before taking in a deep breath and continuing. "Could you believe that?! She stepped on my home turf, I couldn't let that slide! Kingston called me up to eliminate her. She held a public speech in the town centre, right out in the open!"

...

When I say the town centre was an open area, I mean it. Do you know the open grounds where presidents in America do their public speeches? It was sort of similar to that! Safe to say, it wouldn't be easy to enter undetected, but it wouldn't be that tough to navigate.

There was a nearby bell tower that overlooked the speech grounds, you see? I waited for the perfect moment until it struck noon so the bell would swing from side to side so I could safely land on the ground from the top of it. Before you blinked, I was on the ground amongst the crowd!

It was thrilling, to say the least!

I kind of underestimated the number of people that would be attending, so it was difficult to make it to the front of the crowd from the back. This created a problem.

Héja was my target's name. Héja held the speech for a shorter time than usual. I guess someone tipped her off that she'd be in danger that day. She was just about to wrap up her speech by the time I made it to the front.

*Now or never.* I thought.

It wasn't tough to kill the first two guards that were super close to me. It was even less of a challenge to immediately throw a smoke bomb and leap in the middle of the speaker podium.

"You chose the wrong time to be in Austria, hawk."

I simply stuck my fist out into her stomach and smoothly stabbed through it. A few of the guards attempted to enter the smoke cloud, but my throwing knives found their targets, the guards' eyeballs. It was a simple manner of fleeing through the back of the stage and throwing another smoke bomb as a few other guards approached me.

It didn't actually end there, though.

They sent in a few scouts that were quicker than the large and beefy guards that were protecting Héja. They persisted for quite a while which was really impressive, to be fair. It's not like I was ever slow or had a lack of stamina before in my life.

I managed to shake them off after entering a crowd of hooded figures. They were some religious people that started a trend a few weeks prior that involved dressing like religious people during a certain historical period.

Either way, they lost me in that crowd.

...

"Come on, seriously?" Hugh raised an eyebrow and chuckled. "Don't tell me you lads don't see the similarities in that story."

Nobody spoke up for a few moments.

"Luka?" Hugh turned his head slightly towards Luka's back, hoping for an answer.

"It's a typical 'walk into a crowd, kill your target and flee' type of contract, but you're right. It's way too similar. The hooded religious folks, the chase afterwards, the act of killing the guards with only hidden blades and throwing knives, the goddamn entrance of disappearing from a bell tower while the bell is swinging!" Luka fully turned around and looked at each assassin before speaking up again. "It's Grandmaster Altaïr's most famous moment."

Nicole sincerely laughed. "That's why it's so important to me! It made me feel like him ever since I've done it! Of course, I prefer guns to knives, but still."

"Your fighting style is a lot like Edward Kenway's, that's for damn sure." Hugh laughed along with her. "I don't think anyone will be as silently deadly as Altaïr was. At least I don't know anyone who is."

"No way, H. You can't possibly compare anyone to him. He's the prime example of a master assassin." Luka continued his point after throwing his second cigarette away. "In our group right here, who do you think is the best assassin?"

The group fell silent for a few moments. Everyone's faces garnered confused expressions.

"It'd have to be Gabriel, right?" Lucio spoke up from the side.

"You're right, Lucio. Gabriel is the highest-ranked assassin, he's completed the most contracts and he's generally one of the best ones out there. But, what if we weren't looking at it from the perspective of a '100% assassin'?"

The balcony fell silent once more. Hugh briefly spoke. "You've lost me, Lu."

"It's simple. Let's play a little game to demonstrate what I mean. I'll name a few attributes that most assassins should be good or at least decent at. You all tell me who you think is the best one in that specific attribute out of the group here. Sound good?"

The assassins began giving positive remarks and their faces brightened up.

"Alright, let's start with stealth. Arguably the most important aspect of an assassin. Who do you think is the stealthiest assassin out of all of us here?"

A moment or two of silence occurred before Gabriel crossed his massive arms and spoke up. "Well, it'd have to be Nicole, right?"

The rest of the assassins silently agreed with hand gestures and nods, including Nicole who was pleasantly surprised. "Wow, didn't think you'd put me over yourself, big bro."

"Hugh and I are out of this fuckin' conversation. Just look at the two of us!" Gabriel stared at Hugh who offered his hand in a friendly manner. The assassins burst into laughter. "For real this time, if we were to analyse it...Hugh and I are simply too large to easily blend in, Luka and Ruth are more physical based assassins, although I'd argue Ruth is more stealthy than Luka." Gabriel looked over at Luka in the middle of his sentence. Luka firmly nodded with a relaxed expression. "You're just naturally good at blending in, plus you're shorter. You can blend in crowds more effectively than most assassins I know."

"I like the 'you're short' part." Ruth respectfully interjected and cracked a joke. "Nails your point down beautifully."

The rest of the group laughed with him before Nicole spoke up this time. "Thanks, Gabriel. Your word means a lot."

Gabriel nodded at her. "Always, little sis."

"We all good with Nicole, then?" Luka questioned as everyone managed to agree. "One point to Nicole, then. Alright, next attribute...strength! Who's the physically strongest assassin here?"

Nicole chuckled. "Sorry boys I don't think I'm in the running for this one."

Hugh and Gabriel laughed before Hugh spoke up. "To be fair, I would have knocked you out in the alleyway if Luka didn't stop me."

"True, but how much can you lift?"

"Oh?!"

The two men stood up and slammed the desk beneath them.

"Come on, big guy!"

"You want some, mate?!"

Luka grabbed both Hugh's and Gabriel's shoulders and forcefully shoved them down. "Relax, children! The question wasn't meant to start a fucking fight on the balcony!" Luka raised his voice before briefly exhaling. "Listen, I'm the only one here who's felt both Hugh and Gabriel's punches. Strength-wise they're pretty equal. They could probably hit similarly hard with minor differences. It's their attack patterns and way of hitting that are different. H has a fighting style where he focuses his attacks on a wider surface area, making his damage spread out on a wider point. If he punches you in the guts, you will feel the pain in your chest. He can take down bigger, more buff and sturdier people this way.

G is different, though. He focuses his attacks on a pinpoint of wherever he's aiming, giving his attacks a great piercing sensation. His hits penetrate past the point they aim at. He's particularly good at hitting you right in the spots between your guard or armour. If anyone closely followed his attack pattern tonight against Mirco, he did the exact thing I'm describing. To answer the question at hand, though...does anyone disagree if I give both of them a point?" Luka jokingly finished his speech.

"We'll settle this later, lad." Hugh turned to Gabriel once more.

"I couldn't agree more." Gabriel nodded in reply.

"Right. The third attribute will be stamina. We'll categorise this into two types: combat stamina and parkour or running stamina. Who has the most combat stamina?"

"I think both of these are either you or Hugh," Ruth immediately replied. "Maybe Nicole for running stamina, as well, but other than that, aren't you two training nuts?"

"I wanna flatter myself and say I have the most stamina, but I can't just say that when Hugh is in the same room," Luka admitted before continuing. "His stamina is monstrous. I mean, I run every day, and I know for a fact you don't, H, but you make up for it because you run for longer and do more different stamina training in between."

"If the question was 'who runs the most', yeah, it would be you. Your persistence is encouraging and inspiring, for sure. But yeah, I'm the senior for a reason, lads." Hugh loudly exhaled through his nose and smirked.

"Hugh's on two points, Gabriel and Nicole are on one. How about...agility! Another very important attribute to possess."

"Do you recall the parkouring session we had while we were on the way to the Pantheon?" Gabriel spoke up first this time. "Nicole was ahead of all of us."

"But wouldn't that be running speed? Or stamina, even?" Lucio joined the conversation as well.

"I'd lean more towards Lucio's point of view. But, it's still Nicole. She's the most flexible and overall agile," Luka spoke up once more as he nodded towards Lucio. "It's the same argument for being stealthy. Nicole is naturally smaller and quicker, so there you go. Let's swiftly move on to the final round...the best overall assassin. Who can eliminate a target the cleanest way possible without attracting too much attention, but can also combat his way out of most situations?"

The group thought about it for a few moments.

Hugh leaned back in his chair and spoke up. "It's still Nicole, in my opinion." Some of the group looked over at him with surprised expressions. "Look, stealth is the most important aspect. Most contracts require some form of stealth work. Tailing, sneaking, camouflaging, eavesdropping, etc. Gabriel and I are miles ahead in terms of strength and combat, but that's not what makes an assassin, it's what makes a fighter."

A few seconds of silence followed before Luka turned his back toward the group. "Somebody give me a drumroll."

Hugh obliged as he began tapping his thighs very quickly.

"THE WINNER IS...NICOLE! Congrats, you won the best assassin award amongst all the men in the group! I don't know whether I should be happy or mourn." Luka burst into laughter at the end of his sentence, along with the rest of the group.

The jokes piled on for a while until the mood died down once more. Luka looked over at Hugh and raised his eyebrows simultaneously for a moment. Hugh looked back at him and understood what he meant. He nodded.

"Is anyone in the mood for some heavy news?" Luka suddenly spoke up. "I don't want to dump anyone into a hole or depress the mood."

Ruth, Nicole and Lucio seemed to be concerned or confused from their expressions. Gabriel quietly bumped Hugh's arm and awaited an answer. Hugh turned toward him and nodded a few times.

Luka shook his head from side to side in an attempt to begin his speech. Hugh got up and grasped Luka's shoulder. It reassured him enough to take a deep breath and turn toward the group.

"We're all aware of Ryo Galler, right?" Everyone nodded in unison. "Let me get straight to the point, then. Has anybody noticed his ranking?"

Ruth and Nicole looked at each other before Gabriel spoke up. "Last time I checked, he was #4."

"How many contracts has he done?"

"124."

"When was the last time you checked?"

"Several weeks ago, at least."

Luka unlocked his phone and opened a document Kingston sent to him before his retirement. "This is last month's rankings. He's ranked fourth." He showed the document for everyone to see. He flipped the phone back and typed on it a few times before flipping it towards the group again. "This is this month's rankings."

Ryo was in the same position he was last month with the same amount of contracts done and Templars eliminated.

"Can anyone guess as to why he hasn't moved up at all in the last month?"

The group's expressions darkened, even if it was by a small bit.

Luka sighed after several moments of nobody replying. "I'll briefly tell you a story. I'm sure you've all heard of Noah Roth. He's the nephew of Hans Roth and a highly influential German politician. Well, let me change my wording. He WAS the nephew of Roth and a politician." Most of the assassins' eyes widened. "I'll give you a single guess as to who pulled the trigger on the fucker's forehead."

"Surely, it's Ryo." Hugh jokingly interrupted.

"You had one bloody job, big fella." Luka chuckled. "It was me. I blew the fucker's brains out after he pulled a gun on Ashley. The thing is, Ryo was with us. And..." Luka tried to continue, but it seemed like he couldn't speak. Hugh wrapped his hand around his shoulder. "You mind if you continue, H?" He politely moved Hugh's hand out of the way.

"Don't worry, lad." Hugh looked at the group. "Things got complicated. A few seconds after Noah's body hit the ground, Hans Roth broke the door down and shot a gun at Luka."

The men in the area were shocked, but Nicole looked like her world was about to collapse.

"I'm gonna keep it short and sweet. Luka is standing here today. Ryo hasn't moved up in the rankings or done anything in a month. Do you want me to say it?" Hugh quickly asked Luka.

"I think I got this." Luka stepped forward and cleared his throat.

"Ryo took the bullet for me. He passed on the spot."

Lucio jumped on his feet and got off the edge of the balcony. Ruth immediately stood up. Gabriel remained sitting with his head lowered and pressed against the tips of his fingers. Nicole let out a short scream before she covered her mouth and burst into tears. Luka turned towards the city and began tearing up at this point.

"Lucio, Ruth." Gabriel suddenly spoke. "Get Nicole inside. Take care of her."

The two men hesitated, but Gabriel gazed through them with a serious expression. They read the room and took Nicole inside, slowly but surely.

"You wanna tell us something, Gabriel?" Hugh validly questioned.

"Yeah, I wanna tell you my favourite contract that I've done." Gabriel leaned against the edge of the balcony. "Funnily enough, I did it with a very special individual."

Luka's eyes widened as he immediately looked at Gabriel. "No fucking way."

"Yup. It's Ryo."

...

This was about two years ago at this point.

Kingston called me up the morning prior, he said it was now or never.

The Pope has been sick for a long time now. He had been treated with the best medicine the country could offer and it somehow kept him alive for several years over his expected death date. That's why Kingston wanted us to finish him off. He thought the Templar Order would be too far ahead of us if he remained alive to operate the Order, so he tasked me with eliminating him.

The thing is, I didn't know I'd be doing this with Ryo.

I know the ins and outs of Rome, I know how to get to the Vatican district the fastest. I still go to the rooftop where we met up sometime. It's still as spacious, cold and lonely as ever.

The Pope's fortress was located behind the biggest fort in Rome. It wouldn't be easy to get in. To be honest, I don't think I could have done it by myself.

Kingston's ruling over the Creed was messy, to say the least, but he knew how to plan out contracts. That's why he tasked both Ryo and me, the best assassins around.

He was on the edge of the rooftop, practically about to leap off into action. When I tell you he looked dangerous, you better believe it. Armed with his two shortswords, a pistol and plenty of throwing knives, even his figure startled my instincts at first. It was obvious he took care of his body and stature.

You two have seen my retractable shield. That's how the fight started. I didn't know if he was friendly or not, so I didn't take any chances.

After chucking the shield dead on his torso, he simply swayed to the side of it.

The shield returned to me by the time I ran at him. I thought if I kept my distance, he'd be a problem. He shifted his foot to the side and immediately dashed out with the power in his one pivot leg, but he planted his other foot on the ground as soon as he landed and spread his legs out.

He wasn't going to run away from me.

After stepping into striking range, he drew both of his swords from their sheaths and intercepted me with his whole body.

You know how fast I can get. My war axe is deadly when it needs to be, but he was especially good at dodging. He'd sway or completely dash out of a strike before returning one of his own.

After a solid few exchanges, I memorised this tactic, so I shifted it up a gear and tried to catch him mid-sway. He caught my swing with one of his swords, but it allowed me to headbutt him and shove him to the side. When I grasped his forearm it felt like gripping a girthy log. His muscles weren't for show.

As soon as I tossed him aside, he managed to land firmly on his feet, but his back was turned towards me, so I swung at him with full force.

This bastard crossed his swords across his back, kind of like a cross-arm block, which gave him enough time to spin his lower body and turn himself around so he was facing forward again.

He used the spring in his legs to immediately stand up again as he fully faced me now.

"Why does the Order always send the motherfucking brutes after me?" He sighed before placing one of his swords in front of him and his other one up against his chest.

"The Order?" My eyes widened at this point. I couldn't believe I'd ever be compared to a Templar. I took my hood off and revealed my face. "Does this look like a goddamn Templar to you?!"

He froze dead in his tracks before he straightened himself out and took his hood off. "Grandmaster Ezio?!"

"Close. I'm Gabriel Auditore." After I stopped crouching myself, I noticed the height difference between the two of us.

"Wait, I've heard of you. You're high up in the ranks, aren't you?" His tone became friendlier the longer he talked. I nodded in reply to his question. "You look just like him. Jesus fuck." Ryo stared in the direction of the fort. "So, why the hell are you here?"

"Probably for the same reason that you are."

"Don't tell me that Kingston gave me a goddamn babysitter."

"Do I look that old?"

"...no. You don't." He shook his head from side to side quickly. "Look, give it to me straight, are you here to assassinate the Pope, as well?"

"Yeah." I briefly paused. "Do me a favour..."

He raised his eyebrows.

"Who're you again?"

He suddenly placed his thumb and index finger close together. "I'm this close to turning you into a 6'5 burrito with your minced meat as the main ingredient inside of it." He cleared his throat. "Ryo Galler."

The name rang a bell. "I've heard of you, as well."

Ryo wasn't sarcastic anymore. "That's kinda surprising, but you are one of the most impressive assassins I've ever met. I could tell from our little fight." He began moving back towards the edge of the rooftop.

"Do we have a plan, Ryo?"

If anything, I wanted his input on this.

"Come here a sec." I walked over to him. "See that fort? We've gotta sneak through the guards there without raising suspicion. Think you can do that?"

"Consider it done, brother."

"Good stuff. Get into position, we'll head out on my signal, we got a few streets to navigate before we make it in the vicinity of the fort."

"Ready when you are!"

"Then let's head out!"

During our little freerunning session, I started a casual conversation. As I said, I noticed his body and how he takes real good care of it, so I thought I'd ask.

"I'm a boxer, man. That's what I used as a basis for my training for the longest time. It's how I got my form, my stances and my preferences in fights. That should tell you plenty."

It did tell me plenty.

Even if I only saw him as a rival at best, he was still pretty damn impressive. I wouldn't wanna fight him now.

I'll spare you the fort infiltration. Let's just skip to the final part.

The Pope was resting in his room. The man barely even finished his religious speech earlier that morning. That's how badly he succumbed to his illness. But, for some reason, he was kept alive by some unknown medicine or force.

I don't know how to explain it.

We found a secret tunnel that led directly into his room. He was resting, as I said. It wasn't tough to sneak through the room. His room wasn't useful to us. It didn't contain anything worth keeping, so we decided to just get it over with and get rid of the old man.

"Wait, how do we plan to make it look like a natural death?"

"Just be quiet and watch."

Ryo stabbed the man through the heart, killing him instantly. He held his other palm up to my face, indicating that I should hold my position and wait.

He suddenly pulled out a ring with a jewel inside of it. The jewel glowed bright green. He pointed it down at the Pope's wound and it healed instantly without any effort.

"How the fuck?!"

"Relax, man." He backed up and left him in the same position he fell asleep in. "Let's get out of here before we regret taking this mission."

It was as simple as that.

Our escape was smooth and only a handful of people, including you guys, know about all of this.

...

"Small world, eh?" Hugh chuckled as Gabriel finished his story. "It's kinda unbelievable that you two met and even worked on a contract together..." He paused for a moment or two. "Did you ever speak after that?"

"He used to call me ever so often." Gabriel eased up his stance as he leaned against the edge of the balcony once more. "To be honest, I started to worry when he didn't return my call a week or two ago."

*But still...imagine that kind of firepower...* Luka thought to himself. *The thought of Gabriel and Ryo working side by side...Gabriel could cover the physical portions of the fight, while Ryo could do his thing from a distance.*

"I'm just now thinking about how deadly of a duo you two could have been," Luka spoke up and sighed. "It's just a shame, man."

"We mostly snuck around the fort, but yeah, you're right." Gabriel sighed as well. "Do you wanna do me a favour, Luka?"

"What's up, big fella?"

"Who do you think was stronger?" Gabriel laid down a tough question.

Luka's expression tensed up a small bit as he stared into the city again. "Now that's a question...I'm sorry man." He apologised and immediately answered. "Ryo was unbeatable."

Gabriel was slightly surprised, but he nodded in understanding.

"The only way he could have possibly been hurt was if he were to protect someone else and purposefully put himself in harm's way." Hugh turned his back towards the city. "And that's exactly how he died."

Silence followed for a few long moments.

Luka suddenly turned around and walked up to the door of the balcony.

"I'm going to bed, I'm beat."

"Sleep well, lightweight." Hugh casually waved at him while Luka winked back at him.

"Night, brother." Gabriel did the same thing.

Luka tossed his hand in the air as he closed the door behind him. Surprisingly, the main hall was empty. One of Luka's hands was hidden in one of his pockets. He clenched the other one with a determined and strong grip, but it was lonely and depressing at the same time.

*I'll have to speak to Nicole tomorrow.*

He sighed one final time that cold night.

*Whatever kind of adventures Ryo went on, I hope his life was worth it. Adventures bring us to treasure and meaning, so I gotta ask you, Ryo...*

He lifted his head for the first time that night to pay proper tributes to him.

*Have you scored any treasure on those adventures?*

...

The three British assassins made it back to the sanctuary in Paris. Kane walked into the dining area first and touched the top of a table where the three of them could sit.

"Sit down, juniors. I'll get us some coffee. I feel like this will be a long night."

"Black, no sugar no milk." Scott sat down and made himself comfortable.

In the middle of his walk to the coffee machine, Kane waved an open hand above his head.

"Tough bastard."

"I'm not a coffee addict like you, Ashy."

"Does that mean you can't get something with a bit more...flavour?"

"Touché."

Kane made it back fairly quickly.

"Spill the beans, Richardsons..." Kane sat down. "I think it's finally time to hear your backstories."

"You're not gonna let me stay mysterious, are you?" Ashley replied with a playful smile on her face.

"Nope. Come on, let's hear it." Kane sounded serious.

Ashley's smile changed into a normal expression as she looked at Scott. "Do you wanna or should I?"

"Up to you."

"Alright. Here goes."

...

I don't remember much about our parents.

I just know that they were absolutely lovely people.

Law-abiding citizens, good people, all of that.

The only problem was the people they did business with.

Eventually, a bad client will try to damage or ruin your business entirely. That's just one of the many things you get to deal with when you start any kind of company as a couple.

However, these clients weren't just bad people.

They were Templars.

I've been told throughout my entire upbringing in the Creed that our parents were assassins.

It was only a matter of time before they crossed paths with the Order.

Orphaned at the age of 7, left alone to roam the dark streets of London only with my twin brother by my side...safe to say it wasn't a good time in my life.

The Creed took us in as soon as they found out. It took them a few days, but they eventually got us to a safe place.

Everything me and Scott did we did together.

Throughout any kind of training that we did while growing up, he was stronger, faster and better.

It made sense, though.

He's a guy, I'm a girl.

Until I got proper training, genetics just held me back.

Once we turned 18, we expected some contracts at the very least.

Boy, were we foolish for thinking that.

They kept us on the sideline for the longest time.

Almost a decade.

I can safely tell you I lost my faith in the Creed multiple times.

That's why I insisted on being sent to a different country.

I didn't give a flying fuck if it was Bangladesh, North Korea or America.

I just wanted to leave my worthless country.

Hugh needed help.

He sent a request to Kingston. He would have probably sent Scott down to Croatia, but he wasn't there anymore.

Scott got sent off two months before I did.

I was the last option available.

It reinforced the feeling of worthlessness and loneliness I've had for years.

I don't know anything about Scott's side of the story.

...

Scott waited a few seconds for Ashley to stop talking. "If I were to tell you everything I've been through, it would take us all bloody year."

Ashley slammed her open palms into the table and stood up. "You can't just leave us with nothing, for fuck sake! What happened to us always sticking together no matter what?!"

A few seconds of silence followed.

"Life happened, Ashley."

"That's the fucking best you got?!" Ashley's hands curled into fists as she strongly shivered for a moment.

Kane stood up, grabbed one of her hands and placed his other hand on her shoulder. "Let's leave it at that, yeah?"

She looked at his face with pure rage in her eyes, but Kane's face was focused and serious. He was able to calm her down enough to get an answer out of her. She took a deep breath. "Yeah."

Kane began escorting Ashley back to her room. He quickly looked at Scott and used sign language to tell him to stay put for a few minutes.

They made it to her room within a minute or two.

"You gonna be okay by yourself?" Kane opened the door to Ashley's room and let her in.

Ashley laid on her bed, landing face-first into her pillow. She was completely still. Not even her head was moving and she made no sounds except her deep breaths. Kane could tell she was on the verge of a mental breakdown. He quietly walked up to a chair next to her bed, spun it around and sat on it in reverse.

"You wanna talk about it?"

She slowly shook her head from side to side.

"You want me to leave?"

She repeated the same movement.

"Alright. I'll stick around."

Kane pulled his cell phone out and sent a text to Harrison.

*Harris, check the dining area, Ashley's twin brother Scott is in there. See if you can find him a place to stay.*

It only took Harrison a few moments of staring at the bright screen to send a reply.

*No worries. Is everything okay?*

Kane texted back.

*Yeah, don't worry about it. Let's talk in the morning over a coffee.*

Kane shut his phone off and lightly tossed it on top of the bedside drawer. He calmly stared into the back of Ashley's head once more.

"You know, you're probably gonna be deprived of oxygen if you bury your head into the goddamn pillow all night."

Ashley turned her whole body around and was now facing the ceiling. Her cheeks were red and her eyes were puffy. Kane's expression gave off a slight feeling of concern for her.

They sat in silence for a while until Ashley spoke up.

"Kane?"

"Yeah?"

Ashley took a moment to reply. "You're a great mentor."

Kane smiled with pride and chuckled slightly. "And you're the greatest student I've ever had."

Kane's reply was met with a genuine smile from his prized pupil.

She quickly looked at him before drifting her vision back towards the ceiling a moment later.

It felt like a long time before Ashley dozed off.

Kane quietly stood up, covered her with a blanket and gently kissed her forehead before leaving the room.

...

A few days passed.

There was a quiet enough space near the edge of the sanctuary in Rome. It sort of worked as a garden or backyard area. While most assassins couldn't use it for anything significant, a certain teenager made sure to take it for himself.

Lucio climbed up and down the scaffolding he made himself. He also trained his combat abilities on a training dummy he crafted.

Smooth footsteps echoed through the entrance to the area.

"You're working hard, Luc." Ruth slowly revealed himself from the shady area.

"Always, Ruth." Lucio wiped his sweat off with a towel and sat on a nearby bench. "What brings you here?"

"I was thinking of going out later today. You wanna come with?" Ruth relaxed his stance and happily smiled.

Lucio returned a smirk. "Of course." He stood up. "You ready to see how far I've progressed?"

"Hell yeah, little bro. Stop by the main hall after you're done, it's been super quiet for the last few days, we might get some news about a new contract or something." Hugh waved his hand above his head as he walked off.

"Will do!" Lucio shouted in his direction before getting back to training.

In the main hall...

"The hell is Barton doing?" Hugh sounded annoyed. "We haven't gotten a contract in forever! Even that last one was an emergency."

"Calm down, H." Luka patted his shoulder and reassured him. "Let's hit the gym while you still got the energy."

"Sorry, Lu. I worked out a few hours ago."

"Ah, right." Luka stopped moving and turned in the direction of the hallway leading to his room. "I'll go for a run, then."

Hugh nodded and positively grunted.

Ruth suddenly entered the room.

"Ruth!" Hugh's mood seemed to be improving.

"Yo!" Ruth waved and looked around the room. "Jeez, it's been really quiet, hasn't it?"

"Tell me about it. There are no contracts to do and it seems like we won't be getting any for a while." Hugh exhaled loudly. "I don't have the energy to do anything today. What're you up to?

"Lucio is training right now. I was thinking of taking him on a trip around town."

"A trip?" Hugh curiously asked.

"We go out together sometime," Ruth quickly replied. "At first we did it just to hang out, but since the Templar Revolution started, we've kept an eye out for any sort of crime we come across."

Hugh sipped some coffee from his mug. "Vigilantes, eh? I like the sound of that!"

"Something like that." Ruth chuckled along. "Wanna come with, mate?"

"Probably not, sorry. I would have enjoyed a relaxing outing, but if you're playing cops and robbers, I won't disturb you." Hugh let out a strong laugh.

Ruth began making his way to his room. "Appreciate you, big man!"

Hugh smirked and waved in Ruth's direction. He got up and grabbed his mug.

*The hell do I do now?*

As suddenly as Ruth entered a minute ago, Gabriel walked in.

"Yo, G!"

"Hugh! You seem bored."

"You have no idea."

"Well, why the long face? I know times are boring, but I got a plan." Gabriel walked up to Hugh and grabbed his shoulder. "A football game is gonna start in about half an hour, let's head down to the pub and have some fun!"

"Now you're speaking my language!"

The two large men shared a laugh and left the room a few moments before Lucio walked in. Ruth stepped out of the main hallway. He wore his casual robes. Subtle enough, but they could still conceal his identity.

"You good to go, Ruth?"

"Let's head out, little bro!"

The two men seemed ready to go.

...

The streets were busier than usual that day.

Lucio and Ruth breezed through many conversations just walking around each district of Rome. They would occasionally run into police vehicles and officers checking each area.

The two men were entering a busy marketplace.

Ruth sparked another casual conversation, but he quickly stopped talking and changed his expression. "Check it out, Luc."

Lucio directed his attention at a hooded figure stealing a few fruits from an open stand. The man had the Templar logo tattooed on his exposed wrist.

The shopkeeper noticed it immediately and began shouting in Italian. "The hell are you doing?! Guards, guards! Thief! Stop him!"

Lucio's eyes tensed up as he focused on the hooded thief.

"Chase him down, Luc! And don't go easy on him, this one's a Templar!" Ruth shouted as he began running diagonally away from Lucio. "I'll cut him off!"

"Okay!" Lucio bolted off the ground after he deeply inhaled.

Any regular assassin would tell you the marketplace would be one of the best areas to tail a target.

But those same assassins would tell you the marketplace is also one of the worst areas to chase a target.

It didn't seem to bother Lucio much, though. His shorter and smaller stature made it easier to slip past people and tight holes in between each stand. A cart was conveniently placed upright from the ground, the long sticks on the back end of it could be used as poles to leap off of. That's exactly what Lucio did.

Swiftly but strongly Lucio stomped on each sign or beam located on the side of the building he was climbing. He eventually landed and recovered immediately. It took him no more than a few moments to start sprinting at his highest speed again. He was slowly gaining on the thief.

The hooded man began frantically looking behind him every so often as he continued running in the same direction.

The thief used a few crowds of people to his advantage as he sprinted through each of them with impressive strength. Lucio didn't seem to care as he flexibly avoided each crowd.

At this point, the thief was running down a large open street.

It would only be a matter of time before Lucio caught him.

Out of nowhere, the hooded man was suddenly tackled from above. Lucio's expression became less focused as he pumped the brakes and stopped almost instantly.

"Sorry to steal that one from you, Luc." Ruth flipped the thief around and stood up. "Safe to say he ain't walking to jail effectively."

"I almost had him, though! Did you see that?!"

"I noticed you were gaining on him quite rapidly, but there's a festival ahead." Ruth pointed behind him. "That's one busy ass area. I didn't want the lad to escape."

"Understandable..." Lucio managed to squeeze a word out before a sudden gunshot went off behind them. "What the hell...?!"

Ruth's expression worsened as he looked back in the direction of the marketplace. "The marketplace! Luc, stay with this guy!" He suddenly shouted at Lucio as he began sprinting back.

"But..."

"It's too dangerous, I'll be back soon!"

Ruth disappeared into the thick crowd that quickly formed in front of Lucio. Only he remained facing in the direction of where the gunshot came from. Dozens of people ran by him and the incapacitated thief.

...

Ashley wandered around the sanctuary for a good while until she found herself in the courtyard of the massive building.

"Sir!" She shouted at Harris who was staring at a massive tower that looked like a church.

"Ashley, morning."

"Where the hell are Kane and Scott? Did they just vanish from the sanctuary or something? Kane wasn't even picking up his phone." She pointed at her phone and put on an annoyed expression.

Harris chuckled as he grabbed the pipe he was smoking out of. "They're having a parkour race right now. Kane told me he wanted to test Scott's abilities a small bit."

Ashley became surprised for a moment before she looked near the middle of the tower. Scott was climbing it. She instantly looked higher up and Kane was nearly done with climbing it.

*That's exactly how he tested me for the first time back in Osijek...*

"Looks like Scott isn't having a good time..." She spoke out loud this time. Her voice sounded a bit shaken.

Harris turned toward her after exhaling some smoke he dragged from his pipe. "You say that with slight resentment in your voice."

Ashley smiled and slightly chuckled after a moment or two of silence. "When Kane tested me like this, I barely made it to the top. I guess I'm just eager to test myself once more."

"I see." Harris looked back at Kane who was now at the top of the tower. He grasped the pole and tilted his upper body forward before deeply inhaling. "Well, looks like Scott isn't having a better time."

"Scott's most likely better at climbing than I am." Ashley's comment grasped Harris' attention once again. "It has nothing to do with me or Scott. Kane is simply that great of a climber."

*And he's great at many other things, too...* Ashley thought.

*At least your student is observant, Kane, I'll give you that one.* Harris thought as well.

Kane suddenly landed in a massive pile of hay. This disrupted both of their thoughts. He stepped out of them and noticed Ashley.

"Ashley! You okay?"

"Doing better after sleeping it off." She looked up at Scott. "You're giving him a hard time, eh?"

"You know how I do things." Kane looked up too. "He's good, but that's about all I can give him."

These words echoed through Ashley's mind for a few seconds.

*He's good? That's it? But he calls me a prodigy that exceeds Ryo's talent...* Her thoughts were interrupted once more by Kane who gave her an intense stare.

"You're easy to read, Ashley. You wanna race me again, don't you?"

Ashley was caught off guard by his statement, but she lowered her head after a moment. "Yeah, I did want to. I just wanted to see how much I've improved."

Kane walked up to her and lifted her chin with his hand. "You don't need to prove anything to me. You've proved plenty to me already. Just keep doing your thing on contracts. I'm satisfied with that."

Kane moved his hand back as Scott landed in the stack of hay. He crawled out of it and slowly stood up. Harris walked up to him and helped him stand up properly. "You're on shaky ground, aren't you?"

Scott couldn't reply properly, but he nodded a few times.

"Let this be a lesson, Scott." Kane crossed his arms and straightened his back. "This is your floor right now. By repeating this course and training hard you could easily surpass me. You have the potential to be great, so keep working hard." He began walking away from the courtyard. "Harris, walk with me."

Harris looked at Ashley, shrugged his shoulders and casually followed Kane.

"I'm taking a shower, man." Scott seemed like he was properly exhausted. "Enjoy your day, little sis."

"22 minutes only, big brother." She couldn't help but chuckle. "Come back to the courtyard in the afternoon. Let's train together."

Scott managed to crack a proper smile. "Sure."

Kane and Harris stepped inside the sanctuary.

"When was the last time you had a proper disciple, Harris?"

Harris chuckled at the question. "I've stopped trying to teach anyone a long time ago. My kindness and hard efforts weren't returned at all. That's when I realised I couldn't relay my knowledge to anyone, so I kept to myself and kept doing contracts."

"You're only a few years older than me, mate. You're nowhere near the end of your career, let alone your life." Kane reassured his comrade in arms as they climbed the large staircase in the main hall.

"You're #7 and Hugh's #6. After I retired for a few years, my ranking suffered too." Harris paused for a moment to take a drag of smoke from his pipe. "I didn't see a reason to return until the Creed needed my help one final time."

"Lad, I know you were #4, but come on. You didn't drop that much. You're still #9! And why do you care about some stupid ranking either way?" Kane got annoyed for a moment before comforting Harris once more. "You're too good of an assassin to compare yourself to others. The Harris I know from back then wouldn't stand for this shit you're spouting right now."

Harris stopped moving and raised his voice. "The Harris you knew was a young buck, for Christ's sake! I'm still prepared to retire at a moment's notice."

"Why?" Kane stopped as well. "Harris, your traumas and past issues are valid. I get your reasonings for everything you do. But you can't blame yourself for what's happened. It wasn't your fault..."

Harris suddenly grasped Kane's shoulder. "I know, lad. I know."

Kane nodded before laughing for a moment. Harris looked at him briefly. "It's just funny. My other junior also blames himself for someone else's death. I feel like I'm having the same conversation with him right now." Harris and Kane both laughed at this again. "Stubborn pricks."

"Hey, I'm Welsh, the Gaelic gladiator blood is coursing through my veins, of course I'm stubborn." Harris paused for a moment before opening the door to his office. "Let me guess, he's also a gladiator in his own right."

Kane closed his eyes briefly before he looked at a statue that resembled Grandmaster Altaïr.

"He sure is. He's Slavic."

Harris laughed sincerely. "Yup. Thought as much."

...

Ruth finally managed to sprint his way through the thick crowd before he immediately bolted for a nearby alleyway to conceal himself.

Four men were standing in the middle of the marketplace.

All of them were armed.

Ruth climbed up the building he was leaning against and carefully observed the criminals.

He couldn't make out what they were saying, but it wasn't important enough to him. Ruth quietly climbed over a sturdy rope that was tied on top of neighbouring buildings. It looked like he could swiftly assassinate some of them from above, but he needed to do this right.

The men began talking in Italian very fast. All of them were wearing some kind of clothing with the Templar emblem embedded in it.

*Could you be more obvious?* Ruth's mouth shifted from side to side as he walked across the rope and made it to the opposite building's rooftop.

He quickly scanned the rooftop for anything that could be of assistance.

A few small and useless rocks wouldn't help him...

Neither would a bird's nest...

Or an old power cable...

*There's gotta be something I can do...* Ruth thought about it for a longish period.

*Wait, a bird's nest...a power cable...and some rocks...*

Ruth picked up all the listed objects.

*I can work with this.*

He ripped apart the bird's nest and used it to make sort of a safety cushion, then he cut a thin layer of cloth from his clothing before wrapping it around the bird's nest and power cable. Finally, he placed a rock in the bird's nest.

*It was a bad day not to bring any ranged weapons, but this will do.*

He immediately stood up and peeked his head just enough so he could see his opponents.

One.

Two.

Three.

A rock was slung at blinding speed at one of the criminal's heads. He dropped to the ground with a rock stuck to his forehead. Tiny fragments of the man's skull flew across the air and landed on the ground beside him.

"HELLO, FUCKERS!" Ruth suddenly shouted at the top of his lungs before leaping off the building's rooftop and assassinating two of the three remaining criminals.

"OI!" The last man standing shouted and reached for his gun, but he was knocked off balance by a solid shove from Ruth who instantly dashed into him.

Ruth slit the man's throat before searching each body thoroughly. There was a paper inside of one of the men's jackets.

*Must be the orders these bastards received.*

Ruth's thoughts were cut off by the sound of police sirens.

*Late as always.*

He fled back into the shadows before escaping the scene entirely.

...

The sun was just setting as Gabriel and Hugh got back from the pub.

"I'm telling ya, lad, it should have been a win, a draw at best!" Hugh's loud voice echoed throughout the main hall.

"You keep telling yourself that," Gabriel smirked and noticed Luka in the main hall holding a paper. "What's up, Luka?"

"We got a contract, lads."

Hugh and Gabriel immediately hurried to the middle of the hall.

Luka began talking again. "Seems like a Templar is roaming around the shopping district, you know the local marketplace that set up shop a few days ago?"

"The one located in the middle of a few of the main streets near the festival?" Gabriel questioned with his arms crossed.

"Aye, that's the one. Our Templar is..." Luka quickly skimmed through the paper. Hugh turned to the side and looked at the TV mounted on the wall. "Romeo Abate. He seems to have connections with a few organisers of the festival. According to this, he's behind a lot of the illegal trades in the marketplace."

"Well, something tells me he's behind this as well." Hugh nodded his head at the TV.

*BREAKING: Several bodies are found in the middle of the marketplace near the festival. Multiple gunshots were reported before the incident occurred.*

"What do you lads think?" Hugh questioned as Luka and Gabriel didn't answer for a moment. "You think Ruth did this?"

Luka's expression turned into a confused one. "Aren't those just a bunch of random people, though? Just because it happened near the festival doesn't mean much..."

"That's not what I mean. Take a look at the jackets they wore."

Luka and Gabriel walked up to the TV to take a closer look. They could clearly see the Templar logo on all the jackets.

"Ain't that a bloody coincidence? Look, some of them even have the logo tattooed on them." Hugh pointed at the TV where the logos were located.

"Is this guy a big threat, though?" Luka asked the question openly.

"I wouldn't say he's as deadly as the Borgia's, but he's a big deal. He was seen interacting with them a bit in the past," Gabriel answered. "I saw him in action once. He's definitely not someone to underestimate."

"He might be a tough opponent if we keep him alive. We're tasked with killing him in any way before he leaves the country in a few days." Luka read through the paper once again. "If he survived he'd leave for England as soon as tomorrow or the day after tomorrow."

Gabriel tensed up a small bit. "Does the contract say how we could find him?" Luka shook his head from side to side after a few moments. "Then let's do it the good old fashioned way. I know a pub we can get a lot of information from since it's usually full of Templars."

"Full of Templars? That sounds a bit messy, don't you think?" Luka genuinely replied and crossed his arms.

"I wouldn't have it any other way, lads." Hugh turned towards them and began walking to his room. "I'd like to go over a few papers in my office, so I'm gonna hit the hay."

Luka patted Hugh's forearm as he walked past him. "Have a good night, H."

Gabriel waved at him which Hugh returned with a grin.

Luka began talking. "Think you can tell me more about the pub?"

Gabriel cleared his throat and calmly answered. "Well, it's on the outskirts of town, in between a rural and urban area. Many Templars and thugs hang around the back alleys and abandoned buildings in that area."

"In that case, there's bound to be someone who knows something." Gabriel nodded in reply to Luka.

"Right, but we need to do this with Abate's trip to England in mind. We can't lag behind at all."

"You're right, G. We gotta move quickly on this one." Luka looked back at the TV for a moment. The news channel was still covering the same story. "Something tells me this little stunt of Ruth's might affect us in a bad way, though..."

Gabriel didn't say anything, but he slowly nodded in agreement.

...

It was slowly turning into nighttime in Paris, as well.

Harrison gathered the British assassins in his office.

"Right, Barton just sent us two contracts he needs taken care of as soon as possible." He lit his pipe smoke and continued. "One of them involves checking out Elroy Leroy's apartment. There have been rumours of him hiding something massive in the past, and now that we know he interacted with Mikhailov, we need to confirm any suspicions that we have. Ashley and Scott, I'm putting you on this one."

They looked at each other for a moment before nodding in unison. "We'll get it done!"

"I'm counting on you." Harris picked up the second contract. "Kane, there are still several important figures in Paris working with the Templars. We've taken care of Leroy and we shut down a warehouse facility that was disguised as a meth lab. That said, an important target is supposed to land in Paris tomorrow, Owen Roberts. He's another businessman working directly with the Templar Order. See if you can shut him down on his way out of the airport or on the way to wherever he will be staying. If we neutralize him before he manages to make any kind of political or business moves, that'd be for the best."

Kane grinned and relaxed his pose. "I got this, lad."

"Good. Feel free to rest up for the rest of the night, everyone. You can grab the contracts if you need any more information." Harris stood up from his chair. "DISMISSED!"

...

A few hours passed as Luka was the first one anywhere near the main hall of the sanctuary. After his morning run, there was a notification on one of the screens in the main hall. Luka walked up to the screen and read through the message.

*Another contract, eh?*

He quickly read through it.

*It seems like an older businessman by the name of Jacob Prins knows quite a bit of information about the Templar Order. Why is the name Prins so familiar to me?*

He continued reading.

*Ah, I see. He needs to be tailed into a theatre downtown. According to this he will interact with someone there and relay some important information.* Luka noticed an important detail. *He must not be killed until the information is relayed, huh?*

Luka began walking in the direction of the gym.

*So we need someone who's stealthy, someone that can tail a target and someone who can listen in on a conversation secretly...

Well, one person comes to mind.*

A cheerful voice and a few light footsteps could be heard coming from the main hallway.

"Hun, if you're gonna hit the gym, can I join?" Nicole cheerfully shouted at Luka.

He smiled happily and firmly nodded.

*Speak of the bloody devil.*

...

*End of chapter 13!

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you have a good day, everyone!*