Holliday was out of the animus before the Assassins could get over the shock of this discovery. Apparently the ancestors of Desmond and Holliday had met before. Not only had they met, they too fought together against the Templars.

"Well," Holliday spoke up, as he rose from the animus. "That was certainly unexpected."

"So Holliday, how was your first session in the animus?" Desmond asked. He wondered how an animus would effect a mind like Holliday's.

Holliday smiled and sighed. "That was the most exhilarating expierience of my life. He declared. "And the most enjoyable, (after love making) of course."

Desmond smiled, glad his friend was alright.

"I can't believe that your ancestors actually worked together," Lucy exclaimed in disbelief.

Holliday shrugged. "Yes, that was certainly unexpected. But I suppose it should of been in a way."

"What do you mean?" Lucy asked bewildered.

"I mean that I don't believe in coincidences Lucy," Holliday replied with a slight frown. He tourned to Desmond thoughtfuly. "It is not by pure chance that our bloodlines have met as allies against the same enemy many centuries later. I now see that I am exactly where I need to be to help you bring down Abstergo. Just as Bartolomeo helped Ezio bring down the House of Borgia."

Desmond nodded, truth be told tyhe Idea ofworking with Holliday again made Desmond feel more secure about the dire situation. "I'm glad we're fighting together."

Holliday gave him a curt nod and took a seat.

Lucy stepped out of the villa to clear her head. She just needed to be alone for a bit while she still had the time todo so. The more the mission progressed, the more Lucy wondered if she was making a terrible mistake. Her phone ringed and Lucy answered with shaking hands. Vidic's voice came over the line.

"You were suppose to leave us the animus tapes at the warehouse Ms Stillman." Vidic scolded her.

"I did," she replied. "But Holliday inadvertedly recovered them."

Vidic sighed in irritation, without the tapes Abstergo was now left in the dark. "What do you know of this guy."

"Michael Holliday is cold blooded, ruthless and an extremely skilled hitman who's close friends with Desmond. From what I can gather, he's quite good."

Vidic was silent for a moment obviously thinking. "If he's a hitman than he can be bought off."

"Not this one." Lucy replied sadly. "He seems to have a thing for targeting Templars. Holliday has actually made a chain out of templar rings. All taken from those he killed. His targets included a Cardinal here in Italy and a software billionaire in southern California."

Vidic paused again and spoke up. "Makes no difference, he can easily be dealt with."

"I don't think so Warren," Lucy retorted. "He was in Istanbul in during the purge."

A gag could be heard followed by cold dead silence. At first Lucy thought he had hung up. But after a moment he spoke up. "Are you certain?" He asked, worry coated his tone.

"He told me himself and the details he gave could only indicate that he had to be there." Lucy paused as a thought came to her. "Now that I think of it. Some of the victims of the massacre did have stun gun burns that I am positive came from this Holliday's maglite."

Vidic sighed. "Some of the teams I sent to monitor you have not reported back."

"He probably got rid of them," Lucy replied. "I don't know what happened to your men but one thing is for sure. He took them out quickly and took them out quietly."

Vidic let out a deep sigh. "Those where good, tough men. If he was able to kill them without causing a disturbance. It means that he's dealt with these kind of people before."

"What would you have me do?" Lucy asked. She prayed he would not ask her to try and kill him. Lucy knew distipe her skill any engagement between them would end very badly for her.

"Nothing," Vidic decided to Lucy's relief. "if this man is as sharp as you claim it would be best if you remained radio silent for now. You have served us well, Ms Stillman and at the rate of people we are loosing, good people are hard to come by."

Lucy agreed quietly and hung up. She was about to walk in when a voice startled her.

"Can't sleep?"

Lucy wheeled arond and saw Holliday walking up to her. His eyes fixed on the moon.

"What are you doing here?" She asked nervously.

Holliday inhaled slowly and closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again. "It's a nice night out." He said finally. "The sky is clear, the moon is full, the glittering stars. The perfect atmosphere for privacy. And with the view, it makes it ideal if one want's to ba alone with their thoughts." He turned to her with sympathetic eyes. "Especially if those thoughts are troubling."

"Is that why you're out here?" Lucy asked relaxing a little. "Because you have troubling thoughts?"

Holliday smiled. "Ms. Stillman, it's the only kind of thoughts I have." Holliday frowned, "though it kind of defeats the purpose of calling them troubling thoughts."

Lucy shook her head, "What happened to you?" She had to know, "what made you so fucked up?"

Holliday shrugged, "This world is fucked up. only makes sense that it breeds fucked up people."

"That's a lame excuse." Lucy retorted.

"I never said it was an excuse." Holliday sighed and looked at her sadly. "There is no hunting like the hunting of a man. Those who have hunted men long enough and enjoyed it, tend not to care for much else afterwards."

Lucy cocked her eybrown in slight amusement. "Ernest Hemingway?"

Holliday nodded. "Men like him had acute insight on human nature. Even Josef Stalin understood this with his 'the death of millions is a statistic' quote. Holliday turned to the moon. "I accepted that fact long ago when I took my first life. I was twelve at the time. When I did it i neither felt joy or grief, or shock. Just an overwhelming abundance of indifference."

Lucy just looked at Holliday in shock, but before she could say anything, he continued. "Don't get me wrong, I didn't just accept this, I chose to embrace it. I won't try to justify my actions. Perhaps they are evil but it is a nessecary evil. To make this world a better place."

"Do you truly believe hunting templars and the scum of the earth will make this world a better place?" She wondered.

Holliday smiled sadly. "Perhaps not," He admitted. "I suspect that my actions will be forgotten after my death.' His expression darkened. "However that will not sway me from my course. "People like Rapists and child killers will not know a moment of peace if I can do anything about it."

Lucy nodded. This mans actions may be questionable but considering the kind of people he went after. Lucy admitted that she didn't entirely disapprove of what he did.

The two continued to stare at the night sky for a few moments before Hollidayb turned back to Lucy. "I never asked before, but what do the Templars plan to do with the Apple?"

"They want to install it on a special satalite they are building." Lucy explained. "With the apple inside the satalite, they would be able to touch the minds of everyone on the planet."

"So it's like the pope's staff on a global scale." Holliday concluded.

"Exactly, which is why we can't let the Templars get a hold of it."

Holliday rubbed his chim thoughtfully. "Will it work?

Lucy looked at him as if he had asked a stupid question. "You already saw what the apple is capable of Holliday-"

"That's not what I meant Lucy," Holliday cut in calmly. "What I mean is will the satalite itself work?"

"I'm not quite sure I follow," Lucy said confused.

Holliday stood up. "I'm not an expert in this subject but from what I gather this 'Apple of Eden' is slightly more advanced than a human built satelite. What I am trying to ask is will the Apple be compatable with a comparatively primitive form of technology?"

"The Templars have access to the most advance technology of our time," Lucy said after a moment. "I'm sure they would not be going through so much trouble is they didn't have a way for it to function."

"Ahh," Holliday raised his finger as his piont had been made. "The most advanced technology of 'our' time. But compared to the godlike being who made the Pieces of Eden, Templar technology would probably be considered prehistoric. This new project of theirs has yet to be tested. But it would be like putting a car battery into a steam engine. I think it's just going to blow up in their face."

Lucy was at a loss for words. Holliday had raised an interesting point. There was no solid evidence that the Abstergo Eye project would be a success. Despite all their reasearch. Both the Assassins and Templars have only stratched the surface of what the Pieces of Eden were capable of.

"I admit we hadn't thought of that angle," Lucy admitted.

"Just food for thought," Holliday replied. "I just hope that Desmond turns out okay when this is all over."

"You really do care about him don't you?' Lucy was stunned that a man as ruthless as Holliday could also be compassionate about someone.

Holliday smiled as he continued to look at the moon. "Desmond is like a little brother to me. To be honest, I always felt that he was more of a brother to me than my real brothers." He turned to Lucy again. "Okay I've shared, now what about you."

Lucy cocked her head, "what about me?"

"What troubles occupy your mind, Ms. Stillman?"

Lucy sighed and stared at the ground. "I don't know what I'm doing anymore. Most of the time I feel like I'm just chasing my tail. The war with the Templars, Abstergo on our heels, the world on the brink of destruction. It seems like it will never end."

"Ahh," Holliday looked up understanding. "Your one of these types."

"What do you mean one of those types?" Lucy asked angrily.

"Those leaders that are carrying all the burdens on their back when they don't really need to."

"Someone has to do it Holliday," Lucy retorted. "I'm their leader, everyone is counting on me. If I don't do it than who will?"

Holliday sighed and placed a hand on her back. "It true you are a leader. But you, Desmond, Rebecca and Shaun are a team. Being part of a team means that you don't have to do everything yourself. Those are good people in there, true friends are hard to come by. " Holliday looked at her. "Desmond told me about how William kept you isolated so you could infiltrate Abstergo, Did he not?"

Lucy nodded and Holliday shook his head. "That was ill done of him, but you are not alone anymore Lucy. You are among friends now, they respect you, they trust you. They will gladly share the weight with you Lucy. All you need to do is ask. Only a dictator should feel the need to carry such weight."

Lucy shook her head, "They've already put so much in the line already, I don't want to ask more of them than nessecary."

Holliday gave her a small smile. "You underestimate the strength of your friend's resolve Lucy."

"What about Desmond?" She challenged. He has enough to deal with."

Holliday was silent as he turned his attention to the full moon. "Desmond" he muttered. "When we first met, I found a gruff, cynical, teenager. But what surprised me was how mature he was for a boy of sixteen." He paused and frowned. "Despite his obviously rough upbringing, he showed to be brave, and humorous with a strong moral code. I once tried to recruit him for a heist once." Lucy's eyes widened at the thought of Desmond in a robbery. Holliday continued. "He flat out declined since he didn't want to attract unessessary attention."

"Who was the target?" Lucy asked.

"JPmorgan Chase," Holliday grinned. "A BAE Caiman carrying 20 million dollars was being transported to Philidelphia. Vincent and I were the only participants."

Lucys eyes widened. "Twenty million dollars? How come I never heard of it."

Holliday gave her a sly smile. "These people usually go to great lengths to keep a successful heists a secret. I mean if the Templars admit to the robbery's success. Than the banks will doubt the Templar's ability to protect their assetts and business would get bad."

Lucy nodded since it made sense. Holliday's smile disappeared and he continued his story. "Now seeing him again, Desmond has certainly changed in these last few months."

"He's been through a lot," Lucy explained.

Holliday nodded, "more so than anyone so young should I think." He looked Lucy dead in the eye. "I may be new to this assassin/templar business but I'm not a simpleton. I have noticed that all this is taking it's toll on him. I heard him scream the night before, and I see him fight those frequent blackouts."

Lucy bowed her head. "I know, I know, I try to pretend that he'll be alright, But the signs are too frequent to ignore. It kills me that we're pushing him so hard, but if we don't that earth is doomed."

Holliday nodded. "Save desmond's sanity the earth suffers. Save the earth and Desmond becomes a dead inside. A no win situation."

Lucy nodded, "Clay's death still haunts me, I don't know how I will be able to deal with it. If Desmond walks the same path-"

"He won't." Holliday cut in, his voice filled with utmost certainty.

"How could you be so sure?" Lucy asked her own voice uncertain

Holliday stared at the beautiful blond in front of him. " Despite Desmond's deteriotating health, There have been more positive changes. Desmond seems calmer, more open, more relaxed despite the weight now set on his shoulders." He turned to Lucy. "And it's thanks to you."

Lucy was taken aback by this. It left her at a loss for words, before she could say more Holliday continued. "He won't fall into the darkness because you will be there. You truly care about him, all of him. His mind as well as his body. That is something Desmond never really had before. That will be more than enough to give him an RTC."

"RTC?" Lucy wondered.

"A Reason To Continue Lucy." Holiday looked at the ground sadly.

"Do you ever regret it?" Lucy asked, "The life you chose?"

Holliday shrugged. a part of me did, But it'slong gone now. I might of had a chance to take different path. It is said that we are who we choose to be, Lucy Stillman. I made my choice a long time ago, what is yours?" With that he patted her back and went back inside. Leaving Lucy to contemplate what Holliday had said.