It was afternoon as Desmond was finishing his lunch, about twenty-four hours since his incident. The new sanctuary was amid a bustling, waterside part of town, counter to what he had expected. 'Hide in plain sight,' his ancestors had said. Maybe he should not be surprised. From what he could tell it was an abandoned boat shop. Almost all of its original contents had been emptied. Some remarkable new additions included a row of cots, a punching bag, and a shrine to Claude's fallen comrades. That made Desmond morosely think back to his old enclave in America. His 'crazy hippy' parents were now likely dead.

Lucy was approaching, as Desmond took his final bite.

"Desmond, how have you been? Have you had any more flashbacks, hallucinations?"

He swallowed.

"No, I've been fine. Just a little unnerved, that's all."

"I get that," she responded sympathetically. She looked off to the side. Desmond had a feeling there was more and he dreaded it.

"Desmond, I...I want to take you out back. See if you can operate outside without an incident."

"Seriously?"

"Yes, I...we need all the operatives we can get. I don't like to put you at risk but-"

"Fine," Desmond said. He had stated back in the warehouse he was ready to fight the Templars. It was time to put weight behind his words. "I guess it's that or stay cooped up in here forever."

Maybe the animus had permanently ruined him, but the whole world would be permanently ruined if the Templars got their way.

"C'mon out with me to the backyard. We'll do a bit of a refresher."

He rose.

As they walked, he asked, "So who were these 'Illuminati' Shaun was freaking out over?"

"It's...complicated, Desmond. You could say they were an unofficial offshoot of the Free Masons, since they recruited a lot of their former members."

"The Free Masons?"

"A front organization for the Templars after they were officially disbanded. Like Abstergo is today."

Free...Masons. That was funny name for anything. Although it sounded slightly familiar, a term he might have heard his parents use before.

She opened the door to the back. Desmond stepped outside, beginning his important trial. French architecture, the buildings adjacent to their back lot, hit his eyes. But he stayed in the present. So far, so good. That was a pleasant relief.

"So who were these 'Free Masons?'"

"Stone workers at first. A guild of stone workers. Then they became a fraternity."

"So we're fighting frat boys?"

"I'm not talking about beer chugging and hook-ups with freshmen, Desmond. They were brotherhoods of men bound by common ideas: Skepticism of authority and established religion, mostly."

"But I thought...we were the ones...you know, sticking it to the man."

"It's never that simple, Desmond."

Desmond felt trace anger; he felt like a child being talked down to.

"Let's see you climb that shed."

But he had to focus on the more pressing issues at hand.

Just like Elise, he spidered his way up. He made it to the top, seeing the backyards of other adjacent buildings, and looked down at Lucy from his seven-foot perch. This was all very reassuring.

"Great, now jump down and see if you can land with a roll."

Desmond did so, seamlessly.

"Still no hallucinations, right?"

"No, I'm fine."

After yesterday's incident he thought he might be screwed.

"We have an operation planned for tonight. I...I think you might be up for the task."

He was not sure he agreed, but it seemed like it would be now or never.

"Really? Who do I get to kill?" Then inside he cringed a little at his words. He had ended life at warehouse back in the United States, and he had not exactly relished in it since.

"His name's not important, we know the vehicle he drives." His heart sank a bit that he actually was going to have to kill someone, and it felt weird hearing Lucy speak so callously of it. "Abstergo has a facility nearby. We're going have you sneak into their underground parking lot, and ambush him when he's getting in his car. Then take his cellphone. Putting you on that operation will free another one of us to look for the nearest Apple of Eden. We're going to head to Toulouse to look for some leads."

"Where's that?"

"Nearer to the border with Spain."

They headed back inside.

"By the way, Desmond, we did a little digging into your family history. Well, Shaun did, mostly. It seems you're a descendant of Gustave Dorian, an adopted son of Arno Dorian. Gustave was left orphaned by the chaos of the French revolution. He wasn't born into the Assassin Order. That means you shouldn't have any ancestry in the French branch of Assassins prior to Napoleonic Era."

"So...how did I get the memories of that Elise chick?"

"That's just it, Desmond. It's still a mystery. I guess it's possible Gustave was her son but...You should talk to Shaun if you have any more questions."

Desmond was silent. He was never eager to talk to Shaun.

"So how long are you and the crew going to be Toulouse?"

"We can't know for sure. It depends on what leads we get. We might never come back." Desmond felt a pinch of heart break, but had to remember Lucy was probably out of his league regardless.

"But we'll keep in close contact," she added. "I promise."