Michael stood at the starboard side of Bonnet's ship, and watched as Edward deftly pulled the schooner into the harbor. Over the past day, Michael had been able to secure clothing more suitable to the time period, and discarded what he had arrived in. He took a deep breath, and waited for the crew to lower the ramp. Michael waited for Bonnet and Edward to walk his way before walking down the ramp.

During his time on the ship, Michael had learned from Bonnet, that Edward was using the alias Duncan Walpole. He thought it was strange that Edward would use the former assassin's name as an alias, and decided it would be best to follow the two for the time being.

Michael was only armed with his hidden blades, and hoped no one was going to try to attack him. Thankfully, due to Michael's assassin training he had what the assassins liked to call Eagle vision. He focused, and activated the talent. In his mind Edward and Bonnet were currently marked, and he would be able to keep track of them. He crossed his arms and waited between two buildings as they stopped at a shop.

Michael knew he would need to get more weapons than just his hidden blades, it was almost a necessity in the time period he was living in. He looked at the crowds and knew what he had to do. He walked into the crowds, and started bumping into people. He was picking their pockets, and to mask his intent he acted as if he were in a drunken stupor.

He was only able to get five or six Reals, as the currency in this time period was currently called, at a time. It wasn't much, and by the time he noticed some of the guards picking up on his motives, he only had just over four hundred Reals. He used fifty of his newly acquired Reals to hire dancers. He told them to distract the guards so that he could get away.

By the time he had gotten back to the store, Michael had forgotten about following Edward and Bonnet, and he cursed himself for losing track of them. He decided that was in the past, and walked up to the stall. He looked at the various weapons they held, but realized he only had enough for a single British cutlass. After he paid the store owner, he wrapped the sheath around his waist, and sheathed the cutlass.

Feeling slightly more capable with a full sword on his waist, Michael resigned himself to wander around the streets, and hope that he would find Edward and/or Bonnet at some point in time.


After walking for a few minutes, something caught his eye. In a back alley, there was a conspicuously placed Pigeon coop. He remembered something about how the creed used pigeons to offer contracts to each other before telegrams and electronic communication came about. Michael walked to the coop, and used his eagle vision. Sure enough, there was a barely visible assassin symbol on the side of the coop. Michael opened the coop, and grabbed the pigeon that had an insignia on its leg.

Michael read the contract. The target was a Templar business man trying to buy out all of his competitors, and force the prices of all materials bought in Havana higher. Most of the day he was in the market place, trying to get his competitors to sell their shops. Only a handful remained independent of the Templar's control. There was also a no combat bonus.

Michael didn't know what kind of impact this would have on the future, but it didn't matter. Michael needed the money right now. If he somehow caused his existence to end, it would solve his problem either way. Michael read where to meet the assassin master when the contract was complete, and let the pigeon go. It flew off, and Michael started looking for the market place.

Michael found the markets, and decided it would be best if he was able to get a bird's eye view. He looked up, and saw a rifleman's balcony above him. He turned around and ran into a back alley. He ran at the wall, and vaulted off of it. He grabbed a nearby ledge, and started climbing up. He was behind the rifleman when he got to the roof, and decided to take his uniform. He snuck closer and wrapped his arm around the Spaniard's neck.

The man dropped his rifle, and tried to scream for help. Michael kept his arm tightly around the man's neck, keeping him from both breathing, and screaming. After about thirty-seconds, the man fell limp in Michael's grip.

Michael gently lowered him to the ground, and started stripping him of his clothing. After he placed it several feet away, he stabbed the man's neck, killing him in his sleep. Michael removed his sword sheath, and put the uniform on over the clothes he was wearing. Michael put his sheath back on, and added a pistol holster on his left hip. He put the shot he found on the rifleman next to the holster, and put the pistol into it. Once he was done outfitting himself, he grabbed the rifle that was on the ground.

Michael looked over the railing, and stood at attention. From close up, it was clear that he wasn't Spanish, but with the sun behind him and all other guards far away, it wouldn't matter. He activated his eagle vision to find his target.

The templar was standing not too far away from him, and was talking to a stall vendor. He was probably trying to get him to sell, but wasn't having any luck. Michael looked around and saw three guard patrols. Two two-man patrols, and a single four-man patrol.

Michael waited for the four man patrol to pass before aiming the rifle at the target. He knew that it wasn't very accurate, but the templar was close enough that he wouldn't have to worry. He focused on the man, and pulled back the igniter. He would have to run as soon as he fired, and prepared for the sprint. He squeezed the trigger, and heard the explosion of black powder. Before anyone could react, the templar clutched his neck and fell to the ground.

Michael dropped the rifle, and took off across the rooftops. He didn't look back to see if anyone was chasing him, and only heard his footsteps. He only stopped running when he jumped off of a rooftop, and landed in a bale of hay.

Michael panted slightly, but kept his breathing controlled. He had lost his hat at some point during his run, but that was all. He shed the spanish coat, and left it inside of the haystack after he got out. As he walked, he picked the hay out of his hair.

Michael heard shouting, and thought the guards somehow knew that he had killed the templar at the markets, but saw them run towards a bar. Curious, he ran after them, and was surprised to see the bar engulfed in smoke. He saw Edward run out of it, and disappear down an alley. After the smoke cleared, the guards ran through the streets looking for Edward.

Michael was tempted to run after them, but decided against it when he saw Bonnet about to be beaten by two more guards. He took a deep breath as he ran into the bar, and drew his cutlass. Drawing it didn't make any of the cool sounds you would hear in the movies, and it was unnoticed by the two Spaniards. Michael stabbed the first one through the back, and fired his newly acquired pistol at the second. Both men were dead before they could even react, and Michael didn't want to tempt fate by staying any longer than they should. "Come on Bonnet," he ordered as he picked the merchant up, and dragged him away. "Let's get back to your ship."

"The sugar!" Bonnet shouted as he resisted Michael's grip. Michael wouldn't get anywhere with Bonnet cooperating with him, so he let him go. Bonnet grabbed the sugar that was left on the table, and one of the pouches Michael had previously seen on Edward's belt. Michael heard shouting outside the bar, and directed Bonnet to leave through the back door. It wasn't long before the two of them made it back to Bonnet's ship.