The Beginning of Silence

Chapter 10

Desmond woke to find a pair of steel gray eyes staring him straight in the face. He had rolled over in the night so his face was pressed against the bunk's security bars, and Vidic was staring at him intently between the cold slats.

Desmond shot up with a yelp. This kind of wake-up call was like something out of a horror movie. A B-rated one, at that, which made Desmond feel a bit put out. He felt he deserved at least an A-minus.

"Couldn't you just invest in an alarm clock?!" Desmond snapped irritably, scratching his head as was his habit. "These little 'cock-a-doodle-doos' of yours are really starting to annoy me."

Vidic shrugged. Today, strangely, he wasn't drinking coffee. "Get down, Mr. Miles."

Demons did as he was told, grumbling all the while. But, after he followed Vidic out of his room and into the rest of the Lab, the muttering ceased and his mouth dropped open.

The windows were still dark. Day hadn't broken yet.

"What time is it?" Desmond asked Jenifer, who was standing at he computer. Her eyes were puffy; had she been roused from bed as well? No, Desmond realized, her clothes were pristine. That suggested otherwise.

"Approximately 2:14 A.M.," she yawned, putting a hand to her mouth. Her makeup had been perfectly applied, too.

"What?! What the hell did you guys wake me up for—?"

Desmond didn't get to finish. The double doors that led to the outside world whooshed open before he could complete the phrase, and in marched three men.

The one in front was dressed in a violet and gold basketball jersey emblazoned with the number '9'; Desmond's physical eyes, so used to looking at nothing but the white and gray of the lab, were nearly blinded by the vibrant hues. He was extremely tall and built like a serious athlete, possessing a toned body devoid of fat. He wore a black cloth over his eyes, and his hands were cuffed securely behind his back. The men flanking him were typical Abstergo suits, each toting a firearm. One began to unlock the handcuffs while the other roughly jerked the blindfold off.

The basketball player blinked coal-dark eyes in the sudden light and rubbed his olive skinned wrists to get his circulation back. His escorts promptly left the room, the doors closing tight behind them. The newcomer had a generous nose straight off a Roman emperor (though it borderline on large), but it suited his strong jaw and narrow eyes. He was very handsome, but would have looked much more appealing had his hair not been very nearly been shaved off. It was cropped in an extremely short military style.

"Hello, Mr. Bohn," said Vidic. "Welcome to Abstergo."

Bohn looked down his generous nose at the doctor and let his eyes flicker to first Jenifer, then Desmond. "I'd like an explanation, please."

Vidic laughed, and Desmond guessed to the word what he would say next: "All in good time, Mr. Bohn, all in good time."

Desmond felt sorry for the new guy. After all, he knew exactly what it was like to have Vidic o all cryptic on you when what you really needed to hear was an explanation. So he said: "Ever hear of the Templars?"

Vidic wheeled around and shot Desmond the most threatening glare he could muster, but Desmond had seen that look so many times he was more or less immune to it.

Bohn narrowed his eyes. "Yes. Third Crusade, right?"

Unimpressed by Vidic's warning glance, Desmond laughed. " Ooh, sharp, aren't you?" he said. "You know your history. Saves me the trouble of explaining that bit." He jerked his thumb at Vidic and Jenifer. "Basically, the lady and the guy in the coat are modern day Knights bent of reforming the planet into their version of a utopia, if you can believe it."

Bohn stood there, one eyebrow arched. "Oh, really?"

"Yup," said Desmond. The sarcasm was not lost on him, but he chose to ignore it. "And see this thing I'm sitting on?" He rapped his knuckles on the Animus' surface. "This is the Animus. It can access genetic memory which these guys here at Abstergo use to look into the past and see where crap they gotta find is. Me, my ancestor is an assassin who battled the Templars. He hid their greatest treasure somewhere and they're using my memories to track it down."

"Oh. Right. Sure."

Desmond would have said more, but Vidic roared: "You loud-mouthed imbecile!"

"What?" Desmond asked defensively, shrugging. "It's not like he wouldn't have found out anyway!"

"Yes, but he would have believed it had it not come from someone as ineloquent as you!"

"Well, at least he won't get shoved into the Animus without a clue like I was! Seriously, Vidic! Do you know just how disorienting it is go in there and be someone else without being told you're gonna leave your own damn mind behind first?"

Vidic, who had been forming a reply, shut his mouth. His lips pursed, and with one hand he rubbed his temples. "I suppose you're right," he said finally, though with great distaste. "It is a sound reasoning, after all."

Desmond preened. "Thanks."

Bohn raised an eyebrow. "Who the hell are you people?"

Desmond made to answer, but Vidic held up a hand, effectively silencing him. "As Mr. Miles explained, we are Templars."

"I thought Abstergo was a pharmaceutical company."

"On the surface it is, yes, but we deal in many things beside medicine…"

Desmond stopped listening. Vidic was giving Bohn a short, sweet version of all the hard-earned information Desmond had come to learn during his last stay at Abstergo. Probably because he knows I'll tell Bohn everything as soon as I get the chance, Desmond thought darkly. No sense in keeping secrets…

"Mr. Miles!" Vidic snapped, jolting Desmond from his reverie. "Pay attention!" Behind him, Jenifer was helping Bohn position his long body on the machine's curved tabletop.

Desmond scowled, but still moved to the machine. "Couldn't this wait 'til morning?" he asked grumpily, swinging his legs up onto the Animus. He made to lie down, but Vidic put a hand on his shoulder.

"Wait," he said, shaking his head. His thin lips, usually so cruel when pressed into the thin, bloodless line (as they now were), were more concerned than predatory. "I need to speak with you a moment."

Desmond frowned, but swung his legs off the Animus. He remained seated. "What about?" He glanced to his left: Bohn, at the machine next to him, was staring warily up at the ceiling as the fiber optic screen closed over his face. At his side, Jenifer produced a headset out of nowhere, fitted it over her ear, and began to speak quietly into the microphone.

"About Subject 18," Vidic said, waving a hand at the prone Bohn. "Mr. James Arnold Bohn. We located him yesterday and apprehended him earlier this evening. His ancestor's memories are to undergo examination, starting today. I want you to help him."

Desmond was taken aback. "Me? How would I do that?"

"Have you even looked at the Animus?" Vidic snapped impatiently. "We constructed two more consoles, based on Luc—Ms. Stillman's old design—" Desmond could see the effort Vidic had to undergo to pronounce Lucy's name "—and wired the three together so the subjects inside could interact, so long as they have the same core memory to work with."

"Why?" Desmond asked. "What good will that do? You'll see the same thing."

"But from three different perspectives," Vidic argued. "Three unique viewpoints that may perceive something other than what just one would. We can get a fuller understanding of any situation this way."

Desmond got the feeling Vidic had been over this with someone before. "You've really thought this through, haven't you?"

Vidic sighed and passed a wrinkled hand over his thinning hair. "I had to pose this same argument with the board of directors to get the funding for the project." His eyes flashed. "But that's not the point. Remember the first time you ever ventured into the Animus and attempted to synchronize yourself with your ancestor?"

"Yeah."

"Frankly, Mr. Miles, it was disastrous, and we do not want to risk that happening again. You are to go into the Animus and see if you can synchronize your memory with not only Altaïr, but James's memories as well. It will be a double synchronization. If one of you loses synch, the other will suffer similarly, though there will be a brief time of interim for you to become fully synchronized and pull them back into the memory."

"I don't understand," said Desmond.

Vidic growled. "Have you ever played 'Halo?'"

Desmond blinked. "You mean that old shooter game that was so popular in the early 2000's? I have. Why?"

Vidic began to pace. "When playing in co-op mode and your partner dies, what do you do?"

"Go back to a check point and wait for them to reload," was Desmond's automatic reply.

"Precisely," said Vidic. "If one of you loses synch and falls out of the memory, then the other player must find a safe spot and become anonymous to bring them back. If you are exploring separate memories, then the Animus interface will work the same as always."

"So what's the point of going in right now?"

"You're to guide Mr. Bohn through the tutorial level of the Animus, and make sure he doesn't suffer a breakdown like you did. And, on the plus side, this will help you get used to the double synchronization."

Desmond nodded. "Makes sense."

To the two men's left, Jenifer piped up. "This isn't good," she said worriedly, staring down at the still and silent James. Through the screen, Desmond could see beads of sweat on James's brow and deep furrows between his eyes. The kid couldn't have been older than 18! Poor guy, Desmond thought. I wonder what he's going through in there? It was hell for me, the first time. Luckily, he didn't have to wonder for long, for Jenifer said: "He's reacting badly to the synching process. Disorientation, hallucination, recklessness, etc…"

"We'll try the double synch," Vidic said, walking over to James. "Mr. Miles may be able to calm Mr. Bohn down."

"Do you think that's wise?" Jenifer asked. "Achieving a double synch without first letting him get used to the single synch?"

Vidic snarled: "We don't have time to coddle him! Try to keep Bohn as stable as possible until Desmond goes under, then load them both in the same location. Try the Phantom Garden, where the tutorial takes place."

Jenifer nodded grimly, but Desmond could see the apprehensive look in her eyes. "Understood." She turned back to the computer terminal and began to tap at the keys, murmuring occasionally into the microphone lying along her cheek.

Desmond looked at Vidic, who nodded at him. "Go on, Mr. Miles. Time is wasting. You wouldn't want you new friend to suffer a 'bleed,' would you?"

Desmond frowned at the word 'bleed;' it sparked a vague sense of recognition in the back of his mind, but he pushed the reaction away. Instead of asking about it, he laid back on the Animus, then let the world fade into brilliant white as the fiber optics took him captive once again…

AUTHOR'S NOTION THAT THE MOTION OF THE OCEAN…

…is pulling them out to sea.

I dunno. Just thought it sounded cool (I'm referring to the title, w/e).

So, anyway, we met a new Animus subject: # 18. Ho, hum, tons o' fun. I know you haven't seen much of James, but I hope you get to like him a little. We learn about his back story soon enough, but I just want to say right now that he wont take over the fic. It's still all about Desmond, and it always will be.

Anyway, I started another fic! Woot! It's an Assassin's Creed fic called "The Assassin in the Wastebasket," and it is an idea-crossover between "The Indian and the Cupboard" movie and AC. Guess what it's about. Go check it out if you'd like something a little different from this fic (it only has two chapters at this point, but…). Thanks!

I have a challenge for all of you playing the game right now. Go load memory block 4, and assassinate the Fat Guy who Poisons People. He's hard to miss. When you're doing the investigation missions, find the Informant who asks you to murder two of the Fat Guy's guards. When you first speak to him, he mentions a woman named Addah. I find it interesting that they mention a woman in conjunction with Altaïr. They seemed to know each other or something. Anyway, check it out.

I found another item of snack food to gorge myself on, along with Pocky. It's "Sunchips." I'd never had them before, but they're healthy and YUMMIER than potato chips. There's this "Garden Salsa" kind I'm now obsessed with. Ah, food, how do I liken thee to a summer's day…? Or at least a summer picnic…?

Oh, and in the Assassin's Creed art book, there are female Assassin character designs. Interesting when coupled with the Addah thing I mentioned earlier, huh…?