Eluveitie and the others had made it to the hotel without any issues. They waited about fifty minutes until there was a knock on the door. Eluveitie stared at it for several moments before rising to his feet and going over to it. Slowly, he opened up the door, then saw Hawk keeping a wounded Vera on her feet as she held her side.

"Someone forgot they were wounded…about five roof tops from the hotel." Hawk said to him as he helped Vera into the room, "Do you have any idea what kind of hell it was to get down to ground level?"

"Last I remember, you took us down a fire escape." Vera replied to him as she allowed herself to lean against the wall.

"You almost lost consciousness, that made it harder than it had to be. We could have just darted out the front door."

"And risk being seen by any Templars who might have been around for back up, or were on their way? I think not!"

"How bad is it?" Eluveitie questioned as he walked up to her to have a look.

"Gun shot wound, nothing serious."

"You look pale." Desmond put in, "Perhaps you should have that tended to before you pass out."

"She almost did pass out. I'm glad I got us down when I did, or we'd probably be stuck on that damn roof." Hawk replied as he walked over to the small refrigerator, then opened up. He pulled out the bottle of wine that was inside, "I need a drink after all of this."

"Was that last remark suppose be an insult?" Vera questioned.

"Alright, before you two rip each other apart." Eluveitie examined the wound, "Close hit, from what I can see. That's going to need a bit of work."

Vera looked up at him with weak eyes and mouthed to him, 'I think not.'

"Rebecca and I can help treat her." Lucy went over to them, then helped Vera into the bathroom, "We should have some medical supplies in the van."

"I think she's going to need more help than that." Eluveitie replied as he watched Rebecca dart past him and out of the room.

"Eluveitie, please, let the girls help out." Vera said to him as she seated herself on the floor, then leaned against the wall, "I don't think it should be much of an issue for them."

Eluveitie nodded slightly and waited for Rebecca to return. Once she did, he locked the door, then went over to one of the beds and seated himself. He watched at the door to the bathroom closed, then sighed a little, "She's stubborn."

"No kidding." Hawk took a sip of the wine, "Woo! Shit! This has a kick to it! What some?" He offered the glass to Eluveitie.

"No, that's fine."

Desmond shook his head when Hawk tried to offer it to him, "I…don't drink much."

"So, how did things go, besides her getting shot?" Eluveitie asked.

"Never better. You should have seen how she beat the heck out of those guys! It was unbelievable!" Hawk replied before having some more of the drink.

"Hawk! Shut your mouth!" Vera called to him.

"There's no way you can hear me from all the way over there."

"Would I have even called you out if I couldn't?"

"Would you two give it a rest, please?" Eluveitie asked as he laid back on the bed. He pulled out the paper from his pocket, then held it up, "It's really hard to tell if this is even suppose to be part of the knife or not."

"It seems that Ezio's seen it before. I think he would have told her if it was suppose to be part of a weapon." Hawk said.

"But, even if it is, what would it do?" Desmond questioned, "I mean, I understand that the gem is suppose to kill…um…'supernatural' things, but how does it tie in with the weapon?"

"Random guess; the gem needs to touch the supernatural figure, which means that the person wielding it would need to get close to that figure. The weapon would keep the person at a far enough distance, until the person wants to throw the weapon, in which case, they'd better be damn good at knife throwing." Eluveitie mused.

"I guess that would make sense. So, what happens if we don't find this thing the first time around?"

"Guess someone's going to have a session in the animus."

"But, would we have time for that? The Templars are probably going to be scouting the city like crazy. Plus, who knows how fast they'll pass the information to neighboring cities."

"Florence isn't that close to Rome. If anything, we should be able to stay a good step or two ahead of them."

"There's one in the van we've been traveling in. Perhaps we could make use of that." Desmond said.

"I think we should wait till we know if the gem is inside the cathedral before we decide to make use of the animus."

"Do you even realize how many cathedrals there are in Rome? How do we know which one to go to?" Hawk asked.

"My guess…we start at the one the Pope's in. After all, the Pope has been known to side with the Templars, even though there's a few Cardinals who are secret spies for the Assassins." Eluveitie sat up once he heard the door to the bathroom open up. He saw Lucy come out first while Rebecca helped Vera.

"You weren't kidding. That was a pretty bad wound. But, she should be alright." Lucy said to him.

"I didn't think I got hit that bad. But, then again, I was a bit enraged by something I heard that didn't sit too well with me." Vera replied as Rebecca helped her over to Eluveitie, then sat down.

"Someone called her a…" Hawk ducked out the way when he saw a jacket being thrown his way.

"Shove it!" Vera glared at him, then put her hand on her side, "Great! Another piece of ink that needs to be touched up. Why do people enjoy ruining my ink?!"

"Perhaps you should have kept your tattoos to a limit."

"You are so not helping my situation right now."

"Before this gets out of hand, we talked things through and think the best place to start is the cathedral that the Pope's in. Assuming the Templars want to make use of this gem, it'd probably be there in their possession." Eluveitie said as he handed the paper to her.

Vera took it, then held it up to the lamp closest to them. She turned the paper over, "If only I could read backwards…too bad that's not going to happen. Plus, I can still see the writing from the other page. This has been covered up very well. I'm impressed, but pissed off at the same time."

"If that's the only way to trick the enemy, then you can't really be upset about it."

"I've realized that. Alright, we're just going to say that this gem is the only thing we're looking for. If there is a knife or some kind of weapon that goes with it, then we'll worry about that later. Right now, we need to get the gem. As far as I can tell, it's just to kill off the supernatural, not sure if it'll do much harm to mortals or not. If someone does find it, make sure to wear gloves when handling it. I don't want someone getting hurt or killed because of this thing."

"I, maybe, have a dumb question…how are we going to get into the cathedral and where is this vault?" Desmond asked.

"Yeah, I mean, it's not like we can just walk right in." Rebecca added, "They'll know that something's up."

"Hawk, do you have the layout of the city?" Vera asked.

Hawk reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out an old map. He passed it to her, "There's a series of tunnels that run under the city. Back in ancient times, they were used as a transportation system. Now, the tunnels belong to the Assassins, for only we know where the entrance is. There are other ways in and out of the tunnels, some leading to the streets while others lead to buildings."

"Sounds familiar, doesn't it?" Eluveitie added as he watched Vera unfold the map and lay it out on the bed in front of them.

Vera nodded slightly, "Just like the tunnel system in New Orleans. I'm going to guess that every city has a system like this." She leaned forward slightly to have a better look, "I see at least two exits by the cathedral and it looks like one leads into it. Where it'll lead us to once we get inside…no idea."

"Sounds like we'll need to be on our guard then. Who knows if there'll be anyone roaming about inside." Lucy replied as she looked at the map, "If we get caught, we're going to have to make a break for it."

"I would suggest parking the van somewhere near one of the entrances, but not close enough to it that the Templars can pick up what's going on. If we need to hightail it out of there, then we need to be able to move quickly, but swiftly."

"And…what if we do get caught before we have a chance to get to the vault?" Rebecca asked.

Vera looked up at them, "Then, we do what we Assassins do, stand our ground and kick some Templar ass."

It was close to eleven that evening when the group departed for their rooms. Vera was busy changing in the bathroom while Eluveitie studied the drawing a bit more. Vera was taking longer than normal mainly because of her wound and the fact that she was still feeling a bit lightheaded.

"Do you really believe that there's a weapon out there that's connect to this gem?" He called to her.

"Hell if I know. Might need a session in the animus before we begin this mission. I hope I can get some more information about this." She replied, "Who knows, it could go to a blade on a bracer. That I would gladly take."

"But, if the gem is meant to harm creatures like you, wouldn't it wound you?"

"Not as long as I wear gloves. I hope I brought some with me because I'm a little scared to touch that thing."

"Perhaps having the session will give you an idea of how that thing works. It could be like the medallion and react differently to you than it would to an enemy."

"We'll see." Vera opened up the door and stepped out wearing a pair of black and white shorts with a matching Supernatural tank top. She threw her clothes to the side by her bag, "Just wish my family would have informed me about all of this stuff. It sucks to have to figure this all out on my own."

"Even if they didn't want you to become an Assassin, they still should have filled you in on some stuff."

"Ya think?" Vera crossed her arms and leaned against the wall, "As far as I know, there's a vault somewhere in Ireland that has a whole mess of items in it that belong to my family. Once we get that gem, we're taking it to that vault. Whatever's in there that I might find useful, I'm going to take it and my family isn't going to stop me."

Elvueitie turned his head and looked at her. Slowly, he rose to his feet and moved towards her, "I thought you didn't want to go to Ireland because your parents will try to get you to stay."

"They wouldn't be able to make me stay, not when I have fellow Assassins with me. Plus…" Vera reached out and took his hand and held it tightly, "…I think they'll be a little pissed about what I did with the medallion." She glanced down at their hands looking at the marks on their ring fingers. She grinned slightly, "Like I care what they think. I just broke our family 'curse' of me having to marry Daniel and did a taboo all at the same time." She looked up at him with the grin still on her face, "Oops!"

"Taboo? What taboo?"

"I'm a vampire. I'm suppose to be with a vampire, but I'm not. I'm with a human, or now immortal. As if I really care. I see it this way; I'm happy about the path I took in life despite what my parents might have wanted. My loyalties are with the Brotherhood and my heart belongs to you, and that's the way things will stay."

"And, what happens if they catch us there going through that vault?"

"Then we stand our ground against them. I'm not worried about them because I know that the six of us will be enough to frighten them off. While I'm a bit iffy about the training that Desmond, Lucy and Rebecca have, I do trust that their true sides will show. And, when that happens, my family will back down. The only thing that I have to give Daniel's family credit for is keeping their loyalties with the Brotherhood. My family…not so much. They aren't Templars, they just…" Vera turned her head away as she bit her lip a little, "…don't want to put in the work that goes along with this, I guess is the best word for it."

"They've done their time and now they just want to live peaceful lives."

Vera looked back at him and nodded, "Yes…that. But, it scares me because I remember learning about Nikolai Orelov and how he wanted to settle down with his family and the Brotherhood came after him and his family. I don't want the same to happen to my family. That's why I keep my loyalties strong, so they'll know not to go after my family."

Eluveitie placed his hand under Vera's chin and moved her head so she was looking him in the eyes, "There's much more to Nikolai's story than just that. Russia was in a rough time and he pretty much abandoned his country when he was needed most. I understand why you're worried about your family, but as long as they didn't do anything to cause the Mentor to go after them, then they'll be fine." He leaned down and kissed her forehead, "Just keep doing what you're doing and don't worry about them."

Vera smiled slightly as a tear rolled down her cheek, "You're right." She let go of his hand, then hugged him tightly, "All I can say is that I'm glad I have you in my life, and I'm glad you'll never leave it."

Eluveitie held her close to him as he rocked her slightly, "Whether I'm in Finland, or right by your side, I'll always be with you, forever." He kissed the top of her head.

Vera smiled more as she allowed the moment to set before looking over at the nightstand between the two beds and seeing the paper laying on it. She was about to release herself from him to go have a look at it until she felt him move her to the bed. She seated herself and looked up at him.

"No more work for you tonight. You've already had a long day. Rest up and we'll continue in the morning."

Vera glanced over her shoulder slightly, then looked up at him and nodded a little, "You're right, I should get some rest." She placed her hand on her side, "Just hope I'll be able to do this without the wound interfering."

"You should really see a doctor about that." Eluveitie seated himself next to her.

"I can't and you know why. Someone will find out about my true side and all hell will break lose." She sighed a little, "Just glad the Brotherhood understands." She raised her shirt up slightly to have a look at the bandage that was wrapped all the way around her, "Yep…I'm going to have to get some ink redone."

Eluveitie watched her, then placed his hand on her side gently, "It'll still look good either way."

"I hope you're right." Vera watched him, then looked at his back, "Can I see the sword?"

Eluveitie waited for a moment before removing his hand, then taking off his shirt.

Vera moved behind him and ran her fingertips gently down his back as she looked at Aragorn's sword which was tattooed there. The hilt started halfway up his neck, fanning out to his shoulder blades and running down his spin, where it stopped just above the tail bone. On his right side, she spotted the writing on The One Ring running from the top of his rib cage all the way down to the top of his hip. She glanced at it for a moment before looking back at the sword, "It still looks great even after all these years."

"No touch up?"

"Not that I can see." She removed her hand, then moved the hair behind his left ear to see a small tattoo that was the symbol of the Brotherhood. She looked at it for several long moments before laying down on the bed. She felt a little dizzy and felt like she was getting a headache. She rolled over onto her back and buried her head in the pillow. She groaned a little, "I wish I had pain meds with me…or some Excedrin."

"Sleep should help you to feel better." Eluveitie turned slightly as he watched her.

"Give me a day and I'll be better."

"I'm afraid we don't have a day. By that time, news of the deaths of the Templars will have gotten out and they'll be on the look out for whoever did it." Eluveitie moved closer to her, then lifted the back of her shirt up slightly and began to massage her back.

Vera turned her head slightly, so she was looking away from the light coming from the nightstand, "You have a point there. Just hope I'll be able to kick some ass when the time comes."

"You should be able to. Now, tell me, how did you kill those Templars?"

Vera grinned slightly, "Besides me going a-wall on them? I killed them with the sword Ezio gave me."

"I want to know how you were able to hear him and touch him."

"I'm the living dead, I have no soul. When a spirit touches someone, they're touching their spirit or soul. Since I have neither, I'm able to feel their touch physically. Same holds true with their voice, I can hear it while others can't and would need an Ouija board or crystal ball to hear what they have to say."

"How did you kill them with a weapon that you can't even see?"

"I just used it like a normal sword, only it doesn't wound them physically, it wounds their spirits…well, it killed their spirits, I should say, which, in turn, killed them. When your spirit is wounded, then you become wounded. When it is killed, you're killed. The Templars that are going to find them are going to have a hell of a time trying to figure out how they were killed."

"And, what did they say to you that pissed you off?"

"After I killed the first one, the others called me a 'witch' and said that I did some kind of witch craft. Apologizes, but I'm not a witch and that's a personal insult to a vampire. That's like calling us a werewolf. So, yah, I kind of went a-wall on them for calling me that."

"Then, I'll be sure to never call you a witch. But, my I call you an elf?"

Vera turned her head slightly, so she was looking at him and said, "I shall let that one slide."

"I would hope so, for the only things that you can really be in Middle Earth are an elf, a dwarf, a hobbit, a man, an orc or a wizard."

"I'll stick with elf. And, what might you be?"

Eluveitie grinned slightly, "Well, seeing as how I'm not human anymore, I suppose I'd be an elf as well. Wonder who's fault that was?" He leaned down and kissed the back of her neck gently.

Vera glared at him slightly, "If I were a fox, I'd hit you with my tail."

"And, what have I done to deserve that?"

"You know what you did."

"I'm afraid I haven't the slightest idea." Eluveitie kissed her neck again.

"Ok, now you're being a jerk."

"Just trying to make you feel better, is all." Eluveitie gently laid down on top of her and rested his head on her upper back. He put his hands on top of hers laced his fingers through hers.

Vera took a deep breath and slowly let it out as she allowed her fingers to curl onto his, "Do you plan to fall asleep like this?"

"Perhaps. Why?"

Vera smiled lightly as she rested her head on the pillow and closed her eyes, "Because you're nice and warm. And, I don't want you to leave me."

"If you wish to stay this way all night, then so be it." Eluveitie turned his head slightly to have a look at the clock on the nightstand. It was well after midnight and he had promised Hawk that they'd meet up with them for breakfast at about nine in the morning, "What about the lights?"

"Leave them for now." Vera let out a yawn, "You can turn them off later."

"Of course. Have a good rest."

"Same to you."

Eluveitie waited several moments before releasing her hand reaching over to turn out the light. Once it was off, he took her hand in his, then rested his head on her back. He closed his eyes and waited for sleep to consume him.

"So…what's the plan?" Lucy asked as the six of them sat outside a cafe near the hotel, "I'm guessing we can't just high tail it out of here."

"Not really." Vera replied as she kept herself glued to the shade of the umbrella. She had on a pair of sunglasses and a bandana tied around her head, "I think our first order of business is to decide our mode of transportation."

"Won't the vehicle we have work?" Desmond asked before taking a sip of his coffee.

"Well, depends on what you all want to do."

"What does that mean?" Rebecca questioned.

"It means that the Templars might be suspicious of it. So, we have a few options at this point; either we get the vehicle painted and switch the license plates, or we get another larger vehicle and switch the plates, or we break down the animus, take a slightly smaller vehicle and switch the plates. It's up to you to decide what we should do."

"I don't think dismantling the animus will be a problem, it's where to put the chair." Lucy replied.

"I'm going to assume that you'd want me to have my session while we're on the road."

"Probably not a good idea, girl. Remember what happened to us before." Rebecca looked across the table at Lucy, "We were attacked by the Templars and the driver was killed."

Vera turned her head slightly as she listened to Rebecca, then looked back at Lucy, "Seeing as it's just the six of us, I'm not risking anyone's lives while I have my session. I'll do it once we're safely in Rome."

"But, where will you have the session once we get there?" Lucy asked.

"We'll worry about that once we're there. But, it's up to you to decide what we should do."

"My personal opinion, I think we should just dismantle the thing." Hawk said after having a drink of his coffee, "Take a smaller vehicle. It shouldn't draw much attention to us."

"I feel the same way."

"So, how do we make this work?" Desmond asked.

Vera sat back for a second as she took a quick glance around the area to make sure that no Templars were around listening to them, "I think I have an idea."

As soon as their breakfast was finished, they made their way to the van, which was parked a few blocks away in an alleyway. Vera opened up the back to see just how big the animus was and about how long it would take to rip it apart. She was in luck as the only thing they'd have to leave behind was the chair. Everything else could easily be dismantled, but it would take some time. She turned to face the group standing behind her.

"Eluveitie, I'm putting you in charge of getting us some new plates. Ride ahead of us and we'll contact you as soon as we hit the road. Either we'll meet up somewhere, or you can hide the plates somewhere along the route. Change up your plates as well." She said to him before looking at the others, "Hawk, I trust you can get a vehicle for us, as we'll have to leave this one behind. Rebecca and Lucy, take care of dismantling that thing. Do it as swift and as quick as possible. Desmond and I will stand guard in case any Templars decide to show up."

Once their orders were given, they all began their tasks. As Lucy and Rebecca took their time taking the animus apart, Desmond guarded the front while Vera watched from the rear making sure to keep her focus on the buildings around them as well. Close to an hour went past as Hawk rolled up in a fancy car, a Ferrari. He helped the two ladies load everything into the trunk while Vera made her way out of the alley.

"Where are you headed?" Hawk asked her as he closed the trunk and allowed the ladies to enter the vehicle before Desmond climbed into the passenger seat.

"Give me a few moments. I'll be right back." Vera rounded the corner and vanished.

"I don't think we have that…" Hawk let out a frustrated sigh as he walked over to the driver's side, then backed out of the alleyway. He parked on the side of the street and set a GPS, so they wouldn't get lost along the way. About ten minutes passed as he saw a motorcycle pull up beside him. He turned and rolled down the window, "Really?"

"If something happens, then I can handle it." Vera called over the roar of the engine. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and called his.

Hawk jumped when he heard the ringtone going off. He set the Bluetooth in the cab, "What do you want?"

"I have an earpiece in. For whatever reason, don't turn it off." Vera slide the phone back into her pocket.

"And, how are we suppose to tell Eluveitie that we're coming?"

"I already took care of that. Now, let's ride. You go first." Vera backed away from the car and watched as Hawk drove off. She followed close behind.

The start of the trip was easy. They made their way out of Florence and onto the expressway. When they were clear of the city, Hawk took a bit of a 'detour' and took them to another road that wasn't as busy. They drove on for about an hour or so before Vera noticed a military vehicle in her side mirror. She watched as it started to close in on them, then spotted the passenger holding up a gun.

"Got some Templars on our asses." She said into the earpiece, "Keep your heads down!" Just as she spoke, a bullet went whizzing past her head and through the center of the back windshield before making its way out the front.

"Holy shit! That was a close call!" Hawk was able to keep the car from rearing off the road.

"I told you to keep your heads down! Pick up the pace! I'll deal with these guys!"

"And, how do you plan to do that?" Hawk questioned as he excelerated the car. Within moments, he was close to going over a hundred miles an hour.

"You'll see." Vera followed after the car before making a quick turn into the other line. She sped up the bike as she made her way towards the oncoming vehicle. She swerved away from the bullets coming at her as she held out her wrist and flicked it, allowing the blade to come out of the bracer hidden under her leather jacket. Right as the vehicle got close to her, she held her arm down low, then used the blade to slice the side of the vehicle and the front and back tire. The vehicle spun out of control and off the road. It crashed into a tree before exploding. She quickly turned the bike around and drove after Hawk.

"Who said watching movies was a bad thing?" She questioned as she tried to keep up with him.

"What movie did you learn that from?" Hawk replied as he looked in the rearview mirror to see her distant figure slowly getting larger and larger.

"X-Men Origins: Wolverine. I've always wanted to try that." As she approached the car, she quickly swerved into the other line when another military vehicle appeared out of the trees, which caused her to almost fall off the bike. She quickly gained control and drove right along side of the Ferrari, "Got another one behind you!" She called.

"Fun. Do you plan to do the same?"

"Too close to do that. I wouldn't have enough time. The Ferrari can go faster than this motorcycle can."

"Leave it to me." Desmond quickly unbuckled his seatbelt and rolled down the window as he grabbed his gun, which was hidden under the seat. He leaned out the window and pointed the gun at the vehicle. A bullet flew right past him.

"Are you crazy?!" Lucy called to him as she kept herself low on the backseat, "You'll fall out and kill yourself!"

"Better that than all of us getting killed." Desmond called back to her as he fired the gun dead on the passenger side window. He hit the target, but that didn't keep the driver from firing back at them.

Vera looked in the side mirror as the vehicle got closer. She looked at the grille for a moment before saying, "Hawk! Speed up as much as you can! Desmond, if you can hear me, hit the grille! It should stop him!"

"That doesn't sound good." Lucy replied as she felt the car speed up more.

"Is it ok to say that I think I'm going to be sick?" Rebecca had made herself comfortable on the floor as she tried to calm herself from the fast ride that she was on.

Hawk sped up as Desmond grabbed the hand grip on the inside of the car, just above the window, with his free hand. He pointed the gun at the grille of the vehicle, then fired. He was able to duck back inside just as the vehicle exploded behind them.

Vera raced slightly behind the Ferrari as she could feel the heat of the flames behind her. Within moments, her eyes caught the vehicle starting to slide forward onto its burning nose. It began to lean forward as if to suggest that it was going to topple over onto the roof. She revved up the bike and drove as fast as she could. The vehicle soon came to a rest on the roof and skidded across the asphalt until it came to a fiery halt in the center of the two lanes. She let out a sigh of relief.

Hawk had been watching the scene as he began to slow the car down so Vera could catch up to them, "Holy shit! That was amazing!"

"Not when you're about to be crushed by it." Vera replied as she eased the bike close to them and slowed up her speed slightly, "I hope that's it for now."

"It better be because I need a break!" Rebecca called as she groaned a little, "Can we PLEASE take a rest stop?"

"In a few more miles we will." Hawk said to her.

"Then, we can call Eluveitie to see what's going on with the plates." Vera said as she kept her distance from the car, but made sure that Hawk could still see her in the rearview mirror.

They drove for several more miles before coming to a rest stop. Everyone exited the Ferrari, Lucy helping Rebecca out, while Vera called up Eluveitie to see where he was at and where he'd left the plates for them. After the conversation was over, she placed the phone back into her pocket, then walked up to Hawk, who was sitting on the hood of the car.

"So, what did he say? Where's he at now?" Hawk asked her.

"He's close to Rome at the moment. He should be entering the city within several minutes." Vera replied to him, "He said that he left the plates hidden in an abandon barn not far from where we're at. I was able to write down the directions on how to get there." She handed him a slip of paper.

Hawk took it and had a look, "Hopefully it won't be hard to find."

"He said look for a path that appears to be overgrown. The barn will be behind that."

"Hopefully this car can make it."

"I'm thinking it should."

Soon, they were back on the road with Hawk following the written directions on how to find the barn. It took a long while, they had to double back a few times, but they were able to locate the path with the wild overgrowth. Hawk parked inside the barn while Vera parked outside. Once inside, she saw the plates and a screw driver slightly hidden under an old sign. Upon retrieving them, she began to switch out the plates for them.

"What of the motorcycle?" Hawk questioned her as he watched.

"He doesn't know that I have it." Vera replied as she threw the one plate aside before placing on the new one, "We'll keep it that way."

"He's going to be pissed when he finds out that you drove separate."

"Not as long as someone doesn't tell him what happened along the way here." Vera finished up, then moved on to the next one, "We should be safe for now. I don't think there's anymore Templars following after us."

"And, if there are?"

"We stand our ground. But, I want you to drive ahead of me in case someone catches my plate. I'd rather you all make it there safely and not have to deal with them again."

"You are taking a big risk here, you know that?"

"As if I haven't taken enough of them in my life time." Once the plate was on, she stood up and looked at him, "I'll wait about fifteen minutes or so before I leave here. I'll contact you once I'm outside of the city to see where to find you. If you don't hear from in within the hour that you arrive, then come look for me."

"Eluveitie's going to kill me for letting you do this, you know that?"

"Tell him it was my idea. Now, off with you. I'll meet up with you all soon."

"Safe travels." Hawk slid off the hood, then walked over to the driver's side door and got in.

"Same to you." Vera stepped out of the way and watched as he started up the car and drove off. She looked down at the other plate, then picked it up and tossed it to the side. She watched it skid across the ground before coming to a halt in front of a pile of old hay. She sighed a little before moving over to one of the dirty windows and having a look out at the scenery around her.

About twenty minutes passed by and Vera was already on the motorcycle and heading for Rome. She kept a sharp eye out for any strange vehicles that might have been following after her, but she got lucky this time around and had a safe trip to the city. Before entering, she pulled off at a rest stop, then proceeded to call Hawk.

Hawk had pulled into the city about thirty minutes before Vera reached the rest stop. Desmond was on the phone with Eluveitie to get directions on where to meet him, which was in a slightly abandoned part of the city. Hawk drove down a few streets before seeing a pick up truck outside of a rundown shop. He pulled up behind it, then spotted Eluveitie standing in the shadows of the alleyway. He exited the vehicle.

"You've made it safely, I see." Eluveitie stepped out of the shadows as he put his hood down, "Everything go well?"

"Of course. We can handle ourselves, you know." Hawk replied as he walked up to him, "It ain't like we're not professionally trained or anything."

"I'll be the judge of that." Eluveitie watched as the girls exited the car through the passenger side, "Where's Vera?"

"She picked up a motorcycle before we left. She shouldn't be too far behind. She told us to drive ahead, after we had the plates switched. She'll call up once she's outside of the city."

"You let her do that?"

"She kind of took off right before we left the city. I don't question what she does. She's a big girl and can handle herself. She'll be just fine."

"What if something happens to her? How are we suppose to know?"

"She said that if we don't hear from her within an hour to go looking for her."

"Where there Templars following you?"

"Nope. We had a safe ride here, didn't we?" Hawk looked back at the others, who were standing nearby.

"Oh yes, totally safe. No Templars around." Lucy tried to play along when she saw the look on Hawk's face.

"Yes! Nice smooth, safe ride." Rebecca replied, "I've never been in such a fancy car before. Made the trip worth while."

"Expect when we were followed by those…" Desmond quickly caught himself and bit his lip when he saw not only the scared expression on Hawk's face but the equally frightened and serious look appearing on Eluveitie's face, "…shit!" He whispered.

Lucy elbowed him in the side, "You jerk!" She whispered.

"Hawk…what happened?!" Eluveitie's voice became very deep to the point where it didn't sound like he was speaking English anymore.

"Um…well, we might have had a little run in with some military vehicles. Nothing we couldn't handle." Hawk kept his back to Eluveitie not wanting to see the look on his face.

"You should have seen the move that…ow!" Desmond held his side when he felt Lucy gab him in the ribs with her elbow again.

"I think it would be wise of you to shut your trap before you get Hawk into anymore trouble!" Lucy hissed in a low voice.

"I think that's already happened." Desmond replied in an equally low voice.

"But, Vera is fine. She was with us when we switched the plates, I swear to it." Hawk replied still keeping his back to him.

Eluveitie grabbed Hawk's shoulder and shoved him up against the wall. He looked him dead in his sunglasses, "What happened?!"

"We were chased by Templars, but we took them down." Hawk replied as he looked back at Eluveitie, "Vera took care of one of the vehicles and Desmond got the other. I swear that was all that happened."

"And, you allowed her to ride here on her own?!"

"That motorcycle isn't built for two."

"You should have let her follow after you! Why would you let her make that decision?!"

Before Hawk had time to reply, he heard a slight sound coming from the car. He turned his head to see Desmond slip inside and pick up his phone. He watched as Desmond answered it.

"Hey, where are you?" Desmond answered.

"Desmond?" Vera asked with a bit of confusion in her voice, "Please don't tell me something happened to Hawk."

"Well, um…" Desmond turned his head slightly, "him and Eluveitie are a little…busy at the moment."

Vera bit her lip a little before replying, "I'm outside of the city. Tell me where to go."

"We're in a semi-abandon part of the city. It shouldn't be too hard to find."

"I'll find my way. See you in a little while."

"Good luck." Desmond hung up, then looked over at the two men, "She's coming."

Eluveitie looked at Desmond for a moment before releasing Hawk, "You're lucky this time." He stepped out onto the side walk.

Hawk stayed where he was for several long moments as he tried to regain his composer. Soon, he joined the rest of them and waited for Vera to arrive.

A short while later, Vera pulled up to the alleyway and parked behind the Ferrari. She hoped off the motorcycle, then walked up to them, "Glad to see everyone made it here alright." She said before leaning against the wall, "So, what's the plan?"

"I'm a bit weary of setting up in one of these buildings." Lucy said, "Plus, not having a chair with us doesn't help."

"I say we get a hotel. We'll probably have better luck setting up in a room. At least she'll be comfortable there." Rebecca replied.

Vera nodded, "That sounds more reasonable. Plus, we have plenty of time. I'm sure the Templars don't know what we're looking for, so we're very far ahead of them."

"But, they're probably still looking for us." Desmond put in.

"Another reason why a hotel might be safer than here. Let's find a hotel and get some rest. We'll do the session in the morning, then begin the mission as soon as the sun sets. I'm going to assume that no one will be in the cathedral around that time, so this should make things move smother."

"And, what happens after we find this item…if we do?" Hawk asked.

"If it's not found, then I'm going to need more time in the animus. If it is found, we're heading to Ireland to take it to where it belongs. Until then, let us go rest up."