Hello world and all who inhabit it! I know I posted an update a few weeks ago saying I was quitting this story, but I just couldn't kill it like that. So, I have started it back up again. I am sorry it took this long after I posted that note, but I got sick after 4th of July, and then battled an extremely brutal sunburn shortly after. Wasn't really in the mood to write. But alas, I have finished another chapter and am ready to continue this puppy.

I haven't written much of anything in a while, so my writing may be a bit off. If so, please bear with me as I get back into the swing of things. Also, for those of you who have read the previous chapters, please let me know if this update does not seem to flow with anything, whether it be factual, characters, or my style.

Summary: This chapter picks up with Shaun and Rebecca, who are in Italy, and starts to explain the ending of the previous chapter. That is all I have to say about that.

Venice 2012

"I can't believe you spent 250 dollars on that thing!" Rebecca shouted as Shaun sped his way out of an antique shop near their hotel, Rebecca following closely behind his feet, urm…wheels.

Shaun's face beamed with pride as he cradled the long and thin item wrapped in a light brown paper. "And it was worth much more than that, too! Damn Italians do not know fine Agarwood wood from the drift wood that shows up on their shores. This cane was a steal!"

Rebecca, normally the easy going and laid back member of the now separated foursome, was annoyed beyond belief. "And how do you propose we make up for that large expense, Shaun? I refuse to sell myself on the streets of Venice, and God knows that with that third leg you bought, no one would even consider sleeping with you!"

"With this 'third leg,' the wheelchair is no longer necessary. Desmond helped me rig this baby to reach a speed of 10 mph," he explained as they approached the entrance to the hotel lobby. "It should sell like a hotcake!"

"So you are going to sell the chair? The one you lost your virginity in?" Rebecca tried to clarify.

Shaun snorted but kept the same pace with his chair. "I'll have you know that you were not my first, Rebecca. Believe it or not, I was a rather popular lad back in college. The ladies adored me! Maybe because I got out of the house every once and again to get some sun so my skin wouldn't look as pasty white and unattractive as yours." And with that last remark, Shaun cranked up the speed in his chair and speed off, his middle finger waving proudly in the air, while Rebecca froze in the lobby and pouted.

Later that evening…

Shaun, equipped with his new cane, walked in the living area of their small hotel room to find a disgruntled Rebecca trying to untangle a few blue and yellow cables from one of her duffle bag straps. "How's it going in here? I'm all set up in the bedroom. I can't get access to certain applications on my database though." Shaun paused for a moment, rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand, and with a raised eyebrow and small grin, he asked, "Uhh, you need some help with that?"

"I've almost got these bitches untangled. We should be able to get started on gathering Intel as soon as I can establish an internet connection. Damn hotel room has no wi-fi to hack or phone lines to hook up my modem." Rebecca mumbled curses under her breath as she continued connecting wires and equipment to each other.

Shaun's grin disappeared as his lips pursed into a look of concern. "Can you get access to any of the neighboring wi-fi establishments?" he asked hopefully.

"That's my next plan. There is a house a few buildings over that has a signal. It's weak, but it's better than what we have…or don't have. Shit! I could have sworn I tied these in a simple loop knot so I wouldn't have to deal with this shit!" Rebecca yelled in frustration. Despite her hard efforts, she seemed to make the tangled mess even worse than it was when Shaun first walked into the room.

Feeling both sorry for Rebecca and anxious to finish setting up their equipment, Shaun volunteered to untangle the cables while Rebecca went out venturing to establish an internet connection.

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Shaun, who was now sitting on the large chair next to Rebecca's cable bag, had just finished putting labels on the cables he managed to untangle. Yells in Italian could be heard down the hall that ran in front of their room, and the man shouting didn't sound friendly at all. It was difficult to make out, but Shaun could pull bits and pieces of words, most of them expletives and something about trespassing and theft. Shaun stood up as quick as his legs would allow him, crabbed his cane and pistol from the coffee table in front of him, and prepared himself for whatever might happen. He took cover behind the lip of wall that separated the tiny kitchen from the living room when he heard a loud boom at the room door. Shaun flinched, but kept a steady grip on his pistol as he raised it towards the door. Then, the door was forcefully opened. Rebecca slid through the opening as quickly as she could, and pressed the weight of her entire body against the door as she slammed it shut. Shaun could no longer make out the shouts of Italian as they were mixed with loud thuds on the other side of the door as if someone were banging their fists against the wood.

Stunned at what he was seeing, Shaun quickly hobbled from his cover and demanded, "What the fuck is going on, Rebecca?"

Breathing rather heavily as she wiped the sweat off her face as it dripped from her pores, she managed to say on exhales, "Explain later." *inhale* "Just help me" *inhale* "keep this door closed!"

Not sensing any real danger, Shaun stuffed his pistol in his pants pocket after switching the safety on and hobbled over to help Rebecca. "I hope you are aware that this is not the kind of attention we need right now," he chided as he wedged his cane under the door handle. They locked the all the locks on the door, including a few pad locks they had installed immediately upon arrival, and walked backwards into the living area, their eyes both fixed on the door. They stood in the foyer for a few minutes before the banging finally stopped, and the sounds of stomping faded as the man gave up and walked back down the hall.

Shaun turned to Rebecca, who was still staring at the door with her mouth open as she continued to try and catch her breath. "Please tell me what that was all about." Rebecca's eyes cut upwards to look at Shaun as she grinned slightly, her face still pointing towards the door. "On second thought, I don't want to know. Did you manage to do anything productive while you were out?" he asked, trying to sound fierce.

Rebecca slowly turned her body to face Shaun. Her breathing was even again, but she was still exhaling through her grinning mouth. "I managed to connect using the signal from that house, but the guy saw me tampering with the wires outside his house and started throwing kitchenware at me." Rebecca paused for a moment so that Shaun could respond, but the confused and doubtful look on his face told her that she should just continue with her story. "I started running from the guy once he started chasing me. Guy ran like some Scandavian Olympic track runner or something. Luckily, I managed to rig his wires with one of my fancy new pocket modems so that we have instant and fast connection. Stuck it in flower pot by the window. That ass hole has no idea!" Rebecca proclaimed proudly.

Shaun tilted his head to the side, and the expression on his face looked like he was thinking, "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" he shouted. "Have you gone mental?"

"Hey! Don't get all parental on me here. He was just some local," she retored.

"And how to you know that, Rebecca?" Shaun quickly returned.

"I did a thorough back ground check on the guy. Likes to listen to that blind Italian singer. Antonio Brochelli or something like. Bought several of his albums through his credit card."

"Andrea Bocelli!" Shaun corrected. "Look, whatever. Let's just finish getting set up so we can get caught up. Lucy and Desmond have probably already found the damn Apple and are having a pint with Lucy's brother right now as we speak."

"Tessssstttttyyy!" Rebecca teased. "I like it when you get angry. Alright, let's get this party started. I'll finish setting up all the equipment, and you can do…wh-whatever it is that you do with all them books."

"Fine. And by the way, I organized, labeled, and categorized all your wires for you. You can thank me later. Wear that lacey black thing you bought this morning."

Several days later…

Water droplets trickled down the bedroom window as rained poured from the heavy rainclouds outside. Shaun was shuffling through some papers at the small desk in the bedroom while Rebecca was on the phone with an Assassin who was in London.

"Have you found out if our iformation was legit?" Shaun asked Rebecca, his voice slightly raised so that Rebecca could hear him over both the storm and the phone against her ear.

"Randall seems to think so," she shouted back. The previous day had landed the two a startling bit of information. Vidic was seen in an airport in one of London's neighboring cities. Rebecca had managed to hack security cameras in a few of the main airports in the major cities throughout Europe. She had one of those facial recognition programs, like the ones seen in cop shows, running on all the footage she collected. The scans were looking for any sign of Vidic or any of his cronies that followed him hawks. Lucy had given Rebecca the files and pictures of most of these Abstergo agents before they parted ways weeks ago.

"…do you have any idea what they might be doing there?" Rebecca asked Randall as she made her way into the bedroom. Randall was an Assassin spy, much like Lucy, and he was operating with Abstergo in London. His clearance and rank, however, was not as high as Lucy's had been, making his available information limited.

"Are you sure his line is secured?" whispered Shaun, concerned that the phone conversation could be intercepted.

"He is on a pay phone," she said to Shaun. "Thanks for the tip, Randall. You be careful out there. Can't afford to lose another of our inside guys." Rebecca's voice was grim. She hung up her cell phone, placed it on the night stand, and sat on the bed as she gazed at the storm through the display of the window.

"What did he say?" Shaun asked softly, his voice full of more concern.

Rebecca sighed as she shook her head. Her gaze drifted to her feet, then her eyes looked up to Shaun, who was now sitting at his desk. "We need to monitor Vidic's movements. Randoll confirmed his arrival near London. I'm afraid he might know about Stratford."

Shaun's mouth dropped with horror as he thought of what might happen to Lucy and Desmond if this were true. But more importantly, how would Vidic have found out?

The glow from a lightning strike filled the room as it passed through their window, and the following thunder rattled the walls of their hotel room. Someone on their side, an Assassin, had to be tipping off the Templars about their plans…

Thanks for anyone who has stuck with this story despite my lack of commitment to it. I have commitment issues. My plans are to change that character flaw, or at least put it on a leash so I can finish this story. Anyways, criticism is the best way to make things better. If something needs criticism, then by all means let me know. I don't know when the next chapter will be updated, but I've started outlining it. I'm shooting for next weekend, maybe during the week if I get lucky. Also, still working on that new story. I'm debating whether or not I will create my own main characters or continue to use our favorite foursome. Let me know what you think. The plot, however, will not follow the games at all. So be forewarned.

Thanks again for R/R!

~whyduyacare