Chapter Six: Facies et Voces

"My name is Vito Dinapoli." The Assassin, speaking in such a heavy Italian accent that his English was near impossible to understand, pressed his left hand to his chest in a familiar gesture. "I will drive you to the new safe house."

Desmond was grinning ridiculously as he and Shaun led the Assassin back towards the van and it didn't take long for Shaun to both notice and then scowl.

It didn't take long for them to arrive at the new safe house, which was a giant seemingly abandoned warehouse in a rather shady looking part of the city. They all filed out of the van, Desmond and Shaun sticking around to help Rebecca with the Animus and boxes while Melissa and Vito escorted Lucy inside.

"Hot." Desmond immediately told Rebecca. "He is fucking hot."

Rebecca laughed while Shaun rolled his eyes.

"Aw and you got Melissa's hopes up!"

"She's hot too."

"She's really hot." Shaun added.

"Hey!" Rebecca elbowed the redhead. "And what am I?"

"You're..." Shaun waved his hand at her. "You're Rebecca."

"Right." She grabbed a box and started towards the entrance. "You two can get the Animus."

"Touchy." Shaun scoffed as he and Desmond wrestled with the machine. "By the way, Desmond, Vito is married."

"Great." Desmond laughed, trying to hide his disappointment. "I wasn't going to..."

"Uh-huh."

"I wasn't! I have way more important things to do than chase guys!"

"Um..."

They both turned their heads at the new voice and Desmond nearly dropped the Animus upon seeing Vito.

"They said you would need help."

"All the boxes." Shaun shifted the Animus's weight in his hands, glaring at Desmond.

Vito quietly got into the truck while the two carried the heavy machine into the large warehouse.

"Where should we set it?" Desmond called to Rebecca who was conversing with a man and woman.

"Oh, there's a room upstairs." Rebecca informed them.

They set the Animus down.

"Here works, right, Rebecca?" Shaun strutted out of the building while Rebecca scowled after him.

"You must be Desmond Miles." The man beside Rebecca approached him. "I'm Sergio and this is my wife, Elena."

"A pleasure to meet you." Elena shook his hand. "And welcome. Normally, it'd look a little more homey, but considering the sudden uprooting and all."

"It's great." Desmond eyed the spacious room. "Better than some of the places I've had to spend the night in before."

"You look a lot like your mother." Sergio commented. "Oh, well, and your dad, but more like your mom."

Desmond nodded. "Yeah. That's actually a compliment."

They shared an awkward laugh.

"So a change of clothes for Desmond." Rebecca turned to Elena. "Please. He had this brilliant idea of going up the ventilation shaft of Abstergo Industries and now he's coming out smelling like...I don't even know what."

"Tetanus shot." Sergio immediately sprang into gear while Elena started off on her own. "You need a Tetanus shot and I'm giving you some antibiotics now."

"I'll be fine..."

"No. No." Sergio shook his head fervently as he pulled out a medical kit from a box. "Believe me. No. You have no idea what kind of bizarre mutated diseases live in ventilation shafts. Here."

"Aw, really?"

The look Sergio gave him was enough for Desmond to remove his sweatshirt and hold out his arm.

"Ow."

"Baby." Shaun set down a box. "Oh, Rebecca. Those boxes aren't going to unload themselves."

"You're a big strong guy." Rebecca grinned at his scowl. "I'm sure you can handle a few loads."

"Well, I have loads I'd love to call you, but it won't get me anywhere." Shaun left the warehouse again.

"And you shouldn't go spelunking into any ventilation shafts any time soon." Sergio encouraged. "Not the best approach...ever."

"Noted."

"Here you go." Elena held out a pile of clothes and Desmond reached for them only to pause upon seeing his bloody and dirty hands. "Good point. Bathroom is this way. It has a shower."

"Thanks."

He really wanted a shower. It had been a couple of days since the last time he'd had one and the trip through the air ducts had only increased his desire for one.

Elena left the clothes on the counter of the tiny bathroom and Desmond locked the door after her.

Looking in the mirror, he frowned at the sight of his blood-covered skin. He looked like a hobo who'd just murdered some civilian.

With a sigh, he started up the water.

"Much better!" Sergio gave Desmond a hug upon his return. "We've prepared a dinner and would like you to meet the team you'll be working with until this lovely adventure is over. Shall we?"

"Lead the way."

He was taken into a smaller storage room which had been set up with folding chairs and card tables.

"You've met Vito." Sergio pointed out the Assassin. "And this Natasha. She's from Russia and is a descendant of the great Assassin, Nikolai Orelov. And over there is Bruno and Antonio. They're twins."

"Nice to meet you." Desmond pressed his left hand to his chest in a custom he'd grown used to over the years.

"Your finger." Natasha gasped in disbelief. "What...why?"

Desmond looked at his hand and smiled. "Yeah. Long story short, Altair only had one hidden blade available for me to use and it required a sacrifice so..."

Six eyes rested on him in disbelief.

"So it is true?" Sergio was the first to breathe out a response. "You really did time-travel?"

"Oh, you know." Desmond sighed, relieved. "Good. I don't have to explain it, so when do we start?"

"Sleep first, Desmond." Shaun ordered. "We are going to eat and then we are going to sleep. Then we can get started on work. Got it?"

Desmond's annoyance showed through, but he didn't press the topic.

"As soon as we can, we need to get started." Desmond insisted. "We've wasted enough time as it is."

"Right." Sergio guided Desmond to a table. "So eat and then sleep and we'll get straight to it as soon as you are awake. Shaun. We need to discuss the issue of Lucy. Follow me. Oh, and Rebecca, Melissa, you two had better come too."

The four left the room and Desmond glanced over at the five Assassins still in the room with him.

With a smile at them, he began to eat, hoping they wouldn't bother him. He wanted to get his necessities out of the way and focus on his mission. Partially because of its importance, but there was another part of him who just wanted to get back to the familiarity of other people's company rather than this awkward uncertainty he instead had with those around him in the modern age.

Hey! Another chapter. Decided to post two since I won't be writing the next two days. I hope you like! :D