XxXxXx

1191

Badoura slowed as she reached Masyaf's gates, instincts screaming at her. Even the air seemed wrong. It felt tense, like the moment before a snake would strike.

She slid off Katane a good ways away from the gate, hiding her distinctive golden horse behind the rock outcroppings that over looked the lake. Then she scrambled up the rocks, something she hadn't done since she and Malik and Altair were children, always off exploring. This had been one of the ways they had used going to and from the fortress without being noticed.

As she approached the gate she suddenly realized that she couldn't see any assassin guards. Come to think of it, she didn't remember seeing any by the old look out tower, by the valley entrance where there were normally a dozen or so guards. She had been in such a rush…

She dropped down onto a rooftop and leaped lightly down into the heavily shaded area that was normally quite popular, filled with civilians and assassin alike sharing gossip or just plain enjoying the relief from the harsh Syrian sun. Now, however it was deserted. In fact, the whole village seemed deserted.

A shiver ran up and down Badoura's spine. The last time she had seen the town so empty and cold like this was when Al Mualim had put everyone under the spell of the Piece of Eden. She hadn't been caught under the same spell for some reason but vividly remembered running down the empty streets.

Even though there wasn't a soul in sight, she stayed hidden, moving like a ghost through the streets, ducking behind crates and baskets and slipping around corners.

Slowly she made her way up the winding streets. She was almost to the square when she stopped; her senses, heightened by her anxiety, caught the slightest sound, saw a whisper of movement. She peered around the crate she was crouched behind and nearly cried out

Several people hung from a hastily constructed gallows, their still bodies swinging slightly. Two of them caught her attention and she crept forward hesitantly, praying that they weren't who she thought they were…

"No…oh, you didn't deserve this fate, neither of you." She moaned, identifying the two men as Sayid and Djmal, "I don't understand; why is this happening? The attack hasn't happened yet…but the killing has already begun! This makes no sense! No assassin would allow a brother to be hung publicly like this, especially in our own home! Who would do this?"

But the bodies had no answer for her. She turned away, unable to look at the morbid sight any longer. Suddenly, she caught a flutter of movement out of the corner of her eye. Turning she saw a piece of paper pinned to the center pole by a dagger…a very familiar ornate dagger.

Her heart sank a little as she pulled both dagger and letter off the pole. It was the letter she had left pinned by the same dagger to Kamal's door when she and Altair had left for Acre.

Her sinking heart froze then, nearly seizing as realization set in. There was only one reason why this letter would be here, at a public hanging involving two assassins, why the city was left unguarded and why there were no signs of her brothers. It all fit so perfectly now. Why she hadn't really seen it, why not even Malik or Altair had seen it before, amazed her.

Kamal had indeed betrayed them.

Badoura's knuckles turned white as she clenched her hands at her sides, her lips pressed into a thin tight line as she continued on, moving even faster, not bothering to stay hidden any more. She was determined that her home wouldn't fall, not to Kamal and not to that army. She would do everything in her power to prevent that. She just hoped that Malik and Altair would arrive as spectacularly as last time to help save them all.

The gates to the fortress were shut, unsurprisingly, but she couldn't see anyone manning the walls. That unnerved her even more than the hangings; there was always someone on the walls.

Taking a deep breath to quell her anxiety, she took a running start and leaped gracefully onto the wall, her nimble fingers finding every crack, every uneven surface as she quickly scaled the massive walls. She rolled over the top of the wall, careful to keep down below the balustrade in case there was anyone below, and slipped into the tower. She felt like an intruder, breaking into her own home, a feeling she didn't really enjoy.

She perched on the edge of the tower's second story, peering down over the ladder for any sign of life when a hand came out of the shadows and suddenly covered her mouth.

XxXxXx

2012

"I'm going to die." Gerson said frankly, "This mission is going to kill me. I'm so going to die."

"Would you chill out already?" Desmond said impatiently, "We're not going to die…hopefully."

"Reassuring." Gerson deadpanned, "I can't believe we're doing this."

"That's what you get for telling me to listen to Altair." Desmond grinned.

Gerson grumbled something under his breath, something about insane assassins, but Desmond ignored him, too busy going over the final details of his plan.

"You ready?" He asked Gerson after a moment.

"Why even ask that? We're going to go even if I say no."

Desmond rolled his eyes and began to move off.

"We are so going to die."

Aaaaaaa

"I thought you were going over the scrolls." Lucy said.

"I was but my eyes were starting to bleed." Sura said, "So, instead, I decided to pull in some favors and speed things up a bit."

"Oh?"

"Well, as you know, I still have some family here in Syria." Sura said, leaning back, "And, as you also know, my darling ancestor kept journals that have been passed down for generations…all of us assassins. Well, my parents have them now and I called them up and had them look through them. All I had to do was tell them that Templars were planning something and Badoura had information we needed to stop them. Hating Templars apparently was also passed down through the family."

"Long story short?"

"Long story short, I found out something very interesting." Sura grinned, "For starters, there is absolutely nothing on Mt. Legam. So, that means…"

"They're digging in the wrong place!" both girls said at the same time excitedly.

"Yup! Secondly, Gerson didn't really dig as deep into that email as he normally does. That email was sent to none other than Warren Vidic."

"Damn. Just what we need." Lucy huffed, "An egotistical jerk lording over this whole project."

"Is he really that bad?" Sura asked, "I mean, you and Desmond go on and on about this guy but from what I hear all he does is sit on his ass all day with his cup of coffee and yell at people."

"You have to know Warren Vidic to understand this; Desmond and I humiliated him." Lucy said, leaning back on the table, crossing her arms, "He is, or maybe even was, a highly respected doctor amongst the company, amongst the Templars, and somehow he was utterly duped by an assassin spy and an assassin deserter decades younger than him and, in his opinion, nowhere near as smart. All his hard work was for nothing. Suddenly we show up in the last place he has to find something to redeem himself with. He's not going to just shoot us full of bullets…we are going to suffer for every moment we've ever caused them grief."

"We'll be suffering for years then." Sura said wryly.

"True, but I think he's main beef is going to be with Desmond." Lucy said, "He's always had it in for Desmond. Why I don't know but if Vidic catches Desmond, he's going to make him watch every second while they desecrate that grave."

"That's just a teeny bit sadistic." Sura said, an odd look on her face.

"He'll do it to you and Gerson too." Lucy said glumly, "He always said that if Altair and Desmond failed to give anything, he would move on first to you and Badoura then to Gerson and Malik. I think that little rift between Malik and Altair bumped Badoura up to second."

"Testosterone is brain damage." Sura grumbled to herself.

"They weren't the only ones who suffered from it." Lucy said, "hey, one of the guys has a cell phone with them, right?"

"Gerson should…if he remembered to charge the damn thing." Sura said, "Worries more about the computer and his 'princess' than the cell phone…why?"

"Call him. Tell him what you just told me and that they don't need to worry about the Templars finding anything." Lucy said, "Also, ask your parents if they can dig more info up for us. Tell them exactly what's going on if you have to."

"Probably won't have to but I'm on it." Sura said, pulling out her phone.

However, as the musical key tones beeped out Gerson's number, Sura forgot several slightly important things; one, Gerson wasn't nearly as fond of his cell phone as he was with all his other electronic devices and therefore didn't pay much attention to it. Two, since she was usually the only person to ever call him, and not very often at that, he rarely remembered to turn the ringer off. Three, if he didn't remember to turn the ringer off and they were supposed to be watching a group of Templars; the noise just might give away their position. And lastly, the guys, being guys, might have gotten bored and drifted closer for a better look.

She had no way of knowing just how loud that cell phone sounded when it echoed off the mountain sides.

XxXxXx

1191

Badoura instinctively bit down on the hand, drawing a pained grunt from her assailant, but before she could slip away a strong arm wrapped around her and pulled her against a rather solid body. She started to kick and thrash but a familiar voice hissed harshly in her ear.

"Calm down, woman, I'm not here to capture you."

Her eyes widened and she quit struggling. She was released and she spun around to Karim doubled over and wheezing, trying to catch his breath after getting kicked repeatedly in the stomach.

"Karim! You scared me half to death! I almost stabbed you." She whispered back apologetically,

"I'm grateful that you refrained from doing so." he said dryly.

"Where is everyone? What's going on?"

"Hiding, most likely, if they're smart." Karim said sourly, rising to his feet, "Most of our brothers have been locked up inside the fortress until they prove their loyalty to that tyrant, Kamal. Me and several others managed to slip away. We were waiting for you and Altair to return."

"Karim, listen to me; we are in serious danger." Badoura said, "There is an army marching towards Masyaf as we speak."

"I know."

"Excuse me?"

"I know. Kamal sent for them. He's made an alliance with someone; I'm guessing a Crusader since no army under Salah al-din will march against us. Wait…where's Altair?"

"He's still in Acre. I'm came back to warn everyone while he gets more information. I don't know when he's going to get back. Karim, he's still injured…I don't think he'll be able to pull off another amazing rescue like he did last time we were in trouble."

"So we're on our own?"

"For now, yes." Badoura said, her eyes hardening, "you mentioned some other escaped with you…who?"

Aaaaaaa

Malik ground his teeth as he, Dabih and Ahsan flew to Masyaf, as fast as their horses could go. Every stride he cursed at the distance between the two cities, wishing for a shortcut to just open up in front of them, taking them directly to Masyaf's gates.

He had long ago quite checking the map, mostly because Dabih had discreetly taken possession of it seeing as it was in danger of being ripped apart, but also because it made him grind his teeth harder, giving him a massive headache.

They blew through a small village, scaring civilians and nearly (deliberately) running over a small patrol of soldiers. The ensuing screams and curses in English and Arabic were worth it though and it helped ease the tension somewhat.

"Didn't that village mark the halfway point between Jerusalem and Masyaf?" Ahsan asked, glancing backwards.

"I think so." Dabih said, "Don't say anything to Malik just yet. We only have the one map."

XxXxXx

A/N: Lol, I had a little Indian Jones moment there with the "They're digging in the wrong place!" bit (anyone who's seen "Raiders of the Lost Ark" will know what I'm talking about).

Evil mid (or late) terms... they give me writer's block as, while I'm trying to write about what will happen to my sexy assassins (namely Altair…) my brain is suddenly filled with the chemical composition of different volcanic eruptions (geology), the similarities and differences between the Constitution and the Articles of Confederation (US history), the correct mixture of yellow ochre, ultra marine blue, cadmium red medium and white to create the perfect skin tone (painting 1) and the correct way to highlight a text page in order to effectively take notes (I kid you not. College orientation class, mandatory as of this fall…I hate that class with an utter passion as it is a waste of time, money, energy and effort.) Plus the projects. So what time does this leave me? NONE! AHHH!!

Anyway, (sorry, ignore the rants above) I finally got this one done. A little short for my taste but I'm trying to build a climax before everything starts to explode. Enjoy!

BTW, on a more random note, I'm not so sure I like the new layout on fanfic…I think I liked the old one better. : (

-Vanillathunder215