Sorry for the delay. I had a job interview again. Yea! It is with UPS. I am so happy. Anyway, I also had to go add parts to this chapter. It was kind of short. So, on with the show!

I watched the days pass just as they always have done. Desmond went into the Animus at the same time every day, and they left him in there for hours at a time. I watched him slowly lose slight handholds on reality at times. He would act like Altair at times, then switch to Ezio. It was unnerving to say the least. I mean, I spent the majority of my time divided between the two older assassins and the younger ones. I saw all of them every day.

Finally, one day I walked into the sanctuary to be greeted by Rebecca. "We found it last night." She looked up from her monitors at me.

Well, this was not what I wanted to hear. I did not want them to find it. They were not supposed to find it. I nodded. "Where is it?" Ezio had already told me the hiding location. I wanted to hear if they were right.

"Under the coliseum. In the Temple of Juno." Lucy walked up behind me. "We are heading there in a little bit. We have to get it before Abstergo finds it out."

Well shit! This was not going good. I had to let Altair and Ezio know. We had to get to it first. "I will get my things together. When should we meet up?"

"In fifteen minutes, at the front gate." She turned and started helping Shaun break down his station.

I ran out the door like the hounds of hell were on my heels. I scaled the building and dropped into Desmond's room. He looked up when he heard my feet hit the stone. "I was wondering when you would show up."

"What the hell happened Desmond? You were supposed to throw them off track. They are going after it, and I cannot stop them. This is really bad." I paced the room. I hated to pace, but it made me feel a little better to move around.

I heard him sigh. "I had to Alanna. Everything was recorded. I tried, I really did."

Stopping my pacing, I looked at him. I had asked much from him, and gave so little back. "I'm sorry. I know you tried. We should have gone and got it when this mess started. Now, I guess the guys are heading to get it while I keep Lucy and the others busy."

"Why don't you just let us get it? None of us are going to use it. We just want to keep it away from Abstergo." He placed the last bit of his clothing in the duffel bag.

I laughed at him. "And what do you think we were doing? Altair and I were on the run from them. He never used it besides as reference. I had never touched it before that day. Ezio was protecting it from the Templars as well. He used it to get into a few places, but nothing that would harm anyone. It destroyed us, Desmond. Do you think any of us want to live forever? We cannot die, we heal incredibly fast, and poison does no good. Believe me, I tried everything to die. I have drowned myself, shot myself, hung myself, ran a dagger through my heart, and yet I have no scars. Nothing to show for the events in my life."

He just watched me, not saying a word. I glared at him. "You do not want this. Believe me when I say, I am trying to protect you guys."

"Why though? You could wash your hands clean of all this. Just leave and let us do what we are going to do. We will keep it safe. It will go back to the Assassins." He stepped towards me.

The blades on my wrist extended. I would not give up without a fight. It was not in me. I pointed one at him. "Listen to me, boy. I have been alive for too many years. I will not walk away from this. You guys will not get that damned thing as long as I take a breath. It will cause too many problems. I will not watch it destroy someone else. Not as long as I can help it."

He held up his hands. "Fine, you win. I will not let Lucy and the others know what is going on."

I slid the blades away, and pressed the talk button on my ear piece. "Hey, who's on listening duty right now?"

Altair came back. "That would be me. Where the hell are you? That crew is loading things into the van. What is going on?"

"They found the location. You and Ezio have to get to it first. I will by you some time to get there." I walked over to the window and looked over the town. I knew where he was hiding. "I am in the villa right now, by the way."

"I know, I see you. You are with the boy." He spat at the last part. For some reason, he did not like it when I talked to Desmond.

I snickered. "Oh Altair, are you jealous?"

"I have no reason to be. He is clearly not as experience as myself. Wow he was dense.

"Not many are as experienced as you, but the arrogance in your voice is overwhelming. Now, you need to get Ezio and get a move on. I am only going to be able to buy you an hour at most." I jumped up on the window ledge. I looked back at Desmond. "I will be back. Just join the others when you are finished."

He walked over and touched my arm. "Hey, be careful. I rather enjoy talking to you and Ezio. Altair, not so much. He kind of scares me a little. Don't know if he wants to kill me or ignore me."

I laughed, and then heard a growl in my ear. I didn't realize I had left the speaker on. "Get out of there now woman, before I end my line today."

"Oh calm down. We are not together, we never have. You have no reason to tell me what to do, so shut up." I smiled at Desmond. "Sorry, he is being a prick. I had better go." I jumped down to the ground and sprinted to the truck. Rebecca was handing boxes to Shaun on the inside.

"Ah, so good of you to join us once more. I thought you were leaving." Shaun took the box that he was offered and stacked it atop another.

"Sorry Shaun, you can't get rid of me that easily. I was told to protect you until you got the Apple and that is what I am going to do." I smiled at him.

"Oh goody. So, where is your team at? If you have one that is." He looked at me. There were times that I would have rather given myself a home lobotomy than talk to him.

"They're around. They are assassins. They kill from the dark. They are watching right now. Would you like me to show you?" I crossed my arms over my chest. The man grated on my nerves.

"By all means. Let's see if they are out there." He sat down on the tail of the truck.

I hit the talk button once more. "Hey Allen, you there?"

"For crying out loud. I am here and I can see you. What do you want me to do? Kill the red head? He is rather annoying."

"No, nothing like that. I need you to show them that you are around." I chuckled. At least he was not jealous. "How about throwing a knife somewhere? I think that will show him."

"I know the perfect place and it will buy us some time to get to Rome before you do."

"Proceed then." I stepped back from the truck. "Just give him a moment to get into position."

A knife flew through the air and embedded itself into the rear tire of the trunk. The tire went flat almost instantly. "You had better get me my knife back, woman."

"Asshole." I turned to Shaun. "Better? I do have a team here." With that I walked over, pulled the knife out of the tire, and slipped it into my boot.

"Oh what the hell? You are going to help change that." Shaun walked over to look at the now flat tire.

"Nope. I have other things to do. You wanted a demonstration. You got one. I have no control over where he threw it." I walked off. I could hear him calling me everything but my name, and I did not bother me. I had been called worse.

"You know, you are a bitch."

"Gee, you have known me how long and you are just now figuring this out?" I kind of chuckled. He always liked to state the obvious. I heard him laugh on the other end. I looked up at the wall and saw him running along the edge. He jumped down to the roof and into an ally. I ran over and met him.

"Give me my knife back." He held out his hand.

I was feeling a little frisky and playful. I know I shouldn't tease him, but I did anyway. I put my hands on my hips. "Get it yourself."

"Woman, do not tempt fate with me." He growled. "It has been awhile."

I rolled my eyes. Let's not go there. I have not been with someone in a while too. "You don't scare me. Get over it. Now, if you want the knife, get it yourself."

He stepped closer to me. "Give it back."

"No." I smiled. I liked playing games with him. It was kind of fun.

Before I could even take a step back, he grabbed the front of my shirt, and pushed me into the wall. My eyes widened as he glared down at me, I didn't know what he was going to do. His lips crashed down on mine with such force that I could taste the coopery flavor of blood in my mouth. I hadn't thought about what was going to happen when I started this game, and now was not the time to finish it.

He pulled back and the glare was still there. He had not let go of my shirt. "I will not play this game with you. I do not know what you want from me, but I will not let you trick me. Now, give me my knife back."

"It's in my boot." When he released me, I reached down, and took it out of my boot. "Here."

He plucked it from my hand, and placed it back where it belonged. "Thank you." He turned to leave, and that is when I lost it.

"You are an arrogant prick. I wish sometimes I had left you in that tomb all those years ago. I do not understand you sometimes. You are hot then cold as the artic. Make up your mind. You have done nothing but hurt me since you woke up. Why did I even come back?" I yelled at his back. I had been asking myself that question for a while now.

He turned around and faced me. "I do not know why you came back. It was Ezio's idea to find you. I could have cared less. You have always been a thorn in my side since you first set foot into the halls of Masyaf. The only reason I trained you was because I saw potential in you. You were nothing more than a pawn."

I stepped back from him, eyes wide. I could not believe what he had just said. His words were like physical blows to me. I held back the tears. I would not cry in front of him. "So, everything that happened between us was just for you to have release? I was just your pawn then?" My voice was low, nearly on the verge of breaking.

"Yes." His solitary word did it.

I didn't know what else to do, so I ran. Back to the house and grabbed my bag. I ignored Ezio's words, and I fled. I wanted nothing to do with either one of them. I grabbed the motorcycle that was by the truck and fired it up. The tears stayed in check for now, but I did not know how long they would stay that way. I would not cry in front of anyone.

Lucy walked up to me. "The truck is loaded and a new tire on it. Why did your man throw a knife into it?"

I looked at her. "He doesn't like Shaun. Don't worry; he will not be following us to Rome. I will go on ahead. Make sure the area is clear." I put the helmet on and raced out the gates. I did not want to stay a moment longer there. The tears ran tracks down my face as the tires of the bike ate up the miles.

I have caused more drama between Alanna and Altair. Don't worry, it won't last. Ezio will meet someone as well in the next coming chapters. Next is the climatic part of Brotherhood. I hope to hell you have played the game. If not, sorry. It will be changed a bit to serve my story, but it's my story so I stick my tongue out at you. (Smiles) Love you all for the reviews. I have been keeping track of them from my husband's phone. On to chapter 10. It will be Altair this time.