William stood there for a moment, hand over his mouth, trying to contain the liquid that was coming from his mouth still. He could hear Damien's car's tires bark once they hit the pavement, and heading for the only place that he could think of, north. He stepped out into the bitter cold, watching the snowflakes fall around, filling in the places that they had walked just a few hours before. Covering the evidence that someone had been there. Blood began to fill his mouth.
Spitting into the snow, the blood was a stark contrast to the white of the landscape, and ironically, it was the assassin colors. Red to signify the blood that they spilled and white for the innocence that they fought to protect. Grumbling to himself under his breath, he knew he had to get out of there before Abstergo showed up. They wouldn't bother to take him alive that time. No, he would just end up with a bullet in his head, and his body thrown in a ditch somewhere for winter's wild animals to feast on.
"Shit." The word sounded strange coming from his fat lip, and he knew it was only going to swell more. It was just something he was going to have to deal with for the time being. Most likely his whole lower jaw was going to be a multitude of different hues as the day wore on, but he knew he deserved what the man had done to him.
Grabbed the bag from just inside the door, and walking at a brisk pace, William threw the bag into the back of the small pickup he was currently driving. Pulling the phone from the breast pocket of his winter coat, then speed dial three. A few rings and Isabella's voicemail. 'Hey, you reached my phone. I'll get you back later.' And then the beep. Hitting the end button, he sat the phone in the cup holder, and backed down the small drive.
Since neither Desmond, nor Isabella answered, he went after the next best person. Grabbing the phone once more, he then pressed four and send. Two rings, and this time, Rebecca answered. 'Man am I glad to hear from you.' Her voice was a bit shaky and he could hear sirens in the background.
"Rebecca, what the hell is going on up there?" The route he was already planning to take was in his head, and the interstate was coming up in a few miles.
'Bill, they must have known something. Not ten minutes after I left from meeting Des and Isabella, Abstergo showed up, and now I can't find them. Shit! What the hell are we going to do?' Shaun could be heard in the background, cussing about something, but William couldn't make out exactly what he was saying.
"Take a deep breath. They must have seen them too. Possibly they got around them, or through them. Desmond has lived through the lives of three of his ancestors. I'm pretty sure he will know what to do." At least that was his hope.
Then Rebecca hit him with a bombshell. 'Bill, he's not quite right in the head anymore. When I was talking to him about Jack, he kind of spaced out, and ran like something was chasing him. It's like he was a damn robot. I think the bleeding's gotten worse.'
William sucked in a deep breath. That was something he never wanted to hear. "Are you sure? Do you think he might do that against Abstergo's men?"
'I don't know. I really don't. I mean, he could be fine, but then again he might just go into a blind panic. We don't know him anymore, and that's what has Shaun and I worried the most. He may have Isabella, but even she might not be enough to snap him out of it if he goes too deep.'
Trying to calm his fears over what could happen, he took a few deep breaths, and thought. "Call Damien. Find out where he's heading. Tori and Seth are with him, and they're your best bet for helping out."
'Why don't you just ask him? Isn't he with you?'
Turning onto the interstate, he made a small modification to his route. "No, and I doubt we'll ever talk again. Just do that, and call me back when you know something."
'Will do, and Bill, good luck.'
"You too." And he disconnected the call. Hopefully they got ahold of the man, and figured out where he was heading. Because if he was heading north, then William was going to head south. He knew Sarah could handle herself, but with Collin being his grandson, he wasn't going to take any chances.
*/*/*/*/*/*/*
They ditched the car near the Canadian/Michigan border and continued on foot. Seth pulled the straps of his bag a bit tighter, and trudged through the snow that had been falling steadily for the last few hours. His father had been determined to make it to Montreal that day, and no matter of trying to talk sense into him was going to change his mind. So, he went right alone with the madness, and trying to keep them both alive.
Tori, at least, had some sense, and told them to drop her off in Fort Wayne. From there she was going to try and make her way south, and check on his mother, and nephew. His father was grateful, and gave her the name of a friend that could help her get a car or something.
"Dad, we can't make it there on foot. We're both wet, cold, and if we stay out here much longer, hyperthermia is going to set in." Shivering from a strong wind gust, Seth pulled the collar of his jacket up higher.
Damien looked over his shoulder. "It shouldn't be much farther now." And then back to the white expanse in front of them.
"We're out in the middle of the woods! There's nothing out here." He knew he should trust his dad normally, but since leaving the safe house in Indiana several hours before, the man had been like a raging bull. Nothing was going to deter him from his goal, and right now, that could get them killed. The snow was coming down and covering their tracks. It clung to him, coating his black jacket with a dusting of white.
"I brought you up here years ago for field training. Your mother's ex brother-in-law owns this land." His father called over his shoulder.
"You mean Aunt Michelle's husband?" His father's dark head nodded. "Does he still live up here?"
A shrug, and an answer. "No one's really heard from him since she was killed. Blamed me, and I never deterred him from that belief. I was partly my fault. If I hadn't loaned her my car that day, they would still be alive. Bill should have told me, but that's in the past. I will never forgive him for withholding knowledge, just like I doubt Steve is going to forgive me."
Seth looked down at his feet. So many mistakes had been made on so many peoples' parts that had gotten a few people killed, and changed his family forever. Dante would have been eighteen now, and about to go out on his own. Or maybe would have followed in the family legacy. Either way the past couldn't be changed.
"Dad," he sighed and caught up to his father, "what happens if Uncle Steve decides to not help. Where's that going to leave us?"
Damien looked at him, and in his father's eyes he could see years of regret, and slight fear. "I don't know, son, I just don't know."
*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*
Isabella was getting really tired of trying to dodge Abstergo for the last several hours. Her and Desmond had tried to go back to the car, but with the parking lot full of agents, and now the police were in on their capture, there was no way they could even be on the street.
"Told you we shouldn't have listened to my dad. I wanted to stay back at your parents' place, but no, you had to come up here. Feeling a bit stupid yet?" Desmond growled as they hunkered in a drainage pipe that ran under the freeway.
She sneered at him. "Oh would you come off it. I told you I fucked up, but you're not going to just let it go. Damn, you're such a whiny ass sometimes." His constant badgering was really starting to grate on her nerves, and if she didn't love him so damn much, she would have left him behind.
"I'm the whiny ass?" He about roared. "Let's think about this, shall we? I was the one that was fried by Juno, captured not once, but twice by the same men that have been hunting us, and you decide to take us into Templar occupied territory! I think I have a reason to whine about your stupid choice of actions."
Flinching at his tone, she pulled her jacket around her tighter. "Look, I'm sorry, alright? I made a bad call, and now we're both paying for it."
"And since we can't get to any type of electricity, we can't even charge the phone to call for help. I swear, I think you're the cursed one." Desmond grumbled as he looked out at the falling snow.
She stayed quiet, because she knew there was nothing she could say that was going to fix it. He was pissed, and frankly had every right to be. For once, she wasn't going to be able to smooth this over with just talking. Action was going to be the only thing that got them out of where they were.
Canada was somewhere she was not completely familiar with. Spending the majority of her life in the southern states, she was not prepared for the bitterness that they now faced. Her body shook from the chill that was beginning to overtake her, and her toes were beginning to lose feeling. Knowing that they had to get out of the elements, and to somewhere warm, but Isabella was completely and utterly lost.
She could feel Desmond's eyes on her as she looked out at the wide expanse of white that lay beyond them, the sound of the cars running above them, and the call of the winter birds all around. "Maybe I am the cursed one." Her voice was low, just above a whisper, but it echoed off the steel pipe and around the two of them. Everything she touched seemed to turn to shit anyway. Why not the rest of her life?
Closing her eyes, Isabella felt the tears she had been holding in come forward, threatening to freeze to her cheeks in the bitter cold. She shouldn't have done this. Should have stayed at home with her son, and mother and Desmond. Her nerve was gone, and now, she was completely lost.
Her crying must have gotten Desmond's attention, because she heard the rustling of his jacket, then felt his arms go around her. "Hey, hey, it's going to be alright. We're going to get out of this. We always do." His voice was gentle, but it did nothing to calm her fears.
"And if we don't? What happens then?" Her sobs grew until her shoulders began to heave.
"I don't know, Izzy. I don't have all the answers anymore." He laid his cheek on the top of her head, and just held her.
*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*
Shaun paced the small room they were held up in, making ruts in the ugly maroon carpet. Teams were dropping off the face of the Earth in rapid secession, and it was as if someone was feeding the Templars information, but who? That's what he and Rebecca were trying to figure out.
"Alright, let's go over this again. There's only a few people that knew where all those people were at one time, and only eight people knew about where Des and Isabella were going." Rebecca sat on the bed, her blue eyes watching his every movement. "Nothing adds up, Shaun, and I mean nothing. There's no way Isabella's own brother and father would turn on her, Bill's not that big of an ass to turn his only son over. Jack's too terrified of both sides to actually tattle, but he didn't know until they were already up here."
Stopping he looked over at her. "What about Tori? I don't know a damn thing really about her except what you've told me, and you even said you don't know much."
The computer tech shook her head. "I've known Tori since we were kids. She may be an unfeeling robot, but she won't defect. That I'm sure of. Unless someone's been listening in on our conversations, I'm really at a loss."
Everything was riding on what they knew, and getting the hell out of there. "Rebecca, there has to be something we're missing. Something that we're overlooking. How did they find us at the Grand Temple?"
Grabbing her laptop, she flipped it open and began to skim the files that they had on Abstergo in general. All the information that Jack managed to smuggle to them. He had been over them as well. Nothing stood out. Nothing about this whole thing made sense, but if there was anyone that could find something lost in the lines of code, it would be Rebecca.
She stared intently at the screen, its light highlighting her face as she looked at file after file. Normally he was the one that could find a missing piece to a puzzle. Like when he found out about the Templars actually being Abstergo, but this time, he just couldn't find what they were looking for.
"I might have found something." Her eyes met his and she moved over just a bit for him to join her on the bed behind the computer. "Here." And she pointed to what she was talking about. "They found us not a half hour after we left. A half hour when we had been there for a few weeks."
"Yes Rebecca, I know that one, but we need to figure out who's telling them things. Who's their inside person? If we know that, then we can stop this madness and maybe get ahead for once." A sigh passed his lips. Removing his glasses, Shaun rubbed his tired eyes, trying to get the grot out of them, and make it just a little bit longer before sleep took him. "Bloody hell, I wish something would just pop out, and for once, hit us like a cricket bat."
Her head turned towards him, her nose scrunched up in some weird fashion. "Well it can hit you, but I would prefer to not to be whacked."
Rolling his eyes heavenward. "Figuratively, Rebecca. But if getting hit by one got us the answers we need, I would gladly take one for the team." A headache was forming in the back of his head, and honestly, a crack from that bat was looking more and more inviting, just so he could slip into the sweet oblivion of slumber, and forget this nightmare. If only for a few hours.
The woman's lips twisted up in a smirk. "Jeeze, you are so easy to get a rise out of! Chill! Get some sleep, and I'll try to figure out what I can. If I find anything of importance I'll wake your ass up."
Sleep, ah sleep. So giving a nod because he was just too tire to argue, he removed himself from her bed and fell onto his, and was out before he could even cover himself up.
So now we have another double agent, a broken friendship and everyone scattered to the winds. Sorry about not updating sooner. I have been in the middle to trying to move, and getting everything taken care of before that can be done. I just haven't had the time to sit down and get this finished. Thank you to everyone that's been leaving reviews.