Hello again! I know I took quite a long time to post a new chapter, but that's what most authors are like.
"Where do you think you're going, Jacob?" asked Evie firmly.
"Somewhere important, Evie. Now, give me my gauntlet," Jacob admired himself in the outfit Henry had procured for him. It suited him better than the last one, he would say.
"You're unfit for roaming around London, Jacob. Did you not listen to Miss Nightingale's advice?"
"Well, look here, Sister. I can walk around just fine now," answered Jacob indignantly. He jumped around for effect.
"Stay in the train, Jacob Frye. You are not to be anywhere else until you have fully recovered," insisted Evie.
Henry walked into their car, holding a letter. "Miss Frye, I…" he began to say.
Seeing his sister distracted, he seized the opportunity to jump off the train. Evie looked out the train in alarm, but her brother was nowhere to be seen.
"I'm so sorry, Miss Frye. Am I interrupting something?" Henry looked dumbfounded.
"Mr Green, your intervention has caused Jacob to run away," Evie did not plan for her voice to be so spiteful.
"I'm so sorry, Miss Frye, I…" Henry had nothing to say.
"It's okay, Mr Green. You didn't have a grasp of the situation," Evie sighed.
"But I'm sure Mr Frye will avoid the Templars or the Blighters for his own safety. He is not as irrational as you think," reassured Henry.
"I've confiscated his gauntlet until he recovers,"
"But I believe he still has a kukri and a revolver with him,"
"I sure wish that Aleck figures out how to make his 'telephones' mobile one day, then I'd be able to track Jacob down easily the next time he runs away like that,"
"That would behoove us in the field of communication, Miss Frye. But look at this letter that just arrived," Henry held the letter out.
Evie took the letter and read it.
'Aha, there it is,' thought Jacob Frye as he scoured the area from the top of a building. He performed a leap of faith, diving into a haystack. It hurt his wounds, but not excessively. Jumping out, he cleaned himself of the stray straws of hay clinging onto his clothes. He then made his way to his destination, a graveyard.
The graveyard was not grand; it was nearby the slums. The dead dwellers of the slums were usually buried there. They were mostly children, since the living quarters were very cramped and adults usually crushed them or trampled them unintentionally in their sleep. Jacob had no business here, he knew, but he must visit the three Rooks who secured his life in exchange for theirs.
Countless graves were unmarked, but Jacob made sure all of his fallen Rooks had marked gravestones. He would have given them a better place to rest in, but money was tight these times.
Jacob stopped in front of a grave with 'In Memory of Jack, Veronica and Sam' carved on its headstone. They were three brave young people. They died defending what was most important to them – their boss. Jacob knew George would have been chastising him for crying then and there, but his rules be damned. He was going to cry for the people who saved his life.
"Damn me for making irrational decisions…" he bowed to his three former comrades.
"All right, Rooks, who wants to go with me and tear the Blighters' flag down in Westminster?" proclaimed Jacob, downing his mug of beer. It was a typical evening that Jacob would spend with some of his Rooks.
The three Rooks who were with him passed looks among each other.
"Look, boss, don't'cha think that Westminster has a bunch of much stronger lads?" Sam was cautious.
"All the more reason for us to take them down," replied Veronica.
"We know you're a bricky girl, Veronica. But I stand with Sam on this one," said Jack. He was a Brute, but that did not essentially mean he did not have the brains to gauge the danger it would put them in.
"Westminster is pretty dangerous, I'd say, given how advanced their weapons are," added Sam.
"Where are you lads' adventurous spirits? Look at Veronica here, she's got more balls than you do," challenged Jacob.
"But, boss, it's not like-" Sam was saying.
"Listen 'ere, you two, I'm following Mr Frye no matter what you say!" Veronica was indignant.
"Damn it, Sam, we can't just leave Veronica with the Blighters by herself," whispered Jack to Sam.
"I know that! Seems like we have no choice in this if she's this stubborn," responded the latter, defeated.
The three were close-knitted friends ever since childhood. They survived together in the slums, and promised each other that they would never ever leave each other. They were initially Blighters, working under Rexford Kaylock in Whitechapel. When Kaylock died in the twin Assassins' hands, they were ready to die. That was, until Jacob offered them a chance to join the Rooks. Join the Rooks they did, and they learned one quality the twins had but Kaylock did not, which was kindness towards one's people. Kaylock worked the Blighters to their limits, offering minimum wage and would never spend time with his gang. He thought the Blighters were hooligans and their statuses would never match his.
Thus, the four traveled to Westminster via carriage to start a fight with the stronger, better equipped Blighters. The fight was futile. The Rooks were severely outnumbered. They barely survived the first wave, and Blighter reinforcements were already on their way.
Sam has collapsed, wounds riddling his body. Veronica knelt beside his body, looking into his already faded eyes. "Oh, Sam, what's wrong? Please, oh, please, wake up," she began to cry. "It's entirely my fault for wanting to be here,"
Jack knelt as well, closing Sam's unseeing eyes. He dried his remaining friend's tears. "Get up, Veronica. We'll have to leave before the rest of the Blighters come,"
Jacob, who has already suffered some gunshot wounds and knife slashes, noticed that it was too late for all three of them to escape, given their stamina. They would all die at that point. "Alright, listen up, the both of you. I want you two to run as fast as you can when I divert their attention. Can you do that?"
"What are you saying, Boss? You serve a more important purpose than the both of us combined. People like Veronica and I can be replaced by other Rooks. You can't simply be replaced like that," protested Jack.
"If one of us is going to live, it's going to be you, Mr Frye! If it were me or Jack who survived, we can't free London like you can! Besides, we couldn't live on without Sam,"
Jack shoved Jacob away. "Just go, Boss, and don't look back. I know it's painful, but it's either you or us. And we've decided that it should be you,"
Jacob shook his head. "No! I refuse to let this happen!"
"Just go, Mr Frye! You can conquer Westminster another day, and all three of us are very grateful you decided to spare us and take us under your wing," said Veronica before the first of the Blighters shot her fatally.
Jack fought the Blighters back, refusing to let them approach Jacob. Hurt, horrified and exhausted as he was, he could not do anything save for escaping the area.
When Jacob returned to the train, he wondered who recovered the Rooks' bodies and buried them. He learned of their final resting place through the other Rooks. Surprisingly, the Rooks did not blame their gang leader for performing such a grave mistake. Jacob expected most of them to view Jacob as an irresponsible leader, as a leader's job were to keep his subjects safe. They merely shrugged it off and said it was just a mistake in judgment. 'They must have seen worse things,' Jacob had thought.
Still, Jacob was still regretting the fact that he did not listen to Jack and Sam, given their predictions came true. What could he say when what has happened has happened? The milk has already been spilt. Veronica, Sam and Jack were dead, Jacob himself was severely injured and went into a coma for four days, and his gauntlet was still nowhere to be seen.
"Hey, Jacob Frye," said a voice. It brought Jacob back to reality.
He looked up to see Ned Wynert standing there. "Yes, what is it, Mr Wynert?"
"You gave your sister quite a shock, you know that?"
Jacob looked around, only to realize his sister's absence. "Well, I have my own reasons to go out today,"
"And it sent her outside, looking for her injured brother. You're not fit to go outside yet, Jacob." Ned patted the Assassin's shoulder.
"What should I do, then?"
"Stay in this train, that's what you can do. Actually, it's the only thing you are allowed do," suggested Ned.
'That reckless Jacob, where does he find himself now?' thought Evie as she jumped from roof to roof, in hopes of spotting Jacob from her vantage point. She has already gone to his favourite bars, and even visited Aleck. All that effort to no avail.
Henry's letter was from Constable Frederick Abberline. There was apparently an 'unsolvable' crime that occurred recently. He was hoping for the twins to try their hand in cracking the case.
It was highly illogical for Jacob to be there as he has already left the train when she read the letter. However, she did visit the police department for safety measures, only to learn that the constable was out at the moment because he had to visit a colleague of his.
It would also be obvious that Jacob would not be in high places as he was not wearing his gauntlet.
Another possible location hit Evie. 'Don't you dare go look for Robert Topping when your wounds have barely healed.' she thought, furious.
She headed to the nearest fight club.
"Well, what is it that I can do in this train here, other than to sleep? It's too early to be sleeping, anyways," lamented Jacob as he sunk into the sofa.
A brilliant idea struck him then. "Ah, I might as well be looking for my gauntlet,"
He casually walked into Evie's car. He opened her drawers, finding only books, as expected. He dug deeper. A particularly thick book caught his attention. Not that he liked books, thick ones, especially; a kind of scent emanated from that book.
"Doesn't this belong to Greenie's shop?" mused Jacob. He opened the herbarium, revealing a variety of pressed flowers and its labels. 'Narcissus – Self love. Hydrangea – Thankfulness…'
He flipped through a few more pages before closing it. He thought about how quickly Evie collected them. What had caused her to collect them in such fervour. Jacob had only one answer to explain that. He replaced the book exactly as Evie had left it; Assassins' trained eyes were really good at spotting minor changes to their surroundings. Jacob had totally forgotten about the gauntlet, a new goal in his mind. When he was positive that Ned was not watching him, he slipped off the train at the next station.
Evie had searched everywhere for her brother, but to no avail. The urchins weren't of much help, either. She decided to visit Henry's antique shop.
The doorbell chimed. Looking up from his work, Henry greeted his visitor.
"Welcome- Oh, hello, Miss Frye, any luck in finding Mr Frye? I apologize once more for what had happened just now,"
"Hello, Mr Green. No, I couldn't find him anywhere. Don't blame yourself,"
"You have checked every place Jacob frequented?"
"Believe me, I went to every single one of them, and all of them said they have not seen him for days," Evie's face betrayed the worry.
Looking at Evie's face for an appropriate amount of time, Henry's features softened. "It must be great, having siblings,"
Evie was stunned by the sudden statement. "What do you mean?"
"I don't have any siblings back in India. Yes, I was showered with love and attention by my parents, but it was sort of lonely, having no one of the same age to play with me. Besides, my parents were not always available, too," reminisced Henry.
"You've seen what Jacob is doing to me," protested Evie.
"Yes, I have, but are you two not going to reminisce about this many years later and have a good laugh about it?"
"Well, that may be true…"
"Do not underestimate all the memories you share with loved ones, Miss Frye. When the late Mr Ethan Frye came to train me, he talked only about your late mother, never about you two. Curious, I asked him about you two, but he could not muster anything. I convinced him to look past his loathing towards you two, and requested for him to return, so that you could have a chance to create memories together," said Henry.
"That was the reason he returned?"
"Partly, yes, and he also believed you two were ready to begin your Assassin training. Through our correspondence, I learned much of your life. That was the moment I realized, having siblings is truly a blessing," concluded Henry.
"Oh, Henry, I did not know that," said Evie.
"Enough stories for now, Miss Frye. Since you have already searched everywhere for Mr Frye, I believe the only logical place he could be after this span of time would be none other than the train," deduced Henry.
"I see. Thank you, Mr Green. The conversation we had was much enlightening," said Evie before leaving the shop.
On her way back to the train, she thought about the recent conversation with Henry. She learned something new about him, and that was a start. If his deductions were true, though, she wondered what she would say to Jacob.
Evie leaped into the train with perfect timing. She walked slowly to Jacob's car, gathering her thoughts. There he was, dozing off in his sofa, top hat obscuring his face. He was mumbling something incoherent in his sleep.
"Wake up, Jacob Frye! I demand to know your whereabouts up till now," Evie raised her voice.
Jacob woke up with a start. "Whoa, calm down, Sister,"
"Do you even know where I have been to look for you, you numbskull?"
"Come on, Evie, I'm sure you know that I haven't been drinking nor fighting. I merely went out for some fresh air, is all. Did you know how confining it is in this train?"
"Even so, do you know what could've happened to you? You are still an injured man, Jacob," argued Evie.
"Are you underestimating me, Evie?" asked Jacob.
"Yes, I am. Now tell me exactly where you've been." Impatience seeped into the female Assassin.
"If you demand answers, then here they are. Look at my hands, they're empty, right?" Jacob proffered his hands. With a count to three and a snap of his fingers, a bouquet of flowers appeared in his previously empty hands.
"What are you trying to say, Jacob," asked Evie, eyeing the flora in her brother's hands.
"Time to put the knowledge Greenie and you collected to use," hinted the man.
"Hyacinths, snapdragons, a sign of gratitude," recited Evie.
"And there you have it," said Jacob, handing the flowers over.
"Jacob, you shouldn't have," Evie took the bouquet.
"I know the days you took care of me were full of wasted opportunities to free London. So, to make up, once I've healed, I we'll double our efforts to this cause,"
"That's great, Jacob." A smile danced on Evie's lips.
"Now, I shall go rest up," announced Jacob.
"That's my Jake," said Evie. Jake had been Jacob's nickname when Ethan was alive. Jacob did not like being called by that name.
"You know what, Evie? For some reason, I missed being called by that,"
Evie giggled before leaving her brother alone. She smelled the flowers, remembering that Henry was right. Siblings were truly wonderful. She plucked a stalk of hyacinth and returned to Jacob's car. The Assassin was already asleep. Placing it near her brother, she whispered, "Thank you, Brother, for being there for me."
Thank you for taking your time to read this. I didn't have time to check for errors, so forgive me. I hope it was enjoyable!
