"
-o-
The stay at the Homestead was not a long one, and by the next week the Assassins returned to New York. Faulkner wasn't very pleased about having to ferry them around after the long voyage back to the Colonies, but did so in the hope that he and the crew could relax in New York.
On the Aquila on the way to the city, Jacqueline was sitting in the captain's quarters on the cushy bed. Furie was lying next to her, his large head resting between his paws. Both mistress and hound watched Connor, who was a quiet ball of apprehension, sitting at his desk.
"Connor," Jacqueline spoke up, turning his attention for only a moment. "Lee has nowhere to go with the French armada waiting. You have him this time."
"I have been waiting for this day for a long time." Connor spoke down at the desk.
"I know." Jacqueline went to him and leaned up against the desk. "I know as well as anyone. But straining your nerves to breaking point will do you no favours. You'll kill him, and this will finally be ended."
The conversation lulled, but she broke the silence before it could become uncomfortable. "What of your father?"
"He has been avoiding me since I threatened to kill him." Connor muttered. "But I suspect we have not seen the last of him."
"No," She agreed, musing. "I would be very surprised if he did not reappear before this has finished."
Connor remained silent, staring out the window at the end of the cabin as though the answers to his questions were written in the sky beyond. Jacqueline rested her hand on his cheek to draw his attention. All at once he stood—at this proximity she was reminded that she was yet a head and a half shorter than him—and held her shoulders firmly.
"Remain with the armada." Connor's expression left no room for argument. "It will not be safe on shore."
Jacqueline ignored his stony demeanor and scoffed. "I have not been one to fear danger, and you of all people should know this. More than ten years we've been friends, Ratonhnhaké:ton." She ran her thumb over the thin scar on his upper cheek; her voice dropped low. "And I will again follow you unto the breach."
Connor searched her face, still frowning in that way of his where he seemed to be perpetually irritated. "I…do not want to see you hurt again."
Dull orange flashes of candlelight and burning iron flickered behind Jacqueline's eyes at the mention, and though she shook the memories off, there was still a shadow of pain. "That's past now. Do not deny me my right to fight beside you, Connor."
"If Lee is there, then this is something I wish to do alone." Connor finally confessed, stepping away from her.
Jacqueline paused, then nodded. "Très bien. I will stay with the armada."
Connor placed his hands under her jaw, by her cheeks, and with the awkwardness that so often accompanied his actions toward her, bowed his head down to rest their foreheads together. Jacqueline placed her hands over his, felt the warm skin of his fingers and the smooth, short surfaces of his nails. It was quiet and still in the cabin then; the water outside sloshed apologetically against the hull.
The Aquila jerked forward, stopped suddenly by the dropped anchor. The pair in the captain's quarters were tossed about—Connor put an arm around Jacqueline's shoulders to steady her, not as thrown due to his sturdier frame. Furie, lying on his side on the bed as though it were his own, grumpily hopped off and padded heavily out of the cabin.
"Faulkner," Connor's nostrils flared in irritation.
"Two pounds he's drunk." Jacqueline added with a not unamused twist of her scarred lips.
Quietly and close together they left the underbelly of the brig and emerged into the sunny New York. The white-crooked crescents of seagulls circled overhead, nearly blending with the pale blue of the sky. Faulkner, at the helm, called out to the Assassins, quite sober: "Ahoy, cap'n! Fair luck in yer endeavors t'day!"
Jacqueline sourly tossed a couple coins to a smirking Connor. "He's a rotten helmsman, either way."
At the wharf, an excited Stephane Chapeau greeted them. "Hello Connor, welcome back. Good to see you again, Jacqueline."
"Et toi, Stephane." She nodded.
"Is everything in place?" Connor asked, not faltering in his stride.
"Oui. Layfayette waits for you in the tunnel beneath the city." There were nods exchanged, and their friend dashed away.
"Furie and I will meet you at the tunnel." Jacqueline patted the broad side of her canine companion. "He will attract too much attention in the city."
Connor touched her shoulder briefly in farewell. Jacqueline whistled to Furie, who accompanied her around the main city. Although she jogged at a decent pace, the beast easily bounded in long four-legged lengths a couple metres ahead of her. It made her feel weak in comparison.
Their path circled around the main part of the city to avoid most of the population, but eventually Jacqueline cut in east and made a beeline straight down the road to the entrance to the tunnels. Connor was waiting there, sitting on angled double-doors to what on the outside seemed a cellar. He stood as they arrived and opened the doors. Jacqueline entered first, and Furie barged in after her. Connor shut the door behind them, the hinges squeaking ominously, and for a moment they were shut in complete, inky darkness.
"Connor. Why is it dark?"
"The lantern was not left outside." Some muffled fumbling about, and a sudden growling yelp as a wolfish paw was trod upon.
"I think it's over here, Connor." A bulk of weight half rushed into her and lurched back again.
"Sorry."
"No—maybe it's not. Try the other wall."
More awkward shuffling. A searching hand, groping for the lantern, accidentally stumbled into Jacqueline's chest and got half-seriously smacked away for its troubles. Eventually, after a bit much bumbling around, they located the lantern and lit it. The flame flared to life and took on a yellowish hue when the tiny window was shut.
"Which way do we go?" Jacqueline stepped cautiously to the edge of the light.
"I was given directions. Stay close." Connor started ahead, holding the torch aloft. The woman and beast followed close, as instructed, competing to keep closer to the light.
Above them somewhere, a fiddle was playing an upbeat tune. Footsteps, both theirs and not, echoed through the halls and over their heads. Water sang a lonely, dripping tune nearby. Jacqueline stepped in a small puddle, and was unpleasantly surprised when her foot sank six inches into the mud. The brick walls that supported the tunnels were chipped, and in places a few bricks had come out entirely, leaving only mortar skeletons. Furie pounced around the small rooms and wooden beams to snap up greasy rats that wandered too close. A drop of slimy water dropped down the back of Jacqueline's neck, and she immediately tossed up her hood.
After a few dim corners, the group came upon Chapeau and Layfayette, whispering hurriedly in French. Jacqueline snatched bits and pieces, words like "king", "future" and "successor", but the men stopped as soon as they approached and the conversation was lost.
Layfayette looked up first, his pointed chin and pointed nose pointed high, the white wig slightly askew. "Connor!" He went to hug the Assassin, but a stern look made him balk. "This tunnel will take you into the military district."
"And the Admiral?" Connor inquired lowly.
"He waits for you to light the signal—and then the strike begins."
"And we will be there as well." Chapeau added with an encouraging glint of a butcher's cleaver.
Jacqueline rested a hand on Furie's head. "We will find you once the strike begins." She touched Connor's shoulder and gave him a reserved smile. "Good luck."
In response, to her surprise, he took her hand by the wrist and pressed his lips to her palm, briefly, and immediately stalked away through the tunnel. Chapeau snorted and looked at Jacqueline, who was surprised but a bit pink. Catching her friend's look, she pushed his shoulder amicably. "Allons-y."
-o-
-Did anyone order a super ultra short chapter of shame? No? Well, have one on the house.
-This chapter was a bunch of stuff I wrote, deleted completely, rewrote, rinse and repeat. It never actually was planned to be the next mission, but that's sort of how it happened.
-Review for cute stuff I guess!