Chapter 4 – Escape

Days passed and turned into weeks, and Altair still found modern day life in the 21st century to be quite overwhelming; staying in Alex and Dana's apartment would still take a while for him to fully adjust to and get comfortable with modern day life. The first step was to, naturally get more comfortable with the language, while he had managed to hold up a conversation, Altair's English still had a long way to go, what was worse is Altiar couldn't read a single thing in English either.

"You can't read?" Dana had asked the third day Altair had been living there; she had noticed he; had been struggling to read words on the food and always asked what things where; which Alex found to be irritating as hell and tended to disappear for hours on end leaving Dana to deal with the confused Arabian assassin, eventually he admitted (and this was a hard thing for him to admit; after all he was meant to be an intelligent assassin, it was hard for him to admit he had a major weakness even though it was something as simple as a language barrier) that couldn't read English at all.

"I can read...just...not in your...language" He mumbled; a little offended; its not like he was illiterate, after all he could read and write in Arabic just fine, he had just never been taught to read and write in English; there seemed to be little point back in the 12th century other than to pick up a few phrases; Altiar had learned more than that naturally when he went on reconnaissance missions and heard Templar guards jabber on in English all day about one thing or another, so he knew more then most but it still wasn't enough.

Dana sighed a bit "Well I guess we should make a start then start from the basics, you'll pick it up on the way I'm sure" She said as she set aside the work she was doing for Alex ans started to help him improve; they started with the basic alphabet in reading and writing and moved on to words.

Dana was a surprisingly patient teacher and she let him learn in his own time, she wasn't surprised, however that he learned English quite quickly and soon he was able to write short words correctly in English.

By the time Altiar had been with the Mercers for two weeks he'd gotten the hang of the alphabet and was writing out random words out in English in order to practise; he assured Dana that he;d be fine experimenting on his own and let her get on with Alex's research...whatever that was; neither of the Mercers would tell them what was going on, and he felt Dana was simply trying to protect him while Alex was plain being paranoid.

While Altair's reading and writing was slowly improving Altiar quickly adjusted to the machines in the house namely the coffee machine and the TV; soon after being introduced to coffee Altiar quickly became hooked on the stuff and soon it wasn't uncommon to find the other with a cup of coffee in his hands while he sat and marvelled at the moving pictures most of the time.

"D.a.n.a" He mumbled as he wrote each word down individually he glanced at the paper that Dana had printed out with the English alphabet to make sure he'd spelled it right, He smiled, satisfied he;d gotten it right; on the other hand her name was short and simple and easy to write.

After a pause he began to write again slowly...

" Your still at it?" A voice behind him said Altiar wasn't used to being startled he spun around his left hand twitched in reaction, but it was just Alex who didn't seem amused.

"I'm...practising, is that a problem?" He said as he looked up at the other from under his hood; he refused to take it down in the house; he felt more comfortable this way and he had told Dana so as well and thankfully she had dropped it; Dana was sweet but sometimes she was too nosy for her own good.

Alex said nothing, his eyes wandered to the paper Altair was writing on he;d been practising as he had said and he noticed what words Altiar was writing; mainly he;d been spelling the names of people and things he;d seen since he;d been here; Ragland ,Dana, coffee, TV, couch, taps, water, to name a few...and it seemed he had almost finished writing another word :Ale-

Alex frowned it didn't take much to figure out Altiar was writing his name down; he felt a tiny ripple wash over him as the Virus trembled unknowingly but again, he ignored it; it wasn't anything to be thought over in his mind "...Whatever" He said a she turned around and moved back to Dana; they always talked in hushed tones around him about...whatever it was Alex was off doing at all hours of the day and night.

Altiar; would be lying if he said he wasn't curious and honestly he was a little tired of being cramped inside of the apartment, his instincts screamed at him to go out and explore the city but Dana wouldn't let that happen while she was keeping an eye on him and he didn't want to leave without at LEAST his hidden blade on him for safety; it's not like he would go out and kill innocents; it was against his creed, but neither of the Mercer's knew that; even though Altair had admitted to both that he was an assassin in his time he hadn't divulged anything more than that.

Perhaps it was simply a matter of trust on both sides; the Mercers had their secrets and he had his.

The younger assassin looked down at the words he;d written before he set the pen down on the glass coffee table with a soft clink of plastic touching metal; he had grown tired of practising, eh took a deep breath before he stood up; he wanted to find his weapons, or at lease sneak on his hidden blade and armour underneath the hoodie he wore.

He noticed Dana and Alex were busy so he slipped off silently into the kitchen, knowing neither of then noticed he;d gone; he WAS an assassin after all stealth was his expertise.

It then occurred to Altiar, that had no real idea where Dana could have hidden his weapons; only that she had passed the kitchen and gone down the hallway and turned down the hallway that led to her room and Alex's room; Frowning at this he sighed and decided to try his luck but for his own sake he hoped the weapons were in Dana's room because he didn't want to think about what would happen if Alex caught him messing around in there; Alex liked his privacy, that in itself was obvious and he knew the man was...not human, as Dana had explained and he never slept; the best time to search for his weapons was now when both Alex and Dana were distracted with each other.

Altiar slipped into Dana's room first after finding the door unlocked; upon closing the door behind him, his rough tongue slid over his dry lips nervously; where to search first?; it was times like this he wished his Eagle vision would help with such things, but unfortunately it only worked on people not weapons, nor did it work through walls or objects.

Slowly he began searching in the most obvious places; under the bed, in the wardrobe etc; but there was no sign if his weapons at all; and the longer it take to look the more anxious he got; no doubt Dana would soon notice and come looking for him.

He knew it would have been better to probably just ASK for his weapons but then he;d need to explain to her why he wanted them and he really didn't want to get into it; there were too many questions he didn't want to answer; if he answered her question about the weapons he;d have to explain he wanted to train and if she asked why he;d have tot tell her it was habit; then she;d keep on at the questions until he had nothing left to tell her.

He knew she wasn't with the Templars but that didn't mean they weren't out there in the 21st century; he only hoped that the assassins in this day and age had survived as well.

Speaking of assassins...once he got used to the 'In-teer-net' that Dana seemed to like so much he might try to see if he could find any sort of information regarding them; there had to be a clue somewhere in it, after all Dana had explained the internet as being the 'biggest digital library in the world'

Shaking his head he decided to get back to the 'mission' at hand; he needed to find his weapons before he went insane! After another 10 minutes of fruitless searching he deducted that his weapons were NOT in here which meant (He grimaced a tad under his hood) That he'd have to search Alex's room next.

Slipping out of Dana;s room he shuffled back to the living area to check on the two Mercers; they were still whispering to each other; obviously deep in conversation to notice him; confident the two wouldn't see he he slipped back towards Alex room and after quietly turning the door handle, he slipped inside.

Once he was inside he sighed in relief before he looked around Alex room was...plain, it was like no one actually slept here, the bed looked untouched. Which didn't surprise him considering Dana said the man didn't sleep but it just looked so bare, the tanned man felt a little sorry for Alex; he didn't have any hobbies, he didn't have any goals other than; from what he'd heard from Dana; destroy the company that made him the way he is.

Altiar shook his head he needed to find his weapons he could think about Alex later; maybe later he could sneak out and run around on the rooftops for a bit; he missed his freedom to do such things.

Altiar was thankful Alex;s room was so bare because it left him with few options with which to look for his weapons and he grinned when he found then under the bed. The first thing he did was yank up the sleeve of his foodie and strapped the gauntlet to his wrist before covering it, once her did that he was about to reach on the bed for his other weapons...

When something...or someone grabbed him and slammed him into the nearest wall, Altair grunted as he had the wind knocked out of him and he grimaced in agony when he felt his fractured shoulder scream in pain under the pressure of...tentacles! Altiar gaped as he followed the line of dark black and red tendrils all the way to a VERY pissed looking Alex Mercer.

Had Altair been a normal man, had he not stared death in the face so many times he was no longer scared of it, then perhaps he might had been terrified and shitting himself in front of the other, instead he squirmed in his grip, trying to get free before Alex unknowingly crushed his ribs.

"What the FUCK do you think your DOING!" the older man demanded; each time Alex emphasised a word the tendrils around him would tighten and spread further along Altair's body, down his arms and legs pinning him and making it hard to move.

Altair grimaced softly under his hood, and squirmed, continuing to struggle despite the burning pain in his right arm; he'd had worse pains and thus, he ignored it "...I was looking for my weapons" He said before he had had enough of being pinned; he smirked as he heard the satisfying 'shink' sound as his blade activated, before he sliced the large tendril clean off him.

Alex let out a yelp of surprise more than actual pain as the tendril part that he'd cut off writhed about on the floor and flopped about a bit like a fish out of water, before sliding across the floor back to Alex and merging with his body. "You, are in serious shit" The older male hissed before he changed his body again his arms turning into gigantic claws; it was obvious he was angry at Altiar invading his privacy but then he made things worse and pretty much attacked him.

Okay NOW Altiar was feeling a little intimidated; this claws looked big and sharp...Altair tensed ready to jump out the window if Alex tried anything; his hidden blade was good but not THAT good, and he'd take jumping out the window to fighting with the other without his full arsenal.

"What the hell are you both doing!" Dana asked from the doorway ; she had heard Alex shouting and had come to see what all the fuss was about, naturally she got freaked out when she saw Alex waving his claws around "Put those away will you!" She huffed as she nudged Alex though it was much like her trying to nudge a brick wall. She blinked in surprise when she spotted the assassin hovering near the window "Altair what are you doing in here?"

"..." He didn't really want to explain himself but Alex still looked angry despite the fact he;d done as his sister had asked and let his claws melt away, he knew it probably wouldn't take much for the other to rip him limb from limb with his bare hands.

"You hid my weapons in here...I went looking for them that's all" Altiar said softly as if that explained everything as he looked out of the window almost longingly; he wanted to go out and have some freedom, he wasn't used to being trapped in a cage.

"You could have just asked" Dana said with a sigh sounding exasperated

"You hid his weapons in MY room!" Alex protested with a blink as he turned to Dana "Why MY room!

"I didn't think he'd actually be sneaky enough to come in here and find them did I?" Dana huffed softly and Altiar almost frowned at her and gave her a look as if to say ' I'm an assassin, what did you expect?' She knew what he did for a living, or perhaps, maybe he didn't quite believe him to be what he claimed to be, it wouldn't surprise him somehow, considering she was Alex's sister and both the Mercers seemed to be sceptics.

Altiar faintly wondered if he could slip away while both Mercers were having a heated discussion about him, but no such luck as both their attentions snapped back to him the moment he tried to open the window.

"Where do you think your going?" Dana asked with a raised eyebrow as she folded her arms over her chest.

"...out, I need...space" He said as he pointed to the window; he needed the freedom, he needed the wind blowing in his face as much as he needed to breath air in to fill his lungs; being inside the apartment after two weeks was beginning to make him feel claustrophobic, and he didn't need ANOTHER phobia to add onto the fact he had a fear of large bodies of water, not that Alex ot Dana knew that...yet.

"Out? You don't even know where your going! Its a maze out there! New York is a big place" She huffed "You can;t leave, your not ready to face the modern world Altiar and not only that what if you meet a hunter? You could be in serious trouble" Alex was about ready to agree with Dana; even though he'd (And Alex grudgingly admitted this) made exceptional progress with his reading and writing and even his vocabulary he still knew very little of the modern world beyond the apartment.

"That's what I wanted my weapons for" Altiar bit; it was partially a lie; he wanted to train too but he had wanted them for his own protection too; these 'hunter' creatures Dana had told him about seemed monstrous, like demons spawned form hell itself.

"...I don't get lost" Altiar bit feeling a tad insulted when she mentioned New York being a maze; true that he had a lot to learn in this modern age but he wasn't incapable of going off for some fresh air and remembering which building to return to! Before Dana could protest further, Altiar had had enough, he yanked open the window and climbed out before he started climbing upwards

"Wha- Hey get back here!" Dana protested after getting over her initial surprise that Altiar just climbed out the window that was 5 stories high above the ground. She ran over to the window and looked up, to her amazement Altiar was already at the roof and was climbing over the edge "Jesus he's like a monkey!" She grumbled. "A stubborn, grumpy monkey with a lot of weapons" She huffed.

"...I don't blame him, you have had him locked up in the apartment for two weeks" Alex grunted softly.

"Well MAYBE if you agree to take him with you on recon he wouldn't be escaping out the window" Dana argued "If he went out with you Id be at ease that he;d be learning about the area and that the two of you would be safe; but your just as bad as each other! Just as stubborn as each other, and NEITHER of you use doors if you can help it!" She huffed.

Alex rolled his eyes "Let me guess; you want me to follow him" He bit, sarcasm dripping from every word as he rolled his eyes "I'm not his baby sitter Dana, he's a grown man and he KILLED people for a living I doubt he's going to get into any trouble" He growled.

Dana opened her mouth to protest, but she knew Alex was right, Altiar was a fully grown man, his wounds he'd received when he first got here had healed over, and Alex had mentioned that he claimed to be an assassin though Dana didn't really believe it; even with the large assortment of weapons he had...it just seemed...hard for her to grasp.

"...Can you at least take the rest of his weapons to him? Please? To ease my mind?" She asked as she plucked the rest of Altair's weapons from under Alex's bed and handed them to him with a pleading look, one she knew he would not ignore.

"...Fine, I'm getting sick of running after him Dana" He grumbled as he snatched the bundle of weapons up annoyed he'd been suckered into to doing something for Dana yet again (Usually he didn't mind, but when it came to Altiar it annoyed him, and he couldn't fathom or understand what it was that made him crumble underneath her gaze at all)

"I know..." She said as Alex decided to follow Altiar out the same window "Alex..." She saw her brother pause "...Be careful out there...and thank you"

"..." He didn't answer her he just nodded before he slipped out of the window, taking care to closing it after him before he disappeared from view after the run away assassin.

Altair inhaled a lungful of air; it felt strange inhaling New york Air it had a strange tinge to it, that Altiar didn't realize was from pollution, even so it was still better than being all cramped up in the apartment; he looked around the roof of the building he;d picked to meditate and relax on for a while.

It was bare, and pretty big with fencing all around the edges to stop people falling off; to Altiar it was the perfect training grounds for improving on his skills...if he had all of his weapons that is, which he didn't.

Altiar frowned under his head as he flicked out his hidden blade; he supposed he was lucky he'd gotten out of there with at least one of his weapons; the hidden blade was a comforting weight on his arm and just having it made him feel a lot better.

He jumped a little when a pile was dumped at his feet, upon closer inspection he found it was his weapons "..." He looked up at Alex who didn't seem best pleased with having to run after the other "... Thank you" He said as he stood slowly and began arming himself; it was a little odd considering he was putting his weapons on over the modern cloths Dana had lent him.

"Mhmm" Alex grunted softly as he walked over to the edge of the roof and looked down at the people below, all unaware and going about their own lives...in a way he envied them; free to walk about in public without fear someone would recognize him "...I cant say I'm happy with having to baby sit you...but I understand the need to get out and have some space" He said softly

"...I am...grateful to you and Dana, but I never...asked for either of you to treat me like a child" He bit softly "I need my freedom" He said calmly as he began playing with a throwing knife tossing it in the air absently and catching it with ease.

"...Come on, you have your weapons you might as well make yourself useful" He grumbled; he personally couldn't believe he was actually taking up Dana;s suggestion from earlier; Altiar would slow him down and generally be a pain...but Dana was right about how it'd be good for him to get out of the apartment get to know the area.

Altiar raised an eyebrow "You expect me to follow you?" he asked as he watched Alex step on the edge of the building, he half turned to Altiar and watched him

"Its up to you, you wanna see this city or not?" He asked simply; he personally knew carrying the other around wouldn't exactly be the highlight of his day but he knew if he didn't, he;d end up leaving Altair behind and then Dana would get mad at him for being a jerk.

Altair was silent for a long moment before he sighed "Alright" He said softly as he walked over to Alex and looked down "So...What now?" He blinked in alarm when Altiar wrapped an arm around his waist he crouched down a little as power built in his legs.

"Now? You hold on" Alex said; for the firs time in weeks Alex actually smiled, before he jumped high in the air; Altiar, for the firs time in his life felt terrified of being in the air and his hands gripped a hold of Alex's jacket in a white knuckle grip at first, once he got used to Alex jumping he relaxed a little and took in his surroundings; for the first time since he got here he could almost see the whole of New York.

Alex looked down at Altiar when his grip relaxed; there was so much wide eyed wonder in the younger man's eyes, it was almost like looking at an awe struck child and for a moment Alex didnt mind he was carrying the other along with him.

But only got a moment, after all Altiar was just staying with them until he got used to the modern world...right?