Conner

Desmond trailed behind us on the Ducati while we made our way across the state of South Carolina. I had been in touch with Rebecca, Dawson, Altair and Alanna, and giving them hourly reports. Since the death of Jenna two days ago, and the murder of Tom just yesterday, we had been on guard and on edge. We had decided until we reached our destination, we would call every hour on the hour with a report. If we could not get through, keep trying.

I yawned in the driver's seat. Kate looked at me. "I can drive if you want, Conner."

I shook my head. "Desmond can't take a break, so it wouldn't be fair if I let you take over." I cracked the window and the cool breeze began to wake me up. "I just want to get there and get to somewhere where they can't touch us. We have already lost two people. I don't want to hear about any others." I had seen far too many brothers and sisters lose their lives in my lifetime.

"Conner, I understand that, but you are going to kill us both if you do not let yourself rest. Desmond will let you know of he needs a break." She shook her head. "Can you ride a motorcycle?"

"Yeah, took one cross country a few years back." I pulled my right hand off the steering wheel and flexed the tired digits.

"Why don't you let me take over for an hour, and you can rest. When you wake, you can take over for Des, and then he can climb in here and take a nap." She went back to reading her book. "When you have made up your mind, let me know."

Thinking about what she said, the only thing that came to mind was, damn, the woman did it again. "You know, you should run for president. You can get anyone to do anything."

She gave me a lopsided smile. "It comes with age, and knowing that you are going to leave this world. It is a natural thing to want to pass your knowledge onto the next generation. You guys do not have that problem. The dying part, I mean, so you do not seem to want to pass on your knowledge and thus, you are not as wise as I am."

"That is one messed up logic, but damn it makes sense." I grinned at her. "Now I know why I like you."

Shrugging, she kept reading her book. Turning on the turn signal, I pulled into a parking lot. Desmond followed behind. Getting out of the car, I walked back to him. He pulled off the helmet and I could see the kid was about to drop. I don't think he would make it another hour. "Des, why don't you go crawl in the back seat and take a nap? I will take the bike and Kate will drive the car. You are about to drop."

"I'm fine, Conner." His eyes drooped and he stumbled a bit.

I grabbed the front of his shirt and kept him on his feet. "No you are not. You are exhausted and going to crash if you try to ride again."

"Can't rest." His eyes closed and slowly reopened.

Kate walked up and took him by the arm. "Come on Des. You need to rest. Just for a bit. Conner will take good care of your bike." She smiled at him, and he let her lead him to the car.

Once she got him in the car, she walked back over to me with one of the heavier jackets. "Thanks for getting him to go." I took the jacket and slid it on and zipped it up.

"Alanna was always that way. Kept pushing herself to the point she would fall over. Are all of you like that?" She took the helmet off the seat of the bike and held it out.

I took it from her hands. "Yeah, I guess. It's from our training. If you are worn out, find more and keep going. That is how I have lived for so many years." I pulled the helmet on and buckled it.

Shaking her head sadly, she sighed. "You five try to carry the world on your shoulders. You can't save everyone and you can't do it all at one time. One day, you are going to wonder what you have done to make a difference and then you will see that really, you haven't."

I looked at her. "What do you mean by that?"

"Conner, you, Alanna, Ezio, and Altair have been fighting the Templars for many years in a losing battle. I know I have seen both sides. Not a one of you have scratched the surface of their operation. I know a few places that would help you get a foothold in this war, but it will be risky." She touched my arm. "I have some things that I stole when I ran from them. It might help, or it might not. I don't know how much of worth they would be."

This was new. "Where are they?"

"At my sister's house. I will give you the address and you guys can have someone get them. She has been hiding them for me for years." She headed back to the car. "I will call her when we leave here."

I straddled the bike and started it up. Waiting until she pulled out, I followed behind her.

Alanna

Altair shook me awake when we had made it to the meeting point with the others. Rebecca and Dawson were already there, and Conner, Desmond and Kate would be there shortly.

I yawned and stretched as I got out of the car. Ezio was asleep in the back seat and none of us had the heart to wake him up yet. Walking over to them, they looked up at us. Rebecca nodded. "How is he?" She looked over at the car.

"Not good. Still won't talk and now glares at everyone that passes him." I sighed and shook my head. "He was not ready to let her go."

"Maya and her father are going to bury her with her mother. I wish we could stay long enough for that, but they might find us if we stay here too long." She looked closed her eyes and hung her head. "Conner, Des, and Kate should be here in a few minutes. When they arrive, we will get aboard the plane and get out of here."

"I hate running, but it seems this is the only way." Altair stuck his hands in his pocket, and growled. "You know when he comes out of this he is going to want blood, right?"

Dawson nodded. "We know. That's why we are just going to have to channel that rage in a good way. What about his son? Who is going to raise him?"

"Jenna's dad, Matt Paris. He and I have been talking and he knows why we are running. He doesn't know about the whole immortality thing, but he knows we are being hunted by Abstergo. He is going to stay at the Farm for right now and keep Marcus safe." Altair sighed and shook his head.

I watched them interact with each other. They were making plans on what was going to happen when we got to Spain. Walking back over to the Charger, I saw Ezio sitting up in the back seat. Opening the door, I smiled at him. "Hey, welcome back."

He looked up at me with those slightly dead eyes. "Hey." His voice was rough and sounded like he had been gargling rocks.

"Ezio, would you like to come out and do some of the planning with us?" I tilted the seat forward, but he didn't move. "It's going to be hard for a while."

He glared at me causing me to back away. "How do you know that? How do you know how hard it's going to be? You have no memories of it being hard. Who was the last person you mourned, Alanna? Huh?"

I clinched my fists. I knew his outburst was from grief and it was not completely directed at me. "I know plenty. For seven years I walked around wondering who the hell I was. Did I have a family? Did I have children? I did not know the answer to the simplest question and that was what my own name was. My birthday, where I was born, none of it! I saw faces that I didn't know if the people were alive or dead. Try doing that. It is worse than having the person die. To have everything that made you, you, and have it striped away. You are nothing. Blank, broken, twisted. You know nothing of the life you used to live.

"I lived through that. Hell, I am still living through that. A prisoner in your own mind. Fighting against yourself to be the person you used to be. You want to talk about mourning, Ezio. Try mourning the way I have. I know you loved her, but you knew going into it, one day you would have to watch her die. Mourn her. I am not telling you not to, but damn it, don't lose yourself doing it."

I walked away from the car, and he climbed out. "Alanna wait."

Stopping in my tracks, I turned and looked at him. "I'm not mad at you, if that is what you are wondering. I know you are going through a lot and having to leave everything behind again. I just wanted you to know you are not the only one that is mourning."

He walked over to me and hung his head. "I know. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have taken my anger out on you. You have been trying to help me."

I touched his arm and smiled at him. "We will avenge her, believe me, but we need your help. You and Altair are tactical geniuses. You two are a team and work well together. I am just the sidekick."

Altair walked over and one hand on my shoulder and another on Ezio's. "No, this is how it should have been for years. The three of us, as a team." He looked at us with a ghost of a smile playing on his lips. "Now, we have some planning to do and not a lot of time to do it."

The three of us walked over to the other two. Rebecca and Dawson smiled at Ezio, but he did not return it. "Welcome back." Becca nodded her head.

He brushed past them and looked at the map. "You realize that it is a far trek from Madrid to Masyaf."

"That's as close as we can get without finding a flight to somewhere closer. We were hoping you could find something that we were missing." Altair stopped next to him and rested his hands on the hood.

Ezio looked down at the map. "Ships are a good way to get around the Mediterranean, and you can charter them for fairly cheap. We could leave in Barcelona, and travel to Naples. From there travel across land to Bari. The Templars have not holds in Albania, so when we cross the Adriatic into their lands, catch a flight to Tripoli. It will be a headache and our wallets will hurt, but with the right amount of money, you can do anything in those countries with no identification." He turned his eyes on us. "I just hope everyone doesn't plan on going as a group. That would be a bad thing."

Altair shook his head. "No. We are going to break up in groups again. Who do you want to go with?"

"If it's all the same to you, I would like to go on my own." His eyes reverted back to the map.

"Ezio, I don't think that is the greatest idea. I mean, having someone with you would be better." I stepped up to his left. "I'll go with you, if you would like."

That got a look from Altair. "Why don't we three stay together? It would be like old times."

"Then what about Desmond? Right now, he is with Kate and Conner." I asked. "And if we left it like that, Rebecca and Dawson would be on their own."

"We'll take Desmond with us. It would be nice to have one of you immortals with us." Rebecca smiled and leaned against the side of the truck. "At least we will be among friends."

Altair and I looked at her then at each other. "It sounds good. Ezio, you are with us and Desmond is with them."

"Guys, I can handle myself." Ezio spun around, fists clinched.

"I know you can, but if you were captured, we would never know until it was too late. We are doing this for everyone's protection, not because we think you are no capable of handling yourself." I had to calm him down before he blew up. "Hey, why don't we take a short walk and let you cool down."

He closed his eyes and breathed out slowly. "Alanna, I am not a child. Please do not treat me as such."

I knew what I was about to do was going to either get me hit, or screamed at. I stepped in front of him and shoved him into the truck. His eyes flew open and radiated murder. I pulled out a small knife I had dug out of the bag and held it to his neck. "I know you are hurting, and I understand that. You going off on your own is crazy and it's the grief talking. I didn't want to pull this card, but what the hell would Jenna do to you right now if she heard you talking like this?"

His eyes bore into mine, and I knew I could not back down. I was supposed to be tough and hard. "She would call me an idiot, and slap the back of my head." The fight bled from his eyes, and was replaced by fresh pain.

I backed off and slipped the knife back into my pocket. "Now, are you going to take our help or are you going to be a stubborn jackass?"

My shoulders heaved in anger. I was pissed at him for trying to be an asshole, at Abstergo for doing this to him, and at myself for not accepting help all those years ago. I wanted to take the pain from him, but I couldn't. So, I chose option two. Channel it like Dawson said.

His shoulders slumped in defeat. "I will go with you guys."

"Good." And I walked off.

Altair

Alanna stormed off towards the car. I had to blink a few times in shock on what she had just done to him. That was not the new Alanna nor was it the old. That s was someone altogether. Someone trying stay alive and keep a wounded brother alive for another day.

"What the hell was that?" Dawson watched her walk away and then Ezio follow after her.

"I really don't know. Sometimes the only way to get through to him is violence, but that was not always Alanna's style. She may have screamed at him, but to actually pull a knife, was different." I scratched my head in wonder.

Rebecca shook her head. "I don't know. From what we saw of her in the memories, she was violent."

I looked at her. "That she was, but never towards him. That was like her brother. She only got violent with me."

Dawson stood next to his wife. "He may be having a hard time with it because you and Alanna are together, myself and Becca, and Conner pairing off with Kate. He would have been stuck with Desmond."

I knew where he was with the grief. It was still fresh and he was trying to deny it. Say it never happened. Hoping that when that phone went off, it would be her. I went through it when Alanna was gone. Looking over that them, they sat on the ground next to the Charger. Her head was on his shoulder and his on top of hers, hands interlaced. If it was someone else, I would be over there and pissed, but I knew how she was. She had always been a caregiver.

Before I could say anything, a motorcycle pulled up and stopped by us. Conner pulled off the helmet. "Hey, how's it going?" His face was held no emotion and he looked tired.

"Same as a few hours ago and better than yesterday." I shook my head.

He knew what I was talking about. All he did was nod and got off the bike. Sitting the helmet on the seat, he popped his back and sighed in relief. "Anything good to report?'

"Not really. We have a plan as to get us to Syria, but it is a long trip." I walked over to the map with him. "Where are Kate and Desmond?"

"Des is changing a flat and they will here in a few. I rode ahead to let you guys know." He covered his mouth with the back of his hand and yawned. "Sorry, I took over Desmond's bike when the boy was about to fall off of it. I haven't stopped yet."

I knew the feeling. "I feel for you. Alanna and I have been taking shifts with Ezio. Trying to make sure he doesn't go on a one man killing spree like I did. I won't let him do that again."

His eyebrow rose. "Again?"

"He did it when his family was killed by the Templars when he was seventeen. Took him nearly twenty years, but he did it." Rebecca piped up. "Man, he was focused." She then turned to me and smiled. "So were you."

I shook my head. There was nothing focused about what I did. "No, that was just plain hate, anger and pain in what I was doing."

"Well anyway, let's get back to the subject at hand." Conner yawned once more, and shook his head to clear it. "I hope we get to sleep on this flight."

Dawson nodded. "Yeah, David has us in the crew's area. This flight is to just get things. No export, just import, so it's just a skeleton crew. Him and another guy."

"Cool. I could sleep a day the way I feel." He rubbed his eyes and stretched.

"I know that one. I would just take a corner and a few hours of shut eye." I began to fold up the map when Kate and Desmond pulled in.

They climbed out of the car, and walked over to us. "I guess we are ready to go?" Desmond asked.

I nodded and looked at everyone. "Dawson, Rebecca, you take the lead. We will follow you in. Conner, I will take the bike. You look like you are ready to drop." He nodded in agreement. Ezio and Alanna walked over and Kate wrapped her in a hug. "Ezio, will you drive the Charger?"

"Sure." He looked over at the car in question. I couldn't read his face, but I knew he was thinking about the woman that rebuilt the car.

"Let's load up and get moving. We are running on borrowed time." Dawson headed to the truck, and Rebecca followed. Ezio headed to the Charger. Conner, Kate and Desmond walked back to the car, and I straddled the Ducati. I had missed riding a bike. I used to ride them a lot, but then I took to muscle cars.

Firing up the motor, I followed the caravan out of the lot we were in and went towards the small airport.