2012
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"You had training as an assassin before this, didn't you?" Rebecca asked.
"Yea," Desmond said, just managing to get the word out through an enormous yawn. It was just past five in the morning- he was just getting up, and it looked like Rebecca had been awake all night. "Why?"
"You just look like someone that's been doing this for a long time," Rebecca said. "There's a kind of… attitude, I guess."
"Well, my dad had me running laps and starting with weapons when I was about four," Desmond said.
"Yea but after that?" Rebecca prodded. "Did you ever get any more training?"
Desmond nodded. "When I was ten, I-" then he stopped, shaking his head. "Actually, let's wait for Shaun," he said. "He'll be pissed if I start without him."
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1723
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London was nothing like Swansea, and it was nothing like the Island, either. It was cold and wet and crowded with people- Desmond didn't mind it, much, but Jenny hated everything about the city. "It's like everything's different now," she said to Desmond one rainy day. "We're supposed to pretend that we're all posh and respectable now. It's stupid!" And she gestured at the dress she was wearing. "How am I supposed to move in this, anyway?"
"I don't think you're supposed to," Desmond said, when he was sure she was done ranting.
"That's the point!" Jenny cried, then flopped down with her back firmly to the window. "It's this new woman he's courting. It's like she's trying to impress her or something." She shook her head, angry. "Let's do something, Desmond," she said.
"What?"
"Anything. As long as we're not just sitting around doing nothing."
Desmond frowned, torn. On the one hand, he was itching to do something too, but on the other hand… he was very aware that he was in London because Edward wanted him there. He had some work of his own around the house, but he knew full well that he could be kicked out on the street and replaced in a second. He didn't really think that was likely, but it was still possible. He wasn't anything special, after all.
"Come on," Jenny whined.
"But-"
"I can get in just as much trouble on my own as I can with you," Jenny said. "But it'll be more fun if you help."
"Fine," Desmond said. "What did you have in mind?"
Jenny jumped to her feet and immediately tripped over the hem of her dress. "First, pants," she said. "Can I borrow a pair of yours?"
"You're still taller than me," Desmond grumbled- he'd just had his tenth birthday, but Jenny was still nine. Plus she was a girl. She should definitely have been shorter than he was, not taller.
"I'll make it work," Jenny said, and the two of them hurried out of the room as quickly as her skirts would let them.
"What do we do after pants?" Desmond asked.
"We're going to be detectives," Jenny said. "My dad is keeping something a secret, and I want to know what it is."
"What kind of a secret?" Desmond asked.
"Well if I knew that…"
They found nothing at all that afternoon, although they had a great time hunting for secret passages and treasure maps. They managed to annoy absolutely everyone in the house, although Edward seemed like he was trying very hard not to laugh when he found them in the attic.
"What are you doing, anyway?" he asked.
"Looking for treasure," Jenny said, without missing a beat. She looked perfectly innocent at that moment, staring up at Edward with a cheerful smile, her hands behind her back. When Desmond started to interrupt and point out they'd actually been looking for whatever secrets Edward was keeping, she kicked him, hard, in the ankle.
"…right, then," Edward said. "Jenny, go down to dinner."
"But-"
"Now."
She went, grumbling slightly, and Edward looked at Desmond. "Are you going to tell me what the two of you were really doing?"
Desmond felt his face go red, but shook his head stubbornly. He wasn't going to sell Jenny out, even if it was over something dumb.
"Neither of you is in any trouble," Edward said. "If that makes any difference. But I don't like having secrets kept from me in my own house."
Desmond thought briefly of all the lies he had told already, but it really wasn't any of his business. Maybe that was why he caved- he had to say something, after all. "Jenny wanted to know what you did after you left her mother," he said. "She said you were keeping secrets from her, and she didn't like it much either."
Edward gave a snort of laughter. "Figures," he said. "Like father, like daughter. I'd do the same thing if I were her."
"Why don't you just tell her?" Desmond asked. "What were you doing that was so bad?"
He didn't really expect an answer- honestly, he'd started to believe Jenny was overreacting, and that there wasn't any deep, dark secret in his past. But there was something in the way Edward looked at him- a long, considering kind of look- that made Desmond feel really weird.
"How old are you?"
"Ten," Desmond said. "I just had my birthday."
"Ten," Edward repeated. "I guess that's old enough."
"Old enough for what?" Desmond asked.
And Edward told him. It was an incredible story- so fantastic, in fact, that he could barely believe it was true. Pirates and treasure and- and assassins. Desmond hadn't even heard that word since leaving the Farm, and he didn't much like hearing it again now. But Edward's stories were nothing like what he had experienced with his parents. Desmond remembered being trapped inside a lot, and never leaving the Farm because apparently the rest of the world was full of dangers he could barely dream of. The story Edward told was sad and violent and not always nice, but it was exciting, too.
"Why are you telling me?" Desmond asked, after Edward had finished. "I mean- Jenny's the one that wanted to know."
Edward didn't answer, just gave Desmond a look that made it clear he was lucky to be getting this explanation at all. "There's a point to all this," Edward added. "There are a lot of people out there who want me dead."
"Oh," Desmond said. "That… sounds bad."
"Very bad," Edward said.
"But you can fight them, right?" Desmond asked.
"That's the plan," said Edward. "But I've been thinking lately. About the future, and what's going to happen to Jenny when I'm gone."
"What?" Desmond said, startled. "You think they'd hurt her because they don't like you?"
"I think there's a chance," Edward said. Desmond's stomach seemed to suddenly clench up tight like a fist inside him, and he shook his head emphatically.
"No way," Desmond said. "I won't let that happen. Not ever."
Edward nodded, like Desmond had just given him an answer he already knew to be true. "I thought so," he said. "And I think we may have more to talk about today."