His return to the bureau was undeniably brighter than the outward journey had been. The sun was slowly gaining height, filling the streets with its light and warmth. Yet daylight couldn't claim the credit for the improvement in the assassin's mood, these were the same desolate, broken streets he had walked along only hours before, the changes were all internal.
It was her, as he made his way to his temporary home he thought of Maria and the surprising events of the night. Since the earliest days of knowing her he had been aware of his physical attraction to her, but gradually that feeling had grown into something more. At first he had approached this development logically, trying to understand why he felt such a strong connection to her but logic offered little insight.
Why it should be that he would do things purely to see her smile and that he felt completely at ease returning those smiles when she offered them, these things were beyond logic. His desire for physical contact was of course still present but it was no longer prevalent. Far greater was his need for her to see him as a complete man not just a killer.
No small thing considering how they had met, how much pain he had inflicted upon her. It was unlikely that would ever happen after all he would never have forgiven the men who killed Adha and he knew to expect anything different from Maria would be foolish.
He entered the bureau hoping to manage an hour or two of sleep before the others had any need for him but he should have known better. Malik was deep in conversation with Tahir, one of the young novices of the order, the young man had faltered in his training recently and Malik had taken a personal interest in getting him back on track, hardly surprising since he and Kadar had been like brothers.
"Ah, Altair I was wondering where you had gone. The other novices are already dispatched I'm going over a few last details with Tahir." Altair joined the men at the long desk, adding bits and pieces to Malik's instructions.
Once Tahir had departed the two men moved to the games table in the corner and for a while neither spoke.
Malik was trying to figure out a way to broach once again the subject of Altair's plans to travel, they had been over it but the new mentor had not yet given a definitive reply and Malik was determined to pin him down this time. He wasn't afraid of speaking his mind, nor would he ever be, no, he was afraid of damaging the fragile friendship that existed between them.
It was Altair who spoke first, "I want to make changes Malik, some of them are going to be hard for the brothers to accept. I wanted to leave yes, but not for distance or avoidance but for time. To allow the men time to recover from the recent upheaval before I returned and forced more change upon them."
Malik was aware of some of the changes Altair had in mind, aware and approving but he understood his friends apprehension to begin implementing them so soon on a brotherhood still fractured and wounded.
"You could have returned and begun the process at least. You don't have to achieve all you want within the first few months."
"True but once I begin there will be no turning back. We may lose some numbers but those are people we probably didn't want to begin with."
"We can do these things together, you asked me to assist you and I will. I have committed myself fully to serving you and our order. Now you must do the same."
Altair reached across and clapped Malik's shoulder. "My commitment was never in doubt; it was my methods which were questionable."
Malik's relief was tangible; he had no desire to run their order. "Your methods were fine, and at any other time they would have been good ideas. Who knows what a year or two could bring, you may yet find the time to broaden your horizons."
Altair shrugged, they had more important things to discuss.
"A fleet of ships left Cyprus fully two days before I did and in the interim what looks like a fleet of ships have arrived at our shores. It would be folly to ignore that but equally foolhardy to focus too much on it. If they have brought the contents of their archive to our shores then they have weakened themselves, we will find a way to intercept some if not all of it over time."
Malik nodded his agreement of this assessment, "There must be way Altair, until now we have always managed to breach their defences, we must discover what they are hiding be it the archive or something which poses a more immediate danger. Either way I see no alternative, we may have to risk all to get our answers."
They adjourned to the back rooms of the bureau, taking a bite to eat and going over their plans. Malik all the while thinking what a surprisingly productive morning it had been when Altair dropped another "surprise" into the conversation.
Having shared his plans for that evening with Malik, Altair immediately excused himself and left his second in command sitting in front of a half eaten breakfast and wearing an expression which hovered somewhere between surprise and amusement.
Tahir walked along the path beside the seawall, the huge fortress on his right the ocean on his left. The area in front of the fortress was busy with soldiers most of whom seemed to be pushing and shoving at civilians telling them they couldn't use the square as a market for the foreseeable future.
He hated being in Acre, the mantra which had been drilled into his brain since he was a boy "Hide in plain sight" felt impossible here. How was he an Arab supposed to move unseen amongst the Europeans who now populated the city? He never let this thinking deter his effort or his focus, he did as he was taught, staying on the edges of groups and never stopping too long in one place.
It was almost time for him to move to the next location, he and the other novices moved in rotation from one place to the next so as not to become conspicuous, but it also meant they always had eyes and ears in each place. He made his way to the centre of the square, to the shortest route to the Hospitalier district when loud shouts got his attention. Like everyone else in the square he stopped to watch what was happening.
Two knights were in the crowd of traders one of them shoving at them but at the same time trying to make them see reason while the older seemed to have lost his temper.
"We don't have to give you an explanation; you on the other hand have to obey! Now move along before I feel the need to use force."
One of the traders understandably upset attempted to argue with him. "We have always been able to set up stalls here, how else are we supposed to earn an honest crust?" He turned to his fellow protesters acknowledging their verbal support but when he returned his look to the knight all he saw was a huge fist aiming for his face.
Standing over the now fallen trader the older knight shook his hand while addressing the remainder of the crowd "You were told to move. I won't stand here all day explaining myself to you people. Are you going to leave or fight? Choose now, it's too bloody hot to stand here and hold your hands!"
There was no real choice, the disgruntled traders dispersed and the knights returned to the fortress.
Stephen looked back at the men now leaving the square, watching them drag the unfortunate and still unconscious spokesman away with them. "Don't you think you were a bit hard on him? It is his livelihood after all."
William stopped walking so that none of his disgusted expression was missed by his son, "Hard on him! We sacrifice all to come here to protect these people, to keep the peace. They left hovels to come here we left castles! So to answer your question no I have no pity for a fool who lacks the good sense to follow instructions and know what is good for him."
The younger man replied but they had moved out of earshot and they were far too close to the fortress for Tahir to be able to safely follow them. Still it was interesting that the knights were beginning to turn on their own people, willing to use force to keep them away from the area.
"Where are you off to and in such a hurry?"
Tahir turned toward the shout; it was the younger of the two knights addressing a soldier running across the square.
"A simple errand Sir, nothing important but as usual old Warwick is running late. Shall I postpone my task in order to assist you my Lord?"
The young man considered for a moment, "Not necessary but be sure to look in on me when you return."
"Yes of course I will." He bowed quickly before resuming his journey, still clearly flustered but now walking rather than running.
Having been instructed to pay attention to anything out of the ordinary and while this wasn't exactly extraordinary it was the first sniff of anything he had seen in days, he decided to follow the little man.
It turned out to be a good exercise for the novice; the soldier kept looking over his shoulder and changing his pace. He now felt surer following him had been a good idea. The Englishman led them to the area in front of the cathedral where he disappeared inside a building. The novice sat on a bench and waited for his return.
He didn't have to wait long and when the soldier returned Tahir was doubly attentive. Not due to any actions of the soldier, it was the woman who accompanied him who had most of the young man's attention. She was beautiful, well for a European at least. Her skin was the palest he had ever seen and framed as it was with her dark hair; the effect was most pleasing.
It seemed he had stumbled upon another odd European woman who liked to dress like a man. The novices who had assisted the Master on the day he had assaulted the fortress had told him about the woman they had captured; she too had clothed herself in male attire. Tahir chuckled inwardly as he thought how much the Master would regret his choice of captives if he could see this one now.
She was talking to the man, her hands on his shoulders perhaps trying to reassure him. All too quickly the man left and sadly the woman stayed where she was. Tahir was about to stand to keep following the soldier when the woman looked directly at him. He froze on the bench. Her gaze stayed on him for a short time but it felt like an age to the young assassin. He had to be imagining this; he had done nothing to draw her attention.
Then she was gone back inside the building she had come out of. Breathing a very real sigh of relief, had he caused himself to be discovered by a woman the other novices would torment him forever and more importantly Malik would have killed him, he got to his feet and followed the soldier on his uneventful trip back to the fortress.
The remainder of the day passed in the same uneventful way for him, chasing down any lead however small but ending up with nothing. When he met up with the other novices and informants at the bureau their story was the same. Altair returned soon after they did and even the great mentor came back empty handed.
The mood among the men was grim so Tahir decided to lighten the atmosphere with the story of the nervous soldier and the woman, who he was now convinced were illicit lovers, hence the man's twitchy state. They all listened intently with expectant smiles, waiting for the punch line but when he mentioned the location the Master was more attentive than usual.
When he brought up the details about the pretty woman in man's clothes, Malik raised an eyebrow at Altair who nodded in reply. Their gestures were almost imperceptible but Tahir noticed, although he would never dare question them openly he might ask Malik later. That look had been enough to warn him to keep his thoughts about her to himself, if the Master and Malik had her in their sights then he could have done their mission real harm.
After they had eaten he watched for a chance to get Malik alone, if he had erred yet again, he knew it would be viewed harshly. They sat around a while longer chatting but he was no longer a contributing voice, the novice was contemplating every possible outcome of his intended talk with Malik and none of them went well.
Usually the novices would sleep in the bureau of whichever city they were in but Malik had arranged for some of them to stay with the Rafiq and the rest were in a safe house. For their part they were mostly glad not to be under the watchful eye of Malik and far worse the Master, they would never be able to relax with him around.
Tahir hung around after the others had left and when Altair was busy at the desk reading he approached Malik.
"Is there something you wish to discuss?" Malik kept his expression serious but when the young man began to shuffle his feet he had to lower his head to hide his amusement.
"There is yes. I am concerned that I have inadvertently stumbled upon something you and the Master are investigating; I saw the look you shared when I mentioned the woman. I was simply following orders, looking into anything no matter how small."
When Malik didn't reply at once the young man cleared his throat and Allah help him if this didn't earn him the attention of the Master as well. He closed his eyes, cursing his rotten luck and when he opened them again Altair was standing beside Malik.
He had no idea what to expect from the Master,Tahir had been too young to have any friendship with Altair and unlike Kadar he had never been chosen to accompany either of the men he now faced on missions. There was a time when he envied Kadar that honour but that was before they had been sent to the Temple and Kadar had been caught in the middle of their egos.
Malik's voice brought him back to the present, not somewhere he relished being. "Tahir thinks he may have posed a threat to an ongoing mission but I can't see how, unless you alerted our targets to your presence."
Tahir felt sick, his stomach churned and for a split second he was tempted to lie but he respected these men too much to do that. "I may have."
Had he not lowered his head he would have seen the grin on Malik's face threaten to explode into outright laughter but the dai contained himself, there was more fun to be had here.
Altair wasn't as amused like Malik but he was very interested, "What is it you believe you have done?"
The tone of his voice told Malik that Altair was concerned although about what he couldn't imagine, or perhaps he could. This kept getting better and better.
"The woman may have seen me briefly, although she never approached me or spoke to me, for a short time it looked as though she was suspicious of me."
Altair wasn't enjoying this in the least, if Maria had seen one of his novices apparently watching her... well he knew who she would blame and who would suffer her fury.
He dismissed the novice with assurances he had committed no wrong doing even going so far as to commend his attention to detail, Malik walked with him to the outer room, probably to assure him he had been teasing.
Altair had spent a good portion of the day looking forward to seeing Maria but now with this going on he wasn't even sure she would ever speak to him again. And when Malik came back wearing the same expression as the proverbial cat that got the cream, his frustration bordered on annoyance.
"You enjoyed that! You knew from the beginning he was talking about Maria."
"Guilty on both charges brother! You spoiled my fun; I could have kept that going for a bit longer."
"Fun, Malik! I question your sense of humour."
"You are only worried that Maria saw him and now thinks you are having her watched. I on the other hand have no such concerns and was free to enjoy the situation." He picked a book up from the table and made his way to the back of the bureau.
Altair stayed where he was, going over in his head the conversation he knew was coming with Maria.
"I don't know why you are so troubled Altair, she was probably noticing something else. What are the chances of her noticing one of us, even a novice, blending in is one of the biggest assets we have."
Following him into the back now Altair countered, "You keep making the mistake of thinking of her as a woman. If he thinks she saw him then she saw him."
Malik refused to let his sour face dull his enjoyment of the moment, "You never told me she was beautiful, I probably should have guessed what with all the attention you've been giving her." Sliding the leather bound book across the surface of the table as he spoke.
Bristling now Altair wanted this conversation to be over, he was never happy discussing personal matters. "Neither did Tahir, you are making that up. Besides which her appearance is of no relevance." He snatched up the book and stuffed it into the back of his waist armour.
"Tahir did indeed say she was beautiful; in fact let me quote his exact words. "Her hair is as dark as night but her skin is whiter than the snow that falls on the mountains. Her lips are redder than the ripest pomegranate and her eyes wider than the Orontes Valley."
Altair slammed the door shut behind him, stopping Malik in his tracks. It was pointless to continue now that he was alone but his smile remained fixed after his friend's departure. The truth was Tahir had been unwilling to say anything about the woman and Malik had to drag even the most basic description from him but it was enough to work with. The rest he had improvised and did rather well even if he did say so himself.
Altair exited the bureau making a lot more noise than usual. His journey across the rooftops of the city could have been a lot shorter than he chose to make it but he needed time. There was the real possibility that tonight was going to be a disaster; Maria would never believe that his novice being at her home was an innocent coincidence.
Malik now alone in the bureau looked at the pile of papers on his desk and scowled, he was having trouble concentrating. He took up his quill and put it to the fresh parchment of paper, thoughtlessly scribbling away.
Altair's plans for that evening and who he was planning it with inevitably lead his thoughts to the past, to Robert De Sable and Solomon's Temple. He moved to rest his head on a hand that was no longer there and sighed, it had been gone for a long while but there were times when he forgot and still tried to use it. Just as there were times when he wanted to share something with his brother, the realisation that he was gone hit a lot harder than a missing arm.
He was writing the short but far less amusing version of Tahir's meeting with Altair's new favourite pastime. The boy had taken Kadar's death badly and had become a poor student, unwilling to listen or learn. Malik knew he would never be a master assassin but he was loyal and more than capable, he was certain Tahir's future within the order could be saved, he just needed guidance. Malik was determined to give him that much at least. He had been a big part of his family for many years, almost since the day he had arrived at Masyaf in such poor condition they had all believed he would die.
His family had been travelling to Jerusalem when they were attacked by bandits, instead of surrendering their meagre possessions his father had tried to fight them off. His parents, older brother and 2 younger sisters were all dead or dying when a figure in white had ridden toward them brandishing his sword above his head.
The boy had sustained a head wound which had impaired his vision but he still managed to crawl to his mother's body and bury himself in her clothes. His tiny body flinched every time he heard the thunderous clash of steel against steel which could be clearly heard even over the shouting and the occasional agonised cry of pain. Then all feel silent.
When he felt a hand on shoulder his body contracted into a ball, anticipating the agony he was sure would follow. Instead he felt hands slide below his slight frame, he felt a chest against his own and a shoulder supporting his head and then the man spoke.
"Fear not little one, the danger has passed. I am sorry I arrived too late to help your family, there is nothing we can do for them now. Do you have anyone else I can take you to?"
His eyes still squeezed tight, "I don't think so."
"I can't leave you here; my home is not too far from here. I will take you there until we can decide what to do with you."
The journey had taken the rest of the day and most of the next and the boy's condition worsened with each passing hour. Eventually he stopped responding to the assassin's questions, passing in and out of consciousness with barely a murmur. The assassin stopped regularly to pour water on his face and down his throat, tending to his wound but he knew he would die if he didn't get him proper care soon. He made the decision to ride through the night, with the tiny body leaning against his.
Although sure the boy was unconscious and unable to hear him the man spoke to him often, telling him of his own sons and the place they all called home. When at last the outpost signalling the end of journey appeared he had leaned forward and said to the boy, "We are home now, everything will be better."
The man had been Faheem Al Sayf and the home he had spoken of was Masyaf.
Malik dropped the quill onto the paper; he decided he was going for a walk. Altair could deal with the paperwork when he returned, if he could drag his mind away from thinking about that woman for longer than 5 minutes that was.
He felt no hostility toward Maria, in his mind she was a pawn, as they had been. However he was becoming concerned that the Mentor was harbouring hopes of a serious relationship with her and that would be an issue. The last thing they needed was for him to return to Masyaf with her by his side. He chuckled softly, that would never happen not even Altair would dare show such blatant disregard for his brothers feelings.
Pausing to tidy the papers, he lifted the quill to drop it back into the ink pot but instead he dropped it to the desk. The page he had been working on began as it should have a routine account of the novice's reports. Below that was the beginning of a face, the outline of the head, sketched hair. It was far from complete, only one eye was drawn but Malik knew he who he was looking at, would know those features anywhere. He ran his finger along the page, smudging some of the ink, blurring the edges.
"I miss you brother."
Was going to be a much longer chapter (way too long) but I split it and the 2nd part will be up very soon. Not much going on in this or the next but it is leading somewhere, trust me :)