Desmond sits on the floor of the sanctuary, trying not to see the newly unpacked equipment. He's tired, and it's late, but he's not quite ready to sleep yet. He's still thinking the day over- the attack on their hideout. Realizing that at least one of the people he's spent the past week with is a traitor. Revealing himself to Ezio. The attack on Monteriggioni. Running into Ezio in the tunnels under the villa.
"I really hoped the statue would be gone," Altair says from next to him.
Rebecca and Shaun are both asleep, but Lucy's hunched over her computer nearby, so Desmond can only shrug.
"We need to talk," Altair says. "About what happened this morning."
Desmond nods. About what happened in the animus, too, because Altair doesn't even know yet. But they have to be even more careful than they have been up until now- it's not just that the others might decide Desmond's going crazy. One or more of them is working for Abstergo, and the last thing he needs is for the templars to find out about Altair.
He gets up and calls to Lucy- "I'm going out for a while."
"That's probably not too good of an idea..." Lucy says. "We barely managed to lose Abstergo."
"They're not going to look here," Desmond says. Not unless someone tells them, anyway. "It doesn't look like anyone's even been in here since Ezio left."
"I just don't know if it's a good idea," Lucy says.
"I'll only be a little while," Desmond says. "I just think I'm going to lose it if I'm stuck inside all the time."
She looks up sharply. "Lose it?" she repeats. "Desmond, if you're not feeling well-"
"I'm not bleeding," Desmond says. Shit. "Sorry. It's just cabin fever. That's all. I'm not used to being stuck underground all the time."
"Fine," Lucy says. "But... you'll tell me, right? If anything does start to happen? Because no one's ever used the animus this long without..."
"I promise," Desmond says. Behind him, Altair makes an impatient noise. "If I start seeing things, you'll be the first one I tell." It's hard to look at her as he says it. He knows he's lying, but he doesn't have a lot of choice. Maybe if he figures out who the traitor is. Maybe then he'll tell her.
"Alright," Lucy says. "But take a earpiece, okay?"
"Yea," Desmond says.
"And be back before the sun's up!" she calls.
Already halfway up the stairs, Desmond tosses a "Yes, mom!" back over his shoulder at her. Then he puts the earpiece in his pocket, and doesn't look back again.
Altair's waiting at the top of the stairs, somehow looking even more out of place than he usually does. In their earlier headquarters, Altair looked a little unlikely, but the mostly empty building had never been home. Altair shouldn't have been there, but then, Desmond probably shouldn't have been there either. And this is Ezio's home. Coming here, it feels like Ezio, like being in the animus, inside Ezio's head.
"So," Desmond says, and lets out a long sigh. "Where do we even start with today?"
"With the traitor," says Altair. "Or taitors."
"Right," says Desmond. He doesn't look at Altair, because he can't keep his eyes off the streets below. It's surreal, the way everything looks so different. It's like coming home after a long trip and finding out someone's moved all the furniture around.
"Focus," Altair snaps, and Desmond looks back at him. He starts to make a comment, but Altair's face makes him stop.
"This isn't the same," he says instead. "Whoever the traitor is, it's not going to be like Al Mualim."
"It's exactly the same," says Altair. "It's a betrayal, Desmond. And if they're working for Abstergo, then we're going to stop them. Before they end the world."
Desmond sighs. Both of them sit there for a while, before Desmond asks, "So who do you think it is?"
"Right now, I'm assuming all three of them," says Altair.
"I don't think so," says Desmond. "If they're all Abstergo, why aren't we still in their building? They had me under control. They didn't know about you."
"I'm not saying I think all of them are templars," says Altair. "But you can't let your guard down around any of them. Not until we know for sure."
"Obviously," says Desmond. "But how do we find out?"
"Keep your eyes open," says Altair. "Don't trust any of them."
"That's what you wanted to talk about so urgently?" Desmond asks.
"No," Altair says. "I wanted to hear what you need to tell me. You're lucky no one bothers learning to read body language, because you've got something you want to say."
So Desmond tells him all about Ezio, what happened in the animus and then running into him in the tunnels.
"I know," Altair says. "About the tunnels, anyway. I saw him too."
"That's a relief, actually," Desmond sighs. "I thought maybe I've started actually hallucinating things."
"Maybe we both are," says Altair. "I've been in the animus too."
"Yea, once," says Desmond.
"But I've been in your head a lot more than once."
"...you're really not helping," Desmond says. "The point is, he can't have actually been here. He doesn't even have the apple-"
"And we know the apple's not the only way for you to see him," Altair interrupts. "It's how I'm here, but when you're in my head, or Ezio's, it's the animus causing it. There could be a third thing too. Or more than three. Or maybe it's just an aftereffect of meeting Minerva in Rome."
"This is confusing," Desmond says. "Do you think we'll be seeing him again?"
"I don't know," Altair says. "I hope not. It's getting a little crowded in your head."
-/-
...this chapter is pretty much just me wandering around in my head and trying to figure out how time travel works, then deciding I don't know and neither do any of the characters, so who cares. Bleh.