VI
A New Hunt

Edward was gone by the next morning. Mary went down to check, planning on offering provisions but he was already gone. She couldn't even see his ship on the horizon so he could have left in the middle of the night for all she knew. She stood on the beach for a few minutes, watching the water and then turned, heading back towards the main part of the village. She had the strange list in her room, a little worse for the wear but still able to be read. She had yet to show it to Ah Tabai because yesterday had been such a day. The attack, disarming the ships and returning to shore to help the wounded had left her exhausted at the end of the day. Rather than risk collapsing once again, she had retired to sleep a while.

She walked to meet him in his own hut, which was a walk from the village itself. She had to skirt around a swamp, filled with dangerous crocodiles and take to the trees to avoid an angry jaguar whose meal she interrupted. Soon enough she entered Ah Tabai's hut and found him sitting on the ground, seemingly meditating. She sat down across from him and waited. It was a long moment before he opened his dark eyes and acknowledged her.

"Mary" He said simply.

"Mentor" She replied.

"I have warned you away from Kenway and yet you insist on trusting him." His voice was curt and disappointed. She glanced away. "I worry for you Mary. You are a wise woman, but you are yet young and you let your heart rule all of your decisions yet"

"Isn't that what we are supposed to do when we are young?" She asked. "Before our passions burn out?" She had been told that by a man she considered wise. That had been a long time ago, but she kept his words in her heart.

"Not when you are an Assassin" His eyes were hard, but she understood his words came from a good place. "Please, Mary, reconsider your friendship with Kenway. Only heartache and disappointment await you if you stay on this path"

"It will be mine to deal with"

"Only if his foolishness doesn't get you killed"

"This isn't what I came to talk to you about" She shook her head, trying to clear the air. She didn't want to talk about Kenway. He was a fool and she knew it but he was a fool with raw potential. Why could no one else see that? That was an argument for another day though. "I found this on a Templar ship" She handed him the paper. He read it over in silence.

"The names crossed out…we have killed these men" He observed. She had noticed that too. "As for this checks and blanks…I can think of a few things it means. It may mean they are collecting something from them. Or it may mean they expect something from these men. No matter what it means, it will not do well for the Assassins."

He was silent a moment and Mary waited while he thought it out. "Kill them all. Take and spread their names and locations among our brothers and sisters and make sure every man on this list dies" It was an easy solution. Sadly, it seemed to be the main solution among Assassins. It was easier to just say 'kill them all' than it was to capture them and get information from them. Most gave the information they wanted with their dying breaths anyway. She supposed it worked out.

She turned to leave but Ah Tabai spoke again. "Take some time to rest though Mary. You said you collapsed while away correct? We can't afford to lose you" There was warmth in his voice though. He wasn't just saying that they couldn't lose her because she was a good assassin; he was saying it because she was a fellow sister. She had many friends among the Assassins and they always mourned when they lost one of their own. That was why these attacks were so tragic. Reminding her...

"Mentor…before I go, have you given any thought to moving the village?" She didn't turn back around to face him.

"I have but I do not know where we could go that we will be safe" He sighed. "I will think on it some more."

"If I come across a place I my travels, I'll make sure to tell you. These attacks have to stop."

"We lost too many yesterday"

"Even one is too many" She didn't have to turn around to know he was nodding.

With that she left, walking back to the main part of the village, mulling over the situation and what they could do to remedy it. Her crew had not come looking for her yet, but they probably wouldn't come by until the month was almost out. She had a while to rest and recover, knowing that she needed it. She had not been treating herself well the last week or so and she was paying for it. She felt older than she was, but being an Assassin was hard on the body, which was why they all strove to stay fit and active. Most lived long lives because of this and Mary was hoping her own would be much the same, of course she had the added bonus of being a pirate which never bode well for anyone's health.

At least, she mussed, there was no risk of her catching something nasty off a whore. Still, disease was something that any sailor knew well. She had seen men who had seen the awful side of scurvy, which was glad when she returned 'home', she returned to an island ripe with fruit to prevent that for herself. So she supposed she had been lucky in more than one account.

She helped tend the sick and wounded for a while before sending out birds to all of the Assassin Bureaus that coincided with a location of a name on the list. She asked for information on each of the men and women on the list, but not for their deaths, not yet. It was a time to just gather information right now, be ready to kill them. There would be time to herald their deaths, soon enough. All good things came to those who would wait.

Her crew back sooner rather than later because a message had been sent to them. She had not sent it, so one of the other Assassins must have. They arrived in the evening and Mary let them rest, telling them they would leave in the next day in the early afternoon. She had some things to take care of that night and into the next day so she didn't want to rush.

The day they were to leave, she found herself passing by where the others were training. She stopped and watched, though another person came to stand by her. She knew it was Javi – who showed so much displeasure towards her now due to her siding with Edward.

"Mary" He said softly and she turned her head to look at him. "I had a talk with our Mentor"

"About what?"

"About that man being allowed here. He is a corrupt, scoundrel of a man and I don't think you should be around him" Mary had to roll her eyes at his words.

"And who are you to tell me who I can and can't be around?" She turned so she was facing him completely. He turned too, staring her down.

"A man more sensible than you"

"It's a good think I ain't a man then, now isn't it?"

"I don't know what you see in that man, but he is rotten! The only path he walks is of selfish greed!" His words were getting louder and angrier. She was trying to stay calm but she did not like someone who didn't understand everything judging her actions. "It's just like you to trust a man who'll let you down, eh Mary?"

That hurt. That was a low blow. She felt like he had punched her straight in her chest and she froze for a long moment, pain washing through her system. How dare he bring anything like that up! How dare he! Who did he think he was? Before she quite knew what she was doing, she punched him. He didn't go down but he stumbled back.

"Don't like the truth?"

"Shut your fucking gob!" Her voice was harsh, but low. "Shut up or I'll knock your right out"

"Can't you see I'm trying to help you? You always trust people who are going to let you down, who are going to hurt you or break you. Stop trying to help that thrice damned fool. You're only going to break your own heart. Again"

"Shut. Up." She hissed. This was his last warning.

"You're a damn fool-" He started but she lost her temper completely and leapt upon him.

She kicked and punched, and he returned the hits. They scrambled across the ground trying to gain the upper hand. He was heavier than she was, but that didn't count for nothing because she had more brawling experience. She had brawled before with men three times her weight and he was probably only thirty pounds heavier than her if she had to offer a guess. Finally he rolled onto his back, with her over him, aiming to give him a good fist to the head. His feet were suddenly in her stomach and she went flying.

She rolled and hit a tree. She coughed and gagged, trying to right herself. She managed to get onto her knees and very nearly lost what little food was in her stomach. He had kicked her hard, hard enough to leave her gasping and panting. She looked over and he was climbing shakily to his feet. His face was covered in bruises and his right nostril was leaking a steady stream of blood. His left eye was almost swelled shut. In his right eye glimmered anger, a want for revenge for the damage caused. He wiped at the blood from his nose, smearing it across his face as he stumbled closer to her. She pushed herself onto her knees and put one foot under herself, ready to launch herself at him again.

"Mary. Javi." Another voice cut through their little bubble. They both looked over to see another Assassin, a native. "End this pointless fight. If it goes on, I will fetch Ah Tabai."

"Of course, brother" Javi was the vision of humbled. He bowed his head and stepped a single step back from her. The other Assassin looked at her and she spat some blood on the ground.

"Aye. I have to be going anyway" She pushed herself to her feet, rubbing the blood leaking from her split lip away. She walked away without another word. She found her way to her crew, who seemed alarmed by her battered appearance; she brushed it off and demanded they set sail as soon as possible. Within the hour, Tulum was already behind her.

She found her way to Havana not much later. She didn't pay much mind to the ships in the dock, instead setting off at once for the Assassin's Bureau. Rhona Dinsmore was the woman in charge there. She had once disguised herself as man, much like Mary did, which made them bond a little. When she joined the Assassins some years ago, she quit that because she did most of her work out of Havana and did not have much need for sailing. She still questioned why Mary still carried on with her façade but she had no answer that she could give. It was personal. Still, she had skill though and if there was any woman that Mary might have at her side in the open sea, it would be Rhona.

When she got to the Bureau, she found Rhona inside attempting to treat a bullet wound on her arm by herself. There were two others inside but one was helping the other who had appeared to have been gravely wounded. She moved passed them and sat at the table where Rhona was struggling with the bandages.

"Mary Read! As I live and breathe!" She said, giving up on the bandages for the moment. "Ooh…you look like you saw the bad side of someone's temper"

"Rhona, what happened?" She ignored the comment on her still bruised face.

"We got attacked. I sent most of my men away, chasing different Templars in our jurisdiction and it was only us three here. Mark got hurt earlier today and his brother hasn't left his side since. When we got attacked, that left me alone to defend the Bureau. I was having a hell of a time too, until Kenway showed up out of the blue offering his help"

"Kenway? You don't mean…Edward…Kenway?" Her voice went dry.

"The one and the same" She nodded. "I took a shot the arm, he saved me and I sent him off on another errand." She leaned on the table with her good arm. "Now why don't you tell me why your face is lookin' like that?"

She stood and moved to her side of the table, taking the bandages. "Let me see your arm. I'll tell you while I help you" So she told her about her fight with Javi and the beating they gave each other. Of course, she had given him a better beating than he had given her and that was all that mattered. After she treated Rhona, she ended up lifting her shirt and showing her the lovely bruises on her stomach from being kicked there.

"You're lucky if he didn't mess up anything inside" Rhona said, inspecting the bruises. "You ain't coughing up blood or nothing of the like are you?"

"No. Just a little pain, but the bruise isn't getting any bigger and it seems to even be healing."

"You're a lucky lass then" She sighed with a nod. Of course Rhona wanted to check the bruises on her face and she let her poke at them a little before swatting her hand away. "So why are you defending Edward anyway?" She asked.

"He's not all bad. A bit of work and he could turn into a decent Assassin"

"Mary, he worked with the Templars. He sold a map to them. It's his fault this is happening" Though she didn't mind having him run her errands, she knew about the map. Edward probably told her himself. He wasn't shy on sharing information.

"Look Rhona, I know. Believe me. I had to talk everyone on Tulum out of killing him. They had money out on his head and I talked them out of it. I wanted them to give him a chance."

"Why?" She seemed curious and Mary sighed.

"Because, I already said. He'd make a decent Assassin and he's been a good friend of mine for some time now. It seemed a waste to let him die. Besides that, I discovered he has the Sense." It was rare for Assassins to have the Sense. So few of them had it and they actively recruited people who showed signs of having it. They taught those who showed potential to learn it how to use it. It was a skill, just like anything else. Edward was a natural though, to him the Sense was as natural as breathing.

"Does he now?" She seemed uninterested in that. "I think the most important thing is that you seem to see something great in him. I know he's a decent sort of fellow, he has a goodness about him but…he did help the Templars, Mary. How good can he be?"

"He didn't know what he was doing" She was tired of stating that point. "He didn't know nothing about us before then. If he did…I'm sure things would have played out differently."

She fell silent as did Mary. "I'll believe you. You've always been a good judge of most anyone's character." She nodded to herself. "Now, other than to gossip, is there a reason you're here?"

"Yes. I found this list and I'm looking for these men" She took the list out of her coat and lay it on the table. Rhona leaned over the table, looking at it. The names that were crossed off with their bold ink were instantly looked over. She tapped three names with her finger.

"I know these men are here. Hilary Flint has always been a thorn in my side" The way she said his name though…it was like a curse but not. It was hard for Mary to understand. There was something going on there but it wasn't her business to pry. She just nodded.

"I'll help you eliminate him and the other Templars in the area. Is he the major one?" She didn't answer for a long moment, staring hard at the list and then she slowly nodded. "Rhona, you look…a little sickly. You feeling well?"

"I'm fine. I should go out and wait for Edward. He's sure to return soon" Her words were almost quiet. Soft spoken and that wasn't much like the strong woman that Mary knew. She watched her walk out of the room and to the outside, letting Mary sit there by herself.

She grumbled to herself, rolling her list back up and sticking it back in her jacket. There was more going on than she knew but she didn't want to know a bit more. She hated when the relationships were complicated. It always made the kill so much harder.

A/N: Thank you all for continuing to read this story. I hope you look forward to some fun adventures with Rhona and Hilary. Leave me a couple reviews, eh? See all of you next time.