XLIII.
A Solider

Sneaking through Havana was easier said than done. They took to the rooftops but there were guards there and in fact the other guards seemed to know to look up now. Mary cursed, ducking down once more as Edward hid behind a chimney. He was holding his blowpipe in his hands and she was hanging off the edge of a roof. Her arms were burning already and she could feel a sweat working itself up on her skin. She couldn't hang on much longer and if anyone walked by they would see her very easily. She glanced at Edward, who took aim at the guard who was quickly approaching where she dangled. There was the sound of a dart leaving the pipe and then the man staggered, hand going to his neck. Mary began to achingly pull herself back up as the man's eyes rolled back and he collapsed. Edward hurried over to her and grabbed her arm, pulling her up next to him.

"Damn, this poison you use on these is lethal." Edward whispered as she pulled herself to her feet.

"It's a mix of a few different kinds" Mary said with a shrug. The Natives had come up with it long before and the Assassins had just used the recipe. It fit their purposes very well or so she thought. She drew a small dagger and then finished off the man. Edward didn't say anything, knowing that it was better if he was dead. The poison would have finished him off but why risk someone finding and curing him? Why not just finish him off now and let it be over with?

The two of them moved on. It was hard going, sneaking through this alerted town. Several more times they had to go around patrols or take to the roofs again or back to the ground. It was tiring and she figured that was the point. The guards were hoping they could exhaust any Assassin or Pirate who tried to make their way through town. Soon enough they found Rhona, not too far from the church, pacing on a rooftop, arms crossed, brow furrowed in worry.

They both landed on the roof near her and she startled, turning, her hidden blade extending until she saw it was them. She relaxed at once, an uneasy smile lighting up her face. She looked tired and worn, worried and a little bit frightened. Mary didn't blame her; the whole city was on lock down. Mary and Edward had seen several men put down on their way here. Men that were put down for no other reason than that they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"Ah…Captain Kenway, Miss Read" Rhona said, walking closer to the two of them. "I'm assuming this is the friendliest face you've seen since dropping anchor" Her smile became more playful and she shrugged on a easy-going nature like a well-worn cloak.

"Is Havana under curfew because of us, Rhona?" Mary asked her friend.

"I would think so, aye. Torres seems to think someone's coming after him."

"He's not wrong…" Edward held a bitter smile. Because of Torres, because of the Templars, Edward had lost a lot in his life. He had lost the ability to live in peace with his wife, he had lost friends, he had lost his will to live for a while too. He glanced at Mary and she back at him until she saw Rhona looking, her eyebrow raised. Mary dropped her gaze, her face flushing. Rhona clearly had heard a thing or two about them and that caused Mary to think of the last time they were in Havana. Had it been so many years...? Edward was quick to distract, pulling out the device which looked like an old crystal skull.

Rhona's eyes were drawn to it and they widened. "A manky looking thing. Is that what I think it is?"

"Aye, watch. Through the blood of the governor we can see through his eyes" He dug a glass cube out of his pocket. He checked the label and knowing it was the right one, he slipped it into the device's opening. The eyes of the skull began to glow and a picture was projected before them.

"That's…that's by the church!" Rhona declared and Edward and Mary shared a look. She shook her head at him. She knew he wanted her to stay behind, to stay here with Rhona and not come with him for the final kill. How could he expect that of her?

The picture ended as Edward yanked the blood cube out of the skull. He stuffed the cube in his pocket and held the skull out to Rhona. "Keep this safe. Just in case"

Rhona took it and looked at Edward for a moment. "I'll be at the bureau." Then she threw her arms around him, hugging him tight. Edward's hands came up, but he never wrapped them around her. His expression was surprised. "Good luck to you, Edward Kenway" She turned to Mary. "And you too Mary Read."

Her expression was odd at that moment. Almost jealous, upset. Mary realized that it was because it was so clear that she and Edward had feelings for each other. Had Rhona found no one in these years? Assassins often did not settle until late in their lives or if they did settle, they retired. She gave them one last look, a hopeful one – she wanted them happy, they were her friends after all and then she jumped to another building and was expertly fleeing towards the bureau once more.

"Should we go?" She asked.

"Mary, I want to ask you to go to the bureau, to be safe while I handle this."

"And will you?"

"If this may be my final fight, I want you by my side too much to ask you to leave" He spoke so solemnly. Like he was going to die.

"Tosh, Edward!" She sighed, shaking her head. "I've fully recovered now. I won't let you be on your own"

He gave her a ghost of a smile. "Then we have no time to waste"

Together they ghosted along the rooftops and streets. The church was not far but it was heavily guarded. Torres was nowhere to be found. They did however hear the guards speaking from their hiding place in the bushes. There were key words like 'El Tiburon', whom was Torres' usual guard, Castillo, which was the huge fortress by the port, and Asesino. Assassin…

She glanced at Edward, they had to go the Castillo. Leaving the guards behind they hurried towards it, dodging along the streets once more. It all went well until they found two men being harassed by the guards, a third one laying on the ground, bleeding from a hole in his throat. They would have passed them but they had to get up on the roofs once more. They were in a square, wide and open, without a place to hide.

Edward began climbing first and he was nearly to the roof of the building when a shingle just seemed to snap from the roof in his hand. He gave a yell as he fell. He managed to grab onto a flower terrace on the way down, but the yell had the guards looking. Mary drew a blade and a pistol. As two of them rounded the corner, Mary shot him between the eyes. He slumped forward, towards her and she gave him a push, sending his dead weight backwards towards the other guards coming.

The first one crumbled under his dead companion and she stuck her sword in his throat. The other two guards backed up, knowing now she was dangerous. She glanced up, seeing Edward making his way back up the roof. A pistol cracked and another man fell dead. The last charged at her, eyes screwing up in a fearful way, with him whimpering like a newborn babe. She killed him too and then ran over to the two men tied up in the square. She cut their ropes.

"Thank you, lass" The one said.

"Oy, ain't you uh…Whatshername?" The second asked as she walked away.

She paused, seeing Edward standing on the rooftop, clearly waiting for her. "In the dock is a ship called the Jackdaw. If you lads don't have another place to be, you go there and they'll put you to work. If you do, I suggest you get there. There ain't a safe place in Havana right now"

She climbed up the building and pulled herself up next to Edward. He looked down at the two men, his hood up, his eyes hard to see. She looked at him and then turned to head away. She hesitated, looking at the two men. She motioned for them to move on and she followed after Edward. There were a few more incidents on the way to their destination, but soon they found themselves looking up at the dark imposing walls.

It was a cold place and the sky was dark with clouds today, looking an awful lot like it would storm soon, but the Castillo made the world look like a darker place. From what little Mary knew of it, it was build something like 150 years ago. It was so solid looking and so sturdy, she would bet that not even mortars could wear it down too much and even if they did rain upon it, it would still be there in another 150 years' time. Its walls were thick, that was for sure…

All the better so not to hear the screams of torture victims…. Her thoughts whispered darkly.

Edward and her watched as some guards went in and then the doors closed. He smiled, at a memory perhaps and pointed out some places they could climb on the stone to the left of it. They would be out over open water and less likely to be seen. She asked him how she knew of this and he gave a short, light chuckle.

"I've snuck into the Castillo before"

"You?" She asked, crossing her arms and giving him a doubtful look.

"Yes me"

"A plum duff sailor like you snuck into the Castillo? Are you sure you weren't captured and you snuck out?"

"Oh, give me some credit Mary! I'm not completely useless, right?" She stayed silent, a smirk on her face. "Come off it!"

"Rot, Edward. I'm just teasing you" He wasn't really mad, she could see. The joking helped though, helped them stern themselves up for what was to come next. They would have to sneak into the Castillo and then kill Torres. Edward took her hand and squeezed it in his own. Comforting and warm, she squeezed his hand back.

She turned to him and much like Rhona had, she threw her arms around him. Only difference was that she sealed his surprised lips with her own. Another difference was he held her close, kissing her like it might be their last. She pulled away first, stepping back.

"For luck"

"For luck" He agreed, slightly breathless.

Then they both jumped down and headed to the spot Edward indicated. Edward went first as he already had an idea of where to go. They had to keep nearly flat against the stone, less a passing guard see them. Edward was a little better off as his outfit had greys and whites on it. Mary's was made mostly of browns. She wished she had taken a robe for herself when she joined the Order but she had wanted to operate as a sort of blending Assassin. An Assassin whom no one knew as an Assassin. The robes were all well and good, but they were easily picked out of a crowd. From what she read, they had once wore the robes because scholars and priests of the time had worn similar ones. Now that was very out of date and it was just tradition that dictated the use of the robes. To be truly spread within the people meant wearing the guise of those people, looking and acting like any one of them rather than standing apart from them.

These were just her personal musing though and she had never shared them, not even with Ah Tabai.

Still Edward led her around and up onto the Castillo. They found themselves in a nearly empty fortress and that struck Mary as odd but before either of them could call out on it, she saw Torres, standing and talking to a guard below them. Edward climbed up onto the edge of wall and jumped, landing perfectly on Torres' back. She grinned but it was short lived as 'Torres' was rolled over and his wig fell off to show a youth with brown hair.

"Edward!" She screamed his name and he ducked out of the way just in time as El Tiburon swung his sword at Edward. Edward bounced to his feet and moved to run but guards blocked his way. They flooded the area, clearly having set a trap for them.

"Mary! Get out of here!" She heard Edward call up to her.

"Are you a damn fool?" She climbed up on the edge herself. The wind hit her and she looked up to see a wall of rain coming their way. It was now or never, this wasn't the final battle for them but it was going to be a rough one. The rain would only make it worse. She jumped, landing on two guards, digging her blades deep into their throats. She rolled as another attacked her with sword. Edward was given room to fight because was taking on El Tiburon by himself.

He wasn't in a bad way, but Mary wanted to assist him. The guards kept her busy though, pressing her back towards a wall with sheer number. She fought and she fought hard but numbers and weariness were her enemies. The rain came then, soaking them all to the bone even though it wasn't a downpour, but it was still wet and cold and uncomfortable. Her hair stuck to her face making it harder to see and somewhere in her fight, someone had clipped her above her right eye. Blood ran into her eye, veiling things in red and making it hard to see. She glanced towards Edward again and saw he had been marked a few times but El Tiburon was limping compared to Edward, he was barely able to lift his sword. This gave Mary some hope and with her vigor renewed a little, she cut into the guards, carving her way back to Edward and just as she reached him, he stood up straight.

She doubted she'd ever forget the sight of him then, standing tall and straight in the rain, soaked to the bone but never looking less proud. He pointed his gun at El Tiburon and the other man just watched with dark eyes, knowing he was unable to dodge, knowing he was unable to get away. He limped forward though, as if he might be able to stop it but they all knew. Edward pulled the trigger and the pistol cracked. The bullet caught El Tiburon in his throat and sent him to the ground where he thrashed as he tried to breathe.

The guards attacking Mary broke rank and ran then, dropping their swords and practically pissing themselves in fear. The most feared man in all of Cuba had been shot down, just like that. Of course they were pissing themselves. Mary walked to Edward's side where he kneeled by El Tiburon.

"If you could speak, mate, it would gladden me to hear your side" The other man just groaned in a way that suggested perhaps his lips were sewn shut. Edward stood, nodding as if he had heard something he thought he would. "You humbled me once, and I took that hard lesson, and I bettered myself. Die knowing that for all our conflict, you helped make a solider out of a scoundrel" The other man went limp and Edward bowed his head a moment, as did she. She heard Edward turn and he put his arm around her. They began to walk away and she heard him mutter, under his breath "Leave this life for a lasting peace, down among the dead"

They made their way to the bureau after that, still having to sneak and hide but feeling more safe – perhaps because they realized that there was no El Tiburon in the shadows to strike upon him. That man had been a beast of a fighter with a certain darkness upon his character that was hard to exactly name. He had been a force to fear, but no longer. Edward had killed him and Mary felt a certain pride at Edward's growth.

They soon arrived, finding Rhona who looked quite distressed. At least the rain had mostly stopped by that point, only a few drops splashing from the sky. She hurried over to them, handing the skull back to Edward, who took it and hid it away on his own person once more.

"We got word Torres left the city. Who was it you were chasing?" She asked.

"The vial was labeled Torres but held the blood of his second. Where's he gone?"

"He left port this morning, heading west along the coast" Edward cursed gently when she told him that. He paced away from the two women, his hands on his hips. He turned back and he said two words that chilled Mary to her core.

"The Observatory"

"Shall we follow?" Mary asked him. How had Torres found it? Only Edward and Roberts had known the location. Roberts was dead now so…lucky guess? Or perhaps he had another way. She supposed they'd never know. All she knew as that he could not be allowed to breech the sanctuary.

"Send word to Ah Tabai that we've cornered our man" He told Rhona and then he led Mary away, heading back towards the Jackdaw. He looked worried and Mary didn't blame him. Torres would bring every ounce his menace with now. He was aiming for the kill and Mary had to hope that she and Edward wouldn't be in the crosshairs.

A/N: Thanks to all who reviewed, followed and favorited this story. I'll see you all next chapter.