Desmond walked down North State Street, looking at the Ambrose Theatre as he did. Desmond remembered reading something in a news article about the owner of some exhibit being shot outside. The only reason it came to mind was because it was one of the first things he read after escaping from Abstergo's offices. He thought back to that night, remembering how it all started.
Desmond opened his eyes. He was lying on a cold metal table, still wearing his white hoodie and jeans. His shoes were missing, but he could always find new ones. The last thing he remembered was touching the glowing pedestal in the Grand Temple. He sat up, and looked around. He was in a laboratory of some sort, with what appeared to be a scientist working at a desk with her back turned to him. His bad was sitting on a table nearby. He quietly got up from the table and grabbed his bag off the table before tiptoeing over to a door. When he got close to it, it opened automatically without making a sound. He snuck out and found himself in a hallway. There were guards facing an open doorway at one end, and in front of him was a window that led to a large courtyard. He didn't see any other doors, so he realized his only option was to either go through the guards, which he noticed were carrying what appeared to be machine guns, or to jump out the window. Desmond braced as he hit the window, shattering the glass and setting off alarms. He hit the ground, which was fortunately only a floor down, and did a roll to break his fall. He then sprinted over to what looked like an exit as the guards shot at him. There were gates closing down on the doors, but he since he was fairly close he made it before they shut. More guards appeared as Desmond ducked behind a security desk. They all ran past him and opened the gates, thinking he was still in the courtyard. He carefully ran over to a window, as the doors were all gated, opened it, and climbed out. He was free from Abstergo, for now, at least. He walked over to a newspaper dispenser and picked one up, hoping to find out the date. The headlines said something about some DeMarco guy being shot.
Desmond was brought back to reality when a woman bumped into him. "Oh, sorry!" She said in a surprised voice. She then carried on with where she was going and left Desmond to his thoughts. He sat down, thinking about just how much his life had changed over the past year. Sometimes he just wanted to go back to being a bartender, but he knew that could never happen again. Not with the war between Templars and Assassins going on, at least. Desmond got up again and kept walking.
Aiden hopped out of his car, but when he did his trench coat must have caught on something and he fell on his face on the sidewalk. "Oh geez, are you okay?" A lady said, walking over to him and helping him up. "Yeah, I think I'm fine, thanks." The woman recoiled when she saw his face. "Uh, dude, no you aren't. You're bleeding, um, kind of a lot…"
"I'm sure it's just a flesh wound." Aiden said, quoting one of his favorite movies.
"Although props for that reference, you seriously should see a doctor."
"That bad?" Aiden flinched as he said that, feeling the blood dripping down his face.
"Yeah, pretty bad…" Hey, I guess I can take you to one, I'm not doing anything important." The woman said.
"Oh, no, that's not necessary." Aiden replied.
"Dude, if you could see what I'm seeing, you'd want to come with me too."
"You sure?"
"I think I passed a clinic a little while back actually, it's only a few minutes away, it shouldn't take long."
"Alright, fine…"
As they headed off down the street, the woman recognized Aiden. "Hey, aren't you the guy that was in the news awhile back? You're a vigilante, right?"
"I guess you could call me that."
"I knew it! I knew I had seen you somewhere before! Aiden Pearce, right?"
"That's me. By the way, what's your name?"
"Rebecca. Rebecca Crane."
"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Rebecca."