Chapter 11:

James awoke to the sun shining through his window. He rubbed at his head; the night before he'd gotten drunk as hell. His head felt as if it were about to explode. James tried to remember the events of the night before. The last thing he remembered was Anne holding him by the wrist and pulling him after her towards the manor. They must've had a lot to drink. James looked over to his right and saw none other than Anne lying beside him, just as stark as he was, the blanket wrapped around her. James scratched the back of his head and gently pulled the blanket from his body before slowly slipping out of bed and grabbing his trousers. He slipped them on and began picking up his assassin's robes and armor. He dressed and walked to the window. He opened it up and put his hands on the sill.

James let his eyes drift over the beach. He could see several drunken sailors staggering around on the white sand. He let his eyes shift over to look at the brothel. A large number of women stood in front of it, seductively waving to the men who passed with sultry gazes. James inhaled deeply through his nose and grinned at the smell of the sea salt. James turned and looked back at Anne's sleeping form. He suddenly had an urge to just find a quiet place where the two of them could stay in peace. But James knew in his heart that that just couldn't happen at the moment.

With a heavy sigh, James padded over to the bed and picked up his boots. He slippes them onto his feet and silently slipped from the room. James went out onto the manor's front porch and stood in the early morning sun. James thought about the Templar gone rogue, Patrick O'leary. James considered the man's plan. James so badly wanted to find a reason to not work with him-James just couldn't convince himself to trust the guy. But, James thought. If he was, or is, a Templar, maybe he could tell us where Rogers is.

James was so focused on his thoughts that he didn't notice Edward's presence until he was standing right by him. "Morning." James flinched at the sudden appearance. James inclined his head and looked to their right, towards the sea. He had a sudden longing to be on the Storm. But he knew that Louis had most likely had the ship sunk. The man seemed to have no limit. "Where is he?" James asked. Edeard looked at him carefully. "O'leary? Probably down at the tavern. He was there all night. I don't think I've ever seen a man stomach as much rum as he has."

"We need to see what he knows of Rogers." Edward nodded in agreement. "My thoughts exactly." James stepped towards the trail that led to the docks and the tavern. Then by all means, let's go find him." Edward went to follow, then stopped. "Where's Anne?" A sly grin split James' face. "I thought I should let her catch up on her sleep." Edward couldn't resist rolling his eye. "James, if I had a Reale for every time you went on one of your conquests, I would-"

"Be the richest man alive. You've said it before." The both of them chuckled.

The two brothers found Patrick O'leary sitting in a chair at the tavern with his feet propped up on the table, a bottle of rum in his hand. At the sight of them, Patrick held up the bottle and motioned them over. James and Edward sat across from Patrick and James spoke. "What do you know of Woods Rogers?" Patrick took a small nip from his rum and contemplated this question carefully. He smacked his lips and said; "I don't know much about the man personally. But I know where he's holed up, if that's wha' yer' askin'."

"That is what we're asking." Edward said, sounding impatient and irritated. Patrick nodded again and looked back to James. "Well, ya' see. The man ain't even anywhere near here. By that I mean he ain't in the West Indies." James and Edward looked at each other. James looked back at Patrick and cleared his throat. "Well, do you know where he is?" Patrick nodded his head.

"New York." He took a long pull from his rum. James looked at Edward again. "You mean in the colonies?" Patrick nodded his head again. "Rogers is a smart bastard. Bet ya' didn' even think about tha' place." James and Edward shook their heads in unison. Patrick leaned back. "Well, I personally think it would be smart ta' go there and see if we can catch the slimy bastard. He's got a high place in the Templar order. Sooner he's gone the better."

James stood in front of the Templar armor, staring at it with his arms folded. He scratched at the beard on his face that grew thicker and thicker with each passing day. Did he want to? The Templar armor was probably better than the assassin robes he wore now, but without his hood he would feel naked. James looked down at the armor he had over the robes. It could barely protect him from a musket round if he were ever fired at, and he had been before. James looked at the unorganized room he stood in. He doubted his armor would do much if it were added to the clutter.

With a sigh, James unclasped the armor he wore and let it drop to the ground. He kept his assassin robes on as he pulled the templar armor and jacket from the skeleton hanging in the cage. He pulled the armor on over the assassin robes, then slipped on the jacket. He tied the sash that bore the Templar cross around his waist. He hung his Syrian sword and flintlocks from his hips and strapped on the belt that had all of his pouches on it to his middle. Once James had all of this on, he pulled the hood on, letting his face hide in the shadow it offered. There was a mirror propped against a wall. James walked over to it and examined himself. Once he was sure it looked fine, he slipped the hood and began on his way to the Jackdaw.

AN: Whassup? I plan to make the next chapter action packed. Just had to work through a few plot elements. But anyway, what did you guys think? You excited to see James and Edward interact with colonial America? Are you ready to see Rogers die (I actually don't know if he'll be dying this coming chapter or not. We'll just have to wait and see)? Well, hold your questions, I'm sure they'll be answered next time.

Also, quick note, James is still wearing the privateer outfit (minus it's armor) underneath the Templar armor, so his hood and pants and boots (and vambrances) are still black.

~Exangellion