Chapter 12:

James stood on the Jackdaw's forecastle and stared out at the New York bay. He wasn't exactly sure what to make of it. From all he had heard of the colonies, he hadn't been exactly sure of what he was going to see. Maybe not what he was seeing. The thing that seemed to shock him the most was the amount of british soldiers. There seemed to be one redcoat for every four men. James scrubbed a hand through his hair; it wouldn't exactly be easy to assassinate Rogers with so many soldiers around.

"Hey." James looked to his left at Edward. "Get out of your head, O'leary is taking us to a contact of his." James nodded. He followed Edward off of the forecastle and into the dock. Anne and Patrick were already speaking with the harbor master. James looked down at the Templar armor, and adjusted it, before stepping over. When Patrick caught sight of the two brothers he grinned. "Alrigh', we're good ta' go. Meet me at the Smith and company brewery. My contact works there. Can't risk moving around together." James and Edward nodded in unison.

Patrick moved swiftly, and James watched him disappear in the crowd. James leaned over to Anne and planted a quick kiss on her lips. "Don't do anything stupid." She said. James laughed. "When have I ever done anything stupid?" Before she could reply he moved.

James walked swiftly. He didn't like the fact the the was alone in such a large place-even if it was only for a little while. He was constantly looking over his shoulder and felt as if someone were following him. Hell someone actually might be. He never knew if he was being paranoid or not.

James was almost to the brewing company-maybe two hundred yard from it-when a snippet of someone's conversation caught his ear. "You just get those weapons to Rogers. That is all you have to do." It was just a harsh whisper, but James caught it. He looked to his left, in the direction the sound had come from. Two men stood in an alley, they were the ones discussing the weapons that were apparently supposed to be delivered to Rogers. James felt the grin spread across his face. Finally, a good lead. He glances back at the brewery. The others will just have to wait a moment, he thought.

James moved, as silent as a shadow. He leaned against the building on the left side of the alley and focused on the two men's whispering.

"The weapons on this list...there's a lot. It jus' seems to me like someone's preparin' for a war." One of them whispered. At the mention of a large amount of weapons, James tensed. "What the weapons are used for are none of your concern. All you have to do is get them to the fort Washington. Do not ask questions." James made a mental note. Rogers had to be at fort Washington if that was where the weapons were being delivered. James peeked around the corner and watched the two men. One of them (the one giving the orders) gave the other a piece of paper. He took the paper and shoved it into a pouch hanging from the back of his belt. James waited until the two men seperated before he moved.

He he climbed the building he was leaning against and tailed his target from above. He tailed the one that had been given the list of weapons. He followed the man almost all of the way back to the docks before he climbed back down to ground level and slowly advanced on him. With all of the stealth as a ghost, James reached out, opened the pouch and slipped the list out of it. He shoved it into one of his coat pockets and pulled his hood up over his head. By the time the man had realized he had been robbed of the list, James was long gone.

Edward spotted James through the brewery window and marched outside, an angry expression shadowing his features. "Where in God's name have you been?" James smiled and produced the weapon list from his pocket. "Found a piece of information I just couldn't let go." Edward opened his mouth to say something, but James moves past him and entered the brewery. James looked around the brewery. It was empty except for himself, Edward, Anne and a few workers. The air inside was filled with dust and it was gloomy and dark; the blinds were down.

"Lovely place." one of the worker's sent a glare his way. James caught the angry look on Anne's face and he quickly moved over to one of the tables in the center. James set the list down on the table. "If Patrick hasn't said it already, I'll be happy to inform you that out dear old friend Rogers is hiding away in fort Washington." Patrick nodded his head. "That is correct laddie." He motioned to the paper. " I'll take i. That paper has some more for us?" James nodded.

"It seems Rogers is preparing for something. He's asked to have a very immense amount of weapons to be sent to fort Washington, where he and his Templar goons are hiding." Edward seemed to put the pieces of the puzzle together. "We use that as a distraction. The Templars will be too busy making sure they've gotten all they need. We will be able to sneak right inside." James grinned. "Exactly what I was thinking." Edward shrugged his shoulders.

"Great minds think alike." Anne cleared her throat. "I'd hate to interrupt but, do either of you have an escape in mind? I doubt it will be as easy getting out as it was getting in." Patrick slapped a hand against the table. "I will take care of tha'. Worry not." James nodded and read the paper through. Rogers needed an almost obnoxiously large amount of gun powder, muskets, pistols and swords. "It says that the weapons are due at the fort sometime around midnight tomorrow. We had best get ready." Patrick began for the door.

"I will begin work on the escape plan!" And then he was gone. James and Edward glanced at each other. "I'm not exactly sure what to expect." James said with a light-hearted grin. Edward shook his head. "Neither do I."

In the dark, fort Washington stuck out like a lantern in a pitch black room. James had a good vantage point in a tree, near the fort. Next to James, Edward was nestled in the fork of the branches. James looked at him. "All we have to do is wait for Anne's signal. Once we see that, we'll get inside, find Rogers and get out."

"Why do I feel like this isn't going to go according to plan?" James chuckled. "You need to be more optimistic brother." Edward laughed quietly. James blinked and switched to eagle vision. He scanned the area for Anne. Distinctly, through one of the fort's thick stone walls, James saw her moving towards the kegs of gunpowder that were stacked near the front gates. He watched as she got in range, drew a pistol and fired.

The kegs went up in an explosion. James watched, satisfied, as several Templars were knocked off of their feet, killed by the explosion. James blinked, deactivating his sixth sense. "Now." He said. James kept from the tree, followed closely by Edward. James pulled his hood up over his head as he ran. He felt unusually heavy with the bulk of the Templar armor.

When em the two brothers reached the fort's west wall, they stopped. James activated his eagle vision again, Edward did the same. It seemed the templars weren't complete idiots. They had left at least a few guards in the area. James deactivated the eagle vision and jumped up onto the wall. His hand gripped a piece of outcropping stone and he held on. He pulled his left foot up, propped it on the piece of outcropping stone and used it to launch himself upward. He caught the ledge of the wall and he pulled himself up. He looked inside the fort. James silently counted six guards.

Once Edward was atop the fort wall, James jumped down. As he fell, he engaged his hidden blades. Two guards died as his blades sunk into the backs of their throats. James' force knocked their corpses to the floor. Two other guards saw this and prepared to attack. They were cut down as Edward dropped onto them from above. The other two were taken out only moments later.

"Just like that fight with the Colbalt brothers when we were in Whales." James said, retracting his hidden blades. "I wouldn't say 'just like'." Edward replied. James scoffed.

James went back to eagle vision. He scanned as much of the fort as he could. He could see the Templars fighting a large group of people near the front. James figured they were some if Patrick's constituets. Near the rear of the fort was a large wood structure. Inside of it stood Rogers. James smiled and pointed that way as his eagle vision faded. Edward nodded. The two of them moved. Near the structure was a warning bell. James sabotaged it and looked to Edward. "I'll handle Rogers. You go help Anne at the front." Edward scoffed.

"Do you really think-" He was cut off by the blast of a flintlock and the ringing of the bell ass a bullet ricochet off of it. James whirled around to see Woods Rogers toss away a flintlock with his left hand. In his right was a sword. James listened back to the front and wasn't surprised to hear the sound of approaching soldiers. Without looking away from Rogers, James said; "I need you to hold them off. Don't argue." He heard Edward draw his swords and run towards the fight.

James was now alone with Rogers.

James drew his Syrian sword and charged at Rogers. He let out a cry and their swords clashed. Rogers countered, his left fist slamming into James's right cheek. The skin opened and blood oozed from the small cut. When Rogers swung again and their swords met, James gripped the hilt of his in both hands, keeping their blades together. "Give up Rogers, make this easy on both of us!" Rogers let out a cold laugh, reared his head back and slammed it into James's. James stumbled back as pain flared behind his eyes.

Rogers charged and swung. James rolled to the left and swung sideways at Rogers. Blood stained his clothes and he let out a scream. Rogers swung at James again. When their swords met, James drew his hidden blade and attempted to stab it into Rogers's throat. Rogers rolled back. James hurried at him, one step ahead, and dropkicked him off of his feet. James jumped up, ran forward and jumped, trying again to stab Rogers in the throat. Rogers rolled out of the way and James was amazed that his hidden blade hadn't broken against the hard ground.

Rogers tried to swipe down, across James's back. James rolled to the right, stopping on his back. Rogers charged, about to bring the sword down. James acted fast, pulling out a flintlock, he aimed and fired. The bullet ripped through Rogers's ribs. He fell to the ground next to James. James scrambled up. He ejected his hidden blade and it sunk into the templar's stomach. Rogers lurched, and stared up at James, blood spilling out of his mouth. James gripped the front of his shirt and pulled him close.

"What were you planning?" Even though he was about to die, Rogers smiled. "Were you...expecting a confession?" James watched as the life drained from his target's eyes. He looked at his left hand. It was coated in his blood.

Suddenly, Edward's voice reached his ears. "I would get back!" A fist gripped the back of the Templar armor and pulled James back, just as the fort wall closest to them exploded. On the other side was a cannon. Manning it was Anne and Patrick. Anne ran over to them and grabbed James. "Edward, come on!" James looked back to see the Templars giving chase. He turned and ran with his comrades, and soon they had disappeared from view.

They decided to stay a night in an inn. Anne had brought up the point that guards would be looking for ships leaving this early. It would be easier to leave in the morning.

James sat on his bed and stared at the wall. He held his head gently, a large bruise had formed on his forehead where Rogers had head butted him and the skin where he had been punched was swelling a bit. He had had better days, but he had had worse as well.

James was pulled from his thoughts when Anne sat down next to him. He moved his hand from his head and looked at her. She put her hand on his shoulder. He kicked off his boots and stood. There was a window in their room and he looked out of it. "There isn't anyone out there." Anne said. James nodded as he slid the Templar coat off and untied the Templar sash. He unbuckled his belt and leaned his weapons against the wall in a corner. He undid the Templar armor and untied his shirt. When he was dressed only in his breeches, he walked back to the bed and sat down next to Anne.

She traced her hand gently over his chest, outlining the tattoo of the assassin logo that adorned his torso. James honestly had no memory of ever getting it. He must have been drunk. James looked at Anne and his gaze became sultry. She saw the look his eyes and shook her head. "Oh no, I am too tired and you do not smell pleasant." James ignored her and leaned in, gently pressing his lips against hers. He purred against her and pulled her into an embrace.

It seemed Anne wasn't so tired after all as James lowered her onto the bed. It was a long time before either of them got to sleep.

AN: Well, James haa finally taken Woods Rogers out. I know, it took long enough. But what is their next move? Who is their next target? Where will he be? And how easy will it be for James to take him/her out? I don't really know, to be honest. See ya'

~Exangellion