A/N: since next week may be a bit hectic with last minute study, I worked hard today to bring you this chapter early. Consider it both an apology for my lack of uploads over the previous weeks and the weeks to come... anyways... I hope you enjoy this one (and chapter 17, since I uploaded that today as well ^_^)
- AshTree13 xoxo
*edited on 18/10/15
Chapter 18:
Kingston was unique, like every city I had so far visited on my journey with Edward.
The busy, flourishing port city - the capital and largest city of Jamaica - had a much different vibe as opposed to the Cuban city of Havana. Whilst the paved, sprawling city had a very Spanish vibe to it, Kingston had adopted a very British air which clearly stated where it's allegiance lay. It was to be expected; the Spanish and the British were the two largest empires patrolling the seas of this era, which meant that the presence of cities such as Kingston and Havana were bound to appear and act as a central hub of activity primarily for trade and naval defence.
Kingston's concentration of residences seemed to vary as opposed to Havana, whose city streets were of a more complicated nature. Some of the areas of Kingston appeared to the eye as noticeably open and untouched by civilisation - wild - while other streets were so densely populated that despite the wide streets which allowed for swift traffic flow, it was near impossible to take two steps without having to run into or push past a passerby. It was clear that slavery was an important component of the Kingston economy the moment Edward, Adéwalé, Torres and myself stepped ashore; although I should have expected this to be the case, considering that we were chasing a very wealthy and notable slaver, but it was the common presence of sugar mills and planation fields that resided within the city and outside of it which brought this fact to my notice. Some economised vast amounts of land, more than I thought possible; clearly, there were a few, like Laurens Prins, that benefited heavily from the human trading system. These few resided in the imposing and somewhat luxurious mansions scattered about the city, some of which reminded me heavily of Torres's own manor in Havana and Edward's decaying house, once belonging to the memorable arms dealer du Casse, back in the Great Iguana. These grand houses contrasted greatly with the rest of the city, whose's residences shared a plain outlook with those of Nassau - little more than two story's, constructed out of wood and in some cases, reasonably shabby. Again, it was a stark difference from Havana's stoned walls and cobble-stone streets, hinting at Kingston's relative youth.
I loved it.
"Please tell me that we'll be able to remain for a couple of days," I practically beg Edward, my eyes absorbing the almost wild, extensive city as we casually stroll along the golden beach, a feature which I have come to realise is common throughout the Caribbean.
"It's not that fantastic," Edward tells me with a soft chuckle. He reaches over and winds an arm around my waist so to pull me close, his lips pressing against the crown of my head the moment I am comfortably settled against his side.
The whole action seemed so natural… yet, it was about as natural as a pig flying through the air.
Regardless, it caused my cheeks to burn and my stomach to flutter.
"Well, I'll admit that it's not as vibrant nor as culturally developed as Havana," I say with a careful shrug of my shoulders. Shielding my eyes from the suns pulsating rays, I glance up at Edward's attractive face only to look immediately away, cursing my newfound shyness and the embarrassment that colours my cheeks in a rosy hue.
"But…?" Edward asks, nudging my shoulder, oblivious to my awkwardness.
"But there's an almost untameable, wild feeling to the city that I find far more attractive than the order of Havana," I conclude, studying the buildings intently - desperate to look anywhere but at Edward.
"You want disorder? Then you should have stayed in Nassau."
"And let you have all the fun?" I giggle, sneaking a quick look in his direction.
"Because this is just so fun, right Tess?"
"No need to be sarcastic," I scold lightheartedly, elbowing his ribs playfully, "but… you can't deny… Kingston has an air of civility that Nassau lacks - in some ways, it's a comfort to be back in a place where street brawls don't break out every half second. This is undoubtedly a civilisation - a city."
"You'd be bored," Edward retorts, rolling those grey-blue eyes that have become so familiar, so natural to look into on a daily basis.
"How so?"
Edward sneaks a quick, impish smile in my direction before bending his face close to mine so that our cheeks rest a mere inch apart, yet still somehow managing to steer the pair of us through the tight crowd without incident.
Resisting the urge to shy away from his proximity, I try to calm the rapid thumping of my heart and settle the butterflies dancing in my stomach with a newfound excitement, surpassing the shiver the travels down my spine as Edward brings his lips to my ear.
"You won't admit it… but I know you're just as addicted to this lifestyle as I am. The adrenaline, the constant excitement and adventures… you've had a taste and now you're addicted, you wouldn't be able to just lounge around and do nothing. Not now… and besides, I never did think tedium suited you," Edward explains, planting a sudden kiss to my cheek as he finishes.
"I-I… I'm not addicted," I retort, more than a little flushed with the suddenly affectionate gesture.
I mean… we were a little closer now than we had been two years ago and we did… well… I did… I mean, we almost had sex - I still couldn't decide if I was happy about that interruption or not - and he had effectively nursed me back to health during the new year… but I still wasn't sure how I felt about the guy.
And there was, without a doubt, the underlying fact that I still loved Him and that I had promised I wouldn't forget… if I loved - and, god forbid that actually did love Edward - the man beside me, then wouldn't that be breaking my promise?
"Hello, earth to Tessa."
"What?" I gasp, pulled back to reality by Edward suddenly grabbing me around my waist and the return of that natural yet slightly uncomfortable proximity, his warm breath tickling the heated skin of my face.
"Ah… are you paying attention now?" Edward chuckles, pressing his forehead against mine.
"I… I mean… I was just."
He laughs - one of his real, throaty chuckles that warmed me up from the inside out and turned my insides to liquid. "I was saying that you wouldn't be able to live in Kingston," he explains patiently, watching as my face contorts with confusion.
"And why not?" I ask.
"Well… you love me too much to just sit back and relax in Kingston."
Cue his impish, self-confident smirk.
"Admit it," he continues with a roaring laugh, "you'd miss me… actually, you wouldn't be able to survive two days without me."
"I… I…" my mouth felt dry, my tongue sandpaper. Hearing the suggestion that I was… that I was… in love with Edward out loud only served to make my stomach clench painfully at the simple, yet heavily important words. Clearing my throat, I eventually manage to force a bell-like laugh out, pairing it with what I hoped was a pleasant smile and the hopefully reassuring words of, "course I'd miss you."
"Wow…" Edward chuckles as he ruffles the back of his blonde hair ruefully, "why do I think you're not being as honest as you could be?"
"I mean what I said," I argue fiercely, curling my fingers into fists against his muscled chest, managing to hold his concerned(?) gaze. "I mean…" my voice falters momentarily, "remember when you last came here? You left me behind in Nassau and… well… it was… agonising. There was nothing really to do and to top it all off I ended up catching the flu… so yeah… I'd really miss you, Edward."
"I know…" Edward says, bending his face close to mine, his lips grazing my own as speaks, "see, that wasn't so hard to admit, now was it?"
Unable to stop the incessant and rapid flutter of my heart, I allow Edward to draw - if possible - closer so the handsome, rough man could press his lips against my own.
A kiss that, despite the cliche of it, made my entire body tremble with want and something that was a little deeper than simple happiness. It seemed that my lips melded perfectly against his and, in the all-consuming entirety of the kiss, I lost myself.
The crowd seemed to fade into nothing more than a soft hum and I felt as if all of my worries, all of my concerns about how I really felt about this man, seemed so minute in comparison to this earth-shattering kiss.
Pulling away, Edward studies my blissful expression before aiming a soft, brief peck against my now swollen, rosy lips.
"Asshole," I mutter, kicking at the ground in a somewhat childish manner, the toe of my boots scratching against the pebble-strewn ground.
"Now, now," Edward teases, jumping away from my carefully aimed punch, catching my elbow when I almost topple over from missing what I thought would be a direct blow, "no need to be rude… I just wanted to hear you say it aloud. It's good for my ego, you know?"
"Well," I sigh, scrambling for a counter-argument but settling on an indignant huff, folding my arms over my chest. "I won't make that mistake again," I inform him, a response which only causes Edward to double over in laugher, his eyes sparkling with mirth.
"You make my days interesting, Tess… you know that, don't you?"
"Oh… shut up," I sigh, allowing him to once again pull me to his side. As he does, Edwards pulls his hood up to obscure his features whilst his eyes - and mine - attempt to seek out our quartermaster amongst the endless throng of people strolling and bartering by the pier and beach. It wasn't an easy task; there were hundreds of people populating the city of Kingston and although many of Kingston's citizens were of English background, it was clear that due to the abundance of slave trade, the city also housed a large amount of people of colour, many of whom walked the streets freely. It felt as if today was the day every one of them decided to take a trip down to the seaside markets and spend what little coin they may have lying in their worn coin purses.
Everywhere I looked, there would be another stranger passing us by and I was sure that if I wasn't already so familiar with the tall, burly, african man who strode forward to meet both Edward and I, I would have had no chance in spotting Adé amongst the never-ending sea of people.
Glancing over his shoulder, Edward survey's Torres - who we released with further instructions as to how he was to go about this particular plan of Edwards' - and the man who was undoubtedly Prins, a sly smirk curling his lips. "Right," he began, turning his face back to Adéwalé and myself, although his gaze is still trained upon Torres's distant figure, "here's how it goes. Torres meets with Prins carrying a portion of the ransom, saying the rest is close behind-"
"When we see the Sage, Adé will bring the rest of the gold, make the swap and get out as quick as he can while you and I watch from close by," rolling my eyes, I shake my head in wry amusement, prodding Edwrads' shoulder with my own, "you've told us this a thousand times already, Edward."
"Can't help to remind," Edward replies rather darkly, "I'm not losing what little lead we have."
"I don't like it, Kenway," Adéwalé says, stopping Edward before he sets off on a different path, clearly ready to watch his plan unfurl. "You run this scheme alone," Adé continues, looking his captain directly in the eye, "you risk losing the faith of your crew. Personally, it makes me ill to think of you bartering with that wretched slaver."
"Honestly," I murmur, agreeing with Adé, "I'm all for us capturing the Sage and finding the Observatory, cause you obviously won't rest until you do… but I must concur with Adé… you can't trust Torres, Edward."
"Come on," Edward groans, "what option do we have? Once we have the Sage, we'll all be rich."
"Or dead," I mutter, raising my hands in surrender when both of the men shoot me equally dark looks, "okay, okay… seriously mauled, then."
"This is no time for jokes, Tessa," Edward says to me, clearly irritated if using my name and not his affectionate pet name for me is any indication of his displeasure.
"Not…"
"Not what, Adé?" both Edward and I demand, shooting simultaneous glares at the man who started the argument in the first place.
"Not if young Master Kidd gets to him first," the quartermaster answers slowly, his eyes looking beyond Edward and myself, peering into the crowd.
Turning my own head in the direction of Adéwalé's gaze, I am able to clearly make out the slender, leather-clad back of the one and only James Kidd.
Immediately, Edward launches into a string of curse words, his face contorting into a mask of anger. Adding my own obscenities to Edwards' fray, I can feel my cheeks burn along with my flaring temper and despite the little voice in my head cautioning my next actions, I can't help but storm towards the rather feminine man, fists clenched and teeth bared.
"What," I shriek, drawing some curious gazes from the occasional passerby, "the fuck are you doing here?!"
Face scrambling into a mask of combined shock and anger, Kidd catches my fist before it can connect with his jaw, a glare turning his normally friendly eyes cold, his face losing what warmth it usually holds. "I could ask you the same thing," he hisses, shaking his head in disbelief as he notes Edward easily following me up.
"Don't tell me that you're here to kill Prins," Edward groans, noticing the hidden blades strapped to Kidd's wrists, a weapon both pirates shared and used, although Edward preferred to use his much sharper cutlasses. Noticing Kidd's fingers wrapped tightly around my wrist, his face darkens and he immediately grabs the boys arm, tugging my hand out of Kidd's grip, "don't even think about touching her again, Kidd, or I swear to God-"
"You swear to God what, Kenway?" Kidd interrupts but at the man's livid look in his direction, he opts to let the subject drop and instead persists with a new one. "Listen," the boy sighs, backing away from the pair of us the moment Torres and Prins begin to move, the two of them already drifting out of our line of sight, "do me a favour, friend to friend, and stay out of my way."
"I'm not your friend," I retort, noting Torres's movements and immediately setting off after the pair of targets with Edward in tow. Deliberately knocking my shoulder into Kidd's - just in case the guy didn't already understand my anger was directed towards him - I shoot a quick glare at the boy before quickly returning my attention to the reason we were here in Kingston.
"What are you even trying to achieve?" Kidd demands, lengthening his own stride so we are neck-and-neck.
Edward reluctantly follows after the two of us, his hand in mine, releasing a loud and clearly audible sigh at our admirable childish behaviour. However, he soon quietens when both Kidd and I shoot the handsome man simultaneous looks of annoyance.
"We're trying to find the Sage."
"The Sage is here?"
"What do you care?" I snap.
"Why do you care?" Kidd answers back, mimicking my voice in a high pitched squeal which makes me want to turn around and punch the poor bastard - and this time, I would make sure that I hit exactly where I aimed.
"Look," Edward says loudly yet his voice barely breaks above that of a whisper. Reaching for the pair of us, he pulls us to a forceful stop and glowers at each of us in turn, prior to continuing what would undoubtedly be a lecture, "the Sage is here and Prins is leading us straight to him."
"Alright," Kidd mutters angrily, pulling his arm out of Edward's grip after a momentarily pause of deliberation, "I won't kill him... yet."
"How about you don't kill him at all?" I sarcastically suggest, rolling my eyes at the furious expression directed towards me by the boy.
"Tess," Edward warns, pulling a strand of my hair affectionately, "easy girl."
"Hmph."
"Now that we're in agreement," Edward states - although I could hardly call this an agreement - allowing himself a wide, excited grin as the adrenaline begins to kick in, spurring the three of us forward with renewed determination, "let's go catch that son of a bitch."
0-0-0-0-0-0
A cemetery.
A fucking cemetery.
It was decided.
Laurens Prins was a strange, foul, evil-little man who liked to do his shady dealings in the company of the dead. I mean, what was I expecting the man to do? Throw a goddamn party?
Still, the cemetery was a little overrated.
I mean, why the Hell would you do business dealings that were obviously meant to be kept a secret in a cemetery? It would be honestly smarter for the idiotic man to do his dealings in a crowded tavern where eavesdroppers such as Edward, Kidd and myself, would not be able to easily overhear the proceedings without risk of being caught. Of course, it was a quiet, deserted location which none would frequent - the bastard probably determined it to be the safest location for a meeting with the Cuban Governor... unseen... unheard... and protected by the multitude of British Guards standing as bodyguards for the wealthy slaver.
"Now's the time," Kidd hisses, moving to make a stand.
"No!" Edward whispers, pulling the boy back down into the shrubbery with a quick tug of his slender shoulder, "not until the Sage appears... that is what we are looking for, after all."
"It's what you and Theresa are looking for," Kidd replies, his brown eyes flashing with barely suppressed irritation, "not me."
"Oh please," I snort, "I just bet you and the Order are dying to get your hands on the Sage and the Observatory... you're just as interested in this prize as Edward is, you asshole, so don't deny it."
Kidd opens his mouth to urge but at Edward's dark look, the boy immediately snaps his mouth close and lets out a deep, audible sigh, reigning in his anger.
Over the non-existent breeze, we hear the man we believe is Prins to say, "here's a quiet spot." And he's not incorrect; the buzz of the trading hub has faded into the distance, the only sound being that of the occasional bird call and the rustle of leaves as both Prins and Torres stride along the headstones... it is so silent that I swore the old geezer would be able to hear a pin drop.
"I'll see the money," Prins continues in his nasally tone of voice.
With a nod of agreement, I watch Torres reach into the pocket of his embroidered blue waistcoat, pulling out a small bag of what is the designated sum bequeathed to him by Edward and myself, a portion I felt was suitable as an upfront payment - kind of like a deposit. "This is just a portion of the ransom," Torres assures the hunched man, handing over the substantial sum which I had spent an hour carefully counting out so not a coin was left out, "the rest is close at hand."
"It pains me," Prins sighs, turning his monocled face away from our sight, his wizened hands clasped behind his back, "to traffic a man of my own race for profit, mister Torres-"
"Oh, I'm sure it does," I hiss, disgusted by the man's obvious lie.
Edward and Kidd both hiss at me to be quiet, straining their ears to pick up the remainder of the conversation.
"-tell me again, what has this Roberts fellow done to upset you?"
"Is this some form of Protestant piety I am not familiar with?" Torres sneers.
Shaking his head, the slaver gives the Cuban Governor a wry smile and tosses back the small bag of reales, "perhaps another day," he says, turning and striding off, leaving behind a very confused and irritated Torres who is quickly spurred into action. Perhaps he is angered by Prins careless disregard for an 'honest' trade or perhaps aware that we would not be entirely satisfied with this excuse if he were to come back empty handed, completely aware that Edward was watching his every move.
"What?"
"Next time," Prins says and as he does, the man turns his wizened face so his eyes meet mine.
It is then, with a cold chill running up my spine, I notice that he can see the three of us in the bushes, a knowing smirk lining his age-worn face which told me that he knew.
He knew.
My worst fears are only confirmed when the men says to Torres, "see that we are not followed next time, Governor. Take care of this!"
Calling to his barrage of men, he nods over at our hiding place and, hands clasped regally behind his back, sets off, allowing his barrage of guards to arm themselves and spring into action.
And Torres, obviously coming to realise that the tables have turned in his favour, takes the portion of gold clasped in his hands and runs, leaving us to fend for ourselves - the bastard!
"Oh my God," I gasp, turning to face Edward and Kidd with distinct fear colouring my features, "he knew, he knew all this time!"
"I'm going to kill him!" Kidd grounds out, springing to his as the guards slowly approach the three of us, "and them I'm going to kill you, Kenway!"
"Tess, stay close to me," Edward murmurs, grabbing my hand and pulling me to my feet, tugging my body so I am shielded by his distinct, ominous presence.
"Okay," I squeak, drawing several silver blades as I do but in all honesty, I don't have the strength to argue… nor the strength to fit 10 heavily armed and well-trained soldiers.
"You cocked up my kill, Kenway!" Kidd barks as he launches himself into the fray.
Already, the highly skilled Assassin has managed to take down two guards with the hidden blades strapped to his wrists, his face a mask of pure fury which he evidently takes out on Prins' guards and thankfully not the two of us.
Ignoring Kidd, Edward pulls both himself and me out of harms way as a bullet comes narrowly close to striking its target - me.
The bullet is so close that I can hear the distinct whizz of the metal ball as it charges past and buries itself instead into a weather-beaten headstone. Drawing his silver cutlasses, Edward promptly drives one into the chest of a unprepared soldier; the unknown soldiers' blood spurts out from the gaping wound in his chest, dying his crimson uniform a darker and far more brilliant red.
"It was for a better cause," Edward manages to grunt, removing the tip of the silver sword only to drive it into the stomach of another, the blood-splatter spraying against Edwards' cheek.
Moving out from behind Edwards' back, I grab one of the men and run my blade quickly but precisely across his neck, watching as the edge of my knife lacerates the mans' tanned skin, a thick jet of sticky, warm blood squirting out from the neat cut. The warm liquid sprays my face with thick droplets yet I barely have time to register my disgust - at both my actions and the bloodstains vibrant against my pale skin - as another soldier charges at me. Flicking my wrist with an ease I didn't expect, another knife buries itself into the shoulder of the enemy; I throw another at a solider locked head-to-head with Kidd, the action allowing the young man to drive the hilt of his hidden blade into the mans' neck, killing him in a matter of seconds.
Kidd has time to shoot me a brief look of thanks, one of his now rare smiles gracing his face, before he is tackled to the ground by another, a distinct grunt of pain echoing from the boy as he collides with the hard ground.
"Kidd!" I cry, rushing forward to help the man I considered a friend - because, despite how angry I was with him, he was just that, my friend.
"Tess!"
I have time to only hear Edward's cry before my legs are knocked out from under me and I crash to the ground, barely registering the distinct sound of a pistol going off. The impact isn't as rough as I expect it to be and when I look over my shoulder to see why, I am horrified to find Edward at my back, his face tightened in a mask of pain as we tumble together to the cold ground. Rolling away from me, Edward clutches at his bleeding side and groans softly as the blood leaks through his fingers and it is then that I realise what has occurred.
Edward… Edward is...
The soldier who shot at me but hit Edward instead, grins with grime satisfaction as he makes his way towards the pair of us to finish the job. My eyes widen as he cocks the pistol and aims at my head, yet I am unable to move from Edwards' side, my hands folded over his wound, the blood staining my slender fingers red as I try to stem the flow. However, the tall man only manages a few steps before he is halted by Kidd's blade entering his chest. Coughing up a pitiful amount of blood, the solider crashes to the floor - the last of many - yet I barely register this as tears blur my vision and I struggle to swallow my nausea, focused primarily on tending to the man I loved lying shot and bleeding before me.
Wait.
The man I loved?
"Edward," I angrily sob, pressing harder against his side, struggling to comprehend the thought that is echoing throughout my brain, "why did you do that, you bloody idiot!"
"You think I'd let you get shot?" the usually cocky pirate rasps, his face paling from a combination of pain and loss of blood, as he tries to sit up and reassure me of his condition.
"You should've," I cry, peeling my hands away from the laceration so I can examine the damage up close.
I love him, I love him... Oh my GOD! I love Edward... I think as I tear the hem of my blouse and crunch the fabric into a ball, pressing it to the wound and reapplying pressure, I am in love with this man... why? how? HOW can I be in love with Edward fucking Kenway?! It's not possible, I refuse to comprehend this as love...
Why then, did it hurt so much - almost as if I was the one suffering from a potentially deadly physical injury - when I looked and tended to Edward, a steady stream of blood still trickling out from the gunshot wound, soaking the reasonably clean rag.
Maybe it was guilt, the bullet was, after all, meant for me.
But I knew that that wasn't the case.
"I'm fine, Tess," Edward tells him, touching my cheek gently with blood-stained fingertips, catching my tears.
"It should have been me…"
"Tess-"
"Shut up and let me help you," I gasp out, struggling to see through my tears which blurred my vision and burned my eyes.
"Right... well you're in good care," came Kidd's faint - hold up! Faint voice?
Looking up from Edwards' wound, I feel my eyes widen in shock and momentary betrayal as the man who we called a 'friend' scurries away, barely looking in our direction as a look of pure determination lights his features.
"You lost your chance, Edward! I'm off to do my job!"
"You Bastard!" I shriek after him, tempting to run after the bloke but petrified that in doing so I may be leaving Edward to bleed out, alone, in a cemetery. There was no way in Hell that I was going to leave him, particularly when I was still struggling to distinguish my feelings from guilt and possible affection.
"Go after him, Tess," Edward hisses, pushing me gently in Kidd's direction, "hurry! We can't lose this opportunity!"
"But-" I begin in a wavering, hestinant voice.
"Go, I'll be fine," he assures me, relieving me of my nursing duties by taking the cloth and applying pressure to his own wound, stemming the flow of blood much better than I had managed to, "see? I can take care of myself but we need Prins alive!"
"Okay," I say, scrambling to my feet.
"Hurry!"
And I do, hurry I mean. My feet slap against the hard earth as I sprint after Kidd and in what seems like a few seconds, I have managed to close the relatively large gap left by Kidd's early start. However, I was never much of a sprinter and Kidd has plunged into a crowded street, making it particularly hard to keep track of the nimble boy as he weaves in and out of strangers and to not bump into the seemingly endless array of people strolling down the road. I try calling out for Kidd to stop but I can't manage to form the words, already out of breath due to a combination of my own inability to keep up with the sprinting man and the constricting nature of my corset which I still cannot help but curse despite steadily adapting to the boned stay over the few years I have been forced to don one.
"Please Kidd," I call haggardly, trying not to trip over the loose pebbles and twigs lining the street, narrowly avoiding a collision with an elderly woman being led by a tall, burly man, "wait! Stop! Please!"
"Sorry, Tess, not going to happen!"
"Please!" I beg, scrambling up the hill after the agile assassin, wishing I had taken my own assassin training with far more seriousness than I had.
And without me fully processing what I had just done, I find myself crashing once again to the ground, this time with my body on top of another - Kidd.
We fall unspectacularly to the ground, Kidd hitting the hard earth face first whilst I merely graze my elbows on the pebble ridden ground, pleased with the fact that I actually managed to catch the pirate despite the healthy lead he had managed to obtain and my own lacking fitness levels.
It was a goddamn miracle.
"Get off me!" Kidd yells, shoving me off his back simply by bucking his shoulders.
Crashing to the ground butt first, I keep an iron-tight grip on the sleeve of his coat, determined to not let him escape from my grasp. "That hurt," I tell him rather indignantly, getting back to my feet along with Kidd, rubbing at my aching behind with a somewhat rueful expression, "I would have gotten off if you had simply asked."
"Sure you would have," Kidd answers back savaging, ripping his sleeve from my grip, tearing the seam of the jacket as he does.
"I can't let you kill those men, Kidd," I say, resolute in my decision to carry out Edward's wishes, "we worked too hard to let you fuck everything up."
"Language," Kidd sneers.
I promptly flip him the finger in response.
"I've been stalking that pig for weeks, Tessa! And here I find not one, but two of my targets and you and Kenway rob me of both!"
"You'll have your kills," I snarl, disgusted by his bloodthirsty attitude but sickened by understanding of where he was coming from - I did, after all, understand the importance placed upon the completion of missions in the Assassin's Order.
"When?" he demands, folding his arms over his chest, "in the next hour? Tomorrow? A week? A year!? For fuck's sake Tess, I am not losing this opportunity just so you and Edward can benefit!"
"Just help me get the Sage," I plead.
Kidd and I stare each other down.
"Fine... fine!" Kidd yells, throwing his arms up in surrender, shooting me a glare that could put Edward's easily to shame, "after I help you locate and contain the Sage, you will help me kill Prins."
"Me?"
"Yes, Tess, you."
"But I-"
"I've seen what you can do, girl," Kidd hisses, already turning on his heel, certain that a bargain had been struck between the two of us, "I know you can handle one old man."
"Fine," I cry, watching his back slowly shrink as he moves into the distance, "but only after I make sure Edward's okay."
Kidd doesn't reply but I know, despite the silence, that we have a deal.