Chapter Nine:

The Descent

Skidziń, German Empire, 1944

"I'm concerned."

Mary said it aloud to confirm it, and partially to console herself. Since she'd put Katherine on the train, five long weeks had passed in an agonizingly slow manner, and each day in solitude. She was stationed about eight kilometres north of Auschwitz, where the population was small but abandoned houses once populated by Polish or Jewish families lay abandoned, either having fled from the horrors in the south or captured by the Nazis.

Mary had spent those five weeks sneaking through the village to steal the food she needed or an extra blanket if things got cold. To keep herself entertained when she wasn't on watch, she'd brought along her large trunk which was made for books, and passed the time reading history or poetry or whatever else she'd shoved into it. Occasionally she'd receive a report from a messenger who would leave as quickly as he'd come; information detailing Katherine's progress from Mary's agents within Auschwitz. Usually, reports came in every two-to-three days. The last report she'd received was five days ago.

"Something's wrong." Mary could feel it in her gut, and her instincts rarely led her astray. She trusted herself more than most; she knew her limits and she understood her abilities, though every so often she'd receive a "feeling" often mistaken for premonitions, odd as it sounded. The lack of reports incited that "feeling". Even if it was meaningless chatter or simple rumours, or even a detailed description of Katherine, Mary's agents always came through to at least let her know the mission hadn't been compromised.

Mary had called it a suicide mission when she'd pitched the idea, but she hoped there wouldn't be a needless loss of life. She paced in the parlour room of one of the abandoned houses she'd made camp in. A small fire barely warmed the place, but it was best to keep it low. She could always add another layer of clothing. Furniture such as desks and chesterfields had been abandoned and had many a hole from the mice and mites scurrying about. Pictures still hung on the wall albeit at a slant that would never had stood in her mother's home years ago.

Sighing, Mary stopped her pacing and cupped her chin. Her tea was waiting, still steaming since she'd stood up with her bad feeling. She absently took a sip and let its warmth run its course through her body as she thought.

Katherine knows the risks. She volunteered. Mary's shoulders sagged. Dammit. That wee bairn cannae succeed on her own...

The Scot shook her head suddenly. Naw, she told herself. Katherine's an Assassin. She'll give it her all. Besides, she's got my agents. She needs tae make friends in the camp and figure oot what Andrew Lee was trying tae get at.

"But I have a bad feeling," she whispered. "Something's wrong. I know it."

And that bad feeling was quickly confirmed; Mary could hear the alarms go off in Auschwitz, even as far as she was away from it. Mary immediately headed to the window that would give her the best view and leaned out. Sure enough, the searchlights far in the distance were acting sporadically, as if they were truly searching for something—or someone.

Well, that does it. Mary checked her pocket watch slammed her trunk shut. In moments she'd effectively destroyed any evidence she'd been there, grabbed her grey overcoat and headed out the door with trunk in hand. She threw her luggage into an awaiting car, leapt inside and began the drive towards Auschwitz. She sped despite the dangerous road conditions made especially more dangerous without her headlights on. Still, Mary had memorized the road. She could probably drive it blindfolded if she absolutely had to, though she preferred not.

When she was close to the concentration camp, Mary pulled into a ditch with brush to conceal her vehicle and hopped out. She whipped her hood over her face and used the loudness of the alarms to cover the sounds of her sprinting towards the camp. There was a mass riot that was swiftly being brought under control by the guards despite their numbers. The people were not keen to be shot with machine guns, and they knew the guards had the ammunition to kill everyone there. But Mary was able to knock out a guard near the entrance and steal his keys into the camp. She left the gate barely open for her escape later (if she did manage it). The uproar within the camp allowed Mary ample opportunity to search for cover and stick to stealth, though she hurried. She had no idea when the alarms would end and the guards would resume their patrol routines.

Go, dammit! Mary knocked out two more guards before stopping herself. Goddammit! Where's the lass?!

Mary took a deep breath to slow her panic. If Katherine wasn't dead, she was surely captured. But where would they—?

Administration! That was the only obvious place, and surely well-guarded. More so than the camp itself, even! Taking another deep breath, that time to centre her thoughts and bring back the Assassin Mary MacKenzie rather than the concerned Mary Helling, Mary chose a red brick building to be administration, and was gladdened to see the plaque on the side confirming it. The guards were stationed outside and there was a patrol walking continuously around the building. She waited near a corner, crouched to reduce visibility, and when she noticed their attention had gone elsewhere Mary rushed out in the open and to a shack not far from the building. She hid behind it, waiting for the guards to pass by, then made a second break for it. Cellar doors leading down were her first choice of entry, but when Mary gave it a short tug she found it locked. Holding in her curse, Mary scrambled to find a foothold on the building and scaled the building to a nearby window on the third floor. The guards patrolling below didn't even look up as Mary hung from the rooftop.

Mary swung her body into an open window and landed with a roll. A guard at the door peered inside, and Mary ensured to deliver a hard punch to the face to the curious man. He hit the wall and then the ground, dazed and confused but not out, so Mary gave him another punch to put him to sleep. A second guard came to investigate and quickly received an elbow to the gut. Mary wasted no time in knocking him out as well and carefully leaned him against the wall, then she entered room after room in the hopes she would discover some sort of clue.

She'd made her way down to the second floor and three more guards were sleeping soundly before she found anything of use. A Nazi—Templar, rather; she could see the emblem on his sleeve's cuff—made his way further down the steps. He was speaking in rapid German to another party Mary couldn't see. She followed quietly as they made their way down to the basement, where the cellar doors outside would have led. The Templar seemed to be reprimanding a younger soldier for leaving an oddly-placed trapdoor opened, and kicked it shut as he yelled.

Mary slowly entered the cellar, grabbed a bottle of wine on her way in and clubbed the officer over the side of the head with it. The bottle smashed and the Nazi fell forward, and before the young soldier could shout Mary's fist hit his throat. He gurgled and stumbled back. Mary advanced and grabbed his head, then slammed it against the concrete hard enough to jar him, but not kill him. He slumped into a sitting position as the officer groaned. Mary approached the trapdoor, gave the Templar a kick in the head, then swung the trapdoor open.

If she's anywhere, it'll be the suspicious trapdoor in the wine cellar. Mary smirked, grabbed the ladder and descended quickly into the darkness. She only slowed when she heard echoing footsteps from below. She quietened and glanced down. There was barely enough light to see a man about to ascend the ladder. Mary released her grip and flew down, landing with all her weight on the man. Together they smashed against the ground, though Mary used him to save herself, rolled to reduce the damage to her body and leapt upwards just in time to twist the wrist of a second man pointing a gun at her. She broke his limb, forcing him to drop the weapon, and slammed her head against his. With a punch to his face as a follow-up he was quickly out cold. The blood pooling from beneath the other man's head already confirmed he hadn't survived the fall, so Mary paid him no heed and stealthily crept through the tunnels ahead.

And then the tunnel forked. Mary's brow furrowed. There was no dirt on the floor so there was no sure way to decide which way Katherine had either gone or been taken to. Frowning, Mary grabbed a quarter from her pocket, flipped and caught it, then decided based on her result. She went right. Apparently, luck was with her; she discovered a horde of horrendous machinations and terror. No doubt those poor people were from the train. Was Katherine among them? She couldn't see well enough.

Mary couldn't find a way in, so she chose to continue deeper into the bowels of the Templar operation. It made her blood boil with rage to see such horrors and know that it was the free will allotted to the Templars that brought them to do such acts. Times like these made her question the Creed, but knowing the alternative kept her on the path she'd chosen years ago.

Calling upon her oldest and most foreign piece of training, Mary breathed deeply and crept forward until her footsteps were silent as the grave. She could hear no one approach, so she hurried and risked her footfalls being heard, though she doubted it considering how loudly some of the prisoners were screaming or moaning.

An iron door soon presented itself to hear. Mary reached for the handle but hesitated. Was there some sort of code? Something she needed to clear first? Mary set her jaw, raised her arm and grabbed the handle. With a push it swung slowly inward. Mary stepped within and gawked at the sight before her. The prisoners before had merely been in pain, but it appeared these ones were mad. They frothed at the mouth, hit their heads against the concrete and whimpered much like animals. Mary managed to tear her gaze from the worst of them and slowly walked down the hall. Alarms were screaming in her head. There were no guards around. Something was desperately wrong.

And then Mary found Katherine strapped to the wall in chains, much like the others, though only beaten and bruised. She wasn't frothing at the mouth like the others. Mary hurried to the wall and gave Katherine a few gentle slaps on the cheek to try rousing her, and when that succeeded in a small part Mary set to examining the irons on Katherine's wrist.

"Dammit, Katherine!" Mary seethed. "Why'd ye have tae go and get yerself caught?!"

Katherine blinked erratically, then managed to focus her energies into sight. Her eyes widened. "Mary!" exclaimed Katherine. "W-What... Why are you here?!"

"I'm here tae have a cup of tea and some biscuits with the Templars, obviously!" Mary pursed her lips and began searching through the room for keys or something to cut through the chains. "Or some wine. I may have wasted some upstairs, mind."

"Mary, you can't be here! He was looking for someone like you and you've basically fallen into his lap!"

Mary grabbed a sturdy saw and hurried to return to Katherine. "What're ye talking about, lassie?"

While Mary set to work, Katherine hissed, "Cole! Cole's here! H-He tried to use something on me, but it didn't work how he liked so..." Katherine's hands balled into fists. Mary could see she was barely holding tears at bay. "He got the Assassin-hunter who killed my brothers to beat me. Then they said—."

"Then we told Miss Prince we were waiting for you, Mary MacKenzie."

"Mary, don't—!"

Mary turned to look at the voice she recognized and suddenly stumbled back. Richard Cole held a large and rounded piece of silver in his hands, and the moment Mary's eyes set upon it she felt an ethereal tug in its direction. She planted her feet firmly on the ground and tried to tear away her gaze but her eyes remained firmly locked on it as Cole approached, a wicked smile gracing his handsome features.

"Lovely to see you again. You must have extraordinary luck to have found me and mine so quickly, Miss MacKenzie."

Mary's knees buckled involuntarily. She hadn't blinked since setting her eyes on the thing. Her mind felt warped, foreign and alien all the same. Her fists clenched and she set her jaw. "Well..." she managed. "Next time, dannae... put yer secret lair... in the fucking wine cellar!"

"Clearly it'll be the first place you Scots look. I'm glad it worked out this way." Cole stopped several feet away from Mary. Mary suddenly shivered, and realized through her stupor that she still had the saw in hand. "Miss Prince didn't take as well to the Apple as you do. I guess her Sight makes it easier for her to rebuff the Apple's intrusions."

"Her... what?"

Cole smirked triumphantly. "What? You sent her into Auschwitz without knowing she's like me, that she can use the Apple? You're truly the most idiotic Assassin I've ever seen. Did those five years off do so much damage?" Cole held the Apple aloft. Mary felt her body shudder with the strange golden power it eluded. "I liked you better when we knew each other before—when you were a cutthroat, and never hesitated. That was the formidable woman I remember fighting alongside."

Mary's eyes flared with life, but the Apple kept her subdued. "I'm not... that person anymore!"

"We always remain the same, Miss MacKenzie. You taught me that."

"Naw... We always fight!"

Mary flung the saw towards the wall with all the strength she could muster, and it struck the concrete and the chain holding Katherine's right arm. In an instant Katherine grabbed the weapon and lobbed it at Cole, narrowly missing him by just a few feet, but she gave Mary time to leap upward and kick the Apple from his hand. Mary stumbled, felt her mind return, and quickly drew her sword to block Cole's incoming blow with his rapier.

"You're a fool if you think you'll escape from here!" he snarled.

Mary smirked. "I plan on following ye oot, Mister Cole. Ye were kind enough tae show us the way back in Vienna. Do a lady a favour, will ye?"

"If you were such a lady, I might consider it!"

Mary engaged Cole with enough ferocity that he was distracted from Katherine breaking her wrist to escape the second entrapment. When Katherine was free she shouted, and Mary tossed her gun to the younger Assassin just as she managed a lock with Cole.

But he wasn't finished. Cole put Mary between himself and the gun to prevent Katherine's inevitable shot at him, and he desperately lunged for the piece of silver rolling slowly on the ground. Mary saw him move and grabbed him, then managed to reach for the Apple herself.

"Mary!" Katherine called, and leapt forward.

The instant Mary's hand touched the Piece of Eden it erupted with golden light and splashed the room in bright, glowing gibberish that Mary didn't have a mind to understand. Her skull felt like it was about to explode, and her mind felt as if it was tearing itself to pieces. Cole was blasted back into concrete, narrowly missing one of his frothing victims. The people on the wall screamed like they were on fire, and soon Mary's echoed with theirs.

Katherine managed to tear the Apple from Mary's grasp, and the pain ended as quickly as it had come. Mary lay shivering on the ground, gasping and rocking. Katherine hovered over her companion, unsure of what to do until she felt Cole's hands wrest the Apple from her. He fled out the door as quickly as he could, and Katherine almost pursued him, but the way was blocked by an Assassin-hunter.

Mary managed to pull herself together and slowly came to her feet. Katherine fired shots at the advancing Assassin-hunter but he didn't fall, much like the one in London, except this one came forward with purpose that the other had sorely lacked. Just as he closed in, Katherine grabbed Mary's sword and swung. The Assassin-hunter activated a hidden blade as Katherine lopped their head from their neck. The head fell nearby and the body fell forward.

"Get up from that, you fucking freak," Katherine spat, and then hurried to the Scot. "Mary? Cole's getting away with the Apple. We have to go!"

Mary, clutching her head and Katherine's arm, managed, "Did ye... get the information?"

"Cole didn't count on us getting the better of him. He told me everything, and I'll tell you the moment we're safe!" Mary nodded slowly and let Katherine guide her forward. "It seems like you have some explaining to do, as well," added Katherine.

Mary's eyes closed. She felt hot, and she knew her body was feeling it; she was sweating all over. "As do ye... Katherine."