Chapter XI: Sweating to the Oldies
A puff of air leaves her lips, fingers white as she pulls herself up over the steel safety rail. Even with the shoulder healed, lack of consistent, heavy duty use has left it burning after a 2 story climb. Fred's whistling of Yellow Brick Road wouldn't have bothered her, but this time she wanted to throw him back down to start the journey up again.
"Nicely done, Jasey. Good form, considering. I'd like to see less dangling. It needs to be quick, quick, quick, out of sight before they even process anything they may have seen. Darkness is your shield, but so is speed."
"I haven't done this in almost a month dude, give me a break!" Eyebrows raised, Fred stepped forward, almost hostile.
"They will not, they will shoot you without hesitation. They will abduct you without hesitation. If you are found, Abstergo will be your judge, jury, and executioner. Do not give them that opportunity."
Swallowing deeply, Juliet found Fred's eyes darker than she'd seen them these past weeks. This was no longer fun games disguised as training, this was the formal introduction to the madness she found herself in.
"I'm sorry."
"I managed to sharpen and strengthen an old blade of mine. Take care of her." A dark green cloth was held out to her, opening it revealed a well used Tai Pan combat knife, handle slightly worn. It was recently sharpened, and seemed to glint in the lowering Sun.
"Thank you, I mean it. This will make things easier." Juliet began to get a feel for her new friend and accomplice, wrist moving in semi-circles, observing the weight difference and feel between her trusty pocket knife and Fred's old accessory. A closer look revealed not only was the handle worn, but there were small dings, near the handle, each of its opponents leaving their own special mark that could never be entirely buffed out.
Silence gnawed at the two, the setting Sun leaving behind a small chill that began to eat through the layers of clothes they wore. Such heavy silence was uncomfortable for Juliet, it was nerve-wracking, she never did like the kind of silence that pressed on shoulders and felt like cutting through dense pound cake when broken. That's why she loved waitressing, her diner family and friends, the clinging of silverware and kitchenry, it was never quiet beyond her comfort zone.
"Fred, is this all you've ever known? The Creed?" Thought broken, Fred shook his head, almost wistfully.
"Only since I was 15. My life was pretty average until then. I did something stupid and ended up in the middle of some Templar-Assassin showdown. I'd seen too much, and I was in danger for it. It was either go with the Assassins or have the last thing I see a gun barrel. I was trained and learned the hidden side of history until I ended up here."
"New York City?"
"New York, with you, whatever. I'll never have the life we think about as kids, not now."
"Do- do ya want that?"
"Sometimes. I wanted to work with fish when I was younger."
"Fish?"
"Leave me alone. I was weird."
Eyes raised, Juliet guffawed, "Was?"
"Get back down the tower, no dangling!" Fred nimbly swung back over the edge, not an ounce of fear or apprehension in his body, no thought required. On the other hand, Juliet let a groan slip from her lips before doing a similar action, albeit with less grace and more amateur movement. Each hand gripping whatever steel bar or smoothed edge she could find. The ladder to the top of the water tower was to her left, but of course, that would be cheating. Not allowing her eyes to trail any further down than needed, Juliet continued her descent, gaining some speed as she went. "You're doing good, just a bit more!"
'I'm fucking trying!' She wanted to yell, but bit her tongue. Darkness was descending on their field trip fast, any darker and she wouldn't be able to see much more of the way down. One misstep and she'd look like Wile E. Coyote. Her left foot slipped on a bar and she gasped, hooking an arm around the bar she had been holding. Rallying up some courage, Juliet put her foot down once more, curling her toes as if it'd help. As she progressed, she felt more confident, feeling the change in wind as her descent came to an end. Firm asphalt met her sneakers, sending relief to her core.
"Better, but you need to have confidence in where you're going, otherwise your body will also lose confidence." Catching a breath, Juliet met her trainer's eyes.
"I want a 2 litre of grape soda and some pizza, Fred. You're buying." Pulling black gloves over her wrist, Fred guffawed. "Tick tock, this is New York, time is of the essence for good pizza."
"If you beat me to the alley way entrance, I'll pay."
"You're on, fishboy."
"Oh, you're getting it now!" Fred knocked her shoulder before getting into a sprint position. "GO!"
Like a bullet, Juliet shot forward, her arms moving chin to pocket, a feeling of freedom washing over her as wind hit her face. Fred wasn't far behind, but still too slow. "Can't keep up with a waitress?"
"You're unusually fast." "You haven't worked customer service, have you? I have no choice." "Liar, you totally did track in school." "Maybe, I'm not telling." "Not with your mouth, but your arms did."
"Pizza, Fred. Stop stalling."
"Okay, okay! Who put you in charge?"