"Not sure if this is what you meant by 'weird' but..."

It wasn't until someone violently shook Desmond awake that he even realized he'd fallen asleep, his hallucinations having seamlessly transformed into vivid dreams that kept his mind racing all night. He must've woken up at several points throughout the night because more than once he'd glance to his side and see either Shaun or Rebecca sitting next to him, only to then slip back into another fever dream.

"Time to go," Shaun ordered, now slinging his duffel over his shoulder. "Don't need to be caught on board with two dead bodies lying around."

"Bodies?" Desmond blinked a few times and rubbed his temples as he recalled the previous nights' activities. "Right. Bodies." He slowly sat upright and stretched in place, his head still swirling from Hart's concoction. Taking deep breaths, he pushed himself to his feet. He wobbled in place for a second, grabbing hold of a nearby railing until he felt steady enough to help the others finish packing.

"Here," Rebecca handed him his knife. "You dropped this last night."

"She was ready to stab Hart with it herself except you got to him first," Shaun said, also handing over his freshly-cleaned hidden blade.

"Thanks."

Shaun pulled the window curtains back a few inches. "We're pulling into the station. Are we ready?"

Desmond and Rebecca nodded and followed Shaun out of their cabin and into the hallway, stepping off the train just as the doors opened. They blended in among the throngs of holiday travelers and nobody paid any mind to the Americans and the Brit shuffling their way along the bustling train platform.

They squeezed through the crowds and eventually made their way outside just as a group of security guards pushed past. Eager to get far away from the scene of their crime as soon as possible, the trio of Assassins hailed the nearest taxi, tossing their things into the trunk and sliding into the backseat together. Before the driver could ask them where they were going, Desmond directed him to Tiber Island.

"Really?" Shaun asked.

He shrugged. "It was the first place that came to mind."

The drive was thankfully quiet, giving Desmond time to close his eyes and rest. There was a time that he would've been upset at how little of Rome he saw out the window, but he'd spent enough time in the city—both in and out of the Animus—that he wasn't missing anything. He breathed deeply to quell the nausea that crept up every so often and only glanced out the window to catch a quick glimpse of the city to see where they were. It was a short ride, and less than a half hour later they stood in the center of a plaza on Tiber Island, bags in hand.

Desmond took in a deep breath of crisp, early winter morning air to clear his head. While he knew where he was, the island looked completely different from how he remembered it in the Animus. The main building that once housed the Brotherhood's hideout was now part of another large building that ran most of the length of the island. Nearby restaurants and shops were just starting to open for the day and only a few people, mainly tourists, wandered through the cobblestone plaza.

"Now what?" Rebecca asked.

The smell of bread baking caught Desmond's attention and his stomach grumbled as he realized he hadn't eaten since the previous afternoon. Ravenous, his head swiveled back and forth until he found the source: a small cafe just opening its doors at the other end of the plaza.

"That," Desmond said, pointing in the direction of the delicious aroma.

They ordered an assortment of pastries and coffees and sat down at a table outside, a melancholic mood falling over them as they started eating. The sun began peeking out from behind the clouds as they ate, pushing away the morning's fog that had settled over the ground.

"Looks a little different than you remember it?" Shaun asked Desmond, tilting his head towards the center of the island.

"A little bit, yeah," he said through a mouthful of pastry and honey.

"Interesting fact: that hospital was built shortly after Ezio's death and, though I haven't found any concrete evidence for it, I wouldn't be surprised if we helped fund it. Kind of fitting that it later helped house Jewish refugees during the Nazi occupation of Italy. And before it was ours, there was a temple dedicated to Asclepius, Greek god of medicine. Seems this island has a habit of helping those in need."

Desmond hummed thoughtfully, taking a sip of his coffee. Despite everything looking so different, he couldn't help but feel somewhat at home, having spent so much time here as Ezio. Perhaps that's why he instinctively told the driver to bring them here.

It's not like he had many happy memories elsewhere in Rome. This was where he'd been taken after being kidnapped, eventually murdering the person who'd helped him escape from his kidnappers, only to finally return to save his father who'd been kidnapped by the people who'd taken him in the first place.

He had a complicated history with Rome, and having Ezio's memories swirling around inside his head did nothing to simplify the matter. Though perhaps 'complicated' was putting it mildly.

As they continued to nibble on their pastries and sip on their coffees, Rebecca pulled her laptop out of her bag. "What? Not like Hart can use them to track us now," she said in response to Shaun's questioning glance.

He looked up, thought about it for a second, then shrugged. "You're right. I wonder if Bill's called us back yet." The excitement from his face fell when he checked his phone.

"Nothing?" Desmond asked.

"Nothing. He'll call us back eventually. I hope." The last part he muttered under his breath, as though he didn't want Desmond to hear.

"How are you feeling?" Rebecca asked. "Any lingering side effects from the ketamine?"

He swallowed the rest of his third pastry before answering. "Not that I know of. Just a little tired."

"Well that's good," Shaun added. "Though we probably want to keep a close eye on you for a few days."

Desmond scoffed, scarfing down a slice of buttered bread. "What? Why?"

"Well because let's see… contraindications of ketamine…" He counted his fingers on one hand and read off the phone in the other. "Liver disease—" he gave a once-over glance to Desmond and put a finger up— "probably. Active substance abuse disorder? No, that would be Rebecca."

"Hey!"

"Pregnancy…"

Desmond smacked Shaun's hand away as he patted his stomach and reached for the plate of pastries again.

"Doubtful. Though is that your fourth cornetto?"

"I'm hungry."

"Clearly. It's like you're eating for two. Kidding! I kid. Anyways, where was I? Ah, yes. Less than three months old? I mean technically you've only been alive again for what? Two days? And last but certainly not least—" Shaun paused for dramatic effect— "poorly controlled psychosis. Does that sound like anyone we know?"

Both he and Rebecca stared at Desmond for a moment—the last bit of his fourth cornetto disappearing into his mouth—as though waiting for him to burst into a hallucinatory episode at any second.

"I'm fine. I promise I'll let you know if I'm not."

"We'll keep an eye out just in case," Rebecca said gently. "Who knows if Hart added anything to the ketamine."

"Like an appetite stimulant, for example."

"If it makes you both feel better," Desmond said, rolling his eyes. "Speaking of, what happened to Hart after I passed out? Did everything go okay?"

"About as well as can be expected," Rebecca explained, shrugging her jacket over a tank top. "After we dropped you off in our cabin, we went back to the dining car and cleaned up what we could. We moved the bartender's body to Hart's room, so it was staged to look like self-defense on the bartender's part."

"And it hid both bodies just a little longer so we'd have more time to get off the train and get away before anyone realized."

"Then we stayed in the bunks and took turns watching you the rest of the night. You were pretty out of it and mumbling a lot, but nothing we could really make out."

Desmond's heart skipped a beat at the thought of what he could've let slip last night in his semi-conscious state. He lifted his coffee to his lips and took a sip. "Thank you," he murmured over the top of his mug, looking between them. "Both of you."

"We're a team. That's what we do."

"So what now?" Shaun asked. "We—well, Desmond—killed Hart. What's next?"

"Hart seemed to imply that Juno was somewhere here in Rome. He said—" Desmond scrunched his eyes and scratched his head, trying to remember. "He said she was 'home,' whatever that means. And I think he planned on taking me directly to her."

"That explains the ketamine," Rebecca said. "Though how'd he get the drop on you in the first place? I never pictured him as the super sneaky type."

"He used some sort of taser whip thing."

They both winced when Desmond lifted his shirt to show them the red electrical burns across his chest and back that even now still felt tender.

"Ouch."

"Jesus, that's what that thing was."

He lowered his shirt again. "Yeah, definitely not fun. He caught me right as I was distracted checking the bartender's body."

"But you said he was for sure heading here? Did he say where? Rome isn't exactly small."

"No. He…" Desmond trailed off, Hart's voice floating through his mind as he tried to recall what he'd said.

"You remember it, don't you? It doesn't take long for all the memories to come back."

He suddenly saw himself walking down the platform at the Grand Temple, his outstretched hand mere inches from the pedestal, energy buzzing as he drew closer…

"He… what?" Shaun pressed.

Desmond blinked and shook his head clear. "Huh? Oh, uh… he didn't say where exactly."

Shaun's eyes narrowed but he stayed quiet as Desmond became preoccupied by the latest pastry in his hand.

"Alright, well, we don't think she's here, do we?" Rebecca asked, pointing to the ground. "Like, on the island?"

"I hope not," Shaun said, his head swiveling around as though expecting Juno to appear out of thin air. "The Vatican?"

"Maybe beneath Saint Peter's? Or the Pantheon? Oh! What about the Colosseum?"

"What? Where thousands of people are wandering around every day? Doesn't seem very well hidden if she doesn't want to be found. Maybe if they used the hypogeum tunnels…"

Desmond stopped listening and slowly turned the cornetto over in his hand. The tunnels…

There were plenty of places to hide down there, lots of nooks and crannies. And that was where Juno first appeared to him, first spoke to him, her ethereal form telling him about everything he would come to understand only when it was too late to do anything about them. The tunnels had led him under Capitoline Hill… to the church… to…

He paused for a moment, staring down at a slice of cinnamon apple poking out of the pastry.

"The Apple Chamber," he whispered.

Shaun slapped his hand on his forehead. "Of course! It was part of her temple."

"It makes sense," Rebecca agreed. "Great place to hide since anybody that knows of its existence wouldn't have a reason to go down there since the Apple's gone."

Desmond nodded. "Exactly."

"So what do we do now?" Shaun asked. "Call Gavin? Rally the troops?"

"No, we can't wait. She probably won't stay there long, especially when she gets wind of Hart. We stick to the plan and we kill her now."

"That was never a good plan."

Rebecca nodded. "Agreed. Des, be reasonable. We still don't know the first thing about her, or how to kill her. She would be the first Isu in what? Several millennia?"

"Hart said she was working on something. Whatever it is, it can't be good for us. What if we do nothing and it works? Then what?"

"You're being reckless."

Desmond scoffed. "I'm not reckless—"

"You almost got us killed three times in as many days," Rebecca snapped.

He was silent for a moment, struggling to formulate his next words. It wasn't fair for her to put all the blame on him for what had transpired. It wasn't like he shot at their car or blew up the office building or attempted to murder them. And yet, had he not been there, not sent them headlong into danger, none of that would've happened at all.

But Juno…

He opened his mouth to attempt to explain his thoughts, but Shaun held up his hand to cut him off.

"Desmond. Mate. Friend. Compadre. We've gone off half-cocked several times since you've been back, and normally that somehow works for us, but it's nearly gotten us all killed this time. I don't disagree with you that there's a sense of urgency; as I've said before: time is precious. I think you of all people know that better than anyone. But getting us or yourself killed isn't going to do any of us any favors. You just got a second chance at life, quite literally. Don't piss it all away for some vendetta. Let's wait for your father to call back at least. After all, he still has the Apple, maybe it'll help."

Desmond thought about it for a few seconds, finishing off the last of his latest pastry. "Fine," he agreed sourly. "But we should at least scout it out. Find out what we can now. Maybe we'll get lucky."

"Promise you won't go all Rambo on us if Juno does show up?"

He looked at Rebecca then at Shaun, both of whom now stared intently waiting for his answer. He sighed. "I promise."

They smiled and let out their own sighs of relief.

"Great," Rebecca said. "So what's our plan?"

After wolfing down the rest of their coffees and pastries, they scuttled towards the Campidoglio, where Shaun stationed himself and their gear on the steps in front of Santa Maria in Ara Coeli church.

"Check, check. Can anybody hear me?" he asked into his earpiece after Desmond and Rebecca continued towards the Colosseum.

"Loud and clear," she answered. "Got the camera up and running yet?"

The drone buzzed in the earpiece. "I've got flight aaand… visuals are good."

"Oh no," Rebecca groaned a few minutes later as she and Desmond approached the west end of the Colosseum.

"What's wrong?" Shaun asked.

"It's absolutely packed. There are so many people here, we'll never get in."

"I'm sure it won't take too long—"

"The line is out of the queue and wrapping around the side…"

"Wait here for a second, I'll be right back," Desmond said, dipping out of the line and making his way around the far side of the Colosseum. Finding a secluded corner behind a temporary construction wall that seemed well away from any guests, tour guides, or security, he called Rebecca over using his earpiece.

"You sure there aren't any cameras?" she asked apprehensively when she found him.

"We'll be quick. Come on." He helped her up and over the safety fence lining the construction area before climbing over himself. Together they slipped inside, eventually finding an unused stairwell and climbing to the second level where they melded into the back of a tour group. "I'm going up top. You stay down here and mingle with the crowds."

"Be careful."

"Always," he said with a crooked smile.

Rebecca just rolled her eyes and shook her head as she blended in with the people in front of her.

Without another sound, he slipped away. Listening through the soft hum of chatter for any sign of security, he stealthily climbed his way to the top of the southeastern end of the Colosseum, overlooking the platform on which many tourists gathered for pictures. He ducked as low as he could and drew his hood up over his head, trying to stay out of view of prying eyes while still maintaining his own line of sight from above.

Even this early in the morning the arena was crammed with people, and it took Desmond a few minutes before he spotted Rebecca in the crowd, doing her best to blend in with the other tourists. She did a good job of it, taking photos with her phone and looking around seemingly awestruck, as though it was her first time there.

The shifting crowds were both a blessing and a curse, obscuring Rebecca but also potentially obscuring any potential targets. And so while Desmond kept a close eye on the rest of the Colosseum, he kept an even closer eye on Rebecca, her outburst at breakfast echoing in his head again.

Ten, twenty, thirty minutes passed by without incident and while this was, by all reason, a good thing, it put Desmond on edge.

"Anybody see anything?" he whispered into his earpiece.

"Nothing so far," Shaun answered. "Just a bunch of tourists as far as I can tell."

"Same. Though it's so crowded I'm not sure I'd be able to tell. How am I supposed to pick anyone out?"

"Just tell me if you see anything weird or suspicious."

"Alright."

Scanning the crowd again, Desmond caught sight of an older man with gray hair and a thinning face. His heart skipped a beat when, for a brief second, he almost thought his father was there.

"Any word from my dad?"

There was a brief pause before Shaun answered. "Not yet."

Desmond sighed deeply and began fiddling with the eagle talon necklace Shaun had gifted him. "Alright."

"You okay?" Rebecca asked.

"Yeah. I was just hoping we might be able to meet up with him tomorrow for Christmas. I wanted to make up for last year."

"Don't worry mate, I'll let you know as soon as he calls."

"Thanks," Desmond said as he tried to stifle a large yawn. "I could really go for a nap right now."

"Oh? Was your eternal rest not restful enough for you?" Shaun joked.

"Well it wasn't exactly eternal, was it?" His stomach grumbled. "Maybe I just need to eat."

"We just had breakfast!" Shaun blurted out. "And you ate enough to satisfy a small pack of elephants!"

"I did not."

"You did, too! Tell him, Bex."

"It was a lot," she agreed, though sounding slightly apologetic.

"This is just bullying now. Speaking ill of the dead." He gave a small tsk tsk and shook his head.

"Always so dramatic. Anyways, isn't being tired and hungry just your general state of being?"

"To be fair, he was electrocuted and drugged last night."

"True. Speaking of, how're you holding up, mate? Apart from having the comportment of a bear emerging from hibernation, I mean."

"Fine so far."

"No lingering side effects?"

"Nope."

"Are you lying to us?"

Desmond sighed deeply. "If I say 'no' are you going to believe me?"

"Probably not."

"Then yes."

There was a brief pause, then Shaun muttered, "I can't believe he'd lie to us like this."

Desmond grew more restless with each passing minute, waiting, almost hoping something would happen soon. He longed to slip into the tunnels and find his way to the Temple, to confront Juno once and for all.

But he'd made a promise, and as usual, Shaun and Rebecca were right. Barging into the Temple now would be nothing more than a suicide mission. He sighed again and closed his eyes, letting his extra senses take over. The wind battered against him as he stood up from his crouched position on the outer wall, its whistling drowning out the crowds below. The sun had started to appear from between the dense cloud cover overhead, only slightly warming him against the cold breeze. His hidden blade felt heavy pressed against his wrist, itching to be released. The dry air smelled crisp and clean this high up, with only a vague hint of shifted dirt from the construction below reaching his nose. He took another deep breath and when he opened his eyes, it was like he'd stepped into a whole other world.

The wind had grown quiet, allowing him to discern individual conversations taking place down below: a young couple, asking their friend to take a photo of them; an exasperated mother trying to console a crying child; a woman, politely passing by the edge of a group of tourists. He smelled the salt from the earth, the clay from the cobblestones, and the subtle sweet smell of grass from the park across the street. Two birds screeched in the distance, and when he scanned the sky across the city saw a pair of eagles now soaring over Tiber Island.

A quick flash of light from the corner of his eye caught his attention and for a moment, he thought he saw a tall figure in a white hoodie lithely dropping into the hypogeum from the edge of the lower walkway below. Desmond crept along the top of the wall until he had a good view of the tunnel, but whoever they were had vanished. Strange, he thought, the platform was full of people and yet, nobody had seemed to notice the person disappearing right in front of their very eyes. Stranger still, Desmond had been those tunnels, had dropped into the hypogeum from that very spot, in fact, and knew it was a dead-end. The only way out would've sent them into the center of the arena, where someone was almost certain to spot them. But no one seemed to. Even Rebecca, standing right there, should've seen them.

"Hey, Rebecca? Did you see that person that just dropped into the tunnels next to you?"

"What? No… Shit, did I miss someone?" She craned her neck to look into the hypogeum.

"Maybe? I don't know, I could've sworn I saw someone there but now I'm not sure. They would've been right next to you. Impossible to miss."

"Fuck, I'm sorry. I'll keep a better eye out."

He listened closer to the rest of the tourists chatting, but no one seemed to say a word about the phantom. Weird…perhaps he'd imagined it…

He blinked and his perception returned to normal, the whistling of the wind drowning out most of the sounds below once again. But now, for the first time since returning, he felt whole again. Like the last piece of the puzzle had finally been found.

"Uh, Des?" Rebecca whispered, a strange mix of panic and excitement in her voice.

"Yeah?"

"Not sure if this is what you meant by 'weird' but, um… are you sure it wasn't Lucy that you saw? Because unless I also got hit with some of that ketamine, she's here, and she's walking right towards me."

Desmond's heart skipped a beat. "What!?" he hissed, spinning on his heels and scanning the crowd.

Sure enough, a strange knot formed in the pit of his stomach as he laid eyes on Lucy Stillman heading straight for Rebecca at the other end of the Colosseum. He shook his head yet again. Was this another hallucination? But then again, Rebecca had spotted her first, and even when he took another few blinks she was still there, hurrying forward now and very much alive.

Okay, maybe his Eagle Vision wasn't entirely back yet.

"Are you sure you're not high right now?" Shaun finally sputtered out. "Lucy's dead."

"Yeah, well, so was Desmond," she snapped back under her breath.

Desmond jumped down from the top ledge and started racing across the radial walls that once held the upper row of bleachers. "Keep her distracted, I'm on my way."

"How the hell am I going to do that?"

"And what the hell is she doing here of all places?" Shaun interceded.

"Looking for answers," Desmond stated matter-of-factly.

"What answers? What do I even say? Des? Des!?" She started hissing his name under her breath.

"Anything. Just… just keep her occupied." He leapt down onto the middle walkway and carefully pushed his way through the crowds of people, trying hard not to draw too much attention to himself.

"Bex! Thank god I found you!"

Desmond struggled to ignore the somersaults in his stomach as he heard Lucy's voice for the first time in a long while.

"Hey, Luce." Rebecca's voice quivered as Lucy pulled her into a tight embrace.

"What's going on? I'm so confused. What happened in the temple? The last thing I remember, we'd just reached the platform, Shaun was talking and Desmond was reaching for the Apple." She barely took a breath as the words came flying out.

Another somersault, this one when she said his name. He leapt across a gap in the stone and landed on a large slanted area where bleachers once stood. He stopped in his tracks, watching silently from above as Lucy continued.

"I must've passed out or something because the next thing I know I'm waking up, buried alive in a cemetery somewhere outside the city."

Rebecca just stared, at a complete loss for words, her mouth hanging open. If she saw Desmond on the platform behind Lucy, she didn't show it.

"What's wrong? Where…where is everybody?" Lucy casually glanced around.

"Shaun's um… he's around here somewhere."

"And Des?"

"He uh, he died."

Desmond cocked his head to the side and threw his hands above his head. Rebecca gave an almost imperceptible shrug.

"And yet sometimes we can still hear his voice," Shaun whispered in a sing-song manner.

"Shaun," Desmond quietly warned.

"There it is again, like an echo in the wind."

"What do you mean, 'died?' What—" Lucy's voice cracked and she stumbled a few steps backwards. "How? What happened?"

"Juno killed him."

"Juno? The… god? I don't… I don't believe you."

Rebecca, her face stony and nigh unreadable, pulled out her tablet. She tapped on the screen a few times then handed it to Lucy, whose shoulders fell and hand clasped her mouth in shock as she just stared, frozen. Desmond instinctively crept forward towards the edge until he saw Rebecca ever-so-slightly put her hand up at her side to stop him.

"This is… this is real?" Desmond was close enough now to see her hand shake as she scrolled through what was on the screen, which he realized as he heard an occasional sniffle, was his autopsy file.

Every so often Lucy would wipe her hand across her face, and he couldn't help but be impressed by her ability to feign emotions. But the longer she looked, the more distraught she seemingly became, even going so far as to support herself against a wall, and suddenly Desmond wasn't so sure. Was she faking it?

"You don't seem surprised that it wasn't the Templars that got him," Rebecca's voice now cold and emotionless. She crossed her arms. "Though I guess you wouldn't be."

Desmond's eyes widened and he waved his hands wildly above his head as he tried to flag Rebecca down to stop her but she ignored him.

"Bex," Shaun warned this time.

"What?" Lucy managed between sniffles, looking up from the tablet.

Rebecca shook her head, her mouth set in a deep frown. "We know you were going to sell us out," she admitted, "and take the Apple for the Templars."

Shaun groaned. "So much for subtlety."

"What are you talking about?" Lucy asked, her tone as cold as Rebecca's and the quivering almost completely gone now.

Desmond took a step forward and clapped a hand to his forehead.

"Ehi tu! Scendere!" a voice yelled behind him.

He whipped his head around to see a security guard pointing his way and gesturing to get down.

"Lucy, wait!" Rebecca shouted.

He turned back just as Lucy dropped the tablet and sprinted towards the exit.

"Damnit!" He took a running jump off the platform and back onto the main walkway, dodging whoever he could and shoving everyone else aside. He sprinted along an empty hallway leading outside and leapt from the second-story archway, landing deftly onto the ground below.

"Des, I'm sorry for spooking her."

"It's fine," he breathed, trying to catch up to Lucy as she approached a rack of scooters and motorcycles. She threw on a helmet and hopped on a yellow motorcycle parked at the end. Its engine roared to life and tires squealed as she kicked it into gear and sped off into the city.

Three spots down, a dark-haired man just watched with his mouth hanging open as she disappeared around the first turn. He had a helmet in hand and, to Desmond's delight, keys still in the ignition of his own bike.

"Sorry, need this," he said, snatching the helmet out of the man's grasp and pushing him out of the way as he swung a leg over the other side. He slid the helmet on and flipped the switch to start the bike, tearing after Lucy as fast as he could and ignoring the shouts coming from the bike's owner.

"She's headed your way, Shaun."

"Right. Camera's ready. Why on earth did you tell Lucy that he died, Bex?"

"I don't know, I panicked?" She sounded out of breath and the roar of a motorcycle—the one Desmond was on right now—picked up in the distance through the earpiece. "She was dead, and now she's not, so when she asked about Desmond it was the first thing that came to mind! Plus, what if she's still working for Abstergo?"

Shaun sighed loudly. "Fair point. I—Wait a second, I think I hear her. Des, is she on a yellow bike?"

"Yes."

"I've got her on camera. She's… she's making a left behind the Campidoglio."

"I see her." She disappeared around the turn and horns blared as two cars emerged from the street she turned onto. Desmond barely had time to register the first one pulling out in front of him and he swerved the bike hard to the left to mount the sidewalk and avoid the collision. More shouts echoed behind him as pedestrians dodged out of his way.

He passed the cars and dropped back down onto the street, following Lucy up a narrow, winding road leading up the backside of Capitoline Hill.

"She's cutting through the plaza now. It's a miracle she hasn't killed anyone yet with how many people there are."

Shaun wasn't kidding, the plaza would be difficult to pass through even on foot. All Desmond could do was rev the engine and hope people moved out of the way as he pressed on.

"She's coming down the ramp now, but I don't think she saw me over here on the steps."

"Almost there," Desmond said, maneuvering his bike around one last tourist group just as Lucy reached the bottom. He cranked the throttle and the bike lurched forward, hurtling at breakneck speed behind her. He barely caught a glimpse of Shaun at the bottom of the steps to Santa Maria basilica from the corner of his eye before speeding across multiple lanes of traffic, nearly catching up to his target.

But any ground he gained was lost when she feigned taking a right at the next fork in the road, leaning hard to the left just before the split.

"Shit!"

"I've still got her," Shaun reassured him. "She just made a left at the next intersection. Take that left and you'll be right behind her again."

He rounded the corner to find he was only a few car lengths behind her. They raced along the empty tram lanes for several blocks, Desmond gaining on Lucy every second. Just as his front tire came in line with the back of her bike, she pulled hard to the right and cut through a small plaza and down a narrow side street. He slammed on the brakes and spun the bike back around to face down the same side street, tires squealing on the pavement.

"Oh look! That's where Caesar was assassinated by—oh shit!"

As Lucy reached the end of the street, she craned her neck around to get a look at her pursuer, not paying attention to where she was going. At that moment, a car passed in front of her bike and, in a late attempt to avoid a collision, stopped directly in her path. Before she had a chance to fully stop, the bike slammed into the side of the car, launching Lucy headlong into the air and into oncoming traffic.

Desmond's stomach plummeted and he urged the bike even faster, breathing a small sigh of relief when, to his immense surprise, Lucy stood up and limped the rest of the way across the street. Horns blared and people shouted as several cars rear ended each other and nearby traffic came to a standstill.

Unable to maneuver the bike through the mess, Desmond dropped it on the sidewalk and scrambled over and around cars to get to the other side. By the time he reached the other side, Lucy was nowhere to be seen among the crowds that had stopped to observe the wreckage.

"Shaun, where the hell did she go!?" He threw the helmet off and spun around looking for her. Sensing dozens of pairs of eyes staring in his direction, he pulled up his hood once again.

"I don't… I don't see her. I lost track of her when she crashed. I'll check the nearby streets."

While the camera zipped by overhead, Desmond used a series of crates to gain momentum and scaled the side of the closest building, ignoring the people now pointing and commenting on his strange behavior below. He hunched over and took several deep breaths to calm his nerves when he reached the rooftop.

"Are you alright?" Rebecca asked worriedly. "You look sick."

"I'm fine. Just need a minute."

"Maybe he is losing his touch," Shaun muttered to Rebecca. "He's gassed sooner than usual."

Desmond glared at the drone, now buzzing just a few feet above his head.

"I suppose that makes sense what with everything that's gone on. Dead, brought back to life, nearly stabbed and shot repeatedly, blown up, electrocuted, and drugged. Wow, this really hasn't been a very pleasant week for you, has it?"

"It can't get much worse then, right?"

"Why, Bex? Why would you put that into the universe? I was only kidding!"

"Just find her!" Desmond snapped, trying to focus his attention on his extra senses to find a trace of her.

It was Shaun with the drone who found her first. "Des, she's down the street and to your left."

Sure enough, there she was, bent over double against a wall, one hand on her knee, the other cradled by her chest, and heaving deeply. Seeing his shadow crossing over her path as he leapt from one rooftop to another, she took one glance upwards then sprinted in the opposite direction. He raced along the rooftops after her, his silhouette following on her heels like a phantom. She turned a new direction at every corner, no doubt hoping her pursuer would be unable to follow. But Desmond was in his element as he matched her every step. The centuries-old rooftops created a landscape he was familiar with, even more so as the quintessential dome of the Pantheon came into view.

"Uh oh," Rebecca whispered into her earpiece.

"What?"

"The drone's battery is about to die and I think she's heading for the plaza in front of the Pantheon. Des, it's absolutely packed and there's no good way around. If you don't catch her soon, we may lose her."

Lucy must've had a similar thought because her pace quickened when she turned a final corner, leading her to an alleyway that fed directly into the plaza. The steady murmur of the crowds got louder with each step and Desmond knew he only had moments left before she would vanish into the masses.

His feet barely touched the clay tiles as he sprinted forward and with less than twenty feet to go, he launched himself into the air, landing just behind her and rolling out of the fall into a tackle, dragging her to the ground only a few feet from the plaza.

He pushed himself to his feet and stood defensively between Lucy and her escape route, ready to give chase in the event she still had some stamina left. But it seemed she had no intention of running, slow as she was to get up, and even less so when she finally looked up to see who'd been so keen to stay on her trail.

She gasped, her face going pale as Desmond pushed his hood down.

"Hiya, Luce." He cocked his head to the side, a slight triumphant smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. "It's been a while."

Sheeeee's baaa-aack ;D

I have been wanting to finish and post this chapter for so long! Hope you enjoyed it!