April 14, 2022
Jack sighed as he poured himself another drink. His phone tweeted on the table next to the bottle of scotch. He ignored it. He was not in the mood to deal with any more issues at the moment. His German contact would just have to figure out a way to solve this problem on their own.
The Assassins were no longer regional cells, but a global faction. There were too few of them to be anything else. There were still those groups who operated independently, but they were rare and usually didn't last very long. That was why Jack was so insistent on having the support of Faith, as well as Connor and Edward. They needed the talent. Desperately. And Faith had it in her to be a great Assassin. If only she could learn to control her emotions and follow orders. That had never been easy for her. She was too much like her father. Rebellious and short tempered. Jack had learned the hard way that such an attitude would not fly if you expected to complete your goals. His only goal these days was making the world a safer place. For everyone, as well as his children.
Jack didn't even hear the footsteps descend the stairs or enter the kitchen area where he sat, but he sensed Edward's presence just the same. He pushed the bottle farther across the table as the pirate took the seat in front of him.
"Care for a drink, Mr. Kenway?"
Edward took the bottle, put it to his lips. "Thought you'd never ask." He took a very large drink. "That's good," he said, placing the bottle back on the table between them.
"And expensive," Jack stated. There were two things he never bought cheap; alcohol and car parts. He had spent a fortune on both throughout his life. With no regrets.
"The lovebirds keeping you awake, too?" Edward ask.
Jack shook his head. "I have other distractions."
Edward grabbed the bottle, filled Jack's glass then took another drink, keeping the rest for himself. "Wanna talk?"
"Not sure you'd understand."
"Probably not," Edward agreed. "But I can listen, so long as this lasts."
Jack watched him take another swig of whiskey, thinking how fortunate he was the scotch was mostly empty to begin with. The pirate obviously didn't care that was a sixty-dollar bottle of Johnnie Walker he was guzzling.
"I'm going to talk to you, Mr. Kenway. And I'd like for you to listen, even after you've drank all my scotch."
Edward made no reaction. He sat quietly, watching Jack with ice, blue eyes.
"This plan I have of dealing a critical blow to the Templars is extremely risky."
"I expected as much. Going up against an enemy that outnumbers you ten to one is never good for one's health."
"True," Jack agreed. "However, there's far more at risk here then just the possibility of injury. This mission does pose a physical danger to all of us, however, I'm more concerned about failing then I am of dying. There are fates worse than death."
Edward frowned at him. "What's worse than death?"
Jack let out a wry laugh. "Living, of course. A life of servitude and constant fear. Not just to people like us, but other groups who don't share the Templar's ideals." He paused, watching the other man critically. "Do you know what a satellite is, Mr. Kenway?"
Edward shook his head. No surprise there. Jack had not expected him to know what he was talking about, he only ask in an attempt to make the man feel like a part of the conversation. It was a personalization technique he had learned long ago. If you gave someone the illusion that they were contributing, they were more open to suggestion.
"About a year ago one of my contacts in Russia discovered a file hidden deep within Abstergo's global server. It held the blueprints of a device called Egregoros. That's an occult term for an omnipotent being who watches over everyone. And it's a fitting name, because what Egregoros does is watch people. Using advanced facial recognition technology, the satellite can pinpoint the exact location of anyone on Earth within a mile of their current location. You understand how something like that would be bad for the Assassins, don't you Edward?"
The man nodded. Took another drink.
Jack continued. "We had hoped the prototype would never be completed. Something of that magnitude requires funding, specialized equipment and a team of monumentally talented scientists to execute. One of associates theorized that building a functioning satellite with such capabilities would take Abstergo at least ten years to complete. However…"
"They managed it faster than you anticipated."
Jack nodded. "Much faster. Egregoros is set to launch July 31st."
Edward was quiet for a long time, absorbing all the information. He was a smart man. Much smarter than Jack had initially thought. It made him glad he had decided to include him in this plot. It was only on a whim that Jack even acquired the pirate. He had originally planned only to get Connor. And that was simply for Faith's benefit. But Edward would be useful. Jack saw that now. More useful than he had anticipated.
"That's three and a half months from now."
"It is," Jack said.
Edward finished the whiskey and sat the empty bottle on the table with a clunk. "None of the others know this?"
"Besides you and me, no. Not even Mr. Miles knows the reason for the timeline."
"So why are you telling me?"
Jack shrugged lazily. "Maybe the drink has loosened my lips."
"I doubt that," Edward replied. He leaned forward, watching the other man closely. "When we first met, I got the impression we were cut from the same cloth. I'm not one to divulge confidential information out of drunkenness. I doubt you are either. I think the real reason you're telling me all this is because you need a confidant."
A laugh escaped Jack. "Do I strike you as the type of man who needs friends, Edward? If I do, we're not as similar as you'd like to believe."
A heavy quietness filled the room. The only sound was the clock on the wall ticking off the seconds. Jack listened to them go by, one at a time. He was used to silence, and he was used to loneliness. In fact, he preferred that to the mindless noise of an uncaring world.
Edward finally sat back. "Maybe you're right. But I know we have one thing in common, Jack. Neither of us has anything to lose." He stood up, flicked the bottle neck with one finger. It wobbled, but remained upright. "Thanks for the drink, mate. Next one's on me."
Jack waited until Edward was gone, then downed his scotch. That man was much cleverer than he had initially thought. Jack really wanted to hate him for that. But, in truth, he liked Edward Kenway.
"Fucking pirate," he murmured.
He tossed the empty bottle in the trash, put his glass in the sink and went to bed. His phone continued to make noise the rest of the night. Jack just turned it off. The world needed to learn to get by without him.