#i was debating if we should make haytham an assassin in this one

[teecupangel]

Inspired by the Patron Desmond sends his ancestors to earlier points in time and fucks over half a dozen timelines: Desmond wishes all his ancestors had someone to support them through their worst suffering without - you know, getting betrayed by them or watching them die.

So Bayek wakes up in the prime of his life in Altair's time and adopts this child who just watched his father die. When Altair dies, he and Bayek suddenly appear, both in the primes of their lives, in time to see the Auditore get arrested. Bayek, Altair, and Ezio are there when Edward's protecting the Assassins of Tulum and take the piss out of him. The crew plus Edward are there when Ratonhnhake:ton's village burns. They all sail to France on a whim and end up recruiting Arno. All of them appear in London to help out the Frye twins. And when Desmond gets kidnapped... the Assassins have an entire historical legion show up out of nowhere to help bust him out of Abstergo's clutches.

Kassandra keeps showing up, nobody's certain if she's with them all or not, but just... all of the main ancestors glomming together as one hugely dysfunctional murder family forged across time and space who all have the biggest soft spot for Desmond.

Desmond as their Patron has no power over this. This is happening solely based on his wish and he has no control who gets transported and gifted with immortality so even he does not know if Kassandra is also part of his immortality gang.

It’s Bayek who believes Desmond is a god and their patron, giving them this power to protect the world. Of course, there are times when he misses Aya and he wonders if this immortality is a curse. But then he hears the laughter of Darim and Sef before they run after him, grabbing his robes and asking him to tell them another story, grandfather tells the best stories! And Bayek’s lips curved into a smile. Perhaps the immortality is a curse but seeing the people he cares for and loves grow up and take the future for themselves will always be a joy that makes this curse worth it.

Altaïr would be the one to try and understand this immortality that they had. Would be the one to realize that they do die after their life runs its course but they will always be awaken in the same place together, back in their prime, with the memories up to their death. His first business would be to find his Apple and, after the long road he had to take to find the seals to open his library, he decided to set it up so that the next time he needed to find his Apple, it would be in the most convoluted way possible that only he would understand. It’s because of the Apple that they got to Firenze just as the Auditores were being arrested (they saved the day but it was a close call). Then Ezio’s Apple was placed on the vault and Altaïr felt a bit annoyed of how easy his Apple was secured so… he just plopped the Apple there as well.

It is Ezio who first thought of naming the glowing god that appears before them before they are resurrected once more Desmond. There’s something about the god with no discernible features other that his entire body glowing that made Ezio think of Desmond for some reason. Altaïr is the one who tries to search for this Desmond using both his and Ezio’s Apples.

Edward was the one man out. He wasn’t an Assassin yet but he had the makings of one. So they trained him. Bayek had done this three times already, he knows Edward Kenway is the key. Perhaps the next brother that will be given the curse of immortality. They stayed with him until he started to settle down in London, focusing on his family. They visited from time to time but they were not there to save Edward.

When they are resurrected once more, decades have passed and they could only try and save as many people as they could as the fires had already started. Including the mother of a young child by the name of Ratonhnhaké:ton. They stayed in the village for a few days, with the boy’s mother talking to Edward Kenway for a long time, ending with Edward learning of his son’s fate. So they leave the village to find him, to confront him. When Ratonhnhaké:ton was 13, he followed his mother out of the village and they meet once more. Haytham remains elusive and they suggested that they stay with the mother and son for a bit to ‘relax’, only for this to end with them teaching Ratonhnhaké:ton (and sometimes even giving tips to Kaniehtí:io.

And after everything was done, they sailed to France to support Ratonhnhaké:ton who received a letter requesting for aid from Lafayette. There, they met Arno Dorian and took him under their wings, helping him with his missions but only three of them at a time, for they have their own agenda for going to France. (And if this ends with Altaïr taking a Sword of Eden, well… that’s not really surprising).

Helping out the Frye twins had been second nature. Arno and Jacob met by accident when Arno had been buying one of the pubs in London (a financial focused habit he and Ezio had developed through the years) and Bayek thought they needed support (and guidance, so much guidance). By the end of it, they were sure that the twins would become like them as well. (And if this ends with Altaïr taking the Shroud of Eden… at this point, everyone already expects him to take custody over POEs)

It all ends with them moving into the modern day where they used their knowledge and experience to have a partnership with a group called Erudito. From there, it became easier to find the Assassins but their focus shifted when they heard of Desmond Miles.

And Ezio just knows… that this was the Desmond they were all searching for.

[moonlightguardianmoon]

Part 2?

It was now 3;37 at night, Connor was warm and snug in his bed asleep, Liberty and Silver were asleep by his bed, when suddenly something made a loud thunk sound at his window. Connor slowly woke up as another thunk came from his windowsill. He slowly sat up and rubbed his eyes wearing the bracelet that Aveline gave to him 3 hours ago at the bar, Connor looked over at his window and saw a small rock being thrown at his window. Unsure of who's doing this is and the reasoning behind it, he got up quietly to the window and looked down below to see someone leaving something at the front door and quickly make a dash out of the hidden hiding place of the assassin household. Connor was too exhausted to use his eagle vision to see who it was, and even if he did at this point, by the time he would have; the mysterious figure most likely would have already been gone by now. Debating in his tired mind whether he should go back to sleep and wait till morning or if he should take care of this now, and not have to worry about any of the others possibly getting jumped by whatever was left on their front door. He decided to check and see if it was just nothing, as he quietly and silently made his way through the hallway and down the stairs. He unlocked and opened the door to see that no one was there, but when he looked down, he saw a gift box on the ground.

Connor: hm? ... *picks up the box and takes a closer look at it*

The box was wrapped with wrapping paper and was neatly tied with a blue ribbon. Connor takes one last look around to see if the person was still around, but saw no one around, just cars moving past the hidden opening way.

Connor: ... *opens the box* huh!?

Inside the box was a miniature little wooden model of a ship. The ship had a small name carved on the back of it that read, Jackdaw. The name of his grandfather; Edward's ship. The ship seemed to be made from a similar color as the actual ship, or so he remembered from what Edward had told him. The sails seemed to be made from a soft, smooth cloth material.

Connor: What? ... who gave this to me? Hm?

At the bottom of the box was a small piece of paper. Putting the ship carefully on the ground, closely next to him he pulled out the piece of paper and read it quietly to himself as it read.

Connor: Happy Birthday son, Love Haythem...

Connor couldn't believe it, did his dad actually get him something for his birthday? And... did he made it himself? And how did he...

Connor: ... *looks down at the ship* ?

Connor put the box and note down for a moment and picked up the ship and saw something on the ship that he didn't notice beforehand, he saw three small familiar figures by the steering wheel of the ship as well as a small crank at the back of the ship.

Connor: ... *cranks the handle a bit before releasing it*

Connor made a quiet gasp as the ship began to play music and it wasn't playing just any music. It was playing low lands, a sea shanty that Connor has heard his grandfather sing to him before, Edward told Connor how he would sing it to Haythem and his half-sister as a child and now he sings to him and the rest family.

From afar Haythem watched as his son opened the box and pull out the little wooden ship.

Haythem: ...

Shay: did he open it?

Haytham: he opened it, he seems to be inspecting it now... what if he doesn't like it?

Shay: Oh I'm sure he'll love it sir, he is your son after all.

Haytham: yes well, we haven't exactly... seen eye to eye in many cases...

Shay: Well I'm sure he will spare you the trouble just this once.

Haythem: I do hope so...

Then faint music begins to play from the hidden passageway as both Haythem and Shay take a glance over to see Connor listening to the little ship's music. Haythem was surprised when he saw his son, smiling at the little ship and faintly hearing him hum along to the song that played.

Shay: see sir, he loves your gift.

Haythem: I guess you were right after all Shay.

Shay: of course master Kenway.

Haythem: and thanks again for agreeing to come out this late at night with me just to do this. I know it was rather impolite of me to drag you along with me, let alone at the risk of us getting caught by the other Templars.

Shay: of course sir, we've been through so much already. I couldn't possibly let you go alone at high risk such as this.

Haythem: I'm glad to have a good friend like you Shay.

Shay: of course, as well as having a son like yours of course. Now we best be off now before the other templars find out we gone and suck off without the permission of a modern Templar.

Shay began to walk towards the end of the block, Haythem was about to follow but took one last glance over at his son, as the song was coming to an end Connor noticed his father watching him from afar. Connor gave a small smile to him.

Connor: ... Thank you... Father.

Haytham: ...Happy Birthday, son.

Happy Birthday Ratonhnhaké:ton Kenway 🍰

[no-luck-needed]

It was dark by the time that Shay caught sight of their apartment building in the distance, and he let out a slow exhale of relief that was immediately stolen away by the cold wind that tore insistently at his clothing. The contract that he had embarked on earlier that morning had ended up taking more of his time than he had expected, and though he had eliminated his target he was now sore and tired and all that he wanted was to be able to crawl into bed beside Haytham and pass out. He stuck his hand into the pocket of his jacket, intending to fish out his phone and send him a text explaining that he was on his way home, only to freeze as a bloodcurdling scream rang out, bouncing off of the buildings and hanging in the air for far longer than it should. Shay was at the edge of the roof in an instant, gripping the edge of it with white knuckles as he leaned over to try and catch a glimpse of what was going on. He caught sight of what looked like a young woman being dragged into the alley below by a hooded figure, forcibly, if the way she was thrashing about was any indication. Shay’s face hardened into a cold mask immediately, and he launched himself over without any hesitation, swiftly scaling down the side of the building and landing right behind the pair. 

“I suggest ya get yer hands off ‘a her before I remove them for ya,” he growled, striding confidently forward as he unsheathed his hidden blade, allowing it to gleam under the dull light of the street lamp overhead. The hooded figure turned, as did the woman, and it took him only a fraction of a second to realize that the woman was no longer struggling but was instead regarding him with a cold expression. It was a fraction of a second too late, however. Before he could react, something solid struck him square in the back of the head, and the ground rushed up at him at an alarming rate of speed before everything faded to black.

The first thing he registered when he came to was that he couldn’t move his arms. After that was the steady throb of pain at the back of his skull, painful enough that it made his vision blur briefly before everything swam sharply back into focus. He appeared to be in a warehouse somewhere, if the brick walls and large, closed up door were any indication. He was laying on his side, the cement cold and unforgiving underneath him, and from the sound of scuffling footsteps he wasn’t alone, either. That fact was confirmed when hands roughly grabbed his arms and hauled him up so that he was kneeling, pushing and pulling roughly until he was in the position that they wanted. The action only further aggravated the pain in his head and he let out a soft hiss, something that earned him a swift strike to the side of the face. The force of the blow snapped his head to the side, and he felt the warm coppery tang of blood fill his mouth. He spat it out, just as three hooded figures emerged from the shadows in front of him. One of them was the woman from the alley, and right beside her was the man who had been assaulting her. The woman was smiling now, but it was a cold smile, devoid of any sympathy or empathy.

“Oh, good, you’re awake,” she chirped, sounding like she was addressing an old friend rather than someone she had kidnapped and tied up. “We’ve got some questions for you, Templar, and the sooner you answer them the sooner this will all be over with.”

Templar. Well, that confirmed his suspicion that these were Assassins. Shay let out a soft huff. “I have no idea what you’re talkin’ about. There’s been some sort ‘a misunderstandin’. Untie me an’ we can--”

A foot crashed into his left side, sending pain jolting up his ribs, and Shay doubled over with a rattling gasp. The assailant stepped into his line of vision, moving to join the other three without a word. “We don’t have time for your lies,” the woman spat, pacing closer. “We know exactly who you are, traitor, and the only way you’re leaving this place is in a body bag so you might as well start talking.”

The woman motioned to one of the others, and the Assassin strode forward, the familiar sound of a hidden blade being ejected cutting through the air. Fingers curled in Shay’s hair and roughly yanked his head back, and he felt the cold kiss of steel against the vulnerable skin of his throat. The reality of the situation abruptly settled in, and Shay attempted to minutely break his hands free of their bonds, something that seemed to be futile. 

“What are the Templars looking for?” the woman asked.

Shay stubbornly set his jaw and remained silent.

There was a sharp nod from the woman, and the blade was removed from his throat and instead pushed towards his face. He refused to flinch, instead grinding his teeth together as the razor sharp tip of it cut slowly through the flesh of his left cheekbone. It felt like someone was dragging a piece of heated iron across his face, and though the pain of it made him want to scream, pure spite kept him silent.

“Who else is here with you?”

Another heartbeat of silence, another cut, this time in a sharp line down from his collarbone. This line of questioning continued, for what amount of time, Shay wasn’t exactly sure. It was a blur of hissed questions and pain, with the woman growing steadily more angry as Shay refused to talk. Cuts turned to punches, then kicks, all of them targeting his most vulnerable areas. After a particularly hard punch square to the middle of his chest, driving the air from his lungs and leaving him slumped over and gasping, Shay lifted his head to regard the Assassins coldly. “This is yer last chance,” he rasped, more blood oozing from the corner of his mouth as he spoke. “Let me go.”

“Or what?” The woman taunted, circling him like a wolf might a wounded deer. “What are you going to do, hm? Bound and helpless, like a lamb to a slaughter? Look at you, the big bad Assassin hunter. Not so scary anymore, are you?”

Shay shook his head slowly despite the pain, a ragged laugh ripping its way from his throat as he swayed slightly on his knees. “It’s not me that ya should be afraid ‘a, lass.”

The woman lashed out with her foot, a vicious kick that caught him in the jaw and sent him falling to the side. He hit the cement hard, the impact causing agony to rip through his battered body. He lay there, breath rasping in his throat, and watched them through slitted eyes as they loudly debated the slowest way to kill him, making sure he heard every single word.

@eagle-of-order

[ladye11e]

Deception pt 2

Tagging @geekgoddess813 because without her I'd never get this done 💕 and @sweet-flash because she need some Shay 😉 If anyone else would like tagging, please ask, I won't bite.... Maybe 😁

Turning your alarm clock on your bedside table to check the time, you smacked it away and dropped down onto your pillow with a groan when you saw it was just after six.

Fucking jetlag you cursed under your breath as you sat bolt upright in your bed, completely giving up on sleep for the night. Dragging yourself up and pulling on your dressing gown, you made your way over to your kitchette area and flicked the kettle on, knowing that coffee would make your situation worse but you didn't care. Grabbing your phone off the counter top and pulling out the charger cable, you saw that there were nine text messages from various members of the Brotherhood asking if you were okay after your trip, and one voicemail. Punching in your password to you could listen to it on loudspeaker, you placed your phone back on the counter while you rifled through your cupboards for your favourite mug, immediately freezing and your heart jumped into your throat as a familiar voice rang through the air.

(Name) it's me. Please come to the manor as soon as you can, there is something we need to discuss.

Achilles. In your entire decade working for the Assassins, not once had he ever called you personally, you were surprised that he even knew your name. Snapping your phone up and listening to the message twice more, you took several deep breaths to calm yourself down enough to analyze the tone of his voice, and deemed that he didn't know anything as you couldn't hear any kind of accusational tone or disappointment lacing his words. Shaun probably called him about the new servers you figured, and wants a face to face update. Not that you could give him much information, you were okay with computers but it wasn't your forté. Satisfied with your own explanation, you carried on making your coffee; sipping it slowly so the the molten liquid didn't scorch your throat, until you spied a white, rectangular piece of card next to your keys and charger cable. Gingerly plucking it up and remembering the tremor than ran through you because of the person named on the card, you bit your lip nervously and brought up your messaging app, keying in the number slowly. No one knew he was alive, right? So a quick message to a 'friend' wouldn't be suspicious? Typing in 'Are we still okay for later?' and hitting send before you talked yourself out of it, you nearly had a heart attack when your phone beeped back a few seconds later with a reply, not at all expecting one so soon.

Of course, I'm in the penthouse suite. Is ten alright? Up so early, I'm guessing you couldn't sleep?

Tens fine. No, never been one to sleep much anyway.

Quite suprised at his texting grammar as you were used to trying to deciphering whatever code was being used recently, you slid your phone in your dressing gown when you thought the conversation had finished, picking up your coffee and heading back to your bedroom to attempt to get another hour as you didn't have to be up early for a change. Just as your head hit the pillow, your phone beeped again with a message, making you squint as you fumbled in your pocket and unlocked your phone to read whatever was there.

Maybe you need someone to wear you out better?

Your mouth ran dry as your eyes fixated on the typing in front of you, wondering if he actually meant how you took that message. You tensed up as the image of him in Haythams office flickered through your mind, stirring every primal instinct up deep within you. Could every man sense how pent up you were recently? Prime for the taking? Internally debating whether you should reply or not, you squeezed your legs together to stifle some of the desire within you as you typed, hoping to god that you hadn't misunderstood his reply.

Hmmm, are you offering?

Clutching your phone so firmly that your knuckles started to go white with the pressure, you didn't move your eyes once from the dim glow of the screen as you waited for a reply. What were you thinking?! This was so unlike you to chase after a man like this. You had enough going on with your life without adding someone else into the mix, let alone a coworker, even as good looking as he was. Your last relationship tanked horribly because of your double life and the secrets you kept, and you had no desire to go through that again which is why you had brushed off Hathams numerous advances over the years. Becoming slightly annoyed with yourself as it appeared that you had taken it the wrong way when you didn't get an answer, you were also a little relieved really. Shuffling back down under the covers, you figured you would come up with some suitable excuse in a few hours time as you finally drifted off to sleep.

Shit Shit Shit!!

You launched up out of bed when you looked at the clock to see it was 9:32am, bounding over to your closet and pulling out the first thing you came to when you knew you didn't have time to shower. Grabbing your bag and stuffing your phone and keys in it, you literally sprinted down to the parking garage and jumped in your car, ignoring the stares of the several onlookers when you pulled off in a deafening wheelspin. Checking your watch and patting yourself on the back when you saw that you had just over ten minutes to spare thanks to running nearly every red light in Boston; how you didn't get caught was a miracle in itself, you passed your keys to the valet and hastily made your way into the lobby, waving your hand dismissively at the concierge who was about to ask if you were okay, and called the elevator. Holding yourself back from ripping the speakers off the wall when the annoying music that was blaring out was doing nothing for your mood, you almost forced the doors open as soon as they pinged to let you know that you had arrived at the top floor, walking briskly down the corridor to the lone room at the end. Rapping your knuckles loudy on the door, you frowned as after a minute or two, there was no answer. A few more moments after trying again, you decided to test the handle, quite surprised that it was unlocked. Well, he was expecting you, so maybe it was best that you went straight in? 

Closing the door silently behind you, you couldn't help but gasp in awe at the size of the room. It was double the size of your apartment easily, just the living dining area was big enough to hold some kind of function. Dropping your bag on the table near you, you suddenly turned to your left when you heard a shuffling, words completely lost to you as your gaze drifted over a dripping wet Shay with nothing but a small towel covering his modesty. 

 "Ah sorry lass, didn't hear ya come in. Running a bit late as ya can see, I fell back sleep." 

 Nodding softly when his words only just registered over the thumping of your heart drumming in your ears, you averted your gaze to the carpet when he moved towards you, close enough so you could smell remnants of soap on him.

"No need to be shy lass, ain't got nothing you probably haven't seen before. Why don't ya make us some coffee while I get dried off?"

Wanna bet? You thought, biting your lip so the words didn't actually come tumbling out of your mouth as your eyes drifted over the outline of something rather impressive under the white cotton around his waist. 

 "I'm not shy, just a crappy night. Um, where's your kitchen?" You mumbled, noticing he believed what you had said even less than you did as he chuckled and ushered you towards the other side of the room and into the kitchen by laying his hand on the small of your back. 

 "Everything you need should be in that top cupboard, I'll be back in a minute." 

Opening the cupboard and pulling out the ground coffee and filters, you set about to making the drinks in a slight daze, thinking about his message again from this morning. So far he hadn't even acknowledged it, so you figured maybe you had made a fool out of yourself and cursed under your breath as you flicked the machine on. Panicking when you realised that you hadn't checked in with headquarters yet today; something both Achilles and Shaun had set up that all assassins must do by ten thirty or your phone will be pinged for your location, you dropped everything and ran back into the living room to your bag, keying in your activation code as fast as humanly possible before anyone could find out where you were. 

 Chucking your phone back down when you saw the usual 'Code Accepted' message, you choked back a whimper and stood there gawking when you realised Shay hasn't closed the bedroom door. There he was, back towards you, in his birthday suit and patting himself down with his towel. You licked your lips as your eyes drifted over the toned muscles of his legs, the sensual curves of his ass and muscular back, stopping at what looked like a bullet wound just below his left shoulder blade. Taking large silent steps back towards the kitchen before he spotted you looking at him, you grabbed hold of the counter top to stop your hands from trembling, taking a deep breath in hopes the heat in your face would die down quickly. God woman, get a grip! You mentally chided yourself for becoming so flustered about a man like this. So what if you've not felt like this since..him.

You've known this man for all of twelve hours, had literally three whole sentences of conversation with him, AND you were about to go on a mission together. Shaking yourself off vigorously when you heard him call your name from the other room, you quickly poured two mugs of coffee and carried them back in, adorning your best fake smile. 

 "Er, you didn't say how you like your coffee, hope black is okay?" 

 "Perfect love. Thanks." 

 Handing him one of the mugs and thinking about what was underneath his tight t-shirt and jogging bottoms, you dropped down on the sofa next to him, your wandering mind only just registering the laptop and file on the coffee table in front of you. Snatching the file up and flicking it open, you sat there wide eyed when you saw several photographs of Davenport Manor and its grounds, plus two of yourself. 

 "You've...been spying on me?!"

 Shay nearly spat out the mouthful of liquid he just drank when he saw you looking at the photo's, dropping his mug down and snatching up the file off your lap quickly and placing it back on the table looking slightly flustered. 

 "No lass.. That was for... well Master Kenway said, oh bloody hell. I knew you were workin for us, just wanted to know a bit about who was gonna be joining me, that's all." 

 Your usual cheeky confidence came flooding back as you sat there watching him fidgit in his seat, pretending to look at something interesting that was flickering on the computer. You decided to let him off for now as you didn't want him going into this without one hundred percent of his focus on the mission, and by the looks of things he couldn't control his emotions nearly as well as you could, even given your recent slip ups. 

 "Oh it's not a problem, just wondered. So what do you need me to do then? I can't stay long, I'm expected back asap." 

 "Right, yes. Sorry lass. Well we need to find how to get into the vault in Achilles office. If ya could wear this and get in there somehow, you can leave the rest to me." 

 Panic consumed you as he handed you a small pin in the shape of the Assassins insignia, concealing what you assumed was some kind of camera. You were scanned every time you entered the manor, and there was no way you could think of getting this through without being detected. Shay, noticing your expression grabbed your hand and squeezed your fingers gently, in attempts to give you some encouragement. 

 "The assassins aren't the only ones with a first rate tech team (name), it's completely undetectable. I promise. You won't get caught." 

 Still slightly dubious at his assurance, you figured that he must know that if you did ever get caught, you would blurt out whatever secrets you had about the Templar order just to save your own skin, so you thought best to go along with the plan, for now. 

 "Fine. So what does this thing do then?" 

 "It is a camera, but also seeks out anything transmitting a signal. Once we have it, we can duplicate it an I can get in the vault." 

 Attatching the pin to your hoodie and satisfied it didn't look out of place when you pulled yourself straight, you glanced up at the clock on the wall and grumbled to yourself as you slid off the sofa and downed the rest of your drink. "

Okay. Well I best be off then, the sooner we get this over with the better. Mmmm, good coffee." 

 Leaning round the corner to drop your mug back into the kitchen, you flashed Shay a dazzling smile when he gave you a wave as you grabbed your bag off the table, and you began to wonder if the backflips your stomach was doing was because of the assignment you were about to do, or the man in the hotel room you had just left.

 Driving through the estate and breathing a sigh of relief when you saw the driveway renovations had been finished and you didn't have to walk a mile uphill to the manor, you pulled up in a space close outside, shielding your eyes from the sun to see what work had been done. The house had always been impressive, but since Achilles had now been working from home instead of the main offices in Portsmouth due to health reasons, Connor had insisted that various upgrades be made, and boy did he deliver. It was more comparable to a mansion now with the extra rooms added on either side, and as there was to be a gala here in just under two weeks, you assumed that it had been extended at the back too. 

Bounding up the steps as normally as you could to where there were two security guards standing, you handed your bag over and you raised your arms, doing a little twirl as they began scanning you for any devices. Breathing through your nose steadily when you saw one of them eye up the pin, you cocked your head and feined ignorance when he pointed at it. 

 "What's this?"

 "Hmm? Oh nothing, just a gift. Cool huh?" 

 Years of training under pressure and keeping a calm demeanor even aginst the most dire of circumstances had paid off, as he simply nodded and wafted his scanner over it, satisfied that it was only a piece of jewellery. Taking your bag back off the other one and walking through the door, you froze in your tracks and didn't dare to turn around when the one with the scanner called you back.

 "Hey (name)! Find out where that pin came from, my Mrs would love one, it's her kind of thing."

 Letting out a shuddering breath and giving a thumbs up over your head, you walked as fast as you could into the manor before he could ask you anymore questions. Navigating your way through the hallway and trying to locate where Achillies new office was, you suddenly spotted someone who could help you and waited for a moment for him to finish his conversation with what looked like a contractor.

 "Connor! Gotta say, fantastic job. The place looks amazing. Only one problem though, now I'm lost!" 

 The mountain of a man bounded over and gave you a hug that would embarrass a bear and chuckled at you, quickly letting go when he realised you were wheezing slightly. Connor was Achillies adopted son and right hand man, and also one of the few remaining people of the Mohawk tribe. He stood at six foot something tall and was very intimidating, but you knew better when he was around his friends.

 "Shé:kon (name)! It is good to see you back, it has been too quiet here with you gone."

 "Doubt anyone else has the same opinion Connor, especially Achilles! Speaking of, where's his office now? He left a message saying he wants to see me." 

Connor gave you a soft smile and gestured for you to follow him, leading you up the stairs to the end of the new balcony and stopping at a door on the right.

 "It would be wise not to speak out of place (name), it has not been a good morning. Stocks have dropped and he has been outbid on the warehouse at the port, so please be cautious." 

 Taking a deep breath and wishing you could have come earlier now you knew you were about to be on the recieving end of one of Achilles legendary bad moods, you rolled your eyes as Connor hastily retreated back downstairs when you rapped your knuckles on the door.

  "Come in!" 

 Heeding Connors warning you entered the room quickly, closing the door behind you and standing in front of the desk, waiting for him to give you permission to sit. Taking a moment to eye up the room whilst Achilles finished his conversation on the phone, you bit the inside of your lip as you glanced over the large bookcases on the back wall, trying to concopt a reason to get closer to them. You dropped into the chair when Achilles motioned for you to sit, your eyes not leaving his as he slammed the reciever back on its cradle and sighed heavily.

 "Thank you for coming (name), I'm sure you are wondering why I asked you here, so let's not dally. Altaïr is currently waylayed out of the country on a mission, so I would like you to fulfill his role here temporarily in his absence. You will work with Connor in setting up the new security system and cameras, in preparation for the ball."

 "M...Me?" You stammered, not quite believing your ears. "Surely there's someone better...." 

 You were cut off by him raising his hand in slight annoyance before turning to his computer and typing something in, the printer in the corner whirring to life when he had finished.

 "Altaïr is my Chief of Security, and I trust him implicitly. He was the one who recommended you, do not let him down. No one sees those schematics apart from you and Connor. Is that understood?" 

 Regaining your composure quickly as you got up to retrieve the sheath of papers from the printer, you saw your opportunity to stand closer to the bookcase when you saw that there was something in your hand that didn't belong. Standing beside Achillies and handing him the printed email, a wave of guilt washed over you as he snapped it from your hand and turned it face down on the desk then picked up the phone again; signalling that you were dismissed. Leaving the room quickly, you stood on the balcony staring at the wall for a moment, trying to process what you had just seen. Reading quickly and remembering details was one of your specialties, both a blessing and a curse sometimes. The email was from a well known doctor in New York, an Oncologist to be precise. Achillies had cancer?! The words Inoperable and one year replayed over and over in your mind, making you hope that you had read wrong, but you knew that you hadn't. You were pulled from your trance by the sound of your phone going off; nearly making you drop the swath of papers as you dug around in your bag to find it.

Coffee? I'd love to see you again.

Suddenly remembering one of the reasons you were here, you typed back quickly, thankful that Shay had the mind to keep his messages vague and non descript.

Busy with work, lots to do. I'll message when I can.

I understand if you don't want to see me, but please just say so.

Sighing at his reply, you made a mental note to buy a burner phone once you got out of here and slyly held the papers you had in front of the pin, lingering them there just long enough so he would understand why you couldn't just rush off at his beck and call.

I'm not brushing you off, REALLY busy.

God, this was sounding more like a needy relationship with each passing message you thought.

Ok, hope to see you soon. X

Raising your eyebrow at the kiss at the end of the message, you stuffed your phone back into your bag and headed back downstairs in search of Connor, grimacing when you spied him with several rolls of what you assumed were floor plans in his arms.