Everyone woke up feeling as if they hadn't slept at all. Nerida's announcement the day before had left them all numb and nervous. Nerida's parents, and at one point Nerida herself, where Templars, and that was a hard fact to swallow. Still, there was still a mission to be completed and another day to survive through. Sol got up early to make breakfast. Andy was downstairs and helping her within the hour. They could hear the shower going upstairs. The rest of the house was filled with silent dreams and the occasional snore from Charles's room. Once a big breakfast of scrambled eggs and bacon had been prepared for the group, Andy and Sol sat down together to discuss their next move.
"What about their old headquarters?" Sol shrugged. "Maybe they left behind some sort of clue."
"I guess it's worth a shot," Andy sighed. "Honestly, I'd rather be chasing down Nerida's parents or project Knight. This whole First Will thing seems pointless."
"Knowing our luck, they're all connected."
Sol and Andy turned to the door. Lazerus stood there, a goofy and over-confident grin on his face. Sol smiled, then reddened, then hid her face. She grabbed the nearest object; which, lucky for Lazarus, was a kitchen towel; and threw it at him. He caught it with ease.
"What's the matter, Sol?" Lazerus asked as he walked over.
"Don't..." Sol squeaked.
Andy laughed, "Feeling a little red there, Sol? Should we call a doctor?"
"PUT ON SOME CLOTHES!" Sol screamed.
Lazerus looked down at the towel wrapped tightly around his waist. Other than the smaller towel thrown over his shoulders, he was completely naked.
"But I'm wearing a towel, so..."
"CHANGE! NOW!"
Lazerus and Andy looked at each other and burst out laughing. Lazerus shot him a thumbs up and slipped back upstairs to get dressed. He came back a few minutes later, slipping a shirt on. Sol gave him a half-hearted glare. Andy filled a plate with breakfast and handed it to him.
"So," Lazerus took a seat next to Sol. "What's the plan?"
"No clue," Andy admitted. "We could check the old First Will base, but I'm not sure we'll find anything. All I know is we can't stay here. We need to go into hiding."
"Why!" Sol looked startled, they hadn't discussed this.
"We've stayed here too long," Andy looked sad. "And we've caused enough trouble. Plus, the warehouse is across town. We can't risk going there and coming back here again. Someone will notice."
"What happened to 'hide in plain sight'" Lazerus chuckled. "I guess I'll have to save your butts again. Say bye to Charles; we need a location change."
* * *
"Why are we at a hotel again?" Lightning asked Andy.
She took a seat next to him on the queen-sized bed. Andy buried his head into his hands. He knew why he felt so uneasy about all this. What if they got caught? What if the fake ID's Faust had made for the others didn't work? What if this was a bad call? What if this hotel was the trap that would end them all? Honestly, he was overthinking the whole situation, but he doubted that habit would change anytime soon. Especially since this situation reminded him of one from his deep past.
"Was this the right call, Light?" Andy muttered through his hands. "I don't want to make his mistake."
"Just cause your mentor made the wrong call doesn't mean you will," Lightning tried to reassure him.
"He sold us out," Andy's voice cracked as he was swept into the memory. "Took us to that hotel and then sold us out. How could he be stupid enough to trust the Templars. Then he had the gall to tell me he did it for us. He did it to protect his team. Told me just before I..."
Andy was sobbing uncontrollably. Lightning had seen Andy have flash backs like this before. She still hadn't forgiven his mentor for betraying him, and she had forgiven the shadowy leaders of the Assassins less for making Andy kill his mentor. The man who had been like a father to him killed in an ally like a common Templar by his favorite student. The damage on Andy's heart was slow to heal. Hotels had been his trigger for as long as Lightning had known him. She was worried staying in one would be too much for him.
Andy's phone rang, snapping him from his trance. Sucking up his tears and putting on a brave face, he answered. He knew he didn't want Sol noticing his distress. A leader had to lead by example after all.
"Yo," Andy flinched as his voice cracked.
"So, Cap," Sol sounded embarrassed. "Lazerus and I got a hon... honeymooners... suite..."
Andy started laughing. "You're... you're kidding... you have got to be kidding me. Have a nice night, Mr. and Mrs. Carson."
"NOT THE POINT, ANDY!" Sol screamed into the phone. "It's a big room. We can hold our meetings in here."
"Okay," Andy chuckled. "Be there in five."
"Tell the others for me," Sol muttered before she hung up.
Andy had to admit he was feeling much better after hearing about Sol's plight. Lightning was glad to see him smile. She knew they would have to talk about his past when they got back, but for now Andy was focused on the mission again, and Lightning was glad to see him that way. Better focused than broken, she thought.
After several laughs with the others about their choice of meeting rooms, Andy and Lightning where at Sol and Lazerus's room's door. The pink, heart shaped door marker almost had Andy curled on the floor in fits of laughter. At the sound, Sol threw open the door and dragged him inside. Lightning followed calmly after them. Nerida and Ann sauntered in soon after; both failing to hide mischievous grins. Everyone took a seat on the king-sized bed.
"The First Will has abandoned their old headquarters," Andy started the meeting. "They have probably cleaned it out by now, but since it's our only lead, we'll have to check it out and hope we find something. I also want to learn more about your supposed parents, Nerida."
"Not much to talk about," Nerida shrugged. "Man in his late forties with dark hair and eyes like mine wearing a lab coat and glasses, and the lady...."
"Wait," Andy pulled out his phone. "Is this him?"
He turned the screen to her. On it was a picture of a man in a three-piece suit. It was him, but younger. He was standing in front of a podium; mid-sentence at a conference. The Abstergo logo stood proudly in the background. In the wings, a woman could be see proudly watching him speak as she played with the wedding ring on her finger. Part of Nerida knew she should protect her parents from her friends, but still she nodded. Andy took the phone back and showed it to the others. Lazerus quickly hid his surprise; he knew the man.
"Doctor Robert Stearns," Andy announced. "A high ranked Templar who works for Abstergo as their leading neuroscientist. He and his wife are most famous for mixing nanotechnology with the nervous system."
"Which means He's the genius behind project knight," Nerida guessed.
Andy nodded, "He's our best bet. But that doesn't matter now. We need to focus on the First Will. We'll meet there tomorrow morning. Psychos first, then us, and then the Newlyweds. Got it?"
"Yes Sir!" The team replied in unison.
* * *
Sol looked down at the bed and turned red. This wasn't going to be the first time she slept next to him, but there was something about the situation that felt wrong. Perhaps it was the idea of sharing a bed, or the style of the hotel room. The idea sent a chill down her spine. Lazerus walking into the room from the bathroom. He could tell by the look on Sol's face that she was thinking the same thing he was.
"So," Lazerus started gently. "I'm gonna sleep on that awfully comfortable chair in the corner. Have a nice night."
"NO," Sol said a little too forcefully. "Um, you can sleep on the bed. Sleep is important after all. There's no way you'll be able to sleep on the chair."
"You okay with that?" Lazerus asked gently, his face gaining color.
"Y...Yeah," Sol couldn't meet his eye.
Lazerus moved first. He crawled into bed as carefully as possible, making sure he was on the farthest edge of the bed with his back facing Sol. Careful not to disturb him, Sol climbed up next to him and slipped under the covers of the other side. She turned her back to him, muttered good night, and turned off the light. Lazerus waited till he heard her breathing even. Once he was sure she was asleep, he turned around to face her; trying and failing to wipe a content smile off his face before sleep claimed him. They awoke the next morning, once again, in each other's arms.
* * *
The motorcycle came to a shuddering halt in front of the abandoned factory. Maria leapt to the ground and padded over to the man leaning casually against the side of the car parked just next to the entrance. She jumped up his pant leg till she was sitting on his shoulder, and bit his ear playfully. Andy yelped.
As Sol climbed off the back of the motorcycle, she couldn't help but laugh as Andy tried his best to swallow his pain. Lazerus walked the motorcycle next to Andy's car and kicked the stand open. Sol gently unlocked Maria from Andy's ear. Lazerus joined the them as Andy lead them inside.
The walls, once filled with flags and plans, where bare. Other than a couple of holes in the walls and the slight red sheen of the floor, there was no trace of the raging battle that had taken place. Lightning, Nerida, and Ann where already inside. No one had found anything yet.
"I'll go check the cells," Lazerus offered.
"I'll stay here with the others," Andy nodded.
"I'll poke around the manager's office," Sol put Maria on the floor.
The three of them shared a look and split up. Sol and Lazerus headed for the stairs. Lazerus took the left hall towards the cells as Sol walked across the landing to the single room sitting to the right. As she opened the door, a disaster zone greeted her. The office had clearly been ransacked in a hurry. There were two filing cabinets near the door and a desk in a corner. Sol decided to check the filing cabinets first.
The first cabinet was completely empty. Moving on to the second cabinet, Maria noticed a slight smell coming from across the room. Maria meowed loudly as she walked to the desk. Sol abandoned the cabinet and moved towards the desk. What she saw behind it sank her heart. How could they find information if the First Will had made a pyre of their files? Still, Sol sank to her knees next to the pile of ash and began to dig for anything that might have survived. There was nothing. With a frustrated sigh, Sol dropped into a slump. Maria, who had taken interest in a mouse hole in the wall behind the pile of ash, suddenly pawed something out of the hole. It was a scrap of paper.
Sol took the paper with excitement. Written on it was a report from a First Will spy named Alexander Sakamoto. It read:
Report: Alexander Sakamoto
Today I walked to the café by the Gherkin for breakfast as ordered. As predicted, the target entered the building and ordered a coffee. He seems to do this every morning. To befriend Stearns, I believe I should have breakfast there every morning from now on. The plan to infiltrate Project Knight has worked. Today, I was promoted and am thus one step closer to the goal. If this project continues to work as well as it did today, I predict our Goddess will have a body as soon as next week.
Date: 12/16/2016
Sol couldn't help but grin. Whateverwas happening was happening today, and now she knew exactly who they had to askto find out what was going on. With a new target in mind and a spring in herstep, Sol raced out of the office to show the others what she had found. C