Crossed times 8 - Meeting

Chapter 8 - Meeting

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A cough broke the silence of the dim room where two men sat opposite each other one behind a large desk his face shadowed as he smoked a cigar "I take it everything is going to plan?" The first man said the voice was gruff, authoritative and weary of the man sitting opposite him, the atmosphere in the room was tense, as if the two human beings barely tolerated each other.

"Naturally, after our startling discovery of that man, we are progressing swimmingly, now that we his assistance, very little can go wrong...and what about you? You have STILL failed to capture the assassin" The other voice spoke it was calm but a little strained, as if the man did too much work for his own good.

"I wanted to talk to you about that...it seems we've hit a snag...your assassin is with Zeus, our number one target, they've been seen fighting together by my men, it seems they've made allies of each other"

"And? I do not expect any excuses! Altair Ibn La'Ahad is an assassin, true, but he is a MAN General! He is nothing more than flesh and bone, if we capture him, then everything we need is right there in the palm of our hands! Do NOT forget who funds you General, or who you work for" the man bit out.

The other man grit his teeth in silent irritation at the others scolding "It seems YOU don't know what were dealing with, your target might be an easy target, but Zeus ISNT human, he is a time bomb, full of destructive power and no morals, he's already killed over 300 of my men destroyed 50 Apache helicopters and 28 of my tanks!" The man bit "He is out of control, bent on revenge and will destroy this city if we don't kill him first, there's little chance we'll be able to capture your target if Zeus is with him!"

"I read the file on Zeus...smart man, such a pity really" The man said softly, he paused for a moment before speaking again "You say he has no morals, tell me then why does he care for his sister, and why does he care enough fro Altair to let him stick around? Your 'monster' isn't as heartless as you think he is...it's a weakness you could have exploited, you just choose not to" The man smirked when the other didn't have an answer "I believe this meeting is over; you know your mission: capture Altair and bring him to us. That is all" The man said before he turned and left.

When the door closed behind him there was the sound of something smashing against the wall. Warren Vidic smirked to himself; The general was not happy, but he would follow orders as all military men would if they didn't want their finances cut "May the father of understanding guide us" He murmured as he left; Desmond Miles was still eluding him but no matter; what their prisoner claimed turned out to be true, Altair really was here from the past so Desmond was no longer needed by Abstergo; they had a new target and this time; they wouldn't let him escape once they had him.

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"Are you sure about this?" Alex asked quietly; usually he wouldn't bother asking, hell usually he wouldn't give a damn; but things had changed...HE had changed and he was concerned that the assassin might be walking into some sort of trap. The man was talented, but he wasn't immortal; at least Alex could withstand bullets! "Are you sure...you want to go alone?" He said as he looked over at Altair as he equipped himself with his weapons he strapped his hidden blade onto his wrist and flicked his hand out, the blade sliding out smoothly before he flicked it back into its hidden compartment

"If they are assassins then maybe they can help me find some answers as to why I'm here, and get me up to date  with what's going in in the world...maybe they can even get me back home" He said softly; he wasn't going to deny it; he missed Maysaf, he missed his home town and the training, the missions; hell he even missed Malik for Allah's sake and he never thought he'd miss the man; but there were times when he started missing Malik's stinging sarcastic quips whenever he visited Jerusalem.

"...home...right" was all Alex said as he looked a the floor his arms folded over his chest; Altair raised an eyebrow; was it him or did Alex almost sound disappointed?

"..." Altiar wasn't sure to say; after being caught kissing Alex (Or Alex kissing him whichever way around you want to put it) by Dana things between him and Alex had yet again changed though admittedly it was better this time around; Dana bluntly put after the phone call, that she didn't care who Alex kissed, just so long as it made him happy she was more then fine with it "Just don't grope each other in public" She had warned them the day she caught them on the roof, before she had shuffled off back to bed.

Alex seemed to have dropped a lot of his cold façade around him and it was nice really, to get almost the same treatment that he gave Dana, but now he was leaving it seemed he was closing up again. "Listen...I am coming back...I doubt a solution for me to get back to my time will turn up  any time soon anyway..." He smiled a little bit "So don't sound so disappointed; after all it's not like your not going to follow me, right?" He said amused; even if Alex said he wasn't going to go he'd probably end up following anyway; Dana was defiantly right when she said what Alex did and what he said were different.

"Hmph why would I follow you? If I go out it's because I'm on the look out for more infected" He said simply looking away from Altair but he was pretty sure it was because the other was secretly  embarrassed that the assassin had been able to read him so easily.

"Well either way, I'm fascinated to know how the assassins of this time operate, and where we stand right now in the world" He said changing the subject a little before he glanced up at the clock in the kitchen, it was 3:25, the assassins had sent and E-mail arranging for them to meet in Central park at 4.00pm. He had insisted that he go alone, Central park was a big place, but Altair wasn't worried, after all he had walked aground the park plenty of times beforehand so he knew his way around; it was a weekend as well, so there would the lots of people around meaning if it was some sort of trap it would be hard to make any suspicious actions out in the open.

"I should go before I'm late" He said simply as he headed towards the door "I'll see you there" He said chuckling softly when Alex huffed and looked away, he let the other be as he left closing the door behind him.

"Sooo...when ARE you going to follow him?" Dana asked as she sat at the computer with a raised eyebrow at her brother; she knew him better than anyone, she knew that despite himself he was worried about Altiar; and she was sure that his incessant paranoia didn't help matters.

"I'm not! I'm...just going out for some air! I have no intentions of following him" He said softly as he leaned against the wall his arms foiled over his chest on obvious denial; Dana couldn't really blame him for being so shy about it; after all before Altiar there had been Karen and she had betrayed him to Gentek, it wasn't exactly an experience that made you want to open your arms to another potential lover.

"Alex, your the worst fucking lair I ever met, just admit that your worried about him, there's no crime in actually caring about someone else who isn't family you know" She said softly said with a roll of her eyes; she didn't see what the big deal was; so Alex might be gay, or bi, its not like she cared, whatever made Alex happy was fine by her and its not like she disapproved of Altair, quite the opposite.

"...Are you sure your okay with this?" He asked her quietly.

Dana rolled her eyes "For fucks sake Alex, this isn't about me, what you do and who you go out with isn't any of my business, I mean, you like him don't you? Sure he might be from like 800 years in the past but come on Alex, more fucked up things have happened" She said with a shrug "I like Altair, he's not bad looking either, I can't fault your taste" She said with a grin when Alex actually DID go red at that.

"Dana..." He growled but it wasn't in a threatening way it sounded more like he was whining in embarrassment rather than threatening her.

"What? Come on Alex its not like there's a lot I can fucking tease you about" She said with a chuckle "Look...if he makes you happy then I'm not bothered, you know I trust Altiar" she gave him a nudge "Go on then go follow him you know you want to" She said amused

Alex grunted a little bit "...Fine but if he asks I'm saying that it was YOUR suggestion" the male said before he slipped out of the window and disappeared. Dana just chuckled softly as he left and shook her head amused "Men" she huffed a bit, seriously why were they always so awkward when it came to how they felt!?

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Altair smiled to himself as he walked down the streets of New York to be quite honest he was excited about meeting the assassins, he almost felt like a child again excited about what they were getting for their birthday.

The male crossed a busy road and made his way tot he park; it was a bright sunny day today and plenty of people were out taking a break after work, children were walking home from school with their parents, some even playing a strange game called soccer that Altair never really got the point of.

All in all in the quarantined zone in the city that never sleeps was almost back to normal.

Altiar glanced around under his hood before his eyes glowed faintly as he turned on his eagle vision as he walked; his hoodie and jeans meant he blended in with everyone else easily; and he was looking out for anyone that was gold in colour; it meant that they were who he was looking for.

When the Assassins e-mailed him, they had said they would be in the park and that if he really was who he said he was, then he'd be able to find them without any sort of clues to their location, which made Altair suspect they knew about him, that they knew about his past and his gift with eagle vision though how they knew all of this, he didn't know; after all using his ability meant he could tell friend from foe just by looking at them.

He glanced around seeing nothing but grey citizens and the occasional red guard in the distance, it wasn't until he got near the centre of the park that the people by a van under the a large bridge, glowed gold. Altair frowned one of them was inside the truck and two others hovered outside obviously waiting, there didn't seem to be any signs of danger, but Altair decided to be cautious; Alex could be right it COULD be a trap...

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Desmond Miles sighed softly as he leaned against the large van "Its a trap, it has to be and were walking right into it"

"Your sound like Shaun I think his scepticism is rubbing off on you Desmond" Lucy said with a chuckle and a shake of her head "I doubt that Absertgo would conduct something like this, I mean you have eagle vision, you'd be able to tell if whoever is approaching us is a Templar or not so I'm not too worried" She said softly.

Shaun snorted from inside the drivers seat of the van "Oh yes, rely on him to be our saviour and knight in shining armour" The Brit drawled with a smirk only for Desmond to turn and give him a glare and flip him off, which he could see in the vans rear-view mirror.

"Okay you two, cut it out and keep watch for anyone approaching the van" She said with a roll of her eyes, seriously the two were like big kids at times! Most of the time it was amusing but right now it was just plain irritating.

Desmond rolled his eyes a bit before he switched on eagle vision and the bright sunny day became dark; nothing but grey citizen and the occasional dot of red from the other side of the park; then he noticed it, a flicker of blue out of the corner of his eye, indicating an ally was approaching "Lucy, I think he's here...he's coming up blue as well"

"So he's on our side?" Lucy seemed to relax a bit at that; the eagle vision was truth, no matter how you disguised yourself eagle vision would be able to tell friend from foe easily. It was Desmond's strongest weapon.

The person who approached was tall around 6 foot in height and dressed in a grey hoodie; the hood was up, over his face hiding it from view, he wore dark jeans and trainers and  seemed innocent enough...the only difference being he had a familiar leather strap attached to his chest on the outside of the hoodie that the three of them recognized; the strap was used to keep Altair's dagger fixed onto his back. He stood in front of them and sad nothing for a moment before he opened his mouth "It seems I found you"

"..." Lucy exchanged a look with Desmond; Altair spoke with almost perfect English, he had an accent but he seemed at ease speaking the language "Altiar right? I'm Lucy, I'm like you an assassin, this is Desmond and the guy in the driving seat is Shaun...we'd like you to get into the van please, its not the safest place to talk, you should know already were on your side...right?" she said the other male said nothing but followed Desmond and Lucy into the off white Van without complaint as Shaun started the engine.

"I'll warn you now, if your leading me into a trap the outcome for you won't be pleasant" He said softly.

"Why? Are you going to kill us?" Desmond asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I wont have to...he'll do it for me I'm sure" He said softly before he said nothing more and left the two assassins confused.

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Alex frowned as he watched from the roof of a nearby building as Altair approached an seemingly innocent group of people then got into the VAN with them; was he an idiot! It could be a trap and he was just...going along with it!?

Alex grit his teeth in annoyance, he knew better than to think that Altair didn't go with them without some sort of plan, the assassin was more intelligent than he let on and Alex knew it, still he couldn't help the gnawing pit in his stomach that something bad was going to happen.

He had learnt to trust that instinct.

Sighing he charged power into his legs and jumped before he began to glide jumping from building to building and air dashing to keep up in the air as he tailed the van.

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"So...Uhm" Lucy spoke up first inside the van; she didn't know what to say! This man was one of the most feared and famous assassins in the history of ALL assassins! And he was here in the future, where the heck did she begin?

"If you want to ask me something, than ask it, however I cant guarantee I will answer everything" He said simply as he shifted uncomfortable on the van; he always did hate these machines they made him uncomfortable and claustrophobic.

"Well, first things first how did YOU get here? I mean, your from the past you shouldn't be here, I don't understand how its even possible" Lucy said softly "We know almost everything about you but this ...well this is new"

"...Its new for me also" He said softly, before he began to re-account what had happened to him to bring him from his home in the 12th century to the 21st.

"Your saying a piece of Eden sent you here?" Lucy asked when he was finished explaining everything, and she exchanged a look with Desmond who had been rather quiet thus far. "Let me get this straight, you fought your mentor and before you could kill him he literally used the piece of Eden to send you here? How the heck have you survived? How long have you been in the 2st century!?

"...I met someone and they've been kind enough to help me out, I've been here...almost 6 months" He said simply; not saying much more than that he was sure Alex and Dana wouldn't want to have their names exposed to strangers "They taught me English and gave me a place to stay"

"I see...well whoever they are must be very trusting" she said and Altiar wanted to laugh; Alex and Dana? Trusting? They hadn't been at first but Dana had warmed to him a hell of a lot quicker than Alex.

"Uh not to interrupt your THRILLING conversation... but we have a problem" Shaun said form the front seat and Altair realized that the van had stopped moving. He shifted and peeked out of the small window that was the only source of light in the back and saw a tank, two army trucks, and a LOT of military.

"Shit! What are they doing here!?" Lucy whispered next to him before she swallowed; they couldn't have seen them sneaking INTO New York could they? They had had a hard time sneaking in past the inspection gates to reach Altair, in the dead of night and they were pretty sure they hadn't been noticed so why were they stopping them?

"Shit, we've been stopped by the military? This isn't going to end well" Desmond grumbled as several solders ordered Shaun to get out of the van and put his hands on his head. Shaun cursed under his breath as he complied, opening the door and stepping out of the van his arms raised "Hey what's the problem mate?" He bit at one solider.

"We have orders to inspect your van we believe you have a wanted man inside" The Blackwatch soldier said as he waved his rifle in front of Shaun's face his eyes following the gun barrels every move "Open the back of the van, now" he ordered.

Shaun made a face at that "Alright, alright keep your bloody hair on, Jesus are all you yanks this high strung?" He bit as he tugged on the door handle and opened it to reveal Lucy, Desmond and Altair.

"Uh...hi?" Lucy said meekly before she  winced as soldiers dragged her and Desmond out of the van roughly "Hey what's the big idea!?" she bit as she tried to twist out of their grip which was really tight as they dragged her away before twisting her arms behind her back and using zipcuffs to keep her restrained, Desmond struggled but they did the same to him and Shaun as well "Take these three into interrogation, is he the target?" The commander asked as Altair was dragged out next by two solders, one whom tugged Altair's hoodie down to show off his face "yes sir, he matches the description"

"Your making...a very big mistake" Altiar bit with a glare at the commander as he  flicked out his hidden blade, he didn't hesitate in stabbing one man in the neck before elbowing the other man in the face as he tried to fight the soldiers off, but he stopped when he felt something pierce his leg "Wha-" He began to feel dizzy "Ngh" He slumped or would have had a soldier not grabbed him and held him upright as the strong tranquillizer started to take effect.

"Restrain him and take him for evac, the big boss wants this one personally" The Balckwatch Commander said with a wave of his hand as they cuffed Altiar and began to drag him towards a nearby army van while the other assassins were being taken to another truck.

Suddenly there was a strangled sound of a man choking before letting out a gurgled scream everyone turned towards the truck that Altiar was now stored in and Lucy gaped "...Holy shit...that's..."

"Its Zeus! Change rounds and open fire!" The commander order as Alex glared, his ice blue eyes flashing in nothing but utter malice as his left arm morphed into a large blade, he charged at he men his arm sweeping across them and slicing them in half blood going everywhere as the men screamed in pain.

The tank that had been nearby let out a barrage of fire power, which Alex deflected using his shield before he turned his hands into hammers fists and whaled on the tank, blowing it up easily in a matter of seconds, none of Blackwatch were left alive but he was sure someone would have been alerted to a tank blowing up. "..." He looked over at the three assassins who were watching him wide eyed.

Alex walked over to them he said nothing as he stared at them for a moment, then he turned the three of them around and cut them free of the zip cuffs; Lucy shook as she watched him; they were assassins and they shouldn't know fear; but this man...this man was not human, they called him a monster, a scourge of New York and yet...he had killed those men and he was letting them go? Alex walked over to the army truck and pulled out Altair's unconscious body cradling the male close in his arms, in an almost protective fashion "You three...your going to get into the van and your going to drive us away from here, got it?" He bit his words had no room for argument as he got into the back of the assassins white van and waited.

"...What?" Lucy gaped she exchanged a surprised look with Desmond who was...well stunned "Okay...who's going to sit in the back with him?" Shaun interjected the three exchanged looks before Shaun and Lucy turned to Desmond who groaned "Fine, fine stick me with...with whatever the hell he is"

"Sorry but there's only enough room in the front for two..." Lucy said sheepishly "And Shaun the only one that can drive..." She said softly as they got into the van "Hey ask him where we should go" She said to Desmond "I mean we have no clue where were going"

Desmond frowned at that as he got into the truck "Hey where do you want us to go...or do you want us to just drive around until we run out of fuel?" he sat and closed the doors behind him though he kept his distance form the other who was sat with Altair who was in a drugged sleep in his lap.

"Just drive, I'll give you directions on the way..." Alex bit his grip on the unconscious assassin tightening considerably as the van started and they set off away from the wreckage that Alex had left behind.

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