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The bed creaked as Shaun took a seat on it. Rebecca and Lucy were in the other room, talking in hurried, low tones. On the bed, Jameel lay in a cold sweat, breathing quickly.

Reaching over, the Brit put a hand on the Master Assassins shoulder. The Syrian man opened bleary blue eyes and looked at him, brows pinched tightly over his nose.

"You going to be all right, mate?" Jameel looked away, closing his eyes again. "...What the hell's happened to them, Jameel? I don't think you're ignorant in all this." The man reached back and pulled up the hood of his jacket until it was over his eyes.

"Just let me go back to sleep."



The man stood in the moonlight, staring out over the Venetian port. The woman moved up beside him, putting a hand on his shoulder. He looked at her. Her hair was pulled back into a tight bun, the only giveaway of her position the emerald cloak she wore over black-dyed robes.

"What have you been up to all night, my prince of the night?" she asked. He was silent, staring out toward the dark western sky. "Have you sat looking toward the rest of Italy the whole night?"

The man made no reply, but moved away from her hand to the edge of the roof. His white robes shone in the moonlight. "You know of my feelings for you," she added. His hood dipped, arms folding over his chest. "I fight for only one thing in this life and that is for you."

"Your life is wasted on a hopeless cause," said the dark-skinned man. He disappeared the next moment, dropping into the street below. The woman watched him go, shaking her head.

"No, you are wrong," she said to herself. "The best thing in the world to my life is a hopeless cause, or do you not realize this?"



Her reverie ended as she focused on the makeshift structure the men had set up below. She had had eyes on the two since the one had fallen into the fruit vendor's stand, simply a bystander in the crowd. She had been as surprised as anyone to see the market suddenly filled with chaos at some boys falling from the sky.

The rest of the people had shrugged it off as their imagination, thinking the young men had taken a tumble from the rooftops.

Speaking of the rooftops... The sound of chain mail shifting alerted her to the archer coming upon her. She swore violently before dropping down and hiding in the shadows of the alleyway. When the archer passed, giving up his search after a few minutes of futility, she eased her way into the growing light of the morning and looked at the tent.

Seeing the man sitting inside, she couldn't help but blurt, "Auditore?" The man looked up at her and she saw then that it wasn't him. His hair was close cropped near to his head and he had a bit of stubble showing around his jaw and chin.

"Why, no, actually," said the man in very poor Italian with an odd, heavy accent to his voice, a look on his face between weariness and the struggle to contain a stupid giggle. He didn't succeed in the latter. "I'm his great-great-great-great-grandson. Who're you?"

The woman smiled thinly at what she assumed was a poor jest and looked into the tent as she said, "A friend." An eyebrow rose at the sight of the tall, dark man curled up, his head on the lap of a little boy, who was bent double over him, also asleep. She shook her head.

As he looked at the woman, Desmond's brain finally realized a perfect opportunity when it poked its head into their tent. He sat up.

"Hey, do you have a hide out or a house or something around here? Because we need it." He gestured to the two sleepers and himself. "He's been shot and drugged, I've been forced into the canals more than I can count, and that little b*****d is responsible. Can we please go there?" Grievances aside, the man was overjoyed to find another Assassin in the city. Shaking Lex awake, he gathered their things. "Get up. We're following her." Lex nodded mutely as the barkeep hurried after the woman. Taking Jameel's dead weight onto his back, he hoisted his legs up around his hips. Shrugging him up a little higher, he panted as he took up a stride after them.

"It's a trecherous journey," the woman was saying in an almost monotone, "and quite far away, but follow me and you'll be safe." She then looked over her shoulder at the one she deemed a little boy carrying the tall Assassin. "Be silent or we will have Templars on our tails in little more than the blink of an eye." She stopped at an intersection before hurrying along down the street, having let a troop of heavily armored guardsmen pass.

"b***h," Lex whispered, hustling after the two and staggering as a carriage almost ran him over. "Ehi, futtiti!" he shouted after it. One of the men following the carriage dressed in livery stopped long enough to box him about the head until he staggered after the others. A soundless sigh escaped him as blood leaked freely down his face from his nose. No one seemed to care at the moment as he caught up to the woman and Desmond.

"Thanks, boy," she said harshly. "You just insulted a man from one of the most influential families in all Europe." Taking an extra few seconds to make sure none of the guards followed them, she continued to lead them on a winding route through the city so that neither of the time travelers knew which district of the city he was in now and the minute after.

"Way to go, asshat," Desmond muttered as they went.

"Quiet now," said their escort. "This is the most dangerous part of the journey." She stopped and watched a guard making his paces down toward the docks. When he paused to turn around, she was already in motion, driving her hidden blade into his diaphragm. The man gocked at her for a moment before the light faded from his eyes. She pushed him unceremoniously into the sea.

Face displaying no emotion still, she pointed to a corner where the street turned left. The two men looked at one another before heading off toward where she'd indicated, their guide following along afterward. They stopped at the end of an alley. Emblazoned on the wall was a Templar cross.

"You're not going to like this leg of the journey," said the woman, pushing the cross into the stone. The hidden passage opened and the stench that made the time travelers think something or some things plural had crawled into the passage and died various horrible, stinking deaths. The woman took in the look of abject horror on the little boy's face before gazing at the young man and finding his face a little white but his jaw clenched. Ushering the two inside, she closed the entrance behind them.

It was a long, wet journey, the water up to Desmond's thighs and almost to Lex's waist as they sloshed along. Lex dry heaved more than once; the ungodly stench made him wonder if this wasn't where the Golgothan s**t-demon from Dogma was created. Finally, they saw the flickering torchlight at the end of the water tunnel, mounting the staircase out of the water gratefully. Desmond was forced to catch Lex so that he didn't go under with his burden as his feet caught on the lowest steps beneath the surface of the water, a good fourth of the case.

Jolted, Jameel awoke. He was in an unfamiliar, dark place with someone else just as unfamiliar guiding them. Well, if she's guilding both Lex and Sewage--er, Desmond--then it's good enough for me. Ugh...seriously, though, he thought, looking at the barkeep, that man will need a change of wardrobe soon...as will I. Damn canals...

At the top of the stairs they found a long dining hall with an old, dusty oaken table set with food. On the far wall was an equally old, dusty, moth-eaten Templar flag. "Don't worry," said their guide. "No Templars have been here in years. When the headquarters flooded, it was abandoned." Walking to the table, she turned one of the chairs and sat, watching them enter the building with their comrade.

Lex looked back at Jameel as the man began to shift on his back.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" The two helped the immortal to sit as they, too, fell on their asses, Desmond with a squelch that actually echoed. At the sound, his face twisted into what amounted to an expression of indignant fury.

"All right!" he yelled and pulled the sodden, smelly clothing off, every inch of fabric gone in a matter of seconds, tossed angrily back into the water from which they'd just exited. "There! I'm happy now!" He sat back down and folded his arms, looking flatly at the two males and the female.

"Seriously, Desmond? I could've washed them for you..." Jameel laughed, the wound making its protests about the action known. "Heh... Still, that was funny." Well, can't get the Nude Eagle's clothes now. Haha. Nude Eagle. He wanted to laugh again, but his wound held him back.

Lex's eyes roved up and down before settling on Desmond's lap a moment too long for the barkeep's liking. That's it? the Sparrow thought with a chuckle.

"So, lady, who are you anyway and why'd you help us?" Another round of bleeding started as the dried blood cracked when Lex spoke. Moving to one side of the room, he took a roll of bandage and returned to Jameel, beginning to check over his wound.

The woman ignored Lex and addressed Desmond, though she kept her eyes averted from him, "Clean clothes are in the cupboard at the end of the hall. Take what you need. There's an old bath in the back room."

The man stood to make his way there, but paused and looked at Jameel.

"You would've washed my clothes?"

"Yes, Desmond, I would have." As Desmond grinned, Jameel said, "Plus, I'm not afraid to stab you at any given time, so keep your quips about that to yourself. i'm not your wife."

When Desmond had left, the female deigned to speak to the little boy and said plainly, "Who I am isn't necessary knowledge at this moment. All you need to know is you are in big trouble if I decide to inform anyone of your little antics at the market this morning." She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at the child who was bandaging the dark man's middle.

Lex dropped the roll and looked at the woman. His jaw worked as he glared at her. Retrieving the roll, he tore off the excess and began to tie a knot in the bandage. While Lex was tying off the wrapping, Jameel gave his own glare to the woman. Even if she did save them from any potential patrols by one of the animal Templars, especially Chop Happy, her attitude wasn't necessary or very condusive to his trusting her.

"Indeed, I would like to know as well. Who are you really?" His response was a laugh. Lex bristled at the laughter. The sound of tearing cloth startled him out of his brief spurt of anger to acknowledge that he was killing the remaining bandages on the roll. He set it aside on the table.

"What, Jameel, you don't recognize me? I'm ashamed with you." Confusion flashed across Jameel's face. The woman stood and moved to a wardrobe that stood to one side of the room, drawing from it a cloak of emerald velvet and clipping it on over her black Assassin robes. Reaching up to her flowing, curly black hair, she pinned it back from her face with a fist, taking a proud, superior stance, head held high, eyes looking down her nose at them. Desmond lifted a brow as he returned from the back rooms, fully dressed in white robes, strapping a hidden blade bracer to his left arm.

Realization replaced the confusion upon Jameel's face when she donned the cloak. Of course, she always wore that cloak during missions. He sighed softly at her posturing. How arrogant.

The Red Owl shook his head. "Ah, you. I didn't recognize you without that green cloak. You always wore it during every mission you took, or is my memory playing me false? I remember you having it on whenever we met." She nodded. "Thank you for saving us from another potential patrol threat."

She laughed again and returned the cloak to its resting place. Desmond tested the hidden blade's mechanism, letting it spring forward before retracting it. Lex looked between Jameel and the woman before standing.

"Okay, I've had it with this mysterious bullshit. Who the hell are you? What is your name? How do you two know each other?" he asked.

"Her name is Serenita Cacciatore," said Jameel. Serenita looked over Lex's head toward Desmond.

"The training room is in the back, if you need to take your energy out on something." Moving to the table, she plated some food for herself and the seated Master Assassin. Placing one of the plates beside Jameel, she sat and began to eat herself. "Help yourselves to the food. You won't find it easy, by the way, to get out of here. It's too dangerous outside with those Templars running amok."

The two took some salami and a few grapes for themselves, eating the food quickly before moving a little ways to do their training in the room. Lex went to the back room and returned in robes. Metal soon clashed against metal, the two fighting with their hidden blades.

Jameel ate in silence. The food wasn't tasty, but it was food. Finished, he watched Desmond and Lex spar. It's been a long time since I've seen something like this. A long time... He ran a hand through his hair. Serenity watched Jameel as she, too, finished her meal. She followed his gaze to the two men. The one she'd mistaken for Ezio fought well, keeping the little boy moving.

The boy, she surmised, couldn't have been more than twelve or thirteen from his height and fresh face. His inexperience showed; what strikes he made were lucky at best to her eyes. After a time, the fighting slowed to a halt. Bruised a little more than before, the two found seats again.

"What now?" they asked almost as one, sheathing their weapons. Jameel gave them a tired glare.

"I've been shot, drugged, and dragged through sewage by you two since you came here, do you remember? It would be best if we bathed and got some sleep. Then we can take a walk through Venice. It's time you two became familiar with the city and what it has to offer." He stood and wobbled. Lex was on his feet in a the next second, reaching to steady him. Jameel put a hand on his shoulder, holding him back. The two looked at one another for a long moment before Jameel continued giving instructions, "Stay low and away from any patrols. I'll need to stay here, lest I risk taking a dip in another of those canals."

The two men headed back to the bath as Desmond found a place to sleep in the corner, already missing the haystacks outside.



Dawn arrived. The crowds were up and about, going through their normal routines. The streets were packed. Lex walked through the streets as Desmond moved along above on the rooftops, shadowing him in case of danger. As he moved through the market and into a quieter section of the city, Lex noticed a man walking down the street to his left, a box piled high with papers, wood, and various other things so that it reached clear over his head, blocking his view so that he was forced to look around it for where next to place his feet.

"Scusi!" he said quickly, striding to the man and catching his arm. "Let me help you, signore."

"Ah, grazie." The man lowered the box a little. "Here, take some, amico." The two carried the stuff to a small door, which the man unlocked. Setting the things down, Lex found himself face to face with a man with sandy blonde hair and beard, dressed with a red berret and green tunic. He blinked a few times. The man did the same, tilting his head to one side, his fingers cupping his chin.

"Fascinating. For a moment, I thought you could have been Ezio."

"I'm not Ezio, but I know of him. I'm one of his...brothers, you could say."

"An Assassin."

"You know about us?"

"Si."

"Are you famous by any chance?" Lex asked, still not trusting his eyes.

"No, not all that famous, my friend, but I am very popular. Perhaps you have heard of me because of that?" The man reached over and shook his hand. "My name is Leonardo. Leonardo da Vinci. And yourself?"

"Ah...um...ah...that is...ah..." Lex stammered stupidly. "Pfff... Lex. My name is Lex."

"Ah, Alessio. I see."

"Um..." Lex gestured to the things littering the table. "Do you need anymore help with this?"

"No, grazie, I've an assitant loitering somewhere around the city. Perhaps you could find him for me?" Lex nodded. "He might be at the tavern down the street from here, near where they held the Carnivale." The young man nodded again and headed out of the room.

Desmond was waiting for him outside, arms folded. Lex explained what had happened inside. The barkeep sighed and shook his head.

"Fine, kid, fine, go find this guy. I'll keep an eye out for Mufasa."

Lex nodded and headed off, going in the direction Leonardo had indicated. The Sparrow slowed as he came to the tavern and entered, looking around inside. He looked up at the man who stood beside the door, guessing this was the bouncer of sorts.

"Signore, is da Vinci's assistant here anywhere?" The man pointed to where a cloaked figure sat at a card table. Lex moved over to him, setting a hand on his shoulder and giving a stiff tug.

"Leave me be," said the assistant, never turning around.

"Leonardo said to come get you, now come on." Another tug. The assistant spun around and stood.

"And I said leave me be for a few moments more! I've almost won!" Lex groaned inwardly at the words and shook his head. I didn't want to do this. Drawing back his fist, he slammed it into the man's gut. He fell to the floor immediately, winded and gasping. Kneeling, Lex made to pull him to his feet and out the door. He staggered into another table as their heads cracked together in a vicious headbutt. Growling, he lunged back at the other man, who kicked him back. He responded with a punch. The man by the door opened it as their boxing match moved out into the area in front of the bar, the door shut behind them.

A kick came at his head, which Lex ducked. Moving forward quickly, he shoved hard. His opponent grasped his robes and kept upright. Lex aimed another punch for his gut, which resulted in his arm behind twisted behind his back. Twisting out of the hold, he attempted to do the same to the man, who struck back with his palm. Dropping back away from the strike, his nose stinging fiercely, he tried a spinning kick at the man's head. His foot was grabbed and he was shoved back.

Lex hopped, trying to gain enough footing to regain his balance, and planted his foot into a pothole. The Sparrow yowled as his leg twisted and came free of the hole, landing hard on his back on the cobbles, hood falling back as he threw himself up onto his feet again. Panting, off balance, he was unprepared for the blur that tackled him to the ground. On the ground once more, winded, he brought his arms up to ward off the blows he knew would be coming toward his face.

Hands grasped his head. He grabbed onto the cloak, squeezing his eyes shut, fearing death by his head being smashed in on the ground. Instead, lips pressed all over his face, covering him with kisses from his cheeks to his forehead, nose, and lips. Even his eyelids got the treatment. In between each kiss, he heard, "Brother, brother, brother, brother!"

Blinking open his eyes, he stared up at his now hoodless opponent. A tanned, smiling face gazed back at him with merry, dark eyes. Black hair hung down into these eyes, black but for a white streak running down the center.

Lex felt his mouth fall open, unable to form words, only returning the tight embrace he found himself in as the Coal Tit pulled him up to a sit and held him close, whispering in fervent, familiar Arabic, "My brother, my brother, you've come back to me."

"You're alive..."

"You said you'd come back, brother, and you have!" Amir hugged onto him tighter, nuzzling into his hair and kissing it and his ear.

"You're alive..." was all Lex could say. The younger man nodded and smiled, kissing his neck as he buried his face into it, mumbling, "We can talk later. Hug me." Lex dropped back onto the cobbles and hugged the younger Assassin to his chest.



The two songbirds pushed the doorway open to what the time travelers had coined The Lair. Lex looked over at Amir. The boy was older than he'd been in Masyaf when Lex has last seen him--fifteen, Amir had told him--and had gained a little in build and size. The brothers could look each other in the eyes.

Amir reached over and took his hand as they headed down the dry entrance to the Lair. Lex looked around as they came into the main room. Serenity was nowhere to be seen. Jameel was where the Journeyman had left him that morning, although he'd turned over in his sleep. Lex swore as he came closer to Jameel, racing to his side.

The arrow wound was leaking blood like an overturned bottle leaked drink in a bar. Cutting the bandages away with his hidden blade, he held out his arm and was tossed the roll of bandages. Pressing down on the wound heavily, he stood when Amir took over his position, tugging the needle and thread free from his pocket.

Kneeling once more, he pressed the needle into the flame Amir provided with one of the torches from the wall until it was heated. Threading it, he sewed the wound quickly shut.

Jameel groaned, smelling burning meat and feeling something hot against his skin. As Lex cut the needle free of the last stich, Jameel's hidden blade sprang free, the Red Owl swinging blindly for whoever had come near him. He stopped mid-swing, panting, looking at Lex. Hanging his head, shaking it, he sheathed his wristblade and grasped the Journeyman by the shoulder, shaking him slightly.

"Idiot, don't startle me."

"I thought I was the only one allowed to startle you." Jameel looked at him and made to lie down once more when he caught sight of Amir. He stopped, propped on an elbow, and stared in bewilderment. It was Gilbert's son. How is he alive?!

"Amir...?" A nod. "How are you here?!" Jameel looked between Lex and Amir and shook his head. "No, no, no, no, no, this must be one of their illusions. It's just a phatasm..." He ran his hands through his hair, pressed them to his eyes. "Lex, you're here, correct?"

"Yes, I am."

"You're not a ghost."

"No."

"Amir is standing beside you now." Lex looked over beside him. Indeed, he was.

"Yeah. He gave me a good pop in the face today, so I know he's real."

"Am I still drugged?"

"Not that I can see." Jameel lowered his hands and looked at Amir questioningly. Amir sat and crossed his legs.

"It's a long story," the Coal Tit said, answering the look. "But I can tell you it involves the Pieces of Eden."

"It wasn't an Egyptian cross, right?" asked the Sparrow.

"No, not that one." Jameel jerked his head toward Lex at the mention of the item. The Sparrow looked back at him. The older immortal turned his gaze slowly back toward Amir. "What about you, Jameel? How are you still alive?"

"I am alive because of my curiosity. I'll get into detail about that later."

"All right. Is Desmond here too?"

"Yes, Desmond is here, too. I'm sure Lex will tell you more about that, if he hasn't already." Jameel grasped the wall and managed to lever himself to his feet unaided. He gritted his teeth and leaned against the wall for a moment, breathing heavily. Damn those arrows. Tilting his head back, he looked at the ceiling before closing his eyes and losing himself in thought, digesting this newest piece of information.

Lex flinched as the door opened and Serenity strolled in. Catching sight of the boy, the woman began to rant as she walked toward the wardrobe, freeing the clasp on her cloak.

"Well, what did I tell you about going outside? If you were chased, I hope your lesson was learned. I mean, regazzo, you're just that. A little boy." She put the cloak in the wardrobe and turned toward Lex, revealing two long gashes that ran almost the length of her forearms. They were bleeding only slightly, but they still looked terrible. "Even experienced Assassins are having trouble, so why do you think you can galavant about in the daytime like you've been?"

Lex tuned her out at that point, mumbling to Amir about going to find Desmond, whom he'd forgotten about in his rush to see Amir to the hide out.



Meanwhile, outside, the rhino-headed Templar walked into an alleyway opposite an apothecary shop. There he was faced with the third and last of the Animal Trio, a huge man completely defended from head to two by thick armor, carrying a huge kite shield decorated with iron spines in one hand and a massive flanged mace in the other. The helmet and pauldrons of this one were shaped like elephant heads, the curly tusks sharpened to deadly points just as his horns were.

Across the street, hawking his wares to the crowd outside the apothecary, the young Spaniard listened with one ear, listening to the complaints with the other and dishing out his medicines. For all intents and purposes, they seemed to be discussing in a way any guardsmen would when meeting an acquaintance. He listened anyway.

"Seiyr," greeted the Rhino. "We've company."

"I know this, Karna," the Elephant responded. "Only half of Venice awoke to the news of a guard being chopped up into pieces."

"Yes, well, he shouldn't have fallen asleep at his post."

"Nevertheless. Haidar is doing well?"

"The last I saw of him. He's eager for the hunt. Night can't come soon enough. I'll be glad when it's time for his shift if only so he'll stop moaning. He sounds a man deprived of his lover."

The rest of the conversation was swallowed due to the noise of the gathering midmorning crowds. The next the Spaniard was able to look up, the conversation had finished. After a brief farewell and a pat on the back from the elephant-headed Templar to the rhino one, they parted ways.



Amir moved to stand in front of Jameel, looking up at him, having decided to watch him for his brother while Lex was out after Desmond.

"Well, Jameel," he said with a soft cheeping noise, "what have you been doing here previously to being wounded?" He smirked, growing a little bolder. "Was that Desmond's fault?"

Jameel smiled at the sarcasm in Amir's voice, sighing softly as the smile faded. It feels good to smile, he reminded himself, even for a brief moment like that. He answered, "No. It was mine. My old enemies have resurfaced and brought some new ones as well." He lowered his head, pulling his hood over his eyes, ashamed to tell it. The Owl didn't have to say a thing about which old enemies he was refering to. He knew Amir knew. The new ones were proving far more difficult than Kadin or any of the previous members down his line. Jameel had a sinking feeling in the pit of his guts that as the weapons grew more powerful through the ages, the enemies would grow harder to kill as well.

Amir nodded once.

"Tell me about these new ones. Maybe there's some weakness you haven't seen before." Frowning, Amir raised his head with a soft cheep. "They don't happen to be those annoying walking managery escapees that patrol the streets, do they?" Jameel shook his head at the insult, giving a weak semblance of a laugh.

After a moment, he began to speak, "Metal Lion is first. He's fast and will follow you everywhere except for the canals. Wily and unpredictable, he's fooled me many times. Almost succeeded in killing me those times, too. I suspect he still has more surprises in store." A pause, then, "Next is Steel Rhino. Not as fast as Metal Lion, but stronger. Do not let him charge you. I have seen many men die either from being impaled on his halberd or on his armor."

A shudder traced its way up his spine as he remembered a particularly gruesome scene a few months previous. He had been chased by the Rhino and a thief happened to spot him and tried to intervene. The man was skewered through the middle on the Templar's helm, lifted up, and tossed loose with a flick of his head, left in a heap like so much trash, pieces of his guts decorating the horn along with his blood. Jameel continued, beginning to pace back and forth, "Last is Iron Elephant. He's the strongest, the most well-defended, but the slowest. He is also the most rational of the three."

Jameel stopped, staring at Amir from under his beaked hood. "Do not engage any of them in direct combat. I've made that mistake before. There will be a high chance that they will be your death if you fight them on their terms." The Assassin leaned against the wall again, keeping off his injured side. He rubbed at his shoulder, which had gone stiff while he slept. "They are part of Kadin's lineage. Where his blood flows, so the Crows circle."



Lex found Desmond standing in Leonardo's shop, a young man who looked like he'd royally lost a paintball fight held off the floor by his shirt.

"¡Dejame ir, pendejo!"

"Des?" Desmond looked up from what he was doing, which had been shaking the Spaniard. Twisting free of the barkeep's grip, the captive beat a hasty retreat through the door and was gone. Lex sighed as he saw the look on the Eagle's face. "What?"

"He said we've got company. Two more animal crackers are running around outside."

"Two?"

"Yeah, a rhino and an elephant."

"Crap, there's an elephant too."

"You knew about the rhino?"

"Yeah, saw him when we came here with Jameel."

Desmond led him outside, hurrying up to the roofs in the direction the Rhino was last seen heading. He looked over at Lex as they went along.

"Think you can find the Rhino guy again? If we're going to take the one we want to, we'll have to do something about the others, won't we?"

"When did this become 'we'?" Lex gave him an accusitory look. " 'We' usually quickly morphs into me getting my a** shot at, or stabbed, or blown up. Or caught." Desmond looked at him flatly. "All right, but what do we do once we find Rhinox?"

"One of us heads back to tell the others."

"Rock, paper, scissors for that honor?"

"Winner gets to go back to the safe house."

"Did I mention that we thing yet?"



"It seems we'll have to use different tactics than we're used to, or that we'd like to use," said Amir, fully realizing he stated the obvious. A slow smirk that reminded Jameel of Malik curled onto the boy's face. "It's going to be one interesting time here. And just when I was getting bored too."

"We'll have to plan ahead of them, and as we don't really know what they have planned, we'll have to make back up plans as well in case a plan fails. The Crows have new weapons as well." Jameel held up the arrowhead Lex had extracted from him, which he'd found on the floor, the head having fallen out of his belt sometime during his comings and goings from the hide out. It was a twin-pronged arrowhead, the prongs serrated on outer edges, much as they had been before. Except this was metal, designed to poke holes in very tough armor. "They wounded me with this."

Amir took the arrowhead and turned it over between his fingers. He looked at Jameel and asked point blank, "Have you not thought of designing your armor around this new weaponry?"

At that, Jameel slapped his palm to his face and hissed at himself, "Imbecile!" He looked to the Coal Tit again, taking the arrowhead back. "They also have smoke bombs filled with some kind of drug. I don't know what it is, but it ravages the mind and leaves the body twitching for more." He chuckled softly and walked toward the table. "I'm surprised I haven't gone mad from its effects."

Jameel sat, tapping the fingers of his left hand, including the stump of his ring finger, against the wood, starting to plot and plan. At a cheep from Amir, Jameel asked, "What is it?"

"Brother should have no finger by now, shouldn't he?"

"Lex isn't a Master yet. Besides, weapons change. They get easier to use and more powerful too. The hidden blade no longer requires a finger to use. You shouldn've known that by now."

"Believe me, I know. You'd be surprised what I know." Jameel lifted his gaze from tracing the grains in the table as Amir turned toward the staircase that led up to the dry entrance. A dagger was released from his sleeve, which, the Red Owl saw with a bit of a start, was made of bone. Desmond stopped and stared at the Coal Tit for a full minute as he caught his breath from the run.

Remembering what he'd come for, he said with a wheeze, "Just letting you two know, we figured we'd try and kill one of those animal headed guys outside."

"Pah." Jameel snorted. "Which one?"

"The Spaniard didn't say which. We had a choice between the Elephant and the Rhino."

Which one indeed. All three of them are dangerous in their own right, Jameel thought. He lowered his hood, running his left hand through his hair. It then hit him what Desmond had said. Wait... Jameel paled. If Desmond is here...

Desmond met the Red Owl's gaze with more than a hint of trepidation as the man turned to face him. The Red Owl was an ally; Desmond dared even go so far as to call him a friend, but loathe as he was to admit it, something about the rational man of Masyaf, when he looked like that, fixing him with that arctic blizzard stare that was two parts terror and one part seething anger, set the hairs on his neck standing on end.

"Where's Lex?"

"Well," he hesitated a minute and finished quickly, "he's following the Rhino guy."

Jameel shot to his feet an immediately dropped back down into the chair, head spinning. The wound wouldn't allow him to move as he wanted, so strangling Desmond was out of the question as long as he stood out of range. Damn their arm! Damn their eyes! Why couldn't it have been simple, a city guard? No, it had to be mercenaries!

"Desmond, bala ya khumak!" the Red Owl shouted, setting the other's ears to ringing. Serenity, roused by the ruckus, peered out from the back room she'd chosen to take her rest in. "Pray he has not been seen yet. By anybody! The city guards are not afraid to alert him to his presence. Even the rooftop guards will point him out! He'll be skewered onto the nearest wall if he's spotted!" Amir hurried over and helped Jameel up as the man forced himself to stand.

"Look, Jameel, I just came back to tell you guys," Desmond explained quickly, holding up his hands. "I actually trusted him not to die in the five minutes it would take me to get back here. So, we're good, okay?" He backed up involuntarily at the scowl the Master Assassin sent his way.

"No, we're not good. This is far from good, Desmond. Steel Rhino is hot-headed as is, and if he sees Lex, you might as well say goodbye to any chance of you getting home!"

"Jesus Christ, all right, I'm going to get him right now! He can't be so stupid as to get himself caught out in the open, right? Right?" He turned and hurried off. Jameel gripped the chair back as Amir instructed him to wait there. He returned with a large blanket from one of the cupboards and a few pillows. Spreading them on the floor near the wall, he brought Jameel to the makeshift bed and sat down with him.

Jameel sat against the wall, not caring if it aggrivated his wound. He had the armor-piercing arrowhead in hand and was turning it over and over. His thoughts turned to the Animal Trio and his brother. Kadin was never forgiven. I curse him even in death. His bones and innards are dust beneath my boots and I still curse him. His lineage must be blotted out. They'll just follow in his footsteps anyway. His mind conjured up the image he'd described to Desmond in his rage, his little bird impaled by the Rhino's halberd, clutching at the shaft as the blade was driven into the wall. His fist clenched around the arrowhead, blood welling up burgundy red in his fist. I will never forgive them. For the deeds they've done, for the deeds they've yet to do, for the deeds they might do. Never.



Lex slinked past another pair of guards. Christ, there're a lot of guards out today, on the ground, on the roofs... Do they have scuba-guards yet? He hopped across a canal and scurried along in the rhino-man's shadow, taking a glance at the armor. Was it his imagination or were those horns real horn?

He kept to the wall on either side as he continued to tail the man. Lex slowed his pace as a group of guards with pikes joined up with Steel Rhino, waiting until they were a good distance ahead before trotting along behind them.

As he did this, Desmond raced along the roofs, shoving a guard into the water of the canal below as he was about to sound an alarm. He'd better not be a kabob! Jameel'll rip my ******** heart out with a spoon!

Lex unsheathed the tip of his hidden blade as he continued to follow, pausing as they turned down a narrow street. This reeked of a trap. Taking a long breath, he stepped into the mouth of the street.

A silver blur was barreling toward him the next he could register what he was seeing. The Rhino was moving shoulder down, horn directed at him. The man's halberd was positioned just below the horn. And it was being thrust toward him now.



Jameel unclenched his fist, letting the arrowhead drop to the blanket. He continued to gaze vacantly at the bloody, deadly point, his face expressionless. Suddenly, the Red Owl scooped up the head and tossed it angrily away. It bounced and spun end over end, wedging itself into the wood of the table across the way.

"Am I even considered an Assassin anymore?"

"You are. And anyone who doesn't think so is a dead man, one way or another." Amir's voice held a note of finality that Jameel envied. "How else would you have survived this long against those things?" He gestured to the arrowhead.

"Luck? Stupidity? Because they want me alive to torment for a while more? Who knows." Jameel glared daggers at the point stuck in the table. "I hate them. I really do. They've been on my heels forever. They don't stop. Somebody new will always come around and pay them a huge fee to hunt the Red Owl. It just never stops..." His gaze changed from hateful to a hollow emptiness as he locked eyes with the son of Malik and Badr, the son of Gilbert and Sarah.

Amir looked back at him, holding the other Assassin's gaze. Jameel blinked as arms were flung around his neck, a little black and white head of hair nestling under his chin. He shut his eyes and wrapped his arms around Amir.



The Sparrow staggered back against the wall, clutching his stomach. The halberd had cut a red line into his belly, long and shallow. He'd only just managed to twist aside.

The smaller man flinched as Desmond landed beside him, a throwing knife flying toward the back of the Rhino's head where the helmet met the back of his armor as the barkeep lifted Lex and helped him up onto the roof.

Below, the Rhino turned and ducked his head, raising his shoulder. The throwing knife bounced off the armor and clattered to the ground. He gave a sharp whistle. Glass shattered on the roof where Desmond and Lex had taken shelter. The two ran behind the nearest structure on the roof, a gargoyle like object, to escape the hail of shards from the glass arrows. Lex pressed his shoulder to it. Catching on, Desmond put in his own weight. Together, they rocked the weathered base and sent the stone tumbling down toward the Rhino and his guards.

Not sticking around to see if the ploy worked, they ran toward the nearest canal.



An explosion caught Jameel's attention as the exit door flew open and Desmond came pounding down the steps, the tips of his hair scorched in patches and his clothes burned. Alone. Jameel sat up, letting Amir slip to the blanket. His hidden blade made itself known as he lifted a leg to kneel forward, only to stop as Amir ran down the wet tunnel stairs.

Sloshing reached Jameel's ears then. He dropped the knife absently, inching up the wall until he managed to find his footing and take a few unsteady steps forward. Amir came back into view with Lex in tow. The Journeyman's arms were pressed to the slit wound on his belly, the white cloth dyed red.

There was Lex. Wounded badly, pale and quivering, but alive.

Oddly enough, he felt no anger. A part of him had expected this to happen. After all, it had had happened to him. And it was Lex. The Sparrow looked up at the Owl, stumbling as he was helped toward the table, wondering what he was going to say.

The only thing Jameel had to say was, "I warned you."