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February 7, 2016; Indianapolis, Indiana

“Back to the future already?” I joked after Ruby pulled the Animus off of my face.

“Yeah. Welcome back, McFly,” she joked back.

“Thank you kindly.”

We laughed, and then I looked around the room to get my bearings again. Same old hideout. Chelsea was sitting at a desk, reading a book. Angie was on her laptop, doing whatever it is an Assassin sect leader does on laptops. Ben had actually just walked in when I came out of the simulation. The guy looked really worried about something. Probably Ava. Poor girl hadn't been adapting well to her new job. She tried to pull through, but she clearly wasn't built for this line of work. I think she knew that more than anybody. I just wish she'd have shared that with us a bit more.

“How's she holding up?” Ruby asked him.

“Um…” Ben said, “She's… coping.”

“That's all? ‘Coping’?”

“It's a hard job, Ruby.”

“I know, I know… I know…”

“I just don't know what to do… I dragged her into this mess… I feel I have to do something.”

“We've just gotta be there for her more. You should go back and talk to her again.”

“She needs her alone time. It helps her clear her thoughts, trust me.”

“You sure?”

“Positive.”

“Well… alright then…”

Ben nodded. He then realized I got pulled out and looked over at me. “How's the search for the Key going?” he asked, eager to get onto a more hopeful subject.

“I think we're close,” I told him. “I really do. Calhoun had the Key at that point. If I remember my history correctly, that scumbag’s death is coming up soon. And I have a good feeling my ancestor was there to collect the spoils.”

“Well, let's hope for the best then.”

I smiled and nodded. Then Angie suddenly closed her laptop.

“So,” she said to me, “I'd hate to send you out into the field so soon, but…”

I laughed. “The city never sleeps, huh?”

She laughed back. “It really doesn't.”

“So what's the problem?”

“Well, we've been trying to get into some Blume servers. The Templars are still utilizing the scattered bits of ctOS they still control in order to spy on civilians.”

“Well how rude.”

“There's been a recent spike in criminal activity in those controlled zones,” Chelsea suddenly interjected. “And we're pretty sure the Templars are the ones behind it. They spy something they disapprove of, no matter how small, and use it as an excuse to beat down civilians.”

“Well we can't stand for that then, can we?”

She smiled. “Nope. We can't. You up for kicking some hide then?”

“Always.”

“Then go on! Get to it, squirt!”

“You got it, dweeb!”

She smiled and rolled her eyes. I gave a goodbye nod to everyone else in the room, and set out to grab my supplies.

I grabbed the usual. Hidden blades, shock blade, pistols, knife, and of course, my trusty baton. And a few smoke bombs for good measure. You can never have too many smoke bombs.

Once I was geared up and ready to go, I made my way to the exit. But I stopped midway through one of the halls. I heard crying. Nothing loud or extreme, it was actually rather quiet… rather painful… A sound I once knew all too well myself. It was coming from Ava’s room.

I couldn't help it. I had to at least check in on her. I softly knocked on the door and stepped inside when she told me I could. I saw her face, and even in the dim light I could see she clearly just rapidly tried to wipe away her tears.

“Hey,” she said, a bit of a crack in her voice.

“Hey…” I said. “You okay?”

“...No…”

“I'm really sorry…”

“It's not your fault…”

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

“No… I just… I just need to be alone… I just need to think…”

I looked at her for a moment, and then nodded. “Alright. I understand. Just take care of yourself, okay?”

She nodded. “Thank you… I will…”

“No problem, Ava. And if you need to, you can come talk to any of us. You don’t have to, but just know you can.”

“Thanks Carter… I appreciate it…”

“No problem. I'll get out of your hair now.”

She nodded, and I left her to her thoughts, slowly closing the door behind me. Poor Ava. It's not easy, this line of work. Keeping secrets from friends and constantly putting yourself in danger, it gets rough. The only way to survive it all is really just to keep positive, know that what you're doing is for the highest cause: freedom and fairness for all. Hope is the one thing that keeps us going. I just hope Ava has enough of it. God knows she'll need it…

Anyways, I turned back towards the exit, but I paused again when suddenly a door opened as I walked by. The door to the Armor Room, where the Staff was being held. Out from it strode my buddy Jacob.

“Hey man,” I said, a tad confused.

He blinked at me before smiling. “Hey, Carter. You heading out on another mission?”

“Um… Yeah. Yeah I am.” He continued to simply look at me. Even then I thought it was kinda creepy. “Um… So what were you doin’ down there?”

“Oh. I…” He paused and blinked, frowning. “I thought I heard a noise. Wanted to make sure everything was still secure down there.”

I looked at him for a moment. Normally, I'd question such an excuse, but I decided to just go with it then. Perhaps it was just the daze from coming out of Priscilla’s memories. I don't know. All I knew then was that something seemed off about my friend. A lot seemed off ever since we retrieved the Staff. But I ignored it then. I had a mission to attend to.

“...Alright then,” I said. “Was everything secure down there?”

“Seemed like it. But I think Bill should check it out. Felt like there was a draft. A crack, maybe?”

“Bill?”

He shook his head. “Wait… Ben. Ben should check it out.” He let out a nervous laugh. “These last few days must be getting to me.”

I chuckled a bit. “Eh, they're getting to everyone, man. Don't worry about it. It's getting to Ava too.”

His expression turned concerned. “Oh yeah. The new girl. How’s she hanging in there?”

“Eh… she’s tryin’. I just checked on her. She's a bit emotional right now but I'm sure she'll be okay soon.”

“Good. That’s good.” He turned his head back to the Armor Room. “Say… Her bleeding effect happened because of the Animus, right?”

“I mean, that's kind of obvious, but yeah.”

“Well… could the Pieces have some effect on it? Has anyone tried before?”

“Well, we had a guy named Desmond Miles who handled a few Pieces of Eden while he was suffering from the Effect.”

“Wasn’t that the guy the Templars kidnapped?”

“One of them, yeah.”

“Hmm… I wonder…” He cupped his hand over his mouth, a gesture I knew meant that he was thinking very hard about something. It was comforting to see something relatively normal from him. But even still, I knew what he was thinking about, and I knew I had to interfere.

“Desmond got trapped in a coma for about a month because of his Piece,” I said. “I don't think doing the same to Ava would produce any positive outcomes.”

His expression didn’t change, but his brow did furrow. “True…” He sighed and let his hands fall. “I just wish I could do something except stand by. It’s hard being on the sidelines, you know?”

“Ah,” I said, patting him on the shoulder. “I know how you feel man. I used to be in the same place. You'll get farther eventually dude. Trust me.” He grimaced, obviously dissatisfied with that, but he took what he got nonetheless.

“Now, I've got to hurry and get going. The city never sleeps.”

“And neither do we.” He smiled at me, and I laughed in return.

“Very true, very true.”

“Heh. Well, I need to go too. I need to get home before my nana starts to worry.”

“No problem, man. I'll probably head home after my mission. We'll all meet up here again tomorrow, so I'll see you then.”

He nodded, and with that we said our goodbyes. As he left, he left the Armor Room door open, so I closed it before setting out myself. I checked all my equipment one last time, and then made for the hideout exit. It was time to be a pain in Blume’s hide again.

------------

I arrived at the Blume base on the other side of town about a half hour after that. The place looked like all the others: cold, mechanical, and unwelcoming. A giant broadcast tower was set up in the lot behind the main building, and based on my ctOS scanner, it was being controlled from a main terminal somewhere on the top floor. Security looked surprisingly low. Almost suspiciously low...

“Welp,” I said to myself. “Time to get to work.” I stood from my vantage point on the hill, and did a leap of faith over the security fence and into a pile of debris left by one of the gardeners.

I leapt out and quietly darted over to the entrance. I hacked the keypad lock and stepped on inside. Again, I hardly saw any guards. Maybe one or two every now and then, but the place was vacant for the most part. Any guards I saw were easily slipped past. Perhaps it was because we literally just thinned their ranks so much? Perhaps they just had something elsewhere that required more security than this place?

Or perhaps it was a trap.

Whatever it was, I was walking into it head on. I used my Eagle Vision to find the tower control room, and made my way up. I hacked the room's door lock and slowly and quietly opened it. I had seen two people inside the room in my Eagle Vision, and I wasn't about to get caught at this point.

They were sitting at the main control panel, watching the screens. One of them was on the phone.

“That's right. We need to send a team down there. We need to show people that were still in charge in this city. Alright. Thank you.”

He hung up the phone, and turned to his friend.

“Do you really think we'll be able to take back the city?”

“Well, now that Morgenster’s in charge, who knows? Guy might just pull it off.”

“Speaking of which, whatever happened to Trina?”

“Last I heard, they essentially fired her.”

“They kicked her out of the Order?”

“That’s what I heard. After Natasha died, the Inner Sanctum wasn't too pleased with how Trina pretty much abused her authority within the Order and so they excommunicated her.”

“Damn. What about the rest of her family though? I'm sure they're not too pleased with that decision.”

“Yeah, they're all ticked, but they hold their tongues for the most part. They'd rather not get in trouble with Rikkin and Laetitia and the rest of the bosses.”

“Hmm.”

“I agree.”

So. Mom's out of the picture. I honestly don't know what else I expected. She's practically lost everything at this point. We took down her Order, her tyranny. Any power she once had is gone. She's not a threat to me anymore. I guess now I really am free from her. Well and truly free.

Good.

The two Templars went back to watching their screens, one in particular, the one I assume they just sent a squad to. I grabbed my phone and pulled up my hacking program. I wormed my way back into ctOS and switched the lights off in the room. Just as the Templars began to react, I pulled out a smoke bomb and tossed it in. The cloud caused them to cough and gag as it blossomed out. I pulled my scarf over my mouth and nose and sprinted forward, engaging my hidden blades and slicing their necks. They were dead on the floor by the time the smoke cleared.

I switched the lights back on and went to the main control panel. I quickly hacked into their call databases to listen in on the call that was just made. I heard the address they sent their men to, and I took a mental note of it. I looked at the screen that matched the address, and my heart sank. It was just a small home with normal civilians. A couple. They were sitting on their couch watching movies together, just enjoying one another's company. The Templars were going after them, for no other reason than a display of power. I knew I had to get there before they did. I had to save these people.

But as I finished up with my hacking session and took control of the broadcasting tower, I heard a noise behind me. A slight noise, but a noise. The sound of a door sliding against the floor. I saw the person's reflection in the monitor.

“Hey Jess,” I said, though not very enthusiastically.

I slowly turned around, and there she was, Jess Wolfgang. She still held her scowl, and had her baton held out, though the sparks were turned off. I looked at her eyes, and my heart felt heavy. They were slightly red, and her face was still drooped in a way that told me everything. She had been crying earlier.

“You've been a pain in my ass for too long, Spainhower,” she said, a slight crack in her voice.

“Jess…”

“Blume’s not too thrilled with the fact that their broadcast stations have been taken over by some vigilante.”

“Well, to be fair, that tends to happen to them a lot.”

“Shut up.”

“Alright, calm down.”

“Don't tell me to calm down!”

I held up my hands calmly. “Alright, alright. Just… Listen Jess. I'd love to stay and try to help you, I really would, but-”

“I don’t need help!”

“Bull.”

“What did you just say?”

“You know what I said. Jess, you're a broken girl. Look at yourself! You've got so many ghosts screaming at you, don't you? You're not the one calling the shots in your life, you're not the one driving yourself to kill me, they are.”

Her hand started shaking. I could see her tears welling up again.

“It… It's my duty to kill you,” she said.

“But it's not your desire, is it, Jess?”

“You killed my mom!”

“And you're upset about that?”

She said nothing. She couldn't say anything. I knew her answer. Her answer was “No. I'm not upset. I'm glad she's dead.” But the voices in her head wouldn't let her say it. They told her to hold her tongue lest she get another beating. But she wanted to say it. I could see her tongue quivering in her mouth. She wanted to say it, but she couldn't.

“Look,” I said after a moment. “I want to stay and help, I really do. But I can't right now. Because innocent people's lives are at stake, and I'm not about to let them die. Goodbye Jess.”

She was about to say something back, but I suddenly pulled out my phone at lightning speed and shut off the lights again, all of them. The whole building blacked out. And it was distraction enough for me to dash past Jess and sprint down the dark halls. I could hear her shout in frustration behind me as she turned on her baton’s sparks for a light. I had my Eagle Vision to guide me, and it wasn't long before I was out of the building, hacking open the gate locks, and running over the hill to where I had parked the Cardinal.

I turned the key and revved the engine, drowning out the sound of a cursing Jess from some distance behind me. I put the pedal to the metal, and I darted off down the road and towards town.

------------

I almost jumped off of the Cardinal when I arrived at the address. I swore under my breath when I saw that the Templars had already arrived. As I approached the door, I heard a woman's scream from inside.

I cocked my pistol, pulled up my scarf, and ran inside. I darted upstairs to where I heard the scream. There were five Templars, and they had cornered the couple, who already received some bloody scars from their assailants. The Templars turned on their heels when I came barging in.

“It's him!” one of them shouted.

“The Vigilante!” the woman cried.

“Thank god,” her lover said.

I shot one Templar dead the moment I came in. One down and four to go already.

One charged at me with his stun baton. I rolled out of the way and smacked him in the head with the handle of my gun before stabbing him with my hidden blade. I used his body as a human shield when one of his buddies tried to shoot me down. When his bullets ran out, I lunged over and sliced at him too. He recoiled back and pulled out a combat knife. He managed to slice a few cuts in me, but I ultimately won the fight, using my smaller size and quicker reflexes to my advantage.

I ducked for cover when another storm of bullets came towards me. I reloaded my own gun and fired back. I shot a hole in one of them, but it wasn't fatal, so she kept fighting. But the next hole I opened in her was in her head, and thus she fell too.

The last guy started shaking in his boots, realizing he wasn't likely to walk away alive. He suddenly stepped back and grabbed the woman, who screamed in fear. Her lover was about to protest, but the Templar knocked him out by hitting him with his baton. The woman was crying hard, fearfully. The Templar put a knife at her throat. I aimed my pistol at him as he did.

“One more move and she's dead, you hear?” he shouted at me, his voice shaking.

“Let her go,” I said simply.

“Drop the gun!”

“Let. Her. Go.”

“Do as he says, Spainhower. Or else.”

The new voice came from behind me. My mouth opened in surprise. It was Jess’s voice. I turned my head just slightly enough to see her. She had a little boy held tight by one hand, and a gun aimed right at my head in another. The woman began to sob uncontrollably, begging for her son to be let go. The boy looked terrified, and was crying.

“Jess…” I gasped. “What are you-?”

“What I have to do.”

“You don’t have to do this Jess. Not this.”

“Just walk away, Spainhower.”

“You really want these innocents to die, Jess? You really want their blood to be on your hands?”

She was still shaking. I could practically hear the gears in her head screaming.

“Just… Just go…”

“Do as she says, kid,” the other Templar said.

“Jess please, you don't have to do this.”

“Shut up!” she cried. “It's my mission!”

“It's your downfall! You have a choice here Jess! And it is your choice. Your mother isn't here anymore to hurt you for doing the right thing. You can do the right thing, Jess!”

“I… I… Shut up!”

“Jess, please. You're a better woman than this. I know you are. But the only one who can make that a reality is you!”

“I said shut up, dammit!”

“Jess please!”

“Shut up!”

“Just kill him already!” the other Templar screamed. “Just shoot! Shoot!”

“Jess!”

Jess let out a furious cry and raised her gun high. Her finger yanked hard on the trigger. The bang filled the room. I could hear the sound of her bullet shells falling onto the floor, right along side the sound of the other Templar collapsing onto the ground with a bleeding hole in his skull. The woman he was holding frantically scrambled out of his dead arms, crying uncontrollably. I looked at her, then at the body, then at Jess. Her jaw had dropped just as mine did. Tears smeared her face. Her grip on the little boy loosened, and the boy darted straight to his mother, who was trying to wake her husband up.

“Jess…” I said quietly.

“I… I... “ was all she could stutter. She dropped her gun, slowly backing up. I tried to walk towards her.

“Jess… Please, I-”

But she recoiled from me and sprinted in the other direction, hopping directly out the window and climbing down to the streets where she kept her bike. I sprinted to the window, but I saw she had already revved up the motorcycle and darted away down the streets at a frantic speed. I watched her go, unable to say anything. What could I have said?

The sounds of the sniffling family behind me snapped me back to the current situation. I went over to them to make sure they were okay. They said they were okay for the most part but probably needed medical attention, especially the husband, who was just regaining consciousness. And so I dialed up an ambulance and told them to get there as soon as possible. Once I made sure they were prepared to leave, I dialed up Henry to let him know I had a mess for him and his men to help clean up.

As I sat there trying to comfort the family, I thought about Jess. She was breaking free, I could tell. But did she have the strength to go all the way? I hope she did. And I hoped I had the strength to help her get there.

Good God, what was I going to do?

Description
February 7, 2016; Indianapolis, Indiana

“Back to the future already?” I joked after Ruby pulled the Animus off of my face.

“Yeah. Welcome back, McFly,” she joked back.

“Thank you kindly.”

We laughed, and then I looked around the room to get my bearings again. Same old hideout. Chelsea was sitting at a desk, reading a book. Angie was on her laptop, doing whatever it is an Assassin sect leader does on laptops. Ben had actually just walked in when I came out of the simulation. The guy looked really worried about something. Probably Ava. Poor girl hadn't been adapting well to her new job. She tried to pull through, but she clearly wasn't built for this line of work. I think she knew that more than anybody. I just wish she'd have shared that with us a bit more.

“How's she holding up?” Ruby asked him.

“Um…” Ben said, “She's… coping.”

“That's all? ‘Coping’?”

“It's a hard job, Ruby.”

“I know, I know… I know…”

“I just don't know what to do… I dragged her into this mess… I feel I have to do something.”

“We've just gotta be there for her more. You should go back and talk to her again.”

“She needs her alone time. It helps her clear her thoughts, trust me.”

“You sure?”

“Positive.”

“Well… alright then…”

Ben nodded. He then realized I got pulled out and looked over at me. “How's the search for the Key going?” he asked, eager to get onto a more hopeful subject.

“I think we're close,” I told him. “I really do. Calhoun had the Key at that point. If I remember my history correctly, that scumbag’s death is coming up soon. And I have a good feeling my ancestor was there to collect the spoils.”

“Well, let's hope for the best then.”

I smiled and nodded. Then Angie suddenly closed her laptop.

“So,” she said to me, “I'd hate to send you out into the field so soon, but…”

I laughed. “The city never sleeps, huh?”

She laughed back. “It really doesn't.”

“So what's the problem?”

“Well, we've been trying to get into some Blume servers. The Templars are still utilizing the scattered bits of ctOS they still control in order to spy on civilians.”

“Well how rude.”

“There's been a recent spike in criminal activity in those controlled zones,” Chelsea suddenly interjected. “And we're pretty sure the Templars are the ones behind it. They spy something they disapprove of, no matter how small, and use it as an excuse to beat down civilians.”

“Well we can't stand for that then, can we?”

She smiled. “Nope. We can't. You up for kicking some hide then?”

“Always.”

“Then go on! Get to it, squirt!”

“You got it, dweeb!”

She smiled and rolled her eyes. I gave a goodbye nod to everyone else in the room, and set out to grab my supplies.

I grabbed the usual. Hidden blades, shock blade, pistols, knife, and of course, my trusty baton. And a few smoke bombs for good measure. You can never have too many smoke bombs.

Once I was geared up and ready to go, I made my way to the exit. But I stopped midway through one of the halls. I heard crying. Nothing loud or extreme, it was actually rather quiet… rather painful… A sound I once knew all too well myself. It was coming from Ava’s room.

I couldn't help it. I had to at least check in on her. I softly knocked on the door and stepped inside when she told me I could. I saw her face, and even in the dim light I could see she clearly just rapidly tried to wipe away her tears.

“Hey,” she said, a bit of a crack in her voice.

“Hey…” I said. “You okay?”

“...No…”

“I'm really sorry…”

“It's not your fault…”

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

“No… I just… I just need to be alone… I just need to think…”

I looked at her for a moment, and then nodded. “Alright. I understand. Just take care of yourself, okay?”

She nodded. “Thank you… I will…”

“No problem, Ava. And if you need to, you can come talk to any of us. You don’t have to, but just know you can.”

“Thanks Carter… I appreciate it…”

“No problem. I'll get out of your hair now.”

She nodded, and I left her to her thoughts, slowly closing the door behind me. Poor Ava. It's not easy, this line of work. Keeping secrets from friends and constantly putting yourself in danger, it gets rough. The only way to survive it all is really just to keep positive, know that what you're doing is for the highest cause: freedom and fairness for all. Hope is the one thing that keeps us going. I just hope Ava has enough of it. God knows she'll need it…

Anyways, I turned back towards the exit, but I paused again when suddenly a door opened as I walked by. The door to the Armor Room, where the Staff was being held. Out from it strode my buddy Jacob.

“Hey man,” I said, a tad confused.

He blinked at me before smiling. “Hey, Carter. You heading out on another mission?”

“Um… Yeah. Yeah I am.” He continued to simply look at me. Even then I thought it was kinda creepy. “Um… So what were you doin’ down there?”

“Oh. I…” He paused and blinked, frowning. “I thought I heard a noise. Wanted to make sure everything was still secure down there.”

I looked at him for a moment. Normally, I'd question such an excuse, but I decided to just go with it then. Perhaps it was just the daze from coming out of Priscilla’s memories. I don't know. All I knew then was that something seemed off about my friend. A lot seemed off ever since we retrieved the Staff. But I ignored it then. I had a mission to attend to.

“...Alright then,” I said. “Was everything secure down there?”

“Seemed like it. But I think Bill should check it out. Felt like there was a draft. A crack, maybe?”

“Bill?”

He shook his head. “Wait… Ben. Ben should check it out.” He let out a nervous laugh. “These last few days must be getting to me.”

I chuckled a bit. “Eh, they're getting to everyone, man. Don't worry about it. It's getting to Ava too.”

His expression turned concerned. “Oh yeah. The new girl. How’s she hanging in there?”

“Eh… she’s tryin’. I just checked on her. She's a bit emotional right now but I'm sure she'll be okay soon.”

“Good. That’s good.” He turned his head back to the Armor Room. “Say… Her bleeding effect happened because of the Animus, right?”

“I mean, that's kind of obvious, but yeah.”

“Well… could the Pieces have some effect on it? Has anyone tried before?”

“Well, we had a guy named Desmond Miles who handled a few Pieces of Eden while he was suffering from the Effect.”

“Wasn’t that the guy the Templars kidnapped?”

“One of them, yeah.”

“Hmm… I wonder…” He cupped his hand over his mouth, a gesture I knew meant that he was thinking very hard about something. It was comforting to see something relatively normal from him. But even still, I knew what he was thinking about, and I knew I had to interfere.

“Desmond got trapped in a coma for about a month because of his Piece,” I said. “I don't think doing the same to Ava would produce any positive outcomes.”

His expression didn’t change, but his brow did furrow. “True…” He sighed and let his hands fall. “I just wish I could do something except stand by. It’s hard being on the sidelines, you know?”

“Ah,” I said, patting him on the shoulder. “I know how you feel man. I used to be in the same place. You'll get farther eventually dude. Trust me.” He grimaced, obviously dissatisfied with that, but he took what he got nonetheless.

“Now, I've got to hurry and get going. The city never sleeps.”

“And neither do we.” He smiled at me, and I laughed in return.

“Very true, very true.”

“Heh. Well, I need to go too. I need to get home before my nana starts to worry.”

“No problem, man. I'll probably head home after my mission. We'll all meet up here again tomorrow, so I'll see you then.”

He nodded, and with that we said our goodbyes. As he left, he left the Armor Room door open, so I closed it before setting out myself. I checked all my equipment one last time, and then made for the hideout exit. It was time to be a pain in Blume’s hide again.

------------

I arrived at the Blume base on the other side of town about a half hour after that. The place looked like all the others: cold, mechanical, and unwelcoming. A giant broadcast tower was set up in the lot behind the main building, and based on my ctOS scanner, it was being controlled from a main terminal somewhere on the top floor. Security looked surprisingly low. Almost suspiciously low...

“Welp,” I said to myself. “Time to get to work.” I stood from my vantage point on the hill, and did a leap of faith over the security fence and into a pile of debris left by one of the gardeners.

I leapt out and quietly darted over to the entrance. I hacked the keypad lock and stepped on inside. Again, I hardly saw any guards. Maybe one or two every now and then, but the place was vacant for the most part. Any guards I saw were easily slipped past. Perhaps it was because we literally just thinned their ranks so much? Perhaps they just had something elsewhere that required more security than this place?

Or perhaps it was a trap.

Whatever it was, I was walking into it head on. I used my Eagle Vision to find the tower control room, and made my way up. I hacked the room's door lock and slowly and quietly opened it. I had seen two people inside the room in my Eagle Vision, and I wasn't about to get caught at this point.

They were sitting at the main control panel, watching the screens. One of them was on the phone.

“That's right. We need to send a team down there. We need to show people that were still in charge in this city. Alright. Thank you.”

He hung up the phone, and turned to his friend.

“Do you really think we'll be able to take back the city?”

“Well, now that Morgenster’s in charge, who knows? Guy might just pull it off.”

“Speaking of which, whatever happened to Trina?”

“Last I heard, they essentially fired her.”

“They kicked her out of the Order?”

“That’s what I heard. After Natasha died, the Inner Sanctum wasn't too pleased with how Trina pretty much abused her authority within the Order and so they excommunicated her.”

“Damn. What about the rest of her family though? I'm sure they're not too pleased with that decision.”

“Yeah, they're all ticked, but they hold their tongues for the most part. They'd rather not get in trouble with Rikkin and Laetitia and the rest of the bosses.”

“Hmm.”

“I agree.”

So. Mom's out of the picture. I honestly don't know what else I expected. She's practically lost everything at this point. We took down her Order, her tyranny. Any power she once had is gone. She's not a threat to me anymore. I guess now I really am free from her. Well and truly free.

Good.

The two Templars went back to watching their screens, one in particular, the one I assume they just sent a squad to. I grabbed my phone and pulled up my hacking program. I wormed my way back into ctOS and switched the lights off in the room. Just as the Templars began to react, I pulled out a smoke bomb and tossed it in. The cloud caused them to cough and gag as it blossomed out. I pulled my scarf over my mouth and nose and sprinted forward, engaging my hidden blades and slicing their necks. They were dead on the floor by the time the smoke cleared.

I switched the lights back on and went to the main control panel. I quickly hacked into their call databases to listen in on the call that was just made. I heard the address they sent their men to, and I took a mental note of it. I looked at the screen that matched the address, and my heart sank. It was just a small home with normal civilians. A couple. They were sitting on their couch watching movies together, just enjoying one another's company. The Templars were going after them, for no other reason than a display of power. I knew I had to get there before they did. I had to save these people.

But as I finished up with my hacking session and took control of the broadcasting tower, I heard a noise behind me. A slight noise, but a noise. The sound of a door sliding against the floor. I saw the person's reflection in the monitor.

“Hey Jess,” I said, though not very enthusiastically.

I slowly turned around, and there she was, Jess Wolfgang. She still held her scowl, and had her baton held out, though the sparks were turned off. I looked at her eyes, and my heart felt heavy. They were slightly red, and her face was still drooped in a way that told me everything. She had been crying earlier.

“You've been a pain in my ass for too long, Spainhower,” she said, a slight crack in her voice.

“Jess…”

“Blume’s not too thrilled with the fact that their broadcast stations have been taken over by some vigilante.”

“Well, to be fair, that tends to happen to them a lot.”

“Shut up.”

“Alright, calm down.”

“Don't tell me to calm down!”

I held up my hands calmly. “Alright, alright. Just… Listen Jess. I'd love to stay and try to help you, I really would, but-”

“I don’t need help!”

“Bull.”

“What did you just say?”

“You know what I said. Jess, you're a broken girl. Look at yourself! You've got so many ghosts screaming at you, don't you? You're not the one calling the shots in your life, you're not the one driving yourself to kill me, they are.”

Her hand started shaking. I could see her tears welling up again.

“It… It's my duty to kill you,” she said.

“But it's not your desire, is it, Jess?”

“You killed my mom!”

“And you're upset about that?”

She said nothing. She couldn't say anything. I knew her answer. Her answer was “No. I'm not upset. I'm glad she's dead.” But the voices in her head wouldn't let her say it. They told her to hold her tongue lest she get another beating. But she wanted to say it. I could see her tongue quivering in her mouth. She wanted to say it, but she couldn't.

“Look,” I said after a moment. “I want to stay and help, I really do. But I can't right now. Because innocent people's lives are at stake, and I'm not about to let them die. Goodbye Jess.”

She was about to say something back, but I suddenly pulled out my phone at lightning speed and shut off the lights again, all of them. The whole building blacked out. And it was distraction enough for me to dash past Jess and sprint down the dark halls. I could hear her shout in frustration behind me as she turned on her baton’s sparks for a light. I had my Eagle Vision to guide me, and it wasn't long before I was out of the building, hacking open the gate locks, and running over the hill to where I had parked the Cardinal.

I turned the key and revved the engine, drowning out the sound of a cursing Jess from some distance behind me. I put the pedal to the metal, and I darted off down the road and towards town.

------------

I almost jumped off of the Cardinal when I arrived at the address. I swore under my breath when I saw that the Templars had already arrived. As I approached the door, I heard a woman's scream from inside.

I cocked my pistol, pulled up my scarf, and ran inside. I darted upstairs to where I heard the scream. There were five Templars, and they had cornered the couple, who already received some bloody scars from their assailants. The Templars turned on their heels when I came barging in.

“It's him!” one of them shouted.

“The Vigilante!” the woman cried.

“Thank god,” her lover said.

I shot one Templar dead the moment I came in. One down and four to go already.

One charged at me with his stun baton. I rolled out of the way and smacked him in the head with the handle of my gun before stabbing him with my hidden blade. I used his body as a human shield when one of his buddies tried to shoot me down. When his bullets ran out, I lunged over and sliced at him too. He recoiled back and pulled out a combat knife. He managed to slice a few cuts in me, but I ultimately won the fight, using my smaller size and quicker reflexes to my advantage.

I ducked for cover when another storm of bullets came towards me. I reloaded my own gun and fired back. I shot a hole in one of them, but it wasn't fatal, so she kept fighting. But the next hole I opened in her was in her head, and thus she fell too.

The last guy started shaking in his boots, realizing he wasn't likely to walk away alive. He suddenly stepped back and grabbed the woman, who screamed in fear. Her lover was about to protest, but the Templar knocked him out by hitting him with his baton. The woman was crying hard, fearfully. The Templar put a knife at her throat. I aimed my pistol at him as he did.

“One more move and she's dead, you hear?” he shouted at me, his voice shaking.

“Let her go,” I said simply.

“Drop the gun!”

“Let. Her. Go.”

“Do as he says, Spainhower. Or else.”

The new voice came from behind me. My mouth opened in surprise. It was Jess’s voice. I turned my head just slightly enough to see her. She had a little boy held tight by one hand, and a gun aimed right at my head in another. The woman began to sob uncontrollably, begging for her son to be let go. The boy looked terrified, and was crying.

“Jess…” I gasped. “What are you-?”

“What I have to do.”

“You don’t have to do this Jess. Not this.”

“Just walk away, Spainhower.”

“You really want these innocents to die, Jess? You really want their blood to be on your hands?”

She was still shaking. I could practically hear the gears in her head screaming.

“Just… Just go…”

“Do as she says, kid,” the other Templar said.

“Jess please, you don't have to do this.”

“Shut up!” she cried. “It's my mission!”

“It's your downfall! You have a choice here Jess! And it is your choice. Your mother isn't here anymore to hurt you for doing the right thing. You can do the right thing, Jess!”

“I… I… Shut up!”

“Jess, please. You're a better woman than this. I know you are. But the only one who can make that a reality is you!”

“I said shut up, dammit!”

“Jess please!”

“Shut up!”

“Just kill him already!” the other Templar screamed. “Just shoot! Shoot!”

“Jess!”

Jess let out a furious cry and raised her gun high. Her finger yanked hard on the trigger. The bang filled the room. I could hear the sound of her bullet shells falling onto the floor, right along side the sound of the other Templar collapsing onto the ground with a bleeding hole in his skull. The woman he was holding frantically scrambled out of his dead arms, crying uncontrollably. I looked at her, then at the body, then at Jess. Her jaw had dropped just as mine did. Tears smeared her face. Her grip on the little boy loosened, and the boy darted straight to his mother, who was trying to wake her husband up.

“Jess…” I said quietly.

“I… I... “ was all she could stutter. She dropped her gun, slowly backing up. I tried to walk towards her.

“Jess… Please, I-”

But she recoiled from me and sprinted in the other direction, hopping directly out the window and climbing down to the streets where she kept her bike. I sprinted to the window, but I saw she had already revved up the motorcycle and darted away down the streets at a frantic speed. I watched her go, unable to say anything. What could I have said?

The sounds of the sniffling family behind me snapped me back to the current situation. I went over to them to make sure they were okay. They said they were okay for the most part but probably needed medical attention, especially the husband, who was just regaining consciousness. And so I dialed up an ambulance and told them to get there as soon as possible. Once I made sure they were prepared to leave, I dialed up Henry to let him know I had a mess for him and his men to help clean up.

As I sat there trying to comfort the family, I thought about Jess. She was breaking free, I could tell. But did she have the strength to go all the way? I hope she did. And I hoped I had the strength to help her get there.

Good God, what was I going to do?