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“I had reasoned this out in my mind, there was one of two things I had a right to, liberty or death; if I could not have one, I would have the other.”
-Harriet Tubman

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

November 22, 2015; Indianapolis, Indiana

“Hey, squirt!” Chelsea said as I walked into Vienna’s little office. Both of them were sitting at Vienna’s mini bar that she somehow squeezed into this room. I would question how she managed to fit a whole bar area into her little office, along with everything else, but hey, after knowing her for months, I've learned that one simply does not question the miracles of Vienna Joel.

Speaking of whom, she gave me her characteristically bright smile and an energetic wave. I smiled and waved back.

“Hey, dweeb!” I joked back at my cousin. “You call me down here just to have some drinks or…”

“Oh yeah, totally.” I smirked at her exaggerated sarcasm. I knew I got it from somewhere. She grabbed a glass and pretended like she was about to pass it to me.

“Here. Try the banana daiquiri,” she joked. “Vienna makes a killer banana daiquiri.”

Vienna meanwhile was having a grand old time just watching us joke at each other. She would definitely have been chuckling if, you know, she had functioning vocal cords to do so. She gets a kick out of us, how we constantly tease each other like brother and sister.

But hey, that's our jobs. We annoy each other. Where would we be without one another to constantly poke and tease and prank?

Chelsea chuckled. “Naw, but seriously. She really does,” she said. She looked over at Vienna, who just kinda smiled and modestly shrugged.

“So why aren’t you drinking?”

She gave me that look she often gives me that pretty much just says, “Really?” And then she pointed both hands at her extended abdomen.

“Riiiiiight.” I said, mentally slapping my forehead. But hey, again, we're cousins. Our job is to make each other feel dumb. It keeps us from getting egos. Haha.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that, didn't I? Chelsea went and got herself pregnant again. She and her husband are eagerly awaiting the new addition to their family. I mean, hey, who could blame them?

“So what's up, then?” I asked, taking a seat next to my dweeb cousin and my mute friend.

“We've found another Templar hideout,” said Chelsea. “In all the halls and storage rooms underneath Lucas Oil Stadium. Our spies say that they've been making a lot of noise down there recently.”

“So you want me to go investigate?”

“Well, I can't exactly do it, now can I?” She pointed at her gut again to emphasize her sass.

I laughed. “Alright. Alright,” I said. “Fair enough.” I turned to Vienna. “You wanna come?” I asked. “I could use some backup.”

Vienna nodded excitedly. She quickly typed something on her phone and showed it to me: “Sure! Just let me go get someone to cover my shift real quick and we can head right over!”

“Great!” I said. “You do that. I'll wait here.”

Vienna nodded. She stood and left the office to go and do her thing.

“So,” I said to Chels, “you know exactly what the Templars are up to down there?”

She shook her head. “Not really. I've heard whispers and rumors, but nothing conclusive.”

“What kinds of rumors?”

“Eh, general stupid world domination stuff. Ever since we took down Natasha Wolfgang and her little empire, the Templars have been desperately scrambling to fix the hole in their pretty little tapestry.”

I laughed. “I'd imagine so. I'm surprised they haven't sent in Sigma Team yet.”

Chelsea laughed too. “Yeah. Word on the street is that Otso Berg thinks we're not worth his time. He's only sent in a few agents, thinking that'll be all it takes to tear down what we've built up.”

“Oh my, how he wounds me deeply with his lack of affection!” I said sarcastically with overly dramatic hand gestures. Chelsea laughed.

“Yeah I know, right? How rude of him.”

Chelsea took a quick drink from her glass of water. “But yeah,” she said, “Just general Templar rumors going around. One guy told me that they were kidnapping civilians and forcing them into their ranks to fight us.”

“Really?”

She shrugged. “Probably isn't true,” she said. “I mean, we've seen a few cases like that, but it's definitely not a large-scale thing. And we've rescued all their hostages anyway, so yeah.”

“Gotchya.”

And then Vienna finally came back into the office. She typed out something on her phone and showed it to us: “Sorry I took so long. My girlfriend texted me and started asking me about a bunch of different outfits she picked out for a concert she's got coming up. And there's no stopping her once she starts talking about that stuff lol”

We laughed. “It's cool,” said Chelsea.

“Did you find someone to take your shift?” I asked.

Vienna nodded. She typed, “Yep. Let's head on out!”

I smiled. “Alright then,” I said. I pulled up my hood, as did Vienna. We started making our way out the door.

“Don't die,” Chelsea joked.

“I make no promises!” I joked back. And with that, Vienna and I set out, ready to kick some Templar hides. Always a fun time.

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

The Stadium was energetic as usual when we got there. A game was being played that night, and we were able to hear the crowd going nuts, even from the inner hallways of the building. I smiled. I was never into sports, but I definitely love the positive cheers that roared from people who are.

Vienna and I made our way towards the basement of the stadium, where the Templars were scurrying and plotting like the rats they are. By the time we got to the basement entrance, we could already hear shooting and shouting coming from inside.

“Aw man, did they start the party without us?” I joked.

Vienna made a chuckling motion and jokingly shrugged.

“Oh well,” I said. “We can still crash it.”

Vienna grinned and nodded.

“Alright,” I said. “Let's go!”

We didn't waste any time. We swiftly but quietly made our way down the dimly-lit halls and stuck to the shadows as we searched for our targets. We each switched from cover to cover, keeping our ears peeled. We could hear the Templars shouting farther down.

“Catch him!” one of them said.

“Rip the little traitor apart!” said another.

I looked over at Vienna. She shrugged. We were both pretty curious to see what was going on. I pulled out my pistol and motioned for Vienna to follow. We silently made our way into one of the big storage rooms, checking for guards around every corner. We just followed the sounds of shouting and gunfire. How nice of the Templars to just lead us to them like that.

Vienna and I made our way into another large storage room, hiding behind the large stacks of crates that littered the area. We looked out from behind our cover and saw a bunch of guards scrambling around. Suddenly, the door busted open. We saw two Templars dragging someone into the room. I couldn't tell who it was; they had a bag over his head. But they had clearly given the poor guy a beating. One of the guards came up to them.

“Finally caught the runt,” one of the captors said. “Put up a good fight but we wore him down pretty quick.”

“Good,” said the other guard. “Bring him into the next room and put him against the wall. Let's end him and get this over with. Morgenster doesn't want to risk a repeat of last year.”

“Morgenster? They sent him to Indy?”

“Yeah. They figured he'd be better at taking back the city than Trina.”

“Ha! It's about time. I was getting sick of having to take her crazy orders. She's lost her goddamn mind.”

I leaned over to Vienna and whispered, “I could've told ya that.” She made a chuckling motion.

“Yeah well, maybe now that Morgenster’s here, we'll finally be able to crush those pathetic little troublemakers,” said the guard.

“Hopefully,” said the other. “Now come on. Let's go fill this traitor with lead.”

The guard nodded, and followed the other guard into the next room. We saw them drag their captive across the room and throw him against the wall. They started organizing a few riflemen in front of him. I looked at Vienna. She nodded.

The guards stayed behind. They chatted with each other as we took our positions in the shadows, waiting to end them.

“I heard Morgenster’s not the only newcomer to Indy,” one of them said.

“Oh?” said his friend.

“Yeah, and you'll never believe who the other one is.”

“Who?”

“Jessica.”

“What? You don't mean-”

“Oh yeah. And she's pissed. After she heard what the Assassins did to her mother, she got right to work on making a trip here.”

“I thought she hated her mother?”

“She wasn't allowed to… You've met her mother. You know what she was like. Imagine what growing up with someone like that would be like.”

“I'd rather not…”

“Exactly. Poor girl’s a soldier, a follower. And now that her psychotic mother is gone, she's a wanderer. She's lost, and the only guidance she has now is her drive for revenge.”

“Damn…”

“Yeah.”

We let them finish their conversation before we snuck up and stuck our blades in them. It's always useful to glean as much information as we can. And something like a new enemy in town is always important to know about. We shook the blood off our blades and ran into the next room. We tried to be stealthy, but the structure of the area didn't really allow for much stealth.

A guard turned and saw us. He was about to call out for help, but I cleared the distance between us and took him out before he could. But unfortunately, some more guards walked by and saw us. They raised their guns, and we readied our blades. And the fight began.

The guards started shooting at us, and we ducked behind cover. Vienna grabbed her pistol and started firing back. She managed to hit one in the shoulder, and it was just the distraction I needed to dash at them and end them both with my hidden blades.

Four more guards came running. I ducked behind a stack of crates once they started shooting. I looked over at Vienna and made a few hand motions to tell her to distract them. She nodded, and she started firing back at the guards. I made my way around the crates, and eventually I found myself behind the Templars. I quickly grabbed my baton, extended it, and lunged at them. I thwacked the first guard hard in the head, knocking him out. As the other guards realized I was behind them, I was already in the process of hitting them unconscious, one by one. They didn't have time to readjust to close combat. They fell in seconds.

Vienna rushed up to me, and we both darted over to where they dragged their captive, staying out of sight. The guards were scrambling to figure out what to do.

“Crap!” one of them shouted. “Little snake must've called the Assassins here somehow!”

“How could he have done that?” another guard asked.

“I don't know! It doesn't matter! Right now, just get into position! They could be lurking anywhere!”

The guards started aiming their guns around the room, guarding their prisoner. I peeked around the corner just enough to get a look at the guy. He was still moving at bit, and the only wounds on him were the bruises I saw before. They hadn't killed him. Yet.

I looked over at Vienna. I pointed upwards to indicate that we should climb up onto the giant stacks of crates, and she nodded. We silently made our ascent, and gracefully darted across the crates until we were behind the guards and above them. They didn't notice us. Good. You know, I'm really glad the Templars never seem to remember to look up. Cause if they did, our job would be a lot harder.

We each chose a guard to take out, and then we air assassinated them. And before the other guards could even react, we drew our weapons and ended them all. We stood amongst the bodies, victorious.

“Rest in peace,” I said to all of them in general. Vienna and I sheathed our weapons. I took out my phone really quickly and called up our good friend, Police Commissioner Henry Grayson.

“Hey Henry,” I said, “We've got some thugs down here for your guys to come pick up. I'll send you the coordinates. Alright. Thanks man.”

I hung up and sent our policeman friend our location. Then Vienna and I turned towards the Templars’ captive.

“Come on,” I said. “Let's go help this guy out.”

Vienna nodded, and then we jogged over to him. If the Templars were so anxious to kill this guy, then maybe he wasn't too friendly to them. And hey, anyone who's willing to help fight the tyranny of the Templars is worth saving in my book.

Vienna untied the ropes around his hands and I took the bag off of him. And when I saw his face, and recognized him, I reeled back a bit in surprise.

“Jacob?” I said with shock. It was definitely him. It was definitely Jacob Singer. My eyes weren't deceiving me.

You guys remember Jacob, right? That one friend of mine from school? That hard-to-like-harder-to-hate friend of mine that I'd often debate with then laugh off those debates with? Welp. Here he was. Sitting in front of me and Vienna, covered in bruises and wearing a bloodstained Templar uniform. He looked up at me with the same surprise (though definitely not the same energy) as me.

“I… Carter?” he said. “What… what are you doing here?”

“Well apparently we're saving your skin,” I said. “Grant it, we didn't plan for it, we just wanted to stop some of these evil Templar dogs but…”

“You're… you're an Assassin?” he asked, even more surprised.

“I am. But my life's not that interesting. What I'm wondering is what are you doing with the Templars?”

Jacob lowered his head. “They… they kidnapped me… They took me and threatened my family and forced me to join them…”

I swore under my breath. Well Chels, I thought, looks like you were right about that little theory.

“Come on, man,” I said, reaching my hand out. “Let's get out of here. Let's get somewhere safe.”

But he was hesitant. He clearly wasn't sure if he should be trusting me or not.

“They told me all about the Assassins. They said all you want is chaos, that you'd bring bedlam and anarchy into the world.”

I rolled my eyes. “Really?” I said. “You trust the guys who threatened your family, kidnapped you, and just about shot you dead in cold blood?”

He didn't say anything.

“The Assassins fight for freedom,” I said. “We want to see the world's people free from oppression. We want to see happiness and kindness spread to the people who deserve it. And it's our job to stop evil scumbags like these guys who want to stop that stuff from happening, simply because they think themselves better than everyone else. That's what the Assassins stand for. And that's what we stand for.”

He looked up at me, and at Vienna. She gave him her smile and wave.

“How can I trust you?” he asked. “How do I know you're not just lying?”

“Well, to be honest, you can't. It's about having faith. The only way to prove it to you is if you come with us.”

He looked at my hand, which was still outstretched.

“I can't… They'll come after me. They'll hurt my nana.”

“We can help you protect her, and yourself. And a whole lot of other people. Please Jacob. Don't think about me: the Assassin, think about me: your friend.”

He said nothing.

“You really want to help people?” he eventually asked. “You really want to save lives and protect people?”

Vienna and I nodded. “That's the whole reason our Brotherhood is still fighting. We will never stop until Indianapolis, and the world, is free, safe, and happy.”

He looked at my hand again, then at us, then back at my hand.

“The choice is yours, Jacob,” I said plainly.

He thought hard about it. I could see the gears turning in his head as he debated with himself. And eventually he made his decision. He looked up at me and Vienna.

And he grabbed my hand.

And thus we got our newest recruit.

Description
“I had reasoned this out in my mind, there was one of two things I had a right to, liberty or death; if I could not have one, I would have the other.”
-Harriet Tubman

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

November 22, 2015; Indianapolis, Indiana

“Hey, squirt!” Chelsea said as I walked into Vienna’s little office. Both of them were sitting at Vienna’s mini bar that she somehow squeezed into this room. I would question how she managed to fit a whole bar area into her little office, along with everything else, but hey, after knowing her for months, I've learned that one simply does not question the miracles of Vienna Joel.

Speaking of whom, she gave me her characteristically bright smile and an energetic wave. I smiled and waved back.

“Hey, dweeb!” I joked back at my cousin. “You call me down here just to have some drinks or…”

“Oh yeah, totally.” I smirked at her exaggerated sarcasm. I knew I got it from somewhere. She grabbed a glass and pretended like she was about to pass it to me.

“Here. Try the banana daiquiri,” she joked. “Vienna makes a killer banana daiquiri.”

Vienna meanwhile was having a grand old time just watching us joke at each other. She would definitely have been chuckling if, you know, she had functioning vocal cords to do so. She gets a kick out of us, how we constantly tease each other like brother and sister.

But hey, that's our jobs. We annoy each other. Where would we be without one another to constantly poke and tease and prank?

Chelsea chuckled. “Naw, but seriously. She really does,” she said. She looked over at Vienna, who just kinda smiled and modestly shrugged.

“So why aren’t you drinking?”

She gave me that look she often gives me that pretty much just says, “Really?” And then she pointed both hands at her extended abdomen.

“Riiiiiight.” I said, mentally slapping my forehead. But hey, again, we're cousins. Our job is to make each other feel dumb. It keeps us from getting egos. Haha.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that, didn't I? Chelsea went and got herself pregnant again. She and her husband are eagerly awaiting the new addition to their family. I mean, hey, who could blame them?

“So what's up, then?” I asked, taking a seat next to my dweeb cousin and my mute friend.

“We've found another Templar hideout,” said Chelsea. “In all the halls and storage rooms underneath Lucas Oil Stadium. Our spies say that they've been making a lot of noise down there recently.”

“So you want me to go investigate?”

“Well, I can't exactly do it, now can I?” She pointed at her gut again to emphasize her sass.

I laughed. “Alright. Alright,” I said. “Fair enough.” I turned to Vienna. “You wanna come?” I asked. “I could use some backup.”

Vienna nodded excitedly. She quickly typed something on her phone and showed it to me: “Sure! Just let me go get someone to cover my shift real quick and we can head right over!”

“Great!” I said. “You do that. I'll wait here.”

Vienna nodded. She stood and left the office to go and do her thing.

“So,” I said to Chels, “you know exactly what the Templars are up to down there?”

She shook her head. “Not really. I've heard whispers and rumors, but nothing conclusive.”

“What kinds of rumors?”

“Eh, general stupid world domination stuff. Ever since we took down Natasha Wolfgang and her little empire, the Templars have been desperately scrambling to fix the hole in their pretty little tapestry.”

I laughed. “I'd imagine so. I'm surprised they haven't sent in Sigma Team yet.”

Chelsea laughed too. “Yeah. Word on the street is that Otso Berg thinks we're not worth his time. He's only sent in a few agents, thinking that'll be all it takes to tear down what we've built up.”

“Oh my, how he wounds me deeply with his lack of affection!” I said sarcastically with overly dramatic hand gestures. Chelsea laughed.

“Yeah I know, right? How rude of him.”

Chelsea took a quick drink from her glass of water. “But yeah,” she said, “Just general Templar rumors going around. One guy told me that they were kidnapping civilians and forcing them into their ranks to fight us.”

“Really?”

She shrugged. “Probably isn't true,” she said. “I mean, we've seen a few cases like that, but it's definitely not a large-scale thing. And we've rescued all their hostages anyway, so yeah.”

“Gotchya.”

And then Vienna finally came back into the office. She typed out something on her phone and showed it to us: “Sorry I took so long. My girlfriend texted me and started asking me about a bunch of different outfits she picked out for a concert she's got coming up. And there's no stopping her once she starts talking about that stuff lol”

We laughed. “It's cool,” said Chelsea.

“Did you find someone to take your shift?” I asked.

Vienna nodded. She typed, “Yep. Let's head on out!”

I smiled. “Alright then,” I said. I pulled up my hood, as did Vienna. We started making our way out the door.

“Don't die,” Chelsea joked.

“I make no promises!” I joked back. And with that, Vienna and I set out, ready to kick some Templar hides. Always a fun time.

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

The Stadium was energetic as usual when we got there. A game was being played that night, and we were able to hear the crowd going nuts, even from the inner hallways of the building. I smiled. I was never into sports, but I definitely love the positive cheers that roared from people who are.

Vienna and I made our way towards the basement of the stadium, where the Templars were scurrying and plotting like the rats they are. By the time we got to the basement entrance, we could already hear shooting and shouting coming from inside.

“Aw man, did they start the party without us?” I joked.

Vienna made a chuckling motion and jokingly shrugged.

“Oh well,” I said. “We can still crash it.”

Vienna grinned and nodded.

“Alright,” I said. “Let's go!”

We didn't waste any time. We swiftly but quietly made our way down the dimly-lit halls and stuck to the shadows as we searched for our targets. We each switched from cover to cover, keeping our ears peeled. We could hear the Templars shouting farther down.

“Catch him!” one of them said.

“Rip the little traitor apart!” said another.

I looked over at Vienna. She shrugged. We were both pretty curious to see what was going on. I pulled out my pistol and motioned for Vienna to follow. We silently made our way into one of the big storage rooms, checking for guards around every corner. We just followed the sounds of shouting and gunfire. How nice of the Templars to just lead us to them like that.

Vienna and I made our way into another large storage room, hiding behind the large stacks of crates that littered the area. We looked out from behind our cover and saw a bunch of guards scrambling around. Suddenly, the door busted open. We saw two Templars dragging someone into the room. I couldn't tell who it was; they had a bag over his head. But they had clearly given the poor guy a beating. One of the guards came up to them.

“Finally caught the runt,” one of the captors said. “Put up a good fight but we wore him down pretty quick.”

“Good,” said the other guard. “Bring him into the next room and put him against the wall. Let's end him and get this over with. Morgenster doesn't want to risk a repeat of last year.”

“Morgenster? They sent him to Indy?”

“Yeah. They figured he'd be better at taking back the city than Trina.”

“Ha! It's about time. I was getting sick of having to take her crazy orders. She's lost her goddamn mind.”

I leaned over to Vienna and whispered, “I could've told ya that.” She made a chuckling motion.

“Yeah well, maybe now that Morgenster’s here, we'll finally be able to crush those pathetic little troublemakers,” said the guard.

“Hopefully,” said the other. “Now come on. Let's go fill this traitor with lead.”

The guard nodded, and followed the other guard into the next room. We saw them drag their captive across the room and throw him against the wall. They started organizing a few riflemen in front of him. I looked at Vienna. She nodded.

The guards stayed behind. They chatted with each other as we took our positions in the shadows, waiting to end them.

“I heard Morgenster’s not the only newcomer to Indy,” one of them said.

“Oh?” said his friend.

“Yeah, and you'll never believe who the other one is.”

“Who?”

“Jessica.”

“What? You don't mean-”

“Oh yeah. And she's pissed. After she heard what the Assassins did to her mother, she got right to work on making a trip here.”

“I thought she hated her mother?”

“She wasn't allowed to… You've met her mother. You know what she was like. Imagine what growing up with someone like that would be like.”

“I'd rather not…”

“Exactly. Poor girl’s a soldier, a follower. And now that her psychotic mother is gone, she's a wanderer. She's lost, and the only guidance she has now is her drive for revenge.”

“Damn…”

“Yeah.”

We let them finish their conversation before we snuck up and stuck our blades in them. It's always useful to glean as much information as we can. And something like a new enemy in town is always important to know about. We shook the blood off our blades and ran into the next room. We tried to be stealthy, but the structure of the area didn't really allow for much stealth.

A guard turned and saw us. He was about to call out for help, but I cleared the distance between us and took him out before he could. But unfortunately, some more guards walked by and saw us. They raised their guns, and we readied our blades. And the fight began.

The guards started shooting at us, and we ducked behind cover. Vienna grabbed her pistol and started firing back. She managed to hit one in the shoulder, and it was just the distraction I needed to dash at them and end them both with my hidden blades.

Four more guards came running. I ducked behind a stack of crates once they started shooting. I looked over at Vienna and made a few hand motions to tell her to distract them. She nodded, and she started firing back at the guards. I made my way around the crates, and eventually I found myself behind the Templars. I quickly grabbed my baton, extended it, and lunged at them. I thwacked the first guard hard in the head, knocking him out. As the other guards realized I was behind them, I was already in the process of hitting them unconscious, one by one. They didn't have time to readjust to close combat. They fell in seconds.

Vienna rushed up to me, and we both darted over to where they dragged their captive, staying out of sight. The guards were scrambling to figure out what to do.

“Crap!” one of them shouted. “Little snake must've called the Assassins here somehow!”

“How could he have done that?” another guard asked.

“I don't know! It doesn't matter! Right now, just get into position! They could be lurking anywhere!”

The guards started aiming their guns around the room, guarding their prisoner. I peeked around the corner just enough to get a look at the guy. He was still moving at bit, and the only wounds on him were the bruises I saw before. They hadn't killed him. Yet.

I looked over at Vienna. I pointed upwards to indicate that we should climb up onto the giant stacks of crates, and she nodded. We silently made our ascent, and gracefully darted across the crates until we were behind the guards and above them. They didn't notice us. Good. You know, I'm really glad the Templars never seem to remember to look up. Cause if they did, our job would be a lot harder.

We each chose a guard to take out, and then we air assassinated them. And before the other guards could even react, we drew our weapons and ended them all. We stood amongst the bodies, victorious.

“Rest in peace,” I said to all of them in general. Vienna and I sheathed our weapons. I took out my phone really quickly and called up our good friend, Police Commissioner Henry Grayson.

“Hey Henry,” I said, “We've got some thugs down here for your guys to come pick up. I'll send you the coordinates. Alright. Thanks man.”

I hung up and sent our policeman friend our location. Then Vienna and I turned towards the Templars’ captive.

“Come on,” I said. “Let's go help this guy out.”

Vienna nodded, and then we jogged over to him. If the Templars were so anxious to kill this guy, then maybe he wasn't too friendly to them. And hey, anyone who's willing to help fight the tyranny of the Templars is worth saving in my book.

Vienna untied the ropes around his hands and I took the bag off of him. And when I saw his face, and recognized him, I reeled back a bit in surprise.

“Jacob?” I said with shock. It was definitely him. It was definitely Jacob Singer. My eyes weren't deceiving me.

You guys remember Jacob, right? That one friend of mine from school? That hard-to-like-harder-to-hate friend of mine that I'd often debate with then laugh off those debates with? Welp. Here he was. Sitting in front of me and Vienna, covered in bruises and wearing a bloodstained Templar uniform. He looked up at me with the same surprise (though definitely not the same energy) as me.

“I… Carter?” he said. “What… what are you doing here?”

“Well apparently we're saving your skin,” I said. “Grant it, we didn't plan for it, we just wanted to stop some of these evil Templar dogs but…”

“You're… you're an Assassin?” he asked, even more surprised.

“I am. But my life's not that interesting. What I'm wondering is what are you doing with the Templars?”

Jacob lowered his head. “They… they kidnapped me… They took me and threatened my family and forced me to join them…”

I swore under my breath. Well Chels, I thought, looks like you were right about that little theory.

“Come on, man,” I said, reaching my hand out. “Let's get out of here. Let's get somewhere safe.”

But he was hesitant. He clearly wasn't sure if he should be trusting me or not.

“They told me all about the Assassins. They said all you want is chaos, that you'd bring bedlam and anarchy into the world.”

I rolled my eyes. “Really?” I said. “You trust the guys who threatened your family, kidnapped you, and just about shot you dead in cold blood?”

He didn't say anything.

“The Assassins fight for freedom,” I said. “We want to see the world's people free from oppression. We want to see happiness and kindness spread to the people who deserve it. And it's our job to stop evil scumbags like these guys who want to stop that stuff from happening, simply because they think themselves better than everyone else. That's what the Assassins stand for. And that's what we stand for.”

He looked up at me, and at Vienna. She gave him her smile and wave.

“How can I trust you?” he asked. “How do I know you're not just lying?”

“Well, to be honest, you can't. It's about having faith. The only way to prove it to you is if you come with us.”

He looked at my hand, which was still outstretched.

“I can't… They'll come after me. They'll hurt my nana.”

“We can help you protect her, and yourself. And a whole lot of other people. Please Jacob. Don't think about me: the Assassin, think about me: your friend.”

He said nothing.

“You really want to help people?” he eventually asked. “You really want to save lives and protect people?”

Vienna and I nodded. “That's the whole reason our Brotherhood is still fighting. We will never stop until Indianapolis, and the world, is free, safe, and happy.”

He looked at my hand again, then at us, then back at my hand.

“The choice is yours, Jacob,” I said plainly.

He thought hard about it. I could see the gears turning in his head as he debated with himself. And eventually he made his decision. He looked up at me and Vienna.

And he grabbed my hand.

And thus we got our newest recruit.