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Description
March 22, 2014; Indianapolis, Indiana

And so, for the next few months, I trained. Dad, Misty, and Angie were against it at first, but Chelsea managed to convince them to let me join the fight. Chelsea, for the most part, was my mentor. She taught me how to fight, stealth, climb, freerun, etc. Angie, being the leader of the Hoosier Assassins, taught me the Brotherhood's history along with my dad and Misty. Stories of legendary heroes like the Levantine Mentor, Altaïr Ibn-La’Ahad, or the Croatoan Master, Kahente.

I'm not gonna lie, the training sucked at first. I was kind of a twig… Well, okay, I still am, but at least I'm fit enough to fight alongside the Assassins. But yeah, it was rough for the most part. Sometimes I got a break, though. There's this one method of training the Assassins use where you go into a machine called the Animus. It essentially reads your DNA and finds the codes of your ancestors so that you can relive their memories. The idea is that you learn whatever they learn. We didn't use this method very often, though. Based on what the other Assassins told me, staying in the Animus for too long has… side effects. Let's just say that if I stayed in too long, I wouldn't need the machine to visit my ancestors anymore.

But nonetheless, when I could hop in the machine, it was a pretty cool experience. I relived the memories of my ancestor that fought with the Union during the Civil War. He and his fellow Assassins fought the Confederate Templars, met Abe Lincoln, all that cool stuff. But that's a story for another day.

Like I said before, I finished training after a few months. In late February, Angie finally started allowing me to go out on actual field missions. And on that day in March, I was sent on another. I was standing by a large construction site in downtown Indianapolis, waiting for Chelsea to meet me.

As I waited, I checked all of my gear. The Assassins gave me my own personal weapons set. I had two hidden blades, each hidden by the sports tape wrapped around my arms. I had a white hoodie tied around my waist, and hidden underneath were my pistols, knife, and collapsible baton. I checked to make sure they were all still ready to be pulled out. Satisfied, I fixed my other hoodie and my bag. Then, I just kept watching the crowds and the streets for my cousin.

Then I heard the sound of a motorcycle coming from around the corner. Sure enough, Chelsea was the one riding it. She rode up to me, parked the bike, and stood to greet me. “Hey, Squirt!” she said. I smiled.

“Sup, dweeb?” I said. “Nice bike. Mind if I take her for a spin?” She returned my smile and looked at her bike. “Yeah, no,” she laughed. “Not a chance.” I gave a mock ‘aw’ and laughed. Chelsea chuckled along with me.

“So,” I said when that was over, “what's the mission?”

“Well, a few of our spies pinpointed a target for you.”

“Oh?”

“Allison Gavins. She's a local author and also the Templars’ puppet they use to influence the educational system here in Indy.”

“Because God knows that system isn't screwed up enough already.” Chelsea chuckled a bit at that.

“Yeah, no kidding,” she said. “The Templars are trying to make it so that obedience to them is learned right from the get-go. Course, they hide their influence and use the term ‘discipline’, but you and I both know it's much worse than that.”

“So what do we do?”

“Well, Gavins is the one running the gig, so the best option now is to take her out.”

“Wouldn't that kinda cause a racket, though? I mean, everyone just sees her as an author. There's not much about her for people to hate so much that they'd want her dead.”

“Ah, but that's why you have to dig up the dirt on her. She's attending a meeting with some of her fellow Templars at a writer's convention a few streets down. You need to eavesdrop on their meeting, record evidence that'll ruin any reputation she had, and then kill her when you get the chance. You may have to tail her for a while to find some good blackmail.”

“Okay then. Sounds good. So, where's this meeting at specifically?”

Chelsea pointed down the street and kinda waved her finger a bit. “It’s at the Convention Center, somewhere down that street. You'll know it when you see it.” She lowered her arm and looked behind me at the construction site. I followed her gaze and our eyes fell on a crane that was raised high above the site. “You know,” she said. “You could easily see it if you climbed up there and got a view.”

“Probably,” I said.

“Bet you can't make it in under five minutes.”

“Is that a challenge?” Chelsea just smirked at me. I smirked back. “Alright then,” I said. And within moments, I was dashing into the construction site. I heard Chelsea laugh as she watched me go. I quickly found a route up through the unfinished structure of the would-be building. I grabbed hold of a bunch of metal bars and pipes, using them to haul myself up another level. I had to swing on some beams in order to reach certain areas, and other places required a balancing act. Nonetheless, I eventually made it to the crane, which was the easiest thing to climb.

I made my way up the crane, using its metal structure as a ladder. And soon enough, I made it to the top. I was at least ten stories up. I stood there on the crane, trying my best to keep balanced, and I looked out at the view of Indianapolis that being at that height gave me. I spotted the Indiana Convention Center. The Abstergo Industries logo was hanging on a sign out front, displaying the Templars’ location. I quickly made a mental route to take to get to the building, and then I had to focus on getting down.

I could've just climbed down from the crane, sure, but where's the fun in that? I looked at the area below me. Sure enough, a safety net had been laid out on the construction site below. Perfect. I smiled and straightened out my body. I stood there for a moment, hearing nothing but the wind in my hair and the city below. I closed my eyes. And eagle cried somewhere in the distance. I spread my arms, and I took my leap of faith.

In the air, I turned my body so that I would land on my back. The fall only took a few seconds, but it felt like hours. It always does. Sure enough, just as I was beginning to doubt that I judged the fall correctly, I felt myself land back-first onto the safety net. I bounced a few times before the net settled and then I stepped out. I climbed down another floor to get back to the ground to meet my cousin. “How long was that?” I asked.

“5.001 minutes,” she said with a smirk.

“Yeah, screw you, too,” I said jokingly. We both laughed at each other. Then, she handed me a ticket so I could sneak into the convention more easily. We nodded to each other, said our goodbyes, and I made my way to the Convention Center.

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

And of course, the place was unbelievably crowded. People were everywhere, which is good in most aspects. It gives a lot of opportunities to blend and hide. But, on the other hand, it can make it much more difficult to spot a target, which it kind of was. I pulled out my phone for a second and looked up a few pictures of her. She was middle-aged, had dark hair (which she seemed to like wearing in a bun), and wore glasses. I studied the pictures until I got a decent idea of who I was looking for.

I looked around through the crowds, eyeing every face. Some people were attending a small con of sorts, and they were in costume. It helped a lot since I could wear my hood up without seeming too out of place. I kept looking around. I took a few minutes, but eventually I saw her, my target, Allison Gavins. She was walking towards a hallway that led to a less crowded area. I followed silently, staying as hidden as I could. She rounded a corner and walked up a flight of stairs. I made sure to stay out of her line of sight as I followed her to the third floor, where she walked out onto one of those big tunnels above the city streets that connect one building to another. I followed her across and kept going until she reached the hallway on the other side and rounded another corner.

There were much less people then, and I had to start hiding behind corners and plants. Eventually, she came up to a receptionist sitting at a small desk. “Can I help you?” asked the receptionist.

“I'm here for a meeting with Natasha Wolfgang and Trina Spainhower,” said Gavins. I raised an eyebrow. So, my mother was here too? Go figure.

“Ms. Allison Gavins?” asked the receptionist after checking something on her laptop. Gavins nodded.

“They'll be with you shortly. Have a seat and they'll be right with you,” said the receptionist. Gavins nodded again and sat in a nearby chair. I looked around the hallways. I wanted to find a vantage point to eavesdrop before the meeting started. Sure enough, I saw an open window, and it looked like there was a scaffolding outside of it. I smiled at my luck. I looked around the corner at Gavins and the receptionist, making sure they weren't looking my way. Satisfied, I darted swiftly and quietly towards the window. I stepped out onto the scaffolding, which luckily seemed to stretch across a good amount of the side of the building. Now I just had to hope no one would look up.

I scurried along the scaffolding, checking the windows for the Templars’ room. Soon enough, I peaked through the curtains of one window, and there I saw them, Natasha Wolfgang and my mother, sitting at a desk. Wolfgang texted something on her phone. I assume she was telling the receptionist to let Gavins in, mainly because Gavins appeared in the door a moment later. She greeted her superiors, and the two motioned for her to sit. The window was cracked open a small bit, so I was able to hear what they were saying.

“Honestly, Gavins,” said Wolfgang, somehow annoyed and disinterested with Gavins at the same time, “you've caught us at a bad time.”

Gavins looked nervously at her and my mom. “I… We…” she stuttered. “We scheduled this appointment for this time specifically. I'm sorry if this isn't actually convenient, Grand Master.”

“Save it. Let's just make this quick. Short, sweet, and to the point. What's your report?” Gavins stared nervously. She clearly wasn't expecting Wolfgang to be in such a bad mood. “Well,” she said. “I, uh, I managed to replace a few of the school system managers with some of our order's supporters.”

“But not full-on Templars?”

“Well… I didn't want to do too much in such a short time, so I…”

“Why not? It's not like anyone's going to find us out. Even if they did, it's not like there's anyone to stop us. We've dug our roots too deep.”

“The Assassins are still at large,” my mom suddenly said to Wolfgang. The Grand Master gave her an annoyed look. “The Assassins are as good as dead,” she said. “Their precious Brotherhood is taking its last breath. They can't do anything.”

“They managed to take Carter from us.”

Wolfgang gave her a glare.

“We'll discuss this after our little meeting with Gavins here,” she said. She returned her attention to the nervous author. “What are your current plans?” she asked. Gavins looked at her. “Well,” she said. “I'm going to meet with some more school board members to work more of our influence into the system. In a few months, it should be completely ours. Complete obedience should be ensured for the next generation.”

Yeah, not if I can stop it, I thought to myself. I kept listening. “Great,” said Wolfgang nonchalantly. “Glad we had this talk. You're dismissed. Now what is your deal, Trina?” She instantly turned to Mom, an annoyed look in her eye. Gavins, unsure of what to do, just kinda grabbed her things and slowly backed out of the room, closing the door behind her. I knew I should have followed her immediately, but I didn't. I stayed for a minute or two. I wanted to see if I could get any info out of the two Templars.

“My ‘deal’, Natasha,” said Mom with a hint of anger, “Is that the Assassins are starting to gain influence, and you keep shrugging it off.”

Wolfgang rolled her eyes. “How many times do I have to tell you,” she said, “there is nothing the Assassins can do to overtake us! Not anymore. Them taking your kids isn't going to do anything. Your son putting on an Assassin hood isn't going to do anything. They're just dogs waiting to be put down.”

“But our research with the Piece of Eden…”

“Can continue without Connor.”

“Carter.”

“Whatever. My point is, We've already gotten more test subjects for Dr. Cassidy to experiment on with the thing. We don't need your kid anymore.” I pricked my ears up. A Piece of Eden? Chelsea told me about those, ancient artifacts with unspeakable powers. I listened closely, hoping they'd say more. My hopes were crushed when they didn't.

“Look,” said Wolfgang. “I realize you're paranoid about the Assassins, but we've already got it taken care of. We've got our men hunting them down in every corner of the city. Street gangs, police forces, politics, pick your poison.”

“But what if…” Mom tried to say.

“But nothing. We're done with this conversation, Trina. Now either do something useful or go bug someone else with your little goose chase.”

“The Armor of Gabriel isn't a goose chase! It's…” Wolfgang shushed her by imitating a zipper motion over her own lips. Mom sat back and accepted defeat. I thought about their conversation as I turned to leave. The Armor of Gabriel? Sounded interesting. I'd have to look into that later. But for now, I shook the thought away. I hurried down the scaffolding and back into the hallways of the Convention Center. I got right to work on finding Gavins.

Soon enough, I found her on the first floor again. She was making her way through the crowds, and I followed close behind. She seemed ticked, like she expected her boss to treat her with more respect. That would never happen though, and I think she knew it, given her low rank. She pushed her glasses a bit higher on her face and straightened her back a bit. I guess she found comfort in the fact that she'd have a higher role in her next, and soon to be last, meeting.

I checked my phone to make sure I had enough battery power, which it did, to record some of the meeting's conversations for a bit. I made sure my camera was up and ready to record. Eventually, Gavins entered another room, a bit isolated from the chattering crowds, where I assumed her meeting was taking place. I quickly found a hiding spot outside of a little window in the wall that was cracked open slightly, stealthily placed my camera on the opening, and pressed record as Gavins sat down with her associates.

“I'm not so sure about these new ‘policies’ you've proposed, Ms. Gavins,” said one of the school board members. “Most of them seem so… restrictive for the students. They don't leave much free space for self-expression.”

“Self-expression isn't our priority,” said Gavins, clearly enjoying being the head of the meeting. “Our priority is education, discipline, and order.”

“Students have enough troubles as it is,” said a woman. “These proposals, things like suspensions when late, grade deductions for breaking dress codes, which I personally find very overboard, these are just too much.”

“Too much?” asked Gavins. “Too much to ensure the success of the next generation? Too much to ensure that no mistakes are made?”

“But that's just it,” said another board member. “This leaves no room for mistakes. At all. Students, and for that matter teachers, need room for when errors occur.”

“If errors are occurring,” said Gavins, “then clearly you all aren't doing your jobs right. Order must be kept! We can't allow anyone to screw it up.”

“You're over exaggerating,” said another man, clearly unhappy with the Templar. “We can't accept these policies, Ms. Gavins. There are simply too many obstacles. They're too unrealistic.” Gavins gave the whole room a glare. She clearly didn't like what she was hearing. Templars rarely like being told no.

Suddenly, she reached under her chair and grabbed her briefcase. She placed it on the table top and opened it up. It was divided into two sections. One held a bunch of folders and papers. The other held several stacks of dollars. The entire room looked in disbelief. Not at the amount of money, but at the very fact that Gavins would resort to that. I smiled. Something told me I was about to get my blackmail.

“Well?” asked Gavins. “Five grand a month for all of you, courtesy of Abstergo Industries. All that needs to happen is for you all to enforce my proposals.” They all looked at her. They definitely considered the option, but none of them took it. One man grabbed his stuff and stood. “Goodbye, Ms. Gavins,” he said coldly and left the room. The others soon followed. Gavins watched them go, somehow shocked at this outcome. She scowled and shut her case. She cursed under her breath. She eventually grabbed her own stuff and stood. I stopped recording, and put the video in an email. I waited to send it. I stayed hidden as I watched Gavins leave the room. She walked angrily down the hallway and into the main hall of the convention center. She found a relatively isolated bench and sat down. She fiddled nervously with her hair. Now was my chance.

I pulled my hood a bit further over my head, covering my face a bit more. I wandered through the crowds, stealthily making my way towards her. As I did, I sent the blackmail email. I sent it to Gavins’s phone. I saw her reach for her phone as I arrived in front of her. At first she didn't look up. She seemed to frustrated to do so. “Fun meeting, huh?” I said to her. She looked up, annoyed at first. But the second she saw my Assassin outfit, her expression was full of fear.

“Oh god…” she squeaked out. She was too freaked out to remember to look at the email she just opened. The video was full screened, ready to be played. “No…” she stuttered.

“Yep,” I said. “You've been pulling too many strings, Gavins. Messing with an already fragile school system? Did you really not think we'd come after you?”

“Please. What I'm doing is for the best!” she whispered, too afraid to raise her voice. Something tells me she never expected to be caught in the crossfire.

“Bribing school officials into enforcing tyrannical policies?” I said. “Oh, yeah, definitely for the best.” She probably would've scowled at my sarcasm if she could.

“We need order,” she said. “It must be assured, especially at a young age.”

“And turning schools into the world's most freedom-restricting prisons is the way to do that? Mistakes happen, Gavins. It's part of life. We all make mistakes, and we learn from them.”

“But what if you could remove the option to make mistakes?”

“You can't. It's impossible. Making mistakes is part of being human. We're not sheep that need herding or dogs that need trained.”

“Then there can never be peace.”

“Our freedom helps us learn responsibility. That is what will lead to peace.” She stared at me. I don't think she was convinced, but she clearly considered my words. “Please…” she said. I shook my head.

“I'm sorry,” I said respectfully. Then, in one, almost undetectably fast movement, I flicked out my hidden blade, rammed it into Gavins’s chest, and retracted it. She choked on blood for a moment before finally dying. “A story’s characters aren't perfect,” I whispered. “Their flaws and journey to fix them are what keep the story going. Rest in peace.”

Then, I quickly reached into my pocket, pulled out a little paper card with an eagle pattern on it, and placed it on Gavins’s phone, which still displayed the video. It was kind of a calling card I guess. Chelsea told me it was important to send a message to the Templars. Once that was done, I quickly walked away from the corpse and blended away with the nearest crowds. I rounded a corner in the enormous hallway, making my way to the exit. That's when the cry went up.

“Oh my God!” screamed a woman. “She's dead!”

Crap. I really hoped I could've gotten out before things turned chaotic. Oh well.

Sure enough, everyone started screaming after the word of the murder spread instantly like ripples in a pond. People started shoving their way to the exits, and I ran with them, pretending to be as horrified as them. Pretty soon, I reached the exit. I ran out of the Convention Center. I could already hear police sirens wailing from a few blocks away. I slowed my pace, made my way through the streets, and finally escaped the area. As I left the commotion behind, I sighed in relief. It's always great when you manage to easily get in and out of the scene of the crime. I figured I should meet with Chelsea again, so I made my way to the Assassin HQ.

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

“Hey, Chels,” I said as I entered one of the base’s living rooms. She turned her head and looked at me. “Glad you made it back!” she said.

“Thanks.”

“Great job on taking out Gavins.”

I smiled.

“Did you have to cause a panic like that, though?” she said. My smile faded and I rolled my eyes.

“I mean, it's kinda hard to kill someone in a convention center without people noticing,” I said. Chelsea shrugged. “Eh,” she said. “Fair enough.” I went to sit in the chair next to the couch she was on. I looked at her. “I think we need to hunt bigger prey,” I said, thinking about the meeting I eavesdropped on. Chelsea looked at me. “What do you mean?”

“At the meeting, my mom and Natasha Wolfgang were talking about how they have puppets controlling all the different aspects of the city. And Wolfgang’s ego is stopping her from enforcing their influence. If we can take out a few major Templars, we might actually gain a significant foothold.”

“We've tried, Carter,” said Chelsea. “Everytime we try, they beat us back. They keep getting more and more advantages.”

“But that's just it! They've stopped trying to improve. They're getting cocky. If we can find their weak points and take out the major players in things like gangs, law enforcement, churches, etc., then we might have a fighting chance. We could take back Indianapolis!” Chelsea seemed to consider it. I gave her a pleading look, and eventually she gave in. She sighed. “Alright,” she said. “Where do you think we should start?”

I celebrated my win in my head and thought about a starting point. “We should probably work on the gangs and police first,” I said. “You know, the ones that can easily shoot us down.”

“In that case, let's start with the gangs. If we can get rid of the Templar influence there, and replace them with Assassin helpers, then when the trusted Templar cops come shooting them down the new freedom fighters, they’ll lose the people's trust pretty quickly.”

I nodded.

“Alrighty then,” I said as I stood up. “Care to come with me to spy in the ghetto?” I jokingly asked her. She laughed and stood up. “Lead the way,” she said. We smiled at each other, and then left the hideout.

Description
March 22, 2014; Indianapolis, Indiana

And so, for the next few months, I trained. Dad, Misty, and Angie were against it at first, but Chelsea managed to convince them to let me join the fight. Chelsea, for the most part, was my mentor. She taught me how to fight, stealth, climb, freerun, etc. Angie, being the leader of the Hoosier Assassins, taught me the Brotherhood's history along with my dad and Misty. Stories of legendary heroes like the Levantine Mentor, Altaïr Ibn-La’Ahad, or the Croatoan Master, Kahente.

I'm not gonna lie, the training sucked at first. I was kind of a twig… Well, okay, I still am, but at least I'm fit enough to fight alongside the Assassins. But yeah, it was rough for the most part. Sometimes I got a break, though. There's this one method of training the Assassins use where you go into a machine called the Animus. It essentially reads your DNA and finds the codes of your ancestors so that you can relive their memories. The idea is that you learn whatever they learn. We didn't use this method very often, though. Based on what the other Assassins told me, staying in the Animus for too long has… side effects. Let's just say that if I stayed in too long, I wouldn't need the machine to visit my ancestors anymore.

But nonetheless, when I could hop in the machine, it was a pretty cool experience. I relived the memories of my ancestor that fought with the Union during the Civil War. He and his fellow Assassins fought the Confederate Templars, met Abe Lincoln, all that cool stuff. But that's a story for another day.

Like I said before, I finished training after a few months. In late February, Angie finally started allowing me to go out on actual field missions. And on that day in March, I was sent on another. I was standing by a large construction site in downtown Indianapolis, waiting for Chelsea to meet me.

As I waited, I checked all of my gear. The Assassins gave me my own personal weapons set. I had two hidden blades, each hidden by the sports tape wrapped around my arms. I had a white hoodie tied around my waist, and hidden underneath were my pistols, knife, and collapsible baton. I checked to make sure they were all still ready to be pulled out. Satisfied, I fixed my other hoodie and my bag. Then, I just kept watching the crowds and the streets for my cousin.

Then I heard the sound of a motorcycle coming from around the corner. Sure enough, Chelsea was the one riding it. She rode up to me, parked the bike, and stood to greet me. “Hey, Squirt!” she said. I smiled.

“Sup, dweeb?” I said. “Nice bike. Mind if I take her for a spin?” She returned my smile and looked at her bike. “Yeah, no,” she laughed. “Not a chance.” I gave a mock ‘aw’ and laughed. Chelsea chuckled along with me.

“So,” I said when that was over, “what's the mission?”

“Well, a few of our spies pinpointed a target for you.”

“Oh?”

“Allison Gavins. She's a local author and also the Templars’ puppet they use to influence the educational system here in Indy.”

“Because God knows that system isn't screwed up enough already.” Chelsea chuckled a bit at that.

“Yeah, no kidding,” she said. “The Templars are trying to make it so that obedience to them is learned right from the get-go. Course, they hide their influence and use the term ‘discipline’, but you and I both know it's much worse than that.”

“So what do we do?”

“Well, Gavins is the one running the gig, so the best option now is to take her out.”

“Wouldn't that kinda cause a racket, though? I mean, everyone just sees her as an author. There's not much about her for people to hate so much that they'd want her dead.”

“Ah, but that's why you have to dig up the dirt on her. She's attending a meeting with some of her fellow Templars at a writer's convention a few streets down. You need to eavesdrop on their meeting, record evidence that'll ruin any reputation she had, and then kill her when you get the chance. You may have to tail her for a while to find some good blackmail.”

“Okay then. Sounds good. So, where's this meeting at specifically?”

Chelsea pointed down the street and kinda waved her finger a bit. “It’s at the Convention Center, somewhere down that street. You'll know it when you see it.” She lowered her arm and looked behind me at the construction site. I followed her gaze and our eyes fell on a crane that was raised high above the site. “You know,” she said. “You could easily see it if you climbed up there and got a view.”

“Probably,” I said.

“Bet you can't make it in under five minutes.”

“Is that a challenge?” Chelsea just smirked at me. I smirked back. “Alright then,” I said. And within moments, I was dashing into the construction site. I heard Chelsea laugh as she watched me go. I quickly found a route up through the unfinished structure of the would-be building. I grabbed hold of a bunch of metal bars and pipes, using them to haul myself up another level. I had to swing on some beams in order to reach certain areas, and other places required a balancing act. Nonetheless, I eventually made it to the crane, which was the easiest thing to climb.

I made my way up the crane, using its metal structure as a ladder. And soon enough, I made it to the top. I was at least ten stories up. I stood there on the crane, trying my best to keep balanced, and I looked out at the view of Indianapolis that being at that height gave me. I spotted the Indiana Convention Center. The Abstergo Industries logo was hanging on a sign out front, displaying the Templars’ location. I quickly made a mental route to take to get to the building, and then I had to focus on getting down.

I could've just climbed down from the crane, sure, but where's the fun in that? I looked at the area below me. Sure enough, a safety net had been laid out on the construction site below. Perfect. I smiled and straightened out my body. I stood there for a moment, hearing nothing but the wind in my hair and the city below. I closed my eyes. And eagle cried somewhere in the distance. I spread my arms, and I took my leap of faith.

In the air, I turned my body so that I would land on my back. The fall only took a few seconds, but it felt like hours. It always does. Sure enough, just as I was beginning to doubt that I judged the fall correctly, I felt myself land back-first onto the safety net. I bounced a few times before the net settled and then I stepped out. I climbed down another floor to get back to the ground to meet my cousin. “How long was that?” I asked.

“5.001 minutes,” she said with a smirk.

“Yeah, screw you, too,” I said jokingly. We both laughed at each other. Then, she handed me a ticket so I could sneak into the convention more easily. We nodded to each other, said our goodbyes, and I made my way to the Convention Center.

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

And of course, the place was unbelievably crowded. People were everywhere, which is good in most aspects. It gives a lot of opportunities to blend and hide. But, on the other hand, it can make it much more difficult to spot a target, which it kind of was. I pulled out my phone for a second and looked up a few pictures of her. She was middle-aged, had dark hair (which she seemed to like wearing in a bun), and wore glasses. I studied the pictures until I got a decent idea of who I was looking for.

I looked around through the crowds, eyeing every face. Some people were attending a small con of sorts, and they were in costume. It helped a lot since I could wear my hood up without seeming too out of place. I kept looking around. I took a few minutes, but eventually I saw her, my target, Allison Gavins. She was walking towards a hallway that led to a less crowded area. I followed silently, staying as hidden as I could. She rounded a corner and walked up a flight of stairs. I made sure to stay out of her line of sight as I followed her to the third floor, where she walked out onto one of those big tunnels above the city streets that connect one building to another. I followed her across and kept going until she reached the hallway on the other side and rounded another corner.

There were much less people then, and I had to start hiding behind corners and plants. Eventually, she came up to a receptionist sitting at a small desk. “Can I help you?” asked the receptionist.

“I'm here for a meeting with Natasha Wolfgang and Trina Spainhower,” said Gavins. I raised an eyebrow. So, my mother was here too? Go figure.

“Ms. Allison Gavins?” asked the receptionist after checking something on her laptop. Gavins nodded.

“They'll be with you shortly. Have a seat and they'll be right with you,” said the receptionist. Gavins nodded again and sat in a nearby chair. I looked around the hallways. I wanted to find a vantage point to eavesdrop before the meeting started. Sure enough, I saw an open window, and it looked like there was a scaffolding outside of it. I smiled at my luck. I looked around the corner at Gavins and the receptionist, making sure they weren't looking my way. Satisfied, I darted swiftly and quietly towards the window. I stepped out onto the scaffolding, which luckily seemed to stretch across a good amount of the side of the building. Now I just had to hope no one would look up.

I scurried along the scaffolding, checking the windows for the Templars’ room. Soon enough, I peaked through the curtains of one window, and there I saw them, Natasha Wolfgang and my mother, sitting at a desk. Wolfgang texted something on her phone. I assume she was telling the receptionist to let Gavins in, mainly because Gavins appeared in the door a moment later. She greeted her superiors, and the two motioned for her to sit. The window was cracked open a small bit, so I was able to hear what they were saying.

“Honestly, Gavins,” said Wolfgang, somehow annoyed and disinterested with Gavins at the same time, “you've caught us at a bad time.”

Gavins looked nervously at her and my mom. “I… We…” she stuttered. “We scheduled this appointment for this time specifically. I'm sorry if this isn't actually convenient, Grand Master.”

“Save it. Let's just make this quick. Short, sweet, and to the point. What's your report?” Gavins stared nervously. She clearly wasn't expecting Wolfgang to be in such a bad mood. “Well,” she said. “I, uh, I managed to replace a few of the school system managers with some of our order's supporters.”

“But not full-on Templars?”

“Well… I didn't want to do too much in such a short time, so I…”

“Why not? It's not like anyone's going to find us out. Even if they did, it's not like there's anyone to stop us. We've dug our roots too deep.”

“The Assassins are still at large,” my mom suddenly said to Wolfgang. The Grand Master gave her an annoyed look. “The Assassins are as good as dead,” she said. “Their precious Brotherhood is taking its last breath. They can't do anything.”

“They managed to take Carter from us.”

Wolfgang gave her a glare.

“We'll discuss this after our little meeting with Gavins here,” she said. She returned her attention to the nervous author. “What are your current plans?” she asked. Gavins looked at her. “Well,” she said. “I'm going to meet with some more school board members to work more of our influence into the system. In a few months, it should be completely ours. Complete obedience should be ensured for the next generation.”

Yeah, not if I can stop it, I thought to myself. I kept listening. “Great,” said Wolfgang nonchalantly. “Glad we had this talk. You're dismissed. Now what is your deal, Trina?” She instantly turned to Mom, an annoyed look in her eye. Gavins, unsure of what to do, just kinda grabbed her things and slowly backed out of the room, closing the door behind her. I knew I should have followed her immediately, but I didn't. I stayed for a minute or two. I wanted to see if I could get any info out of the two Templars.

“My ‘deal’, Natasha,” said Mom with a hint of anger, “Is that the Assassins are starting to gain influence, and you keep shrugging it off.”

Wolfgang rolled her eyes. “How many times do I have to tell you,” she said, “there is nothing the Assassins can do to overtake us! Not anymore. Them taking your kids isn't going to do anything. Your son putting on an Assassin hood isn't going to do anything. They're just dogs waiting to be put down.”

“But our research with the Piece of Eden…”

“Can continue without Connor.”

“Carter.”

“Whatever. My point is, We've already gotten more test subjects for Dr. Cassidy to experiment on with the thing. We don't need your kid anymore.” I pricked my ears up. A Piece of Eden? Chelsea told me about those, ancient artifacts with unspeakable powers. I listened closely, hoping they'd say more. My hopes were crushed when they didn't.

“Look,” said Wolfgang. “I realize you're paranoid about the Assassins, but we've already got it taken care of. We've got our men hunting them down in every corner of the city. Street gangs, police forces, politics, pick your poison.”

“But what if…” Mom tried to say.

“But nothing. We're done with this conversation, Trina. Now either do something useful or go bug someone else with your little goose chase.”

“The Armor of Gabriel isn't a goose chase! It's…” Wolfgang shushed her by imitating a zipper motion over her own lips. Mom sat back and accepted defeat. I thought about their conversation as I turned to leave. The Armor of Gabriel? Sounded interesting. I'd have to look into that later. But for now, I shook the thought away. I hurried down the scaffolding and back into the hallways of the Convention Center. I got right to work on finding Gavins.

Soon enough, I found her on the first floor again. She was making her way through the crowds, and I followed close behind. She seemed ticked, like she expected her boss to treat her with more respect. That would never happen though, and I think she knew it, given her low rank. She pushed her glasses a bit higher on her face and straightened her back a bit. I guess she found comfort in the fact that she'd have a higher role in her next, and soon to be last, meeting.

I checked my phone to make sure I had enough battery power, which it did, to record some of the meeting's conversations for a bit. I made sure my camera was up and ready to record. Eventually, Gavins entered another room, a bit isolated from the chattering crowds, where I assumed her meeting was taking place. I quickly found a hiding spot outside of a little window in the wall that was cracked open slightly, stealthily placed my camera on the opening, and pressed record as Gavins sat down with her associates.

“I'm not so sure about these new ‘policies’ you've proposed, Ms. Gavins,” said one of the school board members. “Most of them seem so… restrictive for the students. They don't leave much free space for self-expression.”

“Self-expression isn't our priority,” said Gavins, clearly enjoying being the head of the meeting. “Our priority is education, discipline, and order.”

“Students have enough troubles as it is,” said a woman. “These proposals, things like suspensions when late, grade deductions for breaking dress codes, which I personally find very overboard, these are just too much.”

“Too much?” asked Gavins. “Too much to ensure the success of the next generation? Too much to ensure that no mistakes are made?”

“But that's just it,” said another board member. “This leaves no room for mistakes. At all. Students, and for that matter teachers, need room for when errors occur.”

“If errors are occurring,” said Gavins, “then clearly you all aren't doing your jobs right. Order must be kept! We can't allow anyone to screw it up.”

“You're over exaggerating,” said another man, clearly unhappy with the Templar. “We can't accept these policies, Ms. Gavins. There are simply too many obstacles. They're too unrealistic.” Gavins gave the whole room a glare. She clearly didn't like what she was hearing. Templars rarely like being told no.

Suddenly, she reached under her chair and grabbed her briefcase. She placed it on the table top and opened it up. It was divided into two sections. One held a bunch of folders and papers. The other held several stacks of dollars. The entire room looked in disbelief. Not at the amount of money, but at the very fact that Gavins would resort to that. I smiled. Something told me I was about to get my blackmail.

“Well?” asked Gavins. “Five grand a month for all of you, courtesy of Abstergo Industries. All that needs to happen is for you all to enforce my proposals.” They all looked at her. They definitely considered the option, but none of them took it. One man grabbed his stuff and stood. “Goodbye, Ms. Gavins,” he said coldly and left the room. The others soon followed. Gavins watched them go, somehow shocked at this outcome. She scowled and shut her case. She cursed under her breath. She eventually grabbed her own stuff and stood. I stopped recording, and put the video in an email. I waited to send it. I stayed hidden as I watched Gavins leave the room. She walked angrily down the hallway and into the main hall of the convention center. She found a relatively isolated bench and sat down. She fiddled nervously with her hair. Now was my chance.

I pulled my hood a bit further over my head, covering my face a bit more. I wandered through the crowds, stealthily making my way towards her. As I did, I sent the blackmail email. I sent it to Gavins’s phone. I saw her reach for her phone as I arrived in front of her. At first she didn't look up. She seemed to frustrated to do so. “Fun meeting, huh?” I said to her. She looked up, annoyed at first. But the second she saw my Assassin outfit, her expression was full of fear.

“Oh god…” she squeaked out. She was too freaked out to remember to look at the email she just opened. The video was full screened, ready to be played. “No…” she stuttered.

“Yep,” I said. “You've been pulling too many strings, Gavins. Messing with an already fragile school system? Did you really not think we'd come after you?”

“Please. What I'm doing is for the best!” she whispered, too afraid to raise her voice. Something tells me she never expected to be caught in the crossfire.

“Bribing school officials into enforcing tyrannical policies?” I said. “Oh, yeah, definitely for the best.” She probably would've scowled at my sarcasm if she could.

“We need order,” she said. “It must be assured, especially at a young age.”

“And turning schools into the world's most freedom-restricting prisons is the way to do that? Mistakes happen, Gavins. It's part of life. We all make mistakes, and we learn from them.”

“But what if you could remove the option to make mistakes?”

“You can't. It's impossible. Making mistakes is part of being human. We're not sheep that need herding or dogs that need trained.”

“Then there can never be peace.”

“Our freedom helps us learn responsibility. That is what will lead to peace.” She stared at me. I don't think she was convinced, but she clearly considered my words. “Please…” she said. I shook my head.

“I'm sorry,” I said respectfully. Then, in one, almost undetectably fast movement, I flicked out my hidden blade, rammed it into Gavins’s chest, and retracted it. She choked on blood for a moment before finally dying. “A story’s characters aren't perfect,” I whispered. “Their flaws and journey to fix them are what keep the story going. Rest in peace.”

Then, I quickly reached into my pocket, pulled out a little paper card with an eagle pattern on it, and placed it on Gavins’s phone, which still displayed the video. It was kind of a calling card I guess. Chelsea told me it was important to send a message to the Templars. Once that was done, I quickly walked away from the corpse and blended away with the nearest crowds. I rounded a corner in the enormous hallway, making my way to the exit. That's when the cry went up.

“Oh my God!” screamed a woman. “She's dead!”

Crap. I really hoped I could've gotten out before things turned chaotic. Oh well.

Sure enough, everyone started screaming after the word of the murder spread instantly like ripples in a pond. People started shoving their way to the exits, and I ran with them, pretending to be as horrified as them. Pretty soon, I reached the exit. I ran out of the Convention Center. I could already hear police sirens wailing from a few blocks away. I slowed my pace, made my way through the streets, and finally escaped the area. As I left the commotion behind, I sighed in relief. It's always great when you manage to easily get in and out of the scene of the crime. I figured I should meet with Chelsea again, so I made my way to the Assassin HQ.

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

“Hey, Chels,” I said as I entered one of the base’s living rooms. She turned her head and looked at me. “Glad you made it back!” she said.

“Thanks.”

“Great job on taking out Gavins.”

I smiled.

“Did you have to cause a panic like that, though?” she said. My smile faded and I rolled my eyes.

“I mean, it's kinda hard to kill someone in a convention center without people noticing,” I said. Chelsea shrugged. “Eh,” she said. “Fair enough.” I went to sit in the chair next to the couch she was on. I looked at her. “I think we need to hunt bigger prey,” I said, thinking about the meeting I eavesdropped on. Chelsea looked at me. “What do you mean?”

“At the meeting, my mom and Natasha Wolfgang were talking about how they have puppets controlling all the different aspects of the city. And Wolfgang’s ego is stopping her from enforcing their influence. If we can take out a few major Templars, we might actually gain a significant foothold.”

“We've tried, Carter,” said Chelsea. “Everytime we try, they beat us back. They keep getting more and more advantages.”

“But that's just it! They've stopped trying to improve. They're getting cocky. If we can find their weak points and take out the major players in things like gangs, law enforcement, churches, etc., then we might have a fighting chance. We could take back Indianapolis!” Chelsea seemed to consider it. I gave her a pleading look, and eventually she gave in. She sighed. “Alright,” she said. “Where do you think we should start?”

I celebrated my win in my head and thought about a starting point. “We should probably work on the gangs and police first,” I said. “You know, the ones that can easily shoot us down.”

“In that case, let's start with the gangs. If we can get rid of the Templar influence there, and replace them with Assassin helpers, then when the trusted Templar cops come shooting them down the new freedom fighters, they’ll lose the people's trust pretty quickly.”

I nodded.

“Alrighty then,” I said as I stood up. “Care to come with me to spy in the ghetto?” I jokingly asked her. She laughed and stood up. “Lead the way,” she said. We smiled at each other, and then left the hideout.