𝐅𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐄𝐝𝐞𝐧 | 𝘈𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯'𝘴 𝘊𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥 |

37 | 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐞

[play when prompted]

I sit on the bed, waiting for Otso's figure to walk through the doors. I bite the inside of my cheek as I look at the time, the whole building probably already getting empty with all the staff going home.

6:23 pm

He disappeared all day doing who knows what, hopefully not getting in trouble and messing this up. The immaculate silence of the room brings me to think of everything that could go wrong.

What if this captain speaks against me? The ship sinks? Melanie already has wind of everything and has Juhani captured? Will I find the Assassins in London or is this where I'll be stuck forever?. The swish of the door opening brings me to jump, fright now ever present in me.

He walks in, holding a bag and sporting a stoic face. He throws it and signals me to open it, the contents inside putting a smile on my face. I grab the object and quickly fasten it on me, the lightweight of the weapon being dearly missed.

The Hidden Blade.

I flick my wrist in a familiar manner and feel as my heart thrums in excitement, the sharp blade springing out of its base, the shiny metal reminding me to who my trust and loyalty really belongs to.

"We got no time to admire your primal age knife, hurry up and change your clothes." He walks past me over to the small fridge in the room, sternness present in his voice.

I sheathe the weapon and obey what he says, changing out of the thin sports jacket and pants, and rummaging quickly through the bag, funny enough finding a gray shirt accompanied by some blue jeans, brown cargo boots and a black and golden rimmed hoody.

I snort mentally and equip myself with everything provided, turning to him once I slip the warm clothing on.

He turns from the fridge and comes quickly to me, handing me some snacks and things to hold me for the duration of the trip. Not many things, but it'll do. He now rummages through the small closet in the corner, and brings out a backpack from the depths of it, stacking everything inside and closing it for safety.

In the blink of an eye he's standing in front of me, grabbing my face with one hand, evident sadness drowns in his eyes as he turns my head to the side, the click of the chip being heard, this one now falling into his hand. He doesn't take a moment as he now reaches for something behind his pants, whipping out a gun.

"I—no hold on, I don't—." He stops me as he turns the gun showing its body to me.

"Use this in emergency's only, you're trying to get to London unnoticed and this will only cause chaos. When you use it, take the safety off first, see this? Flick it down and now it's ready to be used. Then quickly throw this small handle back, it'll get a bullet in the chamber, and now just aim and fire, no second thoughts. Understood?." I look to him and grab the gun as soon as he unloads it and puts the safety again.

"Now listen, the drive to the docks takes a day, so you will go out now, all the building is empty, save for the guards on the outer doors. You will exit through the back, a driver will be there. And kill the guards, after all this is meant to be an escape. The ships color is black with the Abstergo logo on it, Captain Levara will be waiting for you." His fast words confuse me a bit as I grab a hold of his arms.

"Is she trustworthy? What about my sword and armor? Will someone there recognize me through the cameras?." He nods through some of them, still taking the time to actually answer.

"I've bought her silence so you won't be intercepted on the way, just make sure to run once you get there. I knew you would ask of that so I looked around, your sword has been stuck on a warehouse to export out of the country, Levara said she'd make sure to acquire it before you get there. Your armor is out of question and reach, it was sold to a museum in Greece and is now in exhibition under constant supervision, nothing I can do about that. And just make sure to wear the hood like your society does, London is generally a rainy place so they won't bat an eye if you do that." He sighs once he finishes, all emotion leaving his face except sadness.

"I admit, you grew on me, Little One. I'll miss you." He hugs me and I do the same, squeezing him with all my might.

A tear rolls down my cheek, having become fond of him during my stay.

"I'll do too. There's no reason to be saddened, Juhani, I'm very sure we'll see each other again, not under calm circumstances but still." He caresses my face as we let go, the man stepping back and taking his clothes off.

*play audio*

I walk over to the backpack and open it a bit, shoving the gun inside and closing it again, I bring the straps to my shoulders, the lightness of the canned food being barely noticed. The man now lies on the messy bed, lower body covered by the white sheets, he signals to his pants and I reach out, handing them to him.

He grabs a piece of paper from the nightstand and with it, reaches for the front left pocket, bringing out an injection tube filled to almost the top with clear liquid, bringing it close to me.

"Only your DNA needs to be on the tube, so grab it and inject it in my neck. It's enough amount of anesthesia to keep me under until tomorrow, hopefully Lemay will see me like this. It'll be fine, Little One. Now hurry, the clock is ticking." I grab the tube with my hand, the man discarding the paper on the floor in the back of the bed.

I quickly jam the needle in his neck, pressing down on the handle and getting the liquid into his system. I take it out and throw it on the floor, watching how his eyes start to close, the man fighting with the sudden sleep. A few more seconds are needed for him to doze off, his breathing becoming relaxed as the induced stasis takes effect.

"Ευχαριστώ προστάτη μου. Είθε η μοίρα να σε ευνοήσει." I whisper as I run my hand on his hair, memorizing his kindness and willed spirit above all else. [Thank you, my protector. May fate favor you.]

I rise from the bed and adjust the backpack, gabbing his ID card and opening the door with it, I bring the hood of the jacket over my head, feeling empowered of being an Assassin again after what felt like forever. I follow the emergency exit signs that lead towards the back doors, finding it in no time and watching from inside the armed figures of the two guards he talked about, a lonesome gray van parked with someone inside.

I flick my wrist, the hidden blade coming from its hiding spot and I quickly spring into action. I scan the card one last time and let it drop to the floor once the card reader turns green, the guards looking back to check. They raise their guns when they see my face, but I don't I've them a chance to speak as I kick one in the stomach while stabbing the other in the neck, a pool of red coating my boots.

I walk quickly towards the fallen one and do the same before he can radio for backup, once I make sure they won't spring up again, I run towards the van, popping the back doors and jumping inside. The driver only looks through the mirror and nods, putting the vehicle in drive and speeding off into the night.

I did it. I finally left that forsaken place, now I just need to keep my head straight until I touch British soil, once there I could find a place where some sort of map is available, seeing as I don't have technology on me and it would be dangerous to do so. And afterwords, run to the city of London, the more populated the area is, the harder for them it'll be to find me.

I'm coming home.