(for Cal)

[sharktoothtotem]

Taylor remembered the bar was owned by another information broker, one with a better reputation than her foster father's. She had been in London Two days to see about a job that had come her way through the pipeline. First she wanted to know a little about the company that had given her the offer. While she didn't trust the people that worked with the man that had raised her (Attempted murder will shatter that trust after all), she knew the broker from the man she thought of as her grandfather. He had yet to point her in the wring direction.

Slipping up to the bar she ordered a beer, one of the local brews, hoping that it was at least halfway decent compared to the crap they tried to serve from the big breweries on America's Mainland. If given a choice she'd down a bottle of Absinthe before that watered down crap. Thinking better of it, she added an order of fries to go with it if only so she looked like she should be there if the beer tasted bad. Her contact had told her he'd be there around seven, which meant she had another ten minutes.

Her eyes fell on the TV above the counter, which had the local news on, she had caught on the news that there had been an explosion a few days ago, apparently the news was telling everyone that they still hadn't caught the person responsible. Shrugging she knew it probably didn't have anything to do with her, so she ignored it.

Glancing towards the door when it opened, careful to not look too obvious about it like her uncle had taught her, she noted the newcomer looked like one of the people that had visited her childhood home.  One of the ones she didn't want to deal with.  Managing to stay calm, she hoped he wouldn't recognize her.  After all none of them had seen her for a few years, and those that had were now at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.  Nursing the beer her eyes scouted the rest of the bar, glad there was a mirror behind the bartenders.  Two more of them were sitting at a far table, talking in a hushed whisper.   Fifteen minutes passed and she didn't see her contact.  

Instead of waiting longer, she moved to leave after paying her tab.  On the street she had gotten half a block towards her hotel when she noticed she was being followed.  Scanning the area quickly she grinned.  People could be a little tricky to work around, but if she could keep up with her uncle in the jungle on a treasure hunt, the streets of London should be a piece of cake.  It was a little more of a free running paradise than some of the ruins she'd been in.  Without giving it a second thought she darted across the street, bouncing off a few parked cars as she went, yeah it would draw attention, especially when she managed to hit one with enough force to activate the car alarm, but by then she was already ducking into an alley.  She had been hoping for a garbage bin or something else to use to hide behind, or to bounce up to a higher point... "I'm not going to quote my uncle so forget it."  She grumbled, to herself knowing exactly what he'd say at a time like this.  Though her hand did close around the shark tooth she wore as a choker.  It wasn't exactly a weapon, but it was sharp enough to cause some damage if they got too close and demanded to know where her foster father was.  For all she knew, the bastard was dead, only three people made it off the island.  

Comments

[pionero]

Cal had been buying his time in London. Word between the Assassins didn't always move as fast as you would think. They had been compromised, beaten down, hunted, and executed. Pointing out the similarities of the Inquisition and the modern times seemed pointless when the mysterious Bishop had contacted him, Moussa and Lin on behalf of the Mentor. They had operated in small cells and did their best to avoid detection. Then Cal and his group had moved in and killed the CEO of Abstergo. The bees nest was kicked and they all knew who to point their fingers to. Cal decided it didn't bother him if they did. He moved in, killed his target, and retrieved the Apple. That was what mattered. Now it was just waiting for someone he would probably never meet to decide what to do with it.

Kept away with the two other Assassins, he hit the streets. He stood across the street and watched. The young woman was being tailed - rather obviously. Someone didn't know what it was like to live on the streets. The woman seemed to know a thing or two, but the other person? Not in the slightest.

[sharktoothtotem]

When she heard the footsteps coming into the alley with her she rolled her eyes.

"You know I'm really starting to think that the job's not worth it." She tilted her head slightly, listening carefully.

"You know miss, you shouldn't have run. Your friend did that, he's in the morgue now."

"Which explains why there were a few of you waiting at the pub. You know really pathetic that you guys decide on four of you against one little girl?" She wrapped the strap of the choker around her hand so it wouldn't get lost. The shark's tooth was sharp, not enough to kill with, but she had used it a few times to get out of a tight spot, and security, usually didn't bother asking about it figuring it was just a decorative piece.

The man drew a gun. "Now don't make a scene."

"Isn't it a little late for that? I mean I did vault over a BMW out there, I don't walk out of this alley, cops will be here. London's Big Brother watching mentality and all that." She charged slightly at him, watching him back up unsure about his next move.

The man wasn't so sure about how to deal with a girl that wasn't as meek as she had let on with their tailing her.

[pionero]

Cal hung back and watched the scene unfold. The woman could hold her own, despite how intimidating the tailers attempted to be. He simply strode up to the scene, using the shadows to his advantage. With a flick of his wrist the long blade came out and he was behind the man. As he backed up, he fell onto Cal's blade. A good thrust and Cal expertly removed the blade and returned to the shadows. The man wouldn't die from the attack, but he would bleed out fast if help didn't come.

[sharktoothtotem]

Taylor's attack happened at the same time, she switched the tooth so it was between her index and middle finger, punching at his throat, not seeing the shadow move, instead focusing on her target. Bouncing back she grumbled, her hoodie had gotten sprayed with blood. Despite the chill evening she shrugged out of it, carefully folding it to hide the blood before she moved to the shadows, risking glancing to see if his buddies had decided to follow at a slower pace.

The shark tooth choker was stuffed into the pocket of her pants, she'd have to wash it before putting it back on. "Crap." She spotted two of them heading her way, and the crowd had thinned out some. Deciding to risk it, she kept her hoodie in her arm, moving the direction of the crowd, away from the men looking for another way off the main street. She really hated ground level for a reason, not enough places to hide normally, and city streets always seemed to box one in.

[pionero]

With two more attackers, he decided to move with the woman. There was something about her he couldn't put his finger on. He eventually caught up behind her, hands in his pockets, blending in with the others around him. She'd have no idea he was even following her. Not until the two goons were on her. He needed to get her out of the view of the cameras. Somewhere out of sight.

It was easier before modern technology, he thought to himself. Even if they were more reflections on Aguilar's day than his.

[sharktoothtotem]

Taylor was thinking the same thing about the cameras. London had more security cameras than most other cities in the world. And what the fuck was up with the cold rain? There's a reason the Hawaiian born hunter really hated London.

She saw a way into the underground, this time of night it would be a little less crowded, but if she timed things right she wouldn't be down there long. As soon as she was a few steps down to the subway she was already scanning for something to use to divert her followers. There was a reason she kept her jacket after all.

Dumping it as she passed one of the rest rooms, she pushed the door open, her bloody hands leaving marks on the door as she turned the corner, moving to a pillar which she pressed her back against it in such a way that she had clear sight of where she had dropped her jacket, but couldn't be seen.

Her hand went back to her choker, if for nothing else to comfort her. Think Taylor, who's the closest you can get to, if only for an hour or two?

Only people she could think of, weren't even in London at the moment. Cutter and Chloe were in Moscow on a job, and Lara, well she hadn't spoken to the other solo hunter in a while. "Crap." She realized she had just used her uncle's go to curse when things were going sideways.

Taylor needed to get back to her hotel, her bag had a few things that would be useful about now. Like the knife she had left behind only because she knew she would have to go through security areas.

The pair of men that had been following her managed to make their way to the platform. One of them actually went for her jacket, though she lost sight of the other. Damn it. Why couldn't both of them be dumb as bricks. She thought closing her eyes a moment. From where she stood, the toll gates to the platform were twenty yards to her right. Problem was, they were the kind that were hard to jump over, and it would take time she needed to swipe her credit card. Her eyes scouted for a security camera just her luck, one of the only platforms that lacked it.

"She's not in there, she has to be here somewhere." The 'Brick' commented as he walked up to his partner, the voice was nearing her, the pillar blocked her view.

[pionero]

"They'll just keep following you if you keep leaving a bloody trail everywhere you touch."

Cal had leaned against the other side of the pillar. His hands were buried in his coat pockets, hood up, a casual and calm stance. To anyone else it would look like he was having a conversation on the phone or perhaps even listening to his phone's selection of music. He figured that the girl was going to jump about twenty feat in the air.

"Follow me, and do what I do. Look natural."

[sharktoothtotem]

I made sure only blood was on the door and the jacket. She thought with a huff. She had only stopped to collect her thoughts and saw the gates weren't at all like the ones she had dealt with earlier in the day at King's Cross. Seriously you'd think by now they'd all be uniform across the world like the ones in NYC or something.

Taylor Lin stiffened hearing him near her, she hadn't even noticed him moving up near her, though she managed not to jump. This wasn't the first time she had been chased by anyone. After all, it kind of came with her family's profession.

She opened her mouth to say something but decided against it giving a small nod, after a moment she muttered. "Lead the way then." She had a feeling it might not be a good idea for her to talk too much just in case they could recognize her voice.

[pionero]

He was mildly amused that she didn't jump as high as he expected. Cal's bright blue eyes scanned the platform before pushing himself off the pillar. There was a small nudge of his elbow to hers as he began to walk off towards one of the stairs. His head tilted down as if he were listening to a pair of headphones, ignoring the bustling crowd.

[sharktoothtotem]

Taylor fell in step beside him, making note which way they were going so she could retrace her steps if she had to. She did snake one arm around his arm as they walked, keeping it loose so he could pull free in an instant. She glanced up slightly, seeing one of the men from the bar ahead of them scanning the crowd.

Though she quickly looked down, as they passed just a few feet from him. The young treasure hunter held her breath a good ten paces, her hand going to her pocket to touch the choker again, making sure her good luck charm was still indeed on her.

Once they were clear from the man she eased up a little. "Thank you." The words were barely whispered as if she was still worried about being caught.