Rookery ~ Assassin's Creed Syndicate

Chapter Forty Seven

"Jacob, Carina!" Roth had seemingly learnt my name during the night since I left him. "Ah! This way, my dears. I have something to show you." I glanced at Jacob and he shrugged.

"What is going on?"

"Only one way to find out. Follow the man."

We did. We drove Roth to a workshop in his carriage. He claimed that it was one of Starrick's shops, used to forge his wares. He also informed us that we were to destroy it in order to stunt Starrick's power. Jacob and I liked that idea. We liked it very much.

We were instructed to set up explosives around the shop. I took two crates, as did Jacob. I rigged my crates up to the left side of the shop, getting both corners on the outside. We then climbed back onto the roof and stood beside Roth, ready to watch the shop go up in flames. Plus, from the height we were at, we would be able to avoid any debris. Shattered glass, bricks, wood. If we had been any lower, it would have definitely hit us.

Roth made sure that everything was in place by simply looking around the shop. I wasn't convinced that he could see everything from the top of the building, but he seemed to be satisfied with what he saw.

"All rigged up." Jacob uttered. Roth wore an evil look.

"Perfect. Let's put our plan into action... Stand back! Ready" I spotted some children running towards the factory.

"Wait!"

"You can't set the off yet!" I yelled.

"Whatever for?" Roth laughed.

"There are children in there."

"They are innocent lives. I refuse to allow young children die just for this war between Templars and Assassins." Tears began to rush to my eyes from the anger.

"Jacob, Carina, my dears. Starrick uses child labour to manufacture goods. We must put an end to his production line." Jacob stepped closer to him and spat in his face.

"Not like this."

"Why not?" Roth wiped the spit from his face with a foul grin. "I can do whatever I damn well please! Soon you will understand what it is to be free, as I am." He then faced the other Templars running below him. "Light them up, boys."

"No!" Jacob screeched and jumped down in order to kill one of the men. I then killed the other henchman.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"We are not playing games anymore, Roth." Jacob glared up at the older man with a dark scowl on his face.

"No. We're not." I turned and saw that the dynamite had been lit.

"Jacob! Move!" I pushed him out of the way just in time for the explosions to go off. Loud, ringing bangs popped in my ears. Four consecutive explosions which knocked debris our way. I peered over my shoulder to watch fire begin engulfing the building. "We have to save the children. Quickly, get up."

I dashed towards the building at full speed. Part of the doorway fell in just as I reached it, so I began looking for an alternative route.

"Jacob, I'm going to go in through the window. I will pass the children out to you."

I vaulted through the window, which had no glass inside of it due to the explosions. The nearest little girl would be my last concern, as I could very quickly get her out. However, one boy was laying in a ball on the opposite side of the room. I picked him up and placed his arm over my shoulder. He spluttered slightly at being moved. I didn't see any sign of major injury on him.

"You will be alright. My friend will take care of you."

I passed the boy through to Jacob, who laid him on the grass a few feet from the flames in order for him to be able to catch his breath. I then grabbed the next boy who had become trapped under part of the roof. The debris was easy enough to clear, but he didn't show signs of being awake. I handed him to Jacob, with clear instructions to give him some water. I carried the last girl out of the window myself. It was a huge struggle, but Jacob was busy and I didn't want any of the children's lives to have been lost.

I placed the girl down beside the others. Once Jacob was finished tending to the boy, I bundled him in a hug. He hugged back, then kissed the side of my head. Then, another explosion. We were far away enough for the blast to not affect us. Jacob set his hand on my waist, keeping me close to him as we watched the building go up completely in flames. Then, a hand on both of our shoulders caused us to turn away from the building.

"A gift from Mr Roth." Lewis from the theatre stood there. "You should both be warned that, when Mr Roth is angry with one, or two in your case, he generally brings suffering to many." Lewis handed Jacob a box with a letter on the top, then he walked away. I took the box while Jacob read out the letter.

" 'My dearest Jacob and Carina. Alas, it seems our adventures together have come to a close. Although, our time together was brief, it's left a lasting mark. I wish you well in all your future endeavours. Cordially, Maxwell. Post scriptum: I'm putting on a show this evening. All of London will be there. Enclosed, please find your invitation.' " He crumpled the letter into a ball then moved so that he would see the contents of the box. I peeled off the lid, revealing the crow from the theatre. He was dead with a broken next. Feathers were falling out, there was a smell coming from inside the box and I could tell that the bird had been dead a while. I smacked my hand over my mouth.

"How could he?"

"He knew we would rebel against him. There is no possible way that he could have gotten back, killed the bird and written the letter in such a short period of time."

"The bird looks to have been dead longer than a few moments."

"Try not to think about his death." He shut the box up again and placed it on the ground. "We should get back to the train to plan our attack for this evening. He wants us to go to him."

"He wants us to kill him, doesn't he?" Jacob sighed and nodded.

"Yes. And he wants to kill us before we can get to him."