Antidote - Assassin's Creed: Syndicate (Jacob Frye)

Antidote: Ch. 9

The beating of Jacob's heart increased furiously. He stared at the man in front of him and his eyes hardened. He pulled his mouth in a thin line, and the man rivaled his actions.

"Get it together, Jacob," he muttered to the mirror. His sweaty hands fidgeted with the button on his shirt. Why was he so nervous right now? This was Mercy. He was comfortable with her and he never had problems with girls back in Crawley. It wasn't as if he romanced girls left and right back at home, but talking to women was second nature to Jacob.

But ever since he came to London, he had been so busy with Crawford Starrick and The Rooks, that he hardly had time to focus on other... things. So maybe he might be a little rusty in his ways, but this was just dinner.

"It's just dinner. Stop trembling," he told his shaking fingers.

"Who's trembling?" Evie asked, entering the chamber. Jacob turned around, surprise plastered on his face. He did not want his sister to see him like this. "I-I thought you left," he stammered out.

Evie swept her gaze up and down her twin. "Yes, well now I'm back. I live here too, you know. Anyway, why are you all dressed u-" Realization dawned over her as her eyes lit up in amusement. "Oh."

"Oh no. No, Evie, really please save it. I don't want to hear it right now," Jacob pleaded.

"This is your dinner with Mercy, isn't it? I had no idea it was such a special occasion," she said, and grinned cheekily.

"Evie, no, just please be quiet. Don't embarrass me," he sighed while tightening his belt.

"Oh but I'm happy for you, Jacob! Hold on, you were trembling. Are you nervous?"

"No."

"Oh my-"

"NO!"

"You point a gun at Jacob Frye and he barely flinches, but a pretty girl invites him to dinner and he is like a scared kitten. What a peculiar man my brother is!"

Jacob groaned into his hands. "This is what I meant by embarrassing me."

A mischievous smile flashed onto Evie's face. "Don't worry, dear brother. I'm leaving soon. I just wanted to show A-"

Suddenly, both twins snapped their heads towards the entrance of the car as they heard footsteps. "Hey Evie, I-"

Conversation on both ends immediately halted. The intruder didn't even have time to react as Jacob pulled his pistol out of his coat and aimed it at their head.

"Jacob!" Evie roared. "Relax!"

"Why?" Jacob shot back. "Do you have any idea who she is? What she's done? Give me one good reason why I shouldn't blast her brains out right now!"

With one swift and unforeseen move, Evie knocked the pistol out of her brother's hands and held it out of his reach, the barrel facing safely away from them. "You are not shooting my friend. This is Ava and she-"

"I know who she is!" The younger Frye interjected. "She's a thief and a murderer!"

Finally, Ava piped up, having kept silent long enough. "Don't act so high and mighty, assassin," she snarled. "I saved your damn life, so you should show a bit more appreciation. And it's not my fault you can't fight for shit!"

"You two... know each other?" Evie deadpanned. "How?" An incredulous look crossed her face. Bewilderment was a foreign feeling to her, and she didn't like that she was unaware of the fact that her friend and her brother had crossed paths before.

"Well," Jacob started snarkily, "She steals from innocent civilians and loots the dead. I had to track her down after she stole a poor woman's purse."

"And he doesn't know how to keep track of his ammunition, so had it not been for my throwing knife, he'd be dead as a rat right now. Not to mention, I beat him at his own challenge to a duel at a bar."

Jacob only glowered in response. Ava smiled haughtily, feeling victorious. Evie sighed, rubbing her temples. She was so used to getting into petty arguments with her brother, but now that she was mediator, she sympathized with her late father. Breaking up our fights must've been exhausting for father, she mused.

"Alright, children," she teased. " Let's stop with this. Jacob, I believe you have a dinner you need to get to. Ava, we need to finish our discussion from earlier. Now please, for my sanity, the next time you two meet each other, I hope you'll have resolved your issues."

Ava nodded, briefly feeling ashamed for letting her immaturity get the best of her. Jacob checked his watch and cursed. "I'm late! Of course it's always troublesome for me when you're around, Ava," Jacob jived one last time before exiting the car, his movement knocking his top hat off the coat rack.

Evie stared curiously as the hat settled on the floor. Jacob never forgot his hat. He was almost inseparable from it.

"I can't imagine having to live with him." Ava's words snapped Evie out of her thoughts.

"Well, if things go well at this dinner for Jacob, I won't have to live with him much longer," Evie chuckled. Ava laughed, the sound resonating throughout the room, and Evie joined in, her sides shaking in amusement. But the fallen top hat caught Evie's eye again, and a pang of sadness jolted her heart. Regardless if things went well for Jacob, Evie knew that she really would not be living in the same place as her brother for much longer.

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A breeze blew through Jacob's combed locks. He somewhat regretted not bringing his hat now. He felt almost vulnerable without it. Scoffing at himself, he knocked on the door. This was a formal dinner and it would have been offensive to Mercy to dress casually like he did everyday.

The door swung open and the first thing he met were her eyes. The soft, cornflower blue that held eagerness and apprehension in them mirrored his pit of feelings stirring in his gut.

"Hello Jacob," Mercy breathed. The movement of her coral lips was the only thing that broke him out of the enchantment that were her eyes.

"Good evening, Mercy," Jacob replied, and offered her a hand to guide her down Ms. Nightingale's steep porch. She floated down the steps, her bright, fair hair color contrasting the dark, plum-colored hue of her dress. "You look lovely tonight." That sentence was a colossal understatement to Jacob. Mercy was beyond stunning, in a way that he could not put into words.

"Why thank you, Mr. Frye. You're not bad, yourself. I like you without the hat," Mercy observed. "It's different."

Jacob gave her a grin and led her to the awaiting carriage. The setting sun illuminated the shiny wooden panels of the carriage, and the horses stood quietly  in front of it, hardly making a noise. He had picked out the newest carriage, the most mellow horses, and shined the harness the day before.

He wanted the evening to be perfect. Once Mercy had settled herself into the carriage, Jacob took hold of the reins and climbed up into the driver's bench.

The horses snorted and shook their manes, and they went off at a leisurely trot.

The night was serene and the air was cooling from the disappearing sun. Lamp lighters gradually made their way around, tiny new flames appearing farther and farther away.

One flame caught Jacob's attention. It was pretty far away, about as far as the ports. However, it was bigger than the other flames, and Jacob squinted at it, wondering what type of lamp it was.

Then he realized it wasn't a lamp. His eyes widened upon realization. Jacob reacted, but not fast enough. By then, the explosion had sounded, the loud blast spooking the horses.

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Wow guys I feel like an evil author, I'm sorry. I know this was a pretty uneventful chapter but I just got my writing mojo back and idk how I feel about it, but I felt bad for not updating in forever. So I hope you enjoyyyyyy and what do you think of Mercy and Ava so far? Anyway, until next time! Thanks so much for all the support. ALSO, I have not proof read this and there might be some typos, so sorry. It's midnight for me right now.