Lineage of Brotherhood

Chapter 6

"We should," said Devyn as they went into the dining hall. She thought about how to answer the question for a moment before she shrugged, "I was an orphan. When Asbstergo found me, I had no where to go. I've been here ever since. Salim used to keep an eye on me when I was too young to be left alone." She leaned in, "You got lucky, he's pretty cool, he used to let me off the hook all the time."

As they got their food and sat down, she continued, "Salim used to be there for all of my sessions in the Animus. He helped me through a lot." She paused for a moment, "I hope that doesn't weird you out. That I've been here for so long. I've spent a lot of time outside of this place too though, so it's not like I've been totally sheltered."

There were certainly things that Devyn knew that she was not supposed to tell Talon about Abstergo, but it was a billion dollar company, such things were to be expected. Her background didn't necessarily fall under that category. Still, she eyed him from across the table. "Any chance you wanna tell me what were you doing when Salim found you?"

. . . .

Now it made sense why she couldn't just 'quit' her job or kindly be released when they realized her memory sequencing wouldn't give them the information they desired. She had been here for most of her life. This was home for her. The older personnel of the staff probably watched her grow up. As she indicated, when Sal Salim was the one to play babysitter before she reached a mature age to be left alone. Followed with morale support during her Animus sessions when she got older.

Talon gave her a mischievous grin. "I was doing nothing, really. At most about to go for a walk when Salim introduced himself."

They ate in silence, although their eyes making contact at moments that portrayed a story of their own. A comradery in their eyes that had been slowly building up, the more he worked with her and in the Animus. He finished his meal and asked, "So, what sounds like a good way to unwind tonight? I'll even admit my ass getting thrown to the floor is a viable option."

. . . .

Devyn nodded and raised her hands in surrender, indicating that she wasn't going to push the issue. "Just remember that I'm supposed to be responsible for you." Despite her warning, she remained pleasant as they ate together.

She had walked into a land mine during her recent meeting with Dr. Vidic. Apparently, the 'Suits' were aware that Skye hadn't told her about his excursion into some of the off-limits section of the facility a few days prior. In their minds, not only did it call into question her ability to control the situation, but also Skye's trust in her. They happy about this and they weren't shy about letting her know it. She had a hard time spinning the situation in her favor, but she was able to make the case that this was exactly why she spent more time in certain memories. To build that trust. It was the same reason why she always tried to answer his questions as honestly as possible.

"I could show you a few moves," she said as she reached for her glass of water. Just before she sipped it, "Maybe they'll help you from getting tossed around as easily." She gave one of her patented shrugs, "If you happen to get thrown on your ass a few times in the process, that'll be a bonus."

. . . .

"So, you do like throwing my ass to the floor? I might surprise you one of these days and reciprocate the gesture. I'd prefer you doing it over someone like Salim. At least with you doing so, I get a sight worth seeing." Talon concluded.

The two finished their meal and then retreated to the gym for their chosen evening sparring session. For warm ups he followed through some type of martial arts form that enabled him to move his feet and hands in specific motions of offense and defense. At first he struggled to keep the same pace but with each repetition by the time the ten minutes was complete he felt the form to be like that of slow waltz. Then was time to get to the real fun. He knew his memory knew how to do this. He just needed to trust those deeper recesses of himself. Allow the memories to will his body to have them come out without hesitation.