It was the middle of the day, the sun beating down and trying to get through the thick fog that began to float through the area, the rotten stench of decaying corpses floating along with the breeze. A tiny hand was clasped in a larger one, squeezed gently in reassurance as the pair made their way down the street and towards yet another store.

Ahda had been able to sleep well, not once having woken until Altair had to nudge her awake. She had changed into a pair of jeans and a white shirt that was a tad too big on her small frame. Both had bathed, seeing as the oppertunity was prime, and ate their fill of what they could find in the house. Truth be told, Altair was glad she'd gotten a good night's rest, far better than he did.

The dreams hadn't stopped after he'd been stabbed in them, no. Rather they continued. A man named Malik talking to him with such malice in his tone, as if hating the fact that he was alive or lived through it. He wasn't able to tell which at the time.

Shaking his head to rid himself of the thought, Altair turned his attention to the youth. She was a bit wobbly but could still walk and her leg had been rebandaged right when she'd woken up. He supposed that it was a good thing he shoved as much medical equipment as he could in his messenger bag the day before, being able to store some away for a later date. Though, the man was worried, Ahda had been more dazed than before. She would just look off into the distance at random times, slowing her pace, an expression that displayed how exhausted she must be mentally.

He didn't know what to make of this. Not at all.

The young girl's hand loosened its hold on his, this causing the brunet to blink. "Ahda?" His voice was soft, trying to bring her back from whatever trance she'd fallen into. "Hey..." Altair tightened his hold.

Relief washed over him when Ahda returned his hold, reaching her other hand up to place it atop his.

The relief vanished immediately once he noticed how her hand trembled, nails biting into his skin. A shade of purple had begun to manifest.

The rest of the afternoon had passed with only minor inconveniences, a few infected here, a few there. Nothing much. Altair had managed to collect a decent amount of ammunition and whatever else wasn't raided weeks before, surprisingly there was a fully functional shotgun left behind the register. Along with a bloodied arm torn off of a man's body that was nowhere to be found.

With the shotgun strapped to his back, bag filled to its maximum capacity, holding Ahda up against his side with his left arm and the child holding onto him tightly, the two made their way back to the man's home. He chuckled at the passing thought of the girl being a monkey, a baby who clung to their parent and refused to let go - well, Altair couldn't really see himself as a father figure. He doubted he'd have the skills to raise a child. At least, not on his own.

Altair briefly remembered a day when he and Maria had talked about their future like every couple has done. They talked about children, moving away from New York and to the country side. To live a simple life.

His jaw clenched at the memory, his mask slipping off to reveal how much he missed his girlfriend. Closing his eyes halfway, Altair lead them down the street that was barren of, basically, everything that was human or is human. Breathing in slowly, the brunet glanced from side to side every now and again as he tightened his hold on Ahda. Reassuring her that all was well once again. That there was nothing to be afraid of.

There had been no trace of the military or Mercer, only infected.

He peered over his shoulder to check and be sure that there would be no surprise attack then returned his attention forth. It made his stomach tie into an uncomfortable knot when there was nothing around to attack them. Nothing to deter them from their destination, which made Altair both grateful and on edge. There was no way that there could be infected stumbling about but none trying to attack them.

Unless the military had cleared out most of them. Most...but not all.

Altair tisked, cursing softly, while turning his head away from the dozing child. Even if the blasted soldiers had managed to relocate a BASE here, there was no way in Hell it would last long enough with Zeus on the run. They couldn't even take the man down, couldn't capture him, subdue him. No. The man was a 'monster,' by all definitions of the word.

A demon. A curse.

Or maybe, just maybe, he was -

No. He shook his head, it was ridiculous to ponder on such things. Useless. Returning his attention to the dark haired girl, Altair felt his shoulders fall lax. He couldn't think such, especially when he had someone to take care of, whom was injured and couldn't defend themselves.

The man rose his gaze, noticing that they were a few blocks away from his home. This had him relax even more but didn't loosen his hold on the tyke. It wouldn't do if something decided to attack them right then and there, managing to take him off-guard and drop Ahda in the fall. Altair reached for his gun, wincing at the tug the dried blood had done to his skin. It still hurt but he knew that overtime the pain would lessen, that the wound would heal.

He looked up once again.

Just a few more feet and they'd be 'home-free.'

Expensive black dress shoes tapped the ground below, the narrow halls echoing each step as the owner of said dress shoes made their way towards the elevator. There were other people following the man, attired in expensive suits, bodyguards if one were to guess due to how there were pistols strapped to their hips. Not to mention their posture was posed as if to intimidate any who laid eyes on them.

They surrounded a man in a white lab coat, who's face displayed how he was all business. No jokes allowed.

He was carrying something, tucked under his left arm, and it looked rather worn and old. The object looked as if it was meant to be strapped to someone's forearm, fastened tightly least the owner want to lose it, the armor-of-sorts was a dusty blue, almost as if the color had faded over time. It didn't even look as if the bracer belonged in this time. Like it was out of place.

Men dressed in camouflage hustled on past the group as if they didn't exist, or they were simply ignoring them. A man some distance off was barking orders, something about there being a Zeus sighting, that the men hurry their asses unless they wanted clean up duty. Not that it mattered to the man as he turned a corner, heading into a room that displayed a large map of Manhattan and pins pegged into the board in random areas.

Red pegs, indicating where a major infested site was.

The man at the desk rose his head to see who had entered, raising to stand at his full height a mere second later. "We didn't expect you to come so soon."

"I had an email sent to announce my arrival," was the response before both turned their attention to the bracer. The man holding it took it into his left hand to place it atop the oak desk once he stood before it. "I do hope that you've thought over and considered our offer."

There was a moment of silence as the other looked over the object set before him, soon sitting down with his chin resting atop his linked fingers, brows knitted together.

"We have, actually. To be honest..." he trailed off, leaning back in his seat as he began to rub his chin thoughtfully. "...I am rather skeptical as to what you've offered in return for this deed. Along with the fact that there are so many areas to scope out for just one man."

The man dressed in the lab coat crossed his arms behind his back, eyes narrowed slightly. "This is no mere man, I assure you. Your problem will only worsen if he remains here."

A sigh broke through, the camouflage dressed man slumping forth. "Very well, we will dispatch a team to seek him out. Though, I must know: what are your conditions on his capture?"

The smirk crossing the man's lips spoke more than what he'd said when he parted his lips to respond.

Assassination's note: I know that the ending part might be confusing and that you might already know who's talking to who but...I didn't want to list names. Not yet anyway.