7 An Ounce of Trust

"I don't trust him" Shaun hissed and crossed his arms over his chest.

"None of you do, but we don't have a choice, Shaun" Rebecca whispered back, arms folded in a similar manner. She glanced back at the man in black leather who had taken a seat on one of the plastic boxes scattered in the corner of the dank cellar. He had his back toward the door so he was facing the people in the room. He obviously didn't trust them either. Any wrong set of words and he would either snap someone's neck or leave them in an instant. That was what the look on his face told her at least. She didn't doubt for a second that 'someone' could also be himself.

"I don't know what happened before I came around, and I don't know who held me captive, but I know he was the one who got me out". She paused to bite her lip and sort out what she could tell him and not. Not that she didn't trust Shaun, but the way he looked at Alex was one that gave her chills. The brit wasn't a violent man, but Rebecca caught herself doubting the safety of the situation if she would choose any wrong couple of words.

"Oh yea, he certainly looks like the rescuing type. Maybe he will share the location of the secret templar base if we ask nicely!". Shaun was clearly not fond of the idea of having the stranger around, and even less did he want to speak with him. Rebecca suppressed a sigh and straightened her stance.

"I don't trust him either, but he knows something that we don't. Lucy says we need any information we can get"

"Rebecca, the last time I trusted a guy in a hood I was bestolen of hundreds of worth of candy" Shaun snidely remarked. She just stared at him for a moment. Since when did Shaun ever have any kind of sweets? "Are you seriously telling me you never went trick-or-treating as a kid? I'm disappointed in you Becca" he said, successfully hiding his mistrust behind the heavy sarcasm. She didn't know if she should scream or punch him. This wasn't the time to make jokes. She suppressed a groan and rubbed her face with one hand.

"Not the time to joke Shaun" she hissed at him. Before he could give his lecture on how sarcasm was - as Becca had so neatly once put it - his natural response to fear or uncertainty, she dismissed him with an audible sigh and turned to head back to the center of the cellar. She paused momentarily and turned to him. "Trust me Shaun. He will help us" she said. With that the two of them went back to Lucy, who had been sitting in a fold-out chair and keeping a close eye on the outsider. She was probably more of a problem than Shaun, Becca realized.

She was about to open her mouth and speak, announcing why they had assembled here, but didn't even get to push out the first syllable before Alex spoke up; "Blackwatch knows about you". The way he phrased it made it sound like a threat, and Rebecca could practically feel the tension exploding between the three. Lucy would undoubtedly want to get rid of him as soon as they had gotten the information they wanted out of him - if he even had it. She hadn't trusted him from the start, and now even less. This would quickly become a mess if someone didn't step up.

"And we want to know about Blackwatch. Who are they and why did they kidnap Rebecca?" Lucy questioned, venom in her voice. Becca's eyes flickered between the people in the room, including the more or less unconscious Desmond on the floor. They should probably not let him in on this. He had enough to worry about as it was, with the Apple of Eden and all.

"Calm down Shau-"

"And now he knows my name, thank you very much. Who knows what contacts he has?"

"I don't think he-"

"Don't think? We don't know anything about this guy, and you don't think he can-"

"Blackwatch is a black operations unit with military arsenal" Alex interrupted, effectively silencing both Shaun and Rebecca. Three pair of eyes were aimed at him where he sat, and he glared coldly back at them. Clearly, none of them enjoyed this even a bit. Better get it over with so they could work on their own things in the dark corners they felt like sitting in. Rebecca took a breath.

"I'm guessing you mean a secret operation. Why are they here?" she asked cautiously. Granted, a so-called black operation was only deployed at a location in secret due to the government wanting to hide the cause of their presence. As far as she knew at least, the term 'black' was generally used for any government activity that was hidden or secret. She wondered what the higher forces might be wanting to hide here in New York City. A clench in her gut told her she wouldn't like it.

"Contain a viral outbreak" was the answer provided. This Alex guy wasn't one for words, was he? Rebecca already knew bits and pieces of what was going on at the Manhattan island. She had done some digging before they arrived to make sure it was safe enough to stay. The outbreak thing had been one of the reasons they picked this specific area of New York, since it could conceal them from whoever would be snooping. The government had too much to think about already to care about something as innocent as a van crossing the bridge. Again, how they had done that was still a question to be answered. Shaun must've done one of his tricks in order to pass whatever barricade had been set up there.

"Could someone tell this idiot to say something we don't already know?" Shaun spat, looking directly at Rebecca. She wanted to flinch and snort at him. If she had read the stranger correctly, he wouldn't bend to pressure. She understood his thinking, but his intentions were questionable. He was literally stuck in a dark room with three skilled assassins, and with a heavy steel door blocking his way. He would have to be both swifter and stronger than all of them together if he was planning to escape.

A flicker of those cold eyes made her blood freeze. He looked at her for maybe two seconds before turning his attention back to Desmond. There was a tingle in her stomach. A light, skittering feeling that brought her back to-

No no no, stop stop, don't think about that! Information- information and then he was out of here for good. Rebecca mentally slapped herself twice and slowly shook her head.

"Stay out of the streets" Alex said coldly, his icy gaze unwavering. Both of the girls scowled at him while Shaun crooked an eyebrow.

"That supposed to be a threat? Boo, I'm quivering" he said sarcastically. He had his arms crossed over his chest, standing tall and seemingly unmovable. It was strange to see him so confident. Almost as if-

Oh...

Rebecca looked between Shaun and the stranger. The same rigid stature and stern expression carved out of stone. Despite the tension and seriousness of the situation they were in, she almost found herself laughing. The two boys were contesting each other. Figurative sparks shot from their eyes. She doubted that the two had any similar intentions or reasons though. This Alex seemed more about... Her eyebrows shot up to her forehead. Answers. He had unanswered questions. What could a man like him possibly want to ask?

It was as if he'd read her thoughts, or at least noticed her expression, for he was quick to stand and turn on his heel, about to head out. Shaun stopped him with a shout. "We're not done with you yet".

If looks could kill.

Rebecca was sure she had just spotted a reddish tint in that frosty blue. It disappeared as quick as it came though, and she got the urge to rub her eyes just to see if she hadn't just imagined it all. She saw his teeth grind together, and his jaw tensed as if he was about to spit something back, but just then there was movement behind the assassins; Desmond.

Alex was practically forgotten as Rebecca and Lucy rushed over to him. He looked and sounded to be in pain. A lot such too. It didn't surprise Becca though, the wound was apparently deep according to what Lucy had told her. They really had to find a real doctor, sooner rather than later. Depending on how well Desmond was recovering, he wouldn't get any better, but rather worse if he didn't get proper treatment. Maybe Alex could-...

'Alex can't be trusted', her conscience scolded. She knew that. He was a complete stranger who just happened to have been the one carrying her when she woke up after being saved. She didn't even know if it was him. Maybe she had been released, and his intentions was actually to kidnap her and-

No, he couldn't... Or could he? She turned her head slightly to glance at him over her shoulder. He was standing with his hand still on the handle to the door, but not as urgent to get out. She didn't doubt he would leave at the slightest hunch of anyone intending harm though. There was an icy fire in his eyes she'd never seen in anyone before. Almost as if he was plagued by constant anger. A will to get revenge. Revenge for what?

Her attention was brought back to a half dazed man as Desmond squirmed where he lay before cracking those brown eyes open. She smiled at him, relieved to see him alive and awake. They had lost enough already, and Desmond was too important to lose. And not just because of his genes.

Lucy held a hand on his shoulder for support when he slowly sat up. Eyes glazed around inspecting the area, either because he tried to recall memories, or because he didn't quite see clearly yet. He grimaced from the pain in his abdomen, a muffled groan clamped between gritted teeth. Rebecca frowned at this. She suddenly felt weak and helpless. There was nothing she could do to help him, either medically or by any other means. She was useless in situations like this, and she sometimes envied Lucy for it. At least she wasn't totally useless. Sigh.

Then a bomb figuratively exploded in the room. Desmond's eyes found the figure of the stranger standing at the door, hand now clutching the handle and ready to fling it open. It was a staring contest of about three seconds, Shaun also chiming in by looking back and forth between them with the usual stern expression. It felt like the entire basement was holding its breath in wait for what was about to happen. Desmond was the one to speak first.

"You.." he said, voice a bit hoarse from his vocal chords being stiff from resting. "What did you do to him?". His appearance was threatening, and what he said was surprising. Had they met before? Maybe they had run into each other at some point while Rebecca was unavailable. That seemed to be the most logical explanation anyway, but judging by Desmond's expression and stature, such wasn't the case. Could it have been this man that had hurt him? No way! Alex wouldn't-

But before Becca could whip around and shout at him, he had opened the door and exited the room without a word, silent as a ghost. Shaun shouted at him to come back, striding up to catch the closing door. He pulled it open again and went to catch up with the stranger, Rebecca in tow. Though, as if he'd never even been there at all, Alex was gone without a trace. No sounds of running steps in the stairs, no footsteps in the hallway. All there was was complete silence.