Wyatt, Lucy, and Rufus travel to September 25, 1780, on the day of Benedict Arnold's defection to the British. They arrive after the defection and are captured by General Washington's troops. Flynn appears and convinces them to work together in order to discover the origins of Rittenhouse and put an end to the conspiracy before it even starts. According to his sources, Arnold is a founding member. Flynn and the team pretend to defect to the British and are taken to Arnold and General Cornwallis. Flynn shoots Cornwallis and interrogates Arnold. They discover that Arnold was recruited by clockmaker named David Rittenhouse, the original founder of the conspiracy. Arnold agrees to take them to see Rittenhouse, although he insists that Rufus not join them, as Rittenhouse is incredibly racist. Rittenhouse quickly uncovers the ruse, captures the team, and uses Flynn's gun to shoot Arnold. Thanks to Rufus, the team manages to break free. Flynn kills Rittenhouse, but his teenage son runs away. Flynn gives chase, intent on killing the boy. Lucy stalls Flynn long enough for the kid to disappear. Angry, Flynn kidnaps Lucy and returns with her on the Mothership.
Tropes
- All for Nothing: Killing David Rittenhouse appears to have no effect on the existence of Rittenhouse, as his followers and co-conspirators made sure that his vision survived.
- Antiquated Linguistics: When stopping to let the horses drink, Arnold states he needs to use the "thunder mug". Rufus assumes it's a drinking cup of some kind and asks what one drinks from it. Arnold looks at him like he's crazy and says that one urinates into it.
- Enemy Mine: The team is forced to work together with Flynn to try to stop Rittenhouse before the conspiracy takes off.
- The Evils of Free Will: David Rittenhouse is convinced that people don't know what's good for them. As such, they need to be manipulated by a secret power in order to achieve a certain goal.
- Giving Radio to the Romans: This nearly happens with David Rittenhouse, who confiscates Flynn's semi-automatic pistol and is clearly fascinated by the design. He initially asks them how the weapon works, then waves them off, claiming that he'll figure it out, what with being a clockmaker and all. This could have potentially resulted in Rittenhouse having modern weapons centuries before everyone else.
- I Am a Monster: Lucy asks what Flynn would do if his wife and daughter were to be brought back. He tells her that he would hug them one last time and leave forever, as he has done unforgivable things and doesn't want to contaminate his family with that.
- Overlord Jr.: David Rittenhouse's son has clearly been indoctrinated in his father's view of thinking, treating people as cogs in a clock that must be maintained by the clockmaker.
- Politically Incorrect Villain: David Rittenhouse is a racist, misogynistic bastard, who refuses to deal with anyone who isn't a white male. While this wasn't that uncommon at the time, Rittenhouse is clearly on the worse end of the spectrum, especially given the way he treats Lucy as little more than a baby factory.
- Rewarded as a Traitor Deserves: David Rittenhouse invokes this trope, pointing out to Arnold that he betrayed his best friend in the entire world, so he has no reason to trust him, just before shooting Benedict Arnold.
- You Have Failed Me: David Rittenhouse shoots Arnold for yet another screw-up.
