Arend Schut-Cunningham

Arend Schut Cunningham is a former mixed martial arts champion and Assassin from the Netherlands, as well as the husband of Harlan Cunningham.

Early life
At one point a successful mixed martial arts champion, Arend's decision to come out as homosexual negatively affected his career, eventually causing him to stop competing entirely. Sometime after, he came into contact with Harlan, who had suffered similar experiences in the United States. The two bonded and became lovers, with Harlan introducing Arend to the Assassin Brotherhood and subsequently taking him on as his disciple.

Assassin activities
In February 2014, Arend and Harlan conspired to steal a Precursor box from an Abstergo Industries facility in Rotterdam. While Harlan went after the artifact, Arend ran interference, attacking Templar agents throughout the city in an attempt to divert attention away from his Mentor. He then became embroiled in a firefight with Abstergo's Sigma Team and took Sorkin, one of their members, hostage.

Using his captive's firearm, Arend was able to eliminate many of his attackers, following which he used a smoke bomb to make his escape. He then went to find Harlan, rescuing him from Master Templar Juhani Otso Berg, who had managed to take back the Precursor box. Although Harlan was reluctant to leave the artifact behind, the pair decided to abandon the mission objective and flee.

Sometime in 2015, Arend and Harlan married, with Arend taking on Harlan's surname, and decided to visit various European countries for their honeymoon. However, in late 2015, their trip was interrupted by Bishop, who was calling upon Assassins across the globe to locate the secret laboratory of Álvaro Gramática, an Abstergo scientist that had gotten his hands on a Shroud of Eden.

Traveling to the United Kingdom first, Arend and Harlan observed the fallout of Isabelle Ardant's assassination. While there were many members of Sigma and Delta team active in the area, there was no evidence of a secret laboratory, leading the two to go to France next. Arend did not expect to find Gramática's lab there either, as the Assassins had destroyed a similar lab in Paris the year before.

The two Assassins did notice Abstergo's interest in the business cluster, but did not pursue this lead, believing it to be outside their mission parameters. Arend and Harlan also contacted the Ninidze brothers in Georgia, but received no reply, which they found worrisome. They subsequently reported back to Bishop, with Arend indicating they would try Italy next, despite Harlan's reservations about doing so.

Equipment and skills
As a former MMA champion, Arend was quite skilled in hand-to-hand combat, being able to best Sorkin rather easily, and also showed a proficiency with firearms. As a result, he could hold his ground against Abstergo's Sigma team, taking out at least half of them. Among his equipment, Arend counted his Hidden Blade, worn on the right arm, and brass knuckles.

Trivia

 * "Arend" is a Dutch name meaning "eagle". Schut is a Dutch occupational surname derived from schutter, meaning "shooter, archer".
 * According to Melanie Lemay, Arend was considered for one of Abstergo Entertainment's virtual features centered around MMA wrestling.
 * Harlan and Arend's relationship was reportedly inspired by the relationship between comic book characters and.