Modern times

The 'Modern Times' is set in September 2012. You play as Desmond Miles, a descendant of Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad and Ezio Auditore da Firenze. You have been kidnapped by an organization known as Abstergo, who are working on the Animus project.

Assassin's Creed II reveals a bit more about modern times than it's predecessor.  There are still Assassins and Templars, although the Assassins have gone mostly into hiding and the Templars are disguised.  One of these disguises is the company Abstergo.  It is still uncertain just how much the Templars have grown in influence and how many organizations like Abstergo exist.

At the end of Assassin's Creed II, it is revealed that the earth is possibly going to experience a geomagnetic reversal in the near future. This is revealed by Minerva at the end of Assassin's Creed II. The pictures by Minerva look Mayan, and December 2012 is when the Mayan's believed the world would end, and their calender stops (coincidence?). 

It is widely speculated that this is when Assassin's Creed lll will be set. This only gives Desmond and the assassin's three months to end the Templar threat and stop the geomagnetic reversal, thus saving the world from certain destruction.

Characters in Modern times include: Desmond Miles, Lucy Stillman, Shaun Hastings, Rebecca Crane and Warren Vidic.

It is interesting that although in 2012, neither Abstergo's guard or the Assassins use guns in Assassins Creed 2, instead using advanced weapon sticks resembling swords and hidden blades, respectively. When, however, the Assassins attack Abstergo in Assassins Creed, shooting can be heard.

It is suspected that assassins creed 1 and 2 take place in Italy considering that the outside of the hideout looks almost exactly like Italy in Ezio's time, and that the underground parking lot in abstergo and the assassins hideout have signs that have words in italian,including "sezione" which means "section" in english.