♡Assassin's Creed♡

♡ Ezio Auditore part 3 ♡

"Are you sure you want to do this today?" Machiavelli watched Ezio like a hawk as the latter put on his armour, carefully fastening the numerous straps so it wouldn't hinder him in his movements. Any other day Ezio would probably have made a joke about how he never would have thought Machiavelli cared, but his sombre mood made him unusual serious.

"It can't wait. The senator needs to repay his debt before the collectors find and kill him. He's the only lead to the Banker we have, so we can't jeopardize this mission."
That was the speech he had convinced himself with to get out of bed this morning and continue his work, and if Machiavelli wondered at how rehearsed it sounded, he didn't comment on it. Ezio was grateful for that.

"Be careful. As one of Cesare's generals, he is sure to be well protected. Take no unnecessary risks." The silent 'we can't afford to lose you' was left unsaid, but not unheard.

Ezio nodded. "I'll return successful." That was the least he could do to honour Nico's sacrifice. Without another word he pulled his hood over his head and left the hideout, feeling Machiavelli's worried gaze follow him until he was out of sight. He didn't even spare Veronica a second glance as he passed her in the hallway, already completely focused on his mission.
As it turned out, it was a long and tedious mission. After giving Egidio the money, he had to follow him over the rooftops for several blocks, staying out of sight of the men accompanying the senator, as well as the numerous archers and crossbowmen stationed on the rooftops. Those he took out with deadly precision before they could alarm anyone to his presence, feeling less remorseful about their deaths than usual, but not wanting to think about the reason for that.

He completely focused on his mission, gladly pushing everything else aside for now, relishing in the feeling of jumping from roof to roof and masterfully balancing over washing lines hung between buildings, easily following his targets until they finally reached the Pantheon where the guard carrying the money went inside, presumably to count it while the others stayed outside guarding the entrance.

Ezio thought quickly. Either he could wait for the guard to finish and continue following them to the location of the Banker or ... His eyes fell on the open roof of the building before him and he smirked, immediately looking for a way to get up there, his decision made.

Ezio finished putting on the guard's armour and quickly hid the body and his own clothing before finally stepping outside to join his impatient, new comrades, just in time to stop them from killing the senator. It was good to know it had been the right decision to infiltrate the Pantheon and don this disguise. He could have done nothing to help Egidio from his place on the roofs without putting this whole mission in jeopardy.
Speaking of his mission, apparently he was supposed to lead the way. Just his luck.

Carefully judging the reactions of the guards following him, he started making his way through the streets of Rome, soon enough getting a feeling in what direction they were heading which made it that much easier to stay inconspicuous. Listening to their babbling soon gave him an idea what their destination was: the Vaticano District. It was the only place lying in this direction that was big enough to hold a party of the proportion they were talking about, and the most secure, much to his displeasure - not that he had expected an easy assassination.
It turned out to be even harder than expected. Not long after his successful infiltration as Luigi, his cover was blown and in a place crawling with guards to top it off.

The only reason he hadn't been caught yet was thanks to the courtesans present, who had immediately sent for back-up and reported the situation to Claudia, and were now taking care of getting him closer to his target.

It was a very slow process, but Ezio had been an assassin for a long time now and even if he had been the opposite of patient in the beginning, he had learned that being hasty would only get him killed and let his target escape.