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Ezio lay motionless in the bed, Sophia fast asleep beside him. He stared up at the ceiling, the early morning sunlight creeping in through the blinds & slashing the room with blades of light. "Excuse me, my dear." he said softly, kissing her gently on the forehead. As Ezio walked out the door towards the field, he had to shield his eyes from the light with his hands. Should've bought a sunhat last time I was in town... he thought. As his eyes adjusted to the light, Ezio looked to the road where a carriage fast approached. He had grown used to these caravans thundering past his house, but he wished they didn't always wake Sophia up. Ezio grabbed his basket & walked into the field, but jerked his head back in the direction of the carriage.
"Ezio! Ezio!" he heard. He shook his head & stuck his index finger into his ear, twisting. I must be getting old, he thought, I'm hearing things. The calling got louder as the carriage approached, however. "Ezio! Ezio!" the man at the reins called. Ezio set down his basket & slowly walked up to where the carriage had screeched to a halt. "Who are you? What do you want?" he asked. Behind his back, he slowly, carefully, unbuttoned his shirt sleeve, giving the hidden blade room to extend, if necessary. The helmsman lifted the white hood covering his face, and Ezio recognized him instantly. "Just an old friend", Machiavelli said as he hopped down from atop the carriage, "And as to what I want, I believe we should go inside for that." "Ezio, who is this?" Sophia asked as she walked up. Ezio looked back & said, "I believe you two haven't been acquainted. Sophia, this is Niccolo Machiavelli, an old...friend of mine from the Italian Brotherhood." "I already know all about you, Sophia", Machiavelli said coolly, "So let's not waste any more time with introductions. I have something I need to discuss with you." Ezio scowled & said, "Of course. Please, come in."
Sophia walked into the kitchen where Ezio & Machiavelli sat, carrying a steaming pot of tea. "It was about a week ago", Machiavelli began as Sophia poured the tea, "I sent a group of my men to seize a shipment of weapons headed for Cappadocia." "The Byzantines remain there after everything that has happened?" Ezio said, surprised. "As I was saying", Machiavelli growled, "I sent some of my men to intercept the shipment. Among them was your son, Marcello." "Marcello?" Ezio echoed. "Has something happened to my son?" Sophia asked, fear creeping into her voice. "I'm afraid so", he said somberly, "The shipment was better guarded than we thought, & the attack was a disaster. 5 men were killed, and Marcello was captured. We received a ransom note 3 days ago, demanding that you go, weaponless, to Cappadocia." "Any other terms?" Ezio asked. "No", Machiavelli replied, "But I strongly advise you against this, Ezio. You have no idea what could be waiting for you there." "All the more reason to get there sooner so they don't have time to plan any more surprises." Ezio said as he rushed up the stairs. "Ezio, where are you going?" Sophia cried. A few moments later, he stepped back into the kitchen, donned in his Assassin robes. "I'm going to get our son back, Sophia." he said, pulling up the hood. "Ezio, I'm warning you..." Machiavelli started. "And I'm warning you!" he roared. "I don't care how hopeless it looks. Nothing short of an army will stop me from getting to Cappadocia & getting my son back!" Ezio dashed out the door & ran around to the stable, hopping onto a horse with one clean bound. As he rode to the front of the house, Sophia stood with Flavia at her side. "Ezio...Get our son back." Sophia said. "I will", he replied, "That's a promise." "Take care, Papa." Flavia said, squeezing his armored leg tightly. Ezio smiled, then snapped the reins & rode off towards Florence.
Ezio stepped off the boat as he stared at the gnarled, gray island that was Cappadocia. A worn path streched into a large, jagged mountain. "Wait here", he told the captain, "I won't be long." Ezio walked up the path, his long cloak flowing behind him, masking his identity. As he reached the entrance, the guards sat up & brandished their weapons. "Halt!" one said. "No one enters without an identifica...Klff!" The guard's sentence was cut short as Ezio extended his blade & rammed it into his throat. The second guard prepared to swing his massive axe, but Ezio moved quicker, whipping a sword out of its scabbard & raking it along his throat. The two guards fell with a wet gurgle, & Ezio proceeded into the city. Inside was worse than out. Many of the holes that provided light to the underground city had been blocked off when he had ignited the gunpowder the last time he was here. Several buildings still stood, scorched, as a reminder of what had happened almost a decade ago. Now if I were the Byzantines, Ezio thought, Where would I keep a high-value captive? On instinct, his head whipped to look at the prison on the far side of the city. No, that'd be too obvious. It would have to be somewhere extremely secure...Like the armory or private governor's quarters.
Suddenly, a black-cloaked figure walked up to Ezio. He readied his blade, but the hood fell, revealing the face of Machiavelli. Ezio, relaxing, said, "Do you always have to sneak up on me?" "You have quite a knack for pulling blades on hooded people who walk up to you." "What are you doing here?" he hissed. "Offering my services", Machiavelli said, "We hit their two most well-guarded locations at once- I take the armory, you take the governor's quarters. We meet back here in 20 minutes." "Sounds good", Ezio said as Machiavelli stalked off. He looked around quickly for a way to get into the governor's quarters undetected. A bar hung low beside a wooden walkway suspended above the ground. From there, he saw where he could swing to an isolated platform. A wire streched taut around a wooden pole ran from the platform to the balcony of the governor's quarters. They make it too easy, Ezio thought, smiling.
Jumping as high as he could, Ezio grabbed the edge of the walkway & heaved himself up. Dashing quickly across the boards, they creaked under his weight. How did I ever used to do this when I was younger? Ezio thought. Hearing a crack from the board he was standing on, Ezio leapt towards the bar & wrapped his fingers tightly around it. Swinging back & forth to get a good momentum, he let go & soared through the air, landing on the platform. Activating his hookblade with a snik, he leapt off the platform & hooked the blade's underside around the wire. Smoothly, he glided across the thin wire until he leapt off onto the balcony below. Cautiously pushing the door open, Ezio called softly, "Marcello!" "Papa?" a panicked voice came from inside. "Is that you?" "It's me, Marcello", he whispered, "Stay calm. Quietly, tell me where you are." The slightest whisper came from the next room, "...The closet." Ezio crept into the bedroom & flung open the closet, revealing a boy of about 15 in white Assassin robes, his hands tied tightly behind his back. Ezio extended his blade & sliced the ropes. Marcello crawled out of the closet, rubbing his raw wrists. "How did you get here, Papa? How are we going to get out of here?" he asked. "I came by boat", Ezio whispered back, "We need to hurry, though. Machiavelli isn't going to wait around forever." Marcello's eyes went wide with fear. "Machiavelli?!" he cried. "He's a Templar! He left the Order over a year ago!" "What?!" Ezio whispered. Suddenly, 3 hulking figures charged through the door, pulling swords from their scabbards. "Stay your hand." a voice said from behind them.
Ezio scowled & gritted his teeth as Machiavelli emerged from within the soldiers. "Congratulations, Ezio", he said coolly, "You found your son. Now you can die with him." Enraged, Ezio extended his blade & leaped at Machiavelli, jabbing the sharp point straight into his jugular. Machiavelli fell with a long, wet gurgle, & the guards, swords drawn, advanced on him & Marcello. "Marcello", Ezio said, "Just stick behind me, & you'll be safe." Marcello nodded & extended his blades, covering his father's back. Deflecting a high blow from one of the soldiers, Ezio sunk the curved point of his hookblade into the back of another's neck. Using the man's weight against him, he catapulted himself over the soldier's shoulder & jabbed his second blade into his back. The soldier crumpled to the ground, revealing another soldier, sword held high, ready to swing. From the corner of his eye, he saw Marcello run & jump onto the man's back, wriggling farther up until the soldier's neck was in between his knees. He twisted, & Ezio heard the crack of several vertebrae breaking in the soldier's neck. Marcello leapt off the corpse & ran over, helping him to his feet. Ezio stared down at the two corpses. "Wait a minute", he realized, "Weren't there 3 of them?" "Papa, look." Marcello said, pointing out the window. The third soldier had almost made it to the other side of town. Ezio heard him shouting, "Assassins! Assassins! They killed the governor!" As he watched more soldiers rush towards the house, Ezio ran to the balcony & said, "We need to go, now!"
Making sure Marcello was no less than 2 steps away from him, Ezio leapt off the balcony & landed on a rooftop below. As he picked himself up & started running again, a gunshot shattered the shingles just a few centimeters away from him. He looked back to see gunmen perched on the balcony, taking timed, calculated shots at both him & Marcello. "Marcello, keep running!" Ezio said, stopping & pulling his crossbow off his back. Marcello nodded & sprinted ahead at full speed. Ezio aimed for the first gunman & fired. The small arrow sunk deep into the man's eye & he toppled over the edge of the balcony, screaming. Taking cover behind a small water trough, he reloaded & fired again, this time catching the man in the throat. The soldier dropped his gun & slumped to his knees, clutching his neck & gurgling weakly. Ezio ducked & reloaded as the final gunman continued shooting at him. He stood up to fire, but the gunman was quicker, tearing off a chunk of Ezio's finger. He yelled & dived behind the trough, clutching his wounded hand. Reaching into a pouch on his belt, Ezio pulled a bullet out & slid it into the hidden gun on the underside of his blade. Ezio stood up to face the gunman, who howled with laughter. "How do you plan on shooting me now, Assassin?" he shouted. "Watch & learn", Ezio shouted back as he raised the gun. The shot rocketed out of the gun & buried itself deeply in-between the man's eyes. Blood dripping down the wall behind him, the gunman slumped over, dead. Ezio sighed & took off in a sprint, avoiding guards & bounding across the rooftop.
Ezio rushed out of the city, passing the guards he'd slain on the way in. "Papa!" he heard. Marcello was waving from the boat frantically...which was about to take off! Ezio sprinted as hard as he could towards the boat, running towards the wooden dock. Unless I find something that can hook me onto there, he thought, I'll never make it. Then he got an idea. Ezio pulled a crossbow bolt out of a pouch & wrapped a length of rope tightly around it. Loading the bolt into his crossbow, he aimed & fired, the bolt connecting with the deck of the ship & the rope pulling taught. Approaching the end of the dock, Ezio swung, letting the momentum of the jump carry him up alongside the ship, & grabbed the edge of the deck & pulled himself up. Marcello's eyes brightened as Ezio limped over, saying, "I'm getting too old for this..." Marcello wrapped around him in a tight hug, & Ezio smiled & hugged him back.
"We're home!" Ezio called as he & Marcello walked through the door. "Papa! Brother!" Flavia cried, rushing forward & giving them both a hug. Leaving Marcello to talk to Flavia, Ezio crossed the room to Sophia & kissed her on the cheek. "So, how was Cappadocia?" Sophia asked, smiling. He grinned & said, "Just another day in the life of an Assassin. Got betrayed, fought some bad guys, narrowly escaped, the usual." She smiled & said, "Well, good. You know, not only are you a great Assassin..." Sophia & Ezio looked over to where Marcello & Flavia sat, laughing, playing. "You're also a great father." she finished. Ezio smiled & said, "From now on, I'm just a father. I'm getting too old for this Assassin business. I'm hanging up the robes for good." Sophia leaned in & kissed him. "That's the best news I've heard all day." she said.