The Medici Girl

Bloody Hands

The archers on the rooftops around the Piazza had not seen Ezio coming. He had managed to move in behind each one and use the hidden blade to assassinate them without making any noise. That did not mean he was not spotted by Francesco though. The Pazzi man knew Ezio was on his way on the swift wings of vengeance, yet from what the young man could see, Francesco was desperately yelling at his men over something. 

As Ezio moved closer to the Palazzo, he knew something was amiss with the whole situation. Francesco was yelling at the top of his lungs in rage as his own guards seemed to be panicking over what to do. One of them seemed to be clutching his left eye as another helped him from the doorway of the tower. Obviously, the guards were terrible at doing as they were told. They were mercenaries after all. This did not stop the young assassin from claiming the life of his target and with that thought in mind, Ezio leaped from one rooftop to another. He was getting closer and the more he did, the more he could make out what Francesco was yelling about. 

"You fools! You were supposed to keep her locked up!" Ezio heard as he jumped from the closest rooftop to the side of the palazzo and grabbing the edge of a window. 

"But sir, we did not expect her to be that smart!" One of the men said and Ezio had to smile to himself. "She stabbed poor Illario in the eye and then locked us in the cell, what could we do?" Contessina had freed herself and Ezio found himself feeling proud of her for that as he reached for the next hold. 

"That bitch pretended to be dead!" The cracking voice of an injured man said before he howled in pain. "If I find her, I am going to wring her neck!" He said before there was a greater howl of pain. 

"Illario, hold still! We have to get this out!" The sound of a more timid voice full of worry for his friend. 

"I should kill both of you for letting her escape, but losing an eye is punishment enough. Get out of my sight!" Ezio could not think of Contessina hurting anyone, but then again, she had tried to kill Francesco earlier in the day. Maybe he should not be surprised at this. "You! Keep a lookout for the boy!" With the shouting of orders Ezio could hear the hurried footsteps of one guard. 

Ezio was climbing his way up the side of the Signoria with ease. Years of climbing with his brother had given him the ability to do amazing maneuvers in order to carry out his missions and for that he was thankful. The young man had stealth on his side while Francesco had a loud mouth and the lack of skill when it came to fighting. Just like Vieri. For a man to hide behind a woman in order to get the upper hand on his enemies is beyond cowardice which was something Ezio could not stand for. 

"The boy thinks himself a man to come and face me? Ha!" Francesco boasted. "I have something of yours Assassin!" At that moment Ezio knew that Francesco was likely facing the Piazza below instead of the direction he should be worried about. "A rare bloom." The Pazzi man said a little softer. 

The guards periodically looked over the edge of the building looking for something amiss and Ezio was able to avoid being seen long enough to position himself right under one such man. The assassin silently reached up to grab the man's belt before pulling him down and off of the building. The sound of surprise escaped the guards mouth as he tumbled over the side and fell to the streets below without a yell. The move worked better than Ezio had thought it would and he looked at the palm of his hand before placing it back on the brick ledge. He was a little skeptical about it because people often scream when they are falling to their deaths from high places. 

The Auditore pulled himself up over the ledge before making himself known. There was nowhere to hide for this and fortunately Francesco's men were subpar in skill. At least that is what Ezio hoped. He knew he would be noticed as soon as he jumped over the ledge so he opted to taking out his sword as the guards laid eyes on him. Ten against one seemed daunting, although he did have a strategy.