Mission One: Target

Rainfall in Venice, Italy 1479.

Through the shadow of her hood, hazel-green eyes peered through the steady rain to the buzzing streets of Venice in the evening. She focused her attention on finding one man. A tyrant in royal garb, well on his way to put the middle class in isolation.

She was hired to assassinate him.

Watching through Eagle Vision, she scanned the streets, finding only shadows and a few glowing red guards.

Unsatisfied, she stood on the lonely viewpoint where she had been perched. Taking a breath, she synchronized and took a leap of faith into a hay wagon four stories below her feet. Staying hidden to avoid the scrutinizing looks of passers by, she finally climbed out of the wagon and brushed her robes and hood off.

Her tailbone ached a little, due to repeated falls, but it wasn't anything she couldn't ignore.

Walking out into the street, she looked around, checking for her target. Nowhere in sight, she took off in a sprint through the streets of Venice.

After countless citizens passed, her Eagle Vision caught a glimpse of gold. She stopped dead in her tracks then proceeded to follow her target that walked surrounded by armed guards. She stayed out of sight, scaling a two story building and following her target from the rooftops.

She paused on a low rooftop; where below her target had stopped on a bridge. She crouched into the shadows and watched as her target mingled and discussed business with "friends".

She watched silently as his guards heads swiveled, constantly looking out for potential trouble.

Behind her, a sound like boots on the clay roof startled her, and she swung around, grabbing a curved dagger from her right greave. She pinned a young man against the side of a taller building with the length of her arm, blade pressed to the flesh of his throat.

"Whoa! Calmi, donna!" His young voice cried quietly and his hands shot up in submission.

She didn't bite, "Chi sei tu?" She demanded, "Tell me your name, boy!" She pressed harder against his chest.

"Donna! Per favore si calmi!" He insisted, "My name," He moved to a loud whisper, "Is Ezio Auditore."

Auditore. She recognized the name. The three men hanged for treason were Auditore. She lessened her grip, "What do you want? Hm? Why are you here?" She demanded trough a thick Italian accent.

Without saying a word, Auditore shot a glance at her target; Francesco de'Pazzi. He looked back at her.

"He killed my Father, and brothers! I will not let him stand for this!" He ranted, clearly unhappy that he was still in her hold. After a moment of silence, he looked her up and down as she watched de'Pazzi carefully. "You never told me your name, donna." He attempted charm.

She shot him a poisonous look, then released him. Taking a step back from the fellow "Assassin", she pointed her dagger at him, "This is my target. Il mio lavoro!" She hissed.

Ezio sighed and threw up an arm, knocking the dagger out of her hand. She brought her other arm over to counter his hold and she swung her leg around to sweep his feet from under him. He fell to his knees, pulling her down with him, and they slid, rolling around to gain the upper hand against the other. She hadn't realized how close they had been before they were falling into the street.

Francesco's guards were instantly after the two, who stood uncertainly and blocked the guards' blades before they struck flesh. Suddenly she was fighting along.

She paused, looking to find Francesco and locate Auditore, blocking random attacks.

"Ay! In questo modo!" She heard the cry behind her. Looking in the same direction, she spotted Auditore, waving for her to follow. She blocked one last attack before shoving her blade clean through the closest guard, pulling it out and sheathing it. She sprinted after Ezio, dodging crowds and eventually caught up with him. They ran with Auditore just a few steps ahead.

Screeching to a halt around another corner, Ezio held her by the shoulder against the stone wall, peeking around the corner to see if they were still being pursued.

He took off, grabbing her to give her a start and after a ways and another corner, he grabbed her and clapped a hand over her mouth, falling backward into a haystack.

The two lay still, hearing the guards run by, their armor clanking and clashing down the cobbled street. As the air grew quiet again, Ezio released her mouth. It was then that she noticed the arm holding her had its hand rested comfortably on her breast.

"Giu le mani, Auditore!" She growled, squirming out of his grasp and climbing out of the hay. She shot him another poisonous glare as he climbed out after her, then started down the street back to where they were before the chase. Sooner than she would've liked, Ezio had caught up to her.

"So, what business do you have with de'Pazzi?" He asked, only a few feet behind her. She rolled her eyes and kept walking.

"He's my target." She stated, remembering where her lost dagger may be.

Ezio sensed he was getting nowhere with this woman and huffed, "Well, who hired you?"

She ignored him and peered through an iron gate to the courtyard on the other side. The edge of her dagger caught the moonlight, telling her right where it lay.

Taking a few steps back, she looked for a ledge or window or something she could grab onto. She then got an okay running start and walked up the wall, grabbing a window ledge before falling back to the ground. The rest of the climb was easy; scaling a building was one of her favorite hobbies. Once on the roof, she dropped into the courtyard, retrieving her dagger and sliding it back into its place.

She climbed back up the wall to find Ezio leaning against the next door building with his arms crossed. She sighed and walked over to him.

"So, what caused such hatred for de'Pazzi?" She asked, crossing her arms.

He put his hood back and she noticed dark hair pulled back with a ribbon and the scar on the right side of his mouth.

"He killed my family on a false charge." He looked up at the overcast night sky, "My father had evidence against de'Pazzi that could put him in prison. But we were betrayed by a 'family friend', and my father and brothers were hung for it."

She nodded and stood against the wall next to Ezio, "And you think killing Francesco de'Pazzi will put an end to your troubles?" She put her hood down, revealing short bob-cut black hair and rested her head back against the wall, "If only murder were that easy." She looked at him, "So what's your plan, Ezio Auditore? Or do you even have one?"

He blinked and took a breath, "Find de'Pazzi again, and kill him. He has to pay for what he's done." He looked over at her, "You were hostile not even five minutes ago, what changed?"

She looked down for a moment, then inhaled, "You looked…" She sighed, "…frightened." She didn't mention that she knew how it felt to be where he was right now. Young, with little to no family to look after and a wavering sanity to tend to. "Just don't think I'm going to let you kill my target."

Ezio chuckled and tapped her shoulder, "I see you won't give him up so easily." She refused to smile, and dropped into the streets. He stood on the edge, "Come on, donna! I was kidding!" He dropped after her and followed her deeper into the city. Passing through the marketplace, she stopped at the baker's booth for bread. Before she could get her purse out, Ezio had paid for her groceries. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Why would you pay for a woman's groceries when she has done no such service for you?" She asked inquisitively.

"Consider it a gentleman's act. Besides, who said you hadn't done me such favors yet?" He winked. She scoffed a smile and picked up her bread, walking away from Auditore.

"You're too arrogant for your own good." She said flatly.

"Alessa!" A merchant across the way called, waving to her. She looked to answer and immediately looked back down; knowing Ezio had seen her answer the call.

"So your name is Alessa, eh?" Auditore smiled, jogging to walk beside her, "Fitting name for such a beautiful woman."

"Oh, per favore." She rolled her eyes and nodded at the merchant, "Ciao Marcus! Any fine wine I can try? I found a man who will pay for all of my things! Pick something expensive!" She pointed to Ezio, then walked over to Marcus' booth. He offered her some samples of new wine from Paris, Tuscany, and Naples.

"This will work to my favor later, Signore." Ezio winked at Marcus, and watched Alessa try a few samples.

She elbowed him in the ribs as she swallowed the last drink of the wine from Tuscany.

"Mmm, I love that one." She said, pointing to the corresponding wine bottle from which she had just tasted. As he wrapped it up, she looked back at Ezio and raised an eyebrow, "Well, gentleman?" She smirked.