Disclaimer: This we don't own. Enjoy. Christmas Exchange.
The Chase
Vinicio Grunted as he stood behind the massive guards desk that he had been awarded along with his new title of captain of the guard, and all of the ridiculous responsibilities that came along with the position. He had been ecstatic when he had finally obtained the job after the former captain of the guard had become one of the scores of good men that the Florentine guards had already lost to that damned assassin. Although it had been a great loss for the guards, it was definitely a great personal gain for him.
The pay raise was great—it warmed his heart when he was able to come home to his wife and kids with a few extra gifts that he had procured on his way home from work. After the initial excitement had worn off though, he had finally begun to see how miserable his new, higher position was actually turning out to be. He hadn't realized it before, seeing that he was just as rambunctious as his fellow co-workers, but as soon as he assumed command, he realized just how much his work would be cut out for him.
The boys would mess around with courtesans while they were on duty, harass the shop owners until they were awarded with free swill from whatever stand they were bothering, and worst of all, they were so lazy that despite how much of a risk the assassin posed towards their own lives, they would completely give up chasing him, even if he was still clearly in sight, and not even that far away from them to begin with!
The inappropriate shenanigans that the guards often got themselves into whilst on duty were nothing that he couldn't handle. He was authorized to punish them for that, and under his strict rule, at least they learned to behave while he was around. However, it was getting them to deal with the assassin that was proving to be much more difficult than it should have been.
His guards could be called many things, but cowardly wasn't one of them. They were brash, rude, loud, and reckless, but no matter how he punished them, it was as if the damned assassin had a barrier up around him that prevented any guard from getting close enough to catch him. It wasn't just that the man was too quick, or too stealthy to ever be captured—he certainly wasn't stealthy enough, seeing as how pretty much everyone in all of Italia could tell that it was the audacious Ezio Auditore who was under the hood of that extremely flashy getup that he insisted on wearing all the time. Still, he could not for the life of him, get any of his guards to commit to chasing the man throughout the city until he was finally dealt with once and for all!
He watched all of the guards as they hurriedly rushed past him. He was in no mood to see any of them, and they all knew it. He had been trying to track down Ezio Auditore for some time now, and unfortunately, despite how flashy the hot-blooded Italian was he had not been able to spot hide or hair of him for some time now. After some time now, he had finally gotten word that the assassin was getting closer to Florence by the day, and as soon as he made the mistake of stepping foot into the city…well, if Vinicio had his way, then that would be the last mistake that Ezio would ever make.
Finally, the words that he had been waiting to hear for the last three months had finally come to him! As one of the Archers came scrambling though the guard post's doors, he ran straight up to Vinicio and gave him the news—Ezio had finally come back into the city! Vinicio smiled madly, as all of his nearby guards subconsciously inched themselves out of his way. Taking up his sword, he decided to go out and deal with the assassin personally this time—by the end of the day, he swore, only one of them would be returning towards the safety of their home base alive.