Chapter 2

On January 15th, the appointed day of the meeting Giovanni returned to the poor district of Florence. Uberto had moved on Giovanni's suggestion to arrest Stefano, but evidence had been lacking and the man was out on bail. The trial was set for March 20th, which had both perks and pitfalls. Giovanni had two months to find evidence for the man's trial, but on the other hand, how many lives could Stefano ruin in 2 months?

He expected a crowd, but not the hundreds of people that were there. The old man he had talked to a week before stood at the front. Now hope was the only emotion that showed in the man's eyes. If Giovanni couldn't pull through with his promise and hang Stefano then this man and likely every other person here would be massacred by Stefano's followers. It was a great responsibility, but Giovanni was used to pressure. He nodded to the old man and said "Have everyone line up. I wish to know names, ages, the story of what Stefano did to them, and if they know somewhere where I could find material evidence." The old man repeated his instructions and the crowd began to form a line. They walked up to Giovanni and told him there stories. Stories of loved one murdered, livelihoods ruined, and homes destroyed. Hours passed. One hundred and ninety-five names on the list. One hundred and ninety-five stories about the monster Stefano.

There were two that touched Giovanni more than any other. The first was a man named Luigi who had fallen out with his brother. His brother came to try and make amends Luigi wouldn't hear it. Luigi's brother had owed Stefano money and begged for Luigi to pay his loan. Luigi refused. His brother had been murdered the next day by Stefano. The other was the story of a Jew named Levi. He had lost everything to a Muslim mob in Jerusalem and had fled penniless to Florence. There he had needed money to take up his old trade of pottery making but unfortunately took a loan from Stefano. The man had nothing to lose or so he thought. But every month he failed to pay Stefano had one of the seven items that connected him to his homeland destroyed. He only had three left. Giovanni figured that these stories touched him because they reminded them of himself. He too had fallen out with his brother and his kids knew nothing more than that there Uncle Mario existed. And he had lost everything he owned when he moved to Florence. If he hadn't pulled the drowning Lorenzo di Medici out of the water he very well could have been in the same situation as Levi.

The next morning, Giovanni rose and walked to the fireplace in his home. He pushed one of the tiles on the mantel and the wall lowered into the floor. He followed the hidden passage till he came to his sanctuary, donned the robes of the Assassin Order, and buckled on his sword. He had 4 places to look for evidence and he expected that Stefano's followers wouldn't be best pleased if they found him. Last but not least he slid on his bracer that contained the hidden blade. The weapon of the Assassin.

Giovanni arrived at a tower under construction. One of the men the day before had told him that Stefano smuggled goods into Florence and that they were stored here. Four guards stood at the door and there wasn't any other way in. Unless you were an Assassin. Giovanni walked around the back of the tower, climbed up the scaffolding and proceeded to climb up the building until he made it to a window. He climbed into the tower and examined what was there he decided that when he was done with his investigation he would send Uberto here with Florentine guards. He climbed back out of the tower and went to the second location, a blacksmith who was one of Stefano's enforcers. While the man was busy running his shop, Giovanni climbed up and jumped through a second story window because the man lived above the shop. Quickly rooting through the man's home he found a knife that had been clearly described by multiple men who had seen their families murdered. If that came out, the blacksmith would surely turn on Stefano in a heartbeat so he wouldn't hang. Giovanni found nothing at a third location, a home on the Arno that belonged to one of Stefano's must trusted associates. The final place Giovanni looked was the office of Stefano that evening. He rooted through drawers and found Stefano's files labeled with the names of different people on Giovanni's list, as well as some that weren't. The sheets showed how much they owed and the steps taken to intimidate them. This evidence could get a conviction without the nearly two hundred witnesses or the enforcers testimony. But as Giovanni rose to leave a man burst through the door. It was Stefano's head of security. The man drew his sword and shouted "Die Thief" before attacking Giovanni. Giovanni barely got his sword out in time to counter the first blow.

The two danced, blades always turned away. With every stroke the man brought his blade closer to Giovanni and Giovanni's sword was stopped further from the man. Giovanni attempted to slice the man's leg, but the attempt cost him a deep gash on the ribs. Two strokes later a long slash down his thigh was added to his list of injuries. The man was a trained swordsman and Giovanni was being cut to ribbons. But unless he missed his guess this man was a trained where there were rules and honor in a fight. Giovanni had one rule survive. Two more deep cuts became part of Giovanni's collection. Suddenly Giovanni threw his sword and ran behind Stefano's desk. The man was stunned by the thrown but he managed to deflect it so he received no more than a gash on the ribs. But then Giovanni threw Stefano's heavy wooden chair at the man. The chair knocked the man flat on his back and before he could rise Giovanni jumped on him and shoved his hidden blade in the man's throat. Rest in Peace Giovanni thought before leaving to inform Uberto of the evidence he had gathered.