Assassin Boot Camp

"I cannot believe that you got me into this" Lia de Russo whispered angrily to Il Lupo when she was certain that the two were out of ear-shot.

"Well what was I supposed to do?" Il Lupo whispered back, barely audible. "Luigi was right there. Besides, this is not so bad. We are now both in the belly of the beast together, and no place is safer from other Templars like Malfatto"

"I knew I should have gone to Constantinople..." The Smuggler grumbled bitterly. She instinctively checked her hidden blade despite knowing how if she was discovered she'd be as good as dead. Her anxiety still hadn't completely dissipated from her two near-death experiences, and now that she was in the (admittedly nice-looking) lion's den, she was on edge again.

Taking notice of this, the Prowler attempted to place a hand on her shoulder but she shook him off and turned her back to him, her pretty face taking on a venomous scowl.

"Hey, easy. I'm only trying to help bella donna"

"Which you can do by staying a few feet away from me!" She replied rudely. "And could you please stop calling me that?"

The Prowler's face took on a disappointed expression. "What, can a man not compliment a pretty face when he sees it?"

The Smuggler rolled her eyes. She hadn't expected a Templar assassin to be the flirtatious or romantic sort. Of all the people she had been stuck with…

There was a knock on the door. Lia's heart skipped a beat as she instinctively raised her hidden blade before Il Lupo held up his hand as an indication for her to lower her weapon. Il Lupo went to the door and opened it. On the other end waiting for them were Luigi and another man. Lia took in his appearance: he was taller then Luigi, with a face that was worn and had lines that showed that the man had already been through too much in life. His brown hair was very closely cropped, and he wore a red shirt with a white collar, a large brown belt that looked more like a sash, and a black coat with only one sleeve that was missing its middle third.

"Here they are Machiavelli. This is the woman Il Lupo recruited for the brotherhood"

Machiavelli. So that was who he was. Lia de Russo mentally kicked herself for not recognizing him immediately. She had certainly heard plenty of stories of him. His cynicism was legendary, as was his ruthlessness against his enemies. Now she was really done for if she was discovered.

Machiavelli eyed Lia de Russo with an unforgiving expression, his eyes looking her over in such a way that she felt like a prostitute being inspected by her manager. Or a slave by her master. Lia couldn't decide which was more demeaning.

Finally Machiavelli concluded his examination and then turned his gaze to Il Lupo.

"And…where exactly did you find this woman?"

"Near the docks. She was a sea-faring merchant, dealing in stuff the Borgia didn't want being sold. They sent some men after her, I drove them off, and she offered to join us. We then went further into the city until we ran into Luigi"

Lia was privately impressed. The Prowler certainly knew how to concoct a story on the spot. But would Machiavelli fall for it?

For another moment there was silence. Machiavelli's stern gaze gave no quarter and the Smuggler was left without any inkling to what he was thinking. Finally though, he nodded, having apparently fallen for the ruse, and then said: "she can begin training with the other novices tomorrow. Until then, you Il Lupo, will be responsible for managing her."

Il Lupo nodded. "Of course Machiavelli"

And no sooner had they come Machiavelli and Luigi departed, shutting the door behind them. Lia breathed a sigh of relief.

"Machiavelli is one of these assassins. Madre di Dio. As if I wasn't in enough of a lion's den already"

"Ah come on. He believed my story. You'll be fine. Machiavelli's got too much on his mind to worry about one suspicious recruit"

"Your infinite optimism is so reassuring" Lia replied coldly, sarcasm dripping with every word.

"Whatever made you so cynical Smuggler?" Il Lupo asked curiously.

"Whatever made you, the supposed Templar assassin, "Il Lupo" in the flock, so damned polite?"

The Prowler shook his head and made a "tsk tsk" sound. "Ah, this is going to be a long partnership, I can tell…"

-X-

It was dark. So very dark…the streets were empty, every house was pitch black inside and out, and the air was cold. She wrapped her green cloak more tightly around herself and pulled down hard on her hood as she kept walking.

Another blast of cold wind sent shivers down her spine as she swept around and walked down an alleyway. As she did, her ears picked up a faint sound. Whipping around, she saw nothing. Turning back around, her brown boot almost stepped on a large and disgusting rat that then scampered away. Lia pulled back with revulsion.

Backing away slowly, a gloved hand suddenly clamped over her mouth and pulled her backwards. Lia struggled fiercely, popping out her hidden blade just as she was thrown up against a wall by her assailant. And it was then that she saw him: that white mask with a beak, the black hat, and the dark green robes that covered his entire body. He was hunching over like a predator about to pounce on its prey, and in his hand he held a meat cleaver. It disturbed Lia even more to know that behind those goggles on that white mask were a pair of eyes staring at her. Eyes that she knew contained not an ounce of humanity or remorse or empathy. No soul…

Lia de Russo woke up in a cold sweat, screaming and gasping as she threw off the blankets and sheets of her bed and popped out her hidden blade with a snap, holding it at the ready as if there were a group of men surrounding her with swords drawn. Her eyes scanned the dark room as her heart pounded in her chest. The door opened and Lia whipped around in its direction, her hidden blade aimed at whoever was coming. As it turned out, the figure was Il Lupo.

"What's wrong Lia? I heard you screaming. And why do you have your hidden blade out?"

"I sleep with it at all times…" Lia grumbled

"Well, you're cautious, I can say that for you. But what happened?"

Lia hesitated to say. She didn't want to admit that she'd had a nightmare. Didn't want to admit that she would be so weak. But the word came out of her mouth anyway.

"Nightmare"

"Of Malfatto?"

She looked at him darkly, but nevertheless nodded.

"Right…I'm sorry…"

"Don't be. I'll be fine."

"Well, I hope so. Can't bring down the entire Assassin's order by myself after all"

Lia looked surprised and Il Lupo responded with a wink and a grin. She rolled her eyes in response. Il Lupo responded: "You should probably try and get some more rest. It will be morning soon, and that…is when things will become difficult."

-X-

The sun had barely risen when Lia de Russo was wakened by someone shaking her again and again. Lia's eyes snapped open and she grabbed the throat of the man shaking her before seeing it was Il Lupo. Calming down, she released her grip on him.

"Sorry…I…"

"Its OK, its OK. My, you are a fierce one Lia de Russo…"

"Why did you wake me up? Its barely even dawn!"

"Ah yes, well…I had said that when morning came, your training would begin, and, uh…its morning now"

Lia's eyes widened in horror. "What? But the sun's barely even out! I—"

"Yes, I was thinking all of these things myself when I first joined. But, take my word when I say there's no use complaining. Its like shouting at the wind. Now come. We must hurry. Machiavelli does not like stragglers."

"Maciavelli?"

-X-

Machiavelli was the one who trained the newest recruits in the Assassin's Order before handing them over to Ezio to call upon. And as Lia found on the very first day, he was anything but a gentle instructor.

He was blunt, for one thing, at least when speaking to the recruits like her. He wasted no time telling them all why they were there, what their duty was, and what he expected from them. He also threw in the insincere reassurance that any who did not meet his expectations would still end up serving the order in some way…just in a non-combative role. Lia could tell that he had clearly hated having to say that last part, and figured that if it were all up to him he would have already thrown half of them out by now and never see any one of them again.

No sooner had Machiavelli finished his very brief and to-the-point introduction did he organize all of the recruits into groups and rows and spent the rest of the day drilling them in the ways and methods of the assassins, and how to be a proper assassin. Lia doubted that she had ever done and learned so much in one day before, and it was exhausting to say the least. After the first three hours or so her head was pounding, her body ached, and her ears were sore from the clanging of steel, the banging of one piece of metal against another piece of metal, and above all Machiavelli's constant lecturing, ordering, instructing, berating, and insulting of his recruits. Among the torrent of acidic deadpan remarks made by the man included: "took you three shots to hit your target? What do you think this is, an archery range?"

"For G-d's sake! This sword looked like you puked on it! Dull and rusty blades will get you nothing but an early grave"

"If I gave you a piece of gold could you at least pretend to try and wield that hidden blade properly?"

And on and on it went, for hours on end, until finally, after Lia was sure that at least half of the day had gone by, Machiavelli called an end to the training and told them to be back at the designated area the next day to be drilled in more specific tasks. Lia could tell that she was far from the only assassin who felt compelled to use their hidden blade to slit their own throat.