Disclaimer:
I do not own Leonardo of any of the characters in it. They belong to the BBC, or CBBC, whichever one takes ownership.
Chapter Three
"Lorenzo." growled Piero de Medici's voice. "Care to explain why you are late once again?"
"Sorry father." Lorenzo apologised quickly, sitting down at the table as one of the servants placed the first course for breakfast in front of him. "I was..." Lorenzo's words drifted away as his gaze suddenly locked onto the gardens outside the window and most specifically the rosebush directly in front of the window he was sat looking out of. Luckily both his father and mother were at opposite ends of the table and from where they were sat could not see Mac squatting in the rosebush waving at Lorenzo with a very concerned look on his face.
"Lorenzo." Snapping out of his shocked silence Lorenzo turned to face his father sharply.
"Pardon father. Were you saying something?" he managed to garble out, his eyes drifting back towards the window and Mac.
"You were going to explain why you were late to the table Lorenzo. Really boy, I sometimes wonder what you have in that head of yours."
Obviously no longer interested in the reason which had delayed his son Piero de Medici turned back to the grapefruit in front of him.
"Terribly sorry father." Lorenzo spluttered leaping up from his seat, eyes glued horrified to the window opposite. "I really must go!"
Before he had any time to protest Piero de Medici watched as his son darted off out of the room, his breakfast untouched, and with his mother's disapproving glare following him out of the doorway.
"I wonder what on earth has got into the boy?" he mused, probably nothing of much importance, he was better off just focusing on trying to find something in that dammed notebook of Da Vinci's that would actually help him get what he wanted!
"He's always rushing off somewhere. I have no idea what he's up to anymore." Came an almost hysterical cry from Lorenzo's mother. "He could be running amuck with vagabonds and thieves for all we know." She finished miserably.
"He is not running amuck with thieves, Piero de Medici reassured his wife." He didn't care to mention that Lorenzo actually did keep company with one Machiavelli, whose business deals were not always of the most honest nature.
"I have to go as well." He announced suddenly, causing his wife to cast him an accusing and hurt look.
"As well. But we've barely started." She companied with a cursory wave of her hand in the general direction of the food filled table. "Won't you stay but a little while longer dearest." She pleaded.
"I really must leave." Piero de Medici insisted, "There is important business awaiting my immediate attention."
Brushing her cheek with a quick kiss he paced quickly out of the room and headed for his study. It then struck him for a moment; Lorenzo wasn't the only one who kept the identity of those he spent time with a secret from those he loved. Maybe that boy might just turn out like his father after all.
"What do you think you are doing?" Lorenzo fumed at Mac who had disentangled himself from the rosebush and had been waiting for him outside one of the servant entrance. "Do you have any idea how much trouble I would have been in if someone had found you?" he hissed at his friend.
"Shut it rich boy." Mac snapped quietly,
"Shut it!" Lorenzo shouted quietly, he was angry but he still didn't want someone overhearing them. "What are you even doing here?"
"It's Leo..."
"Oh Leo of course!" Lorenzo interrupted, "What does he want me to do now, you know my father still hasn't forgiven me for taking the falcon. TWO WEEKS I HAD TO STAND FOR THAT PORTRAIT! And my nose still looked fat!"
"How can your nose look fat?" Mac asked confused.
"It just did!"
Mac had a sneaking suspicion that the portrait was actually perfect and it was simply vanity that was causing Lorenzo to make claims of a fat nose.
"Look Leo didn't send me, Lisa did."
"You just said that Leo sent you. Make your mind up Mac." Lorenzo huffed.
"No." Mac found he was starting to lose what little patients he had, if Lorenzo didn't shut up and listen to him; he would find himself having a fat nose in real life. "Lisa sent me about Leo, she thought that since you're meant to be his friend you might like to know that he got attacked yesterday and is lying in bed possibly about to die."
The about to die bit may be a little over the top, Mac thought, but it least it may get his point across.
"Attacked!" Lorenzo yelled, startling a few servants nearby who stared curiously at him. Ignoring them Lorenzo latched onto Mac arm, "Come on."
"Wait. Where are we going?" Mack asked confused.
"Where do you think? I want to make sure Leo is O.K."
"Leo." Lisa murmured softly as she mopped the camp cloth across his feverish forehead. Apparently the fever was down more to the stress that his body had come under than an actually infection but it still needed to be monitored to make sure that it didn't get worse.
"Lisa?" Came the barely audible response. Leo's eyes opened slightly and Lisa found herself coming under his scrutinising gaze. "Where am I?"
A moment of panic shot through Lisa, he didn't remember waking up.
"Your home." She soothed, "At the workshop, you won't believe this but even Verrocchio was worried about you."
"Your right." Leo smiled, "I don't believe that."
Lisa managed a small laugh resting her hand against Leo's face and rubbing her thumb in small calming circles across his cheekbone.
"How do you feel?" She asked, not really sure if she wanted to actually know. She hated seeing Leo this way, he jumped off buildings, fell out of the sky and somehow managed to survive unhurt. Yet here he was simply lying broken and damaged.
"Like someone beat me with a chunk of wood." He muttered darkly, the imaged of the bloodied weapon seared into his mind and everything throbbed.
There was a clattering behind them and suddenly Lorenzo almost fell into the room with Mac closely on his heels.
"I told him." Mac gasped, bending over and clutching his knees as he attempted to regain some of his breath.
"Hey Lorenzo." Leo murmured sleepily, his eyes were beginning to droop again. Lisa saw the shock register on Lorenzo's face and he looked at Leo.
"Hey Leo." A silence hung between the friends, "How are you?" Lorenzo tried again, attempting not to stare at Leo as he struggled to cope with the state his friend was in.
"Been better."
"If you're tired Leo, you can go back to sleep." Lisa said, her hand still resting against his face in a comforting manner.
Leo leant into it, the warmth taking his mind off the pain slightly.
"K then." He murmured, slipping back into unconsciousness.
"How long was he awake for?" Mac asked, moving past Lorenzo who stood dumbly in the door.
"Not long."
Mac wrapped his arm around Lisa; it was becoming almost an instinctive reaction when he was around her. He kept getting an undeniable urge to help and protect her in any way he could.
"Who did this to him?" Every words in Lorenzo's sentence was strained, sounding as if he were about to cry.
"We think it was Rizzo." Mac told him, not looking around.
"I shall tell my father and have him arrested at once."
"No."
Both Lisa and Lorenzo stared at Mac in shock.
"But he..." Lorenzo started
"We have no proof. We wait and then we nail him with something that will make sure he never sees the light of day again."
Lisa nodded in agreement but Lorenzo just stood in grudging silence.
"If Leo dies..."
"He won't!" Mac said forcefully.
"But." Lorenzo continued. "If he does, I will make sure that my father has that man hanged in the main square for everyone to see what a monster he is." His words shook with a fury and for a rare moment the same fury that Piero de Medici held showed through in his son.
"It won't come to that." Mac assured him.
Well Yay! I finally did it, I updated Rizzo's Revenge. O.K I really need reviews for this because I'm struggling with motivation a little bit. So I hope you all enjoy and I can't wait to hear what you think.