Iren Abaci, as it turned out, was a name many of the stall owners at the marketplace in Prague were familiar with. They knew him as a helpful man, who would donate some of his earnings to the stall owners who were not earning much.
Darko and Nikolai gathered that Iren was currently staying at a hotel in the working class district of the city.
When the two Assassins were near the hotel, about to walk in through its front doors, they saw Iren stroll out, guarded by two men in civilian clothing.
"This isn't good, we can't simply attack him anywhere in the hotel," Nikolai whispered. "The man may have more guards in the hotel, posing as ordinary men or even staff members."
"Let's follow the man and see where he's going," Darko told his brother. "Opportunities might present themselves."
True enough, along the way, Iren needed to use the toilet, thus he hopped out of the carriage and entered a small cul-de-sac. His two guards stood at the entrance of the one-way street, making sure no one entered while their employer was doing his business.
Darko and Nikolai scaled up a building beside the cul-de-sac, entering it without the knowledge of the guards. They dropped in silently right behind Iren, who was in the midst of doing his business.
Snick. The siblings' Hidden Blades ejected in near-unison. Upon hearing the sound, Iren's ears tingled. His head turned around, only to pale severely when he saw the two Assassins.
"Alert your guards and we'll kill you," Nikolai threatened.
He nodded in reply.
"Good," Darko said with a formal smile. "Now, tell us the reason why you're here, Templar."
"Can't a Templar go around doing business and earning money? Not everything a Templar does is to help the Order."
Taking a step closer to the Ottoman, Nikolai warned, "Our patience is growing thin, Mister Abaci. We know you're here to make contact with the local Templars."
Sighing, Iren said, "Since you know that already, why have you two cornered me in a one-way street? There must be something else you want to know. Let me guess, my partners' names?"
"You're smart for your kind," Darko complimented.
"Thank you for the compliment," replied Iren. "Now, I can only tell you the details of one partner, and that's because I don't have a strong liking for him."
"Turning your enemies against one another, eh? That's pretty clever," Nikolai noted. "Tell us who, then."
"A rather high-ranking member of the Austria-Hungarian Feldgendarmerie, the military police, named Sebastian Valerius. He does administration work within the Feldgendarmerie, though he sometimes oversees operations as well. Sebastian's in his late fifties, with amber eyes and a shitty personality, if I say so myself."
One second later Iren collapsed with a Phantom Blade wedged in between his two collarbones. Darko retrieved the Phantom Blade from the dying Templar.
"We…we know you lot are…are looking for Jaco…Jacopo," were the Ottoman's final words.
The two Assassins left the alleyway, knocking the two guards at the entrance senseless in the process.
Back in Zizkov, Darko and Nikolai reported everything to Jules.
"Shit," that was the first word that came out of Jules' mouth. "This isn't looking too good as I hoped. Sebastian Valerius is one of my most valuable informants. To think that he could've been providing me with false information all this while! He needs to be stopped ASAP."
"We were told that Sebastian is in his late fifties and has amber eyes, is that true?" Nikolai asked, wanting to verify the information they had been given.
Jules nodded in reply, adding, "You two should also know that Sebastian has an…eccentric personality. Anyway, you can find him at the Durer Training School in the city, where that scumbag works."
It was already night time then, and Sebastian had probably retired for the night. Hence, the two Assassins decided to get some much-needed rest before striking the next day.
Waking up before dawn, the two Assassins made their way to Durer Training School in Prague, which was Sebastian's workplace. They waited around outside for Sebastian.
About forty-five minutes later, a black car arrived outside the building. Sebastian stepped out of the car, dressed in Feldgendarmerie uniform. Darko and Nikolai knew that they would have to act fast, since there were two military policemen standing guard outside Durer Training School.
"I'll hold them off, brother. You focus on kidnapping Sebastian and getting him away," Nikolai told Darko.
Running up to Sebastian, Darko released his Hidden Blade and held him at knifepoint. While the onlookers were stunned, Darko knocked Sebastian out cold and dragged him back into his car.
As Darko shut the door on Sebastian's side, the onlookers began to regain their senses, including the two armed guards in front of the building.
Nikolai immediately sprang forward, holding them off as Darko got into the driver's seat of the car and drove away. Seeing the car speed away, Nikolai decided that he had bought his brother enough time and fled the scene.
