It was quite dark when they arrived at the liberated Borgia tower where the previous recruits had been housed and supposed to be kept safe.
Borso got down from his horse and then walked over to hers and held out his hand. Claudia gripped the reins tight when a memory attacked her. She could still remember the day she had walked in here and instead of her recruits she had seen torn limbs and blood. There had been so much blood that even the walls had large smears of drying blood on them.
La Volpe and Antonio had buried the remains of the recruits and had the place cleaned out, but what they couldn't erase was the guilt that had festered inside her. It had been her fault since she had been the one to suggest this place. Instead of picking a desolate place, she should have picked one somewhere inside the city where….
Claudia felt her throat tighten as the thought continued: where their screams would have been heard. Out here no one must have heard them. Someplace else would have been conspicuous but at least, they would have been alive. She couldn't even imagine what their families must have suffered.
"Claudia?"
She took Borso's hand and climbed down. She would have to push away her thoughts if she were to find the real traitor. Machiavelli could absolutely not have been responsible for that massacre.
They stood by the cliffs and looked at the surroundings.
"Cliffs everywhere." Borso stated. "The only way to get in the tower for the guards would be this bridge."
Claudia looked at the bridge spanning over the waters and then peered down. He was right. The guards couldn't have jumped from the cliffs and arrived secretly. They weren't that agile and from her experience, not many of them could swim and that too this far.
"Then why did the recruits not see them coming?" Claudia thought aloud.
"Hmm?"
Claudia shook herself. "Even if the guards had arrived soft -footed, how was it that none of the recruits saw them? I mean, the tower has windows."
"That is true. But maybe they were attacked when they were all sleeping."
"Perhaps." Claudia replied, unconvinced. She couldn't believe that none of the recruits had heard the guards. Even if all of them were sleeping, not all of them could be such deep sleepers.
Borso walked ahead of her towards the tower and she paused. She did not want to go near the place that to this day, gave her chills. Seeing those bodies mutilated still took presence in her nightmares. Her stomach seemed to be churning and she placed a gentle hand on it, expecting to vomit and then swallowed.
Taking a deep breath, she followed Borso and then reached for a candle and matchstick. "Are there any lanterns around? This candle would hardly provide much light."
Borso felt along the wall of the tower and then winced. "Ugh! I think I squashed a bug with my bare hands. Ah, never mind. I think I found a lantern hanging here."
He put it forward and Claudia struck a match and lit the candle inside. "There."
Borso held up the lantern towards the tower and then at the door. "What clues could we possibly find here?"
"I don't know." She looked up and still remembered the day she had scaled the tower and burned down the Borgia's presence from it. She went to the side and saw a Borgia flag sticking out of the mud.
Claudia turned away and then walked over to the other side. A gentle breeze caressed her face and she closed her eyes. Who could it be? Who could be the traitor?
"What if…." Borso began hesitatingly. "Uh…."
Claudia didn't turn and crossed her arms, still deep in thought. "What do you want to say?"
"What if it is him?" he asked. "Your condition was that you needed my help to find the traitor and to prove Machiavelli's innocence. And then you would marry me? But what if he did turn out to be the one who betrayed us all?"
"Impossibile!" She said. "I can only imagine what relationship he has with Marietta, but he is not a traitor. I have faith in him."
"Then who do you suspect?"
"It could be anyone."
"Even me?" Borso asked in surprise.
"No." Claudia said. "It cannot be you." She walked back to him. "The guards did come from the bridge, but the way things happened, I have a theory."
"What is it?" Borso asked.
"It's just a theory but, I don't remember seeing any blood around here." Claudia said. "Do you?"
Borso shook his head so swiftly that the curls of his hair bounced.
"Essato! If the recruits had a chance to fight, not all of the battle would have taken place inside. There isn't much space." Claudia said.
"Si, but that does not mean it's not possible." Borso told her and started to open the door when she stopped him. She still couldn't bear to look inside. In her mind, she would continue to see the blood.
"In my theory, someone they trusted was let in and that was when they were ambushed." She told him. "They may have not reached the higher ranks but they were trained well enough to fend off the attacks of the guards."
"Someone they trusted?"
Claudia was no longer looking at him, as she tried to guess what could have happened that day. "A horde of guards would have alerted our spies. No, it was done secretly."
"Did you say something?" Borso asked.
Claudia realized that she had uttered her thought out loud. "The reason why I don't think it's you is because not only are you Bartolomeo's man, whom I trust completely, but also because discretion is simply not the mercenaries style."
"That's sounds right." Borso chuckled. "We do like to make a lot of noise."
Claudia peered down at the cliffs again. "Discretion is something that is sort of an inert talent among the thieves and courtesans. And I know my girls, they wouldn't do it."
"Then in your theory it is the thieves." Borso said.
Claudia frowned. "The day Machiavelli told me that the recruits had to be kept safe, everyone was there. This is why I have even more reason to believe that it may be a courtesan or thief for we are always careful with our conversations. When we were discussing, we did not notice anyone around us."
"A quality found particularly in thieves. They are the ones who blend in with the crowds and appear invisible." Borso said.
"Also in courtesans." Claudia said. "Paola and Teodora teach such skills as well."
"Think about it." Borso said suddenly and then kept his lantern down on the stair. "La Volpe has always disliked Machiavelli. Maybe this was his way to get rid of him."
"Maybe." Claudia said. "La Volpe may be a stronzo, but he is loyal to the Order."
"It's all a deception." Borso scoffed.
"I have no proof." She said. "This is all a theory- a supposition of what might have transpired."
Borso nodded thoughtfully and then raised his hand suddenly.
"What is it?"
"Shh!" he whispered and looked all around them. He stepped closer to her until she could smell his musky scent and the alcohol in his breath. "There's someone here."
Claudia immediately loosened her sleeves of her dress so that she could be free to use her Hidden blades. She turned to look about her and heard the rustle of leaves. She put up a finger and gestured down.
Borso quietly picked up his lantern and they both stood near the very edge of the bridge and peered down. A bush shook and when Borso shone his lantern on it, she saw a dark figure rush by and then before they could even blink, she heard a loud splash.
Claudia ran along the bridge, all the while keeping her eyes down but saw only a dark shadow. Whoever it was could swim fast.
Borso scrambled after her and then held up his lantern, but the next thing they saw was the dark figure hauling himself up on the docks and use the lift to hoist himself over the cliffs. After that they didn't see anything.
"Who was that?" Borso asked. "He heard us."
Claudia grit her teeth. If only she had been as swift, she would have caught the intruder. "That rules out the mercenaries and the courtesans." She said. "Whoever that was, wasn't an ordinary citizen or even an agile guard. He was too fast and knew exactly how to hide. He was a thief."
*/*/*/*/*
When they went back to the Hideout, they bumped into La Volpe who appeared to be waiting for them. He was leaning against the table with a letter in his hand which he unfolded when they stepped in.
"Ah, you have finally come back." La Volpe said and turned to Borso. "I would like a private word with Claudia. Assassin business."
Borso frowned, but walked to the other room, grumbling under his breath for being treated this way. Claudia thought La Volpe had been a bit rude for dismissing Borso so, but she wanted to know what he was up to.
"Well?" she asked impatiently. She saw Borso standing idly by the room where they had put up all the paintings. He seemed to be studying one, but his eyes traveled over to her and La Volpe. Then he put his hands in his pockets and sulked as La Volpe began talking.
"I've just received information that Machiavelli is going to help Caterina Sforza escape." He said. "Do you know what that means?"
Claudia sighed. "It means that we shouldn't trouble ourselves talking about a traitor." She said the last with heavy sarcasm and started to walk away when La Volpe blocked her path. From the corner of her eye, she saw Borso step towards them and then halt.
"We need Caterina. She is a powerful ally to the Assassins and if we help her escape, she will aid us in return." La Volpe explained.
Claudia tapped her chin. "I wonder what reason Machiavelli could have since he is against the Assassins."
"So that we are rendered helpless." La Volpe said.
"Have you forgotten that you yourself accused him of consorting with the Borgia? So why would he risk a move that would get him into trouble?" Claudia asked. She could feel her anger rise and flexed her hands to calm herself.
They had just come to the conclusion that a thief may be the real traitor and she wondered if La Volpe was the one they were looking for.
"Whatever the reason, we have to make sure we get to Caterina first." La Volpe said. "We require her aid."
She plucked the letter out of his hands and started to walk away before she threw insults at him, when he gently caught her elbow.
"I thought you were getting married to Borso and happy with him, yet you still seem to be siding with Machiavelli." La Volpe said sneeringly.
"And now you're going to accuse me of being a traitor too?" she glared at him, challenging him to say yes so that she could punch him right in the face. She didn't know where the anger was coming from, but it felt so good and made her feel alive.
"No." La Volpe said. He started to say something else when he noticed Borso coming towards them. He bent down so that only she could hear what he wanted to say. "My only concern is that when the time comes and we have to get rid of that traitor, you will get in my way."
Claudia did move her hand then, but Borso caught it and held her fist tight in his hand. "She needs her rest." He said firmly.
"Certamente." La Volpe turned to go and then stopped. "Do not forget one thing." He said, turning his head. "You must be successful in this mission. No matter at what cost it comes. Remember your loyalty."
Claudia gasped. Was he implying that she kill Machiavelli? How dare he?
"Claudia, no." Borso said, holding her back.
"I am so mad at him." She cried.
"Did you notice." He said quietly.
"What?" Claudia wanted to throw something against the wall or break something with her hands.
"His leggings?" Borso was staring at La Volpe as he was speaking to one of his thieves.
Claudia rolled her eyes. She was enraged by what La Volpe had just said to her and Borso was concerned of his tights?
She looked at the thief and then saw why Borso was concerned. La Volpe's burnt orange tights were smeared with mud and leaves. Her eyes traveled upwards and she saw a wet patch on the side of his shirt. Was it sweat or water?
"He was there?" Claudia said. "He was the one who was eavesdropping?"
Borso squeezed her hand. "I think he just became our prime suspect."
