Antonio struggled by her feet as Marcello took out a cord from his pocket and proceeded to tie up his wrists.

"You have it all wrong." Antonio grunted. "Niccolò lied to you."

"He didn't tell me anything!" Claudia shouted and then looked out the window. They were now entering the Antico district and she couldn't wait until they arrived at the Colosseo and stopped La Volpe from killing Machiavelli.

Antonio struggled as Marcello pulled him in an upright position. "He lied. I would never betray the Order. I think of all of you as family. He just…."

Without even thinking, Claudia raised her hand and slapped him hard against the face. "Basta! I saw you with Cesare right now."

Marcello was searching Antonio's pockets and then took out a few pages out. "Look at these." He said handing it over to her.

Claudia looked at the blank parchments not understanding and then saw Machiavelli's signature at the bottom right of the document. "What is this?"

"I've seen this with Marietta as well." Marcello said. "She told me that Machiavelli would sometimes keep these signed pages with him for his work."

Claudia looked down at Antonio who looked nervous. "You stole them!"

"No I-"

"That's why you made all those trips to Firenze to see Machiavelli." Claudia said, remembering the night when Antonio had come to tell him that his thieves had found a letter containing information of where she had been captured. After that she had noticed the papers in his office in disarray and had thought it had been Machiavelli. She should have known then that it couldn't be him since he was always so organized.

"Why did you do it?" Claudia screamed at him. "You hated the nobles and Uncle said you considered the thieves and courtesans to be the real rulers. Then how could you go against all of us and side with Cesare?"

"Because he promised to give me something none of you could!" Antonio revealed. "All my life I just wanted acceptance and Cesare promised me money and power."

Claudia gaped at him, still unable to grasp the truth that was right before her. Of all the people she hadn't thought that Antonio would have been the one to betray the Assassins.

"Ha!" Marcello said. "Cesare's words didn't have a sliver of truth in them. He kills after he is done getting what he wants. You were undoubtedly going to be killed."

"Never!" Antonio said. "I am loyal to him and he knows that and has appreciated my intelligence several times."

Claudia looked out the window. The Colosseo was still so far away.

"I have been his trusted guard for years." Marcello said. "He had me fooled into believing his ways were right. But when I found out the truth and wanted to leave, he was about to have me killed."

Antonio struggled with his binds some more. "Cesare will know of your treachery!"

"Can you tell the driver to ride more quickly?" Claudia said impatiently. She didn't care why Antonio had done it anymore. All that mattered was that Machiavelli was safe.

"If you survive." Marcello said.

Antonio's eyes grew wide. "Then kill me right now!"

"Gladly." Marcello said, removing his dagger.

"Stop!" Claudia said, putting up her hand. "We need him alive so that he can confess to his crimes. He's the only one at the moment, who can clear Machiavelli off all stains. "

Antonio smiled slowly. "If he's still alive that is."

Claudia clenched her hands tight so that she wouldn't strike him. "What?"

"La Volpe is going to kill him."

"I know that." Claudia said.

"What you don't know is that he's going to kill him before he gets to the play at the Colosseum." Antonio grinned. "You will never know where he is."

Claudia gasped. "Stop the driver!"

Marcello tapped on the wall of the carriage and yelled for the driver to stop immediately. When it did, Claudia grabbed Antonio by the front of his shirt. "Where is Machiavelli?"

Antonio grinned widely. "It was so easy. Cesare found out that Machiavelli was working against him and was an Assassin, he wanted to execute him himself. But I gave him a better plan."

Claudia exchanged looks with Marcello who looked as dumbfounded as she was. No doubt Lucrezia had told her brother of Machiavelli and Cesare had acted faster than she had expected. Her heart sank.

"I told him that La Volpe already suspected Machiavelli of wrongdoings and told him the easier way to exterminate this problem was…" Antonio paused deliberately as if when he delivered the end, he would be applauded. "By having him killed by the people he was working with."

"So you set him up." Marcello said. "You bastardo!"

"Cesare said I was ingenious." Antonio seemed to brag.

"You know where Machiavelli is?" Claudia asked him, trying hard not to use her hidden blades on him.

"Of course I do." Antonio said smugly. "I was just telling Cesare how everything had fallen into place."

Claudia leaned back, unable to breathe as realizations set in. "You were the one who informed Vieri of Petruccio's plans. You were the one who was responsible for the massacre of the recruits. And now you're having him killed?"

"We will find him!" Marcello said resolutely.

"How? I don't know where he is, you don't know where he is…and…he…" She glared at Antonio who seemed happy to see them in this predicament. "He won't tell us."

Marcello tapped his foot. "Maybe, but we know Machiavelli." He said. "We should be able to guess where he could be hiding. You've known him a long time. There must be a way where you can determine where he may be hiding and which road he would take."

"No!" Claudia thrust her hands into her hair. "I don't know. He never told me anything. He should have told me all this, but he didn't and now we can't save him!"

"Calmarsi! Calmarsi!" Marcello said soothingly. "There has to be a way. We will not give up. Bene, so we cannot guess. It's too risky. But we can do something else."

Marcello searched his own pockets and removed a piece of folded paper. "This a rough map of Roma." He said. "Machiavelli gave it to me so that I would know which route to take to flee from this city." He unfolded it and handed it over to her.

Claudia looked at the lines and areas marked and felt her lips trembling. Roma was large and Machiavelli could be anywhere.

"Even if we cannot exactly point out where he may be, we can use the process of elimination to find out where he could be."

Claudia could see her vision blurring and blinked back her tears. There didn't seem any other way to help Machiavelli, so she decided to try out Marcello's plan. "Bene." She nodded and pointed to the left side of the map. "The Tiber Island Hideout is here, so he wouldn't be hiding here. Over here is the thieves' guild and Machiavelli wouldn't want to be anywhere near there."

"The Campagna district is in turmoil. The French are there." Marcello said. "If he has Caterina with him then he wouldn't risk being there."

"That leaves the Centro and Antico district." Claudia said.

"The Centro district is near to the Hideout."

"That leaves the Antico district which is…" Claudia was starting to cry now." Is large. He could be anywhere!"

Marcello took the map from her. "But where? The play rehearsals have been going on in the Colosseo so there were plenty of guards standing their positions."

Claudia looked down at Antonio, who was now looking at them with a large smile on his face. He was going to get away with this. They were never going to be able to find Machiavelli in time and all her efforts to have his name cleared would have been in vain.

Then a thought struck her and she snatched the map from Marcello's hands. "The tunnels!" she said excitedly. "Machiavelli was the only one using them. He showed me and as far as I know, no one else had used them yet."

"The tunnels?" Marcello asked.

Claudia nodded, her excitement building. "He's been hiding in the tunnels. They run underground, all over…Roma." She bit her lip. They were back to square one. If he was underground then he could be anywhere. "He could be anywhere." She said out loud.

"But he'll be coming out near the Colosseo." Marcello replied. "So that's what these little marks were."

Claudia looked out the window to see a tunnel entrance not ten feet away from her. Where could she find him? Nothing came to her mind that could be of any help and time was running out. Her hands reached to push open the carriage door and she got out.

"Claudia? Where are you going?" Marcello called, but she was barely listening. She couldn't think anymore and her feet were doing all the thinking for her. She ran towards the gate, pushed it open and rushed in. He had to be here. If it took the last of her breaths, she would find him.

She raced across the dark narrow passages and filled her lungs up with air. She was getting ready to call out his name when she heard the creak of a gate opening. Her heart leapt in her throat and she turned right to where she heard the sounds from.

She saw the silhouette of a person standing by the gate from where the last of the sun rays were pouring in and called out. "Niccolò!"

"Claudia?" It was a feminine voice and her heart sank. It wasn't him. She shielded her eyes as she drew closer and blinked.

"Caterina." She said. "Where is he? Where's Niccolò?"

Caterina was wearing a light purple dress and had her auburn hair tied neatly at the back. She looked like she was leaving. "Machiavelli? He's gone out to restock on ammunition. Then he said he was going to a play."

Claudia climbed up the stairs to stand before her. She swallowed and pushed open the gate. Taking Caterina's wrist in her hands, she walked out. "Where? Where did he go to buy ammunition?"

"What is going on?" Caterina asked, cross at being dragged out. "I was just leaving for Forli."

"His life is in danger." Claudia panted. "La Volpe is going to kill him tonight. I have to find him before it's too late."

"Dio Mio!" Caterina exclaimed. "He left an hour ago. By now he must have already been to the Blacksmith's and heading to the Colosseum."

"Where? Which direction was he headed?" Claudia continued to walk sprightly, looking everywhere around her.

"He must have taken that road." Caterina said, pointing to the road on her right.

Claudia started to hurry towards it when a carriage stopped by the side of the road. "Claudia!" Marcello called.

She was still grasping Caterina's wrist, and now she took her to the carriage and got in. "We must hurry down this road." She told the carriage driver.

"Why is Antonio on the floor?" Caterina asked, getting in.

The carriage started to move and Claudia clasped her hands together in a silent prayer. She wished they were moving faster, but the roads at this time in the evening were clogged by people going out.

"He's the traitor." Marcello explained.

"What?" Caterina said. "Is that true?"

Antonio wriggled with his binds but said nothing.

"Bastardo!" Caterina said and then slapped Antonio right across the face. "Why not just kill him?"

"We need him to clear Machiavelli's name." Claudia said stonily. She was trying to push away her memories, but all at once, every single moment she had with Machiavelli came rushing in.

She remembered how he had walked into her little office at Monteriggioni and how he had helped her come to terms with her grief. She remembered the way he had helped her in becoming an Assassin and how he always found her.

Claudia squeezed her hands tighter. And when Duccio had run away, Machiavelli had been the one to stand up and marry her. He said he loved her and she had pushed him away.

Claudia put a hand to her forehead. The sun was setting in the horizon and as every second passed, she could feel her chest tightening. If he died tonight, she wouldn't be able to live without him. She wished she had just told him. She wished she had just told him how much she loved him.

The words in her mind were like lightening, brightening every emotion within her in a flash. She loved him! She really, really loved him!

"Stop!" Claudia screamed suddenly.

The carriage stopped with such abruptness that she almost fell over Marcello. She regained her balance, opened the door and leapt out. "He's there!" she yelled.

Right across the river, she spotted Machiavelli walking slowly, with his head bowed and then saw a movement near the roof on the other side.

It was La Volpe, sliding down the roof. He removed a dagger from his belt and sneaked closer to Machiavelli.

"Take the bridge!" Marcello called.

"Scream his name!" Caterina said.

Claudia couldn't listen to anything. Her eyes were fixated on the drawn dagger and she froze on the spot. Her mouth went dry and her throat tightened, but all this was only for a second. The next, she leapt over the ledge and jumped onto the wooden poles, one by one, until she was across. Then she pulled herself up and ran towards Machiavelli.

La Volpe was getting closer and she felt every nerve in her body screaming to run faster. She managed to pass by La Volpe and reached Machiavelli.

He turned around quizzically and she fell into his arms. "I love you! I love you! I love you!" she gasped.

Now that she was in his arms, her breath came rushing in and she tightened her arms around his waist. Closing her eyes, she wept softly as her heart finally came back to its normal pace.

"Get out of the way!" La Volpe growled. "I'll end this traitor's life tonight!"

Claudia almost pushed Machiavelli away and spun around angrily. "He's not the traitor, you Bastardo! He never was!"

La Volpe still had his dagger poised for the kill. "Get out of the way!" he warned.

"He's not the traitor! Antonio is!" Claudia said, pointing towards the carriage coming down the bridge. The carriage stopped and Marcello jumped out, dragging Antonio with him. Then Caterina stepped out, looking horrified at La Volpe as he clutched his dagger.

Marcello threw Antonio down at La Volpe's feet. "It was him all along." He said. "I saw him betray your recruits and we saw him with Cesare today."

"Is this true?" La Volpe asked, putting his dagger down.

Antonio struggled with the ropes tying his wrists, but Marcello had tied them well.

"Tell me it's all a lie." La Volpe looked astonished.

"I did it!" Antonio said. "I did it for money and power, things that being an Assassin could never have brought me."

La Volpe gaped at him. "You are the leader of thieves. You've believed in out tenets and our Creed. And all for a bag of coins, you went against us?"

Antonio said nothing and only grimaced at all of them. Claudia could see Machiavelli from the corner of her eye and she saw the same look of astonishment on his face. He stepped forward, standing beside her but saying nothing.

"He was the one who told Vieri of Petruccio's plans. He's responsible too for Petruccio dying." Claudia said bitterly.

Marcello showed La Volpe the blank signed pages. "And he was setting up Machiavelli too."

La Volpe saw the pages and his frown deepened.

"He stole them." Claudia said. "He forged a letter and sent it to Zio Mario. Machiavelli is innocent!"

The letters slipped from La Volpe's hands and scattered on the ground. "I thought of you as my Brother."

"Hah!" Antonio said. "I deserve to be much more than just a thief. You're no Brother of mine. You never were."

La Volpe reached down and pulled Antonio up by the front of his shirt. "And now you'll be nothing!" He slipped his dagger into Antonio's chest.

Antonio uttered a cry and then fell to the ground, blood gurgling from his mouth. La Volpe dragged him over the ledge and threw him over into the river. "Requiescat in pace." He said bitterly.

He then turned to Machiavelli, his eyes downcast and rueful. "I owe you an apology, Niccolò."

Claudia glared at him. She would say nothing and let Machiavelli spew curses at him. If he wanted to hit that old fox then she wouldn't stop him either.

Machiavelli stepped forward and put his hand on La Volpe's shoulder. "I forgive you." He said.

Claudia looked at him in surprise and so did Marcello and Caterina.

La Volpe put his hand on Machiavelli's shoulder and nodded. "Grazie, amico. I wouldn't know what to do if I didn't have your forgiveness."

Machiavelli nodded and then took her hand and started to walk away. Caterina and Marcello got into the carriage and waited for them.

Claudia looked back at La Volpe who seated himself on the bench, looking miserable. She turned back to look at Machiavelli who didn't seem the least bit angry. She stopped then and pulled her hand away from his grip.

"Claudia….no…." Machiavelli said, but she didn't listen to him.

"I'll be back soon." She stomped back to La Volpe and then pulled him up easily by the front of his cloak and slammed him against the opposite wall.

"You bastardo!" she spat at him. "Stronzo, figlio di puttana! Pezza di merda!"

"Claudia…I am so…sorry…" La Volpe gasped.

Claudia only slammed him harder against the wall, surprised by her own strength and terrified of her seething anger. "Do you know what you put us all through? You almost killed him tonight!"

"I am sorry!" La Volpe pleaded, looking frightened by her anger.

"If you ever touch even a hair on his body, I will beat you up so bad, you'll be known as the old fox with broken bones!"

La Volpe cowered and Claudia released him.

"Intesi?" she threatened.

La Volpe nodded quickly and Claudia, spun on her heels and walked back over to where Machiavelli was waiting. She saw the carriage riding away and said nothing.

"What was that about?" Machiavelli asked.

"Nothing!" she said, still walking.

Machiavelli closed a hand around her wrist. "I heard every word. An old fox with broken bones?"

Claudia stopped and looked at him, blushing. "He deserved it."

Machiavelli smiled. "That doesn't matter anymore."

"Then what does?" She was suddenly aware that Machiavelli was drawing her closer.

"What you said a few minutes ago." He smiled. "What was it again?"

Claudia could feel her blush deepening. She shied away and then stopped herself. She would no longer deny her feelings. "I love you." She said softly.

Machiavelli gathered her in his arms. "Say it again."

"I love you." She was pressed against his chest now and she put her arms around his neck. "I love you."

Machiavelli lowered his head and kissed her gently. "I love you too." He whispered.