[A/N]: Thanks for reading! Feedback is always welcome!

I'm really sorry everyone! I uploaded this chapter into the Doc Manager last week but somehow forgot to publish it. I'll post the next one tomorrow night, so the schedule should continue normally after this.

Chapter 30

After anxiously knocking on the door, Ezio opened it to find Leonardo shuffling through some papers at his workbench.

"I need your help, Leonardo," Ezio told him as he walked in.

Leonardo, who had been too focused on his business to notice Ezio's entrance, suddenly turned around, surprised at the urgency in Ezio's voice.

"Does it work?"

"What? What are you asking?" the inventor replied, now even more confused.

"Does it work, Leonardo?" Ezio repeated as he pointed toward the flying machine hanging in the other room. "Can it really fly?"

His friend understood at last and, with some hesitation, admitted solemnly, "I don't know."

Ezio was impatient. "What do you mean, you don't know?"

"It's only a prototype. An idea," he explained as he scratched his head. "It's not ready yet."

"Have you tried it?"

"No!" he scoffed. "It's too dangerous. To test it, you'd have to leap off a tower. Who would be mad enough to do a thing like that?"

After a light chuckle from Ezio, Leonardo turned to his friend and asked, "What's so funny?"

"Leonardo," Ezio began, "I think you just found your madman."

"Who, you?" Leonardo was bewildered, but shook his head. "Ezio, I have no intention of killing one of my closest friends."

"You won't," Ezio assured him. "It's not the first time I've leapt from a tower, and it won't be the last."

Leonardo paused and considered for a moment, and then asked sternly, "Why do you need it?"

"I can't tell you that. I don't want to put you in any danger."

"No, Ezio," his friend remained stern. "It is you who will be in danger if my machine fails. If I am going to help you risk your life, I need to know why this time."

Ezio sighed. "I need to get to the Palazzo Ducale from the roof," he explained. "That is really all I can say."

"The Palazzo Ducale?!" Leonardo exclaimed in shock. "That's across the city! Are you out of your mind?"

"Have faith in your work, Leonardo!" Ezio pleaded. "It is urgent!"

After some pacing back and forth, Leonardo threw his hands in the air. "Va bene," he sighed, "but we must test it first, and that is not negotiable. I know a place."

With the help of some of his assistants, they managed to drag the machine to the top of a nearby tower and set it up for a launch. Although he would not admit it to Leonardo, Ezio was getting nervous at the thought of jumping off a roof with the cumbersome contraption.

"So," he said with the confidence he could muster. "How does she work?"

"Have you ever watched a bird in flight?" his companion asked. "It's not about being lighter than air. It's about grace and balance. You must use your body's own weight to control your elevation and direction."

Ezio nodded halfheartedly, and Leonardo wished him luck.

"Does Rosa know you're doing this?" he asked.

"No."

"I can't imagine she'll be pleased about it."

"If I survive, I'm sure she'll forgive me eventually," Ezio explained. "If not, you'll do the explaining instead, so I don't have to worry."

"I was afraid of that," Leonardo chuckled nervously as Ezio took his position under the wings. "For my sake, you'd better be careful."

With that note in mind, Ezio drew his breath and started running until he was able to jump clear of the roof.

He dove a bit at first, but then he shifted his weight and pulled up. For a few seconds, the machine appeared to be working, but he began to realize he was ultimately losing altitude. With some reluctance, he found an open rooftop and shifted the machine in its direction. The landing was rough enough to damage the machine slightly, but Ezio escaped with only some bruising. Leonardo, who had been watching from the tower, quickly came with his assistants to retrieve Ezio and the machine. Frustrated and desperate for a new method of infiltrating the Palazzo, Ezio followed them back to the workshop in the hopes that Rosa and Antonio would be able to help form another plan.