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Chapter 38
He opened the doors of the brothel to find all the men gone, except Antonio, since he was a friend to Teodora. The other girls were mourning their lifeless companion, and the girl Ezio had saved rushed over in tears to join them.
"You have our gratitude, Ezio," Teodora informed him solemnly.
Antonio's fist slammed on a table. "Why is it wherever you go, trouble follows?" he asked, throwing his arms in the air.
"Antonio…" Ezio began to protest.
"I know, I know, this isn't your fault. Merda, it just seems like everything has gotten worse lately. The more we try to fix, the more everybody gets hurt!"
Ezio hesitated. "I trust you know why I'm here?"
Antonio sighed, and he motioned for the three of them (including Teodora) into another room so that the courtesans could grieve without disturbance.
"I imagine to rid Venice of Marco Barbarigo?"
"Yes, I-"
"But really, Ezio, we did this once already! And this new Templar Doge is a bigger culo than the last. Nevermind that he never leaves the Palazzo."
"Then we can find a way to…wait… did you say 'Templar'? How do you know about them?"
"Please, Ezio. I am aware of the different factions in my city. His may be secret, but secrets are my specialty."
Ezio was tempted to probe the subject further, but he held his tongue. He trusted the thief completely, but he decided it wouldn't hurt to make Zio Mario aware of his knowledge.
"Besides, none of it matters since Marco has barricaded himself inside the Palazzo. Unless Leonardo has another miracle machine to get us in, we have to wait until he comes out, and he never does!" the thief continued, interrupting Ezio's train of thought.
"Yes. Except for tonight."
The two men turned to Teodora, who had suddenly interjected. "Marco wouldn't dare miss Carnevale," she elaborated.
"How do you know this?" asked Ezio.
"It is a city custom," Antonio explained aloud as he began to understand.
"Indeed," continued Teodora. "In fact, he's throwing the biggest party of them all. But getting in won't be so simple. You'll need a golden mask for entry."
Since there was no possibility that they could create a fake mask in time for the party, Teodora suggested that Ezio should try to win one in a competition. With that plan, they left the room and entered the main hall. There they found Rosa, as Antonio had sent word for her to help with the plot.
Rosa rolled her eyes when she saw Ezio. "The point of your mask is to stay anonymous, mio caro. You're easy to recognize in those robes."
"Antonio didn't recognize me when I came here," he pointed out.
"That's because when Antonio's here, he's drunk off his culo. Now he's got Leonardo joining him most of the time, and it's impossible to talk to either of them when they stumble over their words. If you start getting drunk here too, I'm going to have to start talking to Franco. If you have any compassion for dear Franco, please don't let that happen."
"She's restless," Antonio explained to Ezio after Rosa's long-winded rant. "There's been little for any of us to do since you've left."
"Then you're in luck," Ezio smiled at Rosa. He proceeded to fill her in on the details of the plan, and then she left to scout the area around the festivities to make sure it wasn't being patrolled too heavily. The rest of them followed shortly after.