Thank you for reading!
Ezio followed Leonardo and their guide through the streets of Venice, keeping a few paces behind them at all times. He didn't want to be trapped into discussion with the two of them and be distracted from his first chance to survey the city.
His eyes were drawn to the rooftops and balconies, searching the skyline for ways to get up and off the streets. He watched the people going by, gauging their level of interest in him—unsurprisingly, he drew the most attention from the women, who cast sidelong glances his direction. A less experienced man, he told himself, wouldn't even notice the looks. With an effort, he resisted the urge to swagger, just a little.
Leonardo halted abruptly in the middle of the street. Ezio stopped himself just in time to avoid crashing into his friend. "What is it?" he asked.
The artist hurried over to a stall, lifting a small wooden figure. It looked like a man, each limb carefully jointed in all the right places, but it was rounded and featureless. "Do you see?" Leonardo said with excitement. "It is the perfect thing if you want to draw the human form but do not have anyone available to sit for you!" He demonstrated the many positions the form could be placed in.
"Useful, indeed," Ezio agreed.
"My friend," Leonardo said, looking uncomfortable. "Could I prevail on you to purchase this for me? My funds are a bit ..." He let the words trail off.
Ezio smiled. "After everything you have done for me, this is a small favor to ask. My purse is always at your disposal." He reached to his belt to remove his coin pouch. As he did so, a crowd of people surged past him, one of them jostling his arm. "Hey, watch your step!" he called out, stepping to the side to get out of the way.
When the group had passed, he found the coin pouch missing from his hand. Raising his head, he studied the receding people more carefully—it had been a swift, practiced lift. A raggedly dressed duo was just splitting off from the rest of the crowd. One of them turned around, a pair of dark eyes peering out from underneath a dirty cap, and tossed him a smile filled with challenge. Ezio's jaw tensed in response, and he stifled the urge to go after the pickpocket.
"Ezio?" Leonardo, intent on his new toy, had missed the entire incident.
Fortunately Ezio carried nearly as many concealed caches of coins as he did concealed weapons. He slipped another pouch out of an inner pocket of his jacket and handed it to the stall owner. "Keep the change."
He glanced again at the corner where the two thieves had disappeared. He felt sure he'd be seeing them again.