The afternoon air was crisp and cool in the large city of Roma, his corrupt and dangerous home. This beautiful city filled with life and people were being misled by the law of the Templars. Towers placed at key spots overlooked the areas, making his line of work even harder. Few people surrounded him, but that meant that there were few guards as well. Horses with heavily armoured soldiers would sometimes trot by but none seemed to notice as he sat on a bench ignores by the rest. The assassin was currently waiting for his contact on information of his next target. He was recently promoted two days ago and his first assignment was a simple assassination, that's what he was told. All he knew was that his target organised weapons to be supplied to the Templars in this area in exchanges for riches. It was sick how some people would give up all their moral values and put others in danger for some quick gold. Watching a poor looking man walk past him and smile made him think about what he was fighting for out here. Their protection.

Her been waiting for some time now and the shadows looming down on him did well hide his figure. His robes aided him as well, they were new and given as a gift. The signature drapes of cloth that identified an assassin hung around him like a waterfall, that's how it felt anyway. It's long in the back and shorter in front as all training assassins robes are, he however had the option of adding designs of his own. He felt it made him unique to his other brothers. The entire outfit itself was black, silver and beige. His undershirt was white and his pants were beige, the robe and armour are black with silver outlines around the edges. He has long brown boots on that come up to his knees and a silver sash that wraps around his waist. The outfits design is personal but it still serves its functionality well, by being comfortable and easy to move in. His hidden blade was out of sight strapped to his left arm while his sword was securely hanging at his waist on his right side and his belt of throwing knifes accompanied the sash. He loved his knifes, it was his most effective long range weapon.

The setting sun was a magnificent sight to behold and he wondered f Leonardo would be painting it tonight. Maybe not, the young man already had so much on his plate with working for the Borgia's and doing his best to help the Assassins. Last he heard, Leonardo had gotten himself a new apprentice from France. He didn't know much about the boy and he didn't bother with finding out more, he didn't after all have to worry about them. What he did have to worry about however was how long his contact was taking and how Ezio would scold him later for being tardy. Not to mention that the soldiers could be suspecting something.

Once the thought was over he saw in the distance the stark white of the master assassin uniform, he himself was one level away from that honour. And dressed in these pure robes was non other than his best friend, Danillo Vaspushe. His infectious and dazzling smile could be seen a mile away as he jogged towards him. Danillo had dark hair that matched his own, but Danillo's was slightly longer so it was combed back into a tight ponytail. His own hair hung loosely around his face and came to slightly cover his left eye. Danillo's bubbly personality and kind charm made him perfect for infiltration assignments, not only that but it attracted quite a lot of attention from the girls at the Villa Rosa. He could have had any women he wanted really but instead he chose his best friend. Sure it was frowned upon by the strict brotherhood, even more so because they were two males, but that never stopped them. Ezio was a little more lenient towards them and for that they would be grateful but sometimes the stares and disgusted lookers that they passed were a bit unsettling. He stood still under the shade of one of the many tall buildings that surrounded them, it would be safer if two assassins were not seen so openly. Danillo was just about to wave him over when surprise overcame them both. Jumping from the rooftops was someone clothed in dark blues and creamy whites, he ran lick lightning over the rooftops and jumped with pristine elegance from above Danillo. He recognised the movement immediately as an aerial assassination, but unfortunately there was no time to warn. Instinctively he reached for one of the many sharp daggers in his belt, aimed and threw as the hidden figure was still airborne. His sharp blade hit the man in the abdomen but that didn't stop him from sinking his hidden blade into its target. Danillo let out a yelp of pain and his body was forced to collide with the dusty ground, his own eyes went wide before he rushed over to the two. The hooded figure stop up, glanced over towards him and then ran off. His first thought should have been to chase after this impersonator and kill him but he could not leave his best friend and lover behind. Danillo sucked in shallow breaths once he was turned over, the few citizens surrounding them cried out in terror, alerting the guards of their presence. He knew that he should run while he still can but leaving his dying friend on the street in the middle of nowhere was unthinkable. Never compromise the brotherhood. The little voice in his head told him otherwise.

"I... have your," he coughed a little before continuing. "Information." His voice was hoarse and scratchy, completely different from the usually smooth, honey that it usually sounded like. "Please do not die on me." His voice was strained and he felt weak, not to mention that he was on the verge of tears. He was never as good at speaking English and preferred to speak in his native tongue in his home country. There was no real need for him to learn the second language, he didn't travel as much as the Master assassins did. It wasn't the first time that he had seen someone die and it certainly wasn't the first that it was someone close to him but nothing like this had happened before. His brother was assassinated by possibly one of their own or a very skilled copycat and it had happened right in front of him. If he had just walked up and met him half way then maybe this wouldn't have happened. He felt guilty.

The hooves of horses could be heard in the distance and he knew that he didn't have much time left before he got caught an accused of murder. He would be doing the Borgia a favour by handing himself over. "Cole, as a superior brother, your friend and the person who is hopelessly in love with you, please leave. Take the information and go." Letting go of cradling Danillo's head in his arms he stood up and surveyed the area as best he could with his eyes clouded with tears. Soldiers were coming from the east road so he would have to take the west back into the city. Cole crouched down and searched for the envelope of information in one of the many pockets. Once finding it, he put on last soft kiss on Danillo's forehead and then took off running. A smile was present on his face and now at least he could die knowing that he served his country and that he was loved by the one that he would forever pledge his heart to.

Cole didn't look back as he ran, dodging people while still looking out for guards, no doubt that the city soldiers would have heard about the sudden killing. One of the bulker men spotted him and drew his sword, most of the time they would travel in fours or twos, this time it was fours. It would be the first time he would fight without the help of his brothers to watch over him, Cole had to admit to being a little nervous but he couldn't let that get in the way. He had to fight to survive now. He drew his own sword and held a dagger hidden to his side, the first leaner one charged at him and he was more than ready. Blocking his sword attack and pushing him away, he pulled out his dagger and stabbed three times into the chest. From behind the no limp body two more came, they were more armoured than their deceased friend. Cole threw the body he held to the side and put his dagger away, readying his hidden blade instead. The one to the right looked eager while the one to the left looked calculating. As expected, the one to the right attacked first and was easily dodged, Cole brought his blade around and pierced the back of his neck as he fell forward, killing him. The soldier to the left's eyes went wide as he saw two of his friends dead and bleeding out on the grey cobblestone. In rage he raised his sword to above his head, intending to cut Cole down from behind. As the man let out his battle cry, it was cut short as Cole turned around and impaled the man on his sword. That left the last soldier all alone, however this one was going to be the toughest. He had large and bulky shining golden armour with a large, threatening axe as his weapon of choice. He man hoisted his axe above his head before bringing it down with as much force as he could, the movement was faster than you would have guessed it to be. Cole brought his sword up to block the mighty swing but as the blades made contact, his sword broke in half, shattered by the shear forced used upon it. The raven haired boy looked down at his hilt and what was left of the shining metal before peering up to stare onto the shining helmet of his opponent. He knew he couldn't out fight this guy with a dagger and small blade, but he could out run him. Without hesitation Cole turned and bolted in the opposite direction, adrenaline pumping through his veins. Heavy and slow footsteps were heard from behind him but he knew they would fade away soon

He didn't know for how long he was running but he did know that when he stopped, he was standing in front of the building entrance to underground brotherhood hideout, Tiber Island. Relief washed over him as he approached the brown, wooden door. His hand stopped short before the handle and his breathing became more strained. Danillo is gone. I'm going to have to tell Ezio. He sucked in a deep breath through his mouth and let it out through his nose. He was an assassin, a trained Templar killer and he shouldn't be afraid of anything. Except maybe his Mentor.