circle7 | Steal a Kiss (or two)

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Steal a Kiss (or two)

It was early morning when Vico and Adamo had made it to Barcelona. They had traveled by boat from Roma on a mission for some vital information. Actually, it was a lead up to that Spanish noble who waltzed his way through Roma just two months earlier - one of his connections. They were to find out where the iron was being transported from, and to sabotage the operation.

However, it required a little courting. The official - a Senator - had an adventurous wife, it turned out, and they - well, one of them - was to court her while the other distracted the Senator at a party they were having that very night. (They would be under the guise of Borgia officials.)

As it turned out, though, sea travel did not get along with Adamo. He was heaving half the time, huddling in the most stable corner he could find. As they finally docked and reached an inn, he flopped into his bed, groaning into the pillow as he held his stomach. Everything still felt like it was tilting back and forth over and over.

"Let's take horses back. Ugh."

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As soon as they left, Vico looked up. He threw a suspicious glance over his shoulder at the departing couple, only to meet the Madonna Garcia's still lingering eyes, and he snapped his head back around, swearing under his breath as he and Adamo leisurely made their way through the rest of the market. "They are strange," he announced, only loud enough for the two of them to hear, however, as soon as they were out of earshot. "I think they are suspicious. That is dangerous."

As soon as they were outside the market, where the crowds were more sparse, he laughed.

"They are not suspicious," he said, simple and without explanation.

"They were!" Vico protested, looking uncomfortable in his guard's uniform. "It is like they knew! They kept on staring at you, Adamo. We are not well-armed. If they had called enough guards on us, we would have been done for."

"Idiota, they were interested," Adamo clarified, with a roll of his eyes. He knew those kinds of looks anywhere. Figured that Vico was clueless.

A pause.

"They were?" Vico said, pulling back incredulously and scanning Adamo over with a look that said he had no idea what in the world on this person could possibly interest anyone ever.

Edited 2011-02-18 18:41 (UTC)

"I guess they failed to inform us that the both of them are adventurous," he said thoughtfully, rubbing the stubble on his chin, ignoring the look he was being given. "Very well. Madonna Garcia looked more interested in you. Court her instead."

Instantly, he recoiled. "Court her instead? Who will you be courting? That is your job!"

Edited 2011-02-18 18:48 (UTC)

So oblivious, Vico. Adamo couldn't help but grin. "So you would prefer the senator? Not that I mind, but... I didn't think he would be your type."

"I- ...what?" It was a very rare occasion when Vico was taken by so much surprise, that he was past words and well into the 'speechless' territory. He looked absolutely bewildered for a moment, frowning to himself as if trying to figure out this particular in-joke that he was not privy to, but Adamo clearly was. It only dawned on him after a minute - the exact moment made obvious by the widening of his eyes.

He clasped onto Adamo's wrist, looking alarmed. "I cannot allow you to sacrifice yourself like that!"

"Sacrifice?" Adamo's smile fell, eyes wide.

Then he started laughing again, stabling himself by thumping a hand on Vico's shoulder as his body shook. "I had no idea you were so clueless! This is truly endearing, amico. Classic." After another small bout, he withdrew, still grinning. "It's really no problem. If you understand my meaning. If he wasn't as good looking, well... there might be a problem."

The second instant of enlightening was heralded by Vico literally backpedaling, leaning back with eyes threatening to pop right out of his face. "...What?"

Oh.

Despite his grin, his facade, and the way he always carried himself, he was not brave enough to wait for Vico's true reaction to settle in. He checked outside the small alley they were huddled into, then motioned Vico to follow.

"Let's not wait around. We should head to the senator's."

A hand grabbed his wrist, pulling him back. Vico's expression was serious and determined, just like always. "You are sure?" he questioned, staring hard at Adamo's face as if he could find the answer there, rather than trusting what he heard. He knew what bravado looked and sounded like, after all. "I mean, even if you...partake in that kind of thing, that is a completely different matter of whether or not you are willing to let that Borgia scum put his hands on you just for answers. We can abandon the mission, fratello. I am willing to suffer el Maestro's punishment for it."

Adamo stared back. His gaze hardened; just as determined as Vico's own.

"I am not willing to," he answered back, though the fact that Vico was willing to, just to save Adamo's dignity, made his frame relax again, made his grin a little more honest, and his stance more like that of an assassin. "Grazie, amico. But I can handle it." He gave the hand around his wrist a well-meaning squeeze with his free hand. "Besides, I am more worried about how you are going to court a woman. Maybe I should give you some tips first."

Growing red in the face, Vico looked as though this particular fuse of his was especially short. He let go, clenching his hand into a fist. "That-!"

And then just as quickly, he fizzled out. What was he going to do? Dio mio. It wasn't that he was clueless with women, or that he was disinterested, but he had really never thought he would ever be doing this with anyone than the lady of his choosing. To do this on a woman who had done the same with Borgia pigs was...

"Do not think of the Borgia," Adamo said, well knowing the look that crossed his face. "Think of the mission. If I can get over it, so can you, si?"

"Of course," Vico said, even if a little sulkily. He supposed it was better than the other way around, with him having to distract the Senator. He should count his blessings, he reminded himself.

Adamo smiled. The sun was beginning to set, the clouds soaked in oranges and reds. A sure sign that they should be on their way.

"Ready, then?"

Adjusting his beret on his head (it made him look younger, like a boy, still), Vico steeled his look. "Like I said, I always am."

(Sometimes he's acted the part, too.) "Molto bene." With one more encouraging pat on the back, they were on their way.

The senator's home was practically a palace, and by nightfall, it looked like a completely different place than when they first inspected it. It was candlelit to a degree of elegance, tables of food strewn about here and there, minstrels and acrobats entertaining guests. It was deceivingly nice, compared to that Banker's party they had heard about. The Templar life had obviously treated Señor Garcia well. His guests were just as elegant. Adamo wondered how many were just as guilty of the very same lifestyle; reaping the benefits of an unjust life.

He masked these thoughts, smiling as he passed through crowds of people to the food buffet before them. All this facading around made him hungry again. (When he looked down, he swore he could almost see his reflection in the tile.)

"Pretty nice huh, Marco?" Adamo asked as he tossed a grape into his mouth.

"Sí, señor," droned Vico, sounding every part the bored assistant at a gaudy party that was way out of his tastes and league. Unlike Adamo, he could not work up an appetite when on a mission, and there was a feeling of unrest churning at the bottom of his stomach. He did not like having to use a woman to do a man's work, and he did not like, at all, leaving his friend to a pig for the sake of their duties either. He almost wished he could just force their answers out of them at blade-point and call it a day. (That much better suited his style of operation.)

Vico glanced back up at Adamo, wondering if the older man would just let his reason win out over his pride and agree to take Vico's offer to go home, but Adamo gave no indication of even the smallest amount of hesitance or discomfort. Then again, out of the two of them, Vico had always been poorer at masking his emotions.

Soon enough, preceded by a loud clearing of the announcer's throat, Senator Garcia and his wife Angelita finally made their entrance at the top of an embellished flight of stairs at the north end of the hall. They waved and slowly made their way down, holding each other's hands in a fragile gesture that was more of a touching of fingertips than any real sign of companionship or co-dependence. It was obvious to the practiced eye that these two had no lost love between them. They faced different directions when they talked, cast roving eyes over different people. It was more like a very odd partnership of equal parts greed and corruption.

While the Maestro had no qualms about causing a riot in the middle of a party, Adamo wanted to play it safe. Their job wasn't over after this, after all - they had some iron shipping to sabotage. If they ended their lives now, it was possible the operations would only be more heavily guarded come tomorrow. Otherwise, he might have done it Vico's way and went home. (Of course, it had nothing to do with the fact that going home meant more seasickness.)

As the Senator and his wife graced down the stairs, they waved, and the Senator said something in Spanish about having fun (and something else Adamo didn't understand), before everyone gave an obligatory applause and went about their business again. After sneaking a piece of bread and cheese and gobbling it down, he turned to Vico.

"Well, let's play our parts. It'll be over before we know it."

Frowning grimly, Vico gave Adamo a pat on the shoulder before pulling away from him, putting himself directly into Angelita Garcia's line of vision. He had faith that the both of them could carry out the mission, but it was more a matter of the lengths to which they would have to go to do so. Vico, for one, had no intention of sacrificing things he was not willing to give, and he could only hope that Adamo had that foresight as well.

In his lifetime, he had only really courted two or three girls, at best (because pulling on girls' hair when you were a child didn't really count). His other romantic affairs had been short-lived, and almost everything in that regard of his life had been put on hold once he had been recruited into the Assassin order. There were just more important things, like Rome and honor and brotherhood and loyalty. Unlike Adamo, romance had never been as much of a physical and emotional need.

As expected, once the Senator and his wife separated, Angelita was certainly no innocent maiden. She was making eyes at half the room, adding a little sway to her swagger as she entertained guests like a true hostess, if not going beyond that call of duty by throwing flirtations left and right. When Vico caught her eyes, he smiled, subdued and shadowed, before slipping behind one of the large marble pillars discreetly. As expected, he only had to count a few seconds before she appeared to the left, hiding half her face behind a feathered fan.

The Madonna Angelita was not an ugly woman, by any means. Her husband had probably had the fortune and the fame to secure her despite the fact that she was clearly younger than him, and though she was not exactly old, she had probably been even more beautiful in youth, before politics and money ruined her natural beauty. "Marco, is it?" she said coyly, looking up at him from under her lashes. Vico was hardly the most handsome man in attendance, and she was probably more attracted by the prospect of crossing classes than anything else. These rich, fanciful ladies got bored with their husbands at play all the time.

Vico bowed low and took her hand, caressing her palm with his fingers. "Madonna."

Considering Vico's opinion of the Borgia and the Templars, Adamo couldn't help but worry as he watched them disappear behind a pillar. He had faith in his skill, naturally, but sometimes his emotions got the best of him. But he would ask about that once they rendezvoused. His mission now was to get the senator to notice he was there.

Adamo took a small twig of grapes, making his way to another column to lean on, deliberately in Senator Garcia's sight. (He wondered if this sort of arrangement was bargained for with the real Marco and Eduardo, given the open way they were examined before.) Adamo's familiarity with this kind of thing was obvious in the way he eyed the senator, head to toe, waiting until his gaze was caught. Señor Garcia eventually turned, seeming to sense the stare in his direction. Adamo nodded at him, biting a grape from the stem carefully. His act was absolutely ridiculous, and Vico would surely have a laugh at him, but it was working. The Senator excused himself from the people he was speaking with to approach him instead. Adamo straightened to lure away suspicion from anyone looking on, but still wore a smirk. It was hard to tell if he would have the foresight to draw away from the situation once he had what he needed.

"Buona sera, Senator," Adamo greeted with a bow.

"Buenas tardes," Garcia responded with a nod, his hair draping forward as he did, almost as long as Adamo's. The senator himself was hardly what one would consider ugly; however he noticeably had a few years on Adamo. Thin wrinkles edged his eyes and mouth when he smiled. "Are you enjoying yourself?"

"Greatly! Your party is magnificent. If only I could stay for the next one." They laughed in unison, and Garcia clapped a hand on Adamo's back, leading him away from the entry hall.

"I am glad to hear that, Señor..?"

"Bianchi. Or Eduardo, if you wish."

Angelita took advantage of their positions to boldly reach out and pluck the guard's beret from his head, and Vico frowned at the floor while she couldn't see it. He had been using it to push down the hair on the left side of his face, hiding the scar that ran deep into his hairline above his ear. Recognizable features were unfortunate in an assassin, but then again, it was only if they got caught. When he straightened again, she was playing with the hat, twirling it around her finger.

"Where is your master, little guard?" she asked, glancing at him above the top of the beret. In good nature, he smiled, reaching for it only to have her pull away, initiating a cat-mouse game. (Who is the cat here, madonna?) Laughing and retreating, the sounds of their play was easily lost in the self-absorbed sounds of the crowd. No one noticed - and if they did, they turned a blind eye.

She led him into a nondescript hallway, away from prying eyes. As mottled as her reputation was, it was her reputation to keep, and Vico was all too glad to be rid of unnecessary witnesses. Reaching out with an assassin's reflex, he caught her wrist, pulling her close and against a wall. She enjoyed it, giving a small sound of surprise before dropping the hat, allowing it to be tread underfoot. Her hands were better used to grab onto Vico's shoulders. I have caught my mouse, she thought, and his eyes widened in surprise as she took a step forward and pressed flush against him.

"Señora!" he said softly in feigned surprise, and she put a finger on his lips.

"Now, now, no one will tell our masters, little Marco. Now, follow me, or I will make sure your official does know," she said, grinning, baring her fangs. The coercion and slyness probably ran through her veins, things she had learned from her husband and her world, no doubt - taking where it wasn't given, taking even if it was. She knew no other way, and after she delivered a deceivingly chaste kiss to his cheek, she turned tail and ran up the stairs.

The guards of the house were mostly stationed in the grand hall itself, and there was no one manning this path. The senator's wife knew her options well, and as Vico paused for a second to give her a head start, he glanced behind him at the closed door leading back to the party. Quickly, he told himself, for Adamo.

Then, checking the knives in his belt, he followed her up.

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TIME TO TIMESKIP AFTER THIS

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THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID

JUST COULDN'T RESIST HUH

NOPE