Ezio turned as if to go. Then he said: 'Have you found Caterina?'
'We are working on it,' she replied coldly.
'I'm glad to hear it. Bene. Come to see me at Isola Tiberina the minute you have found out exactly where they are holding her.' He inclined his head toward the sounds of merriment coming from the central salon. 'With this lot to milk, you shouldn't find it all that difficult.'
He left them to it.
Outside in the street, he felt like a heel about the way he'd behaved. They seemed to be doing a great job. But would Claudia be able to hold her own?
Inwardly, he shrugged. He acknowledged once again that the true source of his anger was his own anxiety about his ability to protect those whom he held most dear. He needed them, he knew, but he was aware that his fear for their safety threatened to cramp his style.
TWENTY-TWO
Ezio's long-awaited reunion with Machiavelli finally took place on Tiber Island, soon after the encounter at the brothel. Ezio was reserved at first-he didn't like any of the Brotherhood disappearing without his knowledge of where they'd gone, but he recognized in his heart that, for Machiavelli, he must make an exception. And indeed, the Brotherhood itself was an association of free-minded, free-spirited souls acting together not from coercion or obedience, but from a common concern and interest. He didn't own, or have any right to control, any of them.
Serious and determined, he shook hands with his old colleague-Machiavelli shunned the warmth of an embrace. 'We must talk,' he said.
'We certainly must.' Machiavelli looked at him. 'I gather you know about my little arrangement with Pantasilea?'
'Yes.'
'Good. That woman has more sense of tactics in her little finger than her husband has in his whole body-not that he isn't the best man possible in his own field.' He paused. 'I've been able to secure something of great worth from one of my contacts. We now have the names of nine key Templar agents whom Cesare has recruited to terrorize Rome.'
'Just tell me how I may find them.'
Machiavelli considered. 'I suggest looking for signs of distress within any given city district. Visit the people there. Perhaps you'll uncover citizens who can point you in the right direction.'
'Did you get this information from a Borgia official?'
'Yes,' said Machiavelli carefully, after a pause. 'How do you know?'
Ezio, thinking of the encounter he had witnessed with La Volpe in the market square, wondered if that might not have been the initial contact. Machiavelli must have been following it up ever since.
'Lucky guess,' he said. 'Grazie.'
'Look-Claudia, Bartolomeo, and La Volpe are waiting for you in the inner room here.' He paused. 'That was a lucky guess.'
'Virtu, dear Niccolo, that's all,' said Ezio, leading the way.
'Virtue?' said Machiavelli to himself, as he followed.
His companions in the Brotherhood stood as he entered the hideout's inner sanctum. Their faces were somber.
'Buona sera,' Ezio said and got straight down to business. 'What have you discovered?'
Bartolomeo spoke first. 'We've ascertained that that bastardo Cesare is now at the Castel Sant'Angelo-with the Pope!'
La Volpe added, 'And my spies have confirmed that the Apple has indeed been given to someone for secret study. I am working on determining his identity.'
'We can't guess it?'
'Guesswork's no good. We need to know for sure.'
'I have news of Caterina Sforza,' Claudia put in. 'She will be moved to the prison within the Castel next week, on Thursday toward dusk.'
Ezio's heart involuntarily skipped a beat at this. But it was all good news.
'Bene,' said Machiavelli. 'So-the Castel it is. Rome will heal quickly once Cesare and Rodrigo have gone.'
Ezio held up a hand. 'Only if the right opportunity to assassinate them arises will I take it.'
Machiavelli looked irritated. 'Do not repeat your mistake in the Vault. You must kill them now.'
'I'm with Niccolo,' said Bartolomeo. 'We shouldn't wait.'
'Bartolomeo is right,' agreed La Volpe.
'They must pay for Mario's death,' said Claudia.
Ezio calmed them, saying, 'Do not worry, my friends: they will die. You have my word.'
TWENTY-THREE
On the day appointed for Caterina's transfer to Castel Sant'Angelo, Ezio and Machiavelli joined the crowd that had gathered in front of a fine carriage, its windows closed with blinds, whose doors bore the Borgia crest. Guards surrounding the carriage kept the people back, and it was no wonder, because the mood of the people was not unanimously enthusiastic. One of the coachmen leapt down from his box and hastened around to open the nearside carriage door, pulled down the steps, and stood ready to assist the occupants down.
After a moment, the first figure emerged, in a dark blue gown with a white bodice. Ezio recognized the beautiful blonde with the cruel lips. He had last seen her at the sack of Monteriggioni, but it was a face he could never forget. Lucrezia Borgia. She stepped down to the ground, all dignity, but this was lost as she reached back into the carriage, seized hold of something-or someone-and pulled hard.
She dragged Caterina Sforza out by her hair and flung her to the ground in front of her. Bedraggled and in chains, wearing a coarse brown dress, Caterina in defeat still had greater presence and spirit than her captor would ever know. Machiavelli had to put a restraining hand on Ezio's arm as he automatically started forward. Ezio had seen enough loved ones maltreated; but this was the time for restraint. A rescue now would be doomed to failure.
Lucrezia, one foot on her prostrate victim, started to speak: 'Salve, cittadini de Roma! Hail, citizens of Rome! Behold a sight most splendid. Caterina Sforza, the she-whore of Forli! Too long has she defied us! Now she has, at last, been brought to heel!'
There was little reaction from the crowd at this, and in the silence Caterina raised her head and cried: 'Ha! No one stoops as low as Lucrezia Borgia! Who put you up to this? Was it your brother? Or your father? Perhaps a bit of both? Perhaps at the same time, eh? After all, you all pen in the same sty!'
'Chiudi la bocca! Shut your mouth!' screamed Lucrezia, kicking her. 'No one speaks ill of the Borgia!' She bent down, dragging Caterina up to her knees, and slapped her hard, so that she fell into the mud again. She raised her head proudly. 'The same will happen to any-any-who dare to defy us!'
She motioned to the guards, who seized the hapless Caterina, dragged her to her feet, and manhandled her in the direction of the Castel gates. Still, Caterina managed to cry out: 'Good people of Rome! Stay strong! Your time will come! You will be free of this yoke, I swear it!'
As she disappeared, and Lucrezia got back into her carriage to follow, Machiavelli turned to Ezio. 'Well, the contessa hasn't lost any of her spirit.'
Ezio felt drained. 'They are going to torture her.'
'It is unfortunate that Forli has fallen. But we will get it back. We will get Caterina back, too. But we must concentrate. You are here, now, for Cesare and Rodrigo.'
