Malik was wondering if his evening could get any worse. He had been hoping (vainly, he knew) that being called upon to chase down Ezio and deliver a message to the young Auditore would be his mostly difficult task for the evening. Dealing with Ezio after the disastrous fiasco between the friendly Italian and one of Altaïr's young novices had always been an unpleasant reminder of the tension between their families. Hopefully Altaïr's offer and the plot they had uncovered would prove fortuitous enough to mend relations a little.
But now he was getting a report from an agent stationed at Ezio's destination -- for where else would Ezio go but to the home of his cryptographer friend? -- of a suspicious someone lurking about the premises. And of another, slightly less suspicious someone arriving several minutes after Ezio did. Malik and his contact had been discussing the best course of action (while Malik shifted his own course to drive for the apartment in question, instead of back home) when the sound of gunfire had abruptly sounded through the radio.
And so Malik found himself in a less than favorable situation, forced to abandon his car more than a block away from the apartment and make the rest of the trip on foot. Even a week ago it would have been none of his (professional) concern if Ezio got himself killed in a shootout with someone from a rival gang, but now....
Now crippling one family means we all may topple. It wasn't just the Auditore that would fall if they lost their second oldest son. The entire Italian branch of their Order would slide into ruin, and even if they tried in vain to release the others as they fell, the Syrians, the Russians, and even fragments of the Chinese and Istanbul factions would slide down with them.
Despite their efforts to remain disentangled, the individual branches of the Assassin Order were now too closely tied to one another to survive if another collapsed.
So Malik ran, slunk about, and slipped through shrubbery and gaps in the fences towards the scene of the shootout, determined to arrive in time to save his 'nephew' from whatever trouble he'd gotten himself into.
Upon arriving (jumping from the top of one building to another, naturally, grateful for the service ladder that made swiftly climbing with one arm possible) across the street from the scene of the fight, he was surprised to find that Ezio was only just slipping out of the apartment on the other side of the street, looking tense and alert. Several of the lights had been shot out, but Malik could vaguely make out the form of a young woman kneeling next to a car, and a prone, unmoving figure laying several feet from her. Ezio was moving with the catlike walk of one ready to kill, but he had no weapon drawn and didn't seem to feel threatened by the woman.
Frowning, Malik hunched down on the roof and settled in to wait and listen.
Delivery - Part 2 (3/?)
Malik was wondering if his evening could get any worse. He had been hoping (vainly, he knew) that being called upon to chase down Ezio and deliver a message to the young Auditore would be his mostly difficult task for the evening. Dealing with Ezio after the disastrous fiasco between the friendly Italian and one of Altaïr's young novices had always been an unpleasant reminder of the tension between their families. Hopefully Altaïr's offer and the plot they had uncovered would prove fortuitous enough to mend relations a little.
But now he was getting a report from an agent stationed at Ezio's destination -- for where else would Ezio go but to the home of his cryptographer friend? -- of a suspicious someone lurking about the premises. And of another, slightly less suspicious someone arriving several minutes after Ezio did. Malik and his contact had been discussing the best course of action (while Malik shifted his own course to drive for the apartment in question, instead of back home) when the sound of gunfire had abruptly sounded through the radio.
And so Malik found himself in a less than favorable situation, forced to abandon his car more than a block away from the apartment and make the rest of the trip on foot. Even a week ago it would have been none of his (professional) concern if Ezio got himself killed in a shootout with someone from a rival gang, but now....
Now crippling one family means we all may topple. It wasn't just the Auditore that would fall if they lost their second oldest son. The entire Italian branch of their Order would slide into ruin, and even if they tried in vain to release the others as they fell, the Syrians, the Russians, and even fragments of the Chinese and Istanbul factions would slide down with them.
Despite their efforts to remain disentangled, the individual branches of the Assassin Order were now too closely tied to one another to survive if another collapsed.
So Malik ran, slunk about, and slipped through shrubbery and gaps in the fences towards the scene of the shootout, determined to arrive in time to save his 'nephew' from whatever trouble he'd gotten himself into.
Upon arriving (jumping from the top of one building to another, naturally, grateful for the service ladder that made swiftly climbing with one arm possible) across the street from the scene of the fight, he was surprised to find that Ezio was only just slipping out of the apartment on the other side of the street, looking tense and alert. Several of the lights had been shot out, but Malik could vaguely make out the form of a young woman kneeling next to a car, and a prone, unmoving figure laying several feet from her. Ezio was moving with the catlike walk of one ready to kill, but he had no weapon drawn and didn't seem to feel threatened by the woman.
Frowning, Malik hunched down on the roof and settled in to wait and listen.