Red Ink, White Feather

“Meet you at your house, then, Gerard?”

“Okay, Bob,” I said into the phone. “I’ll see you later.”

I hung up and slid the device back into my pocket, taking a moment to breathe in the fresh morning air. Well, maybe “fresh” wasn’t exactly the right word. It was city air, after all, and pollutants couldn’t exactly masquerade as clean for very long. But it was pleasant in its own way, and since I had a cup of coffee to breathe the aroma of anyway, it didn’t much matter to me. I had just begun the last leg of my usual morning walk. Ending it with coffee made it feel like I had earned a reward. Sun glinted off of the tall skyscrapers, reflecting back into my shaded eyes, just like it did every day. I approached the next stoplight and waited for the signal that said I could cross the street.

“Hey,” said a raspy voice off to my right. “You look familiar.”

I laughed quietly to myself. “I get that a lot.” I turned to see who had just spoken to me, but no one was there. I frowned. That was certainly strange. I glanced back in time to see that the crosswalk sign had turned white, so I briskly walked across the street. I stepped up onto the sidewalk and passed a narrow alleyway.

A hand clasped over my mouth as another jerked me off of my path and hurled me to the ground. I scrambled to get to my feet, but just as I had managed to figure out which way was up and had started to face my attacker, I found a short, pointed knife aimed directly at my throat. I could barely find enough air to keep breathing, let alone cry out for help. The knife was gripped by a gloved hand, and the rest of the person was cloaked in black that blended well with the shadows. I stared up fearfully into what I assumed to be his eyes.

“Ah, as I expected,” he said. “You do look familiar. Just like all of your ancestors.” I felt the tip of the blade press itself just slightly closer to my neck.

“What do you want?” I practically whispered, still struggling to calm down enough to breathe.

“Revenge,” he answered, still speaking with a hoarse, aged tone. “And I will have it, beginning with the end of your life.” He pulled his wrist back a little, and I closed my eyes, cringing. What could I do? What about Lindsey? Our daughter? They weren’t even here; they had gone to Disneyland for the day. I couldn’t stand to think about it. Hundreds of memories flashed through my head all at once, faster than I could process them. I only understood one thing: I was going to die.

I heard the sound of metal sliding against something, followed by a light thud and the sickening sound of a blade piercing through meat. My attacker released a choked gasp of surprise, then stumbled backwards a step and crumbled into a lifeless heap. I opened my eyes in stunned shock. Another man stood in front of me. He was clad in a similar outfit, though it was white instead of black and gathered at the waist with a dark red sash. A hood was thrown over his face, but I could see part of his profile. He held a bloodied sword in his right hand. When he noticed that I was looking at it, he discretely cleaned the blade on the dead man’s cloak before sheathing it so it was out of view. He offered a hand to help me up.

“Thanks,” I said breathlessly. My legs were shaking beneath me, and I struggled to keep my feet. “Who are you?”

He just nodded. “It would be best if you forget this incident,” he said simply. He turned around and walked deeper into the alley. I took another look at the crumpled mass of black and numbly headed back to the street. I heard clinking metal and the rustle of fabric and looked up in time to see a blur of white disappear onto the roof of the building.

I was still shaking once I stepped through the door of my apartment. I hadn’t finished much of my coffee, so focused had I been on returning home alive. I made sure to lock and deadbolt the door before collapsing on the couch in absolute disbelief.

“You okay, Gerard?” Bob asked from the other side of the room. I almost had my second heart attack of the day when he spoke. “You look a little pale.”

“I’d be fine if you wouldn’t sneak into my house without warning me first,” I told him flatly.

“I told you I was coming over, didn’t I?” He walked over to where I was. I noticed he wasn’t wearing his usual uniform.

“Where’s the suit?” I asked.

He shrugged. “Don’t need to disguise myself to break into your house. And unlike you, I don’t mind being recognized in public.” Despite my near death experience from earlier, I had to smile. Bob had the strangest ability to make people feel better no matter what. I knew most of it was because of his training as a ninja – he was a master of deception in order to get what he wanted – but the effect was the same as if it were always genuine. “Really, though. You looked awful before I got here. What happened to your neck?”

I instinctively placed a hand against my throat when he mentioned it. When I pulled it away, there was a smear of red on my fingers. I hadn’t noticed it before, but a tiny trail of blood had begun to form on my neck. It appeared that I hadn’t escaped unscathed after all.

“Strangest thing,” I said. “Wouldn’t you know it, I was attacked by an assassin earlier. Friend of yours?” My tone was apparently not joking enough, because his face went serious immediately.

“What did he look like?” he asked.

“I couldn’t see his face. He had a knife; that’s all I was paying attention to.”

“Was there a sign on it?” he continued. “Some kind of insignia? Or characters? Was there a pattern on his cloak? Was he wearing a cloak, or just a hood?”

I sighed. “I didn’t see, Bob. I panicked.” I could see frustration building behind his blue eyes. It was difficult to explain to him that not everyone saw the world like a ninja. He walked over and stood by the window.

“Sorry. I forget sometimes, y’know?” I saw him frown. “Hm. You have a visitor.”

“Who is it?” I asked.

He shook his head. “Can’t see from here. I’m going to hide, though.” He headed towards one of the other rooms.

“Xbox’s in the back if you get bored.” The doorbell rang, and I went to answer the door. I was a little surprised to see the white-clad man standing there, although by that point, I wasn’t sure that anything else could surprise me. I stepped aside to let him in. He bowed first, then walked past me.

“I apologize for the earlier event,” he said. His voice bore an audible Italian accent, and when he removed the hood from his head, I could see that his appearance matched his voice. “It was my own mistake not to take care of him sooner, but it is difficult to track people inconspicuously in this city.” He suddenly smirked. “Even for one of my own skill, it is a challenge.”

I was fairly confused. “Who are you?” I asked. I realized that it was the last thing I had said to him, and it still hadn’t been answered.

“Ezio Auditore da Firenze,” he said with a distinct flare to the words, “the fifth.”

“Okay,” I said firmly, nodding. “I still have no idea what that means.”

“Call me Ezio.” He wandered past me, looking around at the walls as if he had never seen an apartment before. Judging from his somewhat archaic appearance, it occurred to me that maybe he hadn’t. “I have come to deliver a message.” He reached into a small leather pouch at his waist and pulled out a piece of folded parchment that had been tied with string and sealed with red wax. I carefully studied the picture stamped into the wax. It was some kind of a stylized bird, its neck craning to the sky and what looked like flames licking at its feet.

“The phoenix,” I heard Bob say. I jumped again. He had been looking over my shoulder. I didn’t even get the chance to open the letter before I saw Ezio draw a sword and move to swing it in a wide arc at Bob. Bob leapt out of the way and was instantly holding two swords of his own, though they were crossed with the blades flattened against each other. He had explained it to me only once before. It was a defensive gesture, a move to say that he meant no harm and did not intend to attack.

“You hide yourself well, ninja,” Ezio said darkly, placing both hands on the sword and raising it to the level of his shoulder. “I would not have suspected you at first glance.”

“That’s the point,” Bob said flatly. He moved slightly so he was standing in front of me, standing between me and Ezio. “What’s an Assassin doing here?”

“I was not planning any deaths today. I have already made one exception to this; do not force me to make another as a means of protecting this man.”

Bob slowly lowered the swords. “Protecting him? That’s my job.” He put the swords back into the hidden holders on his back. I was too terrified and nervous to feel the least bit insulted by their words. Ezio thought for a moment, then replaced the sword in its sheath.

“I suppose that if you wanted him dead, he would already be so.” Both of them bowed at the same time. “It is an honor to be in the presence of a ninja.”

“Well, I never thought I’d get the chance to meet an Assassin,” said Bob, “so this is an honor for me, too.”

I cleared my throat to get their attention. “Can someone tell me what’s going on?”

Bob smiled. “Tea first.”