The Prince (The Florentine 0.5)(10)

The lieutenant bowed, his eyebrows knitting together.

“As you wish, Prince. Should I perhaps wait until the meeting is adjourned?”

“No, I wish Ibarra to be briefed immediately.” The Prince’s tone held a warning against further protestations. “Take care that no one other than he has any knowledge of the subject of this meeting.”

If Lorenzo was displeased, he hid his reaction masterfully, responding to the Prince’s orders with a sweeping bow before withdrawing.

The remaining Consilium members murmured amongst themselves, but they dared not say anything critical of the Prince or his choice for Christopher’s replacement.

Aoibhe had smothered a smile at the mention of Ibarra’s name, while Maximilian scowled. Niccolò’s expression was, as usual, almost impossible to read.

The Prince gestured for him to stand. “Niccolò, was there any intelligence about an attack?”

“No, my lord. Our relationship with the Venetians has always been uneasy but there were no whispers of an attack by them or anyone else. And we have spies inside their city.”

“Task the spies with uncovering who ordered the incursion. Perhaps it wasn’t the Venetians, after all. Were you able to identify any of the bodies?” The Prince’s tone was cautiously optimistic.

The Prince knew, as did the others, that images of the members of their kind were exceedingly rare. It was unlikely that the limited database maintained by the principality would contain images of the would-be assassins.

“I’m afraid we haven’t been able to identify them, my lord. But I should mention our spies provided images of Marcus’s closest associates. None of the men at the border or inside the city match those images. However, we were able to uncover something else.”

“I hope this is good news, Niccolò.”

The head of intelligence reacted nervously to the Prince’s tone.

“Potentially good news. The swords the men were carrying are Venetian-styled cross-hilted swords, common in the Middle Ages. This isn’t enough to prove the invaders came from Venice, but it’s an interesting coincidence.”

“Find out if something stronger than coincidence can be found. I want the person or persons behind the attacks identified immediately.

“You’ll be working in concert with our new head of security and with Pierre’s human intelligence network. I doubt they’ll contribute anything of use but one never knows.”

Niccolò genuflected. “Of course, my lord.”

The Prince’s eyes shifted to the largest council member, a great, bearlike man with long hair, a full beard, and piercing blue eyes.

“Maximilian, see to it the dead patrol unit is replaced and work with Ibarra to recruit new talent for the patrols.”

“Yes, my lord.” The large man bowed, his Italian heavy with a Prussian accent.

“Now we must discuss our response to the incursion.”

The Consilium members exchanged glances.

The Prince continued. “We were attacked, unprovoked. They wiped out a patrol and crossed into our territory, possibly having bought the schematics for our security systems. Then they attempted to assassinate me. Each of these acts warrants a strong response.

“We must prepare for war.”

Once again, the Consilium members murmured amongst themselves.

The Prince fixed his eyes on Niccolò.

“Send word to Venice through one of our spies that the mission was successful. Have the spy deliver one of the swords and say that the message is from Vincenzo, which is the name of one of the invaders I killed. Leave the true nature of the mission unstated, even to the spy.”

Aoibhe reacted immediately. “With respect, my lord, you’ll be informing our enemy that you’re dead.”

“Precisely.” The Prince seemed unperturbed.

Maximilian was the only council member who responded to the order with a smile.

Niccolò’s face was grave.

“My lord, even if the Venetians weren’t behind the attack, at the news of your death they’ll move to annex our territories.”

The Prince leaned forward from the throne.

“If our spy doesn’t know the nature of the mission, he won’t be able to offer it up under torture. The Venetians will only believe I’m dead if they ordered the assassination.

“If they didn’t, the intelligence network needs to identify those behind the attack before there’s another incursion.” The Prince gave Niccolò a significant look.

Niccolò’s body tightened and his gaze flickered in the direction of the place where his colleague had lost his head.

The Prince surveyed the council members.

“There is a foreigner hiding in our city. It’s possible he’s already discovered his brethren failed in their mission and informed Marcus of that fact. Let us hope that is not the case.”

Niccolò’s expression grew even more troubled.

“My lord, if the Venetians suspect your death, such news is bound to spread. We’ll be inundated with incursions from neighboring principalities.”

“Not if they think you have taken control of the principality and amassed a great army.”

Niccolò bowed very low, trying desperately to contain his enthusiasm. “It is too great an honor, even in jest. What about Lorenzo?”