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  As soon as Ezio withdrew the bde, Gambit and his two men made a move for their ons. Before they could even grip the hahree shurikens cut through the dim light, grazing their hands. The metallic hiss of the projectiles barely preceded the dull thud of them embedding into the wooden table.

  “Stay put, or the ones will cut your necks,” Ezio said coldly, his gaze sweeping over the room. The men froze, their hands h mid-air. Gambit’s smirk returned, but it was weaker this time, more nervous than fident.

  dra crossed her arms, stepping closer to the table. “I’d listen to him if I were you,” she said. “Ezio’s not big on sed ces.”

  Gambit let out a shallow chuckle, his eyes darting to the shurikens and back to Ezio. “Fine. You’ve made your point. I’m not looking to die over someone else’s mess.”

  Ezio stepped to the side, keeping his back to the wall as he sed the rest of the room. The thieves who had been lounging earlier were now standing at a cautious distance, some with hands h heir ons, but none daring to draw. He kept his voice low, his words directed at Gambit. “Start talking. You said meraries. Who hired them?”

  Gambit shifted in his seat, his movements calcuted to avoid any suddeures. “I don’t kly. They aren’t local—different ats, gear too polished for street thugs. Whoever paid them, though, has a lot of moo burn. Enough to arm them like soldiers.”

  dra frowned. “And you’ve got nothing on their employer? No name, no fao trail?”

  “Only whispers,” Gambit admitted, his voice steadying as he gauged their reas. “Someone new in town. Whoever they are, they’ve been careful not to get directly involved. Every job I’ve seen their people pull, it’s been —except for the trail they left leading back to you.”

  Ezio’s gaze didn’t waver. “Why would they frame you and us? What’s their angle?”

  Gambit shrugged, his smirk fading into something more serious. “You think I’d still be sitting here if I knew? Look, you want my guess? They’re trying to clear the board. Force us to wipe each other out so they step ihe dust settles.”

  Ezio waved his arm, "Whispers, talk about them."

  Gambit’s smirk lingered, but there was no humor in it this time. “Word is, there’s a man up north making waves. New York, to be precise. They call him Kira.”

  dra’s brow furrowed. “Never heard of him. What’s his game?”

  “Chaos, from what I gather.” Gambit shifted slightly, his hands h he table but not daring to move further. “Rumors say he’s a mutant. Fire powers. Leaves pces in ashes when they’re no longer useful. What’s iing, though, is his choice of enemies.”

  Ezio didn’t interrupt, but his gaze remained locked on Gambit, a silent and to tinue.

  “He’s been going toe-to-toe with Kingpin,” Gambit added. “And winning. That alos him on a different level than most of the yers.”

  dra exged a gh Ezio, her skepticism apparent. “And you think he’s behind this mess here? Why would someone like that care about a small city like ours?”

  Gambit raised his shoulders in a small shrug. “Territory, maybe. Kingpin’s a big fish, but even he doesn’t own the whole pond. If Kira wants to expand, New Orleans is ripe for the taking. And what better way to start than by pitting its twest fas against each other?”

  Ezio leaned slightly closer, his tone as unyielding as the knife he’d just sheathed. “You’re certain it’s him?”

  “I didn’t say that,” Gambit replied carefully. “But the mercs causing trouble have the same polish as the ones he’s been using up north. Gear too , tactics too precise. Doesn’t feel local, you know?”

  dra crossed her arms, her voice ced with doubt. “Even if this Kira is behind it, why make it so obvious? Leaving a trail to you and us isn’t subtle.”

  Gambit gestured at the maps scattered across the table. “Maybe it’s not about subtlety. Maybe it’s a message. ‘This is what I do from the shadows. Imagine what I’ll do in the light.’ If you’re smart, you back off. If you’re dumb…” His gaze flicked to Ezio briefly before settling on dra. “Well, you go looking for him.”

  Ezio stepped back, his eyes sing the room. “If he’s pying both sides, it’s to weakey before he makes his move. Letting us tear each other apart means no one’s left to stop him.”

  “Exactly,” Gambit said, leaning back cautiously, sensing the tension ease slightly. “And I’d rather not be the st man standing in a city that’s already burned.”

  dra looked at Ezio, her expression unreadable. “Do we trust this?”

  Ezio nodded. "I heard about this man when I was on a job. It seems like something he would do." He leaned slightly.

  "If Gambit’s telling the truth—and I think he is—we’re being pyed. Someone’s pulling strings, using our flict to thin the ranks on both sides. If we let this ti won’t matter who wins the fight. We’ll all lose.”

  dra kept her arms crossed, her lips pressed tight. Her eyes flicked tambit. “But if this Kira is behind it, why not e after us directly? Why the games?”

  Gambit shrugged, his tone measured. “That’s how these types work. They don’t win by fighting—they win by setting traps and waiting for their prey to step into them.”

  dra turned her gaze to Ezio. “You’re certain he’s not lying?”

  Ezio didn’t break eye tact with Gambit as he spoke. “He’s too worried to be lying. If Kira’s moving on New Orleans, Gambit stands to lose just as much as we do.”

  “I stand to lose more,” Gambit interjected, his voice sharper now. “Unlike you, I don’t have assassins to call ohings go south. My people are good, but they’re not made for this kind of fight. If I wanted a war, it wouldn’t be on someone else’s terms.”

  dra studied him for a long moment, her silence speaking louder than words. Finally, she uncrossed her arms. “Assuming you’re telling the truth, what do you propose?”

  Gambit exhaled, relief flickering across his face for a moment. “An alliaemporary. We pool resources, track down this Kira, and take him out before he makes his move.”

  dra’s eyebrows rose slightly. “An alliance. With you.”

  “Spare me the righteous indignation,” Gambit said, his toinged with sarcasm. “You’ve worked with worse people for less noble reasons. Besides, you don’t have to like me—just trust that I want this problem gone as much as you do.”

  Ezio stepped closer to the table, his tone even. “He’s right. We ’t afford to fight on two fronts. If Kira’s as dangerous as he sounds, dealing with him should take priority. Once he’s out of the picture, we deal with our differences.”

  So, the shaky alliahus began. The Assassins and the Thieves Guild, two fas defined by rivalry and mistrust, found themselves forced to work together. dra and Gambit, their respective leaders, enced colboratioween their groups, but decades of animosity weren’t easily erased. Meetings were held iral locations, each side relut to cede any ground, both figuratively and literally.

  In the early days, progress was slow. The Assassins shared strategisights about the merary groups targeting them, while the Thieves provided information on the flow of illicit goods and suspiovements through the city. Despite their efforts, the tension alpable. versations were clipped, and cooperatio more like an obligation than a genuine partnership.

  One such meeting was held in an abandoned brewery on the edge of the city. Ezio stood near a rusted veyor belt, the uneasy mix of assassins and thieves exging information. The chatter was low and guarded, each side measuring every word before speaking. Gambit leaned against a steel pilr, his arms crossed, while dra reviewed a series of notes with Tomas.

  A thief stepped forward, his tone impatient. "We’ve given you routes and names. When are you going to do something with it?"

  Tomas gnced up, unruffled. "When we’re sure it’s worth the risk. Running headlong into a trap helps no one."

  The thief sneered but said nothing further. Gambit raised a hand to stop the brewing argument. "We don’t need anht in the middle of an alliance," he said, his voice casual. "Let’s focus on the on enemy."

  Ezio watched the exge without ent. He’d seen enough to know this truce wouldn’t hold under pressure.

  Over the following weeks, the straiween the groups grew. A thief was found dead in a narrow alley near an Assassin stronghold, his body marked with deep cuts and bruises. The Thieves Guild was quick to accuse the Assassins, and tempers fred at the meeting.

  Gambit smmed a hand oable, his charm repced by anger. "You think we don’t see what’s happening? One of ours turns up dead near your base, and we’re supposed to believe it’s just ce?"

  dra’s gaze was cold. "We don’t kill uhere’s purpose. If one of yours died, it wasn’t us."

  "Words are cheap," ahief muttered, his haing on the hilt of a dagger.

  Ezio stepped forward, his voice cutting through the tension. "We’re being pyed. You saw the meraries’ tactics. Why would either of us waste resources on this when there’s a rger threat?"

  Gambit gred but didn’t reply. The thieves exged uneasy looks, the point sinking ie their suspis.

  Still, is tinued. An Assassin was fouen to death in the market district, his ons stolen and his body left in the open as a warning. The Assassins were livid, Tomas especially.

  "If this alliance is going to work, we need guarantees," Idris said at the gathering, his tone sharp. "Otherwise, we’re better off going back to how things were."

  "And what would those guarantees look like?" Gambit asked, his tone ced with mockery. "A blood oath? A handshake?"

  "Atability," Idris replied. "If we’re going to be allies, we need a way to ensure her side acts out."

  "That works both ways," a thief interjected. "We’re not the only ones pying dirty."

  dra silehem with a gesture. "Enough. The infighting only helps our enemy. If someone’s sabotaging this truce, they’re doing a damn good job."

  Tomas looked at the group, his expression steady as he addressed both fas. “We o trust each other. These are the schemes of Kira, and we ot let this divide us. I am willing to put my life ihieves Guild’s hands to prove we have nothing to do with this. you do the same?”

  Gambit arched an eyebrow, visibly caught off guard. He g his sed-in-and, a wiry man known as Victor. Victave a relut nod, clearly unwilling but trusting Gambit’s judgment.

  “If you’re serious,” Gambit began, his voice level, “then we might have a ce to stop this. But let’s be clear—if one more body turns up, my people won’t sit on their hands.”

  Idris leaned forward, his arms oable. “And what about when one of ours turns up ? Do we get the same courtesy, or will it just be more accusations?”

  Victor’s face hardened. “You’ve got no proof it was us. What I see is assassins trying to py both sides—kill one of ours and make it look like someone else did it.”

  Tomas raised a hand, cutting off the brewing argument. “Enough. We’re talking in circles, and the more we do, the more Kira wins.”

  dra, silent until noed the table twice. “He’s right. This has to end here.” Her gaze swept over both fas, hard and unyielding. “Gambit, Tomas will stay with you. Same goes for Victor—he will stay with me. This way, if any orders e to kill, we’ll kly where they’re ing from. This should make things clearer for everyone.”

  Gambit’s lips curved slightly, though the expression cked humor. “This is the st time I trust you.”

  “Likewise,” dra replied without missing a beat.

  The tension in the room didn’t ease, but no one voiced further objes. Tomas exged a brief gh dra, nodded, and stepped tambit. Victor, less pleased, stayed rooted to his spot for a moment before relutly moving to dra’s side.

  Tomas followed Gambit like a hawk, not leaving him evehe tter went to the bathroom. It was ical, but her Tomas nambit cracked a smile. Simirly, Victor shadowed dra, though he hahe situation differently due to gender issues. If anyone else was in the room, Victor refused to allow her to enter, cheg thhly before and after for any hidden messages. The Assassins and Thieves Guild were paranoid enough to b through every possible angle, but it seemed no orders to kill were ing from either side. Normally, that would have been good news—but the deaths stopped entirely.

  The meaning was clear: the deaths had stopped because the leaders were being watched. It firmed what many suspected—any orders to kill had been issued before this arra. With both sides now scrutihere was no further bloodshed.

  In the Assassin’s Guild, Idris was seething. “Those bastards! I k was them, using Kira as an excuse to cull our ranks,” he spat, pag the chamber like a caged animal.

  Marius sighed, leaning against the edge of the table. “If it were that simple, the deaths would’ve been more btant. Kira’s influenplicates things.”

  “That’s just it!” Idris surning on Marius. “Yiving them too much credit. The Thieves are liars, always have been. Gambit’s smooth talk doesn’t ge that.”

  Ezio, standihe er, broke his silence. “If we assume it’s the Thieves, we lose sight of Kira’s hand in this. He thrives on chaos, and that means keeping both of us suspicious.”

  Idris poi Ezio, his voice sharp. “And you’re so quick to trust Gambit, are you? Because he says a few pretty words with a k his throat?”

  “Trust has nothing to do with it,” Ezio replied. “Gambit’s not lying, but that doesn’t make him i. The truth is iterns, not the words.”

  dra, seated at the head of the table, raised a hand. “Enough. Speg about Gambit gets us nowhere. What matters is what we do . If Kira’s using us as pawns, we o take ourselves off the board.”

  Marius nodded. “The alliance holds, for now. That forces Kira’s hand.”

  Idris scoffed, crossing his arms. “And when the body drops, then what? Another meeting? Another round of ‘let’s all be friends’?”

  dra’s gaze didn’t waver. “If another body drops, it won’t be ours. We’ll be ready.”

  But it was theirs.

  Wheime for the che arrived, Tomas missed the call. dra paced the hall, her phone in hand as call after call went unanswered. The guild buzzed with tension, and Idris finally broke the silence.

  “They killed him!” he said, gring at Victor. “That bastard Gambit pyed us! I told you this would happen.”

  Victor, standihe edge of the room, frowned but stayed quiet. He couldn’t shake the thought—if Gambit had killed Tomas while uhe Assassins' watch, what message was bei? Was it even possible?

  dra didn’t respond immediately. Her eyes flicked between Idris and Victor before she made her decision. “Victor stays here. I want him under watch. If anything happens, we’ll know where to start.”

  Victor’s jaw tightened, but he said nothing as Idris sneered. “Smart move. At least someohinking straight.”

  dra didn’t waste time arguing. She sigo Ezio, Marius, and two other assassins. “Gear up. We leave now.”

  The streets were unnaturally quiet as the group approached the Thieves Guild’s ral meeting ground.

  dra raised a hand, halting the group. She turo Ezio. “Get us in.”

  Ezio stepped forward, disappearing into the shadows as if he’d been swallowed by them. The faint sound of a lock clig echoed baents ter, and the door eased open. He reappeared, stepping aside to let the others enter.

  Ihe air was heavy, ced with the st of damp wood and old smoke. dra’s eyes sed the room, her haing lightly on the hilt of her bde. They moved in formation, each assassin c an angle as they approached the meeting chamber.

  Standing in the middle of the room, Gambit stared at Tomas’s body, his jaw tight, shoulders rigid. Around him, a handful of thieves looked equally grim. The Assassins froze in the doorway as their eyes fell on the corpse. Tomas’s lifeless form y sprawled on the ground, his throat sshed ly, a dark pool of blood spreadih him.

  “Fug bastards,” dra hissed, her voice sharp enough to draw every gaze in the room. Her ha instinctively to her bde as she stepped forward, and the thieves around Gambit teheir hands ing toward ons.

  “It’s not what it looks like,” Gambit said, his tone calm but edged with urgency. He raised both hands slightly, palms open, though his posture didn’t suggest surrender. “Stand down, all of you. Now.”

  The Assassins ignored his words. An assassin stepped toward the thieves with murder in his eyes. “Yoing to tell me this is a ce?” His hand hovered over his dagger. “You butchered one of ours, and now you want to talk?”

  “We didn’t kill him,” Gambit snapped, his calm slipping for a fra of a sed. He g dra. “We’re bei up, and you know it.”

  “Save it,” The assassin barked. “Your excuses mean shit.”

  dra’s bde was half-drawn, her gaze locked on Gambit. “You’ve been lying from the start. I should’ve known trusting you was a mistake.”

  Assassins surged forward, their anger erupting like a violent storm. Steel hissed against leather as bdes were drawn, and the tension snapped into chaos. The thieves scrambled into defeances, matg the energy with ons at the ready.

  One Assassin luambit, but a thief intercepted him, blog the strike with a short sword. Sparks flew as the metal cshed, the sound reverberating in the fined space. Another Assassin swung wide at a thief standing to Gambit’s right, f the man back against the wall, his dagger shaking uhe weight of the blow.

  dra turned into a blur as she dodged a bullet shot by a thief. The crack of the shot echoed in the chamber, followed by the metallig of bdes being drawn. Gambit ducked instinctively, his expression sharp as chaos erupted around him.

  “You bastards ’t be trusted!” an Assassin roared, swinging a short bde at a nearby thief.

  The thief blocked with a dagger, their ons grinding against each other. “her you, Assassin scum!”

  dra lunged, her movements fluid as she disarmed a thief who had draistol, smming the butt of her bde against his wrist. The gun cttered to the ground. “Stand down!” she barked, though her words did little to calm the esg violence.

  Gambit stepped back, his hands raised but his expression tense. “If you lot don’t stop swinging, none of us are walking out of here!” he shouted, his voice cutting through the chaos like a whip.

  Marius moved to the ter of the fray, his staff striking the ground with a sharp crack. “Enough!” His voice carried over the noise, anding attention. Both sides hesitated, their ons still raised but their movements stilled.

  “’t you see this is exactly what they want?” Marius’s voice was calm but carried weight. He turo dra. “You think this rabble could’ve killed Tomas? Look at them. Gambit’s telling the truth.”

  dra gred at Gambit, her bde still drawn. “You expect us to just take his word?”

  “I don’t expeything,” Marius replied, steppiweewo fas. “But if this was their doing, they wouldn’t be standing here, waiting full of armed assassins to charge at their base. Tomas’s death wasn’t their wambit doesn’t gain from this. Killing Tomas only fuels the fire against his guild. This is Kira’s doing.”

  The room remaiense, but Marius pressed on. “If you ’t see the truth, I’ll make it clear. This rivalry ends here.” He paused, his eyes meeting Gambit’s. “Gambit, you’ll marry my daughter.”

  The room fell silent, the absurdity of the statement sug the air from the chamber. dra jaw dropped. “What?!”

  dra froze, staring at Marius as if he’d lost his mind. “You ’t be serious.”

  Marius didn’t flinch. “A marriage binds us. Gambit, if yuild isn’t responsible, you’ll accept.”

  Gambit blinked, his smirk repced by genuine fusion. “Your daughter? Mate, I didn’t even know you had one.”

  “You do now,” Marius said curtly. “And unless you’re hiding a reason to refuse, you’ll agree.”

  After some debate, Gambit accepted. Both fas agreed to vene again, this time to begin merging efforts. Yet as dra’s group returo their base ter that night, a grim sight awaited them—Idris’s body sprawled in the hall, blood poolih him, his throat sshed ly. Victor, their supposed guarantee of peace, was o be seen.

  dra crouched by the body, her gaze sharp. “Check the perimeter. Now.”

  The assassins moved swiftly without hesitation. Ezio lingered he doorway, his eyes narrowing as he examihe se.

  One of the assassiurned quickly. “No sign of forced entry.”

  “No sign of Victor either,” another added.

  dra bore her gaze to Marius, her frustration simmerih a tight-lipped scowl. "What now?"

  Marius leaned against his staff, his face grim. "This wasn’t Gambit. Let's ask Victor's head. If we let this unravel, everything we’ve worked for colpses."

  dra gritted her teeth, the weight of another cession bearing down on her shoulders. How many ces had she already given this alliance? Yet she nodded and stepped aside, pulling her phoo call Gambit. The line ected after a few rings.

  Gambit groaned, his voice muffled from exhaustion. “What now? I was about to rest.”

  dra didn’t hide her irritation. “Victone, Idris is dead. If you want this peace to happen, bring Victor’s head.”

  Gambit scoffed, the sound sharp over the phone. “Victohat’s rich, ing from you. Maybe you killed him in a fit e after Tomas. How ve for you to y it at my feet.”

  dra ched the phoightly. "We were there with you, Gambit. Idris was watg over Victor, and now Idris is dead. How could it be us?"

  Gambit’s snort came through the line, sharp and derisive. "Perhaps you killed him before ing here. How the fuck should I know?"

  A pause followed oher end of the line, filled only with the faint shuffle of movement. "You eace? Fine. I’ll do my best," Gambit said at st, though his tone carried a thread of exhaustion. "But if Victo plicates things on my end too."

  dra lowered the phone, not b with a response. She turo Ezio and Marius, her tone clipped. "We o find Victor. Whether he ran, was taken, or left willingly, we’re not sitting around waiting for another corpse to show up."

  In the following month, the two sides met daily, hammering out the details of their tentative alliahe progress was slow, filled with mutual suspi and barely cealed disdain, but both the Assassins and the Thieves Guild reized they had no choice. The tensiooo high, and Kira’s looming presence was too dangerous to ignore. Despite the frequent verbal skirmishes during these meetings, an unspoken uanding began to emerge—if they didn’t put aside their differehey wouldn’t survive.

  The e between Gambit and Beldonna, Marius’s daughter, became the terpiece of their shaky reciliation. It was a symbolic gesture meant to bury the hatchet, though her party seemed particurly thrilled about the arra. Beldonna, a quiet but sharp-eyed young woman with a reputation fmatism, accepted the proposal without pint, her gaze hard as steel during the feast held to annouhe union. Gambit, in turn, pyed the part of the charming fiancé, though the strained smile on his face betrayed his unease.

  The feast itself was held in a grand hall—a ral territory chosen for its tral location. Assassins and thieves seated together, an arra Gambit and dra had insisted upon. Both fas intermingled as best they could.

  “You know,” Gambit began, his tone light, “if we’d met under different circumstances, I might’ve beeed to hire some of you lot for a few jobs. Professionalism, discipline... though I’d probably have to remind you lot not to stab the ts.”

  The jab earned a few scattered chuckles, though the Assassins rgely remaioic. dra’s lips twitched.

  After the feast, the two guilds merged in practice, creating an alliahat became far more effective thaher had anticipated. Surprisingly, as time went on, the enmity that had defiheir retionship for decades began to erode. The assassins and thieves discovered that their birengths and shared resources made them a force to be reed with. Together, they aplished feats her could have managed alone, including disrupting smaller fas and f Kira’s meraries to retreat from the city.

  Oernoon, Gambit, Beldonna, and dra stood on the roof of their headquarters. The city stretched out before them.

  “This could work,” Gambit said, leaning against a crumbling parapet. His voice carried a rare note of optimism. “I hought I’d see the day, but I’ll admit, this alliance is doing wonders.”

  dra leaned on the parapet, her gaze fixed oy’s skyline. “We’ve made progress. If Kira resurfaces, we’ll be ready. For now, it feels like things are finally... banced.”

  “Banced,” Gambit echoed, his grin widening. “Now there’s a word I never expected to hear from you. What’s ? You start crag jokes?”

  dra didn’t dignify the remark with a respohough the fai hint of a smile tugged at the er of her mouth.

  But suddenly, all three felt sharpening at their chests. Looking down, they saw shadowy bdes pierg through their bodies from behind. The shock paiheir faces, disbelief etched iwitch. Turning slowly, they saw the st person they expected—Ezio, standing behind them with no traotion in his eyes.

  “Why?” dra managed, her voice weaker with every word as blood stained her lips.

  Gambit ched his jaw, the pain making it hard to focus, but he forced his thoughts together. His voice rasped as he pieced it aloud, “dris, Tomas, Victor… you killed them. Since when?”

  Ezio pulled the shadowy bdes free without hesitatioing all three colpse to the ground. His face betrayed no remorse, “Always. Requiescat in pace.”

  He turoward the edge of the rooftop as a figure desded from the sky, suspended by fmes p from its hands a. Ezio barely looked at the new arrival.

  Kira smirked, fire flickering brighter for a moment as he hovered to Ezio’s side. “So, let me guess the se. I burn down the ‘bad guys,’ you stand tall as the hero, and they all you leader of their little warband. Then I throw in some theatrics, pretend to cower, and escape like a good vilin. That abht?”

  “Something like that,” Ezio replied simply, stepping aside to let Kira’s fmes illumihe three bodies behind him.

  --

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