The Hidden Blade Assassin's Creed in Depth

This is a "variety pack" of assassinations for Francesco de' Pazzi.

A chase is intended for this target. Due to the updated AI in AC2, fleeing targets no longer follow a predetermined path... sort of. This target flees a short distance using a predetermined path, but thereafter it adapts the flight path based on where you are in relation to the next waypoint. We thus have a brief opportunity to do some tricks on this guy.

Blitz
Do a leap of faith into the haystack. Lock on, pop out of the haystack, and throw 2 knives.

Kill him where he stands
The goal of this assassination is to kill him before he can run. This is done by going around him so that he starts running toward you, instead of away from you.

Start by avoiding the leap of faith, which triggers his flight. Instead, carefully position yourself so that you can jump and catch the roof ledge of a nearby building. Go to the far side of the building and drop down to street level. From here, Francesco can be seen waiting near the haystack. Due to the heavy fighting in the plaza, you may need to wait for clear path to reach him. Sprint straight toward him and assassinate him. In this video he manages to take one step (maybe less), only to be tackled back to his starting position during the assassination animation.

You may be tempted to throw some knives at him while he stands. This won't work. The "Francesco" that you see before his flight is a game prop. He appears red if you use eagle vision. When you get close to him, the prop is despawned, and the "real" Francesco appears in its place. This one appears yellow in eagle vision.

Stunt Assassinations
After catching the roof ledge, pull yourself up, and run left to trigger Francesco's flight. Then go right to line up for the stunt jump. You'll need to aim carefully to avoid landing on a beam. Double tapping the jump button to force an early leap off the roof may be useful as well.

If you time everything just right, you'll land right behind Francesco as he passes you. Hold down high profile trigger and attack for an "execution style" assassination.

Jump Assassination
A jump assassination of Francesco is quite a bit easier than a stunt assassination. Approach Francesco on the nearby awning. You will be able to get close enough to trigger his flight. Once he starts running, lock on and run after him. Jump off the awning and attack. I should mention that I haven't been able to air assassinate this guy... not sure why.