Rufus Xeno hit the ground hard. The impact nearly knocked the breath out of him -- it was all he could do to keep from crying out. His body rolled a few times across the uneven paving stones before coming to a rest against a wall.
Rufus lay still for a moment, listening. There were no sounds of pursuit. He unfolded his lanky, awkward body and stood, groaning slightly despite himself. A few quick movements of his arm showed that nothing was broken. This was good. A broken shoulder would have been a considerable setback.
Rufus was also glad that the alley was deserted and no one had seen him jump from the roof three stories above. This kept things simple. The roof he had jumped from belonged to the maintenance wing of the Asfarian palace. Rufus had underestimated the frequency of the rooftop patrols and had been forced to leap from the roof to avoid detection.
Rufus massaged his sore shoulder. Not broken, definitely, but maybe sprained. And he was no closer to finding an opening. He spat on the ground once, glancing back up at the rooftop, before setting off down the street. That was enough reconaissance for one night . . . he needed some time to think.
Rufus' target worked in the palace. This much he knew -- but the Asfarian bodyguards were tougher and more thorough than he had anticipated. Two weeks of searching had not resulted in a single opporunity. He would find something eventually, of course -- he always did -- but time was wasting, and there were so many other things still to be done. It was time to change tactics.
He could strike at the target at home. Rufus considered this option for a moment. It would be less effective, to be sure. The message would be less clear. But he could not afford to spend months stalking his prey here in Asfar. He would look into it, at least. It wouldn't take long to consider the strike, as the target's home would be much smaller than the palace.
He nodded. One day, two at the most, is all he would spend scoping the target's place. If he found an opportunity, he would take it. Otherwise it was back to the palace.
Rufus winced. His shoulder would need at least that long to heal anyway.
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