Spurius stepped out from the back
of the great house and quickly threw up his hood to hide his face. It had been
some time since he had had such a wealthy and powerful client, and it paid to
be discreet in cases like this. He passed a few slaves in the alley behind the
house; none of them so much as glanced at him, they were all too busy with the
start of day chores. Nevertheless, Spurius quickened his pace and took the
first turn out of the alley. The last thing he needed was for the servants to
start gossiping about him. He breathed a sigh of relief as he came out onto the
main road at the top of Palatine hill and joined the throng of people going
down to the forum. As he walked, he began to formulate a plan. He knew he could
not perform the job he had been given on his own, but who else should he
include in the plot? His thoughts were interrupted by a shove from behind. He
turned around in anger only to see a young slave stumbling over the too large
sandals he was wearing. He felt a moment’s pity for the boy and decided not to
rebuke him for his carelessness. The boy hurried away to join the crowd at the
entrance to the forum. It was then that Spurius noticed the absent weight of
his wallet where it normally hung at his waist. Realizing he had been
pickpocketed, he cursed himself for his pity and ran at a full sprint into the
forum. He leapt onto an orator’s platform, causing a minor disturbance, and
quickly scanned the crowd from above. He saw the thief moving quickly toward a
side street next to the Temple of Vesta and sprinted after him, bumping into
people and knocking over baskets of merchandise as he went. Just as he was
about the break through the crowd, a vigile stepped in front of him and
delivered a blow to the side of his head with his dagger hilt, knocking Spurius
out instantly.
