Spurius walked quickly through narrow streets, trying as much as possible to stay in the shade. The heat was unbearable for February, and the sun was high in the sky. What a better place to meet on such a day than at the balnea. He passed numerous slaves on their way to the forum boarium, and pitied them for having to work throughout the hot day with not even the possibility of a bath.

            It really was unfair, he thought to himself, then chuckled as he realized how soft he had become in the last few weeks. He was beginning to see Gaulia in the faces of every female slave he passed in the streets. He sidestepped several small children who were screaming and chasing each other through the alley, and wondered if any were the children of slaves, unaware that they were consigned to a life of bondage. His anger at the injustice of it strengthened his resolve, and he turned the last corner and ducked into the atrium of the bath house.

            This balnea was in the middle of one of the poorer areas of the city, and therefore saw less business than the more popular houses. The balneator was snoring loudly on his bench, obviously attempting to battle the heat with an afternoon nap. Spurius quietly placed his quadran in the cup next to the man and then slipped into the changing room. The less people who witnessed him here, the safer he was.

            He quickly undressed and handed his clothes to a waiting slave. “I’ve got the coins counted, mind you,” he said to the boy as he walked away with all of Spurius’s possessions. Spurius walked into the frigidarium and was relieved to see it was empty except for the two men he was meeting. The Snake and the Fox, as they were known to the criminal underworld of Rome, were two brothers in their early thirties who had made a name for themselves by smuggling anything and everything into and out of the city. “Good to see you Spurius,” said the Fox. “What business do you have for us today?”

            Spurius lowered himself into the refreshingly cool water of the bath and let out a sigh, then turned to face the two men. “I need get a single slave and myself out of the city by this time next week,” he said in a controlled voice.

            The Snake looked inquiringly at him. “Grown a heart, have you? By Jupiter, I did not expect old Spurius to take to freeing slaves.”

            Spurius bit back a retort. He needed to keep on their good side; what he was asking was a high crime for which they would all be punished if caught.

            “We can arrange for you to be out of the city in three nights from now,” said the Fox. “But I’m afraid it’s going to cost you quite a sum.”