𝒪𝒱xt.𝒸𝚘𝐌
It took him a while to reach the town of Rjavoi, he took the shortest route to the town that he could find in the maps of the entire country and the regions that he inputted into his mind palace. The first thing he did was head to the Capitol block which was located at the center of the town.
(‘Hm, they could also choose to lock down the town once the assassination happens.’) Rui noted, before shaking his head. (‘They can try, but I’ll be long gone before they can.’)
He didn’t think that the officials could lock down the town before he escaped, but it would take him escaping at top speeds on land.
Both means had their merits.
The only issue he hadn’t resolved was whether he should prioritize speed or stealth while escaping. If he simply ran for the closest border at top speed, he would draw a lot of attention but he would make the quickest progress. There was very little chance that they could possibly obstruct him, the problem was that if they did succeed in obstructing him, then he could be in deep trouble.
A stealthy escape had its own merits as well. With the sheer distance between the Senate hearing and Rui, if he quietly mixed into the town, they would almost certainly never find him. Then he could quietly leave the country from another point and it would be over.
This method took longer, but it didn’t have the risk of revealing his position and even his tentative appearance to the martial Squires who would no doubt notice him otherwise. That being said, spending more time in the country came with its own risks. Perhaps a clean speedy getaway was desirable, Rui didn’t think the Martial Squires would be able to stay on his tail for very long. Thanks to the Mind Switch technique, he was fast, but he also had a ton of stamina. He also had the Phantom Step technique that allowed him to juke his trackers if they did manage to stay on his tail.
(‘What if I try a combination of both?’) Rui wondered. (‘I can get out of the immediate area when the assassination is complete at relatively high speeds, then choose the stealth option once I’ve gotten enough distance.
Another advantage he had was the element of surprise and uncertainty. It wasn’t as though the Martial Squires would be released into pursuit the very instant the shot succeeded, they would be obligated to at the very least ensure the Senate was safe, and only after several seconds of chaos in doing that would a team of Martial Squires be dispatched.
Rui, on the other hand, would be dashing away the very second that he confirmed the assassination operation was a success.
Furthermore, their searches would be restricted since they wouldn’t know that Rui would be sniping from tremendous distances away. Thus, their preconceived notions would prevent them from taking the apt measures that would be required for them to capture Rui. In fact, depending on how primitive their techniques were, they might even suspect that the culprit was within the Capitol block or just outside. Instead of a great distance away from it.
(‘Hm.’) Rui nodded.
He pulled a comms device from his utility pouch. Fauche had given it to him before they parted ways, it would serve as the way for him to signal to Rui the timing of the assassination. He would have to be very conscious of both the target and the timing.
He put it back into his pocket as he began circling the Capitol block at a distance of nine hundred meters. Although there were windows, Rui didn’t need them thanks to his sensory techniques and also the penetrative power of his attack. A measly wall was no different from wet paper before the might of a Martial Squire like himself.
(‘This works.’) Rui paused as he looked around. He was in a residential area, with buildings that were each only one story tall, across the entire area.
Operating in an environment with great uniformity was a good idea, it made it more difficult for the trackers to estimate where the shot actually came from, as opposed to if he shot from the highest height in the area.
He got quietly jumped upon the flat roof of a wider house.
(‘This is ideal,’) Rui nodded as he noted the short fencing at the border of the room that would ensure that nobody on the street would see him.
He only needed to make sure that the occupants of the house would not inadvertently walk onto the roof when he was occupying it.
(‘I can just lock it from the outside,’)
He jumped on, lying flat on the ground, facing the Capitol block. He immediately activated the combination of Seismic Mapping and Tempestuous Feel. Together the two techniques synergized with each other, in a way, and allowed his senses to extend a great distance in the direction of Capitol block, occupying the Senate Hall.
He could sense the structure of the hall with remarkable precision and accuracy. When the Hearing would be held, the room would be filled with the many senators, the other dignitaries, and the target; Herguson Meine, a director on the board of directors of Caruntel Co.
(‘Alright, location of sniping; check.’) Rui nodded, getting up. (‘Exit strategy; check. I just need to make sure that I have several contingencies down for the possible measures they may take.’)
The mission bill covered the protocols that would be undertaken in such a scenario, though they weren’t as certain of the outcome as Rui would have liked, thus he decided to take extra measures in any case.
(‘Also… I have to observe the target and formulate a predictive model of him.’) Rui noted.
It was much more difficult to form predictive models of people outside of combat, for there was more data to be taken in and the results weren’t as reliable as combat predictive models. However, this was also another precaution Rui had decided to take.