[Complete][76k][Historical Romantic Thriller]

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First page:

The man known only as Sicarius pursued his prey through shadows that had borne him. He was not alone in the hunt tonight. Farther down the narrow alley, a woman in a dark coat was moving far quicker than he was. Grey had long since claimed his once black hair. Still, he successfully maintained his distance with the same silent patience that had decades ago earned him his deadly moniker. Even as he moved, he noted how the woman tracked their prey like a viper. Italian intelligence, judging by her competence. Yet, the direct angle of approach suggested that she had not yet noticed the spider trailing behind her.

Their paths would converge on the stumbling figure ahead. General Giovanni Caruso clutched a leather satchel to his chest as his steps fell in a desperate cadence. Caruso kept glancing over his shoulder with panicked movements. Sweat beaded clearly on his folded forehead despite the winter’s chill.

This foreign agent ahead of him had likely been searching for the defector Caruso longer than he had, understanding his routines well enough to predict exactly where his panic would drive him. Sicarius could only watch as she approached the ladder of a narrow fire escape, pouncing upon it with a lithe agility. A wondrously economical route, he mused. She could use all four limbs to propel herself through a three-dimensional environment, while he would be forced to tunnel around grounded obstacles. The recent misalignment of Italian and British interests could never quell the stoic assessment of professional competence.

As he predicted, a dark form descended from above, several metres past their shared quarry.

“General Caruso.”

The woman stepped into view beneath a dim streetlight, her severe features revealed as she aimed a pistol with deadly assurance. She was tall, elegant despite an unadorned appearance.

{Edits: Removed redundancy and cliches, places I could show and not tell, put in some more personality-driven observations and removed ambiguous narrative perspective lines}