The Veiled began their surveillance of the Arass estate at precisely three hours before midnight on the first night of the operation.
Veiled-Four and Veiled-Nine took the primary observation positions. Four settled into a rooftop alcove on a building two streets east of the estate, a vantage point that offered a clear view of the manor's eastern face and the service entrance that connected to the sewer tunnel. Nine positioned herself in a rented room above a chandler's shop on the western side, where she could observe the main entrance, the overgrown gardens, and the movements of the estate's visible security.
Both operatives carried no weapons, no documents, no equipment that could identify them as anything other than unremarkable tenants or travelers. Their enhanced senses were the only instruments they needed. They settled into the patient stillness of professionals who understood that the most important phase of any operation was the one where nothing visible happened.
