The Gladiator (43 page)

‘Looks like the rebels want to talk,’ said Fulvius.

Cato saw that there were ten of them, wearing good tunics, scale armour and Roman pattern swords – the spoils of Centurion Marcellus’s column. One man carried a long standard with a bright blue pennant, which he waved steadily from side to side as he and his companions walked the mounts forward.

‘Nice to see them observing the appropriate formalities,’ Fulvius muttered. ‘Just like a proper army, eh, sir?’

‘Well, they certainly look the part, in our kit.’

‘Our kit?’ Fulvius’s expression darkened. ‘Oh, yes . . .Want me to order some of our boys to loose some slingshot in their direction?’

‘No,’ Cato replied firmly. ‘I don’t want them touched. The rebels have hostages.’

Fulvius shrugged. ‘Assuming they’re still alive, sir.’ ‘They’re alive.’ The riders stopped fifty paces from the gate, and then one edged his horse a little closer. Cato saw that he had the dark features of the east, and he wore a curved sword at his side.

Fulvius cupped a hand to his mouth and bellowed,’Stop there!’ The rider reined in obediently. ‘What do you want?’ ‘My general wishes to talk with your commander. Here, in the open.’ ‘Why? Tell us what he wants and go!’ The rider shook his head. ‘That is for my general to say’ ‘Bollocks to him,’ Fulvius muttered and drew a deep breath to shout his answer. ‘Wait!’ said Cato. He turned to Fulvius. ‘Keep the men on the rampart, but have a cavalry squadron brought up to the gate, mounted and ready to charge. If I raise my left hand, send them out at once. But only if I give the signal. Is that clear?’

‘You’re not going out there?’ Fulvius arched an eyebrow. ‘For fuck’s sake, sir. It’s a trap.They’ll get you out there and cut you down before turning tail and running.’

‘Why would they do that?’

‘To undermine the column, sir. Take out the commander and it’s bound to hit morale, and disrupt the campaign.’

‘If it is a trap and they kill me, that makes you the new commander.’ Cato looked at him steadily. ‘Are you saying you’re not up to the job? I thought you wanted it. Maybe this is your chance.’

Centurion Fulvius had the good grace to let a look of shame flit across his features before he composed himself and shook his head. ‘Not this way, sir. You watch yourself out there, understand?’

Cato smiled to himselfas he turned away and climbed down from the tower. At the bottom he turned to the section of legionaries manning the gate. ‘Open it up, but be ready to close it quickly if you get the order.’

As the men removed the locking bar and hauled the gate inwards, Fulvius called to one ofhis officers and gave them orders to have one of the mounted squadrons called to the gate as swiftly as possible. Cato puffed his cheeks and marched out of the camp, between the two ditches on either side, and on to the clear ground. Ahead of him the horsemen watched in silence.When he reached a point halfway between the gate and the waiting rebels, Cato stopped and called out to the man who had spoken for them.

‘I am Tribune Cato, commander of the Roman column and the Roman fleet. Where is your general?’

There was a sudden movement from the rear of the group of horsemen as a rider spurred his horse forward and galloped it up the gentle slope. Cato sucked in a deep breath and his muscles tensed, ready for action. He let his hand drop towards the handle of his sword, where it hovered for an instant before he willed it to settle by his thigh. Straightening his back, he stood his ground and stared defiantly at the approaching horseman. At the last moment the rider reined in, less than ten feet from Cato, showering him with grit.The sun was behind the rebel and Cato had to squint and then raise a hand to shield his eyes. For a moment not a word was spoken, then the rebel gave a soft, menacing chuckle.

‘The gods are kind to me, Roman. So kind.’ ‘Ajax?’ Cato felt his heartbeat quicken. ‘Of course. You remember me then?’ ‘Yes.’

‘And you remember what you did to my father, before you had me sold into slavery?’

‘I recall that we executed the leader of a gang of pirates.’ ‘We?’ Cato froze as he realised his mistake. Macro was in enough danger already, if he was still alive. He cleared his throat. ‘The Ravenna fleet was charged with destroying the pirate threat.’

‘It’s funny, I seem to recall things being a little bit more personal than that.You see, I recall very, very clearly the names and faces of the two officers in charge of my father’s execution, and they were there again when I was led away into slavery with survivors of my father’s fleet. You were one of those men. The other I have already had the great pleasure to encounter once again.’

Cato felt his throat tighten and he concentrated on the man in front of him, fighting to control his expression. ‘I take it your hostages are still alive.’

‘They are. For the present.’

‘Get down off your horse,’ Cato ordered. ‘I do not care to speak to you with the sun in my eyes.’

‘Very well, Roman.’ Ajax swung his leg over the horse’s back and dropped to the ground close to Cato, but Cato did not flinch. Out of the glare of the sun, he could now see the man clearly. Ajax wore a simple tunic, plain boots and a sword belt slung across his shoulder. Tall, broad-shouldered and powerfully built, he was young, but his features were more lined and scarred than the face Cato dimly recalled from years earlier. There was something about the eyes, too. They were watchful and far-seeing, and Cato guessed that his time in the arena meant that Ajax was a man who missed nothing and was capable of reacting to any threat in an instant.

‘More comfortable?’ Ajax sneered. ‘You wanted to talk to me,’ Cato responded flatly. ‘So talk.’

‘I’ll get to the point when I am good and ready. Before then, I am curious to know what you think of our little situation. It is not without dramatic interest, wouldn’t you agree?’

‘I am not interested in your games, slave.Just speak your piece and go-‘ ‘Slave?’ Ajax frowned briefly. ‘Not any more. Not when your emperor concedes to my demands.’ ‘State your demands then, before you bore me any further.’ Cato slowly folded his arms, loosely, with his left hand on top in case he needed to signal his men.

‘I will, but first, tell me how it feels to be responsible for all of this.’ Ajax gestured at the two armies. ‘All the bloodshed during this rebellion. Surely you cannot sleep easily with all this on your conscience.’

Cato did not reply at once, then spoke with deliberate emphasis. ‘This is your doing, Ajax. The retribution that Romewill visit on your followers will be your responsibility, not mine. If you surrender now, and give up your hostages, I give you my word that I will plead the case for leniency to be shown to your followers.’

‘While I go the same way as my father?’

‘ O f course. H o w could it be otherwise? After all that you have done.’

‘You are too generous.’ Ajax laughed drily. ‘You should take some of the credit.’

‘Really?’

‘Oh yes. You see, every day since you and your friend made me a slave, I have vowed to have my revenge. If I am honest, I never really expected to have the chance, but it kept me alive and kept my wits keen when so many others might have died in the arena. So, I have you to thank for that.You . . .’ He pointed his finger at Cato’s chest. ‘It was you who made this rebellion possible, and you who will be the cause of Rome’s humiliation. And,’ Ajax’s eyes flashed with inspiration and he smiled, ‘and yes! It is you who will be the cause of your own greatest torment. But I am getting ahead of myself.’ He paused and then pulled a red strip of cloth from inside his tunic. ‘I have decided to give you a demonstration, Roman. To prove that I am serious, and to discourage you from any rash course of action.’ He turned and pointed to the beached ships. ‘You see that one on the end, apart from the others?’

Cato looked, and nodded.

‘Good. Then watch.’ Ajax extended his arm and waved the strip of red cloth slowly from side to side as it rippled gently in the light breeze. There was an answering signal from the deck of the grain ship, and moments later Cato saw a tiny glitter and a thin trail of smoke. The spark quickly spread as a handful of men scrambled from the bows on to the sand. A tongue of flame shot up from the main cargo hatch and within moments the ship was ablaze and a cloud of smoke billowed over the decks. Ajax turned back towards Cato.

‘There. Every one of the remaining ships is ready to be fired the moment I give the signal.You had better bear that in mind in case you are thinking of making a surprise attack to seize the grain fleet. N o w then, on to my demands.’ Ajax raised his hands and counted them off. ‘One, you send word to your governor that he is to issue a proclamation, in the name of Emperor Claudius and the senate, declaring that all slaves on the island of Crete are to be set free at once. Before you protest, I know that he has the authority to do this. Whether Rome ratifies it or not is not my concern. By then, my followers and I will be long gone. If the governor is not here with the proclamation in his hands five days from now, I will start destroying all of the ships. Two, after we have the proclamation, signed, sealed and delivered by the governor in person, you will allow my followers and me to board the ships and sail unhindered from this bay. Once we have decided on a safe place to land we will hand the ships over to you.’

‘What’s to stop you burning the ships after you have reached wherever it is that you intend to sail to?’

‘Nothing.’ Ajax smiled. ‘You’ll have to trust me.’ ‘Trust you?’ ‘You have no choice. And there’s one other thing.’ Ajax looked straight into Cato’s eyes, and his lips parted in an icy grin. ‘I imagine that you are wondering about the fate of the hostages . . . your friends?’

‘Why should I?’ Cato replied evenly. ‘They are as good as dead already’

‘Your face betrays you. I think they mean far more to you than you would ever admit. If not, then the last demand I shall give you will be the easiest to comply with. Three, I will send a man back here tomorrow, at dawn. You will give him your response to this question.’ Ajax paused, savouring the moment. ‘I want you to choose who I will let live, Centurion Macro, orJulia Sempronia. It is your choice, Tribune Cato. You will tell my man who is to live and who is to die when he comes. If you fail to give him an answer, then I will have them both put to death, in full view ofyour camp, and I give you my word that their deaths will be long and painful.’

An icy dread filled Cato’s body. He could not think, could not utter a response. So he stood and stared.

Ajax read his reaction well and nodded with satisfaction. ‘Until tomorrow then, Tribune.’

He remounted his horse and spurred it back towards his followers, and then led them back down the hill at a gallop. Cato stood still and watched them, tracking the small band as it wound through the rebel camp, around the end of the bay towards a small hillock on the peninsula stretching into the sea. Only then did he turn and walk slowly back towards the gates of the Roman camp.

We have to attack tonight,’ Cato decided, after he related the demands made by Ajax. The other officers in the tent stirred uneasily. Outside, the noon sun beat down on the Roman camp.The wind had died away during the morning, so that the air inside the tent was stifling. Cato had summoned his senior officers the moment Decius Balbus, the navarch, had reached the camp, after his gruelling ride from the bay where his squadron lay at anchor. Cato had made up his mind to attack the rebel camp as he had made his way back to his head- quarters after confronting Ajax.

Centurion Casca, the prefect of the cavalry cohort, responded first. ‘Sir, you said that the enemy would set fire to all the ships at the first sign of an attack.’

Cato nodded. ‘That was what Ajax said, and I believe him.’

‘Then why attack? The fleet will be burned and the people in Rome will starve. Surely the priority is to save the grain ships and send them on to Rome as soon as possible.’

‘Even if that means agreeing to his demands?’

Balbus scratched his chin and thought a moment before speaking. ‘Ifyou attack, and he destroys the fleet, then we will have a political disaster on our hands. If you agree to his demands, then Romewill avoid starvation. You will, of course, be condemned for bowing to the will of this rebel and his army of slaves. I imagine that, the emperor and the senate will show you no mercy’ He paused and looked directly at Cato. ‘It seems to me that the choice is between the lives of many in Rome, or your shame and exile or execution, sir.’

Cato smiled slightly. ‘You are right, and the choice is mine. However, I think there is something else you have to consider.What if we go along with Ajax, and he still destroys the grain ships?’

‘Is that likely?’ asked Fulvius. ‘Why would he do that?’

‘It’s simple,’ Cato replied. ‘He hates Romewith every fibre of his being. And he hates me almost as much.’

‘You? Why, sir?’

‘It’s a long story, but the key to it is that Ajax holds me, and Prefect Macro, responsible for the crucifixion of his father, and for his own enslavement.This is as much about having revenge on us as it is about winning his freedom.’

‘Forgive me, sir, but are you certain of this?’ Fulvius continued in a cautious tone. ‘Is there a danger that you are exaggerating your influence over this man’s actions?’

‘I have thought about it carefully. I’ve been over every detail ofthe man and his words that I can recall from our encounter earlier this morning. I am certain that he means to do me, and Rome, as much harm as possible. Ajax lives for revenge. When he spoke to me, every word was calculated to increase my fear for my friends. He wants to see me tormented for as long as possible before delivering the final crushing blow. I could see it in his eyes.’ Cato winced at the memory of the glint of madness in the gladiator’s gaze. ‘I am sure of it. He will burn those ships the moment he is confident that he and his followers are beyond our reach. If I am right, then we have nothing to lose in risking an attack.Those ships are doomed ifwe do anything else. That is why we must try to save them as soon as possible. I’m hoping that if we make the attempt tonight, we may catch the rebels by surprise.’ Cato let the words ofhis argument sink in for a moment.