The Gladiator (17 page)

Cato considered the wager for a moment and shook his head. ‘I can think of better ways to waste my money’

They left their escort at the city gates, and the decurion, with orders to induct Atticus into one of the infantry cohorts, marched his men away towards their camp on the far side of Gortyna. Macro and Cato dismounted and led their horses along the main street as Julia’s cart followed behind. Inside the walls, makeshift tents and crude shelters filled the ruined quarters of the city. They passed several gangs of slaves at work clearing rubble and making repairs to temples and business premises. Cato noticed that the slaves were securely chained to each other and were closely watched by overseers armed with heavy clubs. The poorest dwellings of Gortyna had been left to their owners, who picked over them, still gleaning for valuables and whatever food remained that had not gone off in the hot days following the earthquake. Armed men stood outside the larger houses and storerooms surrounding the city’s forum.

‘Seems that Glabius is looking after his own,’ Macro commented quietly.

‘For now,’ Cato replied. ‘But I don’t imagine Sempronius will put up with this for long.’

‘Why not? The rich have always been good at looking after each other.’

‘Why not?’ Julia interrupted. ‘Because my father is no fool, Centurion Macro. He knows that if a wedge is driven between the local people, then it can only harm efforts to rebuild the province, and help the cause of the rebel slaves. That’s why not.’

Macro scratched the stubble on his chin. ‘If you say so.’

‘Trust me,’ she continued. ‘He will do the right thing. He always has.’

Cato could believe it.The senator had a strong moral streak and a sense of duty to Rome that overrode any self-interest. Which was why he had never been granted any rank higher than quaestor. If he had been prepared to make and take bribes, then he would have been appointed a provincial governor years before.

They continued through the forum, where a handful of stalls had been set up by traders desperate to earn hard currency to buy food for their families. Even though it was late in the day, long past the usual time they closed up for the night, the traders were still waiting patiently for custom, though the area was almost deserted. A short distance from the forum stood the entrance to the governor’s palace. The two Roman officers and the cart were waved through, and as they entered the courtyard Cato noted that the palace was guarded by auxiliaries. There was no sign of the town guards and the private bodyguards, who had remained loyal to Glabius.

Macro called over one of the governor’s household slaves. ‘You, where’s Senator Sempronius?”

‘Over there, master.’ The slave bowed his head as he pointed towards the stable courtyard.

‘Take the horses,’ Macro ordered, handing the reins to the slave. Cato helped Julia down from the cart and the three of them made their way across to the entrance ofthe stables.There was no longer a restless crowd demanding treatment, and a calm sense of order prevailed in the buildings and store sheds on each side of the court- yard.The rooms to the right were still serving as a makeshift hospital, and Sempronius had commandeered those to the left for his head- quarters. As Macro, Cato and Julia were shown into a tack room, the senator glanced up from the desk that had been set up by the far wall. A pile of reports on waxed slates lay before him and he lowered the brass stylus in his hand as a broad smile creased his weary features. Releasing her hold on Cato’s hand, Julia ran across the room and embraced her father.

‘Easy, my dear!’ he chuckled, kissing her tenderly on the cheek. Macro and Cato stood by the door in an awkward silence until Sempronius beckoned to them to approach.Julia straightened up and went to sit on the clerks’ bench to one side of the desk.

‘Good to see you again, gentlemen,’ said Sempronius. ‘Have a seat. H o w are things at Matala, Macro?’

‘Not too bad, sir. The food is being rationed and there are supplies for some days yet. The people aren’t happy, but we’re keeping them in line, for now’ He glanced briefly at Cato. ‘The chief difficulty is the slave rebellion.’

‘Rebellion?’ Sempronius frowned. ‘I doubt a few minor skirmishes amount to a rebellion.’

‘It’s gone beyond a few skirmishes, sir.’ Macro briefly recounted the attack on his column and the fact that the slaves were being led by the man in the leather skullcap.

‘A gladiator, you say?’ Sempronius mused, once Macro had finished his report.

‘That’s my guess, sir. If I’m right then he should be easy to identify. I’ll give your clerks the details that I can recall of the man, and we’ll see if anyone recognises him from the description.’

‘Someone might, but what good will that do us?’

Macro was surprised. ‘Well, sir, knowing your enemy is always something of a help.’

‘But you said he seemed to know you already’

‘That’s how it looked to me. Can’t say I recalled him, though. Not yet. If I can learn something about him, then perhaps I can place this man and have some idea of how much of a threat he poses.’

Sempronius considered this briefly and then nodded. ‘All right. I’ll make sure his description is circulated.Though I don’t see how one gladiator is going to upset my plans to restore order to Crete. He’s no more ofa threat than any other slave amongst that rabble skulking in the hills.’

Julia leaned forward. ‘Father, this wouldn’t be the first time that Rome underestimated the danger posed by an escaped gladiator. Centurion Macro is right to be concerned.’

Sempronius frowned, and then shook his head with a small laugh as he understood her point. ‘This is Crete, my dear, not Campania. Gladiator schools are somewhat thinner on the ground here than they are around Capua. There is no danger of another Spartacus. Besides, I doubt that any slave in the empire can be unaware of the dreadful fate that befell those who followed Spartacus. They might run and hide, but any runaway slaves will be too terrified of being involved in a general uprising. They’d sooner be captured, returned to their masters and punished.’

Macro sucked in a breath as he recalled the fanaticism with which the slaves had attacked his column. ‘Truly, sir, I hope you’re right.’

‘I am sure of it.’ Sempronius softened his expression. ‘Now, there are slightly more pressing problems to be faced before we worry too much about this gladiator of yours.’

‘Really?’ Macro raised his eyebrows.

‘Yes, really,’ Sempronius replied testily. ‘We still have to contend with that fool Marcus Glabius. I’ve managed to persuade him to hand the governor’s palace over to me, but he’s occupied the acropolis, and keeps himselfsurrounded by bodyguards. He has also taken charge of the food supplies and had them moved to the storerooms in the acropolis. And while he controls the food, he controls Gortyna, and to a degree the troops under my command, since I am required to go to him for the men’s rations. Now, I might have been prepared to overlook such issues if Glabius was feeding the people and helping them recover from the earthquake, but he isn’t. He has been protecting the property of his friends, and openly permitting them to exploit the food shortage by hoarding supplies, while he uses the provincial treasury to buy grain and meat at vastly inflated prices for distribution to the poor. Some of the grain is ruined and the meat is rotten. It’s an intolerable state of affairs,’ Sempronius concluded.

‘Then why do you tolerate it, sir?’ asked Cato.

‘Why?’ Sempronius rose from his desk and made for the door to the courtyard. ‘Come with me and I’ll show you why’

He led them into the centre ofthe stable courtyard and turned to point at the acropolis built on a nearby hill that dominated the centre of the city. A narrow track wound its way up the steep slope to the gate, which was protected by sturdy towers on each side. ‘As you can see, Glabius has picked himself a safe spot to sit out the crisis. It would take an army to seize the acropolis, and he has all the provisions to withstand a siege while I have none to mount one. Besides, it would be madness to use force to bring Glabius to heel, given the problems we already face.’

‘So what is your plan, sir?’ asked Macro.

‘My plan is to gather enough soldiers here to ensure that there is no popular uprising provoked by the ineptitude of Glabius, Also, I intend to restore order to the farms and estates of the southern part of the island, and round up those slaves you seem so concerned about. Once that has been achieved, then I will settle matters with Glabius.’

Cato shook his head. ‘I doubt that would be a good idea, if you don’t mind my saying?’

‘Oh?’

‘Glabius is a tax collector, sir.You know how well connected they are back in Rome.You would risk making some dangerous enemies if you took him on.’

‘And I risk losing control of the province if I don’t.’

‘That’s true,’ Cato conceded. The senator was in an impossible position.

Sempronius stared up at the acropolis with a weary expression before he continued. ‘I sent a full report on the situation here to Romethis morning. I said that I would wait for further instructions before dealing with Glabius.’

Macro and Cato exchanged a quick glance. The senator was taking the easy way out by waiting for orders; disowning respon- sibility for affairs in Crete. It might take as much as two months for a reply to reach Gortyna. In that time Glabius would be free to continue exploiting the situation, endangering the security of not only the province but the rest of the empire as well, once news of the collapse of authority on the island leaked out across the Mediter- ranean. It was essential that the senator realised the need to remove Glabius. Even if that made him enemies back in Rome, Cato reflected.

He cleared his throat. ‘Sir, I don’t think we can afford to wait for instructions from Rome. We will have to act long before then. Before Glabius stirs up too much hostility amongst the local people.’

Sempronius cocked an eyebrow. ‘What do you propose we do then?’

The shift in authority from the senator to his subordinate was not lost on Macro, and he had to force himself not to show his surprise as Cato made his reply.

‘We have to take control of the food stocks up there, sir. That means we have to arrest Glabius, and disarm his bodyguards. Once that’s done, we can be sure that the people will be on our side.’

While we make enemies of Glabius’s friends?’ Sempronius paused. ‘Both here and back in Rome.’

‘Can’t be helped. Besides, the mathematics of the situation is quite clear, sir. There are more hungry people than there are friends of Glabius. W h o would you rather have on your side?’

Sempronius pressed his lips together and glanced at the others, before turning to stare helplessly at the walls of the acropolis. Julia cleared her throat and gently took her father’s hand. ‘Cato’s right. You must act. Soon.’

The senator was silent for a moment before he nodded slowly. ‘Very well. Glabius will be dealt with.’

The following morning, Senator Sempronius met with his senior military officers. In addition to Macro and Cato, there were the commanders of the three auxiliary cohorts. The prefect of the Batavian cavalry, Marcellus, was a slender, hard-looking veteran with silver hair and piercing dark eyes. T h e detachments of the two infantry cohorts were led by centurions, Albinus and Plotius, men who had served with their units since first signing up. Unfortunate, since Macro had hoped they might have been promoted to their present rank from the legions.

‘Pity,’ he muttered to Cato as the senator made the introductions. ‘But we’ll have to make do.’

Sempronius glanced at him irritably as he continued. ‘Macro is the acting prefect of the Twelfth Hispania at Matala. Centurion Cato is serving as my military aide and chief of staff.’

Marcellus looked searchingly at Cato for a moment. ‘Might I ask the substantive rank of Macro and Cato?’

‘Of course.’ Sempronius nodded. ‘Both hold legionary rank, pending reappointment to new units once they return to Rome.’

‘I see.’ Marcellus nodded with a small smile of satisfaction. ‘Then, as prefect, I am the senior officer present.’

‘You are, technically,’ Sempronius replied in an even tone. ‘However, as the senior office-holder in the province, I have the final word in matters ofcommand. For the present I am content to permit Macro to retain command of our forces.’

‘I have to protest, sir. Macro is only an acting prefect. I am a permanent holder of that rank. Therefore I should be in command.’ ‘Yourprotest is noted, Prefect Marcellus; however, I have made my decision. Prefect Macro will lead my men.’ ‘I see.’ Marcellus nodded. ‘I’d like that noted in writing, sir.’

‘Would you?’ Sempronius looked surprised for a moment, before he recovered. ‘Are you sure about that?’

The other man returned his stare steadily and then shook his head. ‘I suppose not. After all, what difference does it make? There aren’t likely to be any rewards handed out to the commanders as a result of our actions in this crisis.’

‘Quite,’ Sempronius replied. ‘This is a simple policing matter, gentlemen. Our goals are to enforce order, feed the people and recapture the slaves who have run away from their masters. That is all.’ He glanced round at his subordinates. ‘Having considered the situation, I have made the following plans to achieve our goals.The Batavian horse and the Fifth Gallic will be tasked with hunting down the fugitive slaves and any brigands that are preying on the people and property of this province.’ He paused, and chewed his lip for a moment before continuing. ‘Prefect Marcellus will command this force.’

Macro cleared his throat. ‘Begging your pardon, sir. I thought you said I was your choice for commander.’

‘I did.’ ‘Then shouldn’t I lead this column?’ ‘Your particular talents are required here, for the present.’ ‘Sir?’ ‘I will explain later.’ Sempronius turned to Centurion Plotius.

‘The Tenth Macedonian will remain in Gortyna, to keep order and to help with reconstruction. Centurion Cato will assign work details for your men.’

‘Yes, sir.’ Plotius nodded. ‘Any questions?’ Marcellus spoke. ‘Yes, sir. It will take my men some days to carry out their job, and we will need adequate provisions. The thing is, Marcus Glabius has not been forthcoming with the supplies he has hoarded up there on the hill.’