TW11 The Cleopatra Crisis NEW (14 page)

“Incredible!" Travers said. "You must tell me the entire story later, but right now, I'm curious as to how you knew the race was fixed."

"I learned how to observe horsemanship from jousting tournaments," she said. "In a situation where your life often depended on knowing your opponents, you learned to watch for the slightest indication of any weak points. After a while, you'd get to where you'd easily spot subtle things that most people would miss. The charioteer for the red team held back slightly on the final stretch. As you said, he's an outstanding driver. Even a keen observer might have missed it, but I was watching very closely, out of habit, I suppose, and I noticed that on the last two laps, he was taking his turns just a little wider than he had on all the previous ones."

"I never would have spotted that." said Travers. “Clocillus always takes the turns so tightly, he's almost. right up against the post.”

"That's why he got away with it," she said. "He takes a much tighter line through the turns than the other driven, so when he went just a little wider, it still looked like he was taking them pretty close. But he went a little wider every time coming out of the turns and he held back a little going into the turns, allowing the blue team to catch up. Aside from that, when those two chariots collided in the first turn. It was done on purpose. I saw both drivers brace themselves for the impact as they went into the turn. They were prepared for it, before they should have known that it was going to happen. And the driver whose chariot overturned in the last lap? That was purposely done, as well. He was standing a little lower in his chariot going into the turn because he had his knees flexed, ready to spring clear. He timed it just right, so that he'd be at the apex of the turn, where the inertia would carry him to the outside of the track, well away front the chariots behind him, who knew that he was going down and were prepared. He was already reaching for his dagger an instant before he went over. Not that it still wasn't pretty dangerous, but with everybody knowing what was going to happen, the risks were considerably reduced."

"But that would mean that every one of the charioteers were bribed!" exclaimed Travers with astonishment.

"That would seem to be the obvious explanation," Andre replied.

"That's an incredibly serious offense," said Travers. "They could all lose their lives for that. You're absolutely sure'? There's no chance you could be mistaken'?"

"If Andre says that's the way it happened. Travers, you can take it to the bank," Delaney said.

"Find out who was the big winner at the track today and you'll probably find your fixer," Andre said.

"There's only one man I can think of, short of the Emperor himself, who could have gotten all the charioteers to work together in order to throw the race,” said Travers, "and that would be Marcian. But I simply can't imagine him doing something like that."

"Who's Marcian'?" asked Lucas.

"He's the
aedile
who oversees the administration of the games." said Travers. "He's also an extremely wealthy merchant who provides most of the horses and wild beasts for the shows in the Circus. He also stages gladiatorial combats, sort of a private entertainment contractor. But he never bets on any of the races. For a man in his position, it wouldn't look good."

"Maybe somebody got to him," Delaney said.

"That's hard to believe." said Travers. "Marcian is one of the richest men in Rome. I can't imagine what anyone could offer him to make him take such a risk."

"Political power?" Lucas asked.

"Possible. I suppose, but unlikely. His post carries a nominal senatorial rank, yet Marcian has always steered clear of politics. He has the reputation of being a very prudent man."

"In any case, it probably doesn't concern us," Andre said. "Not unless It might have anything to do with Caesar. Is Marcian a friend of his?"

"No. not really. but he is a friend of Marc Antony's, who is Caesar's right-hand man."

"Maybe we should meet him." Lucas said.

"That wouldn't be difficult to arrange," said Travers. "You think he might he involved somehow?"

"I don't know." said Lucas. "Is he a native Roman?"

"No, as a matter of fact, he isn't. He arrived in Rome about nine years ago. I think from Baiae, but I'm not sure. In any case, he was already quite wealthy when he got here, which helped him make connections quickly. The post of
aedile
is an elective office and word is he bought enough votes to put himself over. He built a palatial villa on the banks of the Tiber near the Aventine and he's prospered considerably since."

"Interesting," said Delaney. "You know him well'?"

"We've met on several occasions. but I can't say I really know him well."

"Can we arrange to meet him socially?"

"Yes, I suppose so. I could hold a dinner party in my home and invite him, but since we're not exactly friends, it would help if I had a particular reason."

"Why not invite him so he can bring along some of the charioteers who raced today'?" asked Andre.

"Yes, that wouldn't be unusual. Aristocrats enjoy rubbing elbows with the charioteers. It makes them feel adventurous."

"Good," said Lucas. "Set it up as soon as possible. We haven't got much time. There's only two weeks until the Ides of March."

"Yes, I know," said Travers grimly. He glanced down at the arena. "The gladiators are starting to come in. If it's all the same with you. I'd rather not stay around to watch this. I've seen quite enough of death."

They left the Circus and went outside to their carriage. where their "slaves" were waiting for them.

"Can we take a look at Cleopatra's house?” asked Lucas.

"Certainly." said Travers. "It's not very far from mine."

The streets were practically deserted as they drove back toward the Tiber.

"What did you make of Caesar's Egyptian guard?" asked Andell as he drove their carriage.

"We couldn't get a very good look at them," Delaney said. "I counted a dozen."

Andell nodded. "They go everywhere with him. Quite impressive, aren't they?"

"They looked very fit and capable." said Lucas.

"What do you think?" asked Travers.

Lucas shook his head. “I don't know. I wish we had more to go on. Do they stay with him in the palace?"

"Yes," said Travers. “They have rooms in the same wing as his.”

"They're going to present a problem." Lucas said. "regardless of whether they're S.O.G. troops or actually what they seem to be. In either case, they're an anomaly and we're going to have to get rid of them somehow. The question is, how?"

"You're close to Caesar," said Delaney. "Couldn't you convince him that it's bad P.R. to have them around?"

"It is, in fact," said Travers. "There's been talk about them ever since Caesar took them on. He knows it and he doesn't like it. He used to have a bodyguard of Spaniards, a tough and surly-looking bunch, but he dismissed them for the sake of appearances. And those Egyptians haven't exactly improved matters. He knows it makes him look as if he's being protected by his mistress. I'm not really sure if he's going along with it just to please Cleopatra or because he's getting nervous now that the Ides is approaching. If he is, he'll never admit it. He's far too proud."

"Could you work on him without making your position difficult?" asked Delaney.

"I could try," Travers replied. "We've gone through a great deal together. I could probably get away with more than most people could when it comes to Caesar. But you can only press him so far. Plus I'd undoubtedly alienate Cleopatra and she has a lot of influence with him."

"More than a comrade in arms from the wars?" asked Andre.

Travers snorted. "You haven't seen her."

"How does Caesar's wife react to his relationship with her?" she asked.

"Calpurnia? She doesn't say anything about it. And no one dares mention it in her presence. I don't really know what she thinks about it. She doesn't reveal her feelings much."

"She can't be very happy about it."

"Maybe not, but this is ancient Rome. And Rome is very much a man's world. It is not uncommon for Roman men to keep mistresses. Most wives accept it, though it's not as if they have a choice. And Caesar is no ordinary Roman. Calpurnia seems very devoted to him, but then I've spent more time with Caesar than she has. If you're thinking about using her to discourage Caesar in any way, I'd recommend that you forget about it. There's only one woman who ever wielded any effective power in Rome and that was—or will be—Livia, the wife of Augustus. However, everything she did was done behind the scenes, through ruthless political manipulation and even murder. Compared to her, Caterina Sforza and Lucretia Borgia were Girl Scouts. Calpurnia is not the type to go in for that sort of thing. She's rather self-effacing and I doubt there's a devious bone in her body."

"Well, then perhaps we'd better consider people who are devious," said Lucas.

"You mean the conspirators?" said Travers.

"Yes,” said Lucas. "If we're going to make sure that Caesar gets assassinated on schedule, it would behoove us to keep tabs on his assassins. They might need some encouragement."

"Not very much, I should think," said Travers wryly.

"What can you tell us about them? Personally, I mean?"

"I've met most of the chief conspirators at one time or another, since they're all active in politics," said Travers. "I can't say it was a very pleasurable experience, knowing what they're going to do. Or perhaps I should say what we hope they'll do." He paused and shook his head. "Why do I feel like a traitor when I say that?"

"Because you're not a cold-blooded bastard, that's why," said Delaney. "We've all done things we wished we hadn't had to do, things we haven't exactly been proud of. But they were things that had to be done, because so much depended on them being done."

"In a sense, Travers, they were things that had already happened." Lucas said. "I know it's sometimes hard to realize it, especially for someone like you, who's spent so much of his life in Minus Time, but all of this has already happened. From our perspective, and yours too, it happened almost three thousand years ago. We've simply come back here to make sure that no one tries to change that."

"I know," said Travers. "Intellectually, I realize all that, of course, but emotionally, it's still hard to accept. The man's a friend of mine. Perhaps the closest friend I've ever had. And he's much more than that. He's someone I spent much of my life studying and admiring. Meeting him was like meeting a boyhood idol. After all the years we've spent together, fought together . . . hell, he's even saved my life on several occasions . . ." His voice trailed off.

"It must be very difficult for you," said Andre sympathetically.

"More than you could know," Travers replied. "Until that night before we crossed the Rubicon together, Plus Time seemed almost like a dream. Like another life, a life I'd left behind. Then I had to clock back and make my report and reality was like a hard slap in the face. I've been speaking and even thinking like a Roman for so long that even now, English seems like a foreign language. Would you believe I'm a good ole boy from Dallas, Texas?

Crazy, isn't it?"

"No. it isn't crazy," Lucas said. "Believe me. I can understand exactly how you feel. But you were going to tell us about the conspirators."

"Yes, I'm sorry, I got sidetracked for a minute there. According to classical historians such as Suetonius and Plutarch, there were supposed to be some sixty men involved in the conspiracy, but most of their names aren't known to history. Some were apparently soldiers who had fought with Pompey. Others were people who had private grievances against Caesar. Still others, such as Brutus, were politically motivated, meaning that they believed they were acting in the interests of the republic. The core group was composed of Gaius Cassius Longinus, known as Cassius; his brother-in-law, Marcus Brutus; Decimus Brutus Albinus, one of Caesar's officers; Gaius Trebonius, a friend of Marc Antony's; Tillius Cimber; and the Casca brothers, Publius and Servilius.

“Cassius was the number one conspirator, the leader. Of them all, he is the most dangerous. He's shrewd and quick-witted, a calculating type. As Caesar himself has said, he has a 'lean and hungry look.' Not much gets past him and he's a keen judge and observer of human nature. Trebonius seems much more shallow. He likes to gamble a great deal and he's useful to the conspiracy because he's close to Antony. I don't know him very well, but he seems to be more of a follower than a leader. Albinus I know pretty well. He served with us in Gaul."

Travers paused a moment, his jaw muscles tightening. "I found it difficult to get along with him," he continued, "knowing what he would eventually do. Caesar was always good to him, as he was to most of his officers. He gave him a provincial command and later made him a consul. I have no idea what made him join the conspiracy. Perhaps he really believed, like Brutus, that it was for the good of Rome, an end to autocratic rule. Which is ironic, when you consider the men who followed Caesar. The days of the republic arc finished, though the conspirators don't know it. I always found Albinus very hard to read. He's not someone you'd want to turn your back on.

“Cimber I don't know very well at all. He seems ambitious, but other than that, I can't tell you much about him. As a close friend of Caesar's, I'm hardly someone they'd admit into their inner circle. As for the Casca brothers, Servilius I know only superficially and I don't think he's as deeply involved as his brother, Publius, who is someone to watch out for. There's a real hard edge to him. He's violent and he's got a mean temper. Next to Cassius, he's probably the most significant. Brutus is also part of the inner circle, or soon will be, and he is the most interesting. Also the most likable, strangely enough."

"Why do you say that?" asked Delaney.

"Just that it's strange for me to find one of Caesar's assassins likable. Supposedly, he's the one who agonized the most about it. There have been rumors that he's the illegitimate son of Caesar, but there's nothing to support that. Except that according to Suetonius, when Brutus was about to strike his blow, Caesar said to him. 'You, too, my child?' But there's no way of knowing in what sense he meant that. Or even if it 's exactly what he said. So I suppose the rumors could be true. It's a fascinating possibility, because Caesar did once have an affair with Brutus' mother, Servilia. Caesar pardoned Brutus for allying himself with Pompey in the civil war, but then he also pardoned Lamius and many others. It's one of the few things I've never been able to find out for certain. Brutus is sensitive on the subject and flatly denies it. Caesar simply won't discuss it. The one time I broached the subject with him, he became angry at me for listening to rumors and idle gossip.”