The Leopard Sword: Empire IV (15 page)

Marcus regarded him levelly for a moment.

‘And where does all this leave you?’

His friend shook his head again.

‘I don’t know. Part of me knows I just need to walk away and forget the whole thing, put it down to the choices we make that can never be undone, but all I really want to do is take that fucking place apart with my bare hands and try to make amends to her.’

‘And you think that’s what she’d want?’

Julius smiled wanly.

‘What do you think she’d rather be, a centurion’s woman, never knowing which rainy shithole fort she might find herself in next, or independent, and the mistress of her own destiny?’

Marcus raised an eyebrow.

‘I’ve no idea. But then neither do
you
. Have you considered asking her?’

Marcus left Qadir organising the 9th for their day’s labour, which consisted of carrying building materials to the more skilled workers, and sought out Arminius. He found the German sparring with Lupus, by turns attacking the child and pushing him to defend himself, then falling back in defence to coach him in the use of his sword. Marcus stood and watched, nodding approval at the boy’s slit-mouthed determination as he went forward against his instructor, his wooden training sword ceaselessly seeking an opening in the German’s defences.

‘How’s the boy doing?’

The German turned away from the child to ensure that he wouldn’t be overheard.

‘Better than I expected. He’s quick with the sword, he’s got natural footwork . . . I’ll turn him into a warrior, given a few years. Perhaps he’ll even be good enough to spar with me on even terms.’

Marcus looked at the child speculatively.

‘Would you say it’s time for him to have some proper equipment? I believe your agreement with Morban was based on his finding the money to provide his grandson with whatever he needs?’

Arminius grinned wolfishly.

‘I take it that your statue waver has just managed to make himself a profit of some kind?’

Marcus shrugged indifferently.

‘I’ve no idea, and the agreement is for you to enforce as you see fit. I just found it interesting that he was counting the number of heads which fell facing us this morning. It was the kind of concern a man like Morban might have if he were running a book,
if
you take my meaning. You might find him more amenable to making a purchase for the boy now than he would have been yesterday. Or, for that matter, more amenable than if you wait until he’s had a chance to scatter the contents of both his purse and his manhood across the city’s entertainment establishments.’

Later that evening, when tribune and first spear took their usual cup of wine to discuss the day’s events, First Spear Frontinius found his superior in reflective mood.

‘So Tribune Belletor agreed to the new rules for allowing the men into the city?’

‘Oh yes. Well, he didn’t have very much choice in the matter, as it happens, a fact I made very clear to him earlier today.’

‘And yet, Tribune, you seem strangely distracted this evening. Is there something troubling you?’

Scaurus raised an eyebrow.

‘Is there? I don’t know. Everything seems to be pretty much as it should be. Eight of the barracks are more or less complete, and we’ll have them all built and weatherproofed in a day or so. Order has been restored in the city, and any fighting that happens now will be a matter for you or First Spear Sergius to sort out internally, so there’s a source of strife removed. It’s just . . .’

‘The execution today?’

‘That’s perceptive of you. Yes. The man that started shouting.’

Frontinius shrugged.

‘There’s often one man who can’t meet his end without letting everyone within earshot know how he’s feeling about it, you know that. Not everyone’s a stoic.’

He regarded Scaurus over the rim of his cup, and to his relief saw that the other man was shaking his head in bemusement at the comment.

‘It wasn’t the fact that he was shouting that bothered me, Sextus Frontinius. They could all have begged for mercy at the top of their voices and I wouldn’t have turned a hair. What was of concern to me was what he was shouting.’

Frontinius raised his eyebrows in question, sipping at his wine again.

‘I wasn’t really listening, if I’m being totally honest, Tribune. I recall he was trying to tell us all about his innocence though.’

‘In point of fact, he was apparently trying to tell us that we had by far the greater perpetrator in our midst. First of all he shouted, “There are men here with more blood on their hands than me!” and he followed that up with, “He’s the one they’re all terrified of! I know! I heard his . . .” But we’ll never know what it was he heard, since Caninus’s overzealous deputy promptly silenced him. I heard our colleague ripping into him afterwards for silencing the man in mid-revelation, but done is done. The fact remains, however, that in that moment of utter clarity some men get just before their death, that condemned robber was trying to tell us that we have an enemy within. He couldn’t point out the man he was accusing, but he was looking squarely at the senior officers and the men around us while he was shouting the odds. Which leaves us with two questions.’

‘Who he was looking at?’

‘Yes. That, and exactly what he meant by “He’s the one they’re all terrified of”.’

‘Right, that’s one apiece for keeping your mouths shut about this.’ Morban handed every man in the new barracks’ cramped room a coin, staring into each pair of eyes as he did so. ‘If anyone asks you where I am, tell them I’ve gone to find some new boots.’

One of the soldiers crowded around him pulled a face at the single coin resting on his outstretched palm, making no effort to pull his hand away and claim the payment.

‘I’m not sure one sestertius is enough. What if the duty centurion comes looking for you? If we get caught lying to cover up for your whoring we’ll find ourselves on the business end of the scourge, with some big crested bastard striping us all up as the price of
your
fun.’

Morban glared at the speaker, shaking his head in disbelief.

‘You just stick to blowing your trumpet when you’re told to, sonny, and leave those of us with a head for business to enjoy the fruits of our hard work. After all, this is really just a scouting expedition I’m going on. I go out and spend
my
money working out where the best whores are to be found, and then when we have a pass into town I can take you straight to them. The way I see it, everyone’s a winner.’ He smoothed his tunic across his ample belly and then reached for his cloak, pinning the heavy woollen garment about him. ‘Be good now, lads, and don’t do anything I wouldn’t . . .’

As the standard bearer opened the barracks door to leave, he found his exit blocked by a shadowy figure that towered over him in the unlit street outside. He recoiled, one hand going to his purse and the other reaching under the cloak for a small blade hanging round his neck. The other man was faster, clenching a big fist around both hand and weapon.

‘It’s never wise to pull a knife on a man twice your size, little man, especially when he’s on your own side.’

Morban puffed out a quick breath, shaking his head in a mixture of irritation and relief.

‘What do you want, Arminius? I’ve no time to bandy words with you.’

The German grinned down at him, planting himself firmly in the standard bearer’s path and folding his arms.

‘I thought as much. A good friend told me that you were running a book on the results of today’s executions, and clearly I’ve arrived just in time to stop you wasting your winnings in your usual bull-in-a-field-of-cows fashion.’

Morban’s face screwed itself up into his customary expression of incredulity. With his eyes narrowed and upper lip raised in a disbelieving sneer, he opened his hands in front of him in a shrug of bemusement.

‘What? I made a modest profit by providing a service to my fellow soldiers; it isn’t as if I’ve been dipping my fingers in the burial fund.’

The men behind him nodded sagely. Morban was known to be scrupulous in his handling of their savings. Arminius snorted derisively.

‘I made no such accusation, so stop trying to change the subject. Even you’re not stupid enough to risk what these men would do to you if they discovered so much as a hint of embezzlement.’ The soldiers nodded again, exchanging knowing looks of agreement, but before Morban could respond Arminius leaned forward and whispered in his ear. ‘But then you’re more than sly enough to have fooled your comrades in other ways, aren’t you? As I recall it, you took a lot of bets as to where your cohort’s next posting would be before we were shipped over here, and almost none of that money was wagered on the cohort leaving Britannia, was it? A cynical man would wonder if you hadn’t managed to find out where we were being deployed next before you opened the book, and I seem to recall some hard words on the matter at the time, even if nobody could prove you had inside knowledge. How do you think your comrades would react to the news that you had actually overheard the first spear discussing the subject with your centurion, and in that way learned what you needed to know to make a swift and risk-free profit?’

Morban hissed his reply in a tone of disbelief, his eyes widening with fear.

‘There’s no way you can prove any such thing.’

Arminius smiled widely, delivering the killer blow to any resistance from the standard bearer.

‘Who said anything about me? I think you’ll find that the person who will be doing the telling will have a good deal more credibility than I do. He’s a good man, quite young and he wears a crested helmet.’

Morban’s eyes slitted in disbelief.

You’re bluffing! He wouldn’t . . .’

Arminius nodded his head.

‘Yes, he would. He and I knew that we’d need some leverage to persuade you to deliver your promise to equip young Lupus when the time came. And that time has most definitely come. If you don’t agree to honour our agreement then you may find your future sources of revenue somewhat more limited than you like. Nobody likes a crooked bookmaker, do they, Morban?’

The standard bearer stared up at him with an expression that combined disgust and resignation.

‘How much do you want?’

‘Not
me
, Morban. How much does your
grandson
want? There is an armourer in the city who has agreed to make the boy his own sword and mail. Good stuff, mind you, as good as ours if not better.’

‘And how much does this glorified blacksmith want in return for selling me a mail coat that will fit the boy for only a year?’

‘He’ll do the job for a mere one hundred . . .’ Morban’s face brightened slightly, and Arminius twisted the knife. ‘Denarii, that is.’

The standard bearer blanched.

‘A hundred in silver? Four hundred fucking sestertii! Are you mad? I can’t . . . I mean, I haven’t got that sort of money!’

Arminius grinned in the darkness, a swift dart of his hand plucking the purse from the other man’s belt. Effortlessly holding off the enraged standard bearer with one hand he hefted the purse with the other, squeezing the top open and turning it to the light of the lamps inside the barrack.

‘Really? This does seem to be quite a generous sum you’re carrying, and most of it in gold as well. Shall we tip it out for counting?’

Morban, recognising that his guile had met its forceful match, shook his head dejectedly.

‘No need. Here, I’ll count it out for you.’

Arminius laughed at him, turning his back and tipping out the purse’s contents into his broad palm.

‘No, no, it’ll be
my
pleasure! Here we go! I’ll take it in gold to make things nice and simple. One, two, three . . .’ He shook the bag to dislodge the last coin. ‘Four gold aurei. There we are, all done. Now that didn’t hurt too badly, did it?’ He peered into the leather bag, pulling an impressed face. ‘My word, Morban, you have been busy! Here –’ he tossed the purse back to the anguished soldier – ‘here’s what’s left of your treasure. Off you go and enjoy yourself, with that nice warm feeling that comes from having done the right thing. Even if you had to be helped to do so.’

Morban shook his head bitterly, turning to face the men staring at him in the barrack and replying in an affronted tone.

‘I’ve lost all appetite for an evening with the city’s ladies. Robbery with the threat of violence will do that to a man.’

Arminius smirked at his back, pulling a small coin from his pocket.

‘More like robbery with the threat of blackmail, I’d say, but no matter. Hey, Morban!’

He flicked the coin at the standard bearer, who’d turned round in response to the call and caught the spinning coin in mid-air.

‘A sestertius? What’s this for?’

The German was already walking away, and called his answer over his shoulder.

‘That should be enough for a flask of some of that rough Iberian cat piss you like so much. Have it on me, as a consolation.’

‘Well, now, if it isn’t the soldier boy again . . .’ With a clatter of bolts the Blue Boar’s door unlocked, and Slap appeared in the opening to look at Julius with an expression that combined puzzlement and pity, of a sort. ‘You’re a glutton for punishment, mate, unless you’ve got a hard-on for humiliation and hand jobs. Haven’t you realised what sort of woman she is yet?’

The Tungrian shrugged helplessly.

‘She’s a bit hard-edged, but that’s understandable given what she’s been through.’

The disbelief in the bodyguard’s answering laughter was enough to put his teeth on edge, but Julius held on to his temper with an ease that he was starting to find more than a little depressing.

‘Hard-edged? She’s razor-edged, soldier boy, sharper than any iron you’ve ever carried. She’s too smart for this profession, see, and she knows it, but she was forced into it anyway, without the choice, and you were a big part of that. She’ll be polite enough to you, but the odds of you getting past that ain’t big from what I’ve seen. In you come.’

Julius spread his arms to be searched, but the doorman waved away the gesture.

‘You’ve got more sense than to bring a weapon here. I think you know the truth of it all right, that you may be the emperor’s hard man, but on our ground we’re the professionals, and you’re the amateur.’ He jerked a thumb over his shoulder. ‘In you go. I’ll send word up to her that you’re here. Let me know when you’ve had enough.’