The Gladiator

'Cato?'Julia raised her head.

'That's right,' said Ajax. 'I've set him something of a difficult problem to resolve before tomorrow morning.'

Julia frowned. 'What do you mean?'

'It's simple.' Ajax looked at them both before he continued. 'I've decided to have one of you killed at dawn, and I've tasked your friend Cato with choosing which of you it will be.'

Macro lashed out with one of his feet, kicking the bar in front of the gladiator's face. The cage rattled under the impact but Ajax did not flinch for an instant.

'You bastard!' Macro shouted in a cracked voice.

'Come now, Centurion, you knew that I would have you killed in the end. This way there is a chance you might live a little longer. If Cato chooses you. If not, then you'll know where his affections truly lie before you finally beg me to put an end to your life. Either way, I get to increase his suffering. I imagine that neither the good tribune, nor you or the lady here is going to have much sleep tonight, eh?'

Macro shut his eyes, fighting back the black rage that burned in every muscle of his body. He clenched his fists tightly. The urge to bellow at Ajax was almost irresistible, and yet he knew that it would only provoke laughter and fresh torment, so he kept his lips clamped together and tried to clear his mind of all thought.

'It will be a shame to lose one of you. Particularly you, Julia Sempronia. You were quite a beauty before I had you put in here.' He leered at her, and Julia clutched her covering more tightly about her body. 'Such beauty should not be wasted. I think I shall give you one last chance to enjoy the comfort of being clean, to have fresh clothes and to share the company of a man, before we find out what Cato has in store for you tomorrow morning.'

Julia stared at him, terrified as she spoke tremulously. 'What do you want with me?'

'Only to use you, as slave women are used by their Roman masters.' Ajax winked. 'It might be something of an education for you. We shall see.' He paused to sniff the air and made a disgusted face. 'However, it will take some hours to make you presentable.

I'll have to give orders for you to be cleaned up at once, if there is going to be time to enjoy you tonight without having to pinch my nose.'

Ajax rose to his feet, clicked his tongue and pointed at Macro.

'You might want to try to get to sleep as soon as you can, Macro.

Wouldn't want me and the lady here keeping you awake with the noise of our merry making tonight.'

This time Macro could not contain his anger. He let out an animal groan, then opened his eyes and stared at Ajax as he growled through clenched teeth,'I swear to all the gods, if I get out of here, I will tear out your tongue and your eyes and rip you apart with my bare hands.'

'How charming!' Ajax laughed. He came round the cage and crouched opposite Macro before he rattled the bars. 'Don't count on it, eh?'

Then he rose and padded off towards his tent. Macro turned his attention to Julia. Her eyes were wide with terror.

'Macro! Don't let him take me. Please don't let him take me.'

Macro shook his head. 'I-I can't help you.'

'Macro, please!' Her lips trembled and she began to cry. 'Please don't let him! Please!'

He tried to shut the sound out, driven half mad by the knowledge that there was nothing, nothing at all that he could do to protect her.

Julia's pleas suddenly stopped as their guard strode towards them. The guard unlocked and opened the end of the cage. He drew his sword and pointed it at Macro.

'Stay back there, you!'

With his spare hand he grasped Julia's arm and dragged her from the cage, before kicking the door shut and sheathing his sword. As he locked the door, Macro scrambled over to the bars nearest Julia and shouted,'Julia! Look at me! Look at me!'

She winced as if he had struck her, and then turned fearfully as the guard reached down to grip her under the arms.

'Julia,' Macro continued with icy intensity,'If you get the chance, kill him!'

'Yes.' She nodded. 'Yes.'

Then the guard pulled her to her feet and half dragged and half carried her across the ground towards Ajax's tent.

Macro leaned back against the bars, praying for the gods to release him from this torment, one way or another.

CHAPTER THIRTY

Cato and his men did not reach the small cove at the head of the bay until the second hour of the night. There was no moon, and even though a local shepherd had led the way, it was hard to follow the narrow track that wound along the side of the hills and then down a steep cliff to the shore. Like the others, Cato carried a haversack with a dagger and a sword bundled together and firmly tied to an empty waterskin. Although every man who served in the legions was trained to swim after a fashion, most never be came proficient. Cato's officers had selected just over five hundred men capable of swimming the length of the bay, nearly two miles. The three men chosen by Fulvius marched directly behind Cato as he followed the shepherd. They had readily volunteered when asked, and Cato felt confident that they would serve him well. One of Fulvius's choices was an auxiliary optiofrom Gortyna who knew the area and had asked to join the column when it marched from the city.

When the man had been brought before him, Cato had looked up from his desk with raised eyebrows.

Atticus.'

'Yes, sir.' Atticus nodded.

'I have to say, this is something of a surprise. I wouldn't have expected you to be at the head of the queue to save Macro.'

'Nothing would give me greater satisfaction than seeing his face when I rescue him, sir.'

Cato stared at the man for a moment before he responded. 'That's an unusual form of revenge to choose.'

'You know the man well enough, sir. It'll drive him mad.'

Cato laughed. 'You have the measure of him, Atticus. Very well, then. I'll see you later tonight. Dismissed.'

The other two men selected to join Cato were legionaries, Vulso and Musa, solid men with good records who were also chasing promotion. Musa had been issued with a buccina, which he carried in the same bundle as his sword belt.

The long, straggling line of legionaries picked their way down the cliff, and emerged on to the coarse sand of the beach. Cato paid off the shepherd, and as soon as he had the purse, with its fifty silver denarians — a small fortune for a night's work — he scuttled along the beach and disappeared up another track. As the men reached the beach, one of Cato's officers counted off each section and sent them to prepare for the attack. The force would swim in two columns, one closer to the shore as they made for the beached ships. Cato had been anxious to ensure that each force would remain close together, and the section leaders were tasked with keeping a regular count of their men. The soldiers heading for the beached ships would enter the water at close intervals to make sure that there was a small gap between each section. The first section would make for the furthest ship, and once the intervals were taken into account, it was Cato's hope that the teams would begin boarding the grain ships at roughly the same moment. With luck they would all be taken before the rebels on the shore had realised the danger and could react.

Cato would lead the other column directly towards the cluster of grain ships anchored in the middle of the bay. There was no need for his detachment to be staggered. They would have to keep together, so as not to tackle the ships in a piecemeal fashion.

Once the last of the men had descended from the cliff and had removed their boots and tunics, Cato quietly gave the word to enter the water. Each man inflated his waterskin and then, holding it in his arms, together with the bundle containing his weapons, waded into the sea with the rest of his section as the order was given. Wearing only a loincloth, Cato shivered in the cool night air. He had decided to swim close to the front of the column and allowed two sections to go ahead before he stepped forward with his three men. He had not mentioned to the other officers that he was a poor swimmer. He was ashamed of the fact, and though he had made some improvement since basic training, he was still far short of the standard of capable veterans like Macro.