David Wishart - Sejanus

I kept to the main drag, up Long Road to the Quirinal, then back the way along High Path to Flora's Gate and up to the Pincian itself. A long way round, sure, but I'd left myself plenty of time and like I say it was good to be walking again. It was a beautiful evening, too. Even from the road I could smell the cypresses in Lucullus Gardens. The dark scent reminded me of Dad's funeral.

I had Alexis douse the torch well short of Crispus's club and we cut across the waste ground towards the house itself. I'd almost reached it when someone stepped out in front of me. My knife was half out of its sheath before I recognised Agron.

'Corvinus?' he whispered: there wouldn't be anyone close enough to hear, or so I hoped, but he obviously wasn't taking any chances.

'Yeah.' I slipped the knife back into place.

'Everything's ready. Come and meet the boys.'

There were six of them, big Ostian bruisers who spent the day humping marble slabs on and off barges and the night doing Jupiter knew what.

'You'll recognise Crispus's litter?' I said.

'Sure.' Agron grinned in the darkness. 'I went round to his house this morning and checked it out. The litter-slaves, too. No problem. We'll take them here where the path bends.' It was a good place, screened from the road behind and from the house in front, with plenty of cover; Agron had been a soldier once, and he still had a sharp eye for country. 'You sure about your timings?'

'I'm sure. The Happy Bachelors club doesn't get going until midnight.'

'Okay. Leave the slaves to us. You take your pal yourself.'

'Fine.'

We moved back into the bushes and watched the track. Two litters passed: I recognised one of them as belonging to an ex-censor. The third was ours.

I had to admit it was slickly done: half a minute, max, from start to finish. Agron stepped out in front of the guy with the torch and had him by the throat before he knew what was happening. At the same time the Ostian bruisers slipped in behind and took out the others. Knives flashed, but there was no blood: we wanted silence, not killings.

Once the litter slaves were immobilised, I stepped forward and opened the curtains.

'Hi, Crispus,' I said. 'Surprise.'

He didn't recognise me at first. Then his eyes widened.

' Corvinus! What the hell..!'

I put my hand across his mouth and bundled him out while Agron's lads got the litter and its slaves off the track and into the shelter of the rocks in case any more punters came along while we were having our chat. Then I drew my own knife and set the point under his chin.

'Okay, pal,' I said. 'Take this easy and you won't get hurt.'

Crispus went limp as a rabbit. I half-pulled, half-carried him well away from the path to a hollow where the bushes grew thickly and shoved him in.

'I thought you'd left Rome.' He was grey with fear and trying not to show it. 'Everybody did. When Sejanus finds out — ' His mouth shut like an iron trap.

'Yeah. Only Sejanus isn't going to find out, is he? Not from you, anyway.'

He must've read more into the words than I'd meant, because the grey colour went up a few notches and he passed his tongue across his lips.

'What do you want?' he whispered.

'What do I usually want from you? Information.'

'But I don't have — '

'Sure you do.' I crouched down beside him, still gripping his arm. He stank of fear and expensive aftershave. 'Let's take an easy question for starters. What sort of scam do you have cooking with Publius Vitellius? And don't bother to deny it, sunshine, because I just won't believe you.'

'Corvinus, for the gods’ sake — !'

He'd been shaking. Now I put the knife back under his jawbone and pressed. He stiffened and his eyes rolled until the whites showed.

'Listen,' I said carefully. 'I'm running from a treason rap already. If they catch me I'm dead. So nailing your tongue to the top of your skull isn't going to make all that much difference to me, and I swear I'll do it with the greatest pleasure unless you tell me now what Vitellius is up to.'

'But I can't..!' he began. I moved my hand. The point of the knife broke through the skin and a drop of blood eased itself out. Crispus's head was as far back as it would go now, but his eyes were doing their best to see what my knife-hand was doing. 'Corvinus, please! I promise you…'

'Not this time, pal,' I said. 'No games. I haven't got the time or the inclination. Your choice, but you'll have to make it quick.'

I could feel him collapse. I took the knife away.

'Okay,' he said. 'Just give me a moment.' He rubbed his throat and gulped at the night air. 'Vitellius is dipping into the military pay-chest.'

Well, it had to be something like that, of course. Still…

'Uh-uh,' I said. 'That's impossible. Vitellius is no fool. There're regular checks, independent audits. He wouldn't get away with it for five minutes.'

'Maybe not five minutes. But two months is possible, and that's all he needs.'

'You mean until the twenty-eighth of July?'

He stared at me, and his jaw dropped. I swear his right hand was making the sign against witchcraft, and he even forgot to be frightened. If it hadn't been so serious I would've laughed.

'Corvinus, how the hell do you know about the twenty-eighth?' he said.

'Never mind.' Bang on the button! 'So Vitellius needs the cash to fund the assassination attempt on the emperor.' Crispus was still staring. 'And when Tiberius is dead and Sejanus is in control everything will be sweetness and light again.'

'Uh, yeah. Yeah.' He swallowed. 'More or less.'

'More or less?'

'If a few extra pennies are left unaccounted for at the end of the day, then no one's going to ask too many questions, are they?'

'Uh huh.' That made sense. Crispus may've been a crook, but he left politics alone. They were too risky, and you might lose your head as well as your profit. 'So why should he involve you?'

'He had to,' Crispus said. 'I've got the other key to the strongroom door.'

Yeah. Well. The simple answers are the best. I straight-armed him upright and had the satisfaction of seeing the fear come back into his eyes. 'Now listen, sunshine. I'm going to ask you this next question once and once only, and you'd better be able to answer it or I'll break your arm. That's for starters. I should also remind you that I've nothing to lose and if I find later that you've lied or prevaricated I'll make a point of coming after you and breaking your neck as well. And if that doesn't persuade you to an answer, I give you my word that very soon now the emperor is going to know all about this business and who was involved in it, and he is not going to be a very happy little Caesar. Now. Do I make myself clear?'

He swallowed again and nodded.

'Good. The question is, what is the name of the assassin? You have a count of five. One.'

'Corvinus!'

'Two.'

He was sweating. 'Corvinus, please! It's more than my life's worth!'

'Three.'

'Sejanus will…'

'Four.' I shifted my grip so that my other hand was behind his elbow.

'Okay!' he screamed. 'The guy's name's Silanus! Appius Junius Silanus!'

I let him go. 'The Asian governor's son?'

He was breathing heavily and rubbing his arm. 'Yeah. Now just leave me alone, okay? I've told you all I know.'

'How's he getting into Capri?'

'He's carrying a message. From Sejanus. I don't know the details, I swear I don't know!'

His voice was sulky, but he was telling the truth. I got up.

'Okay, Crispus.' I jerked my head. 'Piss off. Have a nice evening.'

'You won't tell Silanus I gave him away?'

'No, I won't tell him.' Junius Silanus. The exiled Asian governor's son. Well, well. Junia Torquata would have another scapegrace relative to add to her list: my nephew the assassin. That was some family.