Simon Hawke - The Cleopatra Crisis

“Male slaves or female slaves?” asked Andre.

Andell shrugged. “That’s up to you. I guess.”

She grinned. “This mission might not be so bad, after all.”

“How long have you been on this tour, Andell?” asked Delaney.

“About seven years now,” Andell replied.

“All in Rome?”

“First four in Rome, last three in Alexandria. We’re notliable to run into anyone who knows me or any of the others, if that’s what you’reconcerned about. Nobody pays much attention to slaves, for one thing, and we’veall kept a pretty low profile. Except for Travers, of course, but his case isdifferent. He moves in more interesting circles and he gets to live in a nicevilla, instead of the rattraps we’ve been living in.”

“But then you didn’t have to go to the Gallic Wars, either,”Andre said.

“I wouldn’t have minded that one bit. I reenlisted to be asoldier, not a damn Observer. I’m due for a transfer in another year and I’mlooking forward to it. I’m hoping I can pull a combat assignment. And I misswearing pants.”

“Watch they transfer you to Scotland,” said Delaney.

“If you spent three years in Alexandria, you know about Cleopatra,”Lucas said.

“We didn’t exactly do dinner and dancing, you know,” Andellsaid.

“L.T.O.’s are the ones who get to rub elbows with the richand famous. But I

know about her, yeah.”

“What do you think of Travers theory?”

“I don’t know. I think it’s possible. The S.O.G. might’vepulled a switch while she was in exile. And she didn’t have a great deal ofcontact with her brother. Ptolemy, after she came back. If there was any changein her, her becoming a queen could easily explain it. People in Egypt aren’texactly in the habit of questioning their monarchs. In any case. she’s in Romenow, where nobody knew her from before. If it was me and I was going to pull asubstitution. I would’ve done it while she was in exile, just before she met upwith Caesar. There’s only one thing about it I can’t understand.”

“What’s that?” asked Lucas.

“Caesar’s Egyptian guard. I mean, like that’s a real obviousanomaly. It’s a documental fact that Caesar made a point of refusing to have abodyguard around him at this time. It stands to reason that the S.O.G. wouldfigure we’d have Observers back here and that’s like running up a flag. Again.if it was me. I wouldn’t give my play away like that. That thought’s occurredto Travers, too. It really bothers him. He just can’t figure it.”

“Unless, in their universe. Caesar did have a bodyguard.”said Delaney.

“You think so?”

“It’s possible. We know their history is different from oursin some respects. That’s why the confluence phenomenon is so dangerous. Theyinfiltrated Archives Section and managed to learn a lot about our historythrough other means. but their knowledge could be spotty.”

“Maybe,” Andell agreed. “But Rome is a reasonablywell-documented period. They could have infiltrated agents into any futuretemporal scenario and picked up the works of Suetonius or Plutarch or Tacitusor any number of the more modern classical historians. It would be standardmission preparation and not that hard to do. Stands to reason, doesn’t it?”

“Yes, it does,” said Lucas, frowning. “It doesn’t seem tomake sense.”

“Not unless they figure there’s nothing we can do about it,”Andell said. “And there really isn’t, when it comes to that. I mean, what areyou going to do, walk up to Caesar and say. ‘Excuse me, you know you’re notsupposed to have a bodyguard? Better get rid of them or you might not getkilled?’ Now that they’re there. the only ones who can get rid of them areCaesar and Cleopatra.”

“It could also be a way of drawing attention to what they’redoing.” said Delaney.

“Why would they want to do that?”

“To smoke us out,” Delaney said.

Andell nodded. “That’s an idea. If you try to do anythingabout the Egyptians, you’re liable to give yourself away. And if you don’t doanything about them and they’re still with Caesar on the Ides of March, theconspirators may not have a chance to kill him. What happens then?”

“Then we may have to kill him.” Lucas said. “Even if itmeans getting killed ourselves.”

They drove the rest of the way to Travers’ villa in silence.

People had started arriving at the Circus Maximus beforedawn, so the tiered stands were almost completely filled by the time Steigerand Marshall arrived. However, unlike the plebeians. their places were assured.They sat in the front rows, which were reserved for senators, aristocrats, andVestal Virgins. Steiger decided that he didn’t quite fit into any of thosecategories.

The sight of the Circus itself was awe-inspiring. Shapedlike a long rectangle rounded off at one end in a semicircle, the CircusMaximus was six hundred yards long and two hundred yards wide, built to hold aquarter of a million spectators. Caesar had rebuilt it. making it even granderthan it was before. He had surrounded the arena with a moat, the better toseparate the animals from the spectators during shows that involved wildbeasts. Marshall explained that Pompey had used an iron fence, but the bars hadbuckled under the weight of elephants that had been pitted against some haplessprisoners and the spectators had been somewhat upset when the pachydermsdecided that they wanted out.

The spina. the built-up “spine” dividing the center of thearena between the turning posts (three on each end). had been adorned with giltbronze statues of the gods looking down upon the games. It also held the septemova , seven large wooden eggs that were moved to count the laps. Later,during the time of Augustus, seven bronze dolphins would be added to the eggsas lap counters. The triple-tiered stands facing each other across the arenawere monstrous. The lowest tiers were made of marble, the second tiers hadseats of wood, and the third offered standing room only. They were completelypacked and the crowd was still streaming in.

Outside, beggars, wine merchants, pastry cooks, astrologers,and prostitutes vied for the attention of the crowd. The courts had all beenclosed. Marshall explained that no business would be transacted in the citywhile the games were on. Indeed, it seemed to Steiger as if all of Rome hadpacked itself into the Circus. The spectators were a sea of white togas. Asthey approached their seats. Marshall pointed out a handsome. dark-haired manwith a high forehead, an aquiline nose, and a full beard.

“That’s Antony.” said Marshall.

“What’s with the sword?” asked Steiger.

“Antony always wears his sword whenever he appears in public,”Marshall replied. “It’s part of the image. His family claims to be descendedfrom Hercules. by his son. Anton. and Antony likes to play the part to thehilt. The big macho warrior. Come on, I’ll introduce you.”

“Ah. Martian!” Antony said boisterously as they approached. “Come!Sit with us! Who is your friend?”

“Greetings. Marc Antony.” said Marshall. “Allow me topresent Creon Sabinus, who has come to visit me from Ilerda. I’ve bought manyfine strings of horses from him over the years.”

“Indeed?” said Antony, turning to Steiger with interest. “Andwhat brings you to Rome from the provinces, Sabinus?”

“A little business and a little pleasure,” Steiger replied. “Marcianhas decided that I’ve been charging him too dearly for the horses that he buysfrom me. so he proposes to purchase my entire farm, so that he can sell themmore cheaply to himself.”

That sounds like our Marcian.” Antony laughed. “Alwayscounting his fortune and finding it wanting. Take care that you do not sell yourfarm to him too cheaply, Sabinus.”