Simon Scarrow - The Eagle In the Sand

'I swear to you – on my life – I know nothing! Nothing! I swear it!'

Macro lifted the blade away from the thumb and stared at Scrofa for a moment, scrutinising his expression. Then he clicked his tongue. 'Sorry, I'm not convinced. Let's see if the loss of one thumb can provide a little incentive. Cato, hold him still.'

Macro lowered the blade so that the edge pressed into Scrofa's flesh. The skin split and there was a small trickle of blood as Scrofa cried out. Macro tensed his arm, ready to begin sawing through the muscle and bone.

'Wait,' said Cato. 'I think he's telling the truth.'

'He's lying.'

'I'm not!' Scrofa whimpered.

'Quiet, you!' Macro shook him by the neck and turned back to Cato. 'What makes you think this worm's telling the truth?'

'He's been set up by Longinus. Think about it. Longinus is shrewd enough to cover his tracks when he can. So he sends Postumus down here to stir things up. Only the previous prefect proved to be something of an obstacle to Longinus' plans. So Postumus removed him. Scrofa is appointed to fill the gap.'

'Why him?'

'Because Longinus knows that he's vain and greedy. I'll bet you that Longinus told Scrofa that he had been picked for the post because he showed promise. I'd guess that he also encouraged him to go in hard on the locals to prove his mettle. Is that right?'

Scrofa nodded.

'So Scrofa turns up here and Postumus plays him like a lyre. He encourages him to lay into the locals, involves him in the caravan protection racket and is the real commander of the cohort. And if Longinus' plans don't work out in the end then the blame can be laid at Scrofa's door. Longinus blames any rebellion on Scrofa and has him done away with before he can be returned to Rome to be investigated. Longinus is seen to act decisively, the Judaeans get to see us punish the man held responsible for causing the trouble, and Postumus is still in position. Longinus wins every way.' Cato shook his head. 'We've got the wrong man. Postumus is the one. He's Longinus' agent.'

Macro considered this for a moment, then he released Scrofa and backed away, sitting down on the opposite bed again. He handed the dagger back to Cato and nodded towards Scrofa. 'So what do we do with him?'

'Keep him safe. In case he's needed as a witness against Longinus.' Cato glanced at Scrofa.'You understand what's going on? You've been used all along.'

'No.' Scrofa frowned. 'Longinus is my patron. My friend.'

'Some friend!' Macro snorted and looked at Cato with a wry expression. 'Oh, you can see why he chose this beauty for the job.'

'Quite.' Cato kept his eyes on Scrofa. 'Listen, you know what I said makes sense. You don't owe Longinus any loyalty.The man has betrayed you. As he'll betray the Emperor and Rome if he gets the chance. You have to help us.'

'Help you?' Scrofa smiled. 'Why should I help you? Until you two turned up I was raking it in. Now, you've taken my command from me, thrown me in this cell and assaulted me. Why should I help you?'

'He's got a point,' said Macro.

'He's got no choice,' Cato replied. 'Longinus can't afford to let him live. He already knows too much, even if he can't quite believe it yet. He helps us or he's dead. Simple as that.'

Scrofa looked at Cato and chewed his lip. 'You're serious about Longinus?'

'Very.'

Scrofa shook his head. 'I don't believe it.'

No one spoke for a moment and Macro could not help feeling sorry for the wretched man on the other bed. Scrofa had no place in the army. He was lazy, corrupt, incompetent and too stupid to see beyond his dreams of glory. But he might yet be of some use. He might yet redeem himself. Macro stood up.

'Come on, Cato. Let's go. There's nothing more we can learn here.'

Just before the door was closed on him Scrofa called out, 'Please, let me out of this cell. I swear I'll cause no trouble.'

Macro considered the request for a moment, then shook his head. 'Sorry. I need every measure of the men's loyalty and obedience. If they see you walking around the fort it'll only confuse the issue.You have to stay here, out of sight and out of mind. For a while at least. It's for the best.'

He closed the door behind him and slipped the bolt back into place as Scrofa started screaming abuse after him. Macro turned to the guards. 'If he keeps that up for long, you have my permission to go in there and belt him.'

'Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.'

'Cato, let's go.'

As they climbed the steps back up to the ground floor of the headquarters building Cato spoke. 'What now? Longinus has been alerted that Narcissus is on to him. He'll be on his guard, and even now I'd bet he's already covering his tracks. We won't have much evidence to offer against him. Only what little Scrofa can offer, that he was ordered to go in hard. The worst that Narcissus can accuse Longinus of will be wilful incompetence.'

'That's enough to justify removing him from office.'

'Maybe.'

'So what do we do now?'

'I'd suggest we concentrate our efforts on Bannus. If we can destroy him, we can restore peace to the area. If we do that, then we can scupper any attempt by Longinus to request reinforcements.'

Macro nodded. 'Bannus it is, then. We'll talk about it in the morning. I'm so bloody tired I can hardly think straight. You'd better get a good night's sleep too, Cato. Somehow I think there's going to be no chance of a decent rest for some time. Better make the most of it now.'

'Yes, sir.'

Macro smiled faintly. 'It's all right. You can drop the formalities when there's no one else around.'

Cato nodded over Macro's shoulder, and the latter turned and saw the dim shape of one of the standard bearers guarding the entrance to the headquarters shrine where the cohort's standards were kept. Macro cleared his throat and spoke formally. 'Very well, Centurion. I'm turning in. See you in the morning.'

'Yes, sir.' Cato saluted and Macro turned away and walked wearily out of the building, and headed back to his quarters. When he reached the prefect's house he slumped on his bed and closed his eyes for a moment. Then he was asleep. So deeply asleep that he did not notice Scrofa's manservant remove his boots, lift his legs on to the bed and cover him over with a thick blanket. As the manservant closed the door behind him, the first deep rumbling notes of Macro's snoring echoed round the room.

It was late in the morning when Macro woke up and he cursed himself for not having left orders to be roused at dawn. He was not going to let himself be tarred with the same brush as the previous prefect. Macro prided himself on living as hard as the men he commanded and so he emerged from his quarters in a dark mood and ignored the meal that the manservant had set out in the dining room. Cato was waiting for him in the prefect's office at headquarters, leaning over a map spread out across the desk as Macro strode in.

'Why the hell didn't somebody wake me?'

'You're the prefect. It's not our place to disturb you without orders, unless there's an emergency. Besides, you needed the rest.'

'I'll decide what I need, all right?'

'Yes, sir.'

'Right.' Macro glanced at the map. 'Already planning the next move against Bannus?'

'Just thinking, sir.'

'Oh? That sounds dangerous.' He smiled at Cato's hurt expression. 'When you start thinking, then I know we're in for trouble, Cato. Go on then.'

Cato refocused his mind and stared down at the map. He gestured towards the string of villages that lay between Bushir and the River Jordan. 'Given the size of the force we believe Bannus has at his back, he is going to need access to food and water. He doesn't have anything to fear from our patrols now.The only danger is that we might corner him with the whole cohort and bring him to battle. My guess is that he's come out of the hills and he's camped somewhere close to one of these villages.'