The Last Roman (Praetorian Series - Book One) (41 page)

In regards to Claudius, he went through three
marriages, and Agrippina, two, before they themselves wed. The
incestuous marriage between Claudius and Agrippina was creepy
enough, but then there was also the age difference, which seemed
paltry by comparison. After they were married, she rose to an
unprecedented level of power, becoming an empress of Rome, bestowed
with the title Augustina, sharing joint power equally with Claudius
on some levels. She became a force to be reckoned with. While not a
policy maker herself, she held considerable influence with her
husband-uncle, as well as those he ruled.

The kicker was that Agrippina had a son from her
first marriage, which she manipulated Claudius into adopting and
appointing as his own heir, superseding his own genetic son,
Britannicus. A few years later, Claudius began to favor his own son
again, and grew a pair by condemning Agrippina. Not long later, in
54 A.D., Claudius was poisoned by a plate of mushrooms and died.
Many historians credit the assassination to none other than
Agrippina herself, and her son, Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus
Germanicus, better known simply as Nero, became emperor as a mere
teenager.

I wondered where Drusilla was, another of Caligula’s
sisters. They had always been the closer ones. Granted if Agrippina
was here, Drusilla was probably not far behind. Regardless,
Agrippina had to have brought trouble with her, and if anything at
all went right today it would be her leaving me out of it.

After quickly embracing his sister in a way any
brother would, no sign of incest present, Caligula led her to his
position at the head of the table. “My friends,” he addressed to us
all, making me actually feel important. “For those of you who do
not know, this is my sister, Agrippina. Introductions can wait
until later, dear sister, but these are my closest friends and
advisors. Now, tell me, what brings you here?”

Since her arrival, Agrippina had been putting on a
display of contained desperation, as though she were just barely
containing a fit of sadness and rage. When Caligula finally asked
her what was wrong, she released her emotions in a stunning
performance that I should have expected from the woman.

“Caligula, brother! It is my son! Lucius!” She
wailed the name, falling into Caligula’s arms, weeping and pounding
lightly on his chest. Her voice was high pitched, but despite the
wailing, had a gentle purr to it that was easy on the ears. She was
playing the part of the grieving mother well. Whether any emotion
she was conveying was real or not was any man’s guess.

“Lucius?” Caligula asked. “I was wondering whether
you had given birth. I was horribly worried. Lucius.” He repeated.
“A good name. He will become a fine man.”

Santino elbowed me in the ribs, whispering, “New
mom, huh? I can tell.” He emphasized his point by puffing out his
chest subtly and shaking it from side to side. “Lost that baby
weight quickly, too. Nice.”

I turned towards him as inconspicuously as I could,
a blank expression on my face. Smiling, he shrugged, and turned
back to continue gawking at our guest.

Caligula kept his attention on his sister. “What has
happened to him? Tell me.”

“Claudius.” She said the name with disdain in
between bouts of tears. “Our uncle has murdered Gnaeus and taken my
son hostage, saying that he will adopt him as his own to make him
emperor one day. He plans to give him a new name. Nero he says. But
he has forced me out of his home. I am not allowed to see my own
son! Claudius has gone mad with power. Mad! He’s always been a
scoundrel, but something has changed him. Broken his mind. I’m
afraid he may hurt my son!”

I looked at Vincent, and we both realized another
piece of the puzzle had clicked into place, hopefully the last.
Claudius must have the orb in his possession. That would explain
his odd behavior.

Caligula tried to console her. “Sister. Do not
worry. I will take care of it. Tell me. Are you expected back in
Rome?”

“Yes. I told Claudius I was visiting Mother and our
sisters in Arretium. I’m expected home in a few days.”

“Did you come with anyone?”

“Yes. Two bodyguards.”

Caligula looked at Vincent. “This seems like
something well suited to your skills.”

“Caesar,” Nisus interrupted, raising a finger,
“perhaps we should think about…”

Caligula snapped his head and glared at the senior
centurion. Nisus lowered his hand, and glanced awkwardly around the
table, shutting up.

Vincent nodded. “Indeed, Caesar. It would be the
perfect cover to sneak us inside the walls of Rome. We can easily
accomplish our task with only two of us, and it would prove far
less dangerous to go in this way.”

Galba huffed to himself, not really caring how much
danger we had to deal with. He may have been a good general, but
definitely
a sore loser.

“Very good, Vincent,” Caligula went on. “You have
read my mind. Agrippina, we will discuss the plans tomorrow. For
now…”

“No. Brother. I need to speak privately with the men
accompanying me, at least one of them.” She looked at each us in
turn, pausing on Helena only to offer her a sneer, before stopping
on me.

Aw, shit.

“That one,” she said, pointing at me. “With the
pretty face. I will talk to him before we go over anything.”

Santino coughed and I couldn’t help but glance at
Helena before looking at the table. I hoped Agrippina would shift
her attention elsewhere, but she must have noticed our exchange,
and a smile crossed her face. A mean looking one. She walked over
and put her hand on my arm.

“Fine,” Caligula responded, giving me a look any
good brother would give another man. “You may use my magistrate’s
tent, just to the right.”

She gave him a smile, before looking up at me.
“Come. Let us discuss things. It won’t take long.”

She yanked on my arm to lead me from the tent, but
my right foot caught on the toe of my left boot when I tried to
follow. Nearly tripping to the floor, I barely kept myself from
falling.

This day just got worse.

***

I knew the magistrate was on duty elsewhere, so I
expected the tent would be empty, but that thought didn’t offer
much comfort. Opening the flap for Agrippina, I followed her in.
She took in her surroundings in a glance, before finding a chair
and placing it near a table.

She patted it. “Sit. Please. Make yourself
comfortable.”

“Okay...” I said, dragging out the word.

I dusted off the chair before taking a seat, facing
the table only a few feet away. Finding a piece of fruit, Agrippina
began to eat it before sitting on the edge of the table. She folded
her left leg over her right, forcing the slit of her dress to
reveal more than just her leg, but also the side of her ample
posterior. Leaning forward, exposing not just cleavage, but
practically the whole show, she rested her elbows on her knees and
continued to gnaw away. Slowly.

As she ate, she remained silent, but looked me up
and down like a piece of meat. Her inspection made me feel only
slightly more uncomfortable than I already was. I squirmed in my
chair like a job applicant waiting for an interview. Apparently
satisfied at what she saw, she hummed an approving noise, leaned
back in a straighter posture, and shifted her clothing, exposing
even more skin on her other leg.

“Did you enjoy my little performance back in the
tent?” She asked nonchalantly.

I coughed. “Excuse me?”

“Oh, don’t play coy with me,” she said, tossing the
piece of fruit over her shoulder. “I know you saw right through my
act. I am very good at reading people, and I saw how you looked at
me when I first walked in. You looked as though you knew me, but I
never forget a face, especially not one so perfect as yours. I was
at your little demonstration a few months ago, but that hardly
means you know me.”

I coughed again and shifted in my chair. She must
have been that pregnant woman I noticed in the stands that I
thought looked familiar. The one who winked at me.

“I’m sorry,” I said, trying not to sound like a
prepubescent boy, “but I’m not sure what you’re talking about. I
thought we were here to discuss your son.”

“We are. I just wanted to make sure we understood
one another. That performance was for my brother’s clever, but
unimaginative benefit, not to mention the lackeys he surrounds
himself with, besides you, of course. In you, I saw trouble.
Someone who might challenge me. That’s why I felt the need to speak
to you alone. To appeal to you in another way, besides that of a
grieving mother. Something maybe a little more… personal?”

“What do you mean?” I asked cautiously.

“My son has indeed been kidnapped, and I am truly
frightened for his safety,” she said, her voice shifting into the
grieving mother spectrum again. “I want you to know that if you
save him, I will be yours to command. Anything and everything I am
capable of doing, I will do for you.”

She capitalized her last point by slipping off the
tablet and straddling me. She had to pull her clothing well up over
her hips, so as not to get caught in it, and to make matters worse,
she also snatched my hands and placed them on her bare hips.

“Anything, and everything,” she said, pumping her
chest out so that her breasts nearly brushed against my face. “You
will be the envy of all Rome. Trust me.”

Stunned by her very forward actions, not to mention
instinctually curious, I didn’t immediately react when she grabbed
my head and pressed her mouth to mine. There was nothing I could
do. I was stuck in a seductive trap worthy of any black widow
scenario. Two seconds later, as soon as she slid one of her hands
along my groin, I quickly jumped to my feet, and pulled away from
her.

Wiping my mouth out of shock, I backed up towards
the exit in case I had to flee for my life.

“There is no need for that, Agrippina. I will gladly
help you and your son if the emperor so wishes it. You have no need
to do… that… again.”

My leap from the chair had knocked her to the
ground, and now she looked up at me as she propped herself up on
her knees. Her look was pure sex and seduction. She wiped her mouth
as well, finishing the motion by licking her fingers. I had to
wince.

“Is it that Amazon in the tent? I saw the way she
looked at you.” She smiled. “She is very beautiful indeed. Perhaps
I could arrange for the three of us, together, to…”

“That won’t be necessary, thank you,” I said
quickly, although the thought stiffened more than just my resolve
to get out of here.

“I could always have her… removed. If you so
wish.”

“What? No. No, of course not. Leave her out of
this.”

She looked at me coyly before jerking her head to
the side innocently.

“As you wish,” she said, rising to her feet, not
wasting any effort to contain her dignity, not that she had much
left anyway. “Now. We shall tell my brother the news.”

I nodded, and held the tent flap open for her to
exit. Wiping my mouth again, just in case, I followed behind her.
Entering the
praetorium
, all heads turned to face us. Most
wore neutral expressions, except for Helena’s. I hadn’t seen her
this angry since the day she had nearly beaten that legionnaire to
death on the training ground.

I found my place next to Santino and Vincent, while
Agrippina went to stand next to her brother. I glanced over at
Santino, who was looking at me expectantly.

“What?” I asked.

He didn’t say anything. Instead, he just turned and
looked back at the maps.

I wasn’t afraid of how Helena would take Agrippina’s
notice in me, but I decided to play it safe and ignore her.
Instead, I looked at Caligula who was conversing quietly with his
sister. She noticed my attention, and gave me a smile, flicking her
eyes in Helena’s direction, before returning her gaze to me, her
smile widening.

And I thought this day couldn’t get any worse.

Caligula turned back towards his staff after he
finished his conversation with Agrippina. “Jacob Hunter. Are you
ready to partake in this mission?”

It was the first time he had ever addressed me by
name, and frankly, I was taken slightly aback by it. I’d spent
months with him, accompanying Vincent numerous times during special
briefings, but he’d never addressed me directly. I didn’t even know
he knew my name.

“I am, Caesar,” I replied earnestly.

“Good. Who will accompany you?”

“I will,” Santino answered quickly.

“Very good, John Santino. You will leave at dawn.
Your mission is to retrieve my nephew first and plant your
explosive material around the walls of Rome in preparation for our
assault. My army will depart in two days. We will meet you outside
of Rome upon your return. Do you understand?

“Yes, Caesar,” we responded in unison.

“Very good. Do not let me down. As for the rest of
you, we will finish this briefing tomorrow afternoon.”

There was a chorus of affirmatives as the men and
women in the
praetorium
began to file out of the tent. As I
left I looked over my shoulder at Agrippina, her expression one of
overconfidence and victory. She was hiding something, only I didn’t
know what, but that hardly mattered at this point. What did was
saving a child, and retaking Rome in the name of Caligula.

***

Later that evening, I was joined by the rest of my
squad around a campfire Wang had created near our tent site. After
the meeting, I had spent my time avoiding both Helena and
Agrippina, an easy task since I had swapped watch duty with
Bordeaux the other day and had to man the wall, while Agrippina
spent her time in the
praetorium
. Even so, I’d spent the
entire afternoon looking over my shoulder as I kept most of my
attention on the tree line beyond the camp.