The Eagles Prophecy

'Really?' Vitellius looked amused.'I doubt you have been given the full picture, Centurion Cato. The Imperial Secretary has only provided that to his most trustworthy agents.'

'Meaning you?' Macro chuckled bitterly.

The prefect was still for a moment, fighting to control his temper, and Cato feared for a moment that his friend had overstepped the mark, by about a mile. Then Vitellius' expression eased.

'Please dispense with the uncooperative attitude.'

There was a pause as the two men stared silently at each other in mutual loathing.

Finally, Macro nodded. 'Very well.'

'That's better. And from now on, you'll supply the required respect due to my rank. You will call me "Prefect", or "sir". Understand?'

'Yes, sir.'

'Good. Come over here.' Vitellius stood up and walked over to the map. He picked up a long cane from a rack beside it and rapped on the coastline of Illyricum. 'The pirates must be operating out of a base somewhere along this coastline. So far we have gathered only very limited intelligence on them, but we do have a name. The leader is called Telemachus. A Greek. I expect he's trying to drum up some support from locals. He's a shrewd man, and won't be easy to beat.'

Cato coughed. 'Getting the scrolls back isn't going to be easy either, sir.'

Vitellius turned round and tried to read Cato's face.'What do you know about the scrolls?'

'Enough, to know how valuable they are to the Emperor, sir.'

'Really?' Vitellius gave him a searching look. 'I think you're bluffing, young Cato. Or fishing for information. Nice try. Anyway, it seems that our pirate chief is quite a player. He sent a message to inform us that there are now other parties interested in the scrolls, and they're willing to match any price that Narcissus will pay.'

'Who are these other people, sir?'

'Telemachus didn't say.'

'He's trying to drive the price up.'

'Maybe, but we can't take the risk that he's lying. Narcissus wants those scrolls, whatever the price. In men as well as money.'

'But who else would want these bloody scrolls, sir?' Macro asked.

'It doesn't really matter. Whoever it is, they can't be allowed to have them.'

'Look here, sir. It would help us if we had some idea of who we are up against.'

'No doubt,' Vitellius smiled. 'But ask yourself, if these scrolls are so vital to the Emperor, then who else would be as interested in them?'

'Aside from you, sir?'

'We've been over that, Macro. Don't try my patience any further.'

'The Liberators,' Cato said quietly. The secret organisation of republicans dedicated to the overthrow of Emperor Clandius seemed to be the obvious suspects.

Vitellius turned to look at him and shrugged.'Who else?'

'Great.' Macro shook his head wearily. 'That's all we bloody need. If they're in on the act we'll be jumping at our own shadows.'

'Quite.' Vitellius ran a hand through his oiled hair, and wiped it on the side of his tunic. 'So you can see we must proceed carefully, on a number of fronts. Firstly, we have to keep the negotiations going for as long as we can. That'll give us time to try to identify these other parties who are after the scrolls. Then we can seize them. In the meantime, we'll continue preparations for an amphibious campaign along the coast of Illyricum. We must find and destroy the pirate base, and sink or capture their ships. More importantly, we must find those scrolls. It's possible, likely even, that the Liberators have sympathisers or agents here in the fleet already. When we engage the pirates, it'll be a dirty and confusing business. That's when the Liberators are most likely to try and grab the scrolls. That's what we have to look out for and make sure we get to them first.'

Macro sighed. 'Not much to ask for, then.'

'That's in addition to the tasks you'll have to carry out for your cover. You and Cato have been assigned to regular duties. I want you to carry them as conscientiously as if you were back in the legions you so admire. The marines must be as good as you can make them if we're going to have the edge over the pirates when it comes down to the fighting. Furthermore, when the men and ships are ready to take the offensive, I'll be appointing each of you to command a ship.'

'Take command of ships?' Macro shook his head. 'Sir, I don't know the first thing about bloody ships.'

'Then you'd better learn. I wouldn't worry too much. The trierarchs will be handling the day-to-day ru

'Yes, sir.' Macro exchanged a glance with Cato, then turned and marched out of the office, closing the door behind him.

For a moment Vitellius gazed at the map, and then turned to Cato. 'Let's take a seat.'

'Yes, sir.'

They crossed the room back to the prefect's desk and Cato pulled up a chair, wincing slightly as the iron feet grated across the mosaic tiles. He had no idea why he had been kept back by Vitellius and was afraid, because he knew what the scheming aristocrat was capable of.

Vitellius was a good reader of men's expressions and appraised the young centurion with cold eyes.'I don't mind that you hate me so much, Centurion. I can understand your reasons. But you must accept that I am out of your league. You raise one hand towards me and I'll have you crushed under foot like a cockroach. It would be a shame to have you killed, since you have much to offer in the service of Rome. But I must look to my own interests first, and I have to be sure that I can rely on you and that you pose me no threat.'

Cato shrugged.

'Very well, then I propose a truce between us, for the duration of this matter. For both our sakes. There's already enough danger to be faced out there without needlessly adding to our perils. You understand?'

'Yes, sir.'

'Good. Feel free to hate me again the moment we have found those scrolls.'

Cato shook his head. 'I'll always hate you, and despise you, sir. But I can endure that without it affecting my duties, for a while at least.'

Vitellius stared at him, and gave the slightest of nods. 'That will have to do, then… Now, there's one other matter to deal with. I need you for something that might be quite dangerous.'

'How convenient, sir.'

'Useful rather than convenient. Telemachus' message ended with a demand that we make a payment up front to keep us in the negotiations for these scrolls."A token of our commitment", as he puts it. So, you will meet him, assure him that we're still keen and give him the gold he's demanded.'

'Why me?'

'Because it's important that one of us can identify Telemachus by sight. When the time comes to put that bastard in his place, I want to be sure we have the right man. He may be the only one who knows where the scrolls are being kept.'

'Why send me alone? Surely it would be useful if Centurion Macro was there as well?'

Vitellius smiled. 'Your friend Macro has many admirable qualities, but diplomacy is not one of them. I dare not send him with you. This job requires more subtle skills. And you're young enough to make our man feel he's dealing with someone lacking in experience and guile. That should put him at his ease.'

'Where will this meeting take place, sir?'

'At sea, like last time. He needs to be sure that it isn't a trap. You'll take one of the scout craft. Anything bigger might scare him off.'

'Anything smaller might put us at risk.'

'Well, that's a chance I'm prepared to let you take.'