The Senator's Assignment

by Joan E. Histon

  That one brief glance; that momentary lapse of concern for Lucanus on Vivius’s part, was enough to give the enemy the advantage. Vivius gritted his teeth as a knife pierced his shoulder; then grunted as a heavy club struck the side of his head. Clutching his shoulder he staggered back against the wall. His attackers, not wanting to lose their momentum, pressed forward.

  Vivius wasn’t afraid to die; he had never been afraid to die, but he knew this wasn’t the way he wanted to go. Not here in a dingy back lane in Jerusalem at the mercy of thugs. Weakened though he was he kicked out, his attacker doubled over as Vivius’s foot landed in his groin. The effort was too much. Still dizzy from the blow to the head, Vivius’s fingers tried to stem the flow of warm blood from his shoulder wound. He was aware his strength was ebbing. He faced his two, or was it three assailants? He couldn’t see; the blood trickling down from the blow to his head had gone into his eyes. He wiped them. The assailants advanced.

  And that was when, through blurred vision, Vivius glimpsed a figure charging down the lane towards them with his sword raised. Without slowing his pace the figure leapt in front of him, and delivered a punch to the jaw of one of his assailants. There was a clash of steel as the other assailant’s advance was stopped and a sword was thrust into his stomach. He fell to his knees. Vivius wiped his sleeve over his eyes. Simon? Simon the Jew?

  A warning cry from Dorio distracted him. One of their attackers had squeezed past his horse, but Simon had already seen him. He turned and met the man’s onslaught full on. The assailant who had been attacked by Lucanus’s medical case, hovered, uncertain whether he wanted to take on another swordsman when he already sported a bloody gash across his head. Dorio made his mind up for him. With one swipe of his boot, he kicked the sword out of his hand. The man backed away.

  Only Simon now stood between Vivius and the remaining assailants. The first one lunged forward, but Simon side-stepped him, plunging his sword into the man’s hip. Vivius heard the crunch of bone.

  Gripping his sword, Vivius forced himself to Simon’s side. Their attackers hovered, uncertain, and then, as if by unspoken agreement, they retreated. Vivius glanced up the lane and was relieved to see Lucanus struggling to his feet, still clutching his medical case.

  Breathless, Vivius turned to the Jew. ‘Thank you.’

  He shouldn’t have been surprised that Simon refused to make eye contact, but he was. The Jew simply gave a curt nod, pushed his bloodied sword into his belt and with a final glance around their battlefield, marched swiftly down the lane.

  ‘Wait!’

  Simon ignored him.

  Vivius flinched as warm blood pulsated through his shoulder. He leant back against the wall and closed his eyes. Despite the wound to his head the cogs of his brain started up readily enough. He furrowed his brow, his first thought being, ‘What was the Jew doing in this vicinity? And why would he bother helping…?’ Opening his eyes he decided now was not the time for questions. He stumbled towards Dorio. The Decurion was bent over his horse’s neck, his good arm clutching his side. Blood was seeping through the bandages of his stump and his boots were bloody.

  Vivius grabbed the reigns. ‘Next time I give you an order…’

  Dorio raised his head; there was almost a smile on his face despite the beads of sweat falling on the horse’s mane. ‘Did you see me?’ His voice was barely above a whisper. ‘I can still fight. I kept at least two of them at bay, didn’t I?’

  Vivius wearily dropped his forehead on to the animal’s neck. ‘Yes, I saw you.’

  ‘Thank you for what you said.’

  ‘About what?’

  ‘About needing me.’

  ‘It was true.’

  ‘A random attack, do you think?’

  ‘I doubt it. It was too organised for that.’

  ‘Then someone sent them. Who?’

  Vivius didn’t answer. There were only two people who knew where he was going; one was the clerk at the fort, and the other was…Claudia!

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  (Jerusalem)

  Vivius discovered that being admitted into Pilate’s private quarters was almost as difficult as securing an audience with the emperor. Rico guarded his master’s privacy with the ferociousness of a guard dog. In fact, if Pilate hadn’t woken from his nap and heard his voice Vivius doubted whether he would have gained admittance at all. Rico announced him sullenly and then rapidly disappeared, but not before Vivius had noticed deep purple bruising on his neck.

  It was a flushed-cheeked, bleary eyed and rumpled Pilate that greeted him. He ran his fingers through his dishevelled hair in embarrassment. ‘Forgive me for being asleep when you called, Senator. The Jewish authorities had me awake at some ungodly hour yesterday morning and their demands upon my time never stopped all day. It was the late hours of the evening before I retired.’ His bleary bulbous eyes fell on Vivius bandaged shoulder. ‘But please sit down; join me for breakfast. I’d like to hear about this scandalous attack made upon you yesterday. I received the report late last night. Were you badly injured?’

  ‘A scratch, nothing more.’ Vivius lightly touched the thick wad of bandages. ‘My physician tends to be over zealous in his profession, I’m afraid. As for joining you for breakfast, thank you, but I must return to my quarters to pack.’ Nevertheless, the ache in his shoulder dictated he sat down.

  ‘You’re leaving? When?’

  ‘Tomorrow.’

  ‘Tomorrow? So soon? I hope that unfortunate incident wasn’t responsible for your decision to leave, Senator?’

  ‘Not at all. I only intended staying until the Decurion was well enough to travel. Now he is, so I plan to sail from Caesarea. My physician has unfinished business in that city. Something to do with a new medication for the Army Hospital in Rome, believe.’ Curious as to whether Claudia was lurking in another room, he added, ‘I simply called to thank you both for your hospitality. The excursion to the olive grove with your wife was exceptionally helpful.’

  ‘Ah, yes, my wife. Unfortunately she’s gone out for the day.’

  ‘Hmm,’ was Vivius’s only response but he couldn’t help wondering if Claudia was deliberately keeping out of his way after yesterday’s attack. ‘I also thought I ought to report I’d had an intruder in my quarters.’

  ‘What?’

  Vivius watched Pilate’s reaction carefully. His surprise seemed genuine enough but it was hard to tell.

  ‘Was anything stolen?’

  ‘Nothing. A letter was torn but that was all.’

  ‘A letter, was it important?’

  ‘Goodness no, my betrothed giving me a progress report on my new villa, that’s all.’

  ‘About your intruder…’

  ‘Fortunately my physician scared him away.’

  ‘I’m most disturbed by this, Senator. You’ve had a troublesome visit with us I’m afraid. Rest assured I shall be making enquiries.’

  Vivius waved a hand dismissively. ‘Please, there’s no need to bother on my account.

  ‘If you say so, Senator. As for your travelling arrangements to Caesarea, perhaps a small auxiliary force could accompany you?’

  Vivius shook his head. ‘No, but thank you for the offer. I dare say our travelling will be too slow for them. The Decurion hasn’t quite recovered from his wounds yet.’ He rose slowly to his feet, wincing as a stab of pain shot through his shoulder. ‘But now you must excuse me. I’ve neglected my physician and his patient long enough.’

  The formalities over and done with, Vivius left Pontius Pilate’s quarters with a sense of relief but also a sense of frustration at not being able to confront Claudia over his attack.

  * * *

  As soon as the door had closed behind his guest, Pontius Pilate poured himself a drink. ‘Rico!’

  The door barely clicked as Rico entered.

  ‘The senator tells me he’s leaving tomorrow, sailing from Caesarea, and he leaves straight after his visit to the bookkeeper.’ Pilate’s first mouthful of wine for the day he r
olled around his palate, savouring the smooth silky liquid and rich fruity body. He swallowed with an ‘Ah!’ Then licked his lips. ‘You saw the bookkeeper?’

  ‘Yes, master. We searched the house after the senator left but there was no sign of the ledgers.’

  ‘So the senator has them?’

  ‘I don’t think so, master. I didn’t see him bring them into the fort.’

  ‘Then where in the name of all the gods are they?’ Pilate’s dark bulbous eyes hardened. ‘If the senator thinks he can simply walk out of here with information belonging to Palestine he’s mistaken.’ His eyes drifted over to his slave. ‘But he isn’t out of Palestine yet, is he Rico?’

  * * *

  The owlish clerk with the flat white hair was sitting behind his desk when Vivius entered the administration officers. He greeted him with a wide, self-satisfied grin. ‘So you got my message then, Senator?’

  Vivius flicked open the tablet and read, ‘Senator; I have information on the Hasmonaean princes that might interested you.’ He snapped the tablet shut. ‘So what’s all that about?’

  The owlish clerk didn’t answer straight away but rolled his stylus around his fingers, leaving black ink stains on the tips which he appeared not to notice. ‘I heard about your attack, Senator. Terrible! Absolutely terrible! I was shocked. Who do you think would hire assassins to kill you? I don’t believe it was a random attack by thugs. I don’t believe that for one instant.’

  Vivius followed the ray of morning sunshine through the open window. It landed on a shield in the corner sending a rainbow of colours across the walls towards a wooden chair.

  ‘Only two people knew I was going to see the bookkeeper,’ he said settling himself on the chair. ‘You were one of them.’

  ‘I didn’t tell a soul, Senator. You have my word on that,’ the clerk said vehemently. ‘But, er…there was someone else in the room when you were asking for Nikolaos’s address. I believe she may have overheard you.’

  ‘Is that what you wanted to see me about?’

  ‘No, no, no, Senator. I have information that might interest you.’

  ‘Not on the Hasmonaean princes I take it?’

  The clerk gave a chuckle. ‘Oh goodness me, no, Senator; not at all, not at all.’ He bent down and withdrew three rolled parchments from a drawer. Making a space between a neat line of scrolls and a tidy pile of tablets he methodically unrolled each one and placed it on his desk. ‘When you return to Rome, I wonder if you would take these with you?’

  ‘What are they?’

  The clerk ran his inky fingertip over the top of the first parchment. ‘This one is a detailed report written by the tribune of Fort Antonia. It covers a peaceful demonstration by the Jews who were objecting to Pilate using their holy temple money to build his aqueduct. Pilate has always claimed there were Zealots amongst the demonstrators so he was forced to act. This report shows the tribune has a different story to tell. Whoever was right, the end result was that over two hundred Jews were massacred that day.’

  Vivius injected caution into his response. ‘And why would you assume this information would be of interest to me?’

  The clerk dropped his eyes. ‘If I may be so bold as to say, Senator; you arrive in Jerusalem asking questions; the sort of questions Fabius used to ask.’ The corners of his mouth drooped. ‘Ah! Poor Fabius. The auxiliaries from Caesarea told us he’d been murdered.’ There was a moment of respectful silence before he lifted his head and regarded Vivius with curiosity. ‘When you asked me for the address of Nikolaos the Greek bookkeeper, I asked myself, Why would a visiting senator want the address of a former bookkeeper? Then I found out you were asking questions of Simon the Jew.’

  Vivius narrowed his eyes. ‘How do you know that?’

  ‘I belong to the sect of the Nazarenes,’ he said quietly.

  ‘What has that got to do with anything?’

  ‘The people you’ve been talking to, Simon the Jew, Joseph of Arimathea and Nikolaos, we’re all followers of Jesus of Nazareth.’

  ‘I see,’ Vivius said stiffly.

  ‘Then there was the day I left you browsing over files from the Hasmonaean Dynasty, but on my return discovered the current report files had been put back in the wrong order. So, I’m hoping my suspicions are justified, Senator, as I might get into trouble for, er…shall we say, mislaying the information I’m giving you today.’

  The breath going through Vivius nostrils whistled faintly. ‘Go on.’

  The clerk’s forefinger tapped the second parchment. ‘This is the parchment which I think might interest you the most.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Compare the second and third parchments, Senator.’ Picking one of them up, he reached across his desk and handed it to him.

  There was silence while Vivius’s eyes scrolled rapidly down each parchment. It was a list of Roman policies signed at the bottom by Tiberius. Vivius was familiar with such documents mainly because he, along with Tiberius and a team of senators, had been instrumental in forming Rome’s policies for their colonies. ‘So?’

  ‘Governor Pilate’s predecessor rigidly followed the policies in the document you’re reading. Now, read this one.’ The clerk reached across the desk to hand him the third document.

  Once again Vivius’s eyes scrolled down the parchment, but more slowly this time. As they did, his mouth hardened into a long straight line.

  ‘It’s a list of policies for Palestine, Senator, but the policies differ quite considerably. Look at the signature at the bottom.’

  Vivius breathed in sharply. ‘Sejanus!’ He paused. ‘What are you saying?’

  ‘I’m not saying anything, Senator. I’m merely showing you that the emperor’s policies for Palestine have been replaced by the harsher, stricter policies of Sejanus. And as you have seen for yourself, he has placed his own man in Palestine to implement them. Is that true of all Rome’s colonies, I wonder?’

  Vivius didn’t answer, aware that the accusations of embezzlement and crucifixions were fading into second place as he studied the documents before him. This was exactly what he was looking for, and probably what the emperor was hoping he would find; proof that Sejanus was implementing his own policies and employing his own men in the colonies. It didn’t take a genius to work out that if the emperor was out of the way and Sejanus took over as Caesar, he’d have no opposition from the colonies.

  ‘Thank you.’ He slid all three parchments into the pocket of his toga.

  ‘And I hope my entrusting these into your care will assure you I had nothing to do with the attack on you yesterday, Senator.’

  ‘It does.’

  The clerk took a deep breath. ‘Now, as for Nikolaos.’ He raised his ink-stained fingers to his mouth and gave a dry cough. ‘I’m sorry to inform you that his house was searched after you left. They didn’t find his ledgers but he was badly beaten up.’ The clerk waited until Vivius had had a chance to register his information before continuing. ‘Romans periodically search his house but they’ve never gone this far before.’ He regarded Vivius steadily. ‘Still, his beating has convinced him to return to Rome with you.’

  Vivius registered his surprise with a slap on the knee. ‘Excellent! And his ledgers?’

  The owlish eyes beamed before deliberately travelling up his bookcase to the top shelf.

  ‘You have them here, in the fort?’ Vivius asked in astonishment.

  ‘There’s no safer place than my office, Senator. I can assure you of that. I shall bring them to you tonight when the fort is quiet. Now, can you guarantee Nikolaos’s safety to Rome?’

  Surprised by this unexpected bonus from this obscure and unforeseen source, Vivius stroked his chin with his finger and thumb while his mind whirled around the problem of getting Nikolaos, his ledgers and these precious parchments back to Rome; his only support being a one-armed, wounded Decurion, and a physician whose weapon was his medical bag.

  ‘My main problem will be getting him out of Jerusalem. I gather Pilate is watching
him.’

  ‘May I ask when you intend to leave?’

  ‘Tomorrow.’

  ‘So soon?’ The clerk bit his lip. ‘I have…friends who have ways of…I shall have to speak to…someone first. I shall get back to you. What about the person who knew you were going to see the bookkeeper?’

  ‘Ah!’ Vivius tapped the edge of his nose with his finger as he stood up. ‘That’s the one person I have yet to deal with.’

  * * *

  Vivius was faced with an angry physician when he entered his quarters.

  ‘Just look at you, Senator. Your shoulder’s bleeding again, and you’re flushed. I warned you not to exercise after sustaining a deep wound, didn’t I? Now, sit down while I change the bandage.’

  There was a chuckle from the bedroom. ‘That’s right, Lucanus, you tell him.’

  Vivius jerked his head towards the door. ‘He sounds better.’

  ‘I am!’ came the response.

  Vivius sank down on to the couch, grimacing as Lucanus opened a phial containing a brown foul-smelling concoction which seemed intended for his shoulder wound. He waited until Lucanus had unwrapped his bandages before saying, ‘Apparently, the bookkeeper was given a severe beating after our visit yesterday. When we leave tomorrow we’re taking him and the ledgers with us, if… Ouch!’ He glared at Lucanus.

  ‘Taking him with us? You’re not serious? Isn’t that dangerous?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘That’s what you said yesterday, Senator. Two hours later we were being beaten up.’

  Dorio wandered through from the bedroom and leant against the doorpost. ‘By Arabs, they looked like Arabs.’ Vivius glanced up at the physician. ‘Didn’t you hurl your medical bag at one of them?’

  Lucanus indicated his neck. ‘The fastening caught him here.’

  Vivius grimaced as he watched Lucanus dab the brown liquid on his wound. ‘Would you recognize him again?’