by Simon Rumney
Satisfied with her manipulative success Julia turned to her next bloody task and discovered a measure of compassion that took her by surprise. She had saved Marcus from the carnage with the express intention of paying him to kill Joseph but her resolve had completely given way. She knew that the Jew should have been killed because he was the only weak link in her scheme. If his story was ever questioned he could lead back to Gavius and eventually her, but even so, she could not give the order because of the sympathy she felt for his family.
Sparing these anonymous people stirred warm emotions within Julia which gave her mind a respite from the constant loveless anger her life had become, so completely unharmed Joseph boarded a galley bound for Judea with a bag of newly minted gold coins attached to his belt.
Marcus was simply smuggled aboard one of the ships at Ostia destined to become a pirate for a second time.
Sadly Julia’s feelings of compassion lingered for only a short time. Even at the moment of such complete victory Julia could not relax and enjoy her act of kindness because of her terrible lack of belief in herself. As always her flawed logic was arriving at its inevitable conclusion and in the imagined voice of her mother Julia concluded that her compassion for the Jewish family represented the kind of sentimental weakness which would return to destroy her in the fullness of time.
Total Control
On the day of Julia’s coup Gavius stood on the dock at Ostia ready to execute phase two of her plan. He had simply to wait for any cargo ships arriving from the East and as they came alongside Gavius asked if they were sent by the Captain. When all of them said yes, he introduced himself as the agent of the Captain in Rome.
Not one of the pirates on board questioned what he said, none of them had ever dealt directly with Bromidus just his henchmen; anyway, why should they care who the cargo went to just as long as they could return with the Captain’s gold.
Gavius paid exactly the same rate to Clitumna’s surrogate crews and they would hand that money to her as usual. The Captain and Clitumna did not even have to know things had changed but even if they did find out Julia rationalized that they probably wouldn’t care?
Gavius’s next task was simply to tell the slave owners that they were now unloading the ships for him and just like the pirates they cared very little about where the money was coming from just as long as their bills were paid.
When Antonius and Gavius looked in the warehouses they found them all full of desperately needed provisions because Bromidus had been using man-made shortages as a means of keeping prices high. The warehouse owners were so used to being pushed around that they did not question the fat man when he told them to release a large amount of the cargo. They simply had it loaded onto wagons and delivered to the wholesale markets.
Later that same day moneylenders arrived with lots of cash from the sale of what was once black-market stock and as instructed by Gavius approached each warehouse owner in turn. They offered them a good price for their businesses which included the stock held within those warehouses. Half of them grabbed at the offer immediately; the rest caved in with a combination of more money and veiled threats of violence.
Julia knew they would acquiesce if the correct pressure was applied because Bromidus had forbidden them to either sell out or store anyone else’s cargo and most were completely fed up. The once prosperous storage business was now a millstone around their necks and this latest cajoling was the straw that broke the camel’s back. When she conceived the plan Julia knew that most of them would find her all-inclusive offer very attractive because under Bromidus they did not own the stock.
She was acting without hesitation because Marius had told her that the secret of a successful takeover was speed. Taking advantage of confusion depended upon immediate action and in accordance with his innocent advice she was overpowering the warehouse owners with cash. Julia also remembered Marius saying, “The secret of a good bluff was authority. If you look like someone with a purpose people will very rarely challenge what you are doing.” And by applying this principle she had shifted control of the docks in her favor.
Because their contacts in the black-market had mysteriously vanished all traders came to the night markets to purchase goods for their shelves. Julia released the remaining contents of the warehouses gradually and many of them paid too much for fear of even greater shortages. The cash rolled in and Antonius became the biggest trader in Rome quite literally overnight.
Every ship coming into Rome was still being unloaded by the same slave gangs as before the only discernible difference was their owners were now being paid exclusively by Gavius. Even during the time of Bromidus these slave gangs had been allowed to work for the various warehouse owners and the competition such as it was kept their prices at tolerable levels but now they had no one else to work for.
Gavius and Antonius were fixing the prices and systematically buying out the slave owners who could no longer make a living. It seemed remarkable to everyone that two previously unknown men held the controlling interest in almost all aspects of food importation to Rome but the most remarkable thing of all was the fact that Antonius and Gavius were operating completely within the law. The black-market had disappeared but these two men seemed to have Rome just as firmly in their grasp.
After ten days the prices in Rome found levels that were more reasonable. Things were returning to normal and the previous owners of the waterfront warehouses regretted selling what now seemed extremely lucrative businesses. When they returned in an attempt to purchase them back each of the moneylenders followed the orders he was given and refused categorically to consider their offers. Even when they offered twice what they had been paid the bankers could not be moved. Had the warehouse owners thought about it they may have wondered why so many moneylenders spent so much time hanging around the docks but in their current predicament they didn’t give it a thought.
The answer to this unasked question could be found in a plan that Julia put in place many months earlier. She had instructed Gavius to deliver the same proposition to as many moneylenders as he could find and in every meeting he repeated Julia’s words verbatim: “I have been commissioned by my Principal to purchase every galley that comes into Rome.”
Just as Julia predicted all of the moneylenders had advised him against such an investment but as ordered he insisted on handed them sacks of gold coins while repeating the words: “Pay more than the current market price if you need to but act swiftly.’
For maximum effect Julia also insisted that Gavius count the shiny gold coins in front of each banker. Then when they were in neat piles of ten he had to say:
“You will have enough here for ten or eleven galleys after you deduct your commission. I have also been told to tell you that if you are fair you will receive even larger funds to purchase many more galleys. However if you cheat in any way my employer will make it impossible for you to trade anywhere in Rome.”
This was another plan which had been hatched in her room at the back of the olive oils shop. Julia understood that owning a galley was considered a very poor investment at the moment. She and the ships’ captains knew that the pirates were the real owners so Julia guessed that if they were offered a fair price they would gladly sign the contract of sale and deposit their gold in Rome. It was money for old rope and far too good an offer to ignore so they took the money and laughed.
Julia sat in her office reviewing the success of her scheming and wondered at her newfound power. She had hoped to get Bromidus and maybe one or two of his senior cutthroats but what she actually achieved was so much better. The entire black-market lay decimated and she alone possessed the knowledge required to take up the reins.
As incredible as it seemed Julia now controlled the supply of food and wine coming into Rome by sea, the people believed that free trade had been restored and Gaius Marius was an even bigger hero of the people which made Sulla red with rage. All in all a very good week’s work.
Political Corruption
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p; At the same time as winning control of the commercial markets Julia turned her hand to the job of corrupting politicians. Behind the scenes as always she used her growing sums of money to bribe the ever-greedy Senators and, although Calpurnius had been extremely thorough during his briefings, bribery was still a completely new concept for Julia. So, in accordance with her lack of confidence her first act of corruption was one that actually benefited Rome as much as it did her.
Harnessing the vast experience of the moneylenders Julia paid corrupt Senators to lobby aggressively for the destruction of the pirates in the East. A purse full of silver was given to any Senator who repeated what he was told to say without asking any questions. The ones who took up the offer passed the word to others in the Curia and eventually Julia’s words began to ring out almost every day.
‘These lowlife criminals have held Rome to ransom for far too long!’ shouted one of her stooges passionately across the chamber when the Senate sat for its new season of debate.
“The pirates have organized themselves into a fleet; they have been systematically taking control of Roman shipping lanes!” parroted another with what appeared to be great authority.
Because of Clitumna’s secret system of extortion most Senators were surprised by this information even the corrupt ones who delivered the words were taken aback because no one had any idea that pirates were still a problem. There had been reports of galleys being taken on a regular basis just a few years ago but for the last couple of years at least the pirates seemed to have miraculously gone away.
“The reason you are all so blissfully unaware of pirates, as indeed was I,” shouted a Senator by the name of Lucius Nonius, is they no longer kill to extract money from us Romans but let me assure you they are bleeding us dry with their extortionist techniques nonetheless!”
Nonius was a very good actor who projected just the right amount of outrage in his voice and as he quoted the facts and statistics fed to him by his personal moneylender the Senators all stamped their feet and shouted as a way of emulating his outrage.
“I have one of the many captains who suffered at the hands of these greedy felons standing outside and he is prepared to speak to you all today!” shouted Nonius over the din while raising his toga-covered arm to point dramatically at the entrance of the Senate.
“Bring him in! Bring him in!” they cried.
The trembling man who walked in had been pulled from his cargo vessel by Gavius that very morning. Under threat of death he stood before them on the floor of the Senate in a weather-beaten tunic and nervously delivered the words he was told to say. Luckily for him his speech was largely based on the truth which gave a strong measure of credibility and at the completion of his sad tale of injustice the Senate was on its feet calling for the battle fleet to be dispatched immediately. Within one week the war galleys were on their way to end the days of Clitumna’s control of the East.
Julia was delighted with her success yet again this was a better result than she could have hoped for. Even the person who she had chosen to deliver Clitumna’s death sentence in the Senate was a source of satisfaction. Julia had chosen Lucius Nonius to deliver the clinching blow because he was none other than the nephew of Sulla himself. It had been Calpurnius who first mentioned that he was a great orator, but also a little corrupt, and she reveled in the fact that she was manipulating a blood relative of her nemesis.
Amazed at her achievement as always Julia marveled at the results of her first dabble with corruption. She also marveled at how many galleys she now owned and how little she had paid for them. At the time of purchase the ships had no discernible worth but on the day the Roman battle fleet slipped their lines her galleys instantly quadrupled in value.
Now with Rome under control and her cargo fleet in place the next phase of her schemes could come to fruition and Julia sat down with a beaker of un-watered wine to contemplate her circumstances with satisfaction. This was the moment she had been working towards. Julia had imagined herself in this situation for as long as she had been making plans but the anticipated security did not arrive. Julia had believed that once the shift of power was complete she would feel safe and secure but it startled her to find that the opposite was true. Instead of finding a release from the constantly nagging fear a new more disquieting feeling took over; it was the insecure fear that everything may one day be taken away from her.
Murdering the Captain
Just as Julia predicted, Young Gaius had been deeply troubled by her seemingly throwaway line about pirates at the end of her last letter. When he read a full account of the powerful speech made by Nonius contained in the Senatorial dispatches which Julia had so thoughtful sent two weeks later he was compelled to act.
As Julia found out by reading his letter months afterwards Gaius had gone to his Commanding Officer with the report and her letter in hand to express his concerns.
The General who was an old friend of Gaius Marius and admired this young man’s fighting ability invited him to sit down and share his burden.
Julia imagined that Young Gaius would have said something along the lines of: I have news that the shipping agents who move my family’s cargo are in some way linked to the pirates. My shame is compounded by the fact that I recommended these same people to the army. If it is proven that pirates are benefiting by moving military provisions on my recommendation, I will of course resign my commission. Julia knew that Young Gaius was as incorruptible as his father and the shame he felt at that moment would be total.
As it happened, Julia had predicted Young Gaius’s words almost exactly, but what happened next she had not foreseen. It took almost a month for the full story to reach her in Rome and the turmoil unleashed by her connivances was going to place Julia’s life in great danger.
Young Gaius’s Commanding Officer had seen the innocent mistake for what it was. He told Young Gaius to take one legion and find out if his suspicions were correct.
This was the first time Young Gaius had commanded a full legion and five thousand men marched behind him all the way to Saguntum. Upon his arrival he saw a dock completely laden with his produce and was overcome with the burning desire to make amends for this blatant use of lawbreakers.
Immediately deploying his troops Young Gaius surrounded the port and all of its population. He then rode up to the quay with one thousand of his men in support. The Greek Captain who he had personally introduced to the logistics corps of the army was sitting at an outside table on the dock lunching with a large woman and ten of his fellow captains.
As he dismounted and approached, Young Gaius estimated that a further three hundred of the Captains undisciplined men were hanging around the docks. They had also been eating and drinking as he dismounted but all stopped what they were doing. They all looked very guilty to Young Gaius.
“Good afternoon,” said Gaius hiding his anger.
“How can we help you?” replied the Captain as he stood.
“Forgive me if I am mistaken but I have reason to believe that you are in some way connected with the pirates of the East?”
Young Gaius could not believe his eyes as the Greek Captain leapt across the table towards him drawing his sword as he came. Fighting broke out across the whole of the dock and the inevitable defeat took only minutes. All of the ships’ crews watched the pirates being massacred from the decks of their galleys and cheered as the much hated Captain was killed with one mighty blow of a sword.
A great plume of blood gushed into the air as the arteries carrying it from the heart were opened. The ten soldiers standing closest to the Captain were drenched in his warm crimson, life force but none of them even hesitated, they had all seen this spectacle many times before. Being immersed in blood had become commonplace for these experienced fighting men and the drenching merely spurred them on to kill as many pirates as they could before the battle ended.
Sitting all alone, the big woman did not move from the overturned lunch table. Surrounded by upended chairs, broken pots and spilt
food, Clitumna remained perfectly still and watched the disciplined Roman fighting machine hack her aquatic rabble to pieces.
“Thank the Gods,” was all she could say to Young Gaius quietly between her sobs. “You have rescued me from my fate of many years.”
“May I ask who you are Madam?” Gaius was completely red with her lover’s blood.
Young Gaius’s letter spared Julia all of these bloody details and continued with Clitumna’s next words: “My name is Clitumna Drusus I was taken from my vessel many years ago and forced to serve the pirates. I am the daughter of a Senator of Rome and my husband was the Proconsul of Mesopotamia at the time of my abduction.”
“Then it is lucky for you that Julia took it upon herself to write to me.”
Julia flew into an instant rage as she read his words. “How could you mention my name? Why did you not kill her?”
Peering in through the hanging tapestry Gavius asked, “Are you shouting at me?”
Looking up from the letter Julia snapped, “No I am talking to my idiot of a fiancé,” and as Gavius moved his eyes around the empty chamber Julia added in a frustrated tone, “Not in here,” then waving the parchment added, “In here!”
“Oh,” said Gavius as he moved backwards with an expression of concern on his face.
“Bring me some more wine,” snapped Julia who was unable to control her anger.
Gavius had done nothing to deserve such an attack but she had become so unstable since the election of Sulla to the position of Consul two weeks before. The fat man was deeply hurt by her abuse but Julia was too busy to notice as she got back to her reading.
Clitumna told Young Gaius about her terrible time in captivity. She spoke of rape and maltreatment. It had been a tale that genuinely shocked him and when he told her his name she immediately launched into tales of dining at his house with her father the Senator and great friend of Gaius Marius.