Death Of A Gladiator

Death Of A Gladiator - Part 12

CHAPTER 12

Glabrus' sword was out of his sheath again, before the guards realised.

In an instant he was behind me, his arm around my back and his sword point pressed at my throat.

"Guards!"

The guards stepped forward.

"Move a step to save him and I will drive it in deep," said Glabrus. "Miletus, your sword please. On the ground. Now."

The guards stepped back again. Miletus unbuckled his belt and carefully put his sword down.

I tried to twist my neck away. Glabrus jammed his knee into my back.

"Ouch! Well, Glabrus, since you won't tell them, then I suppose I will have to."

"Do whatever you want," he growled. "You are a dead man anyway!"

"If I am, then so will you be," I said, "About a second later."

"So be it, then," he replied. I will be, when your man tells Gaius. So I will cut your throat and spill your greasy blood in a second. Then a second later I will cut my own."

I had to think quickly.

Come, now, Glabrus," I said. "Let's be sensible, shall we? No one is on the way to tell Gaius. Not yet. You think you are doomed anyway. That you have to kill me. But perhaps there's some agreement we can reach?"

The guards had both edged a little closer.

"Shut up!"

"Please. Be reasonable."

"Talk fast, then. I'm listening."

"I'll tell you what I know. I found out that there had been a visitor to Cinxor, the night before his death, and I realised one of you had bribed some guard and taken a letter to Cinxor's cell. Why? No one but a Magistrate's man would deliver a letter with a seal. But back to that later. Why did Cinxor kill himself? Gaius was supposedly about to adopt Cinxor and Miletus was already warming his bed. One rival, now two, and you couldn't have that any longer, could you Glabrus? You served in the army with Gaius. You've both had a long partnership."

"All those years of you and Rufius cleverly stealing money from the old man. A lovely little income was about to go down the sewer, like an old wino's piss. Wasn't it? Yes, it is true Cinxor was visiting Gaius' house while he was away. But he was visiting his house while he was HOME, too. He was screwing Gaius. As well as his wife. You went to Cinxor and told him that unless he killed himself, you would tell Gaius he was also screwing his wife. He knew he could never face Gaius again. Rather than face Gaius and suffer death at his hands, or allow himself to die in the arena, Cinxor killed himself. A matter of honour?"

"And Rufius? you sent him to kill me, because I wouldn't accept that it was Gordius who killed Cinxor. I saw his eyes. A pair of unusual eyes, large and round, like an owl. The only part of his face not covered. I was getting too close, too annoyingly close. He failed. No problem for him. He was wearing heavy travel clothes, and now he is somewhere in the country, at a safe house, paid out by you, Glabrus. A certain honour amongst thieves, shall we say?"

"I tell you, Miletus," I said, "You would have been next. Glabrus would have found a way. You are a lot sillier than I thought. You wanted to impress Gaius so much, you convinced yourself that Gordius murdered Cinxor. And you made yourself blind to your own position."

"Also. You were afraid Gaius would think you had killed Cinxor just to protect yourself. You see, you thought you were next in line. And you didn't want to jeopardise that.

But Glabrus knows how to protect himself. Don't you Glabrus? But for one thing. You didn't know about that coin, did you, Glabrus? It was Cinxor's own token of honour. Given by Gaius to Cinxor."

I waited for my words to sink in.

"And Cinxor used it to leave a clue as to who had killed him."

"Rufius AND Glabrus played with you, Miletus. You and Cinxor are just toys. They both played with you. Yet even Glabrus didn't know everything. Ouch!""

Glabrus stuck the sword tip in, just enough to draw a little blood.

"Shut up, you little fat bastard!"

"Oh dear. Perhaps this is news to Miletus too. It's too late. Glabrus. You see, my spy tells me that even as you were planning how to make Miletus your next victim, Gaius made out formal adoption papers for him. So he will be his permanent lover after all. Now that Cinxor is dead. And neither of you would dare kill me anyway. Gaius would be very suspicious.

"It's all over. For both of you. With me, anyway. We are all businessmen, are we not? Perhaps the three of us can make a deal?"

I felt the sword point move from my throat. I twisted and stepped back out of the way.

Glabrus had dropped his sword. His arms hung limp. All the strength had left him. He was beaten.

"Ah," I breathed a sigh of relief. "That's better. Report to Gaius that Cinxor's heart gave way. My doctors will issue an official certificate."

"You are a piece of slime and dog vomit," growled Glabrus.

"By the way," I said. "How did Rufius come by Selus's cloak?"

"Another of your own guards bent the rules for a handsome bribe," growled Glabrus. But's that's history."

"Well. That's better. Tomorrow I will arrange for Gordius' full manumission, his full freedom, plus a handsome purse to set himself up well. Now. Let's say, in order to keep me quiet, You reimburse me for Cinxor and Gordius and all related expenses. And the cost of Cinxor's death certificate. And I take half of what you both stole from Gaius, over, say, the last three years? Let's go to my office. Sergius will do the reckoning."

******

There's justice and irony  in all this," I said, as I finished telling Livia, and stroked her pretty hair in bed that night. "If Rufius had succeeded in the arena that night, all three would be off the hook. And I would not be here in bed with you, my darling. Death will have claimed me."

"How very, very confusing," she sighed. "Are all men as complicated as that? Or merely as stupid?"

"Probably both," I murmured sleepily. "Death cheated Death again. Once by day and once by night. Cinxor and Cleomenes. Once cheated and once fooled. Perhaps Death is complicated. Or just stupid."

"So tell me," she kissed my cheeks, "is the ultimate stupidity Death? Or is Death the ultimate stupidity?"

"What riddles you talk, my dear. Look who's being complicated now? Of course, it is both. But I think, Death is mostly stupid. He has missed catching me so many times."

THE END