The Last Bounty

100th Kill

Larissa

There were so many ways I could have killed him. To spare him a long-suffering death at the hands of a poison that would have felt like it was burning his insides. But alas that was not what mother fate had in mind for him. When I took upon the charge of being his killer I knew he was fated to die on the 15th March 27 BC, it was my job to speed up his fate by seventeen years. Julius Caesar you will face death on March the 15th 44 BC. I will be your grim reaper; the last person you will gaze upon before you realise your own mortality. This is one of the things I wanted to say to him but it would be pointless; his fate was sealed the moment I was assigned to kill him. After all when you have killed as many as I for no other reason than money; you realise how worthless it is to attempt to warn someone of their impending doom, an end in which you yourself must administer or suffer the consequences of your choice and relinquish your freedom.

It was strangely easy to gain access to Julius Caesar when masqueraded as a slave girl. I served him his drink and I could see the hints of desire hidden in his irises. Such a desire could never be hidden from me, not after him. My thoughts stopped there as I gazed at Caesar who was now hunched up in pain as the poison I had slipped into his drink began to work. I could imagine the pain he is experiencing; like hot acid tearing through his organs begging him to tear at his own skin in his desperation to relieve the pain. But he simply gasped and clawed at himself as he ran out of his chambers in a blind panic; screaming out for the mercy of his gods, in particular the God Pluto. The Roman equivalent of the Greek deity Hades, God of the dead; who ensures the passing of souls down to the underworld so that they maybe suitably judged for their deeds during their lifetime. Perhaps Caesar's desperation is that he doesn't feel ready to face the time of his judgement or the realisation that life is brittle.

It's amazing how long Caesar seems to be clinging to his life when faced with his death. How he can sense that his mortality is trickling away but he still tries to prevent the new course of fate that has befallen him at my hands. I'm running across the rooftops following him towards a temple where I'm sure he's going to look for a solution that would save him from death; a solution that will not come to pass. I can see him consulting a 'seer' who I can hear telling him an omen of death and omen for the future:

"You have been marked for death the moment you seized ultimate power over the citizens of Rome, this was the catalyst that has lead to your death. But heed me now; although you shall die before your time another will rise and seize the power you so craved in your lifetime; and he will do it whilst proudly pronouncing your name. Caesar."

It is rather ironic how right this seer is. After all, the moment Augustus Caesar discreetly put the bounty upon his own father's head was the moment in which the legacy of Julius Caesar would be revived like phoenix. Men crave the power which could be had at the expense of others, Augustus was no different. He picked his moment very well in which to set up the scenario of his father's death; at height of his father's power which would garner him future supporters. He left two requirements for his fathers death.

One, that he would die painfully and agonisingly slowly away from his family and supporters.

Two, that he would die publicly as a means of gaining support from the plebs when Augustus would seize control.

The first of these requirements was achieved when I slipped the poison into his drink; the poison was a type of snake venom enhanced with the technology of the twenty-fifth century. Caesar was not the first of my victims to fall prey to poison, Cleopatra was another; she was said by history to have died when bitten by a snake which I guess is somewhat accurate. After all I used taipan venom to kill her which I suppose makes history somewhat accurate. I had soaked the darts of a blowpipe in Tapian venom which I then used to target Cleopatra from a distance; the dart had hit the mark in the neck of Cleopatra. It was a more merciful death, beginning with paralysis and then blood clotting.

I was shaken from the memories of her death by the screaming of Caesar as he prayed to Pluto for a swift death to end his torment and agony. At that moment I was tempted to reach for the curved, falcon-engraved blade that was concealed in my boot in order to swiftly end his torment. But a group of men rushed in, initially I thought they were going to attempt to help him; until a tall dark-headed man began to punch Caesar bloody. He was soon swiftly joined by the other men who kicked, punched and threw objects at Caesar much to the horror of the emerging priests of the temple. Seeing a crowd forming, the men fled; probably to the slum parts of the city where they would be easily concealed from the population.

I knew I had to make sure he was truly dead. So I rushed forward, pretending I was a concerned citizen for the 'all-powerful' Julius Caesar and knelt next to his body looking as if I was examining his wounds. Amazingly he was still alive, although barely. I could see the pain in his eyes and the question that shone in his iris: why?

It was an open question. Why do my gods allow me to suffer so? Why am I in this agonising pain? Why...why...why...

I had no answer for him but I did have a solution: a merciful death. A quick and easy death to stop his prolonging pain; after all with the medicine of this time, no healer would be able to help him. It would be better to end his torment right there. So in that instant I took one of my concealed daggers from my sleeve and plunged it into his heart, killing him instantly. I'm pretty sure nobody saw the dagger that ended his life.

A moment later I was hauled up by a soldier and ushered to the side as they examined him. Quickly, I took my opportunity to leave the scene of Caesar's dead body; I backed myself into the shadows and climbed onto a roof which I began to run across. My dark clothing blended with the darkness and concealed me from the view of any passing watcher. Soon I reached a nearly deserted alley so I dropped down from the roof and hunched my body up into a ball.

Regret is a strange thing to feel. But I have to force myself to understand that I'm not selfless. Not like Nate was. I'm selfish in my desire to keep my promise to him. To leave the Order. 101 kills. That was the deal. Julius Caesar was my hundredth kill. One more death to fulfil my promise to a lost friend.

But first to deal with this regret and guilt. I pull out the twin books that I always keep upon my person as a form of remembrance. In one I finish my sketch of the city of Rome. In the other...I begin to sketch Caesar in his last moments. The look in his eye as he asked the heavens: why? I need to remember it all. Not that I'd ever forget it. But its my outlet to reducing this sense of guilt and remorse which lingers in my chest.

I look up to the sky in silent prayer, close the books, tuck them into the pouch on my belt and pull out the circular device that would take me home.

Home or Hell? I'm not sure what to really call it anymore but I relish in the fact I will soon be free. Soon. I'll keep my promise to you Nate, I swear.

I gave one last glance to the star filled sky and stepped through the portal made by the circular device; it was time to go back to the future, to 2414.