Page 57 of Brother at Arms

“I don’t think any of these are the man Xerxes dealt with,” Vitus said. “But he looked like the one in green.”

I wondered how to approach them. I didn’t know what excuse I’d make, but I wanted to know whether any of them had been Xerxes’s contact.

“I’ll take my money now, if you don’t mind,” Vitus said.

He’d kept his end of the bargain, so I dipped into the pouch and slid the coins into his calloused palm with as little movement as possible, so that anyone watching wouldn’t realize I was paying him. Thieves and pickpockets would mark such an obvious exchange.

Vitus, with as much canniness, folded his hand around the coins and let his arms hang at his sides.

“Thank you,” I told him.

He gave me a nod. “If you ever want to reminisce, I’m often in that popina. Good night, Leonidas.”

His task finished, Vitus turned and strolled away, his broad back telling me he didn’t much care what I did with the information he’d just given me.

I remained, watching the Parthians. I wondered if Arsakes would know who they were, and whether he’d tell me if so.

After contemplating the three men a moment, I concluded that the two in yellow were assistants or workers and the man in green was in charge. All three had hard faces, but the men in yellow were deferential to the one in green, who carried himself with the arrogance of the wealthy.

I found myself walking toward them. I reasoned that Cassia would want all the information I could give her, and I could only do that if I got closer.

The three men paid no attention as I approached—I was one more Roman in a freedman’s tunic.

When I halted nearby, the two men in yellow snapped their focus to me. I couldn’t decide if they were guards or only assistants, but they eyed me in great suspicion.

“What do you want?” one of them asked in thickly accented Latin.

“I wondered if you had any jobs for me,” I said. “I’m a former gladiator, very strong.”

“Go,” the man in yellow growled, but the man in green held up a slim-fingered hand.

“Why do you want to work for Parthians?” he asked with some amusement. His accent was not as pronounced as his fellow’s.

I shrugged. “Coin’s coin.”

“True.” The man in green looked me up and down. “I will think on it. Where can I find you to send word?”

“Nowhere.” I didn’t want to lead a man who might have had Xerxes murdered to my home or anywhere my friends might be. “I will come back tomorrow.”

“As you please.” The Parthian studied me once more then turned away, finished with me.

The two in yellow eyed me belligerently until I turned from them and headed out of the Porticus Aemilia.

I fell in with the carts that were making their way into the city, trundling the goods from the warehouse to various parts of Rome. The wagons and men stayed close to one another, because even during the busy delivery time, thieves would await those alone and unwary.

I followed the procession around the wall of the Forum Bovarium to the Vicus Tuscus and the Horrea Agrippina, which also swarmed with activity. Thick bundles of silk lay in carts, ready to be taken to those who’d purchased them.

This warehouse was guarded by men with breastplates and swords, more former legionnaires. I also noted vigiles hovering nearby, making certain the expensive fabric remained safe.

I knew someone followed me. I’d felt them behind me since I’d left the Porticus Aemilia, in the same way I’d been able to track an opponent in the arena, when I was all but blinded by my helmet.

My tail wasn’t Cassia. She’d attempted to follow me before, and while she was brilliant with accounts and understanding complicated texts, she was unskilled at tracking. I’d always spied her at once.

This shadow was up to no good. Whether it was a thief who’d noticed I’d given Vitus the sestertii and reasoned I’d have more, or someone who didn’t like me talking to the Parthians, I couldn’t be sure.

I continued up the street until I reached the building where Herminius, Cassius Tatius, and his assistant, Aulus, did business. There I ducked under the portico and waited.

I heard no footsteps behind me, no one hurrying to see where I’d gone. Instead, a grunt and then the sound of fists on flesh came to me from deep inside the building.