“Disorganized?” asked Lucas.
“You’d have to see it to believe it,” said Delaney with aderisive snort. “They’re like a damn sorority trying to decide what decorationsto put up for the dance. The leaders get together during the day, usually atthe baths, where they huddle in a corner in a little group and whisper, then atnight, they meet at Cassius’ house for a long, leisurely dinner and gallons ofmulsum. I don’t know how they stomach the damn stuff. They just sit arounddrinking and trying to psych one another up. They say they have a plan and they’rerefining it, but there isn’t any plan that I can see. It’s just a bunch of guystossing around wild ideas. And all during the night. other conspirators keepdrifting in and wandering out, as if they were dropping into some lodgemeeting. I can believe that there were about sixty people in on this thing. It’slike a damned convention. These people are rank amateurs. They haven’t got anysecurity to speak of. just a couple of guards at the door who pass people inand out. The way they’re going about it. if Caesar hasn’t heard about thisso-called conspiracy by now, he must be off in some other world.”
“Well, according to history, there were many rumors of conspiraciesagainst his life.” said Travers. but Caesar simply discounted them. There havealways been conspiracies in Rome of one sort or another, but few of them evercame to anything. Caesar was even involved in several aborted conspiracieshimself, such as the one with Crassus. He knows there’s opposition against him.but the people support him and he’s got the Senate cowed. If word has reachedhim about this conspiracy, maybe he feels the same way about it as you do. Thatthey’re all talk and no action.
“But would he just ignore them like that?” Andre asked withsurprise.
“If he were anybody else, he probably wouldn’t.” Travers replied.“But he’s Caesar. He’s survived more bloody wars than any other general inRome. The man simply has no fear. Maybe he really believes that he’sinvulnerable.”
“According to your report, he didn’t seem to believe it thenight he heard the oracle’s prophecy.” said Lucas.
“A lot’s happened since that night.” Travers replied. “TheCaesar who was about to cross the Rubicon was full of doubt and indecision. He’dalways bucked the odds before, but for the first time in his life, he reallywasn’t sure. No Roman general had ever marched on Rome before. Even for Caesar.it seemed like going much too far. But he pulled it off. And he hasn’t lookedback since. After he defeated the great Pompey, he didn’t think that there wasanything he couldn’t do.” Travers paused. “After his death. Caesar was deified,but in his own mind, he’s halfway there already.”
You mean he actually thinks of himself as a god?” asked Andre.
“No. I doubt that. I’m sure he doesn’t, not in the literalsense. But with all he’s managed to accomplish, it’s clearly gone to his head.You know the old saying. Absolute power corrupts. absolutely. Caesar hasn’treally been corrupted. at least not in the same sense as Tiberius. Caligula.and Nero were. but be really does believe that he’s infallible. Besides, hismind isn’t really on what’s happening in Rome. Being emperor doesn’t seem tointerest him anymore. He’s bored.”
“Bored’?” said Lucas, raising his eyebrows. he’s run out ofchallenges. Since he became emperor. Rome has been at peace. And peace is notCaesar’s milieu. he’s a soldier. He’s not really alive unless he’s in the fieldwith his troops. It’s what he does best. He can’t wait to leave on that campaign.The old war dog wants one last taste of battle. He’s not a young man anymore.This is his last chance to go down in history as the greatest general who everlived, the man who surpassed even Hannibal and Alexander. ‘There’s a world toconquer out there.” Travers shook his head. “He’s not going to concern himselfabout a few malcontented senators.”
“I wonder what would have happened if he wasn’t murdered.”Lucas said, musing out loud. You think there’s a chance he would have pulled itoff?”
“I don’t think there’s much chance he wouldn’t have.” saidTravers. “Jesus, wouldn’t that be something’? Rome’s empire would have extendedall the way from western Europe to the Far East. Caesar would have become themost powerful ruler who ever lived. History would have taken a very differentcourse. Who knows how things would have turned out!”
“Let’s hope we don’t have to find out.” Delaney said.
Travers glanced at him, as if suddenly remembering what theywere here to do. “Yes.” he said quietly. He sighed. “What’s our next move’?”
“Well, tomorrow we’ll have a good chance to take stock ofthe situation at Cleopatra’s house.” said Lucas “I’d like to look around andsee if there’, a good place I can drop in unexpected sometime.”
“Probably the gardens.” Andre said. It looked like therewere a few places where you could clock in unobserved. But I still can’tbelieve that Cleopatra could be a ringer. She just seems so … genuine. It’sApollodorus I have my doubts about.”
“You know how long he’s been with her?” asked Delaney.
“Since she was sent into exile,” Andre said. “She says he’sserved her loyally ever since. He was the one who smuggled her in to seeCaesar.” She looked at Travers. “You were there, you must remember him.”
“Yes. I do,” said Travers. “and I’ve seen him a number oftimes since then, but I’ve never really spoken with him.”
“What’s their relationship like?” asked Lucas.
“He seems to be a bit more than just a servant or a slave,”said Andre. “He defers to her, of course. but I noticed that he does try tomanipulate her, though that can’t be easy. He’s clearly in charge of thehousehold. Cleopatra said something that I found very interesting. She’sconcerned about Caesar’s safety, but she said it was Apollodorus who suggestedshe present him with a bodyguard. And he picked the men himself.”
“That is interesting,” said Lucas. “We’ll have to keep acareful watch on him.”
“We’ve got Castelli and Corwin watching Marcian and Sabinus.”Delaney said. “That leaves Andell and Drummond free. We could assign them towork shifts on Apollodorus. Watch the house while he’s inside, follow him whenhe leaves.”
“Hell. I almost forgot to tell you,” Travers said. “WhenCorwin relieved Castelli early this morning and Castelli came in to get somesleep, he reported that Sabinus has apparently moved out of Marcian’s house andinto a small apartment in the Argiletum.”
“Isn’t that sort of a working-class district?” Lucas asked,frowning.
“It’s not one of Rome’s best neighborhoods.” Traversreplied.
“Odd place to live for a man who just won a bundle at the races,”said Delaney.
“That’s exactly what I was thinking,” Lucas said.
“I can’t shake the feeling that there’s something veryfamiliar about Sabinus,” Andre said. “I don’t know what it is. I don’t forgetfaces and I’m sure I’ve never seen his before, but there’s still something ….I don’t know. It’s just a feeling.”
Lucas glanced at Delaney. “Finn?”
Delaney shook his head. “He rang no bells with me, but thenI didn’t get a chance to talk to him. I was concentrating on Cassius and theothers.”
Andre shrugged. “Maybe I’m wrong. I don’t know, it’s justsort of a hunch ….”
“I’ve learned to respect your hunches.” Lucas said. “We’llleave Corwin on Marcian and have Castelli stay on Sabinus. We’ll need to bringin some more people to relieve them.”
“I’ll go wake up Castelli,” Travers said.
“No, let him sleep.” said Lucas. “There’s time. When hewakes up. tell him we’ll need a couple more T.O.’s transferred in.”
“Just two?” asked Travers.
“For now,” Lucas replied. “I’d like to keep the numbers manageable.The more people we bring in, the more chances we’re taking of disrupting thetimestream. We’re taking enough chances as it is, interacting with the mostpivotal characters in this temporal scenario. Let’s walk softly, okay?”
Travers nodded. “That makes good sense to me.”
“All right.” said Lucas. “In the meantime, there are severalthings we’ll need to do. First, we need to set up safe transition points foreach of us somewhere in this house. Someplace where well be able to clock in orout, any time of day or night, without alarming any of the household slaves andwith no chance of two people clocking in at the same time.”
“I’ve already anticipated you,” said Travers. “I keep only afew slaves and they’ve all got strict instructions not to enter my privaterooms unless they’re told to.” He grimaced. “I would have liked to dispensewith slaves
