presiding over Mass on Sundays didn’t help much, either.”
“There’s just no fooling you, is there?”
I shrugged, immediately regretting it.
“Well… you’re right. I am no priest. I’ve spent my entire life since leaving the Swiss military in the Pope’s Swiss Guard, and I’ve spent more time in the Vatican than I have anywhere else. The Pope himself suggested the idea that we have a member of the clergy on the team, and he wanted me ordained, but I told him no.” He sighed. “I’ve felt lots of things in my life, but never the calling to become a priest. Pope Gregory understood the sentiment, himself not having felt the call until somewhat later in his life. Instead, knowing I was the most experienced and willing man for the post, he gave me his blessing to assume the role, to act as a symbol and a reminder of who and what we were working for.” He stopped himself, and looked at the floor again. “I guess there’s no need to keep pretending then, is there? Ancient Rome has no need for Catholic priests. Especially phony ones.”
“That doesn’t exactly sound like something a pope would just allow,” I said, skeptically.
“Desperate situations call for desperate answers, Jacob. Not many priests are fit for military duty.”
“So, why didn’t you go through with it?” Helena asked.
He looked thoughtful as he glanced at her, his look lingering ever so slightly. “I think it’s because I still want to have a family of my own, one day. I’m not that old, you know.”
“Why didn’t you tell us?” I asked.
He sighed. “At eighteen our convictions are a hill from which to look out from, at forty five they are a cave in which to hide.”
I squinted. “Hemingway?”
“Fitzgerald,” Helena answered for him with a smirk. “F. Scott.”
I returned the look. “Smart ass.”
Vincent smiled at us. “Were I a younger man, I may have come out with it, but time slows us down. Helps us think. Makes us patient. Hell,” he paused, suddenly taking a moment to ponder his next thought. After an awkward moment, he continued, “Hell, were I a younger man, I may have taken my vows. Either way, it seemed best to keep my cover locked in a cave until you figured it out for yourself.”
“Seems this outfit is full of surprises,” I said. “What’s next? Is Santino really a cross dresser?”
“I heard that,” said a weak and raspy voice, “and could you keep it down? I’m trying to sleep.”
The three of us turned to look over at Santino, who had his eyes open, but kept his head facing towards the roof of the tent. Helena pulled her chair next to him, and gripped his hand.
“How are you feeling?” She asked.
“Like I was just crucified. Oh, wait. Remind me not to let that happen again.”
Helena smiled down at him. “Well, it’s nice to see you haven’t lost your charming personality.”
I saw Santino’s jaw working, and I assumed he was trying to keep his mouth from drying up, but then it looked like he was almost going to cry.
“I lost my knife,” he said, as though it had been his mother.
“Don’t worry,” Helena told him, “we’ll get you another one. A bigger one. I promise.”
“Oh, that’s nice…” he muttered, slowly drifting unconscious again.
“Get better, John,” Helena told him, leaning down to give him a quick peck on the lips.
“I could get used to that,” he mumbled as his small smile faded along with his consciousness.
“So are you upset with me?” Vincent asked as Helena returned to my side
“No.” I answered firmly. “I’m a military man. I’m used to my commanders lying to me.”
“And you?” He asked, looking at Helena.
She considered for a moment. “No, sir.”
“Good. I was hoping you’d say that, the both of you. Honestly, I feel quite relieved. Maybe I can curse every once in a while now.”
“That would be refreshing, sir, and since you’re here, mind telling me how and why you came to rescue us?”
“It was Helena’s idea,” he answered immediately. “After you left, she came to me and voiced her dissent of the mission. She explained how you admitted to her that you didn’t trust Agrippina, and that you knew something was off about the mission. However, since you couldn’t refuse to help a grieving mother, you hoped to expose her plot by going through with it.”
“I said all that, huh?” I asked, looking up at Helena. She gave me a look that suggested I shut the hell up and roll with it.
“So, once the legion arrived outside of Rome a few days later, and after you hadn’t reported in, I asked Caligula if we could go in under cover of an artillery barrage, and get you out. He was reluctant to condone such an action, but in the end, decided it would send a strong message to the city’s inhabitants. So he agreed, and even offered a contingent of his own troops to help.”
“How did you find us?”
“After we snuck through one of the gates,” Helena answered for him, “we asked some folks along the way for directions. They were very forthcoming. Besides, we had Santino’s UAV.”
“Ah, right.” I took a deep breath, feeling the need for sleep wash over me. “Thanks.”
Vincent smiled, and patted me on the shoulder. “Get some rest. We’re going to need you one of these days.” He nodded to Helena, and left the tent.
She watched him go. “Didn’t see that coming.”
“Yah,” I replied. “Me neither, but I’m getting pretty good at reading people these days.”
I thought about Agrippina, and how I was certain she was implicated in Santino and I getting our asses kicked and how she had so easily played us. I hadn’t seen her clearly in that moment before I fell unconscious, but I knew it had to be her.
“Then again, maybe I’m not,” I thought out loud.
Helena reached over and intertwined her fingers through my own. I looked over at her, and saw the same bloodshot and puffy eyes I had seen the day I left for Rome. I felt just as sleepy as she looked, but I finally found the strength to reach a hand up and grab her head. I stared at her for only a moment before I pulled her towards me. “Come here.”
She didn’t resist and I brought her into another kiss, this one sweeter and more intoxicating than the last. Helena was right. We’d danced around our feelings and emotions for far too long. I’ve cared for her just as long as she has for me, probably longer. She pulled back after a few moments and kissed me lightly on the forehead.
“Like I said before Vincent arrived, you’re heading in the right direction, back into the man I cared for. For you to admit that you were wrong was a huge step. You’re words and attitude are far more compelling than your face ever was, and I want to be there to help.” She smirked. “No offense.”
I looked at her happily, more happy than I’d been in a long, long time. “When was the last time you got some sleep, Helena?” I asked her.
She looked around. “Um, I’m not sure. I’ve drifted off here and there since you were brought in, but I’ve only left the tent a few times and only for a few minutes.”
I squeezed her hand. “Well, drag a table over here, grab a blanket, and join me for a nap.”
She smiled, sweetly. “I’d like that.”
***
The nice thing about sieges was that there really wasn’t much to do.
After I’d awoken for the second time, this time with Helena deep in sleep beside me, her head resting on my chest lovingly, I was still too weak to move. It left me with plenty of time to think, and one of the things that hit me hard was the fact that Santino and I had failed our mission. Not only had we been tricked by Agrippina into participating in her so called humanitarian mission, an embarrassing defeat in itself, but we also failed to secure the demolition along the walls, which would have ended this mess a lot quicker.
Instead, I woke up to find myself in the middle of a siege, a military blockade of an enemy city with the sole purpose of starving the city into fighting or surrendering. Sieges could last for a year, waste precious time, and never left the disgruntled innocent bystanders of the besieged city all that happy should there be a change in leadership. What made me feel worse was the fact I had failed a personal request from Caligula himself. I
