VIII
Betrayal
Rome, Italy
November, 37 A.D.
“Three hundred men?! Against two thousand?!” I shouted. “Have you people no sense of loyalty? There’s no way we can hold out against that many, especially when they’re aided by a mob of…”
Vincent motioned for me to calm down. “Settle down, Hunter. You’re not helping. Centurion, give me your strategic appraisal of the situation. Where are the remaining cohorts?”
“Two are on a training detail in the south, three are occupied on courier missions, and the remaining two are split up protecting various imperial family members, scattered throughout Italy.”
“Shouldn’t there be three cohorts in Rome?” Vincent asked.
Quintilius shrugged. “There were, but we have been busy and we didn’t plan our training schedule properly. We’re stretched thin.”
I scoffed, completely flabbergasted at the entire situation.
Vincent’s look told me to shut up. “What about your tactical assessment, Centurion?”
Quintilius wasted no time thinking it over. “We can hold out here for a while. I’ve called for the rest of my century to get here as soon as they can. I am unaware as to the situation of the other cohorts outside the city, but we cannot count on their help tonight. I will post a maniple of men in the courtyard, with a century in reserve. Our reinforcements will take up positions in the halls.”
That would put just under two hundred men outside, with another eighty behind them, and the remaining century in the house.
“With your permission,” he continued, “I would ask you to remain here, and provide support for my men. Hopefully, we will be able to inflict enough casualties to make them rethink their position, and have them disperse. Even two thousand men will have trouble taking this position, especially with your help.” He paused, a look of uncertainty crossing his face. “I know of your abilities, but am uncertain of your tactics. What exactly can you do for us?”
“First of all, tell your men not to attack mine, they will be leaving the house for a few minutes.”
He nodded, sending Marcus to inform the men outside.
“Santino, Bordeaux, get over here.”
The two men complied, stopping before Vincent at attention.
“Santino, gather up all the remaining claymores we have, and plant them along the streets the mob will most likely be using. Set them up at intervals so that they don’t all go off at once.”
The man saluted, and went off to collect his charges.
“Bordeaux, do I even need to ask if you brought plenty of explosives?”
“Non.”
“Good. Line the hallways with C-4. Not a lot, we don’t want to collapse the house, but enough to put some serious dents in the enemy’s lines should they make it inside. Place additional charges outside along the interior of the courtyard.”
Bordeaux nodded, and went to work.
“What are you having them do?” Quintilius asked.
“You were at our demonstration. Remember the column?”
Quintilius’ face immediately brightened, a shred of hope emerging.
“Tell your men to not wander far from the house, and make sure you redirect your remaining ones to arrive from the rear.”
That would be difficult. The back of the house was a steep hill, perfect for Helena’s sniper perch, but not for a reinforcing army.
“The rest of us will provide fire support. When they reach the house, stay low, and we’ll fire over you. If things get really bad, fall back and shield us while we put them down with sustained weapons fire. Remember the armor sets?”
Apparently the man did. Practically laughing, he struggled to salute before running off to inform his soldiers of our plans.
By the time Santino and Bordeaux returned, Wang had completed his setup and began a cursory inspection of Caligula’s vitals at regular intervals, looking for signs of improvement. I looked at him and he shook his head. We’d have to wait awhile before he found any.
“So, what now?” Santino asked.
“Okay. Here’s the plan.” Vincent laid out his thoughts as clearly as he could. “Bordeaux, I want you upfront with the Romans. Provide as much support as you can from your position, but for the love of God, don’t get yourself killed. When things get bad, fall back. Santino and I will take up positions here, at the main doorway, and wait for you to fall back. Hunter, hang back with Strauss and provide additional sniper support from her position. From the looks of it, you two will have a decent angle on the mob’s flank. Try and make your shots count. If things start to get really bad, we’ll pack up Caligula, and move him out the back as quickly as possible. Make no mistake, we are now outlaws, and even if we get Caligula out of here and healthy again, we’ll be doing nothing but setting up a splinter government. If that happens, our best bet is to get in contact with the legions.”
“Sir!” Helena called from her balcony. “We’ve got friendlies incoming. Six o’clock.”
“Good. Direct them to the front.” He turned back to us. “Any questions?”
We shook our heads, and made our way to our assigned positions. Eighty Praetorians shuffled past me, and I had to push through them just to get to the balcony. Still shaking my head, I fought my way through and made my way to Helena’s position, thinking about how this wasn’t going to be a fight, but a slaughter.
I’d had to kill civilians before, but never unarmed ones and each time I did, it was because I had a legitimate reason. Either I was going to die, or they were, and I never hesitated. The men coming for us were armed with pitch forks and torches like something out of an old black and white movie – a mob of villagers storming the steps of Nosferatu’s castle.
They didn’t have a chance, and I wasn’t going to shoot them unless I felt threatened.
Reaching the balcony, I unslung Penelope, and released the spring keeping her bipod’s legs parallel to the barrel. They snapped into a V formation, and I rested them on the banister, giving me a platform to peer through my Version II Modular Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight. The VerII ACOG was a top of the line combat sight. It had a modular zoom from 1-power to 8-power, perfect for close range fighting and distance shooting. It was slightly longer and thicker than an ACOG from ten years ago, but it was no more cumbersome. A simple touch interface along the side allowed for a single finger to slide along the exterior of the sight to determine the magnification. It was more a camera than a magnifier. It was a major step forward in weapon optics versatility, and its night vision capabilities made it an all-in-one purpose scope. It had been damn pricy, but I loved it.
“So what’s the plan?” Helena asked. “And what’s wrong?”
I had to smile a bit, despite the situation. It was nice to know she cared. “We’re going to slaughter them. All of them. And for what? To save a man who will probably turn out all right anyway? I don’t understand what Vincent’s doing. We’ve already fucked up so much.” I sighed, knowing I had to clear my head before others had to start relying on me. It wouldn’t be fair to them. “Sorry. I guess none of that matters.”
She continued to look through her scope. “It’s nice to know you’re not just going to fold up and let us get killed, especially me. Now, what does Vincent want us to do?”
“About what you’d expect,” I answered. “Protect our flanks by keeping them from wanting to come this way. If any of them stray in our direction, we take them out. I don’t know about you, but I’m not going to sit up here and pick off civilians. I’m targeting officers first, soldiers second, and only those civilians I deem an immediate threat last. If we can thin out the soldiers, our buddies out front can probably hold against the civilians all night.”
She looked at me with concern in her eyes, and I couldn’t help but notice her hands were shaking. “As simple as that?” She asked.
I tried to put on a sympathetic face. “It’s
never that simple, Helena. It’s damn complicated actually, but if we don’t do what we can here, we may not make it home to regret it later.”
She nodded a few moments later, turning her attention back to her rifle and fidgeted with her scope.