Praetorian Series [4] All Roads Lead to Rome (62 page)

“Yeah,” Stryker responded, turning to her.  “Why do you care?”

“I’m staying too,” she announced timidly.

I caught a grin spreading across Bordeaux’s face.  “
L’amour
…”

“Please…” Stryker said with a groan.

“Any particular reason?”  I asked him, curious.

He shrugged.  “Nothing particular about it.  I just don’t want to go home.  Place is hell.  Cuyler’s more than welcome to go home out of a sense of duty, but I didn’t fight because of duty, I fought out of desperation.  No family, few friends.  I don’t owe anyone anything back there.  Besides… I think I could do well here.”

“Very mercenary,” Santino indicated, but there wasn’t any snark in his tone.

Stryker shrugged again but didn’t elaborate.  He’d said enough.

I nodded, shifting my attention to Brewster.  “And you?”

“I like it here,” she said immediately, her voice almost chipper.

“You…” Wang said as though still processing her declaration, “… like it here?”

“Sure,” she said.  “Well, I didn’t like Agrippina and I could do without all the drama and politics, but… look at this place.  It’s gorgeous.  And relatively peaceful now.  I could make a life here.”

“More power to you,” Helena mumbled, and I couldn’t help but agree.

“Well,” I said, “enjoy your lives here then.  I’m sure you can put your considerable talents to good use.  Just try to stay out of trouble.” 

Stryker winked and Brewster smiled mischievously, and I couldn’t help but smile as well.  This timeline was out of my hands now, free to be molded as it chose even if Stryker, Brewster, and Bordeaux were a part of it.  At the very least, it would be unique.

“All right then,” I continued, “who’s left?”

Eyes flitted about, searching for a potential candidate.  Gaius and Marcus were the obvious answers, but most everyone’s attention drifted toward Titus next and not the pair of Praetorians.  That’s where my eyes went as well, but I wasn’t thrilled with the idea of direct conversation with the young man.  He hadn’t said much to me in the few weeks since Artie’s disappearance, and was clearly still grieving over the loss of his father.

But it would have seemed patronizing to have someone else ask.

“What about you, Titus?”  I asked.  “What will you do?”

“Go east and find my family.  Mother must be extremely worried, and I haven’t seen Brian Wilson in far too long.  And… I have to tell them about father.”

I swallowed hard, the mention of Vincent’s son catching me off guard and stinging deep.  Vincent always had a thing for the Beach Boys, and had named his son for the group’s lead vocalist.  It had been a quirky name choice but one Vincent had been proud of.

I swallowed again, forcing myself to say something, but knowing I couldn’t keep apologizing forever.  “If there’s anything we can do to help, please, just…”

“You’ve done more than enough, Hunter,” he said, obviously doing everything he could to keep his voice emotionless, but failing just a little.  He hadn’t moved his head the entire time, and even now he continued his inspection of the ground.  I gazed at him, unable to take my eyes off him, realizing that this had been the first time he’d ever referred to me by my last name alone.  That realization was telling enough.  I didn’t think any of us had come out of this whole ordeal completely unscathed, but it was clear that some of us had come out of it worse than others. 

Some, maybe, worse than even me.

With another breath, I forced myself to look away.

And that left two.

“Gaius?”  I started.  “Marcus?  What about the two of you?”

“Yeah,” Santino picked up, his voice somewhat perky again.  “Everyone’s
dying
to know.”

It was true.  The two Romans had often voiced interest in joining us on our return trip to the future.  For a long time, not knowing how the orbs worked, I hadn’t been sure if such a thing was possible, but now I knew it certainly was.  They had as much reason as the rest of us to be distrustful of Roman government, seeing its corruption first hand as Agrippina had retooled her Praetorian Guard into a paramilitary, assassination task force, instead of the protectors they were meant to be.

They glanced at each other, and I wondered if they were telepathically transmitting information to one another.  The pair had always seemed joined at the hip.  They were more than simple comrades, but brothers, partners in crime like any good dynamic duo.  If anything was certain, they’d be of like mind in their decision.

After a second, Marcus nodded, deferring to Gaius, as he often did.

Gaius returned it and looked at me.  “We will remain, Jacob.”

“Oh, no!”  Santino exclaimed, throwing his hands over his head and burying his face between his biceps.

Marcus smiled.  “I did not think you would miss us so much.”

“It’s not that,” he said around mock sniffles.  “Now I owe Wang a lot of money when we get home.”

Marcus’ smile immediately turned into a frown, no stranger to a good wager, and turned to Wang.  “You bet against us?”

Wang smiled victoriously.  “No offense, mate.  Besides, I didn’t bet against you.  I bet against Santino.”

Marcus flicked his eyebrows up and nodded to himself in agreement, knowing, just as the rest of us did, that Santino often bet poorly.  I smiled at the exchange, but then continued questioning Gaius.

“What prompted this decision?  You guys always seemed extremely interested in seeing the future.”

“We were and still are,” he indicated, “but recent developments have changed that.”

“Oh?”  I asked.

He nodded.  “Like Alex, we are drawn to a sense of duty.  The Praetorian Guard may be corrupt but it must not always be, and… and Vespasian offered us leadership of the entire contingent.  He’s appointed Marcus and me prefects, to act as its leaders together, just as he and Galba will rule Rome.”

“Whoa,” Santino exclaimed. 

“That’s quite the promotion,” I said.  “With a lot of responsibility.  Are you sure you’re up for it?”

They nodded, and Marcus answered.  “We are.  We see what the guard has become and we were there at the beginning.  We feel at fault for not doing more to protect its integrity.  It will be a great honor to rebuild it.”

Helena nodded beside me.  “I can’t think of anybody more deserving than you two.”

Gaius dipped his head.  “Our thanks, Helena.  Your approval is most appreciated.”

“Well,” I said, “I know I’ll miss you two.  I think everyone will.”

“I will not,” Bordeaux said happily.  “I will visit at every opportunity.”

The two Romans smiled.

“You would be most welcome,” Marcus said, repeating Bordeaux’ line from earlier.

I smiled too, almost unable to believe that we’d reached this point.  We were
this
close to wrapping this whole story up.  After everything we’d been through, we’d almost reached the end.  There was just one last loose end to tie up, but before I could get to that, Santino rose to his feet.

“I guess we’re done then,” he said glumly.  “Too bad.  I’m sure going to miss these little meetings where we all sit around and discuss stuff.”

I smirked.  “I don’t think
anyone’s
going to miss those.  In any case, we’re only
almost
done.”  I turned to Gaius.  “What’s the status of my package?”

He tilted his head from side to side in consideration.  “Earliest arrival could be in two days, but I would estimate six.”

“Another week then,” I said quietly.  “I guess another week is good enough.  And I intend to spend half of it in a bath.  But first thing’s first…”  I turned to Cuyler.  “You’re the odd man out.  When do you want to go home?”

“Tomorrow,” he said.

I was slightly surprised by the immediacy of his decision, but I didn’t blame him either.

“All right,” I said.  “Tomorrow.  I’ll see you then.  Everyone else, enjoy the rest of your day, I guess.”

***

Tomorrow, which was now today, had come surprisingly quick.

It hadn’t helped that Titus had decided there was little keeping him in Rome anymore, opting to leave almost immediately following our get together.  It had been a bitter sweet goodbye, with hugs and kisses all around, although I held back from the festivities.  He’d bid everyone farewell, loaded up a cart with some supplies and hitched up a few extra horses we wouldn’t need anymore, and had left.  It hadn’t been a joyful occasion and his departure had been completely without celebration, but it also had a hefty sense of finality to it, as though his departure, the first of many, staked the true beginning of the end to all this.

It was all starting to finally hit me.

Earlier today, Cuyler, Helena, and I had left Rome on foot, carrying nothing more than what we could carry on our backs, but equipped in our full combat gear.  I wore my Kevlar lined and protective gel pad equipped combat pants and fatigues, had a spare rifle in hand, a magazine of ammunition from our nearly depleted supply, a large pack on my back that could keep me supplied for at least three days, and my cane.  Cuyler was similarly equipped.  He was going home, but if somehow I ended up stuck there as well, I wanted a fighting chance of getting myself unstuck.

Helena, however, would stay behind.  She hadn’t been happy with the decision, but after I’d explained to her how crucial she was in my handling of the orb, acting as the beacon I needed to find my way home, she’d reluctantly agreed.

And then there were the orbs, tucked away in a butt pack that bounced reassuringly against my boney ass that was just beginning to fill out my pants again after a few weeks of a not-so-healthy diet.  Helena would never let me get fat, but I had to cultivate mass somehow, and a strict diet of wine, meat, cheese, and Roman desserts had me well on my way.  Roman food sure wasn’t McDonalds, but eating a lot of it made me feel better all the same.

Maybe that’s how the blue orb worked: suppresses the appetite so the recipient is just cranky all the time, leading them down the dark path to Crazyland…

It made sense.

If I couldn’t joke about it now, I’d never get over it.

At least that’s what Dr. Santino had said.

We’d only been on the road for about an hour when we hopped off the
Via Cassia
and trekked through the bush for another thirty minutes.  It was then that Cuyler called for a halt.

I looked around, seeing nothing but a forest.

“Think this is remote enough?”  I asked.

“It should be,” he answered, glancing around as well.  “Intel on the Italian Peninsula indicates it is mostly rural and that most major cities haven’t expanded in centuries.  The locals have kept their cities… quaint.”

“Sounds familiar,” I said, kicking at the ground a bit before looking up at him.  “You sure you’ll be all right?”

He nodded.  “Western Europe remains predominantly Caucasian.  In many cases, Islamic persuasion simply spread on its own, no conquering necessary, so I should be able to blend in.  Either way, I’ll make it.”

Of that, I was certain.  I had no idea about the particular sniper qualifications in the military he owed allegiance to, but he’d proven himself quite proficient in all of its arts.  He was a sniper through and through, just like me.  The guy would bear crawl through China if that was his best route home, traveling only at night, spending his days sleeping in a pool of mud with nothing but a hollow reed to use as a snorkel, and if no reed was available, he’d simply sleep underwater for the day, surviving until nightfall, before emerging from his watery grave like some kind of amphibian, rested and ready to move on.

It’s what snipers did.

But he didn’t need any reassurance from me, so I simply reached behind me and pulled the orbs from my bag.  I made skin contact with them both, no longer concerned about accidental uses or activating them by mistake.  Ever since I’d received the miniscule amount of tutelage I’d experienced under Remus and Merlin, I felt confident in my use of them.  I didn’t know where that confidence came from, but I felt it nonetheless, and that sureness was only amplified as I held the orbs and gazed into their cool interiors.  The blue, as always, swirled with cloud like grace, while the red had a molten appearance, like a lava flow.  I felt nothing in their presence, nothing except the emotions and thoughts I called my own, the ones instilled in me from birth through the cumulative experiences of life.

And at the moment, even those felt pretty good.

I was ready.

I turned to Cuyler.  “Last chance.  I’m ninety nine percent sure I can get you home, but once I leave you there, I probably won’t be coming back.”

“I’m certain.  This was quite the adventure, one that I will never forget, but it’s time to go home.”

“What are you going to tell them?”  Helena asked from beside me.  “Your superiors, I mean, when you make it home?”

He shrugged.  “The truth, I suppose.”  He smirked.  “Mostly the truth.”

“Probably for the best,” I admitted as I set my shoulders and gripped the orbs a little tighter.  “Ready?”