The Gladiator by Simon Scarrow Read Free Book Online Page B

basilica.
    ‘Seems you’ve been lucky’ said Macro. ‘Not too much damage up here. ‘
    ‘Yes, sir. ‘ The optio glanced round. ‘But many of the lads were down in the town when the tremor struck. And after that, the wave. Still can’t account for over half of the cohort. ‘
    ‘Cohort? Which cohort is that?’ ‘Twelfth Hispania, sir. ‘ ‘Garrison troops?’ ‘For the last fifteen years, ‘ the optio conceded. ‘Before that the unit was on the Danuvius frontier. Before my time, though. ‘ ‘I see. ‘ Macro nodded. ‘And who is the commander here?’ ‘Prefect Lucius Calpurnius, but he’s up at Gortyna, the province’s capital, along with the rest of the quality. He left Centurion Portillus in charge while he was gone. ‘
    They entered the basilica, passing empty offices, and crossed the main hall to the suite of rooms on the far side. The optio paused outside an open door and rapped on the frame.
    ‘Come!’ a voice called out wearily.
    The optio indicated to his men to remain outside and led Sempronius and his companions into the prefect’s office. It was a large room with shuttered windows that looked out over the town towards the sea. Normally it would have been a fine view indeed, Cato reflected, but today the windows provided a panorama of destruction and suffering. In front of the windows, seated at a desk, was a thickset man in a red military tunic. He was completely bald and his features were heavily wrinkled. He squinted towards his visitors.
    ‘Yes? Oh, it’s you, Optio. Who are these men?’ ‘They approached the main gate, sir. ‘ The optio indicated Sempronius. ‘This gentleman claims to be a Roman senator, Caius Sempronius. He says the others are centurions. ‘
    ‘I see. ‘ Portillus squinted again, then rose from the chair and strode up to his guests, where he could examine them more closely. ‘So then, sir, might I ask what you are doing here in Matala?’
    ‘Certainly, ‘ Sempronius replied patiently. ‘We were on a ship bound for Rome.Yesterday evening we were struck by a giant wave just off the coast of Crete. ‘ ‘Where did the ship sail from?’ Portillus interrupted. ‘What port?’ ‘Caesarea, on the Syrian coast, ‘ Sempronius said at once. ‘Can the ship’s captain verify this?’ ‘The ship’s captain was swept away by the wave. But you can ask the first mate, if you feel you need to. ‘ ‘I may do that. Later. ‘ Portillus eyed them suspiciously for a moment. ‘I take it you have seen what the wave did to us here in Matala. Which rather begs the question, if it was powerful enough to destroy a town, then how did a simple ship manage to survive?’
    We bloody well nearly didn’t!’ Macro interrupted and then glared at Portillus. ‘Still,
you
seem to have come out of it untouched. Care to explain that, eh? Sitting pretty up here while everything goes to shit down there in what’s left of the town. ‘
    Sempronius laid his hand on Macros shoulder. ‘That’s enough. Centurion Portillus is right to be careful. There are bound to be plenty of people roaming the island in the days to come. They could claim to be anybody. All I have on my person to identify me is my senatorial ring. See here. ‘ He raised his hand for Portillus to examine closely.
    Portillus scratched his chin for a moment. ‘All right then, let’s agree for the moment that you are who you say you are. What are you doing here?’
    ‘It was the nearest port we could make for after we had repaired the damage as best we could, ‘ Sempronius explained. ‘We had hoped to have the ship made seaworthy again, or at least take passage in another and continue our voyage. But now, having seen what’s left of Matala, well, it’s clear that we will be stuck here until another ship arrives. In which case we will need accommodation while we wait.
    hoped to ask your commander for help, but it seems that he is away at the moment. ‘
    ‘That’s right. He went to the governor’s palace at