Гладиатор
The Spaniard and the Crowd
I’mafraidtogooutafterdark,"saidGaius.
"Youshouldbemoreafraidintheday,"saidGracchus."TheSenateisfullofFalco’sspies."HetookaglassofwineandsatnexttoLucilla."WhatisinCommodus’smind?Thesegamesareallheseemstocareabout."
"Andhowishepayingforthem?"askedGaius."Theymustcostafortuneeachday,butwehavenonewtaxes."
"Thefutureispaying,"Lucillaanswered."He’sstartedsellingthewheatwehavesaved.Intwoyearstimethepeoplewilldieofhunger.Ihopethey’reenjoyingthegamesnowbecausesoonthesegameswillbethereasontheirchildrenaredead."
"Thiscan’tbetrue,"saidGaius."Romemustknowthis."
"Andwhowilltellthem?"askedLucilla."You,Gaius?Oryou,Gracchus?WillyoumakeaspeechintheSenateandthenseeyourfamilykilledintheColosseum?"Shelookedfromonemantotheother."Hemustdie,"shesaid.
"Quintusandtheguardswouldtakecontrolthemselves,"saidGaius.
"Andwehaven’tgotenoughmen.Thearmymaynotbeloyaltous,"saidGracchus."No,wemustwait,prepare,andbeready.Wecandonothingwhilehehasthesupportofthepeople.Buteverydayhemakesmoreenemies.Onedayhewillhavemoreenemiesthanfriends,andthenwewillstrike.Untilthen,wemustbepatient."
***
ProximoandhisgladiatorswerenearRomebylateafternoon.Proximocouldseethatsomethinghadchangedsinceheleftfiveyearsbefore.Romehadbecomeanarmycamp.
Whentheywereinsidethecitywalls,henoticedotherthings.Thecitywaspooreranddirtierthanherememberedit.
