Tallis went home after patrolling Hammath with his men. Abigail noticed his stress the instant he walked into their courtyard. “Come with me, my love. I can make your troubles disappear.” She took her husband’s hand and led him into their main room.
“Not now, Abigail. This isn’t a good time to join you in bed.”
“It’s never the right time of late. Our mothers want to know when we will make them grandparents. What should I tell them? My husband worries too much, or is not interested in making them happy, or in pleasing his wife? Why is your soul so troubled, my dear? … Would you like me to fix you something to eat?”
Tallis stood there in a daze while his wife continued the conversation though he didn’t hear a word she said. “Would food make you feel better, or do you need someone to listen to your troubles? You can share your problems with me you know. … Let me rub your shoulders to help you relax.”
“My problems don’t concern you, my dear. Our relationship is good.”
“How can you say such a thing, Tallis? Every day you come home more stressed. Tell me what’s wrong. I’m your wife, your helpmate. Talking can ease your pain, and refresh your soul.”
Tallis continued to stand in the middle of the room. Do I confide in her or not? “You have to keep everything I tell you confidential for security sake, and don’t share anything with our mothers, the Rabbi, or anyone else either.”
“Are you saying I can’t keep your secrets to myself?”
“No. I’m not supposed to share sensitive information with anyone. I don’t want my own soldiers knowing everything going on at the moment either. Herod would execute me.”
Abigail smiled, wrapped her arms around her husband, and gazed into his eyes. “How can I help you when you don’t talk to me? Keeping everything inside while your thoughts race around in circles isn’t healthy. I promised to keep everything you tell me between God and the two of us.” Abigail walked to the table and patted a chair before sitting on the other one. “Tallis, come and sit down. We need to talk. Come. Stop pacing. Don’t you know my soul aches when I see you so upset? Sit down. Tell me your troubles.”
Tallis looked at his wife. She’s not giving up on this. The softness of her voice enticed him, and he sat on the vacant stool. “Do you give me your word you won’t share anything with our mothers or anyone else?”
“I promised you. You can trust me. Is this related to Kaleb’s letter and his appearance at our front door yesterday morning?”
Abigail’s voice had a hypnotic effect on her husband as he gave in to her request. “The Romans returned to the fortress today. It wasn’t good. Our Commander ordered five other Centuries to attend the meeting with us. I expected a training session as usual.” Tallis' face turned white as he reflected on the events he and his men observed. “Nikolaos told us he planned to teach everyone a lesson for the incident involving Kiva. We weren’t identified by name, but the entire Army knows what happened in Hammath on the Sabbath night.” Tallis began to tremble. Abigail stood and began to massage his neck and shoulders. “He blamed us for not preventing the incident. How were we supposed to know Kiva would go for a walk? Who would expect four men running along a street in the middle of the night to bump into an old man? … How did Nikolaos find out?” Tallis raised his voice as his anger grew. His headache returned. “Somebody had to tell the Commander. Otherwise, Kaleb wouldn’t have arrived on my doorstep yesterday morning with ten soldiers and their Decanus in tow.” Abigail jumped when Tallis drove his fist down on the tabletop.
Abigail kissed her husband’s cheek before she began to massage his aching shoulders again. “How did they punish you and your men?”
“Nikolaos had the Romans select two soldiers from those present. They bound their hands to posts driven into the ground. Then six of Gavius’s troops took turns whipping their backs until each fellow received twenty-one lashes. Our Commander ordered my Conturbenium to tend to them once the Romans cut them free.” Tallis sprung to his feet. “I don’t understand why our Commander decided to take such a drastic action.”
Abigail’s voice began to crack as her eyes began to water. “How can they do this? The Army can’t hold you responsible when you did nothing wrong, yet they blame you and your men for an accident occurring in the middle of the night.”
Tallis struggled to think of an appropriate response rather than blurting out the first thing popping into his mind. Did I share too much? My wife wants to help, but she looks overwhelmed. “Rome rules by fear, Abigail. This morning they shamed us by disciplining innocent men. Nikolaos wanted to send a message to each soldier, saying you better do your job. But their expectations aren’t realistic. Our Commander said future discipline would be more intense if we don’t squash the Zealots or anyone else causing trouble in our region.”
“That’s not fair.”
“Life’s not fair, dear. The Romans discipline their men, so they fear their officers and won’t desert. Today they went easy on us. Next time, someone will die.”
Abigail’s eyes opened wide as she took a deep breath. “I don’t know if I can handle this, Tallis. Can it get any worse?”
“There’s more. Kaleb told me once again, I may not become the Centurion when he retires. He also threatened me. Like he wrote in his letter. I could receive a discharge or demotion should the trouble in Hammath continue. But, after this morning’s ordeal, I fear for our lives, Abigail.” Tallis hugged his wife as she trembled and stared at the floor, tears flowing down her cheeks, and he wondered if he’d told her more than she could handle.
The couple stood in the middle of the room for some time, not speaking, their souls aching in unison as they held each other tight. “Why would they treat you this way, Tallis? How can anyone hold you and your soldiers responsible for every problem in Galilee? What will we do, and where can we go? No one will hide us. Herod and his men will find us and take everything we own. He’ll murder our family members.” Husband and wife began to sway, and Abigail couldn’t hold back her tears any longer.
“I don’t have time to worry what someone else might do. I question who is in charge in Galilee and Perea. Our Commander does the talking, but only after conferring with Gavius. Throughout our training session, their Centurion would speak to Nikolaos. He would then pass the message on to us. Somebody affiliated with Rome must pull the strings in Palestine. Now, I need some time alone. I have to create a series of new strategies before my soldiers, and I go back on patrol tonight.”
“I love you, Tallis. I hope our talk made you feel better.”
The Decanus didn’t reply as he sat down and moved the stool closer to the table. Abigail began to pray, asking God to protect her husband and his soldiers. Tallis hoped God would answer those prayers. His Conturbenium needed all the help they could get.
Sitting at the table, Tallis reflected on everything happening in Hammath and his life, wondering why so much trouble continued to occur in the village he and his men protected, rather than in Tiberias or the communities to the north. How did Kaleb and Nikolaos discover what went on every time a disaster occurs in our town? The Decanus didn’t have an answer to the question. He hadn’t sent runners to notify his superiors of any altercations. What if the Zealots work for Nikolaos? “What am I missing from my mental picture?” Abigail didn’t respond to her husband’s comment. Are the men who attacked us scouting out our community each night they spy on us? His head began to hurt. Where will the next attack come from? Will they switch tactics and cause trouble in some other town?
“The runners.”
“Did you say something, my love?”
“No Abigail. I’m thinking out loud. Sorry.” The tallest runner bothers me. Most Jews are short in stature. The gentiles tend to tower over them. Hilarion is tall. So is Zosimos, and they consider themselves Jewish. When Tallis asked his brothers where they were on a particular night, Hilarion claimed he’d been with Zosimos. They better get their stories straight. He didn’t think either sibling would hurt a flea, at least not on purpose.<
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Tallis stood and began to pace. He thought better when he did. What if our visitors received inside information and know our patrolling patterns in advance? This way they managed to avoid detection. Do we have spies in our midst? Does one or more of the Zealots live right under our noses? They must, but where would they live?
Tallis stopped, rubbed his chin. … I need to make some new friends. Someone residing in Hammath and another one or two people living in Tiberias. His siblings couldn’t remember where they were or who was with them. He needed someone he knew and could trust, a person familiar with the city. Both of his brothers know every street and alleyway in Hammath, but Tallis doubted they would spy on his soldiers. Are Zosimos and Hilarion traitors? Who do I know willing to help me? Tallis shook his head, upset with over all the questions spinning around in his brain, and the lack of answers.
The Decanus grabbed his weapons. “Abigail, I’m leaving to meet with my troops. Secure the door once I’m gone.” Tallis knew both brothers would love to see the Romans leave Palestine. Neither one cared for Herod, but their loyalty might change since they work the Tetrarch now. Should the government topple, every soldier in the Army would need to find another job. So might Zosimos and Hilarion. I need to find someone who’s trustworthy and living in Hammath.
Tallis found his soldiers huddled together inside the north gate, whispering amongst themselves, while they waited for their leader. There’s a chill in the air as winter approached. “Thank you for being on time. Before we begin our patrols, I want to discuss any plans and ideas Bazak and Shet came up with. What do the two of you have to share with us, Bazak?”
“We spent the afternoon talking and walking the streets of Hammath. Our goal is to continue working in pairs for safety, but we ought to change our patrol patterns and timing. Before tonight, each team patrolled assigned streets. We travel from one end to the other and back again. The two of us think we need to put more focus on protecting the village gates and the lakeshore since we know people enter the town by boat, while others escape through the gates. This way one team will always remain near the areas with the greatest potential for attack.”
“I like your ideas so far, Bazak.”
“We also need to adjust the way we patrol, Tallis. Change our timing, so anyone studying our movements can’t predict when we’ll arrive at particular locations. Make the element of surprise will work to our advantage.”
“Good thinking. I want to thank both of you for sharing your thoughts with us.” Tallis turned and looked at Tam. “What do you think? Will their ideas work for us and make everyone more efficient, and would you do anything different?”
“Varying the times we begin and end our patrols might help us. We always come on duty before sunset and go home at midnight. The entire town knows when and where we are when on duty. So far our troublemakers haven’t caused problems after we retire for the night, and we haven’t spotted anyone studying our movements. Instead, they hide in the shadow and catch us off-guard.”
“Excellent observation, Tam. Does anyone else want to share something or add to our discussion? … No? Then let’s put Shet and Bazak’s ideas into practice. We can make modifications depending on the circumstances when needed.”
Tallis changed how his men paired up while retaining five teams, giving each their assignment before sending them out to protect the community. He hoped this worked. Involving his soldiers in the planning process will build their confidence when they have a voice in their jobs.
The first rotation through Hammath went according to plan. Each team followed their assignments to perfection. They also remembered to switch directions and patrol the lakeshore on alternate trips through the village. As the night progressed, the pairs continued to change their patterns so anyone spying on them wouldn’t know the exact routes taken. Tallis noticed the morale of his troops also improved as the evening progressed. He chalked this blessing up to involving them in the decision of how they protected their town.
As midnight approached, Tallis gathered his Conturbenium near the tower at the east end of the north wall and hoped the residents felt more secure tonight. “Men, you performed your duties well today. I’m proud to serve as your leader. Let’s pray tomorrow passes without incident. With luck, the rainy season will arrive so we can cut back our night patrols.” The Decanus smiled at each man before continuing. “One more thing. Should you run into trouble, you may use any means necessary to control the situation. Kaleb would prefer we capture our insurgents rather than kill them, but you’re free to take any action depending upon your circumstances. Remember to sound the alarm if you see or hear anything unusual tonight. It’s been a long day. Let’s go home and get some sleep. I’ll see everyone in the morning.”
Chapter 10
Watch Your Back Page 9
