INCEPTIO (Roma Nova)

by Alison Morton

  ‘Then bloody Lurio prances in and announces you’re the undercover agent. Jupiter’s balls! What in Hades possessed you?’

  I wasn’t going to say anything. I’d tried once, from my sick bed.

  ‘And how did you learn to fight like that?’

  ‘After Renschman tried to kill me in the park, I learned to protect myself.’

  ‘That’s it?’

  We stared at each other. He looked down at the file on his desk and waved his hand over it.

  ‘How can this be you? I’d be extremely pleased if one of my field officers did this type of work.’

  ‘Strangely enough, people outside the PGSF are perfectly capable of producing results.’

  ‘Don’t be bloody sarcastic with me.’

  ‘Sorry, sir. You asked.’

  ‘Hmm. You’ve learned to be insolent like them, I see.’

  I said nothing.

  ‘And that business with Renschman. Why in Hades didn’t you tell me?’

  ‘Not my call.’

  ‘You’re totally impossible.’

  ‘No, I’m not. You just can’t accept it. Imagine how I felt facing up to him. But I did it. He was a dirty bully and I had my revenge. And now he’s going down.’

  He looked down at the file again for a minute, and glanced back up through his eyelashes. Did he realise the effect that had? I tamped it down.

  ‘If you were anybody else, I’d apply to have you transferred immediately into the PGSF.’

  Cold rushed through me. No. I couldn’t be shuttled from one service to another. Could I?

  ‘You can’t do that,’ I croaked.

  He leaned back in his chair and smiled. Not a pleasant smile.

  ‘Actually, I can. Then we’d find out what you’re made of.’

  It was one of those ‘Superman, save me’ moments. I couldn’t find words, even in my head, to describe the dread of that prospect. And my anger.

  ‘Contrary to the delight almost everybody else would show at such an invitation, you don’t seem very happy about it,’ he said. He was right. Most people would move mountains to join the elite PGSF.

  ‘No. I like it where I am.’

  He laughed. ‘Not up to it?’

  ‘Not a problem. I’d go up against anybody. No, it’s…’

  ‘Yes?’ He smirked.

  I wanted to slap it off his face. ‘If you want the truth, I don’t like the idea of being surrounded by arrogant, brutal morons so up themselves they can hardly breathe. Sir.’

  His face darkened. ‘Is that really what you think of us?’

  ‘That’s my experience so far.’

  ‘You’re wrong.’

  ‘Probably. It’s always me that’s wrong, isn’t it? You can’t possibly make a mistake, can you?’

  ‘Don’t be so bloody stupid.’

  ‘Like I said – arrogant.’

  We glowered at each other.

  It was at that precise moment the door opened and Lurio marched in. Thank Juno.

  ‘Major.’

  ‘Inspector.’

  They didn’t bristle or circle each other but, if they’d been a few steps down the food chain, that’s exactly how I would have described it. They stared each other out for a full minute. Then Lurio walked forward, braced his hands on the desk and bent down to within centimetres of Conrad’s face.

  ‘If you want to talk to any of my people, put in a formal request. Got it?’

  ‘Get your attitude out of my face, Inspector.’

  Lurio stood back and, without turning, said, ‘Okay, Bruna, get going.’

  I was out before I could take a full breath. I stood in the corridor trembling, looking down at the wood floor. I heard the door open and shut again.

  ‘Take me home, Lurio. Now,’ I whispered.

  ‘Keep it together till we get out of here.’

  At the apartment, we made for my bedroom, where we had the most shattering sex ever. He stroked my back and head afterward while I told him about my interview with Conrad.

  ‘You know something, Cara Bruna?’ he said, his finger touching the tip of my nose. ‘You are the most tremendous fuck I’ve ever had and I’m going to miss that.’

  How coarse he could be, but it was a great compliment from him. ‘What do you mean “going to miss that”?’

  ‘After the trials next week you’ll be free to go home.’

  LXIII

  The evening before my first day in court, I tried on my dark navy uniform jacket and skirt; it looked smart. When I turned in front of the mirror to check the fit, Lurio said, ‘Yes, yes, you look very nice. Now get it off or it’s going to get creased.’

  I’d been briefed on the procedure by a legal type and had her support before going in, but it was still intimidating. I had never been inside a courtroom in America. My life there had been excruciatingly ordinary, with not even a jaywalking ticket. Here, a dark oak, carved dais for the judges and the examining magistrate hovered above the rest of the mortals, dominating an elaborately decorated witness box and benches where the defendants and their lawyers sat. A scattering of uniforms broke up the overwhelming civilian presence in the audience area. Many were media, national and international, invited here to push the message of how severely the Roma Nova authorities punished drug dealers. I was screened from them, but not from the officials or defendants, in a smartplex box under the pseudonym of ‘Officer B’.

  My written deposition had been filed Friday and I was asked to clarify various points. The defence lawyer tried some fancy stuff, but the magistrate told him to stick to the point. They were big on making long speeches, though, but I spoke simply as advised by the legal team. Palicek, Renschman and friends sat impassive most of the time on their bench, but Palicek threw me a poison look when I said my piece about the two meetings. Renschman? If doing hard labour in a tough prison gave him an inkling of the terror and pain he’d made me endure then I wouldn’t be too unhappy about it.

  They went down for twenty-five years each, and I went home.

  On my way, I returned to Lurio’s apartment by myself to collect my things; he’d gone directly to report to Aemilia Fulvia. I hesitated before dropping the keys through his mailbox. I didn’t know if I wanted to stay or go.

  Junia welcomed me back to Domus Mitelarum. I breathed in the familiar smells: polished wood, honey, even the stone and marble gave out a subtle scent. Over dinner, I told Nonna everything, except for the sex with Lurio. She had it out of me eventually. Going up against Aurelia Mitela was never a smart idea.

  ‘I don’t know if I feel guilty, defiant or couldn’t care less. It seemed the natural thing to do at the time, I was so lonely.’

  She put her hand over mine. ‘Carina, you don’t need to be so defensive. It’s always your choice.’

  ‘I’m so ticked off with Conrad, Nonna. He can’t seem to accept what I did professionally. But Lurio thinks he’ll try again to transfer me into the PGSF. Can you imagine how difficult it would be, working with Conrad like that?’

  ‘He’s due here tomorrow evening. Why don’t you talk to him then?’

  I really didn’t want to see him. I would go out tomorrow.

  Later, I tapped on Helena’s door.

  She stared at me, her eyes widened in surprise. Then she grinned.

  ‘Carina! Come in. Brilliant to see you back.’

  She poured out a glass of wine, handed it to me, and looked me up and down.

  ‘Nice uniform. You look fit. Having lots of sex?’

  Heat flooded my face. Would I ever get used to this frankness?

  ‘So that’s a yes. Who is he? Tell me everything.’

  I managed to fend off most of the personal questions and gave her a strongly edited version.

  ‘So Goldlights is closed? Really? I’d heard it’d recently been refurbished.’ She went over to her terminal and loaded the site. I looked over her shoulder. It was under new management and had reopened two days ago.

  I drove into the DJ building next day in my own
car and parked in the visitors’ lot. No sign of Sentius in the Organised Crime Division, so I sat down at my desk and logged on to my account. Among the crowd of infomails was one message all printed in capitals. Such subtlety could only be from Lurio. I answered it then went to find some coffee. The section inspector invited me into her office and offered me a honey-coated biscuit – apparently a sign of great honour. After five minutes, I was on the point of excusing myself to check if Lurio had replied when the door opened abruptly and he strode in.

  He nodded to the section inspector then said, ‘You’re not being paid to sit on your arse, Bruna. Come with me.’

  I mouthed ‘thanks’ to the section inspector, and hurried after him.

  ‘What?’ I said as we walked along the corridor.

  He raised an eyebrow.

  I sighed. ‘What, sir?’

  ‘Upstairs.’

  In his office, he flung himself into his chair.

  ‘Aemilia wants to see you, but first, why did you leave so abruptly?’

  ‘Isn’t that what you wanted? You know, clean break.’

  ‘No, it’s what I feared.’

  His face was rigid, the light eyes staring at mine.

  I took a deep breath.

  ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you. I misread what you meant.’

  He shrugged, said nothing and looked away.

  At home, I dropped my personal weapon in the vestibule safe-box and headed straight for the atrium for a drink. I flopped in a chair and downed it in one.

  ‘Feel better now?’

  My hand flew up to my chest. Where in Hades had he come from? The last person I wanted to see.

  ‘Juno, Conrad. You want me to have a heart attack?’

  ‘Don’t be so melodramatic.’ He brought the decanter over and refilled my glass. I watched him walk back to the side table, set it down on the tray and come and sit opposite me.

  ‘You look tired. Are they working you hard?’

  ‘Difficult day.’

  ‘I’m sorry I lost my temper last week.’ He looked down at his glass. ‘It was unprofessional. You were quite right. Your personal life is no longer any of my business.’

  The hollow comfort of being right pressed down on me.

  ‘But I cannot understand how you’ve been able to carry out this operation. It takes years to reach this level.’ He was wary, as if expecting a hostile reaction. ‘You’ve totally confused me.’

  ‘I’m too tired to argue with you, Conrad. Leave it.’

  We sat silently, finishing our drinks.

  ‘Shall we go and eat?’ Conrad asked.

  I opened my mouth to say I was going out when I realised I didn’t want to. He stood up and held out his hand. I looked at it, and put mine in it as I stood up. The warmth passed up my arm into my whole body. I was jolted to see his eyes full of longing. I was so confused. I thought I’d had managed to get over him, to squash it all away in one corner and throw a blanket over it. And walk away. Minutes ago, he’d said the same. No, he’d said that it wasn’t any of his business. Did he still feel strongly about me, but was containing it? Was that why he’d been so hostile when I’d turned up as Pulcheria?

  I’d forgiven him for his deception about Silvia and the children, but not how easily he believed I was a criminal or the harsh words about being tainted and poisonous. More than anything, I resented him not recognising I could make something of myself and succeed in a dangerous environment. It was too raw. I let my hand drop and the moment passed.

  After dinner with Aurelia and Helena, I walked alone with him to the vestibule where he collected his jacket and sidearm.

  ‘Look, Carina, I’ll see you at Robbia’s hearing, but I wondered if you’d go out for some dinner one evening, somewhere quiet where nobody knows us. No obligation, no game-playing, just friends.’

  Of course I would go. Maybe we could be friends. Who was I kidding? I wanted him. I wanted to rip his clothes off, get him on the floor and have him.

  I cleared my throat. ‘Yes, that would be good. When did you have in mind?’

  ‘This Friday? I could pick you up about seven thirty.’

  He turned and went into the cold night, and I went to my cold bed.

  LXIV

  The first day on the project when Jeffrey Renschman was six, the resident kids watched him move in with his mother. They came for him and left him battered inside and out, petrified, with bruises blooming but no broken skin or bones. He paid respect for a few months and learned to fight his way up the hierarchy. When he left at seventeen, Renschman was at the top of the pile.

  When the sliding metal gate of Truscium slammed shut behind him, he knew he’d have to repeat the process. They’d given him twenty-five years. He gave himself six months.

  Then he’d start payback. He’d bust these people’s idea of escape-proof. He’d start hunting the judges, the petty criminals who’d betrayed him but, most of all, he’d find her and cut her up into slivers of twitching, bloody flesh.

  LXV

  I arranged to pick Sentius up next morning; his car had to go to the workshop. As we cruised along the peripheral at the max speed limit minus one, setting citizens a good example, a silver Mercedes flew past us, veered across and cut sharply in front, millimetres from my red paintwork. It picked up speed and raced off into the distance. We weren’t traffic cops, but I was incensed. I looked at Sentius; he pulled out the blue light, activating the roof clamp and siren. I floored the accelerator. Tyres squealing, I spun the wheel hard to the left and pulled my Giulietta out into the outside lane. A dark SUV braked to get out of the way.

  Rocketing around the long curve before the river crossing, we weaved between vehicles that didn’t get out the way of the blue light. We were catching up fast. The curve straightened out and we barrelled toward the Pons Apulius. The huge cable-tied bridge rushed toward us as the speedometer showed 130 kph.

  Once parallel with the Mercedes, I eased the Giulietta relentlessly to the right, the rotating blue beacon reinforcing the message the front wing of my car was conveying. If they didn’t stop within the next thirty seconds, I would personally make sure they would be off the road for five years. The Mercedes slowed and pulled over to the kerb right in the centre of the bridge.

  Sentius hopped out and ran back to place the flashing blue road light behind the Mercedes. He took up position on the nearside kerb, nightstick ready. I peeled myself out of the Giulietta, hand on my holster. I rapped on the driver’s tinted glass window with the Furies behind me.

  ‘Open this bloody window. Now.’

  Flavius.

  I stared at him. He didn’t recognise me. Maybe it was the Oakleys covering my eyes. Maybe it was because I no longer whined as Pulcheria.

  ‘Get out of the car,’ I said.

  ‘Of course, officer, no problem.’ He smiled his bland smile.

  I twisted him round. ‘Hands on the car.’ Of course, he was carrying. I cuffed him, unclipped the magazine, pocketed the weapon, and nodded to Sentius to take over. He took Flavius over to the kerbside. I knocked on the tinted back window. As it slid down silently, I peered into the darkness.

  ‘If you don’t have a good reason for this, Apollodorus, I am going to throw the entire Lex Custodum at you.’

  A lovely ironic laugh came first. ‘I apologise from the bottom of my heart, but I did want a little word with you.’

  ‘Use the telephone.’

  ‘So abrupt. Come and sit with me.’

  I stared into those black eyes. ‘No, you talk to me out here or not at all.’

  Sentius narrowed his eyes, but didn’t say anything as Apollodorus got out of the car and walked a few metres along the bridge sidewalk with me.

  ‘Well?’

  ‘That’s no way to greet an old friend.’

  ‘You nearly scratched my new car.’

  ‘Dear me,’ he murmured, ‘you are a cross little scarab, aren’t you?’

  I knew he was winding me up by using scarab, the dero
gatory word for the custodes. I might deal with a lot of shit in my job, but I was no dung-beetle.

  He looked down the river toward the wharves with their grey and brown warehouses, stacks of containers and cranes. I conceded to politeness and removed my sunglasses. But I kept my back to Flavius.

  ‘My dear, I have a bone to pick with you. When we discussed the phoenix plan, we did not agree you would donate the club to me via some complex Helvetian financial scheme.’

  ‘Oh?’ I shrugged. ‘Must have slipped my mind at the time. We were busy with other stuff.’

  ‘Hmm.’

  ‘Lighten up, Apollo. It’s yours. If it makes you happier, give me free drinks for life.’

  His black eyes shone like obsidian.

  ‘Very well, I accept your gift. But listen to me. If you ever need help, whether for something trivial or important, you know everything I have will be at your disposal.’

  He lifted my hand and kissed the back. I glanced toward the cars, anxious that Sentius might have seen, but he was still harassing Flavius.

  ‘That’s a big offer. But I won’t take it. I parachuted into your lives, we fought a common threat and we achieved it.’

  He threw something over the parapet and studied its trajectory as it flew through the air down toward the water. Without looking up, he said, ‘I’ve taken your advice and set up a series of business service companies. You’re quite right: the profit margin is very attractive, even after taxes and contributions.’

  I laughed.

  ‘One more thing. I would appreciate your advice on something.’ Twin creases formed on his forehead – unusual for Apollodorus. ‘I am concerned about Flavius.’

  I stared at him. A pulse of fear for Flav beat through me. How in Hades had he crossed Apollo?

  ‘Since you’ve gone, he seems restless. His role is not important now we’ve become legal. I’m not sure what to do with him. He has an excellent range of weapons and planning skills, and handles teams very well. But I fear he is a little bored at his new desk. And bored is dangerous.’ His eyes glinted in the sunshine.

  ‘He’s a wonderful asset, Apollo, a hundred per cent loyal. He would do anything for you.’