To Crown a Caesar (The Praetorian Series: Book II)

by Crichton, Edward

  “What?” she asked as she slowly caught up to me.

  “I… it’s… look, I just don’t know if we can responsibly raise him here. Not only that, but we also have no idea how a journey through the orb could affect him. Remember how painful it was? And what if we go when you’re still pregnant? Who knows what could happen. I just don’t see how we can do this.”

  She stepped around to face me, her eyes narrow.

  “You’re not suggesting that we…”

  “What? Of course not. I just feel…”

  “Jacob, stop. There’s something else I need to tell you.”

  “We’re not having twins are we?”

  She smiled. “You know I can’t know that, but there is something else you need to know. The reason I debated telling you for so long, and especially tonight, was because I have no idea what’s going to happen to us. If I die tomorrow, I wasn’t sure I wanted you knowing you lost your unborn child as well…”

  “That’s not going to happ…”

  “Let me finish,” she said, cutting me off with an upraised hand. “It was hard to tell you, yes, but I always knew deep down that you deserved to know. This child is as much yours as it is mine. You had to know. But, I didn’t want to you to know because of this exact conversation. I wasn’t sure what you would think. That’s what worried me most because, well… the fact is simply that I want this baby. More than you can possibly imagine.”

  She turned her back on me and looked at the ground, her hands massaging her stomach. I stepped up behind her and wrapped my arms around her, gripping her wrists in my hands.

  “I’ve been thinking about this for a long time,” she continued. “It was something I’ve wanted to talk to you about for months, but I didn’t think under Galba’s bed was the appropriate place to do it, even though it was relevant even then. You see, this child – our child – is something I’ve wanted ever since I was thirteen years old. A little girl of my own. Someone who I could play with, spoil, love, go shopping with. Everything. At the time, I suppose what I really wanted was a sister, but later I knew what I wanted was a child. But like all dreams, every day I had to wake up to the truth.”

  “Your prearranged marriage,” I said softly.

  She nodded. “I told you I never hated him. But I could never see him as the father of my child either. I knew that, like the marriage, children would inevitably be forced on me as well. It scared me. I didn’t know if I would love them or not. Half of each child would be his. Someone I didn’t love or even really like. How could I only love half a child?” She turned around. “Then I met you, Jacob. Yours is a child I could love.” She squeezed her eyes closed. “We have to do this. This may be our only chance.”

  I gave it some thought before I cupped her chin with my thumb and index finger, tilting her face up, waiting as I mulled over her words. After a few moments deep in thought, everything pointed to only one conclusion.

  “I want this too,” I said, before a smile grew on my face. “Looks like you won’t be going dancing as often as you’d hoped.”

  She returned the smile and hugged me tightly. “I can live with that.”

  Finally. This was the reaction I should have provided ten minutes ago. I held us there for what seemed like hours before the gravity of the situation dawned on me. I separated us and looked down at her.

  “I forbid you from going on the mission tomorrow.”

  “No.” She pulled away, surprise in her eyes. “No! You’re not going in there without me!”

  “Helena, you can’t. It’s irresponsible.”

  “Jacob, I’m pregnant, not crippled, and it’s too early for it to inhibit me in any way.”

  “Nope. Not happening.”

  “Yes, Jacob… it is.”

  There was no hint of backing down in her voice. She wasn’t going to take no for an answer.

  I met her stare. “You are the most frustratingly stubborn woman I have ever met!”

  She smiled. “I know. It’s why you love me.”

  I wanted to yell at her. Bay at the moon. Punch her in the face. Something. My emotions were all over the place. Happiness. Fear. Joy. Anger. Frustration. They were all there. This woman never ceased to amaze and confuse me. It was my turn to get angry.

  In mock frustration, I gently pushed her away and kicked sand at her.

  “Fine!” I yelled making my way back to the camp, “but you’d better not let me die, or your ass is haunted! Haunted!”

  Her smile continued to enchant. “Just go back to the tent. I’ll meet up with you soon. I want to enjoy the moonlight for a few more minutes.” Then her smile turned coy. “At least now we don’t have to worry about getting pregnant anymore if you want to have some fun lat…”

  “Bah!” I waved my hand at her, and with half of me actually frustrated, the other half joking, I stalked my way back to the camp with my own smile still beaming.

  A baby!

  I thought getting myself stuck in Rome was crazy enough. Now things were really starting to hit me. I knew nothing about raising a kid. What was I supposed to do when I had to go shoot someone? Let Uncle Wang and Uncle Santino watch him while Helena and I were off on a mission? The kid would be sarcastic jackass in a week!

  My head started to swim and I felt like collapsing as adrenaline from both the news and the fight waned.

  Somehow finding my way back to the tent, I started working on the zipper, only to have it stubbornly fight me back. Just as I finally yanked the thing open, I heard Santino call out from the small camp fire where he sat with Wang, Gaius, Marcus, and Titus.

  “Congratulations, Hunter,” he said nonchalantly.

  I turned awkwardly. “For what?”

  He looked at his companions like I’d just asked the dumbest question of all time. “Helena’s pregnancy, of course.”

  I stared dumbfounded. “What makes you think she’s pregnant?”

  He cleared his throat. “Well, when a man comes stumbling back from a long talk with a woman where a brawl goes down, it means one of two things. By the way, she really kicked your ass back there.” He paused while Wang saluted me with some money he must have won from a bet. “You know… most couples just yell at each other, not throw down like that.”

  My head started spinning again.

  “Anyway,” Santino continued, “it means she’s either been lying to you this entire time and that she’s really some kind of transvestite or… an unexpected pregnancy. But I’ve seen her naked. She’s definitely not a man.”

  “You’ve…” I mumbled, before catching on. “You what!?”

  “Hey, don’t sweat it, buddy,” he said grabbing at his chest over his heart. “I’ll cherish the image forever.”

  My swirling emotional storm wanted me to go down there and beat the shit out of him more than anything, but my lack of adrenaline was holding me back.

  “I hope they name the kid after me,” Wang offered.

  “Wang Hunter?” Santino asked, meeting Wang’s eye for a few seconds before the two of them burst into laughter. The three Romans were thoroughly confused until Santino translated what the slang word “wang” was as well as what a “hunter” was. The little English lesson barely lasted the time it took for a full translation because now all five of them were laughing hysterically. Even fucking Titus, who rarely showed any emotion, held his side as tears streamed from his eyes. Marcus even fell off his log.

  I threw out a few chuckles at my own expense with them.

  Trying to ignore the pack of hyenas outside, I pounded my fist against my forehead and escaped into my tent. After drying myself off, I snuggled into my bunk, bringing my blankets up to my nose. I felt like I’d aged three decades.

  I still couldn’t believe it.

  A baby?

  A baby.

  I couldn’t help but smile again at the thought.

  XI

  Assault

  Mission Entry #11

  Jacob Hunter

  Tripolis, Syria - October 42, A.D.


  Well, folks… it’s been fun.

  This may very well be my last journal entry because two very different things might happen in the next few hours. Behind door number one, and a much more preferable outcome, is a successful mission consisting of Agrippina’s capture and our obtainment of the last orb. Behind door number two, and the more attractive game show girl (that’s always how they get you!) is our deaths.

  Fun, eh?

  Oh, should I mention Helena’s pregnant?

  Pregnant!

  As if I didn’t have enough to worry about. Apparently, there really isn’t a stork that magically brings children into the world. Well there goes that bubble. Poof. Cue little wisp of smoke. To make matters worse, Helena insists on going on the mission. We couldn’t leave her behind since she’d find a way to join us anyway, and even though Madrina was staying behind, she couldn’t stop Helena even if she tried, despite her size. And as much as I want to, chaining the mother of my child to a pole doesn’t exactly seem like the best option either.

  Sigh.

  I think I’m going insane. I can only imagine what my blood pressure must be like. Maybe I should ask Wang to give me a checkup…

  The human body is not designed for so many fluctuations in emotions.

  But anyway, I know I said I wouldn’t bring it up anymore, but this is a biggie. I’m going to have a baby for crying out loud.

  And isn’t this what journals are for? Writing down my thoughts and feeling!?

  What’s that you say?

  You don’t want to hear it?

  Fine!

  Look at me. I’m arguing with myself in a print medium. Normally I just fought with myself in my head, and that was bad enough. This is getting ridiculous.

  As for the mission, we’re going in slow and meticulous. We don’t know what awaits us within Agrippina’s little stronghold, but we’re used to unknown terrain. We also have a full complement of troops with us, and the additions of Gaius, Marcus and Titus helped our odds just that much more. The two former legionnaires were handier with a sword than any of us, and Titus had been training with rifles for years. He wasn’t the best shot in the group, but in the CQB environment we’ll soon operate in, he would do just fine.

  All right then. There isn’t much more to say. Nor is there much time to say anything, if there was anything to say at all.

  There’s a mouthful.

  Well. Wish us luck.

  It’s been real.

  “Are you done with that thing yet, Jacob?” Helena whispered from atop the sand dune.

  “Yeah,” I replied, tying off the notebook and tossing it in my bag, maybe for the last time. “Any word from Bravo Team?”

  “Not yet,” she said, scanning the dock area of the complex with her DSR1. “They’re late.”

  “You know how Santino likes to make an entrance,” I quipped.

  Helena didn’t respond, diligently performing her sniper duties, only five rounds left in her rifle. I glanced over at Vincent, who crouched next to me behind the dune. His rifle hung at his right side by a strap around his neck as he practiced reloading magazines one handed. I’d watched him practice the maneuver over the past few months now, and he was good at it. Every attempt he made to secure a fresh magazine into the dangling rifle’s magazine had been successful so far. I just hoped he’d be able to do it during the insanity of a combat situation.

  “Ready to get back in the saddle, Vincent?” I asked.

  He looked up at me when my interruption caused him to miss his reload for the first time. He gave me a disgruntled look.

  “I’m not so old that you can put me out to pastures quite yet, Hunter,” he reported. “I am not completely worthless.” He smiled. “Not yet.”

  I heard Helena grumble something similar from atop the dune.

  So far Santino’s little comedy posse only assumed Helena was pregnant. His little joke, as it turned out, had only been just that, and not an insight into her internal workings. After she’d joined me in the tent, we decided to keep her situation under wraps for the time being. We didn’t need to worry everybody.

  So, I ignored her.

  I offered him a smile. “The thought never crossed my mind, sir.”

  He nodded and went back to work practicing his maneuver. Meanwhile, I hunkered down against the sand and looked up at the stars. They were far brighter than any variety back home and there were so many more. More than I could ever hope to count.

  “Get up here, Jacob,” Helena ordered, interrupting my stargazing.

  I rolled onto my feet and climbed my way to the top of the dune. On my way up, I accidentally knocked sand on Vincent and he glared up at me as he shook himself clean.

  “What have we got?” I asked, pulling out my binoculars and focusing them down range.

  Once again, she didn’t respond. She didn’t need to. The view was telling enough.

  By the time I focused my optics, two men were already climbing out of the water, their dark figures slowly emerging from the murky depths like in any good Navy SEAL promotional video. I watched four guards fall to the docks before the two figures even climbed onto the wooden planks. Once they hauled themselves up, they cautiously made their way towards the shore – low, slow and silent. A third figure emerged behind them and quietly lowered the dead bodies into the water as the first two men passed by them.

  I quickly shifted my attention to the right, and watched as two more guards sitting near the seaside entrance to the courtyard stood from their chairs. They must have noticed something was amiss, but they didn’t have much time to think on it before Wang and Santino of Bravo Team gunned them down with their suppressor equipped rifles.

  As gravity pulled them to the ground, all three members of Bravo Team were rushing forward to plant themselves firmly against the perimeter wall. My view was obscured in that moment, but I was able to watch as Wang and Santino rounded the corner of the outer wall’s entrance and disappear into the complex. I shifted my attention to the other known guard positions within my line of sight. Each contained their occupants, seemingly unaware of what was happening around them, and then they too were removed from the game.

  Two minutes later, Santino’s voice came over the com. “Alpha Lead, this is Bravo Actual.”

  “Go ahead,” I answered.

  “Beachhead secure. Give us five mikes to change out of our wetsuits, and regroup at rally point one.”

  “Roger, Bravo Actual. Charlie Actual, howcopy?”

  “Solid copy,” Bordeaux’s voice came back. “Rally point one, five mikes.”

  I sent him a double click and waited with Helena and Vincent for a very long five minutes. When time was up, we rose to our feet and double timed the one hundred yards to the southern end of the beach side perimeter wall. Charlie Team would be coming in from the north. We made the trip in seconds, arriving at the outer wall just before Charlie.

  At the head of our three person column, I led Alpha Team forward as we scooted our way along the wall, approaching the entrance Bravo Team had already cleared. I tracked Charlie approaching from the opposite side of the entrance, Bordeaux with his Big Fucking Gun on point.

  I reached the corner first.

  When Bordeaux arrived, he pulled up short and sent me a nod. I returned the gesture, rounding the corner just as he did. I dropped to a knee while Bordeaux plunged straight through. Helena stood above me offering additional cover.

  The immediate area was clear. No sign of Bravo Team.

  With a quick flick of his wrist, Bordeaux gestured for both teams to follow him in. I complied, moving into the complex with Helena and Vincent right behind me. We fanned out to the right while Charlie – including Gaius and Marcus – went left.

  I took a quick look around. The interior of the courtyard was pleasant but rather unremarkable, decorated with cobblestone pavement, a few hanging gardens scattered about and a fountain with a sizable swimming pool alongside it. It was almost as nice as that four star resort I’d dreamt about a
few days ago, sans bikini clad women. There were also a half dozen bodies scattered about, each with neat bullet holes in their chests. Alpha and Charlie quickly went to work concealing them in the shadows.

  The job took about three minutes, and there was still no sign of Bravo. Definitely not part of the plan. Helena and I were just about to toss a body into a pile of his friends when we heard a twig snap behind us. Reacting instantly, we dropped the body and spun around, bearing our weapons in the direction of the sound. A single silhouette appeared in the darkness, only to reveal himself as Titus when he stepped into the light. Realizing his blunder, his masked face glanced at the ground in embarrassment.

  Two other figures emerged out of the darkness like shades in the night, the more experienced Wang and Santino. One of the masked figures, I assumed Santino, stepped up beside Titus and whacked him in the back of the head in admonishment. The other figure, Wang probably, patted Titus on the shoulder consolingly.

  I looked at Helena. She rolled her entire head in an exaggerated gesture of annoyance.

  Everyone’s masked faces made the whole scene as comical as a Three Stooges routine.

  I stood and moved towards Santino while Helena rolled the body amongst his buddies.

  “Sit-rep,” I demanded once I was within whisper distance.

  His masked face glanced around the courtyard. “Perimeter secured. Eight additional tangos down and out. There’s only one entrance to the town that we can find and it’s been cleared.” He paused while he consulted the lens situated in front of his right eye and manipulated the screen attached to his forearm. “UAV confirms all sighted tangos in the courtyard have been eliminated. Tagging new targets inside the town. Transmitting.”

  I nodded and checked to make sure Alpha and Charlie were done cleaning up the bodies. After confirming that they were, I turned back to Santino before tapping my own forearm screen to call up the information being sent by Santino’s UAV. Red blips popped up at set intervals throughout the town, some stationary, others on patrol. It was a standard security detail found in any legion fort. I watched as four red blips walked past two green ones, the ones representing Santino and me. The distance between us had only been a handful of meters, but they were on the other side of the inner courtyard wall, completely oblivious to our presence.