escape.”
“No,” Helius said with enough certainty that Tigellinus raised his eyebrows. Helius realized he’d made a tactical error, but in comparison to their shared trouble, it was minor. “I have a spy in Damian’s household.”
“Interesting that you’ve kept that knowledge from me.”
“And you don’t have your own private spies scattered across the city?”
Tigellinus gave that a broad grin. “If I do, I’m not stupid enough to let it slip out in your presence.”
“Hopefully your spies are as useful as mine.”
“In other words,” Tigellinus said, “you are confident that Damian had nothing to do with it.”
“And that Vitas did not visit him or seek refuge at his estate,” Helius added.
“Good. Is Damian someone we should have killed as a precaution? He, too, may have plans of revenge.”
“Probably,” Helius answered. “I’ve been informed that he’s captured John and is holding him prisoner. But as he hasn’t brought me John yet, I can only conclude he is plotting in some way against us.”
“John?”
“The Jew. You agreed with me that we would give Damian a bounty to capture him for us.”
“Ah yes. The Jew from Patmos. Responsible for that cursed letter circulating among the Christians. One that you fear may pose a threat to Nero.”
“We need to understand it to know for certain. You do recall that conversation.”
Tigellinus shrugged. “Barely important enough to remember. Especially under these circumstances.”
“‘Barely important enough to remember’? Let me remind you of just one rumor I’ve heard about it. It predicts the death of Nero. If that gets to him, we’ll have another bloodbath. He sees conspiracies everywhere. If Nero hears about it—and he will—we need to be prepared.”
“We won’t be around for that bloodbath unless Vitas is taken care of. Which means we must have Damian killed and then take his prisoner. I assume you’re going to put me in charge of the torture of both to find out all that has, shall we say, conspired?”
It was Helius’s turn to smile. “As a favor to you, of course.”
“Of course,” Tigellinus said, seemingly unaware that Helius was playing ironic. “I’ll make the arrangements today for Damian’s capture. It won’t be easy. He doesn’t go anywhere without guards. And there’s that giant of his.”
“Jerome,” Helius said. “He’s not a problem.”
“No? It would take ten men to kill him.”
“Leverage, my friend. You can manipulate anyone as long as you have the right leverage.”
“Leverage.”
“His family. My spy tells me that Jerome’s family lives on Damian’s estate. Why attack Jerome if you can get him to betray Damian by threatening his family?”
Tigellinus slapped Helius on the back with affection. “Sometimes you are a good man to work with.”
In his thoughts, Helius had already moved past the logistics of killing Damian. He was thinking about John’s letter. Once Hezron interpreted the strange Jewish code, he’d get John of Patmos and interrogate him to see if his answers matched Hezron’s. Once satisfied that he understood the letter completely, he’d have Hezron and John tied in sacks and dumped in the Tiber. As for the Jew girl, Helius supposed he could give her to Chayim as reward for arranging the capture of Hezron. It seemed that Chayim had somehow convinced the girl that he, too, was a follower of the Christos. Chayim was turning out to be very capable and would undoubtedly prove to be of good use in the future.
But that didn’t solve the far graver problem of Vitas. Without that solved, everything else was meaningless. Helius was all too aware that Nero’s increasing lust for power was becoming more of a danger. Time and again, as Nero’s secretary and confidant, Helius had rushed from one situation to another, using a mixture of diplomacy and threats to find ways to satisfy Nero while limiting the outrage among highly placed citizens. Until now, he’d been
“No,” Helius said with enough certainty that Tigellinus raised his eyebrows. Helius realized he’d made a tactical error, but in comparison to their shared trouble, it was minor. “I have a spy in Damian’s household.”
“Interesting that you’ve kept that knowledge from me.”
“And you don’t have your own private spies scattered across the city?”
Tigellinus gave that a broad grin. “If I do, I’m not stupid enough to let it slip out in your presence.”
“Hopefully your spies are as useful as mine.”
“In other words,” Tigellinus said, “you are confident that Damian had nothing to do with it.”
“And that Vitas did not visit him or seek refuge at his estate,” Helius added.
“Good. Is Damian someone we should have killed as a precaution? He, too, may have plans of revenge.”
“Probably,” Helius answered. “I’ve been informed that he’s captured John and is holding him prisoner. But as he hasn’t brought me John yet, I can only conclude he is plotting in some way against us.”
“John?”
“The Jew. You agreed with me that we would give Damian a bounty to capture him for us.”
“Ah yes. The Jew from Patmos. Responsible for that cursed letter circulating among the Christians. One that you fear may pose a threat to Nero.”
“We need to understand it to know for certain. You do recall that conversation.”
Tigellinus shrugged. “Barely important enough to remember. Especially under these circumstances.”
“‘Barely important enough to remember’? Let me remind you of just one rumor I’ve heard about it. It predicts the death of Nero. If that gets to him, we’ll have another bloodbath. He sees conspiracies everywhere. If Nero hears about it—and he will—we need to be prepared.”
“We won’t be around for that bloodbath unless Vitas is taken care of. Which means we must have Damian killed and then take his prisoner. I assume you’re going to put me in charge of the torture of both to find out all that has, shall we say, conspired?”
It was Helius’s turn to smile. “As a favor to you, of course.”
“Of course,” Tigellinus said, seemingly unaware that Helius was playing ironic. “I’ll make the arrangements today for Damian’s capture. It won’t be easy. He doesn’t go anywhere without guards. And there’s that giant of his.”
“Jerome,” Helius said. “He’s not a problem.”
“No? It would take ten men to kill him.”
“Leverage, my friend. You can manipulate anyone as long as you have the right leverage.”
“Leverage.”
“His family. My spy tells me that Jerome’s family lives on Damian’s estate. Why attack Jerome if you can get him to betray Damian by threatening his family?”
Tigellinus slapped Helius on the back with affection. “Sometimes you are a good man to work with.”
In his thoughts, Helius had already moved past the logistics of killing Damian. He was thinking about John’s letter. Once Hezron interpreted the strange Jewish code, he’d get John of Patmos and interrogate him to see if his answers matched Hezron’s. Once satisfied that he understood the letter completely, he’d have Hezron and John tied in sacks and dumped in the Tiber. As for the Jew girl, Helius supposed he could give her to Chayim as reward for arranging the capture of Hezron. It seemed that Chayim had somehow convinced the girl that he, too, was a follower of the Christos. Chayim was turning out to be very capable and would undoubtedly prove to be of good use in the future.
But that didn’t solve the far graver problem of Vitas. Without that solved, everything else was meaningless. Helius was all too aware that Nero’s increasing lust for power was becoming more of a danger. Time and again, as Nero’s secretary and confidant, Helius had rushed from one situation to another, using a mixture of diplomacy and threats to find ways to satisfy Nero while limiting the outrage among highly placed citizens. Until now, he’d been
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