When morning came, Lucretia and Gaia walked to the market square, while Flaminia moved quickly to intercept Vettius. She spotted the brat easily enough, flanked by two scrawny slaves, and waved, "Good Vettius!", she called cheerfully, approaching, "What pleasant coincidence!". He shot her a suspicious look, but smiled back, "Flaminia, beautiful and radiant as ever, I see".
"Oh, flatterer. What brings you to the market today? Are you looking for some quality weapons for your ludus?". "No, I am to meet Varus...". "Why, me too! He wants father to make a bronze bust in honor of his ancestor. One of his slaves came to my house bringing word that he intends to discuss business in the new arena". He frowned, "The new arena? Why?".
She shrugged, "He didn't say it, but he gave me note indicating a shortcut. Will you come with me? My satelles is unwell and I…I do not feel at ease at walking the streets alone", she added, looking fragile and defenseless in her tight-fitting creamy white dress. Vettius' smile widened, "With pleasure", he said, already salivating at the thought of having her alone and vulnerable in a quiet place, away from prying eyes, "Lead the way".
She nodded and led him through the streets, until they reached a secluded empty alley. He stopped dead in his tracks and looked around, frowning, "Where are we going?". Flaminia bit her lower lip, confused and showed him the piece of parchment, "I…I don't understand, this is not road to the new arena, but it makes no sense…I followed instructions on the note, see?".
Before he could open his mouth again, a cloaked figure came from a nearby alley and grabbed the young woman by the waist, pressing a hand on her mouth and dragging her away kicking and screaming, while two more men killed Vettius' slaves and then brutally beat him like he had done with Batiatus and to complete the work, one of them pissed on him, laughing.
"You are at my mercy, now", a low, smooth voice purred in Flaminia's ear, sending a warm shiver through her and making her lower belly burn with desire. "And what do you plan to do with me?", she asked, turning her head to look into her assailant's dark eyes. "Hmmm. An interesting question", he joked, giving her that heart-melting smile of his, "One that requires careful consideration".
"Well, you could hold me a bit tighter, maybe", she suggested, basking in the feeling of his strong, sculpted body pressed against her own. "I would hurt you". "I'm tougher than I look". He chuckled at that, "Oh, I know it well! And no doubt, Barca remembers it too", he added and they laughed together. "Do not let me go", she whispered, oblivious to the muffled shouts and whimpers of pain coming from Vettius.
"I never said I intended to", Ashur replied, his hands moving from her waist to her thighs in a soft caress, "Until they call upon us, you are in my hands". "Then I hope it will take them forever to beat that cock-sucking child into a bloody and shitty pulp", she said, bending an arm back to stroke his cheek, "He deserves all of it. And Tullius will follow, as soon as I have a good plan ready".
The young man grinned, "You are quite the schemer, I see". "Oh, you have seen nothing yet". "Beautiful, cunning and dangerous…I like it", he murmured, placing gentle small kisses on the sensitive shell of her ear and she arched into him with a soft moan. Unfortunately, Indus poked his head into their hiding place, "We must go!", he whispered urgently and Ashur let her go with obvious reluctance.
"Is he out cold?", she asked the Macedon. "Completely", he nodded, snickering. "Good. Go back to your place, I will go to mine. And remember, not a word on this with anyone". They all nodded and Ashur, Indus and Dagan went back to Batiatus' ludus, while she waited for them to be far enough not to be connected to the aggression.
She counted silently to five hundred, then she ripped her luxurious dress, inflicted some heavy blows upon her legs and messed up her hair, so that her claim of having been attacked by a stranger would hold when Tullius would accuse her of being behind the aggression along with Batiatus.
She gave herself a final look in a puddle to make sure she looked as bad as she should and screamed at the top of her lungs, "Help! Help me!".
Her cry had the desired effect and a handful of people came running, only to find her bruised, trembling and weeping and Vettius unconscious on the ground. "What happened?", one of the citizens asked.
"We…We were attacked", she stammered, "I was nearly…Thank Mars I managed to free myself enough to shout, or he would have…", she broke down in tears and those caring people took it upon themselves to bring Vettius to Tullius' shop, while three of them led Flaminia back to her house.
She leaned on the nearest man, sniffling and whimpering, but inside she was extremely pleased with herself: everything had gone according to her plan. By now, Quinctilius Varus would no doubt be on his way to Batiatus' house and with his support, her friend's men would get a position in the opening games of the new arena, despite Tullius' wishes.
And as a bonus, she had been in Ashur's arms, even if not for long and had convinced Quintus to have Ashur and Indus face the test, instead of them being granted the Mark of the Brotherhood as a reward for the task, because having her recruits obtain it by cheating would have been a stain on her honor. She felt grateful to Mars for all they had achieved that day: his blessing was no doubt upon them all and with his favor, nobody could stand in their way.
Nobody.
oxoxoxoxoxo
That evening, it turned out that her scheme had worked even better than expected, for Varus, after having Gannicus 'perform' before his eyes with Melitta, granted him a position in the primus of the next games.
Of course, Melitta was heart-broken over having been forced to lie with her best friend and most of all, having taken pleasure in it and Gannicus in turn felt broken at being the indirect cause for her distress, but none of it mattered in the slightest to Batiatus, who celebrated the news having a threesome with Lucretia and Gaia in the candlelight.
When morning came, they decided to have an encore, but as all three of them were naked and having fun, the drapes were roughly shoved aside to reveal the grim face of none other than Titus, Quintus' father. Poor Quintus froze, "F-father?", he breathed, his blood turning into ice from the shock. "Gather yourself. I would have words", Titus said, then turned on his heels and walked to the study, leaving the son to hastily scramble to his feet and dress, while Gaia giggled like a schoolgirl.
The paterfamilias sat at the desk and sifted through the documents, his face even grimmer than before and did not bother to look up when Quintus walked in and stood in front of the desk. The silence stretched uncomfortably for a long moment, until he finally spoke, "I leave this house in your care and this is what greets me upon return", he berated the younger man, still not looking at him.
"I was not expecting your arrival". This time he did look up and his son wished he hadn't, "Am I to announce myself to the walls that I own?". "Of course not, yet, if I had known of your return from Sicilia…". "The knowledge would have produced what result?", the old man grumbled, "Flowers and scented oils laid to meet me? Masking sight of a son gone to shit?".
"I but celebrate!". "Upon what cause? Angering Tullius with refusal of a reasonable offer? Your exclusion from the games?". Quintus frowned, "How did you come by that?". Titus rose from his seat, "I'm old, Quintus, not dead". Unfortunately not, his son couldn't help thinking.
"There are still those in Capua that hold my name in regard and will see me well informed. Good Solonius counted among them". "Solonius?", the younger man repeated, surprised and irritated by the betrayal of his old friend. "He sent word of his concerns regarding your dealings with Tullius". "The man is seized by unnecessary worry", Quintus tried to say, but his father didn't buy it. "Your face suggests otherwise".
He shook his head, "Minor disagreement", he said, hoping to minimize. "Nothing with a man such as Tullius is ever minor!", Titus growled, walking around the desk to place himself behind his son, "A fact oblivious to those of lesser mind". "Then it's a blessing that a greater mind than mine has arrived!", Quintus snapped, clenching his fists in anger.
His father sighed and moved to the balcony, leaning on the rail, "My frustration is more with myself: you never wished for this, the ludus, gladiators, the blood, the sand…Your eyes were always towards the horizon", he said, turning back to look at the younger man, "To glories and triumphs forever out of reach of a common lanista".
Quintus pursed his lips, "Yet here I stand. A lanista, like my father", he said with a mixture of anger and resignation. "Not like him at all", Titus shot back, apparently blind to the humiliation he was inflicting on his son, "You have never been able to look into the eyes of a man and gage his true heart".
"Only days past, I looked into the eyes of Quintilius Varus and gauged way to secure primus in his games!", Quintus replied proudly. Titus frowned, taken aback, "Varus has never appointed lanista not approved by Tullius. Why now break tradition?", he asked suspiciously. "Because I possess what Tullius does not: Gannicus".
"Gannicus?", he let out a disbelieving laugh, "The man is a jest, inciting more laughter than awe! Now I find he is desired by half of Rome?", he shook his head, incredulous. "Much has changed in your absence". "And much has remained the same", he spat, "I would review my men, see how well they fared denied proper guidance". Quintus watched him leave the study, feeling twenty years older all of a sudden and with a resigned sigh, followed his father to the ludus.