An idea formed in his mind as they watched him, and he struggled to keep any sign of it from showing. There was a way for him to return to the city in triumph if he was careful. Deliciously, it would involve the destruction of Julius, as well.

“Suetonius?” Julius repeated.

“I'm in,” he replied firmly, already planning.

“Excellent. We need you, Tonius,” Julius replied.

Suetonius kept his face still, though he seethed inwardly. None of them thought much of him, he knew, but his father would approve of what he was about to do, for the good of Rome.

“To business, gentlemen,” Julius said, lowering his voice so that it wouldn't carry outside their small group. “One of us will have to go back to the men and tell them to come into the port. The soldiers here seemed to have no problem with the ransom story, so we will have them use that if they are questioned. We must be careful there. It will do us no good if a few are held for the quaestor to examine in the morning. I want to be at sea on the first dawn tide, with all of them on board.”

“Can't we bring them in at night?” Pelitas asked.

“We can get past the few legionary guards, but a large group of soldiers boarding a merchant ship will be reported to the pirates. I've no doubt they have spies in this place, reporting which ships are carrying gold and cargoes they want. It's what I would do, and Accipiter put in here before we were attacked. They have the wealth to pay a few bribes, after all. The problem is getting nearly forty men aboard without making the trap obvious. We'll be better off with small groups of two or three at a time, over the whole night.”

“If you're right, they will have watchers at the docks who will see us,” Gaditicus said quietly.

Julius thought for a moment. “Then we will split the men. Find out who can swim and have them reach the ship in the water, where we can bring them up on ropes. There is only a crescent moon tonight, so we should be able to do that without being spotted. The armor and swords will have to be carried on board like another package of goods to be sold. It has to be you, Pelitas. You swim like a fish. Can you bring them around the spit as soon as it gets dark?”

“It's a long swim, but without armor, yes. These boys grew up on the coast, after all. They should be able to make it,” Pelitas replied.

Julius reached into his belt pouch and withdrew two silver coins.

“I thought you said the money was gone!” Prax said cheerfully. “I'll have another cup of the same, if you don't mind.”

Julius shook his head, unsmiling. “Perhaps later. I kept these so a couple of you can come in here tonight and buy a few drinks. I want someone to play the part of a guard on his last night before sailing a valuable cargo-something that will be reported back to the pirates by their contacts. Whoever it is must not get drunk, or killed, so I need someone solid and dependable, perhaps with a few more years under his belt than most of us.”

“All right, you don't have to beat the point to death,” Prax said, smiling. “I could enjoy a job like that. You up for it, Gadi?”

The centurion shook his head slightly, looking at Julius. “Not this one. I want to stay with the men in case something goes wrong.”

“I'll join you,” Suetonius said suddenly.

Prax raised his eyebrows, then shrugged.

“If there's no one else,” Suetonius continued, trying not to seem too eager. It would give him the chance he needed away from the others. Prax nodded reluctantly at him and Suetonius sat back, relaxing.

“I saw you watching the ships as we came in,” Gaditicus prompted Julius. The younger man leaned closer and they all brought their heads forward to hear his words.

“There was one loading supplies,” he muttered. “The Ventulus. Trireme and sail. A small crew we can take over without too much trouble.”

“You realize,” Suetonius said, “that if we steal a ship from a Roman port, that makes us pirates as well?” Even as he spoke, he realized it was a mistake to warn them, but part of him couldn't resist the little barb. They would remember later and know who had saved them from Julius's wild schemes. The others froze slightly as they considered the words, and Julius glared at the young watch officer.

“Only if we're seen. If it matters to you, then pay the captain for his losses out of your share,” he said.

Gaditicus frowned. “No. He's right. I want it understood that none of the crew will be killed and the cargo will be left untouched. If we are successful, the captain must be paid for his time and lost profits.”

He locked eyes with Julius and the rest of them could feel the tension between the two men making the silence uncomfortable. The issue of who commanded them had been ignored for so long that they had almost forgotten it, but it was still there and Gaditicus had ruled Accipiter with discipline once. Suetonius fought not to grin at the silent struggle he'd brought about.

At last, Julius nodded and the tension vanished.

“Right,” he said. “But one way or another, I want control of that ship by nightfall.”

A new voice spoke suddenly over them, making them all lean back.

“Who is the commanding officer here?” it said, unconsciously echoing much of their private thoughts. Julius examined his wine cup.

“I was the captain of Accipiter,” Gaditicus said in reply, standing up to greet the newcomer. The man was a reminder of Rome even more than the legionaries that guarded the port. He wore a draped toga over bare skin, held by a silver brooch with an eagle etched in the metal. His hair was cut short and the hand he offered Gaditicus had a heavy gold ring on the fourth finger.

“You look healthier than most of the ransom men we get in this port. My name is Pravitas, the quaestor here. I see your cups are empty and I'm dry myself.”

He signaled to a serving slave, who came quickly and filled their cups again with a better wine than the first. Obviously, the quaestor was well known in the port town. Julius noticed he had arrived without guards, another sign that the laws of Rome held firm there. He did have a long dagger in his belt, however, which he shifted slightly to allow himself to sit down on the bench with them.

When the wine was poured, the quaestor held up his cup for a toast. “To Rome, gentlemen.”

They chorused the words and sipped the wine, unwilling to waste such quality in gulps without knowing if the man would order another.

“How long were you held?” he said as the cups were brought down again.

“Six months, we think, though it was hard to keep track of the time. What month is it now?” Gaditicus replied.

Pravitas raised his eyebrows. “A long time to be held prisoner. It is just after the Kalends of October.”

Gaditicus worked it out quickly. “We were held for six, but it has taken three months to reach this port.”

“You must have been dropped far away,” Pravitas said with interest.

Gaditicus realized that he didn't want to explain how long they had spent training new soldiers to fight and respond to orders, so he just shrugged. “Some of us were injured. We had to take it slowly.”

“The swords and armor, though? I am surprised the pirates didn't take those,” Pravitas pressed.

Gaditicus thought of lying, but the quaestor could easily have had the five men locked up if he thought they were hiding something. He appeared to be suspicious already, despite his light tone, so Gaditicus tried to stay close to the truth.

“We picked these up at a Roman settlement, from an old armory. They made us work for them, but we needed to regain fitness, so it worked out well for us.”

“Very generous. The swords alone must be worth a fair amount. Which settlement was it, do you know?”

“Look, sir. The old soldier who let us have them was helping Romans who had fallen on hard times. You should leave it at that.”