The Last Roman: Book One: Exile Page 5

"I told you."

  "Fuck off!"

  Marcus waved the weapon toward the door. "Let's go."

  Levi glared up at him.

  "Suit yourself."

  Marcus caught his chin with the point of his boot, sending blood and teeth flying across the room as Levi collapsed into a heap. Marcus leaned over and grabbed the collar of his shirt, dragging him across the wooden floor. He pulled him into the living room, stopping in front of a wooden chair. Marcus set his weapon down on a nearby table and lifted the limp body into the seat. He reached into his coat, producing a roll of duct tape, and taped Levi's arms and legs to the chair.

  Marcus tossed the tape onto the couch and scanned the rest of the room for Levi's computer. He saw it on a desk near the window. Marcus moved over to the laptop, tapped on the keyboard, and watched the screen flicker to life. He knelt beside the desk, pulled out the phone, and plugged it into the USB port. The tiny screen sprung to life as the script ran.

  Marcus was about to get up when he noticed a small leather case sitting on the desk. He opened it and found four sealed vials of blood. He pulled one out and read the small label. It had a date and time, but nothing else. He frowned and put the vial back, slipping the case into his jacket pocket.

  "Sam, you should have remote access."

  "Yep. I need the password."

  "You already told me that."

  "I know, but my uncle said you forget the important things."

  Marcus shook his head and glanced back at Levi, who was still sitting unconscious in the chair. He moved back toward the bedroom and peeked back into the opening. The girl glared at him. Marcus moved into the room, picked up a blanket from the floor, and used it to cover her naked body.

  "It's going to be alright," he said in French. "I'm going to cut you free, but I need you to be very quiet. Understand?"

  She trembled. Fear and distrust filled her glistening eyes as Marcus produced a small knife from his pocket. He held up one hand to calm her and cut the bonds that held her feet, allowing her to curl her legs up into her chest. Marcus then moved forward and cut the ropes that held her wrists. She clung to the thin blanket and recoiled into the fetal position.

  "I know this is hard, but I need to ask you some questions." Marcus sat on the bed.

  She stared back at him.

  "What's your name?"

  "Camille."

  "All right, Camille. My name is Marcus." He took a moment to look around the room. "If I find your clothes, do you think you can walk?"

  She nodded.

  "Good. I'm leaving so you can get dressed. Please come out when you're finished. And I need you to do this quickly, understand?"

  She nodded again. Marcus stood up, gathered her scattered clothes, and placed them next to her. He found her high heels under the corner of the bed, and scanning the room, found what he was looking for near the far wall. He moved to a tall dresser and rifled through the drawers until he found a couple of pairs of socks. Camille sat up when he returned to the bed.

  "Your shoes are useless. Put these on."

  Marcus dropped the socks on the bed and started back to the living room. He stopped when he felt a tug on his coat. He looked down to find her tear-stained face staring up at him.

  "Thank you."

  "You're welcome. Please hurry." He turned away before she could respond. Levi was awake when he stepped into the living room.

  "Are you keeping my guessst company?" He had a lisp from the missing teeth.

  Marcus pulled up another chair and sat down and glared at Levi.

  "What?" Levi pressed.

  Marcus replied with silence.

  "Is thisss the part where you ssscare me? Intimidate me?"

  "Where is Thomas?"

  "Who?"

  "And I'm also gonna need the password," he waved his gun toward the desk, "to your laptop."

  "I forgot it."

  "Easy or painful."

  "Fuck off."

  "You need to get more original with your insults. Painful it is."

  Marcus set his gun down on the table and reached into his jacket, pulling out a small black case. He opened the case, picked out one of several needles and a small glass bottle. Levi watched as Marcus stuck the needle through the lid of the bottle and filled the syringe.

  "This is sulfuric acid, mixed with saline. It would turn a normal person's nervous system to ash." Marcus glanced at the man's shoulder wound, which had already stopped bleeding. "But you're not normal, are you?"

  Levi watched the needle from the corner of his eye.

  "Once this starts moving through your bloodstream, your entire body will be on fire." Marcus set down the needle and picked up the roll of duct tape from the coffee table, ripping off a six-inch strip. "Last chance."

  "I got nottthhing."

  "Brave, but stupid." Marcus put the tape over his mouth and tapped his forehead. "To be honest, I was hoping you'd chose painful."

  He knelt beside Levi and emptied the contents of the syringe into his jugular. Levi strained against the tape, his body stiffening. Marcus tossed the needle onto the couch and glanced back at Levi.

  "Give me the password, and I'll make it quick."

  He was waiting for some sort of response from Levi when Camille walked into the room. A question formed on her lips, but Marcus cut her off.

  "Camille, I need you to go to those stairs." Marcus pointed to the door that led to the ceiling. "Go up to the roof and wait for me. I'll be there in a minute."

  She stood still, watching Levi convulse.

  "Camille!"

  She snapped back to life and nodded as she headed for the door. Marcus turned his attention back to Levi, whose skin was dark purple in a dozen places.

  "You ready?"

  Levi's head bobbed up and down, so Marcus ripped the tape from his mouth.

  "Fuuuuck off!" he groaned and passed out.

  That was the problem with immortals, Marcus thought. They get used to pain. He picked up his gun and walked over to the computer to check on the download's progress.

  "Sam, I think it's finished. But I couldn't get the password."

  "That's not the only problem you have. Three cars just pulled up to the building."

  "For fuck's sake," he said.

  Marcus unplugged the iPhone and dropped it into his pocket. There was also a cellphone on the table which he took as well. It came to life when he picked it up, and he realized he would need another password. Or…

  He looked toward Levi, who had rocked himself back and forth enough to push the chair over backward. As he fell to the floor, the chair broke into several pieces. Levi scrambled to his feet and then toward the door, the pieces of wood still taped to his arms and legs. Marcus followed him up the steps and reached Levi just as he pushed a black intercom button. A red light blinked as Levi spun back toward Marcus, a smile on his bloody face.

  His victory was short-lived. Marcus smirked and fired a round into his forehead. As Levi's body fell to the ground, Marcus turned toward the exit. Camille was standing next to the door. He was going to say something when she bent over and vomited.

  "Fuck me.” Marcus looked down and put five more rounds into Levi's head.

  "I heard that," Sam said. "What happened?"

  "Nothing."

  He knelt, pulled out his knife, and laid Levi's hand flat on the floor, severing his thumb with the sharp blade. He wrapped the thumb in a piece of Levi's shirt and stuffed it into his pocket, along with the knife. He sprinted toward Camille, pulling out his pistol on the way. As he neared the exit, he could hear shouts coming from the stairwell beyond, followed by a pounding on the metal door. He looked over at Camille, who wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

  "Get up the stairs."

  Her eyes shifted from him to Levi.

  "Now!"

  As she started up the stairs to the roof, Marcus fired several rounds through the main door. The titanium-tipped bullets ripped through the metal panel, and the shouts beyond fell silent. T
he spent casings were still skittering across the floor as Marcus disappeared up the stairwell.

  Camille was just ahead of him, slowly climbing the steps.

  "Faster!"

  Below, he could hear muffled gunfire, followed by heavy thuds, as the guards battered against the door.

  "Sam, I need a way out."

  "Jesus Christ, there must be two-dozen men running around out here." She paused for a moment. "Can you get out the way you came in? I can get to the far side of that building with the car."

  "I can try…nice plan."

  "Hey, it's not my fault you didn't have an exit strategy, again."

  Marcus fired several more shots down the stairwell, just as the first guard stepped through the opening. The rounds hammered him back against the wall. Marcus tossed the empty weapon down the steps, pulled out his other pistol, and followed the girl out the door. He turned and looked back down the stairs as two men rounded the corner with their guns raised. Marcus fired down at them and pulled a grenade from the webbing under his coat. He flicked the pin with his thumb and dropped it down the stairwell. He slammed the door shut and pulled Camille to the side as the blast shook the building.

  Marcus looked at the girl. She was in shock, and the frosty night air was not helping. He took her hand, leading her to the cable connecting the two buildings. Marcus glanced back toward the doorway, knowing the guards would spill out at any moment. He pulled his knife out and severed the cable with the serrated edge of the blade, then dropped the knife and moved back to the edge of the roof with the line in one hand. He gauged the distance, wrapped a length of the wire around his arm and brought the rest back up to grip in his hand. With his left hand, he motioned for the girl to join him.

  As she inched toward him, Marcus wrapped one arm around her. "Hold on to me."

  "What!" She tried to step away. "Are you crazy?"

  "Yes, but you have to trust me, or you're going to die on this roof."

  Pausing, she glanced back at the menacing doorway behind them and nodded as she draped her arms around him.

  Marcus wrapped his coat around her body and clenched the cable with his other hand. Together, they stepped onto the short wall and shimmied to the right, lining themselves up with a window on the opposite side.

  "God, I hope this works—" he said.

  "What works?" Sam said in his earpiece.

  "You don't want to know."

  He looked up at the star-filled sky, took a deep breath and stepped off the ledge. The girl screamed as they plummeted through the darkness. They were still picking up speed when they crashed through the plywood and glass covering the window. Marcus grunted as the shards of wood and glass dug into his hands and face.

  They landed with a thud, debris settling all around them. As Marcus uncoiled the wire from his arm, a sharp pain shot through his lower back. In the pale moonlight, he could see a piece of wood protruding from his side, just above his waistline. Groaning, he sat up and slid his hand along his back. The other end of the shard was sticking out an inch or so from his skin. Marcus rolled to his knees and used the windowsill to pull himself up. He looked back at the roof and could see several men raising their weapons to fire toward the window.

  Camille stood a couple of feet from the opening, waiting for Marcus. He ignored the sharp pain exploding from his side and sprang toward the girl, bullets tearing up the surrounding floor. As they tumbled to the ground, Marcus felt a round slam into his shoulder. The Spectra fabric of his jacket absorbed most of the force, but the bullet penetrated the material and lodged in his muscle. Marcus grimaced as he rolled to his side, then to his knees, one hand covering the wound in his side. He took several shallow breaths before reaching for Camille.

  She did not respond.

  In the faint moonlight, he could see that she was staring at the ceiling. He scanned her body and found a single entry wound near her heart and noticed a large pool of blood gathering around her body. Marcus shook his head, then closed her eyes and studied her peaceful expression for a moment before he heard a distant voice calling his name. He looked down and realized his earpiece had fallen out and was dangling by his chest. He used two bloody fingers to slip the piece back into his ear.

  "Marcus? Are you there?" Sam was getting frantic. "Marcus!"

  "I'm here—" He peered around the darkened room. "I'm on the third floor, getting ready to head down. I expect a lot of trouble, so I'm going to exit on the second floor."

  "Okay. Some windows have fire escapes."

  "Some?" He moved away from the body and deeper into the building. "If I can't find one, I'll jump."

  "Isn't that how you broke your legs last time?"

  "Shut up."

  After a few minutes, he found the stairwell. He could see flashlights from guards making their way up. As he reached the first landing, his foot plunged through the rotted wood. He pulled it out and thought about turning back, but decided against it. As he took another step, the weakened floor disintegrated around him. He lunged for the railing, but it was out of reach.

  "Oh shit."

  He pulled in his arms, letting his body fall through the rotting wood. A few seconds later, he landed among a group of men making their way up the staircase. There was a moment of total silence as they stood in the darkness, then the creaking and groaning staircase collapsed. The others scrambled to escape the crumbling structure, but Marcus grabbed one of them, shoving him to the floor. He was perched on top of the man when the framework gave way and they all plunged into the abyss. As they hit the ground, the guard's body cushioned most of the impact, allowing Marcus to roll off him and come to a kneeling position among the ruins.

  There were a dozen groaning bodies lying around him. Marcus stood, hoping to reach the window before more guards showed up. But he was not so lucky. Within seconds, several flashlights were scanning the room, and one fell upon him. Marcus pulled out his pistol and fired at the light. He realized the muzzle blasts had given away his position, so he dropped the weapon and sprinted toward the moonlight seeping through a nearby window.

  Splinters peppered him as the bullets chewed up the floor and ceiling. One round sliced through his calf. Another grazed his wrist. He covered his head with his hands and dove through the window. For a moment, he enjoyed the cool night breeze, knowing the cold, hard street was soon to follow. He lowered his good shoulder and grunted as his body crashed into the cobblestone, tumbling into a grove of trash cans.

  Marcus came to a stop against a brick wall, surrounded by decaying rubbish. He heard the angry screech of tires and looked up to see a pair of glowing red lights bearing down upon him. The shouts from inside the building grew louder as the car stopped and the passenger door swung open. He crawled forward and pulled himself up into the seat. As they catapulted back down the alley, the door slammed shut, and bullets clunked into the heavy chassis.

  Marcus shifted in his seat, stifling a groan.

  Sam spun the car onto the street, then glanced over at Marcus. "The girls?"

  "Dead." Marcus grimaced. "Tell me you got the files."

  "Yeah, I got them, but they're encrypted." She paused. "What happened?"

  Sam looked over at her partner. Marcus was staring through the passenger window, a blank look on his bloody face. Turning back to the road, she drove them to their flat.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Heaven is high, Earth Wide.

  Bitter between them flies my sorrow.

  —Li Po

  Summer 38 A.D.

  Carthage

  Marcus leaned back in his chair, nursed his cup of wine and studied the man seated in the far corner. Shadows from the nearby fireplace danced across the man's sweaty, pockmarked face. He was engaged in a lively discussion with several others that grew louder with each pitcher of wine.

  Outside, the sultry summer night pressed on, but it made no difference to Marcus. He had no place to be and an eternity to get there. He took another swig, set his cup down and waited. Two pitchers later, the ro
om was almost empty, and the fire was a pile of fading embers. The owner wasn't adding more wood. Even bartenders have to sleep.

  Marcus, realizing the end was near, stood and drained his cup. He dropped several coins on the bar on his way to the door and headed out into the night. A breeze, dry and lonely, swept across the dark street. Marcus looked up to the cloudless sky; it would be months before it rained again. By then, he would be in another dark corner of the empire. He looked around the alley and found a dark niche in a nearby building, which he occupied.

  Marcus settled into the silence, a place he always dreaded. The last thing he wanted to do was be alone with his thoughts. He tried to clear his mind and focus on the tavern. The promise of the pain he was going to inflict brought him a measure of solace.

  The tavern door swung outwards, and three men staggered from the entrance. The trio gathered for one last salutation, then parted ways. Two of the men walked past Marcus and disappeared. The third swayed for a moment, somehow staying upright, then stumbled away. Marcus moved forward, slipping from shadow to shadow as he stalked his prey. He was just about to make his move when the man lurched into an opening between two slumping buildings.

  Marcus thought he might have been noticed, but then realized the man was vomiting. Marcus approached the gap and saw his target bent over with his hands on his knees. The sickening odor of stale wine drifted from the alley as the man emptied his stomach again. Marcus retreated from the opening and waited.

  The wrenching stopped, and the man stepped back into the street. Marcus grabbed him by his tunic and spun him through the air, slamming him into the wall.

  "What the hell!" the man cried.

  "Shut up!" Marcus shoved one hand over his mouth.

  The man squirmed, his bloodshot eyes straining. The more he fought, the harder Marcus pushed his head into the wall. As they struggled in silence, the moon crept over the nearest rooftop and chased away the shadows. The silver glow reflected off his sweaty forehead as the man finally gave up the fight.

  Marcus placed his forearm across the man's throat and lowered his hand. "What's your name?"