Age of Treason Page #4

-I said kill him! Don't you...

-GLADIATOR:
Fight! Fight!

There's Sulla.

No, no! Not like that, you pathetic

son of Stupidicus! The weapon!

Always keep your eyes

on the weapon!

Your master, Casca.

I need to speak with him. Where is he?

Where he always is.

Wedged behind a plate.

Or a dozen of them.

He's over there.

This won't take long.

Well, well, well.

I told you he'd be back.

Not much good a trained baboon

like you out there is good for.

I've seen better than you,

Sulla. That's enough.

You don't say!

And he's learned

how to answer back, too!

-(GRUNTS)

-(MEN LAUGHING)

What's this? Don't tell me

you've already forgotten how to fight.

Three hundred sesterces

a day just to board him?

You don't just board a

thoroughbred like Justus, Falco.

If you expect him

to retain his value,

there's food, training sessions,

baths, massages, more food...

And if you want women for him,

that's extra,

though Garrus never did.

You mean to tell me that Justus

has never been with a woman?

(CHUCKLING) Never.

(COUGHS NOISILY)

Garrus thinks it saps

the killer instinct.

Now, if you intend to

sell him back to the Senator,

then you better see

it stays this way, too, huh?

Can you believe they have

the nerve to call these

"door mice in honey sauce"?

MAN 1:
Wow! What is that?

MAN 2:
All right! Hey!

(MEN JEERING)

(MEN WHISTLING)

SULLA:
Her name's Druida.

She's supposed to be

the fiercest woman in the Empire.

(GROANS)

(SULLA LAUGHING GLEEFULLY)

(GRUNTS SAVAGELY)

Get out of here.

We're leaving.

Believe me, I'd love to keep you in

the manner to which you're accustomed,

but at Casca's prices,

I can't even afford for us to be

standing around here. Now, come on.

(PAN FLUTE MUSIC PLAYING)

JUSTUS:
Have you ever seen

a woman gladiator before?

A woman gladiator?

Well, every freak in the Empire is

displayed here sooner or later,

I mean, three-headed dogs,

twins joined at the hips,

but no, I can't say

I've seen one of those.

An extraordinary idea, though.

But I'm sure when your time comes,

there'll be plenty of Roman women

willing to have you.

-"Extraordinary." That's a good word,

yes? -Yeah.

A good word,

but not enough to save a skin

if my landlord or bookie

gets a hold of me.

Yeah, but I could help you

with them.

(LAUGHS) You could help me?

By doing what, exactly?

-Killing them?

-It doesn't have to get to it, but...

Listen. In the first place,

I am not your master.

In the second,

I don't go around having people

beaten up or murdered.

(SIGHS) Gladiators!

And do something

with your hair.

What's with the Gaius getup?

Things didn't work out

at Casca's school, eh?

And you can stop looking

so pleased about it, too.

Well, if you want a foul face

to look at, try Simplex's.

He's here to collect

for last night.

Don't tell me you left him

to wait in the office!

Well, I wasn't about to have the King

of Death leer at me till you got back.

Oh, perfect! That necrophiliac

drinks like a fish!

I'll be lucky if he's left me

enough wine to souse a gnat.

What did I tell you?

Why don't you finish this?

By the time Garrus gets back, you'll

have consumed everything I have anyway.

(GENTLY) Simplex.

(INSISTENTLY) Simplex.

Before you thank me for saving your

life, it might just interest you to know

that our old friend Simplex

there isn't drunk, he's dead.

Search the city if need be,

but I want my dagger found.

It has a three-sided blade

and a snake on the handle.

-Understand?

-Yes, sir.

If there's anything you need from the

Praetorians, Domitian, you need only ask.

It was nothing, Pertinax.

I misplaced something, that's all.

But of course.

I, too, am distracted

by the tragic murder of my

wife's younger brother, Cato.

You two were close,

were you not?

Is it true that you were together

the night that he was stabbed?

What are you saying?

Only that you must

never forget

that your father is

the Emperor now.

And everything you do will be

scrutinized by his enemies,

anxious for any excuse

to tear him from the throne.

Now, I've sworn my life

to protect you both.

But I can only do that

if I have your absolute trust.

There can be nothing hidden

between us, Domitian.

Do you understand?

I do.

And you have my trust,

Pertinax. I swear it.

Good.

Then we will go together

to Cato's funeral tonight

and share our grief. Yes?

(SIGHS)

That woman gladiator,

the one I sent for,

the one who's sworn to try and

kill the Emperor.Is she in Rome now?

-Yes, sir.

-Excellent.

We'll just have to see Domitian

gives her that chance, won't we?

And that character, Falco,

-has he been seen, too?

-Yes, sir.

What a perfect day

this is becoming.

And still so early yet.

-Poison? -The wine was cheap.

It wasn't that deadly.

You sure you don't recall seeing

anyone strange lurking around?

In this bath house? Strange?

Please!

Well, someone's anxious to see

me shipped into the next world.

-Your landlord, maybe?

-Never get paid if I was dead.

And poison's more the modus

operandi of the rich. No.

Six-to-five says

this is about Cato's murder.

This is an awfully fine

piece of steel

for the likes of Simplex

to be toting around.

-Juba the Elder made that.

-Oh, really?

Just one glance and you can tell

who made this, just like that, eh?

I may not know much, Falco,

but I know weapons.

And that's Juba's.

Falco, you think it's

the knife that killed Cato?

I think we better find out

before it ends up poking out of me.

(WATER RUNNING)

Does your work always have

this many dead bodies?

You should talk. Besides, there's

a lot you can find out from a corpse

if you know how to ask.

What do you want?

I heard you're the best mortician

in Rome, so I came to see for myself.

Best, worst,

it's all the same to them now,

from where I stand.

FALCO:
What happened to him?

Someone decided he looked better

with a knife in his guts.

His name's Cato.

Couldn't have been much of a fight.

I don't see many bruises.

Haven't you heard?

The rich don't bruise in Rome.

-What about yours? -Drank himself

to death. Will that cost more?

(SNORTS) If you have to ask

the price, you can't afford it.

What are you gawking at, bull?

Your face.

A reward from my master

for trying to escape.

Pretty, isn't it?

Now I'm only fit to work in here, where

the patrons aren't easily offended.

Seen enough yet

to decide, citizen?

FALCO:
The rich may not bruise

in Rome,

but the dead usually do.

Mmm! Now, Cato, where did you

manage to pick up a tattoo like that?

So quit stalling

and get on with it, Falco.

Not that I was any too keen

to make this match,

but I had one

three-sided blade

and one three-sided wound.

What'd he say?

"Seen enough yet, citizen?"

(PEOPLE MOANING)

They say you haven't lived till you've

been to a real funeral in Rome.

And if there was any place to find

out who buried that knife in Cato,

this was it, all right.

Besides, I thought Justus might appreciate

a look at how the other half dies.

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes