Chapter 9

The Emperor didn't fool anyone. Not his close advisors, his wife Poppea, the Praetoriun Guard, nor the people of Rome. Penelope was the very first to guess that he was behind the fire that destroyed the center of the city followed by the others. Both Lucius and Agrippa felt betrayed. They were the first to hear the grumblings of other men of the Guard who lost everything. Family, house, and the meager belongings they had. The men were always promptly paid by Nero but that was for his own protection. Although the two men didn't suffer any losses of their own, they did feel bad for the troops that had. They had to have pyres built for their women and children amidst the charred remains of the city. The only thing that kept Nero alive for the moment was their oaths to protect him.

"I don't know what we can do about it," Lucius said during at late night dinner. "We can't prove that he really did it."

"He did it," Attia stated, feeding Paul some mashed vegetables and small strands of meat.

"As sure as their is a God in heaven, he did it," she continued.

"Attia is right," Maia agreed. "I've seen that monster up close, he's mad. He killed his own mother and first wife. He married that prostitute Poppea but I don't think she had anything to do with it. She only married him because of the money and her position of power. Besides, I don't think she'd have the heart to do it."

"You're right," Agrippa agreed with his wife, bouncing Alexander on his knee. "Poppea may be a whore but she isn't a killer. It most likely sickened her as the others but she is keeping her mouth shut."

Two weeks later word spread around that the Christians set fire to the city. Nero bought the idea and started speaking against them. He had recently ordered the Apostle Paul to be beheaded and it was carried out a few days before the fire. A Guard, selected at random, brought his sword on Paul's neck. People had heard that the fisherman Peter was close by and there was a search for him. Not knowing what he looked like, Peter hid in plain sight.

The roundup of the Christians began in earnest less than a month after the torching of Rome. Nero gave speeches about their guilt and vowed to rid the Empire of all of them.

There were very few in the past the openly declared their allegiance to Jesus. Most just lived from day-to-day and went to their secret meetings about two nights a week.

Nero offered rewards to anyone who turned in these criminals responsible for burning down the city. There were arrests by the multitudes. The jails and dungeons were filled to capacity.

"I tell you I know some of these people are innocent," Caulda, a Tribune stated after consuming more than his share of wine.

"They're all innocent," grumbled Gaius, another Tribune. "We know who did this. It was some of our own who were ordered to do it. But it came from the top, I tell you."

"I don't mind putting the guilty to death," Suetonius said. "But to kill innocents, that's where we should not cross that line. Do you honestly believe that all those people met and plotted this? Our beloved Emperor has seized fifty acres in this city to rebuild a brand new Palace. He's also going to change the name of Rome to Neroina. Things were so much better when old Claudius was alive."

"Here, here," came a chorus of agreements.

"What are we going to do about this?" Lucius asked, nursing one goblet of wine.

"We have to wait and see what Nero does about this," Agrippa followed. "If we act prematurely, it could cost us dearly. There are thousands in the Legions that would sell their souls to have duty that we've got."