Cinna left the capital with some of his bodyguards that same night. They did not use his official Senate car, which may be bulletproof, but not invincible to tracking. They used the secret network of tunnels built by Pompey when he was president, which leads to areas outside the city. From there, they acquired a car which allowed them to reach Novgorod, some 600 kilometers north of Moscovia. When they reached the city before dawn, they entered another network of tunnels, this time leading them to the hideout of the Liberators, who fled the city after the public threw its support to the dead Kaiser.
Cinna knocked at the metal door and said, "Open up!"
It took few minutes before someone asked from the other side, "Password?"
"What?!", Cinna exclaimed, "This is urgent!"
"Password," the voice repeated.
"Okay," Cinna said as he shakes his head once, and then snapped at one of his guards.
The bodyguard at his right whispered, "Uh... J22M?"
Cinna nodded and said loudly, "J22M!"
"No. Password," the voice declared.
Cinna hit the guard with his palm, and then snapped at another guard.
The bodyguard at his left whispered, "Liberty or death?"
Cinna nodded and said loudly, "Give me liberty or give me death!"
A few more seconds passed, and the metal door clicked, as if indicating it was opened.
"Recognized. Welcome, brother," the voice said.
As the door opened, Cinna saw Servili Kaska, the first one to strike Kaiser during the assassination. Kaska shook Cinna's hand, but then went closer to his ear and said, "Your guards have to wait in the lobby."
Cinna whispered, "I understand."
He then turned to his guards and asked them to wait at the lobby. The metal door was closed, and when they entered the lobby, there is another metal door. The guards remain in the lobby, which was equipped with good lighting, radio, electric fan, and even a refrigerator for snacks, while Cinna and Kaska enter the second metal door. When they close the second metal door, a dark tunnel was revealed, lighted only by small bulbs. The tunnel was quite small, and people can only enter by twos. After some walking, they reach the third metal door. When Kaska opened the third metal door, there revealed the rest of the conspirators who assassinated Julius Kaiser, watching on television a replay of Antony's speech for the late dictator. All of them are in that one large room which featured better lighting and even air conditioning. The room also had three other metal doors, one on each side. With Cinna's arrival, the evidently gloomy atmosphere seemed to have lightened up.
"Cinna! How's things at the capital? You could've just radioed us," Longinus greeted Cinna as he shook his hand.
"Yeah," Barotov said to Cinna as he also shook his hand, "I suppose you're not followed?"
"Of course not," Cinna assured to Barotov.
"Take a seat," Longinus motioned his hand to direct Cinna to a vacant chair.
"Thank you," Cinna said with a smile.
As he sat down, he noticed the rest of the conspiring senators talking softly with each other. Thinking he was being doubted by his own comrades, Cinna began his report.
"Gentlemen! I bring news from the Senate. It turns out Kaiser's will is real, but that's not the big story..."
With this opening statement, all in the room looked at Cinna and listened intently.
YOU ARE READING
Code Antony
Historical FictionJulius Kaiser is at the peak of his power after his triumphant return from the American Wars in 1950. However, Kaiser's political ambition became apparent to his many rivals. In a desperate effort to hinder his continuous rise, at least sixty senato...
