A New Era [Plot]

Posture was important during these interviews. It usually wasn't Roz or Tiberius that would watch the recordings, but all testimonies went to the Roman higher powers, including the senate. There was always that one senator who would remind you to "sit up straight, your back will thank you when you're older." Today in particular was about the interrogation of their captive, the man from Black Creek. Christian wasn't going on a whole lot. His name was Stephen Cordell, or so he said. He was formerly Roman, but was removed by his superiors. Christian hated having to coddle him, he could only think of what he did to Lennie. Even worse, was keeping all of the information off the record until the investigation was done.

Christian continued to keep his back straight, he was pretty certain Stephen was full of it. There would be documentation, but Rome was investigating it, they'd find out if there was foul play. He eyed the door as it creeked open, Christian left his hands folded neatly in front of him, to look nice and pretty for the senators. He hated it. The figure that came in to question him was a surprise and a half. Here he was, only seven days since coming back to New Rome after being dead for a year and a half. Alexander, formerly deceased fiance of Aspen Davenport. Apparently he was already welcome enough to be doing questioning and investigating work for the legion again.

He sat across from Christian, and Christian couldn't help but notice the lack of camera interaction. There was no red light on it. "You're not recording." Christian observed, keeping his one in careful check. His back slightly curved, sitting in a more lax position.

Alexander hadn't been back inside of camp for too long. It had only been about seven days. Seven days and things were still trying to get back into place. He had met up with his parents and brother who were overjoyed to see him. Moved back into his old room like everything was normal again. He would have liked to have spent some of the nights with Aspen since being back, but she was still be a little distant. Today he had to get back into the swing of things and needed to deal with certain manners.

He opened the door and walked in shutting it behind him. He sat down in the chair across from Christian. "Hardly anyone watches the recordings anyways." He said in a monotone as he looked at the demigod in front of him. No matter what happened in here today, the outcome was going to be the same.

"So, Stephen Cordell has being dealt with. Short story is, you know too much. You need to leave and not return. Your leave is to be effective immediately. You get one bag to pack your stuff and I'll be watching and screening what you take with you. Do I make myself clear?" Alex asked as he placed a bag on the table for Christian to use.

Christian's expression was mildly confused, but mostly passive aggressive. "Dude, I'm not one to play the power card, but-" Christian paused, only lowering his eyes for a moment to look at the bag. He grabbed it in his hands, it wasn't exactly the sort of thing you'd want to take on a long hiking trip. Just a generic black bag with backpack straps. Christian couldn't even see a brand name on it, it was as though it was made in some cheap sweatshop that would be losing money to stitch a name in it. Christian flatly dropped the bag back on the table and looked up at Alexander.

"Under whose authority exactly? You do know I outrank you, right? Being gone for a year and a half sorta pulls you down a few notches." Christian's voice came out in a passive aggressive tone. He was sure this was just some joke or some test, but he didn't like that they'd chosen Alexander to administer it. As though he was some authority after being gone so long with such vague answers to cover it. The legacy crossed his arms, eyeing the other Roman.

"You're not allowed to let my prisoner go, that's treason. On a capital level. You'll spend decades in a jail cell." He wasn't sure why he was fired up, it wasn't a usual trait he exhibited in Cohort Five. Then again, with everything it took to get that prisoner, it was no surprise to him that he was naturally unhappy with the entire situation.

Alexander remained calm the whole time. He didn't even flinch when Christian began to get passive aggressive. To be honest, he had much more important things to do and this was just a small fraction of his day. He knew the legacy in front of him wouldn't be happy. Who would be? Alex waited it out to make sure that Christian was done before he leaned his elbows on the table and intently looked at Christian.

"Tiberius' authority. One of the Praetors of Camp Jupiter. He's out in the hall if you want to see him and you want proof." He said in a cold tone, before he relaxed back in his chair again his arms folded in front of him, almost mirroring the legacy. "Under the authority of him and many others, they feel as though you make camp an unsafe place to be. You've been putting the lives of others in harm. Rowan Davenport, got shot on your watch. Lindsey Proditor, you and I both know where she is. I'm sure there's probably more examples, but you get it at this point."

There was now one last point to address to Christian. About his prisoner. "Don't worry, he's not being let go of. You've done all the questioning you can do." Alexander didn't have much else to say at this point. He was more there to respond or answer questions if at all needed to.

Christian kept his eyes on the older kid, he didn't like the body language he was getting. Tiberius didn't screw around, maybe Roz would, but even this was far fetched. Christian pulled his chair out, standing on his own two legs, taking swift action to take strong steps to the door of the questioning room. He yanked the handle like never before, leaving the tender care that Romans gave the Senate House behind. The hallway was anything but clear, Christian saw not only Tiberius, but Cora Prescott with him. He didn't stop to take the view in, or to ask them anything. He slammed the door approaching back and approached Alexander.

There weren't a whole lot of way to win this.

"You're one to talk about getting Davenports hurt." Christian replied. Even still, it didn't help his position to down Alexander. "I was promoted to serve Cohort Five. Cohort Two is in more than capable hands." Christian's eyes curved, to an angry expression. He stepped closer to Alexander. He wouldn't mind if this took a violent turn. "Where's my prisoner, Alex?"

The son of Nerio couldn't help but sigh at the reaction of the legacy. He ended up getting up from his seat to open the door to look for himself. Alexander knew Tiberius and Cora were out there. He had asked them to be there for back up in case anything went south. Cora being a doctor, and Tiberius being a man of power. He continued to sit in his seat and brushed his hand through his hair as he waited for Christian to come back in.

The door slammed shut.

"Getting Davenports hurt? Please. They either do it to themselves or they're strong enough to hold their own. Still doesn't change the fact that you're unsafe for the people here. Should I mention Aspen? You find her drunk at a bar, coping in the one way she knows how. Yet somehow you wiggle your way in enough to convince her quitting is the best idea. So much so she came to you mentioning she couldn't live life anymore. How is that safe for her? Granted alcohol isn't much better, but at least she had the will to live." Alexander said shaking his head a bit. He could see Christian get closer to him and that's when the older male stood up and crossed his arms looking over at the Legacy of Mercury.

"Your prisoner is soon to be dead."

"I 'wiggle' my way in?" Christian repeated. Truthfully, when it came to Rowan, Christian did feel guilty. He'd made the call to ultimately intervene in her attempt to disarm someone peacefully. Aspen's situation was entirely different. Still, apparently she'd already filled him in on all the details of his missing-in-action period. Christian didn't even know how much he knew. There were some things that would probably fill a personal gap between the two, besides what was happening right now.

"That's a load of trash, and you know it. The only reason she had such a hard time was because of you. Sooner or later, someone's going to make you go on the record about how you survived, I hope you know that." Christian kept his voice in check, not to yell, but to stand firm on his two feet. He didn't feel a lot of pity for his prisoner, he was the reason that the best Optio he'd ever met was in a hospital on the verge of death. Still, Christian knew whatever was going on wasn't right.

"Whatever coup this is between the three of you, it's done. I'm not leaving."

Alexander didn't have any words left to say to Christian. Not for the moment. The older demigod remained silent as he listened. He knew there was going to be resistance. He had heard from the others that it was often this way or complete compliance. There was very rarely anyone who fell in the middle. The son of Nerio didn't even blame people for how they reacted. If he had been told the same thing, he'd be angry.

However, Alex knew what he was doing was right for New Rome. This was what they needed. They needed to make New Rome go back to its roots. After a few more minutes of complete silence he looked at Christian again before he opened his mouth.

"People die and move on in life. You either cope with it or you don't. No one in your life is going to be alive forever." He said responding to the bit about Aspen and there was little time before he began to speak again. "Yes. You are leaving. Whether you go on your own or it is by force." He paused his words for a few moments before picking up the bag and handing it out to Christian. "You may want to pack some stuff before you don't get the chance to." He said in a bit of sympathetic tone. "Look, I know how this must feel, but we're doing what we need to do for the safety of our people and for the betterment of our people. I hope you can one day understand that."

With those last few words mentioned. He knew Christian would never see it his way. That would be fact, but he did feel a small bit of sympathy for the demigod in front of him.

It was a big pill to swallow, but Christian was starting to accept that no one was coming through the door to tell him he was being pranked. So, what were the options? Maybe he could take on Alexander, but there was a Praetor and a former Centurion right outside, and Christian was probably the only person out of three entirely unarmed. He could start yelling, try to get someone to hear his story, but Alexander would probably just kill him. Sure, it'd be a real pain for the three of them to move the body through New Rome undetected. But it could be done, and then Christian would have no chance to do anything.

He reached his hand out, taking the bag from Alexander. Christian wasn't sure what the game plan was. He'd pledged himself to New Rome, it wasn't like he could just kill one of the Praetors now because they decided he wasn't good for the legion. Christian heard enough to know something was off, but whether it was or wasn't didn't matter at the moment. He'd quit the painkillers. Maybe he did it too late. All he could think about was his mom, and his sister, and what those damned things did to his family. All of it had led up to this moment here. "You're wrong." Christian finally said. "I get it. But you're wrong."

Christian sling the bag over his shoulder. "She's in on it, isn't she?" Christian's question didn't came with hatred. Only, that of a question he needed the answer to.

When Christian took the bag, Alexander could sense that Christian was finally coming around to accepting what was happening. It was always good when things didn't have to end in a fight. Fighting was a last resort for him. He didn't want to, but if he had to, he would. Still though, there didn't seem to be any sign of resistance from Christian anymore.

The bag was taken out of his hand and the legacy had slung it over his back. Alex returned back to crossing his arms while looking at him. He was told that he was wrong. He understood that Christian didn't have to agree with his point. That he'd see him as wrong, but Alex knew in his heart that this was right. This is what had to be done. It was all for the greater good.

"Aspen? We haven't spoken much, but right now she thinks I'm in a meeting. Michael Davenport may have had some words to say about the matter." Alexander said speaking the truth, but whether Christian believed him or not, that was up to him to decide. "Cora and Tiberius will escort you to the barracks for when you're ready to go."

"No shit..." Christian let the cuss out in a solemnly neutral tone. Head Davenport was involved, head Prescott too, and at least one Praetor. How many others could be involved in that sort of power? Christian knew that the deep state existed in American politics, but he never even had a second thought about New Rome. That was probably just the tip of the iceberg too. Christian wondered who else was involved. Corinne, Rowan, the other Centurions? He chose not to press his luck.

It wasn't like Alexander was wrong about everything, Christian had made some serious mistakes before. "I don't trust you." Christian said, with a shrug. The tone still wasn't angry, he'd accepted what was happening. "For the record, I know where my barracks are. I don't really need an escort." It was a play, granted, not a very good one. No amount of silver tongue could get someone out of this. He'd always been good at convincing, but always lesser at manipulating.

"You should let him come with me." Christian made a final plea. "Nobody has to die that way."

"Of course you know where your barracks are. We have someone escorting you to make sure you don't pull anything. To make sure you really do leave." Alexander said calmly and he pushed in the chair he had been sitting in previously. He watched the Legacy of Mercury. His body language and mannerisms. Of course he wouldn't trust him. It wasn't needed to be said. Alexander wasn't going to comment on that though.

"He can't go with you. He's probably already come to his fate by this point." The son of Nerio confirmed to Christian. There wasn't any way he'd have ever let Stephen Cordell go with Christian. There was too much information there.

"You're on your own in this, Christian."

"Just her." Christian offered his final thoughts. He had no cards to play, at least, no significant cards. "I can't even look at Tiberius right now. Just Cora, and I'll go peacefully." His tone was contained, controlled by a knowledge that this was the only way. His emotions, however, internally screamed in rage and agony. Perhaps some of it played onto his face, he couldn't be sure right now. On the off-chance that he could take down three highly skilled opponents, which he clearly couldn't, he'd still have nowhere to go. He'd be a killer to New Rome's greatest people. Even if he escaped, who could he really trust? There was no way to know. Anyone could be with this coup. For all Christian knew, he could be the only Centurion not there.

"You should go, before I change my mind." Christian was willing to speak in that way. It wasn't like Alexander could do a lot in return. What were his options? Fight? Risk causing direst in New Rome? At least, in the moment, Christian could only hope he could mirror Alexander's thoughts. "Mercury gave me that quest, and because of us, this city got much needed Imperial Gold. Do the right thing."