VESPASIAN: Previously on Those About to Die...
MAN: Not all the Judeans are comfortable with the idea of their queen
spreading her legs for your brother.
LETO: I believe your brother Domitian is responsible for the grain delays.
And the food riots.
-TITUS: Do you have proof? -LETO: A navigator on one of the grain ships
is being escorted here as we speak.
The moment is upon us.
We kill my brother.
TENAX: Who among the Praetorians can we buy?
Ten million sesterces in gold, two days from now, here in this place.
ELIA: Scorpus, I will face him on the track,
and I will defeat him.
(URGING HORSE)
(CROWD CHEERING)
TENAX: We need to speak.
Leave us.
Manilius demands 10 million sesterces.
Yes. After I'm emperor, I can pay him that.
Or I'll kill him.
He wants it now, in advance.
It's impossible.
Without our winnings, there is no way.
What's worse, Leto met with Titus
and laid out, with surprising accuracy, what I had done.
-Titus knows? -Yes and no.
He doesn't know who to believe, me or Leto.
-Ten million? -Perhaps there is a way.
A bet.
We wager everything we have on a round bet, today.
Scorpus to take the lead on the seventh lap.
-I'll make sure it happens. -Let's not grasp at straws.
That's all we have.
If we win, we'll have enough to pay Manilius
and as many of the Praetorian Guards as we need.
Yes, yes. Let's do it.
(CROWD CHEERING)
Brother,
you seem agitated.
No, just thoughtful.
As much as I thrill at all of this,
in two days we open our amphitheater,
and this place loses something that's magic.
That's true enough.
But as you pointed out, it also loosens the stranglehold
the Patricians have over our city.
-Well put. -It's your words.
I know.
Elia. Let's talk this through.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
We're making a very large round bet.
Spread it out to the other boards,
but keep it quiet so we don't drop our odds.
You said "we"? Does that mean I have a piece of it?
Make this happen, and you get a tenth.
Scorpus will take the lead in the seventh.
I need to go and make sure that's what will happen,
and get the last of the jewelry and the deeds.
Betting everything on one race is risky.
No other choice.
Life or death.
All or nothing.
(COINS CLATTERING)
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
WOMAN: It is Scorpus.
I need something from you.
(SIGHS) Everyone wants something from Scorpus.
I'm putting everything I have on you today.
-Everything. -Huh.
Of course, Scorpus will win, but...
That's expected. The odds won't be so good.
Vain fuck.
Where have you been?
The odds on you winning aren't as good as they used to be.
-We're on a round bet. -A round fix?
This close to the race? No.
No, it's impossible.
It's too hard to set up. Too many drivers to bring in to make it look real.
I don't care!
I need you to take the lead on the seventh.
Hold it and win.
What's my piece?
Your life.
Without this, Domitian's dead, and so are we.
Got it?
(OPENING THEME MUSIC PLAYING)
Go to the other betting taverns and bet it all.
Gold, the deeds to my properties, everything.
Where do you hide the chits?
-Are you sure? -Get them.
In Numidia, leopards drag their prey up into trees.
Higher places are better for hiding things of value.
Go.
I need help.
TENAX: Rufus, come here.
Take these, and follow me.
(SIGHS)
CALA: Higher places are better for hiding things of value.
(CROWD CHEERING)
(SIGHS)
-Xenon died. -Yes, such a tragedy.
So I thought, "Why not go with Gold?"
Good decision.
(BOTH LAUGHING)
Otho, over there.
Fonsoa is in the first race?
Yes, he is.
(HORSE NEIGHS)
Now do you see, little brother? The appeal of this.
Come on.
You must feel what lured Andria and I to this.,
PASSUS: Citizens of Rome,
I present to you the first race of today!
(CROWD CHEERING)
(DOOR OPENS)
(MILDLY TAPPING)
(TRUMPETS BLOWING)
PASSUS: Pillions! Ready!
(CROWD CHEERING)
(INDISTINCT SHOUTING)
-(BELL DINGS) -(URGING HORSES)
Hiya!
(YELLING) Hiya!
-(RIDERS SCREAM) -(CROWD GASPING)
(BELL DINGS)
Hey, Otho, would you like some food? Are you hungry?
(YELLS)
(BOTH URGING HORSES)
(YELLING)
(THUD)
MAN: Move it! Run!
Open up. Elia, please. Please open up.
Move over.
(BOTH SCREAMING)
(SCREAMING)
-(SQUELCHING) -(GROANS)
No! Fonsoa!
(FONSOA SCREAMING)
-Fonsoa! -(ALL EXCLAIM)
(STRAINING)
Otho, come.
(INDISTINCT SHOUTING)
(GRUNTING)
Get the physician. Hurry.
ELIA: The legs.
(SOMBER MUSIC PLAYING)
(SALENA GASPS)
(SALENA SOBBING)
Don't give up. Please.
It'll be all right.
Please stay with me, please.
(SOBBING)
FONSOA: Elia.
Do you remember when I broke my leg?
Of course. Foolish thing.
You carried me home.
Grandfather, he was gone.
You held me while Andria set my leg.
You held me all night long while I cried.
It must have hurt.
Not like this.
(VOICE BREAKING) I'm sorry.
(SALENA AND ELIA CRYING)
No!
No. (SOBBING)
(WATER DRIPPING)
(CLATTERING)
MAN: (IN DISTANCE) Hey. Scorpus is dead.
(PEOPLE MOANING IN GRIEF)
WOMAN: Scorpus is dead!
(PEOPLE CRYING)
DOMITIAN: I ordered Scorpus' internment to be here at the spint.
I would have commissioned a grand statue for him, but...
I'll be dead before I can see it.
He was my friend.
I'll commission the statue.
You'll be dead, too.
We bet, and we lost.
Now, soon we die.
Perhaps not so soon.
We bet, we lost,
but I found our winnings.
And it's more than enough to cover Manilius.
What?
How?
Does it matter?
No. (CHUCKLES SOFTLY)
And now we have Scorpus' share as well.
I suppose we do.
(DOMITIAN CHUCKLES)
A much better view from here.
Who would have thought a couple of paces would make such a difference?
A grand view standing here as your partner and not just a client.
My, my.
We are ambitious, aren't we?
Yes, we are.
And you, not even a Patrician.
Don't be so sure about that.
If so, all the better for me to have you as my servant.
Excuse me.
I have a goodbye to attend to.
(WOMAN HUMMING)
Everybody out.
Shame you'll miss all the fun now.
There won't be as much of a laugh without you.
Speed across the River Styx to the wine-soaked pleasures of Elysium...
you wonderful, drunken bastard. (CHUCKLES)
(INHALES DEEPLY)
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)
(SOMBER MUSIC PLAYING)
(GRUNTS, PANTING)
Were it not for my rage, there would be no grave to dig.
Blame the Fates.
Not yourself.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
Salena, I had to come.
What a terrible tragedy.
Please, allow me to make amends.
Go to sleep.
I apologize for my touch.
Will you let me begin again?
Say what you must, then leave.
Without obligation, I ask that you meet with my advocate.
He believes you have a strong case to get back your shares in the Blue Faction.
Go on.
You have had three children, I believe.
Only Otho lives.
The other two are very young, when they...
Then the jus trium liberorum applies.
When a woman has had three children, she is free
from the guardianship of her husband.
-Meaning? -What is yours is yours.
Those shares were yours, not your husband's.
He stole them from you,
and so the sale of them to Consul Marsus was invalid.
SALENA: This can't be proven.
It is already proven.
It needs only to be argued in court.
An expensive, but doable process.
How soon can we meet with your advocate?
A fool's bet, and you lost.
I lost one,
and won another.
We bury the dead and forge ahead.
Write these for me.
Both scrolls will be the same.
Can I trust you?
Yes and no.
This has nothing to do with your children.
Good. Now write.
-MANILIUS: Count it. -TENAX: All sorted?
Titus will die in his sleep.
-And Porto? -He will die shortly after.
Along with those Praetorians loyal to him.
I have people in Ostia monitoring the arrival of the navigator.
Whatever you do, do it fast.
As part of the deal,
I've written out dual confessions.
If either of us betray the other, we both die.
And Domitian with us.
TENAX: Two simple parchments, either one enough to see us killed,
either one enough to keep us alive.
Depending on who holds them.
(DOOR OPENS)
(DOOR CLOSES)
It's done.
And now, for as long as you live,
you have a sword dangling over your head.
-Like that legendary Greek. -Damocles?
Follow me.
We all live with a sword dangling over our heads, Cala.
It's just that I know it.
Push here.
(MECHANISM RUMBLES)
(DOOR CREAKING)
You're mad.
You're in this, too, now.
Then we are both mad.
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)
Please, I beg you.
I have important information for the emperor.
He will pay you more than you can imagine
when he hears what I have to say.
And what precisely do you want to tell my brother?
Please, I beg you, my love.
Then why don't you beg for me?
By all the gods,
I regret what I've done, and I will never, ever do it again.
I will never speak of it.
No.
You won't.
You already know too much.
I can't have you spilling secrets to my brother.
No, please, don't. Don't!
(STRUGGLING)
(MUFFLED SCREAMING)
(SCREAMING)
(GASPING)
-BERENICE: Stop. -GUARD: Down.
It's bad news.
Domitian is buying Praetorian Guards.
He's part owner of the Gold Faction.
That's where he's getting all his money.
Tell me you have proof.
-RUFUS: Only what I've heard. -Then who would know for certain?
RUFUS: Cala runs his books.
I believe her youngest daughter is in the home of the Consul Marsus as a slave.
Yeah.
(COINS JINGLE)
(TAPS)
GUARD: Up.
(BELL JINGLES)
(DOOR OPENS)
I'm here to see your mistress.
Your Highness.
We have the same enemy, Antonia.
And who might that be?
You know perfectly well who it is.
(CROWD CLAMORING)
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
You are summoned by Antonia Cornelia, wife of the Consul Marsus.
Me?
For what?
The Lady Antonia wishes to speak to you
about your daughter Jula, who's a slave in her house.
Remember, not too quick.
Let the crowd wait for it before you give it to them.
I think you may have finally found your calling.
Blood sports, showman,
it suits you.
I spent long enough sitting in the far seats
to know what the mob wants.
(BELL RINGS)
(DOOR OPENS)
My ladies.
You wish to speak to me about my daughter?
Is there a chance I might buy her freedom?
You misunderstand.
-Mother! Let go! No! -Leave her. Leave her.
Quiet.
Your daughter has been spying on my husband and me.
Such an offense warrants death.
And I am within my rights and power to do it
in any manner I choose.
You work for a man, Tenax.
You reside in his home.
This man is a client of Flavius Domitianus,
the brother of the emperor.
I presume your daughter was reporting to him,
through you.
Domitian and Tenax are responsible for the arrest of my husband, Consul Marsus.
Did you know they were planning a coup
against the Emperor Titus?
(SCOFFS)
That's what I thought.
We need proof of their planned betrayal.
Only with that will you save your daughter.
Her silence speaks volumes.
If there is such proof,
how do I know you will keep your word
-and will not harm my daughter? -(CHUCKLES)
My family has been furnishing Rome with consuls for over 300 years.
I am above lying.
But I understand your lack of trust.
-(GASPS) -No, no, no, no, don't, don't, please.
I can get you your proof.
But don't hurt her.
It is up to you now.
You have until midday.
If not, your daughter will die.
Now, go.
(JULA CRYING)
(CROWD CHEERING)
Listen,
people of the greatest city on Earth,
let the games begin!
(CROWD CHEERING)
Brace yourself, brother.
You're about to win the adoration of all of Rome.
(CROWD EXCLAIMS)
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
(GRUNTING)
(YELLS)
(MEN GRUNTING)
(MAN CHANTING IN LOCAL LANGUAGE)
(CHANTING STOPS)
(BONES CRACK)
(CHANTING CONTINUES)
(YELLS)
I always imagined it like this.
So close you can see
everything.
-Ready the birds. -Ready the birds.
-MAN 1: Ready the birds. -MAN 2: The birds.
(ALL CHEERING)
-Release them. -Release them.
Release them.
(CREAKING)
(ALL EXCLAIMING IN AWE)
(BIRDS SQUAWKING)
You've outdone yourself, brother.
This is something special.
(DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING)
(CROWD CHEERING)
(MEN SHOUTING)
(TIGER GROWLS)
(ELEPHANT TRUMPETS)
(TIGER GROWLS)
Aura.
(GRUNTS)
(BREATHING SHAKILY)
(ALL GRUNTING AND WHOOPING)
Aura, what is this?
-How can this be? -Please forgive me.
-Forgive you for what? -For everything.
I am the reason you are here in this arena,
that Jula is a slave, that our mother is in Rome.
I am the cause of everything.
-You were protecting Jula. -And look at where that got us.
I have sold myself to the Ludus.
Do you think your death will make it easier for us?
Perhaps not for you,
but for me.
ATTICUS: Kwame.
-Come. -Aura.
-ATTICUS: Close the door. -Your sister?
-And pull. -Pull.
MEN: Pull!
(MEN GRUNTING)
(CROWD CHEERING)
Nica, my girl, listen carefully.
TENAX: Senators.
Tenax, free us. You'll profit beyond your dreams.
TENAX: Consul.
This is madness. You know he'll kill you, too.
We will all die!
-Shut up! -(GRUNTS)
(PANTING)
(GRUNTS)
(TRUMPETS BLOWING)
SENATOR: Tenax.
TENAX: Open the gates.
(TRUMPETS BLOWING)
MAN: You can't do this.
Please!
Tenax!
(CROWD CHEERING)
Look at those Patrician sons of bitches.
(LAUGHTER)
A long way from the Aventine now?
(LAUGHS)
(ALL CLAMORING)
Meet Sobek, the Egyptian crocodile god
from the dark waters of the Nile.
The demon of the hereafter.
(WHIMPERS)
(BREATHING HEAVILY)
Stay here. Wait for me.
-Have you brought it? -Get my daughter.
Hand her over to me, then you'll get your proof.
Go get her.
-Mother. -Quiet.
Nica.
(SIGHS IN RELIEF)
Proof.
GUARD: Up. Up.
You're free. (CHUCKLES)
Stop.
Is this Jula, slave girl of the House of the Consul Marsus,
sister of the gladiator Kwame?
What's this about?
-Take her. She is now the property of Rome. -No. No, no, stop.
Please. What is this about? (GRUNTING)
-JULA: Mother! Mother! -Where are you taking her? Please!
-(LAUGHTER) -Come on!
-Now. -Now!
-MAN: Now! -(GATE OPENS)
(ALL CHEERING)
PASSUS: When Seth murdered his brother Osiris,
Isis sent out the mighty Sobek to take vengeance on Seth.
Will Sobek show mercy on the traitors?
Or...
-Will they take revenge? -(CROWD CHEERING)
Are we sure about this?
After all, he is a consul, and they are senators.
DOMITIAN: All the more reason to reward their betrayal publicly.
(GRUNTING)
(CROCODILE SNARLS)
I suppose you're right.
(WHIMPERING)
-(SCREAMS) -(CHEERING)
(SCREAMING)
(CHEERING)
Tenax, one of your men who's been watching Ostia Harbor
tells me that fair winds have brought a certain navigator
to Ostia earlier than expected.
He is to arrive this afternoon.
(SENATOR EXCLAIMS)
Come on!
-Look out! -(GROWLS)
(ALL EXCLAIM)
(HERMES GRUNTING)
(PANTING)
(HEAVY BREATHING)
Wasn't that your boy?
Your taste in entertainment never ceases to appall me, brother.
MAN: Make way. Make way for the Lady Antonia.
You, stop. No women allowed.
Gate 22 for the upper deck.
I'm Antonia Civilius, the wife of the Consul Marsus. Step aside.
-You step aside. -Do not touch me!
Get out.
-Now. -(GUARDS CHUCKLE)
Go on. You, too.
I am Berenice, queen of the Judeans and consort of the Emperor Titus.
I demand to speak to him.
What is it today?
-BERENICE: I am queen... -There she is.
We won't get another chance to kill this whore.
Now, don't lose her.
I have something of the utmost importance to give to the Emperor Titus.
I demand to speak to him!
-GUARD: Keep your voice down. -BERENICE: Let go of me now,
or I'll report you to the emperor.
He will hear of this.
You will be rewarded for giving it to him or be punished if you don't.
Don't you understand?
GUARD: Right, just give it to me.
Give me what you have and I'll take it to him myself.
No. From my hand to his.
It's either that, or nothing.
Well, then it's nothing.
And you will die for your insolence.
(GUARDS CHUCKLE)
-Roman imbeciles! -Barbarian whore!
(DOOR OPENS)
(GASPS)
-(MARSUS SCREAMS) -(GASPS)
(MARSUS SCREAMING)
(SCREAMS)
(ALL CHEERING)
(MUFFLED SOBBING)
Where's the upper deck for women?
(MAN GROANING)
MAN: Fetch him something to drink.
(GUARD GASPS)
I need to speak with His Highness Domitian, it's urgent.
(CROCODILES GROWLING)
Get back.
-Back. -(SNARLS)
(WHISPERS) Tenax needs to speak to you.
A moment, brother.
Yes, very well.
We're out of time.
The navigator arrives in Ostia this afternoon.
So, it's over.
Titus wins and we die.
No.
Not if we move our plans forward.
Kill him here and now.
What? Are you mad?
-What choice do we have? -You cannot kill him
in front of all of Rome.
(SIGHS)
Get Titus out of his chair and up into the anteroom.
I'll do the rest.
What about his guards?
Once he's dead, they will look to you.
Their new emperor.
Take charge as quickly as you can to stop them from killing me.
If this goes badly, I knew nothing of it.
Of course. Go.
(CLEARS THROAT)
We need to speak.
Alone.
Very well.
PORTO: Emperor.
Porto. Me and my brother, we were just...
It is of the utmost importance.
Very well.
One moment, brother.
The grain fleet navigator is in Ostia.
He has a ship's log proof.
Proof that your brother delayed the grain shipments.
Bring him to me.
I think it's safer that we go to Ostia ourselves.
Do you not trust your men to bring him here?
I don't trust anyone at the moment.
TITUS: So it's come to that. Prepare an escort.
Fresh horses for the emperor and myself.
Full personal guard mounted and ready.
I'm not leaving your side until this is settled.
There's so few I can trust.
I'm grateful for you, Porto.
I shall guard you, my lord.
(SOFTLY) Go.
Go.
Brother, you were saying?
I was only worried for your safety,
brother.
Revenge, for those aligned with Consul Marsus.
But now your commander is here,
I'm sure you'll be safe.
Yes.
(CROWD SHOUTING)
Titus! Titus!
(CROWD CHEERING)
(SOMBER MUSIC PLAYING)
(SIGHS SOFTLY)
(BLADES STABBING)
(SHOUTS IN OTHER LANGUAGE)
(GASPING)
(SOMBER MUSIC CONTINUES)