"Heads up, boss. You got a visitor wandering down the old via. Looks like Marcus Aemilius Corvus."

Titus Marius Glaber looked up from his double-entry accounting journals. "So I should hide the second set of books?" he chuckled. Glaber rose in a leisurely fashion and pressed the cleverly hidden latch on the carved wall panel. He shoved his genuine accounting legers into the slot behind the paneling while leaving on his desk the books he kept for tax collectors. He took his place again at the desk and pushed his tally sticks and several sets of wax tablets to the side. "Piscator, get Luca and Naso up here."

Two thugs entered the room and took their posts to the right and to the left but slightly behind Glaber. Piscator returned to his position lounging idly in the doorway casually awaiting the arrival of Corvus.

"Is this the headquarters of Titus Marius Glaber?"

"Yes, it is." Glaber rose and extended his hand in greeting. "You're most welcome, Marcus Aemilius Corvus. Sit. Sit!" He gestured to the chair on the other side of his desk.

"I see I was expected." Corvus grinned sardonically.

"Of course, of course. Publius Granius Dispositor contacted me. I understand you have some business needs."

Corvus looked around noting the presence of Glaber's men. "There are certain items I'm interested in shipping to Rome from Hispania. Yes." He coughed. "Among other problems."

"Ah you remind me of my duties as a host." Glaber nodded at Piscator. "Wine for our visitor."

Piscator disappeared into a stairwell and called to somebody out of view. Shortly thereafter a dark-haired young woman appeared carrying a tray laden with cups, a flagon of water and a pitcher of wine. She set the tray on Glaber's desk and turned to leave. "No, no. Stay Maria and serve my guest."

The young woman stiffened in annoyance but obeyed. Corvus watched with interest as she poured the wine then mixed in the water. She served Corvus first then Glaber. "Will that be all, father?" she asked in a husky voice.

Glaber frowned. "Are there no honey cakes?"

"Yes, of course. I'll get some."

Corvus sipped his wine slowly, inspecting Glaber over the rim of the cup. "Thank you for the refreshments, Titus Marius. But I really didn’t come for the eats."

Glaber nodded in acknowledged his guest's comment. "All business. Well, why not?" He exchanged a glance with Piscator who signaled to the two thugs that they might leave. Piscator himself remained in the doorway.

Maria returned with a plate of honey cakes, some fruit and sliced bread which she deposited on her father's desk. "Is that all?"

Glaber laughed. "Marcus Aemlius, let me introduce you to my daughter Maria."

The young woman turned to Corvus with a perfunctory smile. "Charmed."

Amusement lit Corvus's eyes as he inspected her. "Likewise."

"Take a seat, girl." Maria looked at her father questioningly. "I believe that the matter on which Corvus here has come to consult me could benefit from your insight." Both Maria and Corvus raised their eyebrows and studied one another.

On the whole, Maria was favorably impressed with what she saw. The man looked to be slightly above average height. His olive complexion was smooth without being at all womanish. He appeared to be fit without being repellently muscular. But it was his eyes that caught her attention. They were a strange light brown that was almost yellow. They seemed to see through her, which she found more than a bit annoying. She wondered what he made of her appearance.

Glaber tapped his daughter on her arm. "If you two are finished studying one another, let's get down to details here. Marcus Aemilius, you want certain information on what's being said on the highways and byways of Rome. And you will want influence brought to bear in support of your candidacy. True?"

"Yes," Corvus nodded slowly. "I'm told you can arrange both of those things for me." He took a sip of wine. "Discreetly."

"Of course." Glaber smiled broadly. "Teamsters are always discreet. It's our stock in trade." Maria sniffed. "Yes, daughter. You have a comment?"

"Merely a question." She turned to Corvus. "How much are you wiling to pay for the influence and the information?"

"You favor the blunt style, don't you?" Corvus took another sip of wine. "Let's discuss what exactly you can offer me before we worry about what I'm willing to pay for it."

Maria shrugged. "You know the drill as well as anybody, I'm sure. Tata here heads the Benevolent Guild of Teamsters, nominally on the Aventine but de facto for Rome and its environs. He has—shall we say—contacts in many different areas of the City as well as in the outlying regions. He deals in both the acquisition of information and in influence-peddling. He can summon a hundred men at the snap of two fingers and a thousand men in the time it takes to brew a pot of that disgusting herbal infusion the Egyptians drink." She settled back in her chair. "And naturally, he can arrange for the cartage of anything you might wish from Hispania to wherever you want it to go."

"Is that a fact?"

"Tata doesn't like to brag. He calls me in on these little meetings so that I can do the advertising for him." Maria smiled sweetly. "I don't enter into the negotiations, of course. That's a matter for men." She cast her eyes down modestly. "I have nothing to add to your discussion in that regard."

Corvus almost choked on his wine. "Just as well," he laughed. "I suspect I'd come out on the short end of any bargain you had a hand in negotiating."

Maria looked at him under her lashes. Her lips turned upward in a slow smile. "That would depend very much on the nature of the bargain, wouldn't it?"

Glaber lifted his cup, well satisfied with the tone of the discussion. After a judicious interval, he asked, "Shall we get down to details now?"

Corvus nodded. The two men put down their wine cups and began to discuss the election…