James Acton 03 - Broken Dove (15 page)

Laura reached out with both hands and took the Bible, rather than reject it as on any other occasion she might have, not from disrespect, Acton knew, but simply refusal of something she didn’t need. But this time she took the book, and hugged it to her chest, rocking back and forth slightly. At that moment, he wished he too had a Bible to hold. He had never been a religious man, but today, he felt in more need of, and closer to, God, than he had ever felt before. Would today be their epiphany? A coming to God out of fear, rather than love?

Acton closed his eyes and took a deep breath, but images of the inventory kept playing across his eyelids like a movie. He opened them, and blew the air out through pursed lips. “Okay,” he said. “Enough of that. If we keep dwelling on the nature of what we discovered, then it wins. And I for one am not going to let it.”

Laura sat up straighter, handing the Bible back to Giasson with a silent smile of thanks, then gave her nose one last blow. “You’re right, of course, James. It’s time to move forward.”

Giasson turned and slowly rounded his desk, his Bible held tightly to his lips. He sat down and returned it to its place of honor, and dabbed his own eyes with his handkerchief.

Reading hadn’t said anything, he apparently the only one in the room unaffected by this. And it made sense to Acton. Reading had been a cop for decades. He had seen the evil men do for years. The fact the rest of the room had just realized something he had always known had no impact on him, though Acton could see in his eyes he had concern for his friends.

As if to make things easier for everyone, Reading spoke first. “So, the chest contains an inventory listing writings and objects that the Church over the past two thousand years considers blasphemous or dangerous in some way.” Acton and Laura nodded, but said nothing. “Each new Pope gets this chest, reads the list, and probably, much like yourselves, finally, truly, believes in evil. An effective indoctrination tool, if you ask me.”

Laura’s jaw dropped and Acton’s eyes widened.

Reading quickly seemed to backpedal. “I mean, we really don’t know how old this list is, how long they’ve been showing it to the Popes, even if it’s real.”

“It’s real,” whispered Laura.

“And we know it’s old. Ancient. Some of the documents had disintegrated with age.”

“Or were made to look that way,” said Reading. He waved his hands in the air. “Please, understand, I’m playing Devil’s advocate here.” The entire room froze. “Sorry, poor choice of words, but you know what I mean.” He leaned forward, and counted out his points on his fingers. “First, we have no proof this list is real. It could be a work of fiction, meant to instill fear in those who read it. Perhaps in the event an unworthy Pope were elected, this was a last chance effort to try and scare them straight.” Reading shrugged his shoulders. “Anything is possible.  Second, this is an ancient list. Most of these items exposed to modern science would probably have innocent explanations, or be shown to just be on the list due to ancient superstitions. After all, we did have the Dark Ages. And finally, if there is this massive collection of artifacts, where is it? If this is an inventory, what is it an inventory of?”

Acton looked at Reading. “I won’t argue your first point, but for number two, two items were added to the list by the last Pope, so these aren’t just ancient superstitions. And as to your third point”—Acton snapped his Blackberry off his belt, bringing up the picture—“we have a map.”

Reading glanced quickly at the map then handed the phone to Giasson. His eyebrows shot up as he manipulated the image with his thumb and forefinger. “This is in the residence.” He looked for a few more moments, then raised his head. “This is very near to DI Chaney’s quarters, and not very far from His Holiness’ chamber. If there’s a secret entrance to the Vatican…” His voice drifted off as his eyes gazed into the distance, unfocused, as the ramifications of what this meant settled in.

“You have a security breach.”

Giasson nodded. “Apparently so.”

“But this is supposed to be known to no one but the Pope,” said Acton.

“It would appear someone knows.” Reading leaned back and crossed one leg over the other. “First we have the Father, murdered in an unknown location, then placed in his chambers. We know he was murdered elsewhere, because there wasn’t enough blood in his room for the murder to have taken place there. We also know he had his alarm set for four a.m., much earlier than normal, and he was dressed, so had obviously intended to go somewhere.” Reading paused and pointed at the phone with the map. “Now I think we know where.”

Giasson nodded. “It does make sense. Then for some reason His Holiness calls in DI Chaney to assist with the investigation. Since we know His Holiness knows of and where the chamber is, he most likely suspects as well that the murder took place there. He informs Chaney, who then enters this secret location, and he too is either killed or captured, if we are to believe this Order.”

“But the Pope? Would he actually try and find Chaney?” Acton looked from Giasson to Reading then back. “The man is over seventy!”

“Faith gives strength.” Giasson said it with a tone indicating he thought this should be obvious to everyone.

“Not to argue, but are we really saying that this elderly gentleman left his quarters in the middle of the night in search of Chaney?” Acton couldn’t believe it, and it sounded more ridiculous as it came from his mouth, but he could think of no other explanation.

Reading grimaced and looked at Giasson. “It fits in with what we know.”

Giasson nodded. “Yes, yes it does. It makes sense.”

“What does?” asked Laura. Acton glanced at her quickly and saw she seemed back to her normal self.

“Two guards are supposed to be stationed at his door at all times, even when he is not there,” said Giasson.

“Did they see anything?” asked Acton.

Giasson shook his head. “No. His Holiness apparently, after retiring, opened the door some time later, and dismissed them for the night.”

“And I assume that is out of the ordinary?”

Giasson’s head bobbed emphatically. “Completely!”

Acton ran both hands through his hair, gently pulling on the strands as they flowed through his fingers, then sighed. “I guess the question at this point is, did he do it because he was going to meet with Chaney, or did he already know Chaney was missing, and he intended to go looking for him?”

Laura tossed the last of her used tissues into the garbage can. “I still can’t believe a man of that age would go looking in a secret chamber for someone. If he took the Father into his confidence, surely he would take someone else?”

“Who could he trust?” Acton waved a finger in the air as he spoke, his thoughts finally coming together, and looked at Reading. “The Father is murdered. He calls in Chaney, because he doesn’t know who he can trust. Now Chaney is missing, and he knows for certain there is an even greater security breach. He can’t risk anyone else’s life, so he, being a man of God, puts his own on the line.”

“But how did he know he could trust Chaney?” asked Giasson.

Acton made eye contact with Reading who gave a slight nod. They both looked at Laura and she shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t see how we have any choice.”

Acton nodded in agreement and turned to Giasson, lowering his voice. “What I’m about to tell you can’t be repeated to anyone. Ever.”

Giasson glanced at the blinds to make certain they were closed, and leaned forward. “What is it?”

“The Pope, and Chaney are—” Acton stopped and glanced at Reading for an instance of reassurance.

Giasson was turning red. “They are what?” he demanded.

Acton returned his attention to Giasson.

“Triarii.”

“What the hell is that?”

“Let me explain.”

Corpo della Gendarmeria Office

Palazzo del Governatorato, Vatican City

It was hard to read Giasson. He appeared to have calmed down slightly from the initial shock of learning who the Triarii were, and that the current Pope was a member. Acton feared he was now questioning his beliefs, his faith in the man now occupying the top position of a church he had believed in, had devoted himself to, his entire life. He hadn’t said anything for several minutes, raising his hand to cut anyone off who tried to say something.

Acton’s phone rang.

Which was odd, since he was certain he had his Blackberry set to vibrate, and it wasn’t his ringtone. Laura gave him a look, as if she shared his confusion.

The other phone!

He reached into his pocket and grabbed the phone given to him when they were briefly kidnapped, and answered it.

“Hello?”

All eyes, including Giasson’s, were on him.

“Professor Acton, please report on your progress.”

He clasped his hand over the microphone, and whispered, “They want to know our progress. What should I tell them?”

“Nothing!” hissed Giasson.

Acton removed his hand. “We’ve been making inquiries, but haven’t had any success yet.”

Reading waved his hand and Acton covered the speaker again. “Ask for proof of life.”

“It would appear you do not take our threats seriously. Perhaps if we send you a finger, an ear, a
heart
, it might convince you.”

Acton’s own heart pounded.
Are we sure they don’t have them? Can we take that risk?

“No no no, it’s not that. I believe you. But—” He paused.
How do you ask someone if they’re full of shit, without getting someone else killed, in the event they’re not?
He took a deep breath. “Can we talk to Chaney, or the Pope, just to make sure they’re all right?”

“I guess you don’t take us seriously.”

The phone cut off.

“No!” yelled Acton at the now dead line. He turned to the room. “They hung up. They don’t think we’re taking them seriously.”

“We’re not.” Giasson’s statement was matter of fact. And cold. Actually, emotionless. He seemed to still be in shock at what he had just learned about the Triarii. He leaned back in his chair and Reading looked at him.

“Mario, are you okay?”

He nodded. “I will be. It isn’t every day you find out that there’s a two thousand year old Roman legion guarding humanity from crystal skulls coming together, and that they have infiltrated the Vatican at the highest level.”

Reading smiled slightly. “No, I guess that can be quite the shock. But remember this: these people are good. We’ve had experience with them, my partner was one of them for years and I never knew it, and he always did the right thing. Your Pope, he’s a good man. I checked him out after we discovered he was Triarii, and he’s a legitimate priest. The Triarii are a mix of all races and religions. They may have started off as Romans, but now they are everywhere. They believe in the skulls, in that they are dangerous if brought together, and yes, some even worship them. But some are Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, atheist. Just because your Pope is a member, doesn’t mean you should believe in him any less than you did an hour ago.”

Giasson let out a burst of air he had been holding. “I know. He is a good man, and I’ve met him many times over the years. I believed in him then, I believe in him now.” He shook his head, then ran a hand over his scalp. “He and I will have to have a long talk when we rescue him.” He sat up. “Okay, we have a map, and maps serve one purpose. My vote, and since this isn’t a democracy, it’s the only one that counts, is that we go to where this map indicates, and see what we find.”

Acton raised his hand as Giasson and Reading rose from their seats. “Ahh, one thing.”

They both sat down.

“The instructions were clear. You weren’t supposed to know the contents of the chest.”

“So?”

“So by extension, you aren’t supposed to know about the map, or where the map leads.”

“Bollocks!” exploded Reading. “This is a police investigation. We go where the evidence leads!”

“No.”

Reading’s head spun toward Giasson. “What?” He appeared dumbfounded.

“I said, ‘No’. Professor Acton is correct. We are not meant to know what was in that chest. It’s bad enough that
they
know. But I for one do not want to.”

“But—” Reading stopped, his eyes darting between Giasson and Acton, as if looking for someone to be reasonable. “But how do we guarantee their safety?”

“Give us weapons, some flashlights, and some strong two ways.”

Giasson nodded. “No problem. You’re trained?”

Acton looked at Reading with a smile. “National Guard.”

“Female on a bunch of third-world digs,” said Laura. “And, we’ve been training for almost a year now.”

“Training?” asked Reading. “What do you mean?”

“We’ve both been in weapons training, Krav Maga, basic and advanced self-defense.”

“We’re lethal weapons,” said Acton, his voice deadpan. Laura looked at him and they both burst out laughing.

“Are you two serious?”

“About the training? Yes. About being lethal weapons. Not yet.”

Reading shook his head. “God help us all.”

Laura looked at Giasson. “Yes, we’re trained for use on most types of weapons.”

Reading apparently wasn’t satisfied. “When did you find the time for this?”

“At our digs,” said Laura. “I’ve hired two former SAS guys to provide security for our sites in Peru and Egypt, and to train us. We usually get in at least a couple of hours a day with them.”

Reading shook his head. “Must be nice to have money,” he muttered. “Just don’t think you’re invincible and get yourselves killed. Training and the real thing are completely different.” He jabbed his thumb at his chest. “I know, I fought in the Falklands, and when you come under fire for the first time, it’s everything you can do to not shite your trousers and run the other way.”

“I think between the two of us, we’ve been under enough fire the past few years to say we’re past that point.”

Reading chuckled, shaking his head. “You’ve got me there. You two have probably been under more fire than most civilians on the planet.”

“Hand guns to nuclear weapons,” said Acton.