The Secret of Fatima (39 page)

Kevin placed the page gently down on the table. He felt breathless and composed himself as the message sank in again. He looked at the pope, who also was absorbed in his own thoughts.

“Holiness, is this predicting the
Second Coming of our Lord
?”

The pontiff nodded. “Perhaps, Kevin, perhaps not. We don't know what is meant by
emissary
. I have had two trusted academics looking at this with me, in my presence. One believes it refers to the Bible's prediction of the Second Coming of Jesus, and another believes that it foretells the arrival of a messenger, perhaps an angel. Remember, the message refers to a period spanning one hundred years. That was in 1917. So we're just about at the one hundred year mark.”

“How will we know which it is?”

Pope Linus II shrugged. “Time.”

The time had now come for Kevin's major revelation. “I have some important news for you, Holiness,” Kevin said, his heart beating faster. “I know the identity of the Lord's emissary.”

The pope's startled look was dramatic, surprising Kevin. The pontiff sat back in his chair and stared at his junior colleague. “How could that possibly be?” he asked.

“Holiness, allow me to explain.”

Kevin went through the entire story from the beginning—his calling, his relationship with Katie, his decision not to marry but to follow his calling, Katie's decision to adopt, his visit to Medjugorje, the strange feelings he'd had upon meeting the child's birth mother, and finally, the message from the visionaries. Then he took a deep breath and recounted briefly what'd transpired at the baptism in Sarajevo.

“Holiness, when I went to Sarajevo to baptize Katie's adopted son, the doctor at the orphanage gave the child a clean bill of health.” Kevin took a deep breath, then continued. “Expect for one impairment. The baby had been born with a clubfoot, a malformed leg. That is precisely what the secret foretold.”

The pope gasped. “Extraordinary.”

Kevin continued, “When I read the secret for the first time here—in your presence—I knew …” Kevin's voice trailed off as he lowered his voice as if speaking only to himself. “I knew,” he whispered, casting down his gaze.

The pope didn't speak. A thick silence hung over the room, broken only by the ticking of a grandfather clock, and the hum of the crowd outside.

Several moments later, the pope reached over and touched Kevin on the forehead. “It seems you've had much weight on your shoulders, son. You've been given an enormous and grave responsibility,” he said.

“I know, Holiness. And it weighs heavily.”

“But how did Opus Mundi know about the child?” the pontiff asked.

“There was a local priest at the baptism in Sarajevo, where we first heard about the baby's infirmity. I suspect the priest tipped them off. Until we found the missing pages of the secret in Seville, Opus Mundi's leadership had sole possession and knowledge of it. They also knew of my mission against them—they must have put it all together and figured out about the child, just as I had. Since they discredited the message, Opus Mundi saw the child as a threat. They were out to kill him. That's what I prevented.” Kevin took a deep breath before speaking again.

“Holiness, remember when Drotti and I were in your office and you read from Matthew: 24? The passage speaks of war as a prelude to the final days. But it also speaks of the Second Coming and false prophets. I remember one passage you read to us: ‘
For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many
.' I'm convinced Opus Mundi thought the emissary from God would be one of them, and that Katie's baby, although clearly the child predicted in the secret of Fatima, must therefore be a false prophet. They had to kill him.”

The pope closed his eyes and made the Sign of the Cross. “This is a major event for the world, Kevin. My challenge as pontiff is what to do about it.”

“Well, we know who the leader of Opus Mundi is, or I should say,
was
. He's now in Vatican custody,” Kevin said.

“He disgusts me. We'll deal with him,” Porter replied. “And we will dismantle Opus Mundi.”

His Holiness rose from the chair and walked over to the bookshelf in his library. He removed a leather-bound book. “This volume speaks of the Second Coming,” he said. “When I was a young priest, I loved reading this book.”

“Holiness, there are decisions needing to be made before I leave Rome, and I'm here now for your guidance and instructions.”

“I am still absorbing this turn of events myself, my son.”

“The first question is this: Do we tell Katie what we know? After all, she's the mother of the child.”

The pope remained standing by the bookshelf. “My own feeling is it'd be too much of a burden for her. I will pray on it; my instinct tells me she should not know. At least not now.”

Kevin nodded.

“Only a handful of top clerics will be told, Kevin,” the pope continued. “It must remain a secret until such time as the Lord makes the revelation in whatever manner He chooses.” The pope returned to the table and sat down. “Now I have a request of you.”

Now what?
Kevin thought.
How much more of this can I take?

“Kevin, I want you to stay here in Rome working at my side. I will appoint you a bishop and provide you with comfortable quarters here in the palace next to me.”

“Holiness,” Kevin began, and now he couldn't look him in the eye. “I am at your command at all times, but I must respectfully ask that you allow me to return to my job at the school in Washington. I'd be honored to work with you, Holiness, but I believe I was called to this duty by the highest authority and that my task is not finished.”

“What do you mean?”

“Perhaps my duty in life, and the reason I was called to the priesthood, was to protect the new emissary from God, be he Jesus or whoever he turns out to be. I want to stay close to Katie and the boy, and be there for them.”

The pope looked at Kevin, hoping for an explanation for what Kevin had just said.

Kevin added, “She's engaged to be married, Holiness, and I will officiate at the wedding. I should add that she is marrying a Jew. Perhaps Our Lord is sending us another message having to do with interfaith harmony.”

The pontiff looked away for a moment, composing his thoughts, and looked back across the table at Kevin. “All right, Kevin. Go back to Washington. I'll authorize an assistant or two to help you with your assignment. But I warn you, I may change my mind at any time and call for you to join me here.”

“Yes, Holiness.” Kevin inhaled a big breath and let it out with a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”

Chapter Fifty-Five

Rome, Italy

Toby's flight from Washington arrived at the Leonardo da Vinci Airport on time. As instructed, he took a taxi to the Basilica of St. John Lateran on the outskirts of Rome. At the basilica, he asked an attendant for directions to the Scala Santa. The man pointed across the street, adding, “But it's closed now,
signore
.”

“I'm meeting a friend here,” Toby said. “Father Kevin Thrall.”

The man's eyes opened wide. “Father Thrall is waiting for you in the chapel. Follow me,
signore
.” He led Toby across the street and unlocked a massive wooden door. Inside, Toby's eyes needed adjusting to the darkness.

“I'm up here,” Kevin said from a distance. Toby looked up and as his eyes adjusted, correcting his vision, he saw a staircase and the shadowy outline of his friend all the way at the top.

“Don't use the stairs unless you want to come up on your knees,” Kevin said.

“Huh?”

“This is the most important stairway in Christendom, my friend. Those twenty-eight marble steps,” Kevin added, pointing down, “are known as the Scala Santa. They once stood in the office of Pontius Pilate when he was Governor of Jerusalem. Some say these were the steps Jesus climbed when Pontius Pilate condemned him to death.”

Toby looked down at the steps. They weren't marble, but marble covered in wood. He stooped for a closer view and noticed cutouts in the wood where blood stains were visible on the marble below.

“Those are said to be Jesus's bloodstains.”

“How do I get up there?” Toby asked.

“If you're not going to kneel, there's a stairway over to the side.”

Toby took the stairs and joined Kevin in a pew. Placing his small travel bag on the floor, he sat beside him.

“Geez, you look like hell,” Toby said.

“Thanks. How was the flight?”

“Expensive. I had to pay for it myself. Listen, pal, if I didn't love you like a brother, I wouldn't have dropped everything to come here for a little private chat.”

“I appreciate your coming.”

“Well, like I told you, I'm booked on a flight back to D.C. this afternoon. I'm all out of vacation time.”

Kevin faced the altar, crossed himself, and turned. “Let's take a walk,” he said.

They left the chapel and walked down the steps. Outside, they strolled through the nearby gardens of the basilica until they came upon a bench.

“You're my best friend, Toby, and you're someone I'd trust with my life. I'm going to tell you the whole story, so you'll know how you've been helping. I need your word this will stay with you.”

“Does it involve national security?” Toby asked.

“No. Only Church security.”

“Okay. You have my word,” Toby said.

Kevin took a deep breath. “I know you're not religious, so I need you to keep an open mind about what I'm going to tell you. If you must, judge it on the evidence alone.”

Toby nodded.

“First, and you may have heard this through your own channels, we've taken down the leadership of Opus Mundi.”

“I heard that.”

“Second, in the presence of His Holiness, I read the missing pages of the secret of Fatima,” Kevin continued, “and I'm going to tell you what it says and what it means.”

Toby's attention was fully engaged.

“You know me well enough to appreciate how I've struggled with my spiritual calling to the priesthood,” Kevin said. “It's been a tortured conflict. How could I have renounced the only woman I've ever loved, for the solitary life of a priest? But that's exactly what I did.”

“So you found the answer?” Toby said.

“Yes,” Kevin replied, with a smile. “And I know you're thinking: ‘Did I really cross the Atlantic Ocean just to hear my buddy Kevin talk about his calling in life?'”

Toby smiled back. “Yeah, but go on.”

“The missing secret revealed the coming of a child. This child might be an emissary from God, or the Second Coming of Jesus.”

“You just lost me. You can't be serious, Kev.”

“I'm very serious. Better still. I know this child. It's Katie's adopted son.”

“C'mon, Kevin. How could you know that?”

Kevin told the whole story methodically. He spoke of the clues that'd come to him, of the birth mother of Katie's adopted child in Sarajevo who'd said
shukran
to him, going all the way back to the young girl's life he'd saved in Iraq. But the most telling clue for him was the boy's clubfoot.

“When I read the secret, my heart almost stopped,” Kevin continued. “Our Lady revealed that the emissary from God would live in a new part of the world—I'm assuming that's the U.S.—and would be born with a deformed foot. When I read that, I knew immediately why I was called to the priesthood. My mission was to protect this child who'd be adopted by Katie.”

Toby shook his head. “This is wild. Can you believe we're sitting here talking about the Second Coming of Christ?”

“I don't know. The message just speaks of an emissary. His Holiness asked two trusted experts to review the secret. One thought it's just an emissary, the other said it's the Second Coming. Take your pick.”

Toby was quiet for a moment, staring at the gravel. “Does Katie know?” he whispered.

“No. And it's been decided, she won't for a while.”

“What will you do?”

“Protect the child, Toby. Opus Mundi believes the message alluded to a false prophet who'd interfere with their scheming to overthrow the church. So they want the child killed. After we've dismantled the leadership of OM, who knows how many wacky followers will remain? We can't get rid of all of them, I don't think.”

Another pause, then Toby looked at his friend. “I changed my mind,” he said.

“About what?” asked Kevin.

“My trip. I originally thought it was a waste of time. I don't think so anymore.”

Kevin smiled. “Now comes the part where I ask you for one big favor,” he said. “If any followers of Opus Mundi find out about Katie's child, my life may be in danger. I'm asking you, if something happens to me, to be my backup and look after Katie.”

“Look, Kevin. I have my own life and career. And you know, I'm not totally sold on this spiritual stuff.”

“I'm praying you'll get a sign of your own. I need you with me on this.”

“All I can promise is, I'll think about it.”

Kevin stood up. “That's all I'm asking,” he said.

They walked down the path to the street. Kevin hailed a taxi. “I'll buy lunch,” he said. “Oh, and Toby? You've been designated as the baby's godfather. Hope that's not a problem.”

Chapter Fifty-Six

Rome, Italy

That evening, Kevin stayed home. There was beer in the refrigerator, and he helped himself to one. Watching the news for a few minutes, he enjoyed the headline news of His Holiness Linus II. He was a top contender for the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in the Middle East. Then Kevin switched off the television to take a moment to meditate and think.