The Serpent's Disciple

by Deborah Stevens

  Then he had the feeling something horrible was going to happen. “Don’t be so paranoid, you’re just exhausted,” he told himself. He had no reason to worry. He had been Peter Romanus’s right-hand man since the beginning and nothing had changed.

  Back in the war room, Peter was on the phone and not happy with the information he just received.

  “He asked you to find someone you could trust to follow this woman and report back to him? Is that correct?” said Peter to the person on the other end of the phone.

  “Yes, I assumed the order came from you?”

  Catherine waited for Peter to reply but there was only silence on the other end of the phone. Then she heard a clock chiming in the background.

  Peter ignored her question asking, “Is everything set on your end?”

  “Yes, it won’t be long now ’til the world has a new Pope and leader of the NWO.”

  Catherine was smart and shrewd, two qualities Peter prized in a person. Charming and beautiful on top of it was a deadly combination, a distraction even for Peter, one he could little afford to take, but he definitely needed to reconsider how to use those assets to his advantage. Right now he had to figure out what to do about Thomas.

  While Peter mulled over this problem, he knew each of the five men that made up the inner circle were taking care of the last few details they needed to before claiming the reward for carrying out their part of the plan. Shortly, he would arrange access to the money in the second Swiss bank account that had been set up for each of them. He would decide later what he would do with them.

  Over the past few years, each of the men had set up companies around the world under fake names. Everything was in place to have the NWO up and running immediately upon the announcement by the new Pope. In the next twenty-four hours all accounts would be settled in cash and any individuals who could tie any of the members of P2 to the companies would be eliminated.

  News coverage from around the globe reported almost nonstop of the escalating unrest in the Middle East and growing criticism against the United States and its policies. There continued to be new cases of priests accused of sexual abuse, and the Catholic Church’s attempts to deal with the problem. Little did these reporters realize that the stories they were covering were all part of a grand scheme by one man. The five members of P2 each waited in undisclosed locations for the phone call from the Grand Master.

  Angelo Acciaiolio as the head of Mediaset quietly had bought up most of the European and Asian markets of commercial broadcasting networks over the last five years. He had also become a major shareholder in other markets including the United States and the Soviet Union. The announcement that would change the course of the world had already been recorded. Angelo was just waiting for the moment he would get the okay to release the statement across the airways.

  Silvio Reni, the future Prime Minister of Italy, during the same time period had put together an alliance of individuals with similar views of the direction the world needed to go. They had all sworn a secret oath to support a new requiem with the promise of power and money. A new map of the world and the division of land had already been drawn, each one aware of the territory they would govern. The money Silvio received was used to set up offshore accounts for each of these individuals as a thank you for their loyalty.

  Vingenzo Parocchi had fulfilled his role by working with Cardinal Cavallari, creating an epidemic out of the sexual abuse scandal in the Church. They were always surprised at the small amount of money it took to buy someone’s soul.

  Finally General Orazio D’Amoto in many ways had the most difficult job setting up and training secondary armies around the globe. Any resistance to the New World Order, and they had been trained to kill and eliminate the enemy.

  These individuals hadn’t been driven as much by the money but more by having power. Each of them was now maintaining a low profile. No meetings, not available for calls, pretty much closing themselves off from the world, each waiting for the call.

  CHAPTER 69

  The first hour went by way too quickly. Cardinal McKenna read about the history of P2 and its evolution from the Freemasons. It was to be exposed by Pope John Paul I that some clergy had been members of Masonic Lodges. Catholics were forbidden to join a Masonic Lodge in the strongest terms. The Church’s position is expressed in its “Declaration on Masonic Associations.”

  It states in part: “The faithful who enroll in Masonic associations are in a state of grave sin and may not receive Holy Communion.” He hadn’t even considered it to be an issue any longer but what if P2 had just gone underground?

  He continued to read: “The head of this secret society was known by the title Grand Master and had resided in a villa outside of Arezzo. P2 also had a secret location for initiation ceremonies in the Apennine Mountains outside of Pesaro.”

  Pesaro! That’s where Mary Ellen went this weekend to visit her friends. There was a story in the news recently pertaining to the Apennines? What was it? Then he remembered a plane had crashed in a remote section of the Apennine Mountains. The small privately owned jet was believed to have taken off from a small airfield outside of Pesaro carrying a handful of high-ranking dignitaries and heads of some large European companies. Everyone onboard had died.

  He couldn’t shake the feeling that all of this information could be connected in some bizarre way. Rummaging through the papers, he looked for something he’d read about the initiation ceremony.

  “Here it is,” pushing the other books aside.

  It described the ceremony and the name used to address the Grand Master, “Naj Hannah,” when taking the oath. He had never heard the term before. He checked the index to see if it was referenced anywhere else in the book. Turning to page 105, he read every word but didn’t find anything useful, then flipped to page 210, underlining each sentence with his finger as he read. He stopped, backed up a few lines. There, Naj Hannah translated means King Cobra! The King Cobra serves as the symbol for P2. The card … the cards Mary Ellen and he received had the embossed head of a king cobra on it! P2 had been resurrected. His blood ran cold. Would he be able to cut off the head of the serpent before it was too late?

  Continuing to read, in interviews with two former members they described how they were taken to a compound somewhere in the Apennine Mountains. A twelve-foot wall sealed off the manicured grounds from view. In the center of the main courtyard stands a cobra-like sculpture. Its inflated hood watches over the compound in a protective posture as if ready to strike. The cobra’s head is twice the size of a human skull. It has a single eye, which is blue during the day and turns red after nightfall. Inside the cobra’s hood and behind its eye is a closed circuit camera.

  The camera is controlled from a room within the villa where eight monitors, each with five stations, cover eight guest rooms, a patio, pool, dining room, sitting room, and party room. Approximately ten cameras, including the one inside the cobra, have infrared lenses. Once inside the walls, anything you say or do will be under the watchful eye of the Naj Hannah.

  The villa’s interior is magnificent. Every room has marble floors and is furnished with antiques. The high ceilings are finely crafted from gold leaf moldings, and portraits of Mussolini, Hitler, and Peron hang on the walls. The visitor experiences a feeling, a sort of living, breathing odor of danger and power that penetrates the soul and cell-by-cell contaminates the mind with fear.

  McKenna took off his reading glasses and sat back in his chair. He stared into space, then closed his eyes, “Father, if this is a dream, please wake me from it so your humble servant may continue to preach the words of your Son to those who hunger for His guidance. If this is not a dream, please give me the wisdom and courage to root out the evil forces that would want to destroy your kingdom here on earth.”

  He knew the answer to his question before he even asked it. Eyes still closed, he quietly recalled the scripture, Mark 13:32: “But of the day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only
the Father. Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is.”

  Strangely, he felt an overwhelming sense of peace come over him. If it is God’s plan to have him seek out the false prophet then perhaps it is not time yet for God’s final return to earth. He would ask the Holy Spirit for guidance.

  McKenna now realized it was more than coincidence. He decided to look deeper into this P2.

  He now knew what he had to do. Even though he was no longer a young man, he suddenly felt like he did back when he was in his thirties. He was sitting taller in his chair. He felt a renewed strength in his arms and legs, and he had a new awareness of his surroundings. He felt the presence of the Holy Spirit at work.

  Reading faster now, he learned that each new disciple of P2 received a mark that would identify him to another member. During the initiation ceremonies they were given a tattoo of a cobra head. It was placed on the top portion of the ring finger of their right hand. Then they were each presented with a gold initial ring that completely covered the tattoo. With a quick twist of the ring they could signal to another member they were one of them.

  He remembered noticing some kind of marking on Cardinal Cavallari’s ring finger and how he thought that was a strange place for a tattoo.

  He needed to contact Mary Ellen. She could be in danger. He also needed to inform the Commander of the Swiss Guard and tell him of his findings, but would the commander believe him?

  He pushed the button on the intercom and spoke in a calm voice, “Father I have finished for the day.”

  The door hissed as it closed behind the Vatican archivist who walked over to the table where McKenna sat. He accounted for each book by checking it off a list on a small handheld device, and then asked Cardinal McKenna for his signature. It struck him that something seemed different about the cardinal but he couldn’t put his finger on it. Cardinal McKenna handed the device back to the archivist and stood up.

  “Is there anything else?” asked Cardinal McKenna.

  “No, that takes care of the paper work,” the priest headed to the door.

  Reaching the front desk, he turned and faced the cardinal, “If I may have the key Cardinal McKenna, I will retrieve your phone and identification for you.”

  Handing the cardinal back his things he said, “I hope the materials were helpful.”

  “Yes, thank you,” said McKenna, “I appreciate all your help, grazie.”

  Upon seeing the cardinal, the two Swiss Guards came to attention. McKenna nodded to them as they filed in behind him. He had to get in touch with Mary Ellen and the commander.

  McKenna could hear the flapping of the hem of his cassock as he walked with new determination. He smiled to himself. It had been a long time since he heard that sound. Picturing himself twenty years younger and his passion to serve the Lord, he often remembered thinking the robes slowed him down as he attended to his duties as a young priest.

  The guards glanced at each other with an inquisitive look, noting the change in Cardinal McKenna.

  CHAPTER 70

  “Father Cossa tells me you were both named after our beloved Saint Anthony,” said Father Marti with a twinkle in his eye. “This will be a treat for you. Not many people are allowed inside the private chapel. The statue you will see is of a young Saint Anthony.

  “Lord Sforza’s son, before going off to war, had developed a close relationship with the young monk. After his son’s death, Lord Sforza honored that friendship by having a statue made so that they could be together after death. It is believed that there is a relic of Saint Anthony somewhere here in Gradara Castle, but it has never been found.”

  “As you may or may not already know,” interjected Father Cossa, “five years must pass after a person’s death before he or she can be considered for declaration of formal sainthood, unless the Pope grants a special dispensation, which Pope Gregory IX did making the canonization of Saint Anthony the quickest in the history of the Catholic Church, just one year after his death.

  “In 1263 his body was transferred in the presence of Saint Bonaventure, minister general at the time, to a chapel to be named after him. When the vault in which for thirty years his sacred body had reposed was opened the flesh was found reduced to dust but the tongue uninjured, fresh, and of a lively red color. It is said that Saint Bonaventure, beholding this wonder, took the tongue affectionately in his hands and kissed it, exclaiming: ‘O Blessed Tongue that always praised the Lord, and made others bless Him, now it is evident what great merit thou hast before God.’ To this day, his tongue is in a reliquary and is incorrupt. The tongue glistens and looks as if it is still alive and moist.” Father Cossa shook his head in amazement, “The ways of the Lord never fail to mystify me.”

  As Nelli, Anthony, and Mary Ellen listened to the priest, they walked through the wardrobe room and were now in the main hall of the castle. Father Cossa continued to expound on what he had learned through his studies. This time it was about the castle itself.

  “The early halls inside castles were aisled like a church, with rows of stone pillars supporting the timber and stone roofs. Some of the windows had wooden shutters secured by an iron bar. A few of the windows had ‘white (greenish) glass’ a new concept at the time. By the fourteenth century glazed windows would be common.”

  They could tell he was enjoying being able to educate them on the history of Gradara Castle. Up ahead a museum guide was describing the history of a large tapestry hanging on the wall to a group of tourists. Anthony took a mental inventory of the people in the group. There were two older couples that looked as if they were traveling together and a young couple, starry- eyed, probably on their honeymoon. Then there were six young men and women, probably college students backpacking their way across Europe. Behind them were two very attractive women, Anthony guessed somewhere in their thirties. One of the women, who had beautiful long hair black as night and eyes to match, glanced over when Anthony and his small entourage walked by. Indifferent, the woman turned her attention back to the tour guide.

  Finally at the tail end of the group were two men Anthony recognized. They pretended not to notice him as they listened intently to the tour guide. Anthony liked knowing another Guardian was never far away.

  Since activating the GPS chips that had been implanted in all twelve of the Guardians as young men, they knew everyone’s location at all times. Anthony never believed they would ever need to have use for the tracking devices.

  “Anthony did you feel that cold blast of air,” whispered Nelli, pulling her sweater tighter around her body. It wasn’t as much a question as it was a statement. She started looking around to see where the draft might be coming from.

  He couldn’t figure out what his sister was talking about. It was warm and the air was stagnant inside the castle but he could see Nelli seemed worried. He immediately began canvassing the area.

  A woman from another group started to look away before Anthony saw that she had been watching him and Nelli. But, out of the corner of his eye, he caught the last of the woman’s long raven hair as it gently fell around her shoulders. He knew she had been watching them.

  “Anthony, perhaps you have something to add?” said Father Cossa.

  Startled by the question, Anthony hadn’t heard anything the priest had said for the last few minutes.

  “No, Father you are doing a wonderful job. I am enjoying listening,” said Anthony.

  So Father Cossa continued to expound on the latest structure they were passing through.

  “We are now walking under a covered external passageway called a pentice,” he explained. This covered passageway joined the bedchamber to the chapel. This castle is a little more unusual since the Lord and Lady’s Chamber was in a separate wing at the dais end of the hall, and the pentice we are now walking through takes us to the chapel.”

  Just ahead they could see a door. Reaching it Father Cossa stopped and turned around to face his small audience. Smiling he said, “Here we are.”

  The door look
ed like one of the wooden window shutters with its hinges made out of the iron bars. The only difference was there was a small wooden cross mounted on the front of the door.

  Nelli and Anthony gave each other a quick glance, each speculating if they would find the ancient box on the other side of the door.

  CHAPTER 71

  “As you can see a metal gate now protects the entrance to the chapel,” said Father Marti as he pulled out a key to unlock it. “It was added to stop tourists from trying to get inside the church. At certain times of the year the door to the chapel is kept opened so visitors can look through the gate to get a bird’s eye view of the inside, and see where Lord Sforza and his wife came every morning for mass. You will have the privilege of going inside and seeing it up close.”

  As he placed the key into the lock there was the sound of the chamber disengaging, then the grating of metal against metal as he swung open the gate. He paused for a moment, and then slowly opened the ancient door to the chapel with the simple wooden cross on it.

  Father Marti was the first to go inside and motioned for the others to follow. As the rest of them entered the chapel, it felt as if they had stepped back in time.

  “You will notice it is two stories high, a popular design of the thirteenth century,” said Father Cossa. “The Lord and his family sat in the balcony during the prayer service while the staff sat below on wooden benches.

  “At the east end of the nave you can see the wooden altar with the crucifix above it, that area of the nave is called the chancel, the holiest part of the chapel. Just before the chancel there is a perpendicular corridor called the ‘transept,’ so the floor plan, if you looked at it from above, would look like a Latin cross, shaped like a crucifix … I am sure you already know all this Anthony,” said Father Cossa smiling, “since architecture is your specialty.”

  Anthony and Nelli tried to appear interested but their eyes were scanning the room for any resemblance of a box that looked like the one Nelli bought in Rome. Anthony wanted to keep the attention off of him and Nelli so he light heartily said, “Please, Father, it would be a pleasure if I could be the student and you the teacher.”