The Serpent's Disciple

by Deborah Stevens

  Mary Ellen smiled and nodded. “Now get going.”

  Standing up, he ran over to Father Cossa to see where he’d been hit. A stray bullet had found its way into the priest’s lower abdomen. When Anthony knelt down, the priest motioned for him to come closer, his other arm was hidden beneath his cassock. He removed it. He was holding a small book.

  “Take it Anthony. Nelli must have figured out the second secret to the box. When she gave me a hug she slipped it to me.”

  Anthony stared at the book. It was difficult to register what he was actually seeing. People had died. Now his sister was next if he didn’t get to her before it was too late.

  “Take it Anthony; you must take it to Pope Benedict. The future of the Church could depend on it.”

  “I will do my best, Father.”

  “I feel the presence of the Holy Spirit, Anthony. Take comfort in knowing He is watching over our souls.”

  Anthony paused as he glanced over at Mary Ellen and saw Abbot Giuseppe applying pressure to try and stop her bleeding. He looked back down at the priest.

  “You must go, my son. It is in God’s hands now.”

  Anthony hesitated. “I will send help, Father, just hang on.”

  The next voice he heard was Cephas’s. “Anthony, tell me what you want us to do!”

  “I’m coming! Tell me exactly what you’re seeing.”

  “The blonde woman has a gun pointed at the man, and the man has his gun pointed at Nelli’s head. They’re talking and it appears as if they know each other. He’s very angry about something.”

  Anthony was now within a few yards of the entrance. He slid up against the wall working his way to the door. Stopping just a few inches before it, he listened in on the conversation.

  “If you think you can replace me, you’re out of your mind. I know the Grand Master was not happy with me when two of his disciples were killed because of this woman and her brother. But when he sees what I have found because of it, he’ll forget all about that.

  “He has spent years and millions of dollars trying to find out if this box existed and when it’s in his possession, he will see that in the long run, it was a good thing this happened.”

  “I can’t let you do that, Thomas.”

  “Be smart, Christine. Peter likes you. You could have a prominent position in the New World Order. He’ll have his hands full being Pope. He’ll need good people around him to run the new government.”

  Anthony was trying to grasp what he was hearing. He had assumed they were both working together. Maybe he was wrong.

  “We could say we worked together on this,” Thomas smiled.

  Christine said nothing at first. Then calmly, she told him, “We’re on different sides, you and I.”

  Thomas was confused, “What are you talking about? You’re the Worthy Matron of one of the largest P2 Lodges we have.”

  “Yes, and it took a long time to infiltrate your group.”

  Anthony couldn’t figure out what this woman was talking about. Infiltrate? Who was she working for?

  “Anthony, can you hear what they’re saying?” said Cephas. “Do you want us to take them out?”

  “No. I don’t think she’s one of them, Cephas,” Anthony whispered.

  “You’re nuts. She was the one back in the chapel when they killed the priest.”

  “But she didn’t kill him. She could be working uncover.”

  He inched closer to the door thinking about his next move when he heard the man say, “Whoever you are, you’re too late to stop what is taking place. While we stand here talking, Pope Benedict should be dead and by a special decree fifteen handpicked cardinals will have already named Peter Romanus the next Pope.”

  Christine appeared to be unaffected by the news, which troubled Thomas. Then, with an air of confidence, she said, “I think you might be mistaken, Thomas. If my men have done their job as I am confident they have, Pope Benedict is alive and in a safe location.”

  Whoever she was, Anthony was now convinced she was on the side of good.

  “Cephas,” said Anthony, barely audible, “She’s on our side. I’m going out. Cover me.”

  “You got it. Let’s pray you’re right.”

  His gun extended, Anthony began to make his presence known to Christine. He counted on her not giving him away.

  Christine caught the movement of someone coming out of the monastery. She knew that Anthony, the other woman, and the priest were still inside. Seeing Anthony, she kept the conversation going with Thomas, raising her voice to hold his attention.

  Completely exposed now, Anthony saw that the woman was covering for him. His gun was within a couple of inches of Thomas’s head. Christine was talking with Thomas, but she could see everything Anthony was doing.

  The Guardians were watching from their different locations, their targets lined up in the crosshairs of their rifles, fingers resting on the triggers.

  Anthony now placed the barrel of his gun against the back of Thomas’s head. “It’s a funny thing, Thomas. Thomas, that’s your name, right? I am still alive. I suggest you remove the gun from my sister’s head.”

  “You’re supposed to be dead.”

  “That’s unfortunate for you,” said Anthony.

  “Anthony, you’re alive,” said Nelli, shocked at hearing her brother’s voice. “They told me you were dead.” She started to turn to look at Anthony. Thomas was surprised by the movement and jerked back. Realizing the gun was no longer against her head, Nelli slammed her elbow into Thomas’s chest. Before he had time to recover, Anthony took Nelli and pushed her behind him, at the same time grabbing Thomas’s gun and knocking him to the ground. The next thing he heard was two gunshots.

  He looked up to see where they had come from. Next to him stood Christine with her gun pointed down at Thomas. She had shot him once in the shoulder and once in the leg. He wasn’t feeling very well, but he was alive.

  Anthony stared at the woman. “Thanks. Who are you working for?”

  Without taking her eyes off of Thomas, she replied, “You need to get your sister to the plane. It’s waiting for you at the airstrip.”

  He was shocked that she knew about the plane. At the same time Nelli was tugging on his arm.

  “Anthony,” she whispered, “we have to go back inside. I found the book and secretly gave it to Father Cossa.”

  He did not want to tell her about what had happened. Facing her he said, “Nelli, Father gave it to me. I have it now. This woman’s right. I need to get you to the plane.”

  “We still need to go back inside Anthony and get Mary Ellen and Father Cossa so they can come with us.”

  The look on his face gave him away.

  “Anthony, what is it?” Nelli could see something was wrong.

  “Nelli … Father Cossa was hit by a stray bullet.”

  “Is he going to be okay? Mary Ellen, what about Mary Ellen?”

  “She was struck too, Nelli. I don’t know what to tell you. Abbot Giuseppe said he’d do everything he could.”

  Swinging his gun around, he pointed it at Thomas, “This bastard shot both of them.”

  “Anthony stop and think,” Christine said, trying to defuse the situation. “I need to question him. He can tell us things we need to know. You can hurt him more by delivering the book to Pope Benedict.”

  Anthony was using every ounce of control to stop himself from pulling the trigger. What Christine said was true. If he killed this man, then it would be personal. That’s not what he was trained for.

  “Anthony, I’ll have my men attend to the people inside. They’re trained combat medics.” She motioned for two of them to head inside. “You must get on that plane. The Pope is waiting for you.”

  “Who are you?” asked Nelli.

  The other Guardians were now standing just a few feet away, waiting to hear what the woman had to say.

  “I am part of an elite group of men and women. We report to only one individual whose name I cannot divulge to you. Few k
now of us and it must remain that way. We are similar, you and I, Anthony. We were each chosen to be Guardians. Have your men go with you for protection. Take the SUV that our friend here has so kindly left for our use. I don’t think he will have much use for it.”

  Anthony knew he couldn’t do anything more for Mary Ellen and Father Cossa. He had taken a vow to protect the Chosen One. He had not known that person would turn out to be his sister. The words written in this book that he was given offered hope to millions of souls. If they chose to believe and repent perhaps the Church and the world could be saved.

  “You’re right, Christine, or whoever you are. Perhaps we will meet again.”

  CHAPTER 96

  “I’ve been trying to reach Mary Ellen, Commander Crevelli, but all I get is her voice mail.”

  “Let me know the minute you reach her,” said Crevelli.

  Cardinal McKenna wouldn’t allow himself to believe the worst, so he tried to speculate on all the different reasons why she hadn’t called. The plane had been sent as promised and was waiting to bring everyone back to Rome.

  The last few hours had proven to be devastating for the Vatican. The plot to kill the Pope had been uncovered and the Vatican dubbed the name of the investigation the “Serpent’s Disciple.”

  They were beginning to learn who some of its members were and the extent this group had infiltrated the Church. It was never proved P2 was behind the death of Pope John Paul I but at least this time the Vatican had moved His Holiness to a safe location. If Mary Ellen O’Farrell had not persisted in trying to clear her brother’s name, maybe none of this would have ever been brought to light.

  One of the ways they were finding out who was a member of the group was to view surveillance video. Cameras were positioned throughout Vatican City, many visible, but others hidden.

  They searched the video looking for small groups of people standing around, slowing it down each time to focus on the hands, watching closely for any evidence of anyone nervously twisting the ring on the left hand, exposing a tattoo.

  McKenna had been asked to help in viewing the tapes. It made him sick to his stomach when he saw who some of the individuals were who’d joined this secret society; one of them had even been in the seminary with him. These were devout men, dedicated to Christ, or so he had thought. Cardinal Ruffo in particular was one he had always looked up to as an example to follow because of his unending love for the Church. Where had it gone wrong for these men of God?

  He had been faced with temptation many times. Yes, he made some poor choices in his life but never when it came to selling his soul. He wondered why he had been given the grace to choose good over evil, and the next person had not. One day he would know the answer to this and other questions he had wondered about throughout his life, God willing.

  His thoughts were interrupted by footsteps headed in his direction. Commander Crevelli came through the door and walked over to where McKenna was working. He looked tired. Crevelli leaned over, placing both hands on top of the desk. “He wants to see you.”

  McKenna was caught off guard by the request. “Did he say why?”

  “You will come with me now, please.” Crevelli wasn’t about to get into a discussion speculating why his presence had been requested.

  “Yes, of course.”

  Pausing the video and placing his glasses on the desk, he rose more slowly than he planned. His body was stiff from sitting for so long. They had not gone very far when the lights began flickering on and off. Suddenly they were encased in darkness. McKenna’s heart began racing and beads of sweat were forming on his forehead. Instinctively, he reached out for the wall to get his bearings, at the same time expecting to feel his attacker’s weapon of choice.

  What he heard was the calm voice of Commander Crevelli. “Do not be concerned cardinal; we have our own power source down here. It is just switching over to the other generator. It will only take a few seconds.”

  Before the commander had even finished his sentence, the lights came back on. Ahead, the cardinal could see two gendarmes, holding the traditional halberds, standing at attention. Just past them, the hallway veered to the left. As McKenna followed Commander Crevelli around the corner he saw two more gendarmes standing on each side of a metal door.

  Crevelli tapped twice and a pair of eyes appeared from behind a small window. A bolt was released and then Crevelli entered a code into a keypad mounted on the wall, placing his hand against the panel to be scanned. He waited for the small red light to turn green, and then opened the door. Four guards were stationed inside and a fifth man seated in a chair.

  “You’re here, Cardinal McKenna. Wonderful. I so much wanted to have a chat with you.”

  The man sitting in the chair sickened McKenna. Surprisingly, Cardinal Cavallari seemed even more arrogant than before, if that was possible, still dressed in his black vestments along with the scarlet sash and skullcap.

  “I wanted to see your face when I tell you the news. Sit, please,” he said nodding to the chair across from him.

  “No thank you. I’ll stand,” McKenna said.

  “Suit yourself,” said Cavallari shrugging.

  The commander of the Swiss Guard stood opposite McKenna on the other side of the room, one hand resting next to his side, the other wrapped around the handle of his gun.

  “The Church is finished as you know it, McKenna,” Cavallari began. “It’s been so easy to gather souls for the other side, including our own brethren. Temptation combined with free will is a wonderful thing. It was unfortunate for Father Roberto that he had such an inquisitive mind. We couldn’t allow him to start connecting the dots and put a wrench in our plans. It was hoped that the warning we left behind would end any further meddling, but we had time on our side.

  “It’s not the first time we’ve been able to bring the Church to its knees, but never before was the whole world so easily accessible to us. The faithful around the world are angry at the Church for the cover up of the scandal involving priests and are looking for someone they can believe in again, and Peter Romanus is just that person.”

  “So what is it you’re trying to tell me?” asked McKenna.

  “Perhaps you think by uncovering my involvement in this that you can stop what is about to happen.”

  Cavallari’s attention was diverted as a young priest rushed into the room. He headed straight to where Commander Crevelli was standing.

  The commander did not take his eyes off of Cardinal Cavallari even as he listened intently to the young priest. When the man finished, Crevelli continued to keep his eyes locked on Cavallari and said something to the young man. Acknowledging that he understood, the commander motioned for one of the Swiss Guards to take his place. Heading for the door, he first stopped to whisper something to McKenna.

  McKenna closed his eyes and lowered his head, overcome by the information just relayed to him. Cavallari figured they had just learned that Pope Benedict was dead. Unable to resist, he said, “Looks like you received bad news, McKenna,” he smirked. “I told you it was too late to stop it. By this time tomorrow, our new Pope will be the ruler of the New World Order.”

  McKenna looked at the man in front of him. The only thing he had ever wanted was to become a priest. The calling had been strong in him. He spent his whole adult life praying for the lost souls who turn away from God, that they may discover the errors of their ways before meeting their Maker. Now he couldn’t stop himself from thinking evil thoughts; he wanted to see this man suffer. He wanted him dead.

  Cavallari started to laugh. “You want to kill me, don’t you? The apple the serpent is offering is tempting isn’t it, Donovan? You were given free will, what will you choose?”

  Cavallari started laughing even harder but McKenna had already made his decision. He feared what the future held for him but he didn’t have any choice, allowing the cardinal to enjoy the moment. It would be his last.

  “I choose to follow the teachings of the Bible. You will be judged by one greater t
han any of us. I pray he will be merciful on your soul.”

  “I’m disappointed in you,” said Cavallari. “I thought you were your own man, but I was mistaken.”

  “Cardinal Cavallari, I will assume you believe you know what the commander told me. Let’s see how close you are. I was informed that by this time tomorrow, Pope Benedict XVI will have already addressed the world over Vatican Radio. He will have exposed the conspiracy by a group called P2 against the Catholic Church and the plot to kill him. He will also tell the world of a miracle that has taken place that the prophecy of Saint Anthony has been fulfilled and a book containing the words of Our Lord has been found, which he now has in his possession.”

  Cavallari couldn’t catch his breath. Then the most awful sound came out of him. It sounded like the howling of thousands of souls being cast into hell.

  McKenna was not frightened by the sound. In fact it gave him hope. Satan had been defeated once again and this servant of the devil sitting across from him knew it.

  “But your reaction a minute ago?”

  “I did receive bad news. A friend of mine has been shot and is believed to be dead.”

  Cavallari realized his life was over. For Peter Romanus, well, he would have to reign another day. He was almost glad he wouldn’t be there to see the aftermath of Peter’s anger. “May I make a request?”

  McKenna had never witnessed the loss of a man’s soul in front of his eyes. He hoped he never would again.

  “Would it be possible to have my hands released from these restraints enough that I might be able to pray before I am taken away and make an Act of Contrition?”

  McKenna had not even realized they had secured Cavallari’s arms and legs to the chair, which was bolted to the floor. He didn’t see how releasing the restraints would create any risk so he asked the guard to loosen the straps. Cavallari lowered his head and made the sign of the cross, joining his hands as if to pray. The prick from the needle was so negligible he wondered if it had even broken the skin, but the venom of the King Cobra was now surging through his blood.