"The rightful rulers of that area did not appreciate the growing amount of power and wealth the order was accumulating. They were becoming dangerous, indignant, and soon could take over everything if nothing was done to keep them in check. A plan was put together by the political leaders and the church. The knights were stripped of their lands, their titles, and most of their fortunes. False accusations were forced upon them. Some were executed. Many fled never to return. A precious few stayed, hidden in the shadows to watch and wait. Those knights hoped that they could be the ones to return their order to greatness, to undo the great wrong that had been visited upon them. Their wait, however, was in vain all those years. They never had even a glimpse of their former glory. As I said before, they lost everything."
Tommy listened to the man with fascination, never taking his eyes off Wagner as he relayed the information about the Teutonic Knights and their history. He'd known of the group, even read a little about them at some point in the past, but they and the Hospitallers always seemed to take a back seat to their brothers, the Templars, who were perpetually shrouded in secrecy and mystery.
"These guys, the Teutonic Knights, they don't sound like a group with many resources," Tommy commented. "And what do they want with that ring?"
Wagner took in a long breath and looked down at his wound again. Bodmer noticed the man's concern and stood up.
"I'm going to get him something to stem the bleeding," the commander said.
Sean nodded his assent, and Bodmer stalked toward the bathroom at the end of the car. He reappeared a moment later with a first aid kit and sat down in his seat again. After he removed a packet of gauze, he took out a can of disinfectant spray and hosed down the wound. He knew it stung, and for a guy who hadn't flinched at being shot, the spray seemed to finally hit the nerves Wagner had been ignoring since they left the café.
Bodmer gently packed the dressing over the wound and then taped it down with the adhesive strip from the kit. When he was done, the commander sat back and admired his work with a certain air of pride.
"Thank you," Wagner said. "I am in your debt."
Bodmer waved off the praise but allowed himself a slim smile.
"The Teutonic Knights," Wagner went on, answering Tommy's question, "take orders from the grand master. Like in many secret organizations, the grand master is the leader in all things. While he is not a king and doesn't wield total authority in most situations, it seems that with the Teutonic Order that is exactly what is happening."
"Who is this grand master?" Adriana asked. "Do you know him?" She looked at the man as she asked the question, then returned to watching the door and the aisle to make sure it was clear as she listened to his answer.
"A man named Lucien Berger," Wagner said. "He's been in control of their organization for several years now. He's fanatical, believes that the order should have all their previous landholdings returned to them, and the fortune that was taken."
"Land?" Sean asked, incredulous. "Land that has been in the possession of other people, families, for hundreds of years? There has to be some kind of statute of limitations on that, right?"
Wagner snapped his head. "No. Not in his mind. He believes that if they can find the ring, it will legitimize their place in the holy kingdom, that it will prove they are in God's favor and that all wrongs must be righted. I'm not certain, but if I had to guess, I would say they likely want the castle at Malbork returned to them, as well."
Sean glanced at Tommy, but his reply was a blank stare. Another place they hadn't heard of or visited. Malbork didn't ring a bell, although that wasn't a huge surprise. There were thousands of castles all over the world and twice as many ruins of ancient fortresses, palaces, and temples. They could spend five lifetimes and never see them all.
"So, once this guy has the ring and all his old stuff back, he's going to, what, just sit back and retire on his newly regained fortune?" Sean's question was riddled with doubt. Nothing was ever that easy, not that they were about to hand the ring over to that guy—a ring they didn't yet have, if ever.
"Lucien will not stop once he has the ring. He will use it to rally tens of thousands to his cause, perhaps hundreds of thousands or more. Once that happens, all of Europe will be set on fire."
That last part was a pretty big jump—for this audience, anyway.
"What do you mean, set on fire?"
"Lucien believes that the world is dying and that the cause is due to a lack of morals, an absence of religious guidance. This pope is weak, weaker than any who have come before him. He makes compromises with church doctrine, promotes tolerance in ways that the church never did before. Some call him a progressive. There are circles, however, who consider him a traitor, a treasonous snake who is working to undo the church from within."
"What do you believe?" Bodmer asked from across the aisle. He'd been silent for a few minutes, but now the topic of conversation was venturing into his backyard.
"I believe that the pope is a good man and is trying to do what is best for not only the church but for the world and all of Christianity. Perhaps he is misguided at times, but that is not for me to judge. Only one who has ever lived can judge that and it is not me or any other mortal."
Sean knew whom he meant. He'd lived his life according to the same belief, though he had often been the sword of what he hoped was the side of good and not evil. After what he'd seen in the government—the things that were covered up, the lies that were told to the American people and the rest of the world—he wanted no part of it. That was the biggest reason he'd left Axis, and it was a reason he could never really tell anyone about, even Emily. Especially Emily. She was still there, still grinding out work for the United States government as if everything was fine. Truth was, good people like her were needed in roles like the one she commanded. Emily Starks represented a light that could potentially guide others. Sean, however, knew he couldn't do it anymore. He'd left without a single regret about the decision, though there were still lingering doubts about the things he'd done before he joined Axis, and a few things he'd done after.
"The pope is the figurehead," Sean said. "The man could be firmly rooted in the doctrines and values of the church, and it wouldn't make any difference. He's the target of this…Berger's ambitions, his lust for revenge or justice or whatever he thinks it is."
"Correct," Wagner confirmed. "And he won't stop until he has what he wants: a unified front against the enemies of the church."
"And…who are these enemies? In his mind, I mean." Tommy asked.
"They're everywhere," Wagner answered. "He is obsessed with eliminating people of differing beliefs. Muslims. Atheists. Hindus. Buddhists. Anyone who isn't of the same faith will be an enemy to the grand master. Faith, however, is only a façade. It's the machine he will use to wreak havoc. The truth is, I believe all the man wants is to see the world in ashes. He hates it all." Wagner's words lingered in the air like smoke from incense.
"And he believes that the ring of John the Baptist will give him the authority to command a new Crusade against all of those who oppose what he thinks is right," Sean finished.
"Exactly."
The train slowed and pulled into the next station. There was a cluster of children standing on the platform with what looked like a chaperone, probably a schoolteacher. The kids were no older than eleven or twelve. Most had backpacks on their shoulders. Several were talking happily with each other. When the doors opened, the children got on the next car up, to Sean's relief. He didn't want to end the conversation just yet, and there was no faster way to end a serious conversation than loading up a bunch of schoolchildren into a confined space.
Even though the kids were in the next car, Sean could still hear their raucous laughter, their squealing, their chatter. He'd never wanted kids of his own. The world was messed up, a broken planet filled with evil people around every corner. Even those who seemed righteous or good often disappointed or ended up with some horrible secret. The pollution in the oceans, the poli
tical corruption scandals, and the outbreak of violent crime across most cities in the world—all of it was just too much for Sean to even consider having kids. While he thought he would enjoy playing baseball or soccer or basketball or football with a child of his own, all of the negatives far outweighed the positives, at least in his mind. Throw on top of all that the fact that he was never home, always traveling to some distant place, as well as finding trouble far more often than he'd prefer.
No, Sean and Adriana weren't ready to have kids just yet.
Right on cue, there was a scream from the other car, followed by a series of playful screams. Sean imagined a boy must have played a trick on one of the girls, perhaps with an insect he'd picked up outside.
He brought his attention back to the conversation as the train began to pull out of the station.
"How do you know about all this?" Sean asked pointedly. He'd been listening to Wagner talk about this Lucien Berger, the apparent grand master of the Teutonic Knights. The man seemed to know a great deal about the grand master, and Sean wanted to know how and why.
"An excellent question," Wagner said. "I would have been surprised if you hadn't asked that." He flashed a grin at Sean and went on. "Berger believed that all of us—the Hospitallers, my organization, and a few others—should band together. He wanted allies of a like mind. In his logic, he figured that we'd all been stripped of our rightful possessions, our status, everything. Truth be told, my order lost very little. We have never owned much in the way of property or material goods. Our existence is based on service to the church. We hunt down holy relics and return them to where they belong. The Hospitallers, on the other hand, lost much, as did the Templars. I don't think I have to remind you of what happened to them."
He didn't. Sean, Tommy, and Adriana were well aware of the Templar history, including some things that no one else knew outside of a tight collection of powerful people. The three knew about their centuries-long war with the Order of Assassins, how the Templars had been nearly exterminated in France so long ago when the pope and king conspired to take everything from them. It was a similar tale, according to what Wagner was saying, to the fate that befell the Teutonic Knights. Wagner hadn't mentioned anything about a mass execution, so that part was different, though the repossession of estates and money certainly mirrored what happened to the Templars.
"Lucien Berger recruited us, all of us," Wagner said. "He wanted all of the knights to unite against a common enemy and in an effort to find the ring of John the Baptist. He promised us great power and wealth if we agreed to help. We were to establish a new kingdom. He is even so delusional that he claimed his purpose was to bring about the New Jerusalem."
"From the Biblical prophecies?" Tommy asked.
"Indeed."
"I guess he read that part differently than I."
"Lucien is bent on revenge," Wagner said, reiterating the conclusion Sean had already reached. "He's bent on lashing out against a world that he believes wronged him, including the church. He thinks the church, too, has lost its way, and he is the shepherd to guide it back onto the righteous path. The truth is, the man's only desires are vengeance and power. I doubt there is any real spiritual reason behind anything he does or says. If there is, it's highly misguided."
"So," Adriana interrupted, "what should we do to stop him?"
Wagner turned to her. His eyes burned with the intensity of a gas fire. "You must find the ring, of course." He said it as though it was the simplest of tasks. "Lucien wants the ring, and if he gets it there is no question he will garner support from some of the other orders' leaders, if not all the orders entirely. My order will not rally to his cause because we know the truth about him. With the ring, however, he will claim that he is a new pope, the rightful ruler of the church. He will take back everything that was stolen from them centuries ago, and with an impassioned global following it will be like World War Two all over again."
"What do you mean?" Tommy asked. "Who will go to war?"
"Not the war," Sean answered for the man. "The Holocaust."
Wagner nodded solemnly. "Lucien is the kind of person who will begin systematically calling out those who are in opposition to what he believes are the true teachings of Christ and of the church. Personally, I don't believe any of it has to do with righteousness or bringing the gospel to the world. Christ never would have condoned anything that Lucien does, nor will do if he finds the ring. It is all about power for him. The more he has, the more he will try to bring the entire planet to its knees. In a way, he has similar goals to the very man who took the ring in the first place."
"Napoléon?" Adriana asked.
Wagner nodded. "Yes. Napoléon, too, believed the ring would give him great power, the ability and the right to claim all of Christendom as his own. With that kind of power, he believed, he could conquer the whole world. Allies from every Christian nation would rally to his cause. The only enemies he would have to vanquish would be the British and the Muslim nations. The campaign to Alexandria was one where he hoped he could accomplish both, weakening the trade and economies of those two enemies. He nearly succeeded, too, though the loss in the Battle of the Nile was a major setback and essentially ensured the French forces would never have full control of the area."
It was difficult to grasp the idea that someone, in modern times, would seek to control the entire planet. It was ridiculous to even think it. Or was it?
The grand scope would suggest the notion impossible. No single entity could rule the entire world and all its nations, continents, territories. Then again, it wasn't so long ago when a man from Braunau am Inn, Austria, rose to power in a nation ravaged by war and international sanctions. It didn't take much for Hitler to convince the German people that there was a single source for their misfortunes, for the injustices that were forced upon them.
He'd blamed the Jewish population, and as a result the nation rallied around him, forsaking logic and reason for rabid nationalism and racism. Six million Jews were executed during that time. Some were worked to death. Others were killed by any conceivable means possible. Either way, it was a mass execution, a genocide.
Sitting on the train, Sean realized that was less than a hundred years ago. The world was not that far removed from the Holocaust. There'd been others, too, in various countries since the fall of Nazi Germany. Cambodia came to mind. All it took was a fanatical leader who understood the pain of his people and could provide a salve for that pain, and a way to cut out the cause of it.
Sean's mind spun with the possibilities. He doubted anyone could ever claim every island, every corner of every jungle in the world, but wresting control of the civilized world was certainly possible if enough people joined the cause.
There were billions of Christians across the world. If unified under the banner of a madman, it was easy to see how their hearts and minds could be manipulated into thinking the problems of Earth were directly related to unbelievers.
"He wants a new Crusade," Sean realized out loud.
The others turned to him and stared.
"This Berger…he seeks to use a worldwide religious Crusade to regain power and to plant him at the top of it all. He would make himself the king or pope of everything."
"Or both," Bodmer chirped.
Wagner confirmed this suspicion with a nod. "Which means it is all the more important that you find the ring before he does."
"But…how can he find it if he doesn't have a clue where it is?" Tommy asked.
"Perhaps he does, and we are unaware. Either way, we must find the ring and return it to Malta. There, it will be safe and protected for all time."
Sean wasn't so sure about that. Napoléon had been able to steal it once. Why couldn't someone do that again? He decided to leave that question out of the discussion.
"Fine," Sean said. "We find the ring. Problem is we aren't sure what to do next."
"You found the three names, yes?"
The other four exchanged curious glances.
&nbs
p; "How did you know about the three names?" Adriana pressed.
29
PARIS
Lucien walked over to the window of the hotel and looked out onto the street with cold, vapid eyes. The people walking down the sidewalks did not register to him, nor did the cars passing on the road. His mind was elsewhere.
He'd been carefully orchestrating things from his headquarters in Poland, but they had gone south quickly. His daughter was dead, her body found on the island of Saint Helena some hours ago. Her corpse was en route to Poland, where she would be prepared for burial by the knights.
They always took care of their dead. Part of that came from not fully trusting the funeral homes or morticians to respect the bodies. Knights were to be honored in life and in death. Lucien Berger's daughter would receive the highest respect he could bestow. For the time being, however, there was still the matter of the ring, and Lucien was not going to let emotions get in the way of the ultimate goal.
They lived by a strict set of rules, guidelines that had been in place for hundreds of years. Lucien didn't create the rules, but he certainly adhered to them, allowing them to illuminate his life's path every step of the way. One of the first rules he learned long ago was to never let emotions get in the way of the mission. There was another rule that warned against getting emotionally close to individuals or groups. Emotions had no place in war. They caused people to make poor decisions, rush into situations they could not survive or escape.
But even as Lucien reminded himself of that, he felt a tightening in his chest when the image of his daughter filtered into his vision. He winced and fought off the sudden wave of emotion.
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