***
“Julian, my friend, was your interview with Mr. Sokolov a pleasant one?” Fr. Soski thought and his grin made his mood palpable.
“Marek, it is always pleasant when old friends get together, no?”
“Oh, my. Can I assume you did not use him gently?” the priest scolded.
“I would have to say, Mr. Sokolov and I would be unable to come to an agreement on the meaning of ‘gently used,’ but he would be the first to admit he was definitely used.” Julian’s slight smile was rueful, but quickly turned solemn. I am unable to determine whether he has Ailís or not. The man is a ball of hatred and so is impossible to read except on the most visceral level.
“I can tell you, he is unhappy with me. The implications are clear. I feel the Jesuit Book would be safer in your care. I believe things are going to get dicey and I doubt, seriously, my ability to safeguard it. It is too important a work to put at risk.”
The men sat on a stone bench in the shade of a large tree. The tree and bench were in the private garden Julian rented from his hostess at the House of Joy. The men shared a lunch of crusty Italian bread, olives, a hunk of cheese and some prosciutto cotto. Fr. Soski thought as he ate.
“Julian,” the priest said. “Often the resources we need are right at hand. If you will get the door, I believe we can have our need for security and peace of mind met.”
Julian smiled just before a discreet knock was heard on the door leading to the garden. Julian walked to the door. Joselina Conaletti stood on the other side looking pinched and distinctly unhappy.
“For the love of the Madonna, wizard, don’t you know who that is, who you’ve brought into my house? Have you gone suddenly more stupid or something?” The woman’s panic was inspiring.
“That is my friend, Fr. Soski. Come out, I’ll introduce you,” Julian said.
The madam looked horror-struck. “I am supposed to go out there and meet the Ghost! Rosa, the girl on the same floor as you, she told me a customer of hers knew a man who said he knew someone who once looked the Ghost in the face and was driven instantly insane. And this you bring into my house? Do you care nothing for me and my daughters? How can you do this to us!
“I told that useless Giuseppe Sarro to throw the both of you out and do you know what that knot head said? I’ll tell you! He said he would rather dig out his eyes with a rusty spoon! That man is afraid of no one, but even he won’t screw around with the Ghost.” She made the sign of the horns so the priest wouldn’t see.
“Signorina, please come and enjoy your lovely garden with us. My friend, and I are in need of your wise counsel,” Fr. Soski thought and Joselina staggered as if head butted by a long horned sheep.
Julian smiled his most charming smile. The hallway behind Joselina was filled with her employees. He opened the door wide and the young women suddenly had a great need to be anywhere other than where they were.
“See what you’ve done.” The woman looked at Julian and was venomous. “It is one thing to have you doing your wizard shit right on my front steps and now I have the Ghost inside my head! And, and, and now my daughters have abandoned me. Nasty whores, I will skin them all if I live through this. If I do not, I will haunt you forever wizard!” the woman hissed.
She entered the garden and, without touching it, Julian closed the door behind her. She jumped. Julian smiled.
Fr. Soski stood and turned to face her. She looked at the white hair, the opaque gray eyes and the pale skin of the tall, banister thin priest as he held out a hand to welcome her. He smiled and terror animated the soul of Joselina Conaletti when she touched the cold hand of the Ghost.
***
“You obviously have friends in very high places, Mr. Blessing. “Taking your leisure in the Vatican Gardens is not something every tourist has the opportunity to enjoy. I am impressed,” Cardinal Luciano said and was impressed not at all.
“You asked to see me,” Julian said. “I thought this would be a convenient place.”
“Oh, yes, very convenient and very public. Do you and I really need to be this cautious with each other? I am getting the impression you do not trust me.” The cardinal’s voice was musical and light with its slight Italian tinged English.
“Eminence, do I have to be this cautious with you? The answer to that is yes. Do I trust you? Of course not. Not only is this a public place, but we are being watched,” Julian said, strengthening the defenses around his thoughts.
The cardinal smiled and shook his head. “Mr. Blessing, I appreciate your candor. It is so American, so refreshingly naive. However, I cannot say your fabrications are especially original. In fact, we are not being watched. I would know, as you would know, if we were.
“Further, watched or not, you could easily fall over dead and it would appear, for all the world, that I did nothing but administer the last rights. And the world would, of course, be right. I am a man of God after all,” the cardinal chuckled.
Julian set a slow pace as they walked down a long pea gravel path leading to a small fountain. Perfectly trimmed boxwoods lined the path and the air was honeyed with the smell of jasmine.
Julian stopped and cocked his head at his opponent, “You wished to see me?”
“Indeed,” Cardinal Luciano said. “I wanted to report I have been diligent in my inquiries regarding Dr. Dwyer. Some obstacles are to be overcome, but her safety comes first, so I am sure you will be happy to assist in any way you can.” The cardinal’s smile was a smirk.
“And in what way can I assist, Eminence?” Julian asked and dreaded the answer.
“We talked of powerful people when we met at my residence, no? Well, these powerful people are in a position to find and free your doctor, if anyone can, but they need to know which side you are on,” the cardinal said.
“I am on the right side, Eminence. And you?” Julian smiled a smile he did not feel.
The cardinal let the innuendo pass. “Mr. Blessing, there is a man. He is a man of great power and international standing. He is one of a handful of such people who are doing great harm to society. He is holding mankind back from claiming its true destiny. He is clever, this man. It appears to all the world he is the very model of piety and moral rectitude.
“This man must be,” the cardinal paused, “dissuaded.” The emphasis was heavy and driven home when the cardinal arched an eyebrow.
“Much discussion has been held on this subject. It is felt you are the individual in a position to accomplish such a thing.” The cardinal went no further, but looked at Julian awaiting a response.
“I need to kill someone in order to secure the release of the doctor, is that what I’m hearing? Please, tell me I misheard.”
“Mr. Blessing, it is you who used the word kill. I merely said dissuaded. I understand how your interpretation could be seen to be correct. Early in our relationship you indicated you were not inclined to join us. We accept and respect your decision, although we are disappointed of course. That said, you need not join as an active member in order to have your doctor returned to you.
“Successfully accomplish this task for us and you and the doctor are free to resume your lives far away from Rome. You may rest easy that you have completed an important mission for the greater good by protecting the world from an immense evil. In the process, you may just save this man’s soul. Of course, we will bother you no further.” With eyebrows raised and a broad smile, the cardinal looked pleased.
While Luciano waltzed around the subject, Julian’s natural style was slam dancing. “And the target of this assassination is who, your Eminence?”
The cardinal looked at Julian in mock disapproval. Luciano held Julian’s gaze, then looked away into the distance. Julian followed the man’s eyes. Both men squinted slightly under the harsh Roman sun.
From a small door in the wall surrounding the garden, a compact group of clerics entered and stood aside. It was a small pond of black cassocks, some piped in the scarlet of cardinals, others in the purple of bishops.
> A tall, kind and jovial looking man with wispy white hair, a kind face and, what Julian sensed as a shrewd, but generous spirit entered. He inspected the garden, closed his eyes for a moment and enjoyed the respite from a worrying world. This man wore a white cassock and a white zucchetto, a skullcap, and a simple gold pectoral cross on a simple gold chain around his neck.
This man was the Pope.
He glanced in Julian’s direction. The cardinal placed his hand on his own pectoral cross and bowed from the waste. Julian inclined his head slightly, but never took his eyes off the leader of over one billion Catholics.
Julian picked the place, but Luciano had picked the time. The cardinal had known the Pope would appear and when. His Eminence was half a step ahead of Julian in this race.
The cardinal took Julian’s arm. “A few more moments of your time, Mr. Blessing. I understand you have been to see a Russian gentleman of, shall we say, questionable character. A man named Sokolov, I believe. I must caution you. He is a dangerous man to know.”
“Eminence, there appear to be many men in Rome who are dangerous to know. In the case of Mr. Sokolov, he also has been kind enough to offer his assistance in finding the doctor.”
Cardinal Luciano ignored the jab. “Hmmm, I will have to trust you know what you are doing and what risks you are taking.
“Remember, men like him do not give of themselves freely. He will exact a price should he find that for which you are looking,” the cardinal said, his face strained to look serious and thoughtful.
Julian nodded his understanding. “And that would make him different from you, sorry, your group, how exactly?”
Again the cardinal sidestepped the insult. “Doubtless, Mr. Sokolov has heard of your talents and will demand their use if he finds the doctor. It well could be he took her to begin with,” the cardinal said.
“I offer this only as a word to the wise. We are alike in our calling and so I owe it to you to give the best counsel I can,” the cardinal smiled and continued.
“The Sokolovs of this world would use you for selfish and malicious ends. My friends and I will, in time, find your doctor, but the request we would make of your services is nothing but altruistic. We seek only the betterment of mankind, while Sokolov wants only to enrich himself at mankind’s expense. You see the difference, of course.”
Julian saw the difference, but it was a difference without much of a distinction.
“I have thought over your initial offer and will think over what you have said today. I do not feel now is the time to make such a decision, at least until the doctor is found and returned safely,” Julian said.
The cardinal laughed. “Mr. Blessing, I wish I could play your words back so you could hear them from my point of view. I must tell you, yours is prevarication on a Vatican level. Had you become a priest in your youth, you would surely be a prince of the Church by now. What they say is true, you learn quickly.
“If I could make a suggestion – do try to look a little earnest when you say such things. People might question your sincerity otherwise.” Again, the cardinal smiled without meaning.
“If there is nothing else, Eminence,” Julian said.
“For now, nothing,” the cardinal said with a sneer. “Think well and quickly. I wait to hear from you, then we will talk further. For now, go with God, Mr. Blessing.”
Julian nodded, turned and traced his steps back along the pea gravel path. The cardinal sat on the edge of the small fountain and watched him walk away. He watched and he wondered and he weighed the life of Julian Blessing. For now he was worth more alive than dead.
***
“Signore Marino, you saw and you heard?” Julian reached into his coat pocket and withdrew the listening device the sergeant had placed there. “He wants to take out the Pope! You have proof. Will you arrest him or will the…”
Marino, shook his head, no. The sergeant was situated on the roof of the Vatican Radio transmission center. He placed the listening device and binoculars in a small briefcase and looked at Julian.
He had secured the services of the sergeant. Marino brought with him ungodly swift and deadly physical responses to all occasions. The sergeant had no discernable signature. Marino’s listening in would not have saved Julian from being obliterated, but he may have had proof of Luciano’s complicity. At least that was what Julian thought.
The sergeant looked at Julian and shook his head again. “Arrest him for what? You are the one who suggested killing the Pope. The cardinal suggested you reason with His Holiness.”
Julian ran over the conversation in his mind. He acknowledged what the sergeant said.
“Sergeant, may I ask you a question?” Again, Marino nodded once.
“Didn’t Vatican Security object to you being on one of their roofs?” Julian asked.
“Bella told them I was here to protect the cardinal from you. The Vatican authorities trust no one. They have a sniper trained on me and another on you. Right now.”
“Me? Hey, that’s a good one.” Julian chuckled. His was the only chuckle as he scanned the rooftops and windows, easily feeling the presence of, not two, but three counter snipers.
“Yeah, well, do you mind another question?” Julian said with a concerned look on his face as he scanned the rooftops of the Vatican. Marino nodded only slightly.
“I know this may sound pretty macabre, but you think those guys would, you know?”
The policeman looked at Julian several moments longer than Julian found comfortable before saying, “There are too many wizards in Rome, so yes.”
A dazed Julian said, “That isn’t exactly what I meant, but, okay, well, oh, look at the time. Nice chatting with you, Sergeant. Thanks for, ah, being here. It made me feel a lot better. Arrivederci, no?” Julian’s smile was weak tending toward pathetic.
Enrico Marino’s face was as expressionless as usual. When a shaken Julian was off the roof, the policeman smiled. Slightly.
***
“Marek, bilocation? Really? What is it about Jesuits that you can’t just say ‘two places at once?” Julian asked.
“Because,” Fr. Soski answered, “bilocation is far more accurate, more scientific. In this case, at least.” The priest was clarifying things metaphysical for Julian and warning him of the dangers likely to assail him.
“Let us take Cardinal Luciano. It is both physically and metaphysically impossible for him to be in two places at once. He can, however, project a likeness of himself. You could, one day, be facing several cardinals each looking like Luciano. Thus, bilocation.” Julian’s friend smiled.
“Like a hall of mirrors.” Julian looked pleased. The priest did not.
“Julian, what is it that causes you to reduce things to their simplest form?” the priest asked, not unkindly.
Julian looked sheepish and the priest laughed. “My friend, let us stay with bilocation, if you wouldn’t mind. We’ll leave the hall of mirrors simile for another time.” Fr. Soski paused, looked expectant and continued.
“Regardless of our talents, all of us have one thing in common. The ability to focus binds us all together. That focus allows us to do what we do,” the priest said.
“Bilocation is a serious threat. If you are focusing on a person, then suddenly you are confronted with two, three or four of that person, you have no choice but to shift your focus. If given enough time, you will sort out the real from the illusionary, but it may be too late by then.”
The two friends sat in the priest’s darkened office. Julian broke the silence.
“Marek, every time I speak of general principals, you bring us back to the hostile applications of those.” Julian’s statement was delivered as a simple observation. Fr. Marek steepled his fingers as if in prayer.
“Julian, as I have said before, I have watched you with some care. I continue to talk with others about you. You are the subject of much research and conjecture, a real celebrity, but I won’t ask for an autograph quite yet.” The priest smiled.
“The
usual course is we learn to wield the talents we were born with. Through study and application over a lifetime, we gain a certain mastery of ourselves and our abilities. You, however, continue to learn and grow and you are doing it with shocking speed. I suspect this is because you don’t know what you can’t do.” Fr. Marek’s chuckle turned to a racking cough. Julian grimaced.
Fr. Marek caught his breath, apologized and continued. “You, Julian, have an unimaginable set of gifts. It is necessary that you know, yours is a brilliant light. You must also understand, there are those who would extinguish it. With the light comes the mist, the shadows and the darkness, my friend.”
“Marek?” Julian asked. The priest wiped his mouth on a handkerchief and it came away speckled with blood. “Luciano, he wants me to murder the pope.”
“Well then,” the priest said, “we will have to make sure you don’t do that.”
Chapter Twelve
“Eminence,” Fr. Dominic said. Cardinal Luciano looked up from his book. His eyes narrowed, but did not respond. “Eminence, another test was run.” The priest hesitated as the cardinal’s look turned dark. “It was not successful.”
The cardinal set his book aside, crossed his legs, but said nothing.
“It would seem the Vatican Bank has tightened its computer systems security and changed its protocols and procedures. What would make this worrying is these changes were made the moment our test entered the system,” the priest concluded.
The cardinal considered a moment and then thought, “Dominic, you said, ‘would make this worrying,’ as though I should or would be worried. There is nothing about which I need to worry. As the individual responsible for all things financial here, it is for you to worry.”
When the thought struck, Fr. Dominic shuddered and his eyesight blurred. When the cardinal addressed him telepathically, it left him feeling ill and with a migraine for days afterward.
“Eminence, I meant I would be worried only all traces of the transaction, on this side, disappeared the instant the changes were detected by the bank. There is no trail leading back.”
Echoes Through the Vatican: A Paranormal Mystery (The Echoes Quartet Book 2) Page 13