The Belial Fall

by R. D. Brady

  “When the world first learned of your abilities, there were two camps, one who thought you were a hero, a saint. And then on the other side . . .” Bas’s voice drifted off.

  “They thought I was the antichrist.” The arguments for Laney being the antichrist had all come from Elisabeta’s efforts to destroy her. That woman is dead and still making my life hell.

  “This brotherhood, this Eclipse of the Sun, they believe I’m the antichrist?”

  Bas nodded. “Yes. And they believe you are the fulfillment of a prophecy that will destroy the Roman Catholic Church, if not the whole world.”

  CHAPTER 32

  You are the fulfillment of a prophecy that will destroy the Roman Catholic Church, if not the whole world. The words hung in the dark air. Laney was trying really hard not to grab Bas by the throat like Drake had done and demand answers from him. Lucky for him, a banging sounded from the tunnel behind them, reminding her why that was not the best call right now.

  “They’ve found the door,” Drake said.

  “Yes. But not the way to open it. We need to hurry.” Bas picked up his pace, all but running through the dark tunnel. Laney and Drake kept pace with him easily.

  Next to her, Drake pulled out his phone, switching on the flashlight. The light was dimmer than Bas’s flashlight. He handed it to Laney. “Here.”

  “What are you—”

  Drake blurred.

  “Hey!” Bas yelled as the flashlight was wrenched from his hand. Drake disappeared from view. Laney smiled. She had been thinking of doing the same thing.

  “What is he doing?”

  “Checking the way.” Laney held up the phone to light the tunnel as best she could. “Apparently he doesn’t trust you.”

  “And do you?”

  “No. What are you doing back in Rome? How did you know we were in trouble? You are keeping secrets. Those secrets are endangering me and the people I care about.”

  She felt Bas’s gaze on her but didn’t turn. “You’re right,” he said. “I will tell you everything. But first we need to get safe.”

  A dark thought crossed her mind, making her go still. “What about my uncle? Will these men, this brotherhood, go after him as well?”

  Bas smiled. “Don’t worry about Patrick. I have a friend watching over him. He’ll keep him safe.”

  CHAPTER 33

  The dull headache that had begun between Patrick’s eyes an hour ago had now shifted across his entire skull. He took a sip of water, fatigue weighing him down. Under the best of circumstances, this interrogation would be taxing. But given his current state of health, he was fading fast.

  He leaned his elbows on the table in front of him. There were empty seats on either side of him. A semicircle table sat across from him, where six members of the Vatican’s Enhanced Individuals Council sat. He’d been answering their questions for ninety minutes. This was the first break he’d had and that was due to a phone call for the head of the council, Cardinal Francisco.

  Patrick reached for the glass of water near him. Lifting it, he realized it was empty.

  “Allow me, Father.” The American representative appeared next to him, filling his water glass. The man had appeared just before the session began. The members of the council had not looked happy at his appearance, but the man had ignored them and simply sat in one of the seats behind Patrick. Patrick hadn’t caught his name when it had been offered at the beginning of the session.

  “Thank you.” Patrick took another long drink. All this speaking had left his throat and mouth dry. The representative placed the pitcher on the table within reach of Patrick.

  “Do you mind?” He indicated the chair next to Patrick.

  “By all means.”

  As the man took his seat, Patrick struggled to remember his name. Was it Daniel? David?

  The man extended his hand. “I’m David Okafur.”

  “Patrick Delaney.”

  “It’s a pleasure, Father.”

  Patrick studied the younger man next to him. He had strong hands, the veins standing out, and sharp cheekbones that told him the man watched what he ate. He was dressed in a pale pink shirt and light gray suit with a slim tie. He would have looked at home on a Paris runway.

  But the calluses on his hands told him this was no up-and-coming bureaucrat. Patrick placed his glass on the table. “So tell me, why is the United States government sending an intelligence operative to the Vatican under the guise of a diplomatic officer?”

  A slow smile spread across David’s face. “My hands, right?”

  Patrick nodded. “Your knuckles, the callus on the outer right-hand side. My niece has the same hands.”

  “Perhaps I study martial arts just as she does.”

  “I think we both know those type of calluses don’t come from simply studying martial arts. They can only come into being by putting that studying into practice. So again, what is the United States’ interest in this?”

  David scanned the room. The cardinal was in discussion with his aides in the back corner. The others had not returned to the room. “The United States government has a vested interest on all matters relating to Delaney McPhearson.”

  “A lot of countries do. But I don’t see their representatives here.”

  “Well, the United States and the Vatican see eye to eye on certain endeavors providing them a closer relationship.”

  Patrick couldn’t for the life of him interpret that double speak. A cell phone rang out across the hall. The cardinal glanced at the screen and answered quickly. His eyes narrowed. He barked something into the phone before disconnecting the call and quickly dialing another number. He met Patrick’s gaze for a moment before he shifted his gaze away.

  Uh-oh. Patrick did not like that look. He pushed himself back from the table. “If you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll use the facilities before we reconvene.”

  David stood, placing his hand on the bars of Patrick’s wheelchair. “Let me help you, Father.”

  Without waiting for Patrick’s approval, David began to push him toward the door. The cardinal waved at two of his aides, who quickly hustled over. “The cardinal requests that—”

  David did not stop as he spoke. “The father needs to use the facilities. I’m sure you understand.”

  “But—”

  David ignored them, pushing Patrick’s chair into the hall and picking up the pace once they were outside.

  Patrick swallowed. Something was wrong. Two priests appeared at the end of the hall. They stood for a moment, their eyes narrowing before marching toward Patrick.

  David leaned down. “Friends of yours?”

  “No.”

  He sighed. “I thought as much.” His phone beeped. He paused their forward momentum to glance at his watch, reading the text there. “Wonderful.”

  Once again, he started pushing Patrick, aiming for the two priests. “David?”

  “Just one second, Father.”

  The first of the priests reached them. “Father Patrick, we are going to have to ask you to—”

  David punched the man in the chin. His eyes rolled back in his head before he dropped. The second priest threw a round kick at David, who stepped at a forty-five-degree angle toward the man while catching his leg. David’s forearm slammed into the man’s knee, resulting in an audible snap. Switching the hand that held the priest’s leg, David whirled around, landing an elbow on the priest’s chin before sweeping his other leg. The priest crashed to the floor.

  The cardinal’s aides gasped at the end of the hall. Two more priests rushed from the other side of the hall. A glint of metal flashed from under their jackets as they ran.

  David grabbed the handlebars of the wheelchair and began to run. “Time to go, Father.”

  CHAPTER 34

  Washington, D.C.

  The files on the desk in front of Shremp held no interest for him. He pushed aside the latest report on farm subsidies in the Midwest. He was meeting with a panel in the morning to discuss shoring up some
of the subsidies for some of the smaller farms. The farmers were a strong voting bloc, but right now he couldn’t care less about them.

  Because he still couldn’t find Delaney McPhearson.

  He’d received a report from a source inside the Vatican that McPhearson and her boy toy had been taken for a tour of the Castel Sant’Angelo and then had disappeared. They’d been allowed in before the crowds but had not been seen coming out. He’d had his intelligence people pore over all feeds around the ancient mausoleum, but they had caught no whiff of them. He growled, shoving aside the files and grabbing the receiver of his desk phone. He punched in the number from memory.

  His head analyst, Sheila Lyles, answered. “Yes, sir.”

  “Where is she?”

  “There’s been no sign of her yet.”

  “How’s that possible?”

  “We don’t know, sir. It’s possible she slipped through with a group and we were unable to pick up on her.”

  “I thought you were good.”

  “I am. But this is Delaney McPhearson, not some normal person. She escaped a plane that blew up in midair. It doesn’t exactly stretch the imagination that she might figure out a way to leave a tourist site undetected . . . sir.”

  Shremp grunted. Shelia was getting a little testy. “Find her. Call me as soon as you do.” He hung up the phone.

  Damn it. He stood up, glaring at the reports on his desk before striding across the room. Forget it. I need to eat something.

  His assistant hurried into the room just as Shremp was reaching for the door handle. He had to jump back to avoid getting hit. “Damn it, Tony.”

  “Sir, sorry, sir, but the President has asked to see you in her office.”

  “Fine, fine. Call my—”

  “Sir, she sent a car for you.” Tony stepped aside, and Shremp got a look at the two large Secret Service agents waiting for him.

  Well, this doesn’t look good.

  Twenty minutes later, Shremp was being ushered into the Oval Office. The President was pacing over by the fireplace. She stopped as Shremp walked in, nodding at her aide, who closed the door behind Shremp.

  Shremp inclined his head. “Madame President.”

  “What have you heard from Rome?”

  “Uh, well, McPhearson has disappeared, it seems.”

  “And what of her uncle?”

  Shremp frowned. Her uncle? Why on Earth was he important? “I have not checked up on her uncle.”

  “Well, I have. He was last seen in a meeting with the Vatican council. He went for a bathroom break and never returned.”

  Shremp frowned. “The man’s in a wheelchair. I can’t imagine he could get very far.”

  “Not on his own.”

  A feeling of dread crawled up Shremp’s spine.

  “It appears Mr. Okafur was also at the meeting. He helped Father Patrick from the room and did not return either. You wouldn’t be working a separate mission, would you, Senator?”

  Sweat began to trickle down his back. What was David up to? “No, Madame President, of course not. I have no interest in Patrick Delaney.”

  She studied him a long time before finally nodding. “Very well. I need to know as soon as Mr. Okafur makes contact, is that clear?”

  “Yes, of course, Madame President.”

  “You’re excused.”

  He bowed. “Thank you, Madame President.”

  He let himself out the door. He nodded at the aide, but his mind was not on where he was. No, it was focused on David. David had taken the priest. Why? Was he working for the United States or against it? Who was pulling his strings? It was possible it was Bruce, but while he did not like Bruce, he had no doubts about the man’s loyalty. But David, he had not been born in the United States. Who knew where his loyalty lay?

  As he stepped outside, he saw his car was waiting. He’d arranged for it to follow him to the White House. He hurried over, his driver opening the door for him as he approached. Shremp slipped into the back seat, pulling out his phone and punching in Sheila’s number.

  “Yes, sir.”

  “I need you to get me everything you can find on David Okafur.”

  “Sir?”

  “He’s a CIA agent. Find me everything you have on him and find him.”

  “Is he a higher priority than McPhearson?”

  “No, McPhearson is still the main priority. But I believe Okafur might be somehow related to her disappearance. So find him and get me everything you have on him.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Shremp disconnected the call. He could feel it in the air. Everything was about to break. All his carefully laid plans were about to come to fruition. McPhearson going missing was a problem, but she was still too far away to stop anything. David was also a problem but a human one, easily dealt with. Neither of them could interfere with his plans.

  He glanced back over his shoulder at the White House. Soon he’d be the one summoning people to his Oval Office. He just needed one more piece to slip into place.

  CHAPTER 35

  Rome, Italy

  Bas had been leading Laney and Drake through the dark for the last twenty minutes. Laney was not surprised that there were so many tunnels underneath Rome. It seemed every time someone dug into the earth, they bumped into another piece of history. The tunnels dated back to the beginning of Rome itself and had been used on and off since then. They’d been used as catacombs, World War II bomb shelters, unofficial sewers, and even for mushroom farming. She was, however, surprised at Bas’s familiarity with them.

  He stopped now at a tunnel that crossed with theirs. Laney flicked a glance above the tunnel. It had the sign of the cross scratched into the rock. She’d noticed different scratching at each of the tunnel openings.

  “This leads back to the Vatican.” Bas pressed a piece of paper into Laney’s hands, wrapped around a flashlight. “The tunnels are extensive. These are the directions. Follow them carefully. I warn you, some spots will be difficult to get through.”

  “Where are you going?”

  “To throw them off your scent. Now go.” Bas stepped into the dark, his footsteps barely audible.

  Laney looked up at Drake. “What on earth is going on?”

  “I have no idea. Do you want to follow untrustworthy him or follow his untrustworthy map?”

  Laney gave a rueful chuckle. It was true she didn’t trust Bas. The fact that he was back in Rome and that he’d shown up when they needed him could only mean one thing: He was part of the Brotherhood. But following him seemed unwise if he was going back to the Vatican. Laney was less worried about the Brotherhood or even the Swiss Guard than she was the cameras everywhere in the Vatican. She had learned the hard way how video could be manipulated to tell the wrong story.

  “Untrustworthy map. But if we find an earlier way out, we take it.”

  Flashing the light around, she couldn’t see any structural supports for the tunnel ahead of them. It was dirt, which meant no wooden structures to keep the earth from burying them. It also looked narrower and less well traveled.

  Drake laughed as he looked ahead.

  “You find this funny?”

  “Well, I had been hoping to have some time alone with you. This seems to be the personification of ‘be careful what you wish for.’ But I’ll take what I can get.” He took her hand.

  Laney squeezed his hand back as they began to walk. But within a few feet, she had to let go of his hand. The tunnel narrowed, making it impossible to walk side by side. And she was right. It was definitely less used than the other tunnels they’d been in. She’d lost count of the number of spiderwebs she’d walked into and the times she had to crawl to get through the narrow passages.

  Behind her, Drake wasn’t doing much better. “I take it back. I won’t just take what I can get. This is horrible.”

  Laney muffled a laugh. “What? Spending time with me in a dark, dank, cobweb-filled tunnel is not exciting enough for you?”

  “Exciting? No. Disturbingly gross?
Yes. How long have we been walking?”

  “About forty-five minutes.” Laney squinted, trying to make out something in the distance. “Is that light?”

  “Oh, thank the gods.” He pushed past Laney, striding forward. This time Laney did laugh. It was good to know the all-powerful archangel had some kryptonite: spooky tunnels.

  But as much as Drake’s antics amused her, she had to admit, she too wanted out of this tunnel. Not just because of the spiderwebs, but because she got no service down here. She needed to reach her uncle. She hated leaving him behind, but she couldn’t exactly go storming through the Vatican looking for him. She just hoped he wasn’t getting farther and farther away from her while she scrounged around in the dark.

  The light down the tunnel brightened as Drake pushed up on an opening in the ceiling. He grabbed the edge and hoisted himself through.

  Laney jogged forward as Drake put a hand down. Laney jumped, grabbing hold, and Drake pulled her up. She stumbled as her feet touched the ground, falling into Drake, who pulled her close. He pulled a cobweb from her hair. “That’s better.”

  She wiped some dirt from his cheek. “Same.”

  He kissed her. Like every other time, a little thrill danced through her body as his lips met hers. She would love to lose herself in the feel of him, but the reality of what was spreading around them had her stepping back and taking her first good look at their surroundings. It appeared to be an abandoned building. The room was large with stained and cracked wood floors. Plaster walls in need of repair surrounded them with arched doorways leading to other rooms. She listened intently but didn’t hear anyone in the building, although she could make out sounds of light traffic outside. Nothing to set off any alarm bells.

  “Any idea where we are?” she asked.

  “I believe we are somewhere east of the castle. The water we heard before, I think that tunnel went under the Tiber.”