by Summer Lee
“I think I might,” he answered, with a knowing smile as well. His eyes lit up. “I’ll check the supply room.”
“I was just wondering.” She laughed nervously. “I don’t suppose the Catholic Church will let us keep any of these great toys when all of this is over.”
Cardinal DiStazzi laughed cautiously, in spite of not knowing if she was joking or serious.
FIFTEEN
Daniel stood in front of the full length mirror in disbelief. He was in the large room with Cardinal DiStazzi, Cardinal Cino and Sister Adina, the Catholic sister.
The image reflected back at him was one he thought he would never see. He was dressed in a long sleeved black shirt tucked into his black pants. He had black shoes to match. His blonde hair was dyed black and groomed. He wore brown contact lenses to cover his distinguishable blue eyes. The thing that made him stand out was a clerical collar.
“Are you sure this is okay with the church for me to wear this?” he asked, as he tugged at the restricting collar. “You know I’m a non-believer. Right?”
Cardinal DiStazzi put a hand on Daniel’s shoulder. “The collar is detachable, so if you pull at it, it will come off. Remember, you are attempting to bring back the Shroud of Turin. Sometimes, we must do things other than planned to achieve the desired result. You’re fine, as long as you don’t take anyone’s confession or attempt to portray yourself as a priest of the church other than in appearance.”
“Well, I may not tell my mother and father about this.”
Magena walked into the room, held out her hands, and spun around to show off her new outfit. She was dressed in a white coif covering her neck and cheeks, a black veil pinned to the coif exposing her face, a long black loose fitting habit which was pleated at the neck, a belt made of woven black wool, the symbolic apron hanging from both the front and back over the habit, and simple black shoes. She also wore a silver cross on a black cord around her neck and a rosary of wooden beads and metal links hanging from her belt with small hooks.
“Amazing.” Daniel stood and stared. She looked like a holy woman. “Amazing.”
Magena put her hands on her hips and smiled at him. “Really? You are amazing, too. I’m styling as a nun and you a priest. We’ll make this work.”
“Yes,” he said. “We’ll bring back the shroud.”
Cardinal DiStazzi handed Magena a small black hand held bag. “Most nuns travel with a bag containing personal items and toiletries. This completes the picture. Also...”
“I know I’m not to actually represent the church as a nun,” she interrupted, as she adjusted her belt. “I believe that we’re almost ready.”
“Before you go out, I must warn you of where not to go, dressed as you are,” Cardinal added, with some concern. “Stay away from Porta Susa, It is a train station known to be frequented by those of a darker nature. There is strong devil worship going on in that area. I would advise caution within the Roman Quarter as well. There are distinct places where the church is welcomed and places where they’re not.”
Magena looked at the cardinal with a blank stare. “I’m glad you told me this now. Personally, I have no skills to physically defend myself.” She shot Daniel a quick glance with a raised brow. “What about you?”
“Don’t look at me!” he responded. “I came from a life where I didn’t have to do anything for myself. Yet, I can talk my way out of just about any situation.”
“I guess that will have to do,” she said and sighed. With disappointment, she added, “After finding out all of the places where shrouds are turning up, I had to make a decision. I eliminated all of them and looked for the places that it wasn’t showing its ancient head. I then took into account the vicinity of these areas with the cathedral and the ease at which it would take to get away in a hurry. We have to remember that the case must have been fairly heavy and there would have been a good possibility that someone would have seen several masked men loading it into a van or whatever they used.”
“They wouldn’t go to that much trouble unless they had an invisible way of getting out with it,” Daniel added. “Either that, or they didn’t care to be hidden. It could have been all part of a plan for our benefit.”
“Ooh, a conspiracy theorist!” Magena mocked. “Actually, that could make sense, because the timing of the theft was suspiciously right after we walked into the basement. All of that secrecy with the...” She didn’t know how many people knew about the secret entrance to the basement, so she decided to not mention it. “...local police is a bit strange. It seems they’re more preoccupied with apprehending you, Daniel, than actually going after the shroud.”
He took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Yeah. I know. Either they think that I looked like an easy target for their plan... or it’s personal.” A chill ran up his spine.
Magena shivered as well. They had to accept that fact as a possibility.
Sirens were screeching in the distance. They quickly came closer and closer. And stopped out front.
Magena said, “We need to get going.”
“Go toward the Ponte Vittorio,” said Cardinal DiStazzi. “Go out the basement door toward the back alley.”
A loud knock was heard coming from the front door. “Hurry. Go, go, go,” said the cardinal.
The two left, without saying another word, including what their destination would be. The cardinals did the sign of the cross.
SIXTEEN
It was late afternoon when Daniel and Magena arrived at one end of the Ponte Vittorio Emmanuel I, a stone bridge over the River Po, at the edge of Piazza Vittorio Veneto.
Piazza Vittorio Veneto was located in the historic city center and one of the most important squares in Turin. It was also a well-known gang hangout. The stone bridge led to the Church of the Great Mother, or Piazza Gran Madre di Dio.
Alone, they made their way across the bridge. When someone did acknowledge them, they partially bowed. Those who believed in God waved and smiled, while those who didn’t ignored them entirely.
They walked slowly toward the church. Daniel was showing obvious signs of paranoia. He looked around to see if anyone was watching them specifically, being extremely nervous. “How do you do it, Mags?”
She kept her eyes on the church in the distance with what appeared to be Greek looking architecture. It had several large pillars on the facade. “My father is very wise. He taught me that any door I walk through in life has an exit. I’m also comforted that my Heavenly Father will not allow me to go through anything that He and I together cannot conquer.”
“So you are focused.” Daniel looked at the church, as they continued slowly forward. “I never believed in anything. I never had to. I always had everything I wanted. It’s crazy, but when you lose one big thing, everything else in life seems to follow downwards. Just like dominoes.”
“Do you mind if I say something?” she asked, as she stopped and turned toward him.
He looked at her suspiciously, but nodded anyway.
“Does that mean you do mind if I say something?” she asked.
“No! No!” he returned. “Ask away!”
She nodded, as they started to walk again. “You feel lost, because your world was based on your material possessions and the security you felt in your home. You never felt the need for a Plan B, because you didn’t think that Plan A would fail.”
“You have me pegged!” he exclaimed, as he became uneasy for another reason. She had only known him a few days and she had figured him out. “Who’s the psych major here?”
“It’s just an observation,” she added, nonchalantly.
“I’ll consider it,” he said.
She stopped. “We’re here.”
Daniel looked up at the impressive structure. “Awesome.”
“Look at that statue by the entrance,” Magena said, while pointing. “That figure who’s holding a chalice and looking at the ground.”
“Yeah.”
“It’s rumored about that it’s looking at the Ho
ly Grail beneath the ground. Supposedly, the Holy Grail is buried there beneath the Gran Madre di Dio.”
He chuckled at the thought. “The Holy Grail? Like the one in Monty Python?
“Be serious.” She rolled her eyes.
“Well, that’s just a movie,” he said.
“Yes. The Holy Grail is magical. When we get inside, you’ll notice that this cathedral is incredibly white compared to other churches in Italy. That’s supposed to show the credibility that the grail is here.”
“Woah!” Daniel’s eyes widened, as he showed excitement. “So the grail might actually be in there? Whoa! That is too cool!”
She noticed that when Daniel became serious, his intellectual side came out, but when he got excited or was just playing around, he resorted to acting like an overzealous child. She decided to keep that information to herself for the time being. “So you do believe that the grail exists?”
“Sure. Why not?” he answered, without thinking about it much.
She stared at him. “You do realize what the grail is. Don’t you? By admitting that you believe the grail is real, you are admitting that you believe that Jesus Christ is real.”
“Yeah,” he said, showing he was distracted by wondering what they would find in the church. “I didn’t say I didn’t think that Jesus was real. I just don’t think that He is who people think He is.”
She chose not to push the issue. Nodding once, she started up the steps toward the pillars. Daniel followed.
They carefully walked through the entrance into the church. They both commented on how they were in awe of the architecture and the high domed ceiling. She pointed out that the circular building was elaborately decorated and had several shallow alcoves about midway up the walls. Each alcove contained a spiritual statue. There was a larger alcove to the immediate rear of the structure. Inside was an amazing display with a statue of the Virgin Mary and the baby Jesus. To the left and right of the statue, were wooden doors. Right before the large alcove, there was a blue ornate circular structure which resembled a fountain.
As they walked forward, Magena leaned over to Daniel and whispered, “I’m not familiar with Catholic practices when entering a church, so we’re going to have to wing it.”
“I thought we were winging it, as soon as we put on these clothes,” he responded with a smile. “I hope you have an idea of what you’re doing, because I don’t have a clue to what’s going on here.”
She sighed, almost as if she was second guessing her decision. “I did as much research as I could on the subject. I’ve studied it for a while. After that, the rest is pure instinct. My gut is screaming at me that this is the right place. All of the other patterns for the appearances of the shrouds avoided this church like the plague. Where we go from here is anyone’s guess.”
“Works for me.” Daniel glanced around at the few people that were there. Some were either sitting or kneeling in prayer. Others were walking around and admiring the interior. He then focused on the two doors in the large alcove. “It looks like there is only one entrance through the double doors. The cathedral should have a secret entrance to the basement as well.”
“And?” Magena asked, as her full attention was on him.
“And...” he continued, “...that could mean that the secret entrance to whatever is in this lobby. I don’t think it would be something as plain as part of the wall. I think it would be somewhere that there is a mark of some kind, like a candle or something like that.”
As they walked closer to the alcove, Magena’s eyes scanned over every possible location that she thought would be perfect for a secret entrance. Still keeping her voice down, she whispered, “I would like to think that if there was some sort of secret door, it would be activated by something resembling the shroud or...”
She stopped short and stared. Standing still, she focused on the most obvious possibility. It was so simple that she would have normally overlooked it.
“What?” Daniel exclaimed, knowing that she latched on to something. “What do you see?”
“Look,” she said, casually, as she nonchalantly pointed at the huge statue of Mary and the baby Jesus.
He shook his head at the thought of being able to get to it. It was not only huge, but it was several feet off of the floor on a pedestal surrounded by long iron rods. “You’re serious? Getting up the pedestal is one major hurdle in itself, but getting over those iron rods looks downright impossible.”
Daniel noticed that the few people that were there were being ushered out by a priest. He gave no reason as to why everyone had to leave, at least as far as Daniel could tell. But he did not like what it looked like.
The duo stood motionless, until the last visitor was gone. The priest then beckoned to them, to follow him. They both immediately followed him toward one of the brown doors within the alcove. The door opened. As they walked through the doorway, they saw another beautiful chapel.
The priest hurried to another doorway at the other end of the room without checking to see if Daniel and Magena were behind him or not.
Daniel grabbed her hand. The pair went back to the brown door and cracked it open just enough so they could see into the main part of the church that they just left. He said, “This does not feel right.”
“Sometimes dumb luck is a good thing too,” Magena said, quietly with a smile.
Daniel didn’t seem convinced that it was dumb luck. “I don’t know. We’ll see what happens.”
Almost as if on cue, three men rushed into the main church from somewhere other than the entrance or the other brown door. They all were dressed in black from head to toe with black ski masks on. One of them went straight to the large statue of Mary and Jesus.
Daniel gripped her hand. Magena looked at Daniel, while smiling and nodding her head, as if to tell him that she was on the right track.
There was something about the entire situation that made Daniel feel like it was all staged for them. “Don’t you think it’s a little strange how we happen to be coincidentally here when the bad guys come in? It’s that whole being at the right place at the right time thing. I mean stuff like this only happens in the movies. Or to us. Right?”
Magena’s smile disappeared, as if she tried to mentally put all of the pieces together. She sighed nervously. “Well then, maybe we better not disappoint them.”
They watched, as the man by the statue made a quick move. Unfortunately, he moved out of sight from the pair. Then a sound pierced the air, like granite being pushed on the floor.
Magena opened the door a little further, so they could see more. Daniel stuck his head out. He saw the three men disappear behind the statue.
As soon as the last man vanished, Daniel clasped her hand tighter and rushed her from their hiding place, dragging her toward the front of the statue.
They stopped quickly. Staring with utter disbelief. The scene in front of them clearly reinforced what they had talked about. The thought that someone wanted them to find out what was going on was true.
There was a large panel in the floor that had dropped down to reveal a ladder leading down into a well-lit room.
“Ladies first,” Daniel said, as he released her hand and extended his hand toward the hole.
She narrowed her eyes at him and pulled up the part of her dress that was dragging on the floor to reveal her blue jeans underneath. She then held the excess fabric in one hand, while she descended into the unknown.
Daniel waited until she got to the bottom of the stairs, and then he climbed down. He saw a fairly large room with the three masked men just standing there looking at Magena.
Daniel looked around the room and saw an open doorway into another room. He made special note of it.
***
Magena stood absolutely still, staring at the three masked men. She was apprehensive to do anything else until Daniel stepped up beside her. Even though they had been basically herded into their new location, that didn’t mean they were safe.
Once Daniel got
down to where she was, one of the masked men went to the wall by the duo and pressed it. There were a few clicking sounds, then the piece of floor went back into position to prevent anyone from finding them. Magena’s heart pounded.
One of the other masked men pointed to the open doorway. Daniel and Magena just looked at each other, then reluctantly went through the portal.
It opened into a fully functional computer room. There were several laptops on a wall length granite tabletop that was flush up against the far wall. There were land line phones next to each laptop and several men and women dressed in black at the laptops working diligently.
Off to one side, were several televisions placed within the wall itself. Each one was on a different channel.
On the other side of the wall was a huge desk. On the desk was another laptop. There was an older man standing beside it, dressed in what appeared to be an expensive business suit. He had short, wavy gray hair, deep-set blue eyes, and was short and stocky. The smile on his face looked genuine. The big bushy eyebrows made him look jolly.
Daniel looked up and saw a vent. Air conditioning was being pumped into the room, so it was quite comfortable.
“Welcome!” the elderly man said, with excitement and a strong, refined British accent. His tone was calming. “It’s about time we met face to face.”
He approached Daniel and Magena with his arms out. He embraced each one of them in turn, then backed up and sighed pleasantly. “I am Sir Edmund Carlton III. I already am familiar with you both, you Magena Night-cloud and Mr. Daniel DiBenedetto. It is a distinct pleasure to make your acquaintance.”
Daniel shook the man’s hand and noticed a firm grip. “Are you going to kill us?”
Magena lowered her head and placed her hand over her eyes. She let out a small groan, as Edmund laughed.
“Oh, heavens no!” he said, while still chuckling. “In case you haven’t noticed, my masked men were not wearing camouflage. I wanted you to follow them. In fact, I left clues that only a master detective could have found and here you are. Good work, my dear.” He winked at Magena.