by John Lyman
Looking back over their shoulders, Leo and Lev saw Julian Wehling standing behind them.
“Oh ... Julian,” Leo twisted in his chair. “Have you met Professor Wasserman?”
“Yes, Gael introduced us earlier, but we haven’t had a chance to talk yet.”
“Well in that case, why don’t you join us?”
“Actually, I’m on my way out to check on the accommodations for the new arrivals. Maybe you two would like to come with me.”
“That would be great. I’d love to see more of this beautiful place.”
“I’m afraid you won’t be able to see much outside. We keep everything dark at night for security reasons, but you’re welcome to roam the grounds at your leisure if you wish.”
“I wanted to thank you for everything you’ve done for us, Mr. Wehling,” Lev said. “I don’t know if we would have made it through the mountains without Gael’s help.”
“That’s why I sent him, Professor. My brother is probably one of the most capable people you’ll ever meet. He’s a very gentle soul, but he can be a fearsome warrior if he’s called on to defend his people.” Julian stared off into space for a moment, as if a distant memory had just flashed before his eyes. “Come on ... let’s take a little walk outside before we check on the accommodations.”
Gulping down the last of their wine, Leo and Lev pushed away from the table and followed Julian through a series of tall doors designed to keep light from spilling outside at night. As soon as the big wooden doors closed behind them they found themselves surrounded by total darkness.
“You’ll have to let your eyes adjust for a minute,” Julian said. “We don’t even use flashlights outside up here. A single flashlight can sometimes be seen from the valley floor, especially on clear nights like this.”
Standing on the steps of the castle they slowly began to see the curved outlines of trees against the backdrop of a star-filled sky. To Leo it was like looking at the rounded backs of elephants standing in the open at night on an African plain, where no light from man disturbed their nocturnal awareness and they could rest in peace for awhile before the coming of the dawn and the ever-present threat from poachers who wanted to sell off pieces of their bodies for trinkets.
To their right, the dark angular shape of the tall wall surrounding the compound slowly materialized, and as voices whispered from the darkness across blades of grass in the lightness of the high mountain air they caught a glimpse of a shadowy sentry on the granite barrier as he stopped to peer over the side at the lights in the valley below.
Stumbling forward, Leo and Lev followed their sure-footed guide through the park-like area to the far side of the compound and entered the darkened warehouse. Under starlight flowing in from the skylights above they entered the elevator and descended a short twenty feet before stopping at the entrance to a side tunnel.
Pulling a flashlight from his pocket, Julian motioned them forward. “This way, gentlemen.”
Leo and Lev followed him around a slight curve in the tunnel before they came to a locked steel door that Julian opened with an old-fashioned brass key. Stepping inside, he flicked on a light and motioned them in. Leo and Lev both gasped as the bright light revealed a room stacked with modern weapons.
“This is what I wanted to show you,” Julian said proudly. “As you can see, besides the elevator this is one of the exceptions to our electricity rule. We can’t allow fire in here for obvious reasons.”
“This is quite an extensive armory,” Lev said, walking forward and running his hand over a large fifty-caliber machine gun resting next to several mortars mounted on steel plates. Looking to his right, he saw rows of modern assault rifles lined up above stacks of boxes filled with ammunition, and to his left there were even more weapons, including several mini guns, some shoulder-fired missiles, and boxes filled with grenades. “I was under the impression that you didn’t possess any modern weapons.”
“We choose not to use any modern weapons, Professor, but if we are attacked this is our last resort. We wouldn’t stand much of a chance against modern weapons using medieval technology. If you don’t mind, I’d like all of your people who are still armed to store all of their guns down here. We can’t allow ourselves to be revealed by accidental gunfire. I’ll explain everything to them in the security briefing tonight before they go to bed. Even the children must be present at the briefing, for they are now a part of us and must follow the rules as long as they are here.”
Lev exchanged glances with Leo and nodded his head. “Sound fair, Julian. We are your guests and we will follow your rules. I had similar rules back at my villa in Israel, except my security force carried their rifles at all times.”
“This is a different situation, Professor. You were guarding against terrorist attacks by people who already knew where you were. Here we are in hiding. Our safety lies in our ability to remain hidden in plain sight. We rely on a totally defensive strategy because the enemy we face has the power to remove us from the face of the Earth with the push of a button if we are discovered. That being said, we won’t go down without a fight.”
Julian moved to the door. “Why don’t we return to the castle and join the others?”
CHAPTER 63
The following morning, Leo awoke to the song of a single red bird sitting on his windowsill. It was a cardinal. Smiling to himself, he stretched and headed for the shower. The hot water soon began to loosen his taught, sleep-filled muscles, but he knew he couldn’t dawdle. Evita had reminded him that hot water was a luxury and that it required a lot of back-breaking work by the men who fired the wood-burning boilers below the castle. He quickly turned the water off and lathered up before turning it back on for a quick rinse off.
Stepping out onto a hand-woven mat made from wool, he dried off with a rough towel and skipped shaving in favor of coffee that he could already smell drifting up through the castle’s stairwells. It had been a late night filled with fresh revelations about their new home. Julian’s security briefing in the dining hall following dinner had been met with mixed emotions from a group of Israelis who were used to having their weapons within arm’s reach, but he had finally convinced them that they were dealing with a whole new set of rules and that their safety now depended on following a routine that had been drafted over time through trial and error.
As large as the castle was, it had been a major adjustment absorbing eighty-four new people overnight, including eight children. One of the things they had discovered in the security briefing was that there were quite a few children living within the walls of the castle and that Julian and his group had started a school right on the premises. In fact, many of the older children lived in a dorm-like setting next to their classrooms by choice, because for them it was like one big sleepover every night, complete with popcorn and storytelling sessions at bedtime.
Single adults also had dorm-like rooms with four people to a room, while families were kept together in small apartments located in a separate wing. In all, there were now close to three hundred people living within the walls of the castle, putting a greater strain on resources. But through it all none of the Cathars who had lived there before the arrival of the Israelis ever uttered a word of complaint, for they were all well aware that there was now an extra margin of safety given the presence of a group of highly-trained fighters who now had a stake in protecting their new home. It was as if they had all suddenly become one big family united in a common goal, but even the least enlightened were aware that the castle had reached its limits and that sudden growth never came without a price.
Over a loud breakfast served in the echoing dining hall, children kissed their parents goodbye before heading off to school, while the adults checked the roster posted at the door to see if there were any communal meetings scheduled for the day before they began their chores. Just like a small town, almost everyone had a permanent job that matched their skills on the outside world. There were teachers, two doctors, three nurses, a few scientists, a maintenance cr
ew, groundskeepers, a security force that manned the walls and performed security patrols in the surrounding forest, cooks, bakers, weavers, mechanics for the vehicles, a janitorial staff, farmers, winemakers, stonemasons—even a full-time librarian.
Drinking coffee at the end of a long table, Leo and Evita sat with Lev as they marveled at the efficiency of the place and tried to figure out what they could do to help.
“I don’t think they have much need for a Roman Catholic Cardinal here in a Cathar castle,” Leo said, spooning some eggs onto his plate.
“Maybe you can tend the chickens,” Evita giggled.
“Very funny. Really, what can I do around here?”
“You were once a professor of history, right?”
“Yes. I suppose I could teach a few classes to the kids, but most of my courses were college level.”
Evita ran her fingers through her hair and studied Leo’s hands. “What are your hobbies?”
“Fishing and poker.”
“Hmmm. I suppose you could open up a casino,” she smiled.
Leo grunted as he looked toward the entrance and saw Alon and John heading off with Gael to begin their new jobs in the roving security patrol that made little intelligence forays into town to see what was going on in the outside world. “Maybe I can go with them?”
“You’re famous, remember?” Evita said, staring into his green eyes. “I think perimeter patrol would be a bad idea.”
“I notice they don’t serve any meat here, yet the forest is full of game animals that could be a great source of food,” Leo remarked.
“Cathars are vegetarians, Leo,” Evita said, spreading some currant jelly on her bread.
“But Alon said they ate deer meat on the way here.”
“Gael told me. Because he’s forbidden to take the life of an animal, he let Alon use his crossbow so that they wouldn’t fire their guns in the forest. I haven’t always followed the dietary restrictions of my faith, but since I’ve come here I’ve begun to see the wisdom of the ways of my ancestors. We’re not strict vegetarians. We eat eggs and fish, which help to provide most of our protein. Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it. You might even grow to like it.”
Behind them, Leo heard loud voices near the door. Following Evita’s eyes, he saw Gael and Julian in an animated discussion with a group of men with crossbows who had just returned from their morning patrol.
“Looks like something’s up,” Evita said, watching Julian and Gael reading from a newspaper as the other men looked in their direction.
“Yeah,” Lev said from across the table. “Something is definitely up.”
No sooner were the words out of his mouth than Julian and Gael began heading toward their table, and they weren’t smiling.
“Good morning, Cardinal. Can we have a word with you?”
“Of course. What’s going on?”
“I’m afraid we have some bad news. Where’s Bishop Morelli?”
“I don’t know.” Leo looked back at Evita. “Where is Anthony?”
Evita nodded her head in the direction of the kitchen. “He’s making bread. He says it relaxes him.”
“Maybe someone should get him.” Julian handed the paper to Leo. “He needs to hear this too.”
Without his reading glasses, the small print blurred in front of Leo’s eyes. “I can’t read this. What does it say?”
“A few of our people who live in Foix gave that paper to Gael this morning. It seems that Adrian’s mother has been arrested, along with the two Muslim men who drove her to Foix a few days ago. They’ve been found guilty of crimes against the new world order.”
“You mean they’re here in Foix ... and they’re in jail?”
“It gets much worse, Cardinal. They’re to be burned at the stake the day after tomorrow in the field below Montsegur.”
CHAPTER 64
In the wake of the horrific news they had just received, Julian called for an emergency meeting in the castle’s security office. In the cramped room located near the front gate, Francois was studying a large geographical map on the wall that showed the area surrounding the town of Foix, while Leo and the others huddled with Julian and Gael around a small table in the center of the room.
“Burned at the stake!” Gael’s entire body shook when the words spewed from his mouth. “That’s barbaric ... even by Adrian’s standards! Why would he do that? That’s not exactly a way to win the hearts and minds of the locals.”
Julian exhaled. “He’s trying to draw us out, brother.”
“But he doesn’t even know we exist,” Gael said.
“At least not yet. He’s after the cardinal and his Israeli friends. He knows Leo is still alive, and the arrival of the Carmela probably confirmed the fact that they’re all here together now. Acerbi figures he has them all trapped in one geographical area, and by arresting Colette and the two Muslims he’s hoping they’ll be compelled to show themselves in an effort to stop the execution.”
“That’s exactly what he’s trying to do,” Francois said, turning away from the map. “The men who just returned from the last patrol around Foix said that roadblocks had been set up on all the roads leading into and out of town, and the place is crawling with Adrian’s security forces. They’ve also set up a base of operations at the old airport. We estimate that there are at least two hundred soldiers at that location alone, and they’re bringing in drones and helicopters.”
Morelli’s face was turning pale. “What are we supposed to do against a force like that?”
“We fight,” Lev said in a calm, measured voice. “No one’s going to be burned at the stake as long as I’m alive. We’re going to rescue those people.”
“That’s exactly what Adrian wants you to do.” Julian stood and fixed his eyes on Lev. “But we’re going to have to be smart in the way we go about this. First and foremost we’ve got to protect the castle here, and the only way to do that is to remain hidden.”
“Julian’s right,” Moshe agreed. His old general’s mind was starting to click. “In order to attack Adrian’s forces we’re going to have to use subterfuge and guerilla tactics like we did in Israel back when we had enemies coming at us from all sides. We were vastly outnumbered, but our tactics turned the tide of the war.”
Julian glanced across the table at the Israelis. “We know. We’ve studied your tactics in great detail. We share a common bond with those who have been hunted in the past, which fires a great resolve within our souls. Like you we’ve vowed never to become victims again. We’re going to save those people ... no matter what the cost.”
“Are you seriously considering sending men armed with bows and arrows against a modern, well-armed force that has drones and helicopters?” Alon said, his huge frame filling the doorway. “You know as well as I do that would be suicide.”
“We have more than just bows and arrows, my friend,” Julian said, winking at Leo and Lev, “but you’re right. We’re still at a great disadvantage.”
Still wearing his favorite lime-green fly-fishing shirt and orange shorts, Moshe looked over his head at the map on the wall. “We’ve got to divide our forces.”
“What do mean, General?” Julian asked.
“Retired general.” Moshe laughed as he slapped the table. “I mean that, in order to protect the castle, we must make it appear that our forces are coming from somewhere else. If it looks like any resistance is coming from this area, Adrian’s forces will pull out all the stops to find the nest, so to speak.”
“That’s true,” Francois chimed in. “We need another base of operations, but where?”
Moshe put his hands behind his head and leaned back in his chair. “Last year, when Rene Acerbi’s forces attacked Lev’s castle by the Aude River, we all escaped down into the tunnels that honeycombed the area.”
“We have a similar escape plan here,” said Gael. “What’s so different about that?”
“The location.” Moshe stood and walked over to the map. “Look,” he said, pointing. “Thi
s is where we are now, on this mountaintop southwest of Foix. Over here, to the northeast, are the ruins of the castle we escaped from last year.”
Gael’s eyes widened. “That’s at least twenty miles away, and we’ll be on foot.”
Moshe was in his element as the plan unfolded in his mind. “We’ll need that distance to convince them our base lies somewhere to the north. The ruins of the old castle will be our new nest. We’re going to give Adrian’s men a target, which means that, in order to protect the castle here, we’re going to have to lead his forces north after we rescue Colette and the two Muslims in Foix. We’re going to make them chase us back to our new nest.”
Gael’s face was becoming a mask of confusion. “But what happens to us after we retreat back to the old castle? We’ll be surrounded by the force that follows us there.”
“Exactly, which means we’re going to have to be prepared for a fight when they arrive.”
“Then we might as well leave those people in jail,” Gael said as he paced the length of the room. “Because we’re all going to die anyway after Acerbi’s forces arrive with their helicopters and rockets.”
“Who said anything about dying?” Lev frowned. “If you’ve studied our tactics you should know by now that we always have a backup plan.”
“A diversion?”
Moshe grinned in response. “I’m working on that.”
For a moment, in the fatalistic atmosphere permeating the room, no one spoke. For unbeknownst to them, in the great cosmic realm that embraced the best intentions of man, the big diversion they were seeking was already on the way—deep below the rolling waves of the Mediterranean Sea.
CHAPTER 65
“What do you mean he’s gone rogue?” Gwyneth Hastings shouted down the long mahogany table. Along with a dozen other top agency analysts, she had been summoned to a soundproof conference room at MI6 headquarters overlooking the river Thames in London.