God's Lions - The Dark Ruin (49 page)

“We’re all sorry to hear about the pope and the cardinal ... both on the same day. I guess God does work in mysterious ways after all.”

“Yes he does, Chief. Thanks again ... I’ll be on the lookout for the pictures.”

“They’re on the way. Talk to you later.”

Leander set the phone down and took a seat in front of a console marked
International Incoming.
Pointing to the black, mesh-backed chair next to him, he motioned for Morelli to join him, and after waiting for less than a minute, a red light flashed on the console just as a picture showing a crowded airport departure lounge flashed up on the screen.

“What are we looking for?” Morelli yawned.

“I don’t know, Bishop. Like I said, it’s just a hunch.” For the next hour, the two men watched as people went about the business of waiting. Many read, while some just stared blankly out into space or tried to corral restless children from running over other people’s feet. The scene was eerie and hard to watch, for Francois and Morelli both knew they were watching the last hours of a doomed group of people who had no idea they were about to die. Luckily the chief had sent the images from every camera around the departure gate, so they could scan the crowd from different angles in their effort to spot Leo.

“I don’t see him in any of these pictures,” Morelli said. “Are you sure they sent us the right images?”

“From the sound of the chief’s voice on the phone, I’d be surprised if they sent us the wrong files.”

“Well, Leo was always running late for flights. We’ll probably see him arrive right before they start boarding.”

The two men continued watching, but when the passengers in the lounge lined up and filed out through the jetway after the boarding call, Leo was nowhere to be seen. A few minutes later the door to the jetway was closed and locked before the ticket agents walked away from a deserted gate area.

“He wasn’t there!” Morelli exclaimed. “He never got on the plane!”

Francois grinned. “It certainly looks that way, but how did his phone get there? Let’s see what happens next.” The two men watched in a trance. Everyone who passed in front of the cameras drew their attention, and then there was the sudden blur of activity as they watched people rushing to the windows to look outside after the crash. Many were crying and walking around with horrified looks on their faces, but still there was no sign of Leo. As difficult as it was to watch, they continued staring at the screen. The lounge began to empty out again as airport police and employees from the airline began rerouting people away from the gate area, and then they saw it. A tall figure wearing jeans and a black turtleneck walked into view next to the row of chairs separating the gate area from the rest of the terminal. After pulling his baseball hat further down over his eyes, he looked directly at the camera before throwing his cell phone under the row of seats and quickly walking away.

“That’s him!” Morelli jumped from his seat and began pounding Francois on the back. “He’s alive! You’re a genius, Francois.” Morelli looked down and saw tears of relief forming in the eyes of the tough security chief. “But why did he throw his cell phone away? Why didn’t he just call us?”

Francois kept his eyes glued to the screen. “I have no idea, unless ... Francois rewound the film and watched Leo’s movements again. “It looks like he glanced up at the camera before he threw his phone under the chairs. After the crash he must have figured out they were after him and began running for his life. He had to ditch his phone so no one could track him.”

“Are you saying he wants people to believe he’s dead?”

“I think that’s exactly what he wants. Someone is after him, which means that crash was no accident.”

Morelli collapsed back into his chair. “Acerbi!”

“Who else? It has to be. I’m sure his people have already seen the same images we just saw, and since they were sent to us via a commercial communications satellite, they know we’ve just seen them.”

“What are we going to do?”

“We’ve got to leave Rome, Bishop. Leo is alive, which means they’re still looking for him. Adrian’s men just took down an airliner full of people just to get to one man, and if they know he’s still alive they’ll be pulling out all the stops until they find him. We’ve got to get to Leo before they do. Any idea where he might have gone?”

Morelli leaned back in his seat and stared at the screen. “I think I might know of a place.”

After building a small fire in the cabin’s rock fireplace, Leo walked outside to gather some more firewood before it rained. Against the lengthening shadows cast by the mountain peaks behind the cabins, he stood on a bed of pine needles and looked up through the hanging branches of the giant trees that encircled a place he had come to love.

The three cabins looked just as they did nine months ago, when he and Evita had stayed there for a week. Together they had talked and laughed, cooked dinners for two, hiked through the surrounding forest, and just lounged around reading and discussing their differing philosophies of life. To Leo, it seemed like it had been much longer. He missed her terribly and began to wonder if he would ever see her again. He felt trapped, a prisoner of fear locked away on a mountain top far from any other living soul
. Was he being a coward?
Or was he staying alive so that he could continue to serve the Church from afar. He wasn’t even sure of the answer himself.

Instead of providing answers, his interior dialogue had only served to raise more questions, yet he was certain he was meant to be here. God had kept him from boarding that plane, and as Pope Michael had once reminded him by quoting Einstein,
God didn’t play dice with the universe
. Everything happened for a reason, even if that reason had yet to be revealed to him.

As he turned back toward the cabins, the stillness of the forest around him was broken by the sound of someone walking behind him. Dropping the firewood, Leo spun around, and there, standing less than twenty feet away with tears streaming down her face, was the love of his life. Evita Vargas stood silently for a moment, until finally she broke into a run. Throwing herself into his arms, she laid her head against his chest and sobbed as he held her tightly and stroked her long black hair.

“I thought you were dead, Leo!”

“I know. I’m sorry.” Leo took her tear-streaked face in his hands and kissed her on the lips. “I’ve been feeling dead inside ever since you left.”

“I never really left you, my love. It’s just that the timing wasn’t right.” Evita reached her arms all the way around his waist and squeezed. “I never want to be away from you again.”

“Neither do I. How did you know I was here?”

“Albert told me he drove you up here yesterday. Oh, God, Leo, you don’t know how much I’ve missed you.”

“Albert told you?”

“Yes, he’s part of our group. I’ve got a lot to tell you, Leo.”

With the sun rapidly disappearing behind the mountains, the two held one another tightly, afraid to let go, as if this were a dream and if they let go they would suddenly wake to the sights and smells of everyday life. After several minutes of listening to each other’s hearts beat, they locked arms and headed up the slight incline toward the cabins.

“I’ve been terribly worried about you,” Leo said, squeezing her hand. “I heard things got pretty nasty in Madrid. I’m glad you showed up here today, because I was getting ready to head down into Spain to look for you.”

“I know. Albert told me you mentioned my name after you figured out he was a Cathar. He had a feeling you would be leaving soon to go look for me.”

“What did you mean when you said that Albert is a part of your group?”

Evita blinked up at him. “Why don’t we go into the cabin? It’s getting dark and I want to hear what you’ve been up to. I promise I’ll explain everything to you tomorrow after we leave.”

“Leave? Why would we want to leave? I can’t think of a more perfect spot to hide out for awhile.”

“I’ve found a better spot, Leo ... one not owned by the Church. The location of these cabins is probably already known to those who may be looking for you.”

“You know about the meeting with Acerbi in New York ... the crash?”

“Yes. We’ve been keeping up to date on everything that’s been going on in the outside world. The world is about to become a very dangerous place my love, especially for people of faith.”

Leo stopped and held her at arm’s length as he looked into her liquid brown eyes. “You keep saying
we
, Evita. What’s going on around here? What is this group you keep talking about?”

“You’ll see, Leo. It’s wonderful!”

Working on the assumption that the cabins might already be under observation, Leo and Evita had quietly snuck out of the cabin before the sun had risen over the mountains and made their way over the misty, fog-shrouded forest floor into a ravine that led to the highway below. In the crisp fall air, every snap of a twig sounded louder than usual, making them freeze in place for a moment before they continued along a wet and rocky path that skirted a steep drop-off. Below them, in a dense mass of green foliage that covered the bottom of the ravine, they could hear the morning cries of birds as they pushed forward to a spot where they could observe the highway without being seen.

“I wish I would have thought to leave a car up here,” Leo said. “We could have left last night right after you arrived.”

Evita leaned on his shoulder and smiled. “That’s the last thing you need. Any car registered to you would have been like a flashing beacon as soon as you started it up. That’s why we drive only old cars when we absolutely have to. No computer chips in them. But I’m afraid driving anything will soon become a liability.”

“Sounds like you and this group you keep talking about have it all figured out.”

“At least you had the good sense to get rid of your cell phone,” Evita said. “The world has changed, Leo. In just the past few weeks the world we woke up to just a few months ago has vanished. I’m glad we had a chance to talk alone last night. You were smart to come here, because by the sound of things you wouldn’t have lived very long if you had decided to return to the Vatican. Already we’ve heard reports that the majority of the members of the College of Cardinals have resigned. I didn’t mention this last night, but the pope’s funeral was yesterday, and according to reports it was a pretty rushed affair. I know how close you two were, and frankly I didn’t want to spoil our first night back together.”

Leo’s face became a mask of sadness. “Did Acerbi attend?”

“Yes. Our contacts in Foix said he even made a speech about how wonderful Pope Michael was. It made us all sick.” Evita looked back up the highway. “Let’s keep going. We need to stake out the road that leads up to the cabins. Albert will pick us up on the highway near the entrance.”

After walking for almost half a mile, they could see the entrance road leading up to the camp from the highway, and there, parked along the highway, was Albert’s old rusty truck. Sliding down an embankment, they were almost to the truck when a military-looking police car suddenly rounded a curve with its lights flashing and pulled up behind Albert’s truck. Exchanging glances, Leo and Evita flattened themselves against the forest floor and peered down at the scene from behind a large tree.

Wearing the same khaki uniforms Leo had seen worn by the men guarding Acerbi at the UN, two men stepped from the vehicle and approached the truck. Peering into the cab, they shrugged their shoulders, and while one began scanning the surrounding forest, the other returned to their vehicle and reached for the radio.

Seconds later, Albert came strolling down the hill with his truffle pig in tow. “Good morning, officers.”

“Are you the owner of this truck?” Leo heard one of the men say.

“Yes. Is something wrong?”

“What are you doing here?”

“Hunting for truffles, but I haven’t had much luck. Probably too high up, but you never know.”

“Do you have any identification, sir?”

“Of course. I have a drivers license if that will do. What kind of police are you? I don’t recognize the uniforms.”

“We’re members of the new corporate security force. We just arrived in the area to train with the French police.”

“Well, welcome, but I don’t think you’ll be too busy. Not much crime around here.” Albert began thumbing through his wallet for his driver’s license. “Are the French police still going to be patrolling the highways?”

The two men looked at one another before the shorter one spoke. “Actually, they’re going to be absorbed into our security force after the French government formally agrees to join the corporation.” The man reached into his pocket and produced a color brochure. “Here you go, sir. This will explain everything. We think once people get to know us they’ll like the new system. No matter where you go in the world the same professional police force will be there to help you.”

Albert handed over his license and smiled. “Sounds good.”

“I’ll be right back, sir.” The officer returned to his car and spoke on the radio before walking back over to Albert and handing him his driver’s license. “Everything checks out, sir. You’re free to go, but you’ll have to get a new license as soon as the government hands over control to the corporation. If you have a computer you can do it all online ... no problem.”

“Thanks, I’ll remember that.”

“Have a nice day, sir.” With that, the two officers stepped back into their vehicle and turned off the flashing lights before pulling back onto the highway and speeding up the mountain.

Evita let out a silent gasp. “I can’t believe it. They’re already here. Let’s get moving before they come back.” Standing up, she whistled to Albert before she and Leo slid the rest of the way down the embankment to the highway.

Albert lifted his pig into the front of the truck and peered up the highway. “Get in the back ... and hurry. Their sudden arrival was no accident. They’re looking for the cardinal. The noose is already tightening, and I fear the trap is about to snap shut if we don’t get out of here.”