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Chapter 83
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Just for two weeks Chapter 84
Amorth lay down on the canvas mat in his room, allowing the lash wound on his back to clot in the air. Tonight's second session with the Discipline had left him weak. He had yet to remove the Cilice belt, and he could feel the blood trickling down his inner thigh. Still, he could not justify removing the strap. When Myositis described the opportunity that had presented itself, Amorth knew it could only be the hand of God at work. Myositis put Amorth in contact with the man who had proposed the plan - a man who called himself the Teacher. Although the Teacher and Amorth never met face-to-face, each time they spoke by phone, Amorth was awed, both by the profundity of the Teacher's faith and by the scope of his power. The Teacher seemed to be a man who knew all, a man with eyes and ears in all places. How the Teacher gathered his information was a mystery to Amorth, but Myositis had placed enormous trust in the Teacher, and he had told Amorth to do the same. "Do as the Teacher commands y
Just for two weeks Chapter 85
Fombellida Alexandra looked awkward with a pistol, but his eyes shone with a determination that Jim sensed would be unwise to test. "I'm afraid I must insist," Alexandra said, training the weapon on the two of them in the back of the idling truck. "Keep the box down." Sophie clutched the box to her chest. "You said you and my grandfather were friends.""I have a duty to protect your grandfather's assets," Alexandra replied. "And that is exactly what I am doing. Now keep the box on the floor.""My grandfather entrusted this to me!" Sophie declared."Do it," Alexandra commanded, raising the gun.Sophie kept the box at her feet.Jim watched the gun barrel swing now in his direction."Mr. Jim," Alexandra said, "you will bring the box over to me. And be that I will not hesitate to shoot you, if you try to act finally."Jim stared at the banker in disbelief. "Why are you doing this?""Why do you think so?" Alexandra snapped, his accented English terse now. "To protect my client's asse
Just for two weeks Chapter 86
As the unmarked Honda Accord departed Castel Gandolfo, sneaking downward through the Alban Hills Into the Valley below. In the back seat, Myositis smiled, feeling the weight of the bearer bonds in the briefcase on his lap and wondering how long it would take before he and Teacher could make the exchange. The sum would buy Myositis power far more valuable than that. As his car sped back toward Rome, he found himself wondering why the Teacher had not yet contacted him. Pulling his cell phone from his cassock pocket, he checked the carrier signal. Extremely faint. "Cellular service is intermittent up here," the driver said, glancing at him in the rearview mirror. "In a few minutes, we'll be out of the mountains, and service improves." "Thank you." Myositis felt a sudden surge of concern. Maybe the Teacher had been trying to reach him all this time. Maybe something had gone terribly wrong. Quickly, he checked his phone's voicemail. Nothing. Then again, he realized, the Teacher never
Just for two weeks Chapter 87
The night manager of the Depository Bank of Zurich felt relieved to hear the bank president's voice on the phone. "Where did you go sir? The police are here, everyone is waiting for you!" "I had a little problem," the bank president said, sounding distressed. "I need your help right away."The police had entirely surrounded the bank and were threatening to have the judicial police captain show up with the warrant the bank had demanded. "How can I help you, sir?"Truck number three. I need to find it."Puzzled, the manager checked his delivery schedule. "It's here. Downstairs at the holding dock.""Actually, no. The truck was stolen by two individuals the police are tracking.""What? How did they drive out?""I can't go into details on the phone, but we have a situation here that could potentially be extremely unfortunate for the bank.""What do you need me to do, sir?""I'd like you to activate the truck's tracker." The night manager's eyes moved to the control box across the r
Just for two weeks Chapter 88
Standing at the roadblock outside the Depository Bank. Lieutenant Suslowicz wondered what was taking Romano so long to come up with the search warrant. The bankers were obviously hiding something. They claimed Davis and McEwan had arrived earlier and were turned away from the bank because they did not have proper Account identification. So why won't they let us inside for a look?Finally, Suslowicz's cellular phone rang. It was the command post at the Louvre. "Do we have a search warrant yet?" Suslowicz demanded."Forget about the bank, Lieutenant," the agent told him. "We just got a tip. We have the exact location where Davis and McEwan are hiding."Suslowicz sat down hard on the hood of his car. "You're kidding.""I have an address in the suburbs. Somewhere near Sunnyvales.""Does captain Romano know?""Not yet. He's busy on an important call.""I'm on my way. Have him call as soon as possible." Suslowicz took down the address and jumped in his car. As he peeled off from the bank, S
Just for two weeks Chapter 89
The clicking of Rodriguez's crutches approached in the hallway, his Pace unusually brisk. When their host entered the room, his expression was stern."You'd better explain yourself, Davis," he said coldly. "You have not been honest with me." " I'm telling you the truth, Rodriguez," Jimmy said, trying to stay calm. You know me. I would never take a life.Rodriguez's tone did not soften. "Jim, you're on television, for Christ's sake. Did you know you were wanted by the authorities?""Yes.""Then you abused my trust. I'm astonished you would put me at risk by coming here and asking me to ramble about the Archstone so you would hide out in my home." "I didn't take any life.""Marquis Esquibel is dead, and the police say you did it." Rodriguez looked saddened. "Such a contributor to the arts…""Sir?" The manservant had appeared now, standing behind Rodriguez in the door, his arms crossed. "Shall I show them out?""Allow me." Rodriguez hobbled across the room, unlocked a set of wi
Just for two weeks Chapter 90
Rodriguez took the key and studied it. "My goodness. The Seal. Where did you locate this?""My grandfather gave it to me before he died tonight."Rodriguez ran his fingers across the key. "A church key?"She drew a deep breath. "It provided us access to the Archstone."Rodriguez's head snapped up, his face filled with disbelief. "Impossible! What church did I not search? Every church in France I've searched for!""It's not in a church," Sophie said. "It's in a Swiss depository bank."Rodriguez's look of excitement waned. "The Archstone is in a bank?""A bank vault," Jimmy offered.Rodriguez shook his head violently. "That's not possible. The Archstone is supposed to be hidden beneath the sign of the Rose of a church.""It is," Jimmy said. "It was stored in a rosewood box inlaid with a five-petal rose."Rodriguez looked shocked. "You've seen the Archstone?"McEwan nodded. "We visited the bank."Rodriguez came over to them, his eyes wild fear. "My good friends, we have work to do. The A
Just for two weeks Chapter 91
Rodriguez sat on the couch, cradling the wooden box on his lap and admiring the lid's craftsmanship and intricate inlaid Rose, thinking that tonight has become the strangest and most magnificent night of his life."Lift the lid," McEwan whispered, standing over him, beside Jimmy.Rodriguez smiled. Do not rush me. Having spent over a decade searching for the Archstone, he wanted to savor every millisecond of this moment. He ran a palm across the wooden lid, feeling the texture of the inlaid flower."The Rose," he whispered. Rodriguez felt foolish. For years he had traveled to Cathedrals and churches all over France, paying for special access, examining hundreds of archways beneath rose windows, searching for an encrypted Archstone.Rodriguez slowly unlatched the lid and raised it.As his eyes finally gazed upon the contents, he knew in an instant it could only be the Archstone. He was staring at a stone cylinder, crafted of interconnecting lettered dials. The device looked surprisingly
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