“Of course.”
“Are you really a priest?”
“Of course I am,” replied the voice. “It would be sacrilege to pretend to be a priest in the house of God.”
“But I thought you guys believed in the ancient Roman gods?”
There was a deep chuckle on the other side of the partition. “We all have to believe in something, but we do not all have to believe in the same thing.” With that, he closed the screen. Acton placed the bag in the corner and opened the door to the confessional. He stepped out and walked toward Reading and Laura waiting a few paces away.
“What happened?” asked Laura.
“The priest was Triarii, he told me to leave the skull there so I did.”
“You just left it there?” said Reading, clearly not pleased. He walked to the confessional and opened the door. Acton’s bag was gone. Reading shook his head. “How can we be sure it was the Triarii?”
“He showed me his tattoo. And besides, there was something in his voice that just made me believe him.” Acton jumped as his Blackberry vibrated. Smiling sheepishly at the others, he answered it.
“Hello?”
“Thank you for returning the item,” said the voice. Acton motioned to the others to move closer as he put it on speaker.
“You’re welcome. How can we be sure this is over?”
“Have you not listened to the news this morning?”
“No, we haven’t had time. Why, what happened?”
“Your President is dead,” replied the voice. “You will have no one else after you.”
“The President is dead?” Acton was stunned. “How?”
“We had an agent on the inside that followed his orders, even though it resulted in his own death,” replied the voice. “Thank you, Professor Acton, the Triarii are in your debt.” The line went dead.
“It’s over,” Acton breathed, still not sure whether or not to believe it.
“It’s over!” exclaimed Laura excitedly as she jumped up and down and gave Reading a hug and kiss on the cheek. She then hugged Acton and kissed him on the cheek too.
“It’s over!” shouted Acton at the ceiling, the immense pressure of the past week lifting off his shoulders. He looked down at Laura who was still in his arms. Their eyes met and he leaned in slowly, still uncertain. When he saw her close her eyes, he bent down and kissed her. All of the day’s events melted away as they lost themselves in each other’s embrace. Acton’s heart pounded in excitement instead of the near constant fear he had felt for days.
Laura’s knees almost gave out as she enjoyed the excitement of a first kiss. She hadn’t felt this way since she was a schoolgirl. The butterflies in her stomach made her both nervous and excited at once. She hoped the feeling would never end.
Reading watched the two of them for a moment then looked around. “Ah, kids, we’re in a church.” There was no response. “I’ll be in the car.” Reading walked away shaking his head and smiling. His phone vibrated with a text message:
“STATE DEPARTMENT AGENTS STILL WAITING IN YOUR OFFICE.”
He laughed.
London, England
Several members of the Crime Scene Unit were sifting through the wreckage of the helicopter, searching for the body of the pilot, when one of them came across a charred metal box. Reaching down, he carefully opened it. Inside was a skull made of crystal. He closed the box then casually took it to his vehicle. Another man approached him and they both climbed in the back.
Inside, the man opened the case and carefully handed the skull to the other, who placed it into a bag and exited the vehicle. The investigator closed the case and returned to where he had found it. As he bent over to put it back on the ground his watch slipped down his wrist, revealing the Triarii tattoo.
Paris, France
Henri swept the hallway in front of the storage room then swiped his pass and backed in, pulling his cart behind him. Reaching under the cart, he pulled out a package then casually strolled to the last row of shelves. Opening the package, he carefully unwrapped its contents. He switched the fake skull with the real one from his cart and resealed the box, placing it on the shelf. Then, wrapping up the fake, he put it under his cart, exited the room, and continued to push his way down the hallway, whistling.
The Himalayas, Nepal
Chen pushed open the large doors of the temple and entered the main hallway. He quietly approached his master and knelt beside him.
“You have returned, my son,” said the Lama.
“Yes, Master.”
“And your destiny?”
“It has been fulfilled.”
“Very good. Let us pray.”
A sense of peace and serenity swept over his body at the completion of his task.
Salem, Virginia
Madely and Johnson knocked on the door of the cute Victorian style house. They heard rustling inside then footsteps as the occupant crossed the hardwood floors to the door. The locks unlatched and the door opened.
“Ahh, my shadows!” the old lady said. “Please, come in.” She motioned for them to enter then closed the door behind them.
“Ma’am,” said Madely holding out a carefully wrapped package. “It is with great pleasure that I return this to you.”
“Everything is fine now?” she asked as she took the package.
“Yes, ma’am, everything is fine.”
“That’s good,” said the little old lady. “Now, you must join me for tea.”
“Of course, ma’am,” said Madely, smiling.
Meanwhile, in the desert of Saudi Arabia, Faisal awoke to find the skull back on its shelf, and praised Allah. In Moscow, Alexander returned the skull to its cold, dark hiding place, while in Beijing, Huang again switched the skulls in his President’s office. And in the desert of southern Texas, Leroy awoke to find his safe opened yet again, but with his precious skull returned. He fell to his knees and thanked the Crystal gods.
EPILOGUE
It had been six months since Acton had fled the camp. As he surveyed it now he could hardly believe what he saw. It was a bustle of activity as new students continued the work of his previous class. His cabin still stood where it had always been, and new tents created a circle around the center of the camp. The gridlines had been laid out again and excavation continued, this time with twice as many people.
Laura squeezed his hand. He looked at her and smiled, then leaned in to kiss her. He had her to thank for this as she was the one funding the new excavation. At first when she suggested it as a way of finding closure, he had thought she was crazy, but after mulling it over for several weeks, he had decided to take her up on her offer on the condition she accompany him. “That was always my intention, dear,” she had said.
Now, with students from both his university and hers, they were continuing the work abruptly cut off months before. A cross stood at the site where the previous students had been massacred and although he didn’t know who did it, each morning fresh flowers were placed there in remembrance. He occasionally still wept over the losses suffered, but since he had arrived here a couple of days earlier, his spirits had lifted. He knew this is what his students would have wanted.
The chaos that had ensued after the death of the President and the resulting congressional investigation that had linked him to the murders and the events in London had caused an international uproar. The official story was that his Chief of Staff, Lesley Darbinger, had been to blame. Acton knew that was just a cover story to take the heat off the government.
The investigation had also meant the press hounded him and Laura. They had refused all interviews, but had to testify in both Washington and London. Neither made any mention of the skull or the Triarii. They simply denied any knowledge of why they had been targeted by a madman.
Of course, conspiracy theories had abounded and websites around the world speculated on what truly happened, but eventually the press tired of it and moved on to their romantic relationship. This was another reason they had decide
d returning to the Andes might be a good idea.
And the Triarii? They hadn’t heard a word from them since.
And for that they were eternally grateful.
THE END
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
USA Today bestselling author J. Robert Kennedy has written over twenty international bestsellers including the smash hit James Acton Thrillers series, the first installment of which, The Protocol, has been on the bestsellers list since its release, including a three month run at number one. In addition to the other novels from this series including The Templar's Relic, a USA Today bestseller and #1 overall bestseller on Barnes & Noble, he writes the bestselling Special Agent Dylan Kane Thrillers, the Delta Force Unleashed Thrillers, and the Detective Shakespeare Mysteries. Robert lives with his wife and daughter and writes full-time.
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The Protocol (A James Acton Thriller, Book #1) Page 28
