“I need to speak to you.”
“I told you to never call me on this line.”
“It’s about the old man.”
Cardinal Wickham’s grip tightened on the phone as he sat up in his chair. “Meet me in twenty minutes. You know where.” He hung up the phone and stood, his back rigid. He walked out of his study and into his private chamber. Ten minutes later he had changed clothes and was on his way out the door.
Mad Jack’s Irish Pub, Rome
Cardinal Wickham made his way to the bar and ordered a Guinness. He paid the bartender and turned to find his usual table in the back of the room. He took off his hat and began to sip his drink. Less than a minute later, a tall, slender man wearing all black scooted in beside him.
“Hello, Cardinal.” The man set down his beer beside the cardinal’s.
Cardinal Wickham squeezed the man’s arm as he spoke in a hushed voice. “Do not call me that in here!”
“Relax, Louis.” The man removed the cardinal’s hand from his arm. “This isn’t exactly the type of place where people go looking to make friends. They couldn’t care less if you were the pope!” He laughed, taking a big gulp of his ale.
“So you have news for me?” Wickham looked around to make sure no one was listening.
“He’s alive.” The man held his arms out in a “Go figure!” gesture.
“What happened?” asked the cardinal. “And I mean everything! You and your goons have put me in a very dangerous position.” Wickham took a long pull from his beer and waited for his associate’s answer.
“Well, you see, Louis. I can call you Louis, right?” Wickham rolled his eyes at the use of his first name. “Like I said, we just happened to run into him. Literally!” The man laughed again at his own humor. “I mean, we’re walking out of his apartment. He had his head buried in some newspaper, walking down the street, and boom! I walked right into him. Or rather, he walked right into me.”
“That’s very interesting,” Wickham snapped. “When do we get to the part where you almost killed him without getting me what you were sent to get in the first place?”
“I think you need another Guinness, Louis.” The man’s tone was threatening. “You know, you should really watch how you talk to people. One of these days, it’s going to get you in trouble. Remember what I do for a living?”
“Go on,” Wickham said. He tried to relax a little bit as he shifted in his seat.
The man let his last statement hang in the air for effect before continuing. “As I was saying, we ran into him. Of course, he had no idea who we were, and we were so shocked it was him that we just kept walking, so as not to draw any attention to ourselves.” The man took another drink. “So we saw him go into his building. We decided we’d just keep an eye on him. A few hours later, he left again. We followed him to the park. That’s when we tried to take him.”
“What do you mean tried?” Wickham asked.
“When we approached him, he freaked out. We tried to subdue him, but he kept yelling. One of my men pulled his knife to try to scare the old man into shutting his mouth. Somehow the situation got out of control. One of my former employees, and I stress former, accidentally stabbed him. He kept yelling, ‘They’re trying to kill me! They’re trying to kill me!’ About that time, that priest showed up. He pulled a gun and started shooting. We had to abort. We couldn’t risk getting caught. Anyway, the next time I see him, I’m gonna tape his mouth shut.”
“And when do you think that is going to be?”
“Soon. He’s in the hospital right now.”
“So go to the hospital and get him.”
“I can’t.” “Why not?” “There are guards.”
“Dispose of them. You have my permission.” “These are not normal guards.” “How do you mean?”
“I mean, they are about seven feet tall, and they are wearing some weird kind of armor. Not to mention, they’re extremely fierce-looking, like special forces or something. It would take a small army to take them out. I have no idea how this man rates having that kind of security. I’ve never seen anything like them before.”
“No, I imagine you haven’t. I’m surprised you can see them at all.”
“Come again?”
“Never mind. They’ll be gone as soon as he has recovered. You just be there when that happens. He can’t stay in there forever.” “Don’t worry. I will be.”
“See to it you are. Oh, and Jonathan … don’t disappoint me again. My boss is much scarier than anything you’ve ever come across. Unfortunately for me, he rather likes you. He thinks you have potential!”
CHAPTER 5
Mercy Hospital, Pittsburgh
Hello, Anna. My name is Father Vincent Marcella. Father Vin.”
“Who are you?” Anna demanded. “Why are you taking my grandfather’s body? And why is he going to Rome? Shouldn’t I get a say in that?”
Father Vin let out a long, deep breath. “Anna, there is much to tell you. And I will. But not here—”
“No,” she said defiantly, “you’re going to tell me now. I just flew all night to get here. I haven’t seen my grandfather since I was a six, and now all of this—”
“Anna, please—” He turned to the nurse. “Could you give us a minute, please?”
The nurse nodded and ducked out of the room.
“Anna,” Father Vin continued, “the men who did this to your grandfather will be back. We need to leave, or you, too, will be in danger. Your grandfather’s body will be ready for transport in just a few minutes. There is already a plane waiting to take him back to Rome. Please, come with me. There is a diner across the street. I’ll buy you some coffee. Give me ten minutes to explain. If you still want to leave after that, I’ll understand.”
Anna stared at the old priest, trying to get a read on him. He seemed genuine. But she wasn’t taking any chances. “Give me a minute,” she said and walked out the door. She found the nurse she had spoken with earlier sitting at the nurses’ desk a few feet away. “Excuse me, again.”
“Yes, dear?”
“That priest. Do you know who he is?”
“Yes, Ms. Riley. Well, sort of,” the nurse replied, almost questioning her own response. “I mean, we got a call just before you got here from our administrator, telling us that he would be coming in. He’s from the Vatican. All of his credentials check out, and the body—I’m sorry, your grandfather has been released to him. It’s all legit.”
Anna turned around and walked back into the room. “Okay, priest. I’ll give you ten minutes. But I want some answers.”
“Thank you, Anna,” Father Vin smiled. “Let’s go.”
“Just a minute,” Anna said. “Can you give me a minute alone with him?”
Father Vin looked at Thomas’s body. “Oh yes. I’m sorry,” he said. “I will be waiting outside the room when you’re ready.”
CHAPTER 6
Spumoni Brothers Diner, Pittsburgh
They sat across from one another in the small diner. They had found a table in the back for privacy. Aside from the two older gentlemen sitting at the far end of the bar counter deep in conversation, they were alone. The waitress brought them coffee and took their order, then left them again.
“So why Rome?” Anna jumped right in. “Why can’t I take his body back to Nashville? And why did my parents tell me he died when I was a kid?”
“Anna.” Father Vin held up his hand to interrupt her. “Let me try to explain what’s going on here. And then if you have any questions after that, I’ll be happy to try and answer.”
She folded her hands on the table and nodded.
“Okay.” He drew a long breath and let it out again. “Anna, I’ve known your grandfather, and your family, for more than thirty years. I actually married your parents, if you can believe that. Anyway, your grandfather and I have been like brothers for a long time.” He stopped and shifted in his seat. He glanced around the room then leaned closer. “Anna, what do you know about the book of Revelation
?”
“You mean the Bible?”
“Yes, Anna. The revelation of John, the disciple of Christ.”
“Not much,” she admitted. “Isn’t it like some freaky, weird code about the end of the world?”
“Yes,” he said. “And no.” He reached inside his coat pocket and pulled out an old, worn leather-bound Bible. He flipped to the end. “Let me read something to you.”
He began with chapter 10, verse I and continued through verse 8. When he finished, he closed the book and stuffed it back inside his coat.
“Yeah, so?”
“A lot of people believe that the book of Revelation is symbolism. That the things John saw were not actual visions, but manifestations of his mind, symbolizing the fall of Rome.”
“Okay.”
“No. Not okay,” Vin said. “Anna, the Bible is the true, inerrant word of God. John was not a crazy person. He was led by the Holy Spirit to write and give an account of what God had actually shown him concerning the return of Christ. Just like any prophetic text, there are things in there that John wrote that did concern the people of his time, and even perhaps the fall of Rome. But none of that matters. People have been trying to decode Revelation, or put their own spin on it, for two thousand years. What really matters is that it is a prophecy of Christ’s return to redeem this world and return it to its rightful state. And that is not symbolism.”
“What does this have to do with my grandfather? Me?”
“I’m getting to that,” he assured her. “The passage that I just read you—it holds great significance for your life.”
“How? What do you—?”
“Anna, please,” he pleaded with her. “Yes, go on. I’m sorry.”
“It’s all right. Now,” he said, continuing, “while some things in the book are symbolic, that scroll definitely is not. The angel actually gave the scroll to John. When John awoke from the vision, he got violently sick and vomited the scroll up out of his belly. An angel appeared to him immediately afterward and explained what it was and why it had been given to him. John was told that it was not for him to keep. He was to pass it down through his family so that one of his ancestors would one day be the one to unlock its secrets.”
“C’mon, man.” Anna laughed, and then her laughter died away. “You’re serious?”
“Anna, your grandfather is dead. I’m most definitely serious.” He paused and let the weight of it sink in. “Anna, the keepers of this scroll are known as guardians. They are and have been the descendants of John, the disciple. Your grandfather was one of them. And so are you.”
“What? How is that possible?”
“How it’s possible is not important. What is important is you. You are a direct descendant of the disciple John. That scroll has been in your family for two thousand years.” He stopped and rubbed his forehead. “Well, technically, it’s been in your family for that long, but it’s been missing for most of it.”
“What do you mean?”
“After the fall of Rome, the world was chaos. Nations warred against one another on a daily basis. One of the guardians, fearing for his life and not knowing what to do with the scroll, hid it. On his deathbed, he revealed the location to his son, the next in line. But he, too, feared the danger that the scroll would bring, and so he hid it again. And he never retrieved it. The legend has been passed down ever since. The details of where and how it was hidden got fewer and fewer over time. There were only a couple real clues to go on. The scroll had been locked away safe until your grandfather came along. Thirty years ago he came across a piece of information that set him, and me, on a journey around the world in search of it. And two years ago we found it.”
“That’s a pretty unbelievable story,” Anna said. “Where is it now? Show me.”
“I can’t.” “Why not?” “I don’t have it.”
“What do you mean? If what you’re saying is true, then show me. Prove it.”
Father Vin smiled. “You remind me a lot of him.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked tersely.
“Nothing, dear.” He chuckled. “That’s a good thing. Anyway, I don’t have it. Your grandfather hid it again.” He held up his hand to keep her from interrupting again. “But I know how to get it. Anna, I was your grandfather’s protector. Or at least I was supposed to be,” he said solemnly. “And for the last thirty years, we’ve been chased around the globe by someone who wants it. About a month ago, we had an incident and got separated. We kept in communication, and then last week we were supposed to meet here to go retrieve it. Unfortunately, he found us again.”
“Who?”
Father Vin pursed his lips, looking reluctant to speak. At last he cleared his throat and spoke. “Lucifer.” “As in the devil?”
“Yes.”
“Okay,” she said, standing up. “Thanks for the coffee. I’ll be leav—”
Father Vin grabbed her arm. “Anna, please!” Desperation tinged his words. “Please sit back down. This is not some joke! Your grandfather died for this. Please, at least let me finish. After that, if you want, you can go.”
Anna glared at him for a moment and then sat back down.
“Anna, I know this is hard to believe, but I swear to you. It’s true. Lucifer is real. He, too, was an angel in service to God, until his pride made him think he was God’s equal. This started a war in heaven. The scripture says that he and about a third of the angels in heaven were cast out. And now God allows Lucifer to reign on earth until the appointed time. And he is very powerful. But make no mistake. He is not God. And he doesn’t know everything. But he does know, just as the first guardians and your grandfather did, that that scroll has something to do with the second coming of Christ. And he believes that if he can get his hands on it, then he can stop it.”
Anna shook her head. “This is all—I don’t know what to say.” She bit her lip. “How do you expect me to believe all of this?”
“Anna, God has always used imperfect people to complete His perfect will. You can see this all throughout scripture, from Abraham to Joseph, to David—even the disciples of Christ. They were ordinary men and women, trusting in what God had called them to do. You have to trust that this is what God has called you to do. And your grandfather always said that if he didn’t finish, you were the one. And the work is almost done.”
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“There is a riddle on the scroll, Anna. And your grandfather believed he had all but solved it.”
“A riddle?” “Yes.”
“What is it?” “I don’t know.”
“You want me to believe that you and my grandfather have some scroll, given to my family from God, with a riddle on it, and you never saw it?”
“Anna, I’ve never wanted to know. That’s not what God called me to do. Sure, your grandfather offered. But I’ve always felt it was not for me to know.”
“I can’t believe I’m listening to this.”
“Anna, taking on this task—protecting the scroll and solving its purpose, is ultimately up to you. But know this. What God has willed will come to pass.”
“What, so you’re saying I actually don’t have a choice?”
“Not at all. What I’m saying is that it’s your choice. But there are real consequences for our choices. And no matter what we choose, we cannot thwart the plans of God. You may say no, but God will pursue you relentlessly. And you will live with the regret of not having done what He’s asked of you. That I can promise. Go read the book of Jonah. You’ll see what I mean.”
Anna stared at him. She had a million reasons to get up and walk out. She should—she really should.
Father Vin sat back, rubbing his neck. He looked tired. Old. “Let’s do this,” he said. “You need to get back to Nashville. I have your grandfather’s plane.”
“He had his own plane?”
“You have no idea what all he had.” He shook his head. “I’ll take you back. You can ask any questions you want on the way. I an
d the flight crew will do our best to answer. But when we get to Nashville, we won’t have much time. I’ll need an answer.”
There was silence for more than a minute while she stared at him. Finally, she spoke.
“I’ll go to Nashville with you. But let’s get one thing clear. That doesn’t mean that I believe what you’ve told me. I’ll take the ride home. After that, we’ll see.”
CHAPTER 7
Pittsburgh International Airport
Anna ran up the steps of the Gulfstream 5. Impressive. It looked like one of those fancy tour buses that the big rock stars rode around on. She had never flown private before. Just commercial like everyone else, herded like cattle by airlines that overbook and charge too much for bags. This—this was a whole different world. Calm, dignified, comfortable. She could definitely get used to traveling like this.
A pretty young lady greeted her in the main cabin as she walked in. “Hello, you must be Anna. My name is Marie.”
“Nice to meet you, Marie.” Anna shook the woman’s hand.
“Good day, Father Vin,” Marie greeted the priest. “Can I get you anything before we take off?”
“No thank you, Marie, I’m fine. Tell Hale and Miles we are ready as soon as they have clearance, would you?” He turned to Anna as they both sat in luxurious recliners. “Not too shabby, huh?”
“Not at all,” Anna replied. “Do you always travel like this?”
“What? You mean in your plane?” Father Vin said.
“My plane?”
“Yes Anna. Your plane. All of this is yours now. Your grandfather has left it to you.”
Unbelievable. Aside from the jolt of pleasure at being the owner of an entire plane, it did lend credibility to Father Vin’s story. Her grandfather must have been involved in something important to have such a luxury item. The plane began to move. Marie came through the main cabin again to make sure that Father Vin and Anna were seated and ready for takeoff. In just a few minutes, the plane had taxied onto the runway and was at full throttle. The G-5 lifted off seconds later, and they were in the air.
The Guardian Page 3
