The Guardian

by ROBBIE CHEUVRONT

  He could, however, make his way around to the other side of the church and look for a rear entrance. Obviously Anna and Father Vin were still inside. The problem with that was, what if, when he made his way around the building, Anna and Father Vin came out the front door? That would be bad. No, he decided, he would opt for taking out the two goons.

  He crouched down as low as he could go and started to make his way over to the car. He could use the few cars in between to give him cover. He pulled the pistol out of the holster and made his move. He should be on top of them in just another minute. Two at the most.

  The two men in the car suddenly opened their doors and stepped outside the car. Hale could see, from his angle, that they definitely were armed. They had their pistols out and their arms hanging at their sides. They both had their fingers on the triggers. Just as quickly as they got out of the car, they started walking toward the cathedral.

  The front doors to the church were opening. Hale could see a young man, with his back to him. Behind him, Anna and Father Vin stood in the doorway.

  “I asked you a question. Who are you? What are you doing here?” the man at the top of the stairs repeated himself.

  Anna stared at the man she had seen in the classroom earlier. His eyes were ice blue, and he had a look of business on his face. She didn’t know what to say. Was she supposed to tell this guy that she had just stopped by to pick up a box sent by God? No, that probably wouldn’t go over so well. She honestly couldn’t think of anything to say.

  She was about to just give it a shot when Father Vin stepped in. He politely moved her out of the way and stepped to the top of the stairs so that he was standing eye to eye with the young man. He reached into his back pocket and produced the same identification card that Anna had seen him show the custodian.

  “I’m Father Vincent Marcello,” he said. “I am a special investigator for the Holy Roman Church. I work directly for the pope.” He handed the young man the ID. “This is Anna. She is one of my associates.”

  “Hey,” Anna smiled and gave a short wave.

  The man took the little card and studied it closely. “What’s that?” He pointed to the box under Anna’s arm. “Did you steal that? You can’t just take anything you want around here. I don’t care if you are from the Vatican.”

  “Look, my son, can you tell me who is the priest of this parish?”

  “Father De Lorme,” the man said matter-of-factly. “But he’s not here. I’m in charge. And unless you two tell me who you are and why you’re holding that box, I’m calling the cops.”

  This wasn’t going all that well. Since Father Vin wasn’t getting anywhere, she might as well try. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small photograph. She had taken it from the plane. It was a picture of her grandfather standing with his arm around Father Vin. She held the photo out for the man to see and said, “I’m sorry. Can we start over? My name is Anna Riley. And you are?”

  “Jason. Jason Lang,” came the reply. “I teach English to the local children.”

  “Do you recognize this man?” She tapped her finger over the image of her grandfather.

  “I’m asking the questions around here,” Jason reminded her.

  “Dude! Just tell me. Do you recognize him or not?”

  He took the photograph and looked at it. “I may have seen him. Why?”

  “That’s my grandfather. His name was Thomas Riley.”

  “What do you mean ‘was’?”

  “Just what I said—’was.’ He’s dead.”

  “Anna,” Father Vin tried to interrupt. “Maybe we shouldn’t get into too much—”

  “It’s okay, Vin. I’ve got this,” Anna said, holding up a hand. “What did you say your name was again?”

  “Jason.”

  “Look, Jason, you may or may not believe this, but we are on a mission from … well … let’s just say it’s really, really, important. Okay? My grandfather left me this box here in your church. We have to get out of here and get to our plane. We have people waiting for us.”

  “What’s in the box?” Jason asked again.

  “I can’t show you that,” Anna said. “It’s a matter of national security.” She nodded, trying to sound convincing.

  “Well, I’m not letting either one of you leave here until I see what’s in the box.”

  He had to be kidding. She’d had this thing for all of five minutes, and already she was about to screw something up! She pursed her lips and said, “All right! You want to know what’s in the box?”

  “Anna!” Father Vin protested.

  “Here!” Anna swung the box upward, hitting the schoolteacher squarely underneath his chin. She staggered with the impact, but he stumbled backward and fell.

  “Quick, Vin, let’s go!” Anna reached over and grabbed Father Vin by the arm and pulled.

  “I can’t believe you hit that man!” Vin said as he was being dragged down the hall at a dead run.

  Anna saw the schoolteacher out of the corner of her eye cutting across the cathedral sanctuary. He was gaining on them fast. And with the route he was taking, it was going to be close as to who got to the front doors first. With a final hard tug on Vin’s arm and a burst of the last bit of speed she could muster, Anna found the doors first. In one motion, she leaned out and pushed the arm of the door, swinging it open, and pulled Vin ahead of her and out onto the front steps. But just as she was turning to slam the door on their pursuer, she felt a hand around her wrist and was suddenly being pulled back inside, with Father Vin standing in the open doorway.

  “Okay,” said the schoolteacher, gasping for breath and rubbing his jaw with his other hand. “You two are going to tell me what’s going on, or I’m calling the cops.” He reached in his pocket and pulled out his cell phone.

  Anna glanced at Father Vin, bent over on his hands and knees. He was breathing heavily.

  “Anna! Get down!”

  She flinched. The voice came from the parking lot outside the church. She saw Father Vin convulse. He moved his hand to his side. That’s when Anna saw the red flowing through his fingers. He’d been shot.

  CHAPTER 23

  Oloron-Sainte-Marie Cathedral

  Jonathan had fired two shots, swearing when the first missed. Someone from behind him shouted a warning to his targets. His breath hitched when he realized he’d been careless. The priest and the girl had someone watching from outside the church. No time to think about that right now. He fired again. The second found its mark. He watched the old priest jerk backward and fall to the floor.

  As they continued to advance on the building, Jonathan saw Larry suddenly fall backward. The back of his skull hit the pavement with a loud thud! A single bullet hole shone dead center in his forehead. Two seconds later, Jonathan felt the ripping pain tear through his left thigh. He’d been hit. This guy was good. They had been zigzagging back and forth, with Larry covering the rear, and still they both managed to get shot. Larry was dead. Jonathan was badly hit.

  He fell to the ground and scooted toward one of the parked cars. He could use it as cover. By now, the girl, he was sure, had gotten away. He’d failed once again. No matter. He found her once. He’d find her again. And this time, she wouldn’t have the priest to look out for her. But right now, he needed to get away from whoever this shooter was and stay alive.

  Hale moved as quickly as he could, still being cautious, to the side of the church. He noticed a door. He moved over to it and tried the knob. Locked. He stepped back and lunged forward with his leg extended. As he kicked the door, it gave way and splintered the doorjamb. He heard a scream from inside. He quickly pushed the door open and saw Anna standing behind a young man. Father Vin was lying on a bench seat, holding his side.

  “Vin! Are you all right?” Hale called out.

  “Hale! Is that you?” Anna quickly moved out from behind the young man and ran to the pilot.

  Hale stood there as Anna wrapped her arms around him. She was crying and talking a hundred miles an hour.
Navy SEAL training hadn’t included what to do with a hysterical young woman.

  “Hale, what are you doing here? Vin’s been shot! What do we do!”

  Hale gently extricated himself from her and rushed over to Father Vin. The old man’s color was already draining. He looked for the bullet wound and found it, just below the rib cage. Probably punctured a lung. That kind of shot killed quickly. He had to get Father Vin to a hospital.

  “Excuse me!” Jason interrupted. “Will one of you tell me what’s going on? There’s a man out there shooting at us.”

  Hale didn’t bother looking at him. He tore off his shirt and pressed it against Father Vin’s wound. “There were two shooters. One is dead; the other I think is severely injured. Who are you?”

  “His name is Jason,” Anna answered.

  “Listen, Jason,” said Hale. “I work for the Vatican. The men outside are trying to kill this young lady. I have to get this priest to a hospital. She needs to get to Pau. Can you take her?”

  “Are you nuts? There are people out there shooting at us, man! I’m not going anywhere until the police get here.”

  “Hale, I’m going with you,” Anna said, crying.

  “No.” Hale slammed his hand on the bench seat. “Anna, you’re going back to the plane, where it’s safe. Jason, I promise you, nothing’s gonna happen to you. Not while I’m here. I need you to get her out of here. Right now. What she has in that box is life and death important. Are you a priest?”

  Jason shook his head. “No. I am a Baptist missionary.”

  “Good,” Hale continued, “then know that getting that box out of here right now is imperative. It’s an order that I promise you came directly from God.”

  The young man hesitated. Hale could feel him weighing the words, struggling to decide. At last the tension left his face. “I believe you,” he said. “What do you need me to do?”

  Hale let go of the breath he was holding. Jason was a good kid. “Is there a back way out of here?”

  “Yes,” Jason said.

  “Good. Take Anna out that way. I’ll stay here and cover you. When you get out, get to the train. It runs directly into Pau. When you get there, take a cab. Anna can tell you where the hotel is—”

  “Hale, I said I’m going with you!” Anna was still crying.

  Hale walked over to Anna and placed his hands on her shoulders. He looked her directly in the eye. “Anna, everything is going to be okay. I promise. I’ve been doing this for a long time. I did it for your grandfather for twelve years. I know what I’m doing. Okay?”

  Anna nodded and wiped her nose on her shirtsleeve. “Okay,” he continued. “I need you to calm down and compose yourself. Can you do that for me?” Anna wiped her eyes and nodded.

  “Okay. Good. You and Jason need to get out of here. It isn’t safe. I don’t know if those two guys out there have any backup, but we sure don’t have any, so we need to get out of here quickly. Father Vin has lost a lot of blood. I need to get him to a hospital. I can’t do that if I’m looking after you two. Jason will get you back to Pau. When you get there, go to the hotel. Be careful. Look for anything and everything. Grab your stuff and head to the plane. I’ll call Miles and Marie as soon as I get out of here. They will be waiting. If I’m not there, Miles can fly the plane by himself. Go to London. You have a safe house there. Marie can tell you where it is and get you situated until Vin and I can come and get you.”

  He pulled Anna in and gave her a hug. He walked over to Father Vin. “Vin, where is it?”

  “Left ankle.” Father Vin’s breathing was short and labored. “I never had a chance to get it out, Hale. I wasn’t fast enough.”

  “It’s okay, Father. We’re going to get you fixed up. Just hang in there for me.” Hale leaned over and lifted Father Vin’s left pant leg. Strapped to his ankle was a holster. Hale unfastened the strap and pulled it off of Vin’s leg. He handed it to Anna. “You said you know how to use one of these, right?”

  Again Anna nodded.

  “Good. Take it.”

  Anna took the gun. Still crying, she lifted her pant leg and strapped the gun to her ankle. “Now get out of here.”

  Anna and Jason turned toward the back of the church to leave.

  Hale quickly walked up behind Jason and grabbed his arm. Jason stopped.

  Hale leaned in close and whispered, “I don’t know what’s in that box, Jason. I’ve never seen it. But I do know this. That old man over there”—he pointed to Father Vin—”has spent his life protecting it. Whatever’s in there, it was given to the disciple John by God Himself. Anna is a descendant of John. That box has been in her family for two thousand years. You say you’re a man of the cloth?”

  “Well, I’m a missionary,” Jason stuttered. “I’m a Christian.” “Good. Then I don’t need to tell you how important it is for her to get to that plane with that box.”

  CHAPTER 24

  Oloron-Sainte-Marie Cathedral

  Hale waited until Anna and Jason moved to the back door. Signaling them to head out, he went out the front door looking for the assassin. As he opened the door, he heard the spit of three bullets hitting the doorjamb to his left. He dove into a sideways roll and came up firing. The black sedan, where he had seen the men in the first place, was fishtailing out of the parking lot. Hale took his aim at the rear tires. Again, he hit the target but missed the mark. All five of his shots hit the trunk of the car. The black sedan quickly rounded the corner and was gone.

  Hale could hear the wail of the sirens. He figured he had two, maybe three, minutes before the police showed up. He needed to get Father Vin.

  The old priest lay on his back, still holding his side. His clothes were soaked with blood, his color all but drained. He didn’t look good. Hale tried to lift him up.

  Father Vin groaned. “Put me back down!”

  “Vin, I can’t. We need to go. If you don’t get out of here,

  you’re going to die.”

  Again Hale lifted the priest. He wrapped his arm around Father Vin’s waist and draped Vin’s arm around his neck and shoulder. They had only moved a few feet when Father Vin let go and fell to the floor.

  “Leave me here.”

  “No.” Hale gripped Vin’s shoulders. “You get up and help me get you out of here, old man. I’m not leaving you. Now let’s go!”

  Father Vin sat in the middle of the floor. The sirens outside were getting louder. They would be here any second.

  “Vin, I can’t just leave you. What about Anna?” Hale felt a pain in his heart. First Thomas now Vin. He had spent the last twelve years of his life with these two men. He loved them dearly. Now, standing here, he knew this could only end one way. Even if he could get Father Vin to a hospital, the chances of him making it were slim to none.

  “Anna will be just fine, Hale.” Vin coughed. A small trickle of blood ran down his chin. His lungs were filling up with the liquid. “That boy, Jason.” He coughed again. “He’s the one. I’m sure of it.” He winced as a sharp pain caught him.

  “You mean …”

  “Yes,” said Vin. “He’s the one to take my place.”

  Hale knelt down beside Father Vin. He leaned in and took him into his arms. He squeezed as hard as he could. He could feel the tears running down his cheeks. Father Vin lifted an arm and put it around Hale.

  “Tell Miles and Marie that I love them. I will be looking down on them, and you, until we see each other again.” His breath was coming in short gasps now. “Tell Anna …” He stopped as a coughing fit took control of him. “Tell her … I’ve never … been more proud … of … anyone … in my … life. Tell her … she can do this … without me.”

  Hale let go of Father Vin and just held his hand. The old priest laid his head back on the floor, still coughing. Hale buried his face in his hands and began to sob. He never looked as he heard the last ounce of breath wheeze from Father Vin’s lips.

  Hale was actually surprised that the cops hadn’t already stormed in here. As he turned to l
eave, he saw in front of him a creature, both magnificently beautiful and frightening. He had never seen one before, but the way Father Vin had described them, he could swear that this was an angel.

  “Hello, Hale. My name is Sammael.” The angel bowed.

  “Hello.” Hale nodded.

  “The reason I come to you is to bring you information.” “Information?” he asked.

  “Father Vin is with Christ. Our Lord is most pleased with his service. There will be a great celebration tonight. Father Vincent will be the honored guest.”

  “I’ll tell Anna. She will be happy to hear that.” Hale whispered.

  “Second, the Father has permitted me to tell you that this Jason is not an ordinary individual. Many years ago he was chosen to be a part of this task. He has been chosen to be with Anna. He is the new protector of the guardian. It is the Father’s will. Go and tell Anna what has been spoken. She will need to hear this. The Father has allowed us this short time to speak. Once I have gone, things will return to normal. The law enforcement of this town are waiting at the doors. Go now. Hurry.”

  Hale turned and ran out the rear entrance of the church. He had to get back to his car. Hopefully he could get to the plane at the same time as Anna and Jason. He ran down the hill to where his car was. He started the engine and slammed it into gear. The tires spun dirt and gravel as he pulled out onto the road.

  He reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. He hit the speed dial, number two. The phone rang on the other line four times before someone picked up.

  “Hello, this is Miles.”

  “Miles, this is Hale.”

  “Hey, Hale. What’s up?”

  “We have a problem. Several of them, actually.”

  “Why? What’s going on—”

  “Listen. I’ll explain later. Right now, you need to get to the plane.”

  “Already there.”

  “Good. Anna should be getting to you in about an hour and a half. As soon as she gets there, get out of here. Go to London. Oh, and she has a friend. His name is Jason. I don’t have any time to explain right now. All you need to know is he’s cleared. Take him and Anna to the safe house. Stay with them until I get there.”