God's Lions - House of Acerbi

by John Lyman

  “Good, then you can stop calling me cardinal. My friends call me Leo.” He sipped the last of his coffee before leaning back on the grass and propping himself up on his elbows. “Actually, I wish more people would just be themselves around me. People naturally tend to be stiff and formal when they see the red skull cap.”

  Evita smiled. “I can see that would be a problem for you. You’re definitely a social creature. It seems almost cruel for you to be so isolated from everyday people.”

  “I still get out and about, but it’s not the same nowadays. I sometimes fantasize about getting away for a while to a place where no one knows who I am.”

  “Maybe I can help you with that.” Evita smiled and tossed her hair back over her shoulders. “Oh great, I’ve done it again. Sorry. Anyway, I know we have a busy day ahead, so I’ll get right to the point of why I wanted to speak with you alone. I didn’t mean to appear so mysterious. Frankly, the explanation is so juvenile that it’s really kind of embarrassing for me to even bring it up.”

  “I’ve probably heard just about everything in the confessional. What’s on your mind? Something personal?”

  “No, nothing like that ... nothing personal. It’s just that I wanted to discuss some of my theories with you, and I don’t like talking about them in front of Dr. Diaz.”

  “Dr. Diaz? Why not?”

  “Well, even though I consider him a friend as well as a colleague, he’s still a chauvinistic stuffed-shirt. I know he can’t help himself ... it’s just his personality, but he mocks every theory I put out there. Scientists are supposed to feel free when throwing their ideas out there. It’s how we operate ... very much like free association. Evidently, he didn’t get the memo that there’s an unwritten law in the scientific community that you don’t marginalize someone else’s ideas, no matter how ridiculous they may sound. It only stifles debate and keeps ideas from flowing.”

  “Well, if it’s any consolation, I noticed his attitude earlier on the yacht. From what I hear, he’s a very bright individual, but he’s also defensive, and some of his remarks have a caustic edge to them. I see this kind of attitude all the time in academia, because you’re dealing with some pretty big egos. Just remember, the desire to elevate one’s self at the expense of another is the mark of an insecure personality, so just consider the source and keep firing away with your theories. From what I’ve seen of you, you’re not kind of person who can be bullied easily.”

  “You’re right, I don’t bully easily. I’m the oldest of seven children, so I’ve pretty much taken on the defender role in life. However, I find that opposition for opposition’s sake is exhausting and counterproductive, especially when we have so little time to get to the bottom of something this important. I mean, hello ... we’re trying to save lives here. I just wanted some time alone with you to run over some ideas later today.”

  “I’m flattered by your vote of confidence, Evita, but I’m not a scientist. There are others here much more knowledgeable when it comes to talking about things like genetic markers and DNA.”

  “I’ve been watching you, Leo.” Evita leaned back and gazed up at the cloudless sky through the canopy of leaves above their heads. “You have a scholar’s mind. You absorb information from every source available and knead it into a single hypothesis that makes the most sense to you. Then, and only then, you present your case. You remind me of one of those analysts who work in high-level academic or government think tanks. Yours is a very unique talent, Leo, and from now on, if you don’t mind, I’d like to run my ideas past you first before presenting them to the group in an open forum.”

  “Of course ... I don’t see any harm in that. I just hope you’re not wasting your time.”

  Evita pushed a strand of hair away from her face and fixed Leo with a steady gaze. “Please don’t take this the wrong way, Cardinal, but any time I spend with you is definitely not a waste of time.”

  Leo’s eyes narrowed. This woman was definitely coming on to him. She reminded him of an Olympic fencer. Parry and thrust, advance and retreat. Why her? Why now? In the secular world, she would have been a perfect match for him. Beautiful and smart, she was serious about her work, yet playful at times. If only—.

  Leo listened to the sound of the river for a moment before slowly rising to his feet. “I think we should join the others. I have a feeling we’re in for a long day.”

  Evita stood beside him. “I look forward to spending time together in the days ahead, Leo. Thank you for coming here with me.” She remained there motionless, staring up into his green eyes, waiting for a response.

  Leo felt himself unconsciously tilting in her direction before he caught himself. What was happening here? He felt enchanted. Somehow, in this setting with this woman, he was a man like any other ... a man without a title, and the feelings he was experiencing were almost overpowering.

  The corners of Evita’s mouth inched up into a sensuous smile overflowing with an animal-like pull. With nature in control, man was at a distinct evolutionary disadvantage in this dance between the sexes, for it was a well-known fact that it was the female of the species who chose her mate.

  Reaching out, she brushed away some leaves that were still clinging to Leo’s shirt.

  Leo looked back at her with an expression that was neither warm nor cold, but its message was crystal clear.

  “What’s wrong, Cardinal?”

  “I think you know, Evita.”

  Evita’s shoulders dropped in resignation. “You’re right. I guess I wasn’t being very subtle. Leave it to me to be attracted to someone I can never be with.”

  Leo smiled. “Now you know the struggle I go through on a daily basis.”

  “Then why do it? What about your life ... your happiness? I understand sacrifice. Believe me, I’ve sacrificed plenty. I’ve given up some of the best years of my life working to earn my doctorate. I’ve spent endless days in the lab sitting in front of my computer, when I could have been floating down a river like the one we’re standing next to ... drinking wine with a group of young people my own age. All the people I started college with have faded away; or rather I faded away from them. They grew tired of my constant rejections to their invitations and finally gave up. Even the boys I was truly interested in quickly discovered that it was easier to be with girls they could actually spend time with. Until this epidemic started, I was beginning to look ahead toward the future again ... maybe even find someone to spend it with, but once more I find myself tied to the lab. Even so, I know that this too will pass, and that one day I will finally be free to have a life of my own. But you, Leo ... you will never be free. You are forever tied to a life of continual penance. You should look in the mirror and ask yourself why your Church would want one of their most devoted servants to spend his life in abject loneliness. I mean, God created men and women so that they could live together ... so that they could comfort one another and bring children into the world. Normal people require normal human bonding. It’s like eating and breathing.”

  Leo was totally stunned. This woman understood. She understood it all. The carrot of waiting for your eternal reward ... the delayed gratification and daily sacrifice. How was he to answer her in a way that made any sense, because long ago he had decided that the Church’s outdated requirements for priests to remain celibate made no sense at all.

  “I completely agree with you, Evita. Celibacy is an archaic requirement ... one that has no place in today’s modern world. I believe it actually detracts priests from the performance of their jobs. From the moment a new priest takes his vows, his life becomes riddled with guilt. From that day forward, idealistic young men are forced to expend vast amounts of energy denying their natural feelings for the opposite sex, not to mention their God-given right to marry and have children. They can never be socially ingrained within a society that values the sanctity of marriage, because they themselves are barred from that institution. Studies have shown that social isolation produces unstable individuals, and I believe that the req
uirement for celibacy is the single greatest reason we have so much deviant behavior within the priesthood today.”

  “Why don’t they just have mistresses?”

  “Many do, Evita, but then they are faced with the fear of discovery and the guilt of living a lie. Then there are those less enlightened ones who actually think they’ll be thrown into a burning lake of fire the day they die if they so much as think about having sex with a woman. This is something the Church is going to have to face head-on in the near future if they want to attract the right kind of candidates for the priesthood. We’re living in a new and different era. The sooner the Church wakes up to that fact the sooner it can move forward into the new millennium, and I plan on being at the forefront of that new awakening.”

  Evita paused to look out across the river one more time before smiling up at Leo, the look of seduction replaced instead with one of understanding. Leo reached out and placed his arm around her shoulders as they began walking back toward the castle in silence. Both were aware that a bond had just been formed between them, but neither of them was aware of just what kind of bond it was. Like the early morning mist still clinging to the surface of the river, their feelings hung in the air, yet somehow, both felt strangely energized with the knowledge that an attachment had been made, and that, sooner or later, they would have to face the consequences ... whatever those consequences might be.

  CHAPTER 33

  Mounting the top of the stairs to the terrace, Leo and Evita could hear shouts of excitement as Lev waved to them from his table.

  “Leo, come quickly ... Sarah’s escaped!”

  “Escaped?”

  “Our intelligence was right on the money. She was at Acerbi’s chateau, but she got away.”

  “How ... when?”

  “We received a call a few minutes ago from Daniel. Apparently, Sarah was able to call to the villa in Israel. She didn’t want to go to the authorities, so Daniel told her to stay put and we would come to her. Evidently, she’s hiding with a couple who are trying to help her. She should be calling us any minute now.”

  Leo took a seat next to Lev and poured another cup of coffee. “Are we going after her?”

  “Yes, but it’s not going to be easy,” Alon said. “The countryside is a dangerous place to be right now, and anyone who ventures out onto the highway is a target of opportunity for the roving gangs. Luckily for us, the couple who rescued her headed south.

  “What about the couple who rescued her?”

  “I’m afraid that’s all the information we have for now.” The satellite phone in Alon’s hand began ringing.

  “Hello? Yes, he’s right here.” Alon held the phone out to Lev. “It’s Sarah. She’s calling from a cell phone.”

  “That’s impossible,” Moshe said. “The French government started shutting the towers down this morning because they were overloaded.”

  Lev shrugged his shoulders and took the phone. “Hello ... Sarah?”

  “Lev! Thank God! Daniel said you were coming for me. When are you leaving?”

  “We’re leaving right now. We’ll be coming by helicopter. Are you OK?”

  “No. We’re hiding in the woods by a river. There are men after us!”

  A look of horror crossed Lev’s face. “Men? What kind of men? Do they know where you are?”

  “We think they’re Acerbi’s men. They’re searching the village for us. We don’t know how they found us, but we saw them outside the hotel and ran out the back door into the woods. They have dogs!”

  Lev looked up at Alon. “They’re being chased by men with dogs!”

  “Tell them to stay close to the river and to head for the chateau. We’ll spot them from the air.”

  “Stay close to that river!” Lev shouted into the phone. “We’re coming. Keep your eyes peeled for a small, blue helicopter. We’ll be flying over the river by the chateau ... the one that’s built out over the water.”

  Alon suddenly reached out and grabbed the phone. “Sarah, this is Alon. Moshe said you were calling from a cell phone. Is that true?”

  “Yes. It belongs to Fredrick and Martha, the people who rescued me.”

  “Turn it off! Turn it off now. We’ll find you without it.”

  “But ...”

  “Sarah, listen to me. All cell phone service throughout France has been cut off. The men chasing you probably activated the local towers to locate you. Turn off that cell phone right now, and remove the battery!”

  In an instant, the phone connection went dead.

  Alon hit the “Off” button on the satellite phone. “Let’s go.”

  * *

  The sound of the helicopter’s turbines could be heard warming up below as Leo, Lev, and Alon ran down the gravelly pathway from the castle to the landing pad in the compound below. Nava was already sitting in the pilot’s seat running through her pre-flight checklist when the three men piled onboard.

  “Whoa ... what do you think you’re doing?” Nava shouted from the cockpit.

  Leo gave her a surprised look. “We’re going with you. Sarah and the two people who rescued her are being chased by men with dogs while we’re sitting here talking. Let’s get this thing in the air.”

  “This chopper only holds four people, and that includes me.”

  The sudden dilemma of their situation finally dawned on the men sitting behind her.

  “She’s right,” Leo said, running his hands through his hair as he tried to think.

  Nava glanced over her shoulder at the men in back. “I have to take one of you, and I think it should be Alon. The Loire River valley is only a couple of hundred feet above sea level, and at that low altitude, I can probably squeeze five people in here if we dump the life raft and some other gear. It’s going to be a little iffy, but if I’m going on a rescue mission, I want Alon with me.”

  Leo and Lev nodded at one another and quickly jumped out. Since the helicopter had been equipped for a life at sea, there was over a hundred pounds of water survival gear on board. Alon threw out the life raft first, followed by life preservers and containers of survival rations stowed under the seats. He was just closing the back door when John came running up and thrust an Uzi sub-machine gun and a few clips of ammo into his hands.

  “Just in case.”

  Alon grinned. “Thanks, little brother.”

  The sound of the turbines increased as the men on the ground backed away and the chopper lifted into the air. In less than a minute, it had disappeared over a hilltop headed north toward French chateau country.

  “Godspeed,” Leo muttered to an empty sky.

  CHAPTER 34

  The helicopter skimmed the tops of the trees in the Loire Valley as Nava navigated toward one of the most beautiful Renaissance treasures in the world—the beautiful 16th century Chateau de Chenonceau. Construction of the storied chateau had begun in 1513, when Catherine Briconnet and her husband, Thomas Bohier, decided to build a turreted pavilion directly over the foundations of an old water mill on the banks of the Cher River. After Henry II of France acquired it, it became a royal palace and the home to his mistress, Diane de Poitiers, who extended the chateau out over the Cher River. Upon Henry’s death in 1559, his wife, Catherine de′ Medici, who went by the title of Queen consort of France, expelled Henry’s mistress to a lesser chateau and took possession of Chenonceau for herself. Today, the chateau is owned by a family of chocolatiers and is open to the public.

  In this historical setting, Nava and Alon raced to rescue one of their own, even though both knew the odds were already stacked against them. Sarah and the two people with her were being tracked by men with dogs, but it had taken the rescue flight an hour to get to them, an eternity under the circumstances. As the chopper approached the chateau, Alon and Nava traded looks. The banks and fields along the river appeared empty.

  * *

  In the cold water along the bank of the Cher River, Sarah shivered among the tall reeds. Hiding next to her were Fredrick and Martha, the brave couple who had ri
sked everything to save her life. Fredrick was in his late 60’s, but a life spent working outdoors, lifting and stooping, had left his tall thin frame as gnarled and twisted as the oaks he had once tended with loving care. Martha, in contrast, was a short and slightly plump woman of German ancestry, with braided blonde hair and fair skin with rosy cheeks. Both were now shivering in the cold river water as they listened to the sound of men’s voices in the woods close by.

  “How long has it been since we called?” Sarah asked through chattering teeth.

  Fredrick moved close to her and whispered into her ear. “It’s been almost an hour. They should be here any minute.”

  “Ya,” Martha whispered. “It won’t be long now, Liebchen. It’s a good thing my Fredrick took care of those dogs.”

  Earlier, as the three had been running for the hotel’s back door through the kitchen, Fredrick had grabbed a commercial-sized container of pepper before throwing the contents all over the floor. Needless to say, the pursuing hounds had been turned into a sneezing and slobbering group of whimpering canines that had been rendered useless for tracking. In addition, the men chasing them had suddenly lost the cell phone signal they were using to zero in on the trio.

  From that point on, the men had been reduced to searching the old-fashioned way, using only their eyes and ears to scout the woods and roads surrounding the village until the helicopter with thermal imaging equipment arrived from Paris.

  Peering skyward, Sarah and the others listened as their bodies stiffened in the cold water. There, off in the distance, they heard the unmistakable sound of a helicopter. The sound grew closer, prompting Sarah to lift her head slightly. Quickly, she ducked back down again. Twenty yards away, she had seen a man wearing a dark suit and speaking into a Bluetooth-like headset. He also had a gun stuck in the waistband of his trousers. Through the dry brush, they could hear him walking their way.

  Fredrick held his finger to his lips and began leading the two women through the reeds along the bank of the river. Quietly, they waded through the freezing water toward the chateau. By now, the usual crowds of tourists were gone and the area appeared completely deserted. With the sound of the helicopter growing louder, Sarah lifted her head up again, only to see the man in the suit walking slowly along the riverbank. He’s looking in our direction!