Soult looked about and then spoke. “I was asked by my government about a month ago to discretely investigate the disappearance of Professor O’Sullivan. Your embassy approached my government to look into the whereabouts of the missing professor. Being a biblical scholar, they felt that he could have come to Constantinople, so I did some looking around. A man matching the professor’s description was indeed seen in and around the Church of Saint Constantine, but he subsequently disappeared, as did Father Vasilliou for quite some time, so I was naturally suspicious when yesterday you appeared and asked Sarik to help you.”
“Did you tell anyone that Miss O’Sullivan’s father may have been here?” asked Scott, taking a small sip from his strong apricot brandy.
“No. I wasn’t certain of my facts…until today,” Soult said, downing his brandy in one swig. “I have had the Father under observation by Sarik’s people for the better part of a week since he returned to his church.”
“So the father seems to have a part to play in this mystery as well,” said Scott. “Where is he?” Scott asked looking about the smoky room.
“He is in a room with your friends. Shall we join them?”
“Of course,” Scott said, standing. “After you,” Scott said with a wave of his hand.
Soult smiled. “Excellent, you are learning. Always keep people in front of you.”
“I doubt I’d make it out of here alive, but I’d at least get the satisfaction of killing you first,” said Scott, grinning.
Soult chuckled and then led Scott through the bar of the café, down a narrow arched hallway until he came to a closed door. Opening it, Soult stepped inside, followed closely by Scott. Inside were Kate, Gray, Thomas, and the Father sitting around a table filled with food and several open bottles of wine. Everyone looked to be in good spirits.
Kate and Father Vasilliou were busy chatting away in Latin. Seeing Scott enter the room, her eyes instantly lit up.
Scott smiled back.
Kate stood, grabbed Scott’s arm and pulled him over beside the father. “Alex, Father Vasilliou met my father. He was here,” said Kate excitedly.
“Does he know what your father was up to?”
Kate nodded her head. “Alex, he knows everything. He even knows where my father was planning to go before he disappeared.”
Scott looked down at the old man. Could their search be at an end? Something in Scott’s being told him to be careful. He had the feeling that things weren’t going to wrap up this nice and easy.
Looking into Kate’s eyes, Scott’s face grew serious. “Ask him where he went after your father’s disappearance and why he has returned.”
Chapter 24
The mood inside Karl Wolff’s train carriage was tense. His people had failed him again. Five bodies had been recovered from the church before the local authorities could ask too many questions. The only consolation was that at least he knew his quarry was somewhere in Constantinople. After calming himself, he ordered Duval to find where Scott had gone, but not to do anything without his expressed permission.
A loud rap sounded at the closed carriage door.
“Come,” said Karl, his head pounding painfully as if a drum were being beaten loudly between his ears.
In stepped Duval with his cap in his hand.
“Do you have something for me?” demanded Karl, rubbing his aching temples.
“Yes, sir, my sources told me that the Americans haven’t gone too far, that they are somewhere very near the church, most likely hidden in the old Greek settlement,” Duval said.
“Can you trust your sources?”
“Sir, money buys many things, good information being one of them.”
“Very well, I don’t care the cost, spend what you have to, I want to know where they are holed up, and I want to know before nightfall,” stressed Karl.
A thin smile crept across Duval’s face. “Sir, there is no need for that. There is only one place they could have gone and remained this long hidden in the Greek Quarter,” Duval said. “They must be guests of Joseph Soult, a former colleague of mine and now a spy for the French Government…there can be no other explanation.”
“Superb, Duval, superb,” said Karl, his eyes suddenly coming to life. “Do you have men, good men watching this place right now?”
“Yes sir, the local army garrison commander is a man who likes the finer things in life. He has become an unwitting accomplice for The Order. Before coming here, I arranged with him for patrols to be conducted in that neighborhood. No one will get in or out without his men knowing it.”
“You have redeemed yourself, Duval.”
“Thank you, sir.”
Another knock sounded at the door. This time it was Karl’s private secretary with a decoded note. Karl sat there and read over the note, a grin on his face.
“Professor O’Sullivan and my sister will arrive later today. I want the Greek Quarter closed down now. No one goes in or out without your knowledge,” stressed Karl. “I want you to arrange with this garrison commander for men to be standing by at last light. We are going to end this foolishness today. Soon enough, I will be rid of that annoying American officer and have in my possession the means to be able to find the Grail,” Karl said, relishing every word.
Duval nodded his head and then quickly left the carriage.
Karl sat back. A sense of relief slowly replaced the nagging anxiety he had been living under for weeks. Grabbing a fountain pen, Karl quickly scribbled off a note to his father. In one bold move, he would save his father. As a bonus, the Wollf family would re-establish itself as the preeminent family in The Order and take its rightful place at the head of The Council.
Chapter 25
Father Vasilliou looked up into Scott’s suspicious gaze. He thanked God that Scott had come when he had, or he probably would be dead, but he could not understand why the man who had saved him only looked at him with distrust. Stroking his thick beard in his hand, Vasilliou cleared his throat and then noticed that all the eyes in the room were on him. It was an uncomfortable feeling.
“Miss O’Sullivan, please translate for me,” said Vasilliou nervously.
Kate nodded her head and waited.
“Professor O’Sullivan visited me several months ago looking for information on the Knights of the True Grail, an order founded in Rhodes to protect the resting place of the Holy Grail. He was like a man obsessed, all he wanted to know was what had happened when the Grail was brought to Constantinople before the city fell to the Ottomans,” said Vasilliou, remembering back to when it had all started. “From the outset, the professor was quite insistent and seemed to have a superb understanding of the Bible and more importantly on the lore surrounding the Holy Grail. However, almost from the time he arrived at my church, strange men began to follow me to and from the church.”
Kate translated.
“Did Professor O’Sullivan notice them as well?” asked Scott.
Kate turned and spoke to the father.
Vasilliou continued. “Yes, it was the professor who pointed them out to me. He knew they were closing in on him, yet he persisted in his quest to find the final resting place of the Grail.”
“What happened?” asked Kate. “What happened to my father?”
“That, child, I do not know,” replied Vasilliou, looking into Kate’s eyes. “After a few days, I relented and showed your father a copy of a journal that was alleged to contain the dying words of the priest who oversaw the church when it was known by its original name, the Church of Holy Relics.”
Kate translated for the room.
Vasilliou cleared his throat and continued. “The church changed its name when the city was taken by the Ottomans in order to safeguard the priceless biblical relics contained within.”
“What happened to the relics?” Scott asked.
“They were taken and scattered throughout the known world to prevent their falling into the hands of non-believers, and people who would use them for personal gain and avarice,” e
xplained the Father.
“Father, what happened to the Grail?” asked Kate impatiently.
“It went east.”
Scott waited for Kate to translate and then gritted his teeth. Why people associated with the Grail could never give a straight answer was beginning to get under his skin.
“How far east….China?” asked Scott sarcastically.
Kate gave Scott a disapproving look but translated the sentiment of the question anyway.
Father Vasilliou raised his eyebrows when he heard the question. “No my son, according to the dying words of Father Ignatios, the Grail was whisked out of the city before it fell and hidden away in the Mountains of Ararat.”
Kate sat there for a moment, not sure what to say, but decided to pass on the Father’s words as spoken.
Scott looked at Kate. “If I am following all of this, the Grail is somewhere in the Mountains of Ararat, the same mountains mentioned in the Bible as the place where Noah’s Ark came to rest after the great flood,” said Scott incredulously.
“Yes, that is what Father Vasilliou believes. As did my father,” replied Kate.
“Ok then, does Father Vasilliou know what happened to your father and why did he disappear only to reappear a week ago?” Scott asked Kate.
After listening to Kate, Vasilliou said, “I truly do not know what happened to Professor O’Sullivan. We were supposed to meet for supper, but he never arrived, so I went to his hotel, but he was gone and all of his possessions taken. I feared for his life, so I went to the mountains in search of your father, but found nothing. After a long search, I knew it to be a lost cause, so I returned to my church…my home,” said Vasilliou sadly. “That is when you found me being attacked by men who wanted to know about you and your father.”
Kate passed on the Father’s story.
“What do you think?” asked Soult, sitting in the corner, his hands resting on his wide belly.
“I believe him,” said Kate firmly.
“So do I,” added Scott. “Don’t ask me why, but something tells me that he is telling the truth.”
“But Alex, this is where the trail goes cold,” said Kate. “You heard, my Father was abducted here in Constantinople, he could be anywhere by now?”
“Yes, that is all true. He may not be here. Nevertheless, the people who took him still don’t have what they are looking for. After all they have done, clearly they still want the Grail more than anything else in the world. If we cannot find your father, I say we find the Grail and use it as a bargaining chip to get your father back,” said Scott, grinning.
“Do you think we can find it?”
“That’s your job,” Scott replied. “The boys and I will keep you alive long enough to get your father back. I promise you that much.”
“We won’t let you down miss,” added Gray.
Kate looked over at Thomas. With a nod of his head, he let her know he would not fail her either.
“I guess we’re going to Ararat,” said Kate.
Scott turned and looked over at Soult. “We are going to need your help Joseph, can you get us to Ararat the quickest way possible, and can you also provide us with clothing, equipment and probably several strong mules?”
Soult sat there for a moment and then nodded his head. “I will need to speak with a few people, but you should be able to leave first thing in the morning,” said Soult. “Until then please consider yourselves my guests.”
Scott thanked Soult as he stood to leave the room. Looking down at Kate, Scott asked her to keep talking to the Father and try to pry as much information as she could out of the priest about the Mountains of Ararat, and where exactly he believed the Grail could have been taken.
Kate smiled, poured a cup of green tea for Father Vasilliou, and then continued chatting with him in Latin.
“Colonel, what about us?” said Gray.
“Pack your gear and oil up your weapons,” said Scott, knowing they would need them before too long.
Chapter 26
Viktoria Wollf walked into the carriage like a hungry panther on the prowl. She was dressed in an all-black leather outfit that made her deep violet-colored eyes standout more threateningly than normal. Her long blonde hair was pulled back and tied off in a bun behind her head. Seeing her brother standing there with a feigned smile on his face only served to irritate her more. She had been travelling for days. Leaving Rome, she had backtracked into Austria and then through the Balkans, so she could arrive on time with her prisoner, Professor O’Sullivan.
“Karl, I hope this isn’t some fool’s errand,” said Viktoria unpleasantly.
“As always, it a treat to see you too,” said Karl, offering his sister a chair.
Sitting down, Viktoria removed her skin-tight leather gloves and then reached over for the crystal decanter full of Scotch and poured herself a tall glass. “As requested, I have the professor with me. He’s sitting alone in the next car under guard.”
Karl smiled and sat down. “That is good news. Has he been his usual uncooperative self?”
“Worse than normal,” replied Viktoria. “But as soon as I told him we were going to take his daughter prisoner and force her to help us. He lost some of his arrogance and became a lot more compliant.”
“Excellent. We will use him to our advantage tonight.”
“Are your people certain of the location of the Americans?” asked Viktoria. “Your record to date hasn’t been the best.”
Karl ignored the cutting remark and looked his sister in the eyes. “Don’t worry about that. They are being encircled as we speak. They will not escape me this time.”
“I’ll believe it when I see it. Your attack on the British warship took The Council by surprise. It was a reckless move…even for you,” lectured Viktoria.
“You told me that they had given me permission to use whatever means I deemed appropriate, and the destruction of one ship is nothing compared to the glory that will be ours when we have the Grail in our hands.”
“I was told that father smiled when he heard of the attack on the warship.”
Karl’s heart swelled. The Council could go to hell. His father approved of what he had done and that meant more than anything The Council could ever say or do.
A knock at the door.
Karl’s secretary opened the carriage door and stepped inside. With a polite nod to Viktoria, he handed a note to Karl.
Reading it over, a smile grew from ear to ear. “Come, sister, let’s put an end to this game,” said Karl.
“What is going on?”
“Duval reports that the area around the American’s hiding place has been sealed off. In exactly one hour they will be ready to take the building by storm if necessary,” said Karl.
“The professor?”
“Oh my dear sister, he’s an integral part of tonight’s festivities,” said Karl jovially. “Go and fetch him. We will be leaving by carriage in five minutes.”
Viktoria gulped down her Scotch, feeling it burn in her throat. Placing her glass down, she stood and exited the room. Walking down the narrow passageway, she stepped over to the next car and then ordered the man standing guard outside of a locked door to open it. As soon as it opened, Viktoria slinked inside.
Sitting on the floor looking thoroughly miserable was Kate’s father. Seeing Viktoria enter the room, he cringed.
“Don’t worry, Herr Professor, I am not here to beat you, just to tell you that you will soon be reunited with your daughter,” toyed Viktoria.
“You can go to hell, you evil harpy,” spat out O’Sullivan.
“Now don’t be that way, professor, we need you to look your best when we go and visit little Katelyn,” said Viktoria tauntingly.
“If you harm so much as a hair on her head, I’ll….”
Viktoria stepped close, towering over O’Sullivan. “Or you’ll do what?”
O’Sullivan did not back down; instead he looked her straight in the eye. “I’ll see you go to hell,” defiantly said O’Sullivan.<
br />
Viktoria looked past the professor, her eyes transfixed on an object somewhere distant in her mind. With a deep breath, she reached down, grabbed O’Sullivan roughly by the collar, and then hauled him towards her until he was barely inches away from her face. Her violet eyes turned cold and uncaring. “Yes, I suppose you are right. I will go to hell for all that I have done in my life, but it won’t be before I see you and your precious daughter die,” snarled Viktoria.
Before O’Sullivan could say a word, he was then thrown into the arms of the guard standing at the entrance to the room.
“Place handcuffs on him and bring him to my brother’s carriage,” snapped Viktoria as she walked out of the room, an evil storm cloud of hate brewing in her heart.
Chapter 27
Sarik pushed open the front door to the dimly lit café and staggered inside, nearly collapsing to the floor, his broad chest rising and lowering as he gasped for air.
Seeing him standing there, his hands on his knees, Soult walked over and placed a burly hand on his friend’s back. “What is it? What is wrong? Are your creditors after you again?” said Soult, joking.
Sarik, his face covered in sweat, looked up. His eyes were filled with fear. “I wish Joseph….I wish it were that easy. I barely made it here. The entire area for several blocks is swarming with soldiers. Word on the street is that they are coming here,” said Sarik, in between heavily labored breaths.
Soult edged to the door and peered outside. His friend was not one to make something up. Looking around, Soult saw women ushering their children off the streets. A chill ran down his spine. Something bad was about to happen. Closing the door, Soult bolted it shut and then told his patrons to get out via the back door.
The café was closed for business.
Scott, sitting in a corner, stood the instant he saw the commotion and walked over. “What’s going on?” he asked Soult.
“The game is over. It looks like one of two things, either I have finally been identified as a French spy or your friends are back, either way it is about to get rough around here.”
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