Luis Rocha - The Holy assassin

‘What’s the matter, James?’ she asked anxiously.

‘Don’t worry. It’ll go away in a second.’

‘Come and sit down,’ she suggested, taking him by the arm and helping him to the nearest pew on the north side of the transept.

He followed her advice and let himself be helped.

‘This happens to me sometimes.’

‘Do you know what it is?’

‘Not really.’ He smiled like a mischievous child.

‘You should have it checked as soon as possible. You can’t play around with your health,’ a concerned, maternal Sarah advised him.

They sat in the large, varnished wooden pew. Phelps stretched out his painful leg, still holding his thigh.

‘It’s already going away,’ he repeated, more to reassure her than anything else. He’d learned to live with this pain before.

They waited several minutes in silence, Sarah at Phelps’s side, attentive, forgetting their future tasks and the secrets of Rafael, someplace in the sacristy with Brother John Cody, discussing private matters, which concerned her, Phelps, and Simon. May God protect them

… if He can.

‘I’m better now,’ Phelps declared, getting up with difficulty. Sarah helped him.

‘Are you sure?’

‘Yes. This goes away as fast as it comes.’ He put some weight on his leg to see how it went.

‘See? It’s gone.’

‘Good, but promise me you’re going to have this looked at when you have the opportunity.’

‘Will do. Thanks for your concern.’ A smile sealed the promise. ‘I’m going to look for a bathroom.’

‘I’ll be here.’

Let us take advantage of this voluntary separation between them to follow Rafael, who has now left the sacristy alone. Brother Cody hadn’t appeared, but the brother porter’s unpleasant frown had changed as soon as he found himself alone with Rafael. He remembered, suddenly, that they should look for Brother Cody in the Whispering Gallery, at the base of the cupola, not a very appropriate place for secret encounters. In any case this was the place chosen, and Rafael climbed the spiral staircase leading to the gallery. There were hundreds of steps, but he was in shape, prepared for anything and, preferably, two or three steps ahead of his enemies.

Once he reached the dais and balustrade that make up the famous Whispering Gallery and run around the entire base of the cupola, Rafael looked around. It wasn’t difficult to find Cody, a few feet away leaning on the rail, watching the chancel below in the center, not worried he could be seen. Rafael crossed the distance separating them until he was a foot or so away.

‘This isn’t really the best place,’ he protested. The gallery owes its name to the unusual acoustics that let a whisper be heard all over the cupola.

‘Don’t worry. There is nobody up here at this hour. I’ve made sure of that.’

The two men embraced.

‘Rafael,’ the other greeted him with pats on the shoulder.

‘John Cody,’ Rafael responded.

‘What a name you’ve found for me,’ Cody complained with a smile, loosening the hug. ‘I’ve been investigating. John Cody was the archbishop of Chicago in the seventies.’

‘I know.’

‘A real bastard.’

‘I know.’

‘A thief, corrupt.’

‘I know,’ Rafael repeated. ‘What do you have for me?’

‘Very little. Everything is more or less under surveillance.’

‘More or less?’

John Cody shrugged his shoulders.

‘We always have to take the unknowns into account. Things appear without warning, and we never know what they might be.’

‘Excuses.’

‘The only thing I have is a name. They are especially interested in one man.’

‘Who?’

‘A certain Abu Rashid.’

‘Why is he special?’

‘It seems he knows more than he should.’

‘And who’s given you this information?’

‘No idea. They don’t let many people have knowledge of this affair.’

Rafael rubbed his eyes meditatively.

‘Where does he usually stay?’

‘The last and only known residence is in the Muslim quarter in Jerusalem. But no one’s seen him there for a few days.’

‘Which means they have him under wraps.’

‘I can’t say that. If that’s the case, it’s not us,’ John Cody excused himself. ‘Do you think it’s worth going to Jerusalem?’

Rafael shook his head no.

‘It’d be a waste of time.’

‘What do we do then?’

‘We go on. I already know where I’m going,’ Rafael declared decisively.

‘And Abu Rashid?’

‘Find out as much as possible about him. Who’s giving him information. And what it is. Now.’

With a handshake and a slap on the shoulder the two said farewell. Rafael turned his back. He’d leave first. John Cody would wait five minutes and go down later.

‘Do what you have to do,’ Rafael ordered him before leaving through the opening onto the spiral staircase.

‘Are you sure?’

The lack of response confirmed it.

Five minutes.

They could seem an eternity, especially with the immensity of the cupola above one’s head in its intricate magnificence. Time for night to fall completely, letting the shadow fill the space, countered by strategically placed lamps that give everything a dreamlike air.

Five minutes.

Let us not remain with John Cody the entire time, as good a person as he seems. Let us move on for a look at what will finally take place.

Five minutes passed, and thirty seconds, for professional accuracy, essential for every agent who calls himself competent. Cody lifted his radio and pressed a button.

‘Attention all units. The group has been located. I repeat, the group has been located. Number two, New Change. Saint Paul’s Cathedral. I repeat, Saint Paul’s Cathedral.’

Today was one of those days it seemed better to call the office and give whatever excuse, illness or death in the family — no one very close, so as not to tempt fate — and leave the problems for others to solve. But this wasn’t an ordinary job, and Geoffrey Barnes wasn’t the type to run from challenges. On the contrary, his whole lunatic career, the flow of intelligence information, the next strategic game, made his adrenaline flow in sync with his changes of mood. He wouldn’t trade his job for anything… even on bad days.

The frenetic activity in the Center of Operations was the same. The apparent chaos of dozens of people on all sides with papers in hand, answering telephones, looking at monitors, pressing keyboards, was just an illusion. Everything was governed by invisible but understood rules, so that nothing slipped by security. Anyone in the midst of this tempestuous sea would notice something out of place, an abnormal movement, a wave out of rhythm with the others, and raise the alarm.

‘Somebody close that door,’ Barnes ordered no one in particular from his chair in the office.

Priscilla was the one who closed it, shutting off the room from the noise outside. It wasn’t normal for so many people to be so busy, but we’re talking about an unusual day. Seated in a chair in front of Barnes we find Littel. Priscilla was standing at his side, like a bodyguard. Herbert, behind Barnes, looked out the window at the London evening coming on.

‘Where are the others?’ Barnes asked.

‘Analyzing the disc,’ Priscilla told him. It was her duty to respond to this type of question.

‘Is your pal with them?’ Barnes was referring to Wally Johnson and the question was for Littel, who remained seated and confirmed with a nod of his head. ‘I wish they’d finish with that,’ Barnes sighed. ‘What the hell’s going on?’

‘Do you want me to draw you a picture?’ Herbert suddenly said without turning his back to the window.