John Lyman - The Secret Chapel

“It’s a mystery to us too,” Lev said. “This is the message I knew would keep you awake all day if you saw it. For now, all we can do is keep searching through the Bible and pray we can find something else that will help clarify that statement.”

A primeval fear was rising within the Jesuit warrior. Was it possible that the Antichrist was alive and now living in the world of men? The forces at work against them seemed to be multiplying by the hour. As disturbing as this last revelation was, Leo had to force himself to put this latest puzzle aside and concentrate on the mission at hand. “Can you all show me how you develop one of your scenarios?”

“Sure, Father,” Lev said. “Moshe, punch up the one we discussed before dinner.”

The large screen before them changed to display all of the towns and roads between the harbor at Maratea and Rome.

“As you can see, there are several main roads leading from this harbor toward Rome. This will work nicely in our plan because it allows us to pick and choose the best routes and vehicles for the trip to the city. Then we look at all the possible ways someone could spot you or ambush you on the road. We try to put ourselves in the other guy’s head. A plan of action is developed for every conceivable threat, and an offensive and defensive scenario develops from all the pieces. Moshe has just finished running an especially intriguing scenario that I think holds the best chance of success against a force that, for all practical purposes, we know nothing about. If you don’t mind, we’d like to work on it some more and eliminate some of the bugs before we present the final version to you at the 5:00 AM briefing.”

“That’s fine by me, Lev. I’m just a simple priest, and the closest I’ve been to an operation like this is watching a program about military planning on the History Channel.”

“You’re much more than a simple priest, Leo. This is a spiritual mission run like a military campaign, and you’re the ultimate general. You have to realize that you could be the hope of the world, and there are dark forces out there that are well aware of your presence and what you’re doing. We can only assist you in the earthly fights, but you’re the one who must defeat the invisible ones that will come at you and John.”

The yacht rolled slightly, giving Leo an excuse to grab the edge of the console to steady himself. After a few awkward seconds of not knowing what to say next, he excused himself and walked out into the hallway and down to the main deck. He made his way forward to the bow and stopped to gaze out across the dark water at the lights along the coast.

Being at sea must be a lot like being in outer space, he thought. Everyone onboard is separated from terra firma on a self-contained vessel cast upon a great void, traveling from one point of land to another, unable to survive outside the warm enclosure of their ship in the middle of an unyielding sea. The crew onboard could safely venture out of their craft in port, but at sea, the boat was their whole world.

Leo imagined that, if only they could just keep on sailing right by the coast and never touch land, maybe the book would remain out of the hands of those who would use it to work their evil against the world, a world that was already so saturated with hate that all it needed was the strike of a cosmic match against the fuel of intolerance that had formed like a puddle of gasoline across the globe.

Father Leo stood at the railing. He felt the salt spray in his face and the cooling breeze blow through his hair. The wind ballooned his half-buttoned shirt away from his chest as he closed his eyes and wondered how a small, insignificant priest could possibly accomplish anything against such odds.

The Carmela was still miles from the harbor as dawn approached. It was 4:00 AM, and the night crew had awakened everyone onboard. This was, after all, not a luxury cruise, although it had seemed like one at times. Lev and his staff had done everything in their power to make life a little easier for those who would soon be going ashore in the final dash to Rome. They would all be facing a terrifying enemy as they made their way to the city-and some might not return.

The chefs had set up a breakfast buffet in the main salon for the large group who filtered in and gathered on sofas and chairs with plates of food on their laps and steaming cups of coffee in their hands. A large screen in the front of the room came alive with images from Daniel’s computer as he readied the presentation. Alon stood against the back wall and dimmed the lights so that Moshe could go over the scenario he had been working on almost all night long. The old former general had fallen into bed and slept for only two hours before his 4:00 AM wakeup call.

Moshe stood and walked over next to the screen. He was barefoot, wearing baggy white shorts and an orange fly-fishing shirt. His eyes were bloodshot from lack of sleep as he twirled the ends of his immense handlebar moustache and scanned the room for any sign of a reluctant participant. Everyone had to perform their part seamlessly or the plan would collapse.

“This will be what we in the military call a multipronged assault,” Moshe began, pointing at the screen. “What this means to a civilian is that many of you will be going in different directions at different times in different vehicles. Our goal here is to create as much confusion as possible for anyone who might be watching us or trying to intercept the Devil’s Bible before Leo and John can deliver it to the Vatican. In order to do this, we will be sending several of you out in groups of two, all heading for Rome. One couple will be racing up the coast in one of the Carmela’s speedboats to the harbor at Fiumicino on the outskirts of Rome, while the others will be in different cars on separate highways heading toward the city. All of you will be carrying a backpack identical to John’s when you leave this boat so that anyone who might be watching won’t know which one of us has the book. It’s a version of the old shell game.”

The group began to experience a hybrid mixture of emotions, a subtle crossover between fear and excitement. Those gathered together in the salon looked at one another in anticipation as Moshe finished his part of the briefing and handed off to Lev.

Wearing his usual khaki shorts and white shirt with the top two buttons undone, Lev rose from his seat and stood barefoot in front of the group. He took a sip from his coffee and paused to clear his throat. “The real Devil’s Bible will, of course, be with John and Leo. They will be departing in the helicopter with Nava before dawn while we are still at sea. The rest of you will leave the boat after we dock and head out from the harbor in rental cars as a diversion. The helicopter will drop Leo and John off in the countryside on the outskirts of Portenza, this village here.” Lev pointed to a map on the screen with a red laser pointer.

“The helicopter will then return to the yacht while Leo and John walk into town and catch the morning train to Rome. Moshe and Alon will drive one of the rental cars to the same village and stand by outside the train station as a backup until Leo and John catch their train. If there are no problems, they will return to the Carmela, where they will board the helicopter and fly to the airport outside Rome with Nava. Moshe and Alon will then take a rented van and drive from the airport to the train station where they will meet Leo and John.”

“Why not just fly Leo and John right to the Vatican?” Ariella asked. The others all shook their heads in agreement and waited for an explanation.

Moshe moved in next to Lev and continued. “This plan requires diversion and confusion in order for it to work. These people are smart, and they probably know we’re in the area. We will be launching the helicopter right before we enter the harbor when the sun is just starting to rise. All of the lights will be turned off to make it look like we are being secretive about it. If they’re watching, they will naturally assume that the helicopter is en route to the Vatican and tell their people watching the highways and train stations to head for Rome. This will provide a window of opportunity for Leo and John to board their train unobserved. Then, after all the cars race away and the helicopter returns to the yacht, they’ll be totally confused.”