American Heroes Series - 01 - Resurrection (31 page)

“Ethan!” she yelped.

He suddenly appeared in the bedroom doorway, his expression full of concern. “What’s wrong?”

She held up the cell phone as it went on its fourth ring.  He bolted over to her, took it from her shaking hand, and answered it.

“Hello?” he sounded very calm.

There was a long pause. “Hello?” it was a woman’s voice.

“Who is this?” Ethan asked.

The woman didn’t say anything for a moment. “Well,” she sounded strained. “This is going to sound really strange, but I saw this number on a bathroom stall.”

Ethan’s brow furrowed. “Excuse me? Ma’am, who are you?”

The woman sighed and grunted, as if struggling to explain her purpose. “My name is Marianne Ustel and I’m from Des Moines, Iowa. Look, I know this sounds really crazy, but something told me to call this number.”

Ethan was trying not to look at Cydney’s anxious face; it made him nervous to see how on edge she was. “Marianne, my name is Ethan Serreaux. I’m a special agent with the FBI.  Can you please start at the beginning and tell me where you saw this number and why you called?”

The woman sighed again. “Look, I’m not crazy, but my husband and I are visiting Rome and we stopped in at a hotel near Vatican City to have lunch,” she was trying to explain without sounding like she was delusional. “I used the restroom while I was there and somebody has written this number on the back of a stall door in one of the urinals with a note asking someone to call it. I wouldn’t have paid any attention normally, but….”

Ethan was on pins and needles. “Marianne, can you read the message back to me? Are you in the restroom right now?”

“Yes,” she said and he could hear her fumbling around. “Are you really with the FBI?”

“Yes, ma’am. Can you please read me the message?”

The woman paused. “It says, ‘
my name is Olivia Hetherington and I am being held captive. This isn’t a joke and I won’t have a second chance to ask for help, so please please call my mother Cydney Hetherington at 626-566-3549. I swear this isn’t a joke and I’m begging whoever reads this to please call my mother. This is a matter of life or death
’,” the woman abruptly stopped. “That’s all it says. Like I said, I wouldn’t normally pay attention to anything like this but this bathroom is so clean and beautiful that this graffiti looks really out of place. And it seems so urgent. So I’m sorry if this is a joke, but it’s written in very beautiful handwriting. Something told me to call the number, which took me a few tries because of the international connection. I had to use an operator.”

Ethan was so electrified that he was beginning to lose his cool. “You did the right thing, Mrs. Ustel. It is definitely not a joke,” he dared to look at Cydney. “Can you tell me exactly where you are?”

“Yes,” the woman said. “We’re at the Hotel de Columbus just outside of the Vatican City.”

He went over to the table where the phone and hotel stationery were and picked up a pen. “Can you please give me your contact information and I’ll make sure you’re reimbursed for the call?”

She was reluctant. “Well, I don’t know….”

“Ma’am, this is legitimate. We may have more questions so will you at least be available by phone?”

“Uh… all right,” she said. “So this message is real?”

“It’s real.”

The woman hissed. “Oh, my God,” she said. “My husband will never believe it.”

“I would prefer you not tell him, ma’am. This is an international case and I need your promise that you will not discuss this with anyone.”

By the tone of her voice, he could tell she was starting to take all of this seriously. “Uh… okay.”

“Thank you very much, Mrs. Ustel,” he said. “You did the right thing.”

Hanging up the phone, he had to close his mouth; his jaw was hanging open. He focused on Cydney again.   She looked like she was about to explode.

“Well?” she demanded. “What was that all about?”

Ethan’s mind was going in a hundred different directions. “That,” he said, “was an American tourist in Rome who saw your cell phone number on a bathroom stall door at the Hotel de Columbus.  There was a message written by your daughter begging whoever read the message to call your number.”

Cydney’s eyes were threatening to pop from her head. “Olivia’s in Rome?”

Ethan nodded, picking up the land line. “I need to call J.D.”

Cydney went to stand next to him, trying to stay calm. “What are you going to do?” she asked with fear in her voice.

He put his arm around her as the phone on the other end of the line began to ring.  He kissed her forehead. “We’re going to Rome.”

Tyler picked that moment to come out of the bedroom. He heard his father’s last sentence and his big blue eyes widened.

“Rome?” he repeated, shocked. “I thought we were just going to the Louvre!”

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Vatican City was imposing at night. St. Peter’s Basilica rose like a great mountain in the middle of the city, its massive dome outlined against the moonlit sky. As the taxi pulled in from the south into an area with a street sign that read Largo di Porta Cavalleggeri, Olivia’s face was practically pressed up against the window. There was an enormous building between the taxi and St. Peter’s Basilica, blocking her view of the structure.  

The taxi came to a halt and Joseph and Nat bailed out, pulling Olivia out between them. Coral was forced to climb out of the cab herself.  Nat went around to the rear of the car and opened the trunk, pulling forth a large suitcase before slamming the trunk shut. Then he said something to the taxi driver in Italian and the man sped away, leaving the four of them standing there. Nat turned to the group, to Olivia in particular.  His face looked eerie and evil beneath the ghostly gray moon.

“Come on,” he said.

He led them past a heavily fortified guard shack next to the enormous building.  He exchanged a couple of words with the guard, who ushered them through. 

Once inside the grounds, it was dark and somewhat lush with the trees silhouetted against the night sky. Moisture hung heavy in the air. Joseph had Olivia’s hand as they moved through the grounds.  Olivia should have been terrified but she found she was more in awe of her surroundings than dialed in to her fear at the moment. She could hardly believe she was at the Vatican.

“What’s this big building?” she asked Joseph.

He looked over his right shoulder, up to the massive building beside them.

“That’s St. Marta’s Palace,” he told her.  “The one to the left is St. Charles’ palace.”

Olivia looked between the buildings; it was difficult to make out much in the dark but she was trying.  Soon they emerged from between the buildings and Nat led them across a large courtyard. There were a couple of smaller buildings and a large grassy area. But another enormous building loomed before them, this one three stories tall with two mammoth wings.  It was dark and foreboding against the dark sky. When it was clear that the building was their destination, Olivia pointed at it.

“What’s that?” she asked Joseph. “Where are we going?”

“The administration building,” he told her. “You need to be quiet now.”

She tugged on his arm. “Why are we going there?”

“
Shush
.”

She frowned at him, her fear now making a return.  She didn’t like the look of the big dark building and began to slow her pace. Joseph tugged on her, smiling encouragingly when their eyes met.

“It’s all right,” he said. “Come on.”

Nat took them in a side door in the southern-most wing.  There was a keypad next to the door and he input a code then laid his thumb against an electronic eye. The red beam of the eye scanned his thumbprint and the door opened.  He quickly ushered the group inside.

The building was relatively empty. Olivia was disoriented in the first few feet.  They walked very quickly along a corridor, up a flight of stairs, and then down another corridor until they reached a big set of double doors.  They were heavy, richly carved doors and Nat opened one of them.

A big reception room was inside, complete with lush carpets, heavy and ornate furniture, and a color scheme of reds and golds. A single light was on in an elaborate lamp set upon an elaborate end table, hardly giving out any illumination for the size of the room.  When Nat closed the door behind the group, a man suddenly emerged from one of the dark offices.

The man was big and bulky, with dark hair and a big belly. He wore crisp red cardinal’s robes and Joseph was the first to greet him. He took the man’s hand and kissed his ring.

“Your Eminence,” he said. “It’s good to see you again.”           

The man put his hand on Joseph’s head, then his cheek, studying the young man’s face intently. “Joseph,” he murmured the name almost reverently. “I’m happy to see you.”

Nat made his way forward, also kissing the man’s ring. “Your Eminence,” he suddenly sounded strangely exhausted. “We’ve finally made it.”

The man nodded, his gaze falling over Coral before finally coming to rest on Olivia.  His eyes were muddy brown, strange, and as Olivia gazed back she felt a distinct sense of fear. She resisted the urge to back away when the man came towards her; nonetheless, she instinctively recoiled when he came near. He smiled faintly, those muddy, disconcerting eyes intense as he gazed at her.

“You must be Olivia,” he said in a voice that sent chills up Olivia’s spine.

She nodded unsteadily.  His smile grew. “She’s lovely,” he said, but he wasn’t talking to her. He seemed to be speaking to the group. “She’ll do wonderfully.”

Joseph ended up standing beside Olivia and the young girl pressed against him, fearful of the man whose countenance seemed to radiate something dark and deep.

“She’s exhausted, Your Eminence,” Joseph sounded very much like he was defending her. “We haven’t taken the time to rest since all of this started so you’ll have to make some allowances.”

The man waved his hand as if to make no issue out of exhaustion or bad manners.

 “It’s of no concern,” he said, his eyes still boring into Olivia. “I’m Cardinal Wildegrav, Olivia. I’ve heard a lot of good things about you.”

Olivia gazed back at him with a mixture of trepidation and anger. “I don’t know why I’m here,” she said flatly. “I want to go home.”

The Cardinal lifted an eyebrow as if to retort but thought better of it. He waved his hand at the group.  “Why doesn’t everyone take a seat and get comfortable? It seems as if the situation has been inadequately explained to young Olivia. If you all had done a better job, she would not want to go home.”

Joseph tugged on Olivia’s arm and sat with her on the nearest couch. Coral sat in a wing chair, fanning herself furiously, while Nat sat against the far wall.  All eyes were on the man in the red robes as he turned on another light.  The room grew brighter, but somehow, it also grew colder. There was something so very cold about the man and his room.  He went to light a cigarette before speaking.

“Olivia,” he turned to her as he blew white smoke from his nose. “Do you know who I am?”

 She gazed up at him with a baleful expression. “You told me your name is Cardinal Wildegrav.”

“Of course, but do you know who I am?”

She shook her head and he lifted an eyebrow.  “You’re not Catholic, are you?”  Again, she shook her head and he went on. “Olivia, my title is Cardinal Bishop.   This means I am the one of the most senior cardinals in the Church. I am also the Cardinal Secretary of State, the head of the Holy See’s Secretariat of State. I am the chief diplomat for the Vatican. Do you understand so far?”

Olivia’s face was still dark with fear and anger but she nodded. “Why am I here?”

Baldemar held up a finger. “I’m coming to that,” he said before clasping his hands behind his back. “I have been a priest for almost forty years. A very long time.  And in that time, I have seen Rome, and Catholicism, go through many changes; some good, some not so good.  For so long, Religion, and Mankind in general, has had such little hope in the future. It seems like things in our world are getting worse and worse. Do you know what I mean?”

Olivia was looking less angry and more confused. “Like with wars and stuff?”

“Exactly,” the Cardinal nodded firmly. “You’re a very smart girl. I know that you can see how bad things are getting. Do you know about global warming?”

She nodded. “We studied that in my environmental class.”

“What did you learn about it?”

“Lots of things. Do you really want me to go through it all?”

“No, that’s not necessary,” he seemed to be tapping in to a subject she was willing to warm to and he went with it. “And what about the animals of the planet? There are several species that will be extinct by the time you have grandchildren, like the white rhino and several types of apes. Possibly even the lowland gorilla; do you want to see them wiped off the face of the earth?”

“Of course not,” she said, her brow furrowing. “But I can’t stop that stuff. No one person can. It would take everyone to try and stop that.”

“And that’s exactly what I want to do,” the Cardinal drew closer to her, his eyes alight with the passion of his conviction. “Olivia, I know that Coral and Nat have told you of our desire to crown Joseph the next Holy Roman Emperor because of his bloodlines to Jesus Christ.”

Olivia nodded unsteadily. “Y-yes.”

“Do you think Jesus would allow all of these horrible things to happen to this planet?”

Olivia was thoroughly perplexed. She looked at Joseph with uncertainty. “No, I guess not,” she looked back at the Cardinal. “But that still doesn’t explain why I’m here. I have nothing to do with all of this.”

The Cardinal backed off, his sweaty face moving in the direction of the suitcase that Nat had brought with them. He began to walk towards it.

“I assume it is in here?” he asked Nat.

Nat jumped out of his seat and began unzipping the suitcase. “Of course, Your Eminence.”

He threw open the top of the suitcase to reveal the garment bag inside.  He unzipped the garment bag so the Cardinal could get a look at the contents.  Baldemar’s muddy eyes glittered as the faded robe came into view and he took a moment to absorb the sight.   After several long seconds, he reached out and hesitantly fingered the ancient, rough material. He exhaled sharply, as if he had just had a brief moment of ecstasy with the contact. He cheeks flushed.