God's Lions - House of Acerbi (28 page)

Many experts, both at the Centers for Disease Control and at many of our finest medical institutions, believe that, for the most part, the virus has run its course. For the past several hours, reports of new cases have begun to dwindle, but the cost in human lives and suffering has been staggering in its magnitude.

America is not the only country experiencing this plague against mankind. It has circled the globe and has affected almost every country on earth. Nowhere in the world is safe from this disease. For years now, we have feared that the day would come when a deadly epidemic like this would suddenly appear, leaving millions of victims in its path. Tonight, I am deeply saddened to announce that day has arrived.

Over the next twenty-four hours, I will be meeting with other world leaders to discuss our options for the future in the wake of this terrible assault against humanity. Something must be done to prevent something like this from ever happening again, and it is to that end that the world must come together as a single unified force for the survival of our species. For now, I can assure you that your government is doing everything in its power to bring aid and comfort to those in need. Please, for everyone’s sake, try to remain in your homes, and above all, let calm and reason dictate your actions. Thank you, goodnight, and may God bless America.

Onboard the Carmela, those going ashore turned away from their TV screens and began making preparations. Some of them had mixed emotions about leaving the yacht. For many, it was their home, a place of safety away from a world in turmoil. A few still believed that going ashore was foolhardy, while others saw the wisdom of it in the face of dwindling supplies.

Standing on the top deck next to the helicopter, Leo and Moshe felt the stiffening breeze on their faces as they looked out at the lights along the French coast.

“Beautiful night, isn’t it, Cardinal?”

“Yes. Everything looks so normal from here. Have we been able to communicate with the farm?”

“The compound has a state-of-the-art command center modeled after the new Mossad communications facility in Tel Aviv. They can talk to anyone, anytime, anywhere. We can even monitor images in real time anywhere in the world using satellites that belong to other countries.”

“Isn’t that kind of like a government thing?” Leo asked. “I mean, what do the French have to say about having a facility like that in their country?”

“They don’t know about it. The fact that we possess that kind of technology is a closely guarded secret. For the past several years, red tape and government permits have delayed the open export of new military technology from other countries to Israel ... probably to appease the Mid-East peace process.”

“I guess it goes without saying that your intelligence community had a hand in some of this.”

“They did,” Moshe winked. “They play a large role in acquiring the technology we need to survive as a nation, and to that end they installed the equipment we’re using at the farm in France. Our government needed another surveillance base in Europe, just in case.”

“In case of what?”

“Just in case,” Moshe smiled. “You said it yourself, Cardinal. We always have a back-up plan for everything.”

“Why are you telling me all of this, Moshe?”

“Because, Cardinal, you are a part of us now. We’re like one big family, and we have to trust one another. The Spanish scientists who have recently joined us are a different story. They have yet to prove themselves, so for now we all have to be in agreement before we share anything of a sensitive nature with them.”

“What about the people at the compound in France?” Leo asked.

“Most are all
sayanim ...
volunteer non-Israeli Jews and Christians who provide logistical support around the world to the State of Israel. The farm leaders are all former Israeli katsas. All those at the compound have proven themselves to be trustworthy, as have you. You are part of an inner circle now, and as such, you must be constantly on guard in your discussions with others.”

Leo watched Moshe’s lime green fly fishing shirt billowing in the wind. The former IDF general and Mossad field agent, or
katsa
, as they were called, was usually a man of few words. Leo had no doubt that this discussion was not the result of a chance encounter on the top deck, but a focused warning about just how much information the Israelis wanted to share with outsiders.

Message received
, Leo thought to himself as he looked back out toward the coastal lights.

“I’ll be careful what I discuss with outsiders in the future, Moshe.”

Moshe laid his hand on Leo’s shoulder. “No harm, no foul, Cardinal. But even though we already knew the Spanish scientists were aware that the virus was manmade, we still don’t know exactly how they found out about it. We need their help in the fight against this plague, and so far there’s no reason to believe they are not what they appear to be, so please feel free to discuss any scientific information about the pathogen with them unless we specify otherwise. As far as our operational capability, that must remain our secret unless we decide they have a need to know for some reason.”

Lev ambled up to the two men and pulled a cigar from his shirt pocket. Holding his hand to block the wind, he lit it with a match and gazed out at the dark sea as the bluish smoke whipped away in the breeze. “The wind is beginning to pick up. We need to launch the chopper and get the first group ashore as soon as possible.”

“How many people are going ashore?” Leo asked.

“All of the Bible Code Team, along with the Spanish scientists, plus some of the security and communications people here on the Carmela. Alex and the rest of the crew will remain onboard. We can resupply them from shore if need be, and they have the two speedboats if they have to make a quick run to shore for some reason.”

“We need to call Nava,” Moshe said, running a hand over his shaved head. “I’m sending Alon in first with John and Ariella. You two will be on the second flight with Dr. Mendoza, followed by Evita and Dr. Diaz. I’ll be on the last flight after some of the others have been ferried ashore. I figure Nava will be making at least seven flights tonight.”

In the bluish glow of the moonlight above, they saw Nava walking toward them dressed in her flight suit and holding a pair of night vision goggles in one hand and her helmet in the other. She tilted her head and sniffed at the breeze.

“The wind’s picking up.”

Lev smiled down at her with the cigar clenched in his teeth. “We know. We were just getting ready to call you.”

In the greenish glow of her night vision goggles, Nava viewed the rising curves of the surrounding hills as she guided the small chopper toward the farm. Below, she could see the rushing water of the Aude River descending from the Pyrenees into a rugged gorge before entering the rolling French countryside where it slowed on its way to the sea. The river’s cool water was the lifeblood of the valley. It provided the much-needed irrigation for the lush fields, while at the same time it gave the workers who lived along its banks a place to escape the sun’s heat on those long summer afternoons when work became impossible.

Spotting a large hill rising from the fields, Nava circled to land without the benefit of landing lights. A recent rain had moistened the ground, thus keeping the swirling dust at bay as the helicopter touched down in the center of the compound.

The rotors were still turning when a thin man dressed in an olive-drab shirt and matching shorts approached the chopper. Opening one of the rear doors, he had to shout to be heard above the whine of the chopper’s turbines. “Lev ... I’m glad to see you made it here safely!”

Lev jumped out and embraced an older man who looked like he hadn’t eaten a good meal in years. “Ephraim, my old friend. How are you?”

“Good ... good. And this must be the famous Cardinal Leopold Amodeo.”

“Yes. Leo ... I want you to meet one of my dearest friends, Ephraim Amit. Ephraim runs the farm here. He used to oversee the vineyards at the villa before we purchased this property. Now he swears his wine is better than ours at the villa.” Lev leaned close to Leo and spoke in a loud whisper. “He’s becoming a snob about his vineyard.”

“I heard that,” Ephraim said. “It’s the soil around here ... you’ll see. Don’t listen to this old Israeli, Cardinal. One taste of my wine and you’ll be sold. I’ll send a case to the Vatican. I hear the pope’s been drinking California wine lately.”

Leo began laughing for the first time in days. “Do you people know everything?”

“Not everything,” Ephraim chuckled. “Come on, Cardinal. You’ll all be staying in the big house. I’ll show you the way.”

The men began heading across the gravelly surface of the compound as the sound of the helicopter’s engines increased in the background. Nava still had several more flights to make.

Looking past a large garden, they spotted a barn and several small houses scattered beneath the trees around the perimeter. Ephraim motioned them forward along a rocky path that wound up a steep, curving incline. Small rocks crunched beneath their feet until Leo finally spotted the dark shape of an immense stone structure at the top of the hill as they continued up the path in the bright moonlight.

Ephraim looked back over his shoulder. “Don’t worry, Cardinal, we’re not having a power failure. The main house is blacked out so as not to draw attention to our location. This hill overlooks the entire valley, and any light from here can be seen from miles away. We’ve been hearing stories of small bands of criminals taking advantage of the plague to raid homes. Mostly they just take food ... it’s the most valuable commodity right now, but there have been reports of more serious incidents. A farmer and his wife were found shot a few miles from here and their two teenage daughters are still missing. Everyone is hoping they’re hiding somewhere.”

“What about your perimeter defenses?” Leo asked.

“You talk more like a soldier than a man of the cloth, Cardinal,” Ephraim grinned. “Mostly, we have listening devices and old-fashioned tripwires along the perimeter, but we also have manned outposts scattered around the property equipped with forward-looking infrared radar linked to laser-guided weaponry. No one comes on this compound without us knowing about it, and if they do, well ...”

As soon as they reached the top of the hill, the group followed Ephraim up some wide steps that led to a terrace fronting a stone structure that loomed five stories above their heads. Stopping to catch their breath, they looked out over the moon-lit fields below. The light from the moon, combined with the green of the valley, made the water of the Aude River appear blue as it wound its way along the periphery of the property.

In the valley below, Mendoza noticed several clusters of twinkling lights in the distance. “Shouldn’t those people be keeping a low profile too?”

“Those are police outposts,” Ephraim explained. “They want people to be able to find them.”

The creaking sound of old hinges caused Leo to turn as a pair of tall wooden doors opened behind them. Standing in the towering doorway, Leo spotted John and Ariella framed in the haze of the faint yellow light that was streaming out from behind them.

“You should see this place, Leo,” John said. “It’s an old castle.”

Ephraim hurried forward. “Come, Gentlemen. We need to get inside and close this door. Like I said, we don’t want to announce our presence. There are eyes all around looking for signs of life, and the light from that open door is like a beacon to anyone watching.”

Walking inside, Leo stared up at the thick wooden timbers supporting a roof three stories above their heads.

“How old is this place, Lev?”

“The original structure was probably built during the dark ages, but we’ve discovered evidence of some additional construction that was probably done during medieval times before gunpowder made castles like this one obsolete. It was pretty much a ruin when we started rebuilding it several years ago. Most of the walls are four feet thick in places. That’s probably the reason they were still standing after all these years.”

Looking around, Leo marveled at the exacting stonework that made up the immense entrance hall. A thousand years before, men who had lived in a completely different world had quarried the huge blocks of stone and somehow transported them up to the top of this steep hill just so that they could wall themselves off from other men.
Things really hadn’t changed all that much.

Above their heads, they could see a row of multi-colored flags hanging between the timbered ceiling and a long, open gallery lined with stone pillars. To their left, an intricately carved archway led to a narrow staircase that wound its way up to the gallery, and to their right, they saw a mammoth dark hallway leading off into the rest of the castle. It was classic medieval architecture. Every angle had been planned well in advance to give the castle’s defenders every advantage over any attackers who made it past the front entrance.

Ephraim motioned the group toward the narrow staircase to their left. “Your rooms are upstairs. It looks like you could all use some sleep.”

“I need to stay awake until everyone makes it here safely,” Lev said.

Ephraim yawned as he removed his round, wire-framed glasses and ran a hand through thinning gray hair that ended in a ponytail. “I had a feeling you might say that. We’ll clear a space in the barn tomorrow so we can park the helicopter out of sight. We’ll have a real fight on our hands if one of those roving bands of thugs discover we have a chopper. We’re going to need it in the days ahead.”

“Sounds like you already know why we’re here,” Leo said, casting a sideways glance at Lev.

Ephraim winked. “That I do, Cardinal ... that I do.”

The castle’s thick walls had prevented Leo from hearing the chopper come and go throughout the night. He had slept soundly without waking, which was unusual, especially when he travelled.

After lying still for a moment, he slipped over the edge of an ornate canopy bed and walked across the stone floor to a tall window. Tossing open a pair of blue shutters, he blinked in the bright sunlight and squinted out at the stunningly beautiful river valley below. Sunflowers were everywhere, with trees planted in perfectly straight rows separating rolling vineyards from fields planted with everything from lavender to fruit trees to vegetables. Beyond the agricultural patchwork, he caught shimmering glimpses of rushing water through the thick foliage, announcing the presence of a river that wound its way toward tall limestone cliffs in the distance.