God's Lions - House of Acerbi (39 page)

“Basically, the true Cathars have known about this breakaway group for hundreds of years. On the surface, it appeared that they were evolving into more of a secular, profit-driven organization. They seemed more interested in acquiring material wealth ... a goal no true Cathar would ever consider pursuing. Then, a few years ago, a leading member of Acerbi’s group broke ranks and fled to the Cathar ancestral grounds located in the Catalan region of southern France. It was well-known within the ranks of the true Cathars that anyone who broke with the Acerbi clan faced some pretty heavy retaliation if they were caught. We’ve heard rumors that the penalty for deserting the clan is death. To make a long story short, the defector found sympathetic ears among the modern day Cathars who still live in the area. After checking out his story, they gave him a house in a small village, where he has lived under an assumed name ever since.”

“So what do Cathars have to do with Acerbi’s plan?” Leo asked, glancing over at Javier.

“Like I said, modern Cathars live all around us. They’re teachers, scientists, doctors ... they’re even employed as intelligence officers in several countries around the world. Believe it or not, you have a couple working at the Vatican, Cardinal.”

Leo was too enthralled with Zamir’s story to respond.

“The man who fled from Acerbi’s group agreed to share his knowledge of the clan’s activities with a fellow Cathar who also happened to be a Spanish intelligence officer. The Spanish were shocked to hear that Acerbi’s group was involved in things like blackmail of government officials, gun running, drugs ... even assassinations, but when the Spanish authorities heard that he was funneling money to terrorist groups they gave us a heads up.”

“Why didn’t they just report Acerbi to the French police or Europol?” Leo asked. “I mean, they were just dealing with a criminal at that point. Why didn’t they take his organization out when they still had the chance?”

“It’s more complicated than that, Cardinal. The Acerbi clan has a multi-layered hierarchy, with secret groups within secret groups. He’s evidently received some advice from some of the best intelligence minds in the world. The right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing. From an intelligence standpoint, it’s brilliant, but to anyone trying to break through into the inner circle to see just what’s really going on, it’s a nightmare. For over two hundred years, the Acerbi clan has been stacking the deck in their favor. All across the world, their people are embedded within the top echelons of the police, the military, big industry ... they even have people at the executive level in a number of governments, including two sitting presidents. They control people in top positions in almost every government on earth.”

“So basically, we don’t know who to trust.”

“Exactly. That’s why we’ve chosen to work only with people we know well.”

“So our meeting with Javier and his group was no accident.”

“Not by a long shot. The crash of Orsini’s jet was a perfect opportunity to get your two teams together.”

“So the crash was just what it appeared to be,” Leo said. “An accident?”

“Some would call it providence, Cardinal. But whatever you want to call it, the
accident
was a lucky break for your pope. It appears that Orsini was working for Acerbi. He was on his way back to the Vatican with some special communion hosts made from Acerbi’s genetically modified wheat.”

“The ones found at the crash site?”

“Yes. We had the contents analyzed for a genetic signature after we received a copy of Acerbi’s memo. They were made from Acerbi’s genetically altered wheat. It looks like they were planning on replacing the hosts in the pope’s private chapel with the genetically altered ones, thus making the pope susceptible to the virus after he ate one. We believe it was their intention for Orsini to become pope and lay the blame for the viral outbreak right at the doorstep of the Church, thus honoring Acerbi’s ancestral pledge to destroy the Catholic Church from within.”

Leo stared back at Zamir and sat down next to Evita. “This is unbelievable.”

“The papacy has been laced with intrigue for the past two thousand years, Cardinal. This latest attempt to assassinate a sitting pope should come as no surprise to a church historian with your credentials.”

“So it was Pope Michael’s idea to send us to Spain?”

“Yes ... after Morelli suggested it. The pope needed his best soldiers involved in the coming battle. Regardless, your two teams are now one, and Acerbi’s plan has finally been revealed to us.”

“Martha and Fredrick?”

“Katsas ... Mossad field agents. I find it amusing that no one noticed they never made it onboard the Carmela in France.”

“What!” Alon shouted. “I’m sure I saw them on the beach ... we did a head count.”

“There was an Israeli sub lying off the French coast. Some of our Special Forces snipers came ashore and positioned themselves in the dunes before your group arrived on the beach. Martha and Fredrick slipped off in the darkness to join them when you were all struggling with the Carmela’s boats in the surf.”

“I knew all along there were people watching us from those dunes,” John said.

Zamir smiled as Ariella rolled her eyes.

“The barge?” Leo asked Zamir.

“Ours.”

“Go figure.”

“So basically, we were bait,” Lev said, finally breaking his silence. “I’m not sure I appreciate you putting us in harm’s way like that without telling us, Danny.”

“You were once one of us, Lev. You know how we operate. We couldn’t show our hand until after we were sure no one at the compound or in your group was connected to Acerbi. His tendrils are wrapped around everything. If it’s any consolation, we’ve always had your back. Who do you think destroyed your helicopter and set off those charges around the compound before the attack?”

“Martha and Fredrick?”

“Ephraim. He was instrumental in making sure you were out of the castle when Acerbi’s choppers arrived.”

“Why didn’t you just take out the choppers before they got to us? You evidently had assets in the area.”

“For the same reasons I mentioned earlier ... secrecy. Our plan will fail if Acerbi catches even a hint that we are aware of his involvement. Suffice it to say that our power lies in his ignorance. For now, he’s still trying to cover up the kidnapping of Sarah and figure out what you were doing in France. Once we found out that he was behind the disappearance of the only person in the world who had survived the virus, we knew we had our man ... Acerbi was behind the biological attacks. Luckily for us, Martha and Fredrick were already in place. They risked their lives searching the chateau for documents to back up our suspicions.” Zamir laughed. “You didn’t really believe that stuff about the laundry chute, did you, Cardinal?”

“Sounded plausible to me, but what about Sarah? You were still risking the life of a civilian who had no idea what she was getting herself into.”

“There are no civilians when it comes to killing off half the planet,” Zamir said, his eyes scanning every face in the room. “Besides, Sarah was under our protection the entire time she was at the chateau. Despite their appearance, Martha and Fredrick are two very experienced operatives. They’ve been caretakers for some of the most evil men in the world ... who by the way are no longer with us. They were prepared to give their lives for Sarah if Acerbi had decided to harm her. For now, it appears he is busy putting his power base to work in an effort to discredit the entire Bible Code Team and prove to the world that you brought Sarah to France—that you were a bunch of radical survivalists creating your own paramilitary base on French soil for your own nefarious reasons. He’s throwing up smoke clouds everywhere to keep the attention away from him. This buys us time on two fronts. He doesn’t dare release anymore virus until things calm down, and we now have more time to find the source of the pathogen before we take him out.”

“Wow,” John said. “This guy’s like the Antichrist.”

Zamir nodded his head. “That’s a good analogy my young friend, because we’re looking at a viral Armageddon if we don’t stop him.”

“So what do we do now?” Leo asked.

“Sleep, Cardinal ... just sleep. Tomorrow we’ll go over our plan.”

With that, Danny Zamir walked from the room, followed by an entourage of some very serious-looking men.

An unseasonable Mediterranean storm had kissed the coast during the night, leaving a treasure trove of debris up and down the beach for early morning beachcombers. Now that the storm had passed, the rolling dark clouds had been replaced by bright sunlight, and behind the villa, the sun’s rays were bouncing off the pool, reflecting against the white stucco walls of the grand house. If it weren’t for the heavy military presence, the entire scene would have been the perfect setting for a picture in a travel brochure.

Opening his eyes, Leo looked around the white-shuttered guest room and pulled the quilted comforter up next to his chin. During the storm, he had tossed and turned for over an hour before sleep finally came. Now, instead of jumping out of bed as was his habit, all he wanted to do was roll back over and close his eyes again. His dreams hadn’t been all that pleasant, but he feared the real nightmare still lay ahead. He needed a shower and some strong Italian roast coffee.

When it was finally evident that he was not going back to sleep, he made his way into the bathroom and stepped through the green-tinted glass doors of the shower. Feeling the cool tiles against his bare feet, he adjusted the water temperature to just below scalding. Rivulets of soap circled down into the drain as he lathered up and let the hot water massage his stiff muscles. Age was beginning to creep up on him, and although the typical youthful angst involved in searching out the meaning of life was something he was glad to leave behind, it would be nice to just hop out of bed in the morning without groaning.

When he was finished, he turned off the water but remained standing on the wet tiles, holding on to the handle and staring straight ahead. It wasn’t just the aching muscles he was feeling—it was fear. He had never felt fear like this before. It grabbed at his stomach and made the hairs on his arms reach out, as if they were testing the air for an invisible threat blowing on the wind.

Shaking the water from his hair, he stepped out and dried off before dressing in a pair of white shorts and a black polo shirt that he found hanging in the closet, a remnant of his last visit. Winding his way down the grand stairway to the first floor of the villa, he followed the sound of voices until he found himself standing outside next to the poolside bar, where everyone had gathered for breakfast. Lev had just finished swimming laps and was sitting on a bar stool, dripping wet in a pair of bright orange swimming trunks with a towel draped over his tanned shoulders.

“Good morning, Cardinal. That was quite some storm we had last night.”

“I had a hard time getting to sleep, but it wasn’t the storm that kept me awake.”

“I believe we all had a problem sleeping last night, Leo.”

“Where’s Zamir? I thought we had a meeting with him this morning.”

“He’s on his way. He had some last minute business to finish back on King Saul Boulevard.”

“King Saul Boulevard?”

“That’s the street in Tel Aviv where Mossad headquarters is located. I guess I never showed you the place.”

“Probably a hassle getting through all the security anyway,” Leo said.

“Actually, anyone can just walk right in ... at least on the first floor. The entrance to one of the world’s premier intelligence gathering organizations is located in a shabby-looking bank lobby behind a plain door next to a potted plant by the elevators.” Lev smiled. “What are you having for breakfast?”

“Just some toast and eggs ... and a strong cup of coffee. You wouldn’t happen to have any Italian roast, would you?”

Lev glanced over at the cook behind the counter. The man looked up and winked, indicating that he had heard Leo’s request.

Leo pulled up a bar stool and looked out over the dunes at the sea beyond.

“No laps today, Cardinal?”

“Not today. I’m just not up to it.”

“A quick swim might do you some good.” Lev had gotten used to seeing Leo swim laps every morning if there was a pool available. After suffering two concussions on his high school boxing team, Leo had switched to swimming in college. The discovery of a new sport at Georgetown University had also coincided with the discovery of another new passion—a love for the academic life, especially history.

“Maybe later. Right now I just want to relax and have a hot cup of coffee.”

“Suit yourself, Cardinal.”

Leo was in the process of taking his first sip when a large hand slapped him on the back. “Good morning, Cardinal.” It was Alon. “No swimming today?”

“Maybe after breakfast.” Leo forced a tight smiled as he looked back over his shoulder at the big man standing behind him.

“That’s not good for you, Leo. You need to swim first.”

“I’m beginning to feel like I’m surrounded by a bunch of Jewish mothers.”

“You forget, we’re Christians, but our Jewish heritage compels us to tell you what’s good for you and what’s not good for you. You need to swim.”

For the first time in days, Leo laughed out loud. He loved the fact that his friends knew how to talk to him. When they saw he was feeling down, they goaded him into action, a tactic they had used ever since they noticed his tendency to moodiness after he had become a cardinal.

The muffled throb of an approaching chopper prompted the group to look up. A strange looking dark gray helicopter was hovering just above the villa.

“That thing sure is quiet,” Leo said. “I thought it was much further away.”

“Top secret,” Lev said. “It’s one of our new stealth helicopters. Gabriella told me she just got checked out in it last week, so she’s showing off for Nava and her new boss.”

“Who’s her new boss?”

“Danny Zamir. That’s his new ride.”

Leo yawned. “And I was having so much fun just sitting here with nothing to do.”

As the chopper continued its quiet descent, Leo turned to see John and Ariella walking from the beach across a rickety boardwalk that crossed the dunes. They were accompanied by a small brown dog who began to whine and ran straight to Leo as soon as he saw him.