Vatican Assassin (7 page)

That was right next to me! Shit. C’mon door, open! Got to get to her. Hope she’s not too
expendable to them. They won’t fire on me, if I’m right there next to her.

Another one, damn close. C’mon door... Nice!

The door hisses open. BC races through the door, turns just long enough to close it behind him.

The UIN ship’s fire hits the juncture, throwing BC forward down onto the tunnel floor on his face and stomach.

“Explosive bolts to detonate in five seconds,” A computer’s voice says.
She’s turned the explosive bolts on! Fuck me!

They’ll blow this tunnel right off the juncture! Blow it wide open, too. Wonderful!

The LSC is gone. She escaped through the door at the tunnel’s end, into the outbuilding. BC gets up and runs down to the door to the outbuilding. Another jammed door.
She jammed the door and set the explosive bolts on this end of the tunnel, too. Not real
creative, but certainly effective.

I will get through this door... How about a little help here, big guy?

BOOM! Then another BOOM and hissing as the UIN Bomber fires again and the explosive bolts fire at the juncture end of the tunnel, and the tunnel starts detaching from the juncture.
I have to get through... through!

The door swings inward into the outbuilding and BC dives through as the tunnel starts collapsing behind him. Another BOOM! throws him hard against the floor of the outbuilding. It’s a storage bunker, a long building with a row of windows on each of the long sides and doors on the shorter ends.

BC struggles to get up. He leans on the door he fell through, trying to both close it and stand up at the same time. The hatch clanks into place.

Through the windows BC can see the UIN ship hovering just outside the storage bunker.
The motherfuckers are landing!? What the...

Oh, precious. There she goes...

The LSC is suited up, standing outside the door at the other end of the storage bunker. He sees her walk to the UIN ship. She gets in and the ship takes off, leveling blasts at the juncture, the tunnel, and the storage bunker as it heads out.

BOOM! BA-DOOM! BOOM!

BC hits the ground, but the bunker remains intact.

“Air supply approaching minimal, dropping rapidly,” a computer voice informs him.

“Damn, where are the controls...” BC is talking to himself, but the bunker’s computer answers.

“The controls are located next to each doorway of this storage facility. Air supply is nearly exhausted.”

BC runs down to the other door.

It’s jammed OPEN! What a bitch!

BC fights to breathe as he tries to shut the airlock door. He can feel the air being ripped from his lungs, the strain of trying to breathe greater and greater as he struggles to close the door. Finally he works the door closed, and the computer speaks at him again.

“The atmosphere of this bunker is no longer being released. There is, however, only five minutes of breathable air for one person remaining in this bunker. Four minutes fifty-nine seconds, four-fifty eight, four fifty-seven, four fifty-six...”

“Computer off! Wait, computer...”

“Computer on. Four minutes fifty seconds...”

“Cease countdown!”

“Countdown has been halted. The air supply continues to run out, however.”

“Thanks. Thank you so much. Establish communications with Edwards, Marc.”

“Unable to comply. Communications from this location have been disabled.”

“Damn!”

“Air supply now at three minutes.”

“I ordered the countdown off.”

“The countdown continues silently for your safety. Also for your safety, you will be informed of the silent countdown at one-minute intervals.”

“Does that make any sense?”

No answer.

BC stops arguing with the computer and surveys the storage bunker’s contents. Seven EVA suits. BC checks each of them. They’re all ripped and damaged beyond easy repair. Every air unit is emptied, gauges on red. The LSC planned ahead well.

BC’s thrown to the floor by another blast.

Damn UIN ship must be taking one last shot before they get out of range. Hope I live just
to spite them. Uh-oh, I’m not doing so good here...

BC tries to get up, falls back to the floor, face against the bottom of the bunker. He looks up, out the window, looking for the UIN ship. Just as he starts to black out, he sees something else. A different ship. It looks human, but not UIN or UTZ.

Huh? What’s that? Am I hallucinating?

“Computer, contact that ship! S.O.S.!”

BC goes out. Out cold.

After a time, he slowly, groggily, begins to wake up.

Where am I? On a ship. Looks like an LSC transport. How’d I get here?

“Wha?” BC tries to speak but his tongue feels three feet wide.

“Easy there, Padre. We’re getting you back to Reagan Station. Don’t know how you ended up out here... you get lost during the raid? Don’t answer, you’ve got aftervac syndrome going on, a touch of it anyway. A lot of your surface capillaries burst... your tongue's gonna be swollen for a few days, and you’ll look like one giant bruise for a bit, but you’re lucky we got to you when we did.”

BC is on board an LSC transport. Two LSC officers are sitting up in front of him at the controls. The copilot turned back to talk to BC.

“Howthdidyoufinthme,” BC tries to ask. Damn tongue.

How did you find me? Why even look?

“We got a coded military alert to come get you,” the co-pilot tells him. “Thought it was the UTZ, but I don’t know. I’m not supposed to know, you know?”

The co-pilot laughs.

“Somebody up there likes you, Father.”

BC is laying on a couch in the Cardinal’s office, basking in the warm glow of sympathy from The Cardinal and Governor Edwards, and obsessively wondering who could’ve saved him.
I should be dead. That’s a sobering thought. But someone did save me. Maybe that last
ship. It had no markings. I’ve never seen anything like it before. It could have just been a
hallucination, but then why am I still here? What’s he saying?

Edwards has been talking, “...and we’re all surprised she was able to maintain her cover for so long. We’re lucky you found her communicating with the UIN ships when you did. You probably stopped more killings.”

BC motions for the styli and screen to write his response.

I can still spin it my way, as long as I can write...

“She was very nice to me,” BC writes, “I’d never had guessed she was a UIN Agent.”

“She seemed to like you, Father Campion,” the Cardinal offers, reading BC’s response.

“She did at that,” Edwards adds, “probably just looking for information.”

BC erases, writes and turns the screen so the others can read it, “Ouch!”

“You should rest, my boy,” the Cardinal says. “You found the killer! It had to be her! The whole attack was just to get her out of here!”

Jeesh, the Cardinal should work for the OPO... he’s doing my job for me! Not that I can’t
use the help just now.

“Too bad you couldn’t hold her. She did quite a job on you.”

BC holds his “Ouch!” back up again.

Edwards laughs. “I value your help, Father Campion,” BC tries to protest, Edwards corrects himself, “I mean, BC. But you shouldn’t have tried to chase her down yourself. You should have called in Lunar Security.”

BC erases the screen, writes, “She was LSC. Who could I trust?” and holds it up.

“She was an exception, BC, not the rule... Never mind. You need some rest. Near vacuum is no fun! All you can really do is rest up and get better. Thanks for trying to help.”

BC erases, writes, and holds up, “You’re welcome!”

“He’ll be fine with some rest,” the Cardinal says. “Your excellent medical staff worked on him for hours. Now it’s time for prayer, time to let the Lord do His work,”

“Yeah. Well, thanks again, BC. We’d never have suspected the UIN had infiltrated our security forces. It’s disturbing. I don’t know how Governor McEntyre could have let this happen.”

BC erases his screen, writes, “Remember what I told you. She might have known.”

Edwards shakes his head, “I still don’t know about that, Father Campion. This all has happened so fast, I don’t know what to think. Plus, I’ve got a moon to run now. I’m a little overwhelmed. You’re a little injured. Let’s talk about this when we can both talk some more, huh?”

BC nods. Edwards turns and leaves BC alone with the Cardinal.

“You should get some rest, Father Campion. Stay here on the couch if you like. Your rooms were pretty badly hit. Stay here for the time being. I’ll have someone look in on you. You know, I don’t think we’ve heard the end of this one, Father Campion.”

I know we haven’t. This is only the beginning, Cardinal. Only the beginning.

BC lies in pain on the couch in the Cardinal’s study.

Stuck here for more than a week, now. This sucks.

The study is quiet. BC turned off the entertainment center a few minutes ago to listen to Lunar Prime, to listen to the sounds of a station alive: the barely audible murmur of people passing outside the study doors; the low-pitched hum of the environmental systems keeping the air fresh and warm like Vatican City on a sunny spring day. And every so often, the entire place trembles and a humming, bass-y buzz is added to the other more constant sounds as a ship passes overhead.
Lunar Prime itself is vastly more entertaining than the so-called entertainment center. All
the same crap, all the time. Stupid UTZ advertising, most of it. Buy this, buy this, and of course,
buy this.

BC stares at a painting of a black Jesus, one of many varied portraits and interpretations of Jesus Christ that hang on the walls of the study.

Wonder where the Cardinal bought this stuff? That painting there’s a hundred years old, if
I read the date right.

Next to the black Jesus on the wall, to the right, is an ancient Orthodox icon of a bleached white Jesus with pinched cheeks dressed like an eastern bishop. To its left hangs a gory medieval oil painting of Jesus on the cross, bleeding and writhing in agony.

Man, I can sympathize! Okay, I don’t have nails through my hands and feet, or a spear in
my side. I only feel as if nails had pierced my skin, every inch of it, all over! This sucks, but in all
fairness, I suppose it’s not as bad as a crucifixion... I’m still alive, anyway. Gotta be realistic. But
I’ve never felt this kind of pain before, and all over, too! I don’t think I have any part that doesn’t
hurt. My mouth still tastes metallic. And my tongue’s still swollen.
I did almost get killed out there.

I still don’t know how I survived. Not much has come back to me, not really, not even
after a week. But my surviving might have had something to do with that ship I saw.
That ship out there I didn’t recognize, hovering outside just before I passed out. It was
further off than the UIN ship, out beyond the limits of Lunar Prime. The UIN ship didn’t seem to
detect it. Probably too busy blowing me up to notice.

I’ve checked through the station records and port authority logs to try to find some record
of the ship. There is no record of it. Nothing at all. It could have been a hallucination, except that
this hallucination may have saved my life. Whoever they were must have let someone know
something or I would be dead! The LSCs who picked me up got a call from someone. Maybe it
was them. But, then, why save me?

Man, I am tired of not being able to talk! Tired of writing everything I want to say down,
too. Thank you for all this, Miss Nita Bendix, wherever you are. Whoever you are. Thank you so
much. Lovely woman.

“How are you, BC?”

Governor Edwards stands in the doorway to the Cardinal’s study.

BC grabs his stylus and screen and writes, “Fine,” and holds it up for Edwards to read as he walks in.

“Great! They told me you were doing better. Told me you still couldn’t talk, but they did say you should be up and about in the next day or two. Maybe even talking by then, too.”

BC nods.

“I just wanna apologize again for, well, your being almost killed by one of our people.”

BC writes, “Thanks. Again.”

“I’d like to treat you to lunch when you’re all better.”

BC tries to laugh, writing, “Wow, makes up for everything (sarcasm).”

Edwards almost seems hurt, “Hey look, Father, I’m just trying to...”

BC waves his arms, writes, “JOKING!” and holds it up. He shrugs, then writes, “Thank you. Next week?”

“Sure. Next week’ll be good. I really just wanted to stop by and see how you were. I really feel kind of embarrassed. I feel bad that someone we trusted betrayed us, and you, too, obviously. We trusted someone we shouldn’t have.”

BC writes, “I’ll survive,” shows Edwards, then writes, “I’m still here!”

“Good! Next week for lunch, then… Get better, BC,” Edwards says, and leaves. BC shifts on the couch, trying to get comfortable, but everything is sore.
Ouch! Everything hurts. Can’t even really laugh. God, I can’t wait until I can talk again!

Got to report in to the Vatican, too. I sent them a coded written report, but it’s short on detail.
I’ve got to talk to them, explain things. I’m sure they want some answers. I need to ask some
questions, too.
I’ve seen the news reports.

The Universal Islamic Nation’s recent attacks on the Earth and the Moon were repelled with some success, but according to news reports the Vatican took a beating, hardest hit of all the Earth targets. And of the areas on the Moon that were hit, their section, the Vatican Mission, was hit the hardest. BC’s rooms were nearly wiped out.

They’re now attacking the Vatican directly. The UIN has finally decided that the New
catholic Church is provably, beyond a doubt, in bed with the Universal Trade Zone. Well, duh. It’s
been a long time coming. The OPO’s been working with the UTZ for what, five, six years? I gotta
hope no one I know was injured in the attacks.
Gotta find out more, check in with Pope Peter.
Wonder what the old man’s take on all this is. We are definitely being targeted. Strange behavior
from the UIN these days.