Concept date: 4th December, 2019.
First published: 13th February, 2020.Status: COMPLETED.
Version: STANDARD.
Age Recommendation: 15+
Average Reading Time: Approximately 30 Minutes.Revisions: 6. [Last Edit: March 2020]
Angel-in-charge: Margret Team Assigned: Team 74
Age 15+
1. JERUSALEM: 445AD.
The old man struggled to keep up with his young companion as they walked quickly and with some purpose, towards the street of Silversmiths. Both were wrapped in dark cloaks, the hoods pulled over their heads; they avoided any contact with the few people that were scattered around the almost deserted streets of the great city. Night was creeping in and most people were hurrying home. The streets were not that safe during the hours of darkness - despite the city guard being out in force.
Essius had to stop several times to allow his old friend Capus to catch up. Capus leaned upon his staff and took several breaths, but clutched the little box tightly to his chest, hidden beneath his thick cloak. Essius gently gripped the old man's shoulder with some affection. "It cannot be more than a few more minutes and we will be there." He spoke softly and constantly looked about. Capus nodded a few times and regained his breath and a little strength. "We will know the lady by her skin colour; dark like the night itself....she will show a wooden crucifix and ask if we're from him." He panted.
The young man smiled; "You have now told me four times my old friend. Calm yourself, we'll be there soon." The pair walked on and Essius gripped his friends arm, they passed three servant women hurrying home; carrying clothes and clay pots. They said nothing, but st5ared at the two men. Essius watched them disappear into the gathering gloom of the night. "Come on." He urged Capus and they turned into the street of the Silversmiths and saw the tall young woman standing in a closed shop's doorway. She gestured to them to come quickly.
They drew close to her and could see that she was an African woman of some obvious beauty. Essius smiled to himself; the Empress was known to have several such maids in her service. The men bowed a little, but remained silent. The woman lifted the hood of her cloak and smiled; "Are you from him?" She asked and held up a small, plain wooden crucifix. Both men nodded and the three disappeared into the dark shadows of the doorway.
The woman dragged a goatskin bag from under her cloak and pulled it open; "Place the box in here - quickly. The guards patrol this street just after sunset."
Capus nodded and with some reluctance produced the small wooden box and with trembling hands, placed it carefully into the small sack. He crossed himself [as did Essius] "You must tell your lady to never to actually handle it. For the power it contains will end everything, Do you understand - the end of everything?" The woman nodded and closed up her bag. She turned to go, when Capus with surprising speed, grabbed her arm; "She must never allow any humans to discover it; never - you must tell her that."
The woman pulled away and muttered; "I promise. Now go before your found out." The pair watched her walk quickly from the doorway and disappear down a nearby alley. Both stood in silence for a minute or so; their task done. Capius crossed himself again and whispered; "God help the Empress if she disobeys the sacred texts." Both men looked about and make their way back down the now deserted street.
Walking slowly and much relieved, they turned into the street of Winemakers and suddenly found a group of darkly dressed men standing before them. A tall, strong looking man stepped from the group and smiled. Essius could see a silver breastplate hidden below the black cloak and the last thing the young man saw was the bright sword. He managed to shout; "Sweet Jesus!...Help us!" But no help came and both lay in the dirt, little pools of thick red blood gathering around their still bodies.
Marcus [the tall guard] wiped his blade upon Capus's cloak , as did two of his men. "It's done. He said and gestured for his men to follow him, looking about the group vanished into the dark night. The bodies lay in the dirt for about an hour before being found by the city guard, who immediately searched the bodies and took anything of value from the dead men. They then called for a wagon to remove the corpse's from the street.
Ursula made her way back to the grand house that stood alone by the newly rebuilt South wall and entered through the servants entrance. The guard on the door knew the Empress's maid and just nodded. She passed across the hallway and another two guards watched her pass into the Empress's private apartments - again without comment. She found her Mistress pacing the floor of her bedchamber. "You have it?" Was all she asked her loyal maid and Ursula nodded and placed the bag into her mistress's outstretched hands.
"Check the door and corridor." Empress Aelia Eudokia Augusta spoke quietly and gently opened the bag, she waited until her maid gave the nod that all was correct. She slowly pulled the small wooden box from the bag and found her hands were trembling; "No one must ever find this again." She whispered and looked up as her maid returned to her side. Ursula looked at the box and did not smile; The old man said never to....." She didn't finish. The Empress sighed; "I do know what the ancient scripts warn about this. No human must ever discover it. I will see that it's lost from human history - for ever."
Ursula stared at the box; "Should we take just one little look at it?" There was real hesitation in her voice and added; "Just to check that we haven't been deceived?" The Empress nodded and carefully pulled up the stiff lid and placed it to one side. There was a cloth of gold in the box and the Empress slowly lifted it. Both women stared at the little object in absolute silence - both could hear the other breathing. "That is it." was all the Empress said and carefully replaced the cloth and the lid.
"Fetch Adam - now." She ordered her maid, who departed quickly. The Empress replaced the box into the old bag and poured herself some wine. She sipped from her gold cup and waited, constantly looking at the goatskin bag. The number of people that had died preserving the secret was ridiculous, she thought to herself and sat upon a gilded chair by the window, to catch a cool evening breeze. No one would ever do so again - if her plan succeeded. She heard footsteps approaching her chamber and Ursula appeared in the doorway; "He's here my Lady." She said softly and Adam slipped past her into the room.
The Empress smiled and told Ursula to fetch Adam some wine. She pulled close to the strapping young man and gripped his arm. He was about six feet tall and broad shouldered with sandy blond hair and piecing green eyes - unusual for a man in this region. "You know your instructions?" She asked. The big man smiled; "Yes my Queen, convey the box to the 'Tin Isles' and our brothers in the South of that island. Hand the box only to Artorius of Durovernum Cantiacorum and then return by way of the Kingdom of the Franks." The Empress nodded and produced a bag of coin from her dress. "This will see that you travel well."
She released her grip and returned to her chair and finished her wine. Ursula handed the young man a cup of wine with a broad smile. He returned the smile and gulped down the wine. He bowed low to the Empress and threw the dark cloak about his broad shoulders; then snatched up the bag from the table. He said nothing more and was gone.
Ursula placed the empty cup down and sighed; "You have placed much trust in that young man my lady; are you that sure about him?" The Empress stared out the window and muttered; "Only the God's can be sure of anything." She rose from the chair and smiled; "Let us drink a toast to his mission - fetch that Greek wine I have set aside for such an occasion." Ursula grinned and left the room. The Empress placed two goblets upon the table and from her flowing dress pulled out a small silver and black box. She removed a little white pill and dropped it into one of the goblets.
Ursula returned with the wine and the Empress took the flask from her, saying; "You have served me well my loyal friend, let me pour it for us." The Empress poured the wine and handed the goblet to her smiling maid. "A toast to our brothers and sisters." She said and drank down the wine - Ursula did the same. "Now retire, I need to write some letters." The Empress waved her maid away and watched her go; a little sad. She sat at her writing desk and picked up her quill, staring at the blank parchment before her. The moon was now shinning through the large window and she sighed; "Ursula will never see another one."
The Empress dipped her pen into the open ink well - shaped like a swan - and worked for an hour on her correspondence, sealing each letter with her great seal; pressed into warm, red wax. Finally, she finished and wrapped her arms about herself - the cold of night had crept upon her. Adam must succeeded she thought and stared again through the window; so many bloody deaths have followed that accursed little thing since it had been discovered. It must never again find its way into human hands - it must remain hidden for the sake of all humanity. The thoughts played in her head like a revolving wheel.
Aelia felt tiredness sweep over her and she walked to her bed; tired and a little sad. She would have Ursula buried with some honour - her maid had saved her life by testing the Greek wine before serving it to her mistress. Well. that's the story which would cover her death and end any questions into it. She slumped upon the bed, but lifted herself up reluctantly, as the commotion in the corridor, signalled the finding of Ursula's dead body.
The Empress wrapped a cloak of gold cloth about her tired body and made for the door. The charade must go on she reasoned and prepared herself to weep and mourn her loyal servant, who had made the ultimate sacrifice for her mistress. "So many bloody deaths - it must end." She said softly and called loudly for her guards to explain all the noise at this late hour.
2. THE VATICAN - AUGUST 2020AD.
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Angel-in-charge: Margret Team Assigned: Team 74
Human Time: 2020AD-1441AH Mission: 915002 - 9 - 2007
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| "JERICHO TIBBS AND THE TABLET OF CREATION. PART 1." |
MISSION SUMMARY: "The robbery at the Vatican Archives vault was only made public in error and it caused a sensation in the world's press and magazines. It even managed to get 'the Virus' off the news headlines! The Pope himself, had to make a statement that nothing of real value or historical significance had been taken - apparently the burglars had been disturbed. But that was far from the truth and Jericho Tibbs is tasked by Angel Margret to assist Papal investigators - From the 'Prayer of Liberty' department of the Vatican - to recover a very important artefact - the legendary and almost mythical; 'Tablet of Creation'. This holy piece of clay holds the key to Humanity's very existence - and its destruction!"
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| "ALXANDRA" Available: 18+ Only |
NOTES: This episode contains mild bad language and sexual references.
"This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead or actual events is purely coincidental." The Author.
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| 30 Min. |
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| Book series 2. |
"JERICHO TIBBS AND THE TABLET OF CREATION. PART 1."
1. JERUSALEM: 445AD.
The old man struggled to keep up with his young companion as they walked quickly and with some purpose, towards the street of Silversmiths. Both were wrapped in dark cloaks, the hoods pulled over their heads; they avoided any contact with the few people that were scattered around the almost deserted streets of the great city. Night was creeping in and most people were hurrying home. The streets were not that safe during the hours of darkness - despite the city guard being out in force.
Essius had to stop several times to allow his old friend Capus to catch up. Capus leaned upon his staff and took several breaths, but clutched the little box tightly to his chest, hidden beneath his thick cloak. Essius gently gripped the old man's shoulder with some affection. "It cannot be more than a few more minutes and we will be there." He spoke softly and constantly looked about. Capus nodded a few times and regained his breath and a little strength. "We will know the lady by her skin colour; dark like the night itself....she will show a wooden crucifix and ask if we're from him." He panted.
The young man smiled; "You have now told me four times my old friend. Calm yourself, we'll be there soon." The pair walked on and Essius gripped his friends arm, they passed three servant women hurrying home; carrying clothes and clay pots. They said nothing, but st5ared at the two men. Essius watched them disappear into the gathering gloom of the night. "Come on." He urged Capus and they turned into the street of the Silversmiths and saw the tall young woman standing in a closed shop's doorway. She gestured to them to come quickly.
They drew close to her and could see that she was an African woman of some obvious beauty. Essius smiled to himself; the Empress was known to have several such maids in her service. The men bowed a little, but remained silent. The woman lifted the hood of her cloak and smiled; "Are you from him?" She asked and held up a small, plain wooden crucifix. Both men nodded and the three disappeared into the dark shadows of the doorway.
The woman dragged a goatskin bag from under her cloak and pulled it open; "Place the box in here - quickly. The guards patrol this street just after sunset."
Capus nodded and with some reluctance produced the small wooden box and with trembling hands, placed it carefully into the small sack. He crossed himself [as did Essius] "You must tell your lady to never to actually handle it. For the power it contains will end everything, Do you understand - the end of everything?" The woman nodded and closed up her bag. She turned to go, when Capus with surprising speed, grabbed her arm; "She must never allow any humans to discover it; never - you must tell her that."
The woman pulled away and muttered; "I promise. Now go before your found out." The pair watched her walk quickly from the doorway and disappear down a nearby alley. Both stood in silence for a minute or so; their task done. Capius crossed himself again and whispered; "God help the Empress if she disobeys the sacred texts." Both men looked about and make their way back down the now deserted street.
Walking slowly and much relieved, they turned into the street of Winemakers and suddenly found a group of darkly dressed men standing before them. A tall, strong looking man stepped from the group and smiled. Essius could see a silver breastplate hidden below the black cloak and the last thing the young man saw was the bright sword. He managed to shout; "Sweet Jesus!...Help us!" But no help came and both lay in the dirt, little pools of thick red blood gathering around their still bodies.
Marcus [the tall guard] wiped his blade upon Capus's cloak , as did two of his men. "It's done. He said and gestured for his men to follow him, looking about the group vanished into the dark night. The bodies lay in the dirt for about an hour before being found by the city guard, who immediately searched the bodies and took anything of value from the dead men. They then called for a wagon to remove the corpse's from the street.
Ursula made her way back to the grand house that stood alone by the newly rebuilt South wall and entered through the servants entrance. The guard on the door knew the Empress's maid and just nodded. She passed across the hallway and another two guards watched her pass into the Empress's private apartments - again without comment. She found her Mistress pacing the floor of her bedchamber. "You have it?" Was all she asked her loyal maid and Ursula nodded and placed the bag into her mistress's outstretched hands.
"Check the door and corridor." Empress Aelia Eudokia Augusta spoke quietly and gently opened the bag, she waited until her maid gave the nod that all was correct. She slowly pulled the small wooden box from the bag and found her hands were trembling; "No one must ever find this again." She whispered and looked up as her maid returned to her side. Ursula looked at the box and did not smile; The old man said never to....." She didn't finish. The Empress sighed; "I do know what the ancient scripts warn about this. No human must ever discover it. I will see that it's lost from human history - for ever."
Ursula stared at the box; "Should we take just one little look at it?" There was real hesitation in her voice and added; "Just to check that we haven't been deceived?" The Empress nodded and carefully pulled up the stiff lid and placed it to one side. There was a cloth of gold in the box and the Empress slowly lifted it. Both women stared at the little object in absolute silence - both could hear the other breathing. "That is it." was all the Empress said and carefully replaced the cloth and the lid.
"Why not just smash it into a thousand pieces and then scatter them - that would surely rid the world of its knowledge and danger?" Ursula asked. The Empress almost smiled - but didn't. "Remember what happened to the children of Israel, when the Commandments were broken?" She said quietly and Ursula slowly nodded. "Well, magnify that a thousand times all across the children of man and you can understand why. God himself decreed that it remains intact."
"Fetch Adam - now." She ordered her maid, who departed quickly. The Empress replaced the box into the old bag and poured herself some wine. She sipped from her gold cup and waited, constantly looking at the goatskin bag. The number of people that had died preserving the secret was ridiculous, she thought to herself and sat upon a gilded chair by the window, to catch a cool evening breeze. No one would ever do so again - if her plan succeeded. She heard footsteps approaching her chamber and Ursula appeared in the doorway; "He's here my Lady." She said softly and Adam slipped past her into the room.
The Empress smiled and told Ursula to fetch Adam some wine. She pulled close to the strapping young man and gripped his arm. He was about six feet tall and broad shouldered with sandy blond hair and piecing green eyes - unusual for a man in this region. "You know your instructions?" She asked. The big man smiled; "Yes my Queen, convey the box to the 'Tin Isles' and our brothers in the South of that island. Hand the box only to Artorius of Durovernum Cantiacorum and then return by way of the Kingdom of the Franks." The Empress nodded and produced a bag of coin from her dress. "This will see that you travel well."
She released her grip and returned to her chair and finished her wine. Ursula handed the young man a cup of wine with a broad smile. He returned the smile and gulped down the wine. He bowed low to the Empress and threw the dark cloak about his broad shoulders; then snatched up the bag from the table. He said nothing more and was gone.
Ursula placed the empty cup down and sighed; "You have placed much trust in that young man my lady; are you that sure about him?" The Empress stared out the window and muttered; "Only the God's can be sure of anything." She rose from the chair and smiled; "Let us drink a toast to his mission - fetch that Greek wine I have set aside for such an occasion." Ursula grinned and left the room. The Empress placed two goblets upon the table and from her flowing dress pulled out a small silver and black box. She removed a little white pill and dropped it into one of the goblets.
Ursula returned with the wine and the Empress took the flask from her, saying; "You have served me well my loyal friend, let me pour it for us." The Empress poured the wine and handed the goblet to her smiling maid. "A toast to our brothers and sisters." She said and drank down the wine - Ursula did the same. "Now retire, I need to write some letters." The Empress waved her maid away and watched her go; a little sad. She sat at her writing desk and picked up her quill, staring at the blank parchment before her. The moon was now shinning through the large window and she sighed; "Ursula will never see another one."
The Empress dipped her pen into the open ink well - shaped like a swan - and worked for an hour on her correspondence, sealing each letter with her great seal; pressed into warm, red wax. Finally, she finished and wrapped her arms about herself - the cold of night had crept upon her. Adam must succeeded she thought and stared again through the window; so many bloody deaths have followed that accursed little thing since it had been discovered. It must never again find its way into human hands - it must remain hidden for the sake of all humanity. The thoughts played in her head like a revolving wheel.
Aelia felt tiredness sweep over her and she walked to her bed; tired and a little sad. She would have Ursula buried with some honour - her maid had saved her life by testing the Greek wine before serving it to her mistress. Well. that's the story which would cover her death and end any questions into it. She slumped upon the bed, but lifted herself up reluctantly, as the commotion in the corridor, signalled the finding of Ursula's dead body.
The Empress wrapped a cloak of gold cloth about her tired body and made for the door. The charade must go on she reasoned and prepared herself to weep and mourn her loyal servant, who had made the ultimate sacrifice for her mistress. "So many bloody deaths - it must end." She said softly and called loudly for her guards to explain all the noise at this late hour.
2. THE VATICAN - AUGUST 2020AD.
The holy father sat slumped in his ornate chair before the grand fireplace that gave no warmth, he had one hand placed across his face and said nothing. Cardinal Lorenzo shuffled his feet and licked dry lips; "Your Grace, maybe a statement of denial from yourself would end the media frenzy and close down any speculation about it...the accursed Tablet, I mean." He was sweating and felt distinctly uncomfortable, the message he had just relayed to the Pope would unsettle any one.
There was a soft knock and the Cardinal called for them to enter; it was Cardinal Frederick - head of the 'Prayer of Liberty' department, which was part of the 'Holy Inquisition'. The big man gripped a bundle of papers and stood by his colleague - grim faced and silent. The Pope dropped his hand and sighed loudly; "Brothers, you WILL make any and all efforts to retrieve it. Failure is not an option for us in this matter. It will be recovered and secured safely. Frederick, you will call upon all our resources to succeed in this; do you understand?"
Cardinal Frederick nodded; "If its humanly possible Holy Father, it will be done." The Pope stared at the fireplace and said quietly; "If that doesn't succeed, I will call upon a greater power for assistance, so dire is the situation we find ourselves in." The two Cardinal's exchanged concerned looks and Cardinal Frederick wiped sweat from his brow with the sleeves of his robes. "You mean to call upon..." He didn't finish - the look on the Holy Fathers face told him the answer to his unfinished question.
Both cardinals bowed a little and left the Holy Father to his thoughts. They stood in a quiet corner of the Pope's private office and Cardinal Lorenzo pulled out a cigarette and lit up. Frederick chided him; "You know that smoking is not welcome here." But Lorenzo continued to smoke; "Fuck that, I need one. Did you hear what he said? He will call upon them. You best find that fucking thing and quick." He breathed deeply and gestured to the staff - all staring at the two Cardinals - "They have no idea what could be unleased if the fucking thing falls into the wrong hands."
Frederick shuffled his papers; "The bastards took a lot of valuable things, all stuff that has a market value today. Real money. Maybe they will just discard the thing, thinking it's a valueless old piece of clay." Cardinal Lorenzo actually crossed himself; "I hope your fucking wrong about the bastards throwing it away; that would male it practically impossible to find. For God's sake man, what if they try and smash or burn it or something like that?"
It was Cardinal Frederick's turn to cross himself. Then Lorenzo did turn a little shade of white, he coughed and finished his cigarette; "What if the dark one turns up to recover it himself?" Both men crossed themselves - again. They stood in silence and Lorenzo threw his cigarette butt into a nearby pot plant and straightened his robes. "lets get to your office and try and work out some sort of plan." Frederick nodded and the pair walked to the door, but were stopped by a tall thin man with a terrible black wig balanced upon his head, who held up a single sheet of paper.
"Your Eminences, I have prepared a statement for the Holy Father to read out regarding the thefts." He sort of smiled, which aggravated both men. Cardinal Lorenzo snatched the paper and read it closely. "That's fine. We'll run with that." He said quietly and handed it to Frederick. The tall man coughed and seemed quite troubled, Lorenzo said; "What is it man?" The tall man didn't smile; "I have a difficulty...in that, parts of the statement are false, I mean not quite the truth, your Eminences. I cannot feel comfortable with the Holy Father saying something that is not quite the truth."
Lorenzo actually grinned; "So you believe, its the first time in Papal history that a Pope has said something that wasn't quite the truth!" Both men laughed and Frederick pushed the paper back into the man's hand and smiled; "Just give it to him my son." Lorenzo patted his shoulder and the cardinals walked away, leaving the tall man to knock at the Pope's door with a look of astonishment on his face.
The two cardinal's sat in Fredericks private office and drank whisky together, Lorenzo was reading each sheet of paper carefully and cursing upon occasion. "They even fucking stole St. Michael's dagger!" He shook his head and read another sheet. Frederick leaned back in his chair and sipped his whisky; "The bastards took Rasputin's crucifix, now that's worth a few Euro's - if you live long enough to sell it." He chuckled at that; he wouldn't want that bloody thing if it came wrapped in gold bars. A knock at the door disturbed their thoughts and Frederick yelled; "Enter!"
Old Franco, Cardinal Frederick's personal secretary crept in and whispered for some minutes into the cardinal's ear. He rose slowly and dismissed Franco. He smiled, well grinned actually. "What's up now?" Lorenzo asked, finishing both his whisky and the cigarette that accompanied it. Frederick blew his nose into a crisp white hankie; "There's been an explosion at a warehouse down town. Three bodies were discovered in the debris, but what's more important was the recovery of a Jewelled dagger - St. Michael's dagger I believe." Lorenzo jumped to his feet and both men pulled on coats and hats, then headed to the door. "Franco, get my bloody car!" Frederick shouted.
That evening both men sat at the Pope's private dinner table and drank wine. The Holy Father was not a happy man. The story that his two loyal and trusted cardinal's had imparted over dinner, had taken away his appetite somewhat. He sat, hands clasped together and considered their words. Finally, he sipped some wine and spoke quietly; "So, the police discovered three bodies in the ruins, one woman and two men - still unidentified. They recovered various papal artefacts including the dagger of Saint Michael. But not that damn tablet. They cannot - as yet - identify what actually caused the explosion, except it was powerful enough to totally level a large two story warehouse - completely." He grunted and Lorenzo refilled his glass.
"That's not the worst of it Holy Father." Frederick finally said, exchanging a look with Lorenzo, who also refilled their glasses. He pushed a large brown envelope to the Holy Father and sighed; "It appears there was a forth person...I use that term loosely, at the warehouse when it went up." He tapped the envelope and continued; "You won't believe the favours I had to call in...and the money paid out to prevent them appearing on every news channel in the world." The Pope pulled open the envelope and studied each picture in turn. He slumped in his dinning chair and actually crossed himself. Both cardinal's knew that was a bad sign - he rarely did that in private.
Frederick held up his hands and said softly; "The footprints lead away from the warehouse in soft ground to a nearby railway track, then disappear. All's fine at first; they are shoeprints of a large man, walking fast, but not running. Then they change into.....well; you can see by the final two pictures what they change into." The Pope placed his spectacles upon his nose and studied the final two prints. He placed them down and closed his eyes tightly, then re-opened them. "Cloven feet. A three toed demon."
"They vanish totally at the railway tracks. Just disappear despite the ground being soft as porridge there." Lorenzo sipped his wine and stared at the pictures spread over the dinning table. The Holy Father placed both hands over his face and thought deeply for a few seconds; "Well gentlemen, we now have no real choices. I will ask for assistance from himself. Our own people would be practically powerless against a strong minion of the Dark Prince." He dropped his hands and smiled at Frederick; "You will take charge of this...incident and their visit. Thank you brothers." He rose, as did his two cardinal's and with bowed head, made his way to his private chambers.
Lorenzo and Frederick stood in silence and finished their wine; "Officially, the shit has hit the Papal fan - big time." Frederick muttered with quite a grim face. Both men walked to the door and accepted their coats from the Pope's personal servant; Roland. They walked down the grand staircase and made for their official car. "Back to the office, we're working late tonight." Frederick told his driver and the car pulled away.
"Who do you think he'll send?" Lorenzo finally said, looking out of the darkened windows at the busy streets of Rome. Frederick sighed; "Probably their best; Underhill would be my choice. But that damn woman - if you can call it that anymore - would also be right up there. He could always sent Tibbs. Yes, I think he'll send Tibbs - he's about the best they have."
Lorenzo groaned; "My predecessor had to deal with him some years ago. He's fucking good - as you say - the best. But what a fucking ego." Both men lapsed into silence and the journey continued without further comment. Frederick's mobile phone buzzed and he answered it slowly; it was Franco. He said yes a couple of times and grunted a goodbye. He turned to Lorenzo, who was lighting yet another cigarette and said simply; "Their here. Its Tibbs."
3. THE DARK POPE.
There was a soft knock and the Cardinal called for them to enter; it was Cardinal Frederick - head of the 'Prayer of Liberty' department, which was part of the 'Holy Inquisition'. The big man gripped a bundle of papers and stood by his colleague - grim faced and silent. The Pope dropped his hand and sighed loudly; "Brothers, you WILL make any and all efforts to retrieve it. Failure is not an option for us in this matter. It will be recovered and secured safely. Frederick, you will call upon all our resources to succeed in this; do you understand?"
Cardinal Frederick nodded; "If its humanly possible Holy Father, it will be done." The Pope stared at the fireplace and said quietly; "If that doesn't succeed, I will call upon a greater power for assistance, so dire is the situation we find ourselves in." The two Cardinal's exchanged concerned looks and Cardinal Frederick wiped sweat from his brow with the sleeves of his robes. "You mean to call upon..." He didn't finish - the look on the Holy Fathers face told him the answer to his unfinished question.
Both cardinals bowed a little and left the Holy Father to his thoughts. They stood in a quiet corner of the Pope's private office and Cardinal Lorenzo pulled out a cigarette and lit up. Frederick chided him; "You know that smoking is not welcome here." But Lorenzo continued to smoke; "Fuck that, I need one. Did you hear what he said? He will call upon them. You best find that fucking thing and quick." He breathed deeply and gestured to the staff - all staring at the two Cardinals - "They have no idea what could be unleased if the fucking thing falls into the wrong hands."
Frederick shuffled his papers; "The bastards took a lot of valuable things, all stuff that has a market value today. Real money. Maybe they will just discard the thing, thinking it's a valueless old piece of clay." Cardinal Lorenzo actually crossed himself; "I hope your fucking wrong about the bastards throwing it away; that would male it practically impossible to find. For God's sake man, what if they try and smash or burn it or something like that?"
It was Cardinal Frederick's turn to cross himself. Then Lorenzo did turn a little shade of white, he coughed and finished his cigarette; "What if the dark one turns up to recover it himself?" Both men crossed themselves - again. They stood in silence and Lorenzo threw his cigarette butt into a nearby pot plant and straightened his robes. "lets get to your office and try and work out some sort of plan." Frederick nodded and the pair walked to the door, but were stopped by a tall thin man with a terrible black wig balanced upon his head, who held up a single sheet of paper.
"Your Eminences, I have prepared a statement for the Holy Father to read out regarding the thefts." He sort of smiled, which aggravated both men. Cardinal Lorenzo snatched the paper and read it closely. "That's fine. We'll run with that." He said quietly and handed it to Frederick. The tall man coughed and seemed quite troubled, Lorenzo said; "What is it man?" The tall man didn't smile; "I have a difficulty...in that, parts of the statement are false, I mean not quite the truth, your Eminences. I cannot feel comfortable with the Holy Father saying something that is not quite the truth."
Lorenzo actually grinned; "So you believe, its the first time in Papal history that a Pope has said something that wasn't quite the truth!" Both men laughed and Frederick pushed the paper back into the man's hand and smiled; "Just give it to him my son." Lorenzo patted his shoulder and the cardinals walked away, leaving the tall man to knock at the Pope's door with a look of astonishment on his face.
The two cardinal's sat in Fredericks private office and drank whisky together, Lorenzo was reading each sheet of paper carefully and cursing upon occasion. "They even fucking stole St. Michael's dagger!" He shook his head and read another sheet. Frederick leaned back in his chair and sipped his whisky; "The bastards took Rasputin's crucifix, now that's worth a few Euro's - if you live long enough to sell it." He chuckled at that; he wouldn't want that bloody thing if it came wrapped in gold bars. A knock at the door disturbed their thoughts and Frederick yelled; "Enter!"
Old Franco, Cardinal Frederick's personal secretary crept in and whispered for some minutes into the cardinal's ear. He rose slowly and dismissed Franco. He smiled, well grinned actually. "What's up now?" Lorenzo asked, finishing both his whisky and the cigarette that accompanied it. Frederick blew his nose into a crisp white hankie; "There's been an explosion at a warehouse down town. Three bodies were discovered in the debris, but what's more important was the recovery of a Jewelled dagger - St. Michael's dagger I believe." Lorenzo jumped to his feet and both men pulled on coats and hats, then headed to the door. "Franco, get my bloody car!" Frederick shouted.
That evening both men sat at the Pope's private dinner table and drank wine. The Holy Father was not a happy man. The story that his two loyal and trusted cardinal's had imparted over dinner, had taken away his appetite somewhat. He sat, hands clasped together and considered their words. Finally, he sipped some wine and spoke quietly; "So, the police discovered three bodies in the ruins, one woman and two men - still unidentified. They recovered various papal artefacts including the dagger of Saint Michael. But not that damn tablet. They cannot - as yet - identify what actually caused the explosion, except it was powerful enough to totally level a large two story warehouse - completely." He grunted and Lorenzo refilled his glass.
"That's not the worst of it Holy Father." Frederick finally said, exchanging a look with Lorenzo, who also refilled their glasses. He pushed a large brown envelope to the Holy Father and sighed; "It appears there was a forth person...I use that term loosely, at the warehouse when it went up." He tapped the envelope and continued; "You won't believe the favours I had to call in...and the money paid out to prevent them appearing on every news channel in the world." The Pope pulled open the envelope and studied each picture in turn. He slumped in his dinning chair and actually crossed himself. Both cardinal's knew that was a bad sign - he rarely did that in private.
Frederick held up his hands and said softly; "The footprints lead away from the warehouse in soft ground to a nearby railway track, then disappear. All's fine at first; they are shoeprints of a large man, walking fast, but not running. Then they change into.....well; you can see by the final two pictures what they change into." The Pope placed his spectacles upon his nose and studied the final two prints. He placed them down and closed his eyes tightly, then re-opened them. "Cloven feet. A three toed demon."
"They vanish totally at the railway tracks. Just disappear despite the ground being soft as porridge there." Lorenzo sipped his wine and stared at the pictures spread over the dinning table. The Holy Father placed both hands over his face and thought deeply for a few seconds; "Well gentlemen, we now have no real choices. I will ask for assistance from himself. Our own people would be practically powerless against a strong minion of the Dark Prince." He dropped his hands and smiled at Frederick; "You will take charge of this...incident and their visit. Thank you brothers." He rose, as did his two cardinal's and with bowed head, made his way to his private chambers.
Lorenzo and Frederick stood in silence and finished their wine; "Officially, the shit has hit the Papal fan - big time." Frederick muttered with quite a grim face. Both men walked to the door and accepted their coats from the Pope's personal servant; Roland. They walked down the grand staircase and made for their official car. "Back to the office, we're working late tonight." Frederick told his driver and the car pulled away.
"Who do you think he'll send?" Lorenzo finally said, looking out of the darkened windows at the busy streets of Rome. Frederick sighed; "Probably their best; Underhill would be my choice. But that damn woman - if you can call it that anymore - would also be right up there. He could always sent Tibbs. Yes, I think he'll send Tibbs - he's about the best they have."
Lorenzo groaned; "My predecessor had to deal with him some years ago. He's fucking good - as you say - the best. But what a fucking ego." Both men lapsed into silence and the journey continued without further comment. Frederick's mobile phone buzzed and he answered it slowly; it was Franco. He said yes a couple of times and grunted a goodbye. He turned to Lorenzo, who was lighting yet another cigarette and said simply; "Their here. Its Tibbs."
3. THE DARK POPE.
Jericho tried to look official and a little angry, but just had to smile; "This is not a sightseeing trip Alexandra, come and sit down. A little dignified and lady like behaviour is appropriate I think - considering where we are." He sighed as he watched Alex posing in front of a large painting and Owen snapped her with his mirror. She was wearing a stunning cream coloured suit with a short skirt and a glorious hat. Wilson, sitting next to Jericho, on the bright red and well upholstered sofa just chuckled.
A couple of papal officials walked past, they stopped and stared at the vision sitting on the sofa with her three companions, one turned to the another and smiled; "Must be a foreign princess or something." They walked on - that made Owen laugh; "If only they knew - princess my bum." He said quietly and received a gentle slap from Alex; who smiled.
The Pope's private secretary appeared and asked the team to follow him; he really did smile at Alex, who adjusted her short skirt and walked with grace behind him. The other three just sighed and followed her. It wasn't everyday that humble Temporal Detectives had a private audience with the Pope.
That evening, they sat in the hotel restaurant at a quiet corner table and enjoyed a grand dinner. Alex was receiving a lot of attention from males; she was dressed in a stunning white evening gown - quite low cut and was wearing a pearl choker necklace; actually, she did look like a real princess - but none of her colleagues would tell her that!
Jericho hadn't objected to her efforts - after all, as he explained to Wilson; "When in Rome....." That did make Wilson smile and he sipped his wine with some relish. Owen had finished his drinks and waited with a little impatience to brief the team with his findings. They waited for the restaurant to empty out before getting down to work - some serious money had passed between the hotel manager and Jericho to allow them to remain after closing.
Finally, when alone in the sumptuous room, Jericho nodded for Owen to commence. Everyone was surprised when Alex suddenly produced a fine bottle of brandy from under the table. "How did you get the waiter to leave that?" Owen asked, then saw Jericho and Wilson shaking their heads and grinning. Alex just shrugged her shoulders; "I just smiled at the nice young man and asked if he would get me a good bottle - and he did!" She exclaimed, then added with a big grin; "I told him to charge it to Jericho's account." That made everyone laugh - including Jericho.
Alex poured the brandy into everyone's glasses and Owen consulted his mirror; "Firstly, the explosion was NOT caused by the robbers tossing the tablet into a pot-bellied stove. It was a very sophisticated explosive; the type a government would employ or some rich bugger who could pay for such equipment and the people skilled enough to use it - only the woman's soul was collected - and so we know who she was; the two men's souls are missing and they remain unidentified for the moment. We need to actually see the bodies and check with our mirrors. Human records will identify them, even if they came from another time." Owen sipped his brandy and tapped his mirror.
"The woman is an American, from Washington DC and apparently has used several identities over her short span of human life. She was 28 in human years, white and quite physically fit - must have worked out regularly. She had one infant son, who's now being looked after by his father; some scientist working for the government. Her current name was Isabella Cassinni and she arrived in Rome just days before the robbery. Here's the real interesting bit and you'll love this; she worked for the NSA, which means she was undercover - maybe. The American Authorities will deny any knowledge of her, as they usually do, when an operative dies under deep cover. "
"So we have US government involvement in this, why am I not surprised." Jericho muttered and ran his hands through his dark hair. "We already have two on-going scenarios for this; one, the US government was behind the robbery or, two, they had an operative infiltrate the gang and was trying to stop it happening - they failed in that case - obviously." Jericho took a sip from his glass and replaced it on the table. Wilson nodded; "There could be a third scenario; they were allowing the gang to succeed, to obtain something from the vault, that they wanted; desperately and just couldn't ask the Pope for."
Alex sat back in her chair and said quietly; "The major problem could be those footprints. If a minion of the Dark Prince is involved, what would be his role in all this? I mean, if the Devil wanted the tablet, he would surely have just taken it from the vaults - that wouldn't be a problem for him." Owen agreed with that; "He could have just waltzed into the vaults and removed it, he didn't need to organise a bloody robbery for it?"
Wilson sighed; "I think the gang stole other stuff to mask what they were really after - the Tablet. But who would want to take possession of such a terrible thing; unless they wanted to hold all of humanity to ransom."
Owen sat quietly reading his mirror; "I've ran through what was taken and there's nothing of such importance, that its release would cause civil unrest amongst the Human population of this era. We were called because of the powers that the tablet can invoke. Since it was created, there have been numerous deaths surrounding the damn thing. The Church's sole aim was too keep it away from Humanity - for all time."
There was silence for a good minute, then Jericho almost whispered; "The fucking Dark Pope - that's who the demon would pass it onto, if it wasn't handed to the Dark Prince." Alex folded her arms and asked; "Who the hell is the Dark Pope?" Owen chuckled and held up his mirror; "This fucker." He said simply. Everyone looked at the picture he held up. "He's one of the wealthiest men on the planet - in this era - and we all know, that you don't get that sort of money and power without a little dark help." Owen smiled and added; "Guess where he is right now?" Wilson sighed and leaned back in his chair; "Rome." was all he said. Owen nodded and shrugged his shoulders; "Now that's a real co-incidence isn't it?"
Jericho decided to call it a day; they would visit the morgue tomorrow that contained the remains of the two male robbers and identify them. They all rose from the table but didn't leave because they had an unexpected guest turn up in the closed room. It was James - a Knight of God - and he certainly wasn't smiling. He walked over and shook hands with Jericho and Alex offered him a glass of brandy - which he - unusually - declined.
He gestured for everyone to sit and he dropped into the seat next to Alex and loosed his black jacket. "There's been a really bad development and I've been sent as back-up - if needed." He really wasn't smiling and the team knew that was a bad sign. He clasped his hands together and said quietly; "Operation Eden has been called."
Everyone sat in shocked silence; 'Operation Eden' was used when Armageddon was likely to occur - it was the top warning level; the next one up was unthinkable; Armageddon itself. James pushed a hand across his face; "The warning was issued just minutes ago - in human time - it appears that himself and his damn brother have fallen out over something and the Dark Prince is calling up his Angels; so himself was forced to gather his forces. This is bloody serious - the last time we had 'Operation Eden' was when their father stood down and retired. The unthinkable nearly happened then, now we have a real bloody crisis like that on our hands."
No-one could think of anything to say; the end result of Armageddon would be obliteration of all creation - everything would be gone - creation would turn to darkness. James bowed his head for a few seconds then looked up; "There is one big hope; their sister Florence is attempting to mediate between her two brothers and to say everyone is waiting on that....well, you can imagine."
Jericho gestured towards Alex's illicit brandy bottle; "Well, I think we all need a bloody drink." Alex poured the last of the bottle in everyone's glasses - James agreed this time - and he lifted his and said simply; "Florence." They would all certainly drink to that. The silence in the room was palatable, then Alex noticed the look on James's face - he was receiving instructions or a message. Suddenly all their mirrors started to buzz. They grabbed them up: it was showing a message that was being circulated to all staff.
Jericho lowered his mirror and sighed loudly with real deep relief. It appears that Florence had succeeded in getting her brothers to see sense and the rival forces were standing down, pending a face to face meeting between the brothers. Alex brushed tears from her face and said softly: "Thank God for her." No-one across the entire spectrum of existence would disagree with her sentiments.
James managed a smile; "So its business as usual, and since you reported a top demon could be lurking around the place, I'll hang around." Everyone laughed - mostly with sheer relief.
4. NSA AND THE DEVIL.
The team were driven to the private, guarded morgue in two black SV's, complete with police escort. James sat waving, like the English Queen, from the rear seats to anyone who stared at the vehicles and its occupants. That made Alex and Owen chuckle [Jericho and Wilson were in the first vehicle]. They arrived outside the morgue to find two black SV's, similar to their own, parked in the small driveway. James smiled; "NSA." He said simply.
Jericho and Wilson approached the two agents standing by the glass doors to the Medical centre and shook hands all round. Alex had to chuckle; "They're both wearing black suits, white shirts, black ties and sunglasses. Why don't they just hang a sign around their necks saying; NSA?" James stood by the van and sighed; "No doubt their here to make sure, that no-one in the press or Italian Government knows about their Miss Isabella Cassinni." Owen nodded at that.
Alex leaned forward in her seat, watching the conversation between Jericho and the NSA agents, she turned to Owen, but something caught her eyes at the top of the driveway. Standing next to a couple of police officers sitting astride their powerful bikes, was a tall, well built figure in a black coat and hood.
She watched as the figure, hands in pockets, appeared to be talking to the two officers. She watched carefully as he kept staring down towards them. "Well. their on the way in." Owen said to James, who was leaning through the open passenger window. Alex tapped James on the shoulder and discretely gestured towards the top of the driveway and the man in the hood. " James, I think I recognise that face - despite his attempt to hide under the bloody hood." James turned slightly and suddenly stopped; he certainly didn't need an orb, to tell him when a powerful minion of the Dark Prince was around.
"Bloody Ceebrus! " James muttered and turned fully, but Alex gripped his shoulder; "James you can't transform here, not with a crowd like that. But it confirms something big is up...." She never finished speaking, because Ceebrus was gesturing for James to Join him! The demon stood quietly to one side as James approached him - very carefully. They stood a couple of feet apart and spoke quietly with each other.
Owen tapped Alex; "Wilson's in the doorway - we're wanted. Come on." The pair left the van slowly and Alex glanced backwards to see James returning to them. Owen waved at him and James sauntered over and the four entered the medical centre. Wilson stood by the door and tapped his mirror; "The two dead men are from 2058. Both Scientists in their era. Not trained burglars - unless, they practised house-breaking as a hobby. Another pair from that bloody project that's causing us so much trouble."
He turned to James; "Jericho wants you to recall their souls. A collector is on the way." James nodded; only a Knight of God or an Angel had those kind of powers. " I think they have been gone too long, but I'll try. I certainly have something to tell Jericho - and the rest of you - of course." He said quietly and headed for the morgue.
Alex and Owen explained about the appearance of their old foe; Ceebrus and the odd meeting that just took place between him and James. Wilson rubbed his chin; "Something big is fucking up. Anyone else think it's bit of a co-incidence that the Tablet of Creation surfaces again, after almost sixteen hundred human years and a major demon turns up - not to fight, but talk!"
Alex nodded and said softly; "And we had an 'Operation Eden' called , whilst all this is happening - what the hell did the two brothers fall out over?" Owen looked quite grim - unusual for him - he stared down the empty white corridor and sighed; "I have a feeling that the Vatican was hiding something else in that basement vault. Something that those buggers from the future were really after, because they certainly weren't after the tablet; were they?"
Alex sighed; "Ceebrus is now a Tier One Demon, the bugger has been promoted. Good job we have James is with us - a Guardian would now be out of their depth, with Ceebrus now."
Wilson said nothing - he was reading his mirror. "Come on, Jericho wants us. The two souls could not be recalled; it was far too late, the dozy buggers are lost in the darkness now." The little group headed for the morgue - passing the two NSA agents - grim faced and saying nothing. "Charming." Muttered Owen as the team watched the two agents return to their vans - without saying a word to the Temporal Detectives.
They arrived at the morgue in time to see Jericho returning the bodies to the morgue fridges. He looked really concerned. James sighed and gathered the team about him. He stood looking at the bright clean floor for a few seconds and then placed his hands on his hips and look a deep breath.
"The Dark Side doesn't have the tablet. The Demon Ceebrus was sent to retrieve it, but it wasn't there - he came away empty handed. He believes that the tablet was already gone, when the three burglars got to the warehouse. That's why he called a truce with me. His master wanted us to know that, as gesture of goodwill to his brother; our Boss'. That's what the pair fell out about until Florence convinced our Boss that his brother wasn't lying." James folded his arms; "It appears that someone else has the tablet or it was already missing from the Vatican Archives before the burglary ever took place."
Jericho leaned against the cold white wall behind him; "Our friends from the NSA inform us that their Agent - the unfortunate woman - had informed them that the Time-Travellers were after the 'De Vinci' papers stored there. They had been sent back to retrieve the papers or photograph them before a disastrous fire destroys part of the Archives in 2031. We know, from her soul, that They took several other items to cover their true quarry; the tablet was not amongst them. Either the Vatican is lying to us and still has it or it was already gone."
"What's so important about the clay tablet?" Owen asked, now intrigued, like his colleagues. James sighed; "Hang onto your hats; the bloody tablet gave directions to the source of Divine life on Earth. For want of a better expression, it shows the location of the machine that controls everything in existence on this little planet." Jericho ran a hand over his face; "The machine is the sole reason that life - as we know it - exists on this planet. Without it, Earth would be exactly the same as all its neighbours - a dead rock floating in a vacuum."
James added; "He's grandfather [pointing a finger upwards] placed it here, billions of human years ago - to control the evolution of the planet - and I mean every living thing that exists here; including us humans." Owen folded his arms; "So God found a dead, rocky planet and terra- formed it; for all living creatures - including us - that he was to create."
James nodded; "Its still functioning to this day; obviously." Alex had said nothing, she was taking in what the mysterious machine was capable of.
"Why the fuck did those fuckwits in the future, never hear of the Tablet of Creation - after all, its the bloody machine that keeps everyone and everything alive?" Owen finally said and shook his head in disbelief. James looked quite grim; "They probably just didn't believe such a thing could exist. Religion is on its last legs in 2058 and there's not many mysteries left in that world of the future. They simply couldn't believe in such a story."
Jericho added - unsmiling; "The NSA's forensic team has established that the warehouse had been wired up to explode. Which means that someone did know about the burglary before it happened and waited with a deadly trap for when they returned - except they didn't have the tablet - if that's what they were after."
"Should the tablet fall into the wrong hands and that person or persons locates the 'Creation Machine' we [humanity] could be in big trouble. If they interfere with the damn machine - in any way - they could simply end all life on this planet and return everything to darkness." James spoke quietly and stared back at the floor.
"So what the hell has happened to the damn thing?" Alex finally asked. "That's what we have to find out. Ceebrus was sent because the Dark Prince could totally trust him. Unless we can recover the tablet - and pretty bloody quickly - that's the future of mankind; darkness." James confided to the team, that's why the demon had desperately wanted only to talk. "The Dark Prince has sent his own team to assist us. I thought I'd leave that bit to last." He smiled and stuck both hands in his pockets. "The entire future of life on earth could be threatened, so the Prince is helping - as a gesture of goodwill." He added.
Again, there was silence until a concerned Alex spoke; "Why did it have to be him? Bloody Ceebrus saw me naked; I showed him my private bits for God sake!" She really didn't understand why everyone started to laugh.
5. THE DARK TEAM.
"We have a busy day ahead, firstly we have a meeting with Cardinal Frederick - Head of the Prayer of Liberty - about why the tablet wasn't in the vault. That should be really interesting. Then, Ceebrus and his team will drop by to see how they can assist. Now that could be interesting and difficult. Only James and myself have teamed up with the Dark Side before. You need to be on your best behaviour people." Jericho sipped his coffee and stared across the breakfast table at his team, he smiled at the look upon Alex's face. Wilson was trying to make her feel better about Ceebrus seeing her naked, by pointing out that they were all naked at the time - well, except Owen of course.
"You'll just have to put the Hobbs Abbey experience behind you. I'm sure Ceebrus will not mention it." Wilson finished his coffee and smiled, adding; "Too much." Alex stirred her coffee and said nothing. Owen didn't help by sniggering each time Hobbs Abbey came up.
James wiped his mouth with the stiff, clean napkin and smiled; "Ceebrus will be assisted by Delphi and Michael. Delphi is quite a stunner, back in human form and she possess 'clear sight'. Michael is bit of an eccentric character for a devotee of the Dark Prince, they say he makes Sherlock Holmes look like Mr. Bean. He was a former Detective Inspector in some British Police Force - when alive - and he apparently very good at it." Alex looked up from her cup and asked; "What is 'Clear Sight?"
"She can see straight through any living human and see exactly what they desire, even what they're really thinking apparently. She could be very useful, when me meet the Cardinal." James replied, turning to Jericho, who nodded.
"James and I will host Ceebrus, Wilson and Owen will host Michael, and Alexandra, you can look after Delphi. Wilson and Owen can also team up with the staff from the Prayer of Liberty and NSA. That's about it folks, except; watch yourselves around our guests and always remember who they serve - even during this little truce." Jericho placed his cup down and everyone headed back to their rooms. They would meet up in the Hotel foyer in ten minutes.
A couple of papal officials walked past, they stopped and stared at the vision sitting on the sofa with her three companions, one turned to the another and smiled; "Must be a foreign princess or something." They walked on - that made Owen laugh; "If only they knew - princess my bum." He said quietly and received a gentle slap from Alex; who smiled.
The Pope's private secretary appeared and asked the team to follow him; he really did smile at Alex, who adjusted her short skirt and walked with grace behind him. The other three just sighed and followed her. It wasn't everyday that humble Temporal Detectives had a private audience with the Pope.
That evening, they sat in the hotel restaurant at a quiet corner table and enjoyed a grand dinner. Alex was receiving a lot of attention from males; she was dressed in a stunning white evening gown - quite low cut and was wearing a pearl choker necklace; actually, she did look like a real princess - but none of her colleagues would tell her that!
Jericho hadn't objected to her efforts - after all, as he explained to Wilson; "When in Rome....." That did make Wilson smile and he sipped his wine with some relish. Owen had finished his drinks and waited with a little impatience to brief the team with his findings. They waited for the restaurant to empty out before getting down to work - some serious money had passed between the hotel manager and Jericho to allow them to remain after closing.
Finally, when alone in the sumptuous room, Jericho nodded for Owen to commence. Everyone was surprised when Alex suddenly produced a fine bottle of brandy from under the table. "How did you get the waiter to leave that?" Owen asked, then saw Jericho and Wilson shaking their heads and grinning. Alex just shrugged her shoulders; "I just smiled at the nice young man and asked if he would get me a good bottle - and he did!" She exclaimed, then added with a big grin; "I told him to charge it to Jericho's account." That made everyone laugh - including Jericho.
Alex poured the brandy into everyone's glasses and Owen consulted his mirror; "Firstly, the explosion was NOT caused by the robbers tossing the tablet into a pot-bellied stove. It was a very sophisticated explosive; the type a government would employ or some rich bugger who could pay for such equipment and the people skilled enough to use it - only the woman's soul was collected - and so we know who she was; the two men's souls are missing and they remain unidentified for the moment. We need to actually see the bodies and check with our mirrors. Human records will identify them, even if they came from another time." Owen sipped his brandy and tapped his mirror.
"The woman is an American, from Washington DC and apparently has used several identities over her short span of human life. She was 28 in human years, white and quite physically fit - must have worked out regularly. She had one infant son, who's now being looked after by his father; some scientist working for the government. Her current name was Isabella Cassinni and she arrived in Rome just days before the robbery. Here's the real interesting bit and you'll love this; she worked for the NSA, which means she was undercover - maybe. The American Authorities will deny any knowledge of her, as they usually do, when an operative dies under deep cover. "
"So we have US government involvement in this, why am I not surprised." Jericho muttered and ran his hands through his dark hair. "We already have two on-going scenarios for this; one, the US government was behind the robbery or, two, they had an operative infiltrate the gang and was trying to stop it happening - they failed in that case - obviously." Jericho took a sip from his glass and replaced it on the table. Wilson nodded; "There could be a third scenario; they were allowing the gang to succeed, to obtain something from the vault, that they wanted; desperately and just couldn't ask the Pope for."
Alex sat back in her chair and said quietly; "The major problem could be those footprints. If a minion of the Dark Prince is involved, what would be his role in all this? I mean, if the Devil wanted the tablet, he would surely have just taken it from the vaults - that wouldn't be a problem for him." Owen agreed with that; "He could have just waltzed into the vaults and removed it, he didn't need to organise a bloody robbery for it?"
Wilson sighed; "I think the gang stole other stuff to mask what they were really after - the Tablet. But who would want to take possession of such a terrible thing; unless they wanted to hold all of humanity to ransom."
Owen sat quietly reading his mirror; "I've ran through what was taken and there's nothing of such importance, that its release would cause civil unrest amongst the Human population of this era. We were called because of the powers that the tablet can invoke. Since it was created, there have been numerous deaths surrounding the damn thing. The Church's sole aim was too keep it away from Humanity - for all time."
"If the bloody thing is back in the hands of the Dark Prince, then do we have a real problem? I mean, it out of circulation from humanity - isn't it?" Alex refilled the team's glasses and sat back in her chair. Jericho grunted; "Unless the whole thing was arranged to get the damn tablet back in circulation."
Wilson leaned on the table with both arms and looked quite grim; "I think Jericho is near to the truth there; the robbery was just a cover to get the tablet back out there. The bloody minion was probably on hand to recover it - after the robbers had discarded it. The demon would have known, it could not be destroyed by humans, so all it had to do was wait. The whole thing would be tied up in nice ribbons with the gang dead. But what would the demon do with the tablet - who would he hand it to?"
There was silence for a good minute, then Jericho almost whispered; "The fucking Dark Pope - that's who the demon would pass it onto, if it wasn't handed to the Dark Prince." Alex folded her arms and asked; "Who the hell is the Dark Pope?" Owen chuckled and held up his mirror; "This fucker." He said simply. Everyone looked at the picture he held up. "He's one of the wealthiest men on the planet - in this era - and we all know, that you don't get that sort of money and power without a little dark help." Owen smiled and added; "Guess where he is right now?" Wilson sighed and leaned back in his chair; "Rome." was all he said. Owen nodded and shrugged his shoulders; "Now that's a real co-incidence isn't it?"
Jericho decided to call it a day; they would visit the morgue tomorrow that contained the remains of the two male robbers and identify them. They all rose from the table but didn't leave because they had an unexpected guest turn up in the closed room. It was James - a Knight of God - and he certainly wasn't smiling. He walked over and shook hands with Jericho and Alex offered him a glass of brandy - which he - unusually - declined.
He gestured for everyone to sit and he dropped into the seat next to Alex and loosed his black jacket. "There's been a really bad development and I've been sent as back-up - if needed." He really wasn't smiling and the team knew that was a bad sign. He clasped his hands together and said quietly; "Operation Eden has been called."
Everyone sat in shocked silence; 'Operation Eden' was used when Armageddon was likely to occur - it was the top warning level; the next one up was unthinkable; Armageddon itself. James pushed a hand across his face; "The warning was issued just minutes ago - in human time - it appears that himself and his damn brother have fallen out over something and the Dark Prince is calling up his Angels; so himself was forced to gather his forces. This is bloody serious - the last time we had 'Operation Eden' was when their father stood down and retired. The unthinkable nearly happened then, now we have a real bloody crisis like that on our hands."
No-one could think of anything to say; the end result of Armageddon would be obliteration of all creation - everything would be gone - creation would turn to darkness. James bowed his head for a few seconds then looked up; "There is one big hope; their sister Florence is attempting to mediate between her two brothers and to say everyone is waiting on that....well, you can imagine."
Jericho gestured towards Alex's illicit brandy bottle; "Well, I think we all need a bloody drink." Alex poured the last of the bottle in everyone's glasses - James agreed this time - and he lifted his and said simply; "Florence." They would all certainly drink to that. The silence in the room was palatable, then Alex noticed the look on James's face - he was receiving instructions or a message. Suddenly all their mirrors started to buzz. They grabbed them up: it was showing a message that was being circulated to all staff.
Jericho lowered his mirror and sighed loudly with real deep relief. It appears that Florence had succeeded in getting her brothers to see sense and the rival forces were standing down, pending a face to face meeting between the brothers. Alex brushed tears from her face and said softly: "Thank God for her." No-one across the entire spectrum of existence would disagree with her sentiments.
James managed a smile; "So its business as usual, and since you reported a top demon could be lurking around the place, I'll hang around." Everyone laughed - mostly with sheer relief.
4. NSA AND THE DEVIL.
The team were driven to the private, guarded morgue in two black SV's, complete with police escort. James sat waving, like the English Queen, from the rear seats to anyone who stared at the vehicles and its occupants. That made Alex and Owen chuckle [Jericho and Wilson were in the first vehicle]. They arrived outside the morgue to find two black SV's, similar to their own, parked in the small driveway. James smiled; "NSA." He said simply.
Jericho and Wilson approached the two agents standing by the glass doors to the Medical centre and shook hands all round. Alex had to chuckle; "They're both wearing black suits, white shirts, black ties and sunglasses. Why don't they just hang a sign around their necks saying; NSA?" James stood by the van and sighed; "No doubt their here to make sure, that no-one in the press or Italian Government knows about their Miss Isabella Cassinni." Owen nodded at that.
Alex leaned forward in her seat, watching the conversation between Jericho and the NSA agents, she turned to Owen, but something caught her eyes at the top of the driveway. Standing next to a couple of police officers sitting astride their powerful bikes, was a tall, well built figure in a black coat and hood.
She watched as the figure, hands in pockets, appeared to be talking to the two officers. She watched carefully as he kept staring down towards them. "Well. their on the way in." Owen said to James, who was leaning through the open passenger window. Alex tapped James on the shoulder and discretely gestured towards the top of the driveway and the man in the hood. " James, I think I recognise that face - despite his attempt to hide under the bloody hood." James turned slightly and suddenly stopped; he certainly didn't need an orb, to tell him when a powerful minion of the Dark Prince was around.
"Bloody Ceebrus! " James muttered and turned fully, but Alex gripped his shoulder; "James you can't transform here, not with a crowd like that. But it confirms something big is up...." She never finished speaking, because Ceebrus was gesturing for James to Join him! The demon stood quietly to one side as James approached him - very carefully. They stood a couple of feet apart and spoke quietly with each other.
Owen tapped Alex; "Wilson's in the doorway - we're wanted. Come on." The pair left the van slowly and Alex glanced backwards to see James returning to them. Owen waved at him and James sauntered over and the four entered the medical centre. Wilson stood by the door and tapped his mirror; "The two dead men are from 2058. Both Scientists in their era. Not trained burglars - unless, they practised house-breaking as a hobby. Another pair from that bloody project that's causing us so much trouble."
He turned to James; "Jericho wants you to recall their souls. A collector is on the way." James nodded; only a Knight of God or an Angel had those kind of powers. " I think they have been gone too long, but I'll try. I certainly have something to tell Jericho - and the rest of you - of course." He said quietly and headed for the morgue.
Alex and Owen explained about the appearance of their old foe; Ceebrus and the odd meeting that just took place between him and James. Wilson rubbed his chin; "Something big is fucking up. Anyone else think it's bit of a co-incidence that the Tablet of Creation surfaces again, after almost sixteen hundred human years and a major demon turns up - not to fight, but talk!"
Alex nodded and said softly; "And we had an 'Operation Eden' called , whilst all this is happening - what the hell did the two brothers fall out over?" Owen looked quite grim - unusual for him - he stared down the empty white corridor and sighed; "I have a feeling that the Vatican was hiding something else in that basement vault. Something that those buggers from the future were really after, because they certainly weren't after the tablet; were they?"
Alex sighed; "Ceebrus is now a Tier One Demon, the bugger has been promoted. Good job we have James is with us - a Guardian would now be out of their depth, with Ceebrus now."
Wilson said nothing - he was reading his mirror. "Come on, Jericho wants us. The two souls could not be recalled; it was far too late, the dozy buggers are lost in the darkness now." The little group headed for the morgue - passing the two NSA agents - grim faced and saying nothing. "Charming." Muttered Owen as the team watched the two agents return to their vans - without saying a word to the Temporal Detectives.
They arrived at the morgue in time to see Jericho returning the bodies to the morgue fridges. He looked really concerned. James sighed and gathered the team about him. He stood looking at the bright clean floor for a few seconds and then placed his hands on his hips and look a deep breath.
"The Dark Side doesn't have the tablet. The Demon Ceebrus was sent to retrieve it, but it wasn't there - he came away empty handed. He believes that the tablet was already gone, when the three burglars got to the warehouse. That's why he called a truce with me. His master wanted us to know that, as gesture of goodwill to his brother; our Boss'. That's what the pair fell out about until Florence convinced our Boss that his brother wasn't lying." James folded his arms; "It appears that someone else has the tablet or it was already missing from the Vatican Archives before the burglary ever took place."
Jericho leaned against the cold white wall behind him; "Our friends from the NSA inform us that their Agent - the unfortunate woman - had informed them that the Time-Travellers were after the 'De Vinci' papers stored there. They had been sent back to retrieve the papers or photograph them before a disastrous fire destroys part of the Archives in 2031. We know, from her soul, that They took several other items to cover their true quarry; the tablet was not amongst them. Either the Vatican is lying to us and still has it or it was already gone."
"What's so important about the clay tablet?" Owen asked, now intrigued, like his colleagues. James sighed; "Hang onto your hats; the bloody tablet gave directions to the source of Divine life on Earth. For want of a better expression, it shows the location of the machine that controls everything in existence on this little planet." Jericho ran a hand over his face; "The machine is the sole reason that life - as we know it - exists on this planet. Without it, Earth would be exactly the same as all its neighbours - a dead rock floating in a vacuum."
James added; "He's grandfather [pointing a finger upwards] placed it here, billions of human years ago - to control the evolution of the planet - and I mean every living thing that exists here; including us humans." Owen folded his arms; "So God found a dead, rocky planet and terra- formed it; for all living creatures - including us - that he was to create."
James nodded; "Its still functioning to this day; obviously." Alex had said nothing, she was taking in what the mysterious machine was capable of.
"Why the fuck did those fuckwits in the future, never hear of the Tablet of Creation - after all, its the bloody machine that keeps everyone and everything alive?" Owen finally said and shook his head in disbelief. James looked quite grim; "They probably just didn't believe such a thing could exist. Religion is on its last legs in 2058 and there's not many mysteries left in that world of the future. They simply couldn't believe in such a story."
Jericho added - unsmiling; "The NSA's forensic team has established that the warehouse had been wired up to explode. Which means that someone did know about the burglary before it happened and waited with a deadly trap for when they returned - except they didn't have the tablet - if that's what they were after."
"Should the tablet fall into the wrong hands and that person or persons locates the 'Creation Machine' we [humanity] could be in big trouble. If they interfere with the damn machine - in any way - they could simply end all life on this planet and return everything to darkness." James spoke quietly and stared back at the floor.
"So what the hell has happened to the damn thing?" Alex finally asked. "That's what we have to find out. Ceebrus was sent because the Dark Prince could totally trust him. Unless we can recover the tablet - and pretty bloody quickly - that's the future of mankind; darkness." James confided to the team, that's why the demon had desperately wanted only to talk. "The Dark Prince has sent his own team to assist us. I thought I'd leave that bit to last." He smiled and stuck both hands in his pockets. "The entire future of life on earth could be threatened, so the Prince is helping - as a gesture of goodwill." He added.
Again, there was silence until a concerned Alex spoke; "Why did it have to be him? Bloody Ceebrus saw me naked; I showed him my private bits for God sake!" She really didn't understand why everyone started to laugh.
5. THE DARK TEAM.
"We have a busy day ahead, firstly we have a meeting with Cardinal Frederick - Head of the Prayer of Liberty - about why the tablet wasn't in the vault. That should be really interesting. Then, Ceebrus and his team will drop by to see how they can assist. Now that could be interesting and difficult. Only James and myself have teamed up with the Dark Side before. You need to be on your best behaviour people." Jericho sipped his coffee and stared across the breakfast table at his team, he smiled at the look upon Alex's face. Wilson was trying to make her feel better about Ceebrus seeing her naked, by pointing out that they were all naked at the time - well, except Owen of course.
"You'll just have to put the Hobbs Abbey experience behind you. I'm sure Ceebrus will not mention it." Wilson finished his coffee and smiled, adding; "Too much." Alex stirred her coffee and said nothing. Owen didn't help by sniggering each time Hobbs Abbey came up.
James wiped his mouth with the stiff, clean napkin and smiled; "Ceebrus will be assisted by Delphi and Michael. Delphi is quite a stunner, back in human form and she possess 'clear sight'. Michael is bit of an eccentric character for a devotee of the Dark Prince, they say he makes Sherlock Holmes look like Mr. Bean. He was a former Detective Inspector in some British Police Force - when alive - and he apparently very good at it." Alex looked up from her cup and asked; "What is 'Clear Sight?"
"She can see straight through any living human and see exactly what they desire, even what they're really thinking apparently. She could be very useful, when me meet the Cardinal." James replied, turning to Jericho, who nodded.
"James and I will host Ceebrus, Wilson and Owen will host Michael, and Alexandra, you can look after Delphi. Wilson and Owen can also team up with the staff from the Prayer of Liberty and NSA. That's about it folks, except; watch yourselves around our guests and always remember who they serve - even during this little truce." Jericho placed his cup down and everyone headed back to their rooms. They would meet up in the Hotel foyer in ten minutes.
Two black SV's appeared outside the hotel - with Police Motorcycle escort. Alex stood by the Reception desk with Owen and idlily looked through the postcards on sale. "We must be early." Muttered Owen, then tapped Alex gently on the shoulder; "I think the dark team is here." Alex stared across the busy room and saw Ceebrus, talking with a man and a woman. He looked immaculate in his dark suite and was already drawing looks from women in the foyer. "Still an egotistical twat." She said softly and looked at the woman.
She matched Alex in height and figure. Delphi had long, raven black hair and skin like milk. She was dressed in an expensive black business suit with a very short skirt and black heels. She held an exquisite black bag that matched her ensemble and wore blood red lipstick. Owen - like most the of the males in the room - couldn't take his eyes off her. Wilson joined them and whistled softly; "Now, she's a real match for you Alex; James wasn't exaggerating."
Owen wiped his face - he looked really concerned; "She looks like a bloody vampire!" He whispered to Alex, who nodded. Wilson tapped Owen on the shoulder and didn't smile - he actually looked quite grim; "That's because she IS a vampire." Owen didn't see him wink at Alex. "Holy shit!" He said and crossed himself - much to the amusement of his colleagues. "I need to get my fucking crucifix!" He exclaimed and now stared really hard at Delphi, then groaned with relief; "You twat, vampires can't come out during the day; they're allergic to sunshine - everybody knows that." Wilson and Alex just chuckled, with Alex mouthing to Wilson; "Allergic?"
The youngish man standing with Ceebrus and Delphi stood out like a chandelier in a service station toilet. He had greasy long, curly red hair and was wearing a very unfashionable tweed jacket with well worn elbow pads. It didn't really match his faded blue jeans or brown boots. Under his jacket was a check shirt that would even embarrass a Lumberjack - on a bad day - and he gripped tightly a 'Marks & Spencer' plastic bag, which seemed to be bulging. The three Temporal Detectives really did have to restrain from laughing outright at their new 'colleague' from the dark side.
Owen grinned; "I think James had this one wrong; he makes Mr. Bean look like Sherlock Holmes, not the other way round."
"I do hope his detective sense is better than his fashion sense." Wilson said softly and really did smile to himself. They were joined by James and Jericho, who consulted his mirror quite discretely. "Lets go people - the Vatican awaits." He said and headed for Ceebrus and his little group. "Will they be allowed into the Vatican? I mean won't their feet sizzle or something?" Owen asked James, who chuckled; "The Pope's given all demons, rouges and black hearted people a special dispensation today - so, no change there." Owen nodded and Wilson slapped his back; "Lets go baby brother."
They met up in a quiet corner of the hotel foyer and everyone shook hands and greeted each other with some politeness and a little respect. Alex was a little surprised that Delphi's hand was quite warm. Now close up, she could see that the woman from the dark side was, indeed, a beauty. She possessed a soft warm voice with a slight accent; Alex enquired where that was from. Delphi smiled; "From Thebes. But you've been there haven't you Alex?" Who nodded, but didn't really want to be reminded about another mission, where she played the tart - yet again. Though, she was a high class one in that particular show!
Wilson and Owen both noticed that nearly everyone was taking a good look at the women - especially the males - and smiled. "Two absolute crackers in the same hotel foyer. Must be a real treat for the men here." Wilson spoke softly to Owen, who had to agree. He shook Michael by the hand and introduced Wilson and himself. Michael seemed to struggle with a small smile, but managed to blurt out; "Hi, everyone calls me Mitch. Nice place you have here." Wilson nodded and threw a glance at Owen, who mouthed; "Is he real?"
"Its a hotel foyer Mitch." Was all Wilson said quite dourly. 'Mitch' looked around and nodded vigorously; "Well, its really nice." He then grinned and clutched his plastic bag. "I don't get out much these days." He added, then gestured towards the reception desk; "Must get some postcards. Do the tourist bit properly." But Ceebrus simply shook his head and pointed to the doors; "Let's go." He muttered and the dark team followed Jericho's group out and into the transport provided.
Jericho, James and Ceebrus were in the first SV, whilst Owen, Wilson, Alex, Delphi and Mitch - trailing behind - filled the second van. The girls sat in the rear seats and watched the city streets through the dark glass windows. Mitch sat alone behind the driver and stared out the windows, continuedly shifting nervously in his seat. There was silence in the van for a few minutes until Alex asked Delphi about her outfit. Delphi smiled; "Oh, it was something that our Supplies Department came up with." Alex chuckled and pointed to herself; "Snap. Our supplies department came up with mine." Both girls now laughed.
Mitch turned to Wilson; "I understand you were once a New York Cop, Mr. Wilson?" Owen slapped his big friend on the arm; "He certainly was and in a time when few black men could make detective there. You can call him just Wilson by the way." Mitch seemed a little confused; "So your called Wilson Wilson. That's quite unusual isn't it?" Owen actually slapped a hand over his face and just stared at Mitch.
"No, my first name is Wilson." Wilson said and really tried hard not to chuckle. Mitch nodded; "So, if the tablet wasn't taken by the burglars, then we have two possibilities; one - the tablet wasn't there in the first place. Two, someone else removed it before the burglary took place and three; there's a forth burglar that we know nothing about." Owen shook his head; "That's three possibilities Mitch."
Wilson rubbed his chin; "If it's the first possibility, then why didn't the Vatican tell us that and why call us in the first place?" Mitch sat back in his seat; "Cover their arses - sorry ladies - the Pope's have always enjoyed cordial relations with your Boss, primarily on the understanding, that they are guardians of the Creation Machine and by default; the Tablet of Creation. It's one of their prime directives, a reason to exist. So, have they have been lying for sixteen hundred years or has someone has taken it, but not during this burglary. Which begs the question; how long has the damn thing been missing?"
Owen and Wilson were a little shocked by the change in Mitch, who was now rummaging in his plastic bag. Despite his outward appearance and manners; he clearly had a sharp deductive mind - when he switched it on!
"We can get the answer to that first possibility from the Cardinal in charge of the Prayer of Liberty Department. Just sit Delphi in front of him and ask him straight out; she'll see the truth. Now, that's a good place to start; the truth I mean." Mitch pulled a couple sheets of yellowed paper from his plastic bag and then placed a large black pair of thick glasses upon his nose. "The last human that we know for sure, had their actual hands on the tablet was..." He shuffled the papers about. "Was Empress Aelia back in 445AD,. Every other supposed sighting has just been rumour of legend. Its a fact that no-one has ACTUALLY seen or handled the tablet since then - well, none that left a historical record or factual document or statement. Funny that Eh?" He added and adjusted his thick glasses.
Owen was already on his mirror and looked up, and with some surprise in his voice, muttered; "He's bloody right!" Wilson grunted and rubbed his chin; "I think we may have been chasing a phantom."
"We can get the answer to that first possibility from the Cardinal in charge of the Prayer of Liberty Department. Just sit Delphi in front of him and ask him straight out; she'll see the truth. Now, that's a good place to start; the truth I mean." Mitch pulled a couple sheets of yellowed paper from his plastic bag and then placed a large black pair of thick glasses upon his nose. "The last human that we know for sure, had their actual hands on the tablet was..." He shuffled the papers about. "Was Empress Aelia back in 445AD,. Every other supposed sighting has just been rumour of legend. Its a fact that no-one has ACTUALLY seen or handled the tablet since then - well, none that left a historical record or factual document or statement. Funny that Eh?" He added and adjusted his thick glasses.
Owen was already on his mirror and looked up, and with some surprise in his voice, muttered; "He's bloody right!" Wilson grunted and rubbed his chin; "I think we may have been chasing a phantom."
6. INTERVIEW WITH THE CARDINAL.
Sitting quietly outside the Cardinal's private office, Wilson bought Jericho, James and Ceebrus up to date with the discussions that had taken place in the second van. Ceebrus agreed that Delphi should sit in the interview. He also volunteered to wait outside, so that it wouldn't seem too much like a lynch mob. Jericho noticed the expression on James face at that generous stand down by the demon. But he said nothing about it - for now.
Finally Franco - the cardinal's private secretary - appeared and showed Jericho, James and Delphi into the office. He really did take a long look at her, then at Alex - the old man did smile to himself. The cardinal greeted them warmly and told Franco to bring coffee's - including for those waiting outside - and settled in behind his enormous, ornate desk. He kept staring at Delphi; especially, when she crossed her legs.
Jericho wasn't too diplomatic in his questions, he asked the cardinal outright; "When and by whom was the tablet last actually seen or handled?" The trio could see just how uncomfortable, such a direct question made the cardinal feel. He rummaged in his desk and shuffled papers about and mumbled that he had paperwork that could answer that question. When Jericho ignored all that and asked the question again, the cardinal sat back in his chair and clasped his hands together.
"I don't actually know Mr. Tibbs. The Keeper of the Vatican Archives has only been in post for twenty-two years and he told me this morning that he had never actually seen the tablet. He and his staff have always just checked the locks on its steel case." He shifted in his chair and stared at Delphi's legs - again. "We can't actually find the keys for the cabinet - at the moment." He added, unsmiling.
James rubbed his face; "If you have no keys, then how could you say that the tablet has gone?" There was a little anger in his voice which Delphi and Jericho noticed, but the cardinal didn't - apparently. The cardinal smiled; "For extra security, we - my predecessors - decided that the cabinet should not be routinely opened. So we employ an X-ray machine. It's quite portable and we simply photograph the cabinet and that shows us the tablet inside. After the burglary, the tablet was gone - despite the cabinet still being secure and undamaged."
"Do I have this right? The cabinet containing the tablet is routinely x-rayed to prevent regular access to the cabinet for the sake of checks only and after the burglary, you x-rayed the cabinet and the tablet was gone?" Jericho asked the sweating cardinal, who nodded and said; "Yes." really quietly. James pitched in with his own question; "When was the cabinet last x-rayed; I mean before the one that showed no tablet?"
The cardinal pushed a couple of papers about on his desk and lifted one. He screwed up his face and said softly; "Fourteenth of June....1998." Jericho and Janes exchanged a concerned look and Delphi said quietly; "Twenty two years ago? That's when the new Keeper took up his post." The cardinal nodded and couldn't take his eyes off her legs as she uncrossed them quite slowly. Red panties! The thought flashed through his mind; delicious, little red panties! He suddenly shook the thoughts from his mind.
It was Jericho speaking that pulled the cardinals attention back to the troublesome meeting. "We'll need a complete and thorough list of how the tablet was stored over the years, who actually checked it and when." The cardinal tried to smile, but failed; "I'm sorry Mr. Tibbs but...you see we...the Vatican doesn't have such complete records of its storage. I'm sorry, but I can't be held responsible for the actions or rather lack of actions, by my predecessors. But I can assure you now, that whilst under my control, the tablet was checked regularly. Well, its cabinet was. X-rays don't lie."
James stared up at the ceiling, then back at the cardinal; "We'll need to examine the cabinet in-situ, if you could arrange that please." The cardinal nodded and was a little relieved when Franco appeared with the coffee and placed the tray down. "Thank you Franco. We'll serve ourselves." He said and helped himself to several biscuits from the large plate that accompanied the coffee cups.
"So, in your mind, the tablet was definitely taken in the burglary?" Jericho asked and picked up his coffee cup. He, probably like James, was wondering why Delphi kept crossing and uncrossing her legs - directly in front of the perspiring cardinal, who nodded vigorously. who couldn't pull his eyes away from those little red panties, that he kept glimpsing. The thoughts that went through his head was not the thoughts of a Christian gentlemen - never mind a cardinal sitting in the Vatican, just a couple of doors way from the Holy Father himself!
The meeting broke up with the cardinal promising to arrange the visit to the archives. The two teams left the Vatican and returned to their hotel. Owen and Alex served the drinks and everyone settled down around the large bay window of Jericho's suite and Delphi addressed them. "The power I possess works like a lie-detector - only better. Like a lie detector I need to have a positive - a truth - before I can spot a negative - a lie. I do that using my panties." Now that remark had Wilson and Owen sitting up. Mitch just grunted; he had clearly heard this little lecture before.
Delphi smiled broadly; "I flashed the dear old cardinal my panties on a couple of occasions and sure enough his mind registered his real pleasure at seeing them - he couldn't lie to himself, he didn't pretend to disapprove of my shameless behaviour; he really enjoyed them and admitted that to himself. That was my positive. I now could tell the thoughts that were false and his answers of course. Like when Jericho asked him, if he believed that the tablet was taken in the burglary, the cardinal said yes. But thought differently; that was a lie. He appears to know that the tablet had gone before that."
She sipped her brandy and continued; "I can also tell you that he reinforced that lie about the tablet being taken in the burglary, when he said that the previous x-ray was taken back in 1998. It wasn't, his mind told me that the cabinet had been checked just days before the burglary - on Cardinal Lorenzo's orders - I get a real strong reading that the tablet's disappearance was discovered then. That's why I flashed him again - just to be 100% certain and so I knew he had lied about the previous x-ray's timing."
"Now that's a real clever use of knickers that I never really considered before." Alex said quietly and sipped her drink. That did make everyone chuckle - including the always seemingly distracted Mitch, who coughed and raised his hand - like a student in the classroom. Jericho nodded at him and he slapped his plastic bag on the table. "It appears to me that the only factual and recorded sighting we can find or uncover about the tablet; was when it was in the hands of Empress Aelia. Everything else, like I told Wilson and Owen, is just conjecture - rumour and legend. That confirmed sighting is the best lead we have and we should look at it closely."
Ceebrus folded his arms and shook his head; "I think we should stick to this time and place, and more importantly, who had access to the Vatican Archives and was in a position to remove the tablet. Let's not get side-tracked here." Mitch lowered his head and mumbled something. The phone buzzed gently and Wilson jumped from his seat and picked it up. He said yes, thank you, a couple of times and replaced the receiver. "It's on for this evening, when the vast bulk of Vatican staff have departed for home. Cardinal Frederick's has arranged for transport at six o'clock." Wilson sat back down and finished his brandy in one hit. "Who's for an early dinner then?" He added; smiling.
Jericho rubbed his chin and glanced at Mitch, rummaging in his plastic bag - yet again. He wondered about, what Ceebrus had said to the strange little man. Why bring a clearly knowledgeable colleague, then dismiss - out of hand - a very good suggestion. One backed with real evidence and so far, this inquiry had little of that to go on. He would set his own 'research expert' onto the Empresses' role into all this - regardless of what Ceebrus thought. He smiled at Owen.
The girls sat chatting quietly and Delphi just couldn't resist bringing up the story of how Ceebrus had been kicked back home, from the ruins of Hobbs Abbey. She told Alex that Ceebrus still talked about it, despite it being a failure on his part. Apparently, the Dark Prince had squeezed every juicy little bit of the story from him; especially about the dance Alex had performed to lure him out from the safety of his lair [Ceebrus's lair in the forest] She raised her glass to Alex; "That must have been some performance to impress my boss like that; especially since he wasn't even there!" [The episode the girls are talking about was: 'Hobbs Abbey and the devil's Graveyard'.]
Alex just smiled at her and thought; 'Well, at least, I didn't flash my crotch to some poor old celibate priest.' Then she saw Delphi smile to herself and a terrifying thought flashed through her head; 'did she just read my mind?' She finished her drink and Owen offered her a refill and Delphi, of course. He asked her; "Now, how exactly do these panties work?" Delphi and Alex laughed so much that they gripped each other; Owen just stared at them and refilled their glasses without another word.
Wilson and Mitch were deep in conversation and found they had a great deal in common; both had become police detectives against the odds, both had been killed on duty in a bizarre and seemingly, even funny manner. They had both served at the same time - different countries, of course - during the 1970's.
The pair were really getting on and the deeper the conversations became, the more Wilson realised that this shabby little man, really did know about detective work; collecting and processing real evidence, deciding which were the clues and which were 'red herrings'. He had the feeling that 'mad Mitch' [as Owen called him] had the absolutely essential ingredient that all good coppers must have; a real understanding of people. Wilson was becoming impressed with the strange little man - and that didn't happen often.
But one thought kept jumping into his head; what the fuck was Mitch doing working for the other side? He would have been snapped up by the Temporal Detectives Department and then some. That thought would trouble Wilson greatly, as he came to know the little man better. The early dinner conversation was quite subdued that night in the hotel restaurant.
7. THE ARCHIVES.
Cardinal Frederick and Santo Gormez [The current Archives Keeper] lead the party down the well worn steps. They had come down five floors below St. Peter's Basilica already - in a secure lift, which only the cardinal and the keeper had keys for. Then the Keeper had opened yet another heavy, wood and metal door to the staircase. "The above archives are the ones that most people know about. They're the ones you read about on Conspiracy theory sites, in magazines and newspapers. But the Old Archive is deliberately never acknowledged - publicly or officially - to the world outside the closed sanctuary of the Mother Church." Santo said quietly as they descended the steps slowly.
The passage down was lit by 'bulkhead lamps' fitted on the walls - they sometimes flickered and many were a little yellow. "How long ago were the old archives actually built?" Mitch asked the keeper - he still clutched his plastic bag - and the keeper grunted; "Some sixteen hundred years ago." Was all he said and finally the group arrived before a large metal door that looked thoroughly modern. The keeper punched his code into the small panel on the wall and held his face close to a small camera above the panel.
"Eye recognition." was all the cardinal said. Slowly, the huge door began to move backwards; it took some minutes before the opening it offered appeared.
The keeper squeezed through and the teams followed. There was yet another set of worn steps before they came to a thick, steel cage door. There was yet another panel and camera for the Keeper to operate, before the four locks on the cage door clicked open and the keeper pushed open the heavy door with some effort. "Sweet heavens, it would be easier to break into Fort Knox; how the hell did they get this far?" Owen whispered to Wilson and Alex, who had both asked themselves that question.
They went down yet more steps and arrived at an office door. In big lettering, the sign on the door said: "SEN EX ARCHIVE - AUTHORIZED non privationem convenienti." The Keeper rang the little bell and a very pleasant middle-aged women in a baggy jumper and worn jeans opened the door. The Keeper spoke in Italian to her and she waved everyone inside. He turned and smiled; "Anna has worked here since she was a teenager, she overseer's the control room for the old Vaults. She will show you the tapes that were recorded on the night of the burglary."
"You have tape recordings of the burglary in progress?" James sounded a little astonished at that revelation. But Jericho wasn't actually surprised by the sudden disclosure. "Can we see the actual cabinet first - please?" Was all he asked and the Keeper nodded. They were taken to a small corner of the sealed room and against the wall was a steel cabinet . It was the size of a small set of officer drawers. Jericho lifted each of the three padlocks and checked them. They appeared untouched. He saw the look on James face.
"How did they [the burglars] remove the tablet if the these padlocks haven't even been scratched?" The Keeper shook his head; he didn't know. "We x-rayed the cabinet immediately that we saw the other cabinets in the vault had been ransacked. The picture showed the cabinet empty." James nodded and turned to Ceebrus and smiled; "Do you want to do the honours comrade?" Ceebrus chuckled and took hold of each padlock in turn and simply snapped them off. The cardinal and the Keeper exchanged a look of some wonder and surprise; the padlocks had a breaking strain of nearly five hundred kilo's each!
James and Ceebrus quickly pulled the padlocks off and James opened the cabinet. It was empty, apart from some thick dust, James ran his finger through it and then wiped it with a hankie. "How does dust get in a sealed cabinet that supposedly hasn't been opened for donkey years?" Wilson asked and no body answered that very good question - except Mitch. "Its residue." He said simply and smiled at Owen, who scratched his chin; "Residue from what?" Mitch gripped his plastic bag; "The Tablet, it's thousands of years old and I think its crumbling - and quite badly by the amount of residue there is."
Jericho nodded; "That's quite clever Mitch, but if the Tablet is crumbling, then who ever handles it will have to be very careful." Then Jericho smiled; "And with gloves, if they don't want tell tale dust on their hands and clothes." James turned to the keeper; "How was the Tablet stored before this cabinet?" The keeper pointed over to a very big, almost ancient cabinet by the far wall. It was that big, Wilson could have walked through the door, without bending.
"There were many cabinets over the years, before this one." Indicating to the empty cabinet before them. "It appears that each time a new storage cabinet was proposed for the tablet - and other items - my predecessors simply built a bigger cabinet around the old one; like Matryoshka dolls. I understand that it was transferred to this sole cabinet in the early 1990's." The Keeper clasped his hands together and almost smiled.
"Now here's a question my friend?" Jericho tapped the keeper on the shoulder and smiled; "Do you know when someone saw or handled the actual tablet - not just its box - last?" The Keeper sighed; "I think my predecessor told someone that was about....eh, I think he said, it was about..." He looked at the cardinal and finally said; "I think he said about 1680, when that big old cabinet was constructed." He pointed to the big ancient cabinet on the far wall, adding; "I think that's what he said. The keeper of the Archives at the time [1680] actually lifted the tablet with his own hands and placed it in a new wooden casket, before placing it in the new cabinet. But that's just a story - I believe."
"You can't be sure about that? "Jericho asked and the Keeper nodded. Wilson looked at Mitch, who nodded to himself and smiled. The little man had it right; again. It appears no one had seen the damn tablet for centuries. Mitch's suggestion about the Empress being the last one to see and handle the tablet was starting to look correct. The little man should be in our Department - no question about that. "Can we see the vault tapes for the night of the burglary please." James asked the cardinal who pointed to another door, at the far end of the vault.
The two teams watched the tapes replayed in the small private officer of the Archives Keeper. They watched the film of an empty vault for a few minutes, then the Keeper said quietly; "Watch carefully from 11.35pm. You can see the time in the bottom left corner." Suddenly, there was a flash of bright light and three figures were now in the vault; all dressed in black coverall's and wearing [this made Owen chuckle out loud] masks of the Pope's face. They all carried black holdalls and went to work immediately.
"The girl isn't one of them." Alex said and everyone agreed; it was three men. Wilson looked at Mitch, still rummaging in his bloody bag and wondered how he guessed correctly about a fourth burglar - having apparently never see this film. The little was really starting to impress him and everyone else.
"Here we go." James muttered, as one man approached the Tablet cabinet and simply placed a metal circle on the side; he appeared to look hard and shake his head, apparently calling to his colleagues over; they stood staring at the ring. "Must be some sort of sophisticated x-ray machine. Now that's what I call portable. The other's have used a similar device on the other cabinets before forcing them open." Wilson muttered and then added; "They can see that the cabinet is empty." Everyone agreed with that deduction.
Their body language told everyone; they was very disappointed. Alex was having a hard look at the three figures moving swiftly about the vault. Where had she seen such a combination before? One big man and two smaller, slim ones? She noticed that Mitch was smiling at the film. then saw Alex looking at him and began to rummage in the plastic bag again. Alex wondered what he was thinking. he was certainly getting major parts of this investigation bang to rights.
"That leather bag, they just dragged from that big cabinet, contained the Da Vinci papers." The Keeper told everyone. Suddenly there was another bright flash of white light and the three were gone. The time, at the bottom left of the screen, showed 11.41pm. The thieves had been in the vault just six minutes.
James turned to the cardinal and folded his arms; "I think I just saw the Tablet of Creation NOT being stolen. So what happened to it?" The Keeper turned and stared at the cardinal; he crossed himself and stood back - unsmiling. Cardinal Frederick's clasped his hands and bowed his head; "I think this is your moment of Calvary my old friend. The truth must now be told." He crossed himself too. "All this crossing makes me nervous." Mitch confided to Alex, with a little smile. "Little wonder, considering who your boss is." She replied and watched the little man grin.
"Who's about to meet his Calvary?" James bluntly asked the cardinal. Frederick wiped his face; he was sweating profusely. "Cardinal Lorenzo." He said and stared at the floor. James left him in silence for a few seconds and then said quietly; "What has Cardinal Lorenzo to do with the missing tablet? Frederick sighed; "I told him it was mad, but he wouldn't listen. He said it was the only way to truly protect the world." James nodded; "What did he do?" Frederick took a real deep breath; "He stole it himself."
Everyone stood in silence until Ceebrus asked; "What has he done with it?" Frederick shrugged his shoulders; "I don't know. I truly don't. He said it was best, if only he knew where the damn thing had been hidden away. He said it would be out of the reach of human hands forever." The cardinal rubbed his hands and said quietly; "He only told me yesterday, when I informed that the Holy father agreed to your visit here. I've not heard from him since."
James sighed; "I think its best we locate Lorenzo and find where he's hidden the damn thing. At least its actually in the hands of a man of God. that's something I suppose." Jericho didn't nod his agreement with that. The Tablet was too damn dangerous to be abroad in the world; even in the hands of, a supposed 'Man of God'.
That wrapped up the visit to the Archives and the two teams left for their vehicles. Cardinal Lorenzo would be summoned by the Holy Father himself to answer for his deeds and Cardinal Fredericks would be there too; to explain his silence in the matter. Except that never happened, just as the two teams were heading for the hotel restaurant to enjoy lunch, old Franco [Cardinal Frederick's personal secretary] arrived in the hotel foyer, demanding to speak with Mr. Jericho Tibbs - urgently. Jericho and he, had words for few minutes in the corridor leading towards the dinning room, then old Franco left.
Jericho joined his team - grim faced and announced; "Cardinal Lorenzo has been found dead in his Papal apartment's; he had been tortured and strangled. The apartment was totally ransacked; they even prised up the bloody floorboards."
Cardinal Frederick and Santo Gormez [The current Archives Keeper] lead the party down the well worn steps. They had come down five floors below St. Peter's Basilica already - in a secure lift, which only the cardinal and the keeper had keys for. Then the Keeper had opened yet another heavy, wood and metal door to the staircase. "The above archives are the ones that most people know about. They're the ones you read about on Conspiracy theory sites, in magazines and newspapers. But the Old Archive is deliberately never acknowledged - publicly or officially - to the world outside the closed sanctuary of the Mother Church." Santo said quietly as they descended the steps slowly.
The passage down was lit by 'bulkhead lamps' fitted on the walls - they sometimes flickered and many were a little yellow. "How long ago were the old archives actually built?" Mitch asked the keeper - he still clutched his plastic bag - and the keeper grunted; "Some sixteen hundred years ago." Was all he said and finally the group arrived before a large metal door that looked thoroughly modern. The keeper punched his code into the small panel on the wall and held his face close to a small camera above the panel.
"Eye recognition." was all the cardinal said. Slowly, the huge door began to move backwards; it took some minutes before the opening it offered appeared.
The keeper squeezed through and the teams followed. There was yet another set of worn steps before they came to a thick, steel cage door. There was yet another panel and camera for the Keeper to operate, before the four locks on the cage door clicked open and the keeper pushed open the heavy door with some effort. "Sweet heavens, it would be easier to break into Fort Knox; how the hell did they get this far?" Owen whispered to Wilson and Alex, who had both asked themselves that question.
They went down yet more steps and arrived at an office door. In big lettering, the sign on the door said: "SEN EX ARCHIVE - AUTHORIZED non privationem convenienti." The Keeper rang the little bell and a very pleasant middle-aged women in a baggy jumper and worn jeans opened the door. The Keeper spoke in Italian to her and she waved everyone inside. He turned and smiled; "Anna has worked here since she was a teenager, she overseer's the control room for the old Vaults. She will show you the tapes that were recorded on the night of the burglary."
"You have tape recordings of the burglary in progress?" James sounded a little astonished at that revelation. But Jericho wasn't actually surprised by the sudden disclosure. "Can we see the actual cabinet first - please?" Was all he asked and the Keeper nodded. They were taken to a small corner of the sealed room and against the wall was a steel cabinet . It was the size of a small set of officer drawers. Jericho lifted each of the three padlocks and checked them. They appeared untouched. He saw the look on James face.
"How did they [the burglars] remove the tablet if the these padlocks haven't even been scratched?" The Keeper shook his head; he didn't know. "We x-rayed the cabinet immediately that we saw the other cabinets in the vault had been ransacked. The picture showed the cabinet empty." James nodded and turned to Ceebrus and smiled; "Do you want to do the honours comrade?" Ceebrus chuckled and took hold of each padlock in turn and simply snapped them off. The cardinal and the Keeper exchanged a look of some wonder and surprise; the padlocks had a breaking strain of nearly five hundred kilo's each!
James and Ceebrus quickly pulled the padlocks off and James opened the cabinet. It was empty, apart from some thick dust, James ran his finger through it and then wiped it with a hankie. "How does dust get in a sealed cabinet that supposedly hasn't been opened for donkey years?" Wilson asked and no body answered that very good question - except Mitch. "Its residue." He said simply and smiled at Owen, who scratched his chin; "Residue from what?" Mitch gripped his plastic bag; "The Tablet, it's thousands of years old and I think its crumbling - and quite badly by the amount of residue there is."
Jericho nodded; "That's quite clever Mitch, but if the Tablet is crumbling, then who ever handles it will have to be very careful." Then Jericho smiled; "And with gloves, if they don't want tell tale dust on their hands and clothes." James turned to the keeper; "How was the Tablet stored before this cabinet?" The keeper pointed over to a very big, almost ancient cabinet by the far wall. It was that big, Wilson could have walked through the door, without bending.
"There were many cabinets over the years, before this one." Indicating to the empty cabinet before them. "It appears that each time a new storage cabinet was proposed for the tablet - and other items - my predecessors simply built a bigger cabinet around the old one; like Matryoshka dolls. I understand that it was transferred to this sole cabinet in the early 1990's." The Keeper clasped his hands together and almost smiled.
"Now here's a question my friend?" Jericho tapped the keeper on the shoulder and smiled; "Do you know when someone saw or handled the actual tablet - not just its box - last?" The Keeper sighed; "I think my predecessor told someone that was about....eh, I think he said, it was about..." He looked at the cardinal and finally said; "I think he said about 1680, when that big old cabinet was constructed." He pointed to the big ancient cabinet on the far wall, adding; "I think that's what he said. The keeper of the Archives at the time [1680] actually lifted the tablet with his own hands and placed it in a new wooden casket, before placing it in the new cabinet. But that's just a story - I believe."
"You can't be sure about that? "Jericho asked and the Keeper nodded. Wilson looked at Mitch, who nodded to himself and smiled. The little man had it right; again. It appears no one had seen the damn tablet for centuries. Mitch's suggestion about the Empress being the last one to see and handle the tablet was starting to look correct. The little man should be in our Department - no question about that. "Can we see the vault tapes for the night of the burglary please." James asked the cardinal who pointed to another door, at the far end of the vault.
The two teams watched the tapes replayed in the small private officer of the Archives Keeper. They watched the film of an empty vault for a few minutes, then the Keeper said quietly; "Watch carefully from 11.35pm. You can see the time in the bottom left corner." Suddenly, there was a flash of bright light and three figures were now in the vault; all dressed in black coverall's and wearing [this made Owen chuckle out loud] masks of the Pope's face. They all carried black holdalls and went to work immediately.
"The girl isn't one of them." Alex said and everyone agreed; it was three men. Wilson looked at Mitch, still rummaging in his bloody bag and wondered how he guessed correctly about a fourth burglar - having apparently never see this film. The little was really starting to impress him and everyone else.
"Here we go." James muttered, as one man approached the Tablet cabinet and simply placed a metal circle on the side; he appeared to look hard and shake his head, apparently calling to his colleagues over; they stood staring at the ring. "Must be some sort of sophisticated x-ray machine. Now that's what I call portable. The other's have used a similar device on the other cabinets before forcing them open." Wilson muttered and then added; "They can see that the cabinet is empty." Everyone agreed with that deduction.
Their body language told everyone; they was very disappointed. Alex was having a hard look at the three figures moving swiftly about the vault. Where had she seen such a combination before? One big man and two smaller, slim ones? She noticed that Mitch was smiling at the film. then saw Alex looking at him and began to rummage in the plastic bag again. Alex wondered what he was thinking. he was certainly getting major parts of this investigation bang to rights.
"That leather bag, they just dragged from that big cabinet, contained the Da Vinci papers." The Keeper told everyone. Suddenly there was another bright flash of white light and the three were gone. The time, at the bottom left of the screen, showed 11.41pm. The thieves had been in the vault just six minutes.
James turned to the cardinal and folded his arms; "I think I just saw the Tablet of Creation NOT being stolen. So what happened to it?" The Keeper turned and stared at the cardinal; he crossed himself and stood back - unsmiling. Cardinal Frederick's clasped his hands and bowed his head; "I think this is your moment of Calvary my old friend. The truth must now be told." He crossed himself too. "All this crossing makes me nervous." Mitch confided to Alex, with a little smile. "Little wonder, considering who your boss is." She replied and watched the little man grin.
"Who's about to meet his Calvary?" James bluntly asked the cardinal. Frederick wiped his face; he was sweating profusely. "Cardinal Lorenzo." He said and stared at the floor. James left him in silence for a few seconds and then said quietly; "What has Cardinal Lorenzo to do with the missing tablet? Frederick sighed; "I told him it was mad, but he wouldn't listen. He said it was the only way to truly protect the world." James nodded; "What did he do?" Frederick took a real deep breath; "He stole it himself."
Everyone stood in silence until Ceebrus asked; "What has he done with it?" Frederick shrugged his shoulders; "I don't know. I truly don't. He said it was best, if only he knew where the damn thing had been hidden away. He said it would be out of the reach of human hands forever." The cardinal rubbed his hands and said quietly; "He only told me yesterday, when I informed that the Holy father agreed to your visit here. I've not heard from him since."
James sighed; "I think its best we locate Lorenzo and find where he's hidden the damn thing. At least its actually in the hands of a man of God. that's something I suppose." Jericho didn't nod his agreement with that. The Tablet was too damn dangerous to be abroad in the world; even in the hands of, a supposed 'Man of God'.
That wrapped up the visit to the Archives and the two teams left for their vehicles. Cardinal Lorenzo would be summoned by the Holy Father himself to answer for his deeds and Cardinal Fredericks would be there too; to explain his silence in the matter. Except that never happened, just as the two teams were heading for the hotel restaurant to enjoy lunch, old Franco [Cardinal Frederick's personal secretary] arrived in the hotel foyer, demanding to speak with Mr. Jericho Tibbs - urgently. Jericho and he, had words for few minutes in the corridor leading towards the dinning room, then old Franco left.
Jericho joined his team - grim faced and announced; "Cardinal Lorenzo has been found dead in his Papal apartment's; he had been tortured and strangled. The apartment was totally ransacked; they even prised up the bloody floorboards."
8. A MOST QUIET MURDER SCENE.
"Death follows that bloody tablet like a dog follows its master." Alex spoke quietly to Wilson who stared out the windows of the slow moving SV. Even with a police escort, the traffic was slow moving and difficult to get through at this time of day, in central Rome. Owen leaned over from the seat behind and held up his mirror; "If you really want nightmares for a month, listen to what Cardinal Lorenzo suffered before he died." Alex actually shuddered; "I still can't believe that Lorenzo was that stupid. He kept the tablet in the bloody fridge!"
Wilson pushed back in his seat; "The three men took a hot iron to him, actually tied him, stark naked, on his dinning room table and ironed the poor bastard until he talked. What they expected him to say is beyond me, they had already found the damn tablet in the fridge - apparently - I interviewed his soul with Herbie the Collector and he didn't recognise any of them. Except one had a strange accent; it was English, but from what part of England, he couldn't identify."
Alex sighed; "Did he explain how he removed the tablet from the cabinet without any keys or breaking the padlocks?" Wilson nodded; "The bloody thing had never been in that cabinet. It was a diversion - a fake - even the dust in there was from an old Sumerian Tablet that fell apart. The Tablet was supposedly kept in that big old cabinet; where it was placed way back in 1680. But here's the crack; the tablet in his fridge was a fake. It was old - again - Sumerian in origin - but it wasn't the Tablet of Creation. It was fake in 1680 and probably the real tablet has been missing well before that. How many people could read and translate ancient Sumerian in those times?"
"That's why the bastards still tortured him; they must have recognised the tablet as a fake, so why did they still take it?" Wilson shrugged his shoulders; "I don't know. But Lorenzo told us [Wilson & Herbie the Collector] that he had suspected for years, that the Tablet was never in the Vatican Archives. But if everyone believed it was, then few would look elsewhere and it would be safer; where ever it was. A clever little deception that only went wrong, when those interfering idiots from 2058 turned up."
"So where is the fucking thing now?" Owen asked, totally intrigued by the really big deception they had uncovered. "That's the rotten bit; no-one knows. Old Lorenzo certainly didn't and he died horribly because he didn't know. But he did know that the burglary was about to happen and you may be somewhat surprised, to find out how he knew." Alex tapped her chin; "I always wondered how the NSA could know about, what some future twats were about to get up to and plant an agent amongst them."
Wilson chuckled; "They knew because Lorenzo told them that the burglary would happen. He had read about it - on line - while visiting a friend in 2031 and rushed back to ensure that the deception wasn't found out. Remember. there was a fire in the archives that year. But our arrival fucked that up. No-one in 2031 knew about us - how could they?"
Owen looked totally amazed; "Bloody Cardinal Lorenzo was a time traveller!" Wilson grinned; "He used one of the time portal objects the Vatican had acquired over the centuries and had hidden away in the archives. He knew that the bloody NSA would jump at the chance to steal a working time machine, before they had to wait until 2058. He was right on that point. The dumb fuckers from 2058 believed that could trust Agent Isabella Cassinni."
"Why?" Asked Owen and Wilson nodded; "Because she was the mother of one of them!" Alex groaned; "This gets worse by the minute. Mother and son were killed in that explosion at the warehouse." Wilson wiped his face; "Yeah and the damn explosion was rigged by the NSA. Someone high up decided that young agent Isabella was expendable. What they didn't know, was her infant son would be one of the burglars, jumping backwards from 2058. That came as a bit of a shock apparently."
"Did they manage to get a time portal object?" Alex asked and Wilson shook his head; "Lorenzo had the three objects moved to another safe location. All they ended up with, was some very priceless religious items. Not much use to them."
"So basically, we have a team of three murderous thugs who will torture and kill to acquire the Tablet and that Tablet is now missing or rather has probably been missing for years." Owen summed it up and slumped back in his seat; "Oh, I forget, the bloody NSA will also kill to get hold of or destroy the damn thing. They killed one of their own to stop others getting hold of it. Now that's a really charming scenario."
"Jericho is going to love this. We still have no bloody idea where the damn thing is and now, we have to deal with some murderous bastards and a government you simply can't trust." Owen pulled out his hip flask, adding; "I need a bloody drink." Alex grinned at him; "Don't forget; and church authorities who have been telling little white lies for sixteen hundred years!" Owen groaned and swigged his flask. Alex gently pulled it off him; "And so do I." Wilson just chuckled, then waved towards the van's windows; "We're here."
"This is some quiet murder scene considering the stiff is a bloody Cardinal." Owen muttered as they walked past the single police officer standing in the doorway to the fine old building. Alex nodded; "I take it, the relevant authorities have placed a really big lid on this one."
James was standing at the bottom of the staircase - unsmiling, talking with an equally grim faced Jericho. Wilson nodded at the pair; "You got my report then." Jericho ran his hands through his hair and sighed; "Basically, four bloody murders later and we still have no damn idea where the tablet is. We've been lead around like dogs on a chain." James folded his arms and stared up the stairs to Cardinal Lorenzo's apartment on the second floor. "Yeah, but who's the bastard on the other end of the chain?"
"Death follows that bloody tablet like a dog follows its master." Alex spoke quietly to Wilson who stared out the windows of the slow moving SV. Even with a police escort, the traffic was slow moving and difficult to get through at this time of day, in central Rome. Owen leaned over from the seat behind and held up his mirror; "If you really want nightmares for a month, listen to what Cardinal Lorenzo suffered before he died." Alex actually shuddered; "I still can't believe that Lorenzo was that stupid. He kept the tablet in the bloody fridge!"
Wilson pushed back in his seat; "The three men took a hot iron to him, actually tied him, stark naked, on his dinning room table and ironed the poor bastard until he talked. What they expected him to say is beyond me, they had already found the damn tablet in the fridge - apparently - I interviewed his soul with Herbie the Collector and he didn't recognise any of them. Except one had a strange accent; it was English, but from what part of England, he couldn't identify."
Alex sighed; "Did he explain how he removed the tablet from the cabinet without any keys or breaking the padlocks?" Wilson nodded; "The bloody thing had never been in that cabinet. It was a diversion - a fake - even the dust in there was from an old Sumerian Tablet that fell apart. The Tablet was supposedly kept in that big old cabinet; where it was placed way back in 1680. But here's the crack; the tablet in his fridge was a fake. It was old - again - Sumerian in origin - but it wasn't the Tablet of Creation. It was fake in 1680 and probably the real tablet has been missing well before that. How many people could read and translate ancient Sumerian in those times?"
"That's why the bastards still tortured him; they must have recognised the tablet as a fake, so why did they still take it?" Wilson shrugged his shoulders; "I don't know. But Lorenzo told us [Wilson & Herbie the Collector] that he had suspected for years, that the Tablet was never in the Vatican Archives. But if everyone believed it was, then few would look elsewhere and it would be safer; where ever it was. A clever little deception that only went wrong, when those interfering idiots from 2058 turned up."
"So where is the fucking thing now?" Owen asked, totally intrigued by the really big deception they had uncovered. "That's the rotten bit; no-one knows. Old Lorenzo certainly didn't and he died horribly because he didn't know. But he did know that the burglary was about to happen and you may be somewhat surprised, to find out how he knew." Alex tapped her chin; "I always wondered how the NSA could know about, what some future twats were about to get up to and plant an agent amongst them."
Wilson chuckled; "They knew because Lorenzo told them that the burglary would happen. He had read about it - on line - while visiting a friend in 2031 and rushed back to ensure that the deception wasn't found out. Remember. there was a fire in the archives that year. But our arrival fucked that up. No-one in 2031 knew about us - how could they?"
Owen looked totally amazed; "Bloody Cardinal Lorenzo was a time traveller!" Wilson grinned; "He used one of the time portal objects the Vatican had acquired over the centuries and had hidden away in the archives. He knew that the bloody NSA would jump at the chance to steal a working time machine, before they had to wait until 2058. He was right on that point. The dumb fuckers from 2058 believed that could trust Agent Isabella Cassinni."
"Why?" Asked Owen and Wilson nodded; "Because she was the mother of one of them!" Alex groaned; "This gets worse by the minute. Mother and son were killed in that explosion at the warehouse." Wilson wiped his face; "Yeah and the damn explosion was rigged by the NSA. Someone high up decided that young agent Isabella was expendable. What they didn't know, was her infant son would be one of the burglars, jumping backwards from 2058. That came as a bit of a shock apparently."
"Did they manage to get a time portal object?" Alex asked and Wilson shook his head; "Lorenzo had the three objects moved to another safe location. All they ended up with, was some very priceless religious items. Not much use to them."
"So basically, we have a team of three murderous thugs who will torture and kill to acquire the Tablet and that Tablet is now missing or rather has probably been missing for years." Owen summed it up and slumped back in his seat; "Oh, I forget, the bloody NSA will also kill to get hold of or destroy the damn thing. They killed one of their own to stop others getting hold of it. Now that's a really charming scenario."
"Jericho is going to love this. We still have no bloody idea where the damn thing is and now, we have to deal with some murderous bastards and a government you simply can't trust." Owen pulled out his hip flask, adding; "I need a bloody drink." Alex grinned at him; "Don't forget; and church authorities who have been telling little white lies for sixteen hundred years!" Owen groaned and swigged his flask. Alex gently pulled it off him; "And so do I." Wilson just chuckled, then waved towards the van's windows; "We're here."
"This is some quiet murder scene considering the stiff is a bloody Cardinal." Owen muttered as they walked past the single police officer standing in the doorway to the fine old building. Alex nodded; "I take it, the relevant authorities have placed a really big lid on this one."
James was standing at the bottom of the staircase - unsmiling, talking with an equally grim faced Jericho. Wilson nodded at the pair; "You got my report then." Jericho ran his hands through his hair and sighed; "Basically, four bloody murders later and we still have no damn idea where the tablet is. We've been lead around like dogs on a chain." James folded his arms and stared up the stairs to Cardinal Lorenzo's apartment on the second floor. "Yeah, but who's the bastard on the other end of the chain?"
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