Shrouded in Silence (26 page)

"It was in this edifice that Innocent III met St. Francis in the twelfth century. Yes, obviously my family's history remains consequently."

"And what does this have to do with the ending to Mark's Gospel?" Michelle ask.

Jonas smiled. "That document has been in the hands of my family since the first century."

34

W
ith the coming of November, the nights stretched longer and fewer tourists walked the streets. Sensing that too much time was passing, the leader of The Scorpions had called a meeting in the catacombs beneath the Church of Domine Quo Vadis. Located on the Appia Antica, the ancient Appian Way, the church supposedly stood at the spot where St. Peter was challenged to return to Rome and face crucifixion from Nero. The catacombs beneath the sanctuary remained so extensive, a novice could quickly get lost and disappear. Each of the three men had agreed to arrive thirty minutes apart to avoid notice.

As always, the general showed up last and found his two comrades waiting not far from the entrance to the ancient burial grounds. Each man had on the required black mask.

"I changed our location for tonight's meeting in case anyone picked up any aspect of our trail," the general said in a low gruff voice. "Nothing showed up in the papers about our killing the two Americans. Dropping them in the Mediterranean took care of that, but we can't be too careful."

The other two men nodded.

"Been giving considerable thought to our next attack. How about you? Anything come up?"

"Still thinking about hitting the American Embassy?" the first man asked. "Seeing that thing come down in flames pushes all my buttons."

"Not me," the second answered. "We'd be too exposed at that location. Even though we killed the upstarts from America last time, they had a point. We can't appear to be local amateurs on the prowl or we're dead. An attack on the embassy could make us look bad and wreck everything."

Silence settled over the discussion. The general sat quietly absorbing what he had heard. "I don't like to admit it," he finally said. "But unfortunately, you have a correct view of bombing the American Embassy. They've been hit in other countries and aren't about to let up military coverage here in Rome. With soldiers stationed around with M16s ready to fire, the bombing could well end up being out last attack."

"OK," the first man said. "Then, there's the possibilities with this American egghead Jack Townsend. How about cracking that shell with a few bullets to the brain?"

"Yeah," the general said. "He's out of the coma now. I thought Townsend would die in the explosion, and then I was sure he'd kick it lying up there in that hospital bed, but the guy came out of the bed all alive. Amazing, but the man is still highly vulnerable."

"This reporter Corisini at the
Il Messaggero
newspaper ran several stories on how Townsend's medical condition is progressing," the second man said. "That keeps the man's name out there where everyone knows he is an American."

"This time we've got to make sure that the public understands we're making these hits to bring down American influence," the general said. "That's the whole point."

"Yeah, we've got to do a more complete job of forcing the government to pay attention to the fact that Americans got their sticky fingers too deep in our economy. Maybe, we should write a manifesto of some sort and stick it on his body."

"I'd go for a letter to the newspaper after it's all over," the other terrorist said. "That Corsini guy would be the perfect recipient. Send him an explanation with the suggestion that they read it at Townsend's funeral."

The two men laughed.

"That's not such a bad idea," the general said. "Apart from the funeral nonsense, we could mail a letter to
Il Messaggero
laying out all details of our discontent. Townsend's body would demonstrate we mean business. His wife's turned into a real homebody type on the computer, flying around trying to get their show back on the road. We need to hit her as well."

Leaning forward, the general spoke in hushed tones. "Our next target will be the Townsends. The man's got a broken arm in a plaster cast so he's limited in his ability to resist. We'll have to identify the best time and place to hit them. I'll take care of that angle, then one of you will be the shooter or bomber, depending on what works best. Are we agreed?"

The two men nodded.

"Got it then. We're going to kill Jack and Michelle Townsend."

35

T
he early morning November sun rose with a warm, pleasant glow. By the time Guido Valentino had arrived at the Townsend's apartment, the magazine and newspaper vendors were hard at work on the streets. Children filed by on their way to school and a few privileged women walked their well-groomed dogs down the sidewalk. A gentle wind whistled down the streets, sending scraps of paper swirling along the curbs. As has been the daily fare for three thousand years, another day had begun in Rome.

The threesome sat around the small coffee table in the Townsend's apartment. Michelle handed Guido a cup of coffee and set another cup in front of Jack.

"After your jarring revelation, I don't know what to call you," Michelle said. "Is it Guido or should we call you Jonas De Lateran?"

"Let me first establish an important fact. Do you know that your apartment isn't bugged?"

"The police told us that they did a thorough electronic search of everything around here and assured us that nothing is wired," Jack said. "They are maintaining surveillance of this apartment. I hope we can trust their judgment."

"Good. Please keep calling me Guido Valentino. It is important that I keep my identity a secret. Since we do not know who is behind these attempts on your lives, we must assume something sinister is afoot and some scoundrel could slip by us. I have to protect my own family."

"Of course," Jack said. "We will honor your wishes."

"You have a pack of crazies out there with an intense interest in what you are doing," Guido said. "We can't discount any of them."

Jack nodded his head solemnly.

"The Vatican has a most checkered history of intrigue," Guido said. "Lately we have the sexual abuse scandals in the United States coupled with financial malfeasance from massive bank deals. Of course, we always have the Inquisition lurking in the background with Pope Sixtus IV sending King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella on a rampage chasing the Jews out of Spain. We still have scholars claiming Pope Pius XII did nothing to stop the World War II persecution of the Jews. The latest hot stories connect the mafia with the Vatican and include the claims of murder in the death of Pope Paul VI in 1978. There's a Vatican that you see; there's a Vatican that you don't see."

"I am highly aware of these contradictions," Jack said. "You're suggesting that someone in a robe is coming after us?"

"I'm only laying out the facts. It's not impossible that the Vatican has someone who's highly upset about your man Dov Sharon searching for
The Prologue of James
as I've heard you call it. It's enough to send someone after you."

"I still can't remember what Dov told me about where documents are hidden, but I think he did. I get your point, Guido."

"We still got that sweetheart of a gorilla named Albert Stein whom I caught walking through the ruins of your wrecked offices," Guido said. "Think he's incapable of chasing you?"

"Got your point," Michelle said nervously. "I don't like running through the catalog of creeps. Your point is that we keep your name under wraps."

"Yes," Guido said. "I'll go on being no more than your assistant Guido Valentino."

"The issue is settled," Jack said lowering his voice. "Let's start discussing what it means that your family had the original ending to Mark's Gospel. You didn't finish the story."

Guido took a sip of coffee and leaned back in his chair. "Saint John in Lateran is the oldest and ranks first among the four great patriarchal basilicas of Rome. The Laterani family occupied the site in ancient times. Sextius Laterani was the first plebian to attain the rank of consul. However, during the reign of Nero, Plautius Laterani was accused of conspiracy against the emperor and his goods were confiscated. We believe it had to do with Plautius hiding the lost portion of the Gospel of Mark, but we can't be for sure. We do know the Laterani family never gave up the document."

"Fascinating," Michelle said. "That fits with why the Laterani name kept popping up in our research to find the original ending to Mark."

"The original church that Constantine built carried the name Basilica Salvatorius, which was later changed to St. John because of a Benedictine monastery of St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist which adjoined the basilica," Guido explained. "Through the centuries donations by popes and benefactors turned the church into a place of splendor, and it was called for a time Basilica Aurea or the Golden Church. Consequently, when the Vandals attacked Rome, they stripped the church of its splendor. The church had to be rebuilt several times through subsequent centuries. The current edifice has a somewhat tasteless appearance. It was rebuilt by Innocent X after the Avignon captivity of the papacy in France. When the pope returned, the city was nearly deserted and the church left in ruins. Nevertheless, the ancient apse with fourth-century mosaics survived all those assaults until late 1878 when the apse was destroyed to enlarge the area around it. However, the mosaics remained and are still in the church."

"That's amazing," Michelle said. "You've carried this extraordinary history with you for all these years."

"It's part of my family's story. We have a unique relationship to that church."

"Indeed you do." Jack carefully shifted the weight of his heavy arm cast around. "How does this mesh with what happened to the ending of Mark's Gospel?"

"When the story started in the first century, my family were not Christians. Apparently, with time, this changed. They came to treasure the fragment in their possession without realizing how priceless it was. Only after several centuries did they fully recognize what they had. By then, political intrigue had entered the church and touched its leadership. Revealing what they had kept hidden might have had dangerous repercussions for my ancestors. Consequently, they concealed the parchment in an unusual place and told no one except family members."

"Only your family knew?" Michelle asked.

"Only the
inner circle
of our family. It became our guarded secret carefully handed down from generation to generation through the centuries."

"And now you have brought this information to us," Jack said.

"I have come to the conclusion that it is time to release this treasure to the world. From all that I have learned about the two of you, I believe you will deal with this revelation in a manner that honors our family and its diligence through the many centuries."

"We are profoundly honored," Jack said. "Can you tell us now where this fragment can be found?"

Guido shook his head. "If for some reason we are wire tapped or someone overheard what we have just said, all chaos would break loose. We must take this journey a step at a time. Only as I know each piece in the puzzle is safe will I reveal where the next piece can be found. This will protect you as well. No one can come after you because you won't know."

"My, my," Michelle said. "We're in on a mystery scavenger hunt."

"I'm afraid so," Guido said. "I don't see any other way to keep us safe."

"I guess that puts you in the driver's seat," Jack said. "I'm still on the lame side, but Michelle is already back at work."

"They've moved our offices inside Santa Maria Church in a back room," Michelle said. "The new priest was gracious enough to allow us to work inside. We had a significant amount of material destroyed in the blast, but the books and papers that remained have been stacked in the new offices. I am still trying to get everything back in order, and it'll take a while to do so."

"OK," Guido said. "I will start work in those offices."

Michelle smiled. "You bet. We're ready for that next big step."