Templars Revenge--Chapter 4

Chapter 4



         Jose crashed through the big walnut door from the pope’s apartment into the hallway.  He was met there by a forensic officer, rubber gloves on his hands, who took the boxes and letters from him for a thorough examination.  He had texted Lieutenant Carlo Pompili to have a tech sent up and have everyone ready in the large conference room, in the Vatican Police headquarters.  Video to track down the courier was already being reviewed at the Vatican and by the Rome police.  Jose’s head was down as his 6 foot 4 inch, 240 pound body took huge strides across the filthy cobblestones of St. Peters Square.

         The Vatican Police headquarters was to the left of the Basilica Saint Peters in a small, unremarkable building, in this remarkable country.  He would have to ready all the men and resources at the disposal of the Holy See in order to resolve this conflict.  Jose had 130 Vatican officers and another 134 Swiss Guards at his disposal.  There would be little if any sleep for them until this chapter in the church’s history was put behind them.

         In the conference room were 15 men, a half dozen in front of laptops sitting down reviewing video of the previous night’s killings and information on the mysterious deaths of 54 priests in France.  On the large monitor at the front of the room was a live news feed from Notre Dame.  As the inspector general rushed in the men turned their attention towards him.

         Jose scanned the room and found whom he was looking for, “Commander von Sonnberg, Vatican City is on high alert—double the guard at the Papal Apartments and wherever the pope is or is going.  All packages coming into Vatican City must be searched twice, and anything going to the pope or his staff must be inspected here first.”

         Commander von Sonnberg, who had been part of the Pontifical Swiss Guard for nearly two decades and its commander for the past seven years, nodded his head in acknowledgement as he pulled out a smart phone from his pocket.  With his thumbs working feverishly, he sent off several directives to his troops.

         Lieutenant Pompili, looking over the shoulder of one of the officers staring at a laptop stated, “The Rome Police are on their way with the courier that dropped off the box this morning.  The package was left at Pelican Express’ office on Via Camesena, near the main Rome train station addressed to Pelican Express.  When the office manager opened the box at 6:40 A.M., the box sent to the pope was inside with delivery instructions and cash payment included.  The box it came in is being sent over, and video feeds of the area are being reviewed.”

         Inspector General Carlozzi interjected, “Lieutenant, I don’t think the courier will know anything we don’t already know, however, interrogate him immediately.  Check the videos when the courier entered and exited to see if anyone watched or followed him.  Check all the traffic videos around Pelican, perhaps we can get lucky and see a car around the same time.  Also, all the videos from the Roma Termini must be reviewed; it wouldn’t surprise me if the package came in through the train station.”  Carlozzi’s big brown eyes looked around the room at the men, most in their blue police uniforms, looking back at him, “And what the hell do we know about the 54 dead French priests?”

         The room was silent.  It seemed like an eternity before a young officer sitting at one of the laptops finally looked up and said, “Beyond Archbishop Guilbert who was murdered on January 1, 2014, 61 priests died in France in January and February this year.  Last year, nine priests died in that same period.  Of the 61 priests, 14 died of diabetic shock, all between January 4th and 8th.  Another 17 priests died of heart problems, these were throughout the two months—nine died of strokes or aneurisms.  Eleven died in car or pedestrian accidents with cars, four of which were hit and runs.  Two died of cancer.  In eight there is no official cause of death or it was deemed natural.  Last year only three priests in all of France died of diabetes or complications of diabetes, four more from heart problems, one from a stroke, and there were no vehicular deaths.”

         With his face turning red, Carlozzi blurted out, “How did we miss this?”

         No one answered as the lieutenant turned his face from his boss.  Carlozzi knew their job wasn’t to protect every priest in every parish, but someone should have recognized this a month ago and he had just learned of a high number of French priests dying the previous week.

         “We need all the autopsy reports over here immediately.  If any priest is not yet in the ground, stop the burial until after the toxicology tests are complete.  Most of them must have been drugged.  Get a forensic pathologist over here to tell us how.  Send an investigator to look into all the car deaths.”  Everyone sat there silently until Carlozzi yelled, “Get to work—now!”



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         Owen looked down at his iPhone and saw the familiar 212 number, “Don, how are you?”

         “Good Owen, how are things going in Paris?  Have you found anything interesting?”

         Owen really wanted to tell Don he had met the woman of his dreams, but knew that’s now what he was asking about.  “It’s going great; I am finding lots of valuable information here.  Yesterday I was at the Bibliotheque Nationale de France, the national library of France since 1368, and looked through many original documents formerly at the Vatican Secret Archives.  I even saw a copy of the Chinon Parchment that was found in 2001 in the Secret Archives that details the Knights Templar trial in France and shows that Pope Clement V absolved Jacques de Molay and the rest of the Knights Templar leadership from the charges brought against them from the inquisition.  I don’t really understand why de Molay and others were put to death if they had received a pardon, but I’ll get to that soon.  There is so much more to the legend and story of the Templars that I think will make for a great game that’s not just about fighting, but one that has true historical significance.”

         “That’s terrific.  I knew from your experience and success on other projects that you were right for this job.  I think there is probably more that you can uncover in Paris, but I’ve arranged for you to take a tour of Chartres Cathedral.  As you have probably figured out by now, Chartres has been associated with the Templars since it was first built.  A friend of mine is the bishop there and has agreed to give you a tour and discuss its history. I’m sure it will be beneficial, and you will enjoy it.”

         Owen was making good progress in Paris and was going to see Andrea for dinner the next night, “I’ll go there after I finish up in Paris.”

         Don shot back, “Oh no, it’s all set up for tomorrow.  Chartres isn’t far from Paris, it will be best if you stay in the area for a couple of days to do your research.”

         “Okay, I just pulled up the train schedule; it’s about an hour away.  I’ll book a room and continue my research.”

         “Excellent.  Bishop Benoit LaPorte will be expecting you around 10:30 tomorrow morning.  Don’t tell him you are working on a video game, a priest may not understand.  He thinks you are doing research on a book on the history of the Knights Templar in France.”

         “Yes, my guess is that there aren’t too many priests that are gamers,” Owen said.

         “None that I’ve ever met—I’ve heard that Chartres Cathedral is very beautiful and has many of its original stained glass windows from the early 13th century; this should provide some details for our game.”

         “Not a problem, I’ll hook up with the bishop tomorrow and spend a couple of days doing my research.  I’ve uncovered some fascinating history of the Templars from that area…it would be good to see the place in person, especially since they had a hand in constructing the church.  Who knows, maybe I’ll find their long, lost treasure.”

         “Of course you’ll have to share it with us since you’re on our dime,” Don joked.  “My partners are coming to my office in New York to meet with me in two days…I’ll need a status from you beforehand.”

         “I’ll touch base with you tomorrow night to give you an update.”

         “Thanks, and enjoy your side trip.”

         Owen wasn’t thrilled with having to spend time right now in Chartres; since it was only an hour outside of Paris, he thought it would make more sense just to day-trip it and go back a second time if necessary.  However, Owen was reluctant to push back to his employer seeing as they were paying all of his expenses, and being a closet history buff he loved this project.  He sent a text to Andrea telling her he was going to be in Chartres for a few days, and would be back in Paris shortly.  He hoped the beautiful French girl with gorgeous green eyes didn’t think this was just a convenient excuse to blow her off.

THANKS FOR READING--STORY CONTINUES ON WITH CHAPTER 5