"We look pretty shabby for a reception," said Giordino, surveying his rumpled clothing.
"If I may have a moment," asked Pitt. "Could you direct me to the nearest bathroom?"
"Why, certainly," she said sweetly. "The men's room is just behind you to your right."
In a few minutes, Pitt and Giordino entered the Oval Office. They were stunned to find the room crowded- the joint Chiefs of Staff, the President's cabinet and top aides, Admiral Sandecker with Hiram Yaeger and Rudi Gunn, several congressional leaders, and Loren Smith, who showed no fear or embarrassment by coming over and kissing Pitt square on the lips. There was a solid round of applause as Pitt and Giordino stood stunned with astonishment.
When the sounds of clapping hands and voices quieted, Pitt could not refrain from saying, "This is certainly a better reception than we got at the Gordons Corner airport."
"Gordons Corner?" blurted Sandecker. "You were supposed to land at Andrews Air Force Base, where a reception committee was still waiting for you."
"Yes," said the secretary of state, Paul Reed. "What's this about you being arrested and held by the police?"
"The Wolf family made an attempt to retrieve the relics," answered Pitt.
"They tried to hijack the relics?" asked General Amos South of the joint Chiefs of Staff. "I certainly hope they failed."
"They failed," Pitt assured him. "We have the relics."
President Dean Cooper Wallace walked up to them. "Gentlemen, the nation, no, the world, owes you a debt of gratitude that can never be repaid. Unfortunately, only a select few will ever learn how close the world came to chaos and what you did to prevent it."
Vice President Brian Kingman stood beside the President. "It's an injustice for you not to receive proper acclaim for your tremendous achievements, but if the story of how the world's population came within minutes of being obliterated became known, there would be total chaos. The media would go ballistic, and despite the danger having passed, fear and terror would last for years to come."
"Brian is right," said the President. "Knowing Earth is susceptible to being struck by a comet or asteroid, or experiencing an earthquake, is hardly a concern of the public during their day-to-day existence. But they could never shrug off the thought of another madman like Karl Wolf and his family attempting to annihilate billions of people to fulfill a compulsion for world domination. Fear would run rampant, a situation we cannot allow to happen."
"I don't mind, Mr. President," Giordino said, cheerfully brazen. "I've always hated the thought of people coming up and demanding my autograph while I was dining in a restaurant."
Pitt turned away to suppress his laughter. Sandecker rolled his eyes toward the ceiling. The President looked blank, not knowing if the little Italian was joking or serious.
"I think what my friend is trying to get across," said Pitt, "is that he and I are quite content to remain anonymous."
At that point, everyone in the room began asking questions, mostly about how they had crossed the ice in the Snow Cruiser and saved the Special Forces teams. Then the President stared down and saw the spear in Giordino's hand.
"Is that the Holy Lance I've heard so much about?" he asked.
Giordino nonchalantly laid the lance in the President's hands. "Yes, sir, it is."
Wallace held the lance over his head, as everyone in the room stared in awe.
"The most sacred relic in all of Christendom," proclaimed Pitt. "It's said the man who wields it can command the destiny of the world for good or evil."
"Obviously, Hitler chose the latter," said Admiral Sandecker.
"Is it truly the spear that pieced Christ's body on the cross?" Wallace asked reverently, gazing at the spear point as if expecting to see a hint of dried blood.
"So says the legend," said Pitt.
The President handed the lance to Secretary of State Reed. "You'd better take it, Paul."
"What do you intend to do with it, Mr. President?" asked General South.
Cooper lightly touched the ancient spearhead. "I'm told the lance belongs in the treasure room of the Royal Palace in Vienna, from which Hitler stole it in 1938."
Reed shook his head. "Never," he said emphatically. "I'm sorry, Mr. President, but it must be hidden away, never to fall into malignant hands again and be used as a symbol for tyranny."
After they had all examined the Blood Flag and the small bronze plaque thought to have saved Hitler's life, Pitt went out to the desk of the President's secretary, where he'd left the urn, and carried it into the Oval Office. He set it on the table before the fireplace. "The ashes of Hitler and Eva Braun."
Then he stood back as the crowd in the Oval Office moved in closer to inspect the words etched in the silver. Their voices soon hushed and became quiet murmurs as they examined the container of the accursed remains of history's most infamous despot.
"It makes me shudder simply to look at it," said Loren, clutching Pitt's arm.
Pitt gripped her around the waist. "I'm sure you're not alone."
"Too abhorrent to contemplate," muttered the President.
General South looked at the President and said, "Sir, I think we should inspect the interior of the urn to make absolutely certain that ashes are truly inside."
President Wallace looked around the office. "Does anyone object?"
"I also think it wise," said Secretary of State Reed, "that the FBI labs do a thorough examination to prove they're human."
"Will you please remove the lid, General?" the President asked South.
Even the tough old soldier found it repulsive to touch the urn. Very reluctantly, he gently placed his fingers around the black eagle atop the urn and twisted it cautiously as he lifted. The lid came free and he set it on the desk as if it were tainted with a virus.
Everyone stood back whisper-silent as the President warily peered into the urn. His face took on a puzzled expression, and he looked up into a sea of grim, expectant faces.
"It's empty," he said vaguely. "There are no ashes inside."
The word "empty" was repeated throughout the room. "This certainly is a twist no one counted on," said Vice President Kingman, equally mystified.
"Is it possible the Wolfs took the ashes and rehid them?" General South said, voicing the thoughts of everyone present.
Only Giordino looked strangely contemplative. Then his face brightened as if he had suddenly witnessed a revelation. He turned and looked at Pitt queerly. "Oh no!" he muttered softly. "You didn't?"
"I did," Pitt answered honestly.
"What are you talking about?" asked Loren. "Do you know who took the ashes?"
"I do."
"Then who?"
"Me," Pitt replied, his opaline green eyes reflecting fiendish mirth. "I flushed them down the toilet in the White House men's room."
FINAL BLESSING
The day was typical for the nation's capital, the climate hot and sultry. The leaves hung green on their branches and the cool breeze of the coming fall was nowhere to be felt. Crowds of people were standing in long lines to view the recently opened wing of the Natural History Museum, which housed more than three thousand Amenes treasures and artifacts that had been recovered from St. Paul Island, the Ulrich Wolf, and the ongoing excavation of the lost city in the Antarctic.
Members of the Wolf family, as expected, walked free from the courts. But an international investigative force was formed for no other purpose than to keep all family members under strict surveillance. There was no way the Wolfs would be allowed to attempt another world-domination scheme without being discovered and stopped dead in their tracks. Destiny Enterprises was no more, and with the death of Karl, the family was rudderless. And without their enormous hoard of wealth and assets, most were forced to endure a far less luxurious lifestyle.