"The question is, who did he give it to?"
"Oh, we know that," Stephanie said. "The monk with the staff."
"Okay, but we don't know who he is."
"Not yet," Stephanie said, "but we will."
Halfway around the world from Virginia, Haddad listened to Asif Nawabi's report on the failed mission to Italy.
"You sent experienced men?"
"Some of our best. They were veterans, good men. It would not have been easy to defeat them."
"You are watching the Americans?"
"They are still in Milan."
"They will continue to search for the relic of their false God. Next time, you personally will go after them. Assemble a team. Make sure they are reliable men."
"Easy enough to put together the men I need," Nawabi said, "but not so easy to follow the Americans when they leave Italy."
"Perhaps. It depends on where they go. If they go back to America, it means they have decided to give up the search. Anywhere else, we can find them."
CHAPTER 31
Stephanie came into Elizabeth's office and sat down on a chair near the desk.
"Why don't you sit on the couch?" Elizabeth said. "It's more comfortable."
"Not anymore," Stephanie said. "Not until the baby gets here. It's too hard to climb out of it."
"You look as though you've discovered something."
"That monk on the tile they found in Greece? He's a Syriac Orthodox monk."
"Syriac? From Syria?"
"He might be from Syria but that's not what Syriac means. It's a branch of Christianity. They claim to be the oldest Christian church in the world, beginning in 37 CE at Antioch. Their Patriarch is in Damascus."
"I've never heard of them."
"I'm convinced the two tiles together form a message about the Grail. Anastasius had it and gave it to the monk on the second tile."
"The Syriac monk."
"Yes. So looking for the Grail means looking for a Syriac Orthodox monastery."
"How did you identify the monk?"
"From the staff on the tile, with the two snakes and the diamond cross on the top. That's the symbol of the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate. The Patriarch holds one as his staff of office, like the Pope's shepherd's crook."
"At least it narrows things down a little bit."
"More than a little," Stephanie said. "The Grail changed hands at the end of the fourth century. There was only one Syriac Orthodox monastery in the right timeframe, Mor Gabriel. It was founded not long after Anastasius left Italy for the monastery at Sumela. It's also in Turkey."
"It still exists?"
"It does."
"And you think the Grail was taken there."
"It's a logical assumption, if I'm right about the tiles."
"That's a big if."
"Yes. There's a problem, though."
"There's always a problem. What is it this time?"
"People have been murdering monks and nuns at Mor Gabriel for centuries. The Turks, the Assyrians, Tamerlane, the Kurds, it's one long history of persecution. Now the current government is after them."
"Why?"
"The Kurds and Turks killed thousands of Syriac Christians during World War I and the monastery has been lobbying for international condemnation of the murders as genocide. There's also a dispute over land the monks have owned since it was founded. Ankara is getting ready to take it over and kick the monks out."
"If the Grail is there, they'd find it."
"I'm not sure they would," Stephanie said. "The monks have hidden it this long. I can't see them leaving it where the Turks could get it."
"That makes sense if they know what's coming," Elizabeth said. "But if Ankara pulls a surprise raid, they might not have time to get it out of there. Assuming it's there in the first place."
"There's only one way to find out. You have to send the team to Turkey."
CHAPTER 32
Nick's phone signaled a call.
"It’s Harker," he said to the others. "Yes, Director."
"Stephanie turned up something. The figure on the second tile is a Syriac Orthodox monk."
"Syriac Orthodox? I've never heard of them."
Mercurio looked up when he heard the words.
Elizabeth continued. "Put me on speaker. I want all of you to hear it."
"Count Mercurio is in the room with us."
"It's all right if he hears what I say."
Nick activated the speaker. Elizabeth's voice sounded clear and far away.
"Steph and I think the Grail was handed off to the monk on the second tile. He's from a branch of Christianity called Syriac Orthodox. The only place you could find a Syriac monk back then was in Turkey, at a monastery called Mor Gabriel. There isn't any other place where he could have come from. It has to be Mor Gabriel. The monastery still exists. It's not far from the Syrian border and the city of Midyat."
"Does this mean we're going to Turkey?"
"As soon as everything is cleaned up where you are."
"How are we going in?"
"By way of Incirlik. You'll fly from Milan to the Air Force Base there. But I don't want the Turks to know what you're doing."
"They'll spot us as soon as we leave the base."
"You have to make sure that doesn't happen. I can get you off the base without going through control but after that it's up to you."
"And if we're recognized and stopped?"
"That's when you pull out your diplomatic passports and give them your story."
"Which is?"
"That the US government is concerned about the Kurdish independence movement."
"I thought we were supporting the Kurds because they're fighting ISIS."
"We are, but if you're questioned you have to sell the Turks on a different story. Tell them you’re on a covert fact-finding mission. Tell them the president is deeply concerned about the problems the Kurds are creating for our valued NATO ally."
"Some ally," Ronnie said.
Elizabeth said, "I happen to agree with you, but don't advertise that opinion once you're in country."
"Why are we supposed to be covert?" Nick asked.
"Because an official mission could be compromised by leaks. That's something any Turkish official can understand."
"We need some kind of documentation, something to back up the story."
"I already thought of that. It will be waiting for you at Incirlik."
"Do we have an excuse to go to the monastery?"
"Yes. Thousands of Syriac monks were massacred in Turkey during World War I. If you're questioned, say you been told to find evidence laying all blame on the Kurds and absolving the Turks of any part of the atrocities."
"Is that true? The Turks didn't do it?"
"They did it, all right, with help from the Kurds."
"That story is a little thin, Director."
"It's up to you to fatten it up. Better if you don't get stopped."
"I need intel about the monastery. Pictures, layout, internal plans, anything you can give me. If the Grail's there, the monks aren't going to hand it over because we asked. We're going to have to look for it."
"Steph will put what you need together. It will be in the packet you get at the base."
"You are all forgetting something," Mercurio said.
"Who's that?" Elizabeth asked.
"Count Mercurio," Nick said.
"What am I forgetting?" Elizabeth sounded annoyed.
"That you are looking for a sacred object unlike anything else in the world. You will not find it unless you are meant to."
"Are you suggesting that we give up looking?" Elizabeth said.
"Not at all. I have been searching for many years with no success. Perhaps I'm not meant to find it. Perhaps you are, I don't know. I'm only saying that if you do not pay attention to what the Grail means, it will never come into your possession."