A short pause came from the other end of the line. “Of course,” Han-Jae snarled. “That has to be the place. The great sword of Peter must be hidden in his square. Were you able to get more details?”
“No, sir. They are in a pub, and there’s some ambient noise making things difficult to hear. That was all I could pick up with my equipment.”
He’d been using a listening device to hear the conversation between the Americans at the pub. His equipment, however, was outdated like much of the gear the Chairman bestowed on his spies. Su Pak often wondered how they could keep up with the rest of the world if they didn’t have money to spend on better weapons and equipment.
“That’s good enough,” Han-Jae said. “We know where they are going and, more specifically, where to set our trap.” He thought for a moment and then changed subjects. “Have you ordered the package I requested from the general?”
“Yes, sir. Understandably, he was hesitant to send it.”
“Of course he was. I would be. Where is it now?”
“I took the liberty of having it sent to Rome. It will be there with an armed escort when you arrive. The general sent two of his best men to make sure it was well protected.”
“Excellent. Send me the exact details on where to pick it up. I trust you will also send me a report on Saint Peter’s Square with the best tactical information.”
“Sending it right now, sir. You will find it in your email within moments.”
“Perfect. Meet us at the airport in fifty minutes. You’re coming with us to Italy.”
Sun Pak hesitated. He hadn’t anticipated that. “Yes, sir. I’ll be ready.”
Han-Jae ended the call and looked out the window.
Rain had been falling consistently for the last twenty minutes. The roads were soaked, and traffic was starting to pick up as they drew closer to London.
The driver, Shaved Head, looked over at him. “What did he say?”
Han-Jae continued staring out the window. They passed a tour bus on the right, full of people who had no idea about the war going on around them. He wondered if he’d overplayed his hand, asking that the package be brought in, but desperate times called for such measures. It was too late to go back on the decision now.
“We’re going to Rome.”
Chapter 28
Tommy stared up at the obelisk in the middle of Saint Peter’s Square.
The monolith rose to over seventy-five feet, and while it wasn’t the tallest of the Egyptian obelisks, it towered over the square and dominated the immediate view before the visitor’s eye was drawn to the incredible dome just beyond.
Sean’s eyes weren’t locked on the obelisk. He was more concerned with the surrounding area. Saint Peter’s Square was a security nightmare. Tens of thousands of tourists poured through there every day. It was wide open in the middle with plenty of places to hide behind the columns that ran four deep along the colonnade. He put the bridge of his hand against his forehead and turned in every direction, examining the faces as they passed by.
Most people were there to take pictures or there on pilgrimage to visit the place they considered holy. Occasionally he’d see children running around playing tag or throwing water on each other from the fountain. After reconnoitering the plaza for more than ten minutes, though, he didn’t see a threat.
That didn’t mean there wasn’t one.
Sean and his friends were most vulnerable to sniper attack from one of the thousands of windows in the buildings surrounding the area. A sharpshooter could easily pick them off one at a time. A good one could take out all four in less than eight seconds. His eyes shifted, looking once more at random windows to see if there was a menacing silhouette.
From his vantage point, Sean knew it was a fruitless endeavor. They were going to have to risk being exposed to have a closer look at the obelisk. That didn’t mean he wasn’t going to keep his eyes open.
“Look okay to you?” Tommy asked as he turned his head toward Sean.
They’d been standing in the shade of the colonnade, waiting for the last few minutes as Sean checked out the situation.
“I don’t like it,” Sean said. “Too many variables. And you’ll be exposed. Out there in the middle of the plaza, you’re a sitting duck. If we’re going to take a look at this thing, we need to make sure we make it as difficult as possible for someone to ambush us.”
“You think they’re here?” June asked.
“I think we’d be stupid to say it’s not a possibility. They’ve somehow managed to track us down everywhere we’ve gone. No reason to think they won’t figure out where we are now.”
“But we swept everything. There weren’t any bugs in our stuff,” Tommy said.
Sean had done a thorough check of every item in their bags. There was no sign of any kind of tracking device, which meant if the North Koreans were following them, they had to be using a tail.
“Even so, we need to be careful.” Sean didn’t sound convinced that this was a good idea, but his friend was insistent. “We’ll stay here and keep watch while you go out there. If you see anything suspicious, get back over here as fast as you can. We’ll make easy targets if all four of us go out there together.”
“Targets?” June said.
“In case there’s a shooter in place.”
She was taken back by the comment, the situation suddenly becoming very real.
Tommy put his hand on her shoulder. “Listen, you don’t have to do this. We can go back to that little cafe we passed on the way here.”
June appreciated his sentiment, but she steeled her nerves and shook her head. “No. Let’s do this. Just be careful. I don’t like the idea of you going out there alone.”
He raised both eyebrows and held his hands out to the side. Tommy wasn’t going to argue with her no matter how worried he was deep down. June had a strong personality.
“I appreciate your concern. But if there is a clue to the sword or how we get it out of the basilica, it might be on that obelisk. I know Egyptian hieroglyphics better than the rest of you. And my Latin is strong, too. If there is something about the sword written on the obelisk, I have the best chance of interpreting it.”
June acknowledged his explanation with a nod. “Okay, fine. But hurry back.”
“I will. If something happens,” Tommy said, “don’t come after me. Let Sean take care of it.”
He didn’t wait for her to say anything, instead turning immediately and heading out into the square.
He walked along one of the long white lines set into the cobblestone, a feature added later on in the history of Saint Peter’s. The lines were designed as part of a large-scale sundial that worked in tandem with the obelisk’s shadow.
Tommy turned his head from side to side, scanning the surroundings for any signs of trouble. Thousands of nameless faces milled around the plaza. Some were taking pictures by the fountain; others were staring up at the statues guarding the entrance to the giant dome of the basilica. Hundreds more people were lined up around the ticket office, waiting patiently to get their tickets to see the basilica.
Fortunately, Tommy and the others had gotten in line earlier that morning before most of the sightseers and pilgrims had arrived. He knew what the lines could be like to get into what was one of the holiest sites in all of Christianity.
The night before, the group decided they would show up early at the square, get their tickets, and then drop back into the shadows to watch for trouble. They’d waited for any sign of the Brotherhood or the North Koreans, but the men never showed, not that the Americans noticed anyway. Like Sean said, there were a million places to hide.