And true to his word, the assassin gave chase.
CHAPTER FORTY
“There are secrets within the Vatican,” Cardinal Marcello confirmed as he and Cardinal Angullo walked along the path the divided the Old Gardens. “The pontiff called me into his chamber and questioned me regarding whether or not I was offering recompense for your support in my pursuit of the papal throne.”
“And what did you tell him?”
“The truth,” he said. “I told him I was doing what was necessary to make allies. He, on the other hand, believes that I should proffer my past merits as a cardinal to the College, rather than to bolster camps with promised incentives.”
“And what about the secrets?”
“The pontiff was candid,” he said. “He claims the secrets are not being withheld from the constituency because they bear any sense of immorality… but are more of a source of unwanted controversy.”
“Controversy, my dear Cardinal, is normally derived from prospects considered at the very least, amoral.”
“My sentiments precisely,” he said. “And as I told the dear pontiff, one man’s morality is another man’s immorality. Should any subject bear the weight of causing controversy, then it has no place in the Church. Morality and controversy cannot exist cohesively together.”
“And did he entrust you with any secrets?”
“No. He told me nothing.”
“Then perhaps I can enlighten you with something my sources informed me of while lobbying them on your behalf.”
“Go ahead.”
“Have you heard of the Society of Seven?” he asked.
“No.”
“Allegedly, they’re a most powerful council made up of the pope, Cardinal Vessucci, and five of the most trusted cardinals within the College who are closest to the pope,” he said. “They are the sole keepers of the Vatican’s secrets.”
Cardinal Marcello stopped in his tracks, as did Cardinal Angullo, the men staring at each other as they were surrounded by a riot of floral colors of the garden.
“Allegedly?”
Angullo shook his head. “Allegedly, yes. But I’m trying to verify this as we speak.”
Both men turned and commenced their walk along the pathway.
“Such a secret in itself can be held very close to the vest,” said Marcello. “To prove something of such caliber may be impossible to do.”
“This is true. And perhaps the truth will never be discovered on whether or not they truly exist, or if they truly bear the secrets of the Vatican. But if it is true, then Cardinal Vessucci is in league with very powerful people.”
Cardinal Marcello nodded. “Vessucci confers with few besides the pope, so determining who they are can be easily assumed, if this is the case.”
“And if this is the case, proven or not, then we must — or you must, as pontiff — take action in order to purge any clandestine factions within the Vatican.”
“I would hate to prosecute anyone without confirmation?”
“The pope has already acknowledged the fact that the Vatican holds secrets, which he is unwilling to unveil to you because he feels that he can’t entrust you with them. That is why he called me into his chamber prior to your meeting. It was an obvious lobbying effort on his part to coerce me by having my camp support Cardinal Vessucci, so that the secrets can be maintained.”
Cardinal Marcello nodded his head in agreement. “It’s always been obvious that he wants the good cardinal to succeed him.”
“But I have promised you the support of my camp ensuring you the papacy in return for the seat of secretary of state. Now I ask you for a second favor that will guarantee you that seat.”
Cardinal Marcello stopped in his tracks. “I thought the seat was already guaranteed the moment I offered you the appointment of secretary of state, upon my commission of the throne.”
Angullo raised his forefinger. “All I ask is but one thing,” he said. “The thing I ask will serve to protect you and the throne, should the Society of Seven exists.”
“Go on.”
“The Vatican has diplomatic ties with ninety percent of the countries worldwide. What I ask of you is this: Once you have secured the title as pope, then you’ll need to appoint Cardinal Vessucci and his allies to archdioceses across the globe to weaken his ranks.”
Cardinal Marcello stood idle. The man was a seasoned cleric much older than Angullo. He also saw the subterfuge of every man’s rhetoric and the mind games they played in order to better position themselves for something esteemed. And Marcello saw this. “Now it’s clear,” he finally said. “What you say you do for me you also do for yourself. I am thirty years your senior and by the laws of nature I will pass before you. But you only lobby on my behalf because it will do two things: You obtain the second most powerful seat in the Vatican. And by usurping the position held by Cardinal Vessucci, you will then be the second most powerful man in the Vatican. Secondly, by appointing the good cardinal to an archdiocese elsewhere, I break up his constituency which leaves you with the most powerful camp in the Vatican upon my passing. What you’re doing is setting yourself up for the papal seat in the future.”
“What I do I do for the good of the Church,” he said. “I won’t deny that my ambitions are the same as yours, Constantine. But I do believe if Cardinal Vessucci bears secrets that may be amoral, even though he is a good man, he can be a threat to the welfare of the Church — albeit unknowingly — since the road to Hell is truly paved with good intentions. Is that something you can afford to turn a blind eye to?”
Cardinal Marcello mulled this over carefully; digesting the cardinal’s every word. “I’m not convinced that what you tell me is all for the good of the Church,” he said. “I also believe that you’re positioning yourself by eliminating Cardinal Vessucci, who seems to be more of a threat to you than he is to the Vatican. But I also find your reasoning sound. So I’ll grant you your second request. But if you come to me with a third, then I will seek the papacy without the service of your following. Is that clear?”
The cardinal parted his thin lips into a smile that flashed more like a grimace. “Totally,” he said.
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
“Again!”
From the wings of the training center located in an uncharted building situated between St. Martha’s Chapel and the Ethiopian College about 200 meters west of the Basilica, Kimball watched from the shadows as Joshua, Job and Ezekiel partook in mock combat using wooden katanas.
Brass torches lining the walls were lit, the flames dancing, the shadows against the walls moving in macabre fashion.
In the center of the chamber Ezekiel served as the object of the attack as Joshua and Job flanked him, their katanas held forward with the blunted points aimed at their target. Slowly, and with practiced prudence, they circled the young Knight looking for the proper moment to strike.
Ezekiel held his ground, the point of his wooden blade before him as he kept his faux enemies at bay deciphering what defensive techniques to use upon the moment of attack. By now he knew his instincts should have been honed to the point of natural reaction, striking out with skilled movement independent of the mind — reaction against action. But Ezekiel knew he wasn’t there yet, still depending on mental decision over instinctive reaction. But he was close and he knew it. And so did Kimball.