Morelli began to sense that something wasn’t quite right. “I think we’ve spent enough time down here for now. The carbon dioxide levels are too high for us to stay any longer. Let’s move out into the tunnel and replace the bricks in the hole we made. Until we know the chapel’s true purpose, we need to keep its location a secret.”
The trio began to gather the stone bricks that had fallen inside the chapel and piled them in the tunnel by the entrance. They worked quickly to fit all the bricks back into the hole while using the water from their canteens to moisten the powder-like mortar that had fallen to the floor. Scooping up the mud-like substance, they smoothed it into the spaces between the stones.
When they were almost finished with their reconstruction, Leo’s eyes fell on a lone brick lying on the earthen floor. In their haste to enter the chapel, they had forgotten to check the loose bricks for any marks or symbols. He stepped closer and shined his light on the stone. His breath began to come in shallow gasps as he reached down and brushed away some of the dust that covered part of the image he was staring at.
“Anthony… John… I think you two need to see this.”
Father Morelli and John shined their lights down on the stone brick. On its painted surface, they saw the clear and unmistakable image of a modern jet plane hitting one of two very tall towers.
“Oh, my God,” John said. “It’s 9/11!”
All three looked at one another in disbelief. The ancient image depicting a modern event on a brick from inside a chapel sealed for nineteen centuries was too much to process at the moment.
“We need to take that brick with us,” Morelli said.
John concentrated on composing himself before grabbing the brick and shoving it into his backpack. “We really have to go, Fathers.”
The three men finished sealing off the chapel in silence. They used existing tunnel debris to fill in the hole left from the missing brick and began making their way out of the long-forgotten section of the ancient Christian catacombs.
Leo felt himself sway as the tunnel walls began to close in around him. “How much farther is it, Anthony?”
“I don’t think we’ll have to go all the way back to Mamertine Prison. On the way here, I noticed an older side tunnel that appeared to lead in the direction of Castel Sant’ Angelo, and if we can find an exit there, we should be breathing fresh air in fifteen minutes.”
The exhausted men made their way through a series of right and left turns until they came to a crumbling side tunnel. Trading looks, they entered the narrow passageway and followed it until they came across an old wooden ladder that led to a covered opening above their heads.
Leo climbed up and found the name of the castle engraved on a heavy metal cover sealing the exit. He pushed as hard as he could with little success before John climbed up beside him with the pickax. They placed one end of the axe under the edge, and after some levered pushes, the cover inched away from the opening. Breathing even more heavily now, they all climbed up into a basement room of the ancient castle and collapsed on the floor.
The massive fortress of Castel Sant’ Angelo was named after the Archangel Michael. It was built in AD 139 as Emperor Hadrian’s mausoleum. In the year 590, the Archangel Michael appeared above the mausoleum to Pope Gregory the Great. Returning his sword into its scabbard, the angel signaled the end of a plague. Since then, the castle has served as a medieval citadel, a prison, and as a residence to popes in times of political unrest.
The lower levels were composed of stone cells, which were used mainly for storage. It was into one of these cells that the three men had climbed before collapsing from exhaustion and lack of fresh air. After resting for several minutes, they slid the heavy cover back over the manhole and continued to breathe in the oxygen-rich air.
John raised himself to his feet and walked over to the only exit in the room. He lifted a heavy metal latch on the door and peered out into a brightly lit hallway. Backing into the other two, John held his finger up to his lips and quickly closed the door.
Two security guards in impeccable dark blue uniforms were coming directly at them from a stairway at the far end of the hall. Had the guards seen him open the door? Footsteps stopped in the hallway outside. The three men listened. They could hear voices, then laughter, as the footsteps trailed off in the distance. John inched the door open and looked out into the empty hallway before glancing over his shoulder. “If we have to join another tour to get out of this place, I’m buying a full-season tourist pass.”
The nervous trio stepped into the hall and made their way unseen up the stairs to an outside door that opened onto a street teaming with tourists. Catching a few stares, the tired, dirt-covered men stumbled out into the bright sunshine and summoned the last of their strength to make their way back toward the Vatican.
Morelli stomped the sidewalk in an effort to shake the dirt from his shoes. “I’ve got to take a shower and go pick up my car. I’ll meet you at your hotel in a few hours, Leo.”
Almost too weary to speak, Leo nodded before stopping to gaze up at the statue of Saint Michael perched on the summit of the castle. He turned toward Morelli. “Did we really just use the Bible to find an ancient hidden chapel?”
Morelli smiled. “Amazing, isn’t it.”
Chapter 8
Following a hot shower, Father Leo dressed and opened a bottle of wine. After pouring a large glass, he walked out onto the balcony and breathed in the warm spring air containing a mixture of flowers, motorbike exhaust, and cooking smells heavy with garlic. It was pure Roman perfume that existed nowhere else on earth. He felt refreshed, and the events of the day had stirred him to feel more focused and alive with a kind of hyper-alertness guiding his thoughts.
A knock at the door startled him. Setting his wine on a small glass-topped table, he moved back inside the room with unreasoning apprehension. Leo pulled the door open slightly and felt a surge of relief to see the grinning faces of Morelli and John standing in the hallway.
“Well, can we come in?” Morelli asked, looking at his friend with a sense of amusement.
“Of course. Sorry. I, well, I …”
“You mean, you’re still a little freaked out about today,” John said.
“Well, yes, to be frank. I mean, this whole business has been so sudden and has such profound implications. Aren’t you two at all fazed by what we’ve found?”
Morelli put his hand on Leo’s shoulder. “Pour us some wine, Father. We have a lot to discuss.”
John opened up his backpack and unceremoniously dropped the painted brick from the chapel onto the bed. There, before their eyes, was the image of a modern jet plane hitting the Twin Towers. It was unmistakable in its breadth and clarity.
“I think the first thing we should do is have it carbon dated,” John said.
“Yes, naturally,” Morelli agreed. “We also need to call Lev in Israel. He’ll want to run an analysis with the Bible code software right away. I feel we are on a breakthrough of … ”
“Of biblical proportions?” John laughed.
For the first time all day, Leo began to relax. These two tireless individuals were able to deal with what was probably one of the most astonishing historical discoveries of all time without losing their sense of perspective. With the thrill of discovery, the specter of unseen evil forces drifted off into the background.
Morelli sat on the edge of the bed and picked up the phone while Leo and John walked out onto the balcony. The glow from the wine, the sunset, and the day’s events, had given Leo a feeling of total gratification to be at this place at this time in history as he listened to Morelli’s animated discussion with Lev Wasserman in Israel. This discovery was most likely the highlight of both their careers and went a long way toward validating the code.