Leo’s mind seemed to go blank for a second … Cathars?
“I’m not sure we’re following you, Mr. Zamir.”
“I had a feeling my last statement would need some further explanation, Cardinal. Most people don’t even know what a Cathar is, much less the fact that they are still with us today. They continue to live among us in peace, but because members of their faith were once hunted to the point of extinction, they prefer to keep their beliefs private. In a world filled with religious turmoil, they’re probably the smartest of the lot. While the rest of us go about pounding on our chests and chanting the convictions of our chosen faiths as if they were ancient blood oaths, they go about their daily lives with quiet introspection, respecting the beliefs of others. When’s the last time you ever heard of a Cathar trying to convert you to their way of thinking?”
“To be honest, I’m one of those who didn’t even know they were still around.”
“Then look around you, Cardinal, because you’re standing next to some right now.”
A thin, feminine hand reached out and touched Leo’s hand. Leo felt the room sway when he saw Evita’s smiling face looking up at him. “You?”
“All the Spanish members of your team, Cardinal,” Zamir continued. “They’re all Cathars.”
A collective gasp reverberated among the original members of the Bible Code Team.
“Wow!” John said.
“I’ll second that observation,” Lev added. “How long have you known about this, Danny?”
“We first learned of their existence a few years ago when Spain’s National Center for Intelligence approached us with news that Acerbi and his group were up to something. If you remember, we were all a little busy after 9/11, and there was no concrete threat at the time, so we put the information on the back burner for a while. To be honest, we just didn’t see the need to become involved in something that wasn’t a threat to Israel. We were mistaken.”
“So, what happened to change your mind?”
“Let me fill you in on a little more background first.” Zamir looked around the room at all the somber faces staring back at him and smiled. “This is a tough crowd.”
A few pockets of nervous laughter erupted around the room. The head of the Mossad was an expert at putting people at ease, a talent he had acquired as a young man when he played the part of the good guy during interrogations of suspected terrorists.
“Basically, the true Cathars have known about this breakaway group for hundreds of years. On the surface, it appeared that they were evolving into more of a secular, profit-driven organization. They seemed more interested in acquiring material wealth … a goal no true Cathar would ever consider pursuing. Then, a few years ago, a leading member of Acerbi’s group broke ranks and fled to the Cathar ancestral grounds located in the Catalan region of southern France. It was well-known within the ranks of the true Cathars that anyone who broke with the Acerbi clan faced some pretty heavy retaliation if they were caught. We’ve heard rumors that the penalty for deserting the clan is death. To make a long story short, the defector found sympathetic ears among the modern day Cathars who still live in the area. After checking out his story, they gave him a house in a small village, where he has lived under an assumed name ever since.”
“So what do Cathars have to do with Acerbi’s plan?” Leo asked, glancing over at Javier.
“Like I said, modern Cathars live all around us. They’re teachers, scientists, doctors … they’re even employed as intelligence officers in several countries around the world. Believe it or not, you have a couple working at the Vatican, Cardinal.”
Leo was too enthralled with Zamir’s story to respond.
“The man who fled from Acerbi’s group agreed to share his knowledge of the clan’s activities with a fellow Cathar who also happened to be a Spanish intelligence officer. The Spanish were shocked to hear that Acerbi’s group was involved in things like blackmail of government officials, gun running, drugs … even assassinations, but when the Spanish authorities heard that he was funneling money to terrorist groups they gave us a heads up.”
“Why didn’t they just report Acerbi to the French police or Europol?” Leo asked. “I mean, they were just dealing with a criminal at that point. Why didn’t they take his organization out when they still had the chance?”
“It’s more complicated than that, Cardinal. The Acerbi clan has a multi-layered hierarchy, with secret groups within secret groups. He’s evidently received some advice from some of the best intelligence minds in the world. The right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing. From an intelligence standpoint, it’s brilliant, but to anyone trying to break through into the inner circle to see just what’s really going on, it’s a nightmare. For over two hundred years, the Acerbi clan has been stacking the deck in their favor. All across the world, their people are embedded within the top echelons of the police, the military, big industry … they even have people at the executive level in a number of governments, including two sitting presidents. They control people in top positions in almost every government on earth.”
“So basically, we don’t know who to trust.”
“Exactly. That’s why we’ve chosen to work only with people we know well.”
“So our meeting with Javier and his group was no accident.”
“Not by a long shot. The crash of Orsini’s jet was a perfect opportunity to get your two teams together.”
“So the crash was just what it appeared to be,” Leo said. “An accident?”
“Some would call it providence, Cardinal. But whatever you want to call it, the accident was a lucky break for your pope. It appears that Orsini was working for Acerbi. He was on his way back to the Vatican with some special communion hosts made from Acerbi’s genetically modified wheat.”
“The ones found at the crash site?”
“Yes. We had the contents analyzed for a genetic signature after we received a copy of Acerbi’s memo. They were made from Acerbi’s genetically altered wheat. It looks like they were planning on replacing the hosts in the pope’s private chapel with the genetically altered ones, thus making the pope susceptible to the virus after he ate one. We believe it was their intention for Orsini to become pope and lay the blame for the viral outbreak right at the doorstep of the Church, thus honoring Acerbi’s ancestral pledge to destroy the Catholic Church from within.”
Leo stared back at Zamir and sat down next to Evita. “This is unbelievable.”
“The papacy has been laced with intrigue for the past two thousand years, Cardinal. This latest attempt to assassinate a sitting pope should come as no surprise to a church historian with your credentials.”
“So it was Pope Michael’s idea to send us to Spain?”
“Yes … after Morelli suggested it. The pope needed his best soldiers involved in the coming battle. Regardless, your two teams are now one, and Acerbi’s plan has finally been revealed to us.”
“Martha and Fredrick?”
“Katsas … Mossad field agents. I find it amusing that no one noticed they never made it onboard the Carmela in France.”
“What!” Alon shouted. “I’m sure I saw them on the beach … we did a head count.”
“There was an Israeli sub lying off the French coast. Some of our Special Forces snipers came ashore and positioned themselves in the dunes before your group arrived on the beach. Martha and Fredrick slipped off in the darkness to join them when you were all struggling with the Carmela’s boats in the surf.”
“I knew all along there were people watching us from those dunes,” John said.
Zamir smiled as Ariella rolled her eyes.
“The barge?” Leo asked Zamir.
“Ours.”
“Go figure.”
“So basically, we were bait,” Lev said, finally breaking his silence. “I’m not sure I appreciate you putting us in harm’s way like that without telling us, Danny.”
“You were once one of us, Lev. You know how we operate. We couldn’t show our hand until after we were sure no one at the compound or in your group was connected to Acerbi. His tendrils are wrapped around everything. If it’s any consolation, we’ve always had your back. Who do you think destroyed your helicopter and set off those charges around the compound before the attack?”
“Martha and Fredrick?”
“Ephraim. He was instrumental in making sure you were out of the castle when Acerbi’s choppers arrived.”
“Why didn’t you just take out the choppers before they got to us? You evidently had assets in the area.”
“For the same reasons I mentioned earlier … secrecy. Our plan will fail if Acerbi catches even a hint that we are aware of his involvement. Suffice it to say that our power lies in his ignorance. For now, he’s still trying to cover up the kidnapping of Sarah and figure out what you were doing in France. Once we found out that he was behind the disappearance of the only person in the world who had survived the virus, we knew we had our man … Acerbi was behind the biological attacks. Luckily for us, Martha and Fredrick were already in place. They risked their lives searching the chateau for documents to back up our suspicions.” Zamir laughed. “You didn’t really believe that stuff about the laundry chute, did you, Cardinal?”
“Sounded plausible to me, but what about Sarah? You were still risking the life of a civilian who had no idea what she was getting herself into.”
“There are no civilians when it comes to killing off half the planet,” Zamir said, his eyes scanning every face in the room. “Besides, Sarah was under our protection the entire time she was at the chateau. Despite their appearance, Martha and Fredrick are two very experienced operatives. They’ve been caretakers for some of the most evil men in the world … who by the way are no longer with us. They were prepared to give their lives for Sarah if Acerbi had decided to harm her. For now, it appears he is busy putting his power base to work in an effort to discredit the entire Bible Code Team and prove to the world that you brought Sarah to France-that you were a bunch of radical survivalists creating your own paramilitary base on French soil for your own nefarious reasons. He’s throwing up smoke clouds everywhere to keep the attention away from him. This buys us time on two fronts. He doesn’t dare release anymore virus until things calm down, and we now have more time to find the source of the pathogen before we take him out.”
“Wow,” John said. “This guy’s like the Antichrist.”
Zamir nodded his head. “That’s a good analogy my young friend, because we’re looking at a viral Armageddon if we don’t stop him.”
“So what do we do now?” Leo asked.
“Sleep, Cardinal … just sleep. Tomorrow we’ll go over our plan.”
With that, Danny Zamir walked from the room, followed by an entourage of some very serious-looking men.