It was almost midnight when the gray, unmarked, Boeing C-17 Globemaster circled to land on a darkened runway tucked into the woods at the base of the rising Pyrenees. With electronic signals to guide them, the pilots were following a laser-guided approach to the field that had been set up just prior to their arrival by Israeli Special Forces soldiers on the ground. Seconds later, the screech of tires against concrete announced the arrival of the big jet on French soil.
Diffuse, bluish light from a waning moon filtered down through a low cloud cover, providing an eerie welcome to the heavy-eyed team who had slept for most of the flight across the Mediterranean. Breathing in the crisp mountain air, they made their way down the ramp at the back of the aircraft to three black SUVs waiting on the tarmac.
“Hello, Professor,” a voice called out from the darkness.
Lev squinted at the dark shapes moving at the periphery of his vision. “Who’s there?”
“Benjamin … Benjamin Zamir, sir.”
“Danny’s boy?” Lev watched as a muscular, dark-haired man in his early 30’s appeared from the edge of the runway. His face was smeared with green and black camouflage paint and a pair of night-vision goggles hung from the front of his helmet.
“Yes, sir. I’m the commander of Special Ops Team 5 now. My father personally chose our team for this mission.”
“Time flies. The last time I saw you …”
“Was at my high school graduation. I was honored that you came.”
“It’s always an honor to be invited by a friend to a special event involving one of their children. Remember that. How long have you been in Special Forces?”
“Almost six years now, Professor. I don’t mean to rush, but we need to get everyone into the vehicles so we can clear this runway. The pilots need to get that jet out of here as soon as possible.”
Two minutes later, the SUVs were headed down a dirt road lined with trees as the sound of a big jet streaking by overhead drowned out all conversation inside the vehicle.
“The safe house is just a few miles from here, but there’s been a change of plans.”
“What kind of change?” Lev asked.
“The man you came to meet in Foix has given specific instructions that he will only meet with you and the cardinal.”
“What about the rest of the team?”
“They’ll remain at the safe house … all except for Dr. Diaz. As soon as we finish his makeup job, we’re taking him to the lab in Toulouse. We were only able to get access to the facility for six hours, so he’s going to have to get in and out quickly.”
Alon leaned over the seat. “I’m not letting Lev and Leo go to any meeting without me.”
“My men will be surrounding the house and …”
“I don’t care. I’m going in with them.”
“You’ll never win this argument, Ben,” Lev said. “Where I go, Alon goes.”
“But the man specifically told us that he only wants to meet with you and Leo.”
“He’ll have to adjust.”
“OK … you’re the boss.” The SUV crunched to a stop on a gravel driveway in front of a log house that was set back beneath some of the biggest pine trees any of them had ever seen. “We’re home,” Ben said. “This is the safe house. The rest of your team will be staying here, while you three come with us to Foix.”
“Right now?” Lev asked.
“Yes, sir. The man you have come to meet is waiting for you.”
“Let’s go.”
Fifteen minutes later, they were passing through the sleeping town of Foix, past darkened homes of families who had no idea that a team of Israeli Special Forces soldiers were driving through their little village in the middle of the night.
Glancing out through his side window, Leo thought about the feeling new places gave him at night, in darkness, but then the next day, in bright sunlight, they looked completely different. He remembered a trip he had once made to Seattle. Arriving at midnight, he had been driven straight to his hotel past brightly-lit fast food places and car rental lots, but everything beyond those pools of light was a mystery. The next morning, he threw back the drapes of his room and saw Mount Rainier in the distance. Rising from a green forest floor to a white snow top against a crystal blue sky, it was a majestic sight, one he would never forget. What would he see the next morning here in Foix?
“Do we have any agenda for this meeting?” Leo asked.
“None,” Lev replied. “We’re just going to have to play it by ear and see what this man has to say. Personally, I think it’s a 50–50 chance that we’re heading into a trap.”
Leo looked at the SUV full of soldiers driving in front of them. “I was thinking the same thing. Glad these guys are with us.”
“Me too, but if it is a trap, we’re probably already outnumbered.”
“Are you always so optimistic?”
“This is optimistic. You don’t want to hear what the pessimistic side of me is thinking.”
“Great. And to think, I was getting bored of my life at the Vatican. I’ll never complain of boredom again.”
The SUVs sped out of town and turned off on a side road that led to a two-story stone house situated on a slight rise in the middle of a rocky field with no trees around. The vehicle containing Leo, Lev, and Alon stopped, while the lead SUV drove out into the field and dropped off the soldiers inside. Within seconds, they had all disappeared into the night.
After waiting out on the road for several minutes, Ben received a call on his radio from the soldiers surrounding the house. “Ok, Professor. We’ve got the go-ahead to proceed. We’re walking in from here.”
Stepping from the protection of the armored SUV, the men began walking over the rough ground toward the house. The only light in the building came from a corner window on the second floor. The rest of the house was totally dark. Alon noticed that, from a strategic standpoint, the house was perfectly situated so that no one would be able to approach from any direction without being seen.
With the benefit of night-vision goggles, the soldiers led the group to the front door before fading off into the shadows.
“Now what?” Leo asked.
Lev reached out and knocked on the door. Slowly, the door swung open on its own, as if it had been left ajar.
“Now what?”
Lev looked back over his shoulder at Leo. “Would you please stop saying that?”
“Sorry … but really … now what?”
“Come in, my friends.”
The three men exchanged glances. Peering into the darkened house, Lev saw a figure moving up the stairs through a column of faint yellowish light shining from the floor above.
The figure stopped for a moment. “Come, now, my friends, you have nothing to fear. Join me in my library upstairs.”
The figure disappeared up the stairwell, leaving the three confused men standing in the doorway.
“He could have taken us all out by now if that was his intention,” Lev said. “Let’s go.”
He pushed the door the rest of the way open and the three of them walked into the downstairs living room. Tripping over a small end table in the darkness, Lev led Leo and Alon through the darkened room to the bottom of the stairwell. Taking the Sig 9mm pistols from their waistbands, Lev and Alon motioned for Leo to follow as they moved cautiously up the stairs.
Once they reached the second floor, they found themselves standing in an open room, its polished wooden floors covered with oriental carpets. Pools of light from several ornate lamps highlighted two facing couches in front of a rock fireplace, and the entire space was lined with bookshelves overflowing with books of every description. A quick glance told Leo that most of them had to do with history and archaeology.
The other half of the room contained a small but elegant kitchen built around a circular alcove surrounded by windows. Sitting at a table in the alcove, they saw the outline of a man cloaked in shadow.
“Guns, Gentlemen?”
“Just a precaution,” Lev said, suddenly feeling exposed.
“I see you’ve brought Alon Lavi along with you. An excellent choice. I would have done the same.”
Lev could barely contain his astonishment. “How do you know Alon?”
“I know all of you.”
Alon tightened the grip on the pistol behind his back as he tried to make out the face of the shadowy figure. “Really? What else do you know?”
“I know that Israeli Special Forces Team 5 is outside my door right now. You’ve brought the best of the best with you this evening.”
Lev felt a chill run down his spine. This man was completely at ease, and whoever he was, he knew everything about them. If this was a trap, it had been planned perfectly.
“Won’t you join me for a cup of tea?”
Taking a step forward, Leo thought he heard the hint of an Italian accent in the man’s speech. “Tea?”
“Yes … tea, Cardinal. We have a lot to discuss. You might as well be comfortable. And you can tell the men outside they can relax. I can assure you that I am alone.”
“They have their orders,” Alon said.
“I’m sure they do.” The figure stirred before leaning forward and bringing his face into the light. His piercing blue eyes looked like those of a much younger man, but his hair was snow white, as was a neatly trimmed goatee. Deep lines creased his pale face, while the translucent, parchment-like skin highlighted the raised blue veins in hands that had a slight tremor to them.
All three men froze with the sudden realization of who they were looking at. They stood there speechless with a foggy grasp on reality, as if they were just awakening from a dream, for they were all staring into the face of a man they had seen only in pictures.
It can’t be! He’s been dead for years!
But truth is sometimes stranger than fiction, and it was obvious that the man sitting before them was very much alive. They were all staring into the face of Eduardo Acerbi, and he was smiling.