Arch of the Four Winds
Villa Doria Pamphili
Rome, Italy
3 April 2010
‘Thomas! Over here!’
Feeling beat up from the last few days of travel and all the stress he’d been under since they’d left Istanbul, Lourds didn’t see his old friend and mentor for a moment. He stopped and stood still, looking for any unfriendly movement around him.
‘You’re clear, Professor.’ Cleena’s voice echoed in Lourds’ ear canal.
Although he’d worn the earwig for the last week or so, he still wasn’t used to the device or the need for it.
Father Gabriel Madeiro sat on a bench in the shade of a copse of trees. He was a short man, but filled with boundless energy. He was almost as wide as he was tall and his hair and beard had gone snow white so that they stood out against his dark skin. He closed the fat book he was reading and used a thick forefinger to mark his place. Lourds knew without seeing the cover that it would be a thriller. Father Gabriel had introduced Lourds to James Bond and Jason Bourne at the same time he was instructing him in the intricacies of Latin. It had been Father Gabriel’s love of language, of old, dead books as well as potboilers, that had ignited the same passion within Lourds.
When he got close enough, Father Gabriel grabbed Lourds in a powerful bear hug for a moment and lifted him clear off his feet. In his sixties, Father Gabriel remained a powerful man.
‘It’s so good to see you,’ Father Gabriel said when he released Lourds. ‘I miss having you underfoot.’
‘Hopefully these days I wouldn’t be underfoot so much,’ Lourds said.
‘I don’t think you would.’ Father Gabriel waved Lourds to the bench. ‘You’re having quite the career these days. Atlantis?’ He raised his eyebrows. ‘Now that must have been exciting.’
‘It was.’
‘I read your book. Very enjoyable.’
‘I’m glad you thought so. I would have much rather told you the story in person.’
‘I would have much rather heard it in person.’ Father Gabriel lifted his shoulders and let them drop. ‘Unfortunately, I was doing some work in Rio de Janeiro.’
‘And avoiding the winter, as I recall.’ Lourds smiled, and for a moment the visit almost seemed casual. Except that he had the four rings he’d collected from Cordoba, outside Moscow, Jerusalem and Istanbul.
‘I missed winter, but not too terribly much.’ Father Gabriel’s dark eyes regarded Lourds speculatively. ‘I wouldn’t have guessed you would turn out to be a criminal, though. I thought I’d mentored you better than that.’
‘A criminal?’ That surprised Lourds.
Father Gabriel nodded. ‘The word I have is that you absconded from Istanbul with some very important religious artefacts.’
‘Do you believe that?’
‘Not for a minute.’
Lourds grinned. ‘Well, actually, that part is true.’
‘Really?’ Father Gabriel gave him a look of mock shock.
‘I seem to recall a certain Roman Catholic priest-’
‘Who shall remain nameless.’
‘Who might prefer to remain nameless,’ Lourds went on, ‘who wasn’t above a bit of skulduggery now and again.’
‘Perhaps a toe over the line here and there.’ Father Gabriel grinned in delight.
‘You shouldn’t have taken me along. You corrupted me.’
‘I didn’t corrupt you. You were sixteen-’
‘I was twelve,’ Lourds objected.
‘And your babysitter’
‘Au pair.’
‘Had already corrupted you.’ Father Gabriel tugged at his beard. ‘Or perhaps you corrupted her. I forget how that went exactly.’
‘It was mutual corruption,’ Lourds said. ‘She was experienced, but I was better read.’
‘Another fault of mine, I suppose.’
‘You’re the one that left those trashy spy novels lying around.’
Father Gabriel grinned. ‘So I did.’
Lourds was silent for a moment. ‘I’ve missed you.’
‘I know,’ the old man said solemnly. ‘I’ve missed you too. The years grow shorter…’
‘And they move ever faster,’ Lourds finished. ‘I think I’m finally beginning to understand what you were talking about.’
‘Good. My efforts weren’t wasted after all. I’m relieved.’ Father Gabriel focused on Lourds. ‘How much trouble are you in?’
‘A stone’s throw away from the yawning mouth of hell.’
Father Gabriel rubbed his hands together. ‘It’s been a long time since I could make any such claim. Tell me about it.’
Seated there in the shade, with the whisper of the wind round them, knowing that Cleena MacKenna guarded him with her pistol only a short distance away and that her friend had a spy satellite watching over them, Lourds did. He told Father Gabriel about the rapid trip to Russia where the statue of the Virgin Mary wept, and how they’d found the second golden ring within one of the foundations of the church that Patriarch Nikon had purposefully placed there when he built the church. He told his friend of the journey to Jerusalem to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre where they’d discovered the third ring inside one of the walls near the ladder that no one had moved on the second storey for over a hundred years. That ladder had marked the spot where the True Cross’s shadow had fallen at the time of the Crucifixion. And finally, Lourds told Father Gabriel of the pool at the Grand Mosque of Cordoba and how the waters had turned red as blood only a few days before their arrival.
When he finished, Lourds sat back and waited to see what Father Gabriel’s reaction would be.
‘You think the Vice-President of the United States is Lucifer?’
Lourds hated the way that sounded when said naked like that. ‘It’s not just me,’ he answered defensively. ‘Several other people think that too.’
‘Tell me, Professor, what do you think your colleagues at Harvard would think if you told them this?’
‘Honestly, I shudder to think. My parking privileges would probably be revoked.’
‘You realize they’d rather think you were a thief than a wild-eyed madman. Being a thief has a certain sexy cache.’
‘Do I look like a wild-eyed madman to you?’
‘No, you don’t. You look incredibly tired is how you look.’
‘I feel incredibly tired. These past few days, the last three weeks, have been a blur.’
‘And yet you found Lucifer.’
‘Truth be told,’ Lourds said, ‘I wasn’t looking, and apparently it isn’t that hard.’
‘Because he was looking for you.’
A cold wind blew down the back of Lourds’ shirt. ‘Not,’ he said, ‘a good thought.’
Father Gabriel pulled at his beard. ‘The Vice-President of the United States.’
‘Yes.’
‘That certainly takes some getting used to.’
‘It does.’
Then Father Gabriel smiled. ‘But I’m not surprised to find out Lucifer decided to go into politics. Though it could have been worse.’
‘Worse?’
‘He could have become a televangelist. If I’d had to guess, that’s what I would have put my money on.’
In spite of the situation, Lourds laughed.
Father Gabriel joined him, and then asked, ‘How can I help you, Thomas?’
‘I need a place to stay where I can work,’ Lourds said. ‘Somewhere safe.’
Father Gabriel nodded. ‘Of course.’
‘Enough room for my road companions.’
‘One of them is a woman?’
‘Two, actually.’
‘Including the young redhead over there by that tree looking as though she’s innocently hanging about?’
Cleena cursed, eliciting a smile from Lourds. She made an obnoxious gesture at the priest.
‘Ah, a young woman of genteel breeding, I see.’ Father Gabriel chuckled. ‘I take it you’re in constant communication with her.’
‘Yes.’
‘Two women are harder to manage than one,’ Father Gabriel said. Lourds knew the double entendre was intentional.
‘You said this man was like a father to you?’ Cleena asked.
‘Yes,’ Lourds answered.
‘No wonder you have the morals of an alley cat.’
‘I meant father as in priest.’
Cleena came to a halt and looked shocked. ‘You just let me flip off a priest?’
‘It’s not as if you asked my permission or gave me any advance warning about what you were going to do.’
‘You are an idiot!’
‘I’m not the one that flipped off the priest.’
Father Gabriel waved to Cleena. Embarrassed, the young redhead waved back.
‘She doesn’t look like a linguist,’ the priest said.
‘Thankfully she doesn’t look like a gunrunner either,’ Lourds replied.
‘I so hate you right now,’ Cleena said.
‘She probably hasn’t been to confession in a long time either,’ Lourds said.
Cleena poured pure invective into his ear.
‘Besides sleeping quarters and a safe place where you can work,’ Father Gabriel asked, ‘is there anything else you need?’
‘Books,’ Lourds said. ‘I’m going to need some of those special books the Vatican keeps locked away. I’ve got to break this language, and it’s going to be even more difficult because it’s been broken into four parts.’
‘Done.’ Father Gabriel stood. ‘Did you drive?’
‘We took a cab.’
‘You are putting your life in God’s hands.’ Father Gabriel started walking away. ‘Come along, Thomas. You can ride with me. I’ll make a few phone calls and everything should be arranged by the time we get where we’re going.’ He looked over his shoulder to where Cleena trailed after them. ‘Your impertinent little friend can ride along as well, as long as she promises not to make a spectacle of herself.’
Cleena waited until Father Gabriel was looking away, then flipped Lourds off.
‘God saw that,’ the priest said.
Tired and frustrated, Lourds entered the large kitchen where Father Gabriel was managing several pots on the stove. Lourds knew from earlier inspection that they contained a selection of pastas and vegetables. The priest had even managed to bake some bread and the warm, yeasty smell pervaded the large loft he had secured for them.
The loft had six bedrooms, three bathrooms, a massive kitchen and dining room and a large common area. Lourds couldn’t imagine the size of the family that lived there. He also couldn’t imagine where they could’ve gone. When he’d asked Father Gabriel about it, the old priest had simply waved the question away.
‘Some people have old sins that just won’t go away,’ Father Gabriel said. ‘Every now and again, I’ll give those people a chance to do something good. This is simply one of those times.’
Maybe the accommodations were simple, but Lourds was struggling with the intricate puzzle of the final language. He filched one of the rolls that had just come out of the oven, then had to juggle it in both hands because it was so hot. When it had finally cooled down enough, he broke it open and slathered it with cream cheese.
Father Gabriel mopped at his sweaty brow with a shirt sleeve. ‘Progress?’
‘A little, maybe. I don’t know. I’ve been at this so long that I can’t tell up from down any more.’
‘Of course you can. You’re the finest student I’ve ever had. I’ll take your failure personally.’
‘You could help, you know.’
Father Gabriel stirred one of the pots, then reached for the next spoon. ‘No, I don’t think so. You surpassed my meagre abilities a long time ago. If I tried to help you, I’d just embarrass myself and distract you.’
Lourds ate some of the roll; it was delicious. ‘I can’t help feeling I need a fresh pair of eyes on this.’
‘It’ll come. Just give it time.’
‘We don’t have time.’
Lourds glanced at the television over in the corner of the kitchen. The unrest in Saudi Arabia continued as Prince Khalid made war along his borders. Shia warriors had started slipping across the borders to shore up the rebellions spreading throughout the country. To make matters worse, private security services hired by American and European corporations also continued to filter into the country to secure valuable assets. The images on the television showed death and disaster, smoke, machine-gun fire and explosions. Helicopters and planes dropped from the sky as they were hit by enemy fire. Tanks exploded on the streets. Soldiers fought with and taunted one another.
‘Even if you hadn’t told me Lucifer was involved with this,’ Father Gabriel said softly, ‘I would have seen his hand in it.’
‘Where’s the vice-president?’ Lourds asked.
‘Still there in King Abdullah Financial City. It looks like Webster is going to get the troops he’s been asking for.’
‘What troops?’
‘Webster has asked for a military operation into the country.’
‘On Saudi Arabian soil?’
‘Yes.’
‘There’s not much chance of that starting an international incident, is there?’ Lourds asked sarcastically.
‘Surely not.’
‘Oh. Sarcasm.’
‘Yes. However the comment isn’t without merit and truth. As it turns out, Webster’s quite the organizer. He’s already got several European and American corporations backing everything he’s doing over there.’
‘They’re all afraid of losing their money,’ Lourds said.
‘Given all the recent economic frustrations, I can see why people want to hold on to what they have and are willing to take the extra-legal step to maintain it.’
‘This isn’t just extra-legal. The Saudis won’t tolerate it. The Middle East will be up in arms for generations to come.’
‘If we last that long,’ Father Gabriel agreed. ‘And by that, I mean the world.’
‘And no one sees this?’
‘Of course someone sees this. But the people who have the muscle to make these things happen – politicians, big businessmen and even religious figures – all believe what Webster has to say: if a stand isn’t taken in the Middle East, a Western world stand, then they’re going to lose everything they know.’
‘That’s foolish.’
‘Do you really think so?’
Lourds didn’t reply.
Father Gabriel looked at Lourds. ‘These are frightening times, Thomas. Money isn’t what it used to be. Jobs aren’t always there. Security is a half-remembered memory. This – this is something that’s been building for a long time.’ He glanced at the television. ‘And it’s coming home to roost.’
Lourds woke at the desk where he’d been working non-stop for three days. He just managed to halt a teetering stack of books before they fell over and scattered across the floor.
You’ve got to get some sleep, he told himself. But he knew that trying would be worthless. As soon as he went to sleep, he’d be awake again. Just like now.
He was so close to solving the puzzle of the rings. He’d worked with them so much he could picture them in his mind effortlessly. They spun constantly, one over the other. It didn’t seem to matter how many times he shifted their rotation or in what order he put them. None of it made sense. The words on the Joy Scroll remained elusive, just out of his grasp.
It was maddening.
He crossed to the shopping bag that held his toiletries and spare changes of clothing. Joachim and his friends had turned out not to be as poor as church mice, and Cleena had money hidden in a variety of locations, though she seemed much more reluctant to part with it than Joachim and his brothers. He padded quietly to the nearest bathroom, vaguely aware that it was the middle of the night and no one else was awake. He also failed to realize the bath was occupied until he was pulling his shirt over his head.
‘What are you doing?’
Recognizing Cleena’s voice, Lourds froze. ‘Sorry,’ he apologized hastily. ‘I didn’t realize you were in here.’ Even though he knew he shouldn’t, he couldn’t resist peeking in the mirror in the hopes of catching her reflection there. Fog blurred the image, though, and he cursed the luck.
‘Don’t get out,’ he quipped. ‘I’ll see myself to the door.’
Water shifted behind him as he grabbed his things.
‘You don’t have to go,’ Cleena told him.
Slowly, Lourds turned around, still half out of his shirt, and looked at her.
She lounged in the tub and the soapy water scarcely hid her breasts. She had her hair pulled back in a ponytail. Her freckled shoulders looked soft and rounded, but Lourds knew they would be strong with muscle.
‘I don’t have to go?’ Lourds asked hoarsely.
‘You don’t. It’s a big tub.’
‘Yes. Yes it is.’
‘Well? What are you waiting for? Suddenly shy?’
‘No.’ Lourds divested himself of his clothing and joined her. The water was freshly drawn, still so hot he could barely ease into it. But his mind was on other things. The heaving water pushed at Cleena’s breasts, revealing the strawberry-tipped nipples.
‘What are you doing up?’ she asked.
‘Couldn’t sleep.’
‘You seemed to be doing quite well when I checked on you earlier.’
‘I can’t sleep now.’
‘Neither can I.’
Lourds inhaled the fresh fragrance of the soap. He felt like he’d died and gone to heaven. She shifted and pushed her legs over his, allowing them each more room.
‘I’ll scrub your back if you’ll scrub mine,’ Lourds offered.
Without a word, Cleena scooted towards him and wrapped her arms around his neck. He reciprocated.
‘When I first saw you, I told myself this would never happen,’ she told him, staring into his eyes.
‘When I first saw you, I hoped,’ Lourds said honestly.
She rolled her eyes at him. ‘That doesn’t exactly make me feel special. If a woman walks by, you notice her.’
‘I’m very attentive.’ Lourds stroked the back of her neck and caused her to shiver.
‘I know this isn’t going to mean anything more than it does right now.’
‘Right now it means a lot.’
She cupped his face in her hands. ‘Right now it does mean a lot.’
Lourds filled his hands with her willing and pliant flesh. Her hot kisses boiled his blood and made his head spin, but he knew part of that was just the hot water and lack of sleep. She reached down for him and he was instantly ready. Positioning herself above him, she joined them, gripped the sides of the tub, and began a steady rocking motion that pushed them both away from fear and stress.
Lourds felt eyes staring at him. He also felt a slender naked body pressed against him from behind. The lingering fragrance of perfume told him who was in the room, and – if memory served right and he believed it did – the lissom body behind him belonged to someone else.
This is not a good time to wake up, he told himself. Just go back to…
‘I know you’re awake,’ Olympia said. ‘I’ve slept beside you enough to know when you’re actually sleeping.’
Lourds opened his eyes, blinked away his bleary vision, and looked at her. ‘I suppose you have.’ He didn’t try to apologize for Cleena’s presence.
Olympia sat at his desk, arms folded and clearly not happy. ‘It’s not as if I was foolish enough to believe you would be faithful, Thomas, but I would have thought you’d have had the decency to wait until we’d gone our separate ways.’
‘This wasn’t exactly planned.’ Lourds sat up and draped the blanket across his thighs.
‘Oh, and now you’re going to be modest?’
Or protective, Lourds thought. He’d never been around Olympia when he’d had another lover. He didn’t know what to expect from her, but if this was any indication, it wasn’t going to be good.
‘This…’ Lourds searched for the right words. All those languages he knew, and he didn’t know what to say. ‘This just sort of…’
‘Oh my God,’ Cleena groaned. ‘Are you two going to just sit here and talk?’ She sat up in bed, unmindful of her nudity in front of Olympia.
‘This doesn’t concern you,’ Olympia said. ‘This is between Thomas and me.’
‘Not when I’m the one you’re going to talk about.’ Cleena pulled her hair back, used a rubber band from her wrist to put it in a ponytail, and got out of bed. ‘You know what? I don’t need this. I need sleep. You two can work out whatever it is you need to work out. But I’m going to get a few more hours of sleep.’
Even though he knew it probably wasn’t in his best interests to, Lourds couldn’t help watching Cleena. She was sleek and tawny like a cat, and her muscles bunched and rolled as she moved. She scooped up his T-shirt from the floor and pulled it on, added her panties, then grabbed a pillow and a blanket and headed out of the room.
‘She isn’t much of a morning person,’ Lourds said.
Olympia arched an eyebrow. ‘I came in this morning to offer breakfast.’
‘Breakfast would be good,’ Lourds said, wanting desperately to be amenable.
‘At this point, you can fix your own breakfast.’
‘Oh. Right. I can do that.’
‘How are you getting on with the work you’re supposed to be doing?’
‘I don’t know.’ Lourds sat up with his back to the headboard. ‘Every time I think I’m about to make a breakthrough, nothing works.’
‘Look, we’ll talk about the relationship stuff at another time. Clearly, I’m not happy.’
That was particularly clear.
‘But I can be grown up about this. We’re two adults.’
Three, actually, Lourds thought, and barely managed to restrain himself from pointing that out. It would not have been good to mention it.
‘The main thing is translating the Joy Scroll. You’ve been keeping up with the news coming out of Saudi Arabia?’
‘Yes. Somewhat. Father Gabriel keeps me apprised.’
‘Things are getting worse there. American forces are massing in the Gulf. Many people are just waiting for the vice-president to send in the troops.’
‘If they do that,’ Lourds said, ‘the Middle East is going to be torn up for years to come.’
‘I know, and when it is, it may well sweep into Istanbul and Turkey. I want my family safe, Thomas.’
‘I understand. I’m doing everything I can, Olympia.’
‘I know. I wasn’t going to say anything to you. Then I saw you there with her.’ Olympia shook her head.
At that moment, Lourds’ sat-phone rang. He was grateful for the reprieve, until he heard the voice.
‘Professor Lourds?’
Lourds had heard this voice on a number of occasions. Usually on TV. The voice was an orator’s dream.
‘Yes,’ Lourds answered.
‘I suppose you know who I am?’
‘I do.’
‘What you don’t know is that I have Cleena’s younger sister in my custody. Not here in Saudi, but in the United States. Either you come and meet me or I’ll kill her sister.’
Lourds took a slow, cautious breath. ‘All right. Where do you want to meet?’
Fear chafed Lourds as he stood in the boarding gate at the airport. Late-night travellers filled the terminal. With everything going on in the Middle East, air travel had backed up and become problematic.
Olympia stood at his side. He felt the tension rolling off her in waves.
‘You don’t have to do this, you know.’
Lourds glanced at her but didn’t allow himself to be totally distracted from the people milling round them. After everything that had gone on these past few weeks, he was totally paranoid about the men and women surrounding him.
‘I do.’ Lourds kept his voice quiet, barely audible above the air-terminal noise and PA announcements.
‘We don’t know that Webster has Cleena’s sister.’
‘Cleena says her sister is no longer where she left her in New York.’
‘How did Webster’s people find her so fast?’
‘He is the Vice-President of the United States.’ And a fallen angel. Lourds didn’t give voice to the last.
Olympia stared into his eyes. ‘This isn’t what I brought you here for, Thomas.’
Recognizing her guilt, Lourds made himself smile in spite of his fear and doubt. ‘I know that.’
‘You weren’t supposed to get hurt. You weren’t supposed to be at risk.’ Tears glinted in her eyes.
‘I don’t think any of us have any right to expect safety and security under these conditions. I mean, look at who we’ve been chasing.’
‘I know.’
‘John of Patmos foresaw this.’ Lourds gripped her shoulders. ‘He gave us the weapon we need to defeat our enemy.’
‘I’d feel better if you’d translated the Joy Scroll.’
‘I would too.’
‘I don’t mean any recrimination.’
Lourds kissed her forehead and inhaled the scent of her. ‘I know.’
‘And I can’t help feeling upset with you over Cleena.’
Wrapping her in a hug, Lourds nodded. ‘I understand.’
‘I swear, you’re like a kid in a candy store at times.’ Olympia turned her head up to his. ‘So juvenile and so selfish. But I think that’s what makes you so passionate and so good at what you do.’
‘Maybe. And it could just be a flaw.’
‘I want you to be safe.’
‘Me too.’ For a moment, Lourds clung to her and thought about the situation he was about to walk into. Everything in him screamed to run. He wasn’t a hero. But the secret of the Joy Scroll tantalized him. The symbols kept floating through his mind, constantly in motion and making different connections. Unfortunately, none of those connections were the right ones. Fear might seek to drive him away, but curiosity kept him circling the flame even more strongly than saving Cleena’s sister.
Darkness filled the airfield on the other side of the terminal window. Jets moved causing a stream of flashing lights as some took off and some landed. A fresh surge of passengers deplaned. Lourds caught movement in the glass and saw the reflection of a big man bearing down on him as he held Olympia. Lourds recognized the man instantly as one of those who had pursued them in Istanbul. Even though he wore civilian clothing, it couldn’t hide the military bearing. Lourds was pretty certain the man wasn’t carrying a weapon in the airport, but that didn’t make him any less dangerous.
‘Professor Lourds.’ The man’s voice was tight and controlled, carrying just enough to reach Lourds.
He pushed Olympia behind him. His knees quivered and he tried to ignore it. ‘I’m Lourds.’
‘Of course you are.’ The man nodded towards one of the doors. ‘We’ve got a private plane waiting.’
Lourds looked at the e-ticket in his hand. He had collected it at the front desk. ‘I guess this isn’t any good.’
‘No.’
Lourds took a deep breath.
‘Do you have the scroll, Professor?’ The man remained calm.
‘Yes.’
The hard eyes searched Lourds’. ‘I’m not going to ask for it here. My employer is going to ask for it himself. At that time, you will give it to him.’
Lourds tried to speak and couldn’t.
‘If you don’t,’ the man continued just as pleasantly, ‘I’m going to kill you. If that’s what my employer wishes. He’s not one to trifle with.’
Unable to say anything, Lourds nodded.
‘Good. I’m glad that’s clear. Now, kiss your lady friend goodbye and let’s get going.’
Olympia stepped in and hugged Lourds. Her voice when she spoke was a whisper meant only for his ears. ‘Be careful, Thomas.’
Lourds returned her hug tightly, then released her, picked up his rucksack and preceded the man out of the airport. When he stepped out of the terminal, the humid night closed in round him. He controlled the fear running rampant in him only by concentrating on the permutations of the mysterious fifth language he felt certain would unlock the message contained in the Joy Scroll.