The Crimson Dagger - Vatican Knights Series 23 (2020), Rick Jones [free ebooks for android txt] 📗

“Now that I’ve made myself abundantly clear on where we stand, it has come to my attention that the church has suffered a situation in which an interest and a citizen is in jeopardy. I want you to gather a team of Vatican Knights. The unit will be dispatched immediately to Vienna where an existing crisis needs to be addressed.”

“Such as?”

“It appears that the Austrian Imperial Treasury was broken into and the Spear of Destiny was absconded by a terrorist cell that’s being captained by Ali Mustafa.”

Kimball nodded. He knew of Mustafa because the man was trying to align forces in the Middle east to reestablish a caliphate now that the Americans had pulled a majority of its forces from the front lines of contention. Terrorism was once again on the rise, and Mustafa was leading the charge.

“I know of Mustafa,” he finally answered.

“Then you must know of the story that surrounds the Holy Lance, too.”

“Vaguely,” Kimball answered. “I do know that it’s supposed to provide uncontested power to the leadership of the one who possesses the relic.”

“It does. Rulers who were in possession of the artifact reigned for years.”

“Both good and evil,” Kimball added.

“I won’t deny that it has been through the hands of both over the centuries. But since I have taken command of the Vatican, I have made many requests to the Austrian government that such a treasure deserves its rightful spot here at the Vatican, only to be declined by the Austrian leadership. This action, this theft, only proves to me that Austria has failed to keep the relic safe from hostile forces.”

“So now you want the Vatican Knights to go in, take the relic, and return it to the Vatican’s Vault.”

“It’s where the treasure should have been from the start. Where it should have always been. It is, after all, an interest of the church. It rightfully belongs to the Vatican. Not to a museum.”

“The Austrian Imperial Treasury is valued and esteemed.”

“The Austrian Imperial Treasury is not the Vatican, Kimball. And it’s not a museum piece. It’s a holy relic.”

Kimball knew that this was a half-truth. Pope Clement obviously found a justifiable reason to take back the relic. It wasn’t about the artifact’s safety. It was about having the historical object under his power and rule, and a symbol that would grant him the powers of God. Kimball saw right through the man’s façade; his veneer was that thin and transparent.

“The citizen I’m talking about,” Pope Clement went on, “is Cardinal Favino, who is being held hostage by Mustafa’s cell.”

“The Cardinal Secretary of State?”

The pope nodded. “Apparently, the Einsatzkommando unit attempted a raid. The initial result was one dead and three wounded. So, in the interest of the church, Austrian leadership has been informed that since their failure, and should the Cardinal Secretary be harmed or killed, then the Vatican will hold the government culpable for any injury as a result of further failures.”

“So, you want the Vatican Knights to go in on a rescue mission?”

“Of course. Cardinal Favino, after all, is a citizen of the church, is he not?”

“But you also want the Spear of Destiny?”

The pope nodded. “The mission is twofold.”

“I’m sure the Austrian authorities were pleased to hear a standdown order coming from the Vatican, seeing that the jurisdiction is theirs.”

“The reach and the power of the church is a long one, and one that few would care to contest. The Austrian government sees this as a means to exonerate them from any culpability should the Vatican Knights fail. Condemnation would only fall on the shoulders of the church and not on the Austrian established order. So, as you see, failure is not an option on the part of the Vatican Knights.”

Kimball had been painted into a corner before by insurmountable pressures. But he had ‘been there and done that’ countless times as well, the man a seasoned vet to such adversities.

“But there are restrictions,” the pontiff added. “Once your team begins its initial raid, then you have four hours to achieve the means. After that, then the Austrian powers will send in their own forces to finish off what the Vatican Knights started. So, I suggest you finish what you’re about to start. Find Cardinal Favino and bring him back to us safely along with the Holy Lance. Failure on either will not be acceptable.”

Kimball wanted to challenge him by asking: And what if I do fail? What if Cardinal Favino is mortally wounded? What if retrieving the Spear of Destiny was undoable? What if I had to sacrifice one for the other? But Kimball knew that these would be asked fruitlessly since the answers would come from a man who was as heartless as a machine.

“A plane will be waiting for you at Fiumicino,” the pontiff stated, “a chartered jet. A team of Austrian officials will be waiting for you at the terminal. They will instruct you accordingly, but the method of operation is yours to choose once you step inside that building. Do not fail me, Kimball. Do not fail the church.”

Kimball clenched his teeth. He did not like the manner in which the pontiff expressed himself, or the way he threw his weight of authority around with veiled threats. Nevertheless, and as a Vatican Knight, Kimball remained dutiful.

Getting to his feet, Kimball tilted his head as a departing goodbye. As the pontiff extended his hand so that the Fisherman’s ring could be kissed once again, Kimball simply ignored him and walked out of the chamber.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Vienna, Austria

Zeller and Müller where standing by as streaks of light were beginning to rise from the horizon in shades of mauve and rose. Within the Kristallpalast’s shadow, Müller was waiting on a call from the Federal Ministry of the Interior. Plans had to be shaped and decided upon in regard to the best possible approach, since there was no such thing as ‘acceptable losses.’

Finally, Müller received his phone call. After he ID’d himself