The Eye of Moses - Vatican Knights Series 22 (2020), Rick Jones [learn to read books txt] 📗

Elias Caspari wanted to simply displace operations without the utilization of proper procedures. All he wanted to do was gut and run.

Impossible.

Certain safety measures had to be met and certain protocols followed. Without following the rules of precaution, then the entire horn of the mountain could perish in a blink of an eye, or perhaps the entire city of Lucerne. They weren’t even on the cusp of knowing the capabilities this particle possessed.

With hypnotic wonderment, the lead technician watched the illuminated particle pulsate with the same measure of a human heartbeat.

 

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

The Lucerne Safehouse

Kimball Hayden found himself alone inside the safehouse, the separation from the others welcomed. He was sitting on the edge of his bed looking at a cellphone photo of Shari. It was a headshot of a woman who was pretty in a natural sort of a way with dark straight hair; a spangled glitter in one eye, perhaps from the flash of the camera; and perfect rows of teeth.

Hayden could envision her standing within the room as a phantasmal image that brought him pleasure and pain. Pleasure because he loved her, and pain because he missed her.

Then from the doorway of his room, a voice asked, “Your girlfriend, yes?” It was Mr. Spartan. He was leaning against the doorjamb with his hands tucked inside the pockets of his pants.

Hayden, after placing his cellphone inside his shirt pocket, said, “My Shari.”

Mr. Spartan proffered a cheerless smile the moment a flashing image of his wife and daughter entered his mind and left just as quick. “It’s a good thing to be in love. There’s no greater pleasure, is there?”

“No. Not really.”

Mr. Spartan stepped into the room uninvited. “Look, Kimball, after our last discussion, I left with the feeling that you were standing at a crossroads regarding your place in the mission.”

“I know exactly what my mission duties are.”

“I know. You’re a Vatican Knight who keeps a keen eye on the goal, which is to retrieve the items we’re after. We, too, seek the relics. But the imperative here is to look at the Eye of Moses as the optimal item here. Retrieving that crystal is your priority. You need to know that.”

“I know that.”

Mr. Spartan nodded. “I also want you to understand that you have a choice here. We work outside the parameter of rules outside of the Vatican. And yes, you’ve had your skirmishes along the way because you just can’t avoid them sometimes. But this is different. We’re dealing with a league of assassins whose goal is to do whatever Elias Caspari tells them to do. And because of this, this operation has an added agenda to it.” After a momentary pause, he added: “My role here is to cut off the head of the snake.”

“Apparently you know little of what we do as Vatican Knights. Don’t let this collar I wear fool you.” Then Kimball appeared to take in Mr. Spartan’s last statement with absorption, and added, “You’re an assassin? I get it.”

“Specifically assigned to kill Elias Caspari.”

“You once told me that it wasn’t the Consortium’s way to terminate targets. That you use methods to rebalance global powers so that no one gains an upper hand over another.”

“That’s true. That is our primary purpose. But there comes a time when exigent circumstances come into play, Kimball. You see, history is rich with people like Elias Caspari who believes that he can take something more powerful than he is and try to control it. But no one can control such a power as the dark particle. Not even the Consortium. Nor would we attempt to do so. That’s why we need to take the loaded gun away from Caspari before he does irreversible damage, should the destructive force behind the dark particle discharge. You need to regain the staff, Kimball, and to restore stability should absolute power decide to tilt in the favor of one. No one on this planet has the right to climb that pyramid alone. Especially Elias Caspari.”

“So now you stand here trying to justify your actions to me regarding your reason to murder another man, is that it? I honestly don’t care.”

Mr. Spartan stared at Hayden for a slight moment before saying, “Killing another man is not an easy thing to do. And you need to understand what Elias Caspari wants is not unique. Hitler, Napoleon, Alexander the Great—they all had the same vision. People like Caspari won’t be the first who wants to change the world with absolute conformity in action, word and thought. His idea of a utopian state is to strip everyone of free will. And that comes under both tyranny and terrorism. We cannot allow that to happen . . . no matter the cost.” Mr. Spartan remained in the room’s center, the air between them seemingly awkward. Then: “Kimball, you find the staff and the Eye of Moses. And then you find the crucible that once belonged to Nostradamus. Secure the items and make sure they end up either at the Vatican or at the Consortium.”

“You sound as if you’re not planning to join me.”

“I plan to fulfill my agenda alongside my team. It’s up to you to see that the relics return to the rightful ownership of the Consortium.”

“Mr. Spartan,” Hayden told him, “like it or not this is a team effort, which I’m a part of. I know exactly the position you’re in. I’ve been there countless times and took countless lives in the name of the church to make the world a safer place through the equation of addition by subtraction. Being relegated to a treasure hunter is not what I was wired to do.”

“I’m sorry, Kimball. But my mission is clear and it’s above your pay grade. I know you can handle yourself. That’s been made noticeably clear. And when the time comes, you’ll need to use those skills. After my team clears the area, then we will branch off to achieve our mission goals. I find Elias Caspari . . . You find