Ben held out his glass as Usberti poured another brandy. ‘And so you’re looking for the elixir of life?’
Usberti nodded. ‘To make use of it for myself, as well as to protect its secret. When my spies told me how close Dr. Ryder was getting to discovering it, I decided to have her killed.’
‘Bit extreme, considering she didn’t have all the answers. She was only at the start of her research.’
‘True. But she was blabbing about it to anyone who would listen.’
‘Couldn’t you have just employed her to work for you?’
That cold smile again. ‘All my scientists are Gladius Domini members. They fervently believe in our cause. Dr. Ryder is an individualist–her behaviour shows that clearly. She is ambitious, and full of resentment against her fellow scientists. She wants to prove them wrong as much as she wants to develop her discovery. She would never have worked for me.’
‘Why keep her alive now?’
‘She is alive at the moment,’ Usberti said. ‘But whether she stays alive much longer depends entirely on you, Mr. Hope.’
‘On me?’
‘Indeed.’ Usberti nodded gravely. ‘I mentioned before that I want you to work for me. Have you considered my offer?’
‘You didn’t say what you wanted me to do for you.’
‘I am building an army. Armies need soldiers, men like you. My sources have told me about your impressive background.’ Usberti paused. ‘I want you to be Gladius Domini‘s military commander.’
Ben laughed out loud.
‘You will have wealth, power, women, luxury, anything you like,’ Usberti said earnestly.
‘I thought you only recruited believers, not individualists.’
‘When I meet a man with exceptional talents, I make exceptions.’
‘I’m flattered. But if I turn down your offer?’
Usberti shrugged. ‘Roberta Ryder dies. And you too, naturally.’
‘That’s quite a deal,’ Ben said, smiling. ‘But tell me. Why would a Catholic archbishop want to build a private army? You’re already high up in a powerful organization. Why don’t you just do it the orthodox way? With your ambition you could become Pope one day. You’ll have all the power you want then to make reforms, from the inside.’
Now it was Usberti’s turn to laugh out loud. ‘Reforms? he spat contemptuously. ‘You think I am interested in their Church? What is a Pope? A mere puppet to be wheeled out to please the crowds. A decaying figurehead, like your English Queen. No, that is not for me. I want much more power than that.’
All in the name of God? Your organization doesn’t seem very pious to me. Espionage, brainwashing, murder, kidnap…’
Usberti interrupted him with a chuckle. ‘You know little about the history of the Church, Mr. Hope. It has always done those things. In fact, the problem is that it has stopped doing them. That parcel of flabby old men in Rome has let everything become weak. The faith of the West is failing. The people have been abandoned. They are like soldiers without a leader. Like a motherless child.’
‘And you want to be their mother, is that right?’ Usberti stared at him. ‘They must have a strong leader, a hand to guide them. What have they got otherwise? Science? Filthy. Corrupt. Only interested in profits, human cloning, colonizing other planets because they are destroying this one. Technology? Toys to tempt them. Computer games. Television that lets the media control their minds. They need a leader. I am it. I will give them something to believe in and fight for.’
Ben frowned. ‘Fight? Against whom?’ ‘We live in unstable times,’ Usberti replied. ‘While the faith of the Christian world is failing, a new power is rising. The dark forces in the Middle East.’ The archbishop brought his fist down on the desktop. He had fire in his eyes. ‘The enemy that the Church crushed centuries ago is massing its forces. We are weak, they are strong. They have faith, we have only fear. This time they will win. It is already happening. The West has no idea what they are up against. Why? Because we have forgotten what it means to believe in something. Only Gladius Domini can prevent this rot from destroying the whole fabric of our Western world.’
‘And you think that a tin-pot fundamentalist terror organization like the Sword of God can change the world?’
Usberti flushed. ‘This tin-pot organization, as you call it, is a growing force. Gladius Domini is not restricted to a few agents in France. What you have seen of our strength is like one drop in a whole ocean. We are an international agency. We have agents across the whole of Europe, America, Asia. We have friends at the highest levels of politics and the armed forces. In China, the fastest growing economic power in the world, two million new recruits are joining the fundamentalist Christian movement each year. You have no idea what is happening, Mr. Hope. In a few years’ time we will have a fully equipped army of devotees that will make the Third Reich look like the Boy Scouts.’
And then? An independent strike against the Islamics?’
Usberti smiled. ‘If we are unable to exert sufficient influence on US foreign policy-makers, our contacts in Intelligence and the military, then yes. Just as the Church once sent its armies to crush the pernicious forces of Saladin and other Muslim kings, we will launch a new era of holy war.’
Ben thought for a moment. ‘If I understand you,’ he said slowly, ‘you’re talking about starting World War Three. Provoking a jihad between a new Christendom and the united forces of the Muslim world is only going to spell destruction for everyone, Usberti.’
The Italian made a dismissive gesture. ‘If it is God’s will, then let the blood be spilt. Neca eos omnes. Deus suos agnoscet.’
‘Kill them all. God will recognize his own, ‘Ben translated. ‘Spoken like a true murderous tyrant, Archbishop.’
‘Enough talk,’ Usberti hissed. ‘Give me the manuscript.’
‘I don’t have it,’ Ben replied calmly. ‘You think I’d have brought it here, just like that? Come on, Usberti, you should know better.’
Usberti’s cheeks darkened to a furious purple. ‘Where is it?’ he demanded. ‘Do not play games with me, I warn you.’
Ben checked his watch. ‘Right now it’s in the hands of an associate of mine. I told him I’d call around one-thirty If he doesn’t hear from me, he’ll assume something’s happened to me and he’ll burn it.’
Usberti glanced at the clock on his desk.
‘Time’s running out, Archbishop. If the manuscript burns, you’ll lose everything.’
‘And you will lose your life.’
‘True. But my death is worth less to you than your own immortality.’
Usberti snatched up the phone from his desk. ‘Use it,’ he commanded. ‘Or you will hear Ryder’s screams before you die. The Inquisitor is a man who knows how to prolong agony.’
Ben could do that too. He waited a long moment, letting Usberti feel every second of it.
‘Quickly,’ the archbishop said. His tanned face was turning to white as he held out the phone.
Eventually Ben shrugged. He took the phone. ‘OK. And you’ll have my answer to your offer.’
He punched a number on the tiny silver keys. The number appeared on the screen. Dial? prompted the phone.
Ben’s finger hovered over the last button in the sequence. There was a quizzical look on Usberti’s face.
‘And here’s my answer,’ Ben said.
Usberti