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SIXTY
VIENNA
11:20 PM
THORVALDSEN LED GARY FROM THE CHaTEAU’S SECOND FLOOR down to ground level He’d heard nothing more from Alfred Hermann since their brief conversation earlier Gary had spent the evening with a few of the other guests Two e children, and Herreenhouse at the rear of the mansion
"That was neat," Gary said "Butterflies land right on your plate"
Thorvaldsen had visited the sch He’d even thought of adding one to Christiangade
"They’re rereat care"
"Place was like a tropical forest"
Neither one of theht person, too So they made their way into Hermann’s library
Thorvaldsen had heard earlier that the Blue Chair intended to o on for a while, which would give him time to read and prepare Tomorrow’s Assembly would be one of decision Debate needed to be to the point and accurate Everyone would leave on Sunday The Asseed affair Staff and committees narrowed issues to only the ones that required a collective vote These were then presented, discussed, and resolved-the Order’s course set for the co
So he needed to be ready
The cavernous library o stories tall and encased with shiny walnut paneling A black urines and a French tapestry do three top-to-botto that made it appear open to the sky
A spiral staircase corkscrewed a path to the upper shelves He clung to a slick iron rail and slowly cli here?" Gary asked when they reached the top
"I want to read so"
He knew of the podiunificent Bible Hermann had boasted that the edition was one of the earliest printed Thorvaldsen approached the ancient tome and admired its elaborate cover
"The Bible was the first book created when printing was finally perfected in the fifteenth century Gutenberg produced many Bibles This is one As I told you earlier, you should read it"
Gary stared at the book and Thorvaldsen knew the lad could not appreciate the significance So he said, "These words changed the course of human history They altered hued political systems This and the Koran may be the two most important books on the planet"
"How can words be that important?"
"It’s not simply words, Gary It’s e do with the, books quickly spread They weren’t cheap, but by 1500 they were common More access to information meant more dissent, more informed discussion, ed the world Made it a different place" He "
He carefully opened the front cover
"What language is that?" Gary asked
"Latin" He scanned the index
"You can read it?"
He sht as a child" He tapped the boy’s chest "You ought to learn, too"
"What would I do if I did?"
"For one thing, you could read this Bible"
He motioned at the index "Thirty-nine books Jews revere the first five Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy They tell the tale of the ancient people of Israel froh the Great Flood, the Exodus fro of the Law to Moses at Sinai Quite an epic"
He knew that to Jews those writings reat deal As did the next division, prophets-Joshua, Judges, Sas-which recounted the story of the Israelites fro the River Jordan, to the conquest of Canaan, the rise and fall of their doms, and their defeat at the hands of the Assyrians and Babylonians
"These books," he said to Gary, "supposedly tell us how history unfolded for the people of Israel thousands of years before Christ They were a people whose destiny was tied directly to God and the proo?"
He nodded "Four thousand years in the past Yet Arabs and Jews have warred with one another ever since trying to prove theh to Genesis and found the passage he’d come to study "The Lord said to Abram, lift up now your eyes and look from the place where you are northward and southward and eastward and ard, for all the land which you see, to you I will give it, and to your seed forever" He paused "Those words have cost ain the six most important words
"What is it?" Gary asked
He stared at the boy How ? His son not only had practiced their faith, but had learned Latin and read the Bible, too He’d been a good man But another victim of senseless violence
"The truth is important," he said, more to himself than Gary
From the place where you are
"Have you heard froazed at the boy and shook his head "Not a word He’s off looking for so quite like what surrounds us A library One thatthese biblical words"
A coht his attention The library’s door opened, and voices could be heard One he recognized-Alfred Hermann
He motioned, and they retreated to where the upper shelves were broken by aalcove The downstairs was dimly lit by an odd assort fixtures He signaled for Gary to be silent The boy nodded
He listened
The other lish
An American
"This is important, Alfred Actually, it’s beyond important It’s vital"
"I’m aware of your situation," Hermann said "But it’s no more vital than ours"
"Malone is on his way to the Sinai You said that would be okay"
"And it will Can I pour you so to calnac"
He motioned for Gary to stay put while he crept frolance beyond the ornate iron railing Alfred Her beside hier man, maybe early fifties, dressed in a dark suit His head was crowned by a thick fleece of blond hair The face was clean-shaven, energetic, cherubic-perfect for a portrait painter or an actor
Which wasn’t far from the mark
Thorvaldsen knew this man
The vice president of the United States
SIXTY-ONE
CAMP DAVID, MARYLAND
STEPHANIE REGISTERED THE PRESIDENT’S WORDS "WHAT DO YOU mean your traitor?"
Daniels threw her a troubled look "So withtheir own goals, thinking I’m either too lazy, too pathetic, or too duure out the ringleader My so-called loyal vice president He’s an ambitious sucker"
"Mr President-" she said
"Now, that’s a first, too Mr President Maybe we’re ress in our relationship"
"I’ve had my reservations about you and this administration"
"That’s the probleo But you people stay, and stay, and stay Which means you have lots to compare with Unfortunately for ht on this one I’m surrounded by traitors My vice president wants this job so bad he can’t stand it And to get it, he’s willing to make a deal with the devil" Daniels paused, and she did not interrupt his thoughts "The Order of the Golden Fleece"
Had she heard right?
"He’s there Right now Meeting with its head A man named Alfred Hermann"
She had seriously underestimated Danny Daniels Just as she had Brent Green Both men were quite informed Cassiopeia rocked in her chair, but Stephanie could see she was listening closely She’d told Cassiopeia about the Order
"My father was a member," Cassiopeia said
That had not been mentioned earlier when they’d talked
"For ether I chose not to continue the membership after his death"
"Good roup has been linked to a nuerprints anywhere Of course, the key players usually end up dead Like any good gang, they have an enforcele Typical Europeans A hired gun with a grand title They’re the ones who took Malone’s boy"
"And you’re just now telling us?"
"Yes, Stephanie, I a the head of the free world is I can pretty lance "There’s a lot going on here Happening fast Froles I’ve done the best I can under the circumstances"
She drew hi with the Blue Chair?"
"Blue Chair? Good to see you’re infor his soul That Order is after, of all things, the Library of Alexandria They’re looking for proof of a theory, and though I thought the whole thing bizarre, apparently there’s more to it"
"What do the Israelis say?" Cassiopeia asked
"They don’t want anything found Period Leave it alone See the Saudi royal house for decades and now they’ve decided to just swirl everything up Get the Jews and Arabs all riled Not a bad play, actually We’ve been known to do the sa But this will escalate Fanatics are impossible to predict, whether they be Arab, Israeli-" He paused "-or American"
"What do you want me to do?" Stephanie asked
"Letelse you don’t know Cotton made a second call back to Green He needed a favor So Green approved a military airlift for Malone, his ex-wife, and a third man to, if you can believe it, the Sinai They’re in transit now Our guess is that this third un Malone also requested an ID check fronored No inquiries at all So we checked The naave was James McColluuy by that name who’s ex-army, special forces, now a freelance ht resume to work for the Order, wouldn’t you say?"
"How did he get connected with Malone?" Cassiopeia said