Shout in the Dark (3 page)

The name inside the circle of red ink
glared up at him in piercing accusation. Sartini, a young man
unknown to these forces of evil. The innocent dying to save the
world. The old man smiled grimly. It was hardly a new concept -- it
was the cornerstone of the Church.

Like Pontius Pilate at the trial of Jesus,
he had the power to grant freedom -- or order crucifixion. The
sudden awareness of this fact gave him no pleasure. Reinhardt
reached for the telephone. The Holy Father must be informed of the
choice of Sartini immediately.

"
It is not a question of
if
I see the Holy Father today, Vittorio, it is a question
of
when
." Reinhardt
sighed, aware that he was raising his voice to the Holy Father's
private secretary. "Immediately," he added, with no hint of
apology.

As he waited, Reinhardt stared
thoughtfully at the confidential staff folder on his desk. Would
the Vatican turn its eyes away -- again -- and allow the fascists
to change the face of Europe? Marco Sartini, age twenty-nine, and
only recently ordained. There was a suggestion that Amendola had
tried to block the ordination. This was, perhaps, not surprising.
Reinhardt allowed himself a smile as he read Cardinal Amendola's
prim wording in a letter of objection that he had wanted put on
record: Sartini, a young man who once had "a certain reputation
with the girls."

He continued through the notes. Here was a
choirboy who had walked away from the Church at thirteen. Wasted
teenage years, a succession of young women, then a stable, happy
marriage to Anna Sartini. Anna Sartini, killed six years ago in
Rome while being chased by a group of drunken tourists late at
night, only two years into the marriage. Reinhardt turned the page.
Marco Sartini a widower at twenty-three: a secondhand car salesman,
drug user, and survivor. He shook his head wearily.

"
Vittorio, please be as quick as you can. The matter is
extremely urgent." He closed his eyes and tried to remain patient.
It was clear from Berlin that the neo-Fascists were about to mount
a display of worldwide importance. Did someone have eyes on the
Vatican's newly rediscovered relic? As in the years leading up to
the war, the people of Europe could again be drawn and then seduced
by exciting promises from a powerful leader.

"
Thank you, Vittorio, this evening at the Pope's private
suite. Yes, you may indeed assure the Holy Father I will
not
be wasting his
time."

He picked up the email that his contact in
the civilian security services had intercepted and decoded. It was
being sent by the neo-Fascist ADR movement in Berlin to their base
in London.
Achtzehn Deutschland Reinigung
. The encryption was minimal. The group seemed to
be getting careless.

INTERCEPTED EMAIL COMMUNICATION

The Russians have agreed to
sell us the two fragments that they claim are from the skull of
Adolf Hitler. Please arrange for our colleagues in Oxford, England,
to prepare for DNA testing. I am confident we can prove that the
Russian fragments are from the same person as the larger, but
partially
burned portion of the Führer's skull already in our
possession.

Although these three pieces are obviously
insufficient to allow us to reconstruct a complete head of the
Führer, I have commissioned an internationally famous artist to
create a life-size bust of great realism, using a skilful blend of
bone and clay.

We will one day be able to put
the bust of the Führer on public display, possibly in Berlin
--
for the glory of the ADR and the
unity of the pure people of the world.

*

"
JOSEF, IT WOULD be most unwise to stop TV Roma's live
broadcast on the relic tonight, and probably impossible. They are a
powerful organization, and could cause us considerable harm with
adverse publicity if we let them down."

The Pope's serious expression turned to an
embarrassed smile. "Please sit down, Josef," he continued. "You
make me uncomfortable as you pace the room. This carpet is three
hundred years old, and since we began our talk I do believe you
have added at least a decade of wear!"

Josef Reinhardt sat down reluctantly. He
had been pacing the deep red carpet for almost thirty minutes. "As
head of Vatican Security Services I should have been consulted on
the security of this relic from the start," he protested. "You
should not risk lending it to TV Roma. Not even for five minutes."
Reinhardt stood up, realized what he had done, and sat down
again.

"
Then you know something, Josef?" the Pope
continued.

"
There is a German organization, Holiness." Reinhardt chose
his words carefully, attempting to cause maximum impact. "It is led
by a man who uses the code name of Phönix. I have seen some of the
neo-Fascist ADR's intercepted emails, and it appears they have
managed to collect three fragments of Hitler's skull. They intend
to embed these fragments into a bust of the Führer and display it
in Berlin."

The Pope shook his head in distaste. "I
cannot imagine such a thing. Surely a display of Hitler would be
illegal."

"
Rebuilding the head of Hitler may not be a criminal act in
itself, Holiness. The Führer's effigy is legally on display in
waxworks around the world."

"
But a shrine, a place where racial hatred is taught, would
not be allowed by the European constitution."

"
Never underestimate the power of the neo-Nazis, Holiness. I
am sure they have a plan to circumvent the law."

"
Tell me, Josef, what size are these fragments?"

Reinhardt took his pen from the inside
pocket of his black jacket and made a rough sketch of a man's head
on a sheet of notepaper on the desk. "Two of the fragments go here
... and here." He indicated two jagged patches each the size of an
egg just above the forehead. "And a much larger piece containing
the left eye socket and cheekbone goes here."

The Pope glanced at the drawing before
turning away. He swallowed. "What makes you think that people would
flock to see fragments of this man's skull?"

Reinhardt sighed. "The Church has used
such a device for centuries, Holiness. What draws the people to the
site of a saint's burial? Is it the marble statue? Or is it a
glimpse of the bones?"

The Holy Father reflected on this for a
moment. "But the bones of the saint are good, and the bones of the
Führer are surely evil."

Reinhardt nodded. "Some would say that
goodness and evil depend on the viewpoint of the
onlooker."

The Pope managed a smile. "Goodness is
absolute, Josef, and well you know it. But what is the link between
this sickening object and our first century bronze head of Jesus
Christ?"

"
There may be no link." Reinhardt tried to move his
shoulders but his body felt trapped by the luxurious padding of the
large armchair. In spite of his age he preferred standing -- and
pacing.

"
Josef, you must not try to deceive me. Tell me what you
know."

He nodded slowly. "I have heard that one
of the ADR fascist team is marching to a different tune." Reinhardt
was aware that he had the Holy Father's full attention. "An ADR man
is boasting in private that he will give Europe an experience the
Church has never been able to offer. I can think of only one way he
could achieve this."

"
By using the bronze head of Christ?" The Pope thought for a
moment, weighing up the prospect. "Impossible. The fascists lost
their opportunity in the war." He sighed noisily. "But I can see
the power it would have given them had they obtained it in the
nineteen thirties. They would have remodeled the facial features.
The nose especially. Christ's supposed Aryan ancestry would have
been falsely proven. Do you remember how German artists subtly
changed the paintings on the walls in Schleswig cathedral in the
nineteen thirties?"

"
Lothar Malskat was to blame for that. And the Feys, of
course. I was only a boy at the time." Reinhardt jumped to his feet
and walked the length of the room. Then he turned. "The
neo-Fascists could destroy the peace in Europe with their
pernicious magic." He strode to the darkened window. "But when I
first warned the Vatican, my voice was received in silence." He
tried not to make his words sound like an accusation, but suspected
he had done exactly that.

The Pontiff nodded. "A lone voice crying
in the wilderness?" He smiled fleetingly. "You, a man with a
lifetime of danger; a one-time member of the Hitler Youth and a
supporter of the Nazi Party? I regret I can find little enthusiasm
within the Vatican for a battle with neo-Nazis in the new
millennium."

"
At times like this I feel powerless," responded Reinhardt
bitterly. "I met Adolf Hitler personally. The German Führer came to
our house to see my father several times in Berlin. The man was
obsessed with the occult. He frightened me. But a greatness shone
out from him that I cannot explain. Yes, a bust containing parts of
his skull would have a fascination, even for me. But it is the
bronze head of Christ that would provide an even greater attraction
to the world."

The Pope smiled reassuringly. "Then we can
rejoice that it is safe with us here at the Vatican."

"
Safe in the Vatican, but will it be safe at TV
Roma?"

"
You are over-reacting, Josef. The news you have brought me
this evening is only from one source -- the contact you have in the
secular anti-terrorist group in Rome. Do you consider this man's
intelligence reliable?"

"
He believes a splinter group of the neo-Fascist ADR
movement could be planning to shake our little set-up to its
foundations -- within days." Reinhardt shrugged. "Those are his
words, Holiness, not mine. A Church with a membership of more than
a billion. Our little set-up!"

The Pope held his hands open, and the
sweeping folds of white gave Reinhardt a little of the comfort he
desperately needed. There was no smile now. "Tell me, Josef, as
head of this 'little set-up', what do you want me to
do?"

Reinhardt had his back to the window and
the view of the empty courtyard. This was not the time for Vatican
protocol. The Holy Father's question was direct, and the reply
would therefore be blunt. "Holiness, it is obviously too late for
us to stop tonight's live broadcast. But you should insist that TV
Roma makes all future programs about the relic from within the
boundaries of the Vatican. Security at their studios may be weak.
The neo-Nazis tried to steal it from Canon Levi nearly twenty years
ago."

"
And failed."

"
Indeed." Reinhardt sighed. "But they managed to kill Canon
Levi in the attempt."

"
Every step we make in life involves a degree of danger,
Josef. Tell me about this ADR movement."

"
Achtzehn Deutschland Reinigung
, literally Eighteen Germany
Purification."

"
Is that Eighteen as in the British neo-Nazi group Combat
Eighteen, Josef?"

"
Indeed, yes. Eighteen: one and eight, A and H."

"
The initials of Adolf Hitler," said the Pope quietly. "But
I understand the ADR is not a youth movement."

The Holy Father seemed remarkably well
informed on the current neo-Nazi groups. "Quite so, Holiness. The
movement has been around since the nineteen eighties, but it now
appears to be run by powerful politicians and influential
businessmen. The ADR has an extensive network."

"
You're putting me in an impossible position, Josef. The
people have been clamoring for a sight of the bronze head since its
rediscovery in the Vatican." The Holy Father smiled confidently.
"And that is why the Vatican has agreed to show it to them through
TV Roma."

This was not the answer Reinhardt sought.
He looked at his footmarks showing on the crimson carpet, and tried
without much success to stand still. "Holiness, could the public
stay away if the face of Jesus Christ was on show? If the fascists
display the bust of Christ alongside the head of Hitler, they will
draw more visitors than all our cathedrals and churches
combined."

Reinhardt could hear a sound outside the
closed door. Vittorio, the private secretary, must be dropping a
strong hint to the Holy Father about the passing time. The Pope
chose to ignore the man.

"
It is your responsibility to deal with this evil, Josef.
What do you intend to do to counter any move by the ADR against the
Church?"

Reinhardt shrugged. "We could try shouting
at the devil. Shouting into the darkness. See what comes
out."

"
I trust you have a more sophisticated plan than
that."

Reinhardt hesitated, aware of the enormity
of the decision he had already made. "More detailed, but scarcely
more advanced. I have this afternoon selected ... selected someone
in the Church. A man. A man to put his head up to be shot at,
Holiness."