Pandora's Ark

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Upon the passing of the pope, politicking was paramount in order to succeed to the throne. The two leads within the Preferiti were Cardinals Vessucci and Angullo. Cardinals Bass and Botelli were considered third and fourth respectively in the rankings, but still within striking range, even though both cardinals gravitated more toward the principles of a more liberal state.

To politick outside the walls of the Sistine Chapel prior to the conclave was acceptable. To politick for the papal station once the conclave was in session invited excommunication. By the time the door to the chapel was sealed minds should be made up, a successor chosen on the merits of what he could bring to the Church.

After a day of true debate among his constituency, Cardinal Bonasero Vessucci had been diligently patient while listening to others. What had come to the fore is that Angullo’s camp had weakened considerably after the secretary of state often disputed the pontiff’s decisions and openly criticized the man for his judgment, which drew the ire of the pope and a growing distance between them.

In some eyes Angullo was seen as intolerable and uncompromising, causing many to withdraw from his camp, which in turn weakened his support. Others, however, stood firmly by him because they wanted to remain in the good graces of the man holding the second highest position within the Vatican.

And this was good news for Bonasero Vessucci, who was highly respected within the College of the Cardinals as someone who debated with skill and tolerance and had the pedigree of serving behind one of the most revered popes ever to reign by serving as secretary of state prior to his removal by Pope Gregory, and further viewed as a man of altruistic conviction.

While his following ran deep, Cardinal Angullo’s was running far and dry and fast, the unspoken polls rising in Vessucci’s favor.

As he stood before an open window of his dormitory at the Domus Sanctæ Marthæ overlooking the Basilica, he reflected over the possible changes to come. Without hesitation he would reinstate the Vatican Knights to protect the sovereignty of the Church, its interests, and its citizenry beyond the reach of the Swiss Guard. For those who could not protect themselves, the Vatican Knights surely would.

Standing idle watching the sun slowly set, the sky turning from a deep blue to reddish-orange, Cardinal Bonasero Vessucci sighed. Even with the polls serving in his favor, he knew he had an obstacle to overcome as long as Cardinal Angullo remained steadfast. If nothing else, he thought, the man was ambitious to a fault.

And sometimes, ambition could warp a man’s sense of conscience.

With a preamble of a smile the cardinal continued to admire the sunset, the sun’s tendrils finally fading toward the darkness of night.

As Cardinal Vessucci stood at the window of his dormitory, so did Cardinal Giuseppe Angullo.

He stood there as a dry wind caressed his skin — the same dry wind that was blowing on the fatal night of the pope’s death.

As the sun settled, so unsettled was his nerves.

Although silver of tongue, his past association with Pope Gregory had proved to be a slow undoing of his grip over his camp. Those whom he considered to be his closest allies had quietly defected, his numbers growing weaker at a time that was becoming more opportune. In whispered circles he heard that some had defected and became a part of Vessucci’s growing numbers, propelling him to the top of the Preferiti, whereas others gravitated to other aspirants. Either way, Angullo was slipping.

Closing his eyes, he could feel his ambition torture him like something hot and writhing in his gut. The seat was but a conclave away, a position he glorified since he was ordained as a priest in Florence. And here he stood after becoming second in command of the Vatican through Machiavellian means.

If he ousted Cardinal Vessucci once, then he could do it again. But time, he knew, was crucially limited with the conclave only days away.

He exhaled, knowing the task to be a difficult one. How could he dethrone Vessucci before the throne even fell to him? Tell the cardinals of Vessucci’s past when he sanctioned the Vatican Knights, a group of mercenaries? But that would also malign Pope Pius, who also sanctioned the group. And to malign Pope Pius in the eyes of the College of the Cardinals would certainly end his political push for the throne.

The man grit his teeth, feeling cornered.

And then he raised his right hand and held it up against the backdrop of the full moon, examining it. It had been the hand that pushed Gregory from the balcony, ending his life. It was also the hand that put him in the position to succeed Gregory by placing him at the helm of the papal throne.

It was all in the right hand.

Lowering his arm, Cardinal Angullo’s mind began to work.

He clearly recalled the moment inside the papal chamber as Gregory lay on the deathbed in gentle repose after the body was appropriated from the bloodied cobblestones beneath his balcony. In keeping with medieval ritual, the Camerlengo took a silver hammer and tapped the pope’s forehead three times, calling out his Christian name. When there was no response, the Camerlengo then announced to those present that the pope was dead and proceeded to remove the Fisherman's Ring from his finger, an act of dethroning. Once done, then the proper authorities took over, namely the coroner.

But keeping with papal law he knew the pope could not be autopsied, the poison in his system crippling him that night would never be detected, the crime going unnoticed. It had been papal law since the inception of the Church, a loophole for murder no doubt used many times over — at least in Angullo’s estimation.

But such a law did not apply to cardinals or bishops or clergy. Not everyone was immune.

In the darkness of night Angullo sighed again, a sigh that was long and drawn out, a sigh of pent-up frustration.

Should he apply the same fate upon Vessucci as he did with Pope Gregory, there was no doubt in his mind an autopsy would follow and an investigation conducted by Roman authorities would ensue. The death of a Preferiti so close to the death of the pontiff would certainly draw suspicion, especially if the poison that weakened Gregory was discovered in his system.

But Vessucci had been slowed by age. His steps were becoming shorter, his gait becoming more labored. Surely these were signs of an aging man falling into ill health.

Once again he held his hand aloft against the round frame of the full moon, and flexed his fingers before drawing his hand into a tight fist. Like he did on the night of the Gregory’s death, he would enter Vessucci’s dormitory room and apply a pillow over the man’s face, smothering him. He would then set the body in gentle repose, the man dying in his sleep of natural causes.

However, a telltale sign of dying by this method always left the victim’s eyes bloodshot.

This much he knew.

But with the Conclave days away it was a risk he was willing to take since God, after all, would be watching over him.

This he was sure of.

So with his clenched fist held high, with the backdrop of the full moon framing his tightly balled hand, Cardinal Giuseppe Angullo was feeling more than triumphant.

Soon, Bonasero, the papal thrown will be mine.

Soon.