The Relic Hunters

CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

Xavier Von Gothe saw everything. In most instances he kept his own counsel, weighed the options and the information and issued the order, often condemning some to death and freeing others. All for the good of the Order. Some matters, though, required input from others, especially when, in the future, he might need somebody to blame.

For that reason his second-in-command, a man they all knew by the codename Typhon, joined him now on an ultra-secure video conferencing line from the UK. Typhon’s first comment always revolved around the weather.

“Cold and wet?” Xavier replied. “Yes, well, it is here too. But a different kind of cold and wet.”

“Snowy mountains? Warm sunshine? I would hardly call that cold and wet.” Typhon chuckled.

“That depends on how and where you live. Some of us choose contentment. Others… don’t.”

“And many don’t get the chance to choose.”

“The herd? Of course not. The herd moves where we want it to move.”

Xavier had a feeling Typhon was complaining but truly didn’t care. Not a man prone to slothful chitchat, he pressed on.

“I wonder, Typhon. I wonder what your thoughts are regarding this map.” He left it there and would judge Typhon on the strength of the reply.

“My initial thoughts center on how it came into being.”

“Exactly. As do mine. Of course I prefer to deal with the genuine article and get it tested, but it appeared to be old. A hundred years or more. It is written in the old style.”

“A malcontent? Somebody the Order expelled?”

“Very possibly. But it feels almost like an account of exploration rather than a revelation. Don’t you think?”

A nod from the head on the other side of the world. Xavier saw only mahogany wood paneling around Typhon and glanced over to the left where his own picture window revealed lofty mountain heights. The differences were apt.

“Investigation required,” Xavier said firmly. “And possible retribution. I don’t care if it’s two hundred or five hundred years old — the traitor that did this will pay, and his name will be trampled to dust when his current bloodline is wiped from the face of the earth.”

“Of course.” It went without saying.

“Baltasar is coming, but he is being pursued. The normal mode of transport is compromised. The fervor is rising every day, every hour. It is good that he has now left Greece, but I fear there is more to come.”

“An unusual scenario,” Typhon said with genuine surprise.

“Yes, agreed. We are investigating the appearance of these new players and, rest assured, when we find their superiors and their weak points, we will crush them.”

“And the other map recipients?”

“All taken care of bar one. He has joined this new team, or so I believe.”

“Ah,”

Xavier watched Typhon. That one exclamation said it all. Though short, it contained shock, fear and… greed. Typhon saw it as a big mistake, that was clear. Xavier tended to agree, but wouldn’t air it even with his second-in-command.

“Perhaps a mass tonight?” Typhon suggested. “Say 8 p.m. your time? We will offer something up at this end too.”

“The Great Dragon will be assuaged,” Xavier agreed. “At least for a short time.”

“And our contacts will do the rest.”

“That is why they exist,” Xavier said assuredly, not able to see any other reason. “We know where Baltasar is. And we know the following team are currently chasing in a helicopter. An event is being set.”

“It is? How are—”

Xavier cut him off, saying goodbye. Everyone always wanted to know more of the events and how they were planned. Everyone wanted more secrets. Didn’t they know that the more secrets they knew, the more expendable they were? Fools. Hypocrites. Liars. Xavier was under no illusion as to the men and women that made up the Order of Illuminati.

But Typhon had raised a good point, and it was important to respect it. Not just for Typhon but for the entire order.

Tonight, there would be a mass. Not a brief, hasty ceremony but a full-on, dutiful ritual of adoration, meditation, thanksgiving and sacrifice. Tonight, they would humble themselves.

For tomorrow, they would again be gods.