The Secret Cardinal

10

Donoher sat alone in a well-lit conference room in the catacombs. The table before him held several stacks of files covering all aspects of the Vatican’s preparations for the upcoming papal funeral and the subsequent conclave. After Pope Leo XIV named him Camerlengo, Donoher’s predecessor, Cardinal Mizzi, forwarded to him a file box of information he had collected over the years in preparation for this day. Included were copies of letters from previous Camerlengos about their experiences during past interregnums. Donoher found comfort in the wisdom of those men who had carried this burden before him.

The triangular speaker in the center of the conference table chimed. Donoher glanced at the caller-ID. It was his executive assistant, Sister Deborah.

‘Yes, Sister?’

‘Your Eminence, the video link you requested is ready.’

‘Thank you.’

As he set aside the file he was reading, the flat monitor covering a large portion of the opposite wall filled with a test screen showing the logo of the Holy See. The still image quickly disappeared, replaced by a view inside another subterranean conference room thousands of miles away. Two men gazed back at him. Both appeared lean and fit for their age. The man on the left had a full head of silver hair; the other displayed only hints of gray around the edges. They were dressed in well-tailored suits, and the left lapel of each held a pin of the American flag. Donoher personally knew the man on the left; it was through the CIA director that he had requested this meeting. He recognized the man seated beside Jackson Barnett, though this was the first time he had ever spoken to him.

‘Your Eminence,’ the President began in a folksy west Texas drawl, ‘I would first like to express my deepest condolences and those of the people of the United States on the passing of Pope Leo. I was privileged to have met with him on several occasions and benefited from his wisdom. The Pope was a man of great faith and compassion, truly one of the most inspiring leaders on the world stage. He will be missed.’

‘He will indeed, Mister President, he will indeed. Thank you for your kind words.’

‘Kind words come easy when they’re the truth. Director Barnett informs me you have a delicate matter you’d like to discuss with us.’

‘That is correct, Mister President. Are you familiar with the case of Yin Daoming, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Shanghai?’

‘Chinese dissident,’ the President recalled. ‘Been locked up for decades for being nothing more than a man of the cloth. He’s got some family here in the U.S., in Connecticut. I’ve worked with one of the senators from up there to quietly prod Beijing into letting him go. Talks on that have never gotten anywhere.’

‘That has been our experience as well,’ Donoher said. ‘In August, the Chinese government murdered approximately five hundred of its citizens in a failed attempt to force Bishop Yin into publicly renouncing the Roman Catholic Church and the Pope. Following this incident, His Holiness directed me to find a way to unilaterally free Bishop Yin.’

‘Sounds like you’re talking about a prison break,’ the President said wryly.

‘Yes, Mister President. We have devised a nonviolent way to free Bishop Yin. Just before his death, Pope Leo authorized us to proceed.’

‘Is this why Nolan Kilkenny is in Rome?’ Barnett asked.

Donoher nodded. ‘I needed someone with his particular background to study the problem, to see if our aim was even possible.’

‘Kilkenny,’ the President mused, then he turned to Barnett. ‘That the same fella who nailed the folks behind the attacks of the shuttle Liberty and that Chinese rocket?’

‘Shenzhou-7, Mister President,’ Barnett offered. ‘And yes, the gentleman working with Cardinal Donoher is the same man you remember from that incident.’

‘He sure gets around.’ The President chuckled. ‘The work Kilkenny did last year put a bit of a thaw in our relations with the Chinese — nothing earth-shattering, mind you, but the tone has improved. Too bad we had to keep the wraps on that story — in my mind, the Chinese owe Kilkenny a medal.’

‘What you’re proposing will infuriate Beijing,’ Barnett said to Donoher.

‘The continued existence of the Roman Catholic Church in China infuriates Beijing. From the point of view of the Holy See, we have nothing to lose in freeing Bishop Yin.’

‘But the United States stands to lose a great deal if we’re implicated in any way,’ Barnett countered.

‘Cardinal, if you have a plan that you think will work, why come to us?’ the President asked. ‘You have to know that even minor involvement on our part would be politically difficult for the United States.’

‘The Pope’s death has made time a serious problem for us. In as little as fifteen days, the Church may have a new Pope, at which time my directive from Pope Leo will, in all likelihood, be rescinded. We cannot possibly train our own people, get them into place, and free Bishop Yin in so short a time.’

‘What makes you so sure the new Pope won’t finish what Pope Leo started?’

‘Mister President, you yourself know how difficult it is to make a decision that will put people in harm’s way. Pope Leo agonized for years over what to do about Bishop Yin, but after the August tragedy he found his patience at an end. I fear it will take years for the new Pope, whomever he is, to reach the same conclusion — years that Bishop Yin may no longer have.’

‘What do you need?’ the President asked.

‘Logistical support and manpower. Kilkenny intends to lead the team in himself. He wants to assemble a small force of volunteers who would be provided with new identities to conceal their ties to the United States.’

‘Special Forces,’ Barnett said. ‘Kilkenny was a SEAL and still has contacts in the service, including Admiral Dawson.’

‘I thought you said your plan was nonviolent,’ the President said.

‘It is, Mister President,’ Donoher replied, ‘and if everything proceeds as we hope, Beijing won’t realize what has transpired until long after Kilkenny and his team have Yin out of the country.’

‘And if everything doesn’t go right, a handful of highly trained U.S. commandos might get themselves killed or captured inside China.’ Barnett shook his head. ‘Mister President, this is a very dangerous thing to do.’

‘So this jailbreak was Pope Leo’s dying wish?’ the President asked.

‘It was,’ Donoher replied.

The President thought for a moment before he spoke. ‘Freeing Bishop Yin would certainly have a lot of symbolic value, but the bottom line is it’s the right thing to do. If it pisses off Beijing, well, we’ll deal with it. Jackson, you’re my point man on this operation. I want you to help Cardinal Donoher pull off this jailbreak, but make sure we have at least a fig leaf of deniability.’

‘Yes, Mister President,’ Barnett replied.

‘And Cardinal, best of luck to you on this worthy endeavor. Perhaps we’ll have a chance to talk further in Rome after the funeral. Pope Leo left a great legacy.’

‘I look forward to it, Mister President.’