The Secret Cardinal

41

Yin awoke from a restless sleep. It was midday, and he lay beneath the wing of the BAT that had carried him more than seven hundred miles west from Chifeng. They had landed before dawn beside an escarpment that promised to cast a deep shadow over their hiding place. Once on the ground, the soldiers had quickly draped camouflage netting over the three aircraft, concealing them from all but the most intense scrutiny. Kilkenny and the pilots slept nearby, exhausted by one long flight and restoring themselves for another. The other soldiers, some unseen yet he knew they were there, protected the hidden camp from discovery. Tao saw Yin sitting up and approached him.

‘Good afternoon,’ Tao said softly. ‘Did you sleep well?’

‘My sleep was troubled.’

‘That’s not surprising. You’ve been through quite an ordeal.’

‘Perhaps that’s it,’ Yin said.

Tao noticed Yin’s right hand was rubbing a spot near the center of his chest.

‘Are you feeling all right?’ she asked.

‘My heart is heavy. I feel something is wrong.’

‘Don’t move,’ Tao said sternly. ‘I’ll get some help.’

Tao returned a moment later with Jing, the team’s medic, and Kilkenny.

‘Can you describe how you’re feeling?’ Jing asked as he opened his med kit.

‘A heaviness here,’ Yin replied, indicating his chest.

‘Do you have pain or numbness anywhere?’

‘No.’

‘Any dizziness?’ Jing asked.

‘No.’

‘I need to examine you, sir. Roxanne, help me undo the top of his suit.’

Jing and Tao carefully peeled down the upper half of Yin’s SEAL-skin suit to reveal a lean torso of skin and bones. Ke Li’s cross hung from a cord around Yin’s neck, the symbol of his faith close to his heart.

‘That will need to come off too,’ Jing said, indicating the cross.

Yin nodded and gently lifted the cord over his head. He kissed the hand-carved cross reverently.

‘Please, hold this for me,’ Yin said, handing the cross to Kilkenny.

Kilkenny took Yin’s cross and stepped back, out of the way. Jing checked Yin’s heart rate and blood pressure, listened to his lungs, then connected the Bishop to a small electronic monitor.

‘You can pull your top back up if you’re cold,’ Jing told Yin, ‘but try not to loosen the contacts on your chest. I want this to run for a while. It should give us some idea of how you’re doing.’

‘Thank you for your concern,’ Yin replied.

As Tao helped Yin with his clothing, Kilkenny motioned Jing over to talk.

‘What do you think?’ Kilkenny asked.

‘Everything seems okay. He’s got a strong heart and no problem with his lungs.’

‘So he’s not having a heart attack?’

‘Not that I can tell. Other than the heaviness in his chest, he has none of the classic signs. I’ll know more after we’ve run the monitor a while, but right now, I’m leaning more toward stress. Just look at everything he’s been through in the past twenty-four hours.’

‘Try the past thirty years. Thanks, Chuck. Let me know when you’re done with him.’

As Jing returned to his patient, Gates joined Kilkenny.

‘He okay?’

‘We’ll know more in a bit,’ Kilkenny replied, ‘but Chuck’s thinking at the moment is that it’s stress.’

‘We all got a touch of that.’

‘I just hope in his case it’s not enough to kill him. After all that man has been through, I’d hate to think he died because we broke him out of jail.’

After Jing completed his examination, Kilkenny rejoined the Bishop. Yin was fully dressed and eating a meal of light rations.

‘I’ve brought you your cross,’ Kilkenny said.

‘Thank you.’

In donning his pectoral cross, Yin repeated the simple ritual of reverence.

‘How are you feeling, Your Excellency?’ Kilkenny inquired.

‘Better. And how are you feeling?’

‘I’m fine,’ Kilkenny replied, surprised by the question. ‘Why do you ask?’

‘The burden you carry is heavy. Such weight can wear upon a man.’

‘I’ve heard it often said that the Lord doesn’t give us burdens greater than what we can carry.’

‘An interesting thought. Do you believe it is true?’

‘I don’t know, but if it is, there are times I think He has greatly overestimated me.’

‘Is this one of those times?’ Yin asked.

Kilkenny considered the question for a moment and wondered if Yin’s symptoms might be the result of fear of being recaptured.

‘I’ll get you out of China,’ Kilkenny vowed.

Han approached Kilkenny and Yin; the two other pilots sat in the front of BAT-2.

‘Sorry to interrupt,’ Han said, ‘but it’s time for our pre-flight meeting.’

‘If you’ll excuse me, Your Excellency.’

Yin bowed and Kilkenny departed with Han. The Bishop carefully watched the man who engineered his rescue, and he contemplated the immense burden on Kilkenny’s shoulders.