The Voynich Cypher

CHAPTER 30

Gwen was getting ready to go to lunch when her private line rang. There were only a few people in the world with that number, and she didn’t think her mother would be calling in the middle of the day. Besides, Mum usually called the cell. She inspected the caller ID, but didn’t recognize the number. Roman prefix. She put her purse back down on the desk and, after looking around the room, lifted the handset to her ear.

“Hullo?”

“Gwen. It’s me. Don’t say my name, okay?” Steven said.

“A…all right. What a lovely surprise to hear your voice. You’ve been in high demand lately,” Gwen responded.

“You don’t know the half of it. Listen. You sent me a message. A gentleman caller anxious for me to connect. What can you tell me about him, other than his name? What did he want?” Steven asked.

“All he said was that he needed to speak to you about the Vladnik, and how you’d know what it meant. Said it would be in your best interest to contact him as soon as possible.”

Steven let the mispronunciation go. “I don’t suppose you ran the number through the reverse directory, did you?”

“Funny you should ask. I know how your mind works by now. Yes, I did, and it came up as one of a group of lines assigned to the Vatican. Are you thinking of converting? Becoming a man of the cloth? Careful with that one, luv, it might be a midlife crisis as opposed to a true calling…”

“You’re sure it was the Vatican?” Steven asked.

“Hard to get that wrong, don’t you think?”

“Hmm. And what else has been going on during my holiday?”

Gwen cupped her hand over the mouthpiece and turned away from the circle of computers, where Sophie and Ben were busy coding away. “The Roman police sent a couple of coppers round. Seems they want to talk to you big time. I told them truthfully that I had no idea where you were. They wanted to know if I had a contact number, so I gave them your cell. I’m sorry. I hope that wasn’t a wrong move.”

“That’s fine, Gwen. You need to be completely open and honest with the police. As far as my whereabouts go, I’m extending my little holiday for a bit longer. Keeping it open-ended.”

“Speaking of which, how’s your little friend?” Gwen asked. It was as if she could read his mind. He decided to take the high road and interpret her query in the cleanest possible way.

“She’s naturally upset over how things have developed, but holding up,” Steven said. “How’s everything with the business?”

“Oh, you know, it chugs along, with or without you. Not that you’re easily replaceable, but there’s nothing we haven’t been able to deal with in your absence, so far. Although it does get a bit distracting to have the local five-o stopping in every few days, demanding to know where you are.”

“I’m sorry for that. Okay, then. I’m calling with a calling card, so this number isn’t a good contact number for me. Sorry. But I’ll check back in shortly. In a few days. Hold down the fort, Gwen, and thanks for everything,” Steven said.

“Be careful, luv.”

Morbius Frank was sitting at a small café in Rome, enjoying the feel of the afternoon sun on his face as he watched the frantic pedestrian traffic. A shadow fell over the table, then Sia Amieri sat down across from him.

“Cross called his office a few hours ago,” the big man said.

“And? Do we know anything more than that? Any hint of where he’s hiding?” Frank asked.

“No. Nothing in that direction. But there is a troubling new development.”

Frank sighed. “Besides having lost him and the girl? In possession of the most valuable treasure in history? Tell me, what could be more troubling?”

“His office got a call from someone at the Vatican. Asking him to get in touch as soon as possible. About the Voynich.”

Frank’s eyes narrowed to slits. “What? This is bad. First we have the girl turning out to have CIA connections, and now we have the Church in direct contact? We’re losing control of this, my son.”

Amieri didn’t respond. There wasn’t anything to say.

“If the Church gets the Scroll back, we can assume that it will disappear forever, and its secret will go with it. I’ve spent too much money and too many years tracking this down to have that happen,” Frank seethed.

“I know. I don’t like it either.”

Frank took a few deep breaths, composing himself, and Amieri pretended not to notice that his mentor’s cup trembled a little as he brought it to his lips.

“Fix this, my son. Whatever it takes. Fix it.”

Natalie and Steven parked at the airport and took a water taxi to Venice, which dropped them in front of Saint Mark’s Square. They meandered around and eventually decided to go into a hotel on the waterfront to use the phone. The interior was old Venice, all gold brocade and velvet and polished dark wood. Natalie took a seat at the lobby bar while Steven sought out the bank of pay phones that were situated by the bathrooms.

He dialed the number on the calling card and, when prompted, entered the number. It took a moment to connect, then answered on the third ring.

“Luca.”

“This is Steven Cross. You left a message for me at my office?” Steven wanted to keep this as brief as possible.

Luca hesitated for a few seconds. “Ah, yes. Dr. Cross. Thank you for calling.”

“How can I help you?”

“I believe we both have an idea. You have come into possession of something that belongs to the Church, and I’d like to discuss a solution before things get any more out of hand,” Luca tried.

“Sounds accusatory. Can you prove that the Church is the legal owner of whatever we’re hypothetically discussing?” Steven threw out.

This already wasn’t going as Luca had envisioned.

“The item in question has been in our possession for centuries. It is clearly our property.”

“So possession establishes ownership? I’d say, in that case, whoever possesses it, owns it,” Steven observed.

“Ownership of some things entails tremendous responsibility and jeopardy. I was hoping we could discuss how to remove any from your life moving forward,” Luca said.

“How do I know you’re not a large part of the risk yourself? It seems like it’s become a very dangerous world all of a sudden.”

“The Church doesn’t endorse bloodshed, Dr. Cross.”

“Tell that to the folks on the receiving end of the Crusades or the Inquisition,” Steven volleyed back.

“I should say that today’s Church doesn’t, and that I personally would never authorize it. Which is why I think we have something worth discussing. Depending upon your objective, I may be able to solve a very real problem for you — namely, how to return the item in question without incurring any retribution or threats. The reality is that whoever possesses the item will forever be a target. In fact, removing it from our custody has already accumulated an enormous toll. I’m clear in my objective here. I want the item returned and am prepared to negotiate to arrange that. Simple,” Luca pitched.

“How can I possibly trust you?” Steven asked.

“I’m not sure you’re in any position not to trust me. I’m trying to put a stop to a very real disaster that has been set in motion, perhaps unwittingly, and in which you are a regrettable collateral player. I think you’re a very smart man and can see that being involved with a catastrophe can’t end well. For anyone. Besides which, if we can’t come to an arrangement, I think you’ll find trusting me will be the least of your problems.”

Luca had a point. And Natalie didn’t have a plan of any kind that she’d shared with him. Perhaps there was a deal that could be brokered with the Church.

Luca continued. “Do you believe in God, Dr. Cross?”

“Not in the sense you do.”

“Hmm. Well, I do. Obviously. Very much. What I can tell you is that life on this planet is short and that we all have a destiny, and that yours has nothing to do with the item. It pains me that evil seems to have surfaced and struggled for possession of it. You may not believe in God, but surely you’re old enough to believe in evil? You must be worldly enough to have seen it?” Luca asked.

“I’ll concede that point, philosophically. I’ve seen evil. Which is usually nothing more than the actions of greedy, mean-spirited men to satisfy their lusts. I’ll agree that evil exists. It’s us,” Steven said.

“I don’t disagree. But just as evil is us, so is good. They are antipodal, and yet co-exist directly because we exist. Different ends of our spectrum, if you will. I am not interested in getting into a theological or philosophical debate, or trying to frame a theistic argument. I’m telling you that someone is killing to get their hands on the item — the same someone who likely participated in its theft. That someone will continue until they have it, and you and the girl will share the fate of everyone else who has stood in their way.” Luca drove home his point. “In a world of moral ambiguity, perhaps we can keep this simple. Being alive is good. Being killed is bad, or evil, if you like. I’m approaching you to see if we can come to terms that will end this before any more evil occurs.”

Steven considered this.

“I have a bargaining chip. Beyond the item, which isn’t mine to give or take.” Steven had considered the merits of playing his trump card and decided to do so. The only thing the Church would hold more valuable than the Scroll, would be the Scroll’s secret.

“There is nothing besides the item. That is all I want. I’m prepared to entertain any terms you might propose,” Luca said.

“Is that really all you want? Are you completely sure about that? Think long and hard before you answer.”

The line was silent for a few seconds.

“You…you’re telling me you’ve done it?” Luca whispered.

“What do you really know about the item? I mean, really? Do you know what it hides? What it contains?”

Luca composed himself. “I know that what we are discussing is too delicate for the telephone.”

“Very well. I’ll call you back in a few hours. Take time to speak to whoever you need to, and get clear on what your true, ultimate objective is. Then perhaps we can meet under circumstances that are safe for us both and have a more substantial discussion that will get us both what we really want.” Steven let that hang, and then gently replaced the handset in the cradle.

Luca sounded genuine, but Steven was afraid that he might be too low in the hierarchy to seal a deal that would keep both he and Natalie safe in perpetuity. But in the end, Luca was right about one thing. Life was short, and if you didn’t have a reasonable assurance that someone wasn’t going to kill you at any moment, then you had nothing. He’d been sucked into this, but if he could put an end to it all on terms he, and Natalie, could live with, then he would do so.

Steven returned to Natalie, who was busy enjoying a Kir Royale — the hotel’s specialty. He sat down next to her on the elegant booth seat and, after tasting the liquid concoction, he ordered one for himself before relating how the call had gone.

“What? Give it back? That’s the best you can do?” Natalie fumed. She was clearly emotional over the idea.

“Natalie. Think this through. As long as we have the Scroll, our lives won’t be worth spit. Frank and the Order will pursue us to the end of the earth. So the only option is to give it back to the Order and arrange a transaction where they can protect us. It doesn’t play out any other way. We can’t give it to Frank, because the Order will still be after us, and if you’ve described him correctly, he’ll just kill us anyway. So we can’t keep it, can’t give it to Frank…that only leaves one option, as far as I can see.”

She thought it over, then stood abruptly and said, “I have to use the bathroom.”

She stalked off, still pissed, regardless of the logic.

The bartender brought his drink, and he took an appreciative sip. Natalie returned within a few minutes, seeming more relaxed.

Steven broached the subject again. “The Scroll doesn’t have any value to either of us. If it ever did, now that I’ve decrypted it, the value is gone. It’s not the Scroll that had the value, anyway. It’s the secret the Scroll contains. My solution to our quagmire is straightforward. You want to finish your father’s work and see it through. Fine. I want to help you, and I have the knowledge and capability to do so. But none of this matters if we wind up dead. I’m planning on dying of old age a long time from now, not at the hands of some psychopath’s assassins. If you look at this dispassionately, we need to figure out a way to return the Scroll to get everyone off our backs, and we need to finish the job your father started — which we can either try to do on our own, or we can do in some sort of partnership with the Order — a partnership we’ll control. Those are the only two options. I don’t care which we choose, but I’m not seeing a third.”

Natalie regarded him. “Are you always so damned logical?”

“It’s what I do, Natalie.”

“Not all you do, thank God.” She smiled. “Let’s say I go along with this. What’s the plan?”

Steven told her. Natalie listened without saying a word, and when he was finished, she picked up her drink and swallowed it in one gulp. Smacking her lips, she took his hand and stood.

“Let’s grab lunch. Sounds like we’ve got our work cut out for us.”

Just like that, it was decided.