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  “Good evening, Mr. DeRosa,” said Monsignor Grazzani. “Can I help you?”

  “I understand that you were at the base today,” said Salvatore.

  “Yes, I was. Today I was there to administer confession, and I was there most of the day,” Monsignor Grazzani said.

  Salvatore came to the point, “One of our soldiers went missing, and we hoped you could help us. The last time she was seen was waiting in line for confession. Her name is Claudia Marino, and she was part of an important military unit that does special work. We are worried about her and hope she is OK.”

  “I remember the last person to ask for a confession was a young girl,” said Monsignor Grazzani as he watched Salvatore look around the foyer of the rectory.

  Salvatore asked, “Was there anything peculiar about the confession?”

  Monsignor Grazzani was quick to reply, “I can’t divulge what is said in the confessional.”

  “Of course. My apologies for asking,” said Salvatore.

  “It’s all right, my son,” Monsignor Grazzani said. “But I can tell you, if it helps, that there was nothing out of the ordinary. It was completely usual, and if you hadn’t mentioned it, I would have forgotten all about her confession.”

  After peering around the room a few more times, Salvatore said, “Well then, Monsignor, I appreciate your help, and I will let you enjoy the rest of the evening. God bless you.”

  Monsignor Grazzani held the door for Salvatore and said, “Sorry I couldn’t help you, and you enjoy your night as well. God bless you.”

  With that good-bye, Monsignor Grazzani closed the door. All he could hear was his own heavy breathing. He thought, thank God she didn’t just walk down the stairs while he was here. Just as he finished that thought, another knock sounded at the door. Oh God, I must have looked guilty, he panicked. There was no stalling, however. Taking another deep breath, he opened the door.

  Standing there was Isaiah. “Good evening, Anthony. Gee, you still look like crap.”

  “Get in here!” he said furtively.

  Once in with the door closed, Monsignor Grazzani grabbed him and hugged him. “You scared the devil out of me,” he said as he put his hands over his own face. “So why are you here?”

  “You asked me to check on things, and I did so,” Isaiah said. “I’m reporting what I found out. It turns out that you were right about your suspicions. My connections are telling me that people have been quietly taken, and no one knows where they went. Very few come back. All anyone knows is that they were taken for some sort of rehabilitation of their beliefs. It is all very secretive. I would have found out more, but my sources in the military have gone quiet due to an all-out search for some missing female soldier. Apparently she went AWOL.”

  Monsignor Grazzani repeated, “Some missing female soldier,” with a very guilty look on a face that couldn’t help but show his feelings.

  A shocked Isaiah said, “Oh, no. You didn’t. You couldn’t help yourself, could you? Always leaping without regard for yourself.”

  A contrite Monsignor Grazzani said, “I couldn’t help it. She just fell into my lap, and I thought it was God’s will.”

  Isaiah asked while shaking his head back and forth, “So what are we going to do?”

  Monsignor Grazzani asked, “Can you help me get her family to Rome so we can secure their passage away from Followers of Divinity territory? I need to contact Bishop Sarno. I know in private that he was not thrilled with the movement, and he can help me secure sanctuary for the girl with the Holy See’s office there in Rome.”

  “It is too hot right now to get her out of here. Security is on alert,” said Isaiah.

  Monsignor Grazzani agreed, “That’s good advice. I’ll have to do it after Saturday night. The parish is getting a visit from Bishop Terapion as he makes his rounds through the local churches. I am worried that if that doesn’t go as planned, they may get suspicious.”

  A surprised Isaiah remarked, “Terapion is coming here? That is just great. The security alone for his visits must be tight as a drum.” Sarcastically he asked, “You sure it was God that dropped her in your lap?”

  Despite their worries, the two planned for the extraction of the girl and her family. Isaiah left as soon as the streets around the rectory were clear.

  When Saturday morning came and Bishop Sarno arrived, Monsignor Grazzani explained what he had done.

  Bishop Sarno replied, “Let me get this straight. Anthony, you heard bits and pieces of activities that you believe the Followers of Divinity are secretly doing. This has caused you to doubt the movement, a movement that has helped promote the continued worship of God in these troubling times as the world tips toward nonbelievers. Are you sure you want to go down this path? Once word gets out, I am afraid that you will not be safe.”

  Monsignor Grazzani accepted his plight. “I am sure that I am doing what is right. It is not my welfare I am concerned about; it’s the girl and her family.”

  Then Bishop Sarno looked at him and gave his blessing, “OK, I will do what I can to help. You know that I’m not thrilled with the Followers of Divinity. Killing scientists is not the path to spirituality, and killing your own people because they are not as enamored with the movement as the leaders like is murder. This was not what I pictured when I signed up. Of course, I’ll work with the Holy See on this matter. As you know, these times have been hard on the Pope. He has balanced a movement that has kept the spirit of continued worship in God by partnering with an organization that he feels does not always go down a righteous path. It is hard because most of the believers are in territories controlled by the Followers of Divinity. He does what many popes before him have done to secure the survival of the church: walks a very fine line. But I know he will help us and make sure the girl is safe. Anyway, let’s plan on getting her out of here the day after Terapion’s visit, when it quiets down a little bit.”

  Monsignor Grazzani and Bishop Sarno then made arrangements.

  Later on that day as Monsignor Grazzani was preparing for the official visit of Bishop Terapion, Salvatore DeRosa arrived once again. When he saw his opportunity, he approached Monsignor Grazzani.

  “Monsignor, it is good to see you again.”

  Anticipating running into him, Monsignor Grazzani replied, “How nice it is to see you again, Salvatore. I hope you found that poor girl safe and sound.”

  He replied, “Not yet, Monsignor, but we are working hard.” As he said that, he peered around the rectory as cleaning people were working on the rectory and the church. Salvatore said, “So I see you are cleaning the place on account of Bishop Terapion’s visit, and it looks like the place is almost spotless. And, oh look. Your car has been through a thorough cleaning at the car wash as well. You really are cleaning up the place.”

  Knowing that Salvatore was going to do a DNA scan, Monsignor Grazzani made sure he employed ten times the people normally needed to clean the church premises for such an event. Using the event as an excuse, any evidence of Claudia was cleaned away.

  Monsignor Grazzani said to Salvatore, “If there is anything I can do to assist you, please don’t hesitate to ask me. But now you’ll have to excuse me, for I must prepare for our esteemed leader, Bishop Terapion, who will grace us with his presence tonight. I look forward to his inspirational sermon. I hear that in person, it takes your breath away. So again, please excuse me. I have so much to do and so little time to do it.”

  As he stepped aside Salvatore said, “By all means, Monsignor. Please go about your business, and if you don’t mind, I will stick around here tonight to hear the bishop speak to the flock.”

  Monsignor Grazzani bowed his head in approval and walked away. As he put distance between him and Salvatore, he took a little pride, though sinful, he felt, in how he successfully planned to wipe evidence away of Claudia and leverage the Bishop Terapion’s arrival to his benefit. Having Salvatore around added to his apprehension about Claudia’s fate. For now she was hidden away in a secret compartment behi
nd Father Tonelli’s closet with food and drink. It had been built during World War II to hide Jews during the Nazi occupation of Italy. These days it was used as an extra storage compartment and had been filled with old boxes.

  That evening, the church filled with many from its congregation, as well as local and regional dignitaries who came to have their picture taken with Bishop Terapion. The church was filled to capacity in anticipation of the evening’s event. As the crowd waited, a convoy of limos and security vehicles pulled up in front of the church. Quickly, the many security personnel secured the premises, and as they signaled all clear, Bishop Terapion exited the armored limo and quickly made his way inside the church. When the people waiting saw him enter, they applauded as he made his way to the church’s altar. At the altar were seated Bishop Sarno and religious leaders from many different faiths. They stood up to applaud as well. When Bishop Terapion reached the altar, he greeted Bishop Sarno and the other leaders. Then he approached Monsignor Grazzani and said, “Monsignor, thank you so much for having me today at your beautiful church. I am blessed.”

  “Greetings Bishop Terapion, the pleasure is all ours. We are so happy you have come here today to fill our need for your beautiful insights into God’s plans for true believers. For you are His esteemed messenger.”

  Bishop Terapion thanked him, then turned to the pulpit and started his usual charismatic sermon. Monsignor Grazzani could not concentrate much on the sermon because his mind was racing ahead to Claudia’s travels and how to keep her safe. Many things needed to fall into place for this to work, and as he glanced toward Salvatore’s face in the crowd, he knew things could go very badly.

  While Monsignor Grazzani was locked in his thoughts, an accident happened. Bishop Terapion, moving around to the front of the altar while speaking, was struck on the arm when an altar girl accidentally knocked over a brass candleholder. Being close to him, and as it was in his nature to help someone in need, Monsignor Grazzani left his chair and pulled out some of his handkerchiefs to cover the wound. The monsignor found the bishop’s reaction to this accident quite odd, for Bishop Terapion got up quickly and ordered his entourage to leave. He did not think it was that bad a wound. It could swiftly be bandaged, and then the service could continue. But in any event, Bishop Terapion must have thought otherwise and made his way out to the convoy while some of his entourage expressed regret for his early exit. Once inside the vehicles, the convoy left. Monsignor Grazzani then apologized to the crowd as the disappointed people slowly left the church and went home.

  As the church emptied, Salvatore made his way to Monsignor Grazzani to say, “It is a shame the visit was cut short, Monsignor.”

  Monsignor Grazzani replied, “We should be grateful for his presence today.”

  Salvatore replied, “I believe you are right, Monsignor. He blessed us today, and we should thank God for that. Now I am asking you to take my leave.”

  With surprise on his face and secret pleasure inside, Monsignor Grazzani responded, “You are not leaving us so soon, are you?”

  Salvatore replied, “My investigation takes me up to Turin, where the soldier’s mother and brother have disappeared, and we are now looking for them.”

  Monsignor Grazzani, knowing that his friend Isaiah must have gotten there first, responded, “Well then, your presence has been appreciated in your efforts to find that poor girl, and I hope you find more success there in Turin. Good luck in your travels. God bless you, my son.”

  Salvatore thanked Monsignor Grazzani and left for Turin. This left Monsignor Grazzani standing alone in the church, thankful that the plan had not gone astray.

  The next morning, Monsignor Grazzani woke up early and gathered Claudia. He prepared for her journey, and then he woke up Bishop Sarno, who had stayed the night in the guest quarters.

  Monsignor Grazzani said, “Bishop Sarno, your ride sent by the Vatican will be here in a few minutes, and we need to be ready to hide Claudia in the secret compartment.”

  Hurrying along, the bishop quickly finished his breakfast. When he passed Monsignor Grazzani, the monsignor noticed the bishop had some of his breakfast on the corner of his mouth, so he pulled out his handkerchief in his jacket to wipe it. Then he noticed something strange. Surprisingly, this was one of the handkerchiefs he had used to help Bishop Terapion with his wound. He thought he didn’t have it in his possession anymore because Bishop Terapion had grabbed the handkerchiefs used to cover his wound and left with them, or so the monsignor thought.

  What he found strange was that it was still wet, and the color of the blood was not what he expected it would be. He thought for sure that blood would be dried by now. Taking a long look at it, he felt its texture, and smelled it. He thought that he had seen blood many times in his life, like when he got hurt climbing a tree as a child with Isaiah, or when he cut his hand on a rose stem when he was doing gardening at the rectory, or when one of the children at Sunday school got hurt playing ball before class would begin, not to mention when he volunteered at the medical clinic in town.

  Looking down at it again he tried to remember the circumstances. He remembered there had been an accident to Bishop Terapion, and he had tried to help with the wound. But there was something else that did not occur to him at the time -- Bishop Terapion had quickly covered up the wound, not to stop the bleeding, but to hide it. He wondered why. So Monsignor Grazzani looked down at the handkerchief again and realized what he had.

  He turned to Bishop Sarno and said, “You need to take me along with you, and I will tell you why when we get to Rome. We must leave quickly.”

  They left with Claudia hidden away in a vehicle transport registered by the Vatican that would safely make its way through the numerous checkpoints on their way to Rome.

  A couple of days later, Salvatore returned to ask more questions and saw a priest setting the church up for the next day’s mass. He approached him, “Excuse me, Father. Is Monsignor Grazzani around? I would like to speak to him.”

  Father Tonelli said, “He left for reassignment a few days ago. He was brought back to Rome and from there reassigned. It happened too quickly, and I will miss him. You may have to try there, if you want to contact him.”

  A very disappointed Salvatore thanked the priest and walked away, anguished by his lost opportunity.

  Chapter 10

  It was now almost five years after the return of the abducted and Matt Schaeffer’s Revelation. Scientists had been working on improving man’s chances. Today in a secret United Nations meeting in the outskirts of London, many of the free world’s leaders were there to unveil a substance that, it was hoped, would level the field a little.

  United Nations Chairman of the General Assembly Sergio Perez addressed the leaders. “Friends, you have just heard Dr. Sinclair and his international team speak about the success they have had in replicating this formula that will enable humans to change from modern Homo sapiens into Super Homo sapiens. The hope is that this serum may help our descendants a thousand years from now. If it can be reproduced in large quantities, it could increase the percentage of people the Ancient Visitors tag as suitable to be taken and reduce the amount of people to be used as a food supply. Secondly, and more importantly in my belief, the faster we can help our children and their children evolve to Super Homo sapiens, the better chance they will have to defeat the Ancient Visitors when they return a thousand years from now to take the population away. Maybe as their intellect becomes more evolved, they can advance in knowledge and technology enough to defend our people and avoid the inevitable defeat of the people of this world. Now, here to speak to us is Cynthia Moss.”

  The tall, dark-haired Super Homo sapiens stood up, and the physical changes in her were obvious to all. The changes in her body were not the source of her greatest pride, however.

  Before the Ancient Visitors originally took her, she was happy as a dancer touring with the Philadelphia Dance Troop. It had been her love since she was a little girl. She would practice day and night. Her
mom would take her to the dance studio every chance she could, and even on days she wasn’t there, Cynthia would go down to the basement of the house, where she had cleared a place to practice until her mom would put her to bed. As she grew up, her talent increased until she was exceptional at dancing, and she went on to live her dream of touring with a dance company.

  She had been happy with her life, but it all changed after the abduction. The biggest change was in her mind. At first her intellect would race ahead as she accumulated information. Instead of dancing, she would read and research any topic that came to mind at that minute. As her dancing faded from her life, the thirst for knowledge took its place. As she learned to control the many thoughts racing in her mind, she was able to concentrate, and when she did, her learning came fast and easy. She decided to go to college and get the degree she had skipped for her dance career. Her advanced intelligence and her thirst for knowledge propelled her through school all the way to a PhD. Today she was one of the leading experts in advanced biochemistry.

  Cynthia thanked Sergio Perez with a nod of her head. Then she addressed the crowd, “The serum, if the tests go well, should be able to change human DNA to Super Homo sapiens DNA within three months of gestation, combined with some time in a blue liquid chamber. The downside is that we have only manufactured enough in almost five years for just three doses.”

  She continued as the crowd gave sounds of disappointment. “Well, we hope that after these doses are used successfully on volunteers, we can manufacture enough to cover the world population in the next thirty years. The Ancient Visitors could only succeed at about 66% of the abducted. Maybe they were happy with that success rate, or that was all they planned for and the rest were designed to be a food source anyway. We’re not sure. I can tell you this: we believe that there will be at least a 90% success rate with our serum. By doing this, our hope is that man can evolve at a faster rate, and the improvement in man’s intellect will help in the next thousand years. Maybe then we will have the ability to defend the planet, or the solar system, or even this section of the galaxy. We have already explored the planets at the far reaches of the solar system and advances in technology double every year. Will we advance our people’s intelligence enough to catch up to a race that is billions of years ahead of us? Maybe not, but just maybe we will be able to give our children a fighting chance.”