The Source - Michael Cordy [104]
'Save her, then. Tell me all you know and you'll be out of here today. You could be back in the States within the week, if not sooner.' He held the crystal tantalizingly close to Kelly's bound hands. 'What did you see? Before I go up there with the soldiers I need to know if there was any sign of what killed the conquistadors. Did you see or learn anything that could help us?'
Kelly hesitated for only a second, staring at the crystal. 'I'll tell you,' he said. 'I'll tell you everything.'
63
'I can't believe you helped him, Ross,' hissed Sister Chantal, as Bazin led them back to the others. 'I warned you against going up the tunnel. I warned you against telling the Superior General what you'd seen. And you ignored me. How could you be so stupid?'
Ross said nothing.
Sister Chantal couldn't remember feeling such dejection. Over the long years she had experienced many black moments but she had always reminded herself of her vow to Father Orlando and told herself to be patient. When she had learnt of Lauren's critical condition, she had believed that the garden could cure her. But this time the enemy wasn't time, impatience or disappointment: it was the same implacable foe that had destroyed Father Orlando. To make it worse, her ally had proved himself weak and spineless. 'I can't believe you begged him on your knees. He was never going to let you save Lauren because he can't let you leave. Don't you understand that?'
When they reached the tarpaulin, Hackett and Zeb were lying at one end of the enclosure, gagged. Bazin pushed Ross and Sister Chantal to the other end, laid them on the ground and tied their ankles.
Sister Chantal waited for Bazin to leave. 'I warned you against going up the tunnel, Ross, because it is dangerous. Father Orlando told me so. He saw things.'
'I know,' whispered Ross.
'Then why did you tell Torino—'
'That it was safe? That I got close enough to touch whatever's up there and saw nothing dangerous? Because I don't trust the Superior General any more than you do.'
'You lied?'
'Of course. The only way we're going to get out of here with what we came for is on our own. And anything that distracts them up that tunnel can only help us.'
A slow smile creased her lips. 'Perhaps you're not as stupid as I feared.'
Ross looked back at Bazin who was standing by the stack of weapons, talking to two of the soldiers. After some discussion they selected a shotgun, two Heckler & Koch submachine-guns and a flame-thrower, then walked back to the forbidden caves.
They're going up the tunnel, thought Ross.
As he watched them, he noticed the yellow parcels he had seen the soldiers unpacking earlier. Most were now distributed in strategic piles around the garden. He wondered what they were, and why they were there. He glanced at Zeb and Hackett lying at the other end of the enclosure. They were staring at him. He wanted to tell them what had happened but feared raising his voice and being overheard by the remaining guard. 'I still don't understand why Torino's so dismissive of the garden and so focused on the source,' he whispered to Sister Chantal. 'I thought the whole point from a religious angle was that this was the Garden of God.'
'He wants the miracles because the Church can exploit them. But the garden and its creatures raise too many doubts and questions about Genesis and evolution. Religion isn't like science. Science may thrive on doubt but religion demands unquestioning faith.'
'Whatever their faith, wouldn't most believers want to make up their own minds about the truth, however controversial?' said Ross. 'Like you told Torino, if you really believe in something nothing's going to challenge your faith, only your understanding of it. Science is constantly adapting