The Source - Michael Cordy [97]
Torino turned to the soldiers. All were staring, open-mouthed, struggling to believe the vision before them.
'What is this place?' asked Fleischer.
Torino smiled. 'This, Feldwebel, is what we must claim for the Holy Mother Church. This is the Garden of God.'
Weber, the soldier who had followed Ross's party, raised his rifle. 'They're over there, to the right of the lake, and they've seen us.'
Torino raised his binoculars and saw a man and two women three hundred yards away. One was the red-haired student from America, the other the nun, Sister Chantal, but he didn't recognize the man. Ross Kelly wasn't with them. They were standing by a pile of backpacks, preparing to leave. He had got here just in time.
'They're armed,' said Fleischer, shouldering his weapon.
Torino saw the man bend to the backpacks, then pull out a revolver and a rifle. He handed the revolver to the red-haired woman and raised his rifle. Torino imagined how threatening armed soldiers must look, appearing suddenly in this isolated place.
'What are your orders?' said Fleischer.
Torino took in the situation. He could easily defuse matters. Tell the soldiers to lower their weapons, approach Kelly's party and show them the legal documents granting him possession of the garden. But then what? He couldn't let them leave. Aside from the soldiers, they were the only people who knew of this place's existence. They would undoubtedly tell others about it. Kelly certainly wouldn't go quietly, not without a cure for his wife and the opportunity to tell the world of his geological discovery. It wasn't in the Vatican's interests for anyone to know about the garden yet, not until Torino had learnt more about its power and decided how best to use it. Far better to stoke the conflict. Use his superior force to cow and control Kelly and his friends.
'These people are dangerous and can't be trusted,' he said. 'You must disarm them. Take no chances. Fire a warning shot.'
Weber did so. The man stood his ground and gestured for the women to run to the caves.
Weber fired another shot but the man still didn't flee or return fire. He edged backwards, gun raised, covering the women's retreat.
Weber pulled the rifle closer into his shoulder, peered down the sight and squeezed his finger on the trigger. 'I can disarm him from here.'
Torino raised his binoculars and scanned the garden for Kelly. He couldn't see him or anyone else. 'No, leave him. Let them gather in the caves. It'll make it easier to round them up.'
'It might be difficult to flush them out,' said Fleischer.
Torino smiled to himself. 'That won't be a problem, Feldwebel. Trust me.' He walked into the garden and headed for the caves. 'Come. Let's do God's work.'
58
The first thing Ross saw when he scrambled out of the tunnel was Mendoza crouching by the antechamber's small waterfall, gripping his rifle. 'Where the hell have you been?' he hissed.
Ross pointed back to the tunnel. 'I've been trying to find out what's behind this place. You won't believe what's up there.' He glanced anxiously to the back of the cave where the nymphs watched from the shadows. 'What were you shooting at?'
Mendoza shook his head. 'It wasn't me.' He pointed to the cave's entrance. 'Seems we've got company. We were packing to leave, getting a last look at the place, and I came to fetch you. These guys appeared out of nowhere.'
Ross crouched behind a boulder and peered out. Zeb and Sister Chantal were running towards him as fast as they could, Zeb clutching Hackett's revolver