Pandora's Ark by Rick Jones

placed himself in a position to
know everything, should he happen to take the papal throne.
    Cardinal Bonasero found the whole scenario disturbing,
however. The power of the Church was squarely within Angullo’s grasp and his
power would have no boundaries, should he be chosen.
    Bonasero took a step closer to the screens, the view of the
Middle East and Northern Africa as clear as peering out an unblemished window,
as his mind continued to roil with the thoughts of Angullo possibly garnering
the papal post. What he couldn’t let go of was the fact that there was
something deeply hidden, if not forever buried, that Cardinal Angullo ambitions
to succeed the throne outweighed his moral compass, and even considered that the
cardinal’s ambitions had become so paramount that the life of Pope Gregory was snuffed
out by the cardinal’s committing hand.
    Letting
a sigh escape, Bonasera closed his eyes with the realization that corruption
within the Church was not just a pre- or medieval constitution, but a
conviction of a black soul who was convinced that their actions were for the
overall good.
    And Bonasero prayed that this was not the case, hoping
above hope that Pope Gregory’s death was truly a mishap rather than the dark
machinations of a lost soul.
    He washed the thought away and turned toward the screen,
reminiscing of a time when he used to view and direct the Vatican Knights to the hot spots around the world to save countless lives. And then he
wondered how many souls were lost due to the refusal of the Church to send
forth a unit to protect the citizenry of the Church within the past six months.
    Under further consideration it was amazing to the cardinal how
one man had the power to change the lives of so many with a single command or
wish, each thought directed by the convictions of what Pope Gregory believed to
be right or wrong, good or evil.
    And then his consideration went one step further: How
many people died over the past six months under the pope’s tenancy when they
could have been saved ?
    As he stepped closer to the visual on the mounted wall screen,
Cardinal Bonasero Vessucci could only wonder.
     
    #
    “Tell
me—” said the cardinal, pointing to the live
feed “—why you are observing the Temple Mount.”
    Fathers Essex and Auciello joined the cardinal by his side,
the men focusing on the actions playing out before them.
    Father Auciello answered in his usual stately manner. “You
have been gone for too long, my friend,” he said. “If you were still secretary
of state, then you would have a live team in place.”
    “Are lives in jeopardy?”
    “No,” said Auciello. “But we are getting invalidated
reports through encrypted codes from Mossad that the true Ark of the Covenant
may be in the possession of an al-Qaeda faction.”
    Bonasero appeared astonished. “The Ark of the Covenant? At
the Temple Mount? Has it always been there?”
    “We’re still trying to determine that. But all indications
are that the Covenant was located in an uncharted chamber approximately a half
kilometer to the east.”
    “And how did it come into the hands of al-Qaeda?”
    “Again: we don’t know for sure. Everything is just
speculation at this point. But Mossad seems to be very active at the location
we’re now watching.”
    Bonasero Vessucci remained riveted in his stance, his eyes
cast forward, watching. If Pope Gregory did not disband the Vatican Knights,
then there was no doubt that they, along with established members of the SIV,
would be onsite gleaning information rather than speculating from satellite
feeds and encrypted notes. “Al-Qaeda will use it for nefarious purposes only—we
know that. It’s an interest of the Church to be shared by all, not just the
Church itself.” He then turned to Fathers Essex and Auciello. “Is the
Camerlengo acting on this?”
    Auciello nodded. “No,” he said. “He’s more focused on the
pope’s burial and the upcoming election.”
    “As well he should