IV

IV

 

"AX have acted." Paula's image on the monitor was calm. She looked more like a librarian than the feared and shrewd second-in-command of the Department of Inquisition.

"They diverted the attention of our decoy, Phillippo, and Crusnik and Gunslinger headed to the airport to hoard the Iron Maiden. They are probably trying to escape Rome."

"Escape Rome? Humph. This was unexpected." The young officer only narrowed his eyes. He was sitting six-thousand and five-hundred feet in the skies above Rome, on the bridge of the military airship Jahoel. Nevertheless, his quiet face was clouded with dissatisfaction.

"We thought that they would attempt to rescue their leader from the Lateral) Palace. We were taken off guard."

"Yes. We had not anticipated that they would head for the airport. Jacob and Andrew are hurrying to there as we speak, hut it won't be possible for them to stop the Iron Maiden from departing. Is there anything the Jahoel could do, Brother Matthaios?"

"We will try our best, but I am not sure. At least ensure that you are ready to give chase. Humph, this is not what we wanted."

Paula's feed was cut from the screen. Matthaios quickly stood up and turned to the staff onboard.

The Jahoel was a new and awesome power within the Vatican's fleet, but its main duty was delivering land troops to violent battlefields and then conducting airborne warfare. It was suited as an assault ship. It didn't have much capability as an anti-ship machine.

"Do you think we can win, Captain Cambio? Honestly?"

"Difficult to say," Cambio answered Matthaios' question with a grim look on his face. Commander Arnold d'Cambio assessed the RADAR. "If the specifications we've received of the enemy ship are correct, then we are at a disadvantage. I would say that it would be very difficult for us to win a battle if we were to meet them head-on."

"Even if there is an altitude difference?" Matthaios indicated a monitor that displayed an altitude graph.

The Iron Mai Jen had only just departed. The Jahoel on the other hand was now at an altitude of six-thousand feet. It could be expected that if they were to battle now, then the Jahoel would be victorious. However, Cambio still looked grim.

"Unfortunately, if were to attack from our current position, then the city would most definitely take damage. We would have to wait for the enemy to leave the city area, but then it would be too late," Cambio said.

As he spoke, a blue line appeared on the graph. The steep line indicated that the ship would be at a higher altitude than the Jahoel by the time it had left the suburban area.

"The greatest altitude that the enemy can reach is nine thousand. Three-thousand feet higher than the Jahoel. In other words, by the time the enemy has left the city area and we are able to attack, they will already be above us."

"In that case, it makes the problem simple. I want you to open fire straight away," Matthaios said without hesitation.

"Sorry?!" Cambio didn't believe that he had heard Matthaios correctly. Perhaps Matthaios hadn't understood his explanation.

Cambio started to repeat himself. "The problem is, Your Honor, that Rome would be —"

"I understand. Do not worry about ground casualties. Please open fire now. If we do not down that ship soon, then they will escape us. Our best chance is when we are above them, correct?" Matthaios remained unchanged.

There were no signs of insanity in the Inquisition officer's expression. However, what he was asking them to do was madness. All the faces of the staff on the bridge of the ship went deathly pale.

He was asking them to get the citizens of Rome involved!

"Oh, yes. Before you fire at the enemy ship, make sure you fire a shot into the city area first." Matthaios' orders were becoming more insane.

"What?! You want us to fire into the city?! On purpose?!"

"Of course. Do you not understand? If we shoot down the enemy ship and there are massive Roman casualties, we will take responsibility." Matthaios spoke as if he were a patient lecturer, slowly explaining to a pupil who had misunderstood. "However, if they fire first, then it's a different story. We would have had to engage the enemy above the city to quickly squash the threat and reduce casualties. That is the story we will give."

"What?!" Cambio choked.

While the staff was lost for words, staring at this monster who had boarded their ship, Matthiaos unrolled the map of Rome. He deliberated over the details on the map. "But I want you to avoid historical buildings and churches. Public buildings would work. I think the residential area around the Tiber." "But, civilian casualties. . . "

"Unavoidable. Anyway, I've been thinking that the city population has been getting too high lately. This is a good opportunity to address that. Try and make a good show of it." Matthaios smiled. He looked more like a new teacher, fresh out of university, than a man of the cloth. In his narrow eyes, there was an ominous glint akin to a bubbling lunacy.

"In the name of our Lord, the dead will find ecstasy. They will surely go to heaven upon their death. That can only be an enviable thing," Matthaios said, as if to comfort them.

Cambio opened and closed his mouth, looking for the words to refuse Matthaios' orders. But he couldn't find the strength, so he resigned himself to his plight.

"Ready cannon three. Angle is seventy-nine degrees." "Ca-captain?!"

"It doesn't matter. I'll take responsibility!" Cambio shouted down the voices of dissent. "Gunners! What are you doing? Ready the cannon!"

"Please, Captain. There's a communication coming in from the enemy ship!" one of the poor subordinates cried.

This unexpected development interrupted Cambio's orders. The communications officer pushed the headset closer to his ears and didn't turn around.

The communication officer relayed the message: '"Hold fire! We have no desire to fight here. We wish to talk to the officer in charge. 'They wish to negotiate!"

In the next instance, a loud noise burst out of the speakers. The monitors then sprung into life with a grainy black-and-white picture.

"We have connection. It's a member of AX," the communication officer said.

Matthaios quietly inspected the bespectacled youth on the screen in front of him. Matthaios' voice was measured: "We are both busy. Let's not waste time with chit-chat. It's time for us to fight to the death."

The man on the other side coughed. "Oh, is that how it is?" The voice that came out of the speakers was full of self-importance. "We actually have a hostage. If you value this person, Mister Matthaios, then I would hope that you could leave us alone, this once."

"Hostage?" Matthaios questioned. The second hand on the clock was half-way around. If he wanted to recall the order to fire, then it would have to be soon. "Who is the hostage? If you're referring to Sister Kate, then I'm afraid that she is now considered one of you, and I will give the order to fire. She will not save you."

"Wa-wait! Brother Matthaios." Someone else broke into the feed. It wasn't the pitiful voice of a nun. The blonde clergyman was pushed to one side and a new face peered out of the fuzziness on the screen. It was a rough-looking young man with disheveled blonde hair, but he was clearly an aristocrat none the less. "I'm the hostage! Don't fire! I don't want to die!" "Cardinal Borgia?!" Matthaios raised one eyebrow at this new development. "Cardinal, why are you there?"

"Hee hee; I'm sorry but this is kidnap situation now," the original speaker reappeared. The priest pushed a gun to his captives head. If you value his life, I suggest you let us go. If you don't, then... I guess, he'll lose his life or something. We'll let you think. We'll be waiting. Don't do anything stupid, like call the police. "

"Let's stop this farce now," Matthaios muttered. He had been taking notes. When he looked up, the staff members in the room could almost see the fire of purgatory burning in his eyes. "The Department of Inquisition is the sword of God. Such threats are useless against us. Captain, I want you to proceed. Prepare to fire. Aim straight at the enemy."

"But... Cardinal Borgia!" Cambio's face was still drained of blood as he desperately tried to get a revised order from Matthaios. If they fired, then there would definitely be questions later.

However, Matthaios walked toward the communication equipment as if nothing had happened. He reached out to the switch as he replied calmly to Cambio: "Captain, didn't you hear what Cardinal Borgia just said? He asked us to not care for his life but to crush the enemies of God."

"What? No I didn't..." Antonio said, still transmitting. He panicked and tried to refute Matthaios' claim, but Matthaios swiftly flicked the switch.

He looked up at the screen as it faded to gray. Matthaios then repeated his order calmly once more. "We must not waste the spirit His Eminence has displayed in sacrificing himself to the cause. Now, Captain, did you hear me? Fire the main cannons."

"Ye-yes, sir!"

The bridge was in panic. The gunners who were in charge of aiming exchanged shouts. In the next moment, the RADAR showed the shining point of the enemy ship swiftly rising. If they were trying to escape now, it was already too late.

"Cannons are aimed. We're ready to go!" one of the gunners yelled.

"Sinners are taken from this earth; as the guilty burn, we raise our souls to heaven. Hallelujah," Matthaios muttered a small prayer and then pointed into the sky. "Fire."

"Brother Matthaios, wait." The gentle voice of a woman had stopped the Inquisition officer, whereas everything else had failed. "Halt the attack. Pull back. "

"What?" Matthaios looked up. The main monitor displayed the image of a beautiful girl. Matthaios' face twitched just a little when he saw her. "If we don't act now, then they will escape, Sister Paula." As Matthaios spoke, he could see the cloud cover outside the window start to break. The giant white beast that rose out from the cloud was the Iron Maiden. It was right in front of the Jahoel and was starting to exceed it in altitude. "Letting them go free will be a huge blow to the glory of God and the Vatican. We must strike now."

"It will not." Paula's voice was firm. "Cardinal Borgia is the son of the Hispanic chancellor. If we kill him, then it will damage relations with Hispania. This is the will of Cardinal Medici. Brother Matthaios, you will withdraw now."

As he listened to Paula speak, the white ship was moving farther from them. Matthaios trembled a little as he watched something that had been within his grasp escape him. He had been only seconds away from saying the words that would have laid waste to his foes. "Understood."

"Good. I want you to return to base. We will consider our next course of action. Meet in an hour. "Paula gave her orders and then the screen went blank. The Inquisition officer was left alone, gazing silently out the window.

"I didn't think they would escape," Matthaios muttered.

He stood there, watching until the Iron Maiden was nothing more than a thin, white trail of exhaust. Finally, he broke the silence with a curse. "Heretic scum."

 

***

 

"Ah, here you are, Isaak."

When Puppeteer found his colleague that evening, he was in the middle of feeding his pets. On the wall of the gloomy chess room was a large water tank. Standing next to it was a graceful figure, dressed entirely in black. He looked like he was going to a funeral.

"It appears that Duchess of Milan is being held in custody in Rome. She is suspected of heresy and helping the enemy. She has been stripped of her power as the head of the Ministry of Holy Affairs and as Cardinal. She's been confined to the Lateran Palace."

"I see."

Swimming in the tank was a monstrous fish close to six feet in length, with scales like pinecones covering its whole body. The giant fish's open mouth greedily consumed whole schools of beautiful little fish. Magician grinned, having found something amusing either in what he saw or what he heard.

"The preliminary inquest of the   cardinals is   complete. Tomorrow, the Inquisition will open at Castle Saint Angelo."

"What? That's boring."

Inside the tank, the giant fish was chasing some more prey. Thanks to a ferocious appetite, it swallowed the smaller fish. There was no pity in Puppeteer's eyes as he watched the cruel scene. Instead, he stuck his tongue out as if he were watching a show.

"I guess not everyone can be extraordinary. Oh, but did you hear? He escaped Rome. He abandoned his leader and fled," Puppeteer spoke, his voice full of mischief.

"Oh, he left Rome?" Magician said. Today there was something different in his voice. He turned away from the aquarium to look at his colleague. "Is that true, Puppeteer?"

"It is. Gunslinger and Iron Maiden escaped together. They've managed to escape the Vatican's surveillance net, and we don't know where any of them are. They are pretty clever, no? But this is the end of Duchess of Milan. The list that you made was perfect. Those feeble-minded idiots at the Vatican will never realize that it's a fake."

"You're right. And it will also be a good excuse to call them here."

The aquarium became still again. All of the smaller fish were gone. The monstrous fish had begun swimming around, evidently satisfied. But Magician's eyes were melancholy.

"That which must not, cannot be'—Morgenstern. They left Duchess of Milan in danger. They left her in enemy hands and departed Rome..."

"The situation is starting to diverge from the imagined scenario," Puppeteer said and then pulled a small file out from behind his back—something he had kept hidden from Magician up until this point. It was a plan of AX's airship, the Iron Maiden.

"It seems that they're presently headed north. I wonder what they could be looking for?"

"North?" Magician squinted at the map. He let out a small, shrill sound as he came to a realization. "So that's how it is."

"Yes. Exactly." Puppeteer nodded.

There was the sudden noise of bubbling water. From inside the aquarium, there was a huge disturbance. The monster fish that had been swimming around happily was now hitting the sides of the tank, in obvious pain. It was then that an abnormal change took place.

The stomach of the monster fish swelled to an abnormal size and then, in an instant, blood spurted out of it from all sides. It wasn't just blood that came flooding from its abdomen. Mixed in with the blood were shoals of small fish. The fish that had been swallowed whole had proceeded to eat up the internal organs of the now-bloated monster fish with their razor sharp silver teeth.

"No matter how strong something may seem, there may be an unforeseen weakness within," Magician muttered.

The monster fish feebly tried to resist, but as it wriggled in a cloud of its own blood, it was clear that its time was up. The red haze filled the tank and hid the pitiful scene.

"Oh, I'd forgotten. There was an internal flash point for us."

"You've remembered. I think it would be a good idea for you to take care, Isaak," Puppeteer said and smiled.

He turned his attention back to the aquarium just as the red cloud dispersed. There was no recognizable remnant of the monster fish left; only Magician's beloved tiny fish frolicked in the tank, now.

His eyes glittering like living gems, Puppeteer whispered in Magician's ear: "After all, there are so many people who would like to drag you down. And they could be anywhere."