The Sword of Revelation (A Tom Wagner Adventure Book 7) by M.C. Roberts & R.F. Maclay

Author:M.C. Roberts & R.F. Maclay [Roberts, M.C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-03-31T16:00:00+00:00

56

SANT’ANNA DEI PALAFRENIERI, A CHURCH ON THE EASTERN BOUNDARY OF VATICAN CITY

“Didn’t Signore Cloutard say that only one of us should be doing this?” whispered little Sister Bartolomea when the four nuns had finished praying a rosary. Cloutard had inducted them into the art of lock picking, at least as much as he could in the little time they had. The four nuns had then given Tom a crash course in the changing of the guard, having seen the ritual themselves hundreds of times. Now it was the middle of the night, and the mere fact that they would go to the church to pray at this time of night would arouse suspicion. Although the entire Vatican was asleep, they had to be on guard. The camerlengo had eyes everywhere.

“Do you really want to try it alone, Bartolomea?” Lucrezia, the Mother Superior, looked questioningly at the junior nun, who shook her head. “None of us proved herself especially skilled in lock picking, so we need to go together. I’m sure one of us will get it.”

The other three nodded.

“Then let’s go,” said Lucrezia, though she was not very confident herself. The four nuns stood up hesitantly from the pews.

Alfonsina and Renata picked up the two trays, each holding a large pot of coffee, a few cups, and several pieces of cake. They had prepared them in advance, on Cloutard’s advice, to give themselves a viable excuse if worse came to worst.

They left the small church building through the side entrance to avoid being seen by the guardsman on sentry duty at the Saint Anna Gate, an official border crossing between Italy and the Vatican.

They crossed Via Sant’Anna quickly and turned into a dead-end alley at the Nicholas V Tower, which housed the Vatican bank. On their left, opposite the bank, was the rear of the Swiss Guards’ barracks. At the end of the alley, they passed through a narrow passage that led to the inner courtyard. They peeked carefully around the corner, checking for guardsmen in the courtyard, but the coast was clear. Lucrezia crept to a rarely-used door—the main barracks entrance was directly beside the Saint Anna Gate.

While her three fellow nuns waited in the passageway, Lucrezia set to work with the lockpicks, fingers trembling. The lock had clearly not been opened for years, perhaps decades. It was badly corroded, and even getting the first pick into the lock was tricky. Once she had managed that, she tried all the tricks Cloutard had taught them just hours before. But the lock would not budge.

Minutes passed. She was getting nowhere. She tried all the tools she had, but she couldn’t get it. She hurried back to the passageway. Sister Bartolomea tried next, but also soon returned. Like the Mother Superior, she had also failed. Suddenly, they heard several voices ringing through the courtyard. All four jumped, thinking they’d been caught. But the voices receded, and the courtyard grew quiet again. Renata was next to try.

“Monsieur Cloutard would probably have gotten inside in a few seconds,” Lucrezia murmured in frustration when Renata also came back.

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