During breakfast, Cardinal Vallini called them again.
Mason was shovelling a heaped spoonful of oats topped with fruit into his mouth when Sally’s mobile phone rang. Roxy and Quaid looked up from their places by the coffee machine, a spot they hardly vacated during breakfast. Sally checked her screen.
‘I wonder what he wants this time,’ she said, showing them.
Hassell entered the kitchen right then, yawning, his eyes flicking instantly to the toaster. Sally answered the phone and switched it to speaker.
‘We’re all here, Cardinal,’ she said.
‘At this time? Do you people live together?’
It was meant as a joke, but Mason found his eyes flicking from face to face. They hadn’t started out this way, but staying in the same house was becoming more of a common occurrence and convenience.
‘We’re figuring it out,’ Sally said. ‘What can we do for you?’
‘Well, it’s largely regarding our conversation of last night,’ Vallini said. ‘Marduk has escaped, as you know. His whereabouts are unknown. I am sure that you know as well as I do he will waste no time in targeting the Church, the Vatican?’
Sally bobbed her head. ‘I agree.’
‘Don’t get me wrong, we have our contingencies, our securities in place. The Vatican is harder to infiltrate than ever before. We monitor broadcasts around the clock. We are ready for anything that madman might try to do.’
‘I’m glad to hear that,’ Sally said, frowning as she sensed Vallini was skirting around a point. ‘Are you worried about the Church?’
‘The Church is the people of the kingdom of God. It is them I worry about. Like any other organisation, we need all the help we can get. It is for this reason that I am calling you.’
Sally eyed the others. ‘I see. Go on.’
‘I want to re-employ you, retain your services again, because I have a feeling that once Marduk figures out what he’s going to do, we may need your help.’
‘Why us?’ Mason asked.
‘Call me superstitious.’ Vallini laughed. ‘If you like. Call me overly cautious. But twice we have needed outside help to deal with Marduk. Twice, you have been there.’
It made sense to Mason. ‘We’re your good luck charm,’ he said.
‘Oh, I think it’s more than just luck,’ Quaid said.
‘And I agree,’ Vallini said. ‘You work well together. I think our defences are better with you on board.’
Sally was thinking hard. ‘Do you want us there?’
‘In Rome? No, that won’t be necessary. I want you on retainer until the threat has passed.’
‘That’ll work,’ Sally said. ‘We won’t let our other clients down then.’
Vallini sighed. ‘I can’t believe that we are defending Christianity once again. This madman, this Marduk, he is the bane of all our lives.’
The words instantly transported Mason back to Mosul, where he’d lost two friends to – what he believed – was a mistake. Zach and Harry had been killed by an IED left in a house that Mason had already checked. The terrible event had haunted him ever since. It had made him leave the army, broken up his marriage and forced him into the private sector. Still, the demons came at him every night, clawing and shrieking and pulling him down under their guilt-ridden wings. After Mosul, Mason had truly believed he’d never join a team again. It was a testament to Roxy, Sally, Quaid and Hassell that he was here at all. And it had been a struggle.
For all of them, Mason knew. He wasn’t the only one. Guilt and remorse and sorrow plagued them all. Maybe it was the glue that held them together. Roxy was looking for the woman she could have been. Quaid was intent on helping people. Hassell was struggling to find an answer that couldn’t possibly ever arrive. And Sally … well, she was juggling a rebellious nature with fresh responsibilities. She’d literally been thrown into a new life, accepting her father’s cash whether or not she liked it. But at least she was trying to do good things with it.
‘Marduk’s another in a long line of curses for us,’ Mason said.
‘Evil has come upon you,’ Vallini said, as if quoting from the Bible. ‘And it has come upon us, too. You don’t know this, but we have identified the man and woman who helped Marduk escape the Italian prison.’
Mason’s mind flicked instantly to the only man and woman combination he associated with Marduk. ‘Don’t tell me …’
‘Cassadaga and Ivana,’ Vallini said. ‘It was I who identified them, since the Carabinieri did not know what they looked like until now. They are working for Marduk again.’
‘That’s terrible,’ Roxy said.
Mason saw that as a major upscaling of the danger they were facing. Cassadaga at least was a world-class killer and had survived long enough to demand respect. He felt a shiver run through him.
‘About time we started securing this place,’ Sally said quietly.
They were all silent for a while, remembering how truly horrifying Cassadaga had been. He was the one person they’d all been secretly hoping they’d never have to come up against again.
‘I will leave you to it,’ Vallini said and then added: ‘I hope to God that I do not have to contact you again over this matter. And I truly mean that.’
The team stared at each other, thoughts of Marduk and Cassadaga running through their brains, images from exploits involving the two men as fresh as newly spilt blood in their minds. There was no getting away from it.
The confrontation was coming.
It was just a matter of when.