‘Beautiful, isn’t it?’ Harker said as he ran his eyes across the impressive stone masonry of the Torre di Pisa or, as it was more commonly known, the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
Built within a walled eight-hectare area called the city’s Cathedral Square or Piazza del Duomo, the Tower was only one of the many striking religious edifices to be found herein. Next to the Tower, the massive cathedral itself offered a similarly impressive sight alongside the open-sided cemetery, the Camposanto Monumentale, which was said to contain soil taken from Golgotha, the site of Christ’s crucifixion. Shipped back to Pisa during the fourth Crusade, any interred bodies were said to rot fully within twenty-four hours when placed in this hallowed earth, only adding to the mystique of such a beautiful and unique religious site. Last and, certainly not least, there was the Baptistery, whose construction had begun in 1152 and was not finished until 1363, making its appearance all the more distinctive. Essentially it consisted of one huge dome, but the lower half was made up of Romanesque arches whereas the upper half had windows with pointed steeple arches reflecting the cultural transition to the more popular Gothic style towards the end of its lengthy period of construction.
For the thousands of tourists who came every year to see the better-known Leaning Tower, their expectations were usually overwhelmed by the magnificence of the holy site in its entirety. And that same feeling was not lost on Harker.
‘It really is something, hey, David?’ he said with admiration, and he turned only to find Carter lovingly caressing the label of a whisky bottle.
‘I know,’ he said, still shaking his head in disbelief. ‘Only forty quid for a bottle of Macallan! What a surprise bargain.’
‘I meant the Tower,’ Harker replied, nevertheless with an amused sigh. Carter was proving to be far more fun to travel with than he would have ever expected. Problem was that fun was not a prerequisite on a quest like this.
‘Oh, the Tower! Yes, beautiful. Took hundreds of years to build, you know,’ Carter declared knowledgeably. ‘I’ve visited here many times, oh yes, and always enjoyed the mesmerizing and hearty banquet of historical beauty on display.’
‘Really,’ Harker remarked, and Carter gave him a droopy-eyed double take.
‘Well, I’ve been here a few times. Well, once…for an hour.’
The ease at which Carter sometimes tended to contradict himself was extremely amusing to Harker, and he found himself smirking widely as his friend continued to chisel away at his own credibility on the subject.
‘I was with the wife, on holiday – must be ten, fifteen years ago now. Don’t remember much about it, if I’m honest. I spent most of my time with the picnic hamper. Anyway’ – Carter gave a shrug of his shoulders – ‘shall we get this over and done with?’
Harker nodded and they began walking back towards the cathedral entrance, some two hundred metres away, with the Leaning Tower looming behind them. The cathedral itself was a classic example of Romanesque architecture with four levels of sculptured arches, each set on top of each other, and rising up to a triangular roof. In the middle stood a sculpture of the Madonna with Child, and as they reached the heavy bronze doors of the entrance, Harker took a moment to gaze up at this image which so symbolized the Christian faith.
‘You know this almost got wiped out during the Second World War,’ he explained while still looking at the statue. ‘The Germans were using the nearby Tower as an observation post, so the advancing American forces came close to flattening the whole area with artillery.’
‘Why didn’t they?’ Carter said, obviously not as impressed as Harker was with the architecture.
‘Why do you think?’ Harker replied, turning away from the awesome sight to face his friend. ‘The American officer in charge did some recon the day before the attack, and he was so taken by its beauty he decided that they couldn’t destroy it.’
‘I’m sure the Nazis would have pulverized it to dust if they had felt inclined to,’ Carter remarked with a disconcerting snort.
‘That’s the point, isn’t it?’ Harker said, slightly riled by Carter’s naivety. ‘It’s that same attitude that lost them the war. Winning people’s hearts and minds with empathy is greatly underestimated during wartime. Putting a gun to a nation’s head rarely beats the power of allowing them hope.’
‘No, I agree, but there’s something about churches and cathedrals that I find…well, a bit creepy!’
‘Creepy!’ Harker scoffed.
‘Yes. They’re just so cold and…well, old.’
Carter’s comment had Harker shaking his head, and he gently nudged his friend across the threshold of the cathedral’s entrance. ‘Do you really find this creepy?’
The interior was beautiful, but not as imposing as others to be found throughout the Catholic world, with a long central aisle leading from the doorway to the altar lined by sturdy white pillars stretching up into arches, with a smaller row of arches set above, reaching up to the roof. The ceiling was composed of a wondrous number of gold squares criss-crossing, and at the far end a double arch funnelled into a concave altar top alcove adorned with a mosaic of Jesus flanked by angels.
‘How about that?’ Harker said with admiration, gesturing with an arm raised upwards.
Carter took a moment to take in the sight, then began to nod his head appreciatively. ‘Beautiful, yes…but still a bit creepy.’
‘You’re an odd one, David Carter.’
Carter smiled widely, pushing his glasses back onto the bridge of his nose. ‘Now, on that we can both agree.’
They made their way along the lengthy nave until they were within a few metres of the sole occupant of the front pew, who was hunched over and seemingly deep in prayer. Harker motioned for Carter to hang back, then took a seat next to their supposed contact, before quietly repeating the words ‘God’ had told him: ‘The watcher watches us all, but you are free to do as you will.’
Even as he said it, he felt a tad foolish, but the balding man glanced up immediately and with such a sour expression that it dispelled any such feelings in an instant.
‘You’re early,’ he declared in a thick French accent. Then, noting Carter hovering a short distance behind them and suddenly looking decidedly shifty he added, ‘I was told there would only be one of you.’
‘It couldn’t be helped,’ Harker replied softly, now growing into his role, ‘but that is not really your concern, is it?’
The bald man thought about it for a moment, then with a nod he reached into his tweed jacket pocket and produced a bulky brown package that was, without doubt, large enough to hold another page from the Codex. ‘You are to take this for the ceremony,’ he instructed before dropping a separate piece of paper into Harker’s breast pocket. ‘I trust there will be no delay.’
He placed the bulky package into Harker’s waiting hands and then, without another word, began to make his way up the nave towards the front entrance.
‘Is that it?’ Carter asked, obviously surprised by the brevity of the encounter.
‘Looks like it,’ Harker replied, likewise wasting no time in heading for the door.
‘That was easy.’
‘I know,’ Harker agreed, also surprised by such a hasty exchange.
‘So what now?’
‘Well, “God” told us to follow the instructions, so I guess we follow the instructions.’
They emerged through the bronze doors into a cascade of beautiful warm sunlight and stepped onto the small white piazza bustling with sightseers.
‘I’ll call a taxi,’ Carter said, retrieving his Samsung mobile. ‘Can I have the address?’
Harker pulled the slip of paper he had been handed from his top pocket, and it was promptly snatched from him by Carter, who sauntered away, busily tapping at his phone.
This seems far too easy, Harker thought to himself, but after all, what should he have been expecting. He was here to pick up a package and that’s exactly what he had done. In fact he should be thankful for the ease with which this secretive rendezvous had occurred.
Taking a moment to enjoy the sun on his face, he closed his eyes as his thoughts turned to Chloe. She must have felt terrified at being kidnapped and, even though he knew she was a natural toughie, an experience like that was likely to rattle the strongest of personalities. The idea of Chloe fearing for her life left him with a bitter taste in his mouth, and he gritted his teeth in anger. He wasn’t sure how or when but, when the time came, he would get her back regardless of the cost, and leave her captors with a serious boot up the arse with the help of every and any law-enforcement body he could get hold of. Maybe even the Templars could give him a hand…that is, if they ever got back in touch with him.
It was with these thoughts swirling around in his head that he heard a voice with a distinctly German accent whisper into his ear.
‘Enjoying the sights?’
Harker jolted back in shock to find a slim man in his thirties beside him, wearing a black suit and tie and with neatly cut blond hair hanging to one side of his face.
‘My apologies,’ he said with a peculiarly over-friendly grin, ‘I didn’t mean to startle you.’
‘Not a problem,’ Harker replied, shaking off his surprise. ‘I’m sorry, but do we know each other?’
‘No, no,’ the stranger said with eyes wide. ‘It is just that I saw you standing there and all I could think of was here is a man with a lot on his mind.’ He leant towards Harker and once again offered the same inane grin. ‘Everything OK?’
‘Fine, yes, thank you,’ Harker uttered, starting to feel uncomfortable at the stranger’s pushy behaviour.
‘Well that’s good to hear, because when one visits such a wonderful place, it is a crime not to enjoy its splendour and instead become wrapped up in more personal concerns, is it not?’
There was something about the fellow that gave Harker the chills; not just his words but the way he held himself, and that grin that not only seemed entirely false but appeared to be offered in an attempt to add credibility to his sentiments. And then something occurred to him. ‘Do you work for “God”?’
The stranger’s grin melted away and his bushy eyebrows tensed into a frown. ‘Well, I suppose you could say that every person on this planet works for God, but I myself am not on first-name terms with him…if that’s what you’re implying?’
Before Harker could answer, Carter bounded up next to them with his mobile phone in his hand.
‘I got the taxi and it should arrive in fifteen minutes, give or take,’ he stated, before eyeing the stranger warily. ‘Is there a problem here?’
‘Not at all,’ the man offered politely, taking a step backwards. ‘We were just, how do you say, shooting the breeze.’
This reply did little to quell the tension now rising between the men and Carter immediately linked arms with Harker and pulled him off to one side.
‘Well, nice to meet you, but we have to go now.’ Carter gave a wave of his hand and strengthened his hold on Harker’s arm, who seemed transfixed by the stranger’s unwavering stare.
‘Yes, nice to meet you also,’ the odd fellow called out after them as Carter and Harker now rapidly put some distance between them.
‘Who the hell was that?’ Carter asked, glancing back to see the stranger still watching them as they walked away.
‘I don’t know but…’
‘But what?’ Carter growled. ‘He’s obviously some kind of lonely weirdo. Bloody solo sightseer desperate to make a new friend. Come on, we’ve got a taxi to catch.’
Back in front of the cathedral, the stranger continued to watch his two new acquaintances as they headed back towards the piazza’s exit and the busy road beyond. He waited until they were just out of sight and then, with a double clicking of his tongue, he rubbed his hands together, licked his lips…and followed them.