The Lucifer Code (45 page)

‘Ah, a young woman of genteel breeding, I see.’ Father Gabriel chuckled. ‘I take it you’re in constant communication with her.’

‘Yes.’

‘Two women are harder to manage than one,’ Father Gabriel said. Lourds knew the double entendre was intentional.

‘You said this man was like a father to you?’ Cleena asked.

‘Yes,’ Lourds answered.

‘No wonder you have the morals of an alley cat.’

‘I meant father as in priest.’

Cleena came to a halt and looked shocked. ‘You just let me flip off a priest?’

‘It’s not as if you asked my permission or gave me any advance warning about what you were going to do.’

‘You are an
idiot
!’

‘I’m not the one that flipped off the priest.’

Father Gabriel waved to Cleena. Embarrassed, the young redhead waved back.

‘She doesn’t look like a linguist,’ the priest said.

‘Thankfully she doesn’t look like a gunrunner either,’ Lourds replied.

‘I
so
hate you right now,’ Cleena said.

‘She probably hasn’t been to confession in a long time either,’ Lourds said.

Cleena poured pure invective into his ear.

‘Besides sleeping quarters and a safe place where you can work,’ Father Gabriel asked, ‘is there anything else you need?’

‘Books,’ Lourds said. ‘I’m going to need some of those special books the Vatican keeps locked away. I’ve got to break this language, and it’s going to be even more difficult because it’s been broken into four parts.’

‘Done.’ Father Gabriel stood. ‘Did you drive?’

‘We took a cab.’

‘You
are
putting your life in God’s hands.’ Father Gabriel started walking away. ‘Come along, Thomas. You can ride with me. I’ll make a few phone calls and everything should be arranged by the time we get where we’re going.’ He looked over his shoulder to where Cleena trailed after them. ‘Your impertinent little friend can ride along as well, as long as she promises not to make a spectacle of herself.’

Cleena waited until Father Gabriel was looking away, then flipped Lourds off.

‘God saw that,’ the priest said.

Tired and frustrated, Lourds entered the large kitchen where Father Gabriel was managing several pots on the stove. Lourds knew from earlier inspection that they contained a selection of pastas and vegetables. The priest had even managed to bake some bread and the warm, yeasty smell pervaded the large loft he had secured for them.

The loft had six bedrooms, three bathrooms, a massive kitchen and dining room and a large common area. Lourds couldn’t imagine the size of the family that lived there. He also couldn’t imagine where they could’ve gone. When he’d asked Father Gabriel about it, the old priest had simply waved the question away.

‘Some people have old sins that just won’t go away,’ Father Gabriel said. ‘Every now and again, I’ll give those people a chance to do something good. This is simply one of those times.’

Maybe the accommodations were simple, but Lourds was struggling with the intricate puzzle of the final language. He filched one of the rolls that had just come out of the oven, then had to juggle it in both hands because it was so hot. When it had finally cooled down enough, he broke it open and slathered it with cream cheese.

Father Gabriel mopped at his sweaty brow with a shirt sleeve. ‘Progress?’

‘A little, maybe. I don’t know. I’ve been at this so long that I can’t tell up from down any more.’

‘Of course you can. You’re the finest student I’ve ever had. I’ll take your failure personally.’

‘You could help, you know.’

Father Gabriel stirred one of the pots, then reached for the next spoon. ‘No, I don’t think so. You surpassed my meagre abilities a long time ago. If I tried to help you, I’d just embarrass myself and distract you.’

Lourds ate some of the roll; it was delicious. ‘I can’t help feeling I need a fresh pair of eyes on this.’

‘It’ll come. Just give it time.’

‘We don’t have time.’

Lourds glanced at the television over in the corner of the kitchen. The unrest in Saudi Arabia continued as Prince Khalid made war along his borders. Shia warriors had started slipping across the borders to shore up the rebellions spreading throughout the country. To make matters worse, private security services hired by American and European corporations also continued to filter into the country to secure valuable assets. The images on the television showed death and disaster, smoke, machine-gun fire and explosions. Helicopters and planes dropped from the sky as they were hit by enemy fire. Tanks exploded on the streets. Soldiers fought with and taunted one another.

‘Even if you hadn’t told me Lucifer was involved with this,’ Father Gabriel said softly, ‘I would have seen his hand in it.’

‘Where’s the vice-president?’ Lourds asked.

‘Still there in King Abdullah Financial City. It looks like Webster is going to get the troops he’s been asking for.’

‘What troops?’

‘Webster has asked for a military operation into the country.’

‘On Saudi Arabian soil?’

‘Yes.’

‘There’s not much chance of that starting an international incident, is there?’ Lourds asked sarcastically.

‘Surely not.’

‘Oh. Sarcasm.’

‘Yes. However the comment isn’t without merit and truth. As it turns out, Webster’s quite the organizer. He’s already got several European and American corporations backing everything he’s doing over there.’

‘They’re all afraid of losing their money,’ Lourds said.

‘Given all the recent economic frustrations, I can see why people want to hold on to what they have and are willing to take the extra-legal step to maintain it.’

‘This isn’t just extra-legal. The Saudis won’t tolerate it. The Middle East will be up in arms for generations to come.’

‘If we last that long,’ Father Gabriel agreed. ‘And by that, I mean the world.’

‘And no one sees this?’

‘Of course someone sees this. But the people who have the muscle to make these things happen—politicians, big businessmen and even religious figures—all believe what Webster has to say: if a stand isn’t taken in the Middle East, a Western world stand, then they’re going to lose everything they know.’

‘That’s foolish.’

‘Do you really think so?’

Lourds didn’t reply.

Father Gabriel looked at Lourds. ‘These are frightening times, Thomas. Money isn’t what it used to be. Jobs aren’t always there. Security is a half-remembered memory. This—this is something that’s been building for a long time.’ He glanced at the television. ‘And it’s coming home to roost.’

Lourds woke at the desk where he’d been working non-stop for three days. He just managed to halt a teetering stack of books before they fell over and scattered across the floor.

You’ve got to get some sleep
, he told himself. But he knew that trying would be worthless. As soon as he went to sleep, he’d be awake again. Just like now.

He was so close to solving the puzzle of the rings. He’d worked with them so much he could picture them in his mind effortlessly. They spun constantly, one over the other. It didn’t seem to matter how many times he shifted their rotation or in what order he put them. None of it made sense. The words on the Joy Scroll remained elusive, just out of his grasp.

It was maddening.

He crossed to the shopping bag that held his toiletries and spare changes of clothing. Joachim and his friends had turned out not to be as poor as church mice, and Cleena had money hidden in a variety of locations, though she seemed much more reluctant to part with it than Joachim and his brothers. He padded quietly to the nearest bathroom, vaguely aware that it was the middle of the night and no one else was awake. He also failed to realize the bath was occupied until he was pulling his shirt over his head.

‘What are you doing?’

Recognizing Cleena’s voice, Lourds froze. ‘Sorry,’ he apologized hastily. ‘I didn’t realize you were in here.’ Even though he knew he shouldn’t, he couldn’t resist peeking in the mirror in the hopes of catching her reflection there. Fog blurred the image, though, and he cursed the luck.

‘Don’t get out,’ he quipped. ‘I’ll see myself to the door.’

Water shifted behind him as he grabbed his things.

‘You don’t have to go,’ Cleena told him.

Slowly, Lourds turned around, still half out of his shirt, and looked at her.

She lounged in the tub and the soapy water scarcely hid her breasts. She had her hair pulled back in a ponytail. Her freckled shoulders looked soft and rounded, but Lourds knew they would be strong with muscle.

‘I don’t have to go?’ Lourds asked hoarsely.

‘You don’t. It’s a big tub.’

‘Yes. Yes it is.’

‘Well? What are you waiting for? Suddenly shy?’

‘No.’ Lourds divested himself of his clothing and joined her. The water was freshly drawn, still so hot he could barely ease into it. But his mind was on other things. The heaving water pushed at Cleena’s breasts, revealing the strawberry-tipped nipples.

‘What are you doing up?’ she asked.

‘Couldn’t sleep.’

‘You seemed to be doing quite well when I checked on you earlier.’

‘I can’t sleep now.’

‘Neither can I.’

Lourds inhaled the fresh fragrance of the soap. He felt like he’d died and gone to heaven. She shifted and pushed her legs over his, allowing them each more room.

‘I’ll scrub your back if you’ll scrub mine,’ Lourds offered.

Without a word, Cleena scooted towards him and wrapped her arms around his neck. He reciprocated.

‘When I first saw you, I told myself this would never happen,’ she told him, staring into his eyes.

‘When I first saw you, I hoped,’ Lourds said honestly.

She rolled her eyes at him. ‘That doesn’t exactly make me feel special. If a woman walks by, you notice her.’

‘I’m very attentive.’ Lourds stroked the back of her neck and caused her to shiver.

‘I know this isn’t going to mean anything more than it does right now.’

‘Right now it means a lot.’

She cupped his face in her hands. ‘Right now it does mean a lot.’

Lourds filled his hands with her willing and pliant flesh. Her hot kisses boiled his blood and made his head spin, but he knew part of that was just the hot water and lack of sleep. She reached down for him and he was instantly ready. Positioning herself above him, she joined them, gripped the sides of the tub, and began a steady rocking motion that pushed them both away from fear and stress.

Lourds felt eyes staring at him. He also felt a slender naked body pressed against him from behind. The lingering fragrance of perfume told him who was in the room, and—if memory served right and he believed it did—the lissom body behind him belonged to someone else.

This is not a good time to wake up
, he told himself.
Just go back to …

‘I know you’re awake,’ Olympia said. ‘I’ve slept beside you enough to know when you’re actually sleeping.’

Lourds opened his eyes, blinked away his bleary vision, and looked at her. ‘I suppose you have.’ He didn’t try to apologize for Cleena’s presence.

Olympia sat at his desk, arms folded and clearly not happy. ‘It’s not as if I was foolish enough to believe you would be faithful, Thomas, but I would have thought you’d have had the decency to wait until we’d gone our separate ways.’

‘This wasn’t exactly planned.’ Lourds sat up and draped the blanket across his thighs.

‘Oh, and now you’re going to be modest?’

Or protective
, Lourds thought. He’d never been around Olympia when he’d had another lover. He didn’t know what to expect from her, but if this was any indication, it wasn’t going to be good.

‘This …’ Lourds searched for the right words. All those languages he knew, and he didn’t know what to say. ‘This just sort of …’

‘Oh my God,’ Cleena groaned. ‘Are you two going to just sit here and talk?’ She sat up in bed, unmindful of her nudity in front of Olympia.

‘This doesn’t concern you,’ Olympia said. ‘This is between Thomas and me.’

‘Not when I’m the one you’re going to talk about.’ Cleena pulled her hair back, used a rubber band from her wrist to put it in a ponytail, and got out of bed. ‘You know what? I don’t need this. I need sleep. You two can work out whatever it is you need to work out. But I’m going to get a few more hours of sleep.’

Even though he knew it probably wasn’t in his best interests to, Lourds couldn’t help watching Cleena. She was sleek and tawny like a cat, and her muscles bunched and rolled as she moved. She scooped up his T-shirt from the floor and pulled it on, added her panties, then grabbed a pillow and a blanket and headed out of the room.

‘She isn’t much of a morning person,’ Lourds said.

Olympia arched an eyebrow. ‘I came in this morning to offer breakfast.’

‘Breakfast would be good,’ Lourds said, wanting desperately to be amenable.

‘At this point, you can fix your own breakfast.’

‘Oh. Right. I can do that.’

‘How are you getting on with the work you’re supposed to be doing?’

‘I don’t know.’ Lourds sat up with his back to the headboard. ‘Every time I think I’m about to make a breakthrough, nothing works.’

‘Look, we’ll talk about the relationship stuff at another time. Clearly, I’m not happy.’

That was particularly clear.

‘But I can be grown up about this. We’re two adults.’

Three, actually
, Lourds thought, and barely managed to restrain himself from pointing that out. It would not have been good to mention it.

‘The main thing is translating the Joy Scroll. You’ve been keeping up with the news coming out of Saudi Arabia?’

‘Yes. Somewhat. Father Gabriel keeps me apprised.’

‘Things are getting worse there. American forces are massing in the Gulf. Many people are just waiting for the vice-president to send in the troops.’

‘If they do that,’ Lourds said, ‘the Middle East is going to be torn up for years to come.’

‘I know, and when it is, it may well sweep into Istanbul and Turkey. I want my family safe, Thomas.’

‘I understand. I’m doing everything I can, Olympia.’