揕et me see what I can do to end his involvement,?Fuentes said. 揥e have a presence at the UN.?
He wondered why he抎 been woken and included in this conversation. Fuentes could have easily done this without him. But he recalled what the cardinal had said earlier about what would happen once the Vultures were identified.
揇o you still plan to silence them??he asked.
揑 do,?Fuentes said. 揂nd immediately. I抣l supervise the incursion.?
Incursion? 揂re you planning a war??
Fuentes抯 eyes zeroed in. 揑抦 planning on dealing with a group that has shown nothing but disrespect to Rome for centuries. I抦 planning on teaching them a lesson, one they will never forget.?
He could see that the Spaniard was serious. Still, he wondered, 揥hy am I involved??
揃ecause,?Fuentes said, 搚ou could prove helpful in dealing with the maidens. They are subject to your temporal authority. Also, we must deal with Bernat de Foix. It seems that your blackmailer was also involved with the Just Judges.?The cardinal pointed to Dwight. 揈xplain it to him.?
揇e Foix funded the restoration of the Just Judges reproduction. To his good fortune, the restorer discovered the hidden original beneath that overpaint. We have to wonder if that was coincidental or intentional.?
He was wondering the same thing.
揂lso,?Dwight said, 搕he restorer created electronic images of the original panel.?
揥hich are now irrelevant,?Fuentes added. 揚rior to yesterday they were invaluable. But now we know where to find les Vautours so it doesn抰 matter if they are revealed and studied by others. But de Foix? He抯 a separate issue altogether. On several levels. One we must deal with tonight.?
揥hat do you mean deal with??he asked.
揥e抳e gathered as much information as we could, in the short time we had to prepare,?Friar Rice said. 揃ut we know a lot more about de Foix than we did a few hours ago. Him being involved with the discovery made in Ghent, funding the restoration, could be significant. It might be connected to what is happening here with you, Archbishop.?
揂nd he might know nothing at all,?Vilamur said, a touch of irritation in his voice. 揌e might just hate my guts.?
Fuentes shrugged. 換uite true. It抯 hard to know for sure. But he did specifically mention les Vautours to you, which is a rather obscure subject, so it抯 not that far-fetched to think he could know more. He is definitely schooled in your personal problem with him.?
揙ur problem, Eminence,?he said.
Fuentes nodded. 換uite right. Our problem.?
揂nd they are also here to deal with that??he asked, pointing at the two friars.
Dominicans. In Toulouse. Ironic, since this was where the order began. Its founder, F閘ix de Guzm醤， had dedicated himself, and his followers, to the reconversion of the Cathars. The friars played an integral role in the Albigensian Crusade, effectively leading the attack. In 1206, Dominic founded a convent near Toulouse. Then, eight years later, he added another order for men. Vilamur had studied that time period. A lot of irony existed then. Some historians had even postulated that the Dominicans were a blatant attempt by the church to copy Catharism. Friars traveled around the Languedoc in pairs, like Perfecti, dressing simply in sandals and plain habits, avoiding the ostentation of other churchmen and preaching poverty. They spoke in the local language in order to be understood, a practice the Cathars began. Even now, Dominicans still wore black robes, almost identical to the habit of the Perfecti. Celibacy itself might have been hurried into dogma in the twelfth century as a reaction to the Cathars?aversion to sex.
Like with here, far too many things to be coincidental.
揥ithin the Dominicans,?Fuentes said, 搕here are specialized cells, friars who are trained and devoted to a particular expertise. These two are part of the Ad Designandum Hastam. The Point of the Spear. For centuries that cell has been called upon to deal with problems in ways that may seem卽nconventional for the church. But the desired results cannot always be accomplished solely by talk or prayer. There are times when more definitive measures must be taken.?
Good to know. And also disconcerting.
揚lease, wait outside,?Fuentes said, and the two friars left the study. The cardinal faced him. 揂rchbishop, our pope is dying.?
Had he heard right? That couldn抰 be. 揌e was only elected a short while ago.?
揌e has a tumor in his brain that will kill him within the coming months. Only a handful of people know this. Now you are one of them.?
He was shocked. 揥hy me??
揃ecause I intend to be the next pope.?
Now he understood. 揂nd you have the advantage of being able to get ready for the next conclave.?
揈xactly. I have many friends, but I will need more within the College of Cardinals in order to be elected. Friends of unquestioned loyalty.?