Thanks to a good night’s sleep and the adrenaline boost they got from completing their mission so quickly, they had enough energy to make the long drive back to Rome that night. However, it was too late to report back to the Pope, so Thomas dropped off Devon at his villa, and he continued to his apartment. The next day, Thomas dropped off all of their gear at the Vatican armory, where Tore chided them about not using most of their equipment. Thomas replied that it was better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it. After Tore helped him offload the van, he returned it to the Vatican carpool. After all the bull work was done, he went to see Archbishop Peter Ignastius to set up a meeting for him and Devon with the Pope. He brought a duffel bag filled with all the documents and laptops that they had collected from the two office buildings. The Pope had previously told the archbishop that as soon as Devon and Thomas returned, he wanted to see them, even if it meant canceling parts of his schedule. So made a two-hour slot after the Pope finished his morning daily mass, at 10:00 AM. When Thomas found out the time for their meeting, he called Devon at his villa and told him about the meeting.
When Thomas had dropped off Devon at his villa the previous night, he told him to take the next couple of days off in recompense for his vacation having been cut short. However, it came with a caveat, and that was he would have to participate in a debriefing with the Pope the next day, at some as of yet undetermined time. So, the call from Thomas came as no surprise to him. He had just finished a pleasant and relaxing breakfast with Jennie and Amelia. He was already ready for the meeting with the Pope. He was wearing dress pants, a shirt, and a tie.
Devon met Thomas at the Vatican entrance and proceeded to the Pope’s quarters for their scheduled meeting. Archbishop Peter Ignastius and his secretary Elena Lombardi were also present for the meeting. Elena was there to take the minutes and the Archbishop was there as a consultant for the Pope. When they were all present the Pope invited them to all sit down. Extra chairs had been brought in expressly for this meeting. Pope Pius XIII indicated to Thomas begin his narrative. Devon and Thomas took turns describing the events along with a brief discussion about the materials they had collected.
The Pope listened to the narrative quietly with no interruptions. Finally, when Thomas and Devin were done, the Pope asked them how certain they were that Cardinal Trevisani was involved with the Cartel. Thomas said, ” based on the information that we were able to look through, over 95% certain. He conceded that they had not had the time to go through all of the material, but couldn’t fathom how it could change the facts.”
Thomas continued, “Cardinal Trevisani used his influence to get a heart for his brother. A heart taken from a living breathing individual. He chose the life of a loved one over the life of a stranger. A stranger who would still be alive if not for his actions. Over the last few years, he has been responsible directly or indirectly for the death of several more innocent people. He has enriched himself through his actions. It has been discovered that he has several numbered accounts in the Bahamas with more than 5 million USD.”
Thomas further added, “How you choose to deal with Cardinal Trevisani is your prerogative, your Holiness.”
After a lengthy period of silence as Pope Pius XIII considered his options, “The Cardinal is very powerful. He almost became the Pope instead of me. He also has a lot of loyal followers in the Gendarmerie. I am afraid that if I remove him from office, there very well could be a civil war in the Vatican. I know that in the eyes of God, he has violated the most holy of oaths. He has put his interests before his parishioners. He has also spilled innocent blood to do so. He deserves to be smitten by a lightning bolt from the heavens. Unfortunately, we live in an era where godlessness prevails more times than not. So to do God’s work we are going to have to make Trevisani’s death look like it was from natural causes.”
The Pope continued, “Thomas and Devon I will leave this most distasteful task up to your discretion.”*
There needs to be a question answered before we progress with our narrative and that is can the Pope order or kill someone in The Vatican?
While it would not technically be “legal,” there is no authority that could arrest the Pope. He is the supreme leader of a sovereign nation. Police services are provided by the City of Rome at its pleasure and direction, and it may freely interpret any law in any way it pleases (even after the fact). He can enact/change/abolish any law, on nothing more than a whim, and he could dismiss the entire police force on a whim. He can dissolve any Vatican criminal trial (or overturn any criminal conviction) on a whim. No outside country or authority can seize or arrest the Pope (just like no outside country or authority can seize or arrest the President of the United States, no matter how much they wanted to seize and arrest Trump).
*Pulling this plot twist is proving to be very difficult to pull off. As an ICU nurse, I know of many medicines that are lethal in high doses; they all leave either a chemical trace or their administration leaves physical evidence, like puncture marks, or they are unreliable and easily circumvented if the respondent discovers what was administered, which would surely be the case in the Vatican. This is possible because many of these drugs produce recognizable side effects. Insulin is one of them. High doses of insulin can cause the patient to become weak, lightheaded, confused, and diaphoretic (Note there are more symptoms than the ones I have noted; these are the most common) before they lapse into a coma. If discovered quickly, an Accu-chek can help determine the problem, and a sublingual dextrose gel can help reverse it. I want to add that Accu-cheks are routinely used when a patient is found non-responsive and there is no apparent cause for this obtunded state. fentaNYL is a particularly lethal drug, but it is easily detectable with a basic serum drug screen. Unless the individual is prescribed painkillers, their presence in the body would certainly cause red flags to pop up. So my search will continue. I may have to resort to some form of tragic and fatal accident. Needless to say, I will make it as authentic and dramatic as possible.
Devon spoke up first, ” I have observed some things about Cardinal Trevisana. Would it be possible to get a copy of his medical file? If what I am thinking is true, I may have an idea on how to take care of our problem. I will need access to some specific drugs with specific concentrations. I won’t bother you with the details until I have validated my observations.”
Archbishop Ignastius interjected, “It won’t be a problem to get a copy of his files, because he sees one of our staff physicians. I will have what you need by noon tomorrow. Let’s assume that your assumptions are correct Devon, what will you require?”
“I will need 2 mg of fentaNYL at the 300 mcg/ml concentration, a tube of 5% lidocaine gel. I will also need two 3cc syringes with 1-inch 25-gauge needles, alcohol wipes, and 2×2-inch cotton pads. If he is taking the medicine that I think he is, the fentaNYL will be undetectable.”
The Pope spoke up, ” Well I guess we can adjourn this meeting for now. Thomas you will keep me updated on you and Devon’s progress.” They filed out of the room.
The following day Devon had Cardinal Trevisani’s medical files. After reading the files from the first to the last page, he felt vindicated. He was right, the Cardinal had a severe case of Lumbar Lordosis, which had been genetically passed down from his father and grandfather. He had opted to follow a non-surgical therapeutic regime. It included taking 20mg of predniSONE daily, Baclofen 10 mg every eight hours, and oxyCODONE 10 mg every four hours as needed for severe pain.
This meant that the lethal dose of fentaNYL they were going to inject into the Cardinal would be undetectable. They just had to find an area of the body where the needle puncture sites wouldn’t show, such as a gluteal fold. That would be determined once the slumbering Cardinal was in front of them. After he came up with a workable plan, he called Archbishop Ignastius to tell him that it was a go. The Archbishop said that he would have what he needed by the following morning. The only holdup is the fentaNYL.
The next day Elena called Devon to inform him that he could pick up his special supplies at Archbishop Ignastius’s office. When Devon arrived to pick up the supplies, they were loaded in an unmarked paper sack. He made a quick check to make sure everything was as he requested. When he was sure he had what he needed he brought it to his locker and secured it there. He contacted Thomas to inform him that they were ready for their final stage of the mission. He asked Thomas when he wanted to meet so that they could go over their plan.
Thomas said, “The sooner the better”, so they set up a brainstorming session at his apartment for 6 PM that evening. While beer is becoming more popular with the 20-30 year old crowd in Italy, Wine was still by far the most popular alcoholic beverage. So, when in Rome, do as the Romans do. So when Devon drove over to Thomas’s apartment, he brought with him a nice Mionetto Prosecco Valdobbiadene Superiore DOCG bottle of wine.
Now that they knew how they were going to make the Cardinal’s death look like an accidental overdose, the rest was pretty straightforward, so their meeting was more of a get-together to discuss their successes and what they could have done better, and to spend a little time talking. Since there was no guard posted outside the door leading to Cardinal Trevisani’s Suite, and he never locked his doors, gaining access to his suite was a no-brainer. The only thing that needed to be settled was who would be on the lockout and who would administer the lethal injections of fentaNYL. The only democratic way for them to decide was by the flip of a coin.
Since I like a little suspense, I won’t tell you who lost the coin toss just yet. Devon said that he had a compact, albeit cheap, set of night vision goggles back at his house, which he would bring for their sanctioned hit on the Cardinal. Since this was such a momentous decision for the Pope to make, they decided to wait 24 hours before they assassinated the Cardinal, just in case he got cold feet and changed his mind. Besides, one day wouldn’t make that much of a difference in the grand scheme of things.
Bettitope night vision goggles
Before they wrapped things up, Thomas asked Devon if he had heard from Andres. “No, I haven’t, why do you ask?” Thomas said coyly, “No particular reason, just that he is getting married and now that our mission is just about over, he wants to bring his future bride to Rome to visit.” Devon replied, “That is great, I hope he is happy. Now that just leaves you, Thomas. When are you going to get serious about finding a life partner?”
They drank one more glass of wine as a toast to Andres’ good fortune before they called it a night. Thomas finished by setting the time to inject the Cardinal with fentaNYL at 2:00 AM the following morning. Thomas said that he had a small room at the Vatican where he slept over when he had to work late hours. “We can wait there until the appointed time. Because if we entered the Vatican entrance at that late hour, it would certainly raise some eyebrows.” Devon said that he would meet Thomas at the Vatican at 6 PM. He further added that he would bring a couple of DVDs for them to watch, to help make the time pass more quickly.
The next morning, Thomas called Archbishop Ignatius to notify him that Devon and he had set a time to resolve their problem. He told them that they had decided to wait 24 hours so that the Pope could reconsider. The Archbishop thanked him for his thoughtfulness and said that he would tell the Pope of their plans. He further added that if Thomas did not hear from him by 6 PM, it was a go.
The no-turn-back time of 6 PM came and went with no calls from the Archbishop. Devon brought a couple of Die Hard Movies, the first two and by the best of the series.
They were both good action movies with plenty of tongue-in-cheek lines to keep them entertained. After they finished their movies, Devon and Thomas took naps so that they would be fresh and therefore less prone to make any mistakes. When they woke up, Devon tested his night vision goggles to ensure the batteries were fresh. He had brought a pack of spare batteries just in case. He also drew up the fentaNYL in the two 3cc syringes. They both had worn dark clothes in case they had to hide in the shadows. When Devon was finished making his preparations, Thomas checked the time. It was 1:35 AM. He said, “Let’s go, it is close enough to 2 AM.” Devon nodded in agreement. As they walked out the door of his rooms, Thomas picked up a lock pick kit from his nightstand. “You can never tell,” he said.
Thomas and Devon quickly made it to Cardinal Petronella Arcuri Trevisani’s quarters. When they approached his door, Devon tested the doorknob, and it turned easily in his hand. He turned and grinned at Thomas as he quietly opened the door. As they entered the room, Devon handed the small leather satchel with the drugs and syringes in it, along with the Night vision goggles, to Thomas. And hid behind the door, keeping it slightly ajar so that he could see down the hallway. Devon had replaced the original paper bag with the satchel because he didn’t want to risk the sound of the crinkling that a paper bag can make when it is being opened.
Thomas walked into the Cardinal’s bedroom, his rubber-soled shoes making no noise on the tiled floors. As he approached the full-sized bed, he ever so gently pulled back the thin coverlet, exposing the Cardinal’s prone body. Since he was a stomach sleeper, he was limited to accessing his gluteal folds. Luckily for Thomas the Cardinal was wearing a nightshirt, so all he had to do was pull it up around his waist.
Thomas ever so gently put a small dollop of the 5% lidocaine gel on the two creases or folds made by the gluteal muscles.
After letting it set for a few minutes to allow for the tissue to become desensitized, Thomas pulled out his first 3cc syringe and ever so gently pushed the 1-inch 25-gauge needle into the soft tissue of the Cardinal’s backside. Thanks to the Lidocaine gel, he did not feel the needle going in at all. After hhe finished with the first syringe of the fentanyl, he pulled out the second syringe and repeated the process with thhe other butt cheek. By then, the Cardinal was already heavily sedated, so he did not have to be so gentle. He took out a small towelette and wiped off the Lidocaine gel completely. He put everything back into his satchel, double-checking and triple-checking to make sure that he left nothing behind. Between the night light plugged into the wall socket and the night vision goggles he was wearing, Thomas was able to see very well in the darkened room. So, he felt comfortable, knowing he had left nothing behind. Thomas also knew how many items he had with him, so he did a quick count to make sure that the numbers matched. Just like surgery teams do with surgical sponges. He was also taking his time because he wanted to make sure that the needle injection sites did not bleed. Finally, Thomas felt like he had allowed enough time for any bleeding, he pulled down the nightshirt and covered the Cardinal back up with his coverlette. Thomas then checked his carotid pulses on both sides of his neck; the pulse was very weak and slow. He counted the rate, and it was only 10 beats per minute. He also counted only three agonal respirations per minute. He waited five more minutes before rechecking the Cardinal. This time, he felt no pulses at all, and he saw no evidence of breathing. Devon, always trying to cover all the bases, had put a stethoscope in the satchel as well. So Thomas put the stethoscope on and gently placed the bell on both carotids to see if he heard anything. When he was done, he gently slipped it under his prone body, so that it rested on the region of his heart, and listened for another 60 seconds. When he did not detect a single beat, he felt confident that the Cardinal was, in fact, dead. So he put his stethoscope away, made one final check, and fixed his sheets again. He then went into the Cardinals’ bathroom and opened up his medicine cabinet. He took out the bottles of oxycodone and baclofen and dumped the contents of both bottles in his satchel. He then put both open bottles and left them on the nightstand next to the bed. He also took the glass on the counter in the bathroom, partially filled it with water, and placed it beside the pill bottles. He took a couple of pills and left them on the nightstand, and tipped over one of the bottles. After checking the scene over a few times, he was certain that what he had set up looked very convincing. He did one more thing: he took the right hand of the Cardinal and placed the glass in it, to ensure that there were prints on it. He did the same with the pill bottles. Then he quickly repositioned everything as it was on the nightstand. He conducted another review, going through everything he had done to ensure that he had not missed anything.
Only after Thomas spent a few more minutes running everything through his mind was he ready to leave the room. He met Devonat the hallway door and gave him an OK sign.
Devon looked both ways down the hallway one more time and motioned for Thomas to go out into the hallway. After Thomas walked down the hallway to the next bend, he looked both ways and motioned for Devon to follow. Devon closed the door quietly behind him, and they both walked back to Thomas’s room. When they got back to his room, they looked at their watches. It had taken them 90 minutes to do the job. Since it was still too early to leave the Vatican without attracting attention, there was nothing left to do but to go to sleep, which is precisely what they did.