The Eye of Moses - Vatican Knights Series 22 (2020)

theory about a clandestine power elite whose global agenda is to rule the world through a totalitarian government system that will overcome and replace sovereign nations?”
“That’s exactly what it is,” said Mr. Spartan. “The Shadow Klan is very real and shares the very same agenda. In fact, there’s speculation that the Shadow Klan may be a black-ops arm of the New World Organization. Though this is unsubstantiated.”
“So, you plan to take on this group. This Shadow Klan. With all the arms you can carry.” He said these as statements and not questions.
“We’ve no choice,” said Mr. da Vinci. “As the Knights Templar rode into battle to do what they considered just, those within the Consortium must do the same. We're not bound by what the Knights Templar did in the past, such as to promote Christianity by the blade of the sword. But there are times, Kimball, when we have to raise a hand against our enemies to protect those who cannot protect themselves.”
“Kimball,” this came from Mr. Spartan. “We at the Consortium have obvious ties to the Past. You, being a part of the Vatican—well, you’re a part of the Present. And the Shadow Klan represents a dark Future should they continue with their agenda. If the Past and the Present do nothing and stand idly by, which would encourage bad behavior on the part of the Shadow Klan, then there is a great possibility that there will be no Future. Remember that.”
“Do you even know where they are? Is there a starting point?”
“We’re working on that,” said Mr. da Vinci. “We’ve been able to tap into the data banks of geospatial satellites. On the night of the attack against the bunker, there was a chopper in a nearby field close to the site. The time stamps on the surveillance footage to the time the chopper lifted off after the assault, leads us to believe that it was an extraction vehicle. At this time, our tech unit is piecing together data from a string of satellite feeds to connect the dots and determine where exactly the chopper landed. That will be our starting point.”
“And those who are going to be involved with the mission?” Kimball asked Mr. da Vinci.
“Mr. Spartan is an elite officer and a soldier who will command the unit. Besides you, there will be seven others. All good men.”
Hayden didn’t know the skillset of those within the Shadow Klan, but assumed they were elite fighters with high-end military superiority. Taking out members of the Consortium guards who minded the gates in Croatia could not have been an easy task. Yet from snippets of conversation he was able to pick up, it wasn’t much of a battle at all. In fact, the Shadow Klan were so well coordinated that they were able to overwhelm the Consortium unit with little difficulty.
Then from Kimball: “Eight against how many?”
“Does it matter?” said Mr. da Vinci.
“It does to me.”
“Believe me when I say this, Kimball, those you’ll be with are not only the best of the best, they’re the best of the best of the best.”
For some reason, this didn’t make Kimball Hayden feel at ease. They don’t have a plan, he thought. Right now, we’re going into this blind.
Whether it was something on Hayden’s face that Mr. da Vinci was able to read and intuit, he said, “It’ll be fine, Kimball. Trust me. When my people are focused, there’s no one who can stop them.”
Then Hayden wondered if the team that had been taken out at the Croatian bunker was focused. If they were, then his ill-at-ease level would ratchet up a few notches. Now, more than ever, he wished he had the backing of the Vatican Knights. What was Pope Clement thinking?
Then: “Is that all?” Kimball asked.
“Consider the briefing over,” Mr. da Vinci told him. “Go back to your room and get some rest. When our tech team tracks the trajectory of the chopper, we’ll let you know.”
Nodding, Kimball Hayden stood up, gave a nod to the man seated beside him, then asked, “Spartan. Is that your first name or last?”
“It’s just Spartan.”
Adding nothing more, Kimball Hayden crossed the chamber and closed the door behind him.
“This isn’t going to be easy,” Mr. Spartan said to Mr. da Vinci. “I don’t know too much about the Vatican Knights outside of hearsay information, but if he can’t fight, then he may slow us down.”
“Trust me. Kimball Hayden is more than capable of dealing with opposition. He’ll do fine. He’ll be an asset, Mr. Spartan. Wherever trouble lies, Kimball Hayden will be the first to confront the enemy and grant him defeat. He’s truly gifted in a way that will serve the Consortium well.”
 

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Lucerne, Switzerland
Across the gorge that separated Deep Mountain from the rest of the world was a cable-car station belonging to the Shadow Klan, though it was named after a dummy corporation to deflect suspicion. The station was manned by a team of armed guards who processed the eligibility of personnel to reach the Deep Mountain facility. At the entrance to the cable-car station, a facial-recognition scanner would measure certain landmarks on one’s face to confirm identity before being buzzed in. Salt was used to this protocol and considered it a necessity rather than a nuisance.
After having been buzzed into the station, Salt passed the guards’ station and waited for the cable car, which was approaching from the Deep Mountain facility. When the cable car arrived, Salt, along with four others, entered the lift. As soon as the doors closed behind them, the cable car began its return trip to the mountaintop facility.
The cable car climbed at a 45-degree angle along a taut cable with the gorge beneath them a thousand-foot drop. As the vehicle ascended towards the precipice, Salt admired the scenery of the surrounding mountains, loving the colors they exuded—the purples and the blues and the pristine white of snowcapped peaks.
As Deep Mountain drew closer, Salt cast his eyes to the gorge beneath the cable car. The