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Friday, September 5, 2014 – 11:41 PM – Local Time – Santa Maria sopra Minerva – Rome, Italy

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I have not seen Sebastian this quiet since he broke his silence a couple of months ago. It is kind of heartbreaking to me. He allowed her to bewitch him. In other words, she conned him from the beginning, at least that's how I see it. She used her feminine wilds and her obvious aesthetic beauty to trap him. The ultimate Trojan horse. No matter what she says, if anything at all, I'll never believe she was anything more than a plant from day one. An entity sent to infiltrate our organization in order to steal documents and secrets. To learn how we operate. She was a spy for the Catholic Church from the beginning and I'll never be convinced otherwise.

What hurts is, we all trusted her. Matthew, Father Asmodeus, myself, obviously Sebastian did so. We welcomed her into our family without much hesitation whatsoever. She was a welcome addition. I'm sure she'll play the 'I was just following orders' card. Akin to Nazi Germany facing war crimes charges. Only in this case, the roles of Goring and Hitler are reversed. Benedict, the former commander, the Hitler in this case, is on the sidelines while Goring, Pope Francis in other words, is on the clock.

Santa Maria sopra Minerva. The setting for this evenings events. The church was completed in the year 1370 and is one of the last remaining Gothic architectural masterpieces within the city of Rome. While the facade is built in a Renaissance style, its beating heart, the interior of the old church, is very much Gothic and entirely beautiful. Say what you want about Italians or the Catholic Church, we typically do on the latter, they most certainly build beautiful structures.







It is an historic building. If you don't already know, your King of Darkness loves and admires history. Two papal conclaves occurred here. Eugene the fourth and Nicholas the fifth. Both ascended to the papacy within these walls. What they, nor anyone else for that matter, did not know, is that while the Cardinals and Bishops from all over the globe sat in conclave to elect their next leader, deep beneath their own floor the Illuminatus was at work. Planning their next move. Moving secret documents stolen from churches and even the Vatican archives once that building was constructed.

Here we are, doing it again.

The locks on the doors, while old, are not original. However, a master key has been handed down from generation to generation within the Illuminatus that can open the lock. The locks are typically patterned after the last so the keys remained the same throughout the centuries. Pope Benedict the thirteenth secured that key. He was one of us. Which stands to reason why the Catholic Church considers him an anti-pope and have removed him in their official documents as a pope. In their eyes, he was never pope.

It is our firm belief that Joseph Ratzinger, the current Pope Emeritus, chose the name Benedict as the first shots in a new war against the Illuminatus. A war that will be hard fought and not easily won by either side. The advantage in this war sits with us. We're able to work in clandestine ways under the radar. Everything the Church does, is in the wide open public views of the world at large. That relegates them to using singular people in order to wage this war.

The latest casualties of this war are Cardinal George and Caitlyn Duke. A special holding cell was constructed aboard Air Darkness One in order to accommodate our prisoners for this trip to this old, beautiful nation. Now, they remained bound and gagged. Confined to a pew in the thought closed Santa Maria sopra Minerva. Sebastian Duke sits on the edge of the back of one pew, staring down at his wife. I stand behind her in the next row.



SEBASTIAN DUKE: “Remove the gag.”



I do as ordered, like I always do.



SEBASTIAN DUKE: “What do you have to say for yourself, Caitlyn?”



She says nothing. Caitlyn just stares up at him momentarily with sad eyes, then down at the floor.



SEBASTIAN DUKE: “I'm considering allowing you to live and set you free, darling. However, if you can not be honest with me, then you will hang tonight along with the Cardinal. Martyrs for your cause.”



I think he's underestimated as a manipulator. If I were in her shoes, I'd talk. Ones desire to live, that basic instinct of survival, will typically defeat any idealistic views one may have.



CAITLYN: “What is it you want to know?”

SEBASTIAN DUKE: “I want to know who sent you.”



She says nothing as she continues staring at the floor.



SEBASTIAN DUKE: “ANSWER ME!”



She quivers at the sharp, loud tones of his typically calm and collected voice.



CAITLYN: “Pope Benedict. He's been running things from the very start. He amped up his focus on you since his resignation.”



That wasn't really unexpected. We know he's behind every thorn in our collective side.



SEBASTIAN DUKE: “What documents did you send to the archives?”

CAITLYN: “I honestly don't know.”

SEBASTIAN DUKE: “BULLSHIT!”

CAITLYN: “Honest!

“I don't know!

“It's all in Latin! I don't know Latin!”

SEBASTIAN DUKE: “How long have you been working for the Church?”



Again, she does not answer. Sebastian steps down off the back of the pew and grabs her by the hair, slamming her back against the pew.



SEBASTIAN DUKE: “You will answer the question! Otherwise, I'll take my time cutting you limb from limb right here in this fucking church!”

CAITLYN: “The beginning!”



She yells out through tears.



CAITLYN: “Ratzinger knew about the siege on the Compound. He knew of Jake's accident. He knew he was in a coma. He went through contacts and pulled some strings to get me in as the head nurse at Boston General.”

SEBASTIAN DUKE: “What were your orders?”

CAITLYN: “To seduce my way into your life. To become part of you.”

SEBASTIAN DUKE: “That's it?”

CAITLYN: “Initially, yes.”

SEBASTIAN DUKE: “What else followed?”

CAITLYN: “My orders were to keep you happy. To keep you blind to who I really was. All the while, I was to go behind your back and send any file I could find.”

SEBASTIAN DUKE: “For what purpose?”

CAITLYN: “To find out whether or not you truly had the secrets that could cost the Church everything.”

SEBASTIAN DUKE: “We do.”

CAITLYN: “I know.”



Wait a minute. I thought she couldn't read Latin.



SEBASTIAN DUKE: “You just said you couldn't read Latin.”



Oh good. I'm not just hearing things.



CAITLYN: “My handler confirmed.”

SEBASTIAN DUKE: “Your handler? You make it sound like you're CIA.”

CAITLYN: “It is basically. I'm part of a clandestine unit within the Swiss Guard. Unofficial. Completely off the books.”

SEBASTIAN DUKE: “Who is your handler?”

CAITLYN: “He goes by the name Curtis. He's English. That's all I know.”

SEBASTIAN DUKE: “Once they figured out what we have, what were your orders?”



She doesn't answer.



SEBASTIAN DUKE: “Bitch! You will answer me before I kick your teeth down your fucking throat!”



See. Everything bad that happens to Sebastian, all Azrael's fault.



FATHER ASMODEUS: “Son...”



We all look toward the front of the church as Father Asmodeus makes his way toward us. He decides to sit in the pew beside Caitlyn.



FATHER ASMODEUS: “You look of fright, dear.

“Sebastian, perhaps you should relax a little. I fear your emotion is running too high for this questioning.”

CAITLYN: “I'm sorry, Asmodeus. I never wanted to hurt any of you.”

FATHER ASMODEUS: “I truly believe that.”



Watch the master.



FATHER ASMODEUS: “I can not save you. I no longer lead the Illuminatus. But, I will hold you in higher regard, and will ask my son to abide by his promise and set you free. However... my dear...

“I can only do that, if you answer our questions.

“Understand?”



He speaks in such soft tones. Tones I've never heard from his mouth. Very warm, and soothing. So much so, that she leans her head against his shoulder.



CAITLYN: “My orders were to destroy the records, then kill both of you.”

FATHER ASMODEUS: “See, now that wasn't so hard, was it?”

CAITLYN: “Harder than you know.

“I truly do love you guys. All of you. I... I just had a job to do.”



She sobs into Asmodeus' suit jacket. He shoves her away and stands up.



FATHER ASMODEUS: “There is an old adage, Caitlyn, that says do not bite the hand that feeds you. My heart goes out to you, whatever Sebastian chooses to do, I will stand behind. So long as whatever it is, equals your death.”



Caitlyn cries a little harder as Asmodeus walks away.



SEBASTIAN DUKE: “Caitlyn Nguyen...”

CAITLYN: “Duke...”

SEBASTIAN DUKE: “What?”

CAITLYN: “Caitlyn Duke.”

SEBASTIAN DUKE: “No, see... plotting to kill me, takes away any right you have to my name. For eternity you will forever be known as Caitlyn Nguyen.”

CAITLYN: “That's not my real name.”



Silence from the King.



CAITLYN: “My real name is Amber Bertoli.”



That's news. What about her adopted father? Dr. Nguyen? My neurologist?



SEBASTIAN DUKE: “Your father?”

CAITLYN: “My stepfather. He did adopt me, but I never took his name.”

SEBASTIAN DUKE: “It's time to go.”



I replace the gag, then unlock her shackles and start to escort her out.



SEBASTIAN DUKE: “Get with Matthew. We need to find this Curtis guy.”

JACOB, THE MESSENGER: “Yes, sir.

“What about Caitlyn? You are killing her, right?”

SEBASTIAN DUKE: “Of course. Letting her live never really was on the table. Why would you think anything different?”



He doesn't wait for an answer. He walks ahead of us and out the doors.

Fade to Darkness.