Free James Acton 04 - The Templar's Relic by J Robert Kennedy Page B

to help Laura down. They bent over and ran toward a man who was waving at them to join him. Acton heard the engines power back up and he glanced over his shoulder. The two guards were right on their heels, and various aged Vatican residents were loading on the chopper.
    The man who had been waving Acton recognized as Alfredo Ianuzzi, one of Giasson’s men. He opened the door of a car and they climbed in. Ianuzzi jumped in the driver’s seat, and started the car as he slammed his door shut, the din from the helicopters suddenly cut off.
    “What’s going on?” asked Acton.
    Ianuzzi slammed the car in gear and it jumped forward. “We’re evacuating the elderly. All of the exits are blocked by protesters.”
    “What’s the situation in the square?” asked Laura.
    “Not good. Latest estimates have about thirty thousand, with tens of thousands more outside trying to get in.”
    “Any casualties yet?”
    “Injuries, yes, fatalities, not yet. But things are about to get a lot worse. There are reports that Catholics are starting to mass for a counter protest.”
    “That could get ugly.”
    The man nodded as he came to a halt near the rear of the Palazzo del Governatorato, or Palace of the Governatorate, the main administrative building of the tiny city. The three of them climbed out of the car, and Acton followed Ianuzzi, holding Laura by the hand. The air was filled with the chanting of the crowds on the other side of the massive complex.
    Ianuzzi held a door open for them, and once inside, the noise from the crowds was replaced with the shouts of people inside, as organized chaos greeted them.
    “What’s happening?”
    Ianuzzi urged them forward. “We’re trying to get the most precious and significant artifacts into the Archives, so they can be protected should we lose the city.”
    “Is it really that bad?” asked Laura.
    “I guess you haven’t seen the news?”
    Acton shook his head as they jogged toward their destination which he guessed to be the security offices. “No, we’ve been pretty much cut off the past couple of hours.”
    “Well, Muslims are protesting around the world. The usual craziness you’d expect in Pakistan and the Middle East, but they’re also protesting in the West.”
    “If it turns violent here, I shudder to think what might happen around the world.”
    Acton nodded at Laura. “Agreed. This needs to be stopped, and fast. Otherwise we could end up with a hell of a lot of dead people.”
    Ianuzzi held the door open to the security office. “I don’t see how we’re going to clear those people out.”
    Giasson looked up from his glass enclosed office and waved them in.
    “Thanks for the escort, Alfredo.”
    Ianuzzi nodded and rushed out of the security office.
    Laura and Acton entered Giasson’s office and he rose to greet them with his standard double-cheek kiss and a handshake. “I’m glad you two are safe.” He nodded at the metal case Acton carried. “Is that it?”
    Acton patted the case. “Yes.”
    Giasson ran his palm over his shaved scalp. “We need to get that out of here. Fast.”
    “Agreed. I suggest we get it into the hands of an Imam, in a Muslim country, today if possible.”
    “We’re trying, but no one wants to touch it.”
    “What?”
    “No one we talk to wants to be seen cooperating with Christians—not when their flock is so fired up.”
    “That’s ridiculous!” exploded Laura. “They’re the ones demanding we return it, but when we offer, they refuse? What kind of daft thinking is that?”
    Giasson frowned. “You’re preaching to the choir, Professor. I think in some cases they are afraid to get involved, in other cases, they relish the chaos that has been created.”
    “If not holy men, then what about governments?”
    “Our diplomats are working on that, however we don’t have much of a presence in Muslim countries, therefore we’re forced to work through proxies, usually my home country, Switzerland. And as we all know with