Free The Brotherhood Of The Holy Shroud by Julia Navarro Page A

comrade was working alone and have pretty much wrapped up their efforts. So I think that it is safe for you to begin to make the journey home. As Addaio instructed, each of you will follow a different escape route."
    The oldest of the unspeaking ones, a man in his mid-thirties who appeared to be their leader, nodded as he wrote a note on a piece of paper.
    Are you sure there is no danger?
    "As
sure as I can be. Do you need anything?"
    The man wrote again.
We need baths, shaving equipment. We can't leave here like this. Bring us more water, a tub to wash ourselves in. And what about
the
trucks?
    "You leave first. Between midnight and one tonight, I will come down to get you, and I will take you through the tunnel to the cemetery. From there, you will make your way to the Merci di Vanchiglia station, on the other side of the piazza. A truck will be waiting there, but it will wait no more than five minutes." He handed the man a piece of paper with a number written on it. "This is the license-plate number. It will take you to Genoa. There you will embark as a sailor on the Stella
di Mare,
and in a week you will be home."
    The leader nodded again. Through all this, his two comrades had sat expectantly. They were younger, hardly into their twenties, one tall, broad-shouldered, muscular, with black hair cut in a short military style, the other shorter, lanker, and not as muscled, with brown hair and a face twisted with tension.
    Their contact then turned to the black-haired young man.
    "Your truck will come to pick you up tomorrow between one and two in the morning. You and I, again, will follow the tunnel to the cemetery. When you come out on the street, turn to the left, toward the river; the truck will be waiting for you. You will cross the border into Switzerland and from there make your way to Germany. Someone will be waiting for you in Berlin; you know the address of those who will see that you get home."
    The last of the three was looking fixedly at their emissary, who suddenly was frightened by the rage he saw in the young man's eyes.
    "You will be the last to leave. You must remain here for two more days. The truck will pick you up at one or two, as before, and you will be taken directly home. I will have more details when I come for you. Good luck to you all. I'll be back with the things you need."
    The leader grabbed his arm and signed that he had another question, which he wrote out quickly on the piece of paper.
    "Mendib?" the go-between responded. "He is in prison, as you know. He behaved like a madman; he would not wait for his brothers to arrive but went into the cathedral alone and reached the chapel. I do not know what he did there, but he must have tripped the alarm. He was caught as he was running from the cathedral. There is no more to tell. I have orders from Addaio not to take any risks, so I cannot help him. None of us can.
    "Now, follow instructions and you'll all be fine- there should not be any problems. No one knows about this cellar or about this tunnel. Take care to keep it that way. There are dozens of these tunnels crisscrossing under the city, but not all are known. It would be a disaster if they ever find this one-the beginning of the end for all of us and our sacred mission."
    When they were alone again, the leader of the three motioned his companions to him. In only a few hours the next stage of their long journey would begin. They would either reach their homes or be detained-or killed. Fortune had not totally frowned on them so far; they were alive, after all. And yet the way home was mined with peril. They prayed that God would hear their prayers and allow them to reach Addaio.
    Their tears mixed as they embraced one another.

9
    Josar! Josar!"
    A young man ran into the chamber in which
    Josar was sleeping. Light was just appearing on the horizon.
    It was difficult for Josar to open his eyes, but when he did so they met the tall, thin figure of Izaz, his nephew, a bright and promising boy.
    Izaz