Free Vatican Ambassador by Mike Luoma Page A

away?"
    "Well, sure, we did, but they're not Mass, you know? I'm glad… everybody'll be glad you're back here for a Mass. That's all," he says.
    "Why don't you become a priest, Jim?" BC challenges him, "Have you thought ever about it?" Jim looks down at his feet as he answers.
    "All the time, Father," he admits. "I just... I mean, I don't..." he stammers. Poor guy sounds embarrassed. Hit a nerve.
    "Look," BC begins, trying to ease him out of answering.
    "I don't know," Jim cuts him off, "I guess that I just don't think that I'm cut out for it," he finishes.
    "Why not? You seem called to it as strongly as I am, maybe more," BC tells the young man. A whole lot more, let's face it.
    "Really?" Jim asks, encouraged.
    "Really," BC says, reassuring him. "Do you think God would make you hear His call if, like you said, you're not 'cut out for it'?"
    The young man shakes his head.
    “I don’t know.”
    "As long as you do what you do out of love, I'm pretty sure God is behind you one hundred percent," BC says.
    Listen to me, trying to be wise...
    "I just don't know," Jim says.
    "I'm sure your serving Him would do Him honor, Jim," BC tells him. "Why don't you think about it?"
    "I will, Father," Jim says.
    "If you have any questions, just ask," BC says, magnanimously. Hopefully, now, those questions won't be about me and where I've been. Keep him thinking of something else...
    The rest of their preparation for Mass passes in silence, each man lost in his own thoughts. BC stays fairly lost through the entire New Reform Liturgy, right on through mingling with the good folk of his congregation afterwards for small talk and niceties. He does his part; he plays his role, plies his priestly persona to perfection, and then heads for home.
    Swan would be proud! Poor Swan. Man, she didn't deserve to die. A bitch, a royal pain in my ass, sure, but not guilty enough of anything to be killed. The Cardinal... okay, maybe. Nah, not even him, not really. Heh. Gallows humor.
    BC finds himself chuckling under his breath as he enters his office suite. His fond thoughts of Swan are quickly swept out of the way, however, when Lisa appears with the Papal communiqué.
    "Here it is," she says as she hands it over. "What's so funny?"
    "Nothing, really. I was just remembering some old friends," BC tells her.
    "Whatever," she says, turns and leaves BC by himself.
    He takes the communiqué to his desk.
    Sealed. Secure. Only readable in the CCU, by the look of it. Good. Maybe all is not lost. BC secures the room before he turns the CCU on and pops the contents of the cylinder in. It’s a voice only transmission, a voice BC doesn’t recognize.
    "Father Campion. You've been doing an excellent job as the Acting Vatican Ambassador to Lunar Prime. Your reports, while not always as timely as we'd like, are, nonetheless, both thorough and informative. Your tireless efforts rebuilding the Vatican Mission on the Moon have not gone unnoticed." Okay. Voice only, huh? Is that the new Pope? His Chief of Staff? Nice to be appreciated...
    "We know you must have many questions..."
    That's an understatement...
    "...Your recent meeting with the Executive Council of the Universal Trade Zone has left us with many questions to ask you, now, as well.
    That was fast!
    "The OPO still functions, although on a more limited scale, for now. But we are aware of what is going on. We still observe and gather information. You have been providing us with information. You are not alone in this.
    "What we do with that information has, however, changed. Your 'other' services have not been required.
    “And now, in the last few days, you’ve engaged in some very curious behavior. We are puzzled by your visit to Wentworth Station. We believe it is time to go beyond simple reports.
    "We believe it is time for a meeting between you and me, Father. I've arranged for passage for you to Rome next Monday. A ship will be arriving Sunday night with a Father Daycomb on board. He'll sub for you. He’ll say