Free Vatican Assassin by Mike Luoma Page B

still savages, cavemen in nicer pelts, when you get right down to it, no matter how much technology we use, no matter how far into space we go. Cavemen in space. Heh, like that one. Clubbing each other over the head with our high tech clubs. Ah, yet another fun-filled day of flackery...
    As he enters the Cardinal’s office he sees the Cardinal is waiting for him.
    “Ah, Campion, good. You’re a wanted man today, you know.”
    Wanted? What the fuck?
    “What?”
    “Yes, you see, the Pope himself has requested a call from you. And the Governor says you’re supposed to do lunch sometime, and he’d like to know if you can meet him today. You’re wanted by some pretty fancy company, Campion.”
    You bastard. Wanted, my ass. No need to scare me like that.
    “Thank you, sir. Would you excuse me?”
    “Certainly.”
    “I’ll check back with you later, Cardinal.”
    BC heads back to his rooms to check in with the Vatican, his heart beating faster than normal. Wanted! Jeesh, when he said that I felt my stomach flip. Didn’t think it was the good kind of wanted. Getting too paranoid. Hope it doesn’t show.
    Glad to hear the Vatican finally called. Through the Cardinal again. Must be to keep up appearances. God, I hope there’s a new assignment! And I guess I really should have lunch with Edwards. He’s not so bad. I actually kind of like the guy.
    Cardinal M’Bekke answers when BC powers up the CCU and contacts the Vatican. M’Bekke is an old friend of BC’s, one of his first instructors in the OPO.
    “Campion! How are you? I heard you got banged up pretty good?”
    “I’m okay, M’Bekke, I’ve had some time to heal. Seems like years...” BC plays up a yawn for dramatic effect.
    “Well, this should cure your boredom. I have an assignment for you.”
    “Am I coming back to Earth?”
    “No, we want to keep you in your current PR assignment on the Moon for now. The less waves you make, the better. We still don’t know how much the UIN knows about you.”
    “So, then... What? Another assignment here on the Moon? Wouldn’t that be just as risky?”
    “No, not on the Moon, or on Earth. We need you to travel from Luna to one of the old orbital stations. Used to belong to the Sultan of Brunei.”
    “No kidding? Who’s it belong to now?”
    “Nobody, really. It’s been officially deserted for years. Place is called Fortune Station, built almost a hundred years ago. We’re sending complete info via courier, already on the way. Look for a package tomorrow.”
    “So, if nobody’s there, why are you sending me there? There are easier ways to get rid of me, M’Bekke!” BC laughs.
    “BC, would we ever do something like that to you?” M’Bekke says in a falsely sweet tone, then laughs, “Don’t answer!”
    “Flattery will get you nowhere...”
    M’Bekke’s tone darkens, “The station’s been taken over by a Neo-Christian cult. They’ve been squatting the station for over five years.”
    “A cult, huh? What do you want me to do, evict them? Why now?”
    “We don’t care who lives there. But their leader has become a threat.”
    “How so?”
    “He’s a charismatic former Cardinal whose followers are devoted to him. His radical interpretation of the Bible marginalized him back in the nineties in the Roman Catholic Church, part of the whole back to the roots thing ten years ago. Something in him snapped during the reunification and he broke away from the church. He later gathered his followers and left Earth for Fortune Station, after Al-Salid declared Jihad on the Earth.”
    “So, they’ve been there five years?”
    “Just over.”
    “Guess they’ll know the place pretty well by now. Are there any plans, blueprints, anything?”
    “Yeah, the courier has them.”
    “So, you want me to take this guy out?”
    “Basically. But, Campion...”
    “Yeah? I don’t like the sound of that ‘but’, M’Bekke...”
    “We’ve already sent two other operatives in. We haven’t heard from them. It’s