Free Christ Clone by David McLeod Page A

by Pliny the Elder — the biggest sculpture known at that time.'
Through the Belvedere Palace, housing the Apoxyomenos by Lisippo, they arrived at '. . . the Court of the Pigna, designed by Bramante in the sixteenth century.'
    The tour finally ended and Lucia wished them all a pleasant farewell.
Both men looked at each other with a 'thank fuck that's over'
look, but both took a moment to watch Lucia leave and introduce herself to the next group. The sun was beginning to set, so they made their way back to their hotel room for a brief nap before the night's activities.
    ***
    A full moon shone over Vatican City; the jet-black of the night sky enhanced its glaring whiteness, its light cast deep shadows. In the distance, Rome slept. Two men dressed in black moved slowly from shadow to shadow in a counter-clockwise direction, rounding the vast medieval walls of St Peter's Square, heading towards the rear of the city. In shadow, they silently climbed the wall of an outer building and came to rest on the inside near the museums.
    The taller of the two men unzipped his jacket pocket and produced a blueprint of the building; with his penlight torch he checked his bearings and pointed to the right-hand side. They hugged the side of the museum and library, heading for the Papal Palace complex. Both crouched low and crawled to the bland wall of a warehouse facility; the treasure was located inside.
    Reaching a large twelve-paned window, the two men peered inside.
Confident there was no one around, the smaller man slid a thin metal strip under the window frame closest to the alarm connectors; once in position, he fixed the strip in place. Next, with a rubber suction cup, he attached a small diamond-headed cutting tool to the windowpane. He cut a circular hole large enough to slide his hand through and removed the glass. His hand moved silently around the window's centre until it struck the catch. Within seconds the window was open and both men were inside the warehouse. The larger man checked the blueprint again, and they moved to the far end of the room where a small office was located.
    The safe was almost as old as the treasure they sought. The smaller man smiled as he took the equipment he needed from his black rucksack; he believed he could probably crack this with only the help of his trusted stethoscope, or even just an ear to the door. The high-tech gadgetry was complete overkill — but better safe than sorry. After a few swift turns, clockwise and anticlockwise, the copper handle was pushed down and pulled back, and the safe door creaked open.
    The men looked at each other, mutual admiration for their craft passing between them. They quickly surveyed the contents of the safe; among the manuscripts and books was a chunky wooden box. Holding his torch between his teeth, the taller man gently removed the box from the safe and slipped open the catch. Carefully, he lifted the lid.
Inside he saw blackened gauze, the tarnished material in stark contrast to the deep-red velvet interior of the box. Placing the box on a desk, he became aware that he had begun to salivate. Removing the torch from between his teeth, he wiped his mouth on his sleeve and repositioned the torch; in the limited light it looked like a large Cuban cigar waiting to be fired into life.
    'What's the matter with you?' The shorter man asked, impatient but also intrigued; he had never seen his partner in crime acting like this.
    'Nu-hing, juh don wunna huck his uhp!' The torch between his teeth made the taller man's words difficult to understand.
    'What?'
    The taller man dismissed the question with a wave of his hand and returned to what he was doing.
    Taking the gauze-wrapped object from the box, he placed it on the desktop and carefully unwrapped a forged and rusted Roman spear tip. Still mounted on a small jagged piece of wooden staff, its ancient ferocity had not been completely dulled by time. A slight shiver ran down both men's spines. Although it was widely