Silver Bullet. - Season 1 - Episode 19

6 years ago

Silver Bullet. - Season 1 - Episode 19

☆☆

12. 00 P.M.

MARCO POLO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, VENICE
From a distance, the massive bells of Vatican City tolled the angelus bell.

“Ready yourself missus. We’re taking off any minute from now”, an elegant air hostess whispered to Emily.

Emily Bradley had lost herself reveling in the simplistic but yet magnificent appearance of the Papal plane. Just like the United States President’s jet ‘Air Force One’, the Alitalia Airbus A320 nicknamed ‘Shepherd One’ was nothing but a beauty. The head rests had the Papal crest on them and she was given a little tour to the Papal chamber. Thirty minutes before they boarded the plane, security experts had run a thorough check on the plane.

The Swiss Guards were with the Italian subject, a septuagenarian serving a life imprisonment in an adjoining cabin. An air hostess closed the door behind her and Emily walked to one of the exotic Italian leather seats and sat down.

Derek flashed in her mind and she thought about calling him, the jet was just taking off. She could barely feel the throb of the jet’s engine as it took off.

Soon after the plane took off, the overheard television came on, signaling that it was safe to use her phone. She pulled out her camera and stole a few snapshots of the plane’s interior. This was going to be one big story in her career, probably the biggest.

She called Derek.

“Hello, are you guys safe?” She asked anxiously.

“Yeah. We’re in exhibition museum.
An old guy here’s helping us figure something out”.

“What?”

“There’s a manhole that can lead us to the underground. From there we can easily find our way out of here”.

“Thank God. That’s good news”, she heaved a sigh. “CTAN would be there in a few hours, just hold out as long as possible, please”.

He chuckled. “What’s that noise?” He asked.

“Oh, it’s the TV, I’ll lower the volume”, she said picking up the remote control.

“You seem to be having a good time over there. Where are you right now?”

“You won’t believe it, Derek”.

“Tell me something”, he said anxiously.

“I’m flying aboard the ‘Shepherd One'”.
“Wait, you mean the Papal jet?”
“Yeah, I’m so excited”.

“I can’t believe this. Are you with the Pope?”
“No”.
“Where are you headed?”
“Back to Nigeria. I don’t know what to expect there but I’m covering for the CTAN”.
“Hold on a minute”, he said and put the call on hold. “Yeah, since when did you go back to being an agent?”

“You should have heard of the crisis going on in the Vatican City. I just got tangled up in all of this”.

“I know this is a big story and all that, but Emily, your life comes first before your career”.

“I know, dear. I’ll be careful, I promise”.
She heard the sound of gunshots on the other end.

“What was that, Derek?” The phone was dead. Her heart skipped three beats.

On the television, a reporter was speaking on the rumored Pope’s decision to go to Africa following the terrorist’s threat. She appraised the Pope’s courage to face it head-on, but on the other hand wondered why the Pope should deal directly with terrorists and throw caution to the wind. Some opinion speakers interviewed, decried the rate at which the Vatican spent on irrelevances without doing anything to improve the security situation of the small country. Another scene showed the Academy of Sciences in flames, with fire service men working tirelessly to douse the flames.

“What’s all this?” She wondered. The thought of her dying mother came to her memory and she shuddered.

And for the first time in a very long time, Emily prayed …silently.