CHAPTER 68

CHAPTER 68

GREG LOOKED UP to see Donatello's body fall lifeless beside him and luckily Greg managed to catch the book before he hit the ground.

— Nice catch, Greg.

Greg saw the superintendent's face smiling.

— Leave him there, we don't have much time.

— DO YOU ALWAYS HAVE such a plan?

Greg laughed.

— Often.

— How did you know he...

— I didn't know, Fernando... but I knew something like this could happen, so I foresaw it and came up with a plan B.

— And how did you know I would do something like that?

— If I can't trust a man of your level, who can I trust?

— Men of my rank don't kill people.

— You know something I learned as a police officer, Fernando, I don't have the power to kill anyone, if I believe that God is in control of all things, at most I'll do the scoop.

The superintendent smiled, understanding what he was getting at.

The Interpol superintendent got into the van right after Gregory Evans and they left the scene.

— WHAT IF THEY ALL BELONGED to the brotherhood of the serpent?

Greg was stunned by the impact of the question.

— Yes — he continued, making a gesture with his hand — Imagine the entire Earth as one body, being controlled by a small but extremely powerful group: The Earth Lords, those who hold complete dominion over the largest industries, the most influential banks and of the most representative newspapers and magazines that circulate around the globe! Now imagine that this small group had a secret purpose, cherished for centuries, perhaps millennia...

— A secret objective? Cheered by such powerful men? That would be terrible!

— Yes, that in itself would be terrible, but now imagine the hypothesis that all this power conquered by them had its origin in Lucifer, and his only objective was the creation of a universal empire, controlled by him!

— A universal empire controlled by Lucifer?

— But who would be the ruler?

— There it is! Do you remember what Cardinal Joseph Messina said?

— The royal blood?

— Yes, a man in whose veins runs the blood originating from the relationship between the supernatural and the carnal, someone whose historical origin passes through the royal house of Israel and who in due time can claim the government of the world, starting with the nations of Judeo-Christian tradition!

— This seems a bit difficult! We will be messing with very powerful interests, but in any case, I think we should continue to investigate the Saldini family; it presents itself as the tip of a gigantic iceberg. If we manage to decipher his participation, it will be possible to find the key characters in this conspiracy.

— You're right — Greg confirmed — I think we should focus our investigation on the Saldini family. When we return to Rome, I want to obtain from Interpol a complete report on this clan: members, business, social relations, in short, everything about all its activities.

BIOCHIP ENLILMARK CARD

The world is all yours now. Technology at the service of man.

You will no longer have to worry about carrying cash or shopping!

ENLILMARK CARD, the smart card, has arrived.

A new world begins now! With BIOCHIP, we will have the emergence of the cashless global society. A new world awaits you.

Gregory Evans was stunned to see the back of the folder :

— BioChip, my God!, Enlil... the mark of Enlil! Fernando, do you have the exact understanding of what this means?

— Yes — agreed the superintendent — I know what you're thinking, because I still remember my catechism lessons as a boy, where the priest would talk about the devil's mark or the number 666, that number without which no one could buy or sell. unless they accepted this mark. But there is a problem there: this card, as you can read in this folder, is not a mark on the body, it is just a kind of perfected credit card! What caught my attention is that, according to Interpol, the company responsible for the card belongs to the Saldini clan, which has, as we can see now, interests with the European Union itself...

— Wait, Fernando — said Greg, interrupting him — don't be hasty in your judgment, young man! Think, use your reasoning! It is obvious that the Brotherhood of the Serpent would not be so foolish as to implant an economic-technological control system through which they could observe everything that people were going to buy or sell, that is, a gigantic big-brother that would control everything and the all, directly in the body of the population. That would make them lose everything, and organized society would not accept that, as they would have to face opposition from the Church and even from many interest groups... Trying to impose that would be really foolish!

— Yes, it would be very foolish! Ferdinand agreed.

— Unless...— Greg's eyes sparkled.

—... except what? — asked Fernando, trying to understand the reasoning of the American detective.

— Unless the measure was implemented little by little, initially as they are doing now, in the form of a card that everyone is already used to using, but then over time, sectors of the media would convince the population that the implantation of a microchip in the hand or on the forehead would be much simpler and safer: the data would be safe from theft, which does not happen with a simple card. Movie and music icons would establish the microchip as a new fad and be followed worldwide; kidnapped millionaires, with the miraculous help of that little chip and the satellites that, linked to them, would be watching everyone, would be found within hours of the kidnapping. So, Fernando, few would be the voices that would have the courage to stand up against the new reality, and the whole world would be branded like cattle, waiting for a totalitarian government like we never had in history:

Lucifer's rule through the Brotherhood of the Serpent.

— And what do we do then?

— I have a plan, but you'll have to trust me.

He picked up the phone and called, asked a few questions and said:

— We only have two days for this, time is pressing.