"Is this really all right?" Sister Paula asked, her voice keeping its usual calm.
Brother Matthaios had given his report to Sister Paula about the transfer from the leader of Milan's custody to the Lateran Palace.
"Won't too many questions be asked now that we've taken Cardinal Sforza into custody? I also think she might slip through our fingers."
"We had DNA tests performed on the blood in the seal. There is no mistaking that it was that woman's."
His voice was blunt as he looked down at the Pope's residence from the window: "Now she won't be able to interfere with the proceedings of the Concistoro. The Inquisition can proceed without interruption."
"What concern us are not the actions of the cardinals. It is what would happen if Cardinal Sforza is sent to the stake." The Lady of Death's face betrayed a rare moment of hesitation. With a calm tone that sounded like that of a capable secretary, the vice-chief of the Department of Inquisition filled in the gaps. "Let me apologize for not supervising my subordinates better. Cardinal Sforza is His Holiness' sister. If it is decided that she should be burnt at the stake, then we can expect considerable backlash." "But we would have to do something." Since afternoon, powdery snow had peppered the sky. The Pope's residence was now covered in a layer of thin white snow and largely deserted. The air was cold and unwelcoming. But Francesco's eyes as he looked at the document in his hand were worse. "Those New Vatican originals. If only we could find them."
On the file were written names of several members of the clergy and next to them were red thumbprints. Francesco glanced over it again and then tossed it away as if the very sight of it might make him puke. The cardinal sighed. Eighty hours ago, he had received this file. It had been discovered in Spilberk Castle in Brno, which had been the base of New Vatican. Since then, he had not been able to stop his heart palpations.
This was a crime above that of negligence and insubordination, as Paula had pointed out. This might be enough to purge Caterina from the political stage and perhaps even this world. However, Francesco was not experiencing the joy he usually derived from an enemies defeat. This could get out of hand.
Caterina's downfall—that was what Francesco desired. He had taken the hard-line to protect the authority of the Vatican, but his half-sister, Caterina, had resisted him the whole time. He had been criticized for his mismanagement of the incident at Brno, and it had been his long-standing desire to see her downfall.
However, execution was another matter. She was a cardinal and his half-sister. If she were executed, then it would create too much of a stir. If they got it wrong, then it could result in Francesco's death, as well. "But, we can't let Caterina go this time. Someone has to get their hands dirty. If we don't have the resolve for this, then there is no saving the Vatican!" His eyes reflected the falling snow; behind that shone selfless devotion.
If the Vatican were to fall, then humans, who had already lost their control over the world, would once again be thrust into a period of war. Swords would clash and the blood of his fellow man would be spilled. And an impoverished human society would be right in the line of sight of the very enemy who desired to consume them.
"As long as they have not been banished from this land, we cannot fall. For that purpose, sacrifices must be made," Francesco muttered and turned his back on the window. The spitting fire in the hearth lit the cardinal's face with a warm orange glow.
His name might go down in history as a criminal. But still... "Someone has to get their hands dirty."