Often Goes Awry
It was a peaceful morning. Puffy white clouds dotted a clear blue sky as the tour group, all bundled in extra layers or heavy coats stood outside in Piazza San Pietro awaiting their early morning tour. The few children in the crowd were getting antsy, running around together and annoying the parents who were trying to round up their little ones in preparation for the arrival of their tour guide. A solitary woman wearing a large brick red overcoat that reached her knees watched them from around a corner for a few seconds before turning east and briskly walking away, her breath making short-lived puffs of smoke in front of her.
“The divinium is being kept in a warehouse located east of the Vatican proper,” Father Vincent told the room.
She walked through the neighborhood easily, skirting between buildings and perhaps making a few too many turns. The streets were mostly empty due to the early morning hour and the cold, all the more reason for her to take a more meandering path to her destination—people who happened to see her pass by would not be able to discern where she was headed and she was far too good to be followed. She stood for a moment in front of a small door checking her surroundings, her watchful eyes taking in every detail. One more puff of smoke and she slipped through the door into a small warehouse.
“From what I was told,” the priest continued, “the divinium is being hidden in plain sight. It sounds like they are trying to not attract attention. It’s likely that the warehouse is not guarded but you can count on the divinium being tough to find.”
She nodded to the other women, all dressed in black, as she removed her coat to reveal matching attire. The warehouse was lined with rows of code-marked wooden crates piled high creating a labyrinth of confusing routes and blind alleyways throughout the building. The women were opening and checking the contents of the crates before carefully resealing each of them, leaving no evidence that they were tampered with. They had checked over one hundred so far. Five women stood apart from the crowd talking quietly amongst themselves while periodically checking the progress around them.
“So,” said Ava, slightly confused, “we’re not in the Vatican?”
“No,” explained Yasmine. “We’re in Rome. This is a warehouse that the Vatican uses for storage. It’s close so they can have easy access. They simply don’t have enough room in Vatican City.”
“Then why are we worried about the Swiss Guard?”
“It’s still the Vatican’s building, and their divinium that we’re stealing,” answered Camila. “If the Guard gets wind of what’s happening, they’ll come.”
“Luckily it will take them some time,” added Dora.
Bea looked at Ava in frustration. “You know I explained all of this to you on our way here.”
“Yeah…” replied Ava, looking guilty.
“You never listen to me,” said Bea, shaking her head. Ava smiled at her sheepishly.
“We don’t need much. All the divinium we had access to prior to this discovery was from a single Tarask skeleton and we were able to stretch it quite a long way. The numbers we’re sending are so we can search the warehouse quickly and then get out.”
“We have two trucks,” Camila repeated for the third time that morning. “Each truck will have a driver and a second. There will be one car with two and one van with four for each truck. That will leave four in the third van. Ava will stay with the truck with the divinium. We split the destinations and everyone will meet at the rendezvous.”
“We got it, Cam, thanks,” said Ava shortly. Bea could see that she was getting restless and put a calming hand on her shoulder.
“You need to relax,” she said to the Warrior Nun. “Why don’t you walk around with the girls? Work the room a little? It’ll calm everyone down.”
“Do you really think that will help?” asked the agitated Halo Bearer.
“It will help you,” Bea responded. “Seeing you looking relaxed will help them relax. That will be better for everyone in case something actually does go wrong. The last thing we need is a mistake in a tense situation because someone is too high strung.”
“What are you going to do?” asked Ava.
“I’m going to do a perimeter sweep,” said Bea, her face getting serious. “Something doesn’t feel right.”
“Way to help me calm down, Bea,” Ava replied under her breath.
Bea smiled at her. “It just seems too easy, that’s all. So I’m going to be extra careful. See you in a minute.” She made for a side door at the back of the warehouse. She didn’t tell Ava that the reason she was on edge was that she had seen a small cross with a circle around it drawn in the dirt by this very door.
“We want this mission to be in and out,” said Mother Superion. “Ideally no one will even know we were there.”
Bea made her way to a small alley outside the building, making sure to check that she was alone. “Lilith?” she called quietly.
A red orange flash appeared before her followed shortly by the former sister warrior.
“There’s not much time,” said Lilith quickly. “The FBC is here and they know you’re here for the divinium.”
Bea recovered quickly. “How could they possibly know that?” asked Bea, feeling shaken at this news.
“Reya. They’re working with her. She communicates through the leaders.”
Bea’s eyes widened. “What?" Again, Bea was forced to push through her shock. "But how could she know?”
“I don’t know exactly," responded Lilith. "I’ve had my suspicions for some time. Her information on the OCS has been too good; too many details.”
The implications of that sentence made Bea feel slightly sick. “You think she has a spy in the inner circle,” she said faintly.
Lilith nodded. “A spy, or a bug. That’s why I told you to keep it to yourself. You’re the only one who hasn’t been there since this all started.”
“Ava…” Bea began half-heartedly, already knowing the answer but not wanting to say it.
“She was with Reya. I don’t know how Reya is getting her information but we can’t trust Ava either.”
Bea took a deep breath, rubbing her hands over her face. She wasn’t sure she could trust Lilith but she also couldn’t see the woman’s endgame if she was lying. For now she decided to focus on the problem at hand.
“What’s the FBC’s plan?” she asked.
“They’re going to try to steal it in transit. Then send a team to the warehouse to get what you leave behind. My job is to distract Ava.”
Bea let out a sigh, they were almost ready to move out. “I’d better get back. Will you come with me?”
“Not yet,” responded Lilith, shaking her head. “I’m still trying to follow some loose ends.”
“Be careful Lilith. And watch yourself with Ava, I think she might want to kill you.”
The demon woman smirked before teleporting away. Beatrice watched her go and made her way back to the warehouse, considering Lilith’s warning along the way. On the one hand, she did not want to believe that one of her closest friends, or perhaps her lover, was betraying them to Reya. On the other hand, refusing to act on Lilith’s words could put the whole mission and all of her sisters at risk. In the end there was really no decision for her to make.
“We must do everything we can to avoid engagements and hostilities.”
Ava was scanning the room while the women worked. The crates of divinium had been found and separated and the load they intended to steal was in one of the trucks. As she watched the room she saw that Bea had returned and was having a word with Sisters Eileen and Rosemary. Her smile was evident as she spoke easily with the two rookies. She swept her eyes around the room and saw Yasmine and Camila were approaching. She nudged Dora to get her attention.
“We’re almost ready,” said Yasmine with a smile. “The truck…”
“The plan has changed,” interrupted Bea abruptly, Ava hadn’t noticed that she had joined them. “The FBC is here.”
“If it seems like the Vatican has learned of the operation,” admonished Mother, “then you are to break off and walk away.”
Bea looked at the shocked faces of the four women in front of her. Dora recovered first.
“How do you know?” she asked.
“I saw a few of them scouting the area,” she lied easily. “Then a few others were standing watch for them.”
“So now what?” asked Ava. “Does this change the plan?”
“It will have to,” said Bea before anyone else could respond. “They were scouting the warehouse. We can’t leave the divinium here undefended. We can also assume that they’ll go after our supply as well.”
“We were supposed to walk away if something like this happened,” interjected Camila.
“That was if the Guard was catching on,” responded Bea. “We walk away now and we surrender the Vatican’s divinium to the FBC.”
“What’s the plan?” asked Dora. Bea took a minute to eye the four women in front of her. If Lilith was right, one of them could be informing on them all to Reya, knowingly or otherwise. She sighed.
“Camila and Yasmine will take the divinium truck. Ava will go with them and there will be one car in support. Two sisters will take the second truck with one car for support as well, hopefully that will split the pursuit. Ava you’ll have to keep yourself hidden as long as possible so they won’t have a guess at which truck has the divinium. The rest will stay with Dora and I to hold off the FBC here until the Swiss Guard arrive.”
“Bea,” said Ava, “are you sure we should split up like this?”
“We cannot allow the FBC to simply take the rest of the divinium supply. Besides, maybe seeing us defend it will buy some goodwill with the Vatican.”
“Alright,” said Camila, looking at Bea a little uncertainly, “let’s move.” She, Yasmine and Dora moved through the crowd of nuns, reorganizing them as they announced the new plan.
“I don’t like this,” said Ava. Despite the calm demeanor she portrayed for the room, Bea could tell how nervous she was. She looked at the older woman. “Are you sure you need to stay here?”
“I wouldn’t be much good in a car,” replied Bea. “Trust your team. Besides, the sisters on the road will be in the most danger—you too. You’re going to need to protect them and fend off Lilith. I’m sure she’s here as well.”
Ava’s face darkened. “I can handle Lilith.”
“I know you can. But don’t let her distract you from the mission. It’s what she wants.” Bea took a deep breath and brought her hands together in front of her to stop herself from fidgeting.
“Bea what is going on?” asked Ava quietly. “What aren’t you telling me?”
Bea was taken aback for a moment before she remembered that this was Ava. Ava—who knew when to force her to talk and when to stay silent; Ava—who could find her in the pitch black of the darkest night; Ava—who knew how to embarrass her with a smirk or make her body feel new and unreached heights of pleasure with almost no effort. Bea had long since accepted that Ava knew all of her tells. How could she possibly not see one right now?
“Ava please listen,” replied Bea, maintaining her composure but with a hint of desperation seeping into her voice. “I need you to trust me. I cannot tell you what’s happening. Not yet.” She took Ava’s hands in hers. “I wish I could but it’s too dangerous. Not for me!” She tried to forestall the panic she could see rising up in the younger woman. “Please, just trust that I know what I’m doing and I will explain everything as soon as I am able.”
Ava watched her carefully, her gaze lingering as if she was searching for something. Camila had come over. “We need to move, Ava.”
Ava did not look away. “I trust you, Bea,” she said.
Bea smiled at her nodded. “I’ll see you when this is over,” she said and she gave Ava a quick yet burning kiss. “I love you.”
“I love you too,” Ava replied. She gave Bea a small smile and with Camila headed off towards Yasmine and the others.
“Camila,” called Beatrice. The nun turned to look at her. “Take care of my girlfriend.”
Camila took in a deep, hitched breath, eyes wide with a smile on her face. She nodded and turned to follow Ava and Yasmine.
“Good luck, sisters. May God go with you.”