Chapter 77 Chapter Seventy-Five

Bishop Aringarosa hung up Fache's call again just as his accommodation-ready turboprop was flying over the twinkling lights of Monaco.He ran to the airsickness bag again, but he was too tired to throw up even if he wanted to. Just let it end! Fache has been playing a lot of tricks lately, and it always seems unpredictable.But tonight, it all pretty much made no sense.How are things going?Everything is changing so fast it's hard to control.What did I ask Silas to do? !What have I done myself? ! With trembling legs, Aringarosa walked to the cockpit of the plane. "Turn around for me."

The pilot turned and glanced at him, then laughed, "You're kidding, aren't you?" "No, I'm going to London at once." "Father, you are chartering a plane, not taking a taxi." "Of course, I'll make it up to you. How much do you want? It's only an hour north of London from here, and hardly ever changes direction, so—" "Father, it's not just about money, there are other things too." "I'll give you 10,000 euros, and you can change my course immediately." The driver turned around, his eyes widened in surprise: "How much did you say? What kind of priest are you, why do you bring so much cash?"

Aringarosa doubled back to his black briefcase, opened it, pulled out a bearer bond, and handed it to the pilot. "What's this?" the driver asked. "A bearer bond issued by the Vatican Bank, with a face value of 10,000 euros." The driver looked puzzled. "It's as versatile as cash." "But what I want is cash," said the driver, handing back the bond. Bishop Aringarosa stayed close to the cockpit door. He was too weak. "It's a matter of life and death. You must help me. I must get to London at once. The driver glanced at the gold ring on the bishop's hand: "How about getting me something real?"

Bishop Aringarosa looked at the ring: "I can't do without this ring." The driver shrugged, turned, and stared motionlessly out of the rear windshield. A deep sorrow welled up in Aringarosa.He looked at the ring.In any case, all that it represented would soon cease to exist for him as a bishop.It took a long, long time before he took the ring off his finger and placed it gently on the dashboard of the plane. Bishop Aringarosa quietly slipped out of the cockpit and sat down on the back seat.Fifteen seconds later, he felt the driver bank a few degrees to the north. Even so, Bishop Aringarosa couldn't see how rosy the prospect was.

Everything stems from a divine goal, a well-planned arrangement.But now, like a house made of cards, it collapsed in an instant... As for the ending, no one can predict.