Chapter 39 Chapter Thirty-eight

The Vatican's telephone exchange is located in the Ministry of Communications, behind the Vatican Post Office.It was a relatively small room with an eight-line Coroco 141 telephone exchange.The switchboard handles more than 2,000 calls a day, most of which are handled by the voice recording system. Tonight, the only operator on duty in town is sitting there sipping a cup of caffeinated tea.He was proud to be one of the few still in the Vatican City tonight.However, it is clear that the Swiss guards patrolling outside his door discounted his honor.Guarded in the bathroom too, the operator thought, ah, that's an offense we'll endure in the name of the congregation, too.

Fortunately, there aren't many calls tonight.But this may not be a good thing.In recent years, the world has seemed less and less interested in what's happening inside the Vatican.There are fewer calls from the press, and even political lunatics aren't calling as much as they used to.The IA hopes that tonight's event will be as lively as a festival, but it is frustrating that although St. Peter's Square is full of media interview cars, most of them are ordinary Italian and European media, and there are only a few radio stations with global coverage... …But there is no doubt that they only sent second-rate reporters.

The operator clutched his glass, wondering how long the secret meeting was going to be tonight.It might be midnight, he thought.These days, most insiders know who will be pope long before the meeting is called, so the meeting is less a real election than a three- to four-hour ceremony.Of course, a last-minute battle for positions can extend the ceremony until dawn...or a little later.The conclave of 1831 lasted fifty-four days.Not tonight, he said to himself; rumor had it that the meeting would only last a cigarette. At this time, an intercom phone on the switchboard suddenly rang, interrupting the operator's thoughts.He looked at the flashing red light and scratched his head.This is weird, he thought, Line Zero.Who else in town is going to call and ask tonight?Who is still in the city?

"Vatican City State, please?" he said, picking up the receiver. The person on the other end of the phone spoke Italian very fast.The operator could vaguely recognize that this was the accent that the Swiss guards often used when speaking—a fluent Italian mixed with French accents.However, the caller was definitely not a Swiss guard. Hearing the woman's voice, the operator stood up suddenly, almost spilling the tea in his hand.He quickly glanced at the phone again, and he was indeed not mistaken, it was indeed an internal extension.The call is from within the country.Something must have gone wrong!There was a woman in Vatican City, he thought.tonight?

The woman spoke hastily and quickly.His years of experience as an operator allowed him to tell if he was dealing with a madman or not.The woman didn't sound crazy, she was impatient but sensible, calm and earnest.He listened to her request, confused. "The Pope's chamberlain?" said the operator, trying to figure out where the damned call was coming from. "It's unlikely to get through right now... oh, I know he's in the Pope's office, but... again, you Who?...You want to remind him..." He listened to the phone, getting more and more distracted.Everyone is in danger?how come?Where did you call? "Maybe I should talk to Switzerland..." The operator stopped suddenly. "Where do you say you are? Where?"

He listened to the phone dumbfounded, then made a decision. "Please wait a moment, don't hang up." He said, put the woman aside before she could answer, and immediately dialed Commander Olivetti's direct line.That woman can't really be— The phone was connected immediately. "God, please!" a familiar female voice yelled at him, "Put that damn phone down!" The door of the Swiss Guard Security Center hissed open.Commander Olivetti burst into the room like a rocket, and the guards dispersed.Olivetti turned the corner to his office and immediately confirmed what his guard had reported to him on the intercom; Victoria Wittler was standing at his desk on the commander's personal phone.

Damn it!He cursed in his heart. With a livid face, he walked to the door with one step, pushed the key into the lock, opened the door and shouted sharply: "What are you doing!" Victoria ignored him at all. "Yes," she said into the phone, "and I have to remind—" Olivetti snatched the receiver from Victoria and held it to his ear. "Who are you!" In the blink of an eye, however, he wilted. "Yes, the Pope's chamberlain..." he said, "yes, sir...but the security issue is...of course not...she's here with me now...of course, but..." He listened to the phone. "Yes, sir," he said at last, "I will bring them to you at once."