Chapter 54 Chapter Fifty-Three

Somewhere beneath Rome, the shadow slid down a stone slope into a tunnel.Only torches were lit in this ancient passage, and the air was hot and the smoke was heavy.Ahead came the terrified cries of adults, screaming in vain, their cries echoing in the small space. He turned a corner and saw them. They were still the same as when he left—they were four old men, looking desperate, locked in a stone house with rusty iron bars. "What do you want?" one of them demanded in French. "Please!" said another in German. "Let us go!" "Do you know who we are?" someone asked him in English, with a slightly Spanish accent.

"Shut up." The harsh voice ordered, with a firm tone. The fourth prisoner was an Italian, calm and thoughtful, looking into the shining black eyes of their captor, sure that he saw hell.Lord, save us, he thought. The killer checked his watch and stared at the captives. "Hey," he said, "Which of you will go first?"