Chapter 60 Chapter Fifty-Nine

The "Assembly Room" of the Swiss Guard is next to the barracks of the Security Department, and it is mainly used to plan the Pope's appearance and the safety of the Vatican's public affairs.Today, however, it has other uses. The person who lectured this special forces was Captain Elias Rocher, the second in command of the Swiss Guards.The Rochers are broad-chested and broad-bodied, but their facial contours appear generous and docile.He wears the traditional blue captain's uniform with a red beret of his own.His voice was startlingly clear for his size, and there was an instrumental purity to his voice.Although Rocher's voice was perfectly clear, his eyes were cloudy, like those of some nocturnal mammals.His men called him "The Bear"—the Grizzly: they sometimes joked that Rocher was "the bear who walked in the shadow of the adder."Olivetti is the Viper.Rochiel is as deadly as a Viper, but at least you can tell when he's coming.

Rochelle's people stood at attention meticulously, and no one moved, although the news they received had already increased their overall blood pressure by several thousand points. Standing in the back of the room was Lieutenant Chatrand, a recruit, wishing he was one of the ninety-nine percent of applicants who weren't qualified to stand here.At twenty, Chartrand was the youngest guard in the army.He had only been in the Vatican for three months.Like everyone here, Chartrand trained in the Swiss Army and spent another two years in Berlin before qualifying for the rigorous Vatican exams held in a secret barracks outside Rome.However, none of the training he received was enough to prepare him for such a crisis.

At first Chartrand thought this brief instruction was for some grotesque military maneuver.Extremely advanced weapons?Ancient sect?Teach the kidnapped cardinal?Roacher then showed them live footage of the weapon they were talking about.Obviously, this is not a drill. "We're going to cut off the power supply in selected areas," Rocher said, "to eliminate external magnetic interference. We will operate in groups of four and wear infrared glasses. We will still use traditional bugging electronic detection for reconnaissance." to readjust the resistors. Problems?"

No one said anything. Chartrand's heart was heavy. "What if we don't find it in time?" he asked, wishing immediately that he hadn't said anything. Grizzly looked down at Chartrand from under his red beret, and he saluted sullenly: "Hope it's all the best, guys."