After his initial trepidation, Stefano has begun to enjoy the work aboard. The monastic life prepared him well. He even finds a renewed sense of purpose in the hard labor, as he prepares for his final mission.

The Lord speaks to him infrequently now but never fails to remind him of his purpose. “Man has turned from me, and to me belongeth vengeance and recompense,” the voice tells him. “You will release my creatures in the East. They must learn what they have reaped upon themselves.”

The only complication Stefano did not anticipate was the accommodations. He didn’t realize he would have to share a room. He is fortunate to have only one roommate, as some of the crew have to share their quarters with three others. Stefano is luckier still that Nino, his Filipino roommate, is devoutly religious. He reads the Bible morning and night. And Nino is respectful, even deferential, to Stefano because of his previous work at the monastery.

Stefano had no choice but to tell Nino that he had smuggled animals aboard. But he told his roommate that, instead of six rats, he was hiding two hamsters and a gerbil that were terrified of strangers. At first Nino was doubtful, but Stefano dispelled his roommate’s suspicion with one simple truth: the animals had once been considered sacred within the walls of the San Giovanni Monastery.

Chapter

Fifty-Four

Alana calls Monique Olin before she has even left the grounds of the seminary.

“Stefano Russo!” she says as soon as her boss answers.

Olin doesn’t need more explanation than that. “He is the one from the photograph?”

“Yes.” Alana summarizes what she knows of the monk, and how he was sighted in the same Neapolitan neighborhood where the outbreak had spread.

“That is a substantial coincidence,” Olin says.

“It’s way beyond coincidence, Monique!” Alana has to struggle to keep her voice down. “Christ, it’s basically a DNA match.”

“Remember what happened the last time?” Olin points out. “With Yasin Ahmed?”

Alana remembers all too well. But beyond the strength of evidence against Stefano Russo, her gut tells her that he has to be the link. “It’s him,” she says.

“All right. And his last known sighting was in Naples?”

“Yes.”

“Unfortunately, he has a common first and last name.”

“The ‘John Smith’ of Italy?”

“Not far off. Send me everything you have on him. Birth date, passport number, whatever else you can find.”

“I’ll see what we can dig up through AISI or the Church.”

“Alana?”

“Yes?”

“Good work.” Compliments from Olin are rare. “But be careful moving forward. Do not let your enthusiasm get the better of your judgment.”

As soon as the cab picks her up, Alana calls Byron to update him. And then she dials Sergio, who asks her to meet in thirty minutes at AISI regional headquarters in Genoa.

Alana smiles to herself when she steps out of the elevator at the unmarked offices on the fourth floor of a nondescript building on Via Cairolli. Typical spy stuff, she thinks as she clears a security checkpoint outside the door to the domestic intelligence service’s office.