The Octopus at the Vatican

# 15 - a perfect target

Friday September 1 – Rome

Nancy Jones entered briskly at the United States Embassy in Rome. On the 5th floor, her NSA team was bunkered, featuring a top-of-the-line security gate. The Ambassador himself didn't even have access. No more than the CIA members also bunkering in the other wing.

She was the diplomatic representation scientific attaché, as well as a university lecturer.

"Hi, my friends", she said entering the place that looked more like a space shuttle than an office, "anything new?"

One of her colleagues handed over a decoded transcription. He was passing the tapes through a decoder. Nancy had programmed it. It was the decoder of Crypto AG, a Swiss company that inspired confidence. Since 1955, these encoding machines were fitted with a back door set by the American secret services under Crypto AG's orders. The back door was updated according to new technological developments. About a hundred countries were spied on in this way. Private individuals had also started working on Crypto AG machines communicating by radio waves, with which they were delighted.

This is what the recording looked like before the decryption:

'sfjaàq230'98 534 '32POP8234NéE1fdjkdé1§éà$a.asdfnsdéqwklefms,,mgporéLKJ4/=cnsleksapjjgeéà23'045asdenmaélsgpww0et8mvleàqélèpèqpwoet'038'08032948MJlsejdg'34058élksjglyélxknmckklfàqlj90e58'2'309648<s^' 1 sgkjmcmqè.12'49...' Etc., etc.

And, after decoding, it looked like this:

".... Wednesday, September 6th, 10 a.m., Nervi Hall, weekly general audience. A sniper. A second one backing him. A third one for exfiltration if necessary. But the last two are instructed not to move and to dump number one. He's sacrificed for a good cause, but doesn't know this, of course."

"Can your sniper keep his nerve?"

"Yes, he is cold-blooded. He is intelligent and will not be put off by cops. He'll play the game."

"Perfect. Thanks to the plan and the information. If he gets caught alive, he'll make them believe he's an unbalanced anti-papist, is that it?"

"Absolutely. And if he shifts from this version, his life in prison will be short."

"Perfect."

Nancy worked in her office all morning. That conversation had been intercepted the previous day between the mafioso godfather Giuseppe Calò in Palermo and Licio Gelli, head of the P2 lodge who was in Buenos Aires. She knew who the second one was. For the first one, she consulted the computer linked by protected cable to the Head of NSA in Maryland.

Giuseppe CalòBorn September 30, 1931Sicilian MafiosoCalled Cosa Nostra Cashier, as heavily involved in whitewashingGodfather since 1962Member of the Provincial Commission, then of Cupola. He often goes to Rome.Linked with neo-fascists, politicians, Italian secret service members, prelates and bankers.

She had visited Nervi Hall at the Vatican. Wednesday's general audience was given by the pope to a crowd of believers in the huge auditorium. An ideal location to shoot him on the Sedia gestatoria, his sedan chair. On August 30th, for the first time, he had refused to use it and opted to go on foot. Nancy had read about this in the morning papers, which were very fond of this new casual style. But the Curia had insisted. If the pope was carried, the people would see him. Otherwise not. He had given in. This was the gossip found in the newspapers.

On Wednesday 6th, he would be sitting on this contraption. The perfect target.

At 3 p.m., she called the NSA Manager for Maryland, Paul Burbon. It was 9 a.m. on the East Coast. A very short exchange.