The Octopus at the Vatican

# 16 - escape

Albino suddenly remembered the information the Camerlengo had given him on the evening of his election. There was a casket in the safe that only the pope was allowed to open. With information for him. He had forgotten this. These medieval gadgets didn't really interest him. But, as things stood, it could be worth giving it a glance. He opened the safe, then the casket. It was equipped with a clever mechanism whose instructions were hidden in an envelope sealed in the old-fashioned way. With Paul VI's seal, which had been destroyed when he died. The envelope was very obviously laid in the box. The red seal was untouched. He broke it and opened the envelope. He then set off the casket's device. There he found another sealed document with the plans of the secret passages inside the Vatican, as well as those leading outside the Vatican. He memorized the main ones. Tried one of them. It was in his library. A section of the wall swiveled open onto a dark corridor. He started to walk down it, blocking open the panel behind him with a piece of furniture.

You never know with this stuff. In my childhood books, the passage always closes, and you get stuck. But this wasn't the case. After twenty meters, a portion of the wall swiveled with a simple thrust on a stone block.

Oh, oh! Clever. You just have to push when it's ajar.

He pushed. He was outside. In front of him, a passage at the top of a strong wall about fifteen meters high. The clearly very old stone pathway was narrow and pointed straight ahead towards Castel San Angelo, on the bank of the Tiber. It looked like a medieval fortress walkway. Bordered by high walls on each side. One could walk there without being seen.

The former popes must also have been in danger, to build such escape tracks. With, in addition, the underground paths under the Sistine Chapel and from the Byzantine Basilica. Why not use those archaic means to fool my enemies?

Albino Luciani felt better. He had tools and a project.

He went back to the library, made a few notes, memorized the main plans, and put them all back with envelopes sealed with his seal. It was getting late. He went to have dinner. From the dining room, he called his nephew Vittorio to invite him the following evening, September 2. After a quick meal, he asked the staff not to disturb him until the next morning.

"I'm here for no-one, no visit, no telephone, no service, good night."

He then retired and tested his plan. He went for a walk via the Passeto di Borgo, as it was called on the ancient diagram, above Rome to the Castel San Angelo and back. Two kilometers. Without being noticed. He was kept from prying eyes thanks to the high walls. He went to bed with his mind completely at rest.

Tomorrow, let's explore the other bit of the passage; a little incognito walk through town.

He fell asleep dreaming of secret and mysterious getaways, having fun at the idea that this adult pope felt so close to his childhood daydreaming. 

Saturday 2 – Rome

He received his nephew the following evening and showed him these words scribbled on a piece of paper:

there are microphoneslet's not talk about itlet's only refer to insignificant general matterswe'll eat quicklythen we'll vanish into the libraryto meditateI requested not to be disturbed until tomorrowYou'll follow me without speaking

They withdrew after the meal, which didn't surprise the staff who had attended the previous pope. Paul VI sometimes left with a young priest. To pray.

Albino Luciani left his nephew alone for a moment and came back dressed in his jeans, a short-sleeved shirt, trainers and baseball cap. A wall of the library swiveled silently, leading to a passage.

They went in. The wall closed behind them. It wasn't completely dark in the tunnel. Tiny openings at the top of the walls let in a bit of light and fresh air.

"Mind where you step, it's messy, whispered the pope. My predecessors didn't clean up very often!"

They moved on almost fifteen meters. Another panel, of stone this time, swiveled. It looked as though they were on oiled hinges. They were set on the outside, at the level of the third story of the papal palace. On the wall walk of a castle. But, instead of being circular, it went straight ahead. It was still daytime. They walked in single file along this narrow path strewn with stuff many centuries had dumped there. They stepped over loads of dust, a cat and a kite's carcasses. Vittorio was amazed to glimpse the massive outlines of Castello San Angelo in the distance. The hustle and bustle of the city rose towards them. Children's screams, engines humming, car horns.

After walking one kilometer without talking, they came up to the castle's northwest bastion. Vittorio thought they were going to go back after this open walk. But no. His uncle pushed on two places in the wall. An opening appeared in the wall. Both companions were indoors, in front of a spiral staircase. Another passage went straight on. Albino signaled to go down the steps. Passing a postern, they found themselves in the gardens with a bird's-eye view on the ancient moats. They walked down a path towards a modest town wall; it was of a later construction, surrounded by thick vegetation. A door was hidden by two chicanes. Strolling through a grassy stretch, they came to Piazza Pia. They crossed the Tiber on Saint Angelo's bridge amongst the tourists. The Vatican's prisoner loved walking incognito in the indifferent crowd. They went right up to the Trevi Fountain, via Piazza Navona and the Pantheon.

"I must call your mom now. I'll explain this later", said Albino. "Just one question: can you take three or four days off as from Tuesday evening?"

"Yes, I have a few extra hours owed to me."

"And could you wait for me, with your little Fiat in Piazza Pia?"

"Yes."

"And would you be willing to take me incognito to Cortina d'Ampezzo?"

"Yes."

"Thank you. Here is a telephone booth. Whoops! No coins! I'm a misfit already, he laughed!"

Vittorio gave him the change. Albino called his sister Nina. Could she put them up, Vittorio and himself for three nights as from the 5th or the 6th? Without telling anyone. He would explain everything when he got there. Above all, not to tell anyone. Stunned and astonished, she promised. He added:

"Listen Nina, I need a spiritual retreat after all this. I must get away from the papal pomp for a few days and spend time with my loved ones. No journalist or cardinal on my back. I'm sure you can understand, living in such a quiet life. I'm also yearning for this. I need your help. I feel trapped everywhere else."

Nina was reassured.

"Can I talk about it to Ettore?"

"To your husband, yes. By no one else. He too must keep quiet as the grave. Promise, little sister?"

"Promised, promised. Don't worry. Come over, my dear brother. We're looking forward to seeing you both."

The evening was quite mild, sitting on a terrace, on the Piazza Navona. Normal people were peacefully strolling along.

"It feels good here, sighed the pope, his baseball cap on his head."

Vittorio roared with laughter. Sharing these happy moments, Albino told his nephew what had happened.

"Was our phone conversation listened to?"

"Perhaps, my reforms scare some of them. President Carter is sending a specialist to check for microphones. And protect me from tapping. He'll call me on my direct line and will introduce himself as a controller of the electrical devices. On Tuesday evening, I will arrive between eight thirty and nine thirty. We could take turns at the wheel, up to Cortina. If it's too tiring, we could stop overnight in Bologna."

"Perfect."

"I'll tell Villot to cancel at 8 o'clock on Wednesday the 10 o'clock audience. It won't come as a surprise to anyone as, when the pope is away or feeling unwell, it's the usual thing to do. Except for the killers. They will understand that their plan has been uncovered. We shall have to expect a counterattack. Very distressing to be the mafia's target."

After watching lovers throwing coins in the Trevi fountain, they strolled back, forgetting the threat for a moment.