Target Jesus

Prologue

July 1507 - Carrara Italy the Apuan Alps

Giovanni raised his arms in victory as the great marble slab tumbled over in a billowing cloud of dust. This was a special piece of marble, hand-picked by the famous sculptor Michelangelo Buonarroti himself. It was destined to become one of the beautiful statues that would line the tomb of Pope Julius II.

The cut had been perfect and the quarrymen of Carrara were rightfully proud of their knowledge of how to properly work and remove the precious marble. The task before them now was to clear the rubble and move the newly cut stone to the plain below for cleaning and shipment. To do this, they used an ancient manual technique called "Lizzatura.”

Giovanni watched as two young men, Laso and Pedra, swarmed down the scaffolding in a precipitous race to be the first to the bottom of the deep quarry. He remembered the days that he and his best friend Ignacio would do the same thing. Giovanni was too old now, and too respectable to act like a carnival impresario.

He looked out over the expanse of the great marble quarry. The quarrying of the marble here dated back to the second century before the birth of our Lord. In the Roman time slaves and convicts carried out the work. Today, it was a task for highly skilled laborers. The marble of Carrara was recognized throughout Europe as a precious stone for buildings and for its white and color varieties such as bardiglio, paonazzo, fior di pesco, cipollino, arabescato and more. That is why Senor Buonarroti preferred to use Carrara marble.

When Giovanni finally reached the floor of the pit, the two youngsters were still chasing each other around like monkeys. He winked at Implacito, another old friend standing near, and then admonished the boys.

"We are here to work, not play like children," he yelled. "Or do I have to hire real men for the job and let you go?"

The young men quickly halted their antics and begin to pick up the loose pieces of marble so the great slab could be moved without undue interference from the rubble. Giovanni walked over to check the marble. It was a beautiful piece; pure and milky white with small traces of pink quartz running through it like tiny blood veins in a woman’s delicate arm. Michelangelo would be pleased and it would fetch a good market price.

Something shining caught his eye. ‘Was his beautiful block damaged?’ A few feet to his left he saw a shining imperfection in the stone. Walking over for a closer look, he let out a sudden gasp of surprise. A beautiful gold chain was imbedded in the marble with pieces of it running along the seam of the cut. He called to his friend Implacito to join him. Together they stared at the marvelous piece of golden handiwork. Finally, Giovanni called for one of the youngsters to bring him a mallet and chisel. The gold chain was close enough to the surface that it would not impact the value of the marble if carefully removed.

"Go get Bishop Malsapina." He ordered the youth as he handed him the chisel and mallet. "Quickly now!" Bishop Malsapina was the rector of the Church of Sant’ Andrea, an elegant Romanic cathedral, which was the religious and administrative center of the diocese. He was also a brother of Baron Malsapina.

Bishop Malsapina arrived before they had the golden chain completely cut free from the marble. One last piece stubbornly refused to come loose.

He bent over and closely inspected the chain to make sure that the workmen hadn’t embedded it there as a joke; not that peasant workmen could afford such a wealthy piece of golden art. He could tell the gold chain had not been planted as part of it was still being chipped away and no residue of new mortar came loose as it was being chipped out.

Bishop Isidrio Malsapina was a very educated man and his studies told him that what he was seeing was literally impossible. These marble mountains had been created before the creation of man, thousands of years ago, and according to modern heretics, millions of years ago. The Romans had never worked this part of the quarry; it was a recent excavation area.

A golden chain of exquisite design embedded within the marble was impossible… yet it was there for all to see. Giovanni let out a loud curse as the end of the chain finally came loose. He had managed to hit his finger with the last swing. "Forgive me Excellency," he asked, making the sign of the cross. "I did not mean to curse."

Giovanni picked up the golden chain, which he had dropped and lifted it to inspect it. Attached to the end of the chain in a beautifully designed setting was a strange pulsating jewel embedded in the center of a twisted cross. The jewel continuously shifted colors and made him dizzy as he watched it.

He quickly passed the strange artifact over to Bishop Malsapina and made the sign of the cross again to ward off evil spirits.

Isidrio looked at the well-crafted chain then the unusual jewel at the end. As he glanced at the jewel he thought he could see billions of shifting stars that changed patterns constantly. He was mesmerized by the view and only released from its spell when Giovanni bumped against him by accident.

"Say nothing of this!" he ordered Giovanni. "You found nothing in the quarry today, do you understand? Nothing!" Accustomed to the absolute authority of the church Giovanni eagerly shook his head. "I found nothing," he replied."

"This is the work of Satan," Isidrio continued. “Look at how they twisted our Lord’s cross. It must be taken to Rome and kept on holy ground so its spell can never be loosened." He motioned for the men to get on with their work of moving the huge marble slab.

After Bishop Malsapina left with the beautiful gold chain and jewel Giovanni glanced down at the large pieces of marble, which had been chipped from the block to release the chain. He bent over and picked up a large sliver. He scratched his balding head and with a frown placed the piece into his bag for future study. He would swear that embedded in the marble was a boot print, but, that also was impossible.

January 1944 ­ The Vatican

The wrinkled hand reached into the locked box holding the golden relic. A Cardinal’s ring decorated the finger of the aging hand and the tattoo of a small Fleur-de-lis was impressed beneath the wrist well out of sight in normal times. The hand removed the golden chain and the incredible mesmerizing jewel at the end of it. For a mere second it hesitated, and then the chain and jewel was quickly placed into a heavy dull metal box. The artifact that Bishop Isidrio Malsapina entrusted to the care of Mother Church since 1507 disappeared. No one even knew it was gone.