Time: Present Day

Location: HereAfter

Carter watched as plans were made for him with his new name to be brought back to Australia, with Roger and Amanda. Collette told them that Louise's father had pulled a few strings. He was close friends with powerful people through his golf club affiliations. He lobbied for there to be no autopsy as the family had suffered enough, and needed to arrange for their daughter's body to be transported home to Australia. He rang the CEO of Air France and arranged for her body to be transported on the same ticket she had purchased when alive. He asked him to arrange for all the family's various bookings on different airlines to be amalgamated including little Peter's booking so they were all seated together on the same flight that was to repatriate Amelia's body.

It was the morning of their flight home when the phone rang. It was the airline saying that the flight had been delayed four hours. As they were cursing Air France the phone rang again. This time it was Louise. She told them that there had been a bureaucratic problem with the transport of Amelia's body on a commercial flight. They were insisting that the body be transported on a cargo plane. Her father had again used his influence with the CEO. It took a while to sort out which necessitated the CEO holding their flight takeoff time but it had all been sorted out now.

Jean asked Louise to thank her Dad and said how amazed he was at what Louise's Dad had been able to pull off through his many business contacts. He asked if he liked single malt scotch. She said he did. "I'll arrange for a bottle to be sent to him when we get back to Australia. And a case of Australia's finest wine, Grange Hermitage, as well I think. It's the least I can do."

Carter enjoyed seeing the family pull together in times of trouble. They had a few wines with dinner and had an early night. Margot drove them to the airport the next morning in time for their flight to Sydney. They travelled in sombre silence remembering the cargo that travelled with them. Amanda wished that they could have had the coffin travel with them in the passenger cabin rather than the cargo hold but she guessed there was a limit even to Louise's Dad's sphere of influence. It was a long sombre trip. Even the addition of alcohol to the meals didn't totally mitigate the sorrow they all were feeling.

Carter watched as the family arrived in Singapore. They disembarked from the Airbus and made their way to the transit lounge in Terminal 1.

They were on the moving footway when Roger said to Amanda, "I'd love a smoke. Wait for me?"

"Okay. I'll take Carter to the toilets and change him while we wait. Mum and Dad, we'll meet up with you in the transit lounge." Monique, Michelle and Jean continued on to the Transit Lounge.

After changing the baby Amanda waited for Roger outside the smokers room.

Father Dan came out of the newsagency with the latest issue of Rolling Stone magazine, for Peter to read on the flight. He caught sight of Peter looking at a TV screen with an international news segment running. There had been some sort of international incident in Paris which was going to be shown after the ad break.

He slapped Peter with the magazine. "Come on Petros, you know the rules, no TV, you have a lot to consider and big decisions to be made once we get to Rome. We don't need the distractions of what's going on in the outside world when preparing to give our lives to God now do we? Here this is for you," he said handing over the magazine, taking Peter by the arm and leading him off to the moving footway.

Father Dan was the only one who knew how much music meant to Peter. Peter had told him that it was music that kept him sane. It was music that simultaneously reminded him of Amelia, and helped him to forget Amelia, and helped him cope with all his moods in between.

As they travelled along with their carryon luggage at their feet Peter was engrossed in his magazine. "I might have to get off and go to the toilet soon," said Peter without taking his eyes from the magazine.

Father Dan looked up ahead to see if there was a toilet block coming up. There was a smoking room ahead, he thought there would probably be a toilet nearby that, then he saw her.

His jaw dropped, it was Amelia, and she had the baby with her, she was just standing there, waiting, waiting to discover them! She must be on the way to Sydney, she should have been there by now. We weren't supposed to be here at the same time. His mind raced, thank God Peter hasn't seen her, she hasn't seen us either, then a miracle happened, before the moving footway got to her, a guy came out, gave her a hug, spirited her and the child onto the opposite moving footway. They were lost in conversation as the two footways passed and in an instant they were gone.

Father Dan let out a sigh of relief, then said, "Best wait till we get to the boarding gate Petros, we don't want to miss our flight now do we?"

Peter raised his head from his magazine, smiled and said, "You're right as always."

Amanda turned around and looked puzzled. "What is it honey?" Roger said.

"Oh, it's probably nothing, just thought I saw someone I knew that's all."

"Who would that be, not an old flame by chance?" Roger teased.

"Hardly, our parish priest actually, it probably wasn't him though, although the man I saw was dressed in black, but I only saw him from the back, anyway what would he be doing in Singapore?"

Father Dan was nervous until Peter came back out of the toilet, he rushed him to the boarding gate waiting room and was uneasy until their flight was called and they were on board the plane. Even though he knew it wasn't rational he half expected to see Amelia holding the baby in one of the seats as they made their way down the aisle of the Airbus. But she wasn't. He told himself he was being paranoid, but still it was a close call.

She is on her way to Sydney, I wonder who the young man was, perhaps she has found someone, maybe that's how Rome has dealt with the situation. I hope so, she may have given up on Peter at last. Then all this deceit can end.

At last they landed in Rome. They made their way to the baggage claim. Father Dan had drunk far too much coffee on the flight and had two wines with his lunch. He found that carousel number four showed that it contained baggage from two Alitalia flights, the one from Sydney and one from Frankfurt. He excused himself to go to the toilet, handed over the baggage checks and left Peter to watch out for their luggage.

Peter saw one of Father Dan's bags coming round the bend. He went to move closer to the conveyor belt when a man in front of him stepped back with a bag and trod on his foot. He let out a yell. The man turned, looked down and said, "I'm so sorry Father, that was clumsy of me."

"That's okay, but I am not a priest, not yet anyway. I'm a deacon."

"What's the difference?" the stranger asked making small talk while he waited for his other bag to arrive.

"Well, a deacon can get married while a priest can't." Peter explained.

"But surely you can't get married if you are trying to become a priest."

"True," answered Peter, "that's when you are a transitional deacon, then you can't marry."

"Sounds complicated, which sort are you?" the stranger asked.

"Don't know for sure, that's one of the reasons we are here in Rome, what brings you to Rome?" said Peter.

"We?" the stranger said quizzically.

"Father Dan, and here he comes now, oh, and I'm Peter by the way."

"I live in Rome, I've been visiting my father in Frankfurt. He's not well. I'm Andy, Andy Fisher."

With that Father Dan joined them. Peter did the introductions, when Andre extended his hand to Father Dan, Dan noticed something caught the light. He went as white as a sheet when he saw the skull ring with the four diamonds in the forehead. The SPECTRE Assassin's ring!"

Father Dan pulled back, grabbed Peter by the arm and said, "Petros quickly we have to go!"

"What about the bags?" Peter asked.

"Forget the bags, we'll come back and get them later. I need to talk to Rome, now, Petros!"

"Excuse my friend," Peter started to say when Father Dan shoved him towards the security guard at Customs.

Andre looked perplexed, as the two men in cassocks fled the scene, shook his head and turned back to look for his other bag.

Once inside the Customs Hall the first Customs officer they saw asked, "Where are your bags, Father?"

Father Dan replied, "Still in there. I need to use a secure phone, now!" he said, pressing several thousand lire notes in the Customs officer's hand.

He was ushered into a secure area and Peter was placed in a soundproof interview cubicle. Father Dan was shown into an office and an old style phone was placed on the table in front of him.

Dan dialled the number, let it ring three times, hung up, dialled the number again, waited. Peter shot him an odd look, the phone was answered but no-one spoke.

"It's Dan, why are we being targeted. I've done all you asked and more, I just want to know why? Please make it quick, if not for me at least for Petros. He doesn't deserve this."

There was only silence at the other end. He continued, "I saw Amelia in Singapore. I see you have arranged for her to find someone else, or was that just a coincidence?"

"Dan, this is Graz, what on earth are you talking about?" the voice at the end of the line said.

"I saw Amelia at the airport, she had the baby and there was a man with her." he explained.

"That's impossible," came the answer down the phone.

"I know what I saw. But I still don't see why you would want to abort the entire project. I'm not asking so much on my account, but Petros. He's so young, so full of life, such a worthy young man ., , ,"

Father Dan was cut off in mid sentence. "Are you alone Dan?" Archbishop Graziano enquired. "Totally, or so it seems?" he answered.

"Don't be so dramatic, why would you think we would be contemplating termination?"

"Because as soon as we got to Da Vinci airport we bumped into someone, someone wearing an interesting ring. He's probably waiting for us to come out right now, isn't he?"

"Did you speak to Peter on the plane, have you convinced him to take his vows yet? the Cardinal wants to know."

"He is still vacillating, he said he didn't want to convert to Transitional yet. He's waiting to see if Amelia contacts him. He told me he loves her and would like to remain a deacon but still marry her."

Father Dan even surprised himself at how matter- of-factly he reported in, in the face of his impending doom. How did he ever become this person he asked himself. All he ever wanted was to become a good parish priest. He never imagined his life turning out like this, ending like this. His philosophical ponderings were cut short by laughter.

"Dan, Dan, you ran into Andre didn't you?" the Archbishop asked rhetorically. "His flight was delayed by storms in the Swiss Alps, your paths were never intended to cross. Trust me, we have no intention of aborting your mission. Quite the contrary, in fact, the Cardinal has made it quite clear that your mission is to be given top priority. In fact there is to be no Transition. Peter is to take his vows as soon as possible, and that's not all. He is to be ordained by the Holy Father himself. It is the greatest honour, Peter would be a fool to resist."

"What about Amelia bringing the baby home does that mean we'll be staying on in Rome?" he asked.

"That wasn't Amelia Dan, Amelia is dead, an unfortunate accident in Paris I'm told, in fact you bumped into the maker of accidents today I believe. And, yes and no, is the answer to your question. Peter will be staying in Rome, once we convince him to fulfil his destiny, but you, my friend, are still sorely needed in Australia. You shall be returning to Sydney after Peter's ordination. There is still much that can go wrong still in Sydney. We need someone with a firm hand to guide things so they turn out as intended.

Go in peace now Dan, collect your bags, spend the night at the hotel in town as arranged, and we'll see you in the morning. Andre has reported in, and is on his way home, you have nothing to fear but fear itself. Till tomorrow my dear fellow." The phone went dead, Dan looked around, let out a huge sigh and went out to find Peter in a cubicle still engrossed in the magazine Dan had gotten him.

"Come on Petros, let's go now, off to see a bit of Rome then to the hotel for a nice dinner and early night eh?"

"Sounds good to me, is everything alright?" Peter asked.

"Couldn't be better, life's just fine, and we're in Rome, Peter . . . Rome, and we're going to meet the Pope! I've just been arranging it, won't that be a hoot?" They both laughed all the way back to the baggage carousel. As soon as Peter's back was turned though Father Dan felt a shiver run through him as he nervously watched his back.

Chapter 37 - Close Encounters.

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