Elizabeth clicked "send," finished her biscotti, and "accidentally" spilled the remains of her cappuccino on the disc. Then she paid her bill and headed out. She'd had a long day at work, especially by Italian standards, but it was far from done. She'd have at least one more report, far more extensive, to file in quadruplicate before the night was over.

She phoned her station chief, then Neri. "Capo, incontriamoci alla Fontana di Trevi. E porta l'aiuto, per favore."

She tried at first to look as casual as anyone would be after winding down from a day's work as she headed ostensibly for her apartment. But to no avail. She knew Eastman would call his friends. And he delivered.

"Gentlemen," she said, without stopping or looking back, "I don't want us to create a scene in front of all these tourists."

"If you cooperate with us, we won't have to."

Elizabeth stopped. "And if I don't?"

"Brother Eastman has revealed to you the gospel of humanity. Your choice is now to accept membership into our fellowship or be cut off."

Elizabeth turned to see seven black-clothed figures surrounding her. All with guns drawn. Okay, this might be a problem. "The only honest choice I have," she said, carefully, "has been preordained by my Creator."

"Yes?"

"Any of you watch any good television?" she asked.

They stood around, saying nothing, and trained their weapons on her.

"Because if you had, you'd know from X-Files that the short, cute, female agent is the one you least want to mess with," she hissed.

"Polizia! Aiutatemi!" she shrieked.

Then time stopped. Completely. All faded and froze. The waters of the Trevi Fountain ceased flowing. Even the finest droplets from its spray hung suspended in midair like crystal beads strung on the finest fishing line. The bystanders stared with unblinking eyes, their jaws locked in horrified gapes. Neri and his officers were frozen in midstride. All was perfectly still and silent except for Zeitgeist. She administered her boots, fists, and elbows to several heads, thanked Heaven for Krav Maga, and resumed time. Before anyone could see how it possibly happened, seven men fell, unconscious.

"Andiamo a prendere questi rifiuti!" Neri shouted. He ran up to Elizabeth, who was now rubbing bruised hands and elbows. "Sta bene? Che cosa é successo?"

"Stoi bene. You'll have my full report by morning. And I look forward to seeing yours."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And so passed another event Zeitgeist could recognize in several more timelines she needed to investigate.

To: wingman

Re: Polizia Romana Case #374613925

The attack on me last night has resulted, as I anticipated, in bringing us an abundance of useful information. The involvement of a Swiss Guard applicant,

Claudio Testabianco, has alerted us to some unsettling developments in Switzerland, as well as to the need to improve the screening process for applicants as we have for Vatican Security positions. We will need to make mandatory polygraph testing and background checks standard. And run those on all current members, as well. All intelligence saying that this cult will try to infiltrate Church organizations to gain access to their targets has been confirmed, and we cannot be too careful.

Now we're on to extending similar protection to the cardinals outside of Rome who have lent their support to drafting Nostra Familia Mutantis. Attached is a list of their names and each archdiocese they represent. We will need operatives posing as personal assistants or secretaries providing security. It was the original intent of my attackers to intimidate or even kidnap me, but they had orders to try to kill me if all else failed. Our agents should be prepared to fend off all levels of attack, including assassination attempts. And for the sake of efficiency, they should report all suspicious activity directly to me as our Vatican and Roman contacts have.

We are also trying to deal aggressively with the designer gene problem. While not directly connected, it does play right into the hands of those who are convinced we are responsible for the decline of human civilization. I have enough on my plate without fanatics who think raising a generation of drug-addled mutant wannabes is part of our plan. Any help from you would be greatly appreciated. The weather's getting too hot not just in Rome, but also in all Europe. I forecast a heat wave in Paris. Ask Logan what that means.

Zeitgeist thought for a bit before adding this paragraph. With his position as chairman emeritus of a Fortune 500 company and former tabloid and gossip column subject, with chiseled features and a wingspan that made him look like he'd just flown straight from off a church window, the openly mutant Warren Worthington III usually had a good command of the media. Still, she strongly suspected that his upcoming press conferences would not be so easy.

And save this email, bitte. Yes, this time I need to leave proof of our correspondence. We will need to go public with our own knowledge of this organization and their affiliates quite soon, otherwise, the reaction to Waco will look paltry by comparison. And the last thing we need is future Timothy McVeighs imagining that mutantkind is teaming up with the federal government for the sole purpose of persecuting anti-mutant religious minorities or whatever. I think Miss Sauvegarde is due to return to journalism soon anyway, and she'll be more than willing to help.

-Zeitgeist

3