Chapter 2
"So what should we do now? I mean... Little Rina in there has a new caretaker... we should take him out tonight like usual, right boss?" A group of men were sitting in a tavern outside of Vatican city, one wore a long and very loose black robe; under it was a guard uniform. The one he was talking too was sitting in the corner, two women under his arms and kissing him every second.
"No, No... She thinks he's going to come back tomorrow... He actually spoke in fluent Latin to her, she's starting to trust him... we're gonna give him tomorrow... and depending on tomorrow's little chat between the two, maybe he'll live til the day after," He said, his voice was deep but young. His men all chuckled.
"This'll be fun... Just to see that look on her little face! Just making her miserable is so easy to a key that can create a weapon so big and powerful! You are one smart man, boss!" Another thug said. The boss laughed.
"Oh yeah! That's why we're still the biggest mob in Vatican City!" The group laughed.
Catherina stared at Abel. She was shocked to silence. Neither of them spoke for ten minutes.
"You actually... got her to talk to you?"
"Yes."
"In English?"
"No, not yet... I managed to get her to say she might speak some English tomorrow if I show up."
"If? If you show up? Why does she say that?" Abel took in a breath.
"She said that all those who she called 'friend' ended up being killed. I think that may be why she's isolating herself like that. She hasn't been taking care of herself, and... how old exactly is this file picture? She doesn't have black hair anymore, she has grey hair. Is she actually an older woman?"
"No, Abel... that picture is two years old, around the time when she first stepped onto Vatican grounds. We estimate that she's around sixteen years old."
"Whoa! It's only two years old?! And you estimate she's sixteen? Didn't she tell you her age?!"
"She said she was always traveling and the ones she grew with never knew how old she was when they found her. It seems that when she first entered our care, she was said to be a special element. After the first three months she began to notice that her caretakers were changing nearly everyday. After five months, her caretakers began to have longer relationships with her, the longest time a single caretaker was with her was around... three weeks. All of them she considered as friends. It broke her heart everytime she overheard the local nuns working there say that they were murdered. Her behavior took a rapid turn after about... eighteen months after she entered our physility. She began to learn Latin after her... fifty-sixth caretaker was brutally murdered. She learned half of the Latin language in one month. In two weeks, she spoke nothing but Latin.
As you can tell, Abel, Rina has a horrible life. Her original name isn't Rina, the first caretaker of hers called her that. She said she never had an official name. The progress you're making with her is extrordinary, that's why I put you to this mission," She explained. Abel was thinking deeply. He thought over what she said about all of Rina's previous caretakers being murdered.
"Have any of the guards or nuns that keep watch over her been killed?"
"No, just the caretakers."
"Hmmm... seems to me like an inside job here..."
"Excuse me?"
"Someone who keeps watch over Rina must be leaking out information... Someone outside, someone who is crazy, must have something against Rina. But you haven't found anything of Rina's past that she's done against anyone, right?" Catherina nodded.
"Then whoever is the head of all this must have a grudge against her parents! Her birth parents!" Abel leapt from his chair.
"We don't know who they are!"
"No, we don't... But Rina knows her first adoptive parents! Do you know what she said about that?"
"If I remember... the files to her past and the recording of the questioning are in this section of the archieves." Catherina put up a hologram of the Vatican library and centered a section.
"The shelf it's on is here... I can't tell which book exactly, but it should be there. Here's the file key and code to open the computer banks to listen to the recordings," Catherina explained. She handed Abel a key and a slip of paper. Abel bowed.
"Thank you, Lady Cardinal," Abel said. He rushed out of the room. She turned her head to the window.
"It's very late, Abel, I think you must hurry if you're going outside," She muttered to herself.
Abel ran as fast as he could across the Vatican grounds. He slammed into the doors of the Vatican library.
"Ouch! I can't see anything in this dark! Oww!!" He whined. He fumbled with the knob and opened the door. The library was empty. He felt a little nervous.
"Oh man this is just the right atmoshpere for someone to be killed!" He whispered. Abel silently walked down the rows of shelves and went to the second floor. He counted the rows then entered the sixth. He then read every label for every file. He found it.
"Rina's file, got it!" He grabbed the thick book-like file and the CD that contained Rina's questioning. He ran to the computer banks on the third floor. Abel raced up the stairs and collapsed at the top.
"Oh god... so... many... stairs!!" He panted. Abel crawled to the computer door and pressed his thumb on the scanner. It beeped and opened the door. Abel stood up and sat down and a computer. He placed the CD in the slit just under the keyboard and waited. The holographic screen turned on, the machine buzzed with life. A box popped up. Abel typed in the code on the paper. The square flashed a few colors, then a few more small boxes appeared. A larger one was in the middle. It was paused, but in a chair across from the camera was Rina, healthy as can be, her black hair was long and eyes were bright. He pressed play.
