26. Baal in Paris (4 pgs.) – Champions Renaissance

ACT I - CHAPTER 26

BAAL IN PARIS

Wednesday April 26, 2018

Louvre Museum

Paris France

“Do you see that sculpture?” Lenel asked Franco at the Louvre, and added, “It represents a pagan and immoral Greek god, showing off his naked body and genitals. A shame for the human race and the true God, whose body is everywhere and nowhere.”

“That’s why The Family wants to reward you,” Franco said.

Lenel played along, but he made it clear he would kill Franco if necessary. As Boss of Paris, he had surrounded himself with young men who feared him. He placed them in strategic posts to carry out the purge when the time came. He made them swear to obey without thought. Otherwise it was death.

“I am very grateful to The Family. What does the prize consist of?” Lenel asked.

“They will choose you as Imperial Master, head of The Family throughout the world,” Franco said.

Lenel said nothing and thought, My purge has come.

“If it is the will of The Family, I am here to serve it,” Lenel responded with absolute cynicism.

“Lenel, you will serve it blindly. You are nothing. Just trash with no brain, no will, no future, no air. A slave, a coward, an imbecile, a miserable tool with no soul of your own. This is how you will live the rest of your life. As a leader you have no brain. Capisci?” Franco said.

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“Capisci,” Lenel responded, hiding his anger as best he could. What do you think you are? he thought.

“You’re not going to fool me, you piece of shit. Do you think I do not have the powers to read your thoughts? Do you know what deities are speaking to you now? Damn! Do you know the legion of demons you’re dealing with? Do you want to challenge their general? You, miserable piece of meat! Haven’t you figured out who I really am yet? Stupid retard!” Franco finished, as Genaro had indicated.

“I am the one who speaks, spoke and will speak. The one who speaks for Lenel and speaks to The Family. The one who spoke to your ancestors and now speaks to you. Can’t you hear my voice, little Franco, last link in the Gambino’s? Tell those who sent you! Whoever is not worthy of me is not worthy of The Family!” Lenel exclaimed in a different voice. His face transformed, half crazy, half saint.

Franco was stunned. His mind went blank. He did not expect that answer. When his mind recovered, he thought, Is he really channelling?

Franco, an initiate, knew mysticism and magical rituals. Although he venerated Baal, he feared the god’s unpredictable designs. Is that him? he thought. He felt afraid.

“Do you recognize me?” Lenel asked after grabbing Franco’s cheeks, bringing his face closer and looking directly into his eyes.

“Yes, I recognize you,” Franco said, with a frightened face.

“What is my name?” Lenel asked without letting go.

“Baal,” Franco said.

“Why do you pay homage to me?”

“To preserve the power of the Gambino’s dynasty,” Franco said, and added, “I bow before you, Baal! I worship you, god of rain, thunder and fertility, god of my Babylonian and Chaldean ancestors, of Carthaginians and Phoenicians, of Philistines and Sidonians! I worship you, god of the fire that purifies! Show me the way to honor my ancestors who have honoured you for centuries!”

“Go and speak to those who think they are speaking, and tell them that I have spoken,” Lenel said, and left.

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Franco was stunned. He walked along the Champs-Élysées toward the Arc de Triomphe to meet Genaro and tell him about Lenel. The day was sunny; his soul was clouded. Despite the heat, he felt cold. Lenel’s response had left him paralyzed. Will we arouse the wrath of Baal if we sacrifice Lenel? Has he chosen to speak through you? Will I risk the protection he has given my family for centuries? He felt lost. Where am I? How could I know? What should I do? He did not know.

“You’re pale as a sheet. Did you see a ghost?” Genaro asked, and added, “What did the bambino tell you?”

“That he was the one who made it possible for The Family to speak. That I was not worthy of my blood if I did not recognize him. Whoever did not recognize him would be thrown into hell. He spoke with another voice and his face changed.”

“The bambino is playing with you,” the old man said with a cynical smile.

“What if it’s the sign The Family was waiting for?” Franco asked, his face discomposed.

“Yes, the signal. There have been many signs. Why would it have to be this?” Genaro asked.

“And why not?” Franco asked.

“This is not a time for doubts, bambino. The dice have been cast. He will be crowned Imperial Master, the great leader of The Family in the world, and then sacrificed,” Genaro said.

“What if it is the deity? We can’t kill it!” Franco asked, distressed.

“What is death? What is life? Both cheeks from the same ass? One, the other, and neither?” Genaro asked, and Franco’s mind went off the rails. “The die is cast and Lenel will be sacrificed,” he added.

Franco felt he was sinking into thick fog and did not know what to think.

“What’s up, bambino? Why are you so pale?” the old man asked.

“Nothing.”

“Focus on what’s important. And about important things. Are you sure Lenel put out the fire and didn’t leave sparks on the road?”

“Yes.”

“Yes? And why does his footballer friend hang out with these famous people at Villa Ascolassi?” Genaro asked, showing a photo where Alexandre, Ricardo and Arturo appeared playing football next to the mansion.

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“Do you see the guards and tanks? Why so much security?” he asked again.

“I don’t know.”

“Do you know who owns Villa Ascolassi?”

“No.”

“Your friend Walker.”

“Ragnar Walker? It just can’t be! That cocky Viking never dies!”

“Did the matter get out of hand, Franco?”

“No. I won’t fail next time. If necessary, I will kill him with my own hands.”

“We cannot allow him to gain power. He wants to replace our Phoenician ritual with science. Do you understand the danger? The Sinclairs and others in Edinburgh are helping him.”

“I already know that.”

“I think I’ll have to ask someone more competent to do the job.”

“It won’t be necessary. I’ll do it myself.”

“You did a good job with that hacker. What was his name?”

“Peter Bolt.”

“That same one.”

“It’s because I made it with my own hands.”

“Finish Walker! It is important! How do you not realize?” the old man exclaimed angrily, then continued calmly, “You have failed since the bomb on the plane. You have one last chance. Capisci? When you cut off his head, that snake will die. The same with his friends who are meeting at the Villa. Do you understand what I say, bambino? You have to give them a clear signal.”

“Capisci,” Franco said, and had an idea to kill his archenemy.

“And make sure that book is never written or it will wipe us off the face of the Earth! Capisci?”

“Capisci.”

“Now do what you have to do and then go to South America or New Zealand to see the fireworks. The southern hemisphere will be the only safe place. Everything up here is in good hands,” Genaro said, kissing him on both cheeks to say goodbye.

Franco felt better after walking back from the Arc de Triomphe to the Louvre, where he had left his car.

When he got to his apartment, he turned on the television and saw some news: WASHINGTON DECLARES THE NEW RUSSIAN NUCLEAR PROGRAM ILLEGITIMATE.

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