Shrouded In Silence

7





A hush had settled over Dr. Albert Stein's office with Klaus sitting at the opposite end of the room saying nothing. Periodically, Stein glanced through his thick glasses at his new chauffeur and body guard sitting stoically in the corner. Burchel had shed his shabby street look and shown up in a three-button brown wool suit of finely woven quality. Ties were definitely optional and occasional at best in Rome, but added the finishing touch. The dark purple shirt with a striped bluish tie reflected the best taste of a clothier with a good eye. Even with his head shaved, Burchel had taken on the look of a young business executive wearing tasseled leather shoes of the Bristol style. Out of the corner of his eye, Stein watched Burchel's stiff, erect posture, which appeared to be a sign of paying rigid attention.

Dr. Stein's small office didn't compare well with the spacious chambers he was accustomed to in the family estate in Germany. Yet, the space proved sufficient because he liked having books around at arm's length. One entire wall had disappeared behind a vast bookcase that movers had hauled in. The shelves now contained old, worn books and manuscripts that filled the shelves to the ceiling. Dusty, ancient curtains hung from the top of the window to the floor, imparting a morose atmosphere. The rug had fulfilled its purpose more than a decade earlier, but the dilapidated carpeting with a few holes here and there still stood over the worn wooden floor. The antiquity of the office matched Stein's preoccupation with archaeology.

Turning the pages slowly, Stein continued reading for another twenty minutes. Glancing at the clock on the wall, he concluded that Klaus had been sitting in the straight-back wooden chair for more than forty-five minutes without moving. Not bad for an undisciplined punk from the gutter. The man had passed his first test.

"Your grandfather would have been proud of you," Stein said and turned his book over. "I know you hate sitting there doing nothing but what I commanded you to do."

Klaus flinched, but said nothing.

"See! You can control yourself if you put your mind to it. Such control is important for the business at hand. Do you understand?"

Klaus nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Ah! Excellent responses. Your style has been acting out like a madman on a drunken spree. I am teaching you again how to restrain yourself just as your parents tried to do."

Burchel flinched. "Might I ask a question?"

"You are reflecting the good family background that you came from when your parents attempted to train you correctly as a child. The whole story is in your file. Yes, requesting to ask a question is exactly what I expect."

"May I ask what you are studying?"

Albert lit a cigarette and blew smoke into the air. "Have you heard of the Nag Hammadi texts?"

Klaus shook his head. "No, sir."

"In 1945 in Upper Egypt in the village of Nag Hammadi, a peasant discovered a collection of twelve leather-bound papyrus books that provided a major breakthrough for modern scholarship. These writings dated back to the second century and gave us new insight into Gnosticism. I believe they reflect the influence of Gnosticism on early Christianity. Unfortunately, the importance of these manuscripts has not been fully appreciated by the Church. I am trying to remedy that problem."

"Gnosticism?" Klaus frowned. "What is that?"

"It comes from the Greek word for 'knowing' or 'knowledge.' Gnosticism is fundamentally a religious system that takes the believer into a realm of mystical thoughts and imparts hidden insights."

Burchel frowned. "I know nothing of what you are saying. Sounds sort of like Zen."

"Not bad." Klaus smiled. "The word Zen would make sense to many of your contemporaries. However, the issues from the Nag Hammadi library are far more consequential than Oriental mysticism. We know the first Church Fathers were opposed to the Gnostics, and the texts that I am studying might prove the Church Fathers were incorrect rather than the Gnostics."

Klaus blinked several times. "Wouldn't that destroy the Church as we know it?"

"You are a bright boy, Burchel. It is one of the reasons that I hired you. Underneath that drug-stuffed skull of yours is a brain that will work if you allow it to do so. You have the capacity to draw quick and insightful conclusions." Albert smiled. "Yes, if my ideas are right, the contemporary church would be destroyed."

Klaus rubbed his head and pursed his lips. "Why would you want to destroy the Church?"

"Because it is filled with error and deception! I believe the ancient Gnostics to have been more honest and forthright. Building on a corrupt Jewish heritage, the Church went flying off into the sky pursuing political ideas that finally landed them in control of the government of the Middle Ages and produced an oppressive world order run by a pope. See where I am going?"

Burchel nodded his head several times. "Yes. Yes. Germany suffered under such controls. I see the possibilities, but what are you reading that gives you these ideas?"

Albert held up a book. "This is The Gospel of Judas. I also have The Gospel of Thomas and The Apocalypse of Adam. Other such books await my scrutiny."

Klaus scooted to the edge of his chair. "Can you tell me some of what you are discovering? Some of the ideas?"

Stein shrugged. "For example, some of the texts suggest that Jesus believed in two messiahs. These messiahs' objective would not be some eschatological end-time return but the founding of an earthly kingdom."

"That's wild," Klaus said. "Never heard of such a thing."

"I fascinate you?" Stein smiled. "Yes, Burchel, I can fill your empty head with many ideas that will give you a new perspective. You are working with a man who can pay with much more than just money."

Klaus rubbed his chin. "Do you believe anything in the Bible?"

"I find passages that fit with these Gnostic gospels and I accept them because I find meaning that other scholars have missed."

"Interesting." Klaus kept nodding his head. "Can you give me an example of a passage that you believe is true?"

Stein flipped his cigarette into the ashtray. "Try this one. 'The kingdom of God must be taken by force.' "

"By force?"

"Yes, by the use of physical strength!" Albert slammed his fist onto the desk with such abruptness that Klaus jumped slightly. "I am following the path of truth when I exert my personal power. The Nazis understood this principle well." Albert jabbed his finger at Klaus. "Force is essential. I can teach you how to walk down this same route if you are inclined to learn."

Stein watched Burchel's eyes carefully. The young man appeared bewildered and mystified. Albert could tell he was wrestling with what he had heard. Like a hypnotist dragging a victim under his spell, Albert could see Klaus sinking deeper and deeper into the sphere of his total control. In addition, to securing a new employee, Albert was gaining psychological superiority. His plan was working.

"I must think about these matters," Klaus said with uncharacteristic maturity. "At this point, it sounds as if we are on the same page."

Stein smiled. "I hope so. It is to your advantage that our thoughts stay as one." He stood up and leaned back on the desk. "If you are ready to practice taking the kingdom by force, your first assignment now awaits you." Motioning for Klaus to stand, he pushed across his desk a Smith & Wesson 459 pistol. The young man immediately sprang to his feet.

"I want you to find where a couple lives and the address of their offices. If you get caught for some inane reason you must not indicate any relationship to me whatsoever." Stein shifted back into a hard, authoritarian voice. "Understand?"

Klaus nodded.

Stein handed him a piece of paper. "The names of the Drs. Jack and Michelle Townsend with there last address are here. That's all I have at this moment. It may take you some time, but there was a story on the Townsends in Il Messaggero several days ago. That should give you a lead. I want to know where they are and how to make contact should I choose to do so. Any questions?"

Klaus shook his head.

"Call me the moment you have uncovered them. I will be expecting a prompt response."

To Stein's surprise, Klaus abruptly saluted with military precision like a soldier responding to a military officer. The young man turned on his heels and marched out of the room. Albert Stein watched in consternation, concluding that he had made far more of an impact than he would have anticipated.



Klaus hurried down the stairs, patting the gun hidden in his suit coat. He knew Stein had been testing him by making him sit immobile, and he didn't like the strain. But Stein was no fool. Obviously, the man was brilliant and understood power. Not just because his grandfather had been an SS officer, Klaus had always admired the military for its precision and order. In contrast to his slovenly lifestyle in Rome, underneath it all, Klaus respected the saluting and heel clicking that had long been part of the German military. Today Stein was sending him off on a task that counted, and it felt good to be doing something responsible with a gun in hand. Yes. He could work for this strange scholar regardless of where the tide turned.