The six-hour recess stretched into three days.
Richard and Elizabeth were housed in a WHO secure facility—comfortable but clearly monitored. Sarah and David joined them after the second day, smuggled in by sympathetic staffers who'd been following the Pharmaco story. The waiting was excruciating, made worse by Omega's constant commentary on the futility of negotiation.
On the third morning, an unexpected visitor arrived.
"Professor Clark?" The man at the door wore simple black clothing with a white collar—a priest, but his bearing suggested something more significant. "I am Cardinal Secretary Pietro Marchetti. His Holiness Pope Francis II has requested an audience with you."
Richard exchanged startled glances with Elizabeth. "The Pope wants to see me?"
"Urgently. He's been following d
