I did exactly as I was told for once in my life. I sat down by the edge of the bed, plucked another Newport out of the pack, and lit it. Kittie sat down next to me, took me by the hand, looked me in the eye and said the sexiest thing I think a woman has ever said to me.
“Have you ever heard of the Templar Treasure?”
And there it was. Had I ever heard at the Templar Treasure? After the Holy Grail, the Fountain of Youth and the Ark of the Covenant, the Templar Treasure was the most coveted treasure ever sought by mankind. In fact, if you listened to some, the Grail and the Ark were part of the Templar Treasure.
For someone who had read everything he could on the subject, there was only one way to respond without feeling like a complete fool.
“I am not stealing the Declaration of Independence,” I said triumphantly, “nor am I kidnapping the president, stealing any bricks off of Independence Mall, nor am I paying some kid on a field trip to do my research for me. But breaking into the Library of Congress. That I am down for!”
Then, it was Kittie who was looking at me incredulously.
“What?” she asked.
“’National Treasure’… Nicholas Cage movie, was all I could say. “Nick and friends to all that to keep some corporate madman from getting his hands on the Templar Treasure.”
“Yeah, right,” she retorted, looking rather unimpressed. “Ok… anyway, you know the Templars, or as they were officially known, the Knights of the Temple of Jerusalem, amassed a huge fortune in the banking and money-lending racket during the various crusades.”
“Exactly,” I responded, “so much so that they were envied by almost every royal court in Europe, because they had found a legal way to circumvent the Church’s edicts against money-lending and interest.”
“Right,” she continued. “As a religious order that held all wealth in common, and not as individuals, the Templars amassed that fortune legitimately because it did not belong to any one man. Their headquarters was located atop what was once the temple of Solomon, so it had been thought that all the treasures involved on that might have wound up in Templar hands as well.”
“Ok, we’re covering stuff thats already well known.” I said. “Tell me something new.”
“We’re getting there,” she said. “Now tell me what happened to the Templars oh all-knowing and impatient one.”
“King Philip IV of France, who had Pope Clement V in his back pocket, got the aforesaid pontiff to disband the Templars on grounds of heresy after a flood of testimony accusing them of everything from homosexuality to demon worship.” I answered. “Thinking he’d get everything by acting as an ‘agent of the church’ as opposed to using church as an agent of him.”
“Ok, great, so what happened to all the money, and the artifacts of the Temple of Solomon?”
“To the best of my knowledge, most of the money, and none of the artifacts, were ever seen again.” I answered. “But according to legend, the Templars got most of their treasure out of France through Spain, and some say it ended up in…”
“Scotland!” she said, finishing my sentence. “ Where some say it wound up in the hands of those who carried on the Templar tradition.”
“The Masons.” I nodded, seeing her logic.
“Good, we’re on the same page here.” she continued. “The present Masonic tradition, while having its roots dating back to the same Temple that once housed the Templars dates back to the early 1600’s, only a generation or two away from the fall of the Templar knights.”
“In fact, some say the Masons were formed as a cover for the Templars to keep meeting, as well as add new allies to the mix to boot.” I stated, adding what I knew of the tale. “Not to mention the Masons weren’t bound by a vow of celibacy and could have biological heirs as well as spiritual ones to carry on their works.”
“All right,” she said. “You know a lot about this subject, I see. Tell me about what Sir Francis Bacon, Sir Francis Drake and Sir Walter Raleigh had in common…”
“Let’s see,” I began. “All three were favorites at one time of Queen Elizabeth I, and I believe they were all Garter Knights at one time?”
“Let’s say for argument that that’s true,” she said with knowing mischief in her eyes. “What else?”
“They all had business holdings in colonial America, such as it was.” I remembered, stretching my memory as far as I could.
“Bingo!” she exclaimed. “Now Bacon was a high-ranking Mason at the time and is well-known to have associated with Drake and Raleigh, whether it be through Elizabeth’s court in general or the Garter Knights specific. To make an incredibly long story only slightly shorter, he was also the head of a group of utopians who saw America as a place to build a nation greater than any history had ever seen. A nation built on certain principles instead of accidents of birth.
“You’ve read Hall!” I exclaimed, referring to Manly P. Hall, a leading socio-esoteric author who had written several books exposing the idea of a hidden Masonic-linked destiny for the United States.
“No, I haven’t,” she replied, “but I think our bowler-hatted acquaintance has.”
“OK. Go on,” I said. “What makes you think that?”
“Here’s the deal,” she began. “Manly theorized that such a Utopian nation as Bacon and company envisioned was the perfect repository for some cache of treasure and artifacts that are hinted to be part of, if not the entirety of, the Templar Treasure.
“Wait a minute,” I interrupted, “I’m familiar with the theory. Are you telling me that the Templar Treasure is in DC?”
“I’m saying no such thing,” she answered, smiling like the cat that ate the canary, proud that for once she knew something that I didn’t. “However, my aunt, who I did go see at the lodge, thinks our British ‘acquaintance,’ as you call him, has gone through a lot of time and trouble to find it.”
“OK. Even if your aunt’s theory is true,” I responded, “why the sudden interest in me?”
“Well, it’s thought that if the treasure exists,” she answered, “then there must be somewhere it’s being kept safe, and what’s safer than a unique lock, especially with a unique key?”
“So you’re telling me that Bowler Hat thinks I’m wearing the key to the Templar Treasure on my right ring finger?!” I exclaimed.
“Something along those lines,” she answered. “Seems Frank had a habit of flashing that ring around once upon a time ago. Word got out to one of Bowler Hat’s Illuminati flunkies here in DC. Next thing you know, Bowler Hat arrives on the first flight out of Heathrow into Dulles.”
“Frank, you idiot!” I exclaimed. Seems all that Masonic bragging Frank did when he was among the living drew some unwanted attention.
I had a feeling there was something wrong with that picture, I just couldn’t put my finger on what it was. Fishing for clues, I asked, “So how does your aunt know all this, anyway?”
“Some of it comes from Frank’s Masonic handler, passed down through channels,” she answered. “Every Eastern Star lodge has a Mason who assists in running it. Frank’s handler kept an eye on him to make sure everything was going OK. He noticed Bowler Hat taking an interest and he reported back to Worshipful Master, over at 17th Street. Worshipful Master would then send memos to all Masonic and Eastern Star lodges on the Delmarva Peninsula to keep everyone in the area informed. It was considered top priority.”
“Why?” I asked.
“I can’t tell you everything right now,” she said. “I was given permission to tell you this much, as it’s your life that’s at stake in this. If all goes well, though, I might be able to tell you everything when this adventure is over.”
“OK,” I responded.
But it really wasn’t. First, she tells me that this ring might hold the key to something that might change the heart and soul of the whole world. Now she’s back to keeping secrets. Well, two can play that game. But I had one more question for her.
“Can you tell me why you said this adventure could bring such radical change to the world?”
“One of the old legends about the Templar Treasure is that it contains a Gospel that’s not in the Bible,” she answered. “A Gospel written by Jesus himself, which denies his divinity and contradicts all of the influences of St. Paul and Christianity.”
Oh. My. God. If anything could change the course of human events on such a fundamental level, that would be it. Western spirituality would never be the same after something like that.
“Do you think it’s true?” I asked, once I had overcome the shock of it all.
“What I think doesn’t matter,” she answered. “What matters now is what Bowler Hat and his flunkies would do to set his hands on that ring.”
The room went quiet for a few minutes while I let those words tumble around my head. There was only one more thing I could think of to say at that point.
“Let’s make sure he doesn’t.”
