"__________________ ." "NVEE __________________" "Tom, it's Robert." "I need you to fill in for me." "Kate's gone into labour and there are complications." "Mr Thorn." " Is she all right?" " She's resting." "And the child?" "The child is dead." "She does not know." "It was everything to her." "A child." "Mr Thorn, your wife..." "There was damage to the womb." "She might not be able to..." "She might not be able to what?" "You love her very much." "Then you must accept God's plan." "He is quite beautiful." "I knew the mother well." "Healthy in every way." " And the family?" " No family." "The mother died, as your own child... in the same hour." "And our child..." "May I see the body?" "What's to be gained?" "Give your love to the living." "For the sake of your wife, Mr Thorn." "God will forgive this little deception." "And for the sake of this child." "On this night, Mr Thorn," "God has given you a son." " Hi." " Hi." "Who's that?" "That's our son." "He's perfect." "I love you." "I love you too." "No, it's good, it really is." "What is it?" "Come on." "Big blow." "Thank you so much." "Hi, Mike." "Afternoon, Mrs Thorn." "How's young Damien?" "He's fine." "Is my husband around?" "Yes, ma'am." "He's expecting you." " Mr Ambassador." " Troy." "Hi, Steven." " Hi, Kathy." "It's great to see you." " You too." "I've gotta run." "I'll let Robert tell you the good news." " OK." "Bye." " Bye, Kathy." "What good news?" "How was your Italian lesson?" "That's very good." "I'll have to remember that next time my watch is stolen on a sailing trip." "All right." "I'm on book one." "Well, the good news is that you might not have to open book two." "Steven's been made ambassador to Great Britain." "Wow." "That's great." "We're going with him, Kate." "He's made me deputy." "Oh, my God." "Robert..." "London..." "That's wonderful." "I'm number two now." "I couldn't wait to tell you." "It's gonna be great, Kate." "What's going on up there?" "Traffic." "Well?" "Do you like it?" "It's big." "Big." "Bad big?" "Big big." "It reminds me of Steven's place in Italy." "What's that mean?" "Nothing." "I thought you would like it." "Sorry." "Sometimes it feels as if I'm stepping over Steven's corpse." "You got this job because you earned it." "Really?" "Nothing to do with the fact that I'm the president's godson?" "Two senators and the president's sister wanted thatjob, but he gave it to you." "What does that tell you?" "That I love you." " So we'll take it." " Do I have a choice?" " No." " Didn't think so." "It is big." "A little bit." "Hello?" "Hello?" "Damien?" "Damien?" "Damien?" "No..." "Damien..." "Damien." "Boo." "Don't... don't ever do that again." "Did I scare you, Mommy?" "I didn't mean to." "I know." "I know." "I'm sorry." "I was just worried about you." " Ready?" "Come on, Damien, big breath..." " Three, two, one..." "Great." "Excuse me." "I'll be right back." " I can take him." " OK." "Thanks." "Damien." "Damien." "Look at me, Damien." "It's all for you, Damien." "It's all for you." "It's OK, pal." "It's OK." "Here he is." " Have you read the papers today, Mr Thorn?" " No, I'm afraid I haven't." " There's an article about the suicide." " I'm here to welcome the Saudi ambassador..." " Was she on drugs?" " Excuse me." "Will the suicide affect your performance as ambassador?" "Gentlemen, this way, please." "It's all right." "Are you OK?" "I'm very sorry." "Please, send me the bill." "I'll cover the charges." "It's all right, sir." "Let's just say that you owe me one." "Robert?" " Are you OK?" " Yeah." "The tabloids are having a field day with the nanny situation." "I know." "Let it go." "It'll all blow over." " I think we should issue a statement at least." " Tom, please." "Let it go this time, OK?" "Excuse me, sir." "A Father Brennan is waiting downstairs at reception." " Who?" " Father Brennan." "The priest from Rome." "Did he say what it was about?" "He called several times yesterday." "He said it was personal and urgent." "Want me to handle this?" "No." "No, I got this." "Father Brennan." "Robert Thorn." "What can I do for you?" "We haven't much time, Mr Thorn." "Time for what?" "We must accept the Lord Jesus Christ as our saviour." "Accept him now." "Ask for his forgiveness." "Take Holy Communion, Mr Thorn." "Drink of his blood, eat of his flesh." "For only when he is within you can you defeat the devil's son." "I'm sorry, Father, I..." "Accept responsibility, Mr Thorn." "You did it." "You let them do it." "I think there's been some mistake..." "He's killed before." "He'll kill again." "He'll kill until everything that's yours is his." "Forgive me, Father, but I really should get back to work." "Sorry." "I was at the hospital, Mr Thorn." "The night your son was born." "I..." "I participated." "I witnessed the birth." "I beg of you, please, Mr Thorn." "What do you want?" "I want to save you, Mr Thorn." "So Christ will save me and rescue me from eternal damnation." "What do you know about my son?" "Everything." "I saw its mother." " You saw my wife." " No." "I saw its mother." "You're referring to my wife." "Its mother, Mr Thorn." "Its mother." " OK, that's enough." "Sergeant..." " His mother is ajackal." "Yes, sir." "Everything all right, Mr Ambassador?" "Yes, Travis." "Please escort this gentleman out of the building." "Yes, sir." "You must accept the Lord Jesus each and every day, Mr Thorn." "Drink his blood." "It is the only way, Mr Thorn." " How's the nanny search coming?" " Frustrating." " No one you like?" " Not really." " Well, maybe we don't need one." " What does that mean?" "Nothing." "Just maybe we don't need a nanny." "You're not working..." "I'm trying to raise our child." "That's work." "I'm here with him every minute." "You're not." "All I'm saying is maybe we don't need a nanny." "Give you and Damien a chance to bond." "Now Damien and I don't bond." "That's not what I meant, Kate." "Can we start over, please?" "I'm sorry you had a bad day." "Mine wasn't exactly uneventful either." "Can we call it a draw?" "I'm sorry." "Come here." " Hon?" " Yeah?" " There's something that I think I..." " Excuse me." " Yes, Mrs Horton?" " Mrs Baylock is here." "I thought I was done for the day." " Shall I show her in?" " Yes, please." "Good afternoon, Mr Thorn." " Hello." " Pleasure to meet you." " This is my wife Katherine." " Mrs Thorn." " Please." " Thank you." "If I may say, I realise this must be a difficult time for you." "I'm genuinely sorry for your loss." "You know, sometimes the younger girls, away from their families..." "Well, the job can be hard on them." "But, you know, for me caring for children has been the joy of my life." "I've really been so lucky." "I love my job." "I don't think I have your résumé." "The agency sometimes forgets, with all the girls they send out." "This isn't the first time." "Here it is." "I sometimes bring an extra copy." "I've been raising children for almost 40 years now, Mrs Thorn." "I helped my own mother raise my brothers and sisters" " I was the eldest - and I guess the habit sort of stuck." "I'm not the parent, and I never forget that." "But I am an extra pair of hands and a responsible substitute when you're out of the house." "May I see the boy?" "He's beautiful." "I'll just be right back." "Hello, Damien." "I'm Mrs Baylock." "Don't be afraid." "I'm here to protect you." " Kate." " I'm coming." "Mrs Baylock?" "Where's Damien?" "I asked you to have him dressed and ready." "I'm afraid he's a bit under the weather." "He was fine a minute ago." "I was concerned about him last night." "He didn't sleep well." "I think he might be coming down with something." "And it's such a long ceremony." "I really don't think it's a good idea." "Mrs Baylock, have my son dressed and in the car in five minutes." "What's wrong, sweetie?" "It's just a church, that's all." "I know how you feel, kiddo." "Robert..." "You OK, tiger?" "Is he sick?" "Damien, what's wrong?" "Damien?" "Damien, stop it." "Damien, stop it now." "No." "Damien, stop it." "Go." "Drive the car." "Go, now." "Home, please, David." "Hold still." "Maybe we should call a doctor." "No, it's not that bad." "No, I mean for Damien." "He's fine, Kate." "That boy has never been sick a day in his life." "I know." "It's strange, isn't it?" "What, that he's healthy?" "It's unusual, Robert." "Other kids get colds, runny noses, the flu..." "But Damien..." "Nothing." "Not once." "It's notjust my imagination." "He's strange." " It's..." " What?" "It's different." "He's different." "Now why would you think something like that?" "He's just a little boy, Kate." "He got scared, that's all." "I'm gonna go to bed." "OK." "Easy." "Easy, boy." "Quiet down." "This is the master of the house." "Mrs Baylock, what is this?" " Sir?" " This dog." "We found him outside." " Who said you could bring a dog in here?" " I'm sorry, sir." "Did he scare you?" " That's not the point..." " He'll be a good watchdog, sir." "Believe me, you'll be grateful on those long trips away." "Mrs Baylock, when and if we need a dog, I'll pick one out myself." "Thank you." "Damien has grown quite fond of him, sir." "Tomorrow morning you'll call the RSPCA and have him removed." "Do you understand?" "Come on." "Good night, Mr Thorn." "So, how's the new nanny working out?" "She seems good." "But so did the last one." "I know the two of you were there when the other girl..." "With your kids." "I hope they're OK." " They're fine." "Really." " Yeah, they're fine." "Come along, children." "Stay close together." "Damien." "Damien." "Damien?" "Hey." "Damien?" "What's the matter?" "Those other kids didn't wanna play with you?" "They're afraid." "Let's go look at the birds." "Let's do that." "Hi." "Everything all right?" "Yeah." "How's Damien?" "What's wrong?" "Did something happen today, Kate?" "We went to the zoo... with all the other children." "There's something about Damien." "He's so far away." "Something's not right." "I must be a terrible person for even thinking such things." "No." "No." "Kate..." "I need to talk to someone." "OK." "OK." "What can I do, baby?" "I need to talk to someone." "OK." "Tomorrow, Mr Thorn." "One o'clock." "Bishop's Park, by the bridge." "Just five minutes and you'll never see me again." "Your wife's in grave danger." "She'll die if you don't come." "Damien?" "Are you OK?" "Damien?" "All right, you've got your five minutes." "Now tell me why I'm here." ""When the Jews return to Zion And a comet rips the sky," "When the Holy Roman Empire rises, Then you and I must die." "From the eternal sea he rises, Creating armies on either shore," "Turning man against his brother, Till man exists no more."" "You said my wife was in danger." "Go to the town of Megiddo in the walled city of Jezreel." "There lives a man named Bugenhagen." "He alone can describe how the child must die." "What child?" "What are you talking about?" "Your son, Mr Thorn." "The son of the devil." "I came here because you said my wife was in danger." "She's pregnant." " That's impossible." " That's what they told you, Mr Thorn." "He will not allow the child to be born." "He'll kill it while it slumbers in the womb." "He'll kill the unborn child and then he'll kill your wife." "And then, when he's certain to inherit all that you have, then, Mr Thorn, then he'll kill you." " That's enough." " He has to die, Mr Thorn." "You must act now, or all will be lost." "Go to the town of Megiddo." "See Bugenhagen, before it's all too late." "Now you listen to me." "I don't know who you are or what you want, but stay away from my family." "Understand?" "I don't want to see or hear from you ever again." "You'll see me in hell, Mr Thorn." "We'll spend eternity together." "Damien, could you please stop that?" "Damien." "Mrs Baylock." " What's wrong?" " That noise is driving me crazy." "Mrs Baylock." "Yes, ma'am?" "Could you please take him out of here?" "He's playing quietly, Kate." "I said take him out of here." "Yes, ma'am." "Come along, Damien." "Mummy's not feeling well." "We'll go take a walk." "How's the therapy coming?" "Can't you tell?" "Dr Greer wants to speak with you." "About what?" "Kate?" "We have a problem, Robert." "I'm pregnant." "What?" "I'm having an abortion." " Kate, listen, we should talk about this." " No." "I am not having any more children." "I want it out of me." "Look, Mr Thorn, this session was Katherine's idea, so I encourage you to speak freely." "Well, Kate's been under a lot of pressure recently with our son Damien." "Things have been... difficult." "I suppose that's why she doesn't like the idea of having another child." "She's certainly having a hard time coping." "So much so that she's developed what I call delusional rationalisations." "Like what?" "Well, she fantasises that Damien is evil, for instance." "What do you mean, evil?" "Forget about that, Mr Thorn." "It's just a fantasy." "She also fantasises that he's not really hers." " She told you that?" " It's just inside her head." "Do you believe in God, Dr Greer?" "Excuse me?" "God." "Do you believe?" "Mr Thorn, my beliefs really don't have anything to do with this." "Look, Mr Thorn, if you want to help your wife, you really must consider an abortion." "We're not having an abortion." "We need this child." "Damien. please help." " Ambassador Thorn." " How is she?" "She'll recover, but she has a concussion, broken collarbone and internal bleeding." " Internal bleeding?" " That's our biggest worry at the moment." "She's pregnant." "I'm afraid not." "She lost the child?" "Yes." "Robert." "What is it, babe?" "Please don't let him kill me." "What?" "Don't let him kill me." "Hello?" "Mr Ambassador?" "My name's Keith Jennings." " Who?" " I'm a photographer." "You broke my camera." " How did you get this number?" " No, no, please don't hang up." "This is not about the camera, it's about you." "And a priest." "A Brennan, a Father Brennan." "You were seen with him moments before he was killed." "You see anything unusual?" " No." " Look, here." "Look." "See?" "There." "I know, I know." "I didn't think much of it either at first." "Thought it was just a bad roll of film." "But then it happened again." "Here." "You see?" "That's on another roll." "And then again on the digital files." "There." "That's digital." "That's another camera." "Here we go." "Our friend Father Brennan." "Look at this." "Here." "And here's one I snapped ten days later." " Same thing." " Yeah." "Only much more pronounced on this one, actually making contact with the body." "The rest... of course, is history." "I know." "I didn't get it either." "Which is why I started digging." "The coroner's report showed that Brennan was riddled with cancer." "He was high on morphine most of the time, injecting himself two or three times a day." " He knew he was dying." " Apparently." "He said he wanted to be forgiven by Christ." "No atheists in foxholes, eh?" "Here we go." "Now, externally his body was completely normal - apart from one small item on the inside of the left thigh." "Here." "What is it?" "That's three sixes." "Six hundred and sixty-six." " A tattoo?" " No." "The biopsy showed that that was a birthmark." "Come with me." "The best is yet to come." "He lived here?" "Yes." "If you can call it living." "These are all pages from the Bible." "Thousands of them." "Every inch of wall space is covered." "And crucifixes..." "Hundreds of crucifixes." "I'd say he was trying to keep something out, wouldn't you?" "He was obviously out of his mind." "Was he?" "The first thing I found was his diary." "Only it's not so much about him as about you." "And it's a little obsessive." "Notes on whenever you left the house, where you went, where you ate, your speaking engagements..." " Can I see that?" " Yes, certainly." "You'll see that the last entry says you were scheduled to meet him in Bishop's Park... the same day that he died." "However, the really interesting items are here." "If we're ever gonna get to the bottom of this, this is where we begin." "The first is a clipping from some astrology magazine, a report of an unusual phenomenon." "It's a comet in the shape of a glowing star, much like the Star of Bethlehem 2,000 years ago - only this one happened a little closer to home, on the European continent, just five years ago." "June 6, to be exact." "I assume that date rings a bell." "Yes." "Yeah." "Then you'll recognise the second clipping, which is a birth announcement from a newspaper in Rome - again, five years ago, sixth day, sixth month." "Was your son born at 6am?" "My son is dead." "I don't know whose son I'm raising." "Well, if you don't mind, Mr Thorn, I'd like to try and help you find that out." "No." "It's my problem." "No." "No, no, no, please, please." "You're wrong." "You see, it's also my problem." "See, when I first came into this room with the police, I took a number of photos and I happened to catch a reflection of myself in this mirror here." "Take a look." "That's rather an unusual effect, isn't it?" "All right." "Let's go." "Get your stuff." "I'll be back as soon as I can." "I'm sorry, I have to." "No." "I'm so scared." "Kate, there's nothing to be scared of." "Nothing." "I promise." "That's not it." "It's the right address." "Apparently there was a terrible fire." "The old hospital burned down." "Five years ago." "Molti morti- many dead." "The fire started in the hall of records in the basement." "It went up like a torch." "Shot up the stairwells." "The third floor became an inferno." "The third floor." "The maternity ward." "There was a priest." "A very tall man." "He was in charge." " Spiletto." " Yes." "That's his name." "That's him." "Do you know where he is now?" "A monastery... in Subiaco." "Subiaco." "I haven't found this poem you talked about, but I have a good idea where it's from." "It seems to be a composite of prophesies from the Bible, from Daniel, from Revelation, whereby the time of the Antichrist is heralded by the Jews returning to Israel." "That's the poem." ""When the Jews return to Zion", and something about a comet." "That's here." ""A great star blazing like a torch fell from the sky."" "Now, these are signs, together with the rise of the Roman Empire, which signify the birth of the Antichrist." "As we know, the Jews have returned to Zion." "We've seen evidence of a comet." "The rise of the Roman Empire is..." "The Treaty of Rome." "The European Union." "Revelation 13:" ""And I stood upon the sand of the sea and saw a beast rise up out of the sea."" "That's the poem: "From the eternal sea he rises, creating armies on either shore."" "Now, the sea - bear with me - the sea in this context has been interpreted as representing politics - the sea which eternally rages with conflict, with turmoil, with revolution." "Politics." ""From the eternal sea he rises" - the devil's child shall rise from the world of politics." "They chose you, Robert." "Father Spiletto." "My name is Robert Thorn." "We met in Rome." "You remember me?" "There was a child." "I need to know where he's from." "I'm afraid it's no use." "You said you knew his mother." "Where is she now?" " Please, sir." " Where is she?" "I must insist." "You confessed to them." "Now confess to me." "Where is she now?" "Cervet..." " What does it mean?" " Cerveteri." "It's an old cemetery from the Etruscan time." "Where is this place?" "Where is it?" "You'll find it on a map." "It is perhaps 50 kilometres north of Rome." "Robert." "Here." "Look at the date." "June 6, five years ago." "Mother and child." ""Maria Avedici Santoya."" "Damien's mother." "But if that's her, then who's the child?" "Hand me that iron." "Try to free up those edges." "It's coming." "What the fuck is this?" "The priest..." "He said its mother was a..." "Was a what?" " The other one." " What for?" "There's nothing there." "What if there is?" "Maybe he's alive somewhere." " Who?" " My son." "Oh, God..." "They killed him." "They took him from her... and they killed him." "Come on." "Let's go." "Go." "Excuse me." "I'm the family nanny." "Here to spread a bit of cheer." "I just gave her her night-time meds." "She's barely awake." "I understand." "I wonder if I could see her, just for a few minutes?" "No, I'm sorry, but I can't." "Her son picked these out himself." "He'd be heartbroken if she didn't get them." "I promised him." "I'm not sure if he should see her like this." "OK." "I'll park him over here." "There you go." "I'll be back in a minute, sweetie." "Pretty." "Hi." "It's only me." "Don't be afraid." "We have to find the town Father Brennan mentioned." " Megiddo." " Right." "I'll get hold of some maps." "Come on." "Come on, pick up the goddamn phone." "No..." "No..." " No..." "No..." " Good girl." "Almost there." "Come along, sweetie." "All done." "Hello?" "Tom." "Listen, I just tried..." "Are you with Kate?" "But I just..." "No, she..." "Look at his little hands." "Drink his blood." "What the hell happened to you?" "Did you fall asleep?" "Yeah." "No wonder you've been staying awake." "I found out about the town of Megiddo." "It's derived from the word "Armageddon" - the end of the world." "It's underground, just south of Jerusalem." "There's an excavation going on there - some American university." "I don't suppose you remember that name?" "Bugenhagen." "Bugenhagen?" "That was his name." "I remember the poem, too." ""When the Jews return to Zion" "And a comet fills the sky," "And the Holy Roman Empire rises, Then you and I must die." "From the eternal sea he rises, Creating armies on either shore," "Turning man against his brother..." "Till man exists no more."" "Kate's dead." "I want Damien dead as well." "Bugenhagen?" "That little priest, Brennan." "Is he dead yet?" "Yes." "Then we have work to do." "Come." "It must be done on hallowed ground." "In the grounds of a church." "The blood must be spilled on the altar of God." "Each knife must be buried up to the hilt, and then set so as to form the sign of a cross." "The first knife is the most important, for it extinguishes physical life and sets the centre of the cross." "The subsequent knives extinguish spiritual life and radiate outwards." "This is a child we're talking about." "A small boy who I've raised as my own son." "He's not your son." "He's a beast." "He's evil incarnate." "Don't you forget that." " What if you're wrong?" "What if he isn't?" " I'm not wrong." " How do I know that?" " God, look..." "He bears a birthmark." "A sequence of sixes." "So says the Bible." "As do all the apostles of Satan." " No." "He doesn't have it." " He must have it." "I bathe him." "I know every inch of his body." "He doesn't have it." "If the sign isn't visible, then it must be hidden beneath the hair." "Remove that, you'll find the number." "What about the woman, the nanny?" "She's an apostate of hell." "She'll die before permitting this." "Kill him." "No." "No." "It's insane." "All of you." "You..." "Oh, my God." "Don't lose your nerve now, man." "We'll all be in the cesspool if you do." "Stop." "Thorn, stop." "You can'tjust walk away from this." "What the fuck did you think he was gonna say?" "Why else have we come here?" "He's a drunk." "An insane, delusional drunk, who, like every religious fanatic, thinks arcane scripture justifies killing." "What about me?" "What about the photographs?" "What if I'm next?" "Listen to yourself." "Do you have any idea what you're saying?" "You're asking me to stab a child." "A little boy." "Can't you see how insane that is?" "It's not real, Keith." "There is no devil, there is no God." "There is only here and now, and life." "And that's something I would never take away from any man, certainly not my own son." "Well, if you won't, I will." "No." "No." "No." "No." "No." "No." "No." "No." "No." "No." "No." "No." "No." "No." "No." "Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name." "No." "No." "No." "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." "Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us." "And lead us not into temptation..." "Please, Daddy, don't." "Stop."