Mario’s eyes bulged in disbelief. Lore had it that the Templars had been annihilated in 1307 by King Philip IV. “I was under the impression you were all extinct.”

“Quite the contrary. As you can witness, we are very much alive.”

“But how is that possible?”

“King Philip IV orchestrated a mass execution of our brethren. Under the most gruesome torture, our forefathers confessed to heinous acts they never committed.” Dominic’s voice dipped into a mournful tone as he recalled the dreadful day King Philip IV seized his ancestors. They were subjected to brutal torture and forced to confess to fabricated charges of heresy, homosexuality, devil worship, spitting on the cross, fraud, and more. After that fateful day, the surviving Templars seemingly fled Europe, disappearing into obscurity.

“I came across a scroll in the Archives stating the pope absolved the Knights of their crimes.”

“The Chinon Parchment,” said Dominic, well-versed in his history.

“That’s the one.”

“Despite that written absolution, the so-called fair King Philip continued his brutal torture and execution of our brothers.”

“Why would he do that?”

“Despite our title as the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ, our ancestors amassed a fortune thanks to the numerous donations and gifts they received from those they safeguarded. We became incredibly wealthy, enabling us to lend money to those in need.”

Mario leaned forward engrossed in Dominic’s narration of his people’s history.

“King Philip IV was heavily indebted to our ancestors. Seeing their immense power and wealth, the king schemed to have them arrested, confess to false charges, and executed, thereby erasing his debts forever.”

“That’s horrific.”

“King Philip also aimed to seize our wealth, long ago. The rumor about us finding Solomon’s treasure is indeed true. We did find King Solomon’s treasure.”

Mario’s eyes widened in astonishment upon hearing this revelation. “That treasure would be worth billions today.”

“Trillions, to be precise—which is why we swore an oath to protect it from people like King Philip and the Vatican.”

“Why the Vatican?”

“The pope and his Vatican believe they are the rightful heirs to Solomon’s treasure. You must remember the Bible verse where Jesus tells Peter, ‘Now I say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it. And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven.’” The Templar recited Matthew 16. “You see, the Vatican believes they are that church.”

“I understand the verse, but it speaks of Heaven, not King Solomon’s treasure.”

“Mario, the magnitude of Solomon’s treasure is beyond comprehension. We’re talking about centuries of treasures unearthed from Solomon’s Temple. As I mentioned, it would be worth trillions in today’s currency. In the wrong hands, it could alter the course of history. That’s why we must keep it from the pope and the Vatican.”

“I’m still puzzled about the Knights Templars. The legends suggest you’ve been extinct for centuries.”

“Allow me to enlighten you with a history lesson from the inside.” Dominic rose and began to pace around the office. “Our original moniker was the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ. The world recognizes us as the Knights Templar, or Temple Knights. The Knights Templar were established around 1119 AD.”

Mario listened, engrossed in the Templar’s history as narrated by a Templar himself.

“The original eight Christian Knights approached the Patriarchy of Jerusalem, seeking permission to defend the Kingdom of Jerusalem. We took on the duty of safeguarding pilgrims journeying to the Holy Land to worship at the sacred shrines.” Dominic paced across the carpet, his gaze distant. “These pilgrims traversed through Muslim-controlled territories, and many were robbed or killed. With the King of Jerusalem’s approval, we set up our headquarters at Solomon’s Temple. King Solomon, by today’s standards, would probably be a trillionaire. Kings and queens would present him with tons of gold and treasure.”

“The Old Testament declared King Solomon was the wealthiest and wisest man who ever lived,” Mario added.

“Correct. In 1128 AD, the Vatican acknowledged us as God’s army. The pope’s decree granted us our military name, as you now know it: the Knights Templar.” Dominic returned to his seat.

“What about all the treasure?”

“When my forefathers were stationed at Solomon’s Temple, they began digging and excavating the temple grounds. That’s when they stumbled upon Solomon’s treasure, hidden deep in a vault beneath the temple.”

“Wow.” Mario’s eyes widened at the revelation of how Solomon’s treasure had truly been found.

“Wow, indeed. But they realized the treasure was too vast for any single nation or entity to possess. As the saying goes, ‘absolute power corrupts absolutely’. Our forefathers vowed to prevent the treasure from falling into the wrong hands.” Dominic then recited the vow every Templar took to protect the secrecy of King Solomon’s great treasure.

“Where is it?” Mario was on the edge of his seat now, eager to hear the secret of the treasure.

“Ah, there’s only one person who knows the answer to that question.”

Mario waited in anticipation. “And?”

“Only the Grand Master ever knows the location of Solomon’s treasure. And when he passes on the ‘crown’, so to speak, he reveals it to the next Grand Master, and so forth.”

“Only one person in the entire world knows where Solomon’s treasure is at any given time? You’re joking, right?”

“No, my friend. The Grand Master Templar Knight is the only one in the world who knows the location of Solomon’s treasure.”

“Unbelievable.” Mario slumped back into his chair, the anticlimactic end to the tale leaving him deflated.

“Believe it, Mario. The Grand Master took an oath. As I’ve reiterated, the treasure is too formidable for any single entity to command.” Dominic observed Mario, whose countenance was etched with defeat. The whereabouts of the treasure would remain an enigma to him. It was akin to faith: trusting in something unseen yet acknowledging its existence. As an ordained priest, Mario knew he ought to grasp this concept better than most. This was a doctrine from his seminary education. Why was it so challenging for him to accept the existence of Solomon’s treasure without seeing it? If it were a mere myth, why would the Vatican be so resolute over seizing it?

Sensing Mario was saturated with history lessons, Dominic concluded his tale. “On October 13, 1307, King Philip IV of France rounded up many Templars, accused them of heresy, and had them burned at the stake after extracting confessions through torture. Those who escaped capture vanished into obscurity creating satellites around the world like the one you are hiding in now.”

Mario stared at Dominic, the history lesson concluded. The idea of a single man possessing the knowledge of Solomon’s treasure was hard to digest. “That’s it?”

“That’s the long and short of it. I regret there’s no more to share.” Dominic noted the disappointment etched on the priest’s face.

Like a spell breaking, Mario came back to the real world, realizing he was still a target for the Vatican’s assassins. Who was that doppelgänger they had killed? “What does all this have to do with me?”

“Do you possess something the Vatican desires?”

Mario scrutinized Dominic, wondering if he could trust this man who claimed to be a Knights Templar. “I found a journal from Pope Pius XII detailing his involvement with Hitler during World War II.”

“Do you have this journal?”

“It’s, um . . .” Mario hesitated, debating whether to reveal his secret to this organization. “It’s hidden.”

“Hidden where?”

“I can’t tell you that.” Mario immediately thought about the journal he’d left hidden in the Rome train station locker.

Dominic leaned back in his chair, baffled the young priest was unwilling to trust the people who had just saved his life.

After a tense silence, Mario shifted the conversation. “What happened in the alley an hour ago?”