Reginald Cook - The Hammer of God

“But how?” he whispered, anxious, eyes wide. “I could never.”

“I’d leave it to Father Ortega, but that would be too conspicuous.” He leaned over to the bishop’s ear. “It shouldn’t take much. Use a pillow, he’ll go peacefully.”

Bishop Ruini fell back against the wall, flush, confused. Cardinal Polletto handed him a tissue from a box on a table next to the bed. The bishop, eyes filled with tears, tried to compose himself. “What if I get caught?” he asked.

Cardinal Polletto headed for the door, grabbed the handle and turned.

“Don’t.” He opened the door. “Come, Bishop, let me buy you a cup of coffee. You look tired.”

Bishop Ruini, sullen, head low, walked past the cardinal, avoiding the eyes of those watching.

The door closed. Cardinal Maximilian’s eyes slowly opened.

R obert and Thorne spent the night in the stairwell, taking turns sleeping in two hour shifts. As far as they could tell, their pursuers left the area around four a.m. Father Kong and several other members of Il Martello di Dio, Robert hadn’t met, arrived to pick them up just after sunrise. They rode back to the villa in silence, carefully watching the roads to make sure they weren’t followed. When they reached the villa, he and Thorne explained the details of the shooting, including Father Tolbert’s confession and abduction.

“He’s involved more than we knew,” said Father Kong. “Or else why would they make such a daring attempt to abduct him?” Robert agreed, and cursed himself inside for not securing their best lead so far.

Sister Isabella brought Robert and Thorne hot tea and sweet rolls.

The warmth and smell of hot bread felt particularly satisfying to Robert.

He’d practically inhaled the lot. The nun smiled, and delivered him more.

“Any word on Cardinal Maximilian?” asked Robert.

“His condition is the same,” said Sister Isabella. “Stable, but serious.

Bishop Ruini will report back if there’s any change.”

“How about the van?” asked Robert, attacking the next roll.

“We canvassed the area, but nobody saw or heard a thing. We did pull fingerprints from the steering wheel, and picked up a few cigarette butts. Other than that, the van was clean.”

“What about the license plates?” asked Thorne.

“Negative,” answered Sister Isabella. “It came back registered in the name of a man who’s deceased.” Robert paced the room. “We did have some luck on the two men you killed at the castle,” she said. “They both worked for a mafia family run by two locals here in Rome, Rinaldo and Dianora Calabrese.”

“Can we approach them?” asked Robert. “I know they’re working for The Order, but maybe money will loosen their tongues.”

“Not these two,” said Father Kong. “They take pride in loyalty. They won’t talk to us for any price.”

“Maybe money isn’t the price we need to pay,” said Thorne. “If we can get to them, we can make them talk.”

“Getting to them won’t be easy,” said Father Kong. “They live in a heavily guarded compound about seventy-five kilometers outside of the city.”

“Good,” said Robert. “I suspect that the fingerprints in the van will come back to men who also work for them. If it does, that’s all we need to go on. We’ll lay out a plan to sneak inside the compound and have a talk with Rinaldo and Dianora.”

“I doubt that’ll happen without further bloodshed,” said Sister Isabella.

“Goes with the territory,” answered Thorne. “Right now, after what we went through last night, I’m up for a little payback.”

“Revenge is mine says the Lord,” said the nun.

“We’re instruments of God, Sister,” answered Thorne. “And if the good Lord is looking for revenge, I’m just the ticket He needs to do the deed.”

Sister Isabella looked Thorne in the eye. “I’ll continue to pray for you. I understand your anger, but you must give faith a chance.”

“Thanks, Sister. Just pray I shoot straight.” Robert shot Thorne a hard look and cleared his throat. “Let’s stick to the task at hand. Sister, find out if they have a match on those fingerprints. Father Kong, I need everything you have on the compound, fast. We’re going inside tonight, just after nightfall. Post two people there to keep watch. Have them report back, and let us know if Rinaldo and Dianora are there, and if they notice anything suspicious.” Everybody snapped to their task. Robert pulled Thorne aside. “A little heavy handed, don’t you think?”

“Look whose talking. Not too long ago, I had to pull you back,” she said.

“I feel you, but let’s keep these people on our team.” Thorne gave Robert a hard stare. “We almost got killed last night. I just don’t want any misunderstandings. You know me, if I have to die, it won’t be all by my lonesome.”

Robert smiled. “I wouldn’t expect anything less, just don’t take any of us with you.”

Thorne smiled back. “Keep your head low, and that won’t be a problem.” They both laughed.

Thorne went to help Sister Isabella. Robert, once again in his life, was glad Thorne was there with him, as she had always been. He pondered the glue that kept them together, a team, and the dark secret Cardinal Maximilian eluded to back in Chicago, the one important moment in both their lives, when Robert was there for her.

Twenty minutes later, Robert examined a hand drawn layout of the compound, and went over it with Father Kong. They estimated that twenty guards patrolled the area in and around it, with several more patrolling the heavily wooded area around it.

Initially, Robert suggested that they hire outside help. He had two six-man mercenary teams on standby, men he and Thorne had worked with in the past, people he knew he could trust. Father Kong and Sister Isabella objected, but Robert kept his men on standby, just in case.

“We’ll try to go in quietly,” said Robert. “Thorne and I will be armed, but I want everyone to carry tranquilizer dart guns. Thorne will get them from our people.”

“Good,” said Father Kong. “We’ll take out as many guards as possible without killing them. But how will we know where to find Rinaldo and Dianora once we’re inside? And what about the cameras and alarms? I’m sure their security system is top of the line.”

“With all those men, plus the house staff walking around, I bet most of the sensors and motion detectors will be down. Thorne can disarm the security system once we’re inside the compound, if necessary. We’ll spot as many cameras as we can before we go in, and deal with the rest as we go,” said Robert

Father Kong agreed.

“We’ve got a hit,” an excited Sister Isabella chimed in behind them.

She laid out pictures of the two men killed at the castle on the table.

“Both of them worked for Rinaldo and Dianora.” Thorne eased up beside her. “Good job, Sister. That’s the last piece we needed.”

Robert leaned on the table, then looked up at the others. “Let’s do it.”

A priest walked in and whispered in Father Kong’s ear. The priest thanked him and faced everyone. “Bad news, the police have issued an all-points bulletin. You and Thorne are to be arrested for killing two police officers. You’re considered armed and dangerous terrorists,” said Father Kong.

Robert shook his head in disgust. “Nothing we can do about it now.

Let’s get ready to go.”

Everybody went to work. Robert stared out at the woods in the canyon below. He closed his eyes and prayed for Samuel, the Hammer of God, and himself.

T wo cars, with four passengers each, including Robert, Thorne, Father Kong and Sister Isabella, glided through the dark back roads, passing a few cars along the way, with no police in sight. As a precaution, Robert and Thorne rode in separate cars, hunched down in the backseat, their heads covered. Everyone was clad in black from head to toe, including gloves and skullcaps.