Chapter Two and Three...reworked

Chapter Two



            Hernandez quickly opens the side door to the unmarked van.



            “Agent Hernandez, back so soon?” asks the driver.



            “You heard what he had to say,” she climbs into her set and slams the door shut. “Did you open it yet?”



            “No ma’am, we were waiting on you,” says Agent blonde punk teenager.



            “Good, hand it over. I want to see what the good Father has been up to, Drive!”



            The driver heads west on Elm, past the Sixth Floor Museum, down the hill past the grassy knoll and through the triple underpass turning South on I-35.



            “Did you hear what he said? I think he’s performing the duties of a real Priest,” she said, pulling the briefcase onto her lap and quickly spinning the numbers to 666, her little inside joke. She opens it and retrieves the green folders. She starts to read as the van gently sways back and forth from the highway speed.



          “What do we have?” asks the driver.



          “Carlos Trejos: age sixty, Hispanic, widowed. Richard Burr: sixty one, White, single. Mr. Wallace: sixty five, African-American, married. Agent Kelly says these three are The Kings.”

 

          “Agent Kelly?” says the blonde punk teenager. “That’s not his real name.”



          “I know, just shut up and listen. Don’t over complicate things right now,” she says. “These three sit on every board the Church has. There are four members of the financial board, Trejo, Burr, Wallace and one Father Kelly. Well, I guess he’s doing something right. Months on this case and he’s just now telling me he has names and contact with The Kings, what an asshole.”



          The driver exits off I-35 and takes Hwy 67 South, towards the Church and the safe house.



          “Now that we have names and info on these killers I’m going to request more surveillance on the Church. You two will sneak in to Kelly’s office, I want eyes and ears in there now, along with the rest of the church and offices,” she said.



          “Are we giving Kelly that information?” asks the driver.



          “Not right now, I’ll tell him when I’m ready. I want to see what he’s up to and exactly how close he is to these three. I have a feeling we are not being fully briefed on what goes on in that Church and his involvement with The Kings.”













Chapter Three



          Carlos stands at the front of the Church, he lights two candles at the base of a statue of the Virgin Mary. He kneels down and prays carrying out the same ritual he does every week. The main Church is empty; a couple stands at the back of the foyer talking to each other about their wedding plans. They discuss what flowers go where and who sits in what row, the usual stuff the groom doesn’t really care about. Carlos gently raises his small frame off the kneeler, he walks up to the Altar which has a large Crucifix behind it. He bows deeply and performs the Sign of the Cross; he walks to the left of the Altar and through the gray metal door out to the hallway. Walking the length of the hallway he takes the stairs down to the basement.



          Already seated at the table are his partners, Richard Burr and Mr. Wallace. Carlos takes his seat on the brown folding chair. The room is well lit, clean and organized. Boxes are neatly stacked on metal shelving; statues are wrapped up and stored in the corner. Church volunteers have organized the Christmas decorations, ready to go up in a few weeks. Their meeting table is empty, no pens, no paper, and no notebooks. These meetings are all done completely from memory and that has been one of the rules for over two decades.



          “My brothers, I call this meeting to order. We are here to discuss business and business only. Personal feelings must be left at the door,” says Carlos softly.



          “Understood,” the two other men say in unison.



          “Alright then,” says Mr. Wallace. “First thing we need to discuss is I think it’s time to bring our new Priest into the inner circle, Father Kelly.”



          “Deacon Simmons doesn’t trust him yet,” says Richard. “I think we need more time with the good Father, see who he really is.”



          “Agreed,” says Carlos.



          “I’ve been working with him for four months on Church matters and I think it’s time and we can trust him,” says Mr. Wallace.



          “Yes we can trust him, on Church matters only,” says Carlos.



          “He’s not ready yet,” says Richard.



          “When is he going to be ready? We need his influence and power he’s gained in the community right now,” says Mr. Wallace. “As we all know things haven’t gone our way the last few years and that’s something that we must and will change.”



          “What about our contact at the FBI?” Asks Richard.



            “I’ll contact him and see if he can run a background check,” says Mr. Wallace.



          “We are a little behind here, we should have checked him out months ago and told the Bishop yes or no on sending him here,” says Carlos. “We have great influence in this Church and community gentlemen; we can’t forget to use it to our advantage.”



          “Our intelligence guy dropped the ball,” says Wallace.



          “Yes he did, and I will personally see to it that he has the misfortune of finding out what it feels like not to do the job we pay him for,” says Richard.



          “As it should be dealt with, gentlemen,” says Carlos rising from his chair and buttoning his jacket. “Our fathers, as well as we, have worked too hard, shed too much blood to let our power fall because we forgot to do a simple background check. Little mistakes will bring down our whole empire. Father Kelly stays on the outside for now. We will bring him in when you convince me he is expendable. Good day gentlemen, I’ll see you in a week.”