by Gavin Reese
The Absolver: Rome
By Gavin Reese
“Hums like a live wire with action, authenticity, and suspense to spare.” – NYT & USA Today Bestseller Michael Lister
Download THREE stories featuring Detective Alex Landon.
Also by Gavin Reese
The Enemies Series
Enemies Domestic
Enemies Foreign
Alex Landon Case Files
Alex Landon Starter Library
The Glass Cook
Room #3
The Debt Collectors
The Misery Merchant
Alex Landon Case Files Vol. 1 (3 Book Box Set)
Saint Michael Thriller Series
The Absolver: Rome
The Absolver: Vienna
Copyright © 2018 by Gavin Reese Publications LLC.
Published by Cyanide Publishing 2018
www.cyanidepublishing.com
All rights reserved. Copyright promotes and rewards creativity, encourages diverse points of view, protects free speech, and helps create and foster a vibrant, artistic culture. By purchasing an authorized copy of this publication, and complying with copyright laws that protect intellectual property by not reproducing, digitizing, or redistributing any part of this text in any form without permission, you support authors, their original stories, and make creative fiction possible. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
Although based on some portions of true events, this is a work of creative fiction. The characters and their names, along with the events, plots, and motives are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictionally. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Gavin Reese Publications LLC donates a portion of all our sales to non-profit organizations that benefit law enforcement professionals and veterans, their families, and the heirs, survivors, and memories of our Fallen Heroes. A portion of the proceeds from The Debt Collectors helps fund law enforcement organizations that specifically counter narcoterrorism. A portion of proceeds from The Misery Merchant is contributed to organizations that work to improve the rescue, rehab, and recovery of sex trafficking victims.
More information is at www.gavinreese.com
Contents
Acknowledgements
Foreword
Cast of Characters
Relevant Realities
Oath of The Absolver
Prologue
ONE
TWO
THREE
FOUR
FIVE
SIX
SEVEN
EIGHT
NINE
TEN
ELEVEN
TWELVE
THIRTEEN
FOURTEEN
FIFTEEN
SIXTEEN
SEVENTEEN
EIGHTEEN
NINETEEN
TWENTY
TWENTY-ONE
TWENTY-TWO
TWENTY-THREE
TWENTY-FOUR
TWENTY-FIVE
TWENTY-SIX
TWENTY-SEVEN
TWENTY-EIGHT
TWENTY-NINE
THIRTY
THIRTY-ONE
THIRTY-TWO
THIRTY-THREE
THIRTY-FOUR
THIRTY-FIVE
THIRTY-SIX
THIRTY-SEVEN
THIRTY-EIGHT
THIRTY-NINE
FORTY
FORTY-ONE
FORTY-TWO
FORTY-THREE
FORTY-FOUR
FORTY-FIVE
FORTY-SIX
FORTY-SEVEN
FORTY-EIGHT
FORTY-NINE
FIFTY
FIFTY-ONE
FIFTY-TWO
FIFTY-THREE
FIFTY-FOUR
FIFTY-FIVE
FIFTY-SIX
FIFTY-SEVEN
FIFTY-EIGHT
FIFTY-NINE
SIXTY
SIXTY-ONE
SIXTY-TWO
SIXTY-THREE
SIXTY-FOUR
SIXTY-FIVE
SIXTY-SIX
SIXTY-SEVEN
SIXTY-EIGHT
Epilogue
Author’s Note
The Absolver: Vienna Teaser
PROLOGUE
ONE
Gavin Reese
Acknowledgements
I must first thank Mrs. Reese for aiding in the development of this series. She loves a good conspiracy, and I’m proud that this one passed muster and compelled her to question its real-life possibility. After helping set my course on this series, she then had the (dis)pleasure of tolerating my writing schedule and obsession with this story. Thank you, baby. Mo Anam Cara.
Thanks, Tim Flanagan, Novel Design Studio, and Cyanide Publishing for your immediate interest and ongoing partnership. I’m forever grateful to have found you, Tim, and I hope you’ve benefitted from our efforts as much as I have.
I owe a specific debt of gratitude to BL for your expert technical advice, as well as your courage to throw flags when I earned them. Thanks for calling kind and constructive attention to my shortcomings.
Jay Tinsiano, an excellent conspiracy author and friend, provided poignant advice and guidance that helped me craft this story, along with the forthcoming additions to the Saint Michael Thriller Series. Thanks, Jay, for helping me step foot into this incredibly daunting and demanding genre.
T&L brought their ever-present support, encouragement, criticism, and confidence. This is the mark of a new adventure, and I’m grateful that your optimism exceeds even mine.
My indefatigable beta readers began combing through specific sections of this story months before I completed the first draft. Their keen eye for tiepos and perspective on the story’s development and structure exponentially improved the final publication. Thank you all for trading time spent with the things that matter to you for time with the things that matter to me.
To my readers, I offer my sincere gratitude. You’ve helped a starry-eyed cop get his pipedream business off the ground, and followed my writing into a new genre, series, and characters. As with all my works, I diligently work to ensure you come out ahead in our trade of time, treasure, and goods. Thank you for your support, encouragement, and kind words. They matter more than I can ever explain.
Foreword
The Absolver: Rome is the first book in my Saint Michael Thriller Series. Set in the same universe and timeline as the Alex Landon Thriller Series, readers will eventually find some common ground between them.
Common themes. Common struggles. Common characters.
As with all my published works, this book is written to be read and understood as a stand-alone fiction. While readers will certainly pick up on details shared between my publications, it is not absolutely necessary to always start reading from Book One.
This series uses fictional characters and events to explore questions that have plagued mankind since Cain and Abel: Does moral violence exist? To what limits? Who is entitled to vengeance, and when does God use man as an instrument to exact His own? When is it moral to take a human life, and when is our entitlement to dignity eclipsed by our detraction to the dignity of others?
More simply asked, what constitutes a murder, and what’s a just and deserved kill
ing?
Although this is a work of fiction, I used extensive research and real-life facts to make this story as possible as I could. I hope the following chapters effectively blur the lines between fiction, the possible, and the probable.
Cast of Characters
Absolvers
● Michael Thomas (aka “Andrew”): Priest, Former Police Officer
● Sergio Guzman (aka “Jude”): Priest, Former US Marine
● “Phillip”: Priest
● “James Alpheus” (nicknamed “Alpha”): French Priest
Church Officials and Affiliates
● His Holiness Pope Cornelius II: Theocratic Head of Holy See and Roman Catholic Church
● Manuel Medina: Monsignor in Bogotá, Columbia, chapel
● Eduardo Hernandez: Monsignor in Santa Fe, New Mexico, chapel
● “John”: Security forces trainer
● “Matthias”: Priest
● “Matthew”: Priest
● “James Zebedee” (nicknamed “Zeb”): Priest
● “John the Baptist” (called “The Baptist”): Priest
● “Bartholomew”: Priest
● “Thomas”: Priest
● “Simon the Zealot” (nicknamed “Z”): Priest
● “Big Country”: Security forces trainer
● “The Mouse”: Security forces trainer
● “Tex:” Security forces trainer
● “Jane:” Security forces trainer
● Damian Haggamore: Security forces trainer, (AKA “Double-Time”)
● Bishop Harold Hoffaburr, Ph.D.: Assistant to Cardinal Dylan
● Cardinal Paul Dylan: Archbishop, Archdiocese of New York
● Father Bullard: Priest at St. Paul’s Church, Odessa, Texas
● Father Levi De Vries: Priest at Santi Michel e Magno, Rome, Italy
The Rest of God’s Children
● Merci Renard: French medical doctor, aid worker
● Peggy Branam: Receptionist, Niobrara Sheriff’s Office
● Francis “Frank” Thomas: Michael’s father
● Mary Thomas: Michael’s mother
● Jordan Miller: Subject of Investigation
● Pietro Isadore: Subject of Investigation
● Jesus Salinas Escobedo: Bogotá parishioner
● Cesar: security guard, aid worker
● Catherine Bustamante: Michael’s ex-girlfriend
Relevant Realities
“The whole concern of [Catholic] doctrine and its teaching must be directed to the love that never ends. Whether something is proposed for belief, for hope or for action, the love of our Lord must always be made accessible, so that anyone can see that all the works of perfect Christian virtue spring from love and have no other objective but to arrive at love.” —Roman Catechism, Preface
“A preparation for the final journey. If the sacrament of anointing of the sick is given to all who suffer from serious illness and infirmity, even more rightly is it given to those at the point of departing this life…The Anointing of the Sick completes our conformity to the death and Resurrection of Christ, just as Baptism began it. It completed the holy anointings that mark the whole Christian life: that of Baptism, which sealed the new life in us, and that of Confirmation, which strengthened us for the combat of this life. This last anointing fortifies the end of our earthly life like a solid rampart for the final struggles before entering the Father’s house.” — 1523, Catechism of the Catholic Church
“It is lawful to kill an evildoer in so far as it is directed to the welfare of the whole community, so that it belongs to him alone who has charge of the community’s welfare. Thus it belongs to a physician to cut off a decaying limb, when he has been entrusted with the care of the health of the whole body. Now the care of common good is entrusted to persons of rank having public authority: wherefore they alone, and not private individuals, can lawfully put evildoers to death.” — Saint Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica [II-II, Q-64, Art 3]
Oath of The Absolver
I, Michael Andrew Thomas, swear my allegiance to Almighty God with eternal faith in His Church and Holy Scriptures.
I affirm my obligation to equally care for the eternal welfare of all God’s children.
I affirm that men infected with certain evils are bound for Hell without Final Absolution, which I willingly offer them as an act of eternal mercy.
I vow to never offer Final Absolution to a soul that may be rehabilitated by other means and other men, or without irrefutable knowledge of their grave mortal sins.
I vow to only offer Final Absolution to souls God has identified through His faithful servants placed over me, and to offer each identified soul Confession, Absolution, and Anointment.
I vow to endeavor to send God only souls fully absolved of their sins, prepared for His judgement and eternal entry into the Kingdom of Heaven.
I vow to willingly forfeit my mortal life or earthly freedom to vigorously protect the identity, actions, and purpose of myself and my fellow Absolvers.
I vow never, under any circumstance or duress, to betray this oath, my fellow Absolvers, or those God has appointed over me.
I acknowledge that my betrayal would scandalously support and defend the very evils I’ve vowed to defeat. I swear these vows to Almighty God of my own free will, upon my mortal body, and with my eternal soul. So, help me, God.
Prologue
Sunday, 6:57 PM. Three Months Ago.
New York City.
“Can we trust him with this burden?” Inside an expansive and dimly lit private office on the building’s 20th floor, an aging Italian-American sat in a plush leather chair and slowly wrung anxiety from his hands. He looked across his oversized mahogany desk and examined his subordinate for any identifiable reaction. “This man you’ve found, can he keep our secrets, and do all we require of him? This isn’t just some errand boy or street ruffian we’re looking for.” Even in the solitude of his secure office, he kept his voice down to protect their privacy. Spies are everywhere, and we’re among the most prolific espionage and terrorism targets in the world.
His subordinate seemed far more confident and relaxed as he comfortably sat in one of two matching, brown leather armchairs across the desk. Briefly gazing out the large window to his left, his employee looked over the East River as though carefully choosing his words. The window’s sheer white privacy fabric muted the exterior view and prevented anyone from watching or photographing their interaction. The man’s relative lack of years and differing ambition brought other concerns to the forefront of his mind. “He’s devout, Opus Dai, in fact, just not the maniacal kind. You should know he’s a rather, impersonal, man who doesn’t care much for the frivolities of humanity, so I do not believe he can be bought or bribed, even ignoring his ideology. He comes with the most impressive background I’ve ever seen for this kind of work. I’m absolutely confident he can train our personnel in every facet of their appointed tasks, and will readily do so without equal.”
The mentor leaned forward in his chair and allowed calculated exasperation into his voice. “Yes, but can he be trusted? We can find dozens, maybe even hundreds of qualified men for the posting, but we must first and foremost have someone we can trust completely. We’re not merely asking him to create, operate, and manage a covert training program. Even if he doesn’t understand the full scope of our objectives, we’re asking him to quietly help us change the world, the very population and progeny of the entire human race for all the rest of time. So, I must continue to implore you to focus primarily on this point: can he, be trusted?”
In light of the gravity and intent of his superior’s inquiry, the subordinate considered the facts as he knew them, and the impressions and understanding he’d personally gained of the man and the matter at hand. He again looked out onto the East River and contemplated his response for what he believed to be an appropriate amount of time. “I firmly believe so, yes,” he replied and turned back to his mentor. “I do believe he
can be trusted completely.”
Leaning back in his chair, the aging mentor paused before he responded. “We’ve thought that before, and we’ve been proven wrong. Even with your support and confidence in this man, I want you to ensure this is sufficiently compartmentalized. Give him no more detail than we’ve discussed. Let him believe what he wants. He undoubtedly possesses a bright and deductive mind, so we must ensure he never knows exactly what it is we’re doing with his graduates. It’s one thing for him to assume what they’re tasked with, and another thing entirely for us to confirm it. He needs to remain ever-focused on the condition of the trees, rather than taking qualitative notice of the forest as a whole.”
“Of course.”
“You will, naturally, ensure he has no moral quandary with his assumptions. There is no greater danger to us than a self-avowed moralist who’s experienced a change of heart or paradigm shift, so make sure to have that conversation, without actually having that conversation.”
“That’s already been taken care of, sir. He’s been training such men for decades, but only to serve a secular purpose. He’s fully committed to what he believes to be our course of action, and to growing a cadre of men willing to put his skills to work for an entirely divine purpose. It is his professed understanding that they’ll ultimately be employed in the nation’s Division of Intelligence and Counter-Espionage.”
“Excellent. He’s not wrong, but he’s not exactly right, now, is he? Perfect, in fact, yes, a perfect explanation of their intended usefulness. How soon until he’s operational?”
The subordinate straightened his left jacket sleeve. “He assures me he requires no more than two months, and he’s apparently already had a property in mind for just this purpose. It would seem he’s been just as divinely inspired as you, and at almost the same exact time.”
The older man smiled at the notion. “Then he may, in fact, be just the man God intended us to find, and the perfect match you’ve proclaimed him to be. Now we just need to finalize the first roster of recruits.”