by Nees, David
The monk nodded and rushed out of the door.
The Abbot stood up. He was over six feet tall and his movements supported Jason’s impression of strength.
“Come with me,” he instructed.
Jason glanced at the corner with the weapons. The Abbot caught his glance.
“We leave them here. We will deal with this without guns.”
Outside at least thirty monks had assembled with more gathering. Jason didn’t see Ernie and the kids. They must have been told to stay inside. At the door to the offices, the Abbot stopped.
“You wait here, inside. You can watch from the window, but under no circumstances do you show yourself.” He stood close to Jason. “Do you understand?”
“Yes sir.”
Jason turned back inside. The monks gathered around their Abbot. When they had assembled, he began to speak.
“Brothers, we have given sanctuary to a family and some orphan children and just now, to the man who freed them from their captivity.” He gazed over the assembled group, now about fifty strong. “You understand the custom of sanctuary. It still is operative for us. Since I have granted sanctuary, we must now defend it.”
Jason listened at the window. Looking over the monks, he noticed there were no obese ones among them. All the men, from the oldest to the youngest looked hard and fit.
“There is a group following these people, possibly violent. You will follow my lead when they arrive. Now spread out around me, not too close, but not too far away.”
Quickly the monks assembled as directed.
“They’re coming,” a lookout shouted.
Some fifteen men came marching up to the gate. Jason could see Vincent in the group, along with Larry Roper. Roper stepped forward.
“From the way you’re all assembled, I think you know why we’re here.”
The Abbot stepped forward a couple of paces.
“Perhaps you will be specific and explain your presence on our property.”
“We’re chasing a fugitive. Someone who’s killed three of our men, and more during this chase.”
The Abbot didn’t reply.
“We think he’s come here. You are to turn him over to us.”
“On what authority do you make that demand?”
His eyes bore into Roper’s. Vincent was now standing next to Roper and felt the weight of the Abbot’s gaze as well.
“On the authority of the City of Charlotte.”
“We are not under the authority of Charlotte, nor of any city. We are under authority of the Pope, and of God.” He cocked his head towards Roper. “Do you have an edict from the Pope?”
“Don’t play games with me,” Roper said. “You don’t have the right to protect him.”
“Ah but I do. And I have almost two millennia of tradition to support my right.”
Before Roper could answer, the Abbot turned to Vincent.
“What part do you play in this? You are obviously not part of a military unit.”
“I represent the civilian authorities in Charlotte and I stand behind the commander here.”
“What’s your name?”
In spite of himself, Vincent answered.
“Vincent Bonocchi.”
“So, Vincent Bonocchi, I take it from your name that you are Italian.” The Abbot stepped forward another couple of paces. “Are you a Catholic?”
Vincent nodded.
“Good. I assume this man isn’t, since he seems ignorant of how this works. When was the last time you went to confession?”
Vincent paused. The power of the authority figures of his faith rose up from deep inside him. He hadn’t confessed in decades. But he regularly went to church to light candles for friends and family members who had died.
“It’s been a long time.”
“This is bullshit,” Roper said. “I’m in charge here and you need to release this man to us. He’s broken our laws and killed people. He needs to pay for what he’s done.”
“We’ll all pay for what we’ve done, sooner or later,” the Abbot said. “By the way, what is your name?”
“Roper, Commander Roper of the Charlotte Militia.”
“Well Mr. Roper according to the long-standing tradition of sanctuary, I can’t release anyone into your hands just because you demand it. You are free to wait outside the monastery and can arrest anyone leaving who’s not a monk. But,” he stepped forward again and now was at the gate nearly face to face with Vincent and Larry, “you do not interfere or harm any of my monks.”
“That’s your final word, is it?”
“I’m happy to have more words with you and perhaps enlighten your mind and soul, but on this subject that is the final word.”
Roper now raised his rifle. “Perhaps you should open the gate and let us in. I haven’t had my final word yet.”
The Abbot looked calmly into Roper’s eyes. Roper’s carbine was now centered on his chest. The monks stood still but were now clearly tensed. Finally, the Abbot nodded to the gate keeper.
“Open the man-door and let these men in. We can offer them our hospitality and maybe improve their thinking.”
He then backed up into the courtyard as the monk did as he was told. Roper and Vincent went through the door followed by the rest of the men, a mixture of militia and mafia. Once inside, Vincent and Roper walked up to the Abbot with their men behind them. The monks quietly shuffled aside and, in the process, surrounded the intruders.
“I think we’ll just search the compound. If no one’s here, we’ll be on our way and no harm done. But if the guy we’re chasing is here, we’ll take him with us. You won’t have to give him up, we’ll just take him.” Roper smiled. “Then you won’t be breaking your century’s old tradition, we’ll break it for you. You can’t really stop us so your conscience can be clear. No one will fault you for avoiding any bloodshed.”
“And are you an expert on conscience? I’m surprised.”
“You know what I mean. Let’s not waste any more time,” Roper said, turning to the men behind him. “Fan out—”
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
Roper turned back to the Abbot. “You’re not giving orders here anymore. I’m in charge and we’re going to find our fugitive.”
“Your men will not leave this assemblage.”
“How are you gonna stop us?” Roper pointed his rifle at the Abbot. The barrel almost touching his chest.
The Abbot calmly looked over the barrel, down at Roper.
“You see the brothers assembled around you? If you initiate violence, they will defend their Abbot, their monastery, and themselves. With their lives.”
Roper laughed, but it sounded nervous.
“Sticks against guns? You don’t stand a chance.”
“You won’t kill us all. We’ll have enough left to stop you.”
“But your men will die, needlessly.”
“Not needlessly. In defense of a long-standing tradition. Also, we know where we’re going after we die. Do you?”
The Abbot now raised his face to the rest of the pursuers. “Do you know where you’re going after you die?”
His voice now boomed out, a deep baritone. “Do any of you know what you face after killing a man of God? After violating a sacred place? One set aside for contemplation of God and His works?”
The men looked at him with growing concern in their faces. Vincent stepped up to Larry.
“This has gone far enough,” he said.
“You want to back down? This is just theatrics.”
Vincent shook his head. “It’s not. This man means what he says.”
“There gonna commit suicide to stop us? To save Jason? Someone they don’t even know?”
Vincent held Roper’s gaze. “They will.”
Roper now looked around. Most of the gang members looked like they wanted nothing more than to leave. The militia members just looked confused and concerned.
“We go outside. Then we can talk about what to do next,” Vinc
ent said.
“We’re not leaving, we—”
“Now. We leave now.” Vincent’s voice was hard and unyielding.
Larry looked at him, his gang members, and the rest of his men, and cursed under his breath.
He turned back to the Abbot. “You haven’t heard the last from me.”
The Abbot said nothing as the men shuffled back out through the gate which was then locked shut.
Chapter 47
___________________________________
O nce outside, Larry turned to Vincent. “What the hell was that? Giving in to an unarmed man?”
“He’s a priest. We don’t kill priests.”
“He’s a monk. He sits in this place, cut off from the world. What good is he?”
Vincent shook his head. “We don’t kill priests. As the Abbot, he’s the priest for this monastery. He can perform the sacraments, marry, bury the dead. He can do all the things a priest in a church can do.”
“So what? You kill people when they get in your way or cross you. How the hell is this any different? He’s blocking us.”
“It’s different because he’s a priest. I may kill people but there’s a code. Loyalty to the organization, family, the church. Something you don’t know about.”
“The guy’s in our way.”
Vincent turned to look back at the gate. “True. But he’s in a different category. He’s not taking sides against us, but following his faith and tradition.” He turned back to Roper. “We can wait him out. He has to come out sooner or later.”
Roper looked at Vincent in disgust and stomped off.
“Get the Humvees up here,” he shouted to one of his militia officers. “The ones that work. If any don’t, strip their fuel cans and bring them with the other vehicles.”
Turning back to Vincent, he said, “I’ll wait for now, but I won’t promise to wait forever. If this drags on too long I’m going back in with my men. With or without you.”
Back inside the monastery, the Abbot entered the office building.
“Follow me,” he said to Jason.
With another monk in tow, he led him through some corridors, through the church and into the building attached to the other side. He stopped at a door at the end of a long hall and knocked. Someone said “come in” and he opened the door.
Inside were Ernie, Ruth, and all the children. They were sitting or lying on the cots distributed around the room.
“Jason!” Ernie shouted as he followed the Abbot into the room. “You made it. Thank God.”
The kids jumped up and ran to him, putting their arms around him. Ruth smiled from a cot where she lay.
“We could hear the gunfire as we moved through the woods. You were right. We followed the directions you gave us and made it. If you hadn’t slowed them down, we never would have gotten here.”
“You didn’t make it by much it seems…but it was enough,” Jason said.
“We did. The Abbot granted us asylum. We can stay until Ruth’s ankle is healed, then go on our way.”
“Ernie and the children will help by working here while they stay,” the Abbot said. “I want to talk with both of you men. We can talk in my office over breakfast.” He turned to the monk. “Arrange for food to be brought to the family. They will stay here while I meet with the men.”
With that, they headed back through the building to the Abbot’s office.
“My name is Father Gregory,” the Abbot said when they were seated in his office. “As you can see, I’m in charge of this monastery. He leaned forward. “Now tell me, what have you embroiled me in? You can start by telling me where you’re from.”
“My family and I are from Knoxville. We were headed to Charlotte because we heard that things were under control, that life was returning to normal. I don’t know where the two boys are from.”
“And you?”
“I’m from a number of places, it’s not really important—
The Abbot held up his hand.
“If I ask the question it is important. I expect a clear, honest answer. If you can’t provide that, I’ll turn you out now.”
The Abbot’s intense eyes bore into Jason.
“Can I trust you?” Jason asked.
“You saw me put my life, the lives of my fellow monks on the line for you. And you ask that question?”
“You’re right. It’s just hard to let my guard down, I’ve had it up for so long.”
“I can hear all about that later. If you need to confess, I can hear that as well. Right now, I want to understand the situation I find my monastery in and that starts with understanding both of you.”
Jason took a deep breath. “I’m from Hillsboro. Members of the gang, the mafia that runs Charlotte, showed up one day and told the town leaders that we owed the gang a half a million dollars.”
“Why would they do that? What did they say to justify such a demand?”
Jason told Father Gregory the story of Joe Nicoletti’s visit.
“So, we decided that someone should go see what was going on here and how much of a threat Charlotte posed to our town. I volunteered to go undercover, ingratiate myself into the mob and find out what we were facing.”
Jason continued with his story, explaining how Larry Roper was the corrupt Captain that Hillsboro had driven out of town and how he had a motive for revenge.
“I was about to be put in charge of coal collection for the power plant. I also learned that the mob boss was planning on wiping out everyone in my town. The mob wanted me to meet with Roper to tell him what I knew about Hillsboro. I couldn’t do that, he’d recognize me, so I had to go underground. I also had to find a way to disrupt the mob’s plans and save my town.
“Before I disappeared, I was taken out to see the coal collection efforts. That’s where I came across Ernie. He had been put on the coal crew as punishment for having a gun in his apartment. He gave me his family’s address and I looked them up. They were pretty destitute and so when I decided I had to disappear, I also decided to get them out of the city and try to free Ernie.
“Is this true,” the Abbot said to Ernie.
He nodded. “Every word. These are not upright people running the city. They’re thugs and they act like it.”
“While you were working for the gang, did you kill anyone?” The Abbot asked, turning back to Jason.
“No sir. In fact, I figured out how to collect the money they took from the local businesses and citizens without violence. It made some of the members suspicious of me.”
While they were talking, a monk came into the room carrying a large wooden tray. On it was a bowl of scrambled eggs, bacon, bread and butter, along with cups and a pot of tea. He set the food down on a side table along with three wooden plates and without a word departed.
Father Gregory gestured to the food. “Please, help yourselves. We have plenty to eat here. We are a self-sustaining community.”
Jason felt his hunger wake. His stomach gave out a growl. Both he and Ernie went over and filled plates of food and then sat back down. The Abbot poured himself a cup of tea and returned to his desk.
“You stayed undercover until the pending meeting with this Roper fellow came on the horizon. And then you left.” The Abbot took a sip of his tea. “I don’t understand why you’re leaving would generate such a pursuit. And what is Roper talking about, saying you killed three people before you departed?”
Jason knew the worst was going to come out now. He decided that he had to be completely honest with the Abbot or else he might risk, not only his sanctuary, but that of Ernie and his family.
“My purpose in Charlotte was to assess the level of their threat to Hillsboro. When I learned of their plan to wipe out all the citizens, to make them an example to other towns, I decided I had to do whatever I could to disrupt those plans. There was no way we could withstand any major assault from them. They would crush us.
“I decided that I had to take out their leadership and sow seeds of chaos, disruption, so that Ch
arlotte would have to look inward and forget about Hillsboro.”
“And you did that?” Father Gregory asked.
“I think so.”
The Abbot’s eyes stayed on Jason.
“You cut off the head, the snake dies.”
Father Gregory looked at Jason, waiting for him to continue.
“What I mean is that I had to eliminate the leadership in Charlotte, the gang leaders running the town. If I could do that, it could throw them into internal fighting which would take their eyes off of us.”
“You killed the leader.”
Jason nodded. “The boss and the underboss. The two top men in the mob family. Before that I killed a man named Gino in self-defense. He was trying to expose me and had threatened Ernie’s family.”
Father Gregory leaned back in his chair. His eyes never left Jason.
“You are a murderer then?”
Jason shook his head. “I was a sniper in the army. I killed some men while on duty, men who were trying to kill my fellow soldiers. I see this as no different. I’m a soldier fighting for Hillsboro and my family against this gang.”
Father Gregory gave a thin smile. “You may be making too fine a distinction. How many men have you killed?”
“Ironically, only a few while in the army. After the EMP attack, more than twenty. All in defense of myself or my family.”
Father Gregory turned to Ernie. “Tell me your story.”
After Ernie had finished Father Gregory told him he could stay as long as he wanted except the females would be sequestered apart from the men.
“I understand this may be a hardship, but we are an all-male community, and we work hard.” Father Gregory smiled at what seemed like a sudden memory. “We have an old story, it may be apocryphal. To ease crowding in the jails, some criminals in Sicily were transferred to one of our monasteries. After some weeks, they asked the authorities to put them back in prison where life had been easier.”
He glanced over at Ernie. “I doubt you will want to stay too long under our conditions. Certainly, you should stay until the men outside have tired of this game and gone away. But it is up to you. I don’t think they are looking for you. Jason seems to be the issue here.”