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Ed wasn’t about to kiss any man’s hand, but he needed to mind his manners since he represented the good ole’ U.S. of A. The pope was the head of a foreign state besides being a religious leader.
He settled on bowing to the pope. “A pleasure to meet you, Your Holiness.”
The Black priest murmured to the pope in Italian. Ed shot Father Lambert a puzzled look.
“Father Mbaye is a part of our taskforce, and in this case, he’s the Holy Father’s translator,” Lambert said.
The Black priest grinned before he repeated Lambert’s words to the pope, who in turn also smiled at Ed and said something in Italian.
“The Holy Father says he welcomes you to the taskforce, and he would like to bless you before you embark on orientation.” Despite his perfect English, the Black priest had an accent Ed didn’t recognize.
“Wait.” Ed held up his hands. “What taskforce are we talking about?” He eyed Father Lambert. “You said you needed an accountant and procurement specialist.”
“Among other skills you possess,” Father Lambert said. “Now that I’m out of the army, I lead one team in the Vatican’s demon hunting taskforce.”
The pope said something Father Mbaye repeated in English for Ed’s benefit. “Really, James? You didn’t explain this job to the young man before you dragged him halfway around the world?”
“I planned to disclose our sacred mission to him once he was here. Ed is not Catholic, and he would not simply take me at my word without seeing our operation for himself,” Father Lambert said in a huffy voice. “Forgive me, Holy Father, but I wasn’t expecting you to come down here before I had a chance to explain everything to Ed.”
“And you said the young man had fought demons by your side in Vietnam,” the pope said through Father Mbaye.
“That is true, Your Holiness.” Ed’s army training made him jump in and defend a fellow soldier. “Father Lambert did teach me to fight demons during our deployment in Vietnam. And he’s right in saying I would have been skeptical about coming to Rome if he’d told me he wanted me to battle the forces of darkness again.”
Ed waited for Father Mbaye to translate his words before he continued. “Is it all right if I speak with Father Lambert and his team and they explain what’s going on? Then I’d be happy to accept your blessing if—” He held up his right palm. “And that’s a big ‘if’, I decide to join your taskforce.”
When Father Mbaye finished his translation, the pope smiled and inclined his head. “That is most acceptable, Mr. Hudson,” he answer through the Black priest. “Until you make your decision then.”
Once the pope exited the catacomb and was well out of earshot, Ed scowled at Father Lambert. “You still should have told me what the hell was going on before I flew all the way to Europe.” He waved toward the woman. “And what the hell are you thinking by dragging a girl into this?”
“It’s the Seventies, man.” She gestured to indicate herself and the Black priest. “They gotta have a chick and a Black on the team. Like Mod Squad.” Her accent had the laid-back tone of California and the attitude of the dying hippie movement.
“Have you ever encounter a demon before?” Ed retorted.
“Yeah, man. I have.” She pulled up the hem of her blouse. An ugly scar marred the left side of her tan and very fit abdomen. She pivoted to show a matching scar below and to the left of where her kidney should be.
Ed frowned. “That’s not like any gunshot wound I’ve seen.”
“Because it’s not.” She dropped the hem, and the cotton fluttered down to cover the expanse of her lovely skin. “My grandmother was possessed, and she stabbed me with a tomato stake.”
“Are you a nun?” Ed asked.
“Hardly.” She held out her palm. “Laura Campbell.”
“Ed Hudson.” He shook her hand.
“I already know.” She grinned.
Her smile was so endearing he didn’t mind being the butt of her humor.
The Black priest stepped forward and held out his hand. “Adama Mbaye.”
“You’re not Italian,” Ed commented as he and the priest shook.
“I am from Senegal originally,” he said. “My specialty is languages, both spoken and written.”
“And yours?” he asked Laura.
“Getting through locked doors,” she said with a flip of her hair.
“You’re a thief?”
“You make a lot of assumptions, man.” She rolled her eyes. “My family owns a locksmith shop in San Francisco.”
“But you’re not Catholic,” he said.
“Assumptions, again?” She laughed. It was a very nice laugh. “This time, you’re right.”
Ed scanned the faces of the three priests. “Are Laura and I the only non-Catholics here?”
“On my team, yes.” Father Lambert shrugged. “Sometimes we recruit outside of Mother Church. We need people who can keep their heads in a fight and don’t panic when faced with creatures from Hell.”
“Maybe you’d better start form the top, padre,” Ed said.
“We’ve had many names over the centuries,” Father Lambert began. “While the Mother Church fights evil at a spiritual level, there are some of us who focus on demonic incursions on earth.”
“You mean like the Miracle of the Swine in the Book of Mark?” Ed asked.
“Yes,” Father Lambert replied.
“The what of what?” Laura cocked her head and looked at Ed as if she was suddenly unsure of him. “Are you a holy roller?”
“What? No.” When her expression turned suspicious, he added, “I was bored during basic training, and the Bible was the only book I had to read.”
“Oh, you’re one of those guys. Mister Super Patriot.” Her mocking wasn’t so funny now. Neither was her sarcastic salute. “Stomp all over people who can barely raise enough food to feed their children.”
“You keep saying I make assumptions.” Ed folded his arms over his chest. “You’ve spouted several about me in less than a minute.” He looked at Father Lambert. “There’s a reason the Department of Defense doesn’t let girls join the army. They fly off the handle over the stupidest shit.”
“You’re right,” Laura said. When Ed turned back to her, she lifted her chin. “I did make some assumptions about you. But contrary to the assumptions about women the idiots running the world hold, I can and will fight when it matters. Like when it comes to demons.”
“Okay.” He shrugged.
“Okay?” She stared at him, now thoroughly confused from her expression. “You’re not going to tell me to prove I can fight?”
“Why would I do that?” He shrugged again. “You were part of this team before I was invited.”
“Because that’s what—” She stopped herself before she spouted something else stupid. “Father Lambert, weren’t you going to explain what we do to Mr. Hudson?”
“He already knows.” Father Lambert smiled. “He’s the G.I. who fought beside me in Vietnam.”
“You said he was an accountant?” Laura sounded thoroughly confused.
“I am,” Ed said dryly. “I finished my degree after my discharge.”
“Anyway…” Father Lambert eyed the two non-clergy.
Ed kept his mouth shut, and for the first time since he entered the catacomb room, pretty Laura Campbell didn’t make a sarcastic or nasty comment.
Maybe he’d be grumpy too if his grandmother had stabbed him with a tomato stake.
“As I said, the Vatican taskforce fights Hell at a physically level.” Father Lambert waved to indicate the five of them. “All of us encountered demon-possessed people prior to learning of the taskforce. And in each of our cases, a veteran member of the taskforce helped us survive our first encounter with demons.”
“Those we recruit often come from other religions,” Father Mbaye said. “It’s necessary to find those who don’t allow their fear to leave them open to possession. While men are not a rarity within the taskforce, women are, simply because we needed to move through the world without attracting too much attention.”
“Like the time there was a demon outbreak in Mecca a few centuries ago.” Father McAvoy folded his arms across his chest. “The handful of Catholic clergy accompanied our Muslim brethren to the city, but they all went in knowing it would be a suicide mission.”
“How often does that happen now?” Ed asked.
“More than you realize.” Father Lambert shook his head. “But the particular mission we need you for is here in Rome. There are some odd, large-value transactions between the Vatican and a couple of Italian banks that don’t make sense. The cardinal in charge of the Vatican bank hung himself rather than submit to questioning.”
“I am here to translate the portions of the paperwork in Italian,” Father Mbaye said. “You will review the numbers.”
“And Ms. Campbell?” Ed inclined his head in Laura’s direction.
“My job is to make sure you have the real accounting books.” She grinned.
There was one last question Ed had. “How many demons are we dealing with?”
Father Lambert grimaced. “That’s a large part of our problem. We have no idea.”
“You’re going in blind?” Ed couldn’t keep the disbelief out of his voice.
“A member of another taskforce team was able to confirm one demon is involved,” Father Lambert said. “Sister Joan pretended to be the cardinal’s biological sister. She went to the Bank of Caesar and spoke with the cardinal’s contact with the excuse of informing him of his friend’s death.”
“And she’s absolutely sure?” Ed asked.
Father Lambert nodded. “But she wasn’t able to confirm any others at the Bank of Caesar, and she failed to meet with the cardinal’s contacts at the other two banks.”
The whole thing sounded like something out of Mission: Impossible. But Ed owed Father Lambert for saving his life in Vietnam. He couldn’t turn down the priest’s request for help. One more fling with danger before he settled down in suburban life, right?
“All right. I’m in.” Ed glanced at Laura and prayed he wouldn’t regret his decision
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