right now! I’m calling off this whole thing!”
“Don’t be so hasty. There’s so much to learn.”
“Do it! Now!”
It was Father Conroy’s turn to sigh. There was another bout of metallic noises, the clink of glass. Liam felt a needle stab in his right arm, and by the time the shirt was cut from him the pain had grown distant. He could breathe again. He remembered something with a jolt of panic.
“Lighter.”
“What is it, Liam?”
“In my pocket. My lighter. I need it.”
A cold steel rectangle was pressed into his palm.
“Try to sleep, Liam,” Father Murray said. “Father Conroy is going to set your shoulder. This is going to hurt.”
Chapter 5
Belfast, County Antrim, Northern Ireland
November 1977
“P ut the scalpel away, Gerry,” Father Murray said as another sobering jolt of adrenaline seared the last remnants of sleep from his system. Is Gerry safe? What if those guards aren’t the only ones affected? Why didn’t I notice something was wrong until Liam said something? Is it because I’ve wanted this so much? He assumed a protective stance between Father Conroy and the now unconscious Liam. How far has the contamination gone? Surely it can’t have gone far without someone noticing? What if it’s reached Bishop Avery? Am I losing my ability to judge the difference between human and demon? “You’ve set his shoulder. Thank you. Now, we’ll be leaving.” The prospects of fighting his way out of a high-security facility weren’t good, even if waking Liam was an option. On the other hand, leaving him behind was unthinkable.
“This will only take a moment. He won’t feel a thing,” Father Conroy said. “I need fresh tissue samples. Larger than yesterday’s. The samples were useless before I could analyze them. Even you must admit that’s unusual, if not impossible for a human.”
“Impossible?” Father Murray blinked. “Slides can be mixed up, mislabeled, or tainted. You know that. It’s happened before and—”
“One live tissue sample is all I need to prove otherwise.”
Shocked, Father Murray felt the corners of his mouth tug downward as hopelessness and desperation set in. The room seemed suddenly colder and Gerry’s focused expression acquired a sinister quality. “I gave him my word that no one would do such a thing.”
“He won’t even notice, given the extent of his injuries.”
“That isn’t the point, and you know it. He’s not one of your lab animals. I’ll not let you dissect him.”
“It wouldn’t require that much tissue to solve the mystery. Then security can bring a gurney, and you can escort him to the observation room for a rest.”
“As far as I’m concerned the agreement is terminated.”
“You can’t mean that!”
Father Murray shifted so that he had a better view of the exit, and his left arm was clear. If the guards heard Father Conroy’s protests and suspected anything out of the ordinary, there would be a fight. The examination room wouldn’t provide much maneuver room. The best option would be to incapacitate Gerry now before anyone senses a problem, but how to keep security from alerting the others? Father Murray didn’t want to use deadly force—he couldn’t. At this stage, there was no way of telling if anyone was beyond helping or not, and without being certain his conscience wouldn’t allow it.
Can you be confident of anything anymore? How many have you murdered in error? He swallowed. I’m not imagining the contamination and neither was Liam. Be certain of Gerry first. Then decide what to do. Father Murray took a chance and looked into Father Conroy’s eyes. It was hard to say under the circumstances, but his pupils appeared normal. Good.
Father Conroy continued his protests. “I can’t let you leave. I—”
“Do you have your rosary?”
“Of course.”
“May I see it?”
Unbuttoning his white lab coat, Father Conroy revealed a hand-knitted brown pullover sweater vest layered over a
“Don’t be so hasty. There’s so much to learn.”
“Do it! Now!”
It was Father Conroy’s turn to sigh. There was another bout of metallic noises, the clink of glass. Liam felt a needle stab in his right arm, and by the time the shirt was cut from him the pain had grown distant. He could breathe again. He remembered something with a jolt of panic.
“Lighter.”
“What is it, Liam?”
“In my pocket. My lighter. I need it.”
A cold steel rectangle was pressed into his palm.
“Try to sleep, Liam,” Father Murray said. “Father Conroy is going to set your shoulder. This is going to hurt.”
Chapter 5
Belfast, County Antrim, Northern Ireland
November 1977
“P ut the scalpel away, Gerry,” Father Murray said as another sobering jolt of adrenaline seared the last remnants of sleep from his system. Is Gerry safe? What if those guards aren’t the only ones affected? Why didn’t I notice something was wrong until Liam said something? Is it because I’ve wanted this so much? He assumed a protective stance between Father Conroy and the now unconscious Liam. How far has the contamination gone? Surely it can’t have gone far without someone noticing? What if it’s reached Bishop Avery? Am I losing my ability to judge the difference between human and demon? “You’ve set his shoulder. Thank you. Now, we’ll be leaving.” The prospects of fighting his way out of a high-security facility weren’t good, even if waking Liam was an option. On the other hand, leaving him behind was unthinkable.
“This will only take a moment. He won’t feel a thing,” Father Conroy said. “I need fresh tissue samples. Larger than yesterday’s. The samples were useless before I could analyze them. Even you must admit that’s unusual, if not impossible for a human.”
“Impossible?” Father Murray blinked. “Slides can be mixed up, mislabeled, or tainted. You know that. It’s happened before and—”
“One live tissue sample is all I need to prove otherwise.”
Shocked, Father Murray felt the corners of his mouth tug downward as hopelessness and desperation set in. The room seemed suddenly colder and Gerry’s focused expression acquired a sinister quality. “I gave him my word that no one would do such a thing.”
“He won’t even notice, given the extent of his injuries.”
“That isn’t the point, and you know it. He’s not one of your lab animals. I’ll not let you dissect him.”
“It wouldn’t require that much tissue to solve the mystery. Then security can bring a gurney, and you can escort him to the observation room for a rest.”
“As far as I’m concerned the agreement is terminated.”
“You can’t mean that!”
Father Murray shifted so that he had a better view of the exit, and his left arm was clear. If the guards heard Father Conroy’s protests and suspected anything out of the ordinary, there would be a fight. The examination room wouldn’t provide much maneuver room. The best option would be to incapacitate Gerry now before anyone senses a problem, but how to keep security from alerting the others? Father Murray didn’t want to use deadly force—he couldn’t. At this stage, there was no way of telling if anyone was beyond helping or not, and without being certain his conscience wouldn’t allow it.
Can you be confident of anything anymore? How many have you murdered in error? He swallowed. I’m not imagining the contamination and neither was Liam. Be certain of Gerry first. Then decide what to do. Father Murray took a chance and looked into Father Conroy’s eyes. It was hard to say under the circumstances, but his pupils appeared normal. Good.
Father Conroy continued his protests. “I can’t let you leave. I—”
“Do you have your rosary?”
“Of course.”
“May I see it?”
Unbuttoning his white lab coat, Father Conroy revealed a hand-knitted brown pullover sweater vest layered over a
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