Excommunication Read online

  Table of Contents

  About Excommunication

  Praise for Mark Posey’s Thrillers

  Excommunication Title Page

  EXCOMMUNICATION

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  About the Author

  Other books by Mark Posey

  Copyright Information

  About Excommunication

  They have her attention, but they may not live to regret it.

  To flush Sister Jacobine out of hiding, the Vatican’s Black Ops team shoot Detective Rafferty. While he clings to life, they kidnap Geraldine Rafferty and her daughters. The Black Ops team will stop at nothing to ensure Sister Jacobine returns to Rome with them.

  Will she surrender or will the Black Ops team face Excommunication?

  A Nun With A Gun is a series of short stories and novelettes about Sister Jacobine, the Pope’s hitwoman. They are best read in order.

  1.0 Feet of Clay

  2.0 A Port in the Storm

  3.0 Excommunication

  4.0 Requiem Mass

  5.0 Den of Lions

  6.0 The Narrow Gate

  Thriller Short Story

  Praise for Mark Posey’s Thrillers

  Well-fleshed out characters to really care about, and a deep state plot that is very timely given current world affairs.

  All in all, an enjoyable page-turner!

  EXCOMMUNICATION

  Alice Fisher backed her rental car into the space at the far end of the hospital parking lot. It was two a.m. She had plenty of choices closer to the entrance, but she had two reasons for choosing this space.

  One row ahead of her was a sodium vapor streetlight which illuminated the parking lot. She’d need the light as she couldn’t risk using the rental car’s interior light.

  This parking space also allowed her to keep an eye on her surroundings. The bank of shrubs behind her blocked any view from the street. From here, she could watch the entrance, the few cars in the lot and the comings and goings of pedestrians on the hospital walkways.

  The hospital would undoubtedly be watched from outside as well as from within, but she had no other choice. Rafferty’s life depended on her.

  She put the car in park, shut off the engine and the lights and slipped the keys into her coat pocket. She sat in the darkness, broken only by the pale-yellow light, and scanned the area. She watched for movement where none was expected and for pedestrians who didn’t belong.

  Of course, one could never factor in stupidity.

  Alice stiffened as a cigarette was lit in a car to her right, equally as far from the entrance as she was parked. The car was also as far away from any of the parking lot’s streetlights as it was possible to get. That only served to highlight the flame from the lighter and, afterwards, the glow from the cigarette’s ember.

  She’d deal with whomever was in the car in a moment.

  She struggled out of her jacket while remaining in the driver’s seat and tossed it on the passenger seat beside her handbag. She spared a quick glance at the car in the dark and saw the extra glow of the cigarette as the occupant inhaled.

  Alice opened her purse and extracted a length of rubber tubing, a syringe, a needle and two test tubes with rubber stoppers. She tied the tubing around her upper left arm and smacked the juncture of veins at the bend in her elbow. She fitted the syringe and the needle together and slid the end of the needle smoothly into the bulging vein then inserted the first test tube.

  Blood spurted into the glass tube. Alice watched it fill. Again, she spared a glance at the far-away car. All good, it seemed.

  When the first tube was full, Alice swapped it for the second and again watched it fill. When it was done, she set the two test tubes on the passenger seat, tugged out the needle and put it and the rubber tubing back in her handbag. She shrugged back into her jacket, then slid the two tubes and another syringe and needle into her pocket.

  Time to go.

  She removed the bulb from the overhead interior light of the rental car. No sense in being as sloppy as the cigarette smoker in the other car.

  She slipped out of the car, squatted on the pavement and eased the door shut until she heard it click. She’d worry about locking it later. She yanked the Tanfoglio out of the holster on her right hip and reached into the interior pocket of her coat for the suppressor. This situation called for the utmost stealth and while the suppressor didn’t exactly silence the shot, it certainly made it less distinctive.

  Alice eased away from the car, slipped behind it and through the bank of shrubbery which lined the edge of the parking lot. She swapped the Tanfoglio to her left hand so it wouldn’t be visible from the street.

  She crept quickly down the length of the parking lot until she was directly behind the cigarette smoker’s car. She returned the Tanfoglio to her right hand and slipped through the shrubs behind the car.

  She paused to ensure she had not been spotted. It was a cool, quiet night. A light breeze played at the edges of the shrubs. Distant traffic noise brushed her hearing, but it wasn’t loud enough to distract her.

  She sprang from behind the car, covered the three steps to the driver’s window, and trained the Tanfoglio on the head of the driver.

  Fredericks scowled and turned the ignition key so he could operate the windows. His window whined as it opened.

  His gaze shifted from the end of the suppressor, barely a foot from his face, to Alice’s eyes. “Where the fuck have you been?”

  Alice dropped the pistol to her side. “Constable.”

  “Constable? That’s all you have to say? What happened to ‘Michael’?”

  “This is neither the time nor the place.”

  “Okay then, answer the question. Where have you been?”

  Alice stiffened. “That’s no one’s business but mine.”

  “I woke up one morning and you were gone, Jacs. No note, no nothing. How is it not my business? I didn’t know where you were. If you were okay. When or if you’d be back.”

  “We can discuss the matter later, if we must. For the moment, we need to attend to your partner. Now.”

  Fredericks growled, shouldered the door open and heaved himself out of the seat. He looked down at her from his full height and slammed the car door. “This isn’t over, Sister. Not by a long shot. Come on.”

  He stormed away from his car toward the hospital entrance. Alice stuffed the Tanfoglio and suppressor into her holster and ran to catch up.

  * * * * *

  Rafferty’s room stood out from the others. It was the only one with a uniformed officer on guard outside the door. The curtains had been drawn across the room’s interior windows for the night shift.

  Fredericks nodded at the officer as they approached. “All quiet, Hastings?” he said in a low voice.

  “All quiet, Detective. Pretty late for a visit.”

  Fredericks indicated Alice. “This is Sister Jacobine. She’s gonna visit the detective for a few minutes.”

  Alice looked up at the policeman and smiled grimly. “Good morning, Constable.”

  “Good morning, Sister.” Hastings looked back at Fredericks. “I got orders, Detective. No one in or out without authorization.”

  Fredericks shrugged. “He’s my partner. What other authorization do I need?”

  “Captain’s orders, sir.”

  Fredericks glanced around. “So, maybe we came by when you were getting a coffee?”

  Hastings glanced from Fredericks to Alice and back. He shrugged. “She’s a nun. What’s it gonna hurt? Just be quick.” He checked his watch. “My relief’s here in fifteen minutes.”

  “Thanks, Hastings. I appreciate it,” Fredericks said and nodded to Alice.

  Alice slipped past both of them and
into Rafferty’s room.

  Rafferty’s bed was half surrounded by a bank of machines. Between the flashing lights and the beeps, it would be impossible to get any rest unless one were sedated.

  Rafferty lay in the bed unmoving, his eyes closed. A tube ran from his mouth to the noisiest machine in the room, a ventilator. The edge of a bandage peeked from beneath the top of the sheet over his chest.

  As the door pulled gently closed behind her, Alice took a step forward. “Clearly, your injury is quite grave, Constable. I am so sorry I was not here for you when it happened.”

  She moved to the side of the bed, reached into her pocket and extracted the two test tubes, the needle and syringe. “Do not worry yourself in the slightest. Alice is here to fix you up,” she said softly.

  She flipped open the compartment in the top of the tray table and set the vials of blood inside. If anyone came into the room in the next few minutes, they would be out of sight.

  “Michael is very angry with me,” she said, continuing to speak softly as she twisted the needle onto the large syringe. “Why do these things always have to be so complicated?”

  She looked at Rafferty ruefully. His chest rose and fell with the puffing of the ventilator. “I expect I shall have to endure his angry posturing a while longer.”

  She picked a vial out of the tray and drew her blood into the syringe. When the syringe was full, she gripped the injection port of the IV line running into his right arm. “Here it comes, Constable.”

  She slid the needle into the port, depressed the plunger and watched the blood mingle with the clear fluid in the IV tube and move down to his arm. She repeated the process with the second vial, capped the needle and slid everything back into her jacket pocket.

  She watched in silence as the blood cleared the tube and flowed into his arm. When the fluid in the tube looked normal again, she nodded. “There. That will help. I will return tomorrow to give you another dose. You shall be as good as new in a few days. With luck, this mess will be cleaned up by then.”

  She rested a hand on Rafferty’s forearm. “Rest well, Martin. Michael and I will attend to the problem.”

  * * * * *

  “Do you have any idea who is responsible for this?” Alice asked as they stood beside Fredericks’ car.

  “No. A couple of uniforms found him lying in the parking lot beside the precinct. Don’t think he’d been there very long.”

  “I see.”

  “Shooting him in broad daylight right there like that, not your usual gang bangers from the street. This was a professional hit. Whoever did this has balls, that’s for sure.”

  Alice nodded. “They do, indeed. And we shall cut them off.”

  “My thoughts, exactly.”

  “Where do we start, Constable?”

  He shrugged. “I’ve got the file back at my place.”

  Alice looked resolute. “I believe it would be best for both of us if we refrained from being alone in your house for a while.”

  Before Fredericks could answer, his cellphone rang. He scowled and dug it out of his pocket. “Fredericks.”

  He listened and his gaze moved to Alice. “What makes you think I know where she is?”

  He listened again, scanned the parking lot and swallowed, then handed her the phone. “They can see us standing beside my car.”

  Alice put the phone to her ear. “Hello?”

  The Italian accent was very distinctive. “I bring you greetings from His Holiness.”

  “I do not believe so, Signore Romano. I believe your greetings come from a far less holy place.” She watched Fredericks squirm in front of her.

  “You dare to—” Romano began.

  “It does not take daring to call out a charlatan.”

  The anger in his voice was clear even through the tinny speaker of the cellphone. “You will come to the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul immediately if you wish no harm to befall Detective Rafferty’s family.” He ended the call.

  Alice looked up at Fredericks, her jaw slack.

  “What?” he said.

  “He has threatened to harm Geraldine and the girls if I do not meet with him.” She thrust the cellphone into his hand and backed toward her car. “Look after them. Get them somewhere safe. I will deal with Signore Romano.”

  As Fredericks yanked his door open and dove inside, she turned and sprinted for her rental car.

  * * * * *

  The Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul faced Logan Square in the very heart of Philadelphia. Alice had been there before and knew very well why Romano had chosen this site to meet.

  She would never desecrate the Basilica.

  They knew that as long as they were within the cathedral or on its holy land, they were safe.

  But heaven help them the moment they stepped off that hallowed ground.

  Alice pulled to a stop right out the front of the cathedral. She had known this day would come. She had been braced for it for the last two weeks. Of course, they would catch up with her eventually.

  What she did not know was what they planned to do. Surely Romano knew the folly of trying to eliminate her?

  As she reached for the door handle, her cellphone buzzed on the passenger seat. She snatched it up and thumbed the screen. “Constable?”

  “We were too late,” Fredericks said. “They’ve been taken.”

  “Thank you, Constable. I will ring you back.” Alice hung up and tossed the phone on the seat.

  There was no other way to deal with the matter than to step into the so-called trap.

  Alice left the car at the curb and walked up the stone steps to the front doors. She left her bag and the Tanfoglio inside it, on the passenger seat. She would not need them.

  Inside the foyer, she saw the long, black and white aisle which stretched the length of the cathedral. Row upon row of pews filled the space. Ornate pillars and archways edged the enormous room, reaching up to the high, domed ceiling.

  There were plenty of places to conceal oneself if surprise or ambush were on the agenda. While Alice would never desecrate the cathedral, she was not sure Romano and his men were of a similar mind.

  She stepped quietly through the foyer and into the Cathedral. It was so silent, Alice was sure she would hear the flames burning the wicks of the candles if she were close enough.

  Alice stood at the back, her gaze roaming over the pews.

  “You came alone.” Romano’s voice echoed through the chamber.

  “As instructed. I want no harm to come to the Raffertys.”

  “I am a man of my word, Sister. As long as you follow my directions, they will not be hurt.”

  “They will not be hurt under any circumstances, Signore Romano, whether I follow your instructions or not.”

  “I think you misunderstand the situation, Sister. I have the power here. You are in no position to be issuing threats.”

  “I issue no threats, Signore Romano. I simply state facts. Geraldine, Susie and Christine’s continued well-being are the only things which keep you alive.”

  Romano chuckled. “I could shoot you right now, Sister.”

  Alice made a sour face. “So, in addition to your deplorable conduct, you would add the desecration of a cathedral to the list? His Holiness will not look favorably upon such behavior.”

  “An odd response to being threatened, Sister.”

  “You are no threat to me, Signore Romano.”

  “You might be able to fool His Holiness with your immortal deception, Sister, but it will not work on me.”

  “Why is that?”

  “Because I am not a doddering old fool.”

  Alice stifled her gasp and her smile. Romano had just signed his death warrant, regardless of how the situation with Geraldine and the girls played out. He was a non-believer and there was no room for non-believers in His Holiness’ inner circle.

  “Very well, Signore Romano. Shall we get on with it, then?”

  Romano stepped into view from behind one
of the pillars at the side of the cathedral. “Yes, we shall. By now, my car has arrived. Let us take a ride.”

  * * * * *

  The Papal jet, a converted Alitalia Boeing 767, sat in front of its assigned hangar at the Philadelphia International Airport, being readied for takeoff. The portable boarding stairs rested in place against the front access door of the massive airplane.

  Three men in suits and sunglasses stood at the bottom of the stairs and watched Romano’s limousine as it pulled to a stop nearby. Even from the backseat, through the blacked-out windows, Alice could see the bulges under their jackets.

  This will not be easy.

  Alice could not ascertain whether there were more men like them within the airplane with, she assumed, Geraldine and the girls. If the women were on the airplane, would they be guarded? Yet there was nowhere they could go without using the stairs where the three men waited at the bottom.

  The driver scurried around the limousine to open the rear door. Romano stepped out. “Come, Sister. Your audience with His Holiness awaits.”

  Alice got out and stood by the back corner of the limousine while Romano and the driver stalked toward the airplane. When they noticed she was not with them, they turned to look at her.

  “This is not the time to stop doing what you are told,” Romano mocked.

  “I need to know the Raffertys are unhurt and see they have been released before I proceed,” Alice said.

  To Alice’s right, one of the monstrous engines on the Papal jet cranked to life as Romano spoke. His lips moved but she could not hear him. When she did not react, he gestured over his shoulder.

  A fourth guard walked toward the aircraft from the hangar. Geraldine and the girls walked just ahead of him, holding hands. They looked frightened and Geri had a black eye.

  Alice stepped closer to Romano. She shouted to make herself heard. “Are you sure you would not rather just drop this entire business, Signore Romano? His Holiness will be seriously displeased with you. Not only have you grievously wounded a member of Philadelphia’s constabulary, but you have raised your hand to his wife.”