SIX
The story of Father Shane Ross’ demise, as it had been laid down in the document he was now looking over, made compelling reading. Although he knew it was fiction, as he read the piece even he found himself slipping into sweaty palmed anxiety. How could he have let himself fall so far from grace after he had thought he had beaten his addictions?
More than once Ross had to remind himself that this was simply just a work of creative writing to sell his downfall to the people over at demon time. Still, whoever in Father Mendez’s team had penned it had an unusual talent for understated, believable drama and it had only taken a little over two weeks to compile.
This was a tale that could have been oh so true had his route in life taken another path. It was all there in stark no nonsense detail, how he had fallen into despair after failing his church funded PHD, (which in fact he had yet to take) his descent back into drug addiction, which led to the inevitable cycle of lies and deceit.
All very tragic, a promising career in phycology gone to waste. He had even, apparently, stolen a two hundred year old Crucifix to feed his habit, nice touch that, Ross thought grimly.
It was all the more disturbing to see the attached official Vatican documentation and police report and how the university had temporarily rewritten his education history. And reading it, Ross couldn’t help but wonder if all this went so horribly wrong he might not end up in prison or on the streets all the same, this fake evidence was so compelling.
Of course Father Mendez had reassured the young priest that no matter what happened, the church, and more specifically Mendez himself would not forsake him irrespective of the outcome.
Fine words from a man who Ross had little or no knowledge of, let alone his rather clandestine department over there in the Vatican. Certainly there were rumours amongst the young priests and novices Ross had come into contact with down through the years. But the more he found out about the man the less Father Ross wanted to know.
Ross thumbed through the document once again. No wonder the demon time production team had jumped at the chance to sign on this particular gift horse. He could imagine them salivating at each new revelation the document contained. A drug addicted Priest! Yes Father Shane Ross would make a fine contestant on their internet horror show.
He knew despite its unpleasant subject matter, Ross would have to learn his alternative history inside out. Once he had signed on to the show, which he would do in a little over two weeks, he would have no contact with the outside world, no phone or correspondence whatsoever, until the show was over.
A precaution on the part of the producers which meant Ross would now have to go through this the charade to the bitter end, unless he could somehow let Mendez know the time and location of the show beforehand and then the Spaniard could come charging in with the Vatican cavalry, if such a thing existed, to save the day.
That hope had soon been dashed however when his contact with the show had informed him that he would be put up in a hotel in London and then flown to the location, which could be anywhere in Europe, just a couple of days before the show.
And that he would have a ‘Production Assistant’ with him from the moment he signed the contract, right up until show time. It seemed they had thought of everything.