Trying to put something directly into the hands of a hacker was a kin to grabbing a greased pig, in a rainstorm, blindfolded; near impossible and no fun at all.
Two days ago the Vatican envoy had shown up unannounced at St. Michael's. "It is imperative that this be delivered to Mr. Simon Lewis Farron as soon as possible," the imposing envoy said to Father Deke Crane.
Father Crane was an enigma, being ordained after completing his studies at the University of St Thomas in Houston he had assumed the church would find him a place to minister in Texas and he would live out his life there. Such was not the case.
Deke was one of 8 children, raised on a cattle ranch outside of Fort Worth his childhood was spent wrangling cattle, staying out of the way of his older siblings and harassing his younger ones as was only right.
Inside Deke always felt...separate from those he shared this life with. Many a night he would fall asleep ontop of the little hill behind the ranch house after spending hours simply contemplating the wonder and vastness of the universe that played out above him in the clear Texas sky.
While his brothers and sisters persued the normal hormonally driven activities of teenagers everywhere, Deke became more and more introverted, with questions swirling in his head about the meaning of life, the depth of faith and the bridge between the two.
He would later recall his apifany with a hearty laugh. One day while trying to round up a stray calf his horse was spooked by a rattle snake. Deke lost control and fell, being knocked unconscious and bitten by the snake in the process.
Everyone has there own versions of death, the tunnel, the white light, a host of angels and pearly gates, or the hounds of hell paying particular interest in your entrails. Deke had none of these, his own near death....hell....total death....experience was one of simple...peace. And within this space of peace and comfort Deke realized that he was not alone.
"Hello, is someone there?" Deke was surprised by the soft tenor of his voice given the fact that he had meant to yell out the call.
"I am here, the question is where exactly is here," the response from a definitely female voice startled him, he could not guage the direction it had come from as the landscape was basically covered in a soft warm gray fog.
"Am I dead" Deke asked, remembering the snake and the fall from the horse the only rational thought was that he was now deceased.
"Energy can not be destroyed, only changed, since death goes hand and hand with destruction by your defination the answer is most certainly....no," the disembodied voice was lyrical in its pitch and tenor, the effect on Deke was one of simple...acceptance.
"Where do we go next?" Deke felt more than heard her laugh after asking this question.
"That my friend, as all things are, is your choice. Stay, go forward, go back, whichever feels the most right to you is where you will find yourself," the voice said and seemed to fade, just as his acknowledgment of his surroundings did the same.
The bright light was what finally caused Deke to open his eyes. He could see clouds out the window, feel the bed he was laying on, and the throbbing in his head. "Oh man....I came back" he said with groan.
Deke spent many years trying to interpret his brush with the great beyond, in the end he did not have and could not find a, frame of refernce for it. He understood that he wished to do good, to help people through the journey that is life. His path lead him to the church, and that path lead him to a small congregation in New York City which he tended with an open hand, open ears and most importantly an open heart.
"Find him Father, deliver this too him as quickly as you can." the envoy had said just before he left for the airport. Deke sighed and pulled on his raincoat, a sarcastic "thy will be done" escaping his lips as he headed out to complete his task.
It was another rainy night and Deke was on the last page of the "known hangouts" for Mr. Farron.
The unimposing three story brownstown in a quiet neighborhood of lower manhattan was about as far away from where Father Crane had supposed he would find Mr. Farron.
For the past 48 hours the good father had traveled through some of the roughest and oddest places he had ever been.
From internet café's and backroom computer stores to unassuming bars and hastily thrown together rave parties in abandonded warehouses; the search for Mr. Farron had led him on a merry chase.
The name Farron got him no where, looking through the file provided by the envoy he found an alias, Cryptic. Starting to ask with this name brought far more than the non comital shrugs of those he asked. More often than not it produced a pronounced palling of whomever he was talking with and their hasty retreat from his proximity.
Now standing in front of the final door on his list there was a bit of trepidation in Deke's conciousness, unsure as to just what the Vatican had gotten him into as his cold wet finger pressed the doorbell. ............
The door bell startled him. 'Damnit,' he thought, making his way down the corridor to the front door, he had seen the priest standing outside via one of the numerous video cameras tied into the security system that watched over what had finally become something akin to a home.
'Kind of late to try and save my soul,' he thought wryly as he looked at the small lcd display by the door, appraising the man standing there waiting for his response. With a sigh Cryptic pushed the button.
"What can I do for you?" the short clipped message surprised Deke making him jump a bit. "I am looking for a Mr. Farron, I was given this address," Deke said, trying to place the voice he heard, wondering why its tone surprised him so.
"Never heard of him, please leave." the strain in the response was unmissable.
'Farron, how did....anyone.....know that name,' he thought. Memories best kept buried threatened to resurface and engulf him as he watched the screen, trying to get a read on the priest.
"Mr. Farron," Deke said taking a chance "my name is Deke Crane, two days ago a Vatican envoy showed up on my doorstep with a file and a package, the file had information on you, the package was to be delivered only into your hands." Deke paused taking a breath. "Now, I have been accused of being...tenacious, how about you let me in, I can give you what I must and then we can go from there." Deke finished looking expectantly at the door.
Simon reached for the hand pad and slowly placed his palm on the reader.
Deke heard the electronic locks disengage and the door swung slowly open. He couldn't say what he was expecting, only that Mr. Farron was as far from it as he could have gotten.
