Blindside (Michael Bennett 12)

CHAPTER 64

THANK GOD ST. LASZLO’S was on the way to the hotel, where I still needed to pick up my carry-on bag. It was hard enough to convince the FBI agent to bring me to the church, let alone to let me get my bag before we headed to the airport.

The church was certainly not as grand as the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral on the hill in Old Town; it looked more like a suburban church in Baltimore. But it was still clearly Orthodox, with the three horizontal bars on the cross, the bottom bar at an angle and much smaller than the middle bar.

There were no tourists here. Only a few cars were in the parking lot alongside the church, probably the staff vehicles and something for the priest to drive.

We parked on the street directly in front, where a walkway lined with budding bushes led to the main entrance.

I opened the door, and Fiore opened the driver’s door. He just looked at me and said, “You think I’m going to let you just walk away? I’m with you until I see your smiling face walk down the Jetway to your plane.”

This could get tricky. I considered how far I’d be willing to go to escape the FBI’s custody.

A priest in his clerical cassock stepped out the front door and waved to me. He was nothing like I had expected. I don’t know why I had assumed a friend of my grandfather’s would also be an elderly man, but this priest was in his early fifties with slightly graying hair. He looked to be in pretty good shape and had clear, blue eyes.

He hurried down the steps and along the walkway, extending his hand. “You have got to be Seamus’s grandson, Michael. I would see the resemblance anywhere.”

I wasn’t sure if that was a compliment. But I shook his hand and thanked him. I said, “This is my”—I paused for a moment, then finished—“friend, Bill Fiore.”

The priest said, “I’m Martin Zlatic, but everyone calls me Marty.” His accent was almost unnoticeable.

We chatted for a minute about some of the work my grandfather had done and his interest in history. I guess we went on too long because the FBI agent said, “I hate to break this up, but can we grab your grandfather’s envelope and get going?”

Marty said, “I’m so sorry. Yes, of course. Follow me, please.”

If my grandfather had called and tipped Marty off, he was one of the best actors I had ever met.

He took a moment to show us the altar, mentioning that his congregation stood during mass, which explained why there were no pews. I thought about some of the sermons I’d sat through in my childhood—that was a long time to stand.

I knew the clock was ticking. Whatever this priest had in store for me, I hoped he did it soon. Fiore was getting more impatient by the second and could call this whole thing off. I tried to signal Father Marty with a look, communicating that we were up against a deadline.

He led us past the altar into the back corridors. They felt like a maze. I noticed Marty subtly picking up his pace as Bill Fiore started to drift farther back from me. It was right then that I realized this priest wasn’t fooling around. He knew exactly what he was doing. And he was exactly the kind of friend I’d expect my grandfather to have.

We took one corner, then another, and I swear we were headed back to the altar, but instead we just kept walking.

I heard Fiore call out, “Hey, wait up.” He took a wrong turn and I heard some language that shouldn’t be used in a church. Then a more urgent, “Where’d you guys go?”

Suddenly and without warning, Father Marty pressed what looked like a solid wall and shoved me into an opening. I slipped inside just as I heard Fiore yell, “Bennett, you better not leave this church.” I thought I heard the FBI agent running as Marty followed me inside the dark, narrow corridor and set the panel back in place.

He said, “There’s no time to lose. Come with me.” He squeezed past me and nearly jogged down the remarkably constricted hallway.

We took a flight of stairs down. I had to hunch over to make it through the next hallway. Then we descended a long staircase that disappeared into the dark.

My heart was racing as I wondered what I could accomplish while trying to avoid the FBI. It seemed like it took a full minute, but it probably wasn’t nearly that long before Marty opened the last door. The sun hit me right in the face. I looked around and didn’t recognize anything.

Marty pointed up the hill and I saw that we’d traveled through some sort of basement and out a back door. We might’ve been as far as three blocks away from where Bill Fiore had parked his car, if you considered the elevation. It was the cleanest getaway I’d ever made.

Marty smiled and said, “Old Russian Orthodox churches are full of surprises. I’m glad we could use them to help you on your mission.”

“My grandfather told you why I’m here?”

“To save a girl who’s missing.”

“I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this.”

The priest frowned and said, “I can delay the FBI agent a few more minutes still. Find this girl.”

CHAPTER 65