The FULL Unholyverse

~Part 4

Frank didn't want to wait for dinner, he wanted to go and confront the Cardinal right away, but Brian said no.

"I want to get to the bottom of this just as much as you," he said when Frank got mad at him. "But the Cardinal is our only hope of getting any answers, and if Mikey's right about Gerard I'd say we're really going to need his help. Yelling at him isn't going to endear us to him."

He wouldn't budge, either, and Frank was climbing the walls by the time Antonio came to collect them again. He jittered all the way to the Cardinal's rooms, and sat there seething while dinner was served and they waited for the Cardinal to make an appearance, and by the time the Cardinal had greeted them and taken his seat he couldn't take it anymore.

"So," he said casually. "You wanna tell me why the dude who tried to kill me is working here?"

The expression on the Cardinal's face was pure surprise, and Frank wasn't prepared for that. He just kept his gaze steady, though, and when the Cardinal asked him to repeat himself he said, "Luke. Old guy, long hair. Gave me stigmata. Any of this ringing a bell? Because I just ran into him clipping your fucking bushes outside and I'd really like to know why he doesn't seem to have any memory of trying to murder me."

The Cardinal had gone pale, and he passed a hand over his mouth, sitting back in his chair. "I'm very sorry," he said sincerely. "You should never have - he should not have been somewhere you might come across him. That was a grievous error on our part. I apologize."

Bob frowned. "An error? Why is he here at all?"

The Cardinal looked confused. "Father Way didn't explain the rehabilitation process to you?"

"No," Frank gritted. "He said he couldn't."

"I see." The Cardinal was quiet for a second. Frank squirmed in his seat, trying hard not to just scream at the dude until he told them what the fuck was happening. Finally the Cardinal went on, "I see I underestimated his discretion."

Mikey cleared his throat. "Please," he said quietly. "Tell me what's going on."

The Cardinal gave him a sad look, then leaned forward and set his arms on the table. "The individuals who come to us through people like Father Way and yourselves cannot be dealt with by traditional methods. In most cases, the police would be powerless even if they could get past their disbelief."

"Which is why you send those guys," Brian put in. "The Suits."

The Cardinal smiled a little bit. "That's not what we call them, but yes. They escort the perpetrators here, and we decide what's to be done with them."

"Like making them part of your ground staff?" Frank said incredulously.

"The vast majority of the people who come to us this way are psychologically disturbed," the Cardinal went on, holding up a hand to ask Frank to wait. "Sometimes severely. In these cases, we arrange psychiatric help for them. Sometimes there is only so much we can do, but best case scenario, with treatment and support they can be released, start living real lives again. Others, although this is more rare, are legitimately under the thrall of...outside influences."

Ray frowned. "Like what?"

"Demon possession," the Cardinal clarified. "In these cases, we seek approval for an exorcism, and again, with support, most of these individuals can be released."

"Most," Brian frowned. "So which category does Luke fall under?"

The Cardinal leaned back, steepling his fingers under his chin. "Sometimes an individual does not feel ready to face the outside world for a long time, if ever. Sometimes they are concerned that they might re-offend, for example. I am sure," he said archly, his eyes flicking over to Frank, "that you would not wish for Luke to harm anyone else."