The Trinity Game

accounting guy tells me there’s plenty wrong here, gives us plenty of leverage. But it’s gonna be difficult to approach Trinity now, with the whole world watching.”
    Pete DeFazio snorted. “I say we get these out to the media
today
. That’ll crack the halo. Then the press’ll get serious, look into Trinity’s finances…In a week, he’ll be just another grifter with a Bible.”
    “A grifter with a Bible, who predicts the future,” Case corrected.
    Lamech locked eyes, unblinking, with Darwyn Jones.
    Darwyn nodded, almost imperceptibly, swiveled his chair away to face the television screen. He spoke without turning back to the men. “Look at the television screen, gentlemen. Just look at it.” He sat for another second, turned back to the table. “Millions of Americans believe in him. His sermon tomorrow is going out live, all the major cable networks running the feed, also in the UK, Canada, and Mexico.”
    “My sources tell me reporters are flying in from France, Germany, Australia, Spain, Brazil…every corner of the goddamn planet,” added Lamech. “This story is going worldwide in a matter of days.”
    DeFazio lit a cigarette, said, “What if he does the backwards act tomorrow? For all we know, he could predict the Kentucky Fuckin’ Derby.”
    “For all we know,” said Jared Case, “he could say gambling is a mortal sin. He could say Las Vegas is an instrument of Satan.” Case gestured out the window, where the Las Vegas Strip glittered in the pale red light of dawn. “He could call for the Strip to go dark. And the people will listen. He could kill us with one word.”
    “My point exactly,” said Darwyn Jones with a switchblade smile.
    Michael Passarelli cleared his throat. “I don’t want to be the one to raise this, but we’re talking about killing a man who, well…I’m not saying he’s Christ, just that
something
really weird is going on with this guy. What if it has something to do with God? Sorry, but I happen to believe in God. Maybe we should just start with the financials, minimize our risk.”
    William Lamech sipped some Perrier. “Michael, if the preacher has anything to do with God, every man in this room can plan on spending eternity without need of an overcoat. The
pertinent
risk is that every day we waste on indecision is a day Trinity might speak out against us.”
    “And we don’t know how long it’ll take the press to expose him, even if we do feed them his financials,” added Darwyn Jones. “Looks like they’re having a good time with the whole Messiah story, maybe they’re not in a hurry to show him as a grifter.”
    Lamech stood, addressed the whole table. “Obviously Darwyn and I have concluded that we need to kill Trinity, without delay. And I think Jared may be on board.”
    Jared Case nodded. “I’m sold. I say we off the motherfucker.”
    “So we vote,” Lamech continued. “If we are to be Trinity’s jury, we should be unanimous. This is, after all, a death sentence. If there’s a split vote, we talk it around some more.” He raised his right hand. “All those in favor of ending it now.”
    Darwyn Jones and Jared Case raised their hands, followed by DeFazio, Babcock, Reaves…all around the table, all the way to Passarelli.
    Unanimous.

Rome, Italy…
    I t wasn’t every day Father Nick entertained cardinals, but there was one in his office now—and for all the wrong reasons.
    “How injured, exactly, is your secretary?” said Cardinal Allodi.
    “Slight concussion, four stitches, and a bruised ego,” said Father Nick.
    “You find this situation funny?”
    It made Nick feel like a kid called to the principal’s office. “No, Eminence. I don’t. Just listing George’s injuries, as you asked.”
    “And your golden boy, Father Byrne?”
    “Caught a commercial flight to Atlanta. I suspect we’ll find him in the company of his uncle.”
    “You assured me he was the man for the job. ‘The
only
man,’ you said.” Cardinal Allodi’s voice was like ice. “How could you have misjudged the situation so drastically?”
    “Daniel was very bitter about his uncle, he was motivated to debunk hard and fast. We gave him a case file that undermined Trinity’s predictions, and he already knew the man was a fraud—there was no earthly reason to think he’d vet the transcripts.” Nickshook his head. “He’s a top-notch investigator. Once he learned the predictions were accurate…”
    “You should have pulled him off the case