Northeast Washington DC, December, 2077, Wednesday…

Juan Pablo swirled his brandy and sniffed at the pleasing aroma. He then looked at Paul Sanford and raised an eyebrow. Sanford looked at him and nodded. Juan Pablo glanced around those seated at the rest of the table.

"I've invited Father Gomez to join us tonight. Thanks to him we now have some high quality plastic for our next job."

"Please explain," said a man with one eye, "how you let this man into our group? After what happened? I don't care how much money he has."

"Juan Pablo, this is Sonny James. I'll let you answer his question." He nodded to Juan Pablo.

The priest put his hands palm down on the table in front of him. This was his moment. He pushed his chair back and walked around the table.

Sonny James was nothing but a killer. Juan Pablo had also known him in the gangs quite a few years back. The man had disappeared one night, so Juan Pablo had assumed he had either been killed or was in prison. Apparently he had only gone underground, into Mundo Domini, along with Sanford.

Is he also as nutty as a fruitcake? The others had similar backgrounds. Rudolfo Vasquez and Tommy O'Keefe were both experts in explosives. Sharon White was an expert in electronics and communications. Rudolfo was smiling first at Sharon, then at Juan Pablo. It was a sick little smile that made the priest uncomfortable.

Brian West was a sharpshooter, an expert in all kinds of firearms. Danny D'Angelo had made the use of bio-agents part of their repertoire.

They were all killers, every one of them. Juan Pablo could see it in their eyes. He suddenly felt unclean.

The priest stopped behind James.

"As I told Paul, I now represent some new backers who are interested in making your operation more efficient."

"New? In what sense? Aren't we still Mundo Domini? And I don't like you standing behind me, padrecito."

Coming from the gangs, James probably knew more Spanish than he would admit. The diminutive in this case did not sound like one of endearment. Juan Pablo moved to his side.

"My original contact was compromised. I have a new one and he represents money."

"We never worked with you before," said Sharon. "How do we know you're not compromised?"

Sanford held up a hand.

"Hear him out. I don't trust him one hundred per cent either, but he's got an interesting story."