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The looming spires, the neo-Gothic architecture that took up an entire block on Fifth Avenue, was wasted on me.
Even its beauty meant little.
For all that Da had tried to make us be Catholics, none of us felt the faith like he did. His belief system made no fucking sense to anyone but him though, so considering we weren’t born headcases, just taught, I took it as a good sign that his logic and ours didn’t compute.
It was ridiculously easy to disrupt the local electronics. I even saw the snap as a camera close by burned out with whatever the hell it was that Conor had made.
It was the size of a tablet, and had a manual red button that Da directed me to push every few minutes. Because I had no desire to go to jail, I did as requested and we lumbered into the cathedral like a rag tag bunch of thieves once Da used his key to let us in.
The second we were within its cavernous interior, we were graced with the silent halls that, on any given day, held up to three thousand souls. Beneath our feet, cream marble gleamed even in the shadows, because hundreds of stained glass windows let in the meager light from outside.
Overhead, the arched dome was supported by dozens of archways that were grounded by decorated columns. A carved stone pulpit loomed over the rows of shining wooden pews, which led down to the high altar.
I knew there were several altars in here, but I doubted Da wanted any other than the largest. With its famous bronzebaldachino, an intricate Sanctuary that shrouded the altar, it was on a higher level than anywhere else in here, surrounded by marble so pure in color that cream looked filthy against it.
Beside the high altar, there was aPietà, a sculpture of Mary mourning Jesus’ passing as she wept over his body, and, considering my mother’s tears, I couldn’t help but find that fitting.
"Spread out," I told the men who were with us, my voice gritty with repressed emotion. "Make sure the place is empty. Any guards on the premises must be freaking out about their security system being down, so go and sweep the place, yeah?"
The guys obeyed, leaving the duffle bags behind while Anthony pushed Masters along the aisle, as we trudged after my parents, each of us in the dark as we made it to the high altar.
The silence in here was more overpowering than the bitter cold. Insane, really, because the wheelchair squeaked and our feet clicked against the stone tiles on the ground, but it was like a vacuum. Everything was swallowed up by the shadows.
Only the main stained glass windows really let in any light from the streets, but the columns were so thick that it didn’t allow for easy maneuvering, and was enough for our cell’s flashlights to barely penetrate the gloom.
"All clear," one guy called out softly.
"All clear."
"All clear."
By the time we made it to the fifth ‘all clear,’ there wasn’t as much need for silence, so I demanded, "What are we doing here, Da? Did you want to check out his sacristy?"
Da didn’t answer me—no surprises there.
Instead, to Anthony he directed, "Wheel him onto the high altar’s dais then go and help the others."
Behind me, I could hear zips unfastening, and then I heard sloshing.
Shit.
"Da, is this wise?" I rasped, peering up at the ancient edifice, wondering if my da was insane enough to think even we could get away with torching New York’s main cathedral.
Who was I kidding?
Of course, he fucking was.
"You know the rectory and the Cardinal’s residence are connected to this place," I pointed out.
"They’ll get out as soon as the alarms go off," was all Da would say.
"Well, we need to hurry the fuck up, then." I just hoped Conor’s jammer didn’t stop the alarms from working.
God, this was a nightmare without an end.
Anthony grunted as he hauled the wheelchair up the few steps to the altarpiece, and when he was done, he slipped into the background like the good grunt he was—Da preferred his crew to be doers rather than thinkers—and I assumed Anthony began helping the others spread what scented like gasoline.
"He’s really fucking lost it this time," Finn whispered at my side, his shoulders hunched against the cold as we both watched the scene unfold.
