Penance #1 - The Ghost

The pair of hoods sprinted into the church, before slamming the heavy doors shut, effectively silencing the growing cacophony of sirens outside. Exchanging smug grins with each other, they dropped the backpacks full of loot onto the floor and advanced on the confessional booth.

"Oh Padre, we're in need of a little sanctuary." One of them, a slim pale skinned man wearing baggy trousers and a hooded sweatshirt sneered, as his friend opened the door and dragged the priest out before pushing him to the floor. "Easy Markey, he ain't gonna be a good hostage if he's all bruised up." He ordered, as he pulled the priest to his feet and placed his gun against the holy man's head.

"Ah shut up Alex!" Markey spat, as he removed the hood he wore to reveal a youthful dark skinned face.

"It's not too late to confess your sins before..." The priest stammered, only for his words to be cut off as Markey pushed the gun hard against the back of his head.

"You shut up as well!" Markey hissed. "We want sanctuary from the cops, and your going to give it to us!"

"Yeah call on whatever Patron Saint protects criminals and get him to keep the cops away from us." Alex chimed in, before looking at Markey, his eyes wide with terror. "What's wrong with you?" He asked, as he followed Markey's gaze up into the rafters. There standing in the half light was a humanoid blot of darkness, malice and fear radiating outwards from the mystery figure.

"Padre what is that?" Markey asked, as Alex drew his gun. "What are you?!" He called up at the dark figure. "You a ghost? Some kind of dark angel or something?"

"Screw talking to it, blast the thing!" Alex yelled, as he opened fire, only for the figure to dart away along the rafters. "Eat lead ghost!!" He screamed, as the 'ghost' vanished into the shadows.

"You idiot, the cops are right outside, the only thing keeping us safe from their bullets is the knowledge that we have a hostage." Markey hissed, his voice echoing around the church. "With all the shooting they may figure we shot the Padre and are unprepared for them."

"But the ghost..."

"The ghost is nothing, we scared it off." Markey told him, as something landed behind him noiselessly. "Now I don't want to hear no more about that ghost, I'd rather forget I saw it." He ordered, as something sharp pierced his arm, causing him to release the priest. There stabbed just above the elbow was a black shafted crossbow bolt. "Wha..." He gasped before collapsing, his fall revealing the shadowy figure standing behind him.

"Oh Jesus!" Alex swore as he ran for the bags and the door, only for a bolt to hit his ankle, effectively hobbling him, his stride reduced until he fell too. Turning the figure glared at the priest, who had recovered his footing.

"Bless you friend." The Padre gasped, only for the figure to push him to the floor. "What but you saved me from..." He gasped, as the figure hung a noose round his neck. "I demand to know what you are and your purpose here!" The priest boomed in vain, his 'assailant' vanished, although a far more worrying sight had replaced it. "Forgive me father for I have sinned," The holy man muttered under his breath, just as the doors flew open and armed officers came rushing in.

"SFPD nobody move!" The lead officer ordered, as he caught sight of the 'ghosts' parting gift, and then the priest, his face almost glowing with disgust. "Father you are under arrest..."

**

Detective Clarissa Loach watched as the CSI team loaded Markey and Alex into the back of the police van, the bolts removed from their wounds bagged ready for analysis back at the lab.

"Whoever this 'spectre' was they were misinformed." Father Beckett, the priest in residence of the church stated, as he was lead in handcuffs to a waiting car. "God will be my only judge, not the corrupt system that Satan has enthralled you to!"

"And they say the zealots of my faith are insane." Her partner, Ifan El-Sabim sighed, as he carried a box full of bagged evidence past her. "The two thieves are part of the crew who robbed that armoured car two days ago, they bolted when PD followed a tip left by another member of the crew."

"You think this picture is real?" Clarissa asked, as she showed Ifan an image of Beckett standing over a dead prostitute, a crucifix with one of the points sharpened into a blade in his hand.

"Apparently it was produced by 'the Ghost' after the thieves were restrained." Ifan replied. "I'll see if the other two saw the same figure, maybe get one of them to sit down with a sketch artist and see if we can get a picture of our guy. As for the Priest, all we can do is hope that we can identify the woman in the photograph and act accordingly."

"Once you have that sketch issue a BOLO on this 'Ghost', even though he stopped two thieves and potentially caught a murderer that doesn't excuse him of his crimes." Clarissa announced. "Justice will be served, not from the shadows but in the cold blue light of day."

**

"You know I had my doubts about leaving the nest. About moving from the blood soaked sand of El Paso to the City on the Bay but," The Hispanic man dressed in a suit stated, as he took a puff from the e-cigarette clamped in his lips, "but taking over this scene was easy. No Boccanegra to stand in my way, no Gunsmith ripping me off and no weir-dos threatening to blow my place of business off the face of the Earth. Yes sir," he sighed as he watched the models dressed in bikinis posing on the beach below him, "California is the place for my business."

"You may say otherwise when you hear about the armoured car job boss." One of his men, also dressed in a suit sighed. "SFPD nabbed them before they could make the drop."

"Good for them," His boss stated, as he took another puff from his cigarette, "looks like the SFPD are more competent than those slugs in El Paso."

"The police had help boss. Apparently some ghost in a church shot them with a crossbow." The henchman stated, his words causing a double plume of smoke to rise from his bosses nostrils.

"Hans, you see the red head in the green bikini and miniskirt? You know what to do." He added, as a massive man dressed in motorcycle leathers save for the pagan mask across his face and the thick gauntlets covering his hands stepped to the edge of the balcony and whistled. Seconds later a massive eagle flew from the penthouse and onto his gauntlet, an electrified shock device strapped to its leg.

"I don't understand boss?" The lackey stated, as Hans whistled again and the bird flew off.

"A ghost in a church armed with a crossbow." His boss hissed, his eyes locked on the model on the beach. "Tell me if that doesn't seem a little familiar." He added as the eagle swooped down on the model's neck and scalp, her screams and those of the people around her radiating across the beach.

With a whistle Hans called the bird off, the unfortunate victim laying on the sand drooling and quivering. "She'll be damaged for life, now tell me why I shouldn't do the same to you?"

"Because the ghost is a big deal and you'll need all hands to catch it." The henchmen yammered, as his boss shot Hans a look. "I mean kill, not capture." He gulped, as the eagle landed back on Hans's glove. Whistling again, Hans dismissed the eagle, causing the man to breath a long sigh of relief.

"Bueano," His boss announced. "Kill the ghost. I El Aquila has this city in his talons, pray you don't disappoint me lest you feel them close on your neck."

"You still haven't explained why the ghost is..." Before he could finish Hans whistled again, the eagle returning and slamming into the hapless henchman, his body flailing as he fell over the edge of the balcony.

"Crossbow, Ghost, Church everyone knows what that entails." El Aquila hissed. "Everyone alive at least." He sneered, before taking one last puff of his e-cigarette. "Kill her but bring me the head." He ordered Hans as the eagle returned to his grasp. "At last I'll finally see the face of the Patron Saint of Crime."