Chapter Nine

Perfection

-oOo-

Chloe awoke with the details of the previous night still floating through her mind. Silas was free. The Council might possibly be trying to kill her and her boss. But she wasn't dead yet, so she had to beat them at their own game.

In a rush, she showered and changed into a comfortable pair of jeans, a black v-neck jumper, and black loafers and threw a long black leather jacket over herself. She checked her make-up, stored her gun, purse and keys into a handbag.

According to the report on Aringarosa, Fache had given Chloe; the Bishop was still recovering from a bullet wound at the Hopitaux de Paris. It would take her no more then ten minutes to get down there, but she stored her badge away in her jacket pocket so she wouldn't meet any opposition.

She threw her things into her car and set off with the morning rush hour traffic towards the hospital. Her mind was a jumble of what ifs and questions she ached to have answers for. She only hoped she wasn't stepping into the belly of the beast by seeing Aringarosa, for who knew whether he was actually the head of the Council and not some bottom feeder who was being led along just like Silas. And what of the monk? He would be surprised to discover that his patron thought he was dead, that's if he had been to see the Bishop before her, then both would distrust her and she wouldn't get anywhere.

After Chloe tucked her car away in the car park, she walked into the busy reception area, flashed her badge at one of the attending receptionists, a tall, willowy woman with thin glasses and asked where she might find the Bishop. She got her answer and rushed into the lift to the fifth floor. She could tell instantly which room held Aringarosa from the two guards standing as still as statues outside the less the modest hospital room.

She flashed her badge again and was allowed to pass, she immediately found herself surrounded with flowers and well-wishing cards. A television perched on a mahogany drawing cabinet was on, detailing the events of a fatal car pile up somewhere in Toulouse. Chloe's eyes turned to the hospital bed, where lying flat upon his back was a round man with dark hair and bushy eyebrows. His face was stern yet sad and he definitely looked like a man of power, despite the weakened arm in a sling.

Aringarosa saw her standing there and picked up a remote to turn the television off, he smiled sadly at her.

"Bonjour madam, and what do I owe such a pleasure?"

Chloe smiled, genuinely. He seemed quite a nice man, probably very jovial and fun had he not been lying crippled.

"Bonjour, Bishop Aringarosa. I am Officer Chloe Blanc, I was wondering if I might ask you a few questions?" she asked, helping herself to the padded chair that was pushed up against the far wall and sitting a good few feet away from the Bishop.

"My, my. This sounds like an interrogation" he coughed, "But I am sure you are aware that I have already given my statement," he added.

"Je suis docile, Bishop. But I am not here about the incident involving Miss Neveu and Professor Langdon. This case if far more delicate and I was helping that you might co operate in exchange for protection"

Aringarosa frowned and shifted himself to get a better look at Chloe, "I don't understand, Mademoiselle Blanc. Why do you need my protection?" he asked.

"Non, Bishop, you misunderstand me" she replied hurriedly, "I believe your life to be in danger. I'm offering you protection in exchange with your cooperation with the DCPJ"

There was a few seconds of silence before the Bishop chuckled. Chloe frowned, she hadn't expected him to react like that, and of course she didn't know what she had expected. She didn't even know the Bishop was a man worth trusting; she was purely going on the word of a murderer. Maybe Silas had set her up, maybe he had wanted her to come here and face the Bishop so he knew the Council was being investigated. Suddenly she felt very unsure of herself.

"Oh my dear" Aringarosa chuckled, "Of course my life is in danger. During my time as Bishop I've had numerous threats from feminists, animal rights activists, Muslim sects, the list is endless. I don't believe I have been truly safe since I entered the church"

Chloe sighed, "I don't think you understand, Bishop. We have reason to believe your friend, Silas, was ordered by powerful individuals in the Church to murder four people"

The Bishops face suddenly dropped and a flicker of sadness and fear crossed over his face, "Silas" he whispered in angst, "my angel"

Chloe felt guilty. Just a few words would sooth this old mans heart, but she felt compelled to keep the truth from him. Silas had obviously not found the Bishop yet, she had beaten him here, therefore she could gain his trust, but she would be putting all her eggs in one basket and placing her life in further risk. Question was, did she care about herself enough to allow her life to be put in the hands of Aringarosa.

"I'm terribly sorry about your friend, Bishop, but we believe it was the intention of this Council of Shadows to have Silas killed once he had served his purpose, it was lucky for them that the English police killed him so the matter was taken out of their hands"

Aringarosa starred at her, "I am afraid you have been misled, Mademoiselle, there is no Council, we work to spread the lords word, nothing would draw men and women of the cloth to ruthless murder" he said harshly.

"I understand they believe they are doing God's work, Bishop, but its still murder" she argued, feeling her personal opinions sinking into the conversation. She had to bit her tongue from arguing further. She was trying to get this man on her side; she would help matters why starting an argument. But she felt her hold on the situation slip, she would have to offer him something in good faith to make him trust her, but what?

"Trust me, Officer Blanc, my fellow Christians would never take a life, it should be by Gods hand. And the rest, well I suppose is your job" he replied.

Chloe glanced down at her lap, she still had one card left, but she had no idea how Aringarosa would react and whether he would believe her or condemn her. But she had no choice.

"Bishop, what I am about to tell you is top secret, I have been ordered by my superior to reveal it to no one, but I need you to trust me and I hope what I am about to tell you is proof enough that I wish to help you" she began, her heart racing in her chest. She could almost see Fache in her mind, shouting at her not to tell him, but she had no choice, the Bishop's attention was all hers, "that day, when Silas was shot…" she began, but Aringarosa's face look downcast, now she just had to tell him, "Capitaine Fache told you he died. The truth is, he nearly did, but he survived. He's been in DCPJ custody ever since that day" he finished.

Chloe studied the Bishops face intently; firstly she saw the shock, then the disbelief, but then the heartened lifting of his brow to show utter relief. But then he saw Chloe starring at him and his brow creased, "You lie" he grumbled, "You come here, accusing me of being involved with this Council of Shadows and then you have the ordacity to play with an old man's heart and tell me lies about my beloved Silas?!"

"Non, Bishop. I am telling the truth, I swear on it. I spoke to him myself, he told me Sir Teabings' involvement and how he bribed the members of the Council to assist him in finding this Grail-"

"Enough!" Aringarosa cried, "I will not listen to anymore of this. I trust my brothers with my life, if such a Council does exist, it's main purpose would only be to serve the Lord's best interests without police interference therefore I see no harm. But for you to lie to me about Silas, to give me such hope, is perfectly cruel" he spat.

Chloe felt her nerves fail her, but she had to be strong, Aringarosa had practically admitted to the Council's existence and that he would fully support their actions. She now had the proof she needed, but Aringarosa was her only lead, she needed him, and she knew he needed something.

"What if I bring him to you?" she asked.

Aringarosa looked shocked, "If I could see him in the flesh, I would trust you. But until then, I do not wish to see you again" he muttered with a wave of his healthy hand.

Chloe got off her seat, "I will try" she replied.

The Bishop frowned, "I thought you said he was in your custody"

"He was" Chloe agreed, "he was released last night, no one knows where he is and I don't think he knows where you are" she replied.

"And how do you propose to find him?" Aringarosa scoffed, still sure Chloe was lying.

"Well you are the only person to have ever shown him kindness, Bishop. He'll be trying to find you" she replied and with a nod left the man to his musings.

Chloe returned home to find the light on her answering machine blinking. It was Jerome reminding her that she was expected at his roast dinner meal the next day. She decided to call him later as she fixed herself up a ham sandwich and began to think to herself of where the monk could be. She was sure he wouldn't get far unnoticed; he had no other clothes apart from his robe, which would stick out far more then his white features. She researched on the Internet all of the local churches that she would visit as well as Opus Dei safe houses.

Just as she put her plate away in the sink, something from her conversation of the previous night with Capitaine Fache came to mind.

'A Bishop Horus, a friend of Aringarosa tipped the Commissioner about the monk being alive and in my custody'

Bishop Horus? How could she have over seen that little detail? He had been contacted by someone in the DCPJ and had gone over Fache's head to see that Silas was released. Maybe, just maybe he did so to make sure Silas didn't open his mouth; he wanted him released so that he could kill the monk. It all made sense, but she needed to know more about this new character.

She furiously typed his name into a search engine; there were quite a few hits, but most were for the Egyptian God, Horus. She scanned further down the list and saw a page for Bishop Regis Horus. She clicked it impatiently, but all that came up was a small article of how he had donated money to several orphanages in Milan, there wasn't even a picture. Whoever this man was, he kept to the shadows and didn't enjoy the limelight. All the signs of a guilty man, maybe? Furiously she wrote down her findings and set off to visit the Opus Dei houses in Paris.

As the day wore on, so did Chloe's patients and hope. By the tenth house she called on, it was four in the afternoon and still she had no luck. No one had heard of Silas or seen him, it seemed he had just vanished off the face of the Earth. On driving back to her apartment she saw in all its majesty, Saint-Sulpice. It towered over her, shadowing the road against the dropping sun.

"It can't hurt" she said to herself and parked her car outside a deli. She marched up the steps and entered the gigantic building with a sense of modesty and awe. Never had she been here even though she had lived nowhere else, she had just simply regarded it as a landmark, but now she could admire it in all its beauty. She walked down the aisle, looking left and right, trying to take in the intricate details and when she reached the alter, she sat at the nearest pew and sighed.

She wished she could find this place comforting and give her faith, but it didn't. It was just a reminder of how God had betrayed her, as she lay on the cold ground, alone and afraid. She had lost all her faith, in both man and God that day. She supposed to someone who believed, this place could be such a solace.

Slowly she got to her feet and walked down the side of the church, obscured by the rising pillars. She felt suddenly empty and alone, with nowhere she could go to feel safe and comforted. It saddened her to feel that way.

Then suddenly, out of nowhere, a hand grabbed her and pulled her into a nearby corridor. She tried to scream, but a hand covered her mouth as she was slammed hard against the stonewall. The light was dim, but she faced her attacker and was enraged to find it was the monk. He leaned into her, his eyes alight, he checked all around him.

"Do not scream, you will be dead before you open your mouth" he hissed into her ear.

Chloe tried to shake him off, but he held her fast, "Don't be foolish," he snapped.

She stopped struggling and reluctantly nodded. Slowly, Silas dropped his hand, Chloe had to restrain herself from lashing out.

"I should shoot you right now" she muttered under her breath.

Silas smirked, "You would dare to kill a man of God in the Lords house?"

"I don't care about that. Now get off me!" she snapped. Silas moved away from her so she had room to breathe, but he continued to stare at her, which unsettled Chloe.

"Why have you been looking for me?" he asked.

Chloe sighed, "I went to see Bishop Aringarosa today" the monk's eyes widen at the mention of his name, "I need him to help me uncover the Council members, but he won't help me unless he sees you" she explained.

"You know where the Bishop is?" he asked almost dreamily.

"Yes" Chloe replied, "Now come on," she said, grabbing him by the sleeve of his robe, but he yanked it back and looked at suspiciously.

"How do I know you are not trying to entrap me? How can I trust you?" he asked

"I've got nothing to offer you to prove I'm telling you the truth, unless you come with me and see for yourself," she explained impatiently, crossing her arms over her chest.

"No. There is something you can give me," he said, a small smirk rising in the corner of his mouth. Chloe didn't like that look at all.

"Within reason. What do you want?" she asked.

"Your arm. I want to know what happened to make you do such a thing," he said.

Chloe felt chills; she felt exposed and hated it. It was bad enough that he saw her wounds, but for him to know what had happened to her that night was unimaginable. But she needed Silas to come with her, so the best thing to do, was lie.

"It's embarrassing" she began, "I was out cycling, I fell off and scratched up my arm. I knew people would assume I'd done it myself and just covered it up" she said and fixed Silas with a piercing stare. He returned it and finally shook his head.

"You lie" he muttered angrily, "And you want me to trust you?"

"I didn't lie" Chloe snapped, and in a second, Silas had hauled her to him by her jacket, slammed her against the wall and pulled her sleeve down on her jacket. Chloe tried to push away but he pinned her to the wall with his legs and held her exposed forearm in-between them both.

"I want to know the truth" he growled, his face inches from her own, "You give me that and I will go with you"

Chloe struggled again and managed to tug her arm out of his and pulled her sleeve down, "What the hell do you care?" she asked, "What can it prove?!"

"That you're not as perfect as you seem" Silas whispered. Chloe stopped struggling and looked at him. How could he possibly think she was even remotely perfect? She was broken, a shadow of her former self. She had no friends, no family save for Jerome. If only the monk in front of her could see that. Perfect was one word she wouldn't use to describe anything about herself.

She shoved him off her and straightened her jacket whilst the monk looked on, she turned to him, "I can't tell you, and it's not for you or anyone else to know. But I can tell you I'm not perfect. Not anymore at least" she said glumly, and without another look, she turned on her heels and left.

-oOo-

phoenixrisingGhostLoveScore - Yay! I rock! Cheers, you too!

Mish - Well here is Aringarosa, glad you're enjoying this.

Possessed-Gummy-Bear-Inferno - Sorry! Cliff hangers are my thang! What the hell is Turkey Day? Anyways, tah-ra!

A/N : Awww, Silas thinks she's perfect. Cute! Don't know how that came to be in the story, my fingers were tap, tap, tapping and that appeared! And poor Chloe, will she tell Silas what happened to her if it means getting Aringarosa's cooperation?