Book excerpt: Robbery has always been a crime of passion, the result of individuals being struck with a lust for ill gotten gain. The five members of The Syndicate, an international crime group with supporters in the British Government, Church of England and the Freemasons, together with several influential members of the Vatican’s College of Cardinals were no exception. Cardinal Di Luca, Grandmaster of the Order of the Deity and Vatican power broker Cardinal Saltieri along with the mysterious Sister Marie-Élise Bessette conspired to find the lost wealth of the Vatican. What followed was a trail of death and destruction as the fanatical Order of the Deity sought power and control of the Roman Church at any price. At Cardinal Di Luca’s command, the church entered into a fearful and deadly conflict with both The Syndicate and a Chinese Pirate Lord known as the ‘Chameleon’. Within months the desolation of the Holy Roman Church appeared inevitable! With the Vatican’s power base on the verge of collapse and the walls of the city state under siege from foreign powers, the pontiff sought exile in Britain using the hidden wealth of his church to buy passage to freedom. While an evil spread throughout the Holy city the Catholic Churches most closely guarded secret was revealed by Syndicate member Michael Daniels, alias ‘Ares’. When the opportunity to steal the hidden Vatican Gold presented itself, temptation for all concerned proved irresistible!