Dark Edge: Prequel to the C.O.I.L. Series
Page 10
Chapter Ten – The Beginning
Corban held the chair for Janice as she sat beside him in the busy steakhouse in Albany, New York. And like the spy he was, Corban had already surveyed the establishment for familiar faces and then requested a table with a view of the entire room.
"I hardly recognized you, sir," said Chloe Azmaveth, who sat with her husband, Zvi, across the table. "You know, without the fake nose and whatnot."
"Careful, Chloe, you'll ruin all the mystery for me," Janice said, then elbowed Corban in the arm. "We've been married for years, but I feel like I'm just getting to know him—or married to someone new."
"It's not a real marriage until Christ is your bond, anyway." Zvi, older and shorter than Chloe, saluted with his ice water. His Hebrew accent was rich and the friendliness on his face was genuine. "It was Christ who brought Chloe and me together."
"Well, I don't know if I'm ready for all this . . . secret agent stuff." Janice ducked her head as if she were dodging a drone flying above. "How do you do it, Chloe?"
The ex-Mossad agent smiled, and Corban appreciated her sense of discretion. He didn't need boastful agents working for him.
"There's a spiritual war waging," she said, narrowing her eyes at Corban, as if studying him. "It was a war declared long before us, but we're in the middle of it now. We can't sit in the bunker any longer."
"Chloe has told me a bit about your idea, Corban." Zvi leaned forward on the table. "You know, I'm a wealthy man. The gold business is thriving. Is that why we're here?"
Corban browsed the faces of the patrons again. He didn't recognize anyone nearby, but the government was sure to keep an eye on him for a while, maybe for the rest of his life.
Chip had arranged a deal for his safe retirement, in exchange for his cooperation regarding the CIA assets that he was still tied to after years with the Agency. Deal or not, Corban had lived too long near the dark edge to trust the Agency. Director Dench had resigned and Nace Scanlon had returned to Britain, but there would be new enemies, other assassins, recruited from the darkness.
"Your financial support is welcome, Zvi, but this is about something bigger than money. I want to create a Christian intelligence and relief organization. It's time that those of us with the skills and experience turn our trade into an asset for believers in the field who need our support and protection."
"A Christian spy agency," Chloe said.
"Yes, but with more selflessness than your traditional spy agency." Corban took his wife's hand and held it firmly. Even though Janice had recovered from his faked dismissal of their marriage, he wondered if she was ready for the greater secrecy and subterfuge to come. "We'll hire Special Forces soldiers who are devout Christians, and deploy them with non-lethal weaponry to protect God's people in foreign nations. We'll smuggle Bibles, buy safe houses, and hide missionaries.
"As you two know, Chloe and I each have international networks already out there, and we'll need them. We'll pool our resources and start rescuing the persecuted, or at least we can make their calling more secure in some of the worst places on earth for Christians. I want tonight to be the beginning with the four of us. From here on, we live our lives a day at a time, ready to go to be with our Lord if necessary. But while we're here, we live it fully for God's people and the gospel message."
"Okay. I already left the IDF," Chloe said with a chuckle. "We're in. Just tell us what you want us to do, Corban."
"Janice is a nurse. I'd like her to coordinate our medical relief arm, which will sometimes be used as a cover."
"Yes, I can do that." Janice nodded. "I like the administration side of things."
"Zvi, you have business contacts world-wide. We don't need your money as much as we need your knowledge about moving equipment in and out of closed countries—your mining and assaying equipment. Your micron gold business will remain your cover as you go before us."
"You mean to smuggle Bibles hidden in my equipment?" Zvi tapped a finger on his chin. "Every country uses a different customs protocol. I'll get my people on the basics, then quietly format it for our own use."
"Good. Chloe, your cover will be as our public relations manager, but really, you'll be my second as our foreign operations manager. All rescue missions will pass your desk for approval, unless I'm not in the field. When I'm around, we'll work on field agent assignments together."
"So, I'm a handler?" Chloe sat back in her chair. "I like the sound of that. What will you do?"
"Well, I'll concentrate on security, as well as screening and hiring initial field agents. I'll also begin adjusting the minds of our foreign assets to demands we'll have for them. And where no one else can go, I can—like North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Nigeria. My old aliases need to be maintained and covers need to remain intact. As you can guess, I'll be on the road a lot for security and rescue operations that'll be carried out by our teams."
"My nerves already feel like they're all . . . coiled up!" Janice said with a nervous chuckle. "What are we going to call ourselves?"
"I don't know." Corban said. "Some acronym that makes an impact."
"Janice just used the word coil," Chloe said. "I like the sound of that—a coil that springs into action. Can we use it as an acronym?"
"Hmm, coil. Okay. C for . . . Commission? You know, like the Great Commission."
"How about International for the I?" Zvi asked.
"And L for Laborers," Janice said, "from Luke 10:2."
"That can be our theme verse! I know it in the King James Version," Chloe said. "The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; pray ye, therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth laborers into his harvest. So what do you think, Corban?"
"COIL: the Commission of International Laborers, with theme verse of Luke 10:2. Great! That didn't take long. This is going to be some adventure . . ." Corban looked into their faces one at a time, knowing the testing that was probably ahead for them all. "There's only one thing left to do: let's pray . . . and never stop praying." Then Corban bowed his head.
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