A Corporation of Angels

A Corporation of Angels

by James H. Barrett Jr.
A Corporation of Angels

A Corporation of Angels

by James H. Barrett Jr.

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Overview

Directly behind the tallest skyscraper in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is a building that houses a family-run business devoid of political, greed, and power struggles. Teamwork, kindness, and compassion for others are prerequisites for employment at C.O.A. Inc. for it is not a typical company: it is A Corporation of Angels and its CEO is God.

Angels, who are allowed to choose their own names while working for C.O.A., work discreetly alongside walking souls while attempting to keep Lucifer and his company, Hostile Takeover Enterprises, at bay. Gabriel and his partner, Sarah, are two angels working on Project Lost Faith, a special assignment to help reinstate faith in God. As the pair attempts to outsmart Lucifer's cronies, everyone is watching, especially the CEO of C.O.A. But Gabriel and Sarah are not the only angels on important missions battling those who prey on the weak and hopeless.

In this inspirational tale filled with suspense and humor, A Corporation of Angels diligently works to engage Christians about their faith while doing their best to keep Lucifer from carrying out his own mission.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781458219985
Publisher: Abbott Press
Publication date: 02/23/2016
Pages: 150
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.35(d)

Read an Excerpt

A Corporation of Angels


By James H. Barrett Jr.

Abbott Press

Copyright © 2016 James H. Barrett, Jr.
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4582-1998-5


CHAPTER 1

By now, it is clear that you probably have many unanswered questions. Let's try to fill you in. C.O.A. stands for Corporation of Angels. The C.E.O., of course, is God. The address, 1 His Way, needs no further explanation. What else would it be? Who are the employees, you are wondering? Well, as a matter of fact, they are angels ...

The angels were allowed to pick their own names at C.O.A. Many of them liked to pick the well-known angel names. Because of that, the name could only be used once in each department. Sometimes the angels had more than one assignment. That was one reason each angel had a partner. Every assignment was important and deserved the correct amount of attention. Another reason was that two heads were better than one. No mistakes were to be made. Lastly, it was for teamwork. Working together and getting along was what it was all about. Loving each other and taking care of everyone was the purpose. There were no favorites at C.O.A. That was why project leaders were picked daily for the most part, unless the project needed more attention than one day to fulfill. Some angels volunteered for long-term missions. Many of these assignments required them to spend more time involved in changing the attitudes of people, or groups of people.

Gabriel and his partner Sarah were two of the angels on a special mission. Each city had at least one or more sets of angels, who were on special assignment. Some of the bigger cities such as Los Angeles or New York could have up to ten groups of angels assigned. The special detail that Gabriel, Sarah and the others were currently assigned to was called Project Lost Faith. It had come to everyone's attention that many people were losing faith in God, particularly in America. It was the angels' duty to do what they could to turn that around. At the moment, it had been a high priority mission, with all eyes watching, especially the C.E.O. of C.O.A.

Gabriel liked to wear bowling shirts, khaki pants and a Kangol hat turned backward. He wore longer hair than most of the other angels. It was shoulder length, blond and curly, and he looked to be in his early thirties. His partner Sarah, appeared to be in her late twenties to early thirties as well. She had short black hair and was dressed casually too. They looked like a typical Pittsburgh yuppie couple. That was the target audience that C.O.A. was trying to focus on. These younger people were moving into neighborhoods, where they would buy their first house and begin to raise a family of their own. At the moment, Gabriel and Sarah rented a house on the east side of Pittsburgh, where there was concern regarding non-believers in the area. The two of them were to blend in and help to adjust the thinking of some of their neighbors. They had to do this without revealing their true identity, which took some ingenuity. When their job was done, they would move to a new neighborhood and start over. Gabriel and Sarah had been working on this mission for the past two weeks, among the walking souls. That was how the angels referred to human beings.

When the angels mingled with people, they looked just like any other walking soul. They had no wings or halos around their heads. That way, they blended in with everyone else. Very young children and mentally challenged walking souls saw the angels in their true state. They were clothed in brilliant white gowns and barefoot, with two sets of glorious wings. They also had an amazing glow about them. Once children were old enough to talk, they usually no longer saw the angels as they truly were. Everyone has seen a baby giggling for no reason. It is quite possible that the appearance of a magnificent angel has caught their attention. A mentally challenged person has seen angels all of his or her life, and their guardian angel has always been a constant companion. He or she became their best friend and it seemed quite normal for them. An angel could also choose to be invisible on certain occasions as well. One circumstance would be when an angel had to act in an extremely quick amount of time to defuse a situation. For example, one might need to stop a car accident in a hurry. There would be no time to waste, and if someone suddenly appeared in your car out of nowhere, it would not be a good scenario. Think about the situation for a second. At the very least, the walking soul could soil their pants. For that reason, the angel would take control of the car without the walking soul knowing what had happened.

Back at C.O.A., the angels had been hard at work. Many of them were on their computers, receiving information for assignments already in progress, as well as upcoming assignments. All information came from the mainframe on the one hundredth floor, which was supplied by the C.E.O. Most days were frantic. Everything had to be concise, thorough, and flawless, but the angels were used to the demands of their positions. Other than children, mentally challenged, or very sick individuals, a walking soul could not see the C.O.A. building either, just like they couldn't see the angels in their true state, as previously mentioned. That was why the Steel Building was the highest building in Pittsburgh, at least as far as walking souls knew. If a walking soul ventured around the back of the Steel Building, they would see no evidence of C.O.A., just a 7-Eleven and a hotel in their view. It was also the most spectacular building in the world, with its shining gold, lined with rubies, emeralds and diamonds. The windows were staggered with amazing stained-glass and unblemished clear windows, which had the most stunning view of the city and its three rivers. On a clear day from the ninety-ninth floor, you could see for miles around the city. The view from Mt. Washington would even take a back seat.

Michael and Mary received a call from the two teams of angels that were dispatched to the river during the morning meeting. The situation had been defused. It seemed that there was a fully loaded barge moving dangerously close to one of the uprights on the Sixteenth Street Bridge. The captain had been preoccupied with problems at home and was not concentrating on his job. One team turned the captain's attention to the danger by knocking a coffee cup onto the floor. The angels were in an invisible mode at that time. When the captain looked up, he saw the proximity of the bridge beam, steered the barge away, and the accident was diverted. The other team eased the captain's mind from the tension regarding his family. His son had been acting up in school, but two more angels were set in place to join his class and then befriend him to get him back on track. A barge smashing into the Sixteenth Street Bridge at 8:30 a.m. would be catastrophic. The bridge was full of commuters making their way into the city at that time of morning.

The four teams that had been sent to the convention center were still on the job. There was a problem with the foundation on the property. A car convention was due in town the following morning, and there would be a lot of weight in the building. Cracks had been found in the building's foundation and needed to be repaired to fend off multiple casualties. The maintenance crew of the building hadn't seen the problems, and there was not enough time for them to fix it. The angels were on their own for the discrete safeguarding effort. They assured Michael that they would be finished before long.

In addition to repairing the cracks in the foundation, the teams had to install additional supports at the base of the building, to shore it up.

It was a busy day in the office. In the Accounting Department, angels kept track of the finances of all walking souls in the area. Given the recession, many people were juggling bills and trying to make ends meet. The angels would discretely help them to avoid making bad decisions. Desperation could lead them into big trouble. Money troubles could sometimes cause people to con, steal or even murder one another. One of the duties of an angel in accounting was to help people not to get to that point. It could be as simple as whispering a helpful idea in one's ear, regarding a bad investment decision. It could involve a visit from a family member or friend who could offer a gift or loan to help them out. Sometimes it could involve a promotion at work or even a career change.

There was also a Supply Chain and Inventory Department at C.O.A. The angels in that department supplied cash and equipment needed for the employees while they were among the walking souls. The angels filled out requisition forms, like any other corporation. At the end of an assignment, a Return Authorization form, or R.A. for short, was filled out. Then the material was inspected and restored in place. There was a thirty story warehouse in the Strip District, which housed everything you could imagine. Cars, motorcycles, boats, and anything else you might envision was stored there. If a walking soul could have seen it, one might have thought they were standing in Jay Leno's garage!

There was also a Marketing Department. It was an essential component of the corporation. As you might have already figured out, their job was to keep walking souls informed about God. Not only on Sunday in church, but in everyday life. He wanted to be part of your life in places like Facebook, Twitter and other social media. Things changed constantly, and the marketing team needed to stay abreast of the changing culture. Gabriel and Sarah were well respected employees of the marketing team.

The majority of the workforce were in the Customer Relations Department. These were the worker bees. They were usually sent out on multiple assignments per day. It could be as simple as smiling at someone having a bad day. It could also be an extreme case, which called for a stranger to console a walking soul in great despair. Sometimes, all people needed was someone to talk to. Angels were good listeners. How could they not be? Look who they worked for.

CHAPTER 2

Jeremiah and Jonah were partners who worked in Customer Relations. Jonah was transferred from the west coast office a few years back when he partnered up with Jeremiah. While in their walking soul persona, they couldn't be more conspicuous. Jeremiah was tall and sleek with well-groomed short brown hair. He also liked to wear a suit. He would put you in mind of Liam Neeson. Jonah, on the other hand, was short and pudgy with a shaved head and a full gray beard, leather jacket and jeans. He resembled a biker Bill Murray.

When the two were first paired together it was questionable whether it would work out, being that they were so different. Jeremiah was more quiet and by-the-book. Jonah was a prankster and off the cuff. The truth was, they complemented each other. Jeremiah kept Jonah grounded when need be, and Jonah kept things interesting and amusing. He hadn't kept only Jeremiah in stitches, but whole office. That's right: Angels had a sense of humor, too.

One of Jonah's pet peeves was conceit. One time a beautiful woman was on a date in a fancy restaurant on Mt. Washington. She wore a form fitting red dress and high heels. She put her nose up to everyone in the establishment, from the waiter to her gentleman companion. She wanted everyone to notice her. Just for kicks, Jonah gave the lady gas pains so bad that she couldn't hold them in. She had a look of horror on her face as she stood up from the table and began tooting loudly from behind, as she scurried bowlegged the whole way to the ladies room. Her date sat wide mouthed at a loss for words. Jeremiah and Jonah were sitting at a table nearby. You could've heard a pin drop until Jonah exclaimed, "Not so high and mighty now, is she?" All of the patrons started giggling including Jonah and Jeremiah. It may not have been the kind of recognition she was looking for, but people did take notice for sure.

Jeremiah regained his composure, and then said, "I thought we were here to head off a choking incident?"

"Yes, we are, but why not kill two birds with one stone, so to speak? A little humility has never hurt anyone," Jonah replied.

"Agreed," said Jeremiah.

Back in the present day, Jeremiah and Jonah were standing on the corner of Grant and Sixth Streets. They had an assignment coming up in ten minutes at the intersection. Jonah had a little time to kill before their task. Two men were talking to each other on the sidewalk, next to the angel partners. Both men were wearing bad toupees. Jonah decided to have a little fun. As one man talked, a slight breeze blew the other man's toupee in unison to his words. As his friend replied, the other's hair would in turn reciprocate. It was like their hair was having a conversation with each other. Jeremiah busted out laughing, while Jonah stood straight-faced. Neither of the walking souls noticed the other's talking toupee.

Jeremiah regained his composure, "Okay, come on now. It's almost time."

A young man was walking down Sixth Street toward the intersection. He was wearing ear buds and his MP3 player was too loud for him to hear anything other than his music. He was daydreaming when he approached the intersection and the Do Not Walk sign started flashing. A car was already accelerating through the intersection and the young man was about to step into its path. Jeremiah reached out, grabbed his arm and pulled him back onto the sidewalk. It startled the kid. He pulled his arm from Jeremiah's grasp, yanked his ear buds out, seemingly irritated, and said, "Whoa, what the hell are you doing, Mister?" Jeremiah and Jonah smiled at the kid, then walked away without a word. As the young man realized what had happened, and how the mystery man had just saved his life, he turned to apologize and thank Jeremiah, but Jeremiah was gone. He turned the volume down on his MP3 player and promised himself to pay more attention to the lights.

The partners were walking back to the office when Jeremiah grinned at Jonah and said, "One of these days you're going to get us sent to Angel Resources." He was reflecting on the talking hairpieces.

"It's all in good fun. Besides, who else keeps you entertained like me?" Jonah replied.

Jeremiah patted Jonah on the shoulder, nodded and smiled as the two walked through town.

Jonah had been sent to Angel Resources once before, back in December of 1972. Even when he was at the west coast office, Jonah had always been a Pittsburgh Steelers fan. Pittsburgh and Oakland were in a division playoff game that year. The Raiders led the Steelers 7-6 with twenty-two seconds left in the game. Terry Bradshaw threw the ball to "Frenchy" Fuqua, but when Raiders safety Jack Tatum and Fuqua collided, the ball flew back into the air. Franco Harris snatched up the ball before it hit the ground, maneuvered through Oakland's defense and ran for a touchdown to win the game. The play was branded the Immaculate Reception. Franco would be remembered for the historic play. Although Franco didn't know it, he'd had a little help from Jonah. Angel Resources were not amused with Jonah's involvement in the football game. It was made clear to Jonah that he was not to get involved in sporting outcomes again. Jonah humbly agreed without hesitation.

The Angel Resources office was located on the ninety-ninth floor of the building. It took up a small portion of the floor outside the auditorium. There were only a few employees working in the office. There was an A.R. Director, Assistant Director, and a receptionist. Most times they were able to resolve any problems without getting the C.E.O. involved. The angels were more than happy to oblige that scenario as well.

The auditorium was set up like the inside of a spectacular church, with enough pews to seat all of the employees working at C.O.A. There was a loft with a magnificent mahogany pipe organ and seating for a choir of angels. The ceiling was stunningly painted with images from the Bible. A huge diamond chandelier hung from the center of the room which reflected numerous shades of light on the auditorium. All of the wooden pews and the columns were hand carved pieces of art. There was a brilliant altar at the head of the auditorium, complete with statues, candles, and decorations. The auditorium was used for holding church services as well as C.O.A. employee meetings. All of the angels enjoyed getting together in the auditorium. It was their favorite time together.

* * *

Gabriel and Sarah had made progress with their situation regarding Project Lost Faith. The walking souls that they were working on had befriended the couple. Gabriel had helped the men with minor repairs around their houses. It was always good to know someone handy when you owned a home. While helping them with the repairs, Gabriel would bring up subtle moral and religious views. He did it in a way as not to seem pushy. Gabriel mainly explained how he lived his life in hopes that it would make the men want to be better people. Sarah used the same approach with the wives and girlfriends of the men. They worked well together. They did not judge people. That was not their job. They would merely offer suggestions to the walking souls. In the end, it was their decision how they wished to live their lives. The team's position was to mentor, and if possible, make them want to improve their way of living. It was better for the people and their community. The two angels had invited three couples for a small dinner party the following evening and all had accepted. They would have to prepare a game plan for the evening.


(Continues...)

Excerpted from A Corporation of Angels by James H. Barrett Jr.. Copyright © 2016 James H. Barrett, Jr.. Excerpted by permission of Abbott Press.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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