“We also gave different excuses for errands we needed to do,” Lemuel chimed in.
Joshua smiled approvingly. “That’s good.” He paused, his eyes narrowing as he studied the two new converts. Addressing them specifically, he asked, “Before we begin, are you sure you want to be part of this operation?”
Shem looked dubiously at Paul who shrugged helplessly. Then both men grunted their assent.
“There will be no turning back after this moment, so I ask you again. Are you quite sure?”
Paul cleared his throat. “Yes.”
“Yes, sir,” Shem mumbled a few seconds later.
“Very well,” the spymaster conceded. “Then let us begin. My brothers, the Blessed Nephilim have reached a crossroads—a dire intersection between salvation and damnation.”
Lemuel tugged at his collar fretfully.
“If we continue down our current path, we are doomed. My father’s mad scheme to challenge the Fallen is an act of defiance God will not forgive. We will surely suffer the same punishment as the diviner even though we are innocent.”
Shem and Paul anxiously shuffled their feet.
“But fear not,” Joshua announced. “The Lord has granted me a vision of redemption.”
“You?” Enoch peered at him. “But the Lord only speaks to the diviner.”
The spymaster sighed. “When God’s own prophet would not listen, he sought a new vessel to carry out his will.”
“What did the Lord command you to do?” Lemuel urged.
“Not just me, my brothers, all of us. We are charged with the sacred duty of sweeping away the corruption of the old order to make way for the purity of the new. The brotherhood will be spared if we do this. However, God has hardened his heart against the three people who have offended him most. All three must die. The diviner, Sister Hannah, and the scion.”
“Why Brother Daniel?” Paul asked in a troubled tone. “He’s blameless.”
“Blameless?” Joshua echoed sardonically. “Daniel has been instrumental in helping my father pursue his crusade against the Fallen. Without Daniel’s support, the diviner would have abandoned his scheme by now.”
The recruits said nothing.
“And don’t forget, my brother is the scion. Even if Father Abraham dies, the leadership of the Blessed Nephilim would pass to a man who facilitated our diviner’s private war.”
“That could be a problem,” Paul offered lamely.
Joshua continued. “The Lord told me that Father Abraham was supposed to appoint me as scion, not Daniel, but he disobeyed. I was always meant to be the next diviner and restore the brotherhood to a state of grace.”
Enoch regarded the spymaster with a worried air. “We’re with you, sir, but you’re asking us to murder three people. How will you make the Order of Argus accept that? How will you make the congregation accept that?”
“You forget that the Order of Argus is larger than the unit at the main compound. Every agent stationed at every satellite compound around the world is loyal to me, not the current diviner. As for the local Argus agents and congregation, I have a way to gain their support. I will make it appear as if my brother Daniel killed the other two and then took his own life.”
A shocked silence followed this revelation.
Joshua smiled comfortingly. “Don’t worry. My plan will all make sense once I walk you through it step-by-step.”
He moved to a long table positioned against the back wall and switched on a halogen desk lamp. The light revealed a blueprint of the compound spread out on the table. The men clustered around.
“Three nights from now at two o’clock in the morning, we’ll strike,” the spymaster explained. He glanced briefly at his two original supporters. “Enoch and Lemuel, you’ll volunteer to take the night shift in the guard tower.”
“Yes, sir,” both men said readily.
“Make sure no one else is in the tower with you,” Joshua cautioned.
“We’ve been using a two-man detail lately. It won’t be a problem,” Enoch assured him.
“Very well. Keep an eye out for my car. When you see me drive up to the gates, open them immediately and let me pass through.”
Lemuel nodded.
Focusing on the newcomers, Joshua said, “Shem and Paul, you’ll be waiting on the front steps when I arrive. You’re to act as my armed escorts inside the main building. In the unlikely event that somebody sees us, they’ll be told that the diviner ordered you to bring me back from the city to meet with him. Understood?” The spymaster paused briefly for confirmation.
The two men bobbed their heads.
Joshua traced his finger along the blueprint and pointed to an intersection where two corridors met. “This is the spot where the three of us will split up. Shem, you’ll proceed to the guest wing. Here is a key to Sister Hannah’s room.”
He fished into his pocket and gave the key to his follower.
“Paul, you’ll go to my brother Daniel’s room.” He distributed a second key.
“But what if he’s with one of his wives,” Paul objected.
The spymaster gave a short bark of a laugh. “My brother always sleeps alone. You’ll have no trouble.”
Joshua traced a third route which led down another corridor. “I’ll proceed to my father’s quarters. He, too, sleeps alone these days and I already have a key.”
“What do we do when we get inside,” Shem asked nervously.
The spymaster stared at him wryly. “You’ll be armed. What do you think you’re supposed to do?”
The man gulped. “But the noise. Surely someone will hear,” he protested.
“No, they won’t. You’ll be carrying nine-millimeter pistols with sound suppressors. Do I need to remind you that during your initial training you were shown how to modify the spring assembly to render them virtually noiseless?”
Shem and Paul shook their heads sheepishly.
“You’ll have to rig two pistols for yourselves and an identical one for me. Can you do that in the next day or so?”
“Yes, sir,” they repeated in unison.
“Good.” Joshua withdrew a note from his jacket pocket and handed it to Paul. “This is a suicide note I forged in my brother Daniel’s hand. In the note, he explains that the diviner’s obsession with Sister Hannah has driven him mad with jealousy. Father Abraham accused Daniel
