“Well,” Vince said, grinning, “between being Catholic and having a reputation for slapping presidents, I couldn’t get a job in D.C.” Then his expression grew serious. “One night I was beaten up. I knew then that Angie and I had to get out—and fast. I had heard about Pastor Jack’s group out here, so I volunteered my services.”

“And in the nick of time too,” John Edwards said. “This place was growing so fast, I needed someone with Vince’s organizational abilities. And,” he continued, winking at Vince, “we got an additional bonus—his wife, Angie, is now teaching in our elementary school.”

Al shook his head. “I can’t get over this.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty amazing, isn’t it?” Vince said. “Anyway, if I’m not interrupting, I need to talk to my boss over here”—he nodded in John Edwards’s direction—“for just a minute.”

“Take your time,” Al said.

After a quick conference, John Edwards rejoined Al, and Vince went off to work.

“Now, for that tour,” John Edwards said.

Al Augustus and John Edwards were immediately drawn to each other through mutual respect. In a sense, they were both men of war, although their means and methods were very different. As they walked, Al commented on the apparent absence of guns and weapons at El Refugio.

“We decided at the beginning,” John Edwards responded, “that it would be an exercise in futility to try to resist the forces of evil with the little peashooters we could bring together. So we just asked the Lord for His protection, and He has answered our prayers.”

“Are you referring by any chance to those luminous columns we see?” Al asked.

“That’s right,” he said. “What you see above this place—and I know this may be hard to believe, but it’s true—are angels. According to the Bible, they are messengers of God sent to watch over His people. I must tell you, Mr. Secretary, I am very grateful for the deployment of your military forces out here, but our primary trust is in the Lord’s army.”

“I’m glad to know you’ve got your priorities right, Mr. Edwards.” He smiled. “I believe every word of what you’re saying, and I know that God has a hand in what’s taking place here. There’s no other explanation for what I see.

“But please call me Al,” he added after a brief pause. “The fact is, I parted ways with the administration once and for all when I came back from Babylon. I don’t need their title anymore!”

“All right,” John Edwards said. “And you can call me Jack, if you like.”

“I’d like that, Jack,” he said.