Chapter I

he day was warm and a meadow lark sang in the field over against the mountain.  The sound of an occasional honey bee minding the purple flowers covering the mountain side could be heard.

The billowy wisps of clouds floated lazily across the sky.  The musky aroma given off the millions of blossoms on the seemingly endless groves of fruit trees attacked ones nostrils.  Spring was in the air.

But even the contentedness William felt as the warm sun lulled away the chill from his body could not move him from the melancholy mood in which he was in.  Sharon was picking flowers for a bouquet to take back to the house.  It was nigh on to three o'clock, but, he didn't want to leave.  This was the most peaceful spot he'd been in since receiving the call a week ago.

Now, he felt that somehow, God was leading him . . .    no . . .    calling him to help in this.  But, would God really call him to a work like this?  Or was it his own feelings that was getting in the way.  Since he'd given his heart to God, he had been so free of anything to do with death, mystery, danger . . .     and now, here he was considering going back into it?

William sat on the bank of the river and contemplated the decision.  He'd been mulling it around in his mind, over and over like the restless waves which broil and foam when cast upon the rocks of the ocean shore.  He'd considered solution after solution, but, it always came back to the direction he felt God was leading him.

He had looked into the eyes of death and saw the storm and the destruction there.  He'd seen it in many eyes.  His mind went back to Dr. Kny-pel, and a chill went over him as he reminisced the details of how close, not only himself, but, Sharon as well, came to dying.

How close they had come to being cast out into eternity without any hope of ever experiencing so great a salvation as was wrought on the tree by our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

He had seen death in the eyes of Chris James, and, had the detective been given the chance, he would have ended Williams' life on a mere verbal suggestion.  As would have Damon Nix.  Either of them had all the justification they felt was needed to dispatch William to the grave.  He had all the self importance needed to carry out the position of executioner, simply because of the self worth he felt when the badge was placed on his chest.

He had seen death in the eyes of the thug who'd pulled the trigger of the .44 magnum, when he'd blown away Daman Nix at the nod of a head.

He had seen death in the eyes of Don Siegal, when, while he was lying on the floor of the warehouse, looked up and into the face the ex-chief of Police after William himself had slapped the gun away from his head, preventing Dr. Kny-pel from killing him while he was helpless on the floor.  He just didn't know that the storm in Siegals eyes were the beginning of the decision making process of self destruction.

Had William known, he would have done everything in his power to prevent Siegal from suicide.  But, he hadn't known.

He saw the storm, but knew not how to prevent the damage.  He could see the pain, the turmoil, the torment, the guilt . . . all in a moments glance.

I've heard it said, the eyes are the window to the soul.  I've also heard the saying that the face is a picture of the mind.  And, he'd seen death on the face of Don Siegal as well as the storm in his eyes.  His face was a mirror of his soul, and his soul cried out for, help, for a solution, for relief.

Stormy eyes were in many people.  He had seen it in peoples lives he knew nothing of.  He'd seen it in peoples eyes who were hungry for God, or at least, for a change from what they were living.  He had even seen storm in peoples eyes who seemed to have everything in life they needed.

And now, it seemed, that storm clouds were beginning to form in his own life.  Storm clouds of indecision.  William remembered reading in the Word of God about the multitudes in the valley of decision.

He also read where the Word of God advocated doing something about an unjust situation.

3 Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy.
4 Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked.

Psalms 82:3-4 (KJV)

In his heart he felt he'd made the decision to help, but, he wrestled with his conscience in that the taking of life was wrong . . .  but, this was not the taking of life: it was in helping to save lives.

He thought about his life as a born again believer of the Truth . . .  the truth as taught and exampled by the Apostles.  They lived the truth as taught by Jesus Christ, Who gave them divine revelation of what He was telling them, then led them to reveal that truth to the world on the day of Pentecost.  On that single day alone, over three thousand souls experienced the way of Salvation wrought on the tree by the death of Jesus Christ Himself.

Now, he was being asked to serve in a position in which he would have never even considered, but now, this situation called for something he could help in: he could help solve a specific type of crime . . .  Why could he be so valuable?

The more he considered it, the more he prayed about it.  The more he prayed about it, the more sure he became of the decision.  It was like an endless circle, like a dog chasing his tail.  Would he ever catch it?

William was being shaken.  "Honey, honey . . . it's late.  We should go." He looked into the eyes of the most gorgeous woman on this earth.  She was also the sweetest.  And the best wife a man could ever have.  She was also having a hard time with the decision, because it was her happiness, her life, her health, and her salvation which was being considered as well as his.  He certainly could not make this decision alone.

But, how could she ever make such a decision as this?   It was true, she had also tasted danger.  She had also gained not only the desire for it, but the need for it too.  She loved being with William most of all, no matter what he was doing, where he was going, or why; she just wanted to be with him.

She had even went to work with him when he took over the reins of the Title company.  They lived very comfortably, and although they really didn't need to work, they did so just for the sake of needing to feel needed.

With Williams savvy financial abilities, he had secured their future very well, and that, to a point of not having to work . . . but, he did.  He still owned the largest portion of Stillwell Title Co., and had, within the year he'd taken the reins, turned it around.  It was doing much better than it had ever done, and was even now, growing by leaps and bounds.

He had cleared out a few dead weights within the staff and purchased their shares of the employee owned company.  He now owned upwards to seventy percent, and this year, they'd topped the three million dollar mark before the first quarter, a new record for the company.  It had never made this mark in its existence.

But Williams heart was not in it.  He had tasted danger, and he, as well as Sharon, needed it for his life to be fulfilled.  And now, he had the perfect way in which to do just that.  And, it was not a full time situation, but, it was a situation in which he could fill his lust for danger, serve his country, and still take care of his Life Sentence . . .

His Life Sentence?  Leading the lost to God through the Truth of the Plan of Salvation as found in the book of the Acts of the Apostles, chapter two verse thirty eight.  Repentance of sins, Jesus Name baptism, and infilling of the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking with other tongues as God gives the utterance.  He'd already won several of his friends, and the little church they attended was growing steadily.

Now, it was time to go back home and into the real world.  As he walked back to the car with Sharon, his mind went back to the start of this ordeal.  His mind trailed to the thought of Len Mathers and Melinda Pierce, now, Mr. and Mrs. Len Mathers.  Soon after his reunion with Sharon, they had met Len and Melinda at T.J.s for dinner.  They talked for quite a while after dinner, then they visited William and Sharon at home.

It was agreed there that they would 'stand up' for them as seconds at their wedding.  It was not a large wedding, but, had several people known to William and Sharon as guests to witness the union.  After their return from their honeymoon, Len and Melinda visited quite often at the Travis home, and the two couples became very close friends.

One night William received a call from Len who asked if they could come over for a few . . .   "Well of course, but since when did friends as close as they have to ask if they could come over?" William responded heartily.

But, he was puzzled about the term few, especially, coupled with the question, 'could they come over . . .     he didn't know if that 'few' meant seconds, minutes, hours, days or even weeks.  He found out it was to mean hours.  And several!  The subject?  Would they come to work as part of Len and Melinda's team for the FBI?

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