What He was Meant to Do

“You really should join us full time.” Art pushed his plate away as he and Cole finished their meal.

“No thanks Art” replied Cole. “My life right now is pretty good”.

Cole had been asked on more than one occasion to join the Company. The Company (and its sister compatriots) had been involved with Cole before Cole was born.

Mossad had been instrumental in airlifting Ethiopian Jews to Israel. Both sides of his grandparents were teenagers when they and other family members were in the airlift. The families and others would later continue to migrate to America. Synagogues in several cities became sponsoring bodies. Cole’s paternal grandfather’s family moved to New York. The maternal side landed in Washington, DC. The teens would marry members of their respective congregations.

Joel, who was with the CIA, introduced Cole’s parents to each other. When Cole’s mother Miriam was pregnant with Cole, Joel suggested the name Miles Coltrane. Joel was a jazz fan.

After Miriam passed, the members of the synagogue banded together to help in the raising of Cole. Many of the older men took Cole to the park to learn to play chess. One gave him a small black notebook to keep track of the moves in his game. Studying these moves and making notes about the matches improved his skills.

While pursuing a second-hand bookstore for books on chess, Cole came across an old Gregg shorthand textbook. He was fascinated.

Joel reached out to the women in the congregation. Some had worked as secretaries and were familiar with shorthand. The women worked with Cole. Cole would use the shorthand not only for notes in high school classes but also keeping track of comments/suggestions from other chess masters in his little black book.

In addition to learning chess, Cole picked up Russian at the park and at the synagogue.

For high school Cole applied and was accepted into the Bronx High School. Cole was one of the few Black students. His chess skills helped him to fit in quickly with the chess team. Many on the chess team were Asian. Cole picked up Mandarin and how to use chopsticks from them.

One Saturday, Cole noticed 2 men who were not regulars at the park. They seemed to be interested more in one older chess master rather than the actual match. During one of the matches, Cole could overhear some of their comments. Cole’s Russian was limited, but he understood some of what they were saying. With his notes from his little black book, Cole alerted Joel to what he had heard.

Two weeks later Cole arrived at the park in time to see the two strangers he had noticed earlier being led away in handcuffs. The older chess master that they had been monitoring was absent. Cole would later learn that the 2 Russians were hitmen sent to take out the chess master. The chess master had been relocated and given a new identity by the federal Witness Protection Program.

Joel and others at the CIA were impressed with Cole. With his good grades and chess skills, Cole was a highly sought-after high school senior. Joel advised Cole that his college expenses would be taken care of. Joel, other members of the CIA and Bronx High teachers were encouraging Cole to think of Ivy League schools. But Cole had other ideas.

Cole wanted to learn more about being Black in America. He decided that he would go to an HBCU – preferably an all-male HBCU in the south.

Cole quickly fit in with the other students. Many had been the lone Black student at their respective high schools. Here Black males were all around. While the classes were not that challenging for Cole, absorbing other things enriched his life. He quickly picked up bid whist/spades/hearts. He developed into a passable dancer. Members of his congregation had taught Cole how to make pastrami. Cole was able to adjust the recipe to make a highly sought-after brisket.

During his junior year, Cole and some other students celebrated a classmate’s upcoming wedding at a local strip club. Cole noted that that night, the club had an unusual mix of close to 50% Black patrons and 50% white patrons. Cole became aware that some of the White patrons had a more Slavic look than the typical southern White males.

Cole went to the bar and made small talk with the bartender. As the bartender serviced other customers, Cole once again used his listening skills. He quickly realized that the men in question were speaking Russian.

Cole left the party early to return to his apartment. He contacted Joel. By the end of the semester, the club “was under new management”. The FBI (with some assistance from the CIA) found that the club was being considered for a Russian oligarchist who wanted to move his money to the U.S.

Once again, Joel and his team were impressed with Cole’s work.

At graduation the following year, a billionaire was invited to give the commencement address. In addition to the usual words of encouragement, the billionaire told the group that he would invest in their future by paying off their student loans. It would later be learned that not only did he pay off the graduates’ loans, but also the student loans of the parents (both those who borrowed money for their sons and those who still owed on their own undergraduate/graduate work).

A small portion (less than 10% of the graduating class) had no loans. Some had parents who were able to cover the expenses. Some had a combination of scholarships and work study to cover the note. A few – like Cole – had academic scholarships that covered the entire bill. This group of students were notified that an anonymous multi-millionaire wanted to recognize their efforts. Each one would receive a check for $20,000.

Cole suspected that this was the CIA’s way of rewarding his efforts.

Some of the students signed their checks over to the school as a donation. Some started on their bucket lists (paying for a wedding, helicoptering over Victoria Falls, zip lining around the world, traveling to Manu Pichu, Robben Island). Some used the funds to pay for grad school. Some shared with their respective families. Cole invested his in the stock market. He was headed to Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar.

Cole enjoyed his time at Oxford and living in England. He decided to pursue a PhD program in Migrant Studies. After his first year, Cole helped chaperone a group of students going to Moscow as part of a summer study tour. Cole impressed the tour guides with his language skills. After his second year, Cole not only led a student tour to Moscow but also worked with a tour group going to Italy.

Upon graduation, Joel asked Cole to join a different tour group. While this one would lead students touring Moscow, the group would have 3 – 5 more students to leave with them yhen when they arrived. Cole agreed. Cole took the compensation for each of these tour projects and invested with the $20,000 he had received.

Cole’s work on migrant studies caught the eye of several at Oxford. Cole had interviewed many who had traversed Africa and the Middle East to find a better life in England and other European countries. Cole would also find the leaders of these caravans When a group reached England’s shores, the immigrants would find their way to Cole. In the meantime, Cole had become a part of the faculty at Oxford.

Cole had used his funds (and teaching salary) to open two restaurants – one that served a decidedly American menu and the other a more Jewish selection. Cole bought the buildings that housed the restaurants on the ground floor. The upper levels were converted into small one-bedroom, one bath apartments. Cole worked with others to help new immigrants find jobs, get classes, avoid the police, obtain needed health care, and learn the language (and mores) of their new country.

Cole had built a good life. Joining the Agency on a more permanent basis was not in the cards. But he still wanted to maintain a positive relationship in case he needed their assistance.

As Art and Cole were ending their meal a loud crash was heard. Cole could see that Nilah had dropped her tray. She was shaking and starting to cry. He quickly moved to her station. Other staff came to help clean up the mess and find out what had happened. Nilah was clutching a newspaper. The paper had a photo of an American service academy graduating class. All the graduates were Black female.

Once in Cole’s office, Nilah explained that she saw her sister in the photo. Her sister had a very distinct birthmark on her face. Nilah had been kidnapped by Boko Haram. When Cole and others freed her, she had been told that her family had been eliminated. Returning her to her village was deemed not feasible as Boko Haram was known to recapture those who had been freed. Nilah became one of many that Cole and others had smuggled into European cities.

Nilah had become a valuable member of Cole’s team at the restaurant. She had enrolled in classes to get her college degree. She had a bright future.

Cole gave Nilah his handkerchief. After she had dried her eyes and used it to stop the bleeding of a small cut, Cole quickly took the handkerchief back. He told her to not worry about the day’s shift. He sent her to her apartment to rest.

Cole also kept the paper. He recognized the person Nilah had identified. He could see a resemblance.

Cole jotted some notes in his little black book. He then turned on his computer. One of the party at the strip club had used his $20,000 to help his sister start a lab. Most of the work consisted of overflow work from law enforcement units. Yet, she did do some work on the side verifying DNA. He reached out to Taylor for assistance.

Cole then called Joel. He knew that Joel – while technically retired, still had contacts. Cole asked Joel if he could get DNA information on the woman in the picture. Joel knew about Taylor’s work. He said that he would forward the information to Taylor.

Cole sat quietly in his office. He had a good life. This is what he was meant to do.