From: Iris Deschat
To: Edmund Cohen
CC: Saul Rosenbaum
Date: 12099-01-04 10:37-0500
Subject: AC>CR transfer for Morgan Cooper
Eddie:
I know this isn't your idea. We all know that the Civil Rights division suffers no lack of volunteers; thanks to the free propaganda we get from Hollywood everybody and their cat wants to be an Adversary. Finding suitable recruits for Arms Control is much more difficult, and equally important. I'd like to think that the rest of the executive council has no need for me to belabor the importance of ensuring global demilitarization but their insistence on assigning Morgan Cooper to the Civil Rights division despite his repeatedly stated preference for Arms Control raises doubts.
You understand how rare it is for a recruit to choose Arms Control; the injury and fatality rates for Peacemakers consistently exceed those of Adversaries, and Peacemakers do not receive the hero-worship Adversaries get.
As senior director for the Arms Control division, I must insist on an explanation.
--
Iris Deschat
Senior Director
Phoenix Society Arms Control Division
From: Edmund Cohen
To: Zachary Aster
Cc: Iris Deschat, Saul Rosenbaum
Date: 12099-01-04 10:45-0500
Subject: FW: AC>CR transfer for Morgan Cooper
Boss, I'm attaching this email I got from Iris. Sticking Cooper in the Adversaries was your brother's idea and since you don't want me to be honest with her I'll let you figure out what I should tell the lady.
Frankly, I don't get it myself. If your brother wants to test Morgan's capabilities as an einherjar, won't there be plenty of opportunity in Arms Control? Black market ordnance dealers don't take kindly to Peacemakers cramping their style, and they're hardly reluctant to express their displeasure.
So, what gives? Sure, the kid would make a good Adversary, too, but the Civil Rights division gets so many starry-eyed idealists that we manage to get a few good Adversaries out of each batch of recruits, but people willing to follow the money and beard arms dealers in their own dens are a bit rarer. We should be taking advantage of the kid's willingness to take on the shit detail.
--
Edmund Cohen
Phoenix Society Internal Affairs Division
From: Saul Rosenbaum
To: Edmund Cohen
CC: Iris Deschat
Date: 12099-01-04 10:46-0500
Subject: Re: FW: AC>CR transfer for Morgan Cooper
Look, Cohen, I might have been the one to scout out Cooper and persuade him to join up, but I've got plenty of Adversaries an plenty of recruits happy to swell the ranks further. I don't know what kind of game Isaac Magnin is playing, but Cooper wants to be a Peacemaker and Iris wants him for Arms Control. That's where he ought to be. It's not like they can't use a guy who thinks nothing of walking empty-handed into a gunfight because he knows he'll walk out without a scratch.
I'm dead serious when I say that the Adversaries don't need this kid as badly as the Peacemakers do. Pass that up the chain, OK?
--
Saul Rosenbaum
Senior Director
Phoenix Society Civil Rights Division
From: Malkuth
To: Edmund Cohen
CC: Iris Deschat
CC: Saul Rosenbaum
Date: 12099-01-04 13:37-0500
Subject: Re: FW: AC>CR transfer for Morgan Cooper
The executive council has determined that the Phoenix Society's aims are best served with Morgan Cooper serving as an Adversary rather than a Peacemaker. However, the Arms Control division may "borrow" Cooper for cases where his capabilities may prove particularly useful.
Magnin has a specific role in mind for Cooper. His musical aspirations are of particular interest to him, and it is the majority opinion of the executive council that a touring rock musician moonlighting as an Adversary may prove especially useful to our cause. Our talent distribution is uneven due to our current assignment policy. Though Cooper might be based in New York, we can assign him missions in any city he visits while touring as long as there's sufficient slack in his touring schedule. We anticipate the following benefits:
1. The threat of an einherjar showing up in arbitrary locations around the world may deter some abuses of power.
2. The globe-trotting lifestyle of a high-profile rock musician makes Cooper useful in the event of an angel sighting, as he can be deployed where needed by suborbital without having to put much effort into justifying his presence outside NYC.
3. The stimulation of travel may stave off burnout, allowing us to get more use out of Cooper than we normally get from Adversaries.
The XC's further opinion is that Cooper should not be burdened with routine investigative duties, but made available to assist in cases where a suspect is likely to resist arrest or has already done so. This should also prevent unnecessary casualties.
Bear in mind the Phoenix Society's primary mission, but do not reveal to Cooper under any circumstance that he is being tested to determine whether he is capable of taking on the extraterrestrial entity code-named SABAOTH. Knowing that he has been tapped for Operation Deggial will alter his performance and distort our test results.
Please come directly to me with any questions or concerns.
--
Malkuth
Phoenix Society Central Admin
From: Edmund Cohen
To: Iris Deschat, Saul Rosenbaum
Date: 12099-01-04 17:30-0500
Subject: The Taming of Enkidu
I know you're both worried about the prospect of Morgan being involved in Operation Deggial without informed consent. I don't think there's anything we can do to directly oppose the XC in this, but I have an idea.
Have either of you read the Epic of Gilgamesh? In the epic, Gilgamesh tamed the wild man Enkidu by sending a priestess to seduce him and teach him civilized ways.
Maybe we can do something similar. Can either of you recommend somebody Cooper's age to whom we can give the long-term mission of befriending him and helping him be more man than weapon?
--
Edmund Cohen
Phoenix Society Internal Affairs
From: Iris Deschat
To: Edmund Cohen
CC: Saul Rosenbaum
Date: 12099-01-04 18:12-0500
Subject: Operation Enkidu
If you just want somebody to befriend Cooper, you might want to consider those already close to him. He seems to get on well with Sydney Reeves, and I suspect that if the XC hadn't insist on having Cooper for the Adversaries he and Reeves would have made an effective partnership.
--
Iris Deschat
Senior Director
Phoenix Society Arms Control Division
From: Saul Rosenbaum
To: Edmund Cohen
CC: Iris Deschat
Date: 12099-01-04 18:12-0500
Subject: Operation Enkidu
It's too bad Naomi Bradleigh retired after that clusterfuck in Clarion. The influence she had on Mike Brubaker made him an asset.
I doubt Bradleigh would put on an Adversary's pins again, though. Cohen, do you think you can persuade her to come back as an Inquisitor working directly under you? That way she can tell that martinet Del Rio to ESBAM if she decided to live up to her name and go full Karen.
I'll keep an eye on Cooper myself, and try to be his rabbi.
--
Saul Rosenbaum
Senior Director
Phoenix Society Civil Rights Division
From: Edmund Cohen
To: Iris Deschat, Saul Rosenbaum
Date: 12099-01-04 19:29-0500
Subject: Operation Enkidu
Iris, please sound out Reeves if you think she'll be suitable. I'll be in London this weekend, so I should be able to talk to Bradleigh in person. Oddly enough, she had met Cooper when he was younger. Seems they worked the same dive and it was kitten love as soon as the kid first heard Nims singing torch songs for tips.
Incidentally, I have orders from the members of the XC who weren't in on the majority consensus. I'll be taking a personal interest in Morgan Cooper. Saul's notion of mentoring the kid is a good idea, but his mentor shouldn't be the one giving him his orders.
--
Edmund Cohen
Phoenix Society Internal Affairs