The above Superiors have primary functions, of course, represented by their Words. However, over the centuries, they have found themselves and their organizations expanding into a field where their gifts are of vital importance to the Host. They've become Heaven's intelligence and covert operations directors. Spies, in other words. Their major focus is on humanity's activities, as rest of the Host routinely deals with the more straightforward demonic plots and stratagems, but this is not a hard and fast rule.

Marc, Litheroy and Zadkiel tend to work fairly closely together these days. There is tension between the two minor Superiors, thanks to different methodologies, but no major hostility. Their respective Servitors tend to be somewhat more disparaging (though both groups agree that Trade's Collators have no real clue about dealing with the real world), but this rarely gets in the way of a mission.

Marc was the first to get involved. Few outsiders ever really comprehend how much information flows through Trade's collective hands: Marc's Servitors are routinely placed in every major center of economic activity (and most of the minor ones as well), and they pass along anything important. They have to, as their superiors (and their Superior) need accurate data for their economic models and plans.

Marc soon noticed that his analysts were acquiring information that allowed them to better predict non-economic activities as well. Wars, for example, often start because of shortages, droughts, depressions, conflicts over resources: after a while, his Servitors were able to accurately predict corporeal conflicts fairly well in advance. This proved highly useful to the Host, who could act on those warning signals and prevent armed conflicts. This limited predictive ability also held true for technological developments, social trends, cultural developments … anything affected by economics (that is, most human activities).

These days, Trade's Collation Department is heavily involved in gathering intelligence on everything. Most of it is gathered perfectly normally, through the news, economic reports, government publications: many of Trade's relievers spend their apprenticeship on Earth buying newspapers and magazines, subscribing to online publications, and collecting quarterly reports from various companies. This information is gleaned for everything interesting and sent upstairs to Heaven (it goes without saying that Trade's computing equipment is the best that Marc can cajole out of Jean). More sensitive information requires agents in place, whether Servitors or Soldiers. It's also a truism among the Host (especially Servitors of War) that passing along interesting bits of data to an angel of Trade is usually well worth one's while.

Once this data gets upstairs, it's relentlessly manipulated and collated by some of Heaven's best analysts. Some of the angels and blessed souls that work for Collations have spent centuries overseeing a particular area, and many of them can intuitively spot what is and what is not relevant. The overall picture that develops from these tireless workers is presented to Marc and his top intelligence advisors, who then pass along relevant information to the rest of the Host. This is, incidentally, one of the major reasons why Marc enjoys fairly good relations with most of the War faction.

Marc's methods are quite good at acquiring most of the raw data that Heaven needs, but his Servitors run into situations where crucial information or intents are not easily acquired. Also, Servitors of Trade have difficulty in transactions where they cannot give fair value for the information they receive. And, of course, sometimes there's an actual mystery involved. When all of this happens, they pass along the problem up the chain of command, where it usually gets handed off to Revelations, Heaven's best investigators.

Most Servitors of Revelations that work with Trade (officially referred to as 'Consultants') are experts in specific fields of expertise, ranging from geographical to academic. Inside these fields, they also have access to a wide variety of contacts that can make their specific tasks easier. A Consultant will organize these contacts through Soldiers of God (unlike most Servitors of Revelation, these angels find it easy to acquire acceptable recruits, and they all have them), providing himself with a cutout that will obviate the need to answer awkward questions. Between the Consultant's own stellar investigative abilities (and that of his contacts), many purely human security procedures are useless.

Consultants are also some of Heaven's greatest technophiles. Computers, fax machines, cell phones are potent tools to them, allowing them to use his or her contacts more directly if necessary. Contacts usually believe that they are working for a secretive, worldwide organization dedicated to fighting evil: completely accurate, of course, but it's not the angel's fault if the contact thinks that he's ultimately answering to the UN Security Council, rather than to a metaphysical being. Contacts are usually very loyal, even if not motivated by patriotism or a sense of duty towards humanity: Consultants (unlike many spy agencies) take quite a bit of trouble to smooth the paths of those who work for them. Those of Trade, who are often best suited to provide material aid, usually handle such benefits.

When a problem is discovered (either by Trade or Revelations' people) that needs fixing, the optimal solution is to hand it off to the Archangel most likely to be affected by it. Michael wants to know if a terrorist group is about to blow up a building that incidentally holds one of his Tethers. Laurence will be quite annoyed if nobody tells him that a South American nunnery has been captured by drug lords, its inhabitants forced to aid in smuggling cocaine. Dominic very much prefers to handle major perversions of the justice system in his own way, with his own people. It's common courtesy, good public relations, and usually more efficient to boot.

Sometimes, though, passing the buck isn't feasible. For example, problems that happen in Marc's bailiwick are his own responsibility to clean up. Sometimes a problem is too subtle for the "Malakim swoop in and kill everybody" method certain Superiors use, or requires operatives with unique abilities. And sometimes there just isn't time to go through channels.

When this happens, Zadkiel's people get the call.

Zadkiel has her own little group (usually called Cleansers, Adjusters, or simply The Group) of angels and Soldiers who seem a cross between a FBI Counter-terrorism squad and the characters from 'Mission: Impossible'. They routinely get assignments where lives of the faithful are at stake, and where simply killing everyone they see will be worse than useless. They excel in the art of the doublecross: setting up situations where the faithless end up turning their weapons each other is pursued with almost artistic fervor. A Cleanser's major point of pride is the number of crises that she and her team have shut down cold, without anyone noticing. Cleansers are picked for the ability to move fast, improvise on the run and hit with precise strength and delicacy. They are the elite of Zadkiel's Servitors.

Soldiers of Protection assigned to The Group are the best infiltrators Heaven has. Zadkiel routinely inserts them into Hellsworn support groups, bidding them wait for the best moment to utilize their services. Actually disguising a Soldier of God as a Soldier of Hell is the ultimate achievement, but has been successfully accomplished only four times in as many centuries. It was ultimately worth it every time, but the practice is only even considered in the direst of situations. Zadkiel also has quite a few Soldiers scattered in the oddest places: more than one mission has succeeded when a janitor has casually reached into his lunchbox and put a bullet through the head of the primary target. Needless to say, both of these types of Soldiers invariably have no close kin.