Tracks (58 page)

BOOK: Tracks

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Reports from Lebanon detailed
at least thirty dead in a surprise attack on a secret facility inside Beirut
but no one knew who attacked or what the target was. Apparently the
Lebanese were not eager to shed light on such activity within their
realm.

Halfway through the ceremonial
wedding dance, everyone joined in. Devlin offered Natasha his arm and she
took it, moving gingerly to the dance floor. Next to them Rolston was
swirling Mai-Li like she was a ballerina. Lizzy danced with Ali who then
danced with the rest of her mates.

The band played
Let It Be
and Elena let go of her fresh husband and took Sammy by the hand and danced
with him, tripping over her long wedding dress.

At the bar Sam joined Black
Jack, who was being served a glass of draught beer by a bartender. He
asked for one for himself and stood next to his friend.

“So where do we go from
here?” Sam asked, watching his son trip over his wife's dress.

“There’s still plenty of evil
in this world,” Black Jack said. “Kids enslaved in Kashmir, abused girls
in Romania…”

“Can we keep the Center
going?” Sam queried, having missed part of the conference with the
contributors.

“I believe so,” Jack
said. “George and Annie will keep their end of it and most of the rest of
them will too.”

“What about the law
enforcement agencies? We’ve never had anyone die before.”

“We’ve raised the
public’s awareness level finding Sammy. I think they’ll back us up.”

“You think we should join
forces with Devlin’s lot on a more permanent basis?” Sam asked.

“That makes a lot of sense to
me especially since we plan to go into Kashmir again.”

“Let’s talk to them,” Sam
suggested and Jack Preston nodded.

“Any plans for a honeymoon?”
Black Jack inquired.

“We’re taking Sammy to Los
Angeles.”

Black Jack looked at him
inquiringly.

“Are you sure he’s ready?”

“Disneyland, Universal, Six
Flags, and if he’s up to it I’ll show him the house. Laura invited us to
stay with her.”

Black Jack gave his long-time
friend a measured stare then he smiled.

“You the man!” he said.

Christine Patrese approached
the bar in her long, silver maid of honor dress causing Jack to spring forward
and
lead
her back to the dance floor.

Sam smiled and followed them
into the crowd looking for his wife and son.

THE
END

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Niv Kaplan
was born on Kibbutz Ayelet Hashahar in Northern Israel in 1959. At age 11
he moved with his parents to NYC for three years. After completing high
school, Niv served three years in a special-forces reconnaissance outfit and
had taken an active part in forming the IDF’s Alpine unit which he served in
reserve duty.

Niv received
his
BSc
degree in Business Administration (Marketing)
from the Cal State University Northridge in 1992, spending close to ten years
in New York and Los Angeles. He started writing
Tracks
after completing
his first novel
Disappearance
in 1997. The book was written in
English, translated, and will be published in Hebrew in Israel in January 2014.

Niv has been
working in the Aerospace industry for the last 19 years, marketing
electro-optical sensors to fighter aircraft. He lives in Tel Aviv, Israel with
his wife Tali and their seven children.