At the bottom of a steep street he glanced right and left before crossing over the main road into the park adjacent to the neighborhood. The loose gravel of the park's walkway shifted, making a soft crunching sound as his New Balance sneakers rolled from heel to toe over and again as he pushed himself along, breathing heavily as he neared the end of his route. Looping through the pathways of the wooded grounds, he stopped as he felt his cell phone vibrate in the pocket of his gray sweat pants. Annoyed at the interruption, he fished for the Samsung smartphone and looked at the display as it lit up with the calling number. As his eyes focused in the glare of the bright LED he read the number from left to right, not recognizing it. His mind searched for an answer as he looked at the 202 area code indicating the caller was from Washington D.C. Trying without success to slow down his breathing, he answered. "Hello," he said, his Irish accent evident in his enunciation.
"I hope I haven't caught you at a bad time, old friend."
"Just out for a run," Declan said, searching the voices in his memory for the identity of the caller. The voice was deep and obviously foreign, but its English was academically perfect. He didn't have to think very long. The voice belonged to Abe Kafni, his former boss and a man he had seldom spoken with in the last decade since leaving his employ in 2002.
Dr. Abaddon Kafni, as he was known to most people, was a popular author, teacher and pundit of subjects ranging from the War on Terror to the crises throughout the Middle East. His most recent book had debuted at the number one position on the New York Times bestseller list for adult non-fiction and had remained for a record-setting thirteen weeks. Known only to a select few was the fact that Kafni was also a former operative for Mossad, Israel's national intelligence agency.
"It's been a while," Declan said, surprised. "What can I do for you?"
"How about telling me how you've been for a start? As you said, it's been a while."
"Great, Abe. The market has been a bit of a bear the last few years, but I'm a careful investor, so no cause for alarm here. But you didn't really call for an update on Mid-Atlantic real estate sales, did you?"
"No," the Israeli said with a chuckle. "I was hoping you would have time to meet with an old friend on short notice."
"Of course," Declan said. "My wife and I have plans to attend your speech tomorrow night."
Kafni had recently accepted an honorary position with the conservative, pro-Israel Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, an hour's drive from where Declan lived in Roanoke. The speech he was referring to was the keynote address at the newly constructed C.H. Barton Center for International Relations and Politics, home of the university's newest Graduate and Post-Graduate programs.
"Yes, I saw your name on the guest list and was glad. I was hoping we could have a meal together afterwards, certainly there's a decent steakhouse somewhere in Lynchburg."
"I'm sure we can find something. I'll let Constance know, she's excited about meeting you."
"As I am her, she must be an extraordinary woman to put up with you."
Declan chuckled. "Aye, I'm sure her and Zeva could swap some war stories. Perhaps Zeva can give her a few pointers."
Kafni laughed. "Touché, my friend, touché."
Kafni had had a long career as an intelligence agent and had certainly deserved to retire with his wife, Zeva, and their children in peace at the conclusion of his services to the state of Israel, but instead he'd chosen to take up another cause. Kafni's passion had always been academia and politics so he'd moved to America to become an author and public speaker. Their contact had been rare in the ten years since the terrorist attacks of September the 11th, when Kafni had seen his profession become far more controversial. His unyielding support for the state of Israel and for the war on terrorism, coupled with his unapologetic style, had won him no shortage of enemies. In the last fifteen years there had been six attempts on his life, all from radical Islamists keen on claiming the head of one of Israel's chief lightning rods. As a member of Kafni's all-too-necessary security detail for several years before leaving to start his own company and begin a new life, Declan had been responsible for thwarting three of the assassination attempts himself.
"So I'll see you tomorrow night?" Declan asked rhetorically.
"I'll look forward to it. I will send a car for you at six," Kafni said.
"That won't be necessary. I prefer to drive myself."
"Spoken like a true security-minded professional. Very well then, I will have Levi meet you at the front door. And thank you, my friend, you know I wouldn't call if it wasn't important."
"Of course," Declan responded, taken off guard by Kafni's suddenly solemn tone. "Is there something else going on? What aren't you telling me?"
"I will see you tomorrow." The line went silent as Kafni hung up.
Ending the call, Declan returned the phone to his pocket. He stood looking through the trees, unable to shake a sense of foreboding. Abaddon Kafni wasn't the type of man to be troubled by trivial things. In his world something of concern could be anything from Iranian nuclear weapons aimed at Israel to Russian submarines off the coast of Florida. Although he had exited the stage of international espionage years earlier, Kafni's influential status and many friends had kept him well-informed.
Returning to his jog at a full run to elevate his heart rate, Declan exited the gravel path and ran across a concrete bridge spanning an ankle deep creek that connected the neighborhood to a two acre spread of mostly wooded land. On the opposite side of the lane from the park a half-mile strip of pavement that served as his driveway stretched along behind two moss-covered stone columns, each supporting a rusted wrought iron gate. Jogging from column to column like a pacing wolf, Declan waited as the gates swung open with a metallic screech.
Rain-drenched leaves from the maple trees above squished under his feet as he made the final push towards his house. Slowing to a stop and pulling his sweat soaked T-shirt off as he broke the tree line into the small clearing where his home stood; he placed his hands on his knees, bending over to catch his breath. With Kafni's voice still echoing in his head, he stood looking down on his bare arms, thoughts of the past haunting him as he took note of the many scars.
A large chunk of skin on the back of his left hand was permanently scarred following an accident with the chemical component of a letter bomb. His left forearm had suffered a four inch gash when a piece of flying glass had hit him when a building he had been entering was blown up by an IED, an attack that he had only barely escaped, and his left shoulder bore a round burn mark from a flaming piece of timber broken loose from the same building as he'd tried unsuccessfully to free a friend from the rubble.
Still breathing heavily, wiping his brow with his T-shirt, he looked at his right arm. It had only one scar, but it was the deepest of all of them in his mind. It sat just below his elbow on the underside of his forearm and symbolized a former life he'd like to have forgotten. The three claw-like markings had been tattooed onto his arm during his days as the lead operator of the Provisional Irish Republican Army's secret weapon, an elite terror unit codenamed Black Shuck.
Chapter Two
A baying sound filled the humid night and jarred Declan's thoughts back to the present. He bent down with a broad smile as a flabby, floppy-eared guard approached his position. "Hello, old girl," he said, stroking the beagle on both sides of its face as it lapped its tongue over his hands. "Out for a bit of nighttime gallivanting, are we?" The pooch responded by happily padding its front feet up and down and wiggling its rear end. Declan stood and looked up towards the two story cedar-sided house that stood in the clearing atop a rounded hill, a forked driveway stretching around it.