Action/Thriller

252

Jack Cahill uncovers a family secret after fifty years about America's entry into WW II. The CIA wants him dead to protect the President's upcoming trade agreement with Japan that threatens the economic survival of our NATO allies.

Jack Cahill returns to his boyhood home of Kauai to spend his retirement after a tumultuous career with Global Dynamics. He is surprised to learn of a family secret that his father had worked for Japan during WW II by sharing intelligence information about American naval vessels. Cahill enlists the support of his boyhood friend, Nathan Kaleo, to decipher records found in an old island fort that lead to a startling discovery that the elder Cahill did not act alone. The CIA is determined to kill Cahill before he uncovers the truth about Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor., Jack Cahill returns to his boyhood home of Kauai to spend his retirement after a tumultuous career with Global Dynamics. He is surprised to learn of a family secret that his father had worked for Japan during WW II by sharing intelligence information about American naval vessels. Cahill enlists the support of his boyhood friend, Nathan Kaleo, to decipher records found in an old island fort that lead to a startling discovery that the elder Cahill did not act alone. The CIA is determined to kill Cahill before he uncovers the truth about Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor.  

Excerpt
The rugged Na Pali coastline descended below the single shadow from Pu u o Kila Lookout to the crashing waves five thousand feet below. The lush green vegetation swayed ever so gently in the Pacific breeze. The deep, orange hues propelled across the dark blue water giving a hint of the kaleidoscope that was to follow. The wind pierced the single figure atop the lookout to remind him of nature’s potency when juxtaposed against the fragile human. Bald eagles returned to their nests cut deep in the cavernous rocks permeating the sloping cliffs below. Undulating water made its way towards the shoreline circumventing the jagged volcano remnants of a land formation that stretched northwest to Japan. The damp, cool air brushed against his graying beard. The steely, blue eyes fixed on the orange ball that was about to disappear below the horizon.

The lone figure grabbed his canteen to wet his parched lips, the water trickling down the corners of his mouth to moisten the gray filament below. The Kala trail with its breathtaking views and switchbacks had pounded the man’s chest like a punching bag during the previous five hours of rugged terrain that included crevices capable of engulfing one’s body in perpetuity. The lone hiker slowly lowered his aching body onto a flat rock to remove his boots and assess any tissue damage. He removed the bloodstained socks ever so gently to avoid tearing the flesh already peeled from the constant chafing against the rubber insulation of his boots. The contents of the canteen caressed the bare skin as he massaged his feet and toes to restore circulation and brighter color.

Purple hues radiated from the west casting ominous, amorphous shapes against the sides of both cliffs jutting below him. The wind swirled in the crescent moon-shaped valley. Wildlife began to take refuge as the temperature plummeted with each passing minute. The down-filled parka provided warmth to his brittle skeletal mass beneath the numbness and cold muscles, and his body strained for oxygen to increase the rushing blood through six miles of arteries, veins, and capillaries. The stone below his fragile frame penetrated his parka like cold steel causing this solitary figure to gasp momentarily. He removed his sleeping bag from his backpack and slipped into its protective womb for the next few hours. Sleep overcame him.