by Bob Blink
Shortly after Jake had returned from his supportive trip to Florida where he and Tony had taken down the Russian agent Varennikov, he had taken Karin and Janna for a trip to Idaho to visit their old friends Zack and Cheryl. It had been a pleasant reunion, not at all like the hurried trip Jake had made when news of Zack’s accident had forced Jake to go there before. While in Idaho, Jake had gently explained to Cheryl what needed to be done. The significance of the address he had noted on the driver’s license of Graper’s mother when he and Laney had broken into the Washington, DC home of the rogue agent had not been lost on Jake.
Laguna Beach was a place that had special significance to him, and when he’d first seen the address he’d been certain that there was a connection between the agent’s mother and the fact Graper had so quickly made the connection between Mathews and Trask. Jake didn’t believe in coincidences. Cheryl had made her own trip to visit her mother in an attempt to make certain no more stories of what had happened to her would be told. Jake wasn’t completely certain that the leak was sealed, as Cheryl’s mother liked to gossip. Still, Cheryl had impressed on her mom the danger of what she had done. Even if she talked again, the likelihood of anyone believing her was small. Her indiscretion had caused trouble once, but that had been a unique situation and unlikely to be repeated. Jake felt comfortable with the actions they had taken.
Other matters had changed as well. The newspaperman Henry Ray was alive and well in Oakland. Jake had made a point to keep track of the man, if for no other reason he was an indicator of sorts as to how successful Jake’s efforts had been. Unlike before, Ray had never received an offer to the San Francisco paper. The Mob had been instrumental in making that happen as part of their plan to insert a false trail as they replaced the man with their own person. As a result, Ray continued to work at the smaller Oakland paper. At least he was still alive, unaware of what had befallen him in another reality.
Jake had also learned about his own limitations. He now knew he couldn’t back-track forever. There was a practical limitation to how far he could go, and a real risk in testing the limits. He could go back a month, or perhaps two. That had worked well enough, although it wasn’t pleasant. More than that he was risking complications, and perhaps death. He didn’t know if he was more susceptible or less after his first brush with death because of the attempt. He had no desire to try and find out.
He didn’t mind the limitation. He could see no need of going back so far, if for no other reason living through the days a second time was onerous and something to be avoided. He hoped that he could limit all future use of his ability to single hops. That should be enough to accomplish anything that needed doing. As it was, he hadn’t performed a single back-track since his return from Florida. His memories of the last few months were partially responsible for that. He’d been able to substitute memories for back-tracking. Now that he was experiencing new events, he had to accept that sooner or later something would require him to use the almost dormant skill, but he hoped it wouldn’t be soon. He wanted to enjoy the simple pleasures of a normal existence.
With that in mind, he had to plan for the weekend. Jim Laney and his girlfriend would be visiting the area for a few days. Jake suspected that was a precursor to a change in the agent’s life. He recalled that Laney had commented his girlfriend would have loved the place in Ghirardelli Square where Ray had been murdered. Laney wouldn’t have those memories, so by taking the pair there, Jake wouldn’t be triggering any uncomfortable thoughts, and he knew they would both enjoy the experience.
He saw the BMW coming down the street through the rain. Karin was home. Happily he walked toward the garage to meet her.
This book is a work of fiction. All names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locals, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright 2014 by Robert Blink
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the author.
Proof Release: November 2014
First Release: January 2015
Dedication
This book is for my wonderful daughter Nicole.
Other books by the Author:
Timelines
The Second Compound
Wizard's Blood [Part One]
Wizard's Blood [Part Two]
Reversal
Split Creek
EndRun
Corrector
Ancient Magic
Dirty Money
Into The Ruins
The Baldari
Crossover
Acknowledgements
As always I owe a huge debt to those that spend a great deal of time and effort making sure my errors are rooted out and corrected.
The key participants responsible for helping get this book completed include Evelina Blink, Doug Burr, Dianna Hunter, Bill Maggiora, Jim Spiva and Jean Wilson.