Pompeii's Ghosts (A James Acton Thriller, #9) (40 page)

“There
you go, see, I told you I knew how.”

The door
burst open, Reading poking his head inside. “You about ready—oooh, a little rumpy
pumpy while you’re still single, Jim?”

Acton
shook his head, roaring with laughter as he pushed himself up from the chair,
Milton smacking him on the ass.

He
turned to his friend, his eyes starting to glisten.

“Let’s
go get me married.”

Hamashkoraib, Sudan
Three weeks later

Kerieme stretched, looking in the mirror at his graying beard. He
swore he had aged another ten years while waiting for the American to email him
where the van had been left. True to his word, the email had arrived and he had
found it, all locked up and in good working order, except for a chunk of the
deliveries being used or missing. He had cursed the man countless times, but
eventually forgave him when he realized it was the American and others like him
that had helped rid their town of at least three militias and apparently freed
a large group of slave women.

And
he had kept his word.

Clearly
the American was a good man, and though an infidel, Kerieme had never bought
into the entire ‘us versus them’ mentality that seemed to consume so many of
his faith. Was the person a good person? Then he didn’t care what religion they
were.

“A
package arrived for you a little while ago.”

It was
his wife’s voice calling from the kitchen that had his eyebrows jump.
A
package?
He couldn’t recall the last time a package had arrived at his
house, if ever. He always had to drive to Khartoum for his pickups and
deliveries. For something to actually be delivered to him personally was
unheard of.

“What is
it?”

“I don’t
know, it’s a box.”

He
entered the kitchen, pecked his wife’s cheek, then sat down at the table,
picking up the package. It had a decent heft to it for its size. He pulled out
his knife and cut through the string, then the brown paper revealing a small,
plain box. He sliced open the tape and folded open the top. Inside was a cloth
wrapped around something rectangular. He picked it up, again surprised at the
weight and placed it on the table, his wife now sitting beside him, her own
curiosity piqued. Unwrapping the cloth, they both gasped at what was revealed.

A gold
bar, glistening in the sunlight that poured through the window, and a
handwritten note.

Thanks
for the loaner.

THE END

Many current events have inspired this book. No, Vesuvius didn’t
blow its top again, but I’ve always been fascinated by Pompeii and it is one of
those bucket list destinations that I hope to visit some day. The history is
fascinating and Pliny the Younger’s accounts riveting reading in themselves.
Many of the details including the time lines were taken directly from his
letters to add authenticity to the story. Any inaccuracies I will plead
artistic license rather than error!

Eritrea,
Ethiopia and Sudan aren’t even remotely close to being on the list, especially
after reading the way their women are treated. Though it took place in Nigeria,
the plight of the poor, mostly Christian school girls kidnapped by Boko
Haram—whose name, translated into English, literally means “Western education
is a sin”, says it all—heavily influenced this book in ways I hadn’t
anticipated, a theme developing of women as the victims, then in the end, it
being the women in Pompeii who save themselves from the predators, and the two
women of the UN group that actually free the others.

At the
time of this writing at least 200 of these girls are still missing, and there
are new reports of fresh kidnappings of women by the same group. The fact that
this type of activity goes on is disgusting. The fact that these types of
groups actually receive funding from people educated or successful enough to
have money to give, is even more so.

As a
father of a daughter I find these events chilling, but what I find even more so
is the fact that according to the FBI, more than 100,000 children are sold for
sex in the U.S. each year. That’s right. 100,000 children in the United States.
Sold for sex. Each year. The numbers are similar for other Western nations.

If that
were the premise of a book, I don’t think most readers would believe it.

Another
inspiration for this book, and its incorporation was entirely intentional, was
the Malaysian Airlines crash. The idea that in today’s society our most
expensive machines can’t actually be tracked in real time, yet we can track
every cell phone to within a few feet, I found incredible. What caused the Malaysian
Airlines flight to
crash
is anybody’s guess for now, and I hope answers
will come soon so the families can find peace, but the completely botched
initial search and coordination by the Malaysian’s is inexcusable, and the press
coverage giving so much false hope to the families despicable. This style
coverage was hinted at when Laura returns to Rome.

As James
Acton often says, there’s just not enough news in the day for a 24 hour news
channel.

News
becomes opinion.

And
eventually fiction.

From
inspirations to assisters, there were as always people who helped me with this
book. My father as usual with the research, and Brent Richards for some weapons
info, Brent again, along with Ian Kennedy for some terminology (army slang), and
Chris “Goldfinger” Leroux for some gold info, including letting me experience
holding the real thing in my hand. I think my quote was, “Holy shit, this stuff
really
is
heavy!”

And one
final thing, a “plug” if you will. Niner’s Immortal t-shirt is actually a real
thing! A buddy of mine, Ian Dandrade, who I’ve known for over ten years and
haven’t seen in as many since he moved to California, is an entrepreneur who
has a line of clothing that is growing in popularity. Check it out at
www.ImmortalClothing.com
, especially
if you’re into MMA and extreme sports.

And as
always, to my wife, daughter, parents and friends, thank you once again for
your support. And to you the readers, thank you! You’ve all made this possible.

To those
who have not already done so, please visit my website at
www.jrobertkennedy.com
then sign up
for the Insider’s Club to be notified of new book releases. Your email address
will never be shared or sold and you’ll only receive an occasional email from
me as I don’t have time to spam you!

Thank
you once again for reading.

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Check out the new Delta Force Unleashed series and get to know Bravo Team some more.

Get started with
Payback (Delta Force Unleashed #1)
today!

Why not try the Special Agent Dylan Kane spin-off series? Dylan Kane
is a former student of James Acton and before being recruited into the CIA, served and trained
under Burt "Big Dog" Dawson with Delta Team Bravo. Acton has a cameo in Rogue Operator, and Dawson
and the boys appear in Containment Failure, Cold Warriors and Death to America.

Get started with
Rogue Operator (Dylan Kane #1)
today!

USA Today bestselling author J. Robert Kennedy has been ranked by Amazon as the #1 Bestselling Action Adventure
novelist based upon combined sales. He is the author of over twenty international bestsellers including the smash hit James Acton Thrillers series of
which the first installment,
The Protocol
, has been on the bestseller list in the US and UK since its release,
including occupying the number one spot for three months. He lives with his wife and daughter and writes full-time.

Visit Robert's website at
www.jrobertkennedy.com
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For two thousand years the Triarii have protected us, influencing history from the crusades to the discovery of America.
Descendent from the Roman Empire, they pervade every level of society, and are now in a race with our own government to retrieve an ancient
artifact thought to have been lost forever.

To sample or purchase, please visit Amazon:
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UK
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Canada
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