Final Departure   Benjamin Franklin Silver Award Winner from the Independent Book Publishers Association.   First Place Grand Prize Winner in the Christian Author Awards Competition.   Readers Favorite International Gold Medal Winner.   eLit Gold Medal Winner.   TopShelf Magazine Gold Finalist.   Two Silver President Awards - Florida Author and Publishers Association.    "An absorbing and inherently fascinating read from beginning to end..." - Midwest Book Review   " An irresistible read... I was fascinated by Walton's expert sleuth-hound work...his meticulous research and documentation are neatly compressed in each chapter..." Ric P, Chief of Operations, CIA Counterterrorist Center (Retired)   "A must read for adults of all ages! Final Departure is a sobering and introspective look at life, death and beyond..." Mark Clookie, Director, NCIS (Retired)     DEATH IS NEVER ON TIME   NCIS veteran Dan Lucas is a man of few words. He spent a career keeping his nation's secrets safe and his personal life--including his faith--private. But when a routine flight home turns into a chaotic nightmare when a lethal storm strands Dan and thousands of passengers inside a dark and clammy airport terminal - he's forced to act.    Dan is secretly carrying a massive cache of information that he never planned to share with anyone. But that all changes when an atheist professor chooses the seat next to him... and sparks begin to fly.  A caustic battle of the minds erupts between the seasoned spy catcher and the cynical secular Jew that grinds on into the wee hours of the night.  What does Dan reveal to the tenured academic during a gut wrenching night of mayhem and death?  Can it save the professor before it's too late?   Their all-night marathon ends with a sudden series of crushing events. Who dies and who survives? What unbelievable miracle is the final result?   "An absorbing and inherently fascinating read from beginning to end, Final Departure: Death Is Never On Time reveals author Jeff Walton's genuine flair for raptly engaging his readers with deftly crafted characters embedded in an unpredictable plot of unsuspected twists and turns." - Midwest Book Review .... Author balances inner issues with an excellent flair for writing movement. We're fully present and engaged in the book via a realistic tone throughout, from which the stellar dialogue shines. Author excels at sharing biblical and historical details via natural dialogue, which is not an easy feat when delving into biblical stories. Author has done a tremendous amount of research on the biblical aspects, and chooses stellar examples to further the plot. We get many resonant questions throughout. This story stays with the reader long after completion. Judge, 25th Annual Writer's Digest Self-Published Book Awards "Jeff uses a gentle apologetic approach to brilliantly reveal the truth of the case for Christ. His personal background as a rock-solid NCIS agent provides such logical credibility for his position. In addition, he provides well researched and documented evidence for his message. As an ordained minister with over twenty years of Deliverance and inner-healing ministry, I highly recommend this book to believers and non-believers alike. It will bless you immensely and answer many questions that aren't addressed from the pulpit." Linda Sloan, Life Coach, Deliverance Minister "The main attraction of this well-constructed and compulsively readable book remains the very effectively rendered grand debate at its center..." - Kirkus Reviews "A must-read for adults of all ages! Final Departure is a sobering and introspective look at life, death and beyond from a Biblical perspective. While delivering a powerful message through his characters, Jeff Walton gives the reader an accurate and entertaining glimpse into the NCIS special agent culture and the operational world that consumes the lives of some of the best federal law enforcement professionals in the business. He delivers a thought-provoking novel about the perils of ignoring the reality of eternity. Final Departure is a serious work that takes a no-nonsense look at the authenticity of the scriptures - we can't predict our final departure, but we can select the ultimate destination -this book helps set that course." - Mark Clookie, Director, NCIS (retired) Is death the end of life, or only the beginning? Are heaven and hell real? Does it matter how you live your life? Retired NCIS special agent Dan Lucas's chance meeting with atheist professor Ben Chernick turns into a marathon test of wills over the meaning of life and death. Does God really exist? Is Jesus Christ really the savior of the human race? Is science ignoring the mounting evidence that life continues in another spiritual dimension? Dan argues his case by revealing his research using counterintelligence operational methods to expose the truth about near-death experiences and othe