Beautiful Girl in the Bargain Basement ( )

Log entry, the catch-scall at Queen Philip Carney Master. Position 22 degrees 15 minutes north, 114 degrees 45 minutes east.

Wind fresh sky fair. Remarks, departed Hong Kong after successfully liquidating business competition. Reason for success, the beautiful girl in the bargain basement. It was a long leg from the island of Tango Land, up across the Celebes and Sulu Seas, through the Calmayan Group and across to the Chinese mainland.

It was a victorious leg too, with the realization slowly sinking in that we'd beaten Constantino to the prize. And that with the $10 million worth of relics aboard, we'd all but accomplished our original mission for Kuji Kang.

And that as soon as we'd unloaded it and started trading under his company flag, we could map our own futures and come and go almost as we pleased. It was mid-afternoon when the mirror clear water of the China Sea took on the yellow of the mud sweeping out from the Quangtongue rivers and the bulk of the coast loomed up on the horizon.

According to waters we lay too well off Macau until after nightfall and slipped silently into the dosing harbor under power. We moored quickly and quietly at a water-side entrance to Kang's Macau warehouse. How a ring-skipper?

Yeah, red. But take it easy, mate. Yeah. We'll just use a bowline, man. The skipper'll keep the stern in with the motor. And 20 minutes later, we'd finish the last actual operation with the treasure itself.

It was off the ship, well-hidden in the warehouse. And we pulled out of Macau, every man aboard smiling up at the clear night sky, feeling completely unfettered for the first time since we'd left San Francisco.