America

problem if she were properly ballasted and making enough way to have full control with the planes, but at three knots she was so slow that the planes had little effect. No, Kolnikov thought, he didn't want to be caught at slow speed in these shallows if a serious storm happened by.

Where was the satellite?

Kolnikov glanced at Heydrich, wondering how long his patience would last if the satellite didn't turn up soon. He had sat in the back of the control room since the boat left Long Island Sound — when he wasn't locked up or sleeping; never a soft and fuzzy type, now Heydrich seemed to have an edge, an urgency about him. Perhaps it was the storm to the south.

Yes, the storm. Recovering the satellite. That was it.

The passenger list for the trip to Lisbon presented something of a problem. Flap's first thought was that he and Jake and eight of the toughest marines in the corps would go to Europe and kick butt. Upon further reflection, he realized that in addition to Jake Grafton he needed Sonny Killbuck's submarine expertise, Tommy Carmel-lini's knowledge of Zelda Hudson, and of course, Toad Tarkington. That was five men, and unless they were accompanied by five women, they certainly weren't going to melt into the cruise ship crowd.

Jake thought Callie would want to go — he knew she would want to go — and Toad's wife, Rita Moravia, was home. Jake Grafton nodded enthusiastically and said, 'You bet,' whenever Rita's name was mentioned. Flap thought his wife might go even though she got seasick in a bathtub — she and Callie could schmooze their way through the passenger list. Flap needed two more women, and he knew whom he wanted. He talked to his chief of staff, and soon two of the toughest drill instructors in the corps had volunteered.

As the group waited to board the plane at Andrews, a man from the State Department — or perhaps he was CIA, he didn't say — arrived with ten passports. All brand-new, U.S. government — issue fakes. Each passport had the proper photo and birthday, but the name and rest of the information were bogus.

Callie didn't like her photo. Rita didn't like her new name— Betty — and Mrs. Le Beau was appalled that the fake passport contained her real birthday. 'I don't see why they couldn't have taken five years off,' she said to Callie, who shared the sentiment.

The woman marine who was supposed to pretend she was Car-mellini's significant other looked him up and down, then told him, 'I've got a boyfriend who could break every bone in your body.' 'Izzatright?'

'Keep your hands to yourself, lover boy, and think pure thoughts. No funny business.'

Her name was Lizzy and she was from Oklahoma. When she wasn't on duty, she worked out in the gym. She had won some amateur bodybuilding competitions and thought she might try professional wrestling when this enlistment was up. Carmellini thought that if bone breaking were on the menu, Lizzy wouldn't need her boyfriend's help.

The airplane that was to fly the group to Lisbon was a civilian Gulfstream, much like the one that EuroSpace owned. Flap thought a military airplane would jeopardize the mission and insisted on a civilian-registered plane. The air force chartered one.

Jake Grafton's first look at the marine general this morning left him agape. Flap Le Beau had shaved his head and wore a large, bushy mustache and a pair of heavy horn-rimmed glasses. The mustache was glued on, of course, but Flap certainly didn't look the way he did yesterday. Part of the makeover was the civilian clothes, which were at least one size too large. He looked like he had lost weight recently. Jake complimented him on the quick change. 'Corina shaved my head last night and we went to the mall for a new outfit. The larger clothes were her idea.'

As they waited to board, Flap said, 'I've got this sick feeling that we're going to be too late.'

'The ocean salvage operations I've seen resemble greased-pig contests,' Jake remarked. 'Nothing goes as planned. These folks are undertaking a tricky salvage operation with makeshift equipment. I wonder if they've even found the thing.' 'Surely they know where it is!'

'Zelda Hudson strikes me as a pretty slick operator. So slick, apparently, that Schlegel wanted to get his hands on her.'

As they walked out to the plane, Callie said to Flap, 'Thanks for including me. This invitation was a godsend. I didn't think I could take another day in that candlelit flat.'

'I wouldn't classify this trip as a vacation.'

'It is for me! Just watch me enjoy it.'

The day was clear as only a September day can be. As the luxury bizjet climbed over the Chesapeake Bay, Jake and Callie leaned against the window trying to spot their Delaware beach. The jet was over New Jersey when it crossed the beach for the first time. It flew over Boston and Nova Scotia before it left North America behind.

Somewhere over the North Atlantic, Callie said to her husband, 'I still don't understand why these people are being so sneaky about recovering the satellite. I thought that under international law abandoned ships and things like that belonged to whoever salvaged them.'

'You know, I haven't asked the lawyers about that,' Jake said. 'I'll bet no one else has, either. The satellite was not abandoned — it was lost. Or stolen. And the French government owns some huge minority interest in EuroSpace; they may control it, for all I know. I doubt if the French government wants to go to the edge of the abyss with the Americans over a killer satellite.'

The edge of the abyss. Jake thought about that phrase as the jet flew the great circle route to Lisbon. This wasn't, he concluded, a typical hardball business deal for Willi Schlegel. He had been physically present in Newark when Zelda Hudson was snatched — the customs and immigration officers both stated that for a fact. They had seen him and his passport. So Schlegel was betting everything he could steal that satellite and get away with it. Standing trial for kidnapping wasn't on his agenda, either.

Across the aisle, Toad Tarkington was getting reacquainted with his wife, Rita Moravia, who was also in the navy and on leave between assignments. She had arrived home the day before yesterday, hugged the kid and husband, and settled in for a month of domestic bliss. Then Toad informed her he was going on a cruise. 'Gotta. It's a nasty job and somebody has to do it.'

Rita and Toad were going to spend a week by themselves later that month, so they decided that this would be that week. The babysitter had instructions, her mother would arrive by car that evening, so here they were, on their way to Lisbon.

'Glad you could go with me, hot woman,' Toad said. 'I've really missed you. I told Admiral Grafton that we planned on spending the whole cruise in bed.'

'And what did he say?'

'Just laughed.'

'I missed you, Toadman,' Rita said. 'Hold my hand.' And she slipped her hand in his.

In the row behind Toad and Rita, Tommy Carmellini was getting acquainted with Lizzy. 'What do you like about pro wrestling?' he asked.

'It's my favorite thing,' Lizzy replied. 'Aren't you a fan?'

'Alas, no. My schedule…'

'It's life in microcosm. The story lines make me want to cry and laugh at the same time, you know? They're just so… so…'

'Story lines?'

'You're not a marine. What do you do for a living, anyway?'

'Civil service. Paperwork and stuff. Pretty boring. Tell me about the story lines.'

Lizzy took a deep breath and began.

Flap Le Beau married later than most of his colleagues. When he finally tied the knot he was past forty and had his first star. The woman he married, Corina, was a college professor who ran a home for troubled youth when she wasn't working her day job. Flap had grown up on the streets — he knew the problems she willingly faced dealing with troubled kids. He became her biggest fan, helped her all he could, then decided they should tie the knot and go through life together. She had been married once before and wasn't anxious for another round of matrimony, but Flap persisted. He knew what he wanted, and she was it. Through sheer perseverance he finally overcame her defenses.

On the way to Portugal he sat in the front of the passenger cabin with Corina and told her about the mission. 'Just be yourself,' he advised. 'You're a college professor who runs a home for kids. That will minimize the acting requirements.'

'And who will you be?' Corina asked.