The Chase

by kwfinley

Jake takes a job that doesn't go as expected. He finds himself redefining friendship. He has to decide who is the real princess.

The Chase

The Summons

The small red and white twin motored plane descended toward the water, briefly silhouetted against the early morning sun. It seemed to float across the tops of the waves. A fan of Grumman's line of utility seaplanes would have recognized the craft as the middle sized version, the G-21, or Grumman "Goose". It created a graceful furrow in the water as it transitioned from plane to boat. Water broke to the side as the v-crease in the hull sliced the water until the roar of the motors and momentum died. The plane came off the step to settle abruptly into the water. It began to bob like its namesake. The motors roared again as the plane turned toward shore and gained steerage. The activities, though critical, were sufficiently routine for the pilot, Jake Cutter – ex-fighter pilot and adventurer - to allow his mind to wander.

He thought about the Haywood Floyd novels he read as a youth, and how he had admired how Floyd had managed his romantic relationships. His was a 'love the one you're with' philosophy. Women admired him and he enjoyed them. He never allowed them to interfere with his mission and they were always happy with what he was willing to give, not expecting some long-term commitment. Jake's relationships had never worked out that simply, always wanting something more than a one night stand or casual fling. It was the curse of his romantic leanings. Jake's relationships always ended up being very complicated. The island he was approaching reflected the nature of one such example – Princess Koji. Beautiful, demanding, deadly. Oh, and determined. She seemed determined to complicate the life of one tramp pilot, Jake Cutter. Himself.

As Jake pulled back on the throttles to let the Goose glide softly up to Koji's dock he couldn't help but be aware of the contrasts between Matuka and his current home base, Boragora. Koji's island, Matuka, was the centerpiece of her empire, full of beauty, elegance, and culture. Walking its soil you would find beautiful gardens cultivated to a state of perfection. Small buildings were concealed about the island, blending harmoniously with nature, rather than fighting it. The beauty of the island was exotic, but thin. Spend much time there and you would find that many of the plants would kill you, as would many of the animals on the island. You never knew what would bite or poison you. However, the most deadly inhabitants were the people. Matuka was as much a place of intrigue, treachery, and casual death as a place of beauty.

At least, on Boragora, you had a pretty good idea if the person coming at you was a friend or an enemy. Boragora, the domain of Bonne Chance Louie, his friend, landlord, and sometimes employer, had a faded, genteel elegance, like a once wealthy relative who had fallen on hard times but clung to the veneer of civilization. In Louie's domain you could feel comfortable among friends. The Monkey Bar was a place of truce, a usually neutral territory where foes could meet. The two-story European building with its veranda and balconies looked out of place against the exotic south pacific foliage, and the surrounding low buildings and huts. The whole atmosphere was relaxed, not strictly managed like Matuka. Here and there you could even find bits of litter, or a bush growing over a trail. The dock stood stark against the sand of the beach, oil stains from boats and the Goose leaving rainbow trails on the clear blue water.

Gliding across the equally blue water of Matuka's largest lagoon, Jake could only wonder at Koji's request – command really - for his presence that morning. The handwritten message, in a tight controlled script, had been placed under his door at Louie's bar/hotel during the evening. It had included enough gas money for the Goose, for the trip. Corky, Jake's semi-sober mechanic, hadn't appreciated being left behind, but the message had said to come alone. Louie had merely smiled his Gallic smile and shrugged. Sarah had pouted, expecting Jake to be unfaithful to another complicated relationship that had never been consummated. When Jake left the dock just before dawn, his black and white Terrier-sized mongrel dog, Jack, was sitting there, head to one side watching from his one good eye, almost as if even he didn't expect Jake to return.

The Goose interrupted Jake's reverie when it bumped gently against Koji's dock. Jake looked at the two guards standing at the head of the dock, hopefully, then resignedly, as neither moved to help him secure the Goose. When the nose hatch opened, had the guards bothered to notice, they would have seen a trim thirty-ish man with sandy brown hair, and a tanned face almost as weather-beaten as his aviator's jacket and 50-mission crush hat. He wore a dingy base-ball shirt emblazoned with the Detroit Dukes across the chest, tucked into khaki pants to complete the outfit. He fastened a line to a cleat on the bow of the Goose and secured the other end to a larger cleat bolted to the bamboo dock. Briefly he rested his left hand on the nose art of the aircraft declaring the sturdy little ship as "Cutter's Goose". He waited on the dock in the shade of the Goose's wing. He knew to step on the beach uninvited was to court sudden and bloody death.

Discord

Elsewhere on the island, under a shaded pavilion, an icily beautiful woman sat at a portable desk. She has heard the Goose approach her island and smiled as the elements of her plan began to drop into place. Her's was an exotic beauty. She almost looked European except for the almond shape of her large dark eyes, and high cheekbones. Although those around treated her as a lady of Japanese royalty, her form fitting silk dress with long slit up the thigh and low cut bodice seemed more in keeping with a prostitute. In many ways, she was both. She was attended by a small man in full, red lacquered leather armor, whose only hint as to his age was the salt and pepper appearance of his beard. He was speaking passionately to his Princess and it was a sign of her affection for him that he was not already dead for his impertinence. It was also clear that this was a conversation that had occurred on more than one occasion.

"Princess, why do you ask him to come here? You should not reward him. You should make the barbarian pay for his repeated insults to you. I should take his head for your trophy."

"Careful, Todo. You presume too much. In our eyes, Jake Cutter may be a barbarian, but he thinks he is a gentleman. In either culture he may be one of the few true men of honor that I know." Todo grunted in disgust earning yet another displeased look from his mistress. "Besides, I have a use for him. That was why I summoned him."

"Bah! Princess." Todo almost spit in the strength of his response. "A barbarian cannot be a man of honor. Of what use can he be to you? He remains blind to what you offer him."

"Yes," the Princess pouted, "I'll never know what he sees in that pale, insipid stick of a girl he calls Sarah, but you must realize that he has not acted out his desire."

"You don't know that, Princess."

"Oh, a woman knows, Todo." The princess rested her elbows on the desk and clasped her hands together as a chin rest. Pensively, "Our Jake Cutter is like the knights my father told me of when I was a child. He has his lady, but he can never touch her.

"Amusing isn't it, Todo." A cruel smile touched the lips, but not the eyes. "And, I can endlessly torment him by appearing available and willing. You can see he is torn." Straightening, "Ah, Todo, in this game the chase is everything. The anticipation is delicious."

"If what you say is true, Princess, if you win the chase, will you not also lose? He would not then be your man of honor."

"That depends, Todo." She brought her writing stylus thoughtfully to her full, red lips. "If I were to become his lady, then I will have won. If he merely comes to me because I'm available and she isn't, I'll have his head – when I am done with him." She shrugs. "Either way, the pleasure is mine."

"Hai!"

"Let's see. It is now the hour of the Dragon. Let him cool his heels on the dock until mid way through the hour of the Horse. Then bring him to the Dojang."

"Yes, my Princess."

"Oh … and bring me that amusing German. It is time for us to conclude this portion of our business."

"At least, my Princess, he appreciates you."

"Yes, Todo. He does, and I appreciate him for what he is. But he is too easy, too willing to perform his 'blessings'. I much prefer a challenge – still, he is useful as a diversion. And occasionally he brings me profit. Go, and bring him to me here."

Todo bowed and smiled. Willi Tennboom was a German officer posing as a priest in the nearby French Mandate. He occasionally worked with Koji, as they were supposed to be allies. His SS superiors thought him a womanizing fool. They were half right, and Willi was perfectly content to let more demanding roles pass him by. He felt himself highly suited for his current role and wanted no more. Besides, it would have forced him to make some very difficult decisions he preferred not to make. For now, Todo would enjoy watching Koji make him squirm as if he were impaled on a skewer over a very hot fire.

Conflict

At the appointed time, Todo led a simmering Jake into one of the many elaborate gardens that characterized Princess Koji's island.

"Where is the Princess?" Jake's voice was as demanding as it could be to a bloodthirsty bodyguard with a hand on his sword. "Her note asked me to come over first thing this morning. So I do. Now I spend the morning cooling my heels. No cargo, no passengers." Todo more or less ignored Jake's tirade. He enjoyed Jake's discomfort. He merely strode to a low hut in the middle of the garden. The scent of the blooms on various plants merged into a heady fragrance that was almost overpowering. That didn't help Jake's temper in the least.

Finally, with right hand drawing a shining sword about two inches from it's lacquered scabbard, "You will be silent. Do not disturb the kami that meditate here." The words were a sibilant hiss not unlike that of the Cobras of which the Princess was too fond.

With that Todo guided Jake through one of the building's sliding panels that can be either a door or a wall, depending on the need. As Jake's eyes adjusted to the diffused light he saw a beautifully polished floor and bright paper walls. The only furnishings in the room were a low, black lacquered table along one wall and a large carved teak cabinet centered on the opposite wall. Jake didn't spend much time examining these as his attention was drawn to two figures moving in the center of the room. The two black clad, hooded figures appeared to be trying to kill each other with six foot poles.

Todo pointed to a space along the wall, next to the low table. "Princess say you wait here."

Jake started to protest but was cut off by an angry hiss from Todo as he backed out of the room, the index finger of his left hand vertical before his lips while the right hand still rested on his sword. Jake was pretty sure Todo was watching for any excuse to use that overgrown razor on his neck.

Jake turned back to the furiously battling figures. Curiosity overcame frustration as he watched. Their identities were completely concealed by their black tunics and pants, and their padded hoods. As he watched, he realized that they weren't following the martial arts equivalent of the Marquis du Queensbury rules. He expected no less on Koji's island. The opponents used hands and bare feet as well as the staves. He watched, fascinated, as the smaller adversary avoided each attack from the larger opponent. Often, each attack was avoided by a subtle shift of the upper torso that reminded Jake of the sway of a Cobra. From time to time, this was accentuated by the shift with both raised arms forming a fan about the head, twirling the staff into a blocking or striking position. Jake was impressed by the grace of the slighter opponent, but couldn't shake the feeling that each move was subtly wrong – as a trained athlete, to him the balance seemed wrong, as if it was off center. Before he could figure out the reason, the larger, more solid seeming attacker lunged with the staff extended in what should have been a decisive strike. His miss left him slightly over extended and off balance. Before he could recover, the smaller figure spun gracefully past, sweeping his legs out from under him with one end of the staff. Before the falling combatant's back could even touch the ground, the smaller figure twirled the staff about to drive the butt end into the base of the opponent's throat, clearly ending the match. The small, dark, now sinister winner, stood unmoving as the prone loser gasped and choked and finally was completely still.

Jake stared in disbelief when the victor and survivor sighed, removed the hood to reveal long glossy black hair, large and slightly oval dark eyes, and full red lips. Jake realized that it was his hostess, Princess Koji. Suddenly, the differences in movement made sense to his shocked mind.

"Princess?"

She flowed toward him to stop too close as usual, her eyes reading the shock on his face with satisfaction. "Ahhh! My dear Jake."

Even through the sweat of her exertions, Jake could smell one of the exotic scents she always wore – this time a blend of poppy and jasmine.

"Your Highness. Uh, your opponent – he isn't getting up."

The Princess barely looked over her shoulder. "No. I don't think he will. He didn't make the grade."

Jake looked at the prone figure. "Is he …."

"Dead?" The Princess chuckled. "Oh, yes. He's most likely quite dead. If not, he soon will be. He's rather flawed, don't you think. I was hoping for more of a workout. "

"But … but …"

"Jake, darling, he's not the first man I have ever killed."

"But would he have …"

"…killed me? That is an interesting question. I certainly gave him every chance. One never knows what might happen during practice. It adds a certain spice to the exercise, don't you think?"

Jake was shaking his head.

"Would you like to try, Jake?"

"No, Princess. Not at those stakes." Patting his holstered pistol. "Actually, I prefer what I call stand-off capability."

"Yes, although I've always considered such as cowardly. I believe if one is going to dabble in violence, one should be willing to face it. Up" moving toward Jake "close."

Jake looked down at her. The angle revealed far too much of the cleavage beneath the partially open tunic. Jake realized there was nothing but Princess under the tunic, and that Todo would wouldn't need any excuse to remove his head for what he shouldn't have been thinking.

"I wouldn't have thought you would be so squeamish." She continued. "After all, you have killed men."

"Yes, I have, and some just as close as you are now. You've been there for at least one occasion. And, up in the air, there has always been a pretty equal risk of losing my own life." Jake shrugged, trying to appear matter of fact. "But, most of the time I don't dwell on how close I have come."

The Princess moved away and stored her staff and hood in the large cabinet. Jake saw several interesting and deadly devices inside. She walked over to the body and stared at it for a moment. Then she bent down, lifted the staff from the body and removed the hood revealing a face turned purple from lack of oxygen and permanently distorted in agony. "Why not, Jake?" She placed those items in the cabinet. "It is what makes us different from the animals."

Jake stared at the dead face and open sightless eyes, struggling with the abrupt change in direction. "I don't follow you."

"Why do animals kill, Jake?" Koji closed the cabinet. "To eat, to protect territory, to protect their young. Why does man kill?"

Jake thought about it for a minute. "Same reasons, I suppose, as well as jealousy, greed, and fear probably. Then, there's honor. Some do it for revenge or glory."

"And which of those, Jake, have you killed for?"

Jake stared into the distance, the dominant vision being a Spanish hospital with the roof torn away and patients suffering on beds under the open sky. "A long time ago, I dreamed of glory, but there is no glory in death. The real reasons for killing always end up being complicated."

"Oh really? So simplify them, Jake. Why do, or did, you kill?"

"I was fighting to defend something or someone. Often, it has been an ideal … people's freedom to choose their own lives."

Finished with her task, Koji traced some of the carvings on the cabinet with a black lacquered fingernail before moving toward a door panel open to the garden. "So you killed for an abstract."

Jake began to follow her – literally and figuratively. "I guess so."

"And animals, do they ever kill for an abstract?"

"No, I don't think so. Unless they start killing for the sake of killing. But that's mad. Man or animal."

Koji looked at Jake with an unnerving intensity. "Do you think I kill for pleasure? Am I mad?"

"I don't know, Princess. I wouldn't like to think so, but when I see you, you are always involved with something deadly."

"True. Only by facing death does one know one is truly alive. Do you not think so?"

Jake grimaced. "Yes, I've often found that to be true. Life is never so precious as when you are about to lose it."

"There, you see, we have a common viewpoint." Koji stopped, turned and walked back to stand close to Jake again. "As for this one, I will tell you one more fact. He was hired to kill me."

"What? And instead, you killed him? Just like that?"

"Oh no, Jake. Not just like that." She drew a perfectly manicured hand down Jake's jacket before looking back into his eyes. "I had to give him his chance, didn't I?" She pursed her lips in a pout that would have been cute on someone less deadly. "Todo is so vexed with me."

"Oh, I'm sure."

"Well, he feels that it is his duty to protect me. When I don't let him he feels dishonored." Koji's expression hardened into one of determination and resolve. "But, I can't let Todo fight all my battles for me, can I? I do have an image to maintain."

Jake shook his head carefully in negation. "Don't try to get me to approve your killing, Princess. For whatever reason, I won't justify it."

The Princess shrugged and moved on through the door. "That's interesting. When you shoot down an opponent in aerial combat, don't you want some justification?"

Jake decided it's time to derail the debate. "Princess, in your message you said you needed me to fly to Matuka this morning, first thing. Now, I've been waiting all morning. This is costing me money."

"Oh, I seriously doubt that, Jake. I happen to know that, other than your mail run, you haven't had a cargo or passenger all week." She turned and began to walk toward the edge of the garden. "I think even Corky can't find anything else to do to the Goose, at least until you have some more money."

Jake hurried to catch up and walk beside her. "So, you knew I wasn't busy and just decided to invite me over for a visit?"

The Princess looked sidelong at Jake with a faint leer, "I thought we could have tea, or … maybe a bath, together. It's such a delightful custom among my people."

"Don't forget Princess, I've been in one of your baths."

"More than once if I recall correctly, but you never seem to enjoy it. You don't know how to relax. I on the other hand found it tremendously refreshing."

Jake flushed, but unknowingly had half a rueful smile on his face. "I noticed that. I think you enjoyed teasing me."

Her leer became a full-blown smile. "I know I did."

She walked a little further. She paused to turn and face him, suddenly all business. The changeup caught Jake flat-footed.

"Jake, I wish to hire you to take me to New Britain. I have urgent business there with one of my associates. Once we have our business concluded, I may want you to deliver some small shipments to a variety of clients."

"I can do that Princess, but why me? I know you have your own transportation and agents who could do this for you."

"Jake, I hardly need to remind you that I do not have to explain my actions to anyone, least of all a tramp pilot whose only asset is a rebuilt wreck of an airplane."

Jake winced under the double insult to himself and his plane. He tried to grab a moral advantage. "Princess, I don't mind being an errand boy, but I can't afford to be involved in anything illegal."

"Oh Jake. It's nothing like that. I will be the intermediary in a series of very delicate transactions. The principals involved are sensitive to the nationality of my staff. We thought it best that I …. You've already seen today that there are those who wish me dead."

"Ok, I will be happy to do it. Like you said, I'm not very busy right now. After I make these deliveries, do you want me to come back and get you?"

"I will return to Matuka by another route. When you have delivered the shipments you will be entrusted with a quantity of cash. You may use enough to refuel your Goose and bring the rest back to me here. I will need this done quickly, and with the utmost discretion."

Jake nodded. "I can handle that."

"Good! If word were to get out about my activities, certain very profitable negotiations would be cancelled. I give you my word that nothing I'm asking you to do will damage your precious moral code. Nor need you fear any entanglements with any legal authorities. And you will be well compensated for your effort."

Jake nodded again. "When do you want to leave?"

"First thing in the morning."

Jake checked the sky. "All right, I've got time enough to fly back to Boragora and be back here bright and early."

The Princess motioned behind Jake. "I'm afraid that won't do. You will spend the night here."

Jake glanced to one side but kept his focus on Koji. "Princess, I can't do that. I'll need to pick up some supplies, and Corky and Jack."

"All the supplies you'll need are already here on the island. My need for privacy requires that you make this run without Corky or Jack."

"Princess, I don't see how you can expect me to fly …"

"Jake! One outsider observing my movements is enough."

"Well, surely you can't object to my taking Jack along as company."

"On the contrary, I do object. Sometimes I'm not sure that dog isn't the smartest of the three of you. He might talk."

"O Princess, you can't believe that Jack …"

"Jake, I've seen you two. That one-eyed mutt sees and understands more than many two-eyed men. There seems to be something about mutts and mixed-breeds that require sharper wits. Jack and I have that in common, you know. If I could command his loyalty like you do, he would make an excellent partner."

"I'll tell him you said so. You never know." With half a smile, Jake wasn't even sure himself if he was serious or not. "OK Princess, you win. I'll radio Boragora and let them know …"

"I've already taken the liberty of letting them know. You will not need to concern yourself with anything more than pleasing me this evening."

"Ah-h-h-h, Princess…"

"Oh relax, Jake. I won't attack your virtue tonight." Koji looked away as if listening to an inner voice. Jake was sure said voice was evil. "At least I don't think so. I merely want you to join me for dinner and tell me something about your growing up." The Princess linked her arm through Jake's to guide him down the path. "I'd like to hear some stories."

"Princess, there really isn't much to tell. Besides, I suspect your sources have already told you most of it."

"Oh, I've the dry statistics. I'd like you to add some flavor to them. For instance, you could tell me what happened to Louie's daughter."

"That can only come from Louie. That's his story."

"Hmmm. As you wish." She looked at his dingy Detroit Dukes baseball shirt. "You can tell me about baseball, then. And how does one go from being a baseball player to flying gold out of South America, to being a combat pilot." Koji raised one hand and waiting attendants stepped forward immediately. "Take our guest to his quarters. Provide refreshment and anything else he might need for the afternoon. See that he's ready for dinner at my usual time. With a clean shirt. Go now. I have work to do."

Back to Business

While Jake found ways to while the afternoon away, Koji did indeed have a lot of work to do. If Jake could have watched, he would have been surprised to see her sitting at a desk going over accounts and shipping schedules. Various people came and left as they were involved with Koji's business. Her manner was crisp and business like. None of the game playing Jake was used to seeing. Finally, Todo came in to report on Jake's afternoon activities and that all was ready for Koji's trip. It was very clear that he was still not happy with her plans.

"Princess, I should go with you. It is not proper for you to be traveling alone with that man." As head of Koji's security forces, Todo would much have preferred that she travel in one of her own planes, or better still, aboard her Macao built Junk. The engineers there catered to the local smugglers and pirates, and the Junk had the latest in high performance diesel engines and weaponry. With it, he could transport a proper security team and stand off lightly armed government patrol vessels, not to mention rival forces, even pirates.

"Todo, we've gone over that and it's no longer a topic for discussion. I daren't be seen traveling by any of my usual methods. These are very delicate and profitable negotiations. My involvement and my business methods must be kept out of sight until the appropriate time. Your presence would create tension within certain groups that must be kept happy."

"Why must it be a secret? Why are you sneaking about like a thief? It is not fitting for the Princess who is the most powerful ruler in the region. What of your honor?"

"Is it my honor, or your honor you are concerned about, Todo? Your honor is based on mine and I know you feel my actions are inappropriate. You will just have to bear that burden."

"Princess, this is not about my honor. My duty is to serve you and protect your honor. You are powerful. People should say they are proud to do business with you. I am concerned that dealing with these people may cause a stain on your honor. Are they worthy business associates?"

"Todo, let's be frank. I'm a half-caste offspring of an illegitimate union between an Irish ship captain, who was little more than a pirate and gangster, and the disowned daughter of a Japanese Warlord. The only reason I'm allowed to have my little empire here is because I'm sometimes useful to the emperor and certain powerful Japanese businessmen. If they wished, they could bring the power of the Japanese military down on my little world and crush it. If China cannot withstand that might, what chance have I? No, Todo. I'm here by sufferance. I walk in two worlds, and am accepted by neither – I'm just useful. It's my karma. Except for you, my samurai are all Ronin. And you … you remain faithful because you loved my mother and promised to take care of me when she died."

"Princess, my loyalty is to you and you alone." Todo slashes the air horizontally with his hand. "It has nothing to do with your mother. You have done much with what you have. There is much to be proud of."

"Oh, I've no complaints." Koji shifted in her seat. "I've managed to have fun, comfort, and wealth in spite of my karma. And I derive considerable satisfaction from occasionally besting those who think they're my betters."

"So why do you hide your presence on this trip?"

"Todo, there is much unrest in the Marivellas. Soon the struggle for power and control will return to these islands. By rights, the South Pacific should be Japanese territory, not carved into tiny territories managed by absentee governments. The French and British will definitely disagree, and I'm not certain our allies, the Germans don't want them for themselves. We have many natural resources they lack. Plus, the Germans would love to recover the territory lost in that silly World War of theirs." The Princess stopped as she pondered a new line of thought. "That reminds me. I want to ask Cutter about his impressions of Germany and its military."

"Why not ask that fool who masquerades as a priest?"

Koji got a far off look in her eyes and sounded as though she was talking more to herself than Todo. "Our Willi is Wehrmacht. He's very old order. I don't think he knows any more about these new Germans than we do. No, I want a more reliable, more objective opinion."

Koji stopped, as if changing her mind and course. Once again she followed her instinct. Her voice firmed with decision. "You will leave tonight. Sail the Junk to New Guinea. I will want it there when I cross over from my meeting in New Britain. I understand that one of my servants has the audacity to mimic me. Do you know of her?"

"Hai. Her name is Muri. I once caught her in her impertinence. I let her know that such behavior was unacceptable and would be strictly punished. She is, however, a very hard worker and I did not wish to waste her."

"It's true that she was impertinent, Todo, and I agree she should not be wasted. She amuses me. It is good to see how others see me, and I might have a use for her. Have her dress as me. Take her with you and keep her on the ship as if waiting for someone to come meet her. I want to see if she is good enough to fool anyone. If she's good enough to fool most, and I have you at her side, no one will think to question the illusion. It could be a useful diversion."

Todo bowed in reluctant, but mute acceptance.

"Oh relax, Todo." Koji can't resist teasing her only confidant. "If this works, it will increase my security. Everyone will be looking the wrong direction."

Todo nodded, only slightly mollified. "Who do we wait for?"

"Germany is looting much of Europe. Our allies" a dirty sounding word from those very red lips. "would like to dispose of some of that wealth here. There are a number of buyers in the Dutch East Indies. Willi brought me several crates of art disguised as bibles. They are in the hold of the junk. I'm to act as auctioneer and broker for the sale of some of these items. I pulled the buyers together, and have contracted to serve as delivery agent. We will deliver them to the buyers only after I catch up with you in New Guinea. From our cut of the auction, and our fees for delivery, we will collect a tidy sum."

"I do not like you going about without protection, My Princess."

"While not your equal, Jake Cutter has proven himself adept at rescuing damsels in distress. I will be perfectly safe in his Goose. In spite of my comments earlier, it has capabilities that will surprise you, and my agents confirm that our Jake Cutter is a most capable pilot. When I arrive in New Britain, my security force for the auction will prove sufficient. They won't really be necessary as nobody should know I am even there."

"What of the American? Why not have him fly you to New Guinea?"

"No, I plan to use him for some of the deliveries. I may send Muri as a decoy if I believe she can carry off the proper impersonation. That will allow me to move more freely. Now, it is time for some fun." The Princess closed her ledger and stood. "Bring me the American. I will be waiting at the edge of the training center. Make sure he is clean and properly dressed before he enters my presence. Go now!"

Going to School

It was a different Jake the attendants led across the island. Clearly he had bathed. Willingly or not, he had also been shaved and given a hair cut. The attendants had also brought new clothes for him and insisted that he change. The clothes were a perfect fit; the cotton slacks and shirt were of excellent quality, and the sport coat a fine Irish Donegal tweed of virgin lambs wool. The woven leather loafers fit his feet like gloves. The ensemble took him back in time to shadows he preferred not to examine very closely. As he was led along the shore of a large pond, Jake realized he had seen more of the island this trip than in all of his previous journeys. He wasn't sure he cared for the knowledge. On top of that he couldn't decide if he was being jerked back and forth like a yo-yo, or being led around like a pet. He didn't care much for either picture.

As they crossed yet another small garden, Jake finally spotted the Princess standing in the shade of a graceful pavilion. She was sipping a beverage with obvious relish. Jake couldn't help but wonder if it was deadly to humans. As usual, Todo stood about four paces to her left. Jake reluctantly appreciated how Koji's hair was artistically wrapped on her head exposing the graceful neck. She was wearing dark cotton slacks, a simple red silk blouse that left a goodly portion of her midriff bare, and a long sheer white silk cloak over it all. It made him very self-conscious about the wrinkled khaki slacks, scuffed shoes, and dingy Detroit Dukes baseball shirt that he had worn to the island that morning. He couldn't really remember when he had started dressing that way. Once he had been very careful about his appearance, but somewhere after leaving Cornell, how he dressed seemed to become unimportant. Staying alive, and living with the misery of others had changed his perspective. He remembered enjoying being a sharp dresser back in what seemed like another lifetime. He also remembered why he left that world and how much it hurt to remember. Once more he pushed the shadows back.

On the other hand, Koji had to conceal her surprise at the ease with which Jake wore the upper class clothes. "My, my. You do clean up rather nicely. You look like you have always worn such clothes."

Jake scanned himself and looked back to Koji. "The clothes fit beautifully – in fact I couldn't help but wonder how you managed to have clothes on hand that are just my size."

"Jake, very little goes on among our islands that I do not know. For example, when your gambler lady friend bought you that suit of clothes, she used one of my tailors." She paused to consider Jake from a different angle. "You know, I never thought you would turn her in."

Jake frowned as he recalled that event in his life. "I didn't have any choice, did I? Actually, Louie arrested Sabrina. Maybe you shouldn't remind me of your involvement in that little affair."

"What an excellent choice of words, Jake Cutter. Actually, you would be surprised how little freedom I had in that … affair. I had my orders, as did she. But, it is long over. In the mean time, I trust my people have treated you well? You are rested and refreshed?"

"Yes, I'm rested and refreshed, and … I'm going out of my mind."

Todo hissed like an angry viper. His right hand locked on his sword. Koji gave Jake a very cool look. "Jake Cutter, are you speaking ill of my hospitality? I do not care for such." Todo's hand began to draw the sword from its scabbard. His face held an unnerving look of anticipation.

Jake realized his danger. "Excuse me, Princess. I'm just used to being active. Just sitting and waiting has never been my strong suit."

Koji was fully aware that Jake had not just sat around and waited for her. Although he had been frustrated by his forced detention, he had been busy, as a disciplined man will stay busy, taking care of things when he had the chance. She approved of his industry. She had even helped it along, without his knowledge.

"Do not allow your impatience to drive you to insult my generosity. Hold your rude tongue, or you may lose it!"

Jake glanced from the corner of his eyes to see Todo smiling hopefully.

"Please accept my apology." Jake tried to sound contrite. "I was not prepared for a rest day today."

Koji appeared to accept Jake's apology with the same ease she appeared to be angry. "Oh really, Jake. I thought it was your Judeau Christian custom to rest on the Sabbath."

Jake stopped to think. "Is it Sunday?" He shook his head in chagrin. "Wow, I've lost track of time. And, to tell you the truth, I haven't thought about church in a long time."

"Yes, well, one should pay more attention to one's religion. In my culture, it is very important. Besides, you have a pastor available to minister to your spiritual needs."

Jake wondered if he was really hearing a mocking undertone in the last sentence. "Yes, I probably should pay more attention, but somehow, Reverend Tenboom doesn't usually seem to provide what I need."

"Hmmmm. Probably not. You don't seem the type to appreciate his blessings. Now, I wanted to ask you a question. What was your reaction to this morning's exercise?"

"You call killing a man exercise?"

"What else? He pretended to want to join my organization. I found him to be a liar. Todo discovered his intent to kill me. As I said earlier, I gave him his chance."

"He didn't look like he had much of a chance. You pretty much had him from the start, didn't you?"

"Yes, he was an inferior sort." Again, Koji had a pouting look on her face, as if disappointed in a new toy breaking too soon. "He had been very clumsy in training. I had thought it was a ploy to fool me when the time came. He might have thought it was."

"Training? He was in training here?" Jake couldn't help but wonder how he had gotten so far into Koji's organization.

"Yes, Jake. My people must be well trained. In fact I attend to their training here on the island. Would you like to see?"

Jake saw no way to refuse and decided to be as graceful as he could manage. "Yes, I would like that very much."

With that, Koji led Jake between tall shrubs to a large compound with a vast open area and several low huts. Jake saw pairs of individuals practicing a multitude of activities. On one side there was an archery range. There was no arrow that was not solidly centered in the bull. Another area seemed dedicated to equestrian arts. Jake expected to see, and found, an area where huge men wearing nothing more than an intricately wound breechclout attempt to throw each other. At least there were no piranhas waiting to feed. This time.

One of the low huts was open and Jake saw rows of men sitting at desks writing. "What are they doing?"

Todo spoke. "They are writing poetry. Which you cannot."

"Poetry?" Jake tried to stop the disbelief from showing in his voice.

Koji laughed. "Yes Jake, they are learning to write poetry. To please me. What do you think of that?"

A demon seized Jake as he looked at the Princess. He thought about his lit classes from another world. Looking Koji straight in the eye.

"Raven hair,

Almond eyes,

Restive spirit,

Tender surprise.

Steel in a butterfly's wing."

He bowed.

Koji applauded. "Well Jake, I'm impressed. Todo, our Jake Cutter is full of surprises. And you said he couldn't."

Todo sniffed. "It wasn't good poetry."

Jake turned to face Todo. "How good does it have to be? It's not the usual pastime for a warrior, is it?"

Koji cut in. "You see, Jake, once again there is much you do not understand. When you think of warriors, you think only of men with weapons. You think of men whose only function involves combat with swords, guns, or your precious airplanes. If they fight for a cause, they are soldiers and heroes. If they fight for money, they are mercenaries. If they fight for personal gain they are bandits and thieves. In my culture, there is more to being a warrior. A warrior is a gentleman skilled in a balance of both deadly and social arts. In America, you send politicians in after the warriors have done their job. We let the warrior set his terms because he has earned the respect and honor to do so. While I do not have an army, nor am I a sovereign country, I must protect my business interests. I prefer to do that with intelligent, capable individuals." Koji's voice took a warning tone. "Be honest, you consider my men to be little more than hired killers, mercenaries at best. You don't consider them as true soldiers or samurai."

Jake considered for a moment. "But, I thought the samurai, as a class, were abolished in 1868. The last ones died out years ago."

"Perhaps. But, some of us still value the old ways, and as such, I require my men to be much more than mere armsmen, Jake. Yes, each is trained in the art of fighting. But, to be one of my elite guards, they must also learn poetry, penmanship, flower arranging, and the tea ceremony, among others. Each of these men must undergo rigorous training to be a part of my organization."

"You teach all that here on the island." Jake shook his head admiringly. "I somehow never pictured you as a school mistress, Princess." Jake tried to fit Koji into a mental image of most of his teachers – severe dress, conservative style, hair pulled back, prim expression – no, Koji would never fit that image.

"Neither did I, Jake Cutter. But, it was necessary to instill the loyalty I needed." She moved close to him. "Each of my men is a skilled artist, and must study each subject diligently."

"Yeah, I remember seeing some of your training." Remembering the time he watched a trainee testing his reflexes against a Cobra. He remembered the Cobra won. "Your idea of pass fail grading was a bit too extreme for my liking."

"Well, yes, Jake, the risks are great, but that makes the rewards more precious. And, of course my warriors pursue some subjects more diligently than others, such as, shall we say, love?" Koji paused, twisting slightly back and forth like one of the many maple leafs dancing on their branches in the light afternoon breeze. She watched Jake's reaction raptly.

Jake tried to back away and pulled at the collar of his shirt. "Of course. You teach that here, too?"

"Certainly, Jake. A man must be skilled in the art of love to please his lady, don't you think?"

Jake wiped his forehead. "I suppose. I never really thought about it, I haven't had much chance to work it all out."

"Oh come now, Jake. Surely you don't expect me to believe you are without experience in this area." Koji's smile was truly predatory.

Jake, startled and more than a little offended. "Gentlemen don't talk about such things, and" hoping to take the offensive. "Neither do ladies."

Koji laughed, not the tee-hee-hee he usually heard, but a head back, mouth open, lungs full laugh; rich, full, honest. "Now, Jake. I didn't think you had ever considered me a lady." She moved much closer to him than a lady would. "Have you?"

Jake felt trapped. "I – I - I guess in one sense, no." Todo hissed and began to draw his sword. The sound of the sword scraping the scabbard elongated the hiss. "But in another sense, you have your code of honor and sense of what is right and wrong, and you live by that code. So, yes, I do think of you as a lady." Defensive but triumphant sideways look at Todo.

Koji motioned Todo to stand down. His sword clicked sharply into its scabbard along with his grunt of disappointment. "Why, Jake, I'm touched. That gets me, right here." Her hand touched her cleavage showing through the low cut blouse. Jake tried not to stare. "But, Jake, that doesn't answer my question. Assuming, hypothetically of course, that a gentleman was legitimately involved with a lady, don't you think he should want her to receive as much pleasure as she gives him?"

Jake closed his eyes and rocked back on his feet. "Yes, Princess, a gentleman involved with a lady he loves, should want her to have as much pleasure from their union as he receives. Maybe even more."

Koji's eyes flashed with triumph. "Well, then, that is twice today that we have agreed. A man should study the art of love as diligently as the art of war, should he not?"

Jake decided to concede the point. To be honest with himself he could do no less, and Koji knew it. "Princess, I'm not a stranger to either love or war. In fact, I've got scars from both. You're right." He shook his head with a rueful grin, not sure what he is conceding. "I may regret saying this, but the world would be a whole lot better place if men studied love more diligently than war."

Princess Koji knew she had won a victory but decided not to press any further now. She wasn't sure why, but her instincts knew that to press Jake for more was to win the battle and lose the war. She chose, instead to wait. She smiled, gently. "Jake, you are half samurai already." Todo sniffed indignantly at the compliment. Koji gave him a very cold stare. "Would you care to join me now, Jake, for dinner?"

Jake knew he'd had a reprieve, but not why. He decided to be gracious. "Thank you, Princess; I would like that very much." Besides, anything would taste better than having his foot in his mouth.

The Feast

Koji smiled and raised her hand. Two women in traditional dress approached with perfumed towels. They offer the towels with heads bowed over extended arms. Jake watched as Koji wiped her face and hands with the towel. He followed suit. The towels were damp, cool, and had a faint citrus scent. Wiping his hands and face proved to be surprisingly refreshing.

They both returned the towels to the attendants, who bowed and led them to a screened pavilion where places were already set for dinner. In an unusual deference to Jake, Koji had ordered a table with comfortable chairs rather than the traditional low table and cushions. More attendants showed them to their seats. Jake paused and held Koji's chair for her. He was curious to see how she would respond to the Western custom. The attendants froze. Koji looked at Jake, her eyes alive with curiosity. He had once again surprised her but her European tutors had schooled her in the proper response. She murmured her thanks and took her seat. Only then did Jake sit down.

As soon as they were seated, two young women, also in traditional garb, placed bowls on the plates before them. Another carefully ladled out what looked and smelled like soup. Jake looked up curiously.

"What is this?"

Koji's expression was noncommittal. "Try it."

To be polite, Jake took a spoonful and placed it in his mouth. It was like taking a mouthful of hot oil. The sensation was so strong that he felt as if the oil were exploding through the pores of his face and hair. He could barely swallow it down - but he did. To do otherwise would give the Princess great offense. The consequence of that was not to be dwelt upon. The Princess watched him intently. He smiled - weakly.

"Very good, Jake. I wasn't sure you would be able to swallow it." She took a spoonful of her own soup.

"What is it?"

"It is a delicacy among my people - shark fin soup. It is quite good after you get past the slight oily taste."

Jake tried another spoonful. Slight oily taste didn't quite fit his description. To his surprise, he found a delicate flavor barely tickling his tongue. It was a stronger flavor than a white fish, but not as heavy or meaty as tuna. His third and fourth spoons were actually a delight. "Princess, I have to admit that I would never have tried that, knowing what it was." Jake soon found his bowl empty. "I almost wish for more."

"Patience, Jake. You will need to save room for several more courses. And here is our next course – you would recognize it as barbecued chicken."

As one servant removed the bowls from the table, another placed skewers of meat in a dark red sauce on the plates. Another servant spooned vegetables onto their plates. Jake recognized peppers and onions, but many of the vegetables were unfamiliar to him. He picked up the chopsticks next to his plate and deftly lifted some of the vegetables to his mouth.

"Jake, you do that like one of us."

Jake grinned, pleased at impressing Koji for once. "I actually started using them when I was at Cornell." He used them a lot more in China but that was a thought he would keep to himself.

"What is Cornell?"

"Cornell is an institution for study above your basic education. We have several in America and Cornell is considered one of the good ones."

"What did you study?"

Jake had taken another bite of his vegetables. He found them cooked, but still crisp and fresh tasting. Each vegetable had its own delicate flavor and a crisp bite. It was a far cry from the cooking from Louie's kitchen, or the vegetables he remembers from New England.

"Princess, these are good! What are they? How do you keep them crisp?"

"The vegetables were fried in a very hot pan with just a touch of oil and seasoning. The chef's art is to cook the vegetables, yet keep them crisp as though they were still fresh. Here you have diced peppers, onions, pea pods, broccoli, and squash."

"I've never had anything like it. When I was growing up, folks believed everything should be cooked until the basic structure was broken down and soft. It all ended up tasting like mush."

"I'm pleased you like them – you do honor to me. The chef will be pleased as well as I will allow him to keep his head this evening. But, you did not answer my question. What did you 'study' at Cornell?"

"I took courses in History, Political Science, Art, Music, and lots of Math. My father was big in aviation and hoped I would either become an engineer or a lawyer."

"You seem a far cry from either."

"Yeah, two things changed my life." He sat straighter in his chair. He had finished the dish before him and the attendants were cleaning the table. The Princess, heedless of their efforts, leaned forward intently. "One day I was at a small airfield and this gentleman who knew my father offered me a ride in his old biplane, a Jenny. I can still remember the thrill. It was almost as intense as my other passion."

"Passion? I'm intrigued."

"Not that kind of passion. I was hooked on baseball. I wanted to play professional baseball."

The attendants brought out small cups of a frozen confection. Jake looked at it suspiciously. Koji saw his expression and laughed.

"This is a confection we make here on the island. It is simply fruit juice frozen in an ice cave we found. We then shave it and serve it. The tartness clears the palate for the next dish. You can eat it. It's quite safe."

Jake obligingly took the porcelain spoon provided and tried a taste. It melted in his mouth and left a cool citrus tingle on the tongue.

"That was very refreshing. Thank you." Jake hadn't noticed, but as dinner has progressed, Koji began to see the cultured young gentleman who must have attended Cornell. Someone very different from the cigar chewing scruffy pilot she usually saw.

The Princess leaned back in her chair, stretching seductively. "You were telling me about your passion." Instead of looking like a cat, the hiss she used to pronounce passion only enhanced Jake's perception of a snake waiting to strike.

Jake carefully placed the empty cup and spoon on the table. He took a deep breath. "Growing up, I played a lot of baseball. Whenever the weather was good enough, a bunch of us would get together, choose up sides, and have a game. I was almost always chosen as pitcher, and was often the first one picked by the popular team captains."

"You must have been very good."

Jake paused. His reply "at least somebody wanted me" died on his lips. He waited, instead, as attendants placed clean plates before them and brought an oval plate containing an entire baked fish with numerous vegetables as a decoration. Jake was in his element and carefully sliced down the spine of the fish and peeled the skin to reveal the white meat below. The Princess nodded in approval. As he worked, he talked about baseball, and pitching, and the feelings of control and recognition. After removing the meat from one side, leaving the skeleton intact, he flipped the fish over.

"That's your boat."

Jake stopped with a quizzical look on his face. "I beg your pardon."

Koji smiled. "Among my people, it is bad luck to turn a fish over. It means that at some point in the future, your boat will capsize. We say 'That's your boat' to ward off the bad luck."

"Oh. I wasn't aware of that."

"I wouldn't worry, Jake. It's just a superstition. Please eat."

And they did, lingering over the fish until Koji motioned for the remains to be removed. They paused in the meal, and continued their conversation over cups of hot green tea. Again, Jake marveled at the delicate flavor of the tea. So many of the evening's flavors had been delicate. A startling contrast to the boldness he always associated with the Princess.

"Jake, this next dish is special, it is roast duck. Duck is important in this meal because they mate for life."

"I beg your pardon?"

Koji claps her hands and the attendants carry in a platter of roasted duck on a bed of rice.

"The meal we have been enjoying this evening is the traditional seven course Wedding feast."

Jake choked on the tea he'd been sipping. Koji laughed as he wiped his mouth and backed away from the table.

"Poor Jake Cutter. Are you feeling trapped? Would it be so bad?" Jake just kept choking. Better than losing his head.

Koji relented. "Oh, relax. We also serve the meal to honor a guest."

Jake decided it's safe to recover his voice. "I haven't done anything to merit the honor."

"Perhaps not. In fact, I'm trying to decide if I am insulted. There is a term I've heard among your people – we'll put it on your account."

Jake decided that either way she meant that, it sounded ominous and took a bite of the duck in self defense. The duck was a dark sweetish tasting meat and Jake wondered how you top it for the seventh course. Jake finally decided on what he thought was a safe topic.

"Princes, this meal is fantastic. A man would be hard pressed to wish for more."

Koji looked at him intently. "But you do."

Instantly on his guard again, "What do you mean?"

"If you were to choose a meal, would this be the meal? Or would it be something else?"

Jake got a far away look in his eyes. "It has been so long since I had a hamburger, or hot dog, or a plate of French Fried Potatoes."

"What are those?"

Jake thought for a minute. "Well, they are foods considered to be traditionally American. I don't think you can find them anywhere else in the world. I sure haven't."

"Tell me about them."

Jake collected his thoughts, sorting sights, sounds, and smells. "In 1885 a vendor at a Wisconsin county fair tried to sell fried meatballs to the visitors attending the fair. Customers had too much trouble trying to eat them when walking around. He thought about the problem and flattened the meatballs into patties. Then he put them between two slices of bread to catch the grease. He called the sandwich a hamburger. Now you can get them with lettuce and tomato, and they are really good. Back in 1882, someone came up with a way to slice potatoes into long, thin strips and fried them. They came out golden and crisp on the outside, and soft on the inside. They called them French fried potatoes. They go great with hamburgers."

The Princess swept her hand above the table. "How can you compare anything so vulgar as a hand held hasty meal to this?"

"Well, I can't, but we don't see it as vulgar. We see it as the difference between formal and casual. This is a formal meal, with a ritual. We have casual meals, without a ritual." Jake paused in thought for a minute. "Though, I guess that isn't exactly true. There was a ritual to some casual meals as well. Baseball is more than just a game. It's an experience, a ritual that just isn't complete without a hamburger or hot dog and French fried potatoes. And beer – iced tea for those that don't drink."

Koji looked unconvinced. "I'm not certain I would like your casual meal. Especially if it involves eating dogs. Does that mean you keep Jack around as a fresh meal?"

Jake looked momentarily nauseated. "I couldn't eat Jack … oh … Hot dogs! Americans don't actually eat dogs. A hot dog is a kind of sausage. They were made as early as 1864 in Germany. We started putting them on special buns back in the 1880's. St. Louis Browns owner, Chris von der Ahe sold them at his ball park. They really caught on."

Koji shook her head. "Let's see if you have anything to match our desert." She waved her hand, and servants placed bowls of a creamy white liquid in front of the diners.

Jake sniffed the bowl curiously. Koji responded to his curious look. "This is a special desert called Almond soup. For the chef, this is the test of the success of the meal. If the soup is well received, dinner is a success. If the soup fails to please the guests, the chef is disgraced." She waited expectantly.

Jake, knowing Koji's intolerance for anything less than perfection, and the extreme responses she evinced for failure, prepared to fake pleasure. The liquid had the consistency of cream, but with a light bittersweet almond flavor. He didn't bother to speak, he simply spooned another bit into his mouth and let it flow back over his tongue. Finally, "Princess, this is amazing. I have never tasted any thing like this in my life."

Koji tasted the soup herself and smiled. "Yes." She clapped her hands twice. A wizened little man came from outside. Jake, no stranger to the smell, could smell fear radiating from every pore of the man. He instantly decided this must have been the chef, and was glad for him. The Princess spoke rapidly to the cook in Japanese and he relaxed and began to smile. Jake smiled as well.

The man left and the attendants began clearing the table as Jake and the Princess finished their soup. The attendants finished their tasks quietly and left after placing small bowls of green tea before the now full diners.

Jake was curious. "What did you tell him?"

The Princess smiled. "I told him that I was pleased, and that he would replace my last chef."

Jake knew better than to ask what happened to that unlucky individual. Instead they continued to talk about baseball and Jake tried to explain the eye-hand challenge of not just throwing a ball into a precise box, but the precise control of the amount of and direction of the spin on the ball. Then he had to explain the difficulty of using a stick to knock the ball back to the outfield.

Finally, Jake was talked out. Although he had not been very busy, the strong emotions of the day, and tension, had left him feeling tired. "Well, Princess, I really have enjoyed the meal and the evening."

The Princess countered. "More than you thought you would, you mean."

Jake immediately began to shake his head in negation. "No, it's not what you think. I know you are intelligent as well as beautiful, and I value intelligence as well as beauty. In my country we like to meet with other people for friendly conversations. We call it visiting. I haven't exactly been visiting in a long time. This was very nice."

"Why thank you, but I think I hear a reservation in what you say. Your enjoyment was not without misgivings."

Jake felt pinned to the wall like a bug. "I don't want to have any reservations. I want this to be a straight and honest compliment. Please consider it such."

The Princess eyed him expectantly. Jake hesitated. Suddenly, with inspiration, "Princess, we were both raised to honor certain conventions in our cultures. However, our traditions are very different. You aren't wrong and neither am I, but the differences sometimes clash. I never know when that will happen, nor do I know the correct response."

The Princess considered him for a moment. "I merely ask you to be yourself, Jake.

Jake looked down at his hands. "Right. It's hard to be yourself when everything you see reminds you that you are so far from home." Jake looked back at the Princess. "Well, anyhow, with as much time as I'll be spending in the air tomorrow, I had better get some sleep."

The Princess rose from her chair. "Perhaps you are right. It is customary among my people to provide a companion for a guest's bed. Would you like one of my maidservants for the night?"

Jake, who had risen with Koji almost fell back into his seat. "Ah, thank you, no. I'm used to sleeping alone."

Koji took a deep breath. Suddenly Jake was reminded of what he had so successfully ignored all evening – the intense femininity of the Princess.

"It need not be one of my maids, if you find that offensive."

"Princess, thank you, I'm deeply honored. But that is one of the culture clashes I was talking about. Where I come from, gentlemen do not bed women with whom they are only casually acquainted."

"Jake, I'm only talking about a little harmless pillowing. What can it hurt? A few hours of harmless pleasure, and I can assure you it will be a pleasure. Would you not like to share the Clouds and Rain with me?"

"I'm certain it would be a pleasure. You are both beautiful and desirable. I just never learned to take physical intimacy that lightly." Jake lifted both hands in defense. "Call me a prude, but it has never been my way.

"Pity." The Princess' face was unreadable. She motioned for an attendant to lead Jake to his quarters.

"Good night, Princess." Jake hoped that came out firmly.

A surprising loyalty

As soon as Jake was out of sight, Koji clapped her hands sharply three times. Almost instantly Todo appeared noiselessly in the door. "Yes, my Princess" he said as he bowed low.

"Bring me the servant girl, Muri. I wish to examine her."

Todo bowed again. "Yes, my Princess." And disappeared as noiselessly as he had appeared.

Koji leaned back in her chair and watched her servants as they tidied the room. As always she prized their efficiency. She would never let Jake know how much the morning's exercise disturbed her. The Princess believed that her people were loyal. In fact, once, Jake helped her confirm that. That one assassin had managed to penetrate her organization meant that someone who had the resources, wished her dead. She wondered who it could be. She had sensed that Jake Cutter had made the same connection, but had had the courtesy to not speak of it. She shook herself. Whoever it was would regret the effort. She would make certain of that.

Shortly Todo returned with a traditionally dressed young woman that he positioned in front of Koji, face down, knees slightly bent. He silently went to stand by the door, on guard as always.

Koji stood and walked around the young woman. She was unusually tall for one of Koji's servants, with some Polynesian blood mixing with the Japanese, and only her habitual slouch kept her from standing out. As she returned to the front, Koji reached out and took the servant girl's chin in her hand and sharply pulled the head up and around to face her. For an instant, there was a flash in the girl's eyes, and they returned to a blank, forward looking stare.

Satisfied, Koji moved back toward her chair. "You are the one called Muri." A statement, not a question.

Softly, "Yes, Princess."

Koji looked over her shoulder at Todo, who watched the proceeding intently.

"How long have you been on Matuka?"

"Six years, Princess. Since you bought me from my father."

"Where was that, girl?"

"I do not know, Princess. I never knew the name of my island."

"Have you ever been off Matuka?"

"Yes Princess, I have been taught to serve in your place on Tagatya, and once I attended you when in the Philippines."

"Where did you learn to mock me?"

The head came up, the eyes alive for an instant. "Never mock, my Princess! Imitate, yes, but never mock. That would be dishonorable."

Koji looked closely at Muri, the bright red nails of her right hand just touching her lips. "Explain."

Muri looked down. "I am only a slave, your Highness. I am only a poor girl, unfit for being anything but a slave. But working for you, I have seen greatness. Even though you are a girl, you are respected. I thought one day, it would be wonderful to be like you. To move with your grace, your sureness. To taste your freedom." Her shoulders slumped slightly. "I know I presumed too much."

"Others laughed when you imitated me. How is that not mockery?"

"Oh Princess. They only laugh at my poor attempts to portray you. Not at you. It is my unworthiness to be like you that is ridiculed."

"I'm tempted to have you flogged. Was it worth it?"

"This slave is at your mercy, your Highness."

"Answer my question! Was it worth risking being flogged?"

Muri continued to stare at the floor. "Yes, your Highness. I do not deserve your forgiveness, but for a moment I understood your freedom, your great strength." Muri dared to look directly at Koji. "You are great in a man's world, Princess. Where others are second class, you dare be a ruler. You are strong. I can only admire that, my Princess. A small taste of that is worth a flogging."

Koji heard a hiss from the door. She turned to see Todo looking at Muri. Surprisingly, there was approval on his face. He gave a very small bow before returning to staring straight ahead – his expression unreadable.

Koji looked from Todo to Muri. "I would see this … performance."

For the first time Muri looked terrified. "Oh, Princess, I cannot. I have been forbidden to …"

"I command it. You have my word. You will come to no harm." Koji nodded to Todo and returned to her chair.

Muri turned her back to Koji. She removed some of her makeup using a cloth from the sleeve of her kimono. She adjusted the way her kimono hung in the front and moved her sash higher on her rib cage. She removed some of the pins holding her hair, allowing a pony tail to dangle down the back of her neck. A small knife, kept in the sash was used to deftly slit the skirt of her kimono. When she turned to face the Princess, the demure servant girl had been replaced by a proud woman capable of standing almost eye to eye to the real Princess. With hand on hip, she surveyed the room, one shapely knee peeking through the altered kimono. She took a deep breath, displaying the exposed cleavage to its best advantage.

She clapped her hands twice. "Todo, I wish some water."

Taking his cue from Koji, Todo bowed. "Hai." He walked over to the table beside where Muri was standing and poured. He offered her the glass with both hands, head bowed. "My lady."

Koji watched, astounded, as if seeing herself in a mirror. Muri took the glass and walked across the room to look out a window at the evening. After a very small sip she held the glass out to her side. She waited. Todo immediately trotted over to retrieve the glass and return it to the table.

"That will be enough." Koji stood and walked toward Muri. Muri turned unbidden to face the Princess. Her eyes looked faintly uneasy.

Koji, without saying a word walked twice around Muri looking her up and down as if Muri were on the slave block again.

"Do you read and write, Muri?"

"Yes Princess. I have learned since coming here."

"You please me, Muri. Do you believe you could portray me for an extended time?"

"I don't know, Your Highness. There is so much I do not know."

Koji considered, and decided. Her original plan would work. "Come, we have much to do before you leave tonight."

Jake, in his room, was trying unsuccessfully to sleep. He couldn't help thinking that the sleeping pad felt strangely empty. When he closed his eyes, the screen on the back of his eyelids flashed images of a woman that kept morphing from East Coast socialite, to a blond gambler and spy, to Sarah the torch singer at the Monkey Bar, to Koji. The resulting composite image was unsettling. One cannot fall asleep counting lost loves.

Princess and me and Goose make three

The next morning, after breakfast, Jake was escorted to the docks to get the Goose ready for flight. The previous morning, he had prevailed upon the guards to let him trundle the Goose up onto the beach. He had found a portion of the lagoon shore where the wave action had packed the sand firmly enough to support the weight of the amphibian on its landing gear. Once the Goose was out of the water, he had had the opportunity to carefully go over the entire hull. Here and there he had scraped off whatever had managed to attach itself below the waterline. Jake wasn't in Corky's class when it came to maintenance, but over the years, in out of the way places, he had learned to do a fair amount of shade tree maintenance. He was even able to talk Koji's servants out of some paint to touch up spots on the hull. As a result, on this early morning, the Goose fairly sparkled in the bright sun.

Jake was halfway through his pre-flight inspection when Koji arrived, followed by a small entourage. Jake was relieved to see her dressed in a conservative traveling suit with modest khaki skirt, deep blue silk button down shirt, and a bush style jacket, also khaki, buttoned at the waist. Her hair was pulled back into a bun giving her face a severe, elegant look. She was still beautiful, but it was easier to be close to her. Jake had chosen a fresh oxford button down shirt and tan slacks but elected to keep his jacket and cap. Servants had provided a small duffle bag with a couple of changes of clothes and plenty of room for toiletries and the sport coat from the evening before. Jake was uneasy about accepting the clothes, but figured it was part of the price of his services. Besides, he wasn't exactly prepared for several days away from his base of operations.

This morning the Princess kept her distance and seemed almost distracted as he finished his pre-flight inspection and directed her servants loading her luggage. There was less than he expected. When finished loading, he walked up to where she waited under a Japanese Maple. Jake couldn't help looking around. It wasn't like Todo to be absent from his mistress' side. Still, it made Jake feel easier than he usually felt around the Princess. He bowed grandly and waved his arm toward the waiting Goose.

"Princess, your winged chariot awaits." She nodded and they walked together across the beach.

As they approached the Goose's side hatch, without thinking, Jake extended his hand to assist her into the plane. She looked startled and then smiled. It was one of the most open and honest smiles Jake had ever seen.

Koji's voice took on a faint Gaelic lilt. "Thank you, good sir."

"My pleasure." A response of habit, but Jake found himself meaning it. "You can sit where ever you like."

"I have never set up front. May I join you in the cockpit?" Koji's eyes were bright with anticipation.

Jake only had to think for a moment. It's a long flight and the scenery would be an improvement. "Sure, why not. Just don't touch anything." He couldn't help thinking Sarah had better never hear about this.

Koji gave Jake a demur look he did not trust. "I'll be careful."

Koji moved on up front as Jake pulled in the small set of steps and secured the back hatch. He made one final check to make sure that everything was secure. Only then did Jake move up front to the cockpit.

He gave her a gentle smile as he slid into his seat. He flipped the Master panel switch and most of the airplane's electronics and gages flickered to life. He explained everything he did. He checked fuel levels. True to her word, Koji's people had filled the tanks. Jake primed the carburetors on the left hand engine.

Through the open window of the cockpit Jake shouted "Clear!"

With the ignition off, Jake used the starter to crank the engine. Radial engines had a tendency for the oil to collect in the lower cylinders and if you didn't crank the engine a few times, you could blow a cylinder during start up. The starter on the left engine whined as it turned the engine crank and spun the big prop. After a few turns, Jake flicked on the ignition. The engine coughed a few times, then with a big burst of smoke, caught and settled down to a ragged roar. After watching the oil pressure and head temp gages for a few seconds, Jake seemed satisfied and repeated the process with the right hand engine, conscious of Koji's interested profile as he looked across her to watch the second engine.

Koji was more interested in the man than the machine. When Jake slid into his seat, he became a different person. She saw he was truly comfortable in this environment. She realized that the cockpit was his world, his domain, perhaps the one place where he truly understood his purpose and potential. She began to wonder if perhaps the lady of whom she should be jealous was not flesh and blood at all, but one of metal and fabric, smelling not of perfume, but of oil, gasoline, and heated metal. For once in her life, she wasn't sure she could compete.

The engines warmed up quickly and Jake decided to do his run-up after he entered the water rather than on the beach where the sand blast would mar his fresh paint.

The Goose trundled down the beach and into the water. As soon as Jake was certain that the Goose was floating free he retracting the landing gear to reduce drag on the hull. He watched the mild wave action for a few moments to gauge wind direction and proceeded to taxi to the end of the lagoon that would allow him to take off into the wind. He felt confident he could be airborne before having to enter the heavier seas outside the sheltered arm of the lagoon. He revved first the left engine and then the right, correcting with the rudder as he tried to stay in a straight line. He lined up into the wind, took a fresh grip on the throttles, grinned at Koji over his shoulder and applied full take-off power. In a very short time the lightly loaded Goose broke the suction of the water and resumed its favored role as bird.

Jake trimmed the Goose for best rate of climb, pulled an unlit cigar stub from his pocket, stuck it in his mouth, and pulled his charts for the journey to New Britain. He gradually brought the Goose around to the correct heading and eased off the power. He leveled off at his preferred cruising altitude and trimmed for level flight. He figured he had plenty of fuel, and besides, Koji was paying for it. Koji watched it all with interest.

"Flying is very complicated, is it not?" She finally asked.

Jake tweaked the throttles, then shrugged. "There is an old saying among pilots. Flying is 90% shear boredom and 10% pure terror. That pretty much sums it up. Airplanes are safe on the ground, and they are safe in the air. What they don't like is the space in between."

Koji looked around the cockpit. "You love all this, don't you?"

Jake chewed on his cigar for a moment, stalled a little longer by tweaking the throttles. "Yeah. I guess I do. Some of my happiest moments have been in airplanes. There's a certain honesty about airplanes."

"You don't find honesty in people?"

Jake had to bite his tongue. Knowing Koji's knack for duplicity that question carried more irony than he could swallow. "I don't know if it is a lack of honesty, or just the complexity and uncertainty. There was a warlord, I forget his name, who made a comment about people that I appreciate. Roughly, 'you can live with a man forty years, share his home, share his food, share his dreams and work. Then one day take him to the top of an active volcano and hold him over the edge by the heel. In that moment you will finally know the man.' That pretty much sums up my experience with people."

Koji looked at Jake speculatively. "So you don't believe people are what they seem?"

Jake shook his head. "No, it's more a case that airplanes come with spec sheets. They tell you how it will perform and what it takes to keep it happy. You give it certain maintenance, and feed it proper quantities of oil and gas, and it behaves pretty faithfully within the defined parameters. You can depend on it. There's no maintenance manual or spec sheet for people."

Koji nodded. "Jake, this is a good time to ask you a question. May I ask something that might be too personal?"

Jake stared out the windscreen. "You can ask, but I may not answer."

Koji looks out the windscreen as well. "Jake, what is your impression of the Germans? I know you fought them in Spain."

Jake scanned the instruments and reached to the center console to adjust the trim. A slight nose down attitude, and just a touch more throttle put the plane 'on the step' where it seemed to be constantly diving, but the power kept it at the same altitude. Many felt this was the most efficient cruise configuration for distance and economy. "I can't say I know about the Germans. I've met a few, and yes, I fought them, unofficially. But I'm not an expert." Except at killing them he thinks to himself as he has a flashback of Bf-109's going down in flames.

"Still, Jake, I would value your insight."

Jake made a another minor adjustment to the aircraft trim and leaned back in his seat. His left arm was propped on the side windscreen ledge with his fingertips resting lightly on the yoke. "They are a proud people. Individually I found them to be very likeable."

"Do you think they are angry at losing their World War?"

Jake turned slightly toward Koji. "No, not angry. More like … disbelief. But at the core, there is still a very fierce pride."

"What do they have to be proud of?" Koji was intensely curious. "They were beaten on every front. They lost all of their holdings, especially here. They've been totally bankrupt until recently. I should think they would be shamed, without honor."

Jake shook his head. "They survived. The world did its worst, and they are still here. They still have their traditions. Sort of like the English lords I met in England. They are broke, they've sold off most of their land, but they still have their titles."

"What about the little Corporal – Herr Hitler?"

Bf109's returned to Jake's mental movie screen, escorting Junkers JU-52's loaded with troops. "I wish I knew. He promised to put Germany back on track and he seems to be doing just that. He seems to have a knack for finding genius and rewarding it. His followers are fanatically loyal. They'll let him do whatever he wants if he just gives them prosperity."

Koji nods. "What do you think he will do?"

"I think it's more a case of what he's already done. He promised to restore Germany to its former glory. In terms of industry, he has. Their factories are running day and night. They're commercially successful."

"Do you think he will stop there, Jake? Is that enough?"

"Princess, I wish I knew. If he's really a genius, he'll stop with what he has. If he's crazy, like some think, he won't."

"Do you think he's crazy?"

"I don't know. The Nazi movement scares me. I can't help but think about all the equipment Germany sent to Spain. Why? If you plan on peace, do you need all that?" Jake sweeps his arm to indicate the breadth of the buildup.

"They could be training for defense."

Jake looks out the windscreen. "Yeah, they could be."

"But, you, Jake Cutter, aren't convinced."

Jake tried to identify a spec in the distance, fortunately just a bird. "There's a lot of talk of peace. But all the music I heard there was martial. All the images were hard edged and predatory. The buildup is too big. Oh, I don't know. Like most of the people in England and back home, I want to believe in peace. I want to believe we fought the war to end all wars. It just doesn't feel right."

The Princess turned to stare out the windscreen as well, as if trying to see through the clouds to the future. "So you think there will be war."

Jake took a deep, sad breath. "Princess, I think there already is, and most people just don't know it." With that, Jake busied himself with checking their location.

Doin' a little business

At Koji's instruction, Jake radioed ahead as they approached their destination. As the Goose taxied up an isolated wharf, two large men, clearly Irish, obviously bodyguards, stepped from a black limousine and held the door open. Koji left Jake to button up and secure the Goose.

At the door of the car she called out "Jake, I've reserved a room for you at the Hotel Intercontinental. All expenses are covered for three days. Enjoy yourself."

Jake looks surprised. "What am I supposed to do?"

"Whatever you like. Just be where I can find you after two days." With that she stepped into the car with one last flash of shapely leg. One bodyguard followed her into the back seat while the other sat next to the driver. Jake could barely make out a shadowy figure in the car wearing some type of uniform.

"I do nodt much like you bringing the American on this wenture. Vhat if he had seen me?" the blond figure exclaimed as the car drove off.

Koji laughed. "Relax, Willi. He was perfect for the job. He'll never see you to recognize you. Is everything ready?"

Koji was probably correct. If Jake had seen the Wermacht officer with the crew cut blond hair and steel blue eyes, he probably would not have recognized him as the Dutch Reformed minister of Boragora. Gone were the white collar, black shirt, and thick glasses and slightly stooped posture. Kapitan Tenboom was a very different character. Still, with all the military bearing and correctness, the eyes contained a weakness that Koji had never seen Jake display. Although efficient, Willi lacked the forceful determination that Koji appreciated in Jake. Even when unsure what to do, Jake would still do something.

"Ja, I hope you're right. Und yess, everything is ready. Der auction is set to begin at 10:00 tomorrow morning. You are still agreed to conduct and host dis?"

"With what your superiors have promised me for a commission? How could I refuse? To think you are auctioning off priceless art from Europe to fund your terrorist activities in this region." Koji paused. "You know, I looked at the list. I didn't see any artwork from the little corporal."

Willi looked terrified. "Princess, you must not speak that way about mine Fuhrer. Those about us wouldt nodt know you vere joking."

The Princess laughed. "Why Willi, surely you know that I am an art collector as well. I'm always looking for something unusual. Say a splotchy water color with poor proportions. Something the viewer must study to understand what it is."

"Der Fuhrer's art is displayed in some of the finest homes in Churmany. Idt is respected as a reflection of his creative und artistic genius." Willi continued to look nervously about. His voice almost squeaked as he pronounced more loudly "Der Fuhrer is a man uf many talents."

"I'm sure the little corporal appreciates your loyalty." To be so strong, yet full of fear of someone thousands of miles away. Koji finds the condition incomprehensible. "He must admire the number of converts you have enticed to his cause. Even some of my people have been impressed with your ardor and the lengths you go to for the cause."

"Thank you, Princess." Willi looks slightly relieved.

"Perhaps I should let him know what a blessing you have been to our organization, and the local populace." The Princess' emphasis on 'blessing' turns Willi completely white.

"Princess, nein! Thadt would nodt be necessary. My reports to the fatherland are quite complete."

Koji looked at him with a faint leer. "Oh, I'm sure they are quite complete. Does your little corporal enjoy such details?"

For a moment it looked as if Willi would choke on his outrage, while trying to keep his voice very soft. "My . reports . are . complete . as . to . my . mission! Dat iss all dat is necessary. Besides, my reports would never reach Der Fuhrer."

Koji looked out the window as the huge car ghosted through a crowded marketplace. Would Jake be so frightened of a distant authority? "What a shame. And you such a loyal German. So tell me, do you call this New Britain or New Pomerania?"

Willi looked angry. "Neu Pommern vas Churman since 1884. Dere vas no reason for the Australians to attack and steal our land from us in 1914. Dis vas a peaceful community. Vat happened in Europe had no bearing here."

"Indeed? I seem to remember that the English were first here in 1700. Some might believe that they had the earlier claim."

"Nein, Princess! Dese islands became part of our protectorate because of the corruption und inefficiency that caused the natives to resist der masters. Dey vere being exploited."

"And of course Germany did better."

"Oh Ja. Ve Churmans brought order und integrity to der islands. Ve showed them how to develop der resources and extract dem mit greater ease."

"And shipped everything to Germany."

"Naturlich. Ve giff dem a constant market mit fair prices. Dey benefit from our Churman … how you say … benevolence."

At this point the Daimler motorcar pulls up to a mansion. Liveried attendants assist Koji and Willi from the car.

"Princess, we will conduct the auction in the ballroom here. We haff quarters here for your convenience. You will be quite comfortable."

Koji looked at the mansion, the stout walled enclosure with barred gates. "I'm sure. This is an example of your German benevolence?"

"Der owner hired local labor und paid them with funds from his own account. Dis vas a source of inspiration for the people. Proof that if dey vorked hard, they too, could live in such luxury."

"I see. Truly a benevolent system."

Willi looked uncertain about the Princess' meaning. Koji chose not to clarify. The two were escorted into the large foyer. The area was filled with priceless statues and paintings from Europe. The Princess walked about examining each one.

"These are not the materials you had me transport."

"Nein, Princess Koji. There haff been several shipments ofer the last several months. Yours vas the last shipment. There vere rumors und ve were unable to use our regular networks."

"Lucky for me. If you will show me to my quarters, I will prepare for this evening's activities."

"Ja, Princess Koji." He motioned for a young maid to come over. "Greta will show you to your suite." He leered at Greta and caressed her posterior. She giggled as she moved away, looking over her shoulder. "Oh, many of dese chentlmen are not used to ladies uf your station. Dey are more used to … to …"

Koji laughed richly. "Relax, Willi. I will be properly demure for the poor inhibited customers." She followed Greta, flexing her knees just enough extra to introduce a sway that left Willi biting one knuckle. Suddenly Greta seemed terribly gawky and immature.

Dinner and a Deal

Willi had nothing to fear. When Koji came down for dinner, she was dressed in a simple black sheath with a high neckline and gauzy sleeves. The edge of the dress hid the family tattoo. About her neck was a single strand of rare, perfect, black pearls, and on her feet she wore black sandals with a conservative two inch heel. Her blue black hair was pulled up from her face with a short fall to the nape of her neck. The complete look was both elegant and exotic while completely within the bounds of propriety. Willi, who looked quite the businessman in his conservatively cut Brooks Brothers double-breasted black suit, was dumbstruck.

Koji walked slowly up to him, gently used her right hand to close his gaping mouth and then held it expectantly. Willi caught himself, took her hand in the proper continental fashion, clicked his heels smartly together and bowed before lightly touching his lips to the back of her hand.

"Princess Koji, may I haff the honor of escorting you to dinner? Ve haff set quite a table for tonight's guests. I must say you vill be der jewel of the evening."

"Willi, darling, I will be delighted to join you for dinner. Surely I won't be the only woman there."

Dat is true, Princess. Many of our clients this evening will haff der 'wives' with them. More's the pity. I am sure you vill steal der attention."

"Actually, Willi, that is not my intention. I merely wish to get to know all the players in this little game we are playing."

The Princess more than got her wish. Willi escorted her to dinner and seated her at the main table with himself and two other German Officers dressed in civilian clothes. It didn't matter, Koji would have recognized them as soldiers anywhere. Willi introduced them as business assocates, and also, Heinrich Gottfriedson, a local plantation owner. He looked like what he was, a successful plantation owner, jovial and intelligent. He was accompanied by a young woman who appeared to be half German and half Chinese. Her thick blond tresses were so pale as to be almost white. She wore her hair long, flowing to the small of her back in a straight silvery yellow fall. She was wearing what Willi had been afraid Koji would wear, her rich figure barely constrained by the tight red silk dress cut low in front and even lower in the back, showing highly toned almond skin. Her bright blue eyes were accented by the large opal mounted on the black velvet choker clasped around her long elegant neck.

Willi was fairly drooling as he introduced Heinrich and Marta. Both stood as he and Koji approached. Heinrich bowed low to Koji and allowed his eyes to scan every inch of her figure as he straightened. His eyes were mockingly approving when they met hers. Marta nodded stiffly as Heinrich presented her to "Princess Koji". Koji gave the barest of nods to acknowledge the introduction. Her eyes swept back to Heinrich in time to catch a brief knowing smile.

"So you are the lady Kapitan Tenboom told me about."

"What is it the Americans say? Don't believe everything you hear."

"On the contrary, fraulein, for once he was telling the truth. At least, so far as I am able to determine up to this point. My question now is whether I can believe the rest of what he told me."

"I'm sure, Herr Gottfriedson, that I cannot know that until I know what he told you."

"Perhaps, after dinner, we can talk."

"That will be my very great pleasure, Herr Gottfriedson."

As they walked away, Koji deliberately gave one demure look over her shoulder. Heinrich raised his glass, nodded and smiled. She gave a brief smile in return. She turned back to Willi.

"Interesting couple. I wonder if she is really his daughter."

"Ja, Princess. But I vouldt vatch them werry closely. Herr Gottfriedson has many strong ties throughout these islands with both the Chinese and Japanese. Even the barbaric Australians chose to leave him alone, when supplanting others. It also helped dat his wife was from a vell-to-do Chinese family supporting Chiang Kai-shek. He is a very resourceful administrator, und has had no problems with his native workers. Some say he even joins them in their rituals."

"What about the overstuffed blond cow?"

Willi looked from Koji to Marta and back. The mental comparison made his head ache, as well as other parts of his body.

"Marta is der only child from his Chinese wife. He denies her nodthing. When her mother died he sent her to Europe to be educated in the best schools. Heinrich even spent three years there himself. They left ahead of the Nazi rise to power." Willi kept to himself the facts that Marta was as deadly as her father is rich. Well schooled in martial arts, she had been known to take on anyone willing to compete with her. Her signature was how she wore her long hair in a tail that she used as a weapon.

"So, is our Herr Gottfriedson a loyal member of the Reich?"

Willi shakes his head. "Nein, Princess, he has no love for der Fuhrer. However, he loves Churmany, und dat is enough."

Willi proceeded to introduce Koji to the rest of the guests and potential bidders. Gottfriedson and offspring were not the only Germanic presence. Willi introduced Conradt Schimmerman and Klaus Geberhardt. They had managed to hang on in New Britain as merchants, though their main revenue came from drugs and black market items for those who could pay. One of their customers was present to bid as well. Henri Delancy was a descendent of French Aristocracy that had survived the purges. He had been a minor bureaucrat until he discovered that smuggling drugs was a better trade – if you had the sense to not sample your own product. Koji spotted the signs of a heavy opium addiction and mentally gave him two years to live, if that long. Still, for now, his money was reported to be good. There were two wealthy associates of Chiang Kai Shek, and two Japanese Warlords. The truce was barely holding among them, but it had help in the form of Koji's own Irish security forces.

Koji had no intention of telling Jake that the main reason she was appearing alone at this function was her contract to provide neutral security for the auction. She used her Irish father's connections to enlist forces from some of the toughest Irish factions. The Irish were favorable toward the Germans on the principle "if your enemy is my enemy, we must be friends". The Japanese and Chinese were neutral to the Irish, and Henri had no allegiance to be offended by their presence. It was an elegant solution, and an effective one. The Irish had been in China as mercenaries for centuries. Their attentiveness allowed Koji to savor the tensions over dinner like a fine wine. She found the whole episode amusing. She almost wished she could bring Jake into it just to stir the pot.

After dinner, the Chinese gentlemen retired to their various rooms. The Japanese, Germans and the Frenchman retired to the Library for a round of their assorted favorite alcoholic beverages. Koji excused herself to walk in the gardens. A large, ruddy complexioned gentleman wearing a Harris tweed sports coat and Donegal tweed lambs wool brimless cap stepped out of the shadows. He said a few words and moved on. Koji nodded in approval and continued on her walk. She rounded a corner to find a bannistered porch. Heinrich Gottfriedson was leaning against the banister staring at the night. It almost seemed like he was waiting for Koji to appear because he did not seem startled by her silent approach.

"Fraulein. Vat a beautiful addition to a beautiful evening. I trust dinner was satisfactory? I doubt our good Tenboom told you that my chef prepared the meal."

Koji thought about Jake's earlier comment about the New England and European tendency to overcook vegetables and found herself agreeing. She also thought the meat too heavily spiced for her taste. Still, manners were manners. "It was quite a change from what I am used to. It is good to experience different cuisines from time to time."

"Indeed, Princess. It is good to indulge one's appetites." With that, he took a Philippine cigar from his jacket pocket, trimmed off one end and lit it. He correctly held the match away from the end of the cigar and drew a series of breaths through the tightly wound tobacco to pull the flame to the tip and start it glowing.

Koji merely smiled and watched the performance.

"So, Princess, I must say that you are not quite what I expected."

"How so, Herr Gottfriedson?"

"I've never met a Japanese princess with quite such … presence."

"Indeed. How should I interpret that, Sir?"

"Oh, quite positively, my dear lady. When Wilhelm told us that he had someone in mind, a Japanese princess no less, for managing this little event, I confess I was quite skeptical. I had no idea such a formidable operation existed within these islands."

"And now, Herr Gottfriedson?

"Oh please, you are much too lovely to be so formal. Please call me Heinrich."

Koji merely nodded and gestured that he continue.

"My dear lady, I'm positively enchanted by the prospect of tomorrow's proceedings."

"Indeed?"

"I understand there are some very choice items in tomorrow's list." He reached to put an arm around Koji.

She deftly moved away, like a cobra preparing to strike, without moving his arm. She took a puff of the cigar he just realized he was missing.

"I must caution you, Herr Gottfriedson, that I am not on the list."

"Ja, Princess Koji. I did not expect you to be. Surely, you cannot blame a gentleman for hoping, however, and perhaps vishing that there might be an accommodation."

Koji touched the cigar to her lips and then deftly placed it in his mouth. "If he were a gentleman, there might be an accommodation."

"You intrigue me, Princess. I vouldt know more."

"These things take time, mine Herr. Let us see what happens. For now, I think I shall retire."

Koji slipped into the shadows leaving Heinrich once again staring into the darkness. Only, this time his expression was less assured.

Morning moves

Early the next morning, it was still the hour of the Tiger, Koji walked barefoot through the shrubs and flowers, clad in black silk pants and black wrap-around tunic closely held in place by a black belt. She continued her wandering until she found a small garden clearing well away from the buildings. Jake would have been astonished to see her start through her workout.

Koji started by stretching, the moves graceful and balanced. It looked like a dance. When she had finished her warm up, she sat down with her legs crossed and her arms casually resting on her knees. She concentrated on breathing slowly, and deeply. After three or four breaths, she exhaled until her diaphragm was completely relaxed. At this point she felt no need to breathe in or out. Her body was completely relaxed, completely still. She disciplined her mind to exorcise every distraction, to concentrate on her surroundings. At some level she was aware that time had shifted from the hour of the Tiger to the time of the Hare. She contemplated the watchfulness of the Hare. Her eyes were not closed, merely unfocused. From the corner of her right eye she caught a movement as a blond figure in a close fitting, blood red version of her costume, dropped to the ground twenty feet away, slipping effortlessly into a perfect lotus pose. Irritated at the distraction, Koji slowly, quietly modified her sloppy meditation pose to the same perfect lotus. She studied the figure next to her. This was a different Marta Gottfriedson than the flashy, erotically dressed woman of the night before. The close fitting uniform did not hide the lush blend of German and Oriental shapes, but it didn't reveal it either. The long blond hair was tightly braided to hang down the back, descending below the belt of the tunic. Hands and feet were bare, and Koji now saw the calluses along the hands and edges of the feet that she had not noticed the night before. A red scarf surrounded the long, slim neck. Ever aware of how she looked, Koji couldn't help but notice that the strong red, usually not a good color for the many blond women she has met in her business dealings, looked good on Marta.

Koji returned her attention to the process of attaining Ultimate Stillness and Ultimate Peace. Having assessed the environment, and sensing that this encounter was a test, not an attack, she quickly reached the point of stillness again, and sought the peace at the core of her Ki. She caressed the peace and crossed the boundary where her body ceased to interfere with her perception of the world around her. She heard the breeze in the leaves, the buzz of insects, and even the scratching of a small rodent nearby. Her companion's breathing was barely noticeable, more in the movement of fabric against flesh than human biology.

For 90 seconds, Koji did not breathe, and her heart barely beat. Finally, she visualized herself as curled within the bubble of peace. Gradually she began to mentally straighten her torso, slowly as to not break the bubble. Then she extended her arms and legs to their full extension, extending her bubble of peace into her perceptions of the physical universe.

Without saying a word, Koji flowed upright without using her hands and began to go through an intricate series of moves, a slow martial form called a kotta. Each move resembled either a block or punch in a stylized combat with multiple opponents. Marta jumped up from her position and proceeded to match her, move for move. While perhaps not as graceful as Koji, the blond's moves were powerful and surprisingly quick for one so large. Her jump kicks showed considerable air between her feet and the ground. Koji considered the moves flashy, not smooth. Koji completed her form and froze in Horse Stance, back straight, legs slightly wider than the shoulders with knees bent as if straddling a horse. Her hands were crossed in front of her, angled down to the height of her waist. Marta matched her stance and then began to move through a form of her own. Koji accepted the unspoken challenge and smoothly matched her move for move. She concentrated on flowing motion, and balanced forces, making each push a pull as well. Working her muscles in opposition, seeking balance. When Marta had completed her form, Koji launched into another, followed by Marta leading a fourth form.

After the fourth form, Koji dropped to the ground, lying on her back, arms to her side, hands flat to the earth. Marta smiled in victory. Then Koji lifted her heels six inches off the ground. Still six inches above the ground, she spread her feet, so that they stuck straight out at right angles to the core of her body. Then she slowly brought them back to center, still six inches above the ground. Next, she raised her legs straight up, toes pointed to the sky. Keeping her shoulders flat on the ground she first rotated her legs to the right, came back to center, and rotated them to the left and back to center, straight up. With her toes pointed straight out, she brought her legs back down until her heels were again six inches off the ground. She executed another flawless split, held it for four seconds, brought her legs back together and lowered her legs slowly to the ground, her calves touching before her heels. Marta watched Koji do five more of the twelve move cycles. She broke their silence just as Koji was on cycle eleven, "What is that?"

Koji held her heels in the precise position, remembering Jake's comment about how almost everything she kept about her had the potential to kill someone. She smiled. "Slow Poison."

Marta shook her head and walked away. Koji completed the cycle and did another seventy, smiling the whole time. She flowed upright and walked to her room for a well earned bath and light breakfast of fruit and rice cakes.

Action at the auction

Koji prepared for her auction responsibilities by changing into one of her more subdued hostess gowns from her private club, Guilty Pleasures. The sleeveless yellow silk sheath gown covered her from neck to ankles. She topped it with a dark green, silk lined jacket that came to her hips. The jacket helped hide her exotic figure. She slipped her feet into a pair of light, low heeled sandals in a matching green. Coming down the stairs after changing, Koji spotted Willi waiting next to a window. He started forward as soon as he saw her.

"Princess Koji, did you rest well last night?"

"I made do, thank you. However, the bathing facilities are completely unacceptable."

Willi looked her up and down, his usual hunger evident. He knows about her idea of bathing, and fully agrees. "Are you ready vor today's activity?"

"Of course, I am ready. That is our agreement."

Willi smiled. "Ve must gehen."

Willi led her to a large music room with enough open space for couples to dance. Today, the room is sectioned with rice paper screens and shadows from the windows beyond the screen show piles of rectangular frames and statues. In the foreground servants have placed chairs in front of a small stage and a podium positioned against the screen. Bidders are teased by the shadows cast on the screens.

Looking neither left, nor right, Willi marches to the podium. Koji followed his example and moved to stand next to him, looking straight to the rear of the room, over the heads of the seated audience. Willi explained the sequence for the day's events, including the catered lunch scheduled for one o'clock in the afternoon. He then introduced the participants and Koji as if they had not met the evening before. And in fact, there were new faces and the total crowd numbered about thirty. Clearly, in this event there was an inner circle to the drama.

After his introduction, it was Koji's turn. She smiled warmly, her eyes now taking in every potential bidder. Koji explained the availability of waiters and hostesses to provide refreshments and snacks. She also pointed out her assistant auctioneers that would help her spot bids. These Irish gentlemen in tweed coats and caps looked more like thugs than auctioneers, and frankly security wasn't the audience's first thought when they looked at them. Completing that, she called for the first item.

Two aides brought out a portrait. Koji referred a list on the podium. This was a Dutch masterpiece that should have been in a museum, and in fact, probably had been. The bidding was quick and enthusiastic. One of Chaing Kai Shek's associates won the bid. Koji noticed that even though Heinrich had bid, he smiled and nodded warmly at the winner.

During the morning, it seemed most of the items managed to go to the Chinese. Occasionally the Frenchman acquired a small piece; usually items that Koji suspected had been removed from French museums.

Lunch was a resplendent affair with many excellent German and Polynesian dishes blended together. Koji dined lightly on a baked fish and fruit from islands farther south than her ships ranged. They had no occasion to go there as there would be little profit, and less to steal.

Koji had barely finished eating when there was a loud commotion on the grounds. There were sounds of shouts, punctuated by gunshots. Immediately the assistant "auctioneers" thrust their hands in their jackets and looked to Koji. A quick move of her head sent them off in two directions. Several of the guests, including the two warlords jumped to their feet. Willi also lept to his feet and barked several rapid words in German to his associates. They went out behind Koji's men. Willi spoke to his guests and urged them to finish their lunch. Koji blotted her lips with a snowy white napkin and merely sat quietly. She watched Marta and Heinrich. Marta appeared agitated, but her father sat calmly and smiled to Koji. She returned the smile and sat still, as unmoving as one of the statues sold earlier that morning. She meditated and expanded her senses to perceive the action dying down outside. She was unsurprised when her Irish lieutenant, the heavyset one of the night before came in to let her know that the intruders had been repelled. She smiled, nodded her approval and stood.

"It seems some of your local Belgian and French residents decided to wage a protest against the sale of what they consider to be their treasures." She looked slightly disdainful. "They were not very well prepared. There should be no further interruptions. Shall we resume?"

Koji's promise was good, and the auction continued through the afternoon without incident. Several participants furtively looked out the tall music room windows beside them as if hoping for a warning of further hostilities.

Willi planned a reception at the completion of the auction. Koji's success in moving all the items made it a celebration. Most of the guests left, including the Frenchman and the Chinese. Koji provided guards and laborers to help them get their acquisitions moved to their new locations. She had planned for this, and the preparations took little of her attention.

During a moment of idleness, Heinrich approached. The number of quality objects he had managed to acquire put him in an expansive mood.

"Well, Princess, this has been quite a day."

"Yes, Heinrich, it has. You've done quite well for yourself."

"Oh, better than you know, Princess. We've raised sufficient funds to cause quite a bit of trouble in the South Pacific. We now have monies for arms and propaganda efforts that cannot be traced back to Churmany."

"I understood that you had no interest in the new Germany, Heinrich."

"Nein, Princess. I do not care for Herr Hitler, that iss true. But I love Chrumany. Churmany existed before Hitler, and it will exist after Hitler is gone. It is for this I labor."

"And someday you plan to return there?"

"Nein, Princess. My home ist here. I vas born in these islands. Marta was born here. She has no wish to leave. Idt will be enough that I have served."

"That is very noble, Heinrich."

"Nodt really, Princess. Here I am somebody. Here, I am a cultured man. Sadly, though Chrumany is my fatherland, and I owe him my allegiance, there I am a provincial. A wealthy provincial, perhaps, but still a provincial. Which brings me to another topic, if you please."

"Go on, Heinrich."

"Willi led me to believe that you would be able to transport my treasures to my home. I would prefer they not be found on one of my vessels. He also led me to believe that you would be able to arrange it discretely. Is this zo?"

"But of course, Heinrich. I have the services of a capable pilot with a small cargo plane. I can have the objects disguised, loaded at night, and on their way the day after tomorrow. Would this be satisfactory?"

"And how much would this cost?"

"I have the value of the objects, based on today's auction. Let's say ten percent of the value, payable on delivery, in gold."

"Zooo! You are ever the business woman. I admire that, Princess Koji. I will agree to your price on one condition."

"I don't like conditions, Herr Gottfriedson."

"Then consider this the offer of a diversion – a vacation, perhaps. I will meet your price provided you are willing to accept the payment in person."

"I make no promises, Herr Gottfriedson, beyond the delivery of the product."

"Und none are expected. I merely vish to offer you the hospitality of my home and hearth vor a short time."

Koji knew what he was offering. Willi had hinted that this would be his reaction, and had developed her own ideas about how to respond. She smiled, innocently if you didn't know her. "Accepted."

An Old Friend Pops Up

Jake had no trouble finding the Hotel Intercontinental after he made certain the Goose was secure. It was one of the first hotels in the city, catering to the European transients. Built in the early 1800's, the elegance of the polished hardwoods and wicker and leather furnishings reminded him of the beautiful European buildings he was occasionally able to visit when on leave from war-torn Spain. After he checked in, he stopped in the bar for a beer before going to his room. The beer was good and cold. Some of the volcanic islands had ice caves, and the hotel obviously had access to one.

After he unpacked, placed slacks in the clothes press, and hung up shirts and dress jacket, Jake considered his situation. He knew that he would be waiting on this leg of the trip, so he decided to find a local bookseller, and perhaps a newsstand. With all of the French, Dutch, and English in the area since the 1800's, it wasn't uncommon to find a few well used novels in English.

Jake decided to go shopping while it was still light. He picked up his flight jacket, but decided to leave his hat behind. Before leaving the room he checked the snap-closed inner pockets of his jacket. Originally designed to hold gloves, the pockets were big enough to hold a full-sized Colt 1911 semi-automatic pistol. Though Jake preferred his Webly .455 revolver acquired in China, it was too big for discrete carry. Jacques, the sometime piano player at the Monkey Bar, had provided him with a more compact .32 Mauser Model 1934 Pocket Pistol. Jake had no idea where Jacques had picked it up, or any of the rest of his rather large collection of firearms and knew better than to ask. He was just fortunate that Jacques was happy to provide the Mauser, as he didn't care for its German origins. Jacques was notoriously loyal to French firearms. Considering his shooting ability, Jake was in no position to argue. In the mean time, the little Mauser made a handy backup, and easily concealed insurance policy. With his jacket unzipped, Jake could get the pistol out of his interior pocket very quickly. Two more clips were stored in the other interior pocket, wrapped in cloth to keep them from rattling.

Thus prepared, Jake made his way to the ever present market. A chaotic collection of free standing awnings covering all kinds of produce and merchandise, along side shabby buildings with small dark shops. Jake reveled in the smell of the market. Each one was slightly different - a mix of meat and fish too long in the sun, vegetables and fruit, sometimes poultry of dubious origin, spices, and incense. Sometimes you were lucky to catch the smell of fresh baked bread. Even the dry goods, such as clothing, fabric, various leather and woven products added to the smell. Jake played tourist, walking up and down the streets looking in various shops and displays. He bought a small package of cut coconut to munch as he walked along. The sweet, moist white meat helped hold off thirst.

Finally, he found what he knew had to be there. A book seller. His shop was on the ground floor of one of the permanent buildings. Jake stepped into the cool gloom from the bright sunlight. He stopped a moment to let his eyes adjust and wander over the maze of shelves and colors. The room was very narrow, but quite deep. It had its own dry, musty smell. Jake browsed, trying to discern the pattern of this particular shop.

"May I help you find something, sir" The accent is all wrong for the district. Jake turned to look at the speaker. He didn't recognize the bushy brown sideburns and mustache, or the horn-rimmed spectacles, but the slim build, military posture and intense grey eyes were familiar.

"Josh Winters. What are you doing here?"

"Right now, talking to you."

"I never imagined running into you here. I thought you were still out on the Hancock."

"I sometimes get off the Hancock, and running into you was no coincidence. I was looking for you. I've been following you since you left the hotel."

"How'd you find me?"

"Wasn't that hard. How many Grumman Goose seaplanes do you think are cruising about the islands? That and Sarah radioed to let us know that Koji had mysteriously summoned you to her island and you'd been out of touch ever since."

"Yeah, she's involved in some sort of negotiations and wants to travel incognito. I'm supposed to fly some freight for her in a couple of days."

"Do you know what the freight is?"

"Nope. I told her I wouldn't transport drugs, or anything illegal. She assured me that this was all on the up and up."

"From her perspective that's true, although others might not agree. How much do you know about how the Nazis are looting Europe?"

"I've been more focused on the China – Japan conflict. I know the Germans are active here, but that is about it." Best to not let Josh know how much he had seen and heard through his association with Sarah. She can tell him what she thinks he should know.

"Not everyone in the German military is as confident of Hitler's success as he is. Most of what they are stealing is going to the German families living in South America. Some of the goodies are being diverted here. Until 1917 this was Neu Pommern. There is a large German population that never left. Koji's auctioning off priceless European art stolen from museums and private family collectiosn to German colonists to raise money for mischief. We think she plans for you to deliver some of it."

Jake grew angry. He walked further back into the book store scanning titles. "I told her I wouldn't be involved in anything shady. I'll just refuel the Goose and leave her here with her friends."

Josh laid his hand on Jake's sleeve. "Actually, we'd prefer you went through with it."

"What?"

Josh pulled a couple of books off the shelf. "We're trying to track the money. We may try to recover the valuables as well. Anything you deliver, we can recover."

"So you want me to go along with them?"

Josh closed the book cover he was examining. "Yeah, why not. Koji's paying your expenses. Take it easy and enjoy the job. You can fill Sarah in when you get back to Boragora."

"If any body asks, how do I explain you?"

"No problem. You were just checking the black market for lunch meat."

"Lunch meat?"

"Yeah, it's my main cover here. I'm selling SPAM on the black market. I 'smuggle' it off the Hancock and sell it in various ports. We're actually making a profit on the deal."

"You know, we actually ate that stuff in China. It wasn't bad, you just got tired of it."

Josh laughed quietly. "Yeah, on board they call it meatloaf that failed basic training."

"Actually, after all the fish lately, I wouldn't mind having some."

Josh took a deep breath and started a carnival style sales pitch. "Friend, you've come to the right place." Josh walks over next to the door and picks up a burlap sack. "Step right over here and I can show you a culinary confection that will positively make your mouth water. Paradise in a can! All you have to do is turn this little key and presto, something posing as meat. Goes great with eggs, or just slap it on bread. No refrigeration, no cooking, just open and eat."

Jake laughed. "Sold."

"Good deal. I really didn't want to haul this stuff back to the Hancock. There's also a small block of mil-standard Cheddar Cheese in there. If you were interested, I actually know a place where you could get a decent steak tonight. I know this song bird who works there, Meng Li. She has a friend …"

"Thanks, Josh, but I'd better stay close to the hotel. I never know when Koji might call."

"Yeah, the more I learn about her, the more unpredictable she is. OK, your loss. Oh, here's a couple of books. They don't have your favorite author here, but this L'Amour writes a pretty good yarn. Try them while you're waiting for The Princess."

Doppelganger

Jake stared at the now too familiar walls of his hotel room. It was a quite comfortable room, and the service so far had been excellent. The Princess had provided him excellent quarters while he awaited her pleasure. Josh's books were different than what he was looking for, but were words on a page and helped to pass the time. He wondered about the new pulp fiction author, Louis L'Amour. Had to be a pseudonym, but the guy wrote about southeast Asia as if he were staying in the room next door. He'd tried to find a paper from the States, but no one had any, let alone baseball scores.

A knock on the door found him relieved to be interrupted. "Come in."

Todo opened the door, and hands on sword scanned the room before stepping through to admit the feminine form behind him. As usual, the dress was a little too tight for convention, and too revealing for Jake's comfort.

"Jake Cutter. Can you be ready to leave this afternoon?

Jake stood up to reply. "Yes, Princess."

Jake tried not to stare as she strolls around the room, running her hand along the surfaces of dressers and tables. "Have you fumigated that flying collection of patches of yours?"

Jake swallowed his pride with his anger. Not a pleasant cocktail. "No, Princess. I did not realize that it was bothering you. I did open the windows and hatches to air the Goose out."

"Good. You can air that smelly jacket as well. I've grown tired of stale cigar smoke. Especially cheap cigars."

Jake, mindful of Todo's watchful presence, decided he had had enough. "Princess, no disrespect intended, but you knew when you hired the Goose, and me, what you were getting."

She sniffed. "I'm not so sure, Jake Cutter. I can't say I've received the service I desired."

She moved very close to him. Jake was caught against the edge of the bed and couldn't back away. The scent of her perfume was overpowering. "Uh, you hired me to fly you here. I've done that.

"Jake," softly. "I hired your services …" Jake felt dizzy, whether from the perfume or Koji's nearness he wasn't sure. His arms swept forward, almost of their own accord. Jake told himself that it was for balance, not an embrace.

"That will be quite enough!"

Jake looked past Koji, at the figure storming into the room and blinked at the double vision. "Princess Koji?"

There was no question, from the fire in the eyes of the second woman in the room, that she was the real article. Princess Koji in full princess mode.

Jake looked to the original figure who was stepping back, somehow shrinking in the presence of the real Princess. "I don't understand. What's going on here?"

The real Princess sniffed. "It was a test, Jake Cutter. How do you like my double?"

Jake looked from one Princess to the other. The differences he could detect were more in bearing than in any real physical differences. The counterfeit Princess had a faintly fearful look on her face, like a child caught with her fist in the candy jar.

"Princess, she had me completely fooled."

Koji looked at both of them for a moment. "Yes, I am pleased … and disappointed. Muri is my servant. I'm pleased that she is so able to portray me." At this point the Princess moved on into the room, to be close to Jake. She waggled a slender finger with a brightly lacquered red nail in his face, blood red naturally. "But I'm very disappointed in you, Jake, that you couldn't tell the difference."

Jake thought furiously for a moment. "Well, Princess, the interval was too short for me to really test the likeness. Being you, you would expect nothing less than perfection, so it would be very difficult for me to catch on with such short notice. Obviously, it would take some time for me to penetrate the disguise."

"Hmmm, perhaps, Jake Cutter, you are correct." Jake started to relax. "But I wonder if I would approve of the methods you would use to 'penetrate' the disguise."

As Jake started to protest, the Princess cut him off. "Muri, you are finished here. Go and prepare. Jake, we will let this matter rest for now. I wish to brief you on the next part of your journey."

Koji continued to stare at Jake as Muri left the room. He simply stared back, waiting. Todo closed the door on the retreating Muri, leaving the three of them alone in the room. He stood guard at the door, arms folded, one hand resting on the haft of his sword.

"Well, Jake Cutter. Have the accommodations been satisfactory?"

"Yes, thank you, Princess. They have been fine."

"I'm curious. How did you manage to occupy yourself?"

"I've been here before. I know some shops, caught up on some news, read a little. I found a place to get the Goose out of the water so that I could go over it. She's ready to fly."

"Very well. I have a cargo for you to deliver to a client, as we discussed, and a couple of passengers."

"Will I be going far?"

"Here is a map with the course marked on it. It should be within rage of your Goose without refueling, however I've taken the liberty of having two 55-gallon drums of gasoline added to your cargo manifest. That should get you to your destination. I've already arranged for your refueling at your destination. You will fly back to Matuka as agreed, with the money."

"I'll need some idea as to the weight of the cargo and passengers. That will impact how much range I have."

"I've already taken care of that. You need only worry about flying."

"Sorry, Princess, I do my own calculations."

Todo lunged a step into the room, hand on sword. "Do you doubt the word of my Princess, barbarian?"

For once, Jake did not back up from Todo. "When I strap this bod into that seat, I know exactly what is where, and exactly what I expect the plane to do. It is my responsibility to know everything about a flight before I even prime the motors. Your Princess may rule an island, but I rule the Goose."

Even Todo was shocked from his customary haughtiness. This was a different Jake, and Princess Koji once again wondered about this man, who for once is willing to face down Todo, barehanded. She moved between the two men, a hand up for attention.

"It shall be as you say, Jake Cutter. It is proper for you, as captain of your vessel, to reserve this right to yourself."

Todo started to object.

"No, Todo. Mr. Cutter is merely acting as a professional in his field. You will accord him the appropriate respect." Todo glowered at Jake and backed to his position by the door. "I will have the appropriate information to you after dinner this evening. You can inspect the cargo loading in the morning before you take off. Is this acceptable?"

Jake took a slight step back toward the room's single window, away from where he had been pinned next to the bed. "Yes, Princess. Thank you for understanding."

"You will be delivering a sealed cargo to Herr Heinrich Gottfriedson. He is a plantation owner on an island near Saint Bordeaux, as we mentioned earlier."

"Princess, I told you I didn't want to be involved in any illegal shipments." Josh could say what he wanted, but Jake was the one who would have to face any customs officials. Besides, it wouldn't be convincing if he didn't reaffirm his commitment to transporting only legal cargoes.

"This is a shipment of artifacts that my client purchased openly at an auction. I sealed them to conceal the value from possible waterfront pilfering. There is nothing of an illegal nature in this shipment. Will you accept my word on that?"

Jake smiled. His point was already made. "Yes, Princess. On that I will accept your word. The passengers you mentioned. Will this be your client?"

"No, he has made his own travel arrangements. Your passengers will be some of my people." Koji paused. This would be an interesting test of just what Jake Cutter was willing to do. "Actually, I want to play – how did I hear it in English – I want to play a joke on my client. I will need your cooperation."

"What kind of joke?" Jake was instantly wary.

"My client feels he has a way with women. Unlike you, he overestimates his assets. He has insisted that I deliver the shipment in person and be his guest on his island. You can imagine what he has in mind."

"The double – you said her name was Muri? You're going to pull a switch on him?"

"Exactly." Koji was pleased with how quickly Jake caught on. "Muri will be going in my place."

"How does she feel about that?"

"She is fully trained to give pleasure. I am fully confident that she will give him full measure."

"I don't know if I can go along with that."

"Jake, Muri is not my servant. She is my property. I bought her from her parents. Before I knew she would grow to resemble me, I gave her a home, raised her, educated her, and have given her a better life than she could ever have expected. Hard as it may seem to you, she is actually proud to render this service for me. She actually enjoys the prospect of the joke. It will give her great honor. Still better, she might manage to find a way to get out of the 'deal' at his expense. I expect you to assist her in any way you can, and to maintain the appearance that you are escorting the real Princess Koji. I seem to remember that you enjoy the occasional practical joke."

Jake thought about it for a minute. "OK, Princess. I'll go along with your joke. It's a little raw for my tastes, but if this planter plays it straight, I'll stand by and play it through."

Koji nodded and left. By the time Jake had dinner, she was already heading for her next destination. When he was ready for bed, she was visiting another customer, many miles away.

The next morning, Jake had the Goose checked out and in the water shortly after the sun cleared the horizon. The plane bobbed gently next to the dock, the back hatch open and waiting. The black Daimler limo pulled up. Two teutonic servants get out and unload three bags from the back. Jake showed them where to stow the luggage aboard the Goose. One servant got back in the front seat with the driver while the other held the passenger door open expectantly. Two Irish heavies exited the car and scanned the surrounding area before standing aside to allow Todo to step out escorting Muri, who appeared to be dressed in a traveling suit similar to what Princess Koji had been wearing when they arrived. The two orientals made quite a contrast. While Todo is wearing traditional dark Japanese robes with sash and crossed swords, the Princess was wearing a tan skirt and jacket of a more Western cut, with the skirt slit to reveal a shapely, tanned leg. Instead of a blouse under the jacket, the Princess was wearing a bright blue silk scarf around her neck with the ends tucked into the jacket.

As the entourage proceeded down the dock, Jake realized that the samurai that he thought was Todo actually was another double who had used makeup to create the grey in the beard looking like Todo. For Jake, the tip-off was that the eyes were too young. They lacked the knowing wisdom of the older original. Jake mentally dubbed him Todo-twosan. Still, he maintained the presumption for any prying eyes that this was the Princess and her loyal guards. At least three quarters of the act was true.

When everyone was aboard and settled in, he made one last rapid check of the Goose before climbing in, latching the hatch, and starting the Goose. Dark eyes within the shadowy interior of the Diamler watched the Goose's departure from the dock. The Diamler's departure was as silent as the Goose's was loud.

A Larger World

Jake had been in the air for more than an hour before he set the Goose's auto-pilot and moved back to the cabin. Muri and her three body guards were seated in the lightweight wicker seats that defined the Goose's passenger cabin. He opened a battered rucksack and pulled out a bag containing a couple of wrapped sandwiches, balls wrapped in leaves, and a container of coffee. He assumed that his passengers had their own food as he had not been told to provide any. He started back to the cockpit and stopped.

Jake was curious about the young woman playing such a challenging role. He figured out the perfect ploy to quiz her about the upcoming charade. "Princess Koji rode up in the cockpit when she flew in the Goose. You might want to do the same."

Muri looked at her guards who simply sat, staring straight ahead. She bowed slightly from the waist. Even seated, it was a graceful move. "Thank you, Cutter-san. That would be proper."

Jake ushered her forward and settled her into the co-pilot's chair. He leaned across her to fasten her seat belt. He caught a whiff of Jasmine and mint. Her enchanted look convinced him that the invitation had been the right thing to do.

He settled into his seat and made minor adjustments to the Goose's trim to account for the shift in weight. It gave him a chance to examine Muri more closely. He was still amazed at her resemblance to Koji.

Muri saw him looking at her and smiled shyly. She gestured out the windscreen. "Your world is so much larger than mine, Cutter-san."

"What do you mean?" Jake reached down to recover the bag containing his lunch.

Muri turned slightly in her seat. "All my life has been on an island. The island where I was born, then Matuka, occasionally Tagataya. Always, my view has been limited to the shores on which I could walk."

Muri turns to the windscreen and looked out. "Here, I see many islands, many worlds to me. One large world to you. It makes this humble one feel very, very small."

Jake unwrapped his first sandwich. He took a bite and savors the flavor as it attacks his hunger. "I guess I never thought of it that way. The world looks very different from ten thousand feet up. I guess it would change how you look at things." He could, however, identify with the sense of feeling small. Sometimes, flying at night, he had the same feeling.

"You have given me a great gift, Cutter-san. You have set my soul free to dream of much larger things." She smiled, but Jake noticed she was staring at his sandwich.

"Excuse me, Princess. I shouldn't be eating in front of you. Would you like to get your food and eat?"

Muri shook her head, embarrassed at both the situation and his use of Koji's title. "I do not have any food. We were taught to go without until food was available."

Now Jake was embarrassed. "My apologies. I was led to believe that you were bringing food with you." He starts to put his partially eaten sandwich away.

"No, please Cutter-san. Eat. My feelings were not worthy of your concern."

"Sorry, Muri. I appreciate your saying that, but it isn't how I was raised. I can share though. I have two of them."

"Thank you. Please – what is it?"

Jake stopped, perplexed at how to explain a simple SPAM sandwich.

"It's a product from my country. Pieces of meat that aren't considered very good for anything else are cooked with spices, mostly salt, and pressed together in a form. Then they seal the result in a can and call it SPAM. You can ship and store it that way for quite some time without it spoiling. You can eat it right out of the can, or you can cook it. When I was flying in China, our government used to send us this and big rolls of cheddar cheese along with our powdered milk, powdered eggs, and our biscuits. We called it Special Purpose Army Meat, but compared to powdered milk and eggs, this is a treat. I found some tins available from a black market vendor in the city while I was waiting for the Princess, er, waiting for you to complete your business."

"And you eat this raw?"

"It's not raw, Princess, it is cooked to preserve it. It just doesn't look cooked." Jake held up the second sandwich. "Want to try one?"

Muri looked dubious as she unwrapped the sandwich from its oiled paper. The sandwich laid there cut diagonally into two pieces. She picked up half and watched as Jake held his and took a bite. She copied his action. She chewed twice and stared down at her lap. She looked sideways at Jake as he stared out the forward windscreen. She swallowed carefully, forcing the mouthful down her throat.

Jake looked over. "Whaddaya think? Good, huh?"

"It is very different, Cutter-san. I think it is too rich for one with such simple tastes as I." She carefully wrapped the sandwich back in the paper, getting each fold back exactly as it was before she opened it. She handed it back with a careful smile.

Jake took the wrapped sandwich back with an uncertain look on his face. "I also have a couple of cold rice and fish balls in the bag. Would you take one of those?"

Muri's eyes lit up. "Thank you, Cutter-san. That would be very good."

Jake nodded and handed her one of the leaf wrapped balls. Muri opened it and started to take a bite. She paused, "What of the others?"

Jake looked over his shoulder at Todo-twosan and the two Irish guards – Thug-heavy and Thug-thin sitting in the passenger space. They sat staring straight ahead, not even looking out the windows. "Princess, I was told that you would have your own food. I didn't bring enough for everyone. Still, you are the Princess, and she would eat without worrying about the 'hired help' – including me."

"You are correct, Cutter-san. I must remember this. But, Cutter-san, I would be honored if you would call me Muri."

"Thank you, but it's better if I keep calling you Princess or Princess Koji. I don't want to slip in front of the marks. And you had better practice calling me Jake Cutter or Mr. Cutter the same way Koji does. Lots of times, she just called me Jake. That's OK, too."

Yes … Jake. Please, my English is not good. What is … Mark?"

"Oh, sorry. It's a term I learned doing some barnstorming at fairs. The people running the shows, rides, and games called the customers 'marks'. It isn't very complimentary, really. It implies people are there just to give you money. It gives the impression that customers aren't really very smart."

"Although I do not know what is barnstorming, shows, and rides, I think the term 'mark' is one my mistress would appreciate."

"I've never had the occasion to use it in her presence, but, yes, I think she would appreciate it."

"Tell me something about your larger world, Jake Cutter."

Jake stopped to think. His world? Which world? "What would you like to hear about, Princess? Sometimes I think this cockpit pretty much IS my world."

"Tell me about a happy place. A place where, if you could turn this plane and fly straight there, you would be happy to go."

Jake stared out the windscreen. All the places he could never call home; schools, even Cornell, flying from place to place, war torn Spain, South America – he really couldn't call those his world, nor would he want to. Although some better, he couldn't call China his world. Could he even call Boragora …

Muri interrupted his musing. "I apologize, Cutter-san. I have offended you. I will go back to my seat."

Jake turned, startled. Seeing her vulnerability, he forgot his resolve to treat her just like Koji. He touched her arm. "You didn't offend. I was just thinking. Please don't go, Muri."

"Are you certain, Jake Cutter?"

"There was a place where I really felt happy. When I was playing baseball, we would sometimes stay in one city for a week to play a series with the home team. Don't know if I could go back there now, but when I played in this one city, it was a really wonderful time. Along the eastern states of my country there is an old mountain chain called the Appalachians. It is a truly ancient place."

"There must be many Kami there."

"Yeah, you could say that. We'd call it being close to God, but you're right – there's definitely something there that speaks to the spirit. There is this one valley, twenty six hundred feet up."

"That is so high, Cutter-san."

"We have higher cities, Muri. But in this valley is a city you just wouldn't believe. Houses and buildings two and three floors high perch on the side of the mountains."

"These are Emperors Palaces, yes? Warlords? Wealthy merchants?"

"No, Muri, they are the homes of regular people. Some work in mines, some are farmers, but in America, anyone can have a large home with many floors."

"It must be very bad when the earth shakes come."

"They've never had an earth shake."

"Never?" Muri's expression clearly conveyed that she could not believe this.

"Not that I ever heard about. The ground is very stable. It is so green, and peaceful. In the spring, the fields are covered with a blue chicory wildflower. The town took its name from those flowers and they call it Bluefield. There is a huge hotel downtown, the West Virginian. I used to stay there, and take the trolley out to the fairgrounds. There is a beautiful little baseball park there and people could just sit on the side of the mountain under the trees and watch the game."

Muri looked confused. So many ideas she had never thought of. Finally one seemed to make sense. "Is it hot there, like here?"

"No, Muri. Bluefield calls itself the nation's air-conditioned city. If it goes over 90 degrees the downtown merchants give out a citrus drink we call lemonade."

"That is very friendly."

"Yeah, that is what I remember about that place. It was friendly, peaceful and beautiful. That city had more beautiful girls than I had ever seen in one place before. I guess all that walking up and down the hills really trimmed the legs. There was this one girl, she …" Jake paused. Muri waited expectantly. "Well … never mind. She was very friendly." Unlike Koji, who would have made some nasty innuendo with a knowing smirk, Muri merely smiled and asked what people did with so many floors in their houses.

Jake, happy to change the subject, tried to explain the vastness of the land and the lack of any need to conserve space. Through Muri's questions he began to understand what she meant by her world being so small. He told her stories about the rest of the world. He suspected she needed these stories to be able to better imitate the Princess. It frightened him, what he took for granted that this child had never heard of. She grasped new concepts very quickly and delighted at each new piece of knowledge.

Carefully he worked the subject around to the impending visit. He still wasn't comfortable playing delivery boy for what amounted to a cold-blooded sexual transaction. Muri actually laughed at his concern. She was immediately contrite, but she helped Jake understand that this was a great opportunity for her. Jake couldn't understand how she could consider it a privilege to do this in Koji's place. Finally, he accepted this as her right, and that he should not interfere. In accepting this, he gradually became more formal with her, trying to ease her back into the role of Princess Koji. Muri accepted the formality, but seemed disappointed by the change from the easy camaraderie of the past few hours.

All the island's a stage

Muri was fully into her impersonation when they reach their destination. According to the charts provided for the flight, the island's name was Gataranga. It was smaller than Boragora, but with more tillable land. Muri told Jake that the usual volcanic mountain was thoroughly pocked with small caves useful only for bats and smugglers. While Jake didn't know anything about the smuggling, he knew the bats provided a source of rich fertilizer, called guano. Gottfriedson made good use of this resource to maintain the productivity of his fields. He even managed to ship some to other islands with poorer soil. First an agricultural center, the island was now a stage.

There was no radio on the island, so Jake buzzed the plantation compound consisting of one large house, several smaller cottages, some storage buildings, and several open work sheds. He circled out to a small bay where a 60-foot luxury cruiser was resting at a small dock. There was about a hundred yards of beach that looked firm enough to support the Goose, but the bay didn't look long enough for a landing. Jake opted to land outside the breakwater and taxi in to the bay. Half way across the bay, Jake lowered the gear in preparation for pulling up onto the beach. Half of the beach was exposed to the ocean on the other side of the arm, half was sheltered by trees. Jake figured correctly that the wave action in the bay had packed the sand firmly enough to take the weight of the Goose. He made the trees his destination to provide some shelter for the Goose. A small group of people were approaching the bay down a curving path from the plantation compound. The curve of the path made the buildings invisible from the bay.

"Princess, how long will we be here."

"I don't know, Jake Cutter. It depends entirely upon the graces of our host."

Jake observed the crowd of about 20 tall, olive skinned Polynesian natives in various forms of tropical dress, an elderly male native wearing a full bush uniform, and a statuesque blond almost wearing a native dress of cheap trade fabric, dark glasses and a scarf over her heavy blond hair. She had a white choker necklace with a large red stone clasped tightly about her throat. She would have fit anywhere around Hollywood. "Looks like we're about to get a sample. I don't see anyone who looks like a plantation owner. The blond doesn't fit the description I was led to expect."

"You could be mistaken, Mr. Cutter. She is Marta Gottfriedson, the daughter of Herr Gottfriedson. I know she is very strong, and my sources say she is highly intelligent. I've also heard that she is an able administrator in her own right and completely ruthless."

"Then she and Koji are evenly matched."

"Yes, we are, Jake Cutter."

Jake winced at his slip, but covered it by unbuckling his seat belt and walking back through the passenger compartment to open the rear hatch. Muri smiled at his discomfort. The guards finally appeared to return to life and followed him to the rear. As soon as the hatch was open, the two Irish guards jumped down and took positions on either side of the opening. Todo-twosan waited by the hatch to follow Muri on her departure from the plane. Jake retrieved a small set of folding steps from the cargo bay and set them by the hatch. As if on cue, Muri came to the hatch and waited for Jake to extend a hand. She surveyed the people present, ignoring her guards and stepped regally from the plane. Stopping on the step to look down at Marta, Muri sniffed.

"I expected Herr Heinrich to be here to meet me, Marta."

Jake saw Marta cringe at the familiarity and grinned inwardly. "He was called away unexpectedly to another part of the island. He may return before nightfall, Koji. Then again, he may not. He was not expecting you today."

"You will call me Princess Koji. That is my rank. Show me to my quarters and have someone remove the cargo from my aircraft." Muri spoke as if she had given commands all her life. Even here, as a guest, she asserted Koji's arrogance with exactly the same flavor. "Captain Cutter."

The voice started Jake out of his reverie. He hadn't expected the Captain title. "Yes Princess?"

"You will remain with the aircraft until the shipment is unloaded. Secure the aircraft and make sure the cargo is safely stowed for Herr Heinrich's examination. Report to me when you are done."

Jake gave a little bow. "Yes, Princess." And discretely squeezed her hand reassuringly as he assisted her to the beach.

Wordlessly, Marta turned and began walking back up the beach. Her suppressed anger shook the ground at each step. Muri glided up alongside of her with no evidence of haste. Her guards moved resolutely to flank them on each side. Todo-twosan kept his usual position walking three steps behind her.

When the natives started to follow Marta, Jake called them back. None of them seemed to understand much English except the uniformed old man and one shabby other who looked vaguely familiar. The old man in the uniform turned out to be the compound foreman, in charge of the workers in and around the compound. With his help Jake managed to shake enough rust off his patchy German to be understood. It didn't take them long to unload the Goose and start the precious cargo up the path. The familiar looking native stayed behind to help Jake finish tying down the Goose after turning it toward the lagoon.

"I likee help with iron bird, master." The native winked at Jake. "Master have great magic to ride in iron bird's belly. Master mebbee remember how helpful is Rahmad?

Jake shook his head. "Sure, I'll remember Rahmad. But it is very important to know, there is no magic. Just a canoe with wings." Jake reached into the Goose to pull out his dufflebag.

"Mebbeeso, but master have great power to rule iron bird. Mebbeeso, master defeat iron fish." The native tried to take Jake's dufflebag.

The iron fish reference clanged like a bell in Jake's consciousness. Suddenly, he recognized Josh Winters under the darkened skin, grubby turban, and ragged pants and shirt. He let go of the duffle bag. "Josh, what are you doing here?"

"Could ask you the same thing, Cutter, but right now, play along. We'll catch up later." He swings Jake's bag onto a dark brown shoulder. "Captain Cutter follow Rahmad."

"Right. Tell me, Rahmad. Have you been on the island long?"

"Rahmad come in big canoe from another island. Rahmad have plenty pretty friend, Ysuri, live here. Rahmad visit pretty friend. Master have pretty friend?" Josh's eyes were a mix of mocking and curiosity.

Jake shook his head. "Master have plenty friends. Visit friends all the time. But sometimes master have plenty work to do. It is what makes him master. Rahmad sabbee?"

"Rahmand sabbee, Master Cutter. Much work alla time. Rahmad help." With that, Josh headed away.

Jake followed his ersatz native guide across the beach and up the path toward the compound. Josh hurried to catch up with the foreman and fired off a string of rapid fire questions. Jake tried in vain to listen and understand. After the foreman stopped talking, Josh fell back to walk with Jake. "Tomiko say he ordered to put you in one of the cabins. I say Captain of airplane have important rank like Captain of ship. I say you have need be close Princess. Tomiko say put you in small house next to Princess Koji. Away from Master's house."

Jake nodded his acceptance and continued up the path. He was interested in the layout of the compound. The compound was well sheltered among the trees that served to break up any heavy winds. The curve in the path served to maintain the windbreak, and make the compound invisible from the lagoon. In all, it was a compact, efficient layout.

Josh led him straight to a small wood frame cabin about fifty yards from the one he pointed out as Koji's and two hundred yards from the stone main house. Inside the cabin, there was a front room with two comfortable woven chairs, and a small table, and behind that room was a second room, of equal size, hosting a large bed, night stand, wardrobe, chair, and wash stand. There was no running water, and toilet facilities consisted of a curtained off corner with a frame chair and honey bucket. A small wooden hatch in the wall behind the chair showed how servants removed the waste without disturbing guests. Josh suggested Jake unpack while Josh determined the Princess' whereabouts. It didn't take Jake long to unpack his few things, but Josh was already back. Josh told him that both women were in the dining room of the main house for lunch and that he was to meet her there.

As they approached the main house, Jake studied its construction. The large, one-story house was built of stone that appeared to have come from the island itself. The roof was made of overlapping shingles, made of split wood. In front, there were several large windows, shaded by a wrap-around veranda. The supports to the veranda were solid wood posts, painted white. As they walked up to the house, Josh laid a hand on Jake's sleeve. "Master Cutter, do you know the Chinese symbol for trouble?"

Jake nodded. "Sure. Two women under one roof."

For a brief instant, Josh dropped the singsong native spiel. "Consider yourself warned." Instantly back in character he knocked on the door of the house. When the butler answers, "Takee Master Cutter to missy. Plenty quick, sabbee?"

The butler, a massive bald German in an immaculate black suit with white shirt, turned wordlessly and started back into the house. Jake followed. The rooms reminded him of some of the houses he visited in Europe. The furniture was the same, as were the rugs and art on the walls. The difference was a subtle one. There was more space between things. What would have been a cozy room in Spain or France, here was more open, in a way more isolated. If you measured wealth by the closeness of displayed artifacts of value, what would have looked immensely wealthy in Europe, here looked merely well to do. It was funny that he had noticed the same effect in Argentina, but hadn't realized the impact there.

The dining room was a spacious room with whitewashed walls above the chair molding. Windows along one wall made the room brighter. Centered in the room, on a large woven rug, was a massive teak dinning room table, capable of seating twenty people, easily. Jake guessed that Herr Gottfriedson probably wined and dined the local administration on a regular basis. Now the room was occupied by two people. Both were sitting at opposite ends of the table with an immense amount of bare wood between them. Both were acting as though they were at the head of the table.

Familiar, dark, almost black eyes, and light blue eyes stared at him. Jake noticed immediately, that Marta's eyes seemed to glow with their own blue light in the tanned olive complexion. They were haunting in their intensity. Jake understood the sunglasses she had used earlier. The tropical sun was tough on light colored eyes. Muri broke the silence. "Captain Cutter, is the cargo unloaded and stowed satisfactorily?"

Jake nodded. "Yes, Princess. We have unloaded all of the consignment, and it was carried here to a storeroom behind the main house. There is a guard there to await Herr Gottfriedson's inspection."

Muri nodded. "Marta has prepared us a very nice lunch. Please join us."

A sharp intake of breath to his left caused Jake to glance at Marta. Her face had gone pale white. Her eyes were very narrow. The look from those slits should have fried him where he stood.

"Thank you, Princess Koji. I think I had better get cleaned up."

Muri waves her hand in negation. "That can wait, Captain Cutter. It is better that you eat now. I insist."

Before Jake can respond, a low, controlled voice captured his attention from the other end of the table. "I don't believe we've been introduced." He turned to the speaker. "I am Marta Gottfriedson. I live on this island with my father. And I already know that you are the American Flying Tiger, Jake Cutter. I trust you found the storeroom adequate for your cargo?"

Jake made a small bow in her direction. "I'm honored to meet you. The storeroom appears secure enough, if adequately sealed from the weather. Now, if you will excuse me, I'd like to go ahead and get settled into my quarters. I'll leave you two to your business."

Marta raised a hand to stop him. "Captain Cutter. Lunch is our main meal of the day. Please be so kind as to join us. I rarely get to talk to an American and it would give me a chance to practice my English."

Jake felt squeezed between two irresistible forces. "Well, since you both insist – thank you very much."

Jake took the middle chair along the windowed wall. As he placed a fine linen napkin in his lap, a homely native woman in a maid's costume placed a bowl of cold melon soup before him. The flavor was tart, and very refreshing. Each of the women seemed to be dining on cold pieces of boned fowl. The energy with which they used the sharp table knives to cut the fowl into bite-sized pieces made a mockery of the charade of civility.

Jake was relieved to escape that lunch, with his skin intact. He hurried back to the refuge of his cabin. When he got there, he found two new novels, and a home newspaper with recent baseball scores, only a month old. With a silent prayer of thanks to a guardian angel named Josh, he moved a chair beside his bed, hung his jacket on the corner of the chair nearest him, and stretched out on the bed to read. He resolved to eat in his room that evening as no matter how exquisitely the food was prepared, the atmosphere would make something posing as meat a more digestible meal.

An Evening's Entertainment

Promptly at 7:00 pm a servant knocked on the door of Jake's cabin. Jake had changed out of what he thought of as his "flying clothes" and was casually dressed in a Detroit Dukes collarless baseball shirt, khaki shorts, and a pair of old moccasins he kept tucked in the bottom of his dufflebag. Jake declined the invitation to dinner at the Master's house, pleading that he was not prepared for formal entertaining, and that lunch had been quite enough food for the day. Jake stretched back out on the bed wishing he had a beer, but thankful that the water brought to his cabin earlier was sweet and clear.

He'd barely picked back up where he left off in his study of the baseball statistics when another polite knock sounded on his door. The butler from his lunch visit to the big house stood outside with a complete suit of evening wear. He even had a pair of black shoes that looked like they would fit perfectly.

"Fraulein Gottfriedson requests the pleasure of your company this evening. She begs your pardon for not realizing that without foreknowledge of possible entertainments that you might not for such an occasion be prepared. Please these garments accept for this evening's use. If they prove suitable, they yours to keep are."

"Fraulein is most gracious, I'm sure, but I can't accept these. It is too much. And they might not be my size."

"My mistress anticipated that you have reservations. She said to assure you that the garments your size are. One of our servants checked the sizes of the clothing in your luggage" slight sniff at calling Jake's worn duffle bag luggage "and assures you that these will fit. The garments themselves are of no consequence as we often have guests to dinner requiring the proper attire. Dinner will be in one hour. One of our staff will call for you."

"Please convey my appreciation to your mistress for her thoughtfulness."

Jake closed the door muttering to himself. "At this rate, I'll need a bigger wardrobe at Louie's. Sarah will never understand all these women giving me clothes."

One hour later, a knock on the door revealed Josh's grinning face. He surveyed Jake from head to toe, taking in the white oxford shirt, black bow tie, black summer weight wool suit, and tasseled black Italian loafers. He looked around and let out a low wolf whistle. "Captain Cutter look mighty fine. Veree pretty."

Jake tries to glare rather than laugh at the absurdity of the whole situation. "I believe you are to escort me to dinner, Rahmad. Not evaluate my sartorial excellence."

"So sorree, Captain Cutter. Not know meaning of big words. Rahmad, think mebbee he lead lamb to slaughter?"

Jake nodded. "Captain Cutter wishes Rahmad were wearing the suit and going to the dinner."

"Thankee no, Captain Cutter. Rahmad happy merely to serve." The singsong voice drops to just above a whisper. "But watch yourself, Jake."

"I plan to. What I'd really like is a beer."

Josh merely gave Jake a big smile as he stepped up onto the veranda of the main house. This time, instead of the dinning room, Jake was escorted to a large music room displaying an open space capable of accommodating a number of dancing couples, and a number of very fine musical instruments, including a highly polished grand piano placed in one corner of the room. He didn't even want to think of the cost of safely transporting such lovely instruments to this remote location. One wall was entirely covered with books and Jake wandered over to see if he can read any of the titles. A surprising number were in English. A quiet bustle in another portion of the room drew Jakes attention to the smell of well cooked meat, and he observed servants quietly arranging a serving table along another wall, next to yet another dining table. This one is round, and Jake couldn't help grinning at the significance.

A very soft clearing of the throat behind him, caused Jake to turn. He almost stopped breathing when he saw Muri in what could have been one of Koji's best evening gowns. It was a pale green, with a close fitting bodice with small white pearls stitched in a complex design, a dark green sash knotted at the waist, and a very straight skirt. A slit up the side allowed Muri to walk in comfort. Again, her hair was up except for a jaunty pony tail. Her shoulders were bare, revealing a smooth complexion the rival of Koji's. Jake was relieved to notice that the same tattoo he had seen on Koji's shoulder also showed on Muri's.

Sadly, the vision was marred by the ever-present Todo-twosan standing behind her, glaring, with hand on sword.

"Well, Captain Cutter. You certainly look very proper this evening. I approve."

"Thank you, Princess. It is not my wish to shame you in front of your business associates. This is quite a place."

"It is a little … heavy … for my taste. It attempts to subdue the land, not exist with it gracefully. If something were to damage the foundations of this structure, as our frequent earthshakes, it would cause great injury, and be very difficult to repair. I cannot believe that spirits are happy to dwell near this."

Jake nodded, remembering the small, light weight housing of Koji's island. "Perhaps this house would better weather storms and earth … shakes, and they don't have to worry as much about damage and risk. This house could weather almost any storm or shock."

"It has been my experience, Jake Cutter, that if the spirits are angry, you cannot build a structure that will withstand them. It is better to bend and give than to anger the spirits still further by defying them. Can you not see this?"

Jake found his mind splitting on two tracks. One, he thought about the great earthquakes that had devastated San Francisco. Many of the largest and strongest buildings either collapsed or burned. The loss of life was terrible. He had been told of how the Japanese villages suffered quakes and were quickly repaired, with little loss of life, and little cost. The second track had him thinking about his earlier debates with Koji. She delighted in battering his defenses. Muri was inviting Jake to see her point. The contrast intrigued him. His reply converged the tracks.

"Princess, I don't know so much about angering spirits, but I see your point. I can understand building in harmony with nature, rather than against it. I'm so used to the European ideas of strength and permanence that I had not really considered the alternative."

"Not so, Captain Cutter. You do not give yourself credit. When flying your little airplane, I watched you seek favorable winds, avoid major storms, and look for weather signs. In this are you not attempting to work with nature, rather than fight it?"

Marta's contralto cut into the discussion. "Man is the superior in any contest with nature. We harness the power of the wind and the sun to serve us. Living and prospering on this volcanic isle is proof of our ability to dominate the elements. Even if the elements were to damage this structure, we could rebuild, and would rebuild stronger. Our family home in Germany has stood for over 400 years."

Jake held his breath for a moment, hoping the shape his face was assuming looked more like a smile than a grimace. He took a moment to admire the wine red evening dress with matching choker with a black facetted stone. He starts to wonder what the choker covers. "This is certainly a beautiful home. How long has your family been in the islands?"

"My grandfather built this house before the turn of the century. My father grew up here, and I was born here."

"So, have you always lived here?"

"No, my father thought I should be educated in Europe. I attended a school for young ladies in England, and spent the summers at the family home in Germany. I even spent six months in your America. Two years ago, I told my father I wanted to return to the islands. He agreed."

"The Princess tells me that you are responsible for the administration of the plantation. That's quite a responsibility."

"Yes, my father wanted me to be able to carry on the family business. It frees him to pursue" Marta gave Muri a pointed look "other interests." She returned her gaze to Jake, with a dry smile. "I also manage island security. It is my responsibility to examine all newcomers and determine their suitability as guests. My security force reports everything that happens on the island to me. And now, dinner is served."

They walked to the table. One of Jake's concerns was resolved when the butler seated Marta, freeing him to hold the chair for Muri. Todo-twosan cut him off to hold the Princess' chair. He shrugged and moved away. Muri nodded her thanks and Jake waited to sit down until both were seated. Again, he found himself between the two women.

It was clear to Jake that Koji had fully briefed Muri on her impression of Marta and any information she had gathered from the auction. What Jake wasn't sure of was why Muri seemed so antagonistic toward Marta. Was this part of her instructions from Koji, or was there something else going on here? Jake just wanted to know why two attractive and interesting women couldn't get along. He especially didn't want to be caught in a tug of war between the two of them.

Dinner was served quickly, and that forestalled much conversation. The meal was excellent. The meat dish was Rouladen, a tenderized, wafer thin slice of beef, stuffed with various vegetables, including onions and peppers, and a tuberous root similar to a potato. This was rolled up and simmered in its own broth, at low heat, for three hours. The resulting meat roll was tender enough to cut with a fork. It was served with German potato salad and a spicy sauerkraut. The servants brought in long rolls of a dark rye bread. Jake was offered both tea and a dark red wine to go with the dinner. He chose to drink the tea and keep his head clear.

"Captain Cutter. I thought you might like something with a more Continental flavor. My sources say you have been living in the islands for a couple of years now" Marta explained. "Usually we have something more native in origin in the evening."

"Miss Gottfriedson, this is very good. I appreciate the effort." Privately, Jake thought that if this was light, he'd hate to see a heavy meal.

"Please, call me Marta. And it was no effort, really."

Jake smiled and took a sip of his tea.

Muri, having waited for a moment, asked. "Marta, I'm very curious. When Captain Cutter flew over the island I saw that you have quite a large operation here. What does your plantation produce?"

"We grow rice and sugar cane. We have some slopes on the side of the mountain with sufficient drainage to allow us to grow some vegetables, and our own grains. Our growing season is fairly long here. Of course, our trees allow us to ship copra and coconut oil. In all we have a very diversified product."

Jake wondered, "So you are able to weather any single market loss."

"Captain Cutter, we do not worry about market loss. Our goal here has always been to strive to be self sufficient. The land is ours, and it gives us all we need. As the immediate family is here, we really have little need to send money anywhere, or pay for anything."

"Well surely you must import some things. Clothing? Medicines?"

"We have some goats living on the mountain side. We are able to shear them for weaving our own fabrics."

Muri challenged "And the dress you are wearing this evening, was it made locally?"

"We can make our own fabrics, but we don't have to make all of them. I brought this with me when I returned from Europe. I don't wear it often for visitors, but it seemed appropriately festive with so colorful a guest as our Captain Cutter." She smiled at Jake, clearly excluding Muri. Then, as if an afterthought "And yes, we do import some medicines, but the natives know a number of local remedies that seem to serve as well."

"How do you get your goods to market?" asked Muri.

"We are considered a prime stop for many of the local traders. They come to us."

"How convenient. Do you pick and choose, or do you trade with the first to arrive?"

"It all depends on what the trader brings. Since we have little need for cash, we look for interesting trade goods. Some of the smaller local islands bring their goods to us rather than risk waiting for whichever trader is willing to speculate on what they have. They trade with us, and we trade our larger cargo with the ships."

Muri clasped her hands in front of her. "How large a cargo do you usually ship? Can you fit it on one vessel, or do you need multiple ships?"

Marta thought for a moment. "Since I have been home, it has been common for us to ship a 100,000 ton cargo twice a year."

Marta looked at Jake. "Well, Captain Cutter. That sounds like more than you could fit in your little Goose. However, my fleet could easily manage it along with my other cargoes."

Marta sniffs. "We've found it more beneficial to remain loyal to the major traders." Her emphasis on major made it clear that Koji's organization was not in that class. "Although, having access to a freelance pilot would enable us to make some special shipments from time to time, and we could perhaps establish a mail contract."

Muri stiffened and Jake got ready to duck. "I'm sure that if I made the appropriate proposal to your father, he would appreciate that my fleet has more ships than all your petty traders combined. I'm certain we could establish a mutually profitable relationship."

Marta smiled. Jake thought he saw ice forming on the glass of wine in front of her. Jake's tea was certainly colder. "Yes, my father would like to enter into a relationship with you … Princess … Koji. I'm certain … you … will find it profitable."

Muri stood up. "Thank you for a delightful evening. The food, at least, was excellent. As I was up early this morning, and have done more than sit around a plantation, I shall prepare to retire. First, I will want a bath." She looks at Jake with a smile and a light of mischief in her eyes. "Captain Cutter, I will require your services. Come with me.

Jake's muttered "excuse me" was carefully focused on the center of the table as he rose to follow Muri.

Discretion is the ONLY valor

Jake escorted Muri to her cabin without saying a word. Todo-twosan followed soundlessly five steps behind them. Jake followed Muri up onto the porch and paused as she opened the door.

"Princess, do you think it wise to antagonize the mistress of the house?"

"Captain Cutter, my mistress found something troubling about that woman. If she really is the daughter, she is dangerous. We are curious as to what she really is."

Jake shook his head. "My people have a saying – curiosity killed the cat."

Muri smiled. "Our people are not worried about Cats, Captain Cutter. We don't even have a year of the cat."

Jake shrugged helplessly. "OK. Princess, I will bid you good night."

"Actually, Captain Cutter, I was quite serious about requiring your assistance. You will come in." To forestall any further protest, Muri turned and entered into the cabin.

Inside, Muri's cabin was easily twice as large as Jake's and much more elaborately furnished. Included in a small extension of the cabin's original frame, was a bath chamber with a large wooden tub on a raised platform. The rim of the tub stood about the height of Jakes pectorals. The height of the tub on the platform would make it impossible for anyone on the floor in front to peer into the tub, but anyone in the tub would be able to converse comfortably with someone standing at the lower level. Muri had obviously planned this in advance as the tub was already filled with steaming hot water. Standing beside the tub was an attendant. She was a lovely native with dark eyes, and a flashing smile.

Muri looked at her. "Who are you?"

"I am Ysuri. I am here for your needs."

Muri shrugged as if that were her due. "Wait here, Captain Cutter while I change. You may leave your clothes over on that small bench. You will be in the tub when I return."

Jake almost forgot his role. "M … my Princess. Do you think this appropriate? Perhaps if I were to retire for the evening as well?"

"Nonsense. You still stink of your precious Goose. You need a bath. Plus, I wish to speak with you of other matters."

"I did not realize my smell offended you, Princess. I will wash when I return to my quarters. Under the circumstances, the sooner the better."

"Captain Cutter. You have been in my bath before. I would advise you to remember the importance of pleasing your Princess. And the consequences of displeasing her. I have ordered Todo to guard against your insults to my honor."

A slight ringing called Jake's attention to Todo-twosan drawing his saber, smiling. He also heard the sharp intake of breath as Ysuri watched the drama unfold.

Jake smiled weakly. "A bath would feel good. I'll be honored to join you."

Muri smiled. "Captain Cutter shows great wisdom, Todo. Please check to make certain that none are around my home."

Todo-twosan bowed. "Hai!" and left as silently as ever.

Muri turned and walked to her bedroom. Ysuri moved forward to help Jake remove his jacket. "Ladee very fierce. She reallee makee you dead?"

Jake wasn't too sure about the answer to that question himself. He knew the answer he had to give. "She reallee makee me dead."

"Rahmad say she very dangerous."

"Rahmad say … say, I get it. Rahmad said he had a girl on the island. Ysuri, that's you?"

Ysuri smiled shyly.

"Yes. Rahmad ask Ysuri to watch … he call her Dragon Lady … he ask me to watch her."

Jake removed his tie and turned his back to unbutton his shirt. "You go watch lady then, and I'll help myself get in the tub."

Ysuri giggled. "Rahmad say I should watch you maybe, too. He say maybee Ysuri appreciate Rahmad more."

"Yeah, maybe so." With a resigned sigh Jake unbuckled his belt and started to remove his pants. He's been through this before.

He almost turned at Ysuri's gasp. "What?"

Ysuri stared at the scar tissue on his leg. "Captain Cutter hurt veree badly."

Suddenly, Jake was very self conscious. The scar and Ysuri's reaction made him feel more vulnerable than usual. "Yeah, it was pretty bad. Probably the most any physical pain has ever hurt me."

Ysuri moved closer to him as he handed her his pants. "You have other hurts, Captain Cutter."

It was true. Jake sometimes forgot about the cut along one rib, another puckered welt along his left shoulder, and a deep scar on his upper right arm. They were the few momentos he had left from his world travels.

He knew he wasn't that much older than the young girl staring at his back. Her innocence made him feel ancient. He suddenly wondered if the tub could hold a magic elixir to wash away the years.

Ysuri saw Jake's shoulders slump and with a wisdom and gentleness beyond her years simply led him to the tub and helped him in. "Captain Cutter relax. Ysuri not bother. Be very quiet until Dragon Lady come."

Jake merely nodded and closed his eyes. The wooden edge of the tub was padded and very comfortable for him to prop his arms over. It let him lean back comfortably against the side of the tub. He released a deep sigh as the warm water soaked some of the tension away. It had been a long day.

Jake actually managed to relax until a ripple in the water told him he had a visitor. He opened his eyes in time to see Muri slide one foot into the water. She paused as Jake opened his eyes, allowing him to look at her. He averted his eyes. That was when he realized they were completely alone.

Muri smiled, pleased at the favorable reaction and appreciation she saw before Jake turned away.

"I would not have expected the bold American warrior to be bashful around women. Especially willing servant women."

Jake was at a loss for words, then remembered another incident. Taking as formal a pose as possible when standing nude in a tub of hot water, "Discrete, Muri. Merely discrete. I am an officer of the American Army Air Corps. By legal proclamation, an officer and a gentleman, and therefore, discrete." With a mental thanks to Louie's example.

Muri laughed. Jake's mind reeled in confusion. Muri looked exactly like Koji. The differences were all under the skin. Muri laughed with him. He generally felt that Koji was laughing at him. Koji standing in a tub, similar situation, would be challenging, demanding. She would constantly invade his personal space, demanding a reaction. Muri was just there, lending grace to the surroundings. Here, Jake could actually feel what the Japanese baths were intended to be. It was a far cry from his experiences on Matuka.

"You care about my feelings, Cutter-san?" Jake was startled by the question.

"Very much, Princess. I would do nothing that might cause you harm. I'm not one to take advantage of any person, let alone someone as special as you."

Muri looked at him in wonder. Here, away from prying eyes, she maintained none of the brazen display of Princess Koji. "That is two great gifts you have given me Cutter-san. I thought I would always be a slave – never to know the feeling of freedom. Today you have made me feel free. I shall cherish that feeling wherever I go. You have taught me what it feels like to be a Princess."

Jake smiled and lifted himself from the water. He picked up one of the large towels folded nearby and wrapped it around his midriff. "My lady, you don't have to pretend to be a Princess." He gently touched her forehead. "In here, you are a Princess." He gently kissed her, leaning over the rim of the tub. "Good night, Princess."

Jake walked back to his cabin carrying his clothes and shaking his head. He wondered if he hadn't been a fool. He'd had the same problem in Spain. All the Americans were heroes to the people they were helping. Several of the pilots saw it as a target rich environment. Some believed that passing up the opportunity was foolish if they were going to be dead tomorrow. Having just had a relationship blow up in his face, and no idea how it was going to ever straighten out, Jake started out thinking the same way. But it never felt right. Jake realized that he wanted a liaison to mean something, and what he usually saw in the eyes of his companion the next morning wasn't the something he wanted. He started begging off because of a "girl back home", and in time, rebuilt his hopes that maybe something would work out. He'd needed a dream to keep him going, and in time it fleshed itself out to the girl, the home, being accepted, even his precious baseball and flying. Once in a while he'd met girls who he tried to paste into the dream, over the original. So far, none had stuck.

That night, his dreams were populated by two images of Princess Koji. Todo is standing behind him, sword drawn demanding he choose one. They were identically dressed in Western clothing and wearing the same hair style, same makeup, and same nail treatments. The only difference was that one looked proud and haughty, and the other wistful. Both were beautiful and Jake couldn't be certain which was which. Jake's mind spun from his own version of the Lady or the Tiger. It was a long night.

Comparisons

Next morning Jake rose early. He slipped on one of his button down shirts, khaki pants, boots, and his jacket. There had been some wind during the night and he wanted to check on how the Goose weathered the elements. He walked down to the lagoon beach and checked over all the lashings and cleared some debris from around the plane. Some litter had blown up around the big radials in their nacelles and he decided to remove all that, ensuring exposed pushrods and wiring were not damaged. He had almost finished the starboard engine nacelle.

"The Grumman G-21 Goose. An amazingly efficient design for an American aircraft."

The husky feminine voice startled Jake, and he took a minute to turn around. Behind him stood the Junoesque blond of the day before. Only now Marta was wearing a wet, red one-piece tank-style swimsuit. Jake's initial impression was that fabric couldn't possibly stretch in all those directions at once. The legs to the swimsuit seemed shorter than Jake remembered seeing the last time Sarah had worn her cotton swimsuit. This one had side panels removed to reveal flawless olive skin and a waist surprisingly trim considering the rest of the curves involved. The resulting exposure of skin would never have been accepted in New England although he had seen something similar during his one brief visit to the beaches in southern France. The white rubber swim cap, elongated in the back for the curl of long, long hair, and tinted goggles gave her face an alien look. Wet footprints from the lagoon seemed to indicate she had just come ashore from a swim.

He let go of the nacelle, stepped off the landing gear onto the sand.

She walked toward him, removing the dark goggles, exposing the lovely, slightly slanted china blue eyes and high cheekbones. Jake couldn't qualify the traits of her movement. She moved quickly and well, but it was too heavy to ascribe to the litheness of a cat, certainly not the snakelike sway of Koji. More like a gazelle, except for the predatory quality. No dog fit the description because there was no way he could classify this woman as a dog.

She broke his contemplation. "How does it feel to go from a fighter to a transport?"

Jake leaned against the nose of the Goose. "I've heard that question a lot. The Goose is a good plane. Since 90% of your flying is straight and level, it flies as good as a fighter. Not being a fighter, I have to fly her smarter. But frankly, on a long flight, it's nice to be able to stretch my arms and legs."

"But it must disturb you to have to run away from danger."

"I don't run away. I simply evade."

Marta sniffed. "Word games."

Jake walked back and pulled two rags out of the starboard rear hatch. He thought about the times he'd lured other aircraft to their doom. He handed the largest rag to Marta as a towel and wiped his hand on the other. "Not really. I just know the meanings of the words. If I cut and run and abandoned my mission, you'd be right. But I don't. Storm or pirate, I deliver my cargo and my passengers. To me, that's all that matters, fraulein."

Jake would not have liked knowing the fact that Willi had told Marta a number of stories about him. He might have liked the fact that the resolve in his eyes, and in his voice, convinced Marta they were true. He would have been very nervous had he been able to read her thoughts that perhaps, here was a man who could interest her. Something she didn't see much of on her island.

Marta would have been appalled to know that she and Koji agreed on one thing. The good Reverend Tenboom was useful as a diversion, but he was much too willing to give his "blessings".

"Interesting. A devotion to the needs of your customers is admirable. I could use that on occasion."

"I'd like that, Miss Gottfriedson, but frankly, your island is just about out of my range." Jake didn't know why, but he didn't really want this woman as a customer. One dragon lady in his life was enough. "I'd have to have a reliable source to refuel somewhere along the route to make the trip. I couldn't carry enough fuel without cutting my cargo space below profitable levels. I don't know that I could give you a good value for your trade, considering the extra expense."

"I sometimes have a small high-value cargo that must be shipped quickly and quietly by someone who isn't afraid to get shot at."

Jake shook his head. "That lets me out, I'm afraid. I have a definite aversion to being shot at."

Marta looked at the interesting lines of painted-over patches on the hull of the plane. She knew the straight, even spacing were an indication of gunshots coming from above and behind. What had happened to the pilots who fired those shots? "Really? How do you justify volunteering to fly combat in Spain, and in China? How do you rationalize those skirmishes in South America, and saying you have an aversion to being shot at."

"You seem to know a lot about me, fraulein?"

"Please, call me Marta. I forsee a potentially long and fruitful relationship."

"Ok, Marta, you still seem to know a lot about me."

"Really, Captain Cutter." Marta pointed to the Goose. "A distinctive twinengined seaplane transporting cargoes about the islands is cause for curiosity. Especially when flown by an American who flew for the International Squadron in China until shot down." Marta wasn't about to tell Jake that Willi Tenboom was a frequent visitor to her island. "I inquired about you from some of my contacts in China. They spoke highly of you."

"Don't believe everything you hear, Miss Gottfriedson."

"There you go again." Marta walked up to Jake. The richness of the foreshortened figure was disturbing up close. "Please, let's not be so formal." She took his right hand, looking closely at it. "I'm curious to know what it is like to go tearing about the sky with death at your fingertips." Her eyes sought his. "And…why?"

Jake backed up, reclaiming his hand, and sat down on the right landing gear tire. "I can't say I did what I had to do. I didn't. It might just be best to say it was something to do, and the money was good."

"You were risking your life just for money?" Marta's voice was full of disbelief.

Jake thought back to New England's dead ends and disappointments. Once again the shadows he'd managed to push back since leaving Matuka started to crowd in on him. "I wasn't risking all that much. Some thought it rather cowardly. As a pilot, I didn't live down in the mud, the cold, the rain, the dust. I was above it all. I'd fly for a while in the morning, and then go back to base and sit around. Then I'd go fly some more in the afternoon and evening. The only time I had to worry was when some joker came along with a better airplane, and was a better pilot."

"And that didn't happen often." Marta sat in the sand in front of him.

"What ever you heard, I doubt that it included the fact that in Spain, I usually flew the planes no one else would fly. I was an inexperienced American. The other guy usually had a better plane and more experience. I was shot down and shot up more than once. I just managed to get out alive. After that it was more a matter of luck."

"Somehow, I think there was more to it than luck."

Jake shrugged, almost losing his perch on the tire. "Luck, fate, whatever."

"Tell me, Jake Cutter. You've flown against both the Japanese and the Germans. Which are the better pilots?"

Jake paused. That question surprised him. "As near as I can tell, they're allies. I don't see where it matters."

"Really, Captain Cutter?" Her emphasis on Captain made it very clear she was aware of his military background. "When two powers are engaged in territorial expansion, what happens when they are the only two left?"

"They'd split share, and share alike. Both would have plenty. Half a world would be enough for anyone." Jake paused. "Wouldn't it?"

"Think you so? Do you think either one will stop? Within me is a mix of Asian and European blood. Both cultures consider the other savages. Do you believe either one really trusts the other?"

Jake studied Marta. "Are you saying you don't trust yourself?"

Marta stood. "I trust myself to take care of myself and my friends. I'll do whatever I have to to stay out of this madness. And in preparing for the day I know will eventually come, I still want to hear your thoughts about Germany vs. Japan in the air."

Thinking that it would be better to be this woman's friend than her enemy, Jake considered. "I'm not certain I can answer that."

"You have flown representative aircraft from both sides. How do the aircraft compare?"

Jake started. How the blazes did she know that? How had she managed to walk among his personal shadows?

"I haven't flown every plane in either fleet. The Japanese have a greater variety of planes. What the Germans have are very impressive." Jake paused, considering. "Japan's Nate and A5M Claudes are aging, but still excellent aircraft. The new Oscar aircraft are very formidable. They are fast, and have a pretty tight turning radius. You don't try to turn inside an Oscar. It only has two guns, but they do a lot of damage. The new high visibility canopy is a big advantage. When I flew the Messerschmidt, I felt like I was in a cage. Not much visibility to the rear. I don't know as much about the Zero's, the new A6M, but from what I hear, the US isn't going to like going up against that bird. General Chennault has been warning everyone to look out for that plane. I hope someone listens."

"These are more maneuverable than the German aircraft?" Marta sat back on the sand to listen.

"The maneuverability is different. Japanese planes are very light and don't dive all that well. We took advantage of that in the P40. We could always dive away from a combat, but we couldn't climb as fast as the Oscar. The Mitsubishi Bf109 could both dive and climb. It is a very nimble airplane once you get used to the nose-heavy aspects of its handling. Visibility, like I said, isn't as good in the 109, and it's a miserable airplane on the ground. The George's wider stance is useful under those conditions. The 109 has better armament, but they've always had problems with their nose cannon."

"So, which plane would you prefer to fly against the other?"

Jake considered. "I just don't know. In many ways, they are both better than the Tomahawk, and certainly far superior to what I flew in Spain, but I find myself missing the Tomahawk, for all its disadvantages. The armor did a good job protecting the pilot. That gave you options you couldn't get in the other aircraft. And the armament is superior to either aircraft."

"So, we are back to the pilots, are we not, Captain Cutter?"

Jake shrugged. "I think it always comes down to the pilots. Pilots and tactics, anyway."

Marta shifted on the sand. "And what of those, Captain Cutter? You shot down six Japanese, with two – what did they say – two probables. You shot down at least six German aircraft in Spain in one engagement. Those weren't your only victories. What, twelve aircraft in all, nein?"

"I've only officially shot down five Japanese aircraft." Marta's smug smile made Jake feel very uncomfortable. How did she know so much? He'd never really counted the score in Spain. There'd been several, he knew that, but there had never been any attempt to confirm any of them. Most of the time, he flew ground support for the troops. Jake felt trapped and wanted to escape this inquisition. This was a good time for a strategy he'd learned to shake boring people in high society parties, long ago. He started to tell the truth, in detail. Maybe this one would get bored and seek other prey. "General Chennault has been fighting the Japanese for a long time. He has been flying the predecessor to the P-40, the radial engined Hawk 75. With his close collaboration with the Chinese ground troops, he managed to get his hands on some Japanese Pilot Instruction manuals. He paid to have them translated into English. He actually paid to have it done with his own money. He insisted that all of us new pilots memorize those from cover to cover. He claimed that the Japanese pilots were rigidly trained to follow the tactics, in order. They literally flew from the front cover to the back."

Marta leaned forward eagerly. This she had not known. "That would make them very predictable, nein?"

Jake shrugged. "Maybe. On the other hand, many pilots are shot down because they don't know what to do next. Even the novice Japanese pilot never hesitates. He knows exactly what to do next without thinking. Their reactions are faster. It can be an advantage."

"But what if the tactics aren't working?"

Jake considered. "If you can last long enough, they'll go back to page one and start over. They fly with such precision, that they can wait for you to make a mistake. The first one to make a mistake has had it. And another thing – when two pilots are working together, you have to devote part of your time to anticipating what your partner is going to do next. Not the Nips. They know exactly what their wingman is doing. Their coordination is superb." This isn't working, he thought. She isn't going away.

Marta looked disappointed. "So rote memorization of some ritualized series of tactics is the key to victory."

Jake felt a need to disagree. What he had said made sense, but it didn't feel like the whole story. "I don't know. There's always a joker in the deck. The one who does the unexpected."

Marta smiled. "Such as?" Wolf, thinks Jake. If a wolf could smile, it would have the same lean, hungry look of anticipation. Or a red dragon, maybe. Jake was starting to form an image of two dragons curling about each other – Koji, the black dragon, and Marta the red. Even though Koji wasn't actually here, the role Muri was primed to play had these two circling each other, and right now, he felt he was in the middle.

"One time … this pilot … was chasing a Betty across an engagement zone. An Oscar dropped on his tail, with another close behind. The Betty was turning away to the right and that worried me." Jake's hands flew through the motions. "I … er he knew he couldn't beat the Betty or the Oscars behind him. To turn would have left him wide open to get shot down." Jake paused for effect.

"What did the pilot do?" Marta seemed to go along with the fiction.

"Instead of turning, he snap-rolled right, two full revolutions. This placed him directly in front of the turning Betty, head on. The P40's guns and armor were better and it was over very quickly. The two Oscars shot past in a slight dive, and two of the new Kittyhawks dropped on them. Shoulda seen the look on that Betty pilot's face. Those snap rolls completely surprised him. He just wasn't expecting a face to face confrontation. He turned, and that offered a deflection shot at the wing root. No more Betty."

"What would possess a pilot to try such an insane stunt? Wasn't that risking a head-on collision?"

"It would have been dicey, but when your options look limited, the craziest may be the best choice. Given the situation, I … he …the pilot actually did the best thing he could have done. I mean, he lived to tell me about it."

"Do you think a German pilot would have thought of such a maneuver?"

"From what I hear, some of the German pilots are pretty sharp. They also fly way more missions than anybody else." With the thoughts of tactical engagements, Jake's language grew more technical. "With the air theatre occurring directly overhead, they fly more sorties with more combat engagements than anyone else. That experience has to count for something. Most of us spend the majority of our time flying a mission with more time spent getting to the engagement. The Germans simply take off. That's another difference between German and Japanese aircraft. German aircraft tend to carry less fuel. Their range is very limited. On the other hand, less fuel allows you to increase armament or armor. A little bit more of either is an advantage."

Marta nodded her head thoughtfully. "This is very helpful. In a showdown between Japan and Germany, I think I would place my faith in the Germans."

Jake stood up and proceeded around the nose to clean out the nacelle on the port engine. "Don't think you have quantified all your variables yet, Miss Gottfriedson." Math was something he understood from Cornell.

"What do you mean?"

"First, both sides have to beat America."

"That will be no problem. I've seen your America. I spent time there. Americans don't want to get involved in another global conflict. They think they can follow their isolationist policy. Your Roosevelt was elected by promising to keep America out of the war. By the time they realize the danger, it will be too late."

Jake shook his head as he climbed up on the port landing gear and grabbed hold of the nacelle. "I don't know about that. Some of us already know what's happening. We're involved. America is already mobilizing to provide equipment to her friends in Europe. We may not yet be at war, but I don't think it would take much more."

Marta walked idly around the tail of the Goose to come up to the trailing edge of the port wing, facing Jake across it. "What can America do when caught between Japan in the west and Germany in the east? The two will crush America between them."

"Might not be as easy as you think, Miss Gottfriedson. We turned the tide in France in 1917 and were sending 10,000 new troops every day. German subs couldn't stop us. Aerial bombing couldn't stop us. Everyone miscalculated what would happen if America joined in."

"Surely, Captain Cutter, you can't be arrogant enough to believe that America can defeat the combined power of Germany and Japan."

Jake shrugged, almost losing his balance. "Arrogance is confidence without proof. We did it. And, we can do it again. Right now, America doesn't want war." Jake tugged on a bit of debris caught between cylinders of the big radial engine. "If it comes, we will fight." He tugged harder. "If we fight, we will win." He held out the stubborn branch and dropped it to the ground. He picked up the rag he had draped over the airspeed venturi. "There are enough of us involved now, that when the time comes, we'll be ready."

Marta shrugged and moved away along the wing. "That will be interesting." Jake couldn't help himself. What was interesting was watching Marta walk toward him around the port wing tip.

Jake smiled, "Actually, from your perspective, you might want to cheer for the Americans. If we keep everyone tied up, you have a better chance of being left alone here."

Jake could see that Marta had never considered that possibility, and that it intrigued her.

"Indeed. In the six months I spent in your country studying business methods, I got the impression that Americans have it too soft. I don't believe they could make the kind of sacrifice it takes to win a war."

Jake snapped at the opportunity for a safe subject. "Sounds like you don't have a very good opinion of us. How did you like your visit to America?"

"It was unsettling. A peculiar mix of power and naiveté. I met some people who were very free, and others who were absolutely prudish. By your country's standards, I found that I was not considered a "good" girl."

"I'm sure it was just a case of they're not getting to know you." Jake wasn't sure where the conversation was going.

"I had the same problem when studying in England. It was as if they couldn't understand the values here in the islands."

Jake thought a moment. "Let me guess. In America, if you were in Philadelphia, Boston, or New York, you made people uncomfortable, but towards the middle of the country, and the West Coast, you felt more at home."

"Yes, that is essentially correct."

"Then I would guess that you weren't too comfortable in Germany, either, but if you made it into France, especially southern France, it was better."

"That is true. Where did you get your insight? Do you think it was because you fought in the Spanish Civil War."

Jake nodded. "I never thought about it. Why do you ask?"

"I've known Americans who traveled, but were untouched by their experience. They expect everyone to be American. They try to relate to everyone on that basis. I've only met one or two who actually traveled and saw. I'd like to know what made you different. I look at you and I don't see any outward difference. You are not what you seem, Jake Cutter."

Jake started to protest. "I'm just me. What you see is exactly what you get. No more, no less."

"As you wish. I'd like to ask another, personal question?"

"Ask."

"After flying for the AVG, and experiencing first hand Japanese aggression, I find it hard to understand how you could willingly enter into a business or social relationship with a Japanese female gangster."

"Well, out here, I try to avoid judgments. The rules aren't mine. In that light, I wouldn't exactly call Princess Koji your typical Japanese gangster. She makes her own rules. She deals pretty sharply most of the time, and she does things her own way, but I can respect that." Jake thought back to his affirming that he thought Koji a lady. "The law, any law, is a long way off. When it comes down to it, whose law do you follow? I think we all know what's coming, but, for now, out here, the lines are pretty fuzzy. There's a lot of gray, and it's better to avoid ideological conflicts. Besides, after the war, Miss Gottfriedson, the survivors will have to work together to pick up the pieces."

"Please call me Marta. And you think this self-styled Princess Koji will be a survivor?"

"The Princess? I can't imagine this part of the ocean without her somewhere spinning her webs." Jake paused to consider. "Yeah, I think she will still be around. She has tremendous strength, but she's flexible. She'll take whatever comes."

"So, if someone wanted to be a survivor, they would be wise to emulate her?"

Jake shook his head. "I didn't say that, Miss … Princess Koji has had years to build her network and build defenses for her little empire. I think her loyalties lie more with Princess Koji than some national identity. And her people's loyalties lie pretty much with her. No, I think her solution is uniquely her own. We will all have to build our own defenses."

"And how do you plan to do that, Jake Cutter?"

"I probably won't. I'm supposed to go back to my squadron once a doctor says I'm fit to fly fighters. I'll be back in the thick of it." He sat down on the port wheel, leaning against the hull. His voice turned melancholy. "Truth is, … Marta … I don't expect to survive the war. The odds are better than even that the next time I get shot down, I won't be able to walk away. That'll be the end of the Jake Cutter saga." Jake didn't normally let anyone know his true feeling regarding the war, but he thought that this might head off any further entanglements with the red dragon, at least.

Marta walked in close to Jake. It wasn't a difficult task to look at her. "I suppose that will cause great weeping among the feminine population in the islands."

Jake slowly shook his head. "Not really. I don't lay claim to being a sailor. There's no 'girl in every port'."

Marta moved closer. Having just come from the water, there is no scent of perfume, just girl, flavored with a slight salt tang. "So, is there A girl in A port? You seem very friendly with that Japanese … witch."

Jake held up a hand, palm forward, being careful to keep it halfway between them. "That wasn't what it seemed. I have a rule about never getting involved with my customers."

"That's good. I have a feeling she isn't what she seems."

Jake suddenly became more attentive. "What do you mean?"

"You wouldn't know that your Princess and I have met before. I noticed at our earlier meeting, that she has a ritual of morning exercises. This morning, I went looking for her. I wanted to see where she chose to exercise on my island."

"You didn't find her?"

"No. I find that odd. I somehow don't believe that the Princess Koji I met would willingly miss her morning workout."

Jake remembered the last workout he had seen. He decided not to say – look for the body. "Maybe she decided to work out in her room this morning."

Marta looked unconvinced. "I don't think so. Those bungalows aren't designed with the kind of room she would need. There was no movement reported by my people at the proper time."

Jake shook his head. "I didn't notice when I came down, and the Princess doesn't inform the hired help about her itinerary.

Marta removed her swim cap and shook her head. Her silver blond hair cascaded to her waist. The transformation from alien to beautiful woman was a sudden shock to Jake's system. "I think you undervalue yourself, Jake."

"I think I know me better than you do, Miss Gottfriedson."

"Maybe you just need someone to appreciate you, Jake. I think I could make you feel appreciated. Especially if you called me Marta, as I asked."

Jake looked down at the sand. "You hardly know me, Marta. You say your contacts in China said good things about me. They don't know the whole story. You might be disappointed by the reality." He looked up. "You don't want to rush into anything."

Marta's smile was warm, but a little hungry. "I've known other pilots, Jake. They move in and out of your life like lightning." She moved to sit on his lap. "If I'm going to get your attention, I had better move quickly myself. I may not be your American ideal of a good girl, but I'm not a bad girl, either."

Jake's arms, the traitors, circled the slim waist. To keep his balance he told himself. All of his senses were reeling from the contact with all that firm, warm, female flesh. His hands were sending high road/low road messages to each other in spite of a protesting thinking brain.

Marta's left arm moved around Jake's neck. The swim cap fell to the sand. She needs balance, too, he rationalized.

"Don't you think you should look before you leap?" Jake's voice was muffled by a softness he didn't dare examine too closely.

Marta wrapped her right arm around Jake's neck. "Haven't you ever found someone you were attracted to right from the start?"

Jake thought. Some of the memories that would answer that question actually helped him gain some measure of control. "Yes I have, and unfortunately, Marta, neither time ended very well."

Marta actually loosened her grip on Jake's neck and leaned back a little. China blue eyes sought cornflower blue. "I'm not looking for love, Jake. I'm a big girl who can take care of herself. You've told me the risks, and I know what I want."

"And you're used to getting what you want …"

Marta wiggled a little on Jake's lap and stuck out a full lower lip in a mild pout. "Not always. Don't you like me?"

Jake remembered his vision of two dragons circling with him in the middle. Right then all he could see was red. Part of him said this was dangerous, and the other part asked why not. "What's not to like? You are one of the most beautiful women I've ever met; educated, intelligent, not to mention in charge of your own island paradise." Where had he heard that before?

"And there's no one in your life right now?"

Jake's mind flashed to New England. There had been a couple of times that seemed so far away and he had felt free, but it always came back. Right then, Jake couldn't see New England, but he couldn't escape the feeling of standing on a precipice. The ever present shadows made it impossible to tell how far down to the bottom or where the next safe step was. "No, right now, there's no one in my life." Nobody, Jake thought, except Sarah, Koji, Muri, all with some sort of expectation or understanding that I don't even understand.

"Then no one will be hurt." Marta starts once again to tighten her arms around Jake's neck. Her eyes locked on Jake's and her lips moved toward his. The tip of her tongue moistened her lips.

His back against the hull of the Goose, Jake was unable to back away. Those smooth tanned arms demonstrated surprising strength. His arms were pulling her closer, not pushing her away. "I wish I could be sure of that, Marta."

She smiled in answer, feeling his unspoken response, and her lips touched his. Just then a long low mournful note seemed to come from the core of the island itself. Jake recognized it. A type of shell, often found in the islands, with a spiral shape, was used by the natives as a horn. The resonant tone would carry for miles. Its effect on Marta was immediate. She stood up so quickly that Jake didn't have time to regain his balance. He fell awkwardly to the sand.

"My father is returning, and I must meet him." Marta turned and started away. She paused. "Secure your Goose and come to the compound." With that, she trotted up the sand to disappear among the trees.

Having fallen in the shade of the wing, Jake just lay back and stared at the hinge of the port aileron. The simple mechanism was an excellent focus as Jake tried to still his raging mind. New England was suddenly very close. An elfin face stared in his mind's eye out of the shadows. The eyes weren't accusing, just … expectant. Expectant of what, Jake had no idea. They seemed to be waiting to see what kind of man Jake Cutter was. He didn't know the answer himself.

Payment

Jake finally stood, brushed himself off, and started to pick up around the Goose. The swim cap and goggles lay upon the sand. He picked them up and weighed them thoughtfully in his hand. He placed them in the Goose, just inside the rear hatch. He suspected it would be better to return them later.

Jake buttoned up the Goose and took his time walking up to the compound. When he could see through the trees, he could see a knot of people in front of the main house. Suddenly Jake decided that he wanted no part of that group. He skirted the edge of the clearing to approach his cabin from the side opposite the crowd. He slipped across the porch and in the door. Kicking off his boots, he walked into the bedroom and collapsed on the bed. With the plantation owner back, he hoped that he would be left alone until time to fly Muri back to Matuka.

Jake reached under the edge of the bed to pick up the book he had been reading. Josh had good taste in reading material and the simple adventure story was fun, if unrealistic. He'd barely started the book the night before, and didn't quite know where the story line was going yet. He tried to lose himself in the story. The reluctant hero had just met the ravishing damsel in distress when there was a knock at the door. Grumbling, Jake got off the bed and walked to the door. One of the Irish bodyguards was standing at the door – the thin one. His soft tenor accent gave his speech a musical flow. "Her Ladyship said you should go to the big house for lunch. Tis wearin' a jacket you should be fer the occasion since his Lordship has arrived."

Jake started to nod and asked a question instead. "By her Ladyship, do you mean the Princess or Miss Gottfriedson?"

The bodyguard looked disgusted. "Faith, now. There'd be only one Her Ladyship as far as oim concerned. Tis a grand lady she is. And I'll feel better when she's in that flying machine of yours and off this island. I'll be thinkin' tis not a healthy place for the loikes of her."

Jake couldn't help but agree. "Tell her ladyship … er, the Princess, that I will be there in five minutes."

"Roight."

"Wait!" Jake thinks furiously for a minute. Does this guard know about the charade? If not, Jake still needs him to warn Muri. "If you can get your mistress alone, you need to give her a message. Tell her that the lady of the house thinks she's a fake because of a morning workout she supposedly missed. Tell her to be careful. Got that?"

"Blondie t'inks she's a tough one. I'll tell her ladyship." The guard looked at Jake with a new look. He paused in the door. "God bless all here." The door closed softly behind him.

Wondering what that was all about, Jake hurriedly washed his hands, rinsed his face, and grabbed the tweed jacket he'd received from Koji. He thought for a minute and dropped the .32 Mauser in his left hand pants pocket, and a couple of clips in the right. He considered that it might not be the best manners to go to lunch armed, but he felt better for the weight of the pistol in his pocket. He walked briskly up to the main house. The major domo informed him that Herr Heinrich and the two ladies had gone to the store room to view the shipment. Jake knew the way and escorted himself.

Jake decided to take advantage of the shade and followed the veranda around the house. The storeroom Marta had selected for storing the art objects was certainly secure enough being built of volcanic stone, with a stout lock on the door. Still, Jake couldn't understand why such treasures hadn't been moved into the main house.

When he came to the group, he found Muri dressed in a kahki bush jacket and slacks, her hair pulled back and the pony tail hanging to between her shoulder blades. Marta also had changed into a khaki bush jacket, but was wearing a skirt to just above the knee. Both sides are slit to mid-thigh. Her shapely knees showed beneath the skirt, but the calves of her legs were encased in knee length socks disappearing into sturdy brown shoes. Her face was unreadable, shadowed beneath the brim of her forage cap, and her dark sunglasses. A dark red scarf was knotted about her neck. Both women seemed to be waiting for something other than Jake.

A large man, almost portly, stepped out of the storeroom. He, too, was dressed in bush clothing, only his were sweat stained and dusty. He had clearly been traveling. He ran his left hand through a shock of grey blond hair. He smiled, seeming pleased. "Well, it is all there, in good order." He looked at Muri, "Not that I expected anything less, my dear Princess." His gaze travels to Marta. "My dear, your precautions are adequate as always. We'll have the servants prepare places for our treasures in the main house tomorrow."

Muri cleared her throat. "Herr Gottfriedson, I believe there is the small matter of payment on delivery."

Heinrich and Marta both turned to Muri. Marta started to speak but Heinrich held up a hand. "I understand your success now, Princess. Always business before pleasure, hein?"

Muri smiled, wordlessly.

"Can we have lunch? I ate quite lightly this morning in my haste to arrive in a timely manner. We can settle our accounts after lunch. Will that be satisfactory?"

Muri moved forward, taking Heinrich's arm. "Of course, my dear Heinrich. By all means, let us have lunch. We will need our strength, won't we?"

Heinrich visibly expanded. As his benign smile took in all the group he appeared to notice Jake for the first time. "Marta, you didn't tell me you had a visitor on the island." He looked at Marta with an expectant look on his face.

Marta smiled. "Actually, father …"

"Actually, Heinrich," Muri cut Marta off with a smile. "this is my pilot, " Muri placed extra emphasis on the possessive. "Captain Jake Cutter. He's flying a small amphibian transport while recovering from wounds received fighting in China. He's proven very useful to me."

Once again Jake had the feeling of being caught in a whirlpool tide between two dragons. He wondered if he could survive being ripped apart between the two of them. Now he had to survive the crushing handshake of Marta's father.

"Zo, Captain Cutter. I have you to thank for bringing this lovely lady to my island." Heinrich looked from Jake to Marta. "And have they been taking proper care of you?"

Jake made the effort to smile. "My quarters are very comfortable, thank you. And the food has been excellent. As long as my plane is undisturbed on the beach, everything is fine."

"Gut! Gut! Now that my curiosity is satisfied, let us go to lunch." Heinrich turns toward the house. "Adelric!"

The large butler steps into view from the house. "Yes, Master Heinrich?"

"I'm hungry. Is lunch ready?"

"Yes, Master Heinrich. Lunch is served in the dining room."

Heinrich looked at Jake and extended his hand toward the doorway. "Gehen, Sie."

Marta moved toward her father. "Heinrich, I feel there is something you should know about your … guest …"

"Not now, liebchen."

"Mein Herr" Marta stepped between her father and the house.

Heinrich swept her aside with his free hand while maintaining his contact with Muri, mounting the steps to the veranda. At the top of the steps, Muri pulled Heinrich to a stop in such a way that they were facing back down the steps. With a subtle wink at Jake, "My dear Heinrich, perhaps we should let the child speak. I so prefer to eat in a calm atmosphere."

Heinrich looked from Muri to Marta. "Zo? Vat iss der problem?"

Marta looked up at both of them. The differences in height left Jake the impression that parents were looking benignly at a troubled child.

Marta took a deep breath. She struggled to calm the look of anger stealing across her face. "Vat … Heinrich, I have not been able to confirm the identity of this woman. Do you think it …"

"My dear Heinrich, she thinks I'm an impostor. As if anyone would take the risk of impersonating me. I'd have their lying skin flayed from their body." Muri's laugh almost convinced Jake.

Marta tried again. "Where were you this morning?"

Muri smiled. "Slow Poison, dear. You really should have stayed to finish our little workout."

Muri turned and started through the door. Adelric held it open with a bow. Heinrich gave a last look at Marta and turned to follow. Jake extended a hand inviting a subdued Marta to precede him. He smiled at Adelric. Lunch might be fun after all.

In fact, during lunch, Heinrich and Muri dominated the conversation. Jake thoroughly enjoyed the fish, grilled over an open fire. The accompanying fruit salad was refreshing to the palate. Jake ate enough to be comfortable, but not full. Marta picked at her food, her expression unreadable behind the dark glasses.

When Heinrich moved the group to his study for an afternoon libation, Marta excused herself to "check on security matters." Heinrich watched her leave with a puzzled expression on his face, shrugged, and returned his attention to Muri. After pouring generous portions of a potent schnapps, he turned to a low cabinet. Pulling a key from his pants pocket, he opened the cabinet to reveal a combination lock. Shielding the mechanism with his body, he opened the safe to reveal large quantities of currency and coins, and a Luger pistol. He extended a small pouch toward Muri.

"My dear, let's dispose of mundane matters so that we might enjoy the rest of the day. Hein?"

Muri smiled and motioned for Jake to take the pouch. He stepped forward and placed his hand under the pouch, gently taking the weight off Heinrich's hand. Muri nodded when Heinrich looked at her, and he released his grip on the pouch. Not having a lot of experience with gold, Jake was surprised at the weight.

"Captain Cutter, please take care of that until we return to Matuka."

Jake nodded. "Of course, Princess. With your permission, I will take this to my quarters."

Heinrich beamed. "Gut. Princess, may I give you a tour of my island paradise?"

Muri nodded and Jake excused himself.

Instead of going to his cabin, Jake headed across the compound and down the path to the beach. He kept an eye out for Josh, but didn't know where to look for the American agent.

When he reached the Goose, he entered the rear hatch, gasping a little at the heat built up inside the plane. In the rear hold, was a wooden tool box, covered with a blanket that Jack slept on when riding with Jake on long flights. Jake moved the blanket and lifted the top of the box to reveal a steel box bolted to a rib of the fuselage. Jake opened the box and stored the gold in it, replaced the box lid and the blanket. He walked forward to the cockpit and opened small vents to allow fresh air to circulate through the plane.

A quick check showed that the plane appeared not to have been tampered with since he had been down earlier. The swim cap and goggles were still just inside the rear hatch. Jake jumped out of the plane, onto the beach, secured the hatch, and started to walk up the path to the compound.

He was half way up the path, the main house just in sight when he heard a loud explosion. A black cloud rose from behind the house. Jake quickened his pace, heading for the nearest corner of the house. As he passed a small stable, Muri and Heinrich stepped out of its shade. Without a word, Jake pointed at the smoke rising behind the main house.

"Mein Gott! The storeroom." Heinrich released Muri's hand and moved forward more quickly. Jake ran up beside Muri.

"Princess, go to your cabin. I'll come get you when this is all over."

"Jake, tell me what is going on."

"Muri, I think someone wants the cargo we delivered." Jake didn't even worry that he had called her by her real name. He puts his arm around her to give a push toward the cabins, away from the action. "Now, please, go to your cabin."

Muri looked at him. "I'll go, Jake-san."

Jake smiled, checked his pistol and headed towards the sounds of fighting and gunshots. When he rounds the corner of the house he finds a pitched battle where he doesn't recognize most of the players. Heinrich had acquired a rifle and was firing across the open space from the house to a low stone wall. There appeared to be about a dozen European individuals there armed with a variety of weapons. Adelric is standing on the veranda coolly selecting and firing toward targets at the corner of the now ruined storehouse with a pump shotgun. On occasion, his rapid working of the action made the shotgun sound more like a machine gun. It's clear that he was trying to stop a group from carrying off the objects looted from the storehouse. Marta took a more direct approach and had moved over to the storehouse. There were already two bodies at her feet. She's taking out raiders barehanded.

Jake stopped one raider from shooting Marta. She looked toward Jake and smiled. The grin on her face reminded Jake even more of a wolf.

A gasp to his left distracted Jake and he saw Heinrich sinking to the ground clutching his left shoulder. Jake dashed over to his side. A single slug had entered the shoulder, high up on the meaty part. With blood front and back, Jake was pretty certain the bullet had passed through without hitting anything major.

Jake shouted. "Adelric, man down!" Adelric looked over, saw the situation and began to move toward them. He continued firing and loading, and firing again.

Jake started thinking like a fighter pilot. He scanned the potential threats of the combat zone. His rear was solidly protected by the bulk of the main house. Gunshots from over his head, and the occasional fall of one of the raiders gave him the impression that he was covered from above. He started moving across the veranda toward the end of the house opposite the conflict. Marta and Adelric appeared to have cleared out the raiders closest to the storeroom. Marta had picked up a pistol, and using the doorway as a retreat was firing toward the low stone fence. Scanning back to his left, Jake noted movement. Expecting a flanking movement, he turned to find Muri and her three bodyguards, all armed, coming to join the fight. Jake fired toward the fence and sidled over to Muri.

"What are you doing here? I thought I sent you to the cabin."

"Princesses do not cower when someone is interfering with their business. They take care of business. No one fights my battles for me."

Jake shook his head. It was exactly what Koji would have done. He moved ahead of her and flanked her side, trying to edge her toward the veranda and the relative safety of the house. He shoots another raider. He doesn't see one coming up behind him. Muri saw the raider and shouted a warning as he drew a bead on Jake's unprotected back. A husky contralto voice shouted "No! Wait!" Jake turned to fire, but like an amateur, he had allowed his pistol to shoot empty. The resistance fighter, hearing Muri's shout, turned and shot without looking. Muri stopped, staring at Jake in disbelief. Her face didn't register pain, just shock as she looked down at the stain spreading under her sternum. Before the raider can turn back to Jake, Todo-twosan removed his head with a single stroke, only to be struck from behind by another raider. For Jake, time came to a halt. All he could hear was the beating of his heart and the prolonged "NNNNoooooooooo!" escaping his lips.

Realizing the failure of their mission, the remaining raiders started to withdraw from the fence and make for the cover of the trees at the edge of the clearing. Marta led a determined, angry group to pursue, including some of her security force, Adelric, and even a recovering Heinrich. The two Irish body guards move on with the fighting, leaving the fallen behind.

Jake dropped his pistol to catch Muri as she sagged. He gently lowered her to the ground, holding her torso to his chest and her head against his shoulder.

She tilts her head back to see his face. "It doesn't hurt, Jake-san."

Jake tastes salt on his lips. "That's shock, Muri. For a while the body denies the damage. It'll start to hurt soon. We need to get you help."

Muri's hand twitched like she wanted it to do something but it wouldn't obey her. "It does not matter, Jake-san. I feel that I will not be here that long. I go to join my ancestors, Jake-san."

Jake took her hand and brought it to his lips. "Don't talk that way. You'll be ok."

"Jake-san? Was I a good princess?"

"The best, my Princess."

Muri smiled, her eyes lighting. "It is important that you take the Princess back to her island. These must never know, Jake-san. Please take me back home."

"Sure thing, Princess Muri."

"I wish to have seen your valley, Jake-san. I'd like see tall houses with no earth shakes."

"I can take you there, Princess."

"I think not, Jake-san. I shall soon be fully free. You will tell my mistress that I served with honor?"

"I will tell her of your great honor. You will always be Princess Muri." Jake said the last to himself. The light of wonder was forever gone from those innocent eyes.

Closing her sightless eyes, Jake sat on the ground, heedless of the blood staining the clothes he wore. He just sat there and held Muri. Finally, he gently put Muri down, and covered her with his jacket. Rarely did Jake think about God, but he silently, fervently prayed that God could find a place in Heaven for an innocent little pagan princess.

Josh came running up carrying a bolt action 8X57 Mauser. He was disheveled but unhurt. There was no hint of his masquerade. There's no one around to see it. He's appalled at the quantity of blood covering Jake.

"Jake, are you OK?"

"Yeah."

Jake continued to stare down at the still form. Josh moved beside him. "Koji?"

"The Princess, yeah." Josh didn't need to know that the body was not Princess Koji. It had been a princess and that was close enough to the truth for now.

Josh grounded the butt of the rifle and leaned on it. "I never thought I'd see the day when the Dragon Lady would go down."

Jake looked down. "The world will be a sadder place now that she is gone."

"Jake, I didn't know her like you did, but she was a blood thirsty murderer with curves. Talk about your original Black Widow."

"She was a lady. She had a heart of gold."

Josh stared disbelievingly. "Heart of gold. From what I've heard from Sarah and Corky, she was a gold plated b ..."

Jake grabbed Josh's shirt and yanked him to within inches of his face. "You have no right. You didn't know her." Jake's free hand pointed down to the body. "She was a lady. She had spirit, character, and an appreciation of life that the likes of you and me will never understand."

Jake dropped his grip. He walked over where Todo-twosan lay unconscious. He knelt down and shook him awake. "Todo, attend to your mistress."

The pseudo samuri looked over at the still form. He jabbered in Japanese, shifted to a kneeling position, grabbed his Katana and prepared to rip his guts out. Jake, expecting this, grabbed the knife.

"You will not kill yourself. You will bear your shame and complete your duty by preparing your Princess to return to Matuka. Then, you may attempt to regain your honor. Prepare the body to go aboard my plane."

The shaken man bowed. "Hai!"

Jake started to walk away. Josh came up to him. "Where are you going?"

Jake looked at his ruined, blood soaked clothes. "First, I'm going to get cleaned up, and then change. As soon as I get cleaned up, I'm going to find out what this was all about. Then, I'm lifting off."

"Where are you going?"

"To Matuka. To return the body. Those were her last instructions, and I promised."

"Jake, listen. You don't need to do that."

"I gave my word, Josh. That's final."

Josh looked into Jake's eyes. He shook his head. "Captain Cutter verree stubborn mans. Rahmad no understand. Rahmad go see about others now."

"You do that. Rahmad." With that Jake walked over to his jacket lying where Todo-twosan moved it, caring for Muri. He rummaged in the right hand pocket for the two pistol clips. He ejected the empty from his pistol and inserted a new clip. He dropped the slide on a fresh round. He didn't bother with the safety when he tucked it into his belt in the small of his back. He'd learned the Mexican carry working in South America and liked how he could reach the pistol with either hand. He wasn't concerned about concealment any more.

He moved toward the lagoon, where he had heard sounds of fighting. There are several dead bodies, including the one who looked like the leader. Heinrich is looking at the body, blood soaking his left sleeve and dripping off his hand. "I know this one. His name is, or was, Delancy. He was at the auction where I bought the art."

Marta knelt by the body and searched it. She didn't show the least squeamishness. She found a piece of paper in the left hand shirt jacket pocket. She looked at it, refolded it, and placed it in her pocket.

Jake stepped forward. "I'd like to see that."

Marta turned toward him, eyes unreadable behind the dark lenses. "I see no reason for that. This is my island, my security responsibility. I will investigate."

Jake shook his head. "I can't accept that. I will have to have information to give her organization when I return the body. She had a half brother and half sister."

"You will not want to leave until morning. I will provide you a report then. I cannot allow you to tamper with any evidence."

Jake looked around. "I'll need to find the rest of her security team. I'll need to take them back to Matuka."

Marta looked at him. "You will have a number of bodies to fly back. You will find them over there. They fought alongside my security team. Unfortunately, they were killed along with six of my people. You and her samurai are all that are left of your party."

Jake barely glanced in their direction. He wondered if they'd been shot in the back. "Put it in your report and bury them here." He was only going to transport one body. He had no intention of diluting the honor of her return with other, less worthy passengers. Jake knew it wasn't rational, but he didn't really care.

Loose ends

He walked to his cabin. Ysuri had left fresh water there earlier in the morning and he used it now to take a drink, and then wash as much of the blood away as he could. He removed the blood soaked clothes and started to throw them in the trash. It just wasn't his nature. He filled the washbasin with cold water and worked each stain out of the fabric. He hung them to dry before taking a fresh shirt from his duffle, and his khaki trousers.

A knock on the door brought a welcome end to the silence. It was Adelric, looking as unperturbed as ever. "The Master would like to see you in his office." Jake shrugged and followed him to the house.

Heinrich was in the study, his shoulder bandaged and arm in a sling. He poured a drink from a cut crystal decanter into one of two cut crystal glasses. "Vould you like a drink, Captain Cutter?"

Jake shrugged. "I'd prefer a beer."

Heinrich looked at Adelric who left without a word. "Vat are your plans, Captain Cutter?"

"I'd like to know a little about what is going on here, and then I'll be on my way. I'm returning the body to Matuka tonight. I'd appreciate enough gas to fill my tanks, if you have it."

Adelric returned with a cold, dark bottle. Jake took a pull at the neck and found it rich, cold, and slightly bitter. He nodded his appreciation to Adelric.

Heinrich looked to Adelric. "Adelric, see to it that Captain Cutter's plane is fully refueled. Marta should have seen to that yesterday. Use one of the fuel carts for the truck."

Jake cut in. "There's a native who helped me tie the Goose down yesterday. I think Rahmed was his name. He seemed to have an affinity for the work."

Heinrich nodded. "If you can find him." Then, turning away from Adelric in dismissal. "Vat do you wish to know, Captain Cutter?"

"I want to know what happened here? All was peaceful, and then boom. People are dead. We need to tell the authorities."

"Pirates, Captain Cutter. Nodthing more. There has been a group working these islands, preying on isolated plantations. Marta will contact the local authorities. They will come to complete their investigation. I have no doubt that Marta's will be much more thorough. She's quite upset, you know."

Jake wasn't convinced. "I thought you said you recognized one of the pirates, or raiders?"

"Ja, I did. The items you delivered were purchased at an exclusive art auction. He was there, as a buyer. He was introduced to me as a dope dealing Frenchman supporting the Vaterlund. I belief he vas from der De Lancys, a noble family from the Burgundy province in France. I know nothing more as I despise the French and I doubly despise dope fiends. Perhaps he vas a spy for the pirates." Heinrich finished his drink in a single gulp.

"Perhaps." Jake took another sip of the beer, collecting his thoughts. "Don't you think it odd that they went straight for the storeroom? I'd have gone for the house first."

"Nein. Marta believes they set der bomb on the storeroom as a distraction. Dey could not haff known the art was stored dere." Heinrich poured another drink.

"A lucky shot? What about the paper Marta took off Delancy's body? That could have been instructions." Jake thought about the shouted command that had cut through the sounds of battle. Who was really in command?"

"Marta said it vas nodthing. Just piece of a letter from home. There won't be any more of dose."

Jake stood in thought. "No, I guess not." There were too many questions, but Jake didn't have time to answer them then. Best to get Muri home. "I'll be going. Thank you for your hospitality." Jake started to set the bottle down.

"Dere is one more thing, Herr Capitan. A small thing, really."

Jake tensed. "What is that, Herr Gottfriedson?"

Heinrich shrugged and smiled. "You vere giffen a large sum of money. Idt is of no vurther use to the Princess. I vould like it back."

Jake shook his head. "I can't do that. I'll turn it in to the managers of her organization. They'll be expecting it."

"Dey need never know, Herr Capitan."

"They already know, Herr Gottfriedson. When I return the body, they will be expecting full payment."

Jake moved until his back was against the wall, next to the door. He took a last pull from the beer bottle. The coolness helped maintain his calm.

"You could say she vas killdt before I paid. That I was nodt willing to accept delivery of damaged goods."

Jake tried his most charming smile. "I could, but I won't. Princess Koji's organization has a long reach. I don't want them coming after me – and neither do you. You thought these pirates were bad? Most of them were European. They're choir boys compared to Koji's mercenaries. They'd come to collect in person – out of your hide."

"Perhaps you couldt stay here? I could use a private pilot. I pay very vell. Und, idt would give Marta someone to talk to. Dat wouldt nodt be zo bad, hein?"

Jake hid a shudder. Talk about being fed to the wolves. "That'd be two for the price of one. Why make it easy for them? No, thanks."

Heinrich's shoulders slumped. He smiled. "I must try, nein?"

Jake set his bottle down before he opened the door. "Thanks for the beer. I'll finish packing and be on my way."

Jake slid out the door without turning his back. His left hand was on the grip of the Mauser as he checked to make certain no one was standing behind him on the other side of the door. Seeing no one, he moved silently across the house to the front door. He relaxed only slightly on the front porch. His goal now was to take his gear to the Goose and leave this island in his propwash

Josh intercepted him as he was halfway across the compound. "Rahmad makee certain, iron bird plenty full." Jake never slowed down.

"Thanks, Rahmad. I'll be lifting off as soon as I can throw the last of my things in a bag."

"Marta said you'd be staying until morning."

Jake paused on the steps of his cabin. "Marta's wrong. The last thing I want to do is spend the night here."

"She's gonna be pretty sore, Jake. I think she likes you. Gotta admit, guy, you sure have a way with the ladies."

That was part of Jake's eagerness to be gone. He didn't want any visitors in his bed that night, especially since he didn't know if they would be friendly, or poisonous, or both.

"She'll get over it." He turned to go in.

Josh followed him onto the step. "Jake, can I ask a favor?"

Jake had just pulled his duffle clear and opened it. He looked hard at Josh. "Answer me one question. Did you have any part in this raid? Were your responsible for the Princess' death?"

"No, Jake. Word of honor. This was an unsanctioned recovery. Since it failed, it is only going to make it harder to recover the goods. In fact, that's my favor. I need to get off this island before Marta's investigation turns up an extra native."

Jake pulled his .455 and rig from his duffle and fastened it about his waist. If he'd had it, he wouldn't have made the mistake during the fight. "You want a ride?"

Josh nodded, "I was hoping you could give me a lift to the Hancock? The ship's not far off your course. I can tell you what I know on the way."

"What about Ysuri? You'll break her heart."

Josh ignores Jake's sarcasm. "If I leave now, I'll always be the mysterious stranger. She'll grow old, but in her mind I never will. If I stay, she'll grow tired of me, resent the kids, wish for a better life. This way, all she'll have of me are good memories. It's better this way. For both of us." He tried a smile.

Jake just looked at him. "I leave as soon as I finish the preflight. Be there."

"That would be too obvious, pal. Can you pick me up outside the reef?"

Jake just nodded and stuffed still damp clothes in the duffle bag. When he looked up, Josh was gone. He shrugged and turned to pick up books off the bed, and gather his clothes from the wardrobe.

Jake was alone when he started the Goose's preflight. He went to the rear hatch to enter the Goose for the preliminaries. A huddled form lies by the hatch, the sand soaking up a puddle of blood. Todo two-san. Jake had never learned his real name. He straightened the body. He's surprised to see the blade still in the body, pointing the wrong way. From what Jake knew of the ceremony, the way the blade was inserted was important for a proper cut. Jake thought it odd that the little samurai would have botched that. It was a sloppy way to commit suicide. One more question without an answer.

Jake entered the Goose, confirmed that Muri's body was properly lashed down, opened the cockpit side windows, and dropped the flaps for inspection. He climbed out the nose hatch and dropped to the port side. He started at the port wing root. He could've hurried as he knows every inch of the plane, but the extra attention to detail helped calm him. Besides, an upset pilot, hurrying through his preflight is usually a dead pilot. There'd been enough death this day. He worked his way around to checking the oil in the starboard engine.

"This is not what I wanted, Jake Cutter."

He turned to see Marta standing at the wingtip. She'd dressed in a simple white blouse, with red slacks. Jake expected to see red wings and tail. Her hair was covered by a silk scarf barely whiter than her hair. Once again, the sunglasses were in place covering the exotic eyes. It reminded him and he went back to the hatch. He recovered the goggles and swim cap. He held them out to her. "Someone always gets hurt."

She nodded, took the cap and goggles, and turned to walk away. She paused and half turned as if to say something, but in turning her head she caught the look in Jake's eyes. She shook her head and walked off.

Jake finished the preflight, buttoned hatches and fired up the Goose. He taxied her off the beach into the water of the lagoon. He brought the landing gear up fast in preparation for take-off. Taxiing past the reef he managed to spot Josh floating about half a mile out. As he neared the position, he leaned out the port engine until it sputtered and coughed, and died. He shut down the starboard engine and went back to help Josh climb in. While Josh was drying off, Jake faked a couple of engine false starts and then let the port engine catch with a belch of black smoke and a rough roar. When he finally got both engines running smoothly, he started to turn into the wind.

"Cute."

Right hand on the overhead throttles, Jake looked over his shoulder. "Surprised the sharks didn't get you."

Josh shrugged. "Professional courtesy."

"You'll wish they had if I ever find out you had any part in that raid."

"Honest, Jake. I had no part in it." Josh dropped into the co-pilot's seat as Jake applied take-off power.

"So what did happen?" The engine noise gave Jake an excuse for shouting. It helped, too little.

"It's a bad deal all around. In fact, we're worse off now than we were."

"You've said that. So, what happened?"

"I don't know, but I'll tell you what I've pieced together. We knew back on New Britain that Henri Delancy would be there. What we heard was that he was a renegade, working with the Germans, and selling dope on the side to finance his own habit."

"He didn't look like a dope user today."

"No, which brings me to the problem with all intelligence. We had another story that he was part of a group of patriots that were going to buy back as many of the items at the auction as they could, using counterfeit money. We just didn't have any support for that story. The dope cover was just too perfect."

"Nobody believed that version, huh?"

"It was too thin. When I left New Britain, no one had been able to confirm anything. I did find out something interesting when I helped haul the bodies off. I went through their papers, and they were all French and Belgium loyalists."

"Was that what I saw Marta take off Delancy's body? His identity papers?"

"No, those were in a wallet on the body. Whatever she got, it wasn't that. I did overhear her saying that you were asking too many questions about it."

"Josh, I think they knew exactly where to look for that stuff. Heinrich told me that they blew the building as a diversion to get into the main house. I don't buy it."

Josh shook his head. "Jake, leave the intelligence work to me. You're a great pilot, but this isn't your game. Heinrich is loyal German. There's no way he'd be consorting with loyalists to rob himself. What's the point?"

"I don't know. Maybe he's clear. Maybe it's Adelric, or Marta."

"That's thin, Jake. Too thin."

Jake pulled back on the throttles at altitude. The sudden quiet was deafening. It let him drop his voice for emphasis. "As thin as Delancy being a loyalist capable of putting a force of about thirty men on Heinrich's island undetected?

"Ouch. OK, Jake, I'll look into it. I'll have plenty of time while trying to sort this fiasco out."

The two men spent the rest of the flight back to the Hancock kicking various parts of the story around. Both avoided mentioning the body in the back. Jake knew he should tell Josh that Koji wasn't dead – that Muri was literally a dead ringer for the princess. But he couldn't. He had promised a dying girl that he wouldn't let anyone know. That meant Josh as well. It's a difficult situation, and really tested his loyalties. He certainly didn't owe Koji anything, and not telling Josh was going to make things a lot harder in the future. He tried to sort out how his word to a dying slave girl was more important than his relationship with an ally. He still hadn't found an answer by the time the Hancock appeared on the horizon.

Josh talked Jake into spending the night on the Hancock. He spent a fair part of the time trying to get Jake to abandon his mission to Matuka. Jake insisted that if he was going to be of any use to Josh in the region, he had to keep faith with Koji's organization. He couldn't operate his business in the South Sea Islands if he constantly had to watch his back. Jake had all the acquaintance with Japanese codes of honor and vengeance he wanted. Reluctantly, Josh agreed and let him turn in for some much needed rest. There was no way, in the morning, Jake could describe the tossing and turning, and half dreamstate as sleep. Still, he managed to pick up a new batch of baseball scores. Along with a case of SPAM for himself and several chocolate bars for Corky.

Jake was standing on the wing of the Goose when Josh came down to the floating launch platform for a final word.

He gave Jake a funny look. "You know I told Ysuri to compare the two of us."

"Yeah, she told me."

"I meant it as a gag. That didn't turn out quite the way I expected."

Jake closed the inspection hatch on the port engine nacelle. "How's that?"

"Well, I asked her about you. She just shook her head. She said I was a good man, but that you were something else. She didn't have the words to explain it. She just said that your honor was very ancient. And that your soul needed rest. Does that make any sense to you?" Josh's expression was puzzled. "You ain't that old."

"Sometimes, I feel pretty old, Josh. She saw me when I was tired. That's all."

"Yeah, it must have been." Josh smiled. "After all this, you could probably use some time off."

Jake tried to match his smile. "When I finish this business, the mail run out of Boragora will feel like a vacation."

First he had to survive telling Koji about what happened.

A Hot Reception

It was a long flight from the Hancock to Matuka. Especially since Jake flew a dogleg to ensure he approached Matuka on the correct heading. He was tired, and couldn't forget the cargo gently lashed in the back. His nerves were ragged and he could really have used Corky's tuneless jazz harmonica to take some of the edge off. Jake was just starting to relax, anticipating the end of the funeral flight when two stubby Mitsubishi A5M Claudes with their fixed-gear wheel spats painted a brilliant red buzzed the Goose. These had the experimental closed cockpit so Jake could not see the pilots. He side-slipped the Goose to avoid collision. One fired a short machine gun burst in the direction of the Goose.

Jake stifled a curse as he dropped the Goose down slightly and swooped up into an Immleman turn, the big radials screaming in protest, to forestall the next pass.

He grabbed the radio mike. He'd set the radio on the Princess' favorite frequency shortly after passing from radio range of the Hancock. There'd been no chatter, not that he'd have been able to understand it anyhow. "Matuka Radio, this is Cutter's Goose. I'm inbound on a mission for Princess Koji; I have authorization to approach." He'd radioed ahead earlier. He'd tried to convey the outcome without saying it explicitly. He was pretty sure the island was prepared for his arrival.

A female voice replied, recognizable despite the poor signal quality and static. "Ah Jake. There's been a slight change of plans. Please turn to a heading of 327 degrees. Follow that heading and you will shortly see a small island with a runway. Land there."

"Matuka Radio" Jake was still maintaining the fiction that Koji was dead. He didn't dare say her name on the air. "That puts me into the southern end of the Carolina Islands. That's part of the Japanese Mandate. That's off limits to me."

"True, Jake, but there will be no problem this time. My fighters will escort you there."

Jake banked the Goose to the expected heading before he replied. "Roger that, Matuka Radio. Heading of 327 and land at the airstrip. And hope I don't get shot down."

The amusement at Jake's concern was strong in her voice, even with the poor signal. "Don't worry Jake. I'll see you shortly."

"That's why I'm worried" Jake muttered under his breath, mike off.

With barely twenty minute's flying time, Jake saw the airstrip and set up his approach. He saw an open stretch of water next to the airfield and what appeared to be a seaplane ramp. The two fighters moved ahead of him to land on the hard packed dirt strip, one executing a four-point snap roll on its final approach. Shaking his head at the reckless display, Jake decided to set down on water. As the Goose settled on the water and embraced the essence of boatness, Jake lowered the gear and taxied up the ramp, out of the water. The slower approach and extra taxi activities gave Jake a chance to examine his surroundings.

The island and its facilities surprised Jake. Apparently, even though Princess Koji preferred the more stately and gracious travel available to her aboard her Macao built diesel junk, she'd outfitted the small island closest Matuka with a reasonably well equipped airstrip. Here she maintained a small air force of the two Mitsubishi A5M fighters with closed cockpits, and two Mitsubishi Ki-21 twin engined bombers. One was stripped of bomb racks and had a clamshell door cut into the side behind the main wing. The clamshell door was open and the afternoon light revealed the interior to be equipped with a compact office, allowing the Princess swift transport to Japan or elsewhere, or some convenience ferrying dignitaries to her islands. Jake thought Josh would be interested in an airfield fully capable of supporting advanced operations this close to the Clipper's main route.

A solitary figure on the edge of the runway motioned for him to taxi to a bare spot under the trees, near a small building. One of the fighter pilots strode arrogantly toward the Goose, removing helmet and flying goggles to reveal long dark hair. Jake muttered "Koji! I should have known." As Jake exited the Goose he stopped to recover the money from its concealment. Princess Koji fluffed out her hair while waiting and unzipped her flight suit to reveal very little underneath except her. "My people will take care of your precious Goose, Jake. Come with me."

Jake shook his head and handed her the bag of coin. He waited as Koji's servants unloaded Muri's body from the Goose. They unloaded her gently, reverently, almost as if she were really the Princess. The Princess looked down at Muri's still face, at peace, perhaps a peace Koji would never feel.

"That is the second time I've had to look at my own dead face. It is disturbing."

Jake moved close to Koji and the still body. "And it's the second time I've let you die. I'm sorry, Princess."

Koji looked at Jake. To whom was he speaking? "Jake, have dinner with me tonight."

"Princess, I'm tired. I don't think I can handle another wedding feast."

"No, Jake. Tonight will be much simpler. Not quite your hand held hasty meal, but still something simple. Something to celebrate living, being alive, and honoring the dead who died doing their duty."

"You want to honor Muri?" Jake was past disbelief. Never had he seen Koji show any concern for one of her servants.

"Yes, Jake, honor. Did you know she respected me? Where most of my people fear me, she even admired me. In her innocence, she copied my actions, not to take my place, but to learn to be strong, like me. Little did she know …"

Jake stood beside her. "I've heard a saying that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. And yes, I knew she respected you. Her last words were to say we had to maintain the illusion, and then to ask if I thought you would be pleased with her performance."

Koji handed the pouch to a servant and turned to face Jake. "How did you answer her, Jake Cutter?"

"Princess, I apologize if I presumed too much. My last words to a dying girl were that you would be very pleased."

Koji reached up to touch Jake's face, stroking the edge of the jaw through the stubble he hadn't taken time to shave. The touch was tender, rather than possessive or demanding. Jake felt no threat, just wonder. "Thank you, Jake Cutter. She deserved no less. Will you have dinner with me tonight?"

Jake took her hand, bowed over it and kissed it as he would the hand of a high born lady, or Muri, for that matter. "Your Highness, it will be my honor. May I clean up and shave first?"

Koji motioned for servants to take Jake to the appropriate guest quarters. "You may. I'll call for you during the time of the Cock on the main island."

Jake nodded and followed the servants out of the grove of trees.

Hard to Swallow

It was early evening, around six o'clock when Jake was escorted across Matuka to a small house in another elegant garden. He couldn't believe it had been less than a week since he last dined with Koji. So much had happened that it seemed a lifetime. It was too short a time to make and lose a friend. He worried briefly about his friends on Boragora. What had their week been like? Were they feeling similarly aged and drained? How much would Josh tell Sarah, and she relate to the others? What was Corky doing with no Goose to work on? Louie had been hinting that the engine on his launch needed work. He might finally have gotten his wish.

The two costumed servants lead him to a small room, more intimate than the last dinner space. There was a low table, with cushions. After he removed his shoes at the door, one elaborately made up girl gestured for him to sit down beside the table, with his back to the door. Another handed him a beer in a cold bottle. The "while you wait" seemed over rehearsed and probably were the only English words the poor girl knew. Jake wondered if one day she would have to die for Koji. He chastised himself for the unkind thought. But, it was hard to shake. There had been a lot of bodies for a simple freight delivery. He still questioned the deaths of the three body guards.

As soon as the servants left, Jake moved around the table until he faced the door. That felt more comfortable, even if he felt ashamed at the implied distrust. He set the beer on the table and rolled up his shirt sleeves to just below the elbow. He hadn't known how he should dress this evening, but since Koji had said it would be informal he had settled for a pair of the khaki slacks, and a dark blue button down shirt. It matched his mood. He had elected to leave the sport coat, and the flight jacket behind.

He was drawing celtic knot patterns on the black lacquered table top with the water rings from the beer bottle when he heard the faint rasp of a sliding panel behind him. The faint wisp of perfume that came with the noise suggested that the possible threat was more to his mental health than physical. He kept drawing rings. A silken rustle beside him prompted him to turn his head. He found himself looking into serious dark eyes.

"Good evening, Jake Cutter."

Jake studied the figure sitting on the cushion next to him. Her hair was down, a black cascade across her left shoulder, almost to her waist as she was seated. She wore a simple robe of pure white silk, with a pure white belt as well. Her feet were bare and the nails free of any coloration, as were her fingers. He saw one face, free of any makeup, but felt two spirits.

"Good evening, Princess Koji." He made sure to say her name, forcing himself to remember that the other was there only as another shadow in his life. "Thanks for the beer."

She looked at him. "Would it be good with one of your hamburgers, or hot dogs at your baseball game?"

Jake took another sip as he considered. "Yeah, it would, but I don't think the Japanese will ever catch on to Baseball." He tried a smile, but it didn't fit. He let the effort fade.

Koji watched him for a moment. "I think we should both eat now." She clapped her hands twice, and the serving girls entered with plain white china bowls filled with noodles, chunks of meat, and vegetables. One girl carefully wiped away Jake's liquid design before placing a plain white plate in front of him. The other transferred some from each bowl onto his plate.

Jake started to protest. "I don't think I can eat much …"

Koji merely nodded. "Eat what you will. Tonight there will be no implied insult for unfinished food."

Jake shrugged and started to eat. Koji did the same. Again, Jake found himself enjoying the food. The noodles were tender, the vegetables crisp, the meat delicately seasoned. It was an interesting contrast from the heavier German food of just 48 hours earlier. Could it only have been 48 hours? After a short time, one of the servants entered with a tray with two cups and a bottle wrapped in a white towel. She pours each cup half full of a clear liquid.

Koji lifted one cup and looked at its contents. "Jake Cutter, would you join me in a toast?"

Jake picked up the remaining cup. "Go ahead."

"To loyal servants who serve well, and meet their fate with dignity and grace." She drained the cup and threw it across the room to shatter against a corner post. Jake drained his and its shards mingled with that of Koji's.

Koji stared at that corner. "I will miss Muri. I'll even miss her gentle mockery of me. But life must go on."

Jake followed her stare. "Yeah, life will go on, and people are going to be really surprised that you're not dead, again."

Koji laughed mirthlessly. "Yes, my legend will grow another notch."

"It's going to cause me a lot of trouble."

"Not really. Your perfect maintenance of the substitution is your defense. You need only say that you were completely fooled."

"I don't like lying, Princess."

"Is it a lie, Jake Cutter? Were you not fooled in New Britain?"

Jake paused for a minute. "I'll have to think about that. What do you think Heinrich will do when he finds out? His daughter was suspicious."

"Yes, that will be intriguing." Koji wiggled a little on her cushion. "I have a feeling that one day I shall have to settle with Marta." Koji shook her head. "Have you had enough to eat, Jake Cutter?"

Jake looked at his empty plate, surprised. He really couldn't remember eating much. Still, he wasn't hungry. "Yes, thank you, Princess Koji. It was very good."

Koji stood up in one brief flow upward. "Come with me."

"Princess, I'm feeling wiped out. I really would prefer to turn in."

"We have much to talk about, Jake Cutter. Please walk with me for a while. The evening is beautiful. I don't generally retire until the Boar turns into the Rat."

Jake saw no way to gracefully refuse. He stood up. "Very well."

They left the hut and wandered, apparently aimlessly down garden paths.

"Did she die well, Jake?"

"I tried to send her to her cabin. I wanted her to be safe. She and her bodyguards came back to join the fight. I tried to send her back, but she insisted that the Princess wouldn't let someone else do her fighting. I tried to get her to move toward the cover of the veranda of the house. I didn't watch my six. She shouted a warning, and the raider shot her instead of me. That bullet should have been mine."

"Perhaps, Jake Cutter, you are right. On the other hand, her presence distracted you. It made you careless."

"Nobody makes me careless, Princess. If I ignore a fundamental caution, it is my fault, and no one else's."

"Nonsense! With that kind of thinking, it is my fault for sending her on a mission in my place."

Jake avoided mentioning that he had thought of that.

Koji continued. "It was her karma that led her to that fate. Not what I did for perfectly good business reasons, or what you did for perfectly good survival reasons during a fight. It was her karma, nothing more, nothing less."

Jake shook his head, "I don't believe in karma, or predestination. You can change all that. She didn't have to die."

"Jake, Jake, of course she didn't have to die. But she chose to learn how to imitate me. She chose to go in my place. She chose to ignore your caution. She chose to make herself vulnerable by shouting a warning. The essence of those choices is what made up her karma. We can't change that."

"So it's just fate? Don't you feel anything about her death?"

"Of course, Jake. I regret the loss of a faithful servant. I even regret the anguish this unfortunate event is causing you."

"Regret? That's all?"

"Do not judge me, Jake Cutter. I, too, am what my karma dictates." A servant walked up to hand Koji a small perfectly carved Jade vessel. Koji's bow was strangely formal and low as she received it. The servant backed away, upper body parallel to the ground. Jake was certain he saw a tear in the girl's eye as she retreated into the darkness.

Koji looked at Jake. "Let us take this path, Jake." When she was certain that Jake was following her, she asked. "You were saying?"

"I've already said I don't believe that, Princess. In my country we have people who believe as you do. That everything is predestined. I believe that you can change your fate."

"Was that why you were hiding here, Jake?" The sudden change in focus from Muri to himself threw Jake off balance. "Has all your effort changed the fact that you are the bastard son of an honorless father? Does your own life prove that you can go against your karma?"

" Princess, that isn't fair."

Koji spoke very softly. "What is fair, Jake? I haven't seen much fairness in my life. It escapes me. Muri's death proves that. But, I do believe in justice and balance. I believe that you make your own justice. The killer of my people died, according to my sources. Before I'm through, so will his accomplices. In the mean time, I also believe that you can live well, even with bad karma. It isn't easy, but you can do it. Muri had managed to find a way to live well. You could, Jake, if you would only accept who you are, like she did. Focus more on life, and less on pleasing someone who doesn't seem to care."

"How do you know so much about me?"

"Jake, I have my sources. I know about your family problem. It isn't all that different from mine."

"Maybe you're right, Princess, but I can't let go."

"Can't, Jake Cutter, or won't? Why do you keep trying to define yourself by a bankrupt standard?"

"Because I don't know any other?"

"Really?"

Koji stopped in a small open space. Flowers abundantly filled open spaces around the clearing. There was a small bench placed in front of a stone space with a carved nich.

"I thought you would like to see this, Jake Cutter. This was Muri's favorite place on the whole island. Often, in her spare time, she was here, pruning bushes, or just setting and meditating."

Jake looked around the space. It was lovely, and he thought he could see Muri's hand in the arrangement of things. The associations of colors and plants, the arrangement of the borders added to the too little he knew about the girl. "This is a lovely place."

Koji nodded. She placed the Jade container withing the stone receptacle. "I think her kami will be happy here."

Jake was startled. "Is that Muri?"

"These are her ashes, yes."

"You're placing them here?"

Koji smiled sadly. "Her spirit should have a home. Hers will be the only ashes I will place here. This will now be Muri's garden."

Jake took a long intake of breath. He nodded. "This is good, Princess. This is right for her. She will know peace here."

Koji nodded. She started to walk from the garden. Jake just stood there, staring at the urn.

Koji turned back. "She would want you to move on, Jake Cutter."

Jake shook his head. "It seems like someone should say some words. There ought to be more than this."

"It is not our way, Jake Cutter. Silence, in place of useless words, shows greater honor."

Jake nodded. He turned and walked the way Koji had started. Once out of the clearing he stopped to face Koji.

"I think your way might be better, Princess. Thank you for allowing me to share that."

Koji looked into his eyes, searching. What she saw seemed to please her. "She would have wanted you there, I think. Now, I think she would tell you that it is time to move on. Perhaps find a new standard."

Jake knew they were back to the old subject. "I'm not sure I know where to start."

"What of Corky, and the Magistrate, yes, and even that stick of a girl, Sarah? What are their standards and how do you measure up to them? And," suddenly Koji spoke very softly "what of my standards? How do you measure up to those?"

Jake felt like he was tiptoeing on very thin ice. This whole line of talk was dangerous. "I wouldn't presume to judge myself against your standards, Princess. Our cultures are too different. Only you can be the judge of that."

"That is very correct, Jake Cutter. Be sure you remember it."

Their wandering has led them to another small cottage. This had only one room with a low sleeping platform. A perfect place to sleep away from it all, or maybe meet someone for an intimate moment without letting them into your home. Jake tried to ignore the potential. Koji had other notions.

"This is my favorite garden. The ashes of my mother are scattered here, as are the ashes of my nursemaid. The spirits in this garden are very friendly. Do you have such a place, Jake?"

Jake looked around. He thought about the impersonal cemeteries where his grandparents were buried. There were no friendly spirits there. "No, Princess. I don't have such a place."

"I sleep here, when the mood strikes me. It is very restful. I believe even you could relax here. Would you like to try it with me?"

"You are very kind, Princess. I'm afraid I would bring discord to your paradise."

"I don't allow that. There is no discord here, just peace and pleasure. Would you not like to share it with me? We are adults. What could it hurt?"

The echoes froze Jake where he stood. "Princess, that's what I am talking about. You and I are from different cultures. Standing here, face to face, we are worlds apart. What you see as a one time pleasure trip, I see as a doomed relationship. It's a question of worlds. My dream of living in the States. I want the house on the edge of town. I want to go to work and come home to a wife and kids. I want to see or play a baseball game on Saturday afternoons. Can you see yourself playing housewife in - say – Wichita Kansas? What would the neighbors think of your Samurai bodyguard when you went to the market? I don't think Todo would like Kansas. And how would Kansas react to trained assassins for yard men? Geishas as nannies? Can you imagine serving a still living fish at a ladies' tea on Wednesday afternoon?"

"It would be good for them."

Jake had to smile at that. "Yeah, it probably would. But, your taste for the exotic would be too much for them. You would have to give up too much to try to fit in. They certainly wouldn't accept you as you are. It can't end in any way but sadness and grief."

Koji, pouting, "You would prefer that pale little stick girl who sings, just barely, at the Monkey Bar."

"Sarah has no part in this, at least not directly."

"I don't believe you. If not Sarah, then who stands in my way?"

"There is no one, Princess. At least not any more. Look, Sarah was from a culture almost as different from mine as yours. And I can no more cross into her world than I can cross into yours. I know. I tried once, in another time and place, to live in that world. Too many people got hurt."

"Explain." Dark eyes alive with curiosity.

Jake placed his hands in front of him, palms outward as if to ward off a bad memory – he shook his head from side to side. "I really don't want to go into it."

"Frankly, if you are going to reject me, I think I deserve an explanation. Here, on my island, I can command it."

Jake, seeing a possible way out; "That's part of it. ON this island, you have everything. You have beauty, wealth, property, servants, subjects, associates." Glancing sideways, looking for Todo. "You even have fanatically devoted followers. In fact, the way I see it, there is only one thing missing on this island." He stopped - not sure it was safe to go on.

"There is nothing, not on this island, that I want."

"I think you are wrong, Princess."

Koji's voice rang like chilled steel. "And just what is it, Jake Cutter, that you think is missing from my island paradise?"

Jake gulped and took the plunge. "A friend." His voice was sad.

"I have many friends."

"Do you? Or are they associates with whom you can be friendly? You can talk to them, laugh with them. Have dinner and enjoy entertainment, even. Are there any of them with whom you can truly let your guard down? You come here, to sit among the dead to find peace, your friendly spirits. Is there a living person with whom you can be vulnerable? You're right – this island is a paradise of perfection and beauty, but there are tigers and cobras and even man-eating plants waiting just below the surface to destroy you."

Koji, looking uncertain for the first time in Jake's memory, "Are you telling me that is your relationship with Miss White?

"That is exactly what I'm trying to tell you. She's … my … friend. We look out for each other. Why risk spoiling that? I'd do anything for her."

"Including die for her?"

"Think back, Princess. How close have we come? That is what friends do."

Koji moved closer to Jake, but less confidently "Would you die for me, Jake? Are you offering to be tomo - my friend?"

Jake took a chance and placed a hand on each lovely shoulder. "Princess, I honestly can't imagine you ever getting into the fixes that Sarah does," he paused with a wry smile, 'but if you ever needed me, I would be there in a heartbeat."

"So, you would be my friend, Jake Cutter."

"That is the best I can offer anyone."

Koji (not as mockingly as she has used the phrase in the past) "Poor Jake Cutter. What happened that makes you so conscious of your status?"

"That's something I prefer not to talk about."

"But Jake, can't you tell a friend?"

"Princess, that's not fair. I haven't told anybody. It's part of what I tried to leave behind when I left the States."

Koji, the steel back in her voice, eyes blazing. "Fair? Again you use that word. You dare to question my ability to let my guard down and be vulnerable, and yet you won't. So, is your version of friendship all one way? I assure you that mine isn't."

Jake moved hastily back, "Princess, I'm sorry. I'm wrong. I wasn't expecting to get into this today, and I'm not really prepared. I guess … I…I… you're right Princess. It's a long story. Is there somewhere we can set down? And could I please have a drink?"

Koji relented just a bit with half a shrug. "Well, a good host should provide refreshment." She clapped hands twice. Sure enough, her guard had only been just out of sight. "Todo, send for refreshments and have them brought to the guest cottage."

Princess Koji led Jake through a stand of trees into another small garden containing a small cottage with open doors. It was similar to the one where he had previously spent the night, and cleaned up just a couple of hours earlier. In the center room there was a low table and futons.

Koji gestures, "Will this be more comfortable, Jake?"

"This is fine, your highness."

Koji took a deep breath that Jake found disturbing. "If we were to be friends, and I continue to call you Jake, you should call me Koji."

Jake stalled as a young woman entered with a tray with meat rolls of fish, shrimp and rice and a teapot and small cups. She silently set the tray on the low table. Koji motioned for the girl to leave. "Should I do that in front of your people? Is that proper?"

Koji knelt to serve the tea. "In a formal situation, I would probably continue to call you Jake because my higher station permits it. You would probably have to call me Princess, or Your Highness, as you already do. Alone, like this, we can be less formal. Does that interfere with friendship?"

"No, friends understand that circumstances dictate how you respond to each other. Hey!" startled "Princess, you shouldn't serve me."

Koji looked up with a true smile: "It is how I would honor anyone important to me."

"Thank you … Koji."

Koji with deep warm chuckle "There, that wasn't so bad, was it?" Jake shook his head no with a slight smile. "Please, Jake, I would very much like to understand you."

Jake took a deep breath. "It all started with my father not being married to my mother when she had me."

"Yes, I knew this. That is something we share."

"Yeah, well, he made sure I was raised well, but he would never acknowledge me."

"What does this 'acknowledge me' mean?"

"He would never publicly admit I was his son."

"Jake, that's awful. Are you saying that your father was ashamed of you? Had you done something to shame him?"

"Koji, in America, my existence shamed him."

"That is a perfect example why we consider you Americans barbarians. In Japan that would've never happened. I knew the situation, but not the meaning."

"That's part of what I meant by our being worlds apart. Anyhow, he did arrange for me to enter a very good school, and I did well there. I had hoped I had done well enough to please him. I kept thinking that if I could just do something to make him really proud of me, he would acknowledge me. It never happened."

"Jake," Koji touches his arm, "it must be terrible to have a father who has no honor. Why do you let what he thinks matter?"

"I don't know. I wanted him to be able to be proud of me in spite of what I was. I wanted to be a good son. I thought that if he were proud enough, he would be compelled to accept me. I still want that, I guess. I want to be somebody's son."

"So, even though you were part of the culture, your status denied you the privileges of that rank. I thought America had no class system."

Jake shrugged. "For the most part, there isn't one. Any individual can pretty much be anything he or she wants. For me, I had all the success I could ask for in school, and in baseball and flying. For a while I forgot who I was. Just in some areas, things didn't pan out. That's what I learned when I tried to fit in."

"So is that all of the story, or was there more?" Looking into Jakes eyes, she knew the answer. "There was more. Was it a woman?"

Jake lowered his head, reluctant to meet Koji's eyes and trying to ignore the shadows looming on his consciousness. "I met her at a party. She was beautiful, lively, liked the same kind of music I did – read the same books even. I thought it was a match made in heaven."

"You wanted to marry her?"

"It didn't get that far. Her father found out about my background and stepped in. No daughter of his was going to marry some rich man's bastard. No amount of money would buy me respectability. And I wasn't going to use his daughter to marry it."

"Why didn't you just take her?"

"I thought about it – we talked about it. I told her that if she loved me more than her father, then she wouldn't think twice about leaving with me. We could make it on our own – without her father or mine." Jake looked into his cup. "She couldn't do it. She would've had to give up too much."

"Did you hate her?"

"Na, No! She was just afraid." His eyes sought Koji's. "What I had to offer was risky, too different from what she grew up being used to. No, I couldn't hate her for being afraid."

Koji (with sudden insight) "The singer in the Monkey Bar, she is like your lost love?"

"In some ways. In others, no. But, it doesn't matter."

"Poor Jake. I think it matters very much."

"Sarah isn't like her. Sarah's from the same club, so to speak, but she's out here on her own. She doesn't need the same kind of security. But, she can go back. She'll fit in. If I tried to go back to the Country Club set I wouldn't fit in. Not even if I went back with her."

"Jake, what has happened to you was just your karma. You should accept it and move on. What are you going to do?"

"Someday I'm going home. I will build a life. You say we started about the same. Look what you've built. Even if I don't agree with all of it, I respect the accomplishment."

Koji looked around her. "Yes, I've done rather well. But first, I had to master myself. I had to know what really mattered to me."

Jake gave a rueful smile. "Good point." Some of his actions lately might cause his friends to question him on that. "And it matters to me that I build something, too. I think I know enough to know where I could fit in."

"The life you described earlier? The one you didn't think I would fit in? You have a better life here. Do you think what you say you want to build back there will be superior? You have tasted adventure, living on the edge you have truly tasted life. In your own way, you enjoy the dangerous as much as you say I do. I doubt you would be any happier in that world you paint than you think I would, Jake Cutter."

That comment cut to the very foundation of Jake's dreams. It exposed the shaky sand under their base. "Things here are pretty good, but there's no baseball. I think the war will change everything, so it can't last." Jake's doubts warred with his concerns. It created a jumbled picture of the future. "I've just been drifting, waiting for something to change." Doubt switched to guilt. "I've got to stop running away. I'm not accomplishing anything." Finally, frustration won control of his vocal cords. "I want to do something."

Koji's voice took on an impatient edge. "Why? So you can prove something to an honorless father? So you can continue to wallow in self pity? Do you really think you can make yourself settle down to a boring job, boring wife, and boring kids? Is that really building something you can be proud of? After living by your wits and strength here? You would be living half a life. It would be a lie. This does not become you, Jake Cutter."

Jake wanted to be angry, but there was too much truth in what she said. He looked up with a slight smile. "You know, that was spoken like a true friend, Koji. Thank you."

"You're welcome, Jake. I think I once heard an American phrase – what are friends for?" Koji's posture showed its usual confidence and control. But her voice hinted at just a touch of uncertainty. Jake wondered what she had to be uncertain about.

Koji moved closer – Jake had to put down his cup to maintain his balance. "Tell me, Jake Cutter, do friends ever kiss?" Jake had an instant image of Koji as a baseball pitcher. Talk about a change-up.

"Sometimes. It all depends." His mind strayed to an image of Koji standing on a baseball diamond wearing a too tight uniform, strategically open at the throat. Black hair hanging in a pony tail from under the cap to her shoulder. He had as much trouble concentrating as he thought the opposing batter would.

Here, Koji, looking vulnerable, all edges gone, "Then kiss me, Jake Cutter. As a friend. Please." Her eyes seemed softer, more vulnerable. The lips were full, moist, neither mocking, or firm. They, too, seemed softer, even, God help him, inviting.

There seemed to be several strange shadows in the room as Jake leaned forward to embrace that willing form. They left him with very mixed feelings. Koji's vulnerability as it showed in her eyes increased her resemblance to Muri. He regretted never telling Muri about the friendship he felt for her. He didn't want to repeat his mistake, but wasn't at all sure where this moment would take him. He couldn't help thinking –

How would Haywood Floyd get himself out of this one? And, honestly, would he want to?

-/FINI -

Copyright Kenneth Finley 2004

Effective revision date: 5/29/2015