Carlson and Penny sat on beds in the cabin they'd been given on the Carpathia. It wasn't as comfortable as his cabin had been on the Titanic, but it was enough. Besides, his cabin was at the bottom of the ocean. All he could do was sit there and think of all that had happened last night. Just contemplating it made him shudder.

"Frank" Penny said, "It's good to see you alive. I was afraid you'd never get off the ship."

"I know" Carlson answered her. "I had my doubts myself. How did you find me on top of the smokestack?"

"I followed you closely when you were going up there, in case I had to retrieve it. After you got hit in the head by Vlad, I had one of the crew members take you up to your room."

"I couldn't have known you were following me" replied Carlson. "You haven't the slightest idea what I had to go through last night."

"Tell me about it." Penny requested.

"First, I had to deal with that Vlad fellow. He was a Serbian revolutionary."

"So I figured" Penny answered.

"Next, there was Sasha. I found that he was going to use his ties to the Serbs to back the planned revolution. It would have been disastrous if that revolution were to happen. Now that I have the evidence, it seems very unlikely."

"Speaking of the evidence" Penny countered "I'd like you to hand them over to me. I'll make sure to hand these over to the Admiralty once we get to Southampton."

Carlson dug in his satchel. "Here's the Rubaiyat" he said as he pulled it out. "Here's the notebook and the painting. I had a devil of a time getting them."

"I'm very sure you did." Penny answered as she stowed them away in her bag.

"Continuing on. Then there was Zeitel. He was trying to derail me every step of the way. In fact, he and Sasha almost discovered me in the Cargo Hold. I was able to duck in the back seat of the automobile as they were arriving."

"Great job!" Penny exclaimed.

"Zeitel was a man hell-bent on world domination. It's a good thing Morrow killed him. Saved me a lot of trouble."

"I heard that" Penny replied. "Zeitel got what he deserved."

"Precisely!" Carlson answered. "The most shocking thing I learned, by far, was that Haderlitz was really Piotr Ilionov, a Czarist spy. His name was inscribed on his ring. That's why Ilionov had the notebook. He was going to hand the notebook to the Okhrana, as Zeitel told me on the smokestack. That's why Zeitel killed Ilionov. To prevent that from happening. It was just as you suspected, Penny."

"And because of you" Penny added, "Ilionov's sacrifice will not be in vain."

"There were many other people I met. For one thing, I met Andrew Conkling, the head of Conkling Steel."

"Yes?" Penny said, curious.

"Apparently, he had had a child through his parlor maid, Shailagh Hacker, since they cannot have any children of their own. Because of this, Hacker had stolen a letter indicating that the factory was making bad steel. They had even put it in the Titanic!"

"Oh my!" Penny exclaimed. "Do you think that had to do with the sinking?"

"I'm not sure" Carlson answered. "But anyway, Hacker and her brother, Jack, were asking for five thousand dollars in exchange for the letter. They are very poor you understand. Anyway, the Conklings got very desperate when the ship started to sink. They were so desperate in fact, that Mrs. Conkling stole Shailagh's baby! I had to trade the baby for the letter, since they couldn't go up to first class. Conkling got shot by Officer Morrow shortly after that."

"That's terrible" Penny said.

"Morrow was just trying to maintain order" Carlson replied.

Carlson then thought of all the people he had helped on the Titanic.

"I must leave you now" Carlson told Penny. "I have some people I must meet."

Carlson exited the cabin and walked down the hall, past hordes of stunned survivors. He found his way on the to the deck. Carlson found Shailagh and Eddy on a bench towards the back of the ship.

"Oh!" Shailagh exclaimed. "You survived! How did you do it?"

"Morrow let me on the last boat. I owe my life to him" Carlson replied. "Is Eddy getting along?"

"Oh yes, he's resting right now." Shailagh replied.

"I'm very sorry about Jack" Carlson said. "I wish I could have done something."

Suddenly, he heard a voice speaking in an Irish accent behind him.

"Just who are you sorry for now?" it said.

Carlson wheeled around. It was Jack!

"Jack!" Carlson exclaimed as he ran up to him and shook his hand. "How did you survive."

"The officer let some of us steerage passengers on to the Boat Deck" Jack replied. "I was able to get off in one of the last boats." Jack turned to Shailagh. "Hey, Shai!"

"What is it Jack?" Shailagh asked.

"Mrs. Conkling, she came up to me" Jack answered. "She said that now that Mr. Conkling's dead, she's changed her mind. She say's that Eddy will be an heir to the Conkling Steel fortune!"

"Surely you must be mistaken?" Shailagh replied.

"Jack Hacker's never mistaken." Jack replied. "She's also giving us the five thousand dollars, but there's more. She's also making sure we get part ownership in the company. Right generous she is."

"Oh Jack!" Shailagh cried as she ran up and hugged him with Eddy in one arm.

After a while, Jack turned to Carlson. "You did the right proper thing, you did. I must say your work here is done."

Carlson felt happy for the Hackers, but there was yet another person he had to meet.

Carlson left the Hackers and continued to walk the decks of the Carpathia, searching for anyone he could recognize. After he while, he saw that unmistakable turqouise dress with the white fur lining. It was Georgia!

Carlson walked up to Georgia. "Hello there" he said, nervously.

Georgia turned around. "Frank!" she replied. "It's good to see you again. I'd thought you would have gone down with the ship."

"So I've heard" Carlson answered. "Can we find a quiet spot? There are some things I have to explain to you."

After walking around for a bit, they found a quiet spot on the bow of the Carpathia.

"What is it you wanted to tell me?" Georgia asked.

"First off, I am sorry that you were not able to communicate with me these past five years" Carlson began. "There is a perfectly reasonable explanation for it though."

"Really?" Georgia replied.

"Yes. You see, I decided to join the Secret Service while we were together. Joining the Secret Service meant I to break all communication with the outside world. I wasn't the easiest decision to make."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Georgia asked. "Surely I would have understood."

"If I would have told you" Carlson answered "it would have meant my firing from the Service. I love my job in the Service. It means so much to me. Please promise you won't tell anyone I told you this."

"I promise I won't. Now I understand" Georgia replied.

"There's more I have to tell you" Carlson continued. "You should be glad Charles went down with the ship." He dug out the necklace from his bag. "You see this necklace?" he said as he held it in front of her.

"Yes, that's my necklace." Georgia said as she took it from him.

"I must tell you that that isn't the same necklace you gave me last night."

"What?" Georgia exclaimed.

"The one you gave to me last night was a fake made of glass." Carlson explained.

"But why?" Georgia asked, still shocked.

"Charles replaced the real one with the fake one. He gave the real one to Sasha, who stowed it away in his cabin. After we got to New York, Sasha was planning on selling the necklace. After which, Charles was going to put you away."

"Put me away?" Georgia inquired, almost to the point of tears.

"Yes, Charles was going to put you away." Carlson answered, his expression never changing. "Charles was planning on putting you up in a sanitarium. There would have been nothing you could have done. You would have had no credibility."

Georgia broke down into tears. Carlson had expected this, so he just stood there.

"How could he have done that to me?" Georgia sobbed.

"I don't know. Charles never loved you." Carlson answered. "He cared only about himself."

Georgia sobbed for a few minutes. Once she gained some composure, she said. "I don't know how to thank you".

Carlson said, "You really don't need to..."

Suddenly, Georgia ran up to him and kissed him square on the cheek. She then proceeded to hug him tightly. "I knew you were still the man I once knew you to be. I knew it!" she exclaimed joyfully.

Carlson could do nothing but listen, stunned. "Really?" he muttered.

"Of course!" Georgia replied, still elated. Carlson could almost swear he could feel the love coming out of her with every breath.

Georgia continued. "All this time, I knew you still loved me! All this time, there was one man I only truly loved, and that was you! I owe my life to you!"

Before Carlson could speak, she embraced him and soon they were kissing. Carlson could hardly believe it. He hadn't realized he hadn't felt true love in five years. It was then that he realized that he did truly love her after all this time.

Georgia broke off the kiss and, looking into his eyes, shouted. "Now I know I'll have a new start without Charles. I'll have you now!"

Georgia stood there with her hand on his shoulders. Carlson knew he was in love again.

"I love you very much, Georgia" Carlson told her. "I promise to never leave you ever again. I love you."

Then, they began kissing. They kissed for what seemed like an eternity

Carlson now knew. He knew that he had achieved two victories. He had achieved a victory in completing his mission. He had also achieved another victory: in love.

COMING NEXT: April 14, 1942