"He said we were drilling cores in the bottom of the lake, looking for signs of dinosaurs."
"And the reporter bought it?" Gunn asked skeptically.
"Probably not, but he got excited when Al promised to bring him on board over the weekend."
Gunn looked puzzled. "But we should be gone by then."
"You get the picture," Pitt laughed.
"We should consider ourselves lucky that rumors of treasure haven't brought out swarms of salvors."
"They come as soon as they get the word and rush out to pick over the scraps."
Julia came into the control room balancing a tray on one hand. "Breakfast," she announced gaily. "Isn't it a beautiful morning?"
Pitt rubbed the stubble of a beard on his chin. "I hadn't noticed."
"What are you so happy about?" Gunn asked her.
"I just received a message from Peter Harper. Qin Shang came off a Japanese airliner at the Quebec airport disguised as a crew member. The Canadian Royal Mounted Police followed him to the waterfront, where he boarded a small boat and rendezvoused with the Jade Adventurer. "
"Hallelujah!" exclaimed Gunn. "He took the bait."
"Hook, line and sinker," said Julia, flashing her teeth. She set the tray on the chart table and removed a tablecloth, revealing plates of eggs and bacon, toast, grapefruit and coffee.
"That is good news," said Pitt, pulling a chair up to the table without being told. "Did Harper say when he plans to take Qin Shang into custody?"
"He's meeting with the INS legal staff to formulate a plan. I must tell you, there is great fear the State Department and White House may intervene."
"I was afraid of that," said Gunn.
"Peter and Commissioner Monroe are very afraid Qin Shang will slip through the net because of his political connections."
"Why not board the Jade Adventurer and haul his ass off now?" Gunn asked.
"We can't legally apprehend him if his ship skirts the Canadian shoreline while sailing through Lakes Ontario, Erie and Huron," explained Julia. "Only after the Jade Adventurer has passed through the Straits of Mackinac into Lake Michigan will Qin Shang be on American waters."
Pitt slowly ate his grapefruit. "I'd like to see his face when his crew lays a camera on the Princess and finds her guts ripped out and her cupboards bare."
"Did you know that he's filed a claim on the ship and its cargo through one of his subsidiary corporations in state and federal district courts?"
"No," said Pitt. "But I'm not surprised. That's the way he operates."
Gunn rapped a knife on the table. "If any of us were to stake a claim on a treasure ship through legal channels, we'd be laughed out onto the street. And whatever artifacts we found would have to be turned over to the government."
"People who search for treasure," Pitt said philosophically, "believe their problems are over when they make the big strike, never realizing their troubles are only beginning."
"How true," Gunn assented. "I've yet to hear of a treasure discovery that wasn't contested in court by a parasite or government bureaucrat."
Julia shrugged. "Maybe so, but Qin Shang has too much influence to have the door slammed in his face. If anything, he's bought off all opposition."
Pitt looked at her as though his fatigued mind had suddenly thought of something. "Aren't you eating?" he asked.
She shook her head. "I had a bite in the galley earlier."
The ship's first officer leaned in the doorway and motioned to Pitt. "The barge has surfaced, sir. You said you wanted to take a look at her pay load before she was towed away."
"Yes, thank you," Pitt acknowledged. He turned back to Gunn. "She's all yours, Rudi. I'll see you, same time, same place tomorrow."