The Favor - Part Two
by L. Fox

Continued from Part One

Chapter 5

If one chooses not to include Australia, Borneo is the third largest island in the world. It is composed
of 280,000 square miles of rugged mountains, high plains, and some of the oldest rain forest in the
world. It had been under British and Dutch rule since the nineteenth century, and Japan had for many
years now looked covetously toward this and most of the other islands in the East Indies as a rich
source of oil, rubber and other raw materials needed to feed its burgeoning industrial might.

Now, with the American trade embargo threatening to strangle their economy, domination of the
area was of even more vital importance for Nippon. This embargo was America's retaliation for
Japan's brutal campaign against China and by the time Janice and Mel landed on the east coast of
the huge island relations between the two countries had become so strained that the Japanese
government had informed their emissaries in Washington that "things were automatically going to
happen." What those "things" were neither Nomura and Kurusu, the Japanese emissaries, nor the
American cryptologists that had cracked the Japanese code, knew. Whatever it was it was
disturbing enough to cause Admiral Stark, the chief of naval operation to send a message that was to
be "considered a war warning," to the American Pacific and Asiatic fleets on November 27.

At the present moment Janice and Mel's concerns were of the nature of something not quite as
important as automatic things about to happen. With the aid of the map supplied to her by the War
Department, (In reality it had simply been cut from a recent issue of "National Geographic"
magazine.) Janice had found the main road that led to Tarakan. Unfortunately the term "road" was a
very loose one for the it was in fact nothing more than an expanded jungle path. It was barely wide
enough to allow two vehicles to pass and was so soft from the incessant rain that in some places
there were ruts large enough for a small person like Janice to lie down in and be completely hidden.
Although the map said the town was only three kilometers, or roughly two miles, to the north Janice
and Mel spent the better part of the evening traversing the road.

It was especially hard for Melinda because even though she was a very strong individual, she was
not in as good a physical condition as Janice was. As if the combination of lugging her heavy suitcase
and slogging through the goo-like mud wasn't enough she also found herself having a very hard time
keeping her shoes on. Though she had wisely discarded her slippers during overnight stay in the
Philippines, she found her lace-ups were not much of an improvement. It was as if the mud itself was
trying to bond with the leather in her shoes. Every time she picked up her feet the mud would make
a kind of slurping sound. Already she had sworn to herself that the first thing she would do when she
the opportunity presented itself would be to obtain a pair of boots much like those Janice had.

Despite her conditioning Janice was not really much better off than her friend and so after struggling
through the thick slop for the better part of two hours she decided it was time to rest. They found a
fallen tree by the side of the road that was reasonably dry enough to sit on and they wearily plopped
down upon it. By now both of them were soaked with perspiration. The heat, their hard labor and
the very humid air had caused them to look like they had just emerged from the sea.

"How much farther is it?" Mel asked, still panting.

"About a half a mile, maybe a kilometer at the most," said Janice. She pulled a damp handkerchief
out of her back pocket and ran it first over her forehead and then the back of her neck. "Damn, I'm
gettin' too old for this."

"Well I certainly hope the government appreciates what we--you are doing for them."

Janice stuck out her tongue slightly and blew away the large mosquito trying to make a landing on
her nose. "You had it right the first time, Mel," she said. "It is we."

"It never gets this hot in South Carolina," allowed Mel. She pulled out her shirt tail and used it to
wipe her brow. She then looked longingly at the large puddles of water all around them and said,
"Golly, Janice, I sure am thirsty."

"Me too," said Janice. "But there's no way we can drink this water. God only knows what we'd
catch..

Although there was an ample supply of water purification pills in their survival kit, Janice had
forgotten a much more basic element--the canteen. Damn it, Janice, she cursed herself, you should
have known better than that.

As a magna cum laude graduate of the "Dirty Thirties" school of hard knocks, Janice Covington was
used to hunger and thirst too for that matter. Melinda, on the other hand, had received no such
education in her youth and Janice was now worried she might become dispirited. It wasn't that
Melinda was soft or unreliable--far from it. It was just that she had not quite come to the realization
yet that all education did not come from books or a classroom. Coming from the relatively sheltered
life of academia, Mel was a little behind on the practical side of her education. That having been
said, Janice also knew that she had never met anyone so dedicated, so earnest, so...sincere. On their
first dig together after their little adventure in Macedonia Janice had tested this sincerity by giving
Mel every shit job she could think of. Not once had Mel complained. True she did screw up
sometimes but then again, who didn't. Janice was the first to admit she was not perfect.

Janice eyed her friend quietly sitting there picking bits of leaves out of her jet black hair. With her
best Clark Gable imitation she said, "I'll bet you've never been this dirty in your entire life have you,
Scarlett?" She was not above teasing the woman about her Southern roots and from time to time
called her Scarlett--after the vixen in "Gone With the Wind." This invariably made Mel mad but, like
the sweetheart she was, never too mad. Right now Mel was too fatigued to do much of anything
except sweat.

Janice reached down into her shirt and pulled her bra away from her breasts. For a moment she
pondered taking the thing off for it was beginning to chafe her. Aww what the hell, she thought. Why
not? She undid the buttons on her shirt and was about to pull it off when she heard the chugging of a
badly tuned motor.

"What is that?" Mel asked anxiously.

Quickly buttoning up her shirt, Janice answered, "It's our taxi, I hope."

A few minutes later an old two and a half ton truck rounded the bend and came lumbering toward
them. To avoid the ruts in the road the truck was constantly weaving from one side of the road to the
other and Janice could hear the transmission grind when the driver, obviously not used to handling
such a vehicle, missed a gear.

When the truck was near enough Janice slogged out into the road and began waving her arms. As
the truck slid to a stop before her she saw two men sitting in the front. The driver waved her forward
and, as quickly as she could, Janice made her way to the driver's side door.

"Thanks, mister, for--" To her consternation Janice realized her benefactors were Japanese! Jesus
Christ! she thought. They're Japs! For a moment she tried to convince herself their presence here
was just a coincidence but deep in her heart she knew better. Taken aback as she was, she did not
bat one eye nor miss one beat--"stoppin. My friend and I are bushed from walkin' this damn road."

"That's quite all right, Miss," said the driver in perfect English. "We are happy to be of assistance.
May I ask what you are doing out here all alone?"

"My friend and I are botanists," Janice lied smoothly. "We're part of a group from the University of
Maryland over here to study the flora indigenous to this particular region." With a girlish giggle she
added, "We got so wrapped up in our work we got separated from the others. Umm, you going to
Tarakan?"

"Yes we are. Are you?"

"Yeah."

"You and your friend are welcome to ride in the back," the driver stiffly.

"Thanks." As Janice turned away and made her way back to Mel she could feel their suspicious eyes
boring into her back. With her back still to the truck she bent over and picked up the field pack.
"Mel," she whispered loudly, "don't be scared but those two guys are Japs."

"Oh my!"

"Shhh! Janice admonished. "Try to act like everything's AOK damn it. Just calm down and act like
you don't know who they are, understand?"

Mel gulped hard and looked down at her friend. "Golly, Janice what are we gonna do?"

"We're gonna let the bastards give us a ride into Tarakan, what else?

"But..."

Janice loosened one of the pack flaps and ran her hand inside. With the deftness of a well practiced
hand she dug down into the pack until she found the .45 automatic. She laid it on top of the other
items in the pack to allow for quick retrieval if she deemed it necessary. "Come on." Gathering up
their bags, she walked toward the truck. "Now, Mel, I told them we're botanists from the University
of Maryland so don't forget."

"I won't," said Mel. As they passed the truck it was all Mel could do not to gawk at the two men
sitting inside.

Seeing no place for a foothold, Janice was forced to drop the truck's tailgate in order to gain entry to
the back. The truck bed was covered by a large tarpaulin supported by steel rods. She set her bags
down and pulled herself up into the truck bed and then extended her hand to Mel.

"Watch your head," warned Janice as she pulled her friend into the truck.

Once they were safely in she put the pin back into the tail gate latch and yelled to the driver they
were ready. The driver popped the clutch and the truck lurched violently forward. As it did poor
Mel received a painful bump on the head when she banged it against one of the steel rods. It hurt
like hell but she stubbornly refused to rub. I'm gonna be tough, she told herself, Like Janice. She
looked at her staring intently down the road from whence they came and wondered what was going
on in that brain of hers. God only knows, she allowed.

She had come to admire Janice so much. The fiery archaeologist in so many ways represented the
woman she had always wanted to be. She was tough, smart, aggressive--okay maybe a little too
aggressive but then again she had to have been to have made such an impact in a field dominated by
men. More than that she knew how to get what she wanted. Many saw her as pushy, abrasive,
demanding, and downright tempermental but Mel knew they were only seeing part of Janice
Covington. Only she had been able to peel back that veneer of ferocity and see the vulnerable young
woman that was in her. She had known that Janice did not come as advertised. Mel saw her as
someone, for whatever reason, reluctant to get close to people. She often wondered if Janice if ever
had a lover but she had never worked up the nerve to ask her. She watched Janice close her eyes
and very casually trail a finger across her lips. Janice Covington, she thought wistfully, I wish I were
your lover.

Although he had his eyes locked forward in diligent concentration as he drove down the pitiful road,
Morsuru Fuchida could sense his companion intently watching him. Coming upon yet another rut, he
down shifted from second to first gear and, without taking his eyes off the road, said, "Something
troubles you, Shidehara. What is it?"

"You know very well what it is," replied Minoro Shidehara. "Why did you pick up those two
American women?"

Fuchida chuckled and said, "Calm down, they are just a couple of tree huggers. They are no threat
to us."

"Any American is a potential threat to us," retorted Shidehara. "Besides, I don't believe they are
botanists."

Fuchida smiled in amusement at his partner's cynicism. "Oh no? And what do you think they are?
Spies?" He snapped his fingers as if a revelation had just come to him. "I know, they are the
vanguard of some kind of secret military force maybe commanded by Eleanor Roosevelt herself!"

Shidehara was not amused. "Make jokes if you will, Fuchida, but remember this. All the jokes in the
world won't amuse Admiral Yamamoto if we do not come back with those rings."

"I am fully aware of our mission," said Fuchida, now deadly serious. "Or have you forgotten it was I
who discovered the rings were in the possession of the American named Garnett?"

"No, I have not," said Shidehara. "And I commend you for your excellent work, especially the brake
job on the archaeologist's automobile. That was a work of art."

In Miri Fuchida and Shidehara had learned that one of the men they had been warned about, an
American named Joe Garnett, had beaten them to the punch and somehow obtained the ancient
Rings of Bugang. They learned he had paid five thousand American dollars for them and hurriedly
left town. After a frantic search they learned the name of the go-between that had arranged the sale
and that night Fuchida and Shidehara had paid him a little visit. To Shidehara's disappointment the
man's threshold of pain was not very high and he had told all after only a little torture. The two men
learned Garnett was working out of Tarakan. They also learned that an archaeologist named Ross
was supposed to have met Garnett in Miri to authenticate the rings but had missed the navy officer
by just a few hours. After making arrangements to eliminate Ross they started out after Garnett. But
the murder of Garnett's ally had delayed the two men's journey to Tarakan. Though they did not yet
know where to find him they were confident he had not left the island. Every Japanese agent had
studied their potential enemies and therefore knew Garnett by sight. They were under strict orders
not to allow their quarry to leave the island alive.

"You are most kind," said Fuchida. "And do not worry, we will find Garnett and the rings soon
enough.

"Janice?"

"Yeah."

"Do you think those men are somehow wrapped up in all this?" Mel asked.

"I wouldn't bet that doctorate of yours against it if I were you," advised Janice.

"Janice?"

"Whaaat?"

"Thanks."

"For what?"

"For bringin' me along."

"Janice crawled across the bed of the heaving truck and sat down beside her friend. "Hey we're a
team remember?"

Melinda looked deeply into Janice's green eyes and said, "Takin' me along on some dig in the Andes
Mountains is one thing but--"

"But what?"

Mel lowered her head. "Jan, I might get you killed here."

Janice looked at her oddly. "Now just how the hell do you figure that?" she asked.

"I don't know. Maybe you should have brought somebody along who was, you know...more
capable."

Janice's eyes hardened and she set her jaw. She then took the last three fingers of Mel's right hand
into her own and began to squeeze them very hard. Although Mel was much stronger than Janice
and could have easily broken her grip, she just sat there blinking.

"Now you listen to me and listen good," hissed Janice. "This is the last time I'm ever gonna tell you
this. There is nobody, repeat nobody, that I would even think of undertaking a thing like this with but
you, understand? So cut that crap out. You are the only person in the world I trust." She smiled
faintly and added, "Besides you do all right, Mel Pappas."

God! She is so beautiful, thought Janice. The warmth she felt engulf her was like nothing she had
ever experienced before. Mel was such a sweet person. Basically very shy, there was nevertheless a
stubborn streak in her and Janice had somehow come to adore that combination. As she sat there
looking into Mel's eyes she came to the realization that it might be now or never. She reached up
and gently took off Mel's glasses.

As she did this Mel saw the same look in her eyes that she had seen back in that Washington hotel
room. Again, she felt her heart start to pound. Janice moved closer and Mel's breath began to
quicken. For her too it was now or never. "Janice?"

"What."

"Have you ever had a...lover?"

Janice responded with a faint smile and gently covered Mel's lips with her own.

"Golly," Mel said breathlessly, just before their lips met.

For a moment Janice found Mel to be reluctant and she feared she might have misread the woman
after all. In a millisecond of panic she wondered if she had not made a terrible mistake. But to her
ecstatic relief she then felt Mel's lips respond and they enjoyed their first wonderful, lingering, and
very belated, kiss. Although she wanted to so very badly, Janice decided against using her tongue to
probe for its counterpart. No this first sweet, simple kiss was enough. For an exquisite moment both
of them completely forgot they were in a foreign land riding in the back of a filthy truck that
happened to be driven by men who were in all probability their enemies. The situation bordered on
the ludicrous. All those quiet times they had been alone together and they picked this moment to
finally express their love!

Then again perhaps it was that very element of danger that had, at last, served to break down those
walls of resistance. Whatever it was, when Janice finally forced herself to pull away she felt as if
some great weight had been lifted from her heart. So this is what it's like, she thought.

"It's none of your business."

"Huh?" Mel's brain was shrouded in a blissful fog and she could not seem to think straight.

"You asked me if I've ever had a lover," Janice reminded her, "and I said it's none of your business."

"Oh, yeah."

Janice pecked her lightly on the lips and then gave her a very mischievous look. "Melinda Pappas,
you don't know what you're getting yourself in for."

Suddenly a disturbing thought came to her. Oh, my God. The window! She jerked her head toward
the front of the truck to see if they were being watched through the truck's back window. To her
relief she saw the tarpaulin extended well down below the window and thus blocked any view of the
truck bed. Janice heaved a sigh of relief and wiped off her brow. "Mel," she said, "there's something
I think you should know."

Oh no, thought Melinda, here it comes. She's going to say it was a mistake. She's going to say it was
just one of those moments of passion people sometimes have when placed in dangerous situations.
God, Jan, she silently pleaded. Please don't break my heart. Not after...

She managed to work up the courage to ask "What's that?" out loud.

"Now you know how I feel about you," Janice said huskily. "I just want you to know that I've been
crazy about you for a long time. I just...I just didn't know how to say it or even if I should say it, ya
know? Mel, are you sorry?"

This time it was Mel's turn to squeeze hands. "Janice Covington, I love you. To her it felt so good to
at last be able to say that aloud. She ached so badly to give herself to this woman right now but of
course that was impossible.

"We sure picked a fine time for this, didn't we? 'Course you know this is gonna have to wait don't
cha? We've got a job to do here."

"I know," Mel answered. She then grinned at Janice and said, "I waited this long, I reckon I can wait
a little longer. But once this mess is over you and I are gonna have some makin' up to do."

The truck slowed to a stop on the graveled street and as soon as it came to rest, Janice and Mel
spilled out of the back. "Get our stuff out while I lose these guys," said Janice. Mel obliged and
Janice made her way to the front of the truck. "Thanks again, mister," she said. "My friend and I can
wing it from here."

The crafty Shidehara replied by asking "You are sure we cannot take you...somewhere?" What he
really wanted was to ascertain who they would be in contact with.

But Janice was not fooled. You sly bastard, she thought. The fish ain't bitin' today. "Umm, no," she
said aloud. "Melinda and I will be just fine right here."

Shidehara shrugged and said, "Very well. Let us proceed, Fuchida."

Fuchida again popped the clutch too quickly and this time he killed the engine. Janice heard him
mutter something in Japanese and though she didn't speak the language, she could tell by the tone of
his voice he wasn't praying for divine guidance. She pretended not to hear and went back to rejoin
Mel. Unfortunately for Mel when Fuchida restarted the truck a huge cloud of blue smoke belched
out of the tail pipe. The truck roared away leaving a coughing Mel enshrouded in the lingering blue
haze.

Janice could not help but laugh. "Jeez, Mel, I guess I should have asked Franks for a gas mask too
huh?

Chapter 6

The rap on the door startled Bill Parker. He reached under his windbreaker and pulled out his navy
issue .38 caliber revolver. Carefully he eased his way to the door and peeked through the crack
above the knob. He saw two women, one tall, the other short. The tall one was wearing
horn-rimmed glassed and looked very much out of place. The short one had on a black baseball cap
with the white letters "WF" embroidered on it and seemed to be the one in charge.

The cap had been given to Janice during their layover in Pearl Harbor. A passing captain had heard
her lamenting to Mel about the fact she had not had a chance to bring along her lucky hat and had
graciously presented her with one of the caps worn by the Wheeler Field baseball team of which he
was a member.

Now what the sam hell do they want? Parker wondered. And who are they? British? Dutch? He
then heard Mel's unmistakable Southern drawl. "Are you sure this is the right place, Janice?"

"This is the place all right," answered Janice.

"Maybe he's not here."

"Then we'll wait," said Janice.

Parker opened the door just a hair. "Whaddaya you two want?"

"Am I speaking to Bill Parker?" asked Janice.

"Who are you?"

"If you will let us in," said Janice, "I'll explain." It was then she saw the barrel of a pistol appear in the
crack of the door. "Hey! Calm down, pal," Janice urged, raising the palms of her hands. "My friend
and I didn't travel half-way around the world to get plugged by some spooked naval officer."

How did she know that? "What do you want?" he repeated.

"Like I said," Janice patiently repeated, "If you will just let us in we can explain."

She saw the door open slowly and the voice on the other side said, "Come inside. Just remember,
no monkey business. The gun barrel disappeared and the door swung wide open. The women
picked up their bags and quickly entered. It took their eyes some moments to adjust to the dark
room. Janice's pupils were still dilating when she felt something hard poke her in the neck. "You have
one minute to convince me not to blow your fuckin' head off," said Parker darkly. "So start talking."

Jesus, thought Janice, this guy has a screw loose. "We've been sent here to give you a hand," she
said evenly.

"Oh yeah? By whom?"

"By the president," Mel blurted out.

"Sure ya have," Parker said caustically. "And I bet Bill Halsey himself brought you over here on the
"Enterprise," didn't he?"

Gun or no gun Janice felt her ire begin to rise. "Look, smart ass--"

The quick double click of the pistol's hammer cocking and cylinder turning resounded through the
archaeologist's head like a thunderclap. "You got forty-five seconds," said Parker.

But she's telling the truth!" pleaded Mel.

"Shut up, Stretch," barked Parker.

"Leave her alone!" exclaimed Janice.

"Thirty-five seconds," said Parker.

"You kill us and you'll never get those rings off this island," said Janice.

"I thought as much," Parker said triumphantly. "So who are you working for, the Japs or the
Krauts?"

"She already told you. The same guy you are," retorted Janice. "Uncle Sam. And if you'll give me
half a chance I'll prove it."

Janice felt another, slighter, click as Parker eased the hammer back down. "So prove it."

Janice puffed her cheeks and blew out a small sigh of relief. "Can I get something out of my back
pocket?"

"Yeah but don't be tryin' anything cute," warned Parker.

Janice slowly reached into her back pocket and pulled out the man's wallet she always carried when
in the field. She reached inside and extracted a folded up, sealed envelope and handed it to Parker.
He smoothed out the envelope against his knee and saw "Lieutenant Commander William E. Parker"
neatly typed on the front. In the upper left hand corner he read:

Admiral Harold R. Stark, CNO
United States Navy
Official Business

"That doesn't prove anything," he said.

"You don't trust anything do you?" asked Janice.

"Lady, in this line of work trust is a luxury you can't afford," replied Parker.

He backed away from the women, tucked the pistol under his arm, and tore open the envelope. Out
fell two folded up pieces of paper. In the dim light he made out one to be a hand written note and, to
his surprise, he saw the other was the cover page of the game program for the 1930 Army-Navy
football game. Returning to the note, he read:

Commander Parker,
Am enclosing program you autographed for my son at the 1930 Army-Navy game
as proof this note originated from my office and is, in fact, genuine. You are
instructed to cooperate fully with J. Covington and work with same toward
completion of your assigned mission. Be advised she has new instructions for you.
Good luck, Bill.
Signed,
Adm. H. R. Stark
P.S. I want the program back!

"Damn," muttered Parker. He unfolded the page from the program. Written in the space above the
date of the game were the words, "To Jimmy, Best Wishes, Billy "Flash" Parker." Parker smiled
faintly as he read the signature. "Flash!" That's what the newspapers had called him during his
gridiron days as a speedy halfback at the Naval Academy.

"Okay, ladies," he said, carefully folding the program up and stuffing into his shirt pocket, "I guess
you're okay."

"Well that's mighty decent of you," snorted Janice.

"Sorry 'bout that," said Parker. "But like I said before, one can't be too careful."

"Is that why you're going under the name of Joe Garnett," Janice asked.

"My mother didn't raise William Eulas Parker to be a fool," said Parker.

Eulas, what an odd name, thought Mel. Odd but somehow vaguely familiar. Where had she heard
that name before? For some reason the name kept buzzing around in her head. Eulas? Ulas? Iolaus?

"Eulas is an unusual name," said Mel. "Where did it come from?"

"It's an old family name," said Parker. "It goes back in my family for hundreds of years. Some say
even longer."

"Well my name is Janice Covington, I'm an archaeologist, and this is Melinda Pappas. She's an
expert on ancient languages."

"I gotta tell you, we were brought into town by two guys who were Japs for sure," said Janice.

"So what else is new?" Parker asked ruefully. "The damn town is crawling with them. What did they
look like?"

"There was nothing special about them," replied Janice. "But I did hear one of them call the other
one Fuchida."

"Ahh yes, Fuchida and Shidehara. That's their varsity team," said Parker. He gave Janice a hard
look. "You weren't followed here were you?"

"No, I was very careful about that," Janice assured him. "So uh, can I see the rings now?"

Without a word Parker walked to the center of the room and pulled the chain switch to the ceiling
fan. At that time Tarakan was one of the few places on Borneo that had the good fortune to have
access to electricity. Once the fan stopped turning he placed a chair directly underneath and stood
up on it. Taking out his pen knife, he quickly removed the three screws that held the fan assembly to
its mounting bracket and pulled the fan away from the ceiling. Parker then reached up into the hole in
the ceiling and pulled out a small black bag.

"Here," he said, tossing the bag to Janice.

While Janice excitedly opened the bag and Mel stood behind gaping over her shoulder, Parker
carefully lowered the fan down until the only thing supporting it was the electrical wires. After a little
trouble with the knot sealing the bag, Janice finally got the thing open and dumped its contents into
her hand. To say she was disappointed would be a serious understatement. That's it? she thought
dejectedly. What a gyp!

"Mel, would you get the magnifying glass for me please? It's in my suitcase."

"Sure." Mel kneeled down and opened up Janice's suitcase and retrieved the large magnifying glass
Janice had taken in lieu of the five bucks she had won in a poker game off those shocked air
reconnaissance boys back at Pearl Harbor. When she had innocently asked in the game the boys
had gleefully welcomed her with open arms thinking they had a pigeon for sure. However it sooned
turned out their "pigeon" was, in fact, a shark. So while Mel slept on an army cot behind her, Janice
won forty-four dollars, the magnifying glass, a watch, a box of chocolate bars, and a Swiss army
knife. She was not one much for sweets herself so she saved some of the chocolate for Mel and
traded the rest to a machinist's mate for three bars of soap and a tube of toothpaste.

"Here ya go," said Mel, handing her the glass.

"Okay if I crack one these shades a bit, Commander?" asked Janice.

Parker nodded and Janice took the piece to the window and opened up the shade.

The rings were indeed golden, not very thick, and had the approximate circumference of a silver
dollar. The rings were not separate but fused together in much the same manner as a set of brass
knuckles. Each end ring had a loop in it through which ran a long leather strap. Strung on each side
of the strap were several bits of very colorful coral. She observed that at one time they must have
been arranged in a very precise pattern but over time had become misaligned due to the necessity of
having to change the strap periodically.

After scrutinizing the rings for a good five minutes Janice put down the glass. "It's not the best
example of Kadazan workmanship I've seen," she said. "But it is definitely of the correct time
period."

"So in your professional opinion you'd say it was the real McCoy?" asked Parker.

Janice took off her baseball cap and scratched her head. "Well," she sighed, "I gotta admit the thing
is more real than most things connected with ancient lore. Yeah, I'd have to say it is."

"I knew it," Parker crowed triumphantly. "I knew this was the one." He pointed to the rings and said,
"You're lookin' at five thousand bucks there, ladies."

"My goodness," Mel gasped. Even for someone from her background five thousand dollars was a
great sum of money. She cocked her head to one side and asked "So just what is the big deal about
this thing anyway?"

"It's believed that whoever possesses this will be invincible in battle," said Janice.

"Is that why the Nips want it so badly?" asked Mel. "To make themselves invincible I mean?"

Parker shook his head. "No. Even the Japs don't believe that mumbo jumbo. They're more
pragmatic than you think. No sir, they've haven't spent all that money building up their army and
creating a big ass navy just to have them sit around and twiddle their thumbs."

"Then why are they--and we--going through so much trouble to--"

"You would have to ask somebody in the government that makes a whole lot more money than I do
about that," said Parker. "All I know is I was ordered to obtain it by hook or by crook and that's
what I did."

Immediately the line from Tennyson came to Mel, "Theirs was not to reason why..." "How did
you know where to find it?" she asked him.

"ONI, that's Office of Naval Intelligence to you, gave me a general area to search and the rest was
plain old legwork," said Parker.

"Any idea why the Japanese want this thing so badly?" Janice asked.

"I couldn't say," said Parker. "All I know is if they want it then it's to our advantage to see they don't
get it."

Janice realized this was almost verbatim what General Marshall had told her. "Is this something that
could be used for propaganda purposes?" she asked.

"Your guess is as good as mine," said Parker. "They're not as good at lying as the Germans are but
anything that will help them keep the oilfields and rubber plantations down here humming is to be
viewed as an asset I guess."

"You know, you're talkin' like the Japs were already here," said Janice.

"It's only a matter of time," said Parker. "Who's gonna stop 'em once they decide to move?" asked
Parker. "The British? They've got their hands full with Hitler and besides, Singapore is a much bigger
priority for them than Borneo."

"What about us?" asked Mel.

"The only credible land force the United States has in ten thousand miles of here is in the Philippines
and they'll be up to their own necks in Japs once the shooting starts."

"You mean to say the Western Pacific is wide open?" Janice asked incredulously.

"Everything west of Hawaii anyway," said Parker. "And if the Navy can't hold 'em off we'll be
goddamn lucky if we can keep the bastards from moving over those mountains of New Guinea,
taking Port Moresby, and then invading Australia itself."

"Good God!" exclaimed Mel. "It is that bad?"

"I'm afraid so. Those Aussie Diggers are some of the best soldiers in the world, the Japs are scared
to death of 'em, and General Blamey is a good man. If the Japs do invade we think Blamey will
abandon the north and try to defend the Great Artesian Basin and the big cities on tbe east
coast--Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne but the general concensus is they won't be able to hold. There
just ain't enough of them. Needless to say, if that happens the United States will be up shit creek not
only without a paddle, but without a canoe as well. We've got to have Australia for sub bases,
airfields, staging areas, not to mention their armed forces."

It made Janice extremely uneasy to think of Australia as being threatened with invasion. She had
spent a couple of months there in early '39 and found the people to be open, friendly, and a lot of
fun to be around. She liked the place very much.

Parker sheepishly at his feet. "Sorry, I didn't mean to lay all that military stuff on you. I guess I got
carried away," said Parker. "How did you two get here anyway?"

"A navy PBY dropped us off a couple of miles down the coast," said Janice. She dropped the relic
back into the bag and handed it to Parker who then returned it to its hiding place in the ceiling.

"So what are the new instructions Stark mentioned?" he asked.

"You are to come with us," said Janice. That PBY will be returning from Australia in three days to
pick us up."

"That would be the eighth," said Parker. "But why wait three days?"

"They figured we might need a little time to find you," replied the archaeologist. She noted the
puzzled look on Mel's face and asked "What's wrong?"

"I thought today was the fourth," said Mel.

"We crossed the international date line remember?" Janice reminded her. "When you travel west you
gain a day."

Mel's face turned a very nice shade of crimson. "Oh yeah," she said. "Silly me."

"So how come you weren't on the boat?" asked Janice.

"I missed it, plain and simple," said Parker. "From what I know now it was a good thing I did. I've
since found out there were Jap agents watching the docks. I probably would have been turned into
fish food if I'd showed up."

"Did you ever find out what happened to the guy that was supposed to have verified the rings for
you?"

"All I know is he died," said Parker. "The heat was on me and I had to get the hell out ot Dodge. I
couldn't wait around to sort out the details if you know what I mean."

She peeked out the window and noted the shadows were getting very long. "It's going to be dark
soon. Mel and I have to find a place to stay."

"Well, you could stay here...," he conveniently let his words trail off.

"I don't think so," said Janice.

"There's a hotel just down the street," said Parker, jerking his thumb to indicate the direction.

Janice picked up her bags and said, "Mel and I will get a room and check back with you after it gets
dark. Bill, I don't think you ought to be showing yourself outside anymore. Not til we're ready to
make our move anyway. We can't take a chance on you being spotted."

"You think I should just hole up here?" Parker asked.

"Yep."

"Okay but, I gotta eat you know."

"We'll take care of that," said Janice. "In the meantime don't let anybody in here. When I come back
I'll give three quick raps, then three slower raps, then three more quick raps."

"That's Morse code for SOS," said Parker. "Don't you think that's a little dubious?"

Janice cracked open the door and peeked out. Turning back to Parker she said, "It's all the Morse
code I know. I'll be back about...," she looked at her watch, "...oh say, nine o' clock?"

Parker nodded and Janice peeked out the door once more before opening it. "Let's go, Mel."

Mel smiled faintly at Parker and followed Janice out. He closed the door and watched the two
women through the cracked window shade until they were out of his line of vision. As might be
expected this first encounter with the women left him feeling very uneasy. As a product of the time he
really did not know how to take someone like Janice Covington. Women just were not supposed to
be that forceful. Like most men he was a firm believer in the old line, "A woman's place is in the
home," and the idea of this smart, confident, assertive, woman more or less telling what to do was
rather unnerving for him. What particularly galled him was this Covington woman's implication that
she had come to rescue him. "Hah, that will be the day," he snorted.

He went to door and undid the latch. He swung the door open and was about to go outside when he
remembered his old pals Fuchida and Shidehara were skulking around out there somewhere.
Muttering an oath of resignation under his breath, he slowly closed the door and pushed the bolt
back in place. Covington's right, he thought. I can't go out there. He knew he was doing the right
thing by following her advice but somehow he didn't feel very good about it.

Chapter 7

That Janice on the bed in her room turning over day's events in her mind. After some deliberation
she had decided it would be best if she and Mel took separate rooms. She figured the less attention
drawn to the two of them the better. She had already returned to Parker and then seen to it Melinda
was squared away before saying good night and returning to her own room. Now she opened a
window but it did not do much to relieve the stuffiness in her room. The evening temperature had not
cooled things down very much and the humidity was no less stifling. She found herself wishing for a
drink.

Almost without thinking she ambled over to the radio and began to play with the dial. She was
gratified to see the radio was capable of receiving short wave transmissions. After a few twists of the
dial and she had tuned in Manila, Honolulu, Brisbane, and Singapore. Hoping to get a bit of news
she finally decided on the Australian station. To her frustration she learned they read the news at the
top of the hour and it was now just a quarter past. She started to turn the dial but the music they
were playing was especially good so she left the dial where it was and stretched out on the bed.

She couldn't take her mind off Mel. Yes, she had told the woman they would have to wait but that
had been an easy thing to say while they were bouncing along in the back of a beat up old truck.
Now, with the air of the steamy tropical night clinging to her a like tight sweater, she found herself
not only wanting Mel but aching for her.

She lay there fidgeting for a few minutes before finally deciding to try to get some sleep. First though,
she thought she would check in on Mel once more to make sure all was well. Still in her sock feet,
she opened her door and padded her way two doors down to Mel's room. Once, twice, three times
she knocked. No answer.

"Mel? You in there? Come on, answer the door." She knocked again, this time much more
forcefully. No answer. "Mel?" With a mounting sense of apprehension she simultaneously whacked
the door hard with the palm of her right hand while vigorously jiggling the door knob with her left.
"Mel!" Still no answer.

She the rammed her shoulder against the door but the construction was too solid. Begining to feel
desperate now, she ran to the stairs and bounded down to the lobby. She was almost to the night
desk when there, standing at a table in the corner of the lobby idly thumbing through a magazine was
Mel!

Janice's stocking feet stopped dead and she felt an overwhelming sense of relief wash over her. She
ran a hand across her damp brow and whispered a heart felt, "Thank God." However, now that she
knew Mel was all right she felt herself becoming very angry. Pressing her lips tightly together, she
stomped over to her AWOL companion.

"Oh hi, Janice," Mel said innocently.

Her teeth almost gnashing, Janice glared at her and took her by the arm. "Just what the fuck do you
think you're doin' down here anyway?"

Taken aback by Janice's vehemence, Mel gulped hard and answered, "Golly, Janice, I got bored so
I came down to find something tuh read, that's all."

Janice's tightened her grip and she hissed, "God damn it, Mel. We're not in Charleston, South
Carolina here! You're not safe down here alone. If those Japs see they'll know something is up!
Don't you ever pull a stunt like this again, you hear?"

"I didn't mean to make you upset." Mel pulled the corners of her mouth up in that endearing
tight-lipped smile Janice adored and all the anger in her just drained away.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "God, Mel," she said quietly, "you scared the
bejeebers out of me, that's all." She relaxed her grip on Mel's arm. "It's my fault. I should have
warned you beforehand."

Mel drew herself up to her full height and looked down her nose at Janice. "I don't know if I should
accept your apology," she said solemnly.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Jes' what I said," retorted Mel. "You come stormin' in here like a tornado rippin' my ass when all I
was doing was trying tuh find something to read."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. And furthermore, I think anyone that runs around hotel lobbies in their stocking feet with the
fly of their pants open hain't got much right to be beratin' other people anyway."

Janice's eyes grew wide and her hand shot down. Mel wasn't kidding! Janice had on a pair of men's
pants and not the side-zippered style slacks women of the day usually wore. As leisurely as she
could manage she looked down at the gaping hole in her pants. While this sort of thing is usually
merely good for a snicker or two, Janice had real cause for alarm because she was not wearing any
underwear! How did I... Then she remembered. When she used the toilet earlier she still had her
pants down when she pulled the chain to flush it. To her consternation the accursed thing began to
back up and she had to reach for the plumber's helper. She remembered frantically buttoning her
pants to keep from tripping...but not zipping them up.

Janice looked at her friend with a sheepish grin on her face. "Damn, Mel, why didn't you tell me?"
she gasped, pulling up the zipper.

Mel grinned puckishly and said, "I jes' did."

Janice had to smile. "Okay, okay. You win. I deserved that. Now do you think you could select one
of these fine periodicals and come back to your room?"

"I reckon I could do that," said Mel airily. It was not often she got the best of Janice so she was
eating this up with both hands. She picked up a month old copy of "Life" magazine and sighed, "I
'spose this one will have to do."

Janice shook her head in mock dispair and started for the stairs. "You know, that's the first time I
ever heard you say 'ass.'"

"It's your fault," sniffed Mel. "You're corruptin' me. The last time I was home Momma heard me say
the word 'damn' and I swear I thought she was gonna have an apoplexy."

"By the time I'm through with you you'll be lucky if Momma doesn't disown you completely,"
laughed Janice.

A minute later they stood in front of the door to Mel's room. She looked at Janice and smiled
nervously. "I am sorry I scared you, Janice." She stuck her key in the lock and was about to say
good night when Janice shot out her hand and stopped her from turning the key. "Whats wrong?"
she asked.

"Mel? Stay with...me tonight?"

Mel looked at her and, without a word, stuck the key back in her pocket.

Janice led her back to her room and the lock on her door had no sooner clicked shut before she
began to unbutton Mel's blouse.

"I thought you said...,"

"I was an idiot," said Janice.

The bra soon joined Mel's blouse on the floor and, soon enough, both of them were out of their
clothes and standing facing each other just a little nervously. Janice then took off Mel's glasses and
led her to the bed. They sat down on the edge and for a moment just looked at each other.

"Jan?"

"Yeah?"

"I jes' want you to know I've never, you know, done this before," said Mel quietly.

"Shhhh." Janice laid a finger across Mel's lips and whispered, "It's all right. Don't be scared."

Janice moved closer and Mel closed her eyes. Their lips met and this time Janice drove her tongue
deep. To her delight Mel responded and for several exquisite moments the two of them remained
locked in their first real embrace. Finally Janice pulled away, smiled wantonly at her, and pushed her
down onto the bed. She then spread Mel's long legs and placed herself on top of the taller woman.
She began to kiss Mel's shoulder ever so softly and then slowly worked her way over to her neck.
As she alternated between caressing Mel's neck with her tongue and ever so gently nipping at it with
her teeth, she did not have to ask her if she liked it. Mel's moans were proof enough.

Janice pushed Mel's legs wider apart and began to slowly work her hips in a circular fashion,
grinding her crotch against Mel's. Every so often she would thrust forward much as a man would do
and grunt softly. This was a selfish sort of thing for her because she knew it really wasn't doing much
for her lover...but she loved to do it. After a time she worked her way back up and they again
kissed.

"Ohh, Jan," Mel whispered breathlessly, "I love youuuu."

Janice smiled and kissed her again and then began to kiss her way south. She stopped at Mel's
breasts cupped her hand around one of the perfect mounds of flesh. After teasing the nipple hard
with her tongue she began to slowly, ever so gently, suck her breast. Mel groaned and placed her
hand on the back of Janice's head, pushing her closer.

After giving her attention to first one breast, then the other Janice allowed it was time for the main
event. She would have liked to have taken the time to explore Mel's body further but she too
impatient to wait any longer. She wanted this beautiful Southern belle now. She pushed a pillow
under Mel's buttocks and snaked her arms around her legs. She began to gently lick the inside of
Mel's thighs and then ran her tongue along the entire length of her thigh and stopped just short of
home.

Finally she pulled the lips of her crotch apart with her middle fingers and at first just touched the tip
of her tongue around the edges. Excited by Mel's soft moans, Janice's tongue began to work its
magic in earnest. Mel bucked and pressed her hips hard against Janice's face.

"Ohhhhhhhh Gahhd! Ohhhhhhhh Gahhhhhd! Oh Gahhhhhhhhhhhhd!"

After a few minutes of delicious exploration Janice's tongue began to pound away at the Magic
Button.

Melinda Pappas was no stranger to orgasms. Though still a virgin, like most people her age she had
ignored the ominous warnings and ventured into the world of masturbation. Her first attempts had
been pleasurable enough to make her want to do it again and she became quite adept at pleasing
herself. But she was not prepared for the fury Janice's gifted tongue wrought when her body
erupted. It was as if something had blown up inside her and was emitted pulsating shock waves of
pleasure.

All she could manage was a gutteral, "ARRRRGGGGHHHHH!"

Mel gasped for breath and drove her shoulders into the bed. She lifted her buttocks completely off
the bed, taking the still busy Janice with her. She sank back to the bed, whimpering loudly. Janice
did not follow her back down but sat back on her knees. She was still throbbing when Janice again
snaked her way back on top of her. Once more she sucked Mel's breasts, this time much more
forcefully, and then rolled off and nestled her head on her lover's shoulder.

"God, Jan," Mel whispered hoarsely, "how did you do that?"

Janice kissed her again in the sweet, simple fashion of their first kiss. "Oh," she smiled, "I've been
around, remember?"

"Could you...teach me how to do that?

Janice playfully trailed a finger along the lips of Mel's soaking wet crotch. She then plopped down on
her back and spread her legs invitingly wide. "Honey, she cooed, "lesson one is about to begin."

The next afternoon Janice and Melinda made love once more but this time Janice could not keep her
mind off Parker and the rings. When Mel sensed Janice was not quite as passionate this time around,
she was still insecure enough to wonder if it was something she had done. Maybe I didn't do it right,
she thought.

However Mel had to admit that, whatever her lover's level of intensity, Janice had no problem
bringing forth her long pent up passions. Two orgasms, one long and volcanic, the other shorter but
no less rapturous were induced in the Southern belle's hungry body that afternoon by the enigmatic
woman with the tough talk and the tender caress. After the pulsating ripples of Mel's second
explosion died away Janice once again returned to Mel's breasts and toyed with them for quite some
time. It pleased Mel to know Janice liked her breasts so very much.

As for the rest of that evening and the entire following day they passed in the very manner Janice
hoped they would--quietly. During this time the two of them left their room only sparingly. She knew
well enough that if they were seen by Fuchida and Shidehara the two men would no doubt put two
and two together and they would not come up with five. Not since that first day had they seen any
trace of either of the two men, or any other suspected Japanese agents for that matter but she was
sure they were still around. For her part Janice wasn't trusting anybody. She knew any one of the
hotel staff could be a Japanese plant.

Late in the evening on the second day Janice returned from her visit to Parker. The navy officer was
not taking to his confinement very well and was becoming very antsy.

"Just hang for a little while longer," she had told him.

She knocked the three short, three long, three short, signal on the door and checked the hallway
while she waited for Mel to open the door.

"Did everything go all right?" asked Melinda as she bolted the door to her room closed. They had
spent the last two nights together in Janice's room and as an added precaution the archaeologist
decided they would stay in Mel's room this night.

"Yeah," replied Janice. "I think Parker's starting to get a touch of cabin fever though."

"He's not the only one," sighed Mel.

Janice glanced up at the clock and read 10:45. "Just think," she said. "By this time tomorrow we will
be off this island and on our way to Guam."

"I wish we were goin' to Australia instead," said Mel wistfully.

"Why?"

"Because down there we could get some decent food and take a real bath instead of jes' washing
off with a damp rag."

Janice had to admit that did sound pretty good. Tarakan was a fair sized place but on the whole the
conditions there were still not very modern. For a while the two of them sat quietly listening to the
radio Janice had lugged over from her room. To their initial dismay they had found the one in Mel's
room to be broken but had soon remedied that.

Just before midnight Mel yawned and stretched out her arms. "I think I'm going to turn in."

"Good idea," said Janice. We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow."

Mel walked over to the bed and took off her glasses. She laid them on the night stand and then
started to undress. The past two nights both women had slept totally in the buff, both to help beat
the sweltering heat and to facilitate some middle of the night petting. Tonight however, would be
different.

"Mel?"

"Hmmm?"

"Don't take off anything but your shoes."

She looked at the smaller woman quizzically but got no explanation. "Okay, Jan," she said quietly,
"whatever you say." She took off her shoes and carefully placed them under the bed. "You coming?"
she asked Janice hopefully.

"Not right now. In a little bit," said Janice.

"Oh." Mel's face fell a little and she turned away, not wanting to show her disappointment. She
stretched out on the bed and rolled over on her side so as to turn her face away. She knew she had
not done anything wrong nor was Janice angry at her but this first, albeit very gentle, rejection by her
new lover was a hard thing for her. Mel understood they could make love every night but that made
her no less disconsolate.

So she lay there feeling sorry for herself and taking some small solace in the notion that she would
sooner or later gain her revenge. Just wait til she wants to do it again, she told herself. Then we'll see
who gets the cold shoulder. Yeah, Mel, sure, she thought ruefully. Sure. Before long her eyelids
began to get heavy and just before she fell asleep she became aware of footsteps crossing the room
toward her. As the light snapped off a set of warm lips kissed her on the cheek and a husky voice
whispered, "Good night, Kid. I love you."

Janice returned to her dark seat and with Johnny Mercer's "Love of My Life" flowing from the radio,
Mel smiled dreamily and murmured, "Good night." Her last thought before falling asleep was she
finally said it!

"You are certain this is the place?" Shidehara checked his pistol in the dull yellow light of the truck's
map light.

"This is the place," parrotted Fuchida. He too checked his pistol before returning it to the shoulder
under his jacket. The two men had no intention of using these weapons if they did not have to but,
careful men that they were, they nevertheless had to make sure they were ready.

Fuchida and Shidehara had spent every waking moment over the last two days relentlessly searching
for any clue as to the whereabouts of the man they knew as Garnett. Unless he had been foolish
enough to try escape through the jungle they had been quite sure he was still in Tarakan.

And not more than an hour ago their diligence and tenacity had caused them to strike pay dirt. While
canvassing a smoky tavern down by the docks earlier that evening, Fuchida had overheard a
conversation between two of the locals about how the inconsiderate the American had been. This
had set off all kinds of alarm bells in Fuchida's nimble mind. After plying the two men with a few
more rounds he learned the man named Garnett had rushed passed them a couple of days ago and
not even said hello. They had found this odd because always before he had seemed so friendly, even
sometimes offering to buy them a drink at their favorite watering hole.

Fuchida had feigned indignance at their slight and said it was just another case of the arrogant whites
pissing on we Asians. In fact, he had told them, he had a mind to take this fellow to task himself.
Now...just where was it he was staying again...?

That night the two men waited patiently until the town's activity died down and the streets were
clear. They parked their truck and quickly walked the hundred yards up the street to Parker's
bungalow. They then very carefully worked their way around to the back door. They stood there for
a few moments listening intently for signs of life inside. They were none. Privately Fuchida hoped this
was not a wild goose chase. It would be very dishonorable to him to have to admit to Shidehara he
was wrong. At last he nodded to Shidehara and within thirty seconds his colleague had the back
door lock picked and, with a toothy grin, was easing the door open.

Parker was having trouble sleeping. The worries of the past few days were beginning to take their
toll on him. Holing up inside an oven for a house was not his idea of adventure. He had volunteered
for the ONI with visions of doing daring things in exotic lands like India or China--not hiding like a
scared rabbit in some sweltering hell hole on the equator.

And those two women. What the hell sense did it make for the goverment to send them down here.
Parker wondered what genius dreamed that one up. Did those two have any idea what could
happen down here? Can they be counted on to keep their heads if trouble came? Can they even
lead me to the fucking PBY? He raised his arm up and checked the luminous dial on his watch.
11:45 Thank God this is my last night here, he thought.

He closed his eyes for a moment and when he reopened them he became filled with the horrifying
sensation that he was not alone. He shot upright in the bed and reached for the .38 under his pillow
but he was too late. White streaks of light flashed in his brain as he felt something hard strike him
across the face.

A cold, decidedly Asian voice said, "That would be most inhospitable of you, Mister Garnett."

Chapter 8

Melinda Pappas had a sense of standing near the water. Wherever she was it was a beautiful place
but something about it frightened her. The water was an odd black color. She looked out over the
broiling water and, in the distance, saw huge columns of black smoke billowing high up to the sky.
Every now and then she saw great orange and red flashes erupt on the surface of the water. Oddly
enough she had no sense of sound. Above the columns of smoke she saw what looked to be great
swarms of huge birds circling overhead. She was fascinated by the birds and yet fearful of them. As
she stood there watching the birds circle and dive over the columns of smoke she became aware of
something floating in the water. She walked down to the water's edge to get a better look and saw it
was a man. She tried to scream but, again, there was no sound.

Now as if magically transported she found she was now in the water herself. There was smoke and
fire all around her. Even the water was on fire. For some reason she could now hear the roar of the
fires broiling all around her. Through the choking smoke she could hear the screams of others but
was powerless to help.

What is this place?

What is happening here?

Suddenly out of the smoke a man swan over to her. His face and arms were covered with a black
substance and was screaming at her to get away. Mel heard a horrible screeching sound and looked
up and again saw the great birds swooping down. Only now they seemed to be making directly for
her! She turned back to the screaming man but he was gone.

The screeching birds were now all around her. They were green and black and had big red circles
under their wings. She had never been so afraid. She felt something erupt as if the whole world had
been shaken apart and she was pulled down...down...down. After what seemed an eternity she
burst forth from the depths of the black water and was again on the surface. The horrid birds were
gone. Something bumped her hard from behind and she wheeled around to see what it was. It was
same man that had screamed at her before. To her horror Mel saw he now had no face. She felt the
hand of Death all around her.

A tattered piece of cloth floated by her. Mel realized she ought to recognize it but for some reason
she just could not remember. Red and white stripes. White stars on a blue field. God! What is this
thing? Why is it so sad to see it this way?

Another body bumped into her. She dared not look this one in the face. He rolled over in water and
inadvertently flopped one arm into Mel's face. As she pushed the arm away she saw that something
seemed to be written on his forearm. She lifted the arm up out of the water and saw the writing was
a tattoo. A wound had obliterated part of the tattoo but the part she could make out read...
"Arizona."

Mel awoke and bolted upright in the bed gasping for air. Frantically she looked about the dark
room. There were no dead men. There was no fire, no great birds. She wiped her forehead with the
back of her shaking hand. She was covered with sweat. God, it was only a dream! she thought
thankfully. But it had seemed to real. She looked over to her left and lying there beside her was
Janice, softly snoring. Quietly she got up and poured herself a glass of water. As she walked back to
the bed she happened to notice the clock. It read 2:28. She sat there on the side of the bed for a
few minutes while her hands stopped shaking and her heart beat returned to normal. She
remembered the ragged cloth. An American flag? And "Arizona,"...why did that word make her
shudder? She lay back down on the bed and stared up at the spot of light filtering through the
window and dancing on the ceiling. It was a very long time before sleep came again to Melinda
Pappas.

"Mel. Mel, wake up."

"Mmmmm."

Janice smiled faintly and shook her friend again. "Come on, get up."

"Mel rolled over and peered up at the cloudy apparation looming over her. "What time is it?" she
asked.

"It's time to get up," replied Janice, simply.

Mel groaned and sat up in the bed. She yawned and rubbed her eyes and finally just sat there. But
not for long. Janice picked up Mel's shoes and tossed them into her lap.

"Come on, Sister," she said. "Get the lead out."

"Okay okay." Her eyes still closed Mel began to fumble with the shoes.

"I don't see why you're so tired," said Janice. "You got to bed way before I did."

It was then Mel remembered her dream. She wondered it she should tell Janice about it but, in the
end, decided against it. "I didn't sleep very well." was all she said.

At last she managed to wrestle the shoes onto her feet. "When are we leaving?"

"That Piloto fella said we would rendezvous at the same spot he dropped us off at 1600 hours
today, that's 4:00 PM. By the time we round up Parker and secure transportation we'll only have a
couple of hours or so to wait." She set their bags by the door. 'Mel, I'm going down to settle our bill.
I'll be right back."

"Anything you want me to do?" asked Melinda.

"Well you could take that radio back to my room," replied Janice. "I'll unlock the door on my way
down to the desk. Ya might also just kind of look around to make sure we're not leavin' anything."

"Right."

Janice went out the door and Mel then began to inspect the room. "Well, Jan, looks like you got
everything," she sighed.

She ambled over to the radio. Though known as a "portable" and in fact considerably smaller than
the large floor model radios common to the period it nevertheless weighed several pounds and was
quite bulky. It made her smile to remember how much trouble Janice had experienced bringing it
over from her room. Mel had offered to help but, true to her nature, Janice had stubbornly insisted
on doing it herself. Now she wrapped her long arms around the apparatus and hefted it up with
ease. As she moved to the door, however, she stumbled over the electrical cord she had forgotten
to unplug and and banged the radio hard against the door facing.

"Oh my!" she gasped. She returned the radio to its former resting place and, with not a little
trepidation, switched it on. At first she heard nothing but static. With trembling fingers she quickly
twisted the dial first to the left, then to the right, praying she had not done any damage. For a brief
moment she felt much relieved when she heard a voice speaking clearly over the air waves...that is,
until she realized what the voice was saying.

"...number of casualties is unknown at this time but it is believed to be very high. The White House
has announced the President Roosevelt will speak before a joint session of congress tomorrow at
1:00 PM, Washington time. It is expected he will ask congress for a declaration of war against
Japan..."

"Okay, Mel let's--" Janice was stopped cold by the look on Mel's face. There was not a hint of
color anywhere to be seen there. The look of sheer horror she exhibited was enough to make Janice
wonder if she had somehow injured herself. "What's wrong?"

Mel pointed weakly to the radio.

"Once again, just before 8:00 AM, their time, Japanese war planes attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
Details are sketchy at this moment but it is certain their target was the main battle fleet in mooring
there. There are also reports of Japanese attacks on Hong Kong, Formosa, and Singapore. The
War Department says the number of casualties is unknown at..."

"It's started." Janice switched off the radio and threw her field pack on the bed. She took out her ,45
automatic and tucked it into her pants. She then took out the combat knife and stuck it, sheath and
all, into her boot. She then opened up Mel's suitcase and took out the beautiful white blouse Mel
had worn to the hotel in Washingon. Janice turned the pack upside down and dumped its remaining
contents, ten pistol clips and the two grenades, onto the blouse. She then quickly tied the blouse up
into a bundle.

"Mel, we have got to get out of here. All bets are off now and it's gonna be every man for himself."

Melinda nodded and picked up Janice's suitcase.

"Leave it," said Janice. "The only thing we're takin' with us are our passports...," she picked up the
bundle by its knot, ... and this."

Now Mel understood the meaning of her dream. A quick mental calculation told her she had been
dreaming of it at the exact moment the attack was occuring. My god! she thought.

As she followed Janice out of the hotel and out into the street a strange feeling came over her. From
somewhere down deep within her a small voice rose up. "It is up to you to protect the Little One,
whatever the price. So it has always been and so it will ever be. The Ancient One's warrior blood
flows strong within you. Harken unto it and you will not fail."

"What do I do?" Mel whispered.

"Trust in the Ancient One," the voice said. "She will protect you and guide you--always."

Janice rapped the SOS code once, twice, three times on the door of Parker's bungalow but there
was no answer. "I've got a bad feeling about this," she whispered.

Her bad feeling got even worse when she turned the door latch and found it unlocked. Janice drew
her .45 and slowly pushed the door open. "Parker?" she hissed. "Parker!"

She turned to Mel and laid her index finger across her lips as a warning for her to remain silent and
Mel nodded she understood. The two women carefully entered the bungalow and Janice eased the
door closed behind them. The bungalow had only two rooms so Janice stealthily made her way to
the thick curtain that served to partition the two rooms. Turning to Mel she nodded toward the
window and said, "Keep an eye out. We don't want any unexpected guests."

Mel nodded and went to the window while Janice carefully pulled back the curtain.

Oh my God!

The sheet on Parker's bed was covered in blood. His blood. Janice ducked through the curtain and
rushed to the bed. He lay naked on the bed, his spread-eagled hands and feet bound to the bed
posts. His face had been beaten almost to mush and there were numerous deep cuts all over his
body. His neck was encircled with thick red welts as if something, she guessed a belt, had been used
to repeatedly choke him. She saw at least of his fingers were broken.

"Jesus Christ," she whispered. Certain he was dead, she turned to leave when she heard a soft
gurgle. "Parker?"

She knelt down beside the bed and murmured in his ear. "Parker, who did this?"

The navy man was unable to open his swollen eyes but he turned his face toward the voice
nonetheless. "Fu--" He gagged loudly and blood trickled slowly out of his mouth.

"Fuchida?"

"Yessss. Gabri...I...dinet...say...nothin.'"

Parker gasped and the air slowly, hoarsely, seeped from his lungs.

Without thinking she whispered, "Good bye, Iolaus."

Iolaus? Why did I call him that? she wondered. And what was that he started to call me? Gabrielle?
How did he know that? She shook her head as if to clear the fog from her brain. She stood up, laid
the palm of her hand on his forehead, and gently stroked back his blond hair. She looked down at
his tortured body. Never in her life had she thought she would be glad to see a fellow as worthy as
this dead.

"Jan?"

Mel's soft voice startled her and she quickly walked to the door. She caught Mel just about to enter
and she pushed her back away from the curtain. "Mel, get back," she said urgently.

"But--"

"You don't want to go in there," said Janice.

Melinda Pappas was no fool. "Iolaus--I mean, Parker...he's dead, isn't he?"

Janice looked at her oddly. WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE? "Yeah, he's dead."

"God, Jan, this is terrible."

"We'll mourn later," said Janice. "Right now we have work to do." She ran her hand into her pocket
and pulled out the Swiss army knife she'd won in the poker game. Emulating Parker's example she
switched off the ceiling fan and positioned a chair under it. She mounted the chair only to discover
she was too short to reach the screws.

"Damn it. Here Mel," she said, handing the taller woman the knife, "you'll have to do it."

Mel stood up in the chair and removed the three screws holding the fan in place.

"Don't let it fall on you," Janice warned.

Mel eased the fan down and ran her hand up into the hole.

"Is it in there?" Janice asked anxiously.

"I don't...no wait! I got it!"

"Good girl!"

Mel tossed the black bag to Janice who quickly opened it up to check the contents. The rings were
indeed there.

"Should I put it back?"

"Huh?

"The fan, should I put it back?" Mel asked.

"Forget the fan. We're blowing this joint."

As the two women emerged from the bungalow two pairs of almond shaped eyes observed their
every move.

"You see, Fuchida, I was correct."

"I congratulate you on your insight, Shidehara. And for you suggestion we continue to monitor the
house," said Fuchida, bowing his head slightly. "It would seem our tree huggers are not who they say
they are after all."

"It is almost certain they have the rings, don't you agree?" asked Shidehara. "Or at least know their
location."

"There is one certain way to find out," answered his colleague.

"Let us hope these two flowers are not as stubborn as Garnett--Parker was."

"He was most brave," Fuchida conceded.

The two men allowed Janice and Mel to continue on down the street for some distance before
following. As they passed the hotel Shidehara stepped into the lobby and walked straight to the pay
phone. There he placed a call to a Mister Kurito working in a dry goods store three blocks away.
Kurito punctuated the terse conversation with a servile "Hai," hung up the phone and rushed to the
shop door. There they were! A tall woman wearing glasses and a short woman wearing a black
baseball cap. His orders being only to delay these two, Kurito frantically racked his brain over how
to accomplish this. Then it came to him.

Kurito hid behind the door and waited for the two of them to pass. He then leaped out and snatched
the bundle from Janice's hand.

"Hey!" Janice wheeled around and lashed out at the little man but he was too nimble. He darted
back into the shop and ducked behind the counter.

Once inside the shop, Janice drew her .45 and carefully began advancing toward the counter.
"Come out right now, fella," she said cautiously. "Come on now. I ain't got time to play games here."

She eased over and peeked behind the counter at the cowering man huddled in the corner. She
stretched out her arm and wiggled her fingers. "There's nothing in there that would interest you so
give that and you won't get hurt."

The man lay there like a rock clutching to the bundle. He was fully prepared to die obeying his
orders. Not wanting to hurt Kurito and sensing no danger, Janice laid the .45 on the counter and
walked up to the man. She tried to wrench the bundle away from him be he clung to it like a mother
to her child.

"Give me that, damn it! Mel," she barked, "come and help me."

But Mel did not answer.

"Mel!" Janice turned to the door and saw they had company. It was their two benefactors from their
first day on Borneo, Fuchida and Shidehara. Fuchida had a pistol pointed at her and his partner had
his stuck under Mel's chin.

"Good morning, Miss," said Fuchida politely.

"What is all this?" growled Janice.

"Oh come now, Miss ah, Covington, isn't it. These silly charades are such a waste of time."

"I don't know what the hell you're talkin' about."

"We shall see," said Fuchida ominously. "Kurito!" The man scrambled to his feet and ran up to
Fuchida. Fuchida spoke several sentences to him in Japanese and the man handed the bundle to him,
bowed, and disappeared into the back room. Fuchida undid the knot and inspected the bundle's
contents.

"Ah so. This is standard equipment for botanists now?" he smirked.

"So I'm a little unorthodox," snorted Janice. "Is that a crime?"

"Enough of this!" snapped Shidehara. "Let's get on with it."

"You see? It does not do to make my colleague upset," Fuchida said smoothly. He retied the bundle
and waved his gun toward the door. "If you would be so kind."

Janice and Mel were pushed through the door and into the back of the same truck they had rode
into town in. Only this time Shidehara and his pistol got in the back with them.

"You all right?" Janice asked.

"Yeah."

"Quiet!" commanded Shidehara. "No talking!"

"Up yours, Tojo!" barked Janice.

"Janiiice," Mel whispered urgently.

"Fuck him. He's not gonna do anything...yet."

Fuchida wrestled the truck to a warehouse not far from the main pier and parked around in back.
Shidehara stuck his pistol in Janice's belly and leered, "Out!" The two women piled out and were
hustled inside. While Fuchida covered them Shidehara bound Mel's hands to an overhead beam.

"Now," said Fuchida, "we can, what is it you Americans say, get down to cases?"

"I don't know what you two boys want but whatever it is, you're barking up the wrong tree," said
Janice.

"Liar!" roared Shidehara. He slapped Janice hard across the mouth.

"Janice!" screamed Mel.

Janice wiped the blood off her mouth and, glaring at Shidehara, said, "It's okay, Kid. This fucker has
got a sissy punch."

Shidehara roared again and punched the archaeologist hard in the stomach. "Where are rings?" he
demanded.

Janice groaned loudly and, with all the dignity she could manage, stood erect. "Where rings?"
shouted Shidehara. The angrier he got the less fluent his English became. He again punched her in
the stomach and the woman fell to her knees coughing, gagging, and gasping for air.

Fuchida took her by the hair and lifted her back to her feet. "I warned you not to make him angry,
Covington," he cooed. "Now why don't you tell us where the rings are and we can dipense with
this...unpleasantness."

"I don't...know..."

Fuchida sighed and nodded to Shidehara. He took off his belt and looped it around Janice's neck.
With a hard yank he snapped her head back.

"Stop it," shrieked Mel. "You're killing her!"

Protect the Little One. Mel pulled hard on the ropes that bound her. "Got to..."

Shidehara threw Janice down on her stomach on the floor and put his foot in her back. With a
sadistic leer he again yanked on the belt.

"Where rings?"

"Fuck you," gagged Janice.

Fuchida kicked her in the ribs and felt something hard. "Roll the bitch over!"

Shidehara flipped her over and Fuchida ripped open her shirt. Out rolled the black bag. "Well well
well." He knelt down beside the prostrate Janice and lifted her head up by her hair. "Now how do
you suppose that got in there?" he asked in mock surprise.

He stood up and grinned at Shidehara. "Looks as if our work is finished here," he said in Japanese.

Shidehara nodded to Janice. "What about her?"

Fuchida broke in a wide grin. "Why, kill her, of course." He again knelt down beside Janice and
lifted up her head. "You Americans are so soft with your cars and your refrigerators," he sneered.
"Even your leader is a cripple. The great struggle to free Asia from your money grubbing grip has
begun. We have already destroyed your navy. The destruction of your way of life is next. You and
all who dare oppose us will learn the Bushido Code is unbeatable."

Janice turned her head toward him and with a great effort managed a weak grin, "If I were you I
wouldn't sell my hara-kiri knife just yet, buster," she rasped.

"We're going to kill you," said Fuchida. "And we're going to take your friend with us. You see it gets
lonely out here in the islands."

"You son of a bitch," Janice tried to get up but Fuchida slammed his fist hard between her shoulder
blades and the woman groaned and collapsed back to the floor.

"Kill her," ordered Fuchida.

Shidehara raised his pistol when suddenly it went flying across the warehouse. Mel caught Fuchida
by the arm and rammed the hammer of his own pistol into his forehead. There was a dull crack and
he groaned loudly and melted to the floor. Shidehara roared and rushed her and she leaped up and
wrapped her legs around his neck, pulling him to the floor. She then crushed his skull like a
cantaloupe between her two beautiful, but deadly pincers.

"Meeel?"

Melinda Pappas shook her head stared down at the dead man between her legs.

"Mel?"

Melinda gathered Janice up in her arms and rested her head upon her lap. "Jan," she whispered,
fighting back her sobs. "Jan, I'm here."

The petite woman with the blonde hair grinned weakly up at her, "Next time, Kid, see if you can
evoke that ancestor of yours a little sooner, huh?"

The tears burst forth from Mel like Niagra Falls. She laughed and cried at the same time and pulled
Janice to her breasts. "God, Jan. I love you so."

Chapter 9

That afternoon Mel loaded Janice into the truck and drove them to the rendezvous point. When
Willams paddled in from the PBY he was appalled to see his fellow Yankee fan injured thus but
took heart to see her spirit was just as good as ever. As ordered Lieutenant Merle Piloto flew Janice
and Mel to Guam where they were transferred to the heavy cruiser "San Francisco" bound for Pearl
Harbor. On the way the ship's pharmacist's mate patched Janice up as best he could. For all her
pain, she wasn't hurt too badly, mostly just bruises.

On the trip the two were not allowed to leave their rooms except to use the head. The captain didn't
want his crew distracted by a couple of very pretty women, especially now. Their meals were
brought to them by a crusty chief petty officer named Frank Ryan. As a sixteen year old kid in the
Great War he had battled German U-boats in the North Atlantic on the old four stack destroyer
"Nathan Hale" and he thought he had seen everything. Until now.

"Dames on a warship," he'd marveled, scratching his head.

It was late in the evening when the "San Francisco" finally made Pearl Harbor. As they slowly
worked their way down the channel Ryan sounded off the names of the ravaged ships.
Nevada...Tennessee...Maryland...California...West Virginia. When they passed the Arizona the
grizzled chief's voice finally cracked. He had pulled six years on the grand old lady and still knew a
lot of the fellows that served on her. He stood there staring at the once proud ship-of-the-line and,
try as he might, could not hold back any longer.

Janice saw the tears stream down his cheeks and she found herself welling up as well. All those
boys!

Melinda moved to the railing and looked out over the water. The seeping oil and diesel fuel had
turned it black--just like in her dream. Staring at the twisted, blackened hulks she set her jaw and,
looking straight ahead, recited a line spoken by her family's mortal enemy of some eighty years
before, "War is the remedy our enemies have chosen and I say let us give them all they want."

"Who said that?" asked Janice. "Grant?"

Mel shook her head ruefully, "Sherman."

"Don't worry, Miss," said Ryan. "When we get through with these bastards the Japanese language
will be spoken only in hell. It won't be easy. There'll be a lot of dead Joes when it's over. But if I
know Mister Roosevelt, we won't stop until we are marching down the streets of Tokyo itself."

Janice had to agree.

A week later the two women were back in the same Washington hotel room from whence their long
and eventful journey had begun. They had not much more than checked in when Janice received a
phone call from Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthau. He explained to her the president
was, of course, much too busy now to see her but that he wished to express his heart felt gratitude
for their service to the nation.

"Yes, I understand. We'll be ready."

"Who was that, Jan?" Mel asked, emerging from her bath.

The Secretary of the Treasury," replied Janice. "He says we are to come to Blair House this
evening--wherever that is."

"That's the official residence of the vice-president," said Mel.

Janice shrugged and took off her well-worn boots. "Well, that's where we're to turn the rings over to
them."

"Janice," said Mel thoughtfully, "there has to more to this than what we've been told. The govenment
wouldn't put this much effort into something just to keep it out of the hands of somebody else if it
was worthless, would they?"

Janice sighed and said, "I don't know. I just glad this is over."

Mel sat down beside her on the bed and put both hands in her lap. "Janice?"

"Yeah?"

"Have ya given any thought as to what we're, you know, gonna do now?"

"What do you mean?"

"Way-ul, what with the war and all I don't think there's gonna be much archaeological work goin'
on--at least for the duration."

"I don't know," said Janice. "I hadn't really given it much thought. I guess I should though huh?
Whatever it is it'll be something to help out with the war effort. What about you?"

Mel looked down at her feet. Her voice barely above a whisper she said, "Jan, you know I'll do
whatever you do. Whether it's riveting in a shipyard or teaching college or sweeping floors in Minot,
North Dakota. As long as we are together."

Janice smiled and kissed the wonderful, ever-surprising woman with the funny looking glasses. She
had been going to wait and let Secretary Morgenthau make it official but she couldn't bear to see
Melinda so apprehensive about their future. "Kid," she said, "I don't know how to tell you this but
we've already got a job."

Mel's eyes lit up like a Chrismas tree. "Really?"

"Yeah. It seems Mister Roosevelt liked our work and he said we were to kind of stick around. He
told Morgenthau the government might have future need of our ah, services."

"For sure, Jan?"

"Yep. You see, we're at war now. He's not asking anymore, he's telling us.

"Golly!"

Janice leaned over and murmured, "And we're even gonna get paid from now on."

"Golly!" Mel repeated.

"Not as much as we're used to, you understand," cautioned Janice, "but with what we'll both make
we'll be all right."

Mel beamed a smile and Janice playfully added, "I think we'll pull in enough to enable you to see
Cary Grant every now and then."

Mel blushed and drawled, "Janice Covington, you are the most evil thing."

Janice grinned and pushed her down onto the bed. She leaped on top of her and pinned her arms to
the bed. "Ain't I though?" she leered.

"Humph," snorted Mel.

"C'mon, Mel, you love the way I am."

"Ah guess ah do kinda find ya excitin'...in a vulgar sort of way," Mel answered nonchalantly.

Janice pretended to pout and the tender hearted Mel had to say, "Janice, you know good and well I
think you're the most wonderful person there is."

"Why thank you, Mel."

Mel suppressed a laugh and added the qualifier, "I mean... for a Yankee, that is."

"Why you...! Janice laughed out loud and pulled open Mel's bath robe. She began to tickle the
Southerner and, over her lover's joyous squeals, said, "Reb, I will accept nothing less than
unconditional surrender."

These were superfluous words because both of them had already surrendered to the other the most
precious gift of all--the heart.

Three days later in a top secret demonstration at the Federal Penitentiary in Fort Leavenworth,
Kansas, a former army corporal convicted of killing another soldier in a fight over a crap game was
marched to a secret location and stood up in front of a wall. In attendance was a bevy of army and
navy brass including a major general and a rear admiral, upper half.

An army sharpshooter, selected by lots, First Sergeant Wallace Perry from Austin, Indiana
positioned himself exactly twenty feet away from the condemned man and, at an officer's signal, fired
eight rounds from one of the new M-1 Garand rifles directly at the man's heart. As the last round
was expended the clip ejected from the breech and pinged on the floor.

When the resounding echo of the shots died away the silence was even more deafening. Not one
round had touched the prisoner!

The army general took out a handkerchief and wiped the perspiration from his lips. "God damn,
John, what is that thing?"

The admiral smiled and turned to his aide, "Okay, Barney, you can put it away now."

The aide strode over to the prisoner and removed from his neck a leather strap strung with bits of
coral and tied at each end to four interlocking rings of tarnished gold.

"Beats the hell out of me, Milt," said the admiral. "All I know is some of our people gained access to
it over in Borneo."

The general shivered and said, "I don't know about you but this voodoo crap gives me the willies."

"If the Japs had gotten their hooks on it, you'd have gotten more than the willies," the admiral
retorted.

"I guess you're right, John. So, do you think the president will let us use this thing?"

"There's not a snowball's chance in hell of that," said the admiral. "After all it is of vital importance
that we maintain some semblance of taking the moral high ground in this fight. We sure as hell can't
be seen as relying on some kind of tribal witchcraft or whatever." The admiral nodded toward the
prisoner and asked, "What about him?"

"We stick with the deal," said the army man. "He gets a pardon from Roosevelt and is returned to his
old unit on the condition he keeps his mouth shut. If he doesn't..."

The admiral didn't need the man to draw him a picture. "I see. I recommend everybody that
witnessed this today be made to sign a sworn oath of secrecy."

"I agree."

The prisoner was marched out and the admiral's aide dropped the rings of Bugang back into the
same battered black bag they had arrived in; leaving the still astonished Sergeant Perry gaping at his
rifle and wondering just what the hell the world was coming to.

The End

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