Clive Cussler - Flood Tide

“Peking man,” Katie repeated slowly. “The Chinese people revere him as an honored ancestor.”

“Are we keeping any of the treasure?” asked Gallagher.

Pitt shook his head. “I don't think so. I've been told that President Wallace intends on turning the entire treasure over to the Chinese people after it has gone on exhibit around the United States. Peking man's bones are already on their way home.”

“Just think, lan,” said Katie, gazing fondly at her husband, “it might have been all ours.”

Gallagher patted her on one knee and gave a hearty laugh. “Where would we have put it? We've got enough Chinese junk sitting around the house to start a museum as it is.”

Katie rolled her eyes and gave Gallagher a hard slap on the shoulder. “You big mick, you love those objects as much as I do.” She turned to Julia. “You have to excuse lan. Once a roughneck always a roughneck.”

“We really should be moving along,” said Julia, reluctant to leave.

Pitt leaned down, picked up the box from the floor and presented it to Katie. “A gift from the Princess Dou Wan that I thought you should have.”

“I hope it's not a piece of the treasure,” she said, surprised. “That would be stealing.”

“Oh, but it belongs to you,” Julia assured her.

Katie slowly, somewhat apprehensively, opened the lid on the box. “I don't understand,” she said, bewildered. “It looks like the bones of some kind of animal.” Then she saw the little golden dragon that was attached to a faded red leather collar, “lan! lan!” she cried in sudden comprehension. “Look, they've brought me Fritz.”

“He's come back to his mistress,” said Gallagher, his eyes beginning to mist.

Tears instantly formed in Katie's eyes as she came around the table and embraced Pitt. “Thank you, thank you. You don't know how much this means to me.”

“If he didn't,” said Julia, gazing at Pitt tenderly, “he does now.”

Gallagher put an arm around his wife's shoulders. “I'll bury him with the others.” He looked at Pitt and Julia. “We have a little cemetery that holds the pets we've owned over the years who've died.”

As they drove away, lan “Hong Kong” Gallagher stood next to Katie, who smiled and smiled and smiled as she waved goodbye. Pitt found himself envying the big Irishman. Gallagher had been right, he had found riches without salvaging the Princess Dou Wan's treasure.

“They're a wonderful couple,” said Julia, waving back.

“It must be nice to grow old with someone you love.”

Julia stared at Pitt, her eyes narrowing in wonder. “I didn't know you were a sentimental guy.”

“I have my dark moments,” he answered, smiling.

She sat back in the seat and stared out the windshield at the passing trees pensively. “I wish we could keep right on going and not fly back to Washington.”

“What's to stop us?”

“Are you mad? I have my job at INS. You have yours at NUMA. Our superiors are waiting for lengthy reports on the treasure recovery and all the other harrowing experiences we've had cutting the flow of illegal immigrants. They'll keep us so busy for the next few weeks, we'll be lucky if we get to see each other for a few hours on Sundays. And Lord only knows what the Justice Department will do to you when they learn you entombed Qin Shang on the wreck of the Princess Dou Wan.”

Pitt said nothing. He took one hand off the wheel, reached in the inside pocket of his jacket and passed two envelopes to Julia.

“What's this?” she asked.

“Two airline tickets to Mexico. I forgot to tell you, we're not going back to Washington.”

Her mouth dropped open. “You get crazier by the minute.”

“Sometimes I scare myself.” Then he grinned. “Don't worry your little head. I cleared it with both Commissioner Monroe and Admiral Sandecker. We have their blessings for a ten-day vacation. They admitted it was the least they could do. The reports can wait. The federal government isn't going anywhere.”

“But 1 didn't bring any proper clothes.”

“I'll buy you an entire new wardrobe.”

“But where are we going in Mexico?” she asked, suddenly becoming excited. “What are we going to do?”

“We,” he said with emphasis, “are going to lie on the beach at Mazatlan, drink margaritas and watch the sunset over the Sea of Cortez.”

“I think I'm going to love that,” she said, nestling against him. He looked down and smiled. “Somehow, I thought you would.”