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Pitt was down on thethe shattered windshield on the Duesenberg Before she greeted hiaze swept over the immaculate machinery on the spacious floor below

She did not recognize the makes of the classic cars parked in even rows, nor did she recognize the Ford Tri side by side at one end of the hangar There was a large, old-fashioned Pull on a short section of track, while behind it a small bathtub with an outboard e-looking craft that resembled the upper half of a sailboat that had been tied to the buoyancy tubes of a rubber boat A mast rose from the middle hat seemed like palm fronds woven into a sail

"Good ," she called down

He looked up and gave her a killer smile "Nice to see you, lazybones"

"I could have stayed in bed all day"

"No chance of that," he said "Admiral Sandecker called while you were in dreamland He and your boss want our bodies at a conference in one hour"

"Your place or mine?" Julia asked in a humorous tone

"Yours, the INS headquarters office"

"How did you ever clean and press my silk dress?"

"I soaked it in cold water after you fell asleep last night and hung it to dry This h a cotton towel As far as I can tell, it looks good as new"

"You're quite a guy, Dirk Pitt," she said "I've never known a htful, or innovative Do you perforirls who sleep over?"

"Only exotic ladies of Chinese descent," he answered

"May I fix breakfast?"

"Sounds good You'll find whatever you need in the fridge and on the upper cupboards to your right I already made coffee"

She hesitated as Pitt began remented mirror on the side-mounted spare tire "I'm sorry about your car," she said sincerely