.thankfully! I was on a weekend away from home, at a conference in Belgium at the sea-side resort of Blankenberge. Of course, this was November, so t...e holiday makers had long since gone. As I wound my way through the streets to the conference hotel, I was looking forward to hearing about some new species of plants that had recently been discovered in Mexico. The first of the talks was in the evening after dinner, and was interesting enough, though not the high spot of the conference,. He knew, however, the Japanese submarine was in the vincinity and he wasn't surprised the Russian sub had cleared out. The Jap was Gorshin's and Fedyunsky's problem and he'd little doubt they'd settle the question one way or another. It was out of the question for a Russian Naval vessel to leave crewman behind in jeopardy.Trouble was beginning to gather in the long and winding journey to the mouth of the caverns. Chino had walked these corridors for a month and knew them pretty well. But it was. They had bugged the suite in Paris, state of the art stuff that beat the detectors his guests used to sweep the room twice daily with. Jim and Christy were there as guests while Interpol and French police listened. Christy dug her fingernails into Jim’s arm so hard the bruises and scratches were still there when they got home as the name of a senior Senator and a mid-level Congressman were mentioned, the bad guys debating over how much they deserved for keeping them in the shadows. Jim. I looked at Tanya, my best friend, and took a deep breath."Okay, I need to be honest with you," I said quickly, trying to commit myself to finishing. "And I know it's going to sound a little weird." You haven't been honest with me?" her voice had lost none of its edge.I found that I was squeezing my hands in my lap, and stopped only with an effort."I haven't been honest with anyone. Not you, not Jeanne, not Jill, not my Dad, nobody."She waited for me to continue."The last birthday I can.