"There she is up ahead." Rip followed the pointing finger of his companion Agent Dante Williams and saw the strings of white lights that marked the cruise ship Valiant. "Not much longer now," Williams added, stifling a yawn. "Been a long night." Rip gave a slight nod of agreement at the CIA agent's understatement. This was hardly the way he'd planned to return home. Matter of fact, retuning to his boyhood home of Benezet hadn't been his intention at all until some guy took a pot-shot at him right in the middle of the fund-raising dinner for his alma mater U of Miami. Several long hours and countless miles of dark ocean had elapsed, but their objective was finally in sight. Rip could see the white bulky shape growing closer with each passing moment. Their skipper had been in radio contact with the captain of Valiant, and everything was prepared for their arrival. Too bad Rip didn't feel equally ready. "Tell me again how we're getting from this itty bitty boat into that -- that behemoth?" he asked Williams.
