Island of the Sequined Love Nun

made his escape through the shower floor, dropping onto the wet gravel below.
    In the movies the spies-the Navy SEALS, the Special Forces, the demolition experts-always sneak through the night in their wet suits. Why, Tuck wondered, don't they squish and slosh and make squeaking raspberry noises when they creep? Must be special training. You never hear James Bond say, "Frankly, Q, I'll trade the laserguided cufflink missiles for a wet suit that doesn't make me feel like a bloody bag of catsick." Which is how Tuck felt as he sloshed around the side of the clinic and peeked across the compound at the guard on duty, who seemed to be looking right at him.
    Tuck pulled back around the comer. He needed a diversion if he was going to make it to the clinic door unseen. The moon was bright, the sky clear, and the compound of white coral gravel reflected enough light to read by.
    He heard the guard shout, and he was sure he'd been spotted. He flattened against the wall and held his breath. Then there were more Japanese from across the compound, but no footsteps. He ventured a peek. The guard was gesturing toward the sky and brushing his head. Two other guards had joined him and were laughing at the guard on duty. He seemed to get angrier, cursing at the sky and wiping his hand on his uniform. The other guards led him inside to calm him down and clean him up.
    Tuck heard a bark from the sky and looked up to see the silhouette of a huge bat against the moon. Roberto had delivered a guano air strike. Tuck had his diversion.
    He slipped around the front of the building, grabbed the doorknob, and turned. It was unlocked. Given Beth Curtis's irritation at being buzzed and the amount of wine she'd consumed, Tuck had guessed that she'd get tired locking and unlocking the door. What did Mary Jean always say? "Ladies, if you do your job and assume that everyone else is incompetent, you will seldom be disappointed." Amen, Tuck thought.
    He squished into the outer room of the clinic, which was dark except for the red-eyed stare of a half-dozen machines and the dancing glow of a computer screen running a screen saver. He'd try to get into that later, but now he was interested in what, or who, lay in the small hospital ward, two rooms back.
    He sloshed into the examination/operating room by the light of more LED eyes and pushed through the curtain to the four-bed ward. Only one bed held a patient-or what looked like a patient. The only light was a green glow from a heart monitor that blipped away silently, the sound turned off. Whoever was in the bed was certainly large enough to be Jefferson Pardee. There were a couple of IVs hanging above the patient. Probably painkillers after such major surgery, Tuck thought.
    He moved closer and ventured a whisper. "Pst, Pardee."
    The lump under the covers moved and moaned in a distinctly unmasculine voice. "Pardee, it's Tucker Case. Remember?"
    The sheet was thrown back and Tuck saw a thin male face in the green glow. "Kimi?"
    "Hi, Tucker." Kimi looked down at the other person under the covers. "You remember Tucker? He all better now."
    The pretty island girl said, "I take care of you when you sick. You stink very much."
    Tuck backed off a step. "Kimi, what are you doing here?"
    "Well, she like pretty thing, and I like pretty thing. She tired of having many mans and so am I. We have a lot in common."
    "He the best," Sepie added with an adoring smile at Kimi.
    Kimi handed the smile off to Tuck. "Once you be a woman, you know how to make a woman happy."
    Tuck was getting over the initial surprise and began to smell the smoke of his beautiful island girl fantasy as it caught fire and burned to ash. He hadn't realized how much time he'd spent thinking about this girl. She, after all, was the one who had revived his manhood. Sort of.
    "You right," Kimi said. "Women are better. I am lesbian now."
    "You shouldn't be doing this. This girl just had major surgery."
    "Oh, we not doing nothing but kissing. She very hurt. But this make it better." Kimi held his arm up, displaying an IV line. "You want to try? Put in you arm and push button. It make you feel very very nice."
    "That's for her, Kimi. You shouldn't be using it."
    "We share," Sepie said.
    "Yes, we share," Kimi said.
    "I'm very happy for you. How in the hell did you get in here?"
    "Like you get out. I swim around mines and come here to see Sepie. No problem."
    "You don't want to let them catch you. You've got to go. Now."
    "One more push." Sepie held