Jack grinned. "I might not have any legal authority, but I should receive some courtesy acknowledgment. Harry, now, he has authority just by being who he is, no matter where he goes. And those in the know will remember him because he won the martial-arts competition three years in a row, and all three of those competitions were held in Vegas at, where was it, Harry?"

"The MGM Grand," Harry said. "Sellout crowds all three times."

"I rest my case," Jack said. To Charles he said, "Work it out, Charles, I want to go. I can't be of any use here."

Kathryn squirmed in her chair. "What about Bert?"

Charles looked at Kathryn and chose his words carefully. "Bert will be apprised of what's going on. Right now we have to let matters where he's concerned go through the proper channels. We need to see him confirmed, and we're still not sure if that will happen. In other words, it will be Bert's decision on what and how to proceed. It's the best information I can give you at the moment, Kathryn."

Kathryn nodded as she kneaded her hands, which were folded in her lap. Murphy, her huge German shepherd, sensing her unease, nosed her leg for attention. Kathryn unlocked her hands and reached over to stroke the dog's great head.

Maggie pushed back her chair. "Is there anything else you want me to do? If not, I have to be up at four, so I think I'll say good night now."

"Just saturate the front page with whatever you can make work for all of us," Charles said. He looked at the monster clock on the wall and smiled. "I think the Post is now online. Shall we all view it in living color?"

Suddenly the room was a beehive of activity. Everyone was talking at once as Charles used a pointer to jab at the different pictures and articles on the front page. The girls rushed to Maggie and swooped her up as they congratulated her on a job well done. She glowed with pride.

Jack clapped Harry on the back as Charles used his pointer to pinpoint a small mound of what looked like ashes. "Where'd you say you got those ashes?"

"One of my guy's long-dead ancestors. He didn't have a bit of trouble giving them up because he's going to reclaim them and put them back in their little nest as soon as the lab confirms the ashes are human. Labs take very good care of stuff like that," Harry said with a straight face.

"Just like that, he's going to go to the FBI's forensic lab and take back his ancestor's ashes?" Jack asked, disbelief ringing in his voice.

"Well, yeah, Jack," Harry drawled. "He's a ninja. If he can disintegrate into thin air, I think he can pull it off. You want to make a little wager?"