Cabrillo gave the order to let go the anchor. The chain rattled, and it fell with a splash into the water. Then he shook hands with the pilot after signing the usual affidavits and logging the mooring. He waited until the pilot was on board the pilot boat before motioning to Pitt and Giordino.

"Come join me in the chartroom and we'll go over tomorrow's program."

"Why wait another twenty-four hours?" asked Giordino.

Cabrillo shook his head. "Tomorrow after dark is soon enough. We still have customs officials due aboard. No sense in alerting suspicions."

Pitt said, "I think we have a breakdown in communications."

Cabrillo looked at him. "You see a problem?"

"We have to go during daylight. We have no visibility at night."

"Can't you use underwater lights?"

"In black water any bright light stands out like a beacon. We'd be discovered ten seconds after we switched on our floods."

"We'll be inconspicous when we're under the keel," Giordino added. "It's when we're inspecting the hull on the sides below the waterline that we're vulnerable to detection from above."

"What about the darkness caused by the shadow of the hull?" asked Cabrillo. "What if underwater visibility is lousy? What then?"

"We'd have to rely on artificial lighting, but it would be imperceptible to anyone staring over the side of the dock with sun over their head."

Cabrillo nodded. "I understand your dilemma. Romantic adventure novels say it's darkest before dawn. We'll drop you and your submersible over the side and tow you within spitting distance of the United States, putting you on station before sunup."

"Sounds good to me," Pitt said gratefully.

"Can I ask you a question, Mr. Chairman?" inquired Giordino.

"Go right ahead."

"If you carry no cargo, how do you justify entering and exiting a port?"

Cabrillo gave Giordino a canny look. "The empty wooden crates you see on the deck and the ones in the cargo holds above our concealed cabins and galley are stage props. They will be off-loaded onto the dock, then consigned to an agent who works for me and transported to a warehouse. After a proper length of time, the crates are re-marked with different descriptions, returned to the dock and loaded back on board. As far as the Chinese are concerned, we dumped one cargo and took on another."

"Your operation never ceases to amaze," said Pitt.

"You were given a tour of our computer compartment in the bow of the ship," said Cabrillo. "So you know that ninety percent of the Oregon's operation is under the command of computer-automated systems. We go manual when entering and departing a port."

Pitt handed the binoculars to Cabrillo. "You're an old pro at stealth and covert activities. Doesn't it strike you odd that Qin Shang is converting the United States into a first-class smugglers' transport right out in the open under the eyes of anyone looking on? Crewmen on cargo ships, passengers on ferries and tour boats?"