Kennedy placed a satchel on the table's surface. The jug tottered, ice clinking, crushed lemon releasing a golden sunrise swirl. Ice on summer seas.

"What do you know about the CBI, Captain?"

"You're a domestic intelligence bureau, formed soon after the First Ranger War and loosely based on the German Abwehr. You have ties with German, British and Canadian intelligence services."

"Near enough," Kennedy said. "As you've said, the CBI is restricted to working within the borders of the Confederacy. Three years ago the Bureau was approached by representatives of the Abwehr. A clandestine meeting was held, a meeting that I, as director of anti-terrorist activities, was asked to attend. It was to be an exchange of ideas and methods. Information. This meeting started off as a routine discussion about establishing more formal associations with German intelligence. It ended as an outline for a project allocated the code name of Camelot."

"Camelot?" Lightholler sounded the word.

"Round table, one land, one king," Morgan intoned.

"Camelot," Kennedy repeated. "A three-year plan, with the ultimate goal of reuniting the Confederate and Union states."

"Of course," Lightholler said. "Right after you pull the sword out of the stone, I suppose."

Kennedy pressed on. "A reunion brought about under the auspices and umbrella of German authority. I was assigned to organise the military wing of the project."

Lightholler couldn't believe his ears. They actually seemed to be serious about it. Another Kennedy, trying to reunite the states?

He thought about it for a moment and when he spoke he did so slowly and carefully. "Astor tried to do that." He said the name without relish. "So did Vidal. Look where it got them."

And John and Robert, your uncles. The names he didn't mention, couldn't bring himself to say to this man. This Kennedy, scion of an infamous family that had tried to pull this trick off once before and had failed miserably.

Instead, he said, "You were running the military wing of an attempt at a peaceful reunion? You're sounding more like a soldier than a spy."

"An ultimately peaceful process, Captain. An iron fist can be maintained within a velvet glove."

"No. I don't buy it." Lightholler shook his head emphatically. "Even if the Americans wanted such a thing-which is pretty bloody unlikely-the Eastern Shogunate would never give up control over the North, and certainly not to a German-backed United States of America."

Yet saying those words, United States, he was stirred by them.

"Nothing's impossible, Captain. It's all a matter of resources, and a question of perspective," Morgan said. "In December of 1860 the First Secession took place. Eleven states broke from the Union. The bloody war that followed lasted four years and left the South devastated. Ruined. That War of Northern Aggression supposedly settled the question of the permanence of the Union, and yet seventy years later Texas broke away in a clearly unconstitutional act and no war ensued. Why was that, Captain?"

He continued without waiting for a reply. "There's no simple answer, but in a nutshell, no nation willingly embarks upon a war unless it's somehow convinced that it may win. The belief may be short-lived and naive, it may be based on misinformation or arrogance, but it's shared by all participants, and is a constant in military history.

"Prior to the War of Northern Aggression, the First Confederacy expected military support from Europe, certainly from Britain and France. Both countries relied heavily on Southern exports of cotton for their textiles industry. Did you know that seventy-five per cent of all British cotton came from the South? Yet that military support never came, and the rest is history. Bottom line is that both the Union and the Confederacy went to war because both sides thought that they would win. They didn't go to war in '32 for the same reason."

"And you believe," Lightholler said, "that the North and the South can be reunited through peaceful means because neither the Japanese nor the Germans would go to war over such a matter?"

"I never said that," Morgan replied. "The War of Northern Aggression, the Mexican invasion of 1920 and the Great Depression left the South virtually bankrupt. Texas backed out of the Union when it couldn't-and wouldn't-meet its share of the national debt. No one believed it would last, but when the Kaiser offered finance, munitions and armed support, in exchange for oil there was nothing the North could do about it. It was only a matter of time before the rest of the South followed suit. After all, America had narrowly driven off the Mexicans, while the Germans were the newly declared masters of Europe."

"Not all the rest," Hardas murmured.

Lightholler knew where that came from. That Virginia and the Carolinas never joined the Second Confederacy remained a sore point among many people both North and South. While the governments of those states had argued back and forth about using terms like Confederacy, and disputing the purity of Texan motives for secession, the population of Virginia and the Carolinas had made a point of dividing itself. A series of migrations went north and south, until the new Mason-Dixon Line was established at the Georgian border and a new capital was raised in Houston.

"Still, it was a war the Union could not hope to win, Captain." Morgan narrowed his eyes. "You claim the Americans would never want to be reunited. Yet Union and Confederate soldiers marched together only a few years after tearing at each others throats. People remember what they choose to and even old wounds heal eventually. Had it not been for what happened next, the Secession would not have lasted." A strange look entered his eyes. "Wasn't even supposed to have happened, goddamn it."

"All in good time, Darren," Kennedy said softly.

Morgan drew in a deep breath. "The only reason it did last was that the North couldn't afford to aid the South during the First Ranger War. Had they intervened, the Mexicans would have been swiftly defeated and the two nations reunited."

"Now you're just speculating," Lightholler interrupted.

"Perhaps, but if the North had supported the South, if they'd displayed some unity, the Japanese might have been more hesitant in attacking Pearl Harbor in '46."

"Of course," Lightholler said, enjoying the man's discomfort. "They might have attacked in '47 instead."

"If Astor had sent help to the South," Morgan said, with some exasperation, "then Patton might have felt obliged to aid the North after the Japanese attacked. Instead of the Confederacy battling the Mexicans while the Union was fighting the Japanese, it might have been a United States of America-"

"Fighting a two-front war," Lightholler interrupted again. "Against two powerful enemies."

"A winnable two-front war," Morgan replied. "The Germans managed it, for God's sake."

"That was a long time ago."

"Gentlemen," Kennedy said, "we're getting off track here. To answer your question, Captain, no, we don't actually believe that the North and the South can be reunited by any means. Not any longer. As a matter of fact, recent developments suggest that this solution is going to be anything but peaceful. What our historian is trying to say, though, is that, for a time, both the Confederate and German governments thought it was a possibility. There was also some serious support from elements in the current Union administration. My task force was created to make that possibility a reality."

"What happened?"

"The project was up and running within three months of the meeting. You can imagine its initial appeal. A United States of America, with a centralised government based in Houston and complete German support, as opposed to Japanese control. The japs would be left with Alaska and the Occupied Territories on the West Coast, possibly New York; the rest would fall under German influence. The Germans saw it as a way to destabilise the Japanese bases on the occupied West Coast, believing that a unified America would not tolerate such a Japanese military presence for long."

"The Japanese have occupied the West Coast since 1948," Lightholler said. "They're not likely to pull out now. Emperor Ryuichi is no fool."

"No, and neither is his brother, though something might be said about his loyalty. You see, last year Japanese agents in Richmond got wind of Camelot."

"So you were shut down?"

Kennedy smiled. "You know how it goes. Anything's fair game, but once you get caught, there's the slap on the wrist, an informal apology, and we all pretend that nothing ever happened. Right? The agents reported their findings to Hideyoshi, the Eastern Shogun."

"And he shut you down." Lightholler recalled his own meeting with the man just over a week ago.

"Last November, his men met with us in West Virginia. They knew all about Camelot-the names of our agents, our sponsors in the Union. Everything."

"And?"

"He made us a proposal. Gave us three options. Certain targets had been selected in the Union: pipelines, power stations, heavy industry-Japanese targets. The project involves their timed destruction, demanding an increased Japanese commitment to holding power in the North. A commitment they would find untenable in the long run. So ... three options: firstly, that we shut it down, just like you said."

"Go on."

"Secondly, that we proceed, but on a different schedule. Cause less damage. Slow things down a little." Kennedy watched Lightholler closely, as if to gauge his response.

"Why the hell would he let you destroy Japanese targets?"

Hardas lit another cigarette. He rested an elbow on the table and blew a thin stream of smoke towards the ceiling. Lightholler glanced at him. He tossed over a cigarette and slid his lighter across the table.

Lightholler lit up, and when Kennedy didn't reply immediately he followed his own thoughts. "That would give the Japanese more time to mobilise their troops in the Union."

"Exactly." Hardas held his eyes.

"Leaving them with a firmer grip on the Union."

"Yes."

"That's crazy." Lightholler's head was spinning. "Crazy that he'd even think you'd go through with that."

No one replied.

The only sound was Hardas tapping away the ash.

Lightholler let his cigarette burn slow to his fingertips; he followed the glow's spread along the rolled paper. "What was the third option?" he asked finally.

Kennedy spoke softly. "We change the targets."

"Union targets?"

Kennedy shook his head.

"Confederate targets? He actually expected you to say yes to destroying your own? What on earth did he offer you?"

"In exchange for uniting the states under Japanese hegemony-his hegemony..." Kennedy gave a miserable laugh that rang hollow in the small room, "he offered me the presidency."

It was beyond comprehension, all of it. What had Admiral Lloyd gotten him into?

"Listen," Kennedy said, "by virtue of being born nine minutes before him, Hideyoshi's twin brother gets to rule the entire Japanese Empire, while he's left governing the East. A United States, under his control, would become an excellent bargaining chip. It would give him the opportunity to extend Japanese influence as far south as the Panama Canal. If he controls the Canal, he controls the movement of all trade between the Atlantic and Pacific. Think of the support that might gain him in the Home Islands, if he ever chose to make an attempt on his brother's crown."

"Insane," Lightholler said. "Completely. You of all people..."

"What?"

"You took the third option, didn't you?" Lightholler moved as if to rise from the table. Hardas was already standing by his side, a hand firmly on his shoulder.

Lightholler shook him off, but remained in his seat. "You make them look good, you know, JFK and RFK. They were just doing it for the money. But you?"

Kennedy reddened. "They had no idea about the money. The worst crime they committed was naivety."

"And it ended on a bloody afternoon in Dealey Plaza. You won't be so lucky. They're going to hang you, Major Kennedy. Benedict Arnold's going to be remembered as a saint next to you."

Morgan was talking, his words soft but rising. "Captain, you've got it all wrong. This is different."

"He's playing both sides against each other," Lightholler continued. "He's selling you out for something he couldn't get any other way. How the hell is that different?"

"There's more you have to hear, much more. This is just the tip of the iceberg."

"Why the hell am I here?" Lightholler asked, his voice almost cracking. "What the hell does this have to do with me?"

"We're at an impasse," Kennedy said. "The japs have us, and we have them. They let Houston know what's going on and we hang. We contact Tokyo and Hideyoshi is commanded to commit suicide on the steps of the Summer Palace. But while we're at this standoff, we buy the time to finish what we started."

"And what's that?" Lightholler said bitterly. "The Mexicans still control the Canal. They'll be no friendlier to the japs than they've been to the Confederates, especially with you as president. Not to mention the fact that Ryuichi would never allow a Shogun to wield that much power, particularly his own brother."

"Absolutely," Kennedy replied. "Both empires think they have everything to gain by a reunited America. Both are probably wrong."

"So who wins?" Lightholler asked. "Conspiracies have a habit of being brought to light. There's no way this is going to work."

A melancholy smile flickered across Morgan's face.

"No one wins," Kennedy said. "Not in the long run."

Lightholler shivered. Someone walking over his grave. He craved another of Hardas's sour cigarettes.

Kennedy continued. "A large portion of the Bureau has been operating independently from the Confederate states for the last three years in pursuit of Camelot. My team has been operating independently from the CBI for the last two. We've met with surprising success in negotiating a reconciliation considering it was the last thing on our minds. Financial backing from the Germans and the Japanese didn't hurt either."

Lightholler surveyed the men sitting around the small table. This changed everything. Rendered the letter useless. Unless, of course, the Palace supported Kennedy. That might explain Admiral Lloyd's ignorance. It would explain a number of things.

He said, "Back in my hotel room, you only checked for surveillance devices after you introduced yourself. And well after you had told me that you were from the South."

"We checked your room the night before you arrived," Kennedy said. "We knew where the bugs were."

"Aside from that, you didn't mind if someone knew you'd been there. You weren't checking for surveillance devices, you were neutralising them. And whoever was observing your progress now believes that I'm involved."

"They were watching you, not me," Kennedy said. "You're implicated in far more than Camelot now."

"What you've done is commit treason and draw me into the process. Thanks to you, they were ready to imprison me."

"Your abduction would have ended in your death. The men who took you were assassins."

"They only took me because they thought I was part of your crew, damn it."

"They would have taken you anyway," Kennedy said.

"When did you discover that I was under surveillance by the CBI?"

"Yesterday."

"So now your boss knows you've been double-dealing."

"He knows, but for all of the wrong reasons," Kennedy said.

Lightholler sighed. There was more to this. Layers of deception and confusion. And still, Why neutralise the bugs at all?

"Ultimately, we don't care about the Confederacy-or the Union," Kennedy said. "Not in their present form. We don't care about the Germans or the Japanese. The concept of treason here is irrelevant. We're looking at a bigger picture-much bigger."

"The big picture," Lightholler said deliberately. "Something bigger than you becoming president of the USA? Something bigger than rearranging the borders of the two empires?"

The Palace had offered his assistance to the CBI under the assumption that they were doing work that would benefit England. Whatever the "big picture" was, it went far beyond anything the Foreign Office had imagined. And it was only after Hardas had neutralised the bugs in his hotel suite, that Kennedy had mentioned the ship.

"And still you claim all this has something to do with the Titanic?"

"That's where it all starts," said Morgan. "That's where it ends."