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The interior spaces aboard the Norego were as dilapidated as her outside The floors were chipped linoleue swatches of peeled paint, and the fluorescent lights s buzzed loudly Several of the the narrow corridor in stark shadow

Esteban led Gha and onto another short corridor He opened the door to his office and gestured for the h an open door on the opposite side of the office The bed was unmade, and the sheets that spilled onto the floor were stained A single dresser stood bolted to the wall, and thefrom corner to corner

>The office was a rectangular roole porthole so rih The walls were adorned with paintings of sad-eyed clowns done in garish colors on black velvet Another door led to a tiny bathroom that was filthier than a public washrooarettes had been smoked in the office that the stale s the back of Gha susted

Esteban jammed the bare wires of a desk lamp into an outlet next to his desk, cursed when they sparked but seemed pleased that the laroan He indicated for the two inspectors to take the seats opposite Ghami used a pen from his shirt pocket to flick the dried-out carcass of a cockroach fro

The captain ru out with a liquor bottle He eyed the two Musli in Spanish “Okay, here’s the manifest” He handed over a binder “Like I said, we’re carrying nothing but e” He set other binders onto the desk “My crew’s rates, if you ask uest These are the Norego’s registration papers”

Gha their nationalities and double-checking their identity papers The ship’s co of Chinese, Mexicans, and Caribbean islanders, which jibed with theon the rudder The captain himself was fro and Freight for eleven years and o for six Ghami was surprised to see that Esteban was only forty-two The man looked closer to sixty

There was nothing here to arouse suspicion, but Ghah

“It says here you are carrying eight hundred and seventy containers”

“Thereabout”

“They are stacked in your holds?”

“Those that aren’t deck-loaded,” Esteban agreed

“I do not wish to insult you, Captain, but a ship such as this was not designed to carry containers efficiently I suspect there is room in your holds where contraband may be hidden I wish to inspect all six”

“Until n,” Esteban breezed “You want to go over the whole ship, you beto hide”

The office door was suddenly thrown open A Chinese creearing coveralls and wooden flip-flops jabbered excitedly at the captain in Cantonese Esteban cursed and launched himself from his desk His quick ot to his feet, resting a hand on his holster Esteban ignored him entirely and raced across the room as fast as his extra hundred pounds of flab would allow Just as he reached the bathroole He slammed the door shut, and, alike a geyser and splashing against the ceiling A new, ent smell overwhelmed the cramped office

“Sorry about that,” Esteban said “Seng here’s been working on our septic system I don’t think he quite has it yet”