The chuckle turned into a full fledged laugh. He could hardly wait to tell Jenny. The girl standing in front of him, alternating between businesswoman, and seductress, could have been considered desirable in a base way, but Jed felt no such desire. And, as he obviously was American, she was out for money. Jed wanted to use Jenny's word, "ruinous."

Still, the situation demanded more than just a stupid look upon his face. He considered trying sign language to ask if there was another exit to the building, when an English voice boomed through the chicken wire separating the cubicle walls at the ceiling, "Oy Mate. Pay the flipping tart to shut up her bleeding gob."

"I'd love to, gov," Jed replied in his imitation Cockney, "but this bird has a flaming big running sore on her fanny, and I ain't about ready to pay the piper."

"Sweet mother of Jesus. I wonder if my bird is infected, too."

"Some of the more potent French disease strains run wild through establishments like this. If I were you mate, I'd leave off whatever you happen to be engaged in at this moment, and join me in a hasty exit."

"I've already paid, gov."

"Grab your money back. Then let's take it on the lam."

"Aye, but they've got a whacking great hulk of a bouncer out front. A shipmate mentioned a back door through the Blue Parrot Bar. I'm ready. You?"

"Lead the way, on three," Jed answered, as he reached for his wallet and selected a twenty. "THREE!"

The noises that followed were complete uproar. A slap. A scream. A door slamming. He paid the girl, pointed to the commotion in the hallway and raised his eyebrows to signify anything she wished to make out of his strange actions. He opened the door a few inches and waited. What must have been the bouncer ran past, momentarily blocking out the dim light of the hallway. And, a few seconds following, the unmistakable profile of his shadow, both chasing the British seaman.

Jed waited a few moments, blew the puzzled prostitute a gentle kiss, turned in the opposite direction, smiled a sheepish grin at the madam manning the front desk, skipped down the deserted stairway, and disappeared into the foot traffic of the alleyway.