Ditched Again

The Judas Strain
James Rollins
Harper

Last Thursday, I left hearth and home and headed overseas. One of my friends was getting married in Germany and that was all the excuse I needed to plan a bit of a jaunt. Of course, it wouldn’t be a holiday without a companion, so I invited Commander Pierce along for the ride. You remember him, right? Tall, dreamy, and oh-so-dedicated to the Sigma Force? Sigh. What is it they say about best laid plans?

Now that it is all over, I guess it’s okay to dish. Gray, as you know, just can’t seem to stay out of trouble. This time he and the gang were involved in some sort of bio-terrorism plot, so it was off to Southeast Asia to find the source (and hopefully cure) for this “new” disease. I say “new” because it turns out that there was a link between Gray’s case and the mysterious disappearance of most of Marco Polo’s returning fleet. Apparently, when Polo left China to return to Italy, he led a flotilla of sixteen ships. When he got home, there was only two left.

All that to say that I got ditched. It’s okay though. The wedding was beautiful and I think the bride and groom are the type of couple (unlike Gray and I) who will make it through anything. I’m now in St. Petersburg, sans Gray, and having a fantastic time. In fact, I’m at the Telegraph Pub enjoying a pint of maiden’s piss, er, I mean Harp, right now. Aside from the kitsch, nothing in the joint is in English and surprisingly, it hasn’t been a problem so far. The pub? Oh, it gets a three out of five stars.