The Maltese Mandarin Av Mark Harland

Casting retirement aside, former Royal Navy submarine Commander, Bruce McCandless, was asked to perform one more role for the National Security Agency (NSA). The problem was China - again. This time it was their ''String of Pearls'' doctrine that was the issue at stake. The Politburo had its predatory eyes on Malta and specifically the huge dry dock in the Grand Harbour known as the Red Dock. They had originally built it and now, just like Hong Kong, they wanted it back.<br>A plan was hatched to lure the Chinese President Zhang to the George Cross Island under the pretext of a Summit with his opposite number, the newly-elected American President Kirk. The motor yacht ''Christina O'' was chartered to act as the venue. Surely neither President would decline an invitation to follow in the footsteps of JFK, Winston Churchill and Jackie Onassis.<br>Using his intimate knowledge of Malta, McCandless and his co-agent Alexandria Pisani, a vivacious American girl of Maltese descent, put the jigs