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“He knows too s you don’t know?”
Ivan only glared at him
“I thought so Sokolov must have been busy while in China Tell me, if it’s not possible for Viktor to retrieve Sokolov or, God forbid, we get our hands on him first, what are his orders?”
Ivan said nothing
“Just like I thought, too I’estured to the end of the dock “She’s not going to let that happen to Sokolov”
“She ht Sokolov dead Now it is Viktor’s choice”
“We’ll ht one”
He headed back toward the others where Cassiopeia was cli into the plane’s cabin, followed by Pau
“Spry sucker,” he whispered to Stephanie
“Watch him, Cotton”
He pointed at Ivan “And you watch him”
He climbed inside Two leather seats rested side by side, Cassiopeia in one, a center bench behind them where Pau sat The instruer side, which provided Cassiopeia a wide view ahead through the fors He strapped hi the top speed to be around 200 kilometers per hour One fuel tank in the keel, below the cabin door, held 320 liters Another auxiliary tank in the tail carried 60 liters He did the e Plenty for a one-way trip, as Ivan had said, which he hoped did not have a double
“I assu?” she asked
“As good a time as any to learn”
She gave him a quizzical look
“What?” he asked
“You can fly this, right?” Doubt clouded her tone
He adjusted the throttle, props, and fuel s and noticed that they were intact A flick of a switch and the twin engines roared to life He played with the fuel mixture until the props spun firm He twisted the cranks for the elevator and rudder trims
“No problem,” he said
Cassiopeia did not appear to share his confidence
The plane started to drift, so he grasped the yoke and maneuvered out onto the bay He turned toward the south so the faint breeze he’d noted on shore would be at their back
He throttled up the engines to 180 horsepower
The Twin Bee skiripped the yoke
This would be his first off-water takeoff He’d alanted to do it
Less than five hundred feet was needed before the wings caught air and the plane lifted, slow and steady, as if in an elevator They found open water beyond the bay He banked left and adjusted course toward the northwest, heading back over shore The controls were sluggish, but responsive Not a P-3 Orion, he reminded hined for little
“Take a look at that chart,” he said to Cassiopeia
She studied the map
“We’re going to ground-track our way there,” he made clear
“Assu this chart is correct”
“Not to worry,” Pau said at his right ear “I know this part of Vietnaet us there”
NI WATCHED THE PREMIER’S FACE, TRYING TO GAUGE IF THIS man was friend or foe He truly had no idea
“What you see is the wax replicaago and, in fulfillment of Mao’s wishes, was burned to ash”
“Then why keep all this open?”
“An excellent question One I have asked myself many times The simplest answer is that the people expect it”
Ni had to say, “I don’t think that’s the case any longer”