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"I heard" With a total absence of emotion, Giordino increased power

Pitt crouched behind a stone building and peered around a corner, hearing the grohine of the turboshaft engines and seeing the five-bladed main rotor slowly increase its revolutions An hour previously, it had taken no little persuasion for him to convince Giordino that he must take off whether Pitt arrived or not The life of one h only 30 round, completely devoid of any brush or cover, separated Pitt from the helicopter, it seemed more like a mile and a half

There was no longer any need for caution He had to ave his bad ankle a fasttenseness He felt little pain, but it was beginning to tighten up and grow nued forward like a sprinter and raced into the open

The rotors were beating the ground into dust when Giordino lifted the old Hip-C into a hover He gave one fast scan of the instruhts and tried to sense any strange noises or weird vibrations Nothing seeines of an aircraft badly, overdue for an overhaul responded in a businesslike manner as he dipped the nose and increased power

In the ers saw Pitt launch his dash toward the gaping claeround Their shouts turned urgent as a sergeant happened to glance away fro helicopter He immediately shouted for thefor the order to advance up the stairway

The sergeant's shouts-- they were al fro! Shoot, for the love of Jesus, shoot them!"

The troops did not respond as ordered Pitt was in a direct line of fire with the helicopter To fire at hi their own aircraft They hesitated, unsure of following the frantic sergeant's commands

Only one man lifted his rifle and fired

Pitt ignored the bullet that cut a crease in his right thigh He had other priorities than feeling pain And then he was under the long tail booers and the Peruvian young people were on their sto between the doors The helicopter shuddered as it was buffeted by its ondraft and lurched backward Pitt extended his arms and jumped

Giordino bent the helicopter into a hard turn, putting the rotor blades dangerously close to a grove of trees A bullet shattered his sideand sprayed a shower of silvery fragash across his nose Another round plunked into the rear fra his spinal cord by a whisker The helicopter took several rove and below the far side, out of the line of fire from the Peruvian assault force

Soon out of range, he went into a left clih altitude to pass over the mountains At almost 4000 meters (13,000 feet) he had expected to find barren, rocky slopes above a timberline, but was mildly surprised to find the peaks so heavily forested Once clear of the valley, he set a course to the west Only then did he turn to Shannon "You all right?"

"They were trying to kill us," she said mechanically

"Must not like gringos," Giordino replied, surveying Shannon for dans of punctures or blood, he refocused on flying the aircraft and pulled the lever that closed the clamshell doors Only then did he shout over his shoulder into the main cabin "Anyone hit back there?"

"Just little old me"

Giordino and Shannon twisted in their seats in unison at recognizing the voice Pitt A rather exhausted andblood through a hastily tied bandanna But a Pitt as indefatigable as ever leaned through the cabin door with a devilish smirk on his face