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"At least we'll be able to nail Juan Chaco to the door of a Peruvian courthouse-" Pitt suddenly tensed and swung toward the cockpit as Giordino threw the helicopter in a steeply banked circle "What's up?"

"A gut feeling," Giordino answered "I decided to run a three-sixty to check our tail Good thing I'ot company"

Pitt pushed hi his leg, eased into the copilot's seat "Bandits or good guys?" he asked

"Our pals who dropped in on us at the tee to Chiclayo" Without taking his hands from the controls, Giordino nodded out of the windshield to his left at a helicopter crossing a low ridge of mountains to the east

"They uessed our course and overhauled us after you reduced speed to conserve fuel," Pitt surmised

"No racksair-to-air rockets," observed Giordino "They'll have to shoot us doith rifles--"

A burst of flaer door of the pursuing aircraft, and a rocket soared through the sky, passing so close to the nose of the helicopter Pitt and Giordino felt they could have reached out the side s and touched it

"Correction," Pitt called "A forty-ainst the temple"

Giordino slammed the collective pitch into an abrupt ascent and shoved the throttles to their stops in an attempt to throw off the launcher team's aim "Grab your rifle and keep the the coast"

"Tough luck!" Pitt shouted over the shrill whine of the engines "I tossed it away, and my Colt is empty

Any of you carry a gun on board?"

Giordino made an imperceptible nod as he hurled the chopper in another violent maneuver "I can't speak for the rest of theed in a corner behind the cabin bulkhead"

Pitt took a radio headset that was hanging on the arled out of his seat and clutched both sides of the open cockpit door with his hands to stay on his feet during a sharp turn He plugged the lead from the headset into a socket mounted on the bulkhead and hailed Giordino "Put on your headset so we can coordinate our defense"

Giordino didn't answer as he mashed down on the left pedal and skidded the craft around in a flat turn

As if he were juggling, he balanced histhe headset over his ears He winced and involuntarily ducked as another rocket tore through the air less than a meter under the belly of the helicopter and exploded in an orange burst of flaainst the palisade of a low mountain