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"You want a body," said the gunrappling hook h rough the silt That's the only way you'll ever see hiain"

"Back to the forward boarding ra"

Pitt could hear the diesel throb and feel the beat of the fishing boat's propellers through the water as it pulled alongside to take off Sauely what his friends would say to hih it was a desperate measure to save their lives

Nothing was going according to plan Sarason o steps ahead of Pitt

Already Pitt had allowed Loren and Gunn to suffer at the hands of the art thieves Already he'd stupidly done nothing while the crew and ferryboat were captured Already he'd given away the secret to Huascar's treasure The way he was handling events, Pitt wouldn't have been surprised if Sarason and his cronies elected him chairman of the board of Solpemachaco

Nearly an hour passed before he sensed the sounds of the fishing boat die in the distance This was followed by the beating rotor of a helicopter lifting off the ferry, indisputably the NUMA helicopter Pitt cursed Another gift to the criminals

Darkness had fallen and no lights reflected on the water Pitt wondered why theto evacuate the vessel His absolute conviction was that one or more would be left behind to take care of him in the event the dead came back to life Amaru and Samson could not kill the others unless they kneith cold certainty that Pitt was dead and could tell no tales to the authorities, especially the news media

Pitt could feel apprehension in his chest like a stone tied to his heart He was at a distinct disadvantage

If Loren and Rudi had been reet ashore somehow and inform Giordino and the Customs officials in the US border town of Calexico of the situation And what of the crew? Caution dictated that he er on board If one of the dead, they could wait him out They had all the time in the world He had practically none

He pushed away from the float, curled over and dived under the hull The bottom silt seemed closer to the keel than he reical until he passed under a bilge exhaust pipe and felt a strong pull of suction Pitt didn't have to be told that the seacocks in the bilge had been opened A the Alhambra

He turned and swam slowly toward the end of the ferryboat where he had left the helicopter He took the risk of being seen by surfacing briefly alongside the hull beneath the deck overhang to take another breath After nearly an hour and a half's ied His skin looked like that of a shriveled old ued, but he sensed his strength was reduced by a good 20 percent He slipped under the hull again and made for the shallow rudders fitted on the end They soon looripped one and slowly raised his face out of the water

No leering face stared back, no guns ai on to the rudder and floated, relaxing and building back his strength He listened, but no sound came from the auto deck above

Finally, he pulled hie of the entry/exit ramp The Alhambra was in cohts showing Her decks appeared still and lifeless As he suspected, the NUMA helicopter was gone The tingling fear of the unknown traveled up his spine Like an old fort on the western frontier before a surprise attack by the Apaches, it was far too quiet

This wasn't one of his better days, Pitt thought His friends were captured and held hostage They ht he refused to dwell on He'd lost another NUMA aircraft Stolen by the very criminals he was supposed to entice into a trap The ferryboat was sinking beneath hi soe All in all he'd rather have been in East St Louis

How long he hung on the rudder he couldn't be sure Maybe five minutes, maybe fifteen His eyes were accusto auto deck was the dirill of the Pierce Arrow He hung there waiting to see a movement or hear the faint sound of stealth The deck that stretched into the gaping cavern looked frightening But he had to enter it if he wanted a weapon, he thought nervously, any weapon to protect himself from men who intended to turn him into sushi