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"Thanks for bringing the limo around, Joe"

"No probleive it a test run before you take it for a spin,"

The "limo" was a two-person Seal, one of the sreen hull, with its rounded stern and sharp pointed nose, was only fifteen feet long With the combined kick from its thrust propeller and lift fan, the Seal could plane along on an air cushion, on water or land, with its payload, at a speed of up to twentyfive iant hovercraft, Austin had reasoned that the bad guys weren't the only ones who should be driving fun boats The Seal was designed for hunters and wildlife people anted to get into otherwise inaccessible locations The Special Forces had ht ht sensors

Austin goosed the twenty-horsepower Briggs and Stratton engine and felt the craft rise out of the water on its air cushion He tried soh speeds and low Satisfied that he had the hang of it, he turned the controls over to Trout While Trout got accustoh their supply bag and pulled out his pistol and two CAR 15s, the shortened carbine version of the M16 In addition to a rate of up to 950 rounds per renade launcher

Austin would have been satisfied if no shot had to be fired, but he wasn't opti at Trout's cami uniform and had borrowed one of his own and covered his stark white hair with a ue cap

Nothing could have prepared the bodies The NUMA men clipped their neckerchiefs in the river and tied the in closer The bodies looked as if somebody had puht line as he made himself inspect each corpse one by one

When he was sure of what he had seen he clicked the radio "We're okay Joe Gamay isn't here"

"Glad to hear it, pal"

"My guess is these are the guys who tried to shoot us out of the sky" He shivered, re Gamay's close call with the rapids

"We'lljust ahead for you and Kurt to rescue her"

"Thanks again for giving up your seat"

"No probleo"

There had been a brief discussion the night before 'over ould accoo in, but he knew Trout should be there when they found Gamay, dead or alive For a more practical reason, they needed someone in the command post who could speak Spanish and act as liaison with the Mexicans

An instant later both Hueys disappeared over the treetops Austin pointed the Seal downriver and cranked her up The hovercraft lifted above the water and leaped forward as if out of a slingshot When he asked his Special Forces pals if they had anything that would get theht places, Austin knew air reconnaissance could cover a lot of ground in a short ti as s

They took turns at the controls, keeping the Seal at twenty miles per hour For all their time on the river, Ga the rapids With the hovercraft's superior speed and no overnight stops, they would cover the saht the glint of sunlight ahead in midstream They pulled up to the tiny islet, and Trout stepped out Chi had been scrupulous about not littering the island, but he had dropped a trail mix wrapper Without a word Trout stepped back into the boat and showed his find to Austin, who nodded, gunned the throttle, and notched their speed up to the liame was afoot!