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Zavala shook his head "We'd better pull our gear together"

Their other luggage had been stowed in a cabin Austin pulled a holster out of his duffel, checked the load in his Bowen revolver and stuffed extra ammunition into a fanny pack For this mission Zavala had chosen a Heckler amp; Koch 45 model that was developed for the army Special Forces They carried a GPS, coency items They wore inflatable flotation belts instead of bulky life vests, and dressed for the damp weather aterproof outer layers over wool

A crewman knocked on the door and relayed the captain's invitation to coe When they entered the pilothouse, Ivanov beckoned theated blip on the monitor

"This is Ivory Island We're about ten kiloo?"

There was a slight haze rising froreen water The sky was overcast Visibility was less than a h binoculars," Austin said "When he sees the island, drop anchor"

The captain spread out a chart "The main harbor is on the south side of the island There are many smaller coves and inlets around the perimeter"

After conferring with Zavala, Austin decided to explore the expedition headquarters, then follow the river inland

"We have enough fuel for roughly two hours in the air, so we'll have to keep our search itinerary tight," Austin said

They went over their plans again and had wrapped up the discussion when the lookout said he could see the island

"Joe and I are grateful for all your help," Austin told the captain

"It's nothing," Ivanov said "Ms Janos rehter Please, do whatever you can to help her"

At Austin's request, the ship was positioned with its stern to the wind and a portion of the deck cleared for takeoff Austin was pleased to see that the as no ht push them backward He knew, too, that the wind speed in the air would be higher than on the ground

They first practiced takeoff without the canopy The trick in a tande ently

"That wasn't bad," Austin said after their first clumsy attempt

Zavala glanced at the crew the practice runs with a mixture of amusement and horror "I'll bet our Russian friends have never seen a four-legged duck before"