A burst of fire shrieked after the Calliope. Pitt swiftly cut a sharp bend to starboard, but the irony of battle had yet to take its fair share. Ironic because a dead man had fought back through catastrophic defeat with a precision he could never know. Jets of water skipped white and straddled the speeding boat as shells ripped away the airfoil above and behind the cockpit that held the parabolic satellite dish antenna and communications antenna and navigation transponder, blasting the remains into the river. The windshield in front of the cockpit shattered and was carried away. Gunn threw himself prone on the deck, but Pitt could only hunch over the wheel and ride out the deadly storm. They could not hear the impact of the shells over the thunderous roar of the flat-out turbo diesels. But they could see the bits and pieces of debris bursting all around them.

Then Giordino got in a clear shot and launched his last missile. The settling stern of the gunboat suddenly vanished in a puff of smoke and flame. And then the boat was gone, sliding under and leaving a large flutter of bubbles and a spreading slick of oil. The Commander-in-Chief of Benin’s navy and his river fleet were no more.

Pitt forced himself to turn his back on the flotsam-filled river astern and look to his own boat and friends. Gunn was coming shakily to his feet, bleeding from a cut across his balding head. Giordino appeared from the engine room looking like a man who had just stepped off a handball court, sweating and weary, but ready for a new game.

He pointed up the river. “We’re in for it now,” he shouted the words in Pitt’s ear.

“Maybe not,” Pitt shouted back. “At this speed we’ll cross into Niger in twenty minutes.”

“Hopefully, we didn’t leave any witnesses.”

“Don’t count on it. Even if there were no survivors, somebody must have caught the fight from shore.”

Gunn gripped Pitt’s arm and yelled. “As soon as we’re in Niger, back off and we’ll take up the survey again.”

“Affirmative,” Pitt agreed. He shot a quick look at the satellite dish and communications antenna. It was then he noticed they were gone along with the airfoil. “So much for contacting the Admiral and giving him a full report.”

“Nor can the labs at NUMA receive my data transmission,” said Gunn sadly.

“Too bad we can’t tell him the leisurely cruise up the river just turned into a bloody nightmare,” Giordino bellowed.

“We’re dead meat unless we can figure another way out of here,” Pitt said grimly.

“I wish I could see the Admiral’s face,” Giordino grinned at the thought, “when he hears we broke his boat.”

“You will,” Gunn shouted through cupped hands as he descended into the electronic compartment. “You will.”