“I see Admiral Kemper’s point,” said Higgins. “The answer is on the viewing screen. The parachute is the helicopter’s death shroud. The lines are woven around the base of the rotor and overhang the side opposite the cargo door. Even if the craft were hovering in a stationary position, it would be impossible for a man to climb out on that streamlined fairing far enough to reach the lines with a knife.”

“Could they bail out of the helicopter before it goes down?” Jarvis inquired.

General Sayre shook his head. “Unlike conventional aircraft, whirlybirds do not have automatic control systems. They must be flown manually every second. If the crew were to ditch, the craft would fall on top of them.”

“The same principle applies to a midair pickup,” said Kemper. “We might snatch one of the men, but not both.”

“There is nothing we can do?” There was a faint catch in Jarvis’s voice.

The President gazed forlornly at the lacquered tabletop for several moments. At last he said, “Just pray that they carry that vile abhorrence safely past our shores.”

“And if they make it?”

“Then we sit helplessly by and watch two brave men die.”

The icy water jabbed Pitt back to consciousness. The first minute, eyes blinking back the bright daylight, his mind tried to fathom his

The Iowa 269p>

condition, to make sense out of why he was floating in a cold, dirty river. Then the pain began to bloom and his head felt like the receiving end of a carpenter’s nail.

He felt a vibration in the water, heard a muffled popping sound, and soon a Coast Guard patrol boat slid out of the rising sun and idled in his direction. Two men in wet suits dropped over the side and expertly fitted Pitt into a hoist rig. The signal was given and he was gently hauled on board.

“A bit early in the morning for a swim,” said a huge bear of a man with his arm in a sling. “Or are you practicing for the English Channel?”

Pitt looked around and saw the shattered glass and shredded wood on the boat’s bridge. “Where did you come from? The battle of Midway?”

The bear grinned and replied, “We were headed for our dock when we were ordered back to pick you out of the drink. I’m Kiebel, Oscar Kiebel, commander of what was once the cleanest boat on the Inland Waterway.”

“Dirk Pitt. I’m with NUMA.” • :.j>p>

Kiebel’s eyes narrowed. “How didyou come to be on the battleship?”

Pitt looked up at the boat’s broken rigging. “LbelieVe I owe you.a*hew radio aerial.” • “.”,:

“That was you?” „Ť

“Sorry about the hit and run, but there was 09 time to fill out an accident report.” . : ,

Kiebel motioned toward a doorway,?-“Better cpme inside and get a bandage on your head. It looks as though you took a nasty crack.”