Authors: Matthew Reilly
Race and Doogie sliced in between the Nazi boats, duck ing and
weaving. One of the Mosquitos wheeled around in the air above them,
came roaring in toward them with its cannons blazing.
In the face of the onslaught, Race banked away to the left and sped
in between two of the helipad barges. The line of gunfire behind
him pummelled the side of the nearer barge, kicking up sparks along
its length.
Race shot along the alleyway of water between the two barges, then
abruptly he burst out into open space in front of them and cut
right, taking air as he leapt across the bow- wave of the
right-hand barge.
He was met with the sight of Doogie's Jet Raider racing alongside
him at exactly the same speed—but underneath the hovering MosqUito
helicopter and alongside one of the speeding Nazi Pibbers.
'Professor! QuickiyY Doogie yelled as he drew his SIG- Sauer pistol
with his blood-smeared left hand. “Give me cover! I'm going to
board that Pibber!”
'What about the command boat!' Race yelled into his throat mike.
'What about the plan!'
.
“The plan went to hell as soon as we came outta the trees! Come
on!”
'All right!'
With that, Race quickly drew his own SIG and opened fire on the two
Nazi crew members standing on the stem platform of the
Pibber.
As he fired, they ducked for cover, and as they did so Doogie
quickly pulled his Jet Raider alongside the speeding Pib and leapt
up onto its elevated foredeck.
Race watched in amazement as Doogie found his footing on the
Pibber's roofed forward section and took two bound ing steps aft,
dancing up onto the roof of the gunboat's wheelhouse and then
leaping down onto its open stem plat form and blasting the two Nazi
crew members to kingdom come with his SIG.
'Professor! Get over here! I need you to man this gun!'
Doogie
jabbed a finger at the Pibber's turret-motmted 20 cannon.
Race skimmed across the river's surface, heading for the
Pibber.
On board the Pibber, Doogie scooped up a G-11 from one
of the fallen Nazis and took the wheel, firing up at the Mosquito
helicopter above him while still maintaining his furious
speed.
Race came alongside the speeding Pibber.
He brought his Jet Raider in close to the fast-moving
patrol boat, trying desperately to keep control as the river-
bike bounced wildly on the Pib's side wash.
Race rode grimly, trying to keep up with the Pibber, his
eyes locked onto the speeding gunboat's side handrail,
three feet away.
That was all he wanted. To get his hands on that rail.
Just then a wave of bullet holes cut across the Pib's side-
right in front of him.
He spun instantly.
And saw another Pibber skipping across the water toward
him, with five more Nazis on its deck!
It was coming right for him.
And it wasn't slowing down.
It was going to ram Doogie's Pibber, whether Race was in
the way or not!
Race turned to look at Doogie's boat again, his eyes zeroing in on
the handrail once again.
Do it! his mind screamed.
Race leapt off the Jet Raider, grabbed hold of the handrail, his
legs dragging through the water behind him; He quickly swung his
legs up and over the rail just as— crunch!—the second gunboat
slammed into the p0rt-side rail of Doogie's Pibber.
Race rolled across the deck as the entire boat under him
jolted wildly.
'Professor! Over here!' Doogie yelled.
Race was still lying flat on his belly on the deck. He
looked up quickly, saw Doogie standing in the wheelhouse
waving him over when suddenly a pair of combat boots thudded down
into his field of vision, cutting off his view of Doogie.
At exactly the same moment as the boots landed on the
deck—-:barni—a gun went off and the owner of the boots dropped
instantly, his bug-eyed face landing on the deck tight in front of
Race a single bUllet hole gouged in the mid: dle of his forehead,
In the background behind the dead Nazi Race saw Doogie standing
with his G-1i extended in his good right arm,
Christ, Race thought, as he saw the second Pibber bar= telling
along just beyond the handrail of his own boat-saw the four Nazis
arrayed along its deck, readying themselves to board him,
He snapped to look out in the other direction and saw one of the
large heiipad barges closing in from the other
side, Cutting off thei escapc boxing them in.
This is not good, he said to himself.
Doogie was obviously thinking the same thing
He swung their Pibber left, ramming it into the Nazi boat had,
causing all of the commandos on its stem deck to i0se their balance
for an instant, buying himself the precious few seeonds he needed
to raise his G-1i and fire,
But he didn't fire at the deck of the Nazi Pibber, pincip.aiiy
because he didn't have enough time to bing his gun that fat around,
Rather, he trained it at the bow of the Nazi boat—where no Nazis
were standing.
at the hell are you doing!' Race yelled.
Doogie's Gql roared to life.
An extended burst, maybe two dozen shots.
Sparks flew up instantly all around the steel anchor at the bow of
the Nazi Pibbet,
And then suddeniy—srnack!—the small metal latch securing the
Pibber's anchor to its housing was hit by Doo gie's fire and the
anchor was dislodged from the deck and went plunging off the side
of the Pibber's bow and into the rushing water below, its nylon
rope shooting rapidly over the side as it did so
The four Nazis on the Pibber saw their anchor drop,
turned back to face Doogie and Race with their Golls up.
And then it happened.
Whatever it snagged on—a submerged tree root, or
maybe just a whole goddamned submerged tree—Race never knew, but
whatever it was, that anchor must have snagged on something
big.
It was as if some hideously strong monster had just
yankect on the speeding Pibber's anchor, because in a single
shocking instant, the Nazi Pibber went from sixty-five nau tical
miles an hour to zerothe whole boat just snapping over on itself,
ass-over-keel, as its bow was abruptly jerked down into the
water.
As the bow went under, the stern shot up out of the
waves and the whole boat did a complete floundering cart wheel,
flipping over in mid-air and crashing down on the roof of its
wheelhouse, smacking down into the water with an enormous explosive
splash.
Race spun to see the overturned Nazi boat shrink into the distance
behind them, sinking slowly.
326
Leonirdo Van Lewen weaved his Jet Raider in and out of the Nazi
armada zipping lightly across the river's surface as he alternately
disappeared and reappeared from behind the various hlipad barges,
Pibbers and Pdgid Raiders.
Angry gunfire tang out all around him as he desperately iried to
outrun the Rigid Raider assault boat and the MoslUito attack
chopper that were in hot pursuit behind him.
Strangeiy ther was only one Nazi on board the Rigid Raider behind
him. it was the boat that he had assailed with gunfire eariier
killing all its occupants bar one.
Truth be told though, Van Lewen didn't really care much for the
boat or the chopper astern of him. He only had eyes
for the vssel looming fifty yards in front of him.
The big white Catamaran.
The Nazi C0inrnand boat.
Twenty yards behind Van Lewen, the lone helmsman of the Rigid
Raider filed wildly after the American soldier's river- bike, his
bullets spraying all over the place as his long-bodied assault boat
bounced madly over the waves.
Theri abruptly the helmsman heard a loud whump! from somewhere
behind him and he turned quickly—
—jugt in time to see Karl Schroeder's fist come rushing at his
faee.
Ren6e Becker rode her Jet Raider hard, flecks of spray assaulting
her face like a thousand pinpricks.
To her immediate left, she saw Schroeder take the wheel of he Rigid
Raider he had just jumped onto and give her the thUrnbs up.
Once she was sure he was in control of the Nazi boat, Ren6e
immediately gunned the engine of her riverbike and swung in front
of the Rigid Raider, using it for cover against the helicopter
above them as she took off after Van Lewen, joining him in his
pursuit of the command boat.
The massive Nazi command boat powered down the river at the head of
the fleet.
About a half-dozen Nazis lined its aft rail—standing Ufideneath the
rotor blades of the white helicopter that sat off the helipad
there-firing on Van Lewen.
But the big Green Beret deftly weaved his speeding Jet Ralder left
and right, ducking their fire, before suddenly— withOUt warning—he
whipped in behind a nearby helipad baf-ge just astern of the
command boat.
Under the cover of the barge, Van Lewen picked up the pace,
gradually overtaking the bigger boat on his nimble Jet
Raider.
in a few seconds, he came to the bow of the barge, where he took a
last deep breath.
Then, when he was ready, he yanked his handlebars hard t the
left.
Like a fighter jet swooping in after its prey, his Jet Raider swung
in fast across the bow of the helipad barge and in behind the big
twin-hulled command boat.
The Nazis on the stern of the massive catamaran immediately opened
fire on him, but to Van Lewen's surprise, they -were suddenly taken
down by Ren6e—screaming in ftotn the left on her own Jet Raider,
firing hard with her M-16 as she skipped across the water.
With the Nazis down, the two of them zoomed in underneath the
bridge-like body of the catamaran, shooting into
the shadows in between its One-hundredandfifty-foot hulls!
The two jet Raiders shot forward in the darkness beneath the-
catafnaan, quickly came to the bow of the boat.
Van Lewen pulled in close to the right-hand hull. Ren4e took the
left; Then she watched as Van Lewen reached up and grabbed h0id of
the bow rail above him and hauled himself up Onto the co—and boat's
bow, disappearing from he- view.
A second later, with a deep breath of her own, she reached up for
the ifbhand bow rail and began to climb aboard.
Gale-fore@ wind assaulted her face as she emerged from the shadows
beneath the catamaran and stood up on its left- hand bow.
She aw “van Lewen on the other bow, about fifty feet away fom her,
holding his M-i6 up and ready.
With the co—and boat powering along at the head of the fleet; the
Nazis obviotMy hadn't expected anyone to board
thegn from the fron so there were no Commandos up here, Not yet
anay.
Ren6e took in the catamaran aound her. it was big— really big, The
stqetmere mounted on top of the two en.ormous hulls was si@@k in
the extreme, aerodynamic b@jCond belief; it wa made up of two
levels, both of which were hidden behind deepictinted slanted
windows. Wide
side passageway an down both of the big boat's flanks.
ere to nOW?' he yelled.
'We take the boat and then we hold it until the choppers get here!'
Van L@en Called back.
at about the idol! If we can't take the boat, we should at least
try to gt the At that rn0rnent two Nazi commandos came charging out
fml th@ p0rt-side passageway, their Gqls blazing. But they were
h00ting from the hip, firing high; Van Lewen just whipped hlg M-16
arounG drew a bead On them and took them do with two brutally
accurate shots.
328
What did you sayi' he yeile¢l to Rene.
Never mindi she said Go now i;ii cover yo'
And with tha h o of hem took 0ff d0wfi the sa- board aageay.
,
).ace and Doogie faced across the wate if I their Pibber patrol
boat.
One of the Mosquito attack choppers shot low through the air above
thin-=hoveting over the top Of thei speeg boat, occasionaii ivotg
in mid-air so it fi¢ in front of them ahd fired oh them directly,
it 4v@ had one of its sde doors 6¢fiu of which a Nazi eoado sat,
firing n .them With a
To their right rubied oe of the heiipad bag¢ bokig them in, ¢tting
Off a eseap that direction.
As drove, D0ogi4 fied p at the chopper with g He was trying in raid
to get up into the forward g russet of their PibbeL of the
blistering suppfei fife fom the chopper wa ke@pig him pinned d0fi i
the wheelhouse,
God damn ill i can't gt to its' he yeied as the Mosquito hipped by
overhead agai the loud roar of its oto qiekly followed by the impat
of about a million armogf= piescing onds bangg to [he soot of the
wheeihouse
we have to do somethg abot that ¢hopper
i ow! i o!; oogie yii@d; Ptofessor, quickly GO do belo See if you
can fifid ay genades or somethg
Ra44 obeyed instantly, threw opea She hatch at &e for; wad 4d
of the wheelhouse and hurried down into belly of th
He fod himself standing a Bate; small room with grey etai
Nettg ad ooden crates ied its siaed walls, the tense of th4 t00 he
saw a grey b0x-iike object; it was abot three feet high ad thee
feet wide #0g the size of
cabd tabieand at first glance he thought it was just another Crate,
some kind Of ammunition container or something.
But it wasn't a 46ntainer at all. On closer inspection, Race saw
that it was attached to the floor.
Then he realised; It was a diver's hatch. In Vietnam, Spe Cial
Forces and the SEALs had preferred to use Pibbers had of other ive
boats because they alone had these spe Cial hatches coeeaied in
their hulls. Using them, frogmen 6uid enter the water without the
bad guys knowing where they'd been let off;
Race quickly bgan searching the various racks and heives for
weapons.
The fits thin h found was a small crate of British L2A2
anti-persoei hand grenades. The second thing was a kevlar box with
some words stencilled across its side in Engiish
PROPTY OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY ORDNANCE ISSUE
K/B6-005/C/DARPA
6 X M-22 CHARGES
Race opened the box and saw six futuristic-looking hoe8fidpiastic
vials sitting snugly inside separate fOaqin@d pockets, Each vial
was quite small—about the i and hape of a tube of lipstick—and they
were all filled @ifh a tange kind of lustrous amber liquid.
Ra4e shrugged grabbed the kevlar box, and carried it and th eate of
regular grenades up to Doogie in the wheelhouse.
'Ah Professor,' Doogie said when he saw the keviar box.
'I—uh—wouidn;t go throwing those babies too quickly if I W
you.;
;Why not?;
Because you'll kill us too.'
What?”
They;re M;E2S; High-temperature explosive charges.
Srious shi; See the amber liquid inside 'em. Isotopic liquid rine
One Oun4e of that stuff'll vaporise everything wit a
two=hUndred-yard radius, including us. These Nazi