Chase shot her an annoyed look, then concentrated on steering the airboat. The water ahead became murkier—shallower, mud banks rising beneath the surface—
A shot cracked behind them. Chase looked back. A man in one of the boats had a rifle in his hands. The way his craft was bouncing through the water, he had almost no chance of scoring a hit—but sometimes a person got lucky.
Chase hoped that Nina’s pendant would live up to her belief in it.
The speedboats were under a hundred yards behind now, and the airboat was going flat out. The river still wasn’t shallow enough to impede their pursuers, but the edge of the swath of reeds was coming up fast—
More gunfire, this time from automatic weapons as men on two of the boats let rip with MP-5s. Their aim was still off, but with the number of bullets they were spraying they had much more chance of scoring a hit.
“Stay down!” he shouted to Nina. But there was no way he could take cover himself, elevated and isolated on the high seat.
Nina dived to the deck. Chase ducked as low as he could as bullets clanged around him. Part of the protective grillwork broke loose and dropped onto the propeller, instantly shredding into thousands of metal splinters. He risked a glance back. Almost half the prop was now exposed, a lethal blur right behind him.
A bullet twanged off the engine casing. The other boats were only fifty yards away, closing fast.
Nina raised her head just as the airboat reached the edge of the reeds, a wall of green rising as high as ten feet out of the water. The boat’s flat prow mowed them down, carving a path. She covered her eyes as fragments of leaves and stalks whipped down around her. A huge commotion erupted off to one side; for a moment she thought it was an explosion, then she realized it was birds, thousands of them leaping from their perches on the tops of the reeds and taking to the air in fright, wings cracking.
The reeds were higher even than Chase on his raised seat, his vision ahead filled with nothing but vertical lines of green. Swaying stalks thrashed at him, but he couldn’t shield his face—he needed both hands to steer. He kept the power on and turned the airboat deeper into the bizarre forest, the exposed propeller slashing the plants to shreds.
The speedboats followed, roaring outboards and intermittent bursts of gunfire behind him—
There was a loud thump and the note of one of the engines changed abruptly, the propeller overrevving as it breached the surface of the lake. The boat had run onto a mud bank under the shallow water.
But it had only slowed the boat, not stopped it. It quickly cleared the obstruction.
And the other two boats were still slicing through the reeds. One on each side, trying to flank them.
Nina looked for the nearest boat. Hunched low, her head little more than a foot above the waterline, she could see only the occasional flash of white hull. The reeds were so dense that anything more than ten feet away was practically invisible. But she could hear it all too clearly, its engine roaring and the towering stalks crashing and snapping before it.
Suddenly the blizzard of broken leaves ceased. The airboat shot out of the reed bed, entering a stagnant marshy lake semi-isolated from the river by mud banks. A few seconds later, the first powerboat burst from the reeds some fifty feet to starboard.
Nina instantly recognized Fang as one of the three men in the boat. He gave her a nasty smile. The smile vanished as she whipped up the gun and fired off the remaining rounds at him. The boat’s driver ducked and turned the vessel sharply away from her.
“Son of a bitch!” Nina snarled as the gun clicked empty. The speedboat swung back around. Fang jabbed an angry finger at her. She displayed a finger of her own, which served only to infuriate him even more.
He brought up an MP-5, as did the other passenger in the backseat, both men aiming at the airboat—
“Shit!” Chase yelled as the second boat drew level on the port side. A man inside it was also aiming a weapon—but this was no submachine gun. It was an American M72 rocket launcher. “RPG!”
Nina didn’t need to know what the initials stood for to realize that they were in serious trouble—the warning in Chase’s voice was enough. She dropped as low as she could into the airboat’s hull, arms covering her head.
The man with the tubular launcher lined up the sight on Chase, braced himself for the recoil…
And fired.
Chase pulled savagely on the steering levers and spun the airboat a full 360 degrees as it skimmed over the turgid water, the rocket missing him by inches as he was whipped out of its path. Its smoke trail streaked past—and hit the security guard in the back of the other speedboat square in his chest.
He was hurled over the side of the boat, the missile’s rocket motor still burning as he hit the water—then it exploded, a bright red waterspout gushing fifty feet into the air, pieces of body spinning within it.
The speedboat’s driver stared slackly at Fang, in shock at his near miss. Chase swerved the airboat sharply to starboard, aiming at their vessel. Fang shouted a warning, but too late.
Chase slammed his craft broadside-on against the speedboat. The driver and Fang were both knocked from their seats, the latter’s MP-5 whirling over the side of the boat and disappearing into the churned-up, bloody water.
The second boat turned to follow as Chase accelerated away. Some distance beyond it, the third boat finally broke through the wall of reeds and rejoined the chase.
Nina lifted her head. “What happened?”
“One-nil to us!”
“One boat?”
“One guy.”
“Is that all?”
Chase scowled. “Okay, let’s not keep score.” He rapidly checked the surrounding area. More reeds on the other side of the lake, and a long, thin island rising slightly above the water, a few twisted trees along its length…
And something else in the water, in front of the island.
He aimed the airboat at the dark objects lurking just under the surface. “What are you doing?” Nina asked. “You’re heading straight for that island!”
“I know!”
“Shouldn’t you, maybe, go around it?”
“Shortcut!” Chase yelled. He could now make out more of the shapes, even the smallest of them as big as the airboat.
Nina saw them too. “What are those?” she demanded anxiously.
“Hippos!”
“What?”
It was indeed a herd of hippos, wallowing in the still waters of the lake, only their eyes and nostrils exposed. Fully grown, an adult hippopotamus weighed more than four tons—and despite its almost comical appearance, possessed a vicious temper. Even the slightest provocation could rile a hippo to a lethal anger.
Which was exactly what Chase needed.
He checked the positions of the other boats. The nearest was twenty yards behind, the late arrival more than a hundred yards farther back. Fang and his driver had only just recovered from the collision, their speedboat coming back to life with a surge of froth from its stern.
“I know I keep saying this,” he shouted to Nina, “but hold on tight!”
She hugged her arms tightly around one of the bench seats. “Why are you driving at hippos? Are you insane?”
Chase couldn’t hold back a smile as he remembered being asked that same question by another woman only a few days before. “It’s been suggested!” He looked for a hippo that was more or less lengthways-on to him, found one, steered the airboat at it—
The enormous animal was only a few inches below the water, less than the airboat’s draft. There was a hollow bang as the prow rode up the hippo’s rump and over its back. Roaring in surprise and fury, the hippo thrust its huge head upwards—just as the airboat’s flat bottom skidded over it. The speeding vessel was thrown out of the water.
Only for a moment, only by inches—but it was just enough for it to clear the lip of the bank. The airboat skidded on its belly across the island, scraping over tree roots and rocks before splashing back down into the river
on the other side.
Nina and Chase looked back.
The entire herd had been roused to instant collective rage by their passage, the calm waters erupting as furious hippos burst from their torpor to find a target for their anger.
The lead speedboat, its driver already committed to following Chase and Nina over the crest of the little island, fit the bill perfectly.
A fifteen-foot bull hippo exploded from the water directly beneath the speedboat and batted it into the air as if it were a plastic toy. One of the three men in the boat flew out and plunged screaming into the midst of the rampage to be instantly crushed to death.
His two companions fared no better, the vessel flipping end over end and smashing into a tree. It sheared in two, the forward half shattering against the gnarled trunk along with its occupant, the rear section cartwheeling over the ground—and blowing to pieces in a huge ball of flame.
“Now it’s one-nil!” Chase whooped, pumping a fist.
The two other boats hurriedly changed direction, splitting up to avoid the hippos and pass around each end of the island.
Nina looked ahead as Chase revved the engine and powered away from the island, hoping to take advantage of their brief lead over the speedboats. She couldn’t see much except the deeper water of the river off to the left, and another thick bank of reeds to the right. “Which way do we go now?”
Chase was asking himself the same question. The speedboats could still outpace them on open water, which left him no alternative but to head into the reeds and try to lose them.
But then what? Fang must have worked out by now that they were heading north, so even if they did manage to shake them off by hiding in the mass of vegetation, his two boats could just break off, go upriver and wait for their prey.
Which meant… they had to get rid of Fang and his men. Take out their pursuers. Go on the offensive.
Something of a problem, considering their lack of weapons.
Chase took a moment to survey the contents of the airboat from his vantage point. An oar secured to one side of the hull, the mooring rope, a hook at its end …
An idea came to him. He made a sharp right turn, heading back towards the nearer speedboat. “Chuck me that rope!”
“You’re going towards them!” Nina protested.
“I know! The rope, chuck it up here!”
She did, then dropped as low as she could in the hull as Chase caught the rope and hefted the hook in one hand. The speedboat was approaching rapidly, the three men aboard barely able to believe their luck as their quarry came straight to them.
Chase worked the steering levers to sway the airboat, trying to make himself a harder target. The men on the powerboat realized that he was charging right for them in a suicide run and opened fire. Chase hunched down as bullets whipped past, the boat taking hits. Another piece of grillwork was blown off.
Collision course—
The driver of the speedboat swerved first, throwing off the aim of the other men. Just as Chase had hoped.
He hurled the hook at the speedboat. It hit its bow with a bang as the two vessels passed. The rope whipped out behind it.
The hook shot back across the bow—
And caught on the handrail, snapping taut.
The gunmen were just recovering their aim when the nose of their craft suddenly flew up into the air, the speedboat flipping upside down as the airboat yanked it backwards.
All three men were flung from the boat, splashing into the muddy water. A moment later, the inverted speedboat landed on top of them and slammed them into oblivion.
The airboat lurched as it dragged the speedboat behind it. Chase pointed at the metal ring where the mooring rope was tied to the hull. Nina clambered over to it and, after some fumbling, unfastened the knot. The rope shot free and disappeared behind them, the airboat surging forward as the weight of the capsized speedboat was released.
Chase looked up to get a bearing on the sun, then turned northwards. There was still one more boat chasing them, its engine revving.
There was another noise too, a distant rumble somewhere off to the northeast.
Rapids.
But Chase didn’t have time to think about it. More small islands lay ahead, knots of earth and rock and trees with narrow waterways winding between them. A pair of gazelles looked around in fright at the noise of the boat, then fled, leaping from one island to the next.
Envying them their speed, he turned left, hoping to get back onto the river leading to Nagembe—
“Eddie!” Nina yelled, pointing back. Chase saw Fang’s boat only twenty yards to port, angling after them.
Fang stood in the passenger seat, holding the top of the windshield. He had something in one hand, sunlight flashing from it—
“Jesus!” Nina gasped. “That crazy bastard’s still got his sword!”
Chase could imagine only one reason why Fang would have that particular weapon at the ready. “He’s going to jump aboard!”
“Oh my God! What does he think this is, Pirates of the frickin’ Caribbean?”
“Get up here!” Chase yelled. “You drive the boat—I’ll take care of him!”
“Are you serious?”
Chase flashed her a crooked grin as he awkwardly got out of the seat to let Nina climb up. “Stand by to repel boarders!” He jumped down to the deck as Nina took the controls.
The speedboat was level with them now, closing fast. “Go between the islands!” Chase told Nina as he picked up the oar, indicating the twisting channel ahead.
“It’s too narrow! This thing steers worse than an SUV!”
“Just pretend you’re trying to swerve through the potholes on Fifth Avenue!” Chase gripped the metal frame supporting the chair with one hand just as the speedboat slammed into the side of his vessel, kicking up a wall of water and almost throwing Nina from her perch. Chase staggered, only his hold on the seat keeping him from being knocked flat on his back.
With a yell, Fang leaped from the speedboat.
He landed in the empty bow of the airboat and immediately dropped into a fighting stance with his sword held out before him, legs spread wide for balance as Nina clumsily guided the vessel into the channel between the islands. It was too narrow for both boats to enter side by side; the speedboat slowed abruptly and swerved in behind her, the tip of its bow only a few feet from the airboat’s stern.
Chase quickly assessed his opponent. The sword-cane wasn’t just an affectation—Fang clearly knew how to wield the blade in anger.
And all he had as a weapon was an oar…
Fang sprang forward, the sword slashing at Chase’s head. Chase whipped up the oar to deflect it.
Crack!
The oar broke in two as the sword sliced cleanly through it. Dismayed, Chase ducked, then dropped the clumsy paddle end as Fang drew back and attacked again, this time stabbing at his chest. He swung the other piece of the oar like a club, trying to hit Fang’s sword arm as he twisted away from the thrust.
Fang saw the move coming—and changed targets.
The sword sliced through the sleeve of Chase’s leather jacket and into his right bicep. Chase roared in pain, dropping the oar and grabbing the wound with his left hand as his adversary drew the bloodied sword back for another strike—
The airboat shook violently, the edge of its hull scraping along the steep bank of the channel as Nina’s turn went wide. Fang lurched, throwing his arms out for balance.
Chase dived at him.
He rammed the top of his head into Fang’s rib cage like a charging bull, following with a punch from his left hand into his stomach. Air whooshed from Fang’s mouth and he fell back onto one of the bench seats.
Chase straightened and grabbed Fang’s sword arm with his left hand, fiercely gouging his thumb into the tendons in his wrist. If he could make him drop the sword—
Pain exploded in his wounded arm. Fang was doing the same to him—but his thumb was digging into the bloody cut in his bicep!
Chase screamed, the pain almost overwhelming him. He released Fang’s wrist and wrenched himself free of the other man’s grip, in the process stumbling over a seat and falling on his back.
Fang stood and raised his sword, about to plunge it down like a steel stake into Chase’s heart—
Nina slammed the airboat against the other bank of the channel, this time on purpose. Dust and stones showered its occupants. She hauled at the controls, the craft rocking drunkenly across the confined waterway.
Staggering from the impact, Fang fell, the blade still pointing down at Chase—
Chase saw the flash of silver descending and snapped up both his legs, catching Fang’s torso on the soles of his boots and flinging him over his head to crash down in front of the driver’s seat.
Another bank loomed ahead. Nina pulled on the control levers, the airboat slewing sideways around the curve and just barely avoiding impaling itself on the rocky shore before sweeping out of the channel and back onto another river, now heading downstream. The speedboat followed, gaining speed and moving alongside.
Its driver took out a gun.
Chase rolled and jumped to his feet, wincing at another searing stab of pain from his arm. Fang seemed dazed, but he was still holding the sword.
If Chase could kick it out of his hand …
He leaped over the bench seat—
Nina saw the gun pointing at her. “Shit!” She swerved the airboat—not away from the other vessel, but towards it.
The deck shifted beneath Chase as he landed, his boot just missing Fang’s hand. He wobbled, unbalanced.
The other boat swung away, its driver sawing frantically at the wheel to avoid a collision, his gun momentarily forgotten.
Fang’s arm sliced up.
The blade chopped through Chase’s jeans and bit into his calf in a spurt of blood.
The agony was so great that Chase almost passed out. He collapsed onto one of the seats. Fang got to his feet, ponytail whipping in the wind. Chase could see Nina in the driver’s seat behind him, a look of helpless horror on her face.
He pressed his left hand over the wound, a new wave of pain rolling through his leg. Fang sneered down at him, lifting the sword again. The bloodied tip danced like an insect in front of Chase’s eyes, about to make a killing thrust—