Temple

The little seaplane shot into the water; surrounded by enemy vessels on no less than both sides by the two Rigid Raiders on both of its flanks by the Pibber a hundred yards astern of it, and by the black Mosquito attack chopper shooting through the air above it.

Doogie looked about himself desperately. While his plane struggled to maintain its pace, the two Rigid Raiders sped alongside him easily, their supercharged engines roaring, their crews seeming to take a perverse kind of pleasure in watching him struggle.

'Don't smile too soon, you fascist assholes!' Doogie said aloud. 'it's not over yet,

The torpedo was within twenty yards of his tail now.

Doogie pushed the throttle as far forward as it would. Fifteen yards, and he hit eighty knots.

Ten—ninety.

Five—a hundred,

Doogie could see the Nazis on the Rigid Raiders laughing at him as he despeateiy attempted to outrun the torpedo in his hopelessly outdated Goose,

Two yards—a hundred and ten, Top Speed.

The torpedo slid underneath the Goose.

'No!“ Doogie yelled, 'Come on, baby! Do it for me!'

The Goose shot on the river's surface.

The Nazis laughed.

Doogie swore.

And then suddenly, gloriously the little Goose did what no one except Doogie thought it was still capable of doing it lifted off the surface.

It only lifted slightly off the river's rushing surface—maybe a foot o two at the most but it was enough.

With its initial target lost, the torpedo in the water immediately began searching for another, it found it in the Rigid Raider to Doogie's right.

NO sooner had the Goose lifted off the surface than that Rigid Raider was blasted out of the water by the shocking detonation Of the torpedo,

The Goose touched back down again, kicking up a shower of spray behind it,

The Mosquito above it saw what had happened and it powered f0aG ahead of the Goose - turning laterally in the air as it did so - so that it now flew backwards in font of the speeding Seaplane unleashing a savage burst of gunfire at it,

Doogie ducked under the dashboard. 'Da chopper!'; he yelled, 'Let's see how you like this!'

and with that he yanked his steering yoke hand to the left,

The Goose banked sharply—the tip of its pontoon-less left wing touching the surface again — cutting across the path of the surviving Rigid Raider!

The skipper of the Rigid Raider didn't react fast enough.

Like a missile shooting up into the sky, the Rigid Raider lifted completely out of the water as it rushed up the steeply- slanted wing of the Seaplane!

The assault boat raced up the reinforced wings of the Goose, its exposed silver hull screeching loudly as it shot along the seaplane's heavily banked wings, using them as a launching amp, and then—shoom!—the Rigid Raider launched itself off the end of the right-hand wing and out into the air beyond it where it smashed into the canopy of the Mosquito helicopter that was hovering in front of the sharply-turned Goose!

The Mosquito lurched backwards—reeling like a boxer punched square in the nose as the Rigid Raider ploughed into its bubble at incredible speed. Its canopy shattered in an instant and a split second later, the whole helicopter exploded into an enormous billowing fireball.

Doogie stared back at the carnage behind ; saw the blackened shell of the torpedoed Rigid Raider sg slowly into the water; saw the charred remains of the Mosquito and the other Rigid Raider crash down into the river with an enormous splash,

'Eat that you Nazi bastards,' he said softly.

Dazed, confused and possessed of one hell of a headache, William Race was marched at gunpoint out onto the rear deck of the Nazi command boat

Rene walked along beside ghoved orwafd by t exaotd.afiiy ugly Nazi Rade No though! of as *Ctafa,

N sn had h and Renee b@ subdued by Ctatetfa¢ up on th bow th big Nazi had called opon s om-fads at e o¢ nd of th starboard passageway o ¢as their fi, en had mar&ed o captives down the passaway and out onto the rear helipad whe the ptise wte Bell Jet Ranger helicopter wa on e vefe of tang off

Anistaze saw them instantly, kicked open the side door of he helicopter,

'Bring 'em to me' he shouted.

Van Lewn was racing across the river's surface

of the flet

He at at the helm of the ¢arab, shooting acfos fh@ five wif oly the eaf third o th boat's buiietShpd tOO4hig fh Water he sound of its in 40h0fpow egifieg thundering in his

He m ed m his gear to see the white Bell jet Ranger copter lift off from the gtem dek of the command boat.

Karl Schroeder was in a world of trouble.

His Rigid Raider was near the back of the fleet, shooting across the river's surface in between the last two Nazi Pibbers, being pummelled by their relentless fire.

Schoeder tried desperately to duck their bullets, but they were too close, too fast.

And then suddenly—smack-smack-smack—a line of bullet holes raked his Rigid Raider, cutting across his right leg, opening up three jagged red holes in his thigh.

He fell, clenching his teeth, stifling a scream.