"You're putting all your eggs in the wrong basket," argued Gunn. "Shoot down one plane and you'll stir up a hornet's nest. Kazim will send everything he's got after us."
"I certainly hope so."
"You're talking like a crazy man," said Giordino suspiciously.
"The contamination data," Pitt said patiently. "That's why we're here. Remember?"
"We don't have to be reminded," said Gunn, beginning to see a slip of light in Pitt's seeming loss of reality. "So what's boiling in your evil caldron of a brain?"
"As much as I hate to ruin a beautiful and perfectly good boat, a diversion may be the only way one of us can escape and carry the results of our operation out of Africa and into the hands of Sandecker and Chapman."
"There's method to his madness after all," Giordino admitted. "Keep talking."
"Nothing complicated," explained Pitt. "In another hour it will be dark. We reverse course and get as close to Gao as we can before Kazim gets tired of the game. Rudi goes over the side and swims for shore. Then you and I start the fireworks show and take off downriver like a vestal virgin chased by barbarian hordes."
"That gunboat might have something to say about that, don't you think?" Gunn reminded him.
"A mere trifle. If my timing is on key, we'll flash past the Malian navy before they know we've come and gone."
Giordino peered over his sunglasses. "Sounds remotely possible. Once the good times roll, the Malians' attention won't be focused on a body in the water."
"Why me?" Gunn demanded. "Why not one of you?"
"Because you're the best qualified," Pitt justified. "You're sly, cunning, and slippery. If anyone can grease their way into the airport at Gao and onto an airplane out of the country, it's you. You're also the only bona fide chemist among us. That alone entitles you to lay bare the toxic substance and its entry point into the river."
"We could make a run for our embassy in the capital city of Bamako."
"Fat chance. Bamako is 600 kilometers away."
"Dirk makes good sense," Giordino agreed. "His gray matter and mine put together couldn't give you the formula for bathroom soap."
"I'll not run out and allow the two of you to sacrifice your lives for me," Gunn insisted.
"Don't talk stupid," Giordino said stonily. "You know damn well Dirk and I don't have a mutual suicide pact." He turned to Pitt. "Do we?"
"Perish the thought," Pitt said loftily. "After we cover Rudi's getaway, we fix the Calliope so Kazim never enjoys its luxury. After that, we abandon ship ourselves and then mount a safari across the desert to discover the true source of the toxin."
"We what?" Giordino looked aghast. "A safari . . ."
"You have an incredible knack for simplicity," said Gunn.
"Across the desert," Giordino mumbled.
"A little hike never hurt anybody," Pitt said with a jovial air.
"I was wrong," Giordino moaned. "He wants us to self-destruct."
"Self-destruct?" Pitt repeated. "My friend, you just said the magic words."
Pitt took one final look at the aircraft overhead. They still circled aimlessly. They had shown no inclination to attack and obviously had no intention of making any now. Once the Calliope began her dash downriver Pitt could not afford the time to keep them under observation. Running wide open over a strange waterway in the black of night at 70 knots would take every shred of his concentration.
He shifted his gaze from the aircraft to the huge flag he'd run up the mast that supported the shattered satellite antenna. He had removed the small Jolly Roger from the stern jackstaff after finding a United States ensign folded away in a flag locker. It was large,
stretching almost 2 meters, but with no breeze to lift it in the dry night air, it hung curled and flaccid around the antenna.
He glanced at the dome on the stern. The shutters were closed. Giordino was not preparing to launch the remaining six rockets. He was attaching them around the fuel tanks before wiring them to a timer/detonator. Gunn, Pitt knew, was below, stuffing the analysis data tapes and water sample records in a plastic cover that he tightly bound and stuffed in a small backpack along with food and survival gear.