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"Since you're no longer in a big rush to dash out of here, there is one other thing."
"That is?" asked Hargrove.
"A favor."
"What exactly is it I can do for you?"
Pitt smiled down at Hargrove who was half a head shorter. "One of your helicopters, Colonel. I'd like to borrow it and several of your best men."
After he communicated with high-level Malian officials and threw them the lie he was holding Kazim hostage, Hargrove was convinced no military action would be taken against his evacuating force. He was no longer filled with trepidation and was highly relieved now that the pressure was off the final stage of his rescue mission. He was also quite amused when the puppet president of Mali begged him to execute General Kazim.
But Hargrove had no intention of loaning his personal Sikorsky H-76 Eagle helicopter, its crew, and six of his Rangers to a pair of smart-ass bureaucrats, certainly not in a combat area. His only concession to Pitt's request was to pass it along to Special Operations Command in Florida over Kazim's captured communications systems, positive his superiors would have a good laugh out of it.
He was dumbstruck when the request came back almost immediately. Not only was it granted, but it was approved by presidential order.
Hargrove said acidly to Pitt, "You must have friends in high places."
"I'm not out for a joyride," Pitt replied, failing to hide the satisfaction in his voice. "You weren't told, but there was far more at stake here than a covert rescue mission."
"Probably just as well," Hargrove sighed heavily. "How long do you require my men and chopper?"
"Two hours."
"And then?"
"If all goes according to my plan, it will be returned to you, along with your men and crew, in pristine condition."
"And you and Giordino?"
"We remain behind."
"I won't bother asking why," said Hargrove, shaking his head. "This whole operation has been a mystery to me."
"Ever heard of a military operation that wasn't?" said Pitt seriously. "What you accomplished here today has a ripple effect beyond anything you can imagine"
Hargrove's eyebrows lifted questioningly. "Think I'll ever know what it is you're talking about?"
"To use the time-honored method of finding out government secrets," Pitt said slyly, "you read about them in tomorrow's newspaper."
After a 20-kilometer detour to an abandoned village where they took contaminated water samples from a well in the marketplace, Pitt directed the Eagle's pilot to fly a leisurely scouting pattern around the Fort Foureau hazardous waste project.
"Let the security guards get a good look at your armament," Pitt said to the pilot. "But stay alert for ground fire."
"Massarde's executive helicopter is sitting on the landing pad with its rotor blades turning," observed Giordino. "He must be planning a hasty departure."
"With Kazim dead, he can't have received word yet on the final outcome of the fight," said Pitt, "but he's canny enough to know something went wrong."
"A shame we have to cancel his flight," Giordino said fiendishly.
"No sign of ground fire, sir," the pilot notified Pitt.
"Okay, let us off on the landing pad,"'
"You don't want us to go in with you?" asked a rugged looking sergeant,
"Now that the security guards are properly impressed, Al and I can take it from here. Hang around the area as a show of force for about thirty minutes to intimidate anyone dumb enough to resist. And stop that helicopter on the ground if it attempts to lift off. Then at my signal head back to Colonel Hargrove's field command."
