Chromosome 6

CHAPTER 22

MARCH 9, 1997

4:15 P.M.

ISLA FRANCESCA

“SOMETHING very strange is going on,” Kevin said.

“But what?” Melanie said. “Should we get our hopes up?”

“Where could all the other animals be?” Candace questioned.

“I don’t know whether to be encouraged or concerned,” Kevin said. “What if they’re having Armageddon with the other group, and the fighting spreads to here?”

“God almighty,” Melanie commented. “I never thought of that.”

Kevin and the women had been virtual prisoners for over two days. They had not been allowed to leave the small cave the entire time of their confinement, and it now smelled as bad or worse than the outer cave. To relieve themselves, they’d been forced to go back into the tunnel which reeked like a mini-cesspool.

They themselves didn’t smell much better. They were filthy from wearing the same clothes and sleeping on the rock and dirt floor. Their hair was hopelessly matted. Kevin’s face was covered with a two-day stubble. They were all weak from lack of exercise and food although each had eaten some of what was brought to them.

Around ten o’clock that morning, there’d been a sense that something abnormal was happening. The animals had become agitated. Some had rushed out only to return moments later, making loud cries. Early on, bonobo number one had gone out but had yet to return. That in itself was abnormal.

“Wait a second,” Kevin said suddenly. He put up his hands to keep the women from making any noise. He strained to hear by turning his head slowly from side to side.

“What is it?” Melanie asked urgently.

“I thought I heard a voice,” Kevin said.

“A human voice?” Candace questioned.

Kevin nodded.

“Wait, I just heard it!” Melanie said with excitement.

“I did, too,” Candace said. “I’m sure it was a human voice. It sounded like someone yelling ‘okay.’ ”

“Arthur heard it, too,” Kevin said. They’d named the bonobo who most often stood guard at the lip of the small cave Arthur for no particular reason other than to have a way to refer to him. Over the long hours, they’d had what could have been called a dialogue. They’d even been able to guess at some of the meanings of the bonobo words and gestures.

The ones they were the most sure of included “arak,” which meant “away” especially when accompanied by the spreading of fingers and a sweeping arm motion, the same gesture Candace had seen in the operating room. There was also “hana” for “quiet” and “zit” for “go.” They were very sure of “food” and “water,” which were “bumi” and “carak” respectively. A word they weren’t too sure of was “sta” accompanied by holding up one’s hands with palms out. They thought it might be the pronoun “you.”

Arthur stood up and loudly vocalized to the few bonobos remaining in the cave. They listened and then immediately disappeared out the front.

The next thing Kevin and the others heard were several reports from a rifle: not an ordinary gun but rather an air gun. A few minutes later, two figures in animal-center coveralls appeared silhouetted against the hazy, late-afternoon sky at the cave’s entrance. One was carrying a gun, the other a strong, battery-powered lamp.

“Help!” Melanie shouted. She averted her eyes from the strong beam of light but waved her hands frantically lest the men not see her.

There was a loud thump that echoed around the inside of the cave. Simultaneously, Arthur let out a whimper. With a confused expression on his flat face he looked down at a red-tailed dart that protruded from his chest. His hand came up to grasp it, but before he could, he began to wobble. As if in slow motion, he sagged to the floor and rolled over onto his side.

Kevin, Melanie, and Candace emerged from their doorless cell and tried to stand upright. It took a moment for them to stretch. By the time they did the men were kneeling at the side of the bonobo to give the animal an additional dose of tranquilizer.

“My god, are we glad to see you,” Melanie said. She had to steady herself with a hand against the rock. For a moment, the cave had begun to spin.

The men stood up and shined the bright light on the women and then on Kevin. The former captives all had to shield their eyes.

“You people are a mess,” the man with the light said.

“I’m Kevin Marshall and this is Melanie Becket and Candace Brickmann.”

“I know who you are,” the man said flatly. “Let’s get out of this shithole.”

Kevin and the women were happy to comply on rubbery legs. The two men followed. Once out of the cave, the three friends had to squint in the bright, hazy sunlight. Below the face of the cliff were a half dozen more animal handlers. They were busy rolling up tranquilized bonobos in reed mats and lifting them onto a trailer where they were carefully positioned side by side.

“There’s one more up here in this cave,” the man with the flashlight yelled down to the others.

“I know you two,” Melanie said once she got a good view of the men who’d come into the cave. “You’re Dave Turner and Daryl Christian.”

The men ignored Melanie. Dave, the taller of the two, pulled a two-way radio out of a holder at his waist. Daryl started climbing down the giant steps.

“Turner to base,” Dave said into the instrument.

“I hear you loud and clear,” Bertram said on the other end.

“We got the last of the bonobos and we’re loading up,” Dave said.

“Excellent work,” Bertram said.

“We found Kevin Marshall and the two women in a cave,” Dave said.

“In what state?” Bertram asked.

“Filthy but otherwise apparently healthy,” Dave said.

“Give me that thing!” Melanie said, reaching for Dave’s radio. Suddenly, she didn’t like being talked about disparagingly by an underling.

Dave fended her off. “What do you want me to do with them?”

Melanie put her hands on her hips. She was incensed. “What do you mean ‘what to do with them’?”

“Bring them to the animal center,” Bertram said. “I’ll inform Siegfried Spallek. I’m sure he’ll want to talk with them.”

“Ten-four,” Dave said. He snapped off the radio.

“What’s the meaning of this kind of treatment?” Melanie demanded. “We’ve been prisoners out here for more than two days.”

Dave shrugged. “We just follow orders, ma’am. It seems as if you two have riled up the front office big time.”

“What on earth is happening to the bonobos?” Kevin asked. When he’d first seen what the men were doing, he’d assumed it had all been for the purpose of their rescue. But the more he thought about it he couldn’t understand why the animals were being loaded onto a trailer.

“The bonobos’ good life on the island is a thing of the past,” Dave said. “They’ve been warring out here and killing each other. We’ve found four corpses as evidence, all bashed with stone wedges. So we’re caging them at the staging area in preparation for taking them all to the animal center. It’ll be six-foot concrete cells from now on as far as I know.”

Kevin’s mouth slowly fell open. In spite of his hunger, exhaustion, and aches and pains, he felt a profound sadness for these unfortunate creatures who’d not asked to be created or born. Their lives had suddenly and arbitrarily been doomed to monotonous incarceration. Their human potential was not to be realized, and their striking accomplishments thus far would be lost.

Daryl and three other men were now on their way up with a litter.

Kevin turned to look back inside the cave. In the far shadows, he could see Arthur’s profile near the lip of the chamber where Kevin and the women had been kept. A tear formed in the corner of Kevin’s eye as he imagined how Arthur was going to feel when he awoke to find himself encased in steel.

“All right, you three,” Dave said. “Let’s start back. Are you strong enough to walk or you want to ride on the trailer?”

“How do you move the trailer?” Kevin asked.

“We’ve got an all-terrain vehicle on the island,” Dave said.

“I’ll walk, thank you,” Melanie said icily.

Kevin and Candace nodded in agreement.

“We’re awfully hungry, though,” Kevin said. “The animals have only been offering us insects, worms, and marsh grass.”

“We’ve got some candy bars and soft drinks in a locker on the front of the trailer,” Dave said.

“That should be just fine,” Kevin said.

The climb down the rock face was the hardest part of the trip. Once on the flat, the walking was easy, especially since the animal handlers had cleared the trail for the all-terrain vehicle.

Kevin was impressed with how much the workers had accomplished in so short a time. As he emerged into the marshy field south of Lago Hippo, he wondered if the canoe was still hidden in the reeds. He guessed it probably was. There was no reason it would have been found.

Candace was elated when she saw the earth-covered timber bridge and said as much. She’d been worrying how they were going to get across the Rio Diviso.

“You people have been busy,” Kevin commented.

“We had no choice,” Dave said. “We had to round up these animals in the quickest time possible.”

Kevin, Melanie, and Candace began to get seriously fatigued on the last mile segment from the Rio Diviso bridge to the staging area. It was especially apparent when they had to step off the trail for the all-terrain vehicle to pass on its way back for the last trailer-load of bonobos. Stopping and standing just for a moment made their legs feel like lead.

Everybody breathed a sigh of relief when they emerged from the twilight of the jungle into the bustling staging area in the clearing. Another half dozen blue-coveralled workers were toiling under the hot sun. They were quickly unloading the bonobos from a second trailer and getting them into individual steel cages before the animals revived.

The cages were four-foot square steel boxes, making it impossible for all but the youngest animals to stand up. The only source of ventilation was through the bars in the doors. The doors were secured by an angled hasp that latched around the side beyond the animal’s reach. Kevin was able to catch glimpses of terrified bonobos cowering within the cages’ shadows.

Such small cages were supposed to be used only for transport, but a forklift was laboriously moving them into the shade of the north-facing wall of the jungle, suggesting they were staying on the island. One of the workers was manning a hose from a gasoline-powered pump and spraying the cages and the animals with river water.

“I thought you said the bonobos were going to the animal center?” Kevin asked.

“Not today,” Dave said. “For the moment, there is no place to put them. It’ll be tomorrow or the next day at the very latest.”

There was no trouble getting over to the mainland because the telescoping bridge had been deployed. It was constructed of steel and had a hollow, drumlike sound as they trodded across. Parked alongside the bridge mechanism was Dave’s pickup truck.

“Hop in,” Dave said, while pointing into the truck’s bed.

“Just one minute!” Melanie snapped. They were her first words since leaving the cave. “We’re not riding in the back of a truck.”

“Then you’ll walk,” Dave said. “You’re not riding in my cab.”

“Come on, Melanie,” Kevin urged. “It will be more pleasant back here in the open air.” Kevin gave Candace a hand.

Dave went around and got in behind the wheel.

Melanie resisted for another minute. With her hands on her hips, her legs spread apart, and her lips pressed together, she looked like a young girl on the verge of a temper tantrum.

“Melanie, it’s not that far,” Candace said. She reached out her hand. Reluctantly, Melanie took it.

“I didn’t expect a hero’s welcome,” Melanie complained. “But I didn’t expect this kind of treatment.”

After the damp oppressiveness of the cave and the moist hothouse of the jungle, the breezy ride in the back of the truck was unexpectedly pleasant. The bed was filled with reed mats that had been used to transport the animals, and they provided adequate cushion. The mats had a rather rank smell, but the group guessed they did, too.

They lay on their backs and watched patches of the late-afternoon sky appear between the branches of the overhead canopy of trees.

“What do you think they are going to do to us?” Candace said. “I don’t want to go back in that jail.”

“Let’s hope they just fire us on the spot,” Melanie said. “I’m ready to pack my bag and say goodbye to the Zone, the project, and Equatorial Guinea. I’ve had it.”

“I can only hope it will be that easy,” Kevin said. “I’m also worried about the animals. They’ve been given life sentences.”

“There’s not much we can do,” Candace said.

“I wonder,” Kevin said. “I wonder what animal-rights groups would say about this situation.”

“Now, don’t say anything like that until we get the hell out of here,” Melanie said. “That would drive everybody bananas.”

They entered the eastern end of town, passing the soccer field and tennis center on their right. Both were in use, particularly the tennis center. Every court was taken.

“An experience like this makes you feel less important than you thought you were,” Melanie commented while glancing at the players. “You’re hidden away for two agonizing days and everything goes on just as it did before.”

They all pondered Melanie’s comment as they unconsciously braced for the sharp right-hand turn they knew was coming up to take them to the animal center. But instead, after the truck slowed, it stopped. Kevin sat up and looked ahead. He saw Bertram’s Jeep Cherokee.

“Siegfried wants you to drive directly to Kevin’s house,” Bertram called to Dave.

“Okay!” Dave called back.

The truck lurched forward as Dave pulled out behind Bertram.

Kevin lay back down. “Well, that’s a surprise. Maybe we’re not going to be treated that badly after all.”

“Maybe we can get them to drop Candace and me at our places,” Melanie said. “They’re more or less on the way.” She looked down at herself. “The first thing I’m going to do is take a shower and change clothes. Only then am I going to eat.”

Kevin got his legs under him and kneeled behind the truck’s cab. He rapped on the rear window until he got Dave’s attention. He then relayed Melanie’s request. The response from Dave was a wave of dismissal.

Kevin repositioned himself on his back. “I guess you have to go to my house first,” he said.

As soon as they hit the cobblestones, the ride was so jarring that they all sat up. Rounding the last turn, Kevin looked ahead expectantly. He was as eager to take a shower as Melanie. Unfortunately what he saw was not encouraging. Siegfried and Cameron were standing out in front of his house along with four heavily armed Equatoguinean soldiers. One of the soldiers was an officer.

“Uh-oh,” Kevin said. “This doesn’t look promising after all.”

The truck came to a halt. Dave hopped out and came around to put down the tailgate. Kevin was the first to climb out on stiff legs. Melanie and Candace followed.

Preparing himself for the inevitable, Kevin walked over to where Siegfried and Cameron were standing. He knew Melanie and Candace were right behind. Bertram, who’d parked in front of the pickup truck, joined them. No one looked particularly happy.

“We had hoped you’d taken an unannounced holiday,” Siegfried said scornfully. “Instead, we find you have willfully disobeyed standing orders not to trespass on Isla Francesca. You’re all to be confined to quarters here, in this house.” He pointed over his shoulder at Kevin’s.

Kevin was about to explain why they’d done what they had when Melanie pushed past him. She was exhausted and irate.

“I’m not staying here and that’s final,” she spat. “In fact, I quit. I’ll be leaving the Zone just as soon as I can make arrangements.”

Siegfried’s upper lip hiked itself up to exaggerate his sneer. After a quick step forward, he backhanded Melanie viciously, knocking her down. Reflexively Candace dropped to one knee to aid her friend.

“Don’t touch her,” Siegfried shouted, as he drew his hand back as if to strike Candace.

Candace ignored him and helped Melanie up into a sitting position. Melanie’s left eye was beginning to swell, and a trickle of blood slowly ran down her cheek.

Kevin winced and looked away, expecting to hear another blow. He admired Candace’s courage and wished that he shared some. But he was terrified of Siegfried and afraid to move.

When another blow did not materialize, Kevin looked back. Candace had Melanie standing shakily on her feet.

“You’ll be leaving the Zone soon enough,” Siegfried snarled at Melanie. “But it will be in the company of the Equatoguinean authorities. You can try your insolence on them.”

Kevin swallowed with difficulty. Being given to the Equatoguineans was what he’d feared most.

“I’m an American,” Melanie sobbed.

“But you are in Equatorial Guinea,” Siegfried snapped. “And you’ve violated Equatoguinean law.”

Siegfried stepped back. “I’ve confiscated all of your passports. Just so you know, they will be given to the local authorities along with your persons. In the meantime, you are to stay here in this house. And I warn you that these soldiers and this officer have been ordered to shoot if you so much as take one step outside. Have I made myself clear?”

“I need some clothes,” Melanie cried.

“I’ve had clothes for both of you women brought from your quarters and thrown into upstairs guest rooms,” Siegfried said. “Believe me, we have thought of everything.”

Siegfried turned to Cameron. “See that these people are taken care of.”

“Of course, sir,” Cameron said. He touched the tip of his hat before turning to Kevin and the women.

“Okay, you’ve heard the manager,” he barked. “Upstairs you go and no trouble, please.”

Kevin started forward but he detoured enough to go by Bertram. “They were using more than fire. They were making tools and even talking with each other.”

Kevin walked on. He’d not seen any reaction in Bertram’s face other than a slight movement of his perpetually elevated eyebrows. But Kevin was certain Bertram had heard him.

As Kevin wearily climbed to the second floor, he saw Cameron already organizing an area for the soldiers and the officer to occupy at the base of the stairs.

Up in the front hall Kevin, Melanie, and Candace eyed each other. Melanie was still sobbing intermittently.

Kevin breathed out. “This is not good news,” he said.

“They can’t do this to us,” Melanie whimpered.

“The point is they are going to try,” Kevin said. “And without our passports we’d have trouble leaving the country even if we were to walk out of here.”

Melanie put her hands on either side of her face and squeezed. “I’ve got to get ahold of myself,” she said.

“I feel numb again,” Candace admitted. “We’ve gone from one form of captivity to another.”

Kevin sighed. “At least they didn’t put us in the jail.”

Outside they heard multiple car engines start and vehicles pull away. Kevin went out onto the veranda and saw all the cars leaving except for Cameron’s. Glancing up into the sky, he noted that twilight was deepening into night. A few stars were visible.

Turning back into the house, Kevin went directly to the phone. Picking it up, he heard what he’d expected to hear: nothing.

“Is there a dial tone?” Melanie asked from behind him.

Kevin replaced the receiver. He shook his head. “I’m afraid not.”

“I didn’t expect so,” Melanie said.

“Let’s take showers,” Candace suggested.

“Good idea,” Melanie said, making an effort to sound positive.

After agreeing to meet in a half hour, Kevin walked back through the dining room and pushed open the kitchen door. As dirty as he was, he didn’t want to enter. The smell of roast chicken teased his nose.

Esmeralda had leaped to her feet the moment the door opened.

“Hello, Esmeralda,” Kevin said.

“Welcome, Mr. Marshall,” Esmeralda said.

“You didn’t come out to greet us like you always do,” Kevin said.

“I was afraid the manager was still here,” Esmeralda said. “He and the security man had come up earlier to say you were coming home and that you would not be able to leave the house.”

“That’s what they told me, too,” Kevin said.

“I’ve made food for you,” Esmeralda said. “Are you hungry?”

“Very much,” Kevin said. “But there are two guests.”

“I know,” Esmeralda said. “The manager told me that as well.”

“Can we eat in a half hour?” Kevin asked.

“Certainly.”

Kevin nodded. He was lucky to have Esmeralda. He turned to leave, but Esmeralda called out to him. He hesitated, holding the door ajar.

“There are many bad things happening in the town,” she said. “Not only for you and your friends, but also for strangers. I have a cousin who works at the hospital. She told me that four Americans came from New York and went into the hospital. They talked with the patient who got the liver from the bonobo.”

“Oh?” Kevin questioned. Strangers coming from New York to talk to one of the transplant patients was a thoroughly unanticipated development.

“They just walked in,” Esmeralda continued. “They were not supposed to be there. They said they were doctors. Security was called, and the army and the guards came to take them away. They are in the jail.”

“My word,” Kevin commented, while his mind veered off on a tangent. New York reminded him of the surprising call he’d gotten a week previously in the middle of the night from the GenSys CEO, Taylor Cabot. It had been about the patient Carlo Franconi, who’d been killed in New York. Taylor Cabot had asked if someone could figure out what had happened to Carlo from an autopsy.

“My cousin knows some of the soldiers who were there,” Esmeralda continued. “They said that the Americans will be given to the Ministers. If they are, they will be killed. I thought you should know.”

Kevin felt a chill descend his spine. He knew such a fate was what Siegfried had in mind for him, Melanie, and Candace. But who were these Americans? Had they been involved with the autopsy on Carlo Franconi?

“It is all very serious,” Esmeralda said. “And I am afraid for you. I know you went to the forbidden island.”

“How do you know that?” Kevin questioned with amazement.

“In our town people talk,” Esmeralda said. “When I said you were gone unexpectedly and that the manager was looking for you, Alphonse Kimba told my husband that you had gone to the island. He was sure.”

“I appreciate your concern,” Kevin said evasively and preoccupied with his thoughts. “Thank you for what you have told me.”

Kevin went back to his own room. When he looked at himself in the mirror, he was surprised how exhausted and filthy he appeared. Running a hand over his beginning beard, he noticed something more disturbing. He was beginning to look a lot like his double!

After a shave, shower, and clean clothes, Kevin felt revived. The entire time, he mused about the Americans in the jail under the town hall. He was very curious and would have liked nothing better than to go and talk with them.

Kevin found the two women were equally refreshed. The shower had transformed Melanie into her irrepressible self, and she complained bitterly about the selection of clothes she’d been offered. “Nothing goes with anything,” she complained.

They settled in the dining room, and Esmeralda began serving the meal. Melanie laughed, after looking around at the surroundings. “You know, I find it almost funny that a few hours ago we were living like Neanderthals. Then, presto, we’re in the lap of luxury. It’s like a time machine.”

“If only we didn’t have to worry about what tomorrow will bring,” Candace said.

“Let’s at least enjoy our last supper,” Melanie said with her typical wry humor. “Besides, the more I think about it, the less likely I think it is that they can just foist us off on the Equatoguineans. I mean, they wouldn’t be able to get away with it. This is almost the beginning of the third millennium. The world is too small.”

“But I’m worried…” Candace began.

“Excuse me,” Kevin interrupted. “Esmeralda told me something curious that I’d like to share with you.” Kevin started by mentioning the phone call he got in the middle of the night from Taylor Cabot. Then he told the story about the arrival and subsequent incarceration of the New Yorkers in the town’s jail.

“Well, this’s just what I’m talking about,” Melanie said. “A couple of smart people do an autopsy in New York, and they end up here in Cogo. And we thought we were so isolated. I tell you the world’s getting smaller every day.”

“So you think these Americans came here following a trail that started with Franconi?” Kevin asked. His intuition was telling him the same thing, but he wanted reinforcement.

“What else could it be?” Melanie questioned. “There’s no question in my mind.”

“Candace, what do you think?” Kevin asked.

“I agree with Melanie,” Candace said. “Otherwise, it’s too much of a coincidence.”

“Thank you, Candace!” Melanie said. While twirling her empty wineglass, she looked menacingly at Kevin. “I hate to interrupt this fascinating conversation, but where’s some of that great wine of yours, bucko?”

“Gosh, I totally forgot,” Kevin said. “Sorry!” He pushed back from the table and went into the butler’s pantry that he’d filled with his mostly untouched wine allocation. As he was looking through the labels, which held little meaning for him, he was suddenly struck by how much wine he had. Counting the bottles in a small area and extrapolating it to allow for the entire room, he realized he had more than three hundred bottles.

“My word,” Kevin said as a plan began to form in his head. He grabbed an armload of bottles and pushed through the swinging door into the kitchen.

Esmeralda got up from where she was sitting having her own dinner.

“I have a favor to ask,” Kevin said. “Would you take these bottles of wine and a corkscrew down to the soldiers at the foot of the stairs?”

“So many?” she questioned.

“Yes, and I’d like you to take even more to the soldiers in the town hall. If they ask what the occasion is, tell them that I’m going away, and I wanted them to enjoy the wine, not the manager.”

A smile spread across Esmeralda’s face. She looked at Kevin. “I think I understand.” From a cupboard she got the canvas bag that she used for shopping and loaded it with wine bottles. A moment later, she disappeared through the butler’s pantry, heading for the front hall.

Kevin made several trips back and forth from his wine collection to the kitchen table. Soon he had several dozen bottles lined up, including a couple bottles of port.

“What’s going on?” Melanie enquired after sticking her head into the kitchen. “We’re waiting and where’s the wine?”

Kevin handed her one of the bottles. He said he’d be a few minutes more and they should start eating without him. Melanie rolled the bottle over to look at the label.

“Oh, my, Château Latour!” she said. She flashed Kevin an appreciative grin, before ducking back into the dining room.

Esmeralda returned to say that the soldiers were very pleased. “But I thought I’d take them some bread,” she added. “It will stimulate their thirst.”

“Marvelous idea,” Kevin said. He filled the canvas bag with wine and tested its weight. It was heavy, but he thought Esmeralda could handle it.

“Let me know how many soldiers are at the town hall,” Kevin said as he handed her the bag. “We want to make sure there is plenty for everyone.”

“There are usually four at night,” Esmeralda said.

“Then ten bottles should be fine,” Kevin said. “At least for starters.” He smiled, and Esmeralda smiled back.

Taking a deep breath, Kevin pushed through the door into the dining room. He wanted to see what the women thought of his idea.

Kevin rolled over and looked at the clock. It was just before midnight, so he sat up and put his feet over the side of the bed. He turned off the alarm clock that had been set to go off at twelve p.m. sharp. Then he stretched.

During dinner, Kevin’s proposed plan had sparked a lively discussion. In a cooperative effort, the idea had been refined and expanded. Ultimately, all three thought it was worth attempting.

After making what preparations they could, they all decided to try to get a little rest. But Kevin had been unable to sleep despite his exhaustion. He was too keyed up. There was also the problem of the gradually increasing noise from the soldiers. At first, it had just been animated chatter, but during the last half hour, loud, drunken singing had reverberated from below.

Esmeralda had visited both groups of soldiers twice during the evening. When she returned, she reported that the expensive French wine was a big hit. After her second visit, she told Kevin that the initial deliveries of bottles had been almost drained.

Kevin dressed quickly in the dark, then ventured out into the hall. He did not want to turn on any lights. Luckily, the moon was bright enough for him to see his way to the guest rooms. He knocked first on Melanie’s door. He was startled when it was opened instantly.

“I’ve been waiting,” Melanie whispered. “I couldn’t sleep.”

Together, they went to Candace’s room. She, too, was ready.

In the living room they picked up the small canvas bags each had prepared and walked out onto the veranda. The vista was enticingly exotic. It had rained several hours earlier, but now the sky was filled with puffy, silver-blue clouds. A gibbous moon was high in the sky, and its light made the mist-filled town glow eerily. The jungle sounds were shockingly loud in the hot, moist air.

They had discussed this first stage in detail so there was no need for talk now. At the far end of the veranda in the rear corner they secured the end of three sheets that had been tied together. The other end was dropped over the side to the ground.

Melanie had insisted on going first. She climbed nimbly over the balustrade, and lowered herself to the ground with inspiring ease. Candace was next, and her cheerleading experience stood her in good stead. She had no trouble making it down.

Kevin was the one who had difficulty. Trying to imitate Melanie, he pushed off with his feet. But then as he swung back toward the building he got twisted in the sheets so that he collided with the stucco, scraping his knuckles.

“Damn,” he whispered, when he finally was standing on the cobblestones. He shook his hand and squeezed his fingers.

“Are you okay?” Melanie whispered.

“I think so,” Kevin said.

The next stage of their escape was more worrisome. In single file, they inched along the back of the building within the shadow of the arcade. Each step took them closer to the central stairwell, where they could hear the soldiers. A cassette recorder playing African music at low volume had been added to the festivities.

They reached the stall where Kevin kept his Toyota LandCruiser and slipped in along the passenger side until they reached the front. According to previously made plans, Kevin eased around the car to the driver’s-side door and quietly opened it. At that point, he was within fifteen to twenty feet from the inebriated soldiers who were on the opposite side of a reed mat suspended from the ceiling.

Kevin released the emergency brake and put the car in neutral. Returning to the women, he motioned to start pushing.

At first, the heavy vehicle resisted their efforts. Kevin lifted his foot to push against the house’s foundation. That added amount of leverage made the difference; the car eased out of its parking slot.

At the lip of the arcade, the cobblestones of the street slanted downward in a gentle slope so rainwater would run away from the house. As soon as the rear wheels of the vehicle passed this point, the car gained momentum. All at once, Kevin realized that no additional force was needed.

“Uh-oh!” Kevin cried, as the car began to gain speed.

Kevin ran around the side of the car and tried to get the driver’s-side door open. Given the car’s increasing momentum, this wasn’t easy. The car was now halfway across the alley and beginning to curve to the right down the hill toward the waterfront.

Finally Kevin succeeded in opening the door. In one swift move, he dove in behind the wheel. He got in position as quickly as possible, then jammed on the brakes. At the same time, he turned the steering wheel hard to the left so as to better align the vehicle with the street.

Fearful their efforts might have attracted the soldiers’ attention, Kevin looked their way to check. The men were gathered around a small table supporting the cassette player and a half dozen empty wine bottles. The soldiers were happily clapping and stomping their feet, oblivious to Kevin’s maneuverings with the car.

Kevin breathed a sigh of relief. The passenger-side door opened and Melanie climbed in. Candace got in the back.

“Don’t close the door,” Kevin whispered. He was still holding his ajar.

Kevin eased up on the brake. The car did not move at first, so he shifted his weight back and forth until he got the car rolling down the incline toward the waterfront. Kevin looked out the rear window, steering the vehicle as it began gathering speed.

They rolled for two blocks. At that point, the hill began to flatten out, and the car eventually came to a stop. Only then did Kevin slip the key into the ignition and start the engine. They all closed their doors.

They looked at each other in the half light of the car’s interior. They were all keyed up and their pulses were racing. Everyone smiled.

“We did it!” Melanie asserted.

“So far so good,” Kevin agreed.

Kevin put the car in gear. He turned right for several blocks to give his house a wide berth and headed for the motor pool.

“You’re pretty sure no one will give us trouble at the garage,” Melanie said.

“Well, there’s no way to know for sure,” Kevin said. “But I don’t think so. The motor-pool people live a life of their own. Besides, Siegfried has probably kept the story of our disappearance and reappearance a secret. He’d have to if he were truly planning on handing us over to the Equatoguinean authorities.”

“I hope you are right,” Melanie said. She sighed. “I’m half wondering if we shouldn’t just try to drive out of the Zone behind one of the trucks instead of bothering with four Americans we’ve never met.”

“Those people got in here somehow,” Kevin said. “I’m counting on their having had a plan to get out. Running the main gate should be considered our last-ditch option.”

They pulled into the busy motor-pool facility. They had to squint under the glare of the mercury-vapor lights. They continued until they came to the repair section. Kevin parked behind a bay with the cab of a semi up on the hydraulic lift. Several greasy mechanics were standing under it, scratching their heads.

“Wait here,” Kevin said, as he alighted from the Toyota.

He walked inside and greeted the men.

Melanie and Candace watched. Candace literally had her fingers crossed.

“Well, at least they didn’t bolt for the telephone the moment they saw him,” Melanie said.

The women watched as one of the mechanics sauntered off and disappeared through a door in the rear of the facility. He reappeared a moment later, carrying a lengthy hunk of heavy chain. He gave it to Kevin who staggered under its weight.

As his face turned a progressively brighter shade of red, Kevin stumbled back toward the LandCruiser. Sensing he was about to drop the chain, Melanie hopped out of the car to open the luggage area.

The vehicle lurched as Kevin dropped the chain onto the tailgate.

“I told them I wanted heavy chain,” Kevin managed. “It didn’t have to be this heavy.”

“What did you say to those men?” Melanie asked.

“I said that your car got stuck in some mud,” Kevin said. “They didn’t bat an eyelash. Of course, they didn’t offer to come and help, either.”

Kevin and Melanie returned inside the Toyota, and they started back toward town.

“You’re sure this is going to work?” Candace asked from the rear seat.

“No, but I can’t think of anything else,” Kevin said.

For the rest of the trip, no one spoke. They all knew this was the most difficult part of the whole plan. The tension mounted as they turned into the parking lot for the town hall and doused the headlights.

The room occupied by the army post was ablaze with light. As they got closer Kevin, Melanie, and Candace could hear the music. This group of soldiers also had a cassette player, only theirs was cranking out African music at full volume.

“That’s the kind of party I was counting on,” Kevin said. He made a wide turn and then backed toward the building. He could just make out the window wells for the subterranean jail within the shadows of the ground-floor arcade.

He stopped the car within five feet of the building and put on the emergency brake. All three gazed into the room occupied by the soldiers. They couldn’t see much of the room and none of the soldiers because the line of sight was on an angle through an unglazed window. The window’s shutter had been raised and hooked to the ceiling of the arcade. A number of empty wine bottles were on the sill.

“Well, it’s now or never,” Kevin said.

“Can we help?” Melanie asked.

“No, stay put,” Kevin said.

Kevin climbed from the car and walked in under the nearest arch to stand within the shelter of the arcade. The sound of the music was deafening. Kevin’s major concern was that if someone looked out the window, Kevin would be seen immediately. There was nothing to hide behind.

Looking down at the window well, Kevin could see the barred opening. Beyond the bars was utter darkness. There was not the faintest light within the cell.

Getting down on his hands and knees first, Kevin lay on the stone floor with his head over the lip of the window well. With his face close to the bars, he called out over the noise of the music: “Hello! Anybody in there?”

“Just us tourists,” Jack said. “Are we invited to the party?”

“I understand you are Americans,” Kevin said.

“Like apple pie and baseball,” Jack said.

Kevin could suddenly hear other voices in the dark, but they were unintelligible.

“You people have to realize what a dangerous situation you’ve gotten yourselves into,” Kevin said.

“Really,” Jack said. “We thought this was how all visitors to Cogo were treated.”

Kevin thought that whomever he was speaking with would certainly get along well with Melanie.

“I’m going to try to pull these bars out,” Kevin said. “Are you all in the same cell?”

“No, we have two beautiful ladies in the cell to my left.”

“Okay,” Kevin said. “Let’s see what I can do with these bars first.”

Kevin got up and went back for the chain. Returning to the window well, he threaded one end through the bars into the abyss.

“Hook this around one of the bars a number of times,” Kevin said.

“I like this,” Jack said. “It reminds me of an old Western movie.”

Back at the Toyota, Kevin secured the chain to the trailer hitch. When he got back to the window well he gently pulled on the chain. He could see it was tied securely around the central bar.

“Looks good,” Kevin said. “Let’s see what happens.”

He climbed back into the vehicle and made sure it was in its lowest four-wheel drive gear. Looking out the back window, Kevin cautiously eased the car forward to take the slack out of the chain.

“All right, here we go,” Kevin said to Melanie and Candace. He began to press on the accelerator. The heavy-duty Toyota engine strained, but Kevin couldn’t hear it. The hum of the motor was drowned out by the frenzied beat of a popular Zairean rock group.

Suddenly, the vehicle lurched forward. Hastily, Kevin braked. Behind them they heard a terrible clanging over the sound of the music like someone hitting a fire escape with a curbstone.

Kevin and the women winced. They looked back at the opening into the army post. To their relief, no one appeared to check out the awful sound.

Kevin jumped out of the Toyota with the intention of going back to see what had happened when he almost ran into an impressively muscled black man heading right for him.

“Good job, man! My name’s Warren and this is Jack.” Jack had come up alongside Warren.

“I’m Kevin.”

“Cool,” Warren said. “You back these wheels up, and we’ll see what we can do with the other opening.”

“How did you get out so quickly?” Kevin asked.

“Man, you pulled out the whole friggin’ frame,” Warren said.

Kevin climbed into the car and slowly backed up. He could see the two men had already detached the chain.

“It worked!” Melanie said. “Congratulations.”

“I must admit it was better than I thought,” Kevin said.

A moment later, someone thumped on the back of the Toyota. When Kevin looked, he could see one of the men wave for him to go forward.

Kevin used the same driving technique he’d used the first episode. With approximately the same amount of power there was the same sudden release and unfortunately the same clanging noise. This time a soldier had appeared at the window.

Kevin didn’t move, and he prayed the two men he’d just met did the same. The soldier proceeded to bring a wine bottle to his lips and in the process knocked several of the empties off the sill. They shattered on the stone pavement. Then he turned and disappeared back into the room.

Kevin got out of the vehicle in time to see two women being extracted from the second window well. As soon as they were free, all four rushed for the car. Kevin went around to detach the chain but found that Warren was already in the process of doing so.

They all climbed into the Toyota without discussion. Jack and Warren squeezed into the jump seats in the back while Laurie and Natalie joined Candace on the middle bench.

Kevin put the car in gear. After a final glance at the army post, he drove from the parking lot. He didn’t switch on the lights until they were away from town hall.

The escape had been a heady experience for everyone: triumph for Kevin, Melanie, and Candace; surprise and utter relief for the crew from New York. The seven exchanged terse introductions; then the questions started. At first, everyone spoke at the same time.

“Wait a second, everybody!” Jack shouted over the babble. “We need some order in this chaos. Only one person at a time.”

“Well, damn!” Warren said. “I’m going first! I just want to thank you guys for coming when you did.”

“I’ll second that,” Laurie said.

Having cleared the central part of town, Kevin pulled into the parking lot for the main supermarket. There were several other cars. He stopped and turned off the lights and the engine.

“Before we talk about anything else,” Kevin said. “We’ve got to talk about getting out of this town. We don’t have a lot of time. How did you people originally plan on leaving?”

“By the same boat we came in on,” Jack said.

“Where’s the boat?” Kevin asked.

“We assume it’s where we left it,” Jack said. “Pulled up on the beach under the pier.”

“Is it big enough for all of us?” Kevin asked.

“With room to spare,” Jack said.

“Perfect!” Kevin said with excitement. “I was hoping you’d come by boat. That way we can go directly to Gabon.” He faced around quickly and restarted the engine. “Let’s just pray it’s not been found.”

He drove out of the parking lot and began a circuitous route to the waterfront. He wanted to stay as far from the town hall and his own house as possible.

“We have a problem,” Jack said. “We have no identification or money. Everything was taken from us.”

“We’re not much better off,” Kevin said. “But we do have some money, both cash and travelers checks. Our passports were confiscated when we were put under house arrest this afternoon. We were destined for the same fats as you: to be turned over to the Equatoguinean authorities.”

“Would that have been a problem?” Jack asked.

Kevin let out a little derisive laugh. In the back of his mind, he could see the skulls on Siegfried’s desk. “It would have been more than a problem. It would have meant a hush-hush mock trial followed by a firing squad.”

“No shit!” Warren said.

“In this country, it is a capital offense to interfere with GenSys operations,” Kevin said. “And the manager is the one who decides whether someone is interfering or not.”

“A firing squad?” Jack repeated with horror.

“I’m afraid so,” Kevin said. “The army here is good at it. They’ve had a lot of practice over the years.”

“Then we’re even more in debt to you people than we thought,” Jack said. “I’d no idea.”

Laurie looked out the side window of the car and shuddered. It was just sinking in how seriously her life was on the line and that the threat was not yet over.

“How come you guys were in the soup?” Warren asked.

“It’s a long story,” Melanie said.

“So is ours,” Laurie said.

“I have a question,” Kevin said. “Did you people come here because of Carlo Franconi?”

“Whoa!” Jack said. “Such clairvoyance! I’m impressed, and intrigued. How did you guess? What exactly is your role here in Cogo?”

“Me, in particular?” Kevin asked.

“Well, all of you,” Jack said.

Kevin, Melanie, and Candace looked at each other to see who wanted to speak first.

“We were all part of the same program,” Candace said. “But I was just a minor player. I’m an intensive-care nurse for a surgical transplant team.”

“I’m a reproductive technologist,” Melanie said. “I provide the raw materials for Kevin to work his magic, and once he has, I see to it that his creations are brought to fruition.”

“I’m a molecular biologist,” Kevin explained with a sigh of regret. “Someone who overstepped his bounds and committed a Promethean blunder.”

“Hold up,” Jack said. “Don’t go too literary on me. I know I’ve heard of Prometheus, but I can’t remember who he was.”

“Prometheus was a Titan in Greek mythology,” Laurie said. “He stole fire from Olympus and gave it to man.”

“I inadvertently gave fire to some animals,” Kevin said. “I stumbled on the way to move chromosome parts, particularly the short arm of chromosome six from one cell to another, from one species to another.”

“So you took chromosome parts from humans and put them into an ape,” Jack said.

“Into the fertilized egg of an ape,” Kevin said. “A bonobo to be exact.”

“And what you were really doing,” Jack continued, “was custom-designing the perfect organ transplant source for a specific individual.”

“Exactly,” Kevin said. “It wasn’t what I had in mind in the beginning. I was just a pure researcher. What I ended up doing was something I was lured into because of its economic potential.”

“Wow!” Jack commented. “Ingenious and impressive, but also a little scary.”

“It’s more than scary,” Kevin said. “It’s a tragedy of sorts. The problem is I transferred too many human genes. I’ve accidently created a race of protohumans.”

“You mean like Neanderthals?” Laurie asked.

“More primitive by millions of years,” Kevin said. “More like Lucy. But they’re intelligent enough to use fire, make tools, and even converse. I think they are the way we were four or five million years ago.”

“Where are these creatures?” Laurie asked with alarm.

“They’re on a nearby island,” Kevin said, “where they have been living in comparative freedom. Unfortunately, that’s all about to change.”

“Why is that?” Laurie asked. In her mind’s eye, she could see these protohumans. As a child she’d been fascinated by cavemen.

Kevin quickly told the story of the smoke eventually bringing him, Melanie, and Candace to the island. He related how they’d been captured and then rescued. He also told them about the creatures’ fate effacing lifelong internment in tiny concrete cells purely because they were too human.

“That’s awful,” Laurie commented.

“It’s a disaster!” Jack said with a shake of his head. “What a story!”

“This world isn’t ready for a new race,” Warren said. “We’ve got enough trouble with what we have already.”

“We’re coming up on the waterfront,” Kevin announced. “The square at the base of the pier is around the next bend.”

“Then stop here,” Jack said. “There was a soldier there when we arrived.”

Kevin pulled over to the side of the road and turned off the headlights. He kept the engine running for the air-conditioning. Jack and Warren got out the back and ran down to the corner. Carefully, they peeked around the bend.

“If our boat is not there, are there other boats around here?” Laurie asked.

“I’m afraid not,” Kevin said.

“Is there another way out of town besides the main gate?” Laurie asked.

“That’s it,” Kevin said.

“Heaven help us,” Laurie commented.

Jack and Warren came back quickly. Kevin lowered his window.

“There’s a soldier,” Jack said. “He’s none too attentive. In fact, he might even be asleep. But we’ll still have to deal with him. I think it best you all stay here.”

“Fine by me,” Kevin said. He was more than happy to leave such business up to others. If left to him, he wouldn’t have had any idea what to do.

Jack and Warren returned to the corner and disappeared.

Kevin raised his window.

Laurie looked at Natalie and shook her head. “I’m sorry about all this. I suppose I should have known. Jack seems to have a penchant for finding trouble.”

“No need to apologize,” Natalie said. “It’s certainly not your fault. Besides, things are looking a lot better than they did only fifteen or twenty minutes ago.”

Jack and Warren reappeared in a surprisingly short time. Jack was holding a handgun, while Warren was carrying an assault rifle. They got into the back of the Toyota.

“Any problem?” Kevin asked.

“Nope,” Jack said. “He was very accommodating. Of course, Warren can be very persuasive when he wants to be.”

“Does the Chickee Hut Bar have a parking area?” Warren asked.

“It does,” Kevin said.

“Drive there!” Warren said.

Kevin backed up, took a right and then the first left. At the end of the block he pulled into an expansive asphalt parking lot. The darkened Chickee Hut Bar was silhouetted ahead. Beyond the bar was the sparkling expanse of the broad estuary. Its surface shimmered in the moonlight.

Kevin drove directly up to the bar and stopped.

“You all wait here,” Warren said. “I’ll check on the boat.” He climbed out with the assault rifle and quickly disappeared around the bar.

“He moves quickly,” Melanie commented.

“You have no idea,” Jack said.

“Is that Gabon on the other side of the water?” Laurie asked.

“It sure is,” Melanie said.

“How far is it?” Jack asked.

“About four miles straight across,” Kevin said. “But we should try to get to Cocobeach. That’s about ten miles away. From there we can contact the American Embassy in Libreville who will certainly be able to help us.”

“How long will it take to get to Cocobeach?” Laurie asked.

“I’d estimate a little more than an hour,” Kevin said. “Of course, it depends on the speed of the boat.”

Warren reappeared and came to the car. Kevin lowered his window again.

“We’re cool,” Warren said. “The boat’s there. No problem.”

“Hooray,” everybody replied in unison. They piled out of the car. Kevin, Melanie, and Candace brought their canvas bags.

“Is that your luggage?” Laurie teased.

“This is it,” Candace said.

Warren led the group into the darkened bar and around to where there were steps to the beach.

“Let’s move quickly until we get behind the retaining wall,” Warren said. He motioned for the others to precede him.

It was dark beneath the pier, and everyone had to move slowly. Along with the sound of the small waves lapping against the shore was the noise of large crabs scampering into their sand burrows.

“We’ve got a couple of flashlights,” Kevin said. “Should we use them?”

“Let’s not take the chance,” Jack said as he literally bumped into the boat. He made sure it was reasonably stable before telling everyone to climb in and move to the stern. As soon as everyone had done so, Jack could feel the bow become lighter. Leaning against the boat, he began to push it out.

“Watch out for the crossbeams,” Jack said as he jumped aboard.

Everyone helped by reaching for the wood piles and pulling the boat silently along. It took them only a few minutes to travel to the end of the pier which was blocked by the floating dock. At that point they angled the boat out into moonlit open water.

There were only four paddles. Besides the men, Melanie insisted on paddling.

“I want to get about a hundred yards away from the shore before I start the motor,” Jack explained. “There’s no sense taking any chances.”

Everyone looked back at peaceful-appearing Cogo whose whitewashed buildings shrouded in mist glimmered in the silver moonlight. The surrounding jungle limned the town with midnight blue. The walls of vegetation were like tidal waves about to break.

The night sounds of the jungle fell astern. The only noise became the gurgle of the paddles passing through the water or their scraping along the side of the boat. For a time, no one spoke. Racing hearts slowed, and breathing tended toward normal. There was time to think and even look around. The newcomers in particular were captivated by the arresting beauty of the nocturnal African landscape. Its sheer size was overwhelming. Everything seemed bigger in Africa, even the night sky.

For Kevin it was different. His relief of having escaped Cogo and having helped others to do so as well, only made his anguish about the fate of his chimeric bonobos that much more poignant. It had been a mistake to have created them, but abandoning them to a lifetime of captivity in a tiny cage compounded his guilt.

After a time, Jack picked up his oar and dropped it into the bottom of the boat. “Time to start the engine,” he announced. He grasped the outboard and tilted it down into the water.

“Wait a second,” Kevin said suddenly. “I have a request. Something I have no right to ask of you people, but it is important.”

Jack straightened up from bending over the gas tank. “What’s on your mind, sport?” he asked.

“See that island, the last one in the chain?” Kevin said while pointing toward Isla Francesca. “That’s where all the bonobos are. They’re in cages at the foot of a bridge to the mainland. I’d like nothing better than to go over there and release them.”

“What would that accomplish?” Laurie asked.

“A lot if I could get them to cross the bridge,” Kevin said.

“Wouldn’t your Cogo friends just round them up again?” Jack asked.

“They’d never find them,” Kevin said, warming to his idea. “They’d vanish. From this part of Equatorial Guinea and stretching for a thousand miles inland is mostly virginal rain forest. It encompasses not only this country but vast regions of Gabon, Cameroon, Congo, and Central African Republic. It’s got to be a million square miles, parts of which are still literally unexplored.”

“Just let them go by themselves?” Candace asked.

“That’s exactly the point,” Kevin said. “They’d have a chance, and I think they’d make it! They’re resourceful. Look at our ancestors. They had to live through the Pleistocene ice age. That was more of a challenge than living in a rain forest.”

Laurie looked at Jack. “I like the idea.”

Jack glanced at the island, then asked which direction was Cocobeach.

“We’d be going out of our way,” Kevin admitted, “but it’s not far. Twenty minutes tops.”

“What if you let them out and they stay on the island?” Warren said.

“At least I could tell myself I tried,” Kevin said. “I feel that I have to do something.”

“Hey, why not?” Jack said. “I think I like the idea too. What does everybody else say?”

“To tell you the truth, I’d like to see one of these animals,” Warren said.

“Let’s go,” Candace said enthusiastically.

“Okay by me,” Natalie said.

“I couldn’t think of a better idea,” Melanie said. “Let’s do it!”

Jack gave the engine cord a few pulls. The outboard roared to life. Pushing over the helm, Jack steered toward Isla Francesca.