"Well?" Kevin said. "We're here, what's the plan?"
"I'm thinking," Melanie said. "I can't decide what's best: whether you guys wait here or come with me." "This place is huge," Candace said. She'd leaned forward and was gazing at the building in front of them. It ran from the street all the way back to where it disappeared into the jungle foliage. "For as many times as I've been to Cogo, I've never been out here at the animal center. I didn't have any idea it was so large. Is this part we're facing the hospital?" "Yup," Melanie said. "This whole wing." "I'd be interested to see it," Candace said. "I've never been in a veterinary hospital let alone one that's so palatial."
"It's state-of-the-art," Melanie said. "You should see the ORs." "Oh my God," Kevin sighed. He rolled his eyes. "I've been ensnared by the insane. We've just had the most harrowing experience in our lives, and you're talking about taking a tour." "It's not going to be a tour," Melanie said as she alighted from the car. "Come on, Candace. I'm sure I can use your help. Kevin, you can wait here if you'd like." "Fine by me," Kevin said. But it only took him a few moments of watching the women trudge toward the entrance before he, too, climbed out of the car. He decided that the anxiety of waiting would be worse than the stress of going.
"Wait up," Kevin called out. He had to run a few steps until he'd caught up with the others. "I don't want to hear any complaining," Melanie told Kevin. "Don't worry," Kevin said. He felt like a teenager being chastised by his mother. "I don't anticipate any problems," Melanie said. "Bertram Edwards's office is in the administration part of the building, which at this time will be deserted. But just to be sure we don't arouse any suspicion, once we're inside, we'll head down to the locker room. I want you guys in animal center coveralls. Okay? I mean it's not really the time anyone would expect to encounter visitors." "Sounds like a good idea to me," Candace said. "All right," Bertram said into the phone. His eye caught the luminous dial of his bedside clock. It was quarter past midnight. "I'll meet you at your office in five minutes." Bertram swung his legs over the edge of the bed and parted the mosquito netting. "Trouble?" Trish, his wife, asked. She'd pushed herself up on one elbow. "Just a nuisance," Bertram said. "Go back to sleep! I'll be back in a half hour or so." Bertram closed the door to the bedroom before turning on the dressing-room light. He dressed quickly. Although he'd downplayed the situation to Trish, Bertram was anxious. He had no idea what was going
on, but it had to be trouble. Siegfried had never called him in the middle of the night with a request to
come to his office.
Outside, it was as bright as daytime with a nearly full moon having risen in the east. The sky was filled with silvery-purple cumulus clouds. The night air was heavy and humid and perfectly still. The sounds of the jungle were an almost constant cacophony of buzzes, chirps, and squawks interrupted with occasional short screams. It was a noise Bertram had grown accustomed to over the years, and it didn't even register in his mind.
Despite the distance to the town hall being only a few hundred yards, Bertram drove. He knew it would be faster, and every minute that passed raised his curiosity. As he pulled into the parking lot, he could see that the usually lethargic soldiers were strangely agitated, moving around the army post, clutching their rifles. They eyed him nervously as he turned off his headlights and alighted from the car. Approaching the building on foot, Bertram could see meager light flickering through the slats of the shutters covering Siegfried's second-floor office windows. He went up the stairs, passed through the dark reception area normally occupied by Aurielo, and entered Siegfried's office. Siegfried was sitting at his desk with his feet propped up on the corner. In the hand of his good arm he held and was gently swirling a brandy snifter. Cameron McIvers, head of security, was sitting in a rattan chair with a similar glass. The only illumination in the room was coming from the candle in the skull. The low level of shimmering light cast dark shadows and gave a lifelike quality to the menagerie of stuffed animals.
"Thanks for coming out at such an ungodly hour," Siegfried said with his usual German accent. "How about a splash of brandy?"
"Do I need it?" Bertram asked, as he pulled a rattan chair over to the desk. Siegfried laughed. "It can never hurt." Cameron got the drink from a sideboard. He was a hefty, full-bearded Scotsman with a bulbous, red nose and a strong bias toward alcohol of any sort, although scotch was understandably his favorite. He handed the snifter to Bertram and reclaimed his seat and his own drink. "Usually when I'm called out in the middle of the night it is a medical emergency with an animal," Bertram said. He took a sip of the brandy and breathed in deeply. "Tonight I have the sense it is something else entirely."
"Indeed," Siegfried said. "First I have to commend you. Your warning this afternoon about Kevin Marshall was well-founded and timely. I asked Cameron to have him watched by the Moroccans, and sure enough this evening he, Melanie Becket, and one of the surgical nurses drove all the way out to the landing area for Isla Francesca."
"Damnation!" Bertram exclaimed. "Did they go on the island?" "No," Siegfried said. "They merely played with the food float. They'd also stopped to talk with Alphonse Kimba."
"This irritates me to death!" Bertram exclaimed. "I don't like anyone going near that island, and I don't like anyone talking to that pygmy."
"Nor do I," Siegfried agreed.
"Where are they now?" Bertram questioned. "We let them go home," Siegfried said. "But not before putting the fear of God into them. I don't think they will be doing it again, at least not for a while." "This is not what I need!" Bertram complained. "I hate to have to worry about this on top of the bonobos splitting into two groups."
"This is worse than the animals living in two groups," Siegfried said. "They're both bad," Bertram said. "Both have the potential of interrupting the smooth operation of the program and possibly putting an end to it. I think my idea of caging them all and bringing them into the animal center should be reconsidered. I've got the cages out there. It wouldn't be difficult, and it will make retrievals a hell of a lot easier." From the moment Bertram had determined the bonobos were living in two social groups, he'd thought it best to round up the animals and keep them in separate cages where they could be watched. But he'd been thwarted by Siegfried. Bertram had considered going over Siegfried's head by appealing to his boss in Cambridge, Massachusetts, but had decided against it. Doing so would have alerted the GenSys hierarchy that there was potential trouble with the bonobo program. "We're not opening that discussion!" Siegfried said emphatically. "We're not giving up on the idea of keeping them isolated on the island. We all decided back when this started that was the best idea. I still think it is. But with this episode with Kevin Marshall, the bridge has me worried." "Why?" Bertram asked. "It's locked."
"Where are the keys?" Siegfried asked.
"In my office," Bertram said.
"I think they should be here in the main safe," Siegfried said. "Most of your staff has access to your office, including Melanie Becket."
"Perhaps you have a point," Bertram said. "I'm glad you agree," Siegfried said. "So I'd like you to get them. How many are there?" "I don't recall exactly," Bertram said. "Four or five. Something like that." "I want them here," Siegfried said.
"Fine," Bertram said agreeably. "I don't have a problem with that." "Good," Siegfried said. He let his legs drop from the desk and stood up. "Let's go. I'll come with you." "You want to go now?" Bertram asked with disbelief.
"Why put off until tomorrow what you can do today?" Siegfried said. "Isn't that an expression you
Americans espouse? With the keys in the safe, I know I'll sleep a lot better tonight." "Would you want me to come along as well?" Cameron asked. "It's not necessary," Siegfried said. "I'm sure Bertram and I can handle it." Kevin looked at himself in the full-length mirror at the end of the banks of lockers in the men's room. The trouble with the coveralls was that the small was too small and the medium was a little too big. He had to roll up the sleeves and the pant legs.
"What the hell are you doing in there?" Melanie's voice called out. She'd pushed open the door from the hall.
"I'm coming," Kevin said. He closed the locker where he'd stored his own clothes and hurried out into the hall.
"I thought women were supposed to take a long time dressing," Melanie complained. "I couldn't decide which size was best," Kevin said. "Did anybody come in while you were in there?" Melanie asked. "Not a soul," Kevin said.
"Good," Melanie said. "Same for us in the ladies' room. Let's go!" Melanie motioned for the others to follow her as she started up the stairs. "To get to the administration area from here, we have to pass through part of the veterinary hospital. I think it's best to avoid the main floor, which has the emergency room and the acute-care unit. There's always a lot of activity there. So let's go up to the second floor and go through the fertility unit. I can even say I'm checking on patients if someone asks."
"Cool," Candace said.
They passed the first floor and climbed to the second. Entering the main corridor, they encountered their first animal-center employee. If the man thought that there was anything abnormal about Kevin and Candace's presence in the middle of the night, he didn't give any evidence. He passed by with merely a nod.
"That was easy," Candace whispered.
"It's the coveralls," Melanie said.
They turned left through a set of double doors and entered a brightly lit, narrow hallway lined with a number of blank doors. Melanie cracked one of them and stuck her head inside. Quietly, she closed the door. "It's one of my patients. She's a low-land gorilla who's almost ready for egg retrieval. They can get a little rambunctious with the hormone level we have to achieve, but she's sleeping soundly." "Can I see?" Candace asked.
"I suppose," Melanie said. "But be quiet and don't make any sudden movements."
Candace nodded. Melanie opened the door and slipped inside. Candace followed. Kevin stayed by the door, holding it open.
"Shouldn't we be doing what we came here for?" Kevin whispered. Melanie put her finger to her lips.
There were four large cages in the room, only one of which was occupied. A large gorilla was sleeping on a bed of straw. The illumination came from overhead recessed lighting that was dimmed down to a point of being almost off.
Gently touching the bars of the cage, Candace leaned forward to get a better look. She'd never been so close to a gorilla. If she'd been inclined, she could have touched the huge animal. With speed that defied belief, the female gorilla awoke and then bounced off the front of the cage. In the next instant, she was pounding the floor with her fists like kettle drums and shrieking. Candace let out a scream of her own as she leapt back out of harm's way. Melanie grabbed her. "It's okay," Melanie said.
The gorilla then made another lunge for the front of the cage. She also hurled a handful of fresh feces in the process, which splattered against the far wall. Melanie directed Candace out the door and Kevin let it shut. "I'm terribly sorry," Melanie said to Candace. Candace's Nordic complexion was even paler than usual. "Are you all right?"
"I guess," Candace said. She checked the front of her coveralls. "A little PMS, I'm afraid," Melanie said. "She didn't hit you with any of her poop, did she?" "I don't think so," Candace said. She ran a hand through her hair and then examined it. "Let's get the keys," Kevin said. "We're pushing our luck." They walked the length of the fertility unit and pushed through a second pair of swinging doors to enter a large room divided into bays. Each bay had several cages, and most of the cages were occupied by youthful primates of different species.
"This is the pediatric unit," Melanie whispered. "Just act natural." There were four people working in the unit. They were all dressed in surgical scrubs with stethoscopes draped around their necks. Everyone was friendly but busy and preoccupied, and the trio passed through, garnering nothing more than a couple of smiles and nods. After another set of double doors and a short corridor, they came to a heavy, locked fire door. Melanie had to use her card to open it.
"Here we are!" Melanie whispered, as she let the fire door close quietly behind them. After the bustle
they'd just witnessed, the silence and darkness seemed absolute. "This is the administration area. The stairwell is down the hall to the left. So hold on." There was groping in the dark until Candace got her hand on Melanie's shoulder and Kevin got his on Candace's.
"Come on!" Melanie encouraged. She began to inch her way along the corridor, while running her hand against the wall. The others allowed themselves to be pulled along. Gradually, their eyes adjusted and by the time the group neared the door to the stairwell, they could appreciate the small amount of moonlight that seeped through the cracks.
Inside the stairwell, it was comparatively bright. Large windows on each landing flooded the stairs with moonlight.
The first-floor hall was much easier to walk in than the second-floor hall because of the windows in the main-entrance doors.
Melanie led them to a position just outside Bertram's office. "Now comes the acid test," Kevin said, as Melanie tried her card in the lock. There was an immediate, reassuring click. The door opened. "No problem," Melanie said buoyantly.
The three stepped inside the room and were again thrust into almost complete darkness. The only light was a meager glow that filtered through the open door into the inner office. "What now?" Kevin questioned. "We're not going to find anything in the dark." "I agree," Melanie said. She felt along the wall for the switch. As soon as her finger touched it, she switched it on.
For a moment, they blinked at each other. "Whoa, seems awfully bright," Melanie said. "I hope it doesn't wake up those Moroccan guards across the street," Kevin said. "Don't even joke about it," Melanie said. She walked into the inner office and turned on the light. Kevin and Candace joined her.
"I think we should be methodical about this," Melanie said. "I'll take the desk. Candace, you take the file cabinet, and, Kevin, why don't you take the outer office and, while you're at it, keep an eye on the hall. Give a yell if anybody appears."
"Now that's a happy thought," Kevin said. Siegfried turned left at the motor pool and accelerated his new Toyota LandCruiser toward the animal center. The vehicle had been modified for his disability so that he could shift with his left hand.