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.

CHAPTER 23

MARCH 10, 1997

1:45 A.M.

COCO, EQUATORIAL GUINEA

SIEGFRIED had dreamed the dream a hundred times, and each time it had gotten a little worse. In it, he was approaching a female elephant with a young calf. He didn’t like doing it, but a client couple demanded it. It was the wife who wanted to see the baby up close.

Siegfried had sent trackers out laterally to protect the flank while he and the couple neared the mother. But the trackers to the north became terrified when a huge bull elephant appeared. They ran, and to compound their cowardice, they failed to warn Siegfried of the danger.

The sound of the enormous elephant charging through the underbrush was like the thunder of an oncoming train. Its shrieks built to a crescendo, and just before impact Siegfried woke up bathed in sweat.

Panting, Siegfried rolled over and sat up. Reaching through the mosquito netting, he found a glass of water and took a drink. The problem with his dream was that it was too real. This was the incident through which he’d lost the use of his right arm and had the skin of his face flayed open.

Siegfried sat on the edge of his bed for a few moments before he realized the shrieking he’d thought was from his dream was coming from outside his window. A moment later, he realized the source: loud West African rock music emanating from a cheap cassette player.

Siegfried looked at the clock. Seeing that it was close to two a.m., he became instantly incensed. Who could be so insolent to make such noise at that time in the morning?

Sensing the noise was coming across the green in front of his house, he got out of bed and stepped onto the veranda. To his surprise and dismay the music was coming from Kevin Marshall’s. In fact, Siegfried could see who was responsible: It was the soldiers guarding the house.