“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.

“Does Cameron have any idea why we are so concerned about the security of Isla Francesca?” Bertram asked.

“No, not at all,” Siegfried said.

“Has he asked?”

“No, he’s not that kind of person. He takes orders. He doesn’t question them.”

“What about telling him and cutting him in on a small percentage?” Bertram suggested. “He could be very helpful.”

“I’m not diluting our percentages!” Siegfried said. “Don’t even suggest it. Besides, Cameron is already helpful. He does whatever I tell him to do.”

“What worries me the most about this episode with Kevin Marshall is that he must have said something to those women,” Bertram said. “The last thing I want is for them to start thinking the bonobos on the island are using fire. If that gets out, it’s just a matter of time before we have animal-rights zealots coming out of the woodwork. GenSys will shut the program down faster than you can blink your eye.”

“What do you think we should do?” Siegfried asked. “I could arrange to have the three of them just disappear.”

Bertram glanced at Siegfried and shivered. He knew the man was not joking.

“No, that could be worse,” Bertram said. He looked back out through the windshield. “That might stimulate a major State-side investigation. I’m telling you, I think we should dart the bonobos, put them in the cages I brought out there, and bring them in. Sure as hell, they won’t be using fire in the animal center.”