Chromosome 6. Chapter 13, 14
CHAPTER 13
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MARCH 6, 1997
12:00 NOON
COGO, EQUATORIAL GUINEA
KEVIN was totally unaware of the time when a knock interrupted the
intense concentration he’d been directing toward his computer screen for
several hours. He opened his laboratory door and was promptly greeted by
Melanie as she swooped into the room. She was carrying a large paper
bag.
‘Where are your techs?’ she asked.
‘I gave them the day off,’ Kevin said. ‘There was no way I was going to
get any work done today so I told them to enjoy the sun. It’s been a
long rainy season, and it will be back before we know it.’
‘Where’s Candace?’ Melanie asked. She put down her parcel on the lab
bench.
‘I don’t know,’ Kevin said. ‘I haven’t seen or talked with her since we
dropped her off at the hospital this morning.’
It had been a long night. After having hid in the pathology cooler for
over an hour, Melanie had talked both Kevin and Candace into sneaking up
to the on-call room Melanie had at the animal center. The three had
stayed there getting very little sleep, until the early-morning shift
change. Blending in with all the employees coming and going, the group
had made it back to Cogo without incident.
‘Do you know how to get in touch with her?’ Melanie asked.
‘I guess just call the hospital and have her paged,’ Kevin suggested.
‘Unless she’s in her room in the Inn, which is what I’d guess since
Horace Winchester is doing so well.’ The Inn was the name given to the
temporary quarters for transient hospital personnel. It was physically
part of the hospital/laboratory complex.
‘Good point!’ Melanie said. She picked up the phone and had the operator
put her through to Candace’s room. Candace answered on the third ring.
It was apparent she’d been asleep.
‘Kevin and I are going to the island,’ Melanie said without preamble.
‘You want to come or hang in here?’
‘What are you talking about?’ Kevin asked nervously.
Melanie motioned for him to be quiet.
‘When?’ Candace asked.
‘As soon as you get over here,’ Melanie said. ‘We’re in Kevin’s lab.’
‘It will take me a good half hour,’ Candace said. ‘I’ve got to shower.’
‘We’ll be waiting,’ Melanie said. She hung up the phone.
‘Melanie, are you crazy?’ Kevin said. ‘We’ve got to let some time go by
before we hazard another try at the island.’
‘This girl doesn’t think so,’ Melanie said, giving herself a poke in the
chest. ‘The sooner we go, the better. If Bertram finds out a key is
missing, he could change the lock, and we’ll be back to square one.
Besides, like I said last night, they expect us to be terrified. Going
out there right away will catch them off-guard.’
‘I don’t think I’m up for this,’ Kevin said.
‘Oh really?’ Melanie questioned superciliously. ‘Hey, you’re the one
who’s brought up this worry about what we’ve created. And now I’m really
worried. I saw some more circumstantial evidence this morning.’
‘Like what?’ Kevin asked.
‘I went into the bonobo enclosure out at the animal center,’ Melanie
said. ‘I made sure no one saw me go in, so don’t get yourself all worked
up. It took me over an hour, but I managed to find a mother with one of
our infants.’
‘And?’ Kevin questioned. He wasn’t sure he wanted to hear the rest.
‘The infant walked around on its hindlegs–just like you and I–the
whole time I was able to observe,’ Melanie said. Her dark eyes flashed
with emotion akin to anger. ‘Behavior we used to call cute is definitely
bipedal.’
Kevin nodded and looked away. He found Melanie’s intensity unnerving,
and her conversation was underlining all his own fears.
‘We have to find out for sure what the status is of these creatures,’
Melanie said. ‘And we can do that only by going out there.’
Kevin nodded.
‘So, I made some sandwiches,’ Melanie said, pointing toward the paper
bag she’d brought in with her. ‘We’ll call it a picnic.’
‘I came across something disturbing this morning as well,’ Kevin said.
‘Let me show you.’ He grabbed a stool and pushed it over to his computer