Natalie, who’d walked over to a large picture window overlooking the
square, hastily turned back into the room. ‘It’s getting worse. An
entire car load of those Arabs in black suits are arriving.’
At that moment, the fire alarm in the building went off. It featured
alternating sequences of three ear-splitting shrieks of a horn followed
by a disembodied voice: ‘Fire in the laboratory! Please proceed
immediately to stairwells for evacuation! Do not use the elevators!’
‘Oh, my word!’ Rolanda said. She looked around quickly to see what she
should take with her.
Laurie grabbed Jack by both arms and shook him. ‘Jack, be reasonable! We
have to get out of here.’
‘I’ve figured it out,’ Jack said with a wry smile.
‘I don’t give a good goddamn,’ Laurie spat. ‘Come on!’
They rushed out into the hall. Other people were appearing as well.
Everyone seemed confused as they looked up and down the hall. Some were
sniffing. There was animated conversation. Many people were carrying
their lap-top computers.
Without rushing they moved en masse to the stairwell. Jack, Laurie, and
Natalie met up with Warren who was holding the door. He’d also managed
to find white coats which he distributed to the others. They all pulled
them on over their clothes. Unfortunately, they were the only ones
wearing shorts.
‘They have created some kind of chimera with these apes called bonobos,’
Jack said excitedly. ‘That’s the explanation. No wonder the DNA tests
were so screwy.’
‘What’s he carrying on about now?’ Warren asked with irritation.
‘Don’t ask,’ Laurie said. ‘It will only encourage him.’
‘Whose idea was it to pull the fire alarm?’ Jack asked. ‘It was
brilliant.’
‘Warren’s,’ Laurie said. ‘At least one of us is thinking.’
The stairwell opened up into a parking lot on the north side. People
were milling about, looking back at the building, and talking in small
groups. It was deathly hot since the sun was out and the parking lot was
blacktop. A wailing fire siren could be heard coming from the northeast.
‘What should we do?’ Laurie asked. ‘I’m relieved we’ve gotten as far as
we have. I didn’t think it was going to be so easy to get out of the
building.’
‘Let’s walk over to the street and turn left,’ Jack said while pointing.
‘We can circle around the area to the west and get back to the
waterfront.’
‘Where are all those soldiers?’ Laurie asked.
‘And the Arabs?’ Natalie added.
‘I’d guess they’re looking for us in the hospital,’ Jack said.
‘Let’s go before all these lab people start going back into the
building,’ Warren said.
They tried not to rush to avoid attracting any attention. As they neared
the street they all glanced behind them for fear they were being
watched, but no one was even looking in their direction. Everybody was
captivated by the fire crew who’d arrived.
‘So far so good,’ Jack said.
Warren was the first to reach the street. As he got a look to the west
around the corner, he stopped abruptly and put his arms out to block the
others. He backed up a step.
‘We’re not going that way,’ he said. ‘They’ve got a roadblock at the end
of the street.’
‘Uh-oh,’ Laurie said. ‘Maybe they’ve sealed off the area.’
‘You remember that power station we saw?’ Jack said.
Everyone nodded.
‘That power has to get over here to the hospital,’ Jack said. ‘I’d bet
there’s a tunnel.’
‘Maybe,’ Warren said. ‘But the trouble is we don’t know how to find it.
Besides, I’m not thrilled about going back inside. Not with all those
kids with AK-47’s.’
‘Then let’s try walking across the square,’ Jack said.
‘Toward where we saw the soldiers?’ Laurie questioned with dismay.
‘Hey, if they’re over here at the hospital, there should be no problem,’
Jack said.
‘That’s a point,’ Natalie agreed.
‘Of course, we could always give ourselves up and say we’re sorry,’ Jack
said. ‘I mean, what can they do to us besides kick us the hell out. I
think I’ve gotten what I came for, so it wouldn’t bother me in the
slightest.’
‘You’re joking,’ Laurie said. ‘They’re not going to accept a mere