‘Heaven help us,’ Laurie commented.
Jack and Warren came back quickly. Kevin lowered his window.
‘There’s a soldier,’ Jack said. ‘He’s none too attentive. In fact, he
might even be asleep. But we’ll still have to deal with him. I think it
best you all stay here.’
‘Fine by me,’ Kevin said. He was more than happy to leave such business
up to others. If left to him, he wouldn’t have had any idea what to do.
Jack and Warren returned to the corner and disappeared.
Kevin raised his window.
Laurie looked at Natalie and shook her head. ‘I’m sorry about all this.
I suppose I should have known. Jack seems to have a penchant for finding
trouble.’
‘No need to apologize,’ Natalie said. ‘It’s certainly not your fault.
Besides, things are looking a lot better than they did only fifteen or
twenty minutes ago.’
Jack and Warren reappeared in a surprisingly short time. Jack was
holding a handgun, while Warren was carrying an assault rifle. They got
into the back of the Toyota.
‘Any problem?’ Kevin asked.
‘Nope,’ Jack said. ‘He was very accommodating. Of course, Warren can be
very persuasive when he wants to be.’
‘Does the Chickee Hut Bar have a parking area?’ Warren asked.
‘It does,’ Kevin said.
‘Drive there!’ Warren said.
Kevin backed up, took a right and then the first left. At the end of the
block he pulled into an expansive asphalt parking lot. The darkened
Chickee Hut Bar was silhouetted ahead. Beyond the bar was the sparkling
expanse of the broad estuary. Its surface shimmered in the moonlight.
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