Kevin looked their way to check. The men were gathered around a small
table supporting the cassette player and a half dozen empty wine
bottles. The soldiers were happily clapping and stomping their feet,
oblivious to Kevin’s maneuverings with the car.
Kevin breathed a sigh of relief. The passenger-side door opened and
Melanie climbed in. Candace got in the back.
‘Don’t close the door,’ Kevin whispered. He was still holding his ajar.
Kevin eased up on the brake. The car did not move at first, so he
shifted his weight back and forth until he got the car rolling down the
incline toward the waterfront. Kevin looked out the rear window,
steering the vehicle as it began gathering speed.
They rolled for two blocks. At that point, the hill began to flatten
out, and the car eventually came to a stop. Only then did Kevin slip the
key into the ignition and start the engine. They all closed their doors.
They looked at each other in the half light of the car’s interior. They
were all keyed up and their pulses were racing. Everyone smiled.
‘We did it!’ Melanie asserted.
‘So far so good,’ Kevin agreed.
Kevin put the car in gear. He turned right for several blocks to give
his house a wide berth and headed for the motor pool.
‘You’re pretty sure no one will give us trouble at the garage,’ Melanie
said.
‘Well, there’s no way to know for sure,’ Kevin said. ‘But I don’t think
so. The motor-pool people live a life of their own. Besides, Siegfried
has probably kept the story of our disappearance and reappearance a
secret. He’d have to if he were truly planning on handing us over to the
Equatoguinean authorities.’
‘I hope you are right,’ Melanie said. She sighed. ‘I’m half wondering if
we shouldn’t just try to drive out of the Zone behind one of the trucks
instead of bothering with four Americans we’ve never met.’
‘Those people got in here somehow,’ Kevin said. ‘I’m counting on their
having had a plan to get out. Running the main gate should be considered
our last-ditch option.’
They pulled into the busy motor-pool facility. They had to squint under
the glare of the mercury-vapor lights. They continued until they came to
the repair section. Kevin parked behind a bay with the cab of a semi up
on the hydraulic lift. Several greasy mechanics were standing under it,
scratching their heads.
‘Wait here,’ Kevin said, as he alighted from the Toyota.
He walked inside and greeted the men.
Melanie and Candace watched. Candace literally had her fingers crossed.
‘Well, at least they didn’t bolt for the telephone the moment they saw
him,’ Melanie said.
The women watched as one of the mechanics sauntered off and disappeared
through a door in the rear of the facility. He reappeared a moment
later, carrying a lengthy hunk of heavy chain. He gave it to Kevin who
staggered under its weight.
As his face turned a progressively brighter shade of red, Kevin stumbled
back toward the LandCruiser. Sensing he was about to drop the chain,
Melanie hopped out of the car to open the luggage area.
The vehicle lurched as Kevin dropped the chain onto the tailgate.
‘I told them I wanted heavy chain,’ Kevin managed. ‘It didn’t have to be
this heavy.’
‘What did you say to those men?’ Melanie asked.
‘I said that your car got stuck in some mud,’ Kevin said. ‘They didn’t
bat an eyelash. Of course, they didn’t offer to come and help, either.’
Kevin and Melanie returned inside the Toyota, and they started back
toward town.
‘You’re sure this is going to work?’ Candace asked from the rear seat.
‘No, but I can’t think of anything else,’ Kevin said.
For the rest of the trip, no one spoke. They all knew this was the most
difficult part of the whole plan. The tension mounted as they turned
into the parking lot for the town hall and doused the headlights.
The room occupied by the army post was ablaze with light. As they got
closer Kevin, Melanie, and Candace could hear the music. This group of
soldiers also had a cassette player, only theirs was cranking out