Chromosome 6. Chapter 20, 21
CHAPTER 20
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MARCH 8, 1997
4:40 P.M.
BATA, EQUATORIAL GUINEA
JACK realized he’d been clenching his teeth. He was also holding
Laurie’s hand much harder than was reasonable. Consciously, he tried to
relax. The problem had been the flight from Douala, Cameroon, to Bata.
The airline was a fly-by-night outfit that used small, old commuter
planes, just the kind of aircraft that plagued Jack’s nightmares about
his late family.
The flight had not been easy. The plane constantly dodged thunderstorms
whose towering clouds varied in color from whipped-cream white to deep
purple. Lightning had flashed constantly, and the turbulence was fierce.
The previous part of the trip had been a dream. The flight from New York
to Paris had been smooth and blissfully uneventful. Everyone had slept
at least a few hours.
Arrival in Paris had been ten minutes early, so they’d had ample time to
make their connection with Cameroon Airlines. Everyone slept even more
on the flight south to Douala. But that final leg to Bata was a
hair-raiser.
‘We’re landing,’ Laurie said to Jack.
‘I hope it is a controlled landing,’ Jack quipped.
He looked out the dirty window. As he’d expected, the landscape was a
carpet of uninterrupted green. As the tops of the trees came closer and
closer, he hoped there was a runway ahead.
Eventually, they touched down onto tarmac, and Jack and Warren breathed
simultaneous sighs of relief.
As the weary travelers climbed out of the small, aged plane, Jack looked
across the ill-maintained runway and saw a strange sight. It was a
resplendent white jet sitting all by itself against the dark green of
the jungle. At four points surrounding the plane were soldiers in
camouflage fatigues and red berets. Although ostensibly standing
upright, they’d all assumed varying postures of repose. Automatic rifles
were casually slung over their shoulders.
‘Whose plane?’ Jack asked Esteban. With no markings it was apparent it
was a private jet.
‘I can’t imagine,’ Esteban said.
Everyone except Esteban was unprepared for the chaos in the airport
arrival area. All foreign arrivals had to go through Customs. The group
was taken along with their luggage to a side room. They were led to this
unlikely spot by two men in dirty uniforms with automatic pistols
bolstered in their belts.
At first Esteban had been excluded from the room, but after a loud
argument on his part in a local dialect, he was allowed in. The men
opened all the bags and spread the contents onto a picnic-sized table.
Esteban told Jack the men expected bribes. At first Jack refused on
principle. When it became apparent that the standoff was going to last
for hours, Jack relented. Ten French francs solved the problem.
As they exited into the main part of the airport, Esteban apologized.
‘It’s a problem here,’ he said. ‘All government people take bribes.’
They were met by Esteban’s cousin whose name was Arturo. He was a
heavyset, enormously friendly individual with bright eyes and flashing
teeth who shook hands enthusiastically with everyone. He was attired in
native African costume: flowing robes in a colorful print and a pillbox
hat.
They stepped out of the airport into the hot, humid air of equatorial
Africa. The vistas in all directions seemed immense since the land was
relatively flat. The late-afternoon sky was a faraway blue directly
overhead, but enormous thunderheads were nestled all along the horizon.
‘Man, I can’t believe this,’ Warren said. He was gazing around like a
kid in a toy store. ‘I’ve been thinking about coming here for years, but
I never thought I’d make it.’ He looked at Jack. ‘Thanks, man. Give it
here!’ Warren stuck out his hand. He and Jack exchanged palm slaps as if
they were back on the neighborhood basketball court.
Arturo had the rented van parked at curbside. He slipped a couple of
bills into the palm of a policeman and gestured for everyone to climb
in.
Esteban insisted that Jack ride in the front passenger seat. Too tired
to argue, Jack climbed in. The vehicle was an old Toyota with two rows
of benches behind the front bucket seats. Laurie and Natalie squeezed