Robin Cook - Chromosome 6

At first, the heavy vehicle resisted their efforts. Kevin lifted his foot to push against the house’s foundation. That added amount of leverage made the difference; the car eased out of its parking slot.

At the lip of the arcade, the cobblestones of the street slanted downward in a gentle slope so rainwater would run away from the house. As soon as the rear wheels of the vehicle passed this point, the car gained momentum. All at once, Kevin realized that no additional force was needed.

“Uh-oh!” Kevin cried, as the car began to gain speed.

Kevin ran around the side of the car and tried to get the driver’s-side door open. Given the car’s increasing momentum, this wasn’t easy. The car was now halfway across the alley and beginning to curve to the right down the hill toward the waterfront.

Finally Kevin succeeded in opening the door. In one swift move, he dove in behind the wheel. He got in position as quickly as possible, then jammed on the brakes. At the same time, he turned the steering wheel hard to the left so as to better align the vehicle with the street.

Fearful their efforts might have attracted the soldiers’ attention, 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 African music at full volume.

“That’s the kind of party I was counting on,” Kevin said. He made a wide turn and then backed toward the building. He could just make out the window wells for the subterranean jail within the shadows of the ground-floor arcade.

He stopped the car within five feet of the building and put on the emergency brake. All three gazed into the room occupied by the soldiers. They couldn’t see much of the room and none of the soldiers because the line of sight was on an angle through an unglazed window. The window’s shutter had been raised and hooked to the ceiling of the arcade. A number of empty wine bottles were on the sill.

“Well, it’s now or never,” Kevin said.

“Can we help?” Melanie asked.

“No, stay put,” Kevin said.

Kevin climbed from the car and walked in under the nearest arch to stand within the shelter of the arcade. The sound of the music was deafening. Kevin’s major concern was that if someone looked out the window, Kevin would be seen immediately. There was nothing to hide behind.

Looking down at the window well, Kevin could see the barred opening. Beyond the bars was utter darkness. There was not the faintest light within the cell.

Getting down on his hands and knees first, Kevin lay on the stone floor with his head over the lip of the window well. With his face close to the bars, he called out over the noise of the music: “Hello! Anybody in there?”

“Just us tourists,” Jack said. “Are we invited to the party?”

“I understand you are Americans,” Kevin said.

“Like apple pie and baseball,” Jack said.

Kevin could suddenly hear other voices in the dark, but they were unintelligible.

“You people have to realize what a dangerous situation you’ve gotten yourselves into,” Kevin said.

“Really,” Jack said. “We thought this was how all visitors to Cogo were treated.”

Kevin thought that whomever he was speaking with would certainly get along well with Melanie.

“I’m going to try to pull these bars out,” Kevin said. “Are you all in the same cell?”

“No, we have two beautiful ladies in the cell to my left.”

“Okay,” Kevin said. “Let’s see what I can do with these bars first.”

Kevin got up and went back for the chain. Returning to the window well, he threaded one end through the bars into the abyss.

“Hook this around one of the bars a number of times,” Kevin said.

“I like this,” Jack said. “It reminds me of an old Western movie.”