Warren had gotten within range of a kick, and with lightning speed his foot lashed out and connected with Cameron’s hands. The gun bounced off the ceiling.

Before Cameron could react to his gun’s sudden disappearance, Warren closed in on him and hit him twice, once in the lower abdomen and then on the tip of the nose. Cameron collapsed backwards in a heap on the floor.

“I’m glad you’re on my team for this run,” Jack said.

“We got to get ourselves back to that boat!” Warren blurted without humor.

“I’m open to suggestions,” Jack said.

Cameron moaned and pushed himself over onto his stomach.

Warren looked both ways down the hall. A few minutes earlier, he’d thought of running down the main corridor toward the rear, but that was no longer a reasonable alternative. Halfway down the corridor he could see some nurses gathering and pointing in his direction.

Across from the elevators at eye-level was a sign in the form of an arrow that pointed down the hall beyond Horace’s room. It said: OR.

Knowing they had little time to debate, Warren motioned in the direction of the arrow. “That way!” he barked.

“The operating room?” Jack questioned. “Why?”

“Because they won’t expect it,” Warren said. He grabbed a stunned Natalie by the hand and propelled her into a jog.

Jack and Laurie followed. They passed Horace’s room but the chubby man had locked himself in his bathroom.

The operating suite was set off from the rest of the hospital by the usual swinging doors. Warren hit them and went through with a straight arm like a football running back. Jack and Laurie were right behind.

There were no cases under way nor were there any patients in the recovery room. There weren’t even any lights on except for those in a supply room halfway down the hall. The supply room’s door was ajar, emitting a faint glow.

Hearing the repetitive thumps on the operating room doors, a woman appeared from the supply room. She was dressed in a scrub suit with a disposable cap. She caught her breath as she saw the four figures hurtling in her direction.

“Hey, you can’t come in here in street clothes,” she yelled as soon as she’d recovered from her initial shock. But Warren and the others had already passed. Perplexed, she watched the intruders run all the way down the rest of the corridor to disappear through the doors leading to the lab.

Turning back into the supply room, she went for the wall phone.

Warren skidded to a stop where the corridor formed a “T.” He looked in either direction. To the left at the far end was a red wall light indicating a fire alarm. Above it was an exit sign.

“Hold up!” Jack said, as Warren was preparing to dash down to what he imagined would be a stairwell.

“What’s the matter, man?” Warren questioned anxiously.

“This looks like a laboratory,” Jack said. He stepped over to a glazed door and looked inside. He was immediately impressed. Although they were in the middle of Africa, it was the most modern lab he’d ever seen. Every piece of equipment looked brand new.