Without rushing they moved en masse to the stairwell. Jack, Laurie, and Natalie met up with Warren who was holding the door. He’d also managed to find white coats which he distributed to the others. They all pulled them on over their clothes. Unfortunately, they were the only ones wearing shorts.

“They have created some kind of chimera with these apes called bonobos,” Jack said excitedly. “That’s the explanation. No wonder the DNA tests were so screwy.”

“What’s he carrying on about now?” Warren asked with irritation.

“Don’t ask,” Laurie said. “It will only encourage him.”

“Whose idea was it to pull the fire alarm?” Jack asked. “It was brilliant.”

“Warren’s,” Laurie said. “At least one of us is thinking.”

The stairwell opened up into a parking lot on the north side. People were milling about, looking back at the building, and talking in small groups. It was deathly hot since the sun was out and the parking lot was blacktop. A wailing fire siren could be heard coming from the northeast.

“What should we do?” Laurie asked. “I’m relieved we’ve gotten as far as we have. I didn’t think it was going to be so easy to get out of the building.”

“Let’s walk over to the street and turn left,” Jack said while pointing. “We can circle around the area to the west and get back to the waterfront.”

“Where are all those soldiers?” Laurie asked.

“And the Arabs?” Natalie added.

“I’d guess they’re looking for us in the hospital,” Jack said.

“Let’s go before all these lab people start going back into the building,” Warren said.

They tried not to rush to avoid attracting any attention. As they neared the street they all glanced behind them for fear they were being watched, but no one was even looking in their direction. Everybody was captivated by the fire crew who’d arrived.

“So far so good,” Jack said.

Warren was the first to reach the street. As he got a look to the west around the corner, he stopped abruptly and put his arms out to block the others. He backed up a step.

“We’re not going that way,” he said. “They’ve got a roadblock at the end of the street.”

“Uh-oh,” Laurie said. “Maybe they’ve sealed off the area.”

“You remember that power station we saw?” Jack said.

Everyone nodded.

“That power has to get over here to the hospital,” Jack said. “I’d bet there’s a tunnel.”

“Maybe,” Warren said. “But the trouble is we don’t know how to find it. Besides, I’m not thrilled about going back inside. Not with all those kids with AK-47’s.”

“Then let’s try walking across the square,” Jack said.

“Toward where we saw the soldiers?” Laurie questioned with dismay.

“Hey, if they’re over here at the hospital, there should be no problem,” Jack said.

“That’s a point,” Natalie agreed.

“Of course, we could always give ourselves up and say we’re sorry,” Jack said. “I mean, what can they do to us besides kick us the hell out. I think I’ve gotten what I came for, so it wouldn’t bother me in the slightest.”