Kevin, Melanie, and Candace emerged from their doorless cell and tried to stand upright. It took a moment for them to stretch. By the time they did the men were kneeling at the side of the bonobo to give the animal an additional dose of tranquilizer.

“My God, are we glad to see you,” Melanie said. She had to steady herself with a hand against the rock. For a moment, the cave had begun to spin.

The men stood up and shined the bright light on the women and then on Kevin. The former captives all had to shield their eyes.

“You people are a mess,” the man with the light said.

“I’m Kevin Marshall and this is Melanie Becket and Candace Brickmann.”

“I know who you are,” the man said flatly. “Let’s get out of this shithole.”

Kevin and the women were happy to comply on rubbery legs. The two men followed. Once out of the cave, the three friends had to squint in the bright, hazy sunlight. Below the face of the cliff were a half dozen more animal handlers. They were busy rolling up tranquilized bonobos in reed mats and lifting them onto a trailer where they were carefully positioned side by side.

“There’s one more up here in this cave,” the man with the flashlight yelled down to the others.

“I know you two,” Melanie said once she got a good view of the men who’d come into the cave. “You’re Dave Turner and Daryl Christian.”

The men ignored Melanie. Dave, the taller of the two, pulled a two-way radio out of a holder at his waist. Daryl started climbing down the giant steps.

“Turner to base,” Dave said into the instrument.

“I hear you loud and clear,” Bertram said on the other end.

“We got the last of the bonobos and we’re loading up,” Dave said.

“Excellent work,” Bertram said.

“We found Kevin Marshall and the two women in a cave,” Dave said.

“In what state?” Bertram asked.

“Filthy but otherwise apparently healthy,” Dave said.

“Give me that thing!” Melanie said, reaching for Dave’s radio. Suddenly, she didn’t like being talked about disparagingly by an underling.

Dave fended her off. “What do you want me to do with them?”

Melanie put her hands on her hips. She was incensed. “What do you mean ‘what to do with them’?”

“Bring them to the animal center,” Bertram said. “I’ll inform Siegfried Spallek. I’m sure he’ll want to talk with them.”

“Ten-four,” Dave said. He snapped off the radio.

“What’s the meaning of this kind of treatment?” Melanie demanded. “We’ve been prisoners out here for more than two days.”

Dave shrugged. “We just follow orders, ma’am. It seems as if you two have riled up the front office big time.”

“What on earth is happening to the bonobos?” Kevin asked. When he’d first seen what the men were doing, he’d assumed it had all been for the purpose of their rescue. But the more he thought about it he couldn’t understand why the animals were being loaded onto a trailer.