The Bone Labyrinth (60 page)

This was no lie.

With everyone focused toward the front of the jeep, no one paid any attention behind it. A patch of shadows grew darker back there, bunching to form a massive hulking shape.

Chang wasn’t the only survivor of that earlier altercation.

The silverback crept silently upon its escaped prey. The beast was clearly injured, dripping runnels of black blood. One arm hung at its side, a dead weight. It drew up behind the jeep. The occupants, deafened by the rumbling engine, remained unaware.

Monk encouraged their group to retreat.

Chang must have believed they were clearing away from the slaughter of Baako and the chimps. “It will be over soon,” the bastard promised.

It certainly will be
.

A massive hand grabbed Chang from behind and plucked him out of the machine gun mount. The shock of the sudden assault strangled the man for a breath. Then he twisted around and caught sight of what held him.

He finally screamed.

Panicked, the driver leaped out of the jeep, only to take two well-placed rounds through the forehead from Chin.

The silverback ignored the blasts and lifted Chang’s struggling body to its mouth. It planted the man’s skull between its molars—then slowly clamped down with a sickening crunch of bone.

After Chang went limp, the silverback tossed the body into the shadows and lowered to a fist. It glared over the top of the jeep at their group.

Kowalski already had his rocket launcher loaded and positioned atop his shoulder, the sights fixed on that massive bulk. There was no escape this time. The silverback glowered at him, huffing, building up steam for a fight.

Bring it.

Then a shadow blocked Kowalski’s view. A furry hand rose and pulled the muzzle of his launcher down. Baako stood with his back to Kowalski, facing the giant.

The young gorilla rose as tall as he could. He signed to the other, pointing both fingers up, then toward the silverback.

[
Go
]

The silverback hunched lower on its one good arm. Blood pooled beneath its half-ton bulk. That dark gaze swept from the defiant stance of Baako to the lowered weapon.

Baako repeated his sign.

[
Go
]

The silverback grunted, sagging in exhaustion, then lumbered heavily around. It slowly limped back into the darkness.

No one moved, fearing it might return.

Finally Maria dashed forward and hugged Baako.

Kowalski remained wary. He didn’t know if the silverback had backed down because of its injuries, or from Baako’s sign of defiance, or because of the peaceful act of lowering the weapon.

Likely all of the above
.

No matter the reason, it appeared to be truly gone, disappearing into the shadows, perhaps to become some future urban legend, a monstrous yeti of Beijing’s underworld.

Kowalski passed Monk his launcher and crossed to Baako. He clapped the gorilla on the shoulder. “Look who’s the new alpha around these parts now.”

Baako swung an arm in good-natured play, but he ended up smacking Kowalski hard in the side.

“Ow! Watch those ribs.”

Baako lifted his brows high, worried he had truly done him harm.

Kowalski reassured him. “It’s okay. Remember we’re—” He formed the F sign with fingers and traced a circle.

[
Family
]

Baako nodded vigorously, chuffing his understanding. He looked from Maria, back to Kowalski—then tapped his thumb against his forehead, looking earnestly up at him.

[
Papa
]

“Hey, whoa there, buddy.” Kowalski backed a step. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”

26

May 6, 9:05
P
.
M
. EDT

Washington, D.C.

“
That’s the official story out of China?” Gray sat across the desk from Painter Crowe, the director of Sigma. “A gas leak?”

Painter tilted back in his chair, using both hands to comb his fingers through his hair. “That’s what you’ll hear on CNN and Fox News about the devastation at the Beijing Zoo. But no one’s fooled in the back channels. China is being allowed to save face in return for their cooperation in exposing any other operatives within the U.S. academic fields.”

“And you trust they’ll be thorough?”

“Of course not, but it’s a start at cleaning house. In addition, China has agreed to sign the moratorium against any further research into the engineering of the human genome.”

Gray raised a skeptical eyebrow.

Like signing a paper will stop them
.

Painter shrugged. “The genie is out of the bottle. All we can try to do is rein in such research as much as possible. Even the two Crandall sisters have discontinued their research using animal hybrid models.”

“What about the other asset that came out of China?” Gray asked.

“Gao Sun? Our current guest at a black-site detention center?”

Gray nodded. Monk’s team had returned with the soldier, to answer for his murder of an Emory University student at the primate center. With the chaos surrounding events at the zoo, no one was bothering to look for the soldier. The prisoner had been transferred to a covert facility, to serve out a life sentence.

“He’s fully cooperating,” Painter said. “Though he’s still not talking.”

Gray frowned, not understanding.

“I should say he’s still not
able
to talk. Kowalski clocked him good before they left China. Broke the man’s jaw and knocked out four front teeth. And that was only
one
punch. Monk pulled Kowalski off the guy before he could do any real damage. Still, Gao’s jaw was wired shut. He’ll be taking all of his meals through a straw for several weeks.”

The bastard deserved far worse
.

“And what’s the word from Ecuador?” Gray asked.

“Father Novak gained permission from the Vatican to take up residence at the Church of María Auxiliadora in Cuenca. He’ll be overseeing the archaeological excavation of the lost city. The boy Jembe is helping him coordinate with the local Shuar tribes. He remains optimistic that they’ll be able to recover significant artifacts.”

Gray nodded. It sounded like Roland was on his way to assuming the role of Father Crespi, while continuing to follow the footsteps of Athanasius Kircher.

“It’s a shame we lost both sets of Neanderthal hybrids’ remains,” Painter added. “We could have learned much from the DNA of those bones.”

Gray wasn’t so sure.

Maybe it was for the best
.

He pictured the massive sculpture of the moon suspended in the golden cavern. For the thousandth time, he wondered what had become of those ancient builders. Had they died off or had they found a new place to hide? Then again, maybe they had simply ventured forth and assimilated into the world at large, joining the rest of humanity on its journey into the future.

He considered the graves found in Croatia, the last remnant of those ancient Watchers on the European continent. Sigma may have failed to preserve those hybrid bones, but if Roland was successful, the discoveries out of Ecuador held the potential to alter our understanding of man’s place on this planet—and possibly beyond.

Gray ran through a handful of additional inquiries and questions with Painter, then headed home. He took the Metro, where he picked up his bicycle and sailed through the dark streets.

Overhead, the moon was no longer full, but the mysteries locked in its symmetries and dimensions still hung in the night sky, welcoming anyone to explore, to question, to look beyond the next horizon.

Gray reached his apartment complex and locked up his bike. He crossed the moonlit greensward to his front door, ready to set aside such mysteries for the night.

He opened the door and found the apartment empty and dark. For a panicked moment, he believed Seichan was gone. Lately he had sensed her unease in the quiet moments of their shared life, as if she wasn’t quite ready to accept it—or maybe believed she didn’t deserve it. She tried to hide such misgivings, thought perhaps she had fooled him, and he let her believe it.

Over time, he had grown to know her nature, respecting her hard upbringing, accepting her suspicions. In many ways, she was a feral creature, barely tamed, one that would not respond well to force or demand. So he simply let her have the space to work through the demons of her past, being there when she needed him and backing off when she didn’t.

He crossed the dark apartment, recognizing from the faint hint of warm candles that he was not alone after all.

He opened the master bath door to find Seichan draped in a steaming tub, her naked body barely hidden under a layer of bubbles. An iced bottle of champagne rested on the floor nearby, along with two crystal flutes. The only illumination came from a ring of tall candles.

He smiled, recognizing this scenario, remembering their time ensconced in a hotel room overlooking the Champs-Élysées.

Seichan lifted an eyebrow, as if reading his thoughts. “I believe we were rudely interrupted before.”

He began shedding his clothes, more than ready to be here for her now.

Who the hell needs Paris?

June 2, 10:05
A
.
M
. WAT

Republic of Congo

Kowalski slapped a fat fly off his forearm, certain it was carrying some exotic disease.

What’s taking so long?

He glared up at the morning sun as it beat down like a hammer into the jungle glade. On the other side of the green meadow spread a row of raised platform tents, their accommodations for the past three days as the group acclimated to the weather and the challenges ahead. They had arrived in this rift valley, nestled between volcanic peaks, for a particular introduction.

“How much longer?” Kowalski groused to the girls.

Lena and Maria knelt on either side of Baako, preparing him for his first day. The twin sisters doted on the young gorilla, as if about to send their child off to kindergarten. Then again, Baako wore the same exasperated, frightened, and excited face of a typical kindergartner.

Tango sat in the grass nearby, panting, tongue lolling. Maria had brought the Queensland pup to help ease Baako’s transition.

After events in China a month ago, Maria had decided to begin the process of releasing Baako into the wild, choosing the protected gorilla reserve of the Virunga National Park for his home. She and her sister planned on spending the next six months in the Congo, helping with his transition. They were supported by a team of local zoologists who were familiar with such matters and who were also doing the same for the group of chimpanzees rescued from the lab. Most of them were still too young, but they were being cared for until they were old enough to make that leap into the wild.

Kowalski had come along, too, using up two weeks of vacation. He also planned on visiting a few times while Maria remained here. He remembered last night, sitting on his tent’s veranda, watching the night skies glow from the lava pooled in the cone of Mount Nyiragongo to the north. They had shared cold beers and remained together until dawn—but not always on the veranda. The beds were surprisingly nice.

Yeah, I’ll be coming back
.

“Okay, I think we’re ready,” Maria said, straightening up with her hands on her hips. “Are you, Baako?”

The gorilla lifted both arms and clenched a pair of fists at his shoulder.

[
Brave
]

“I know you are,” Maria said.

She took him by the hand and guided him toward the forest’s edge, trailed by Tango. One of the local zoologists, Dr. Joseph Kyenge, waited in the shadows. Beyond him, the hulking forms of a small band of gorillas, maybe five or six, watched curiously from the fringes of the forest as their group approached.

A few hooted at them.

The plan was for the zoologist to help make some introductions. It was better that this was done by a stranger than either sister. It was the first step in breaking that bond so Baako could live free.

Kyenge dropped to a knee and offered encouragement. “Come, Baako, come.”

Maria let go of the young gorilla’s hand. Baako stood there a moment, then glanced back to Tango, chuffing toward his friend.

Maria spoke softly, while signing. “Baako, Tango can’t go with you. This isn’t his home.”

Baako looked to the forest, then retreated over to Kowalski, lifting both arms for a hug.

He dropped to his knees for a proper good-bye.

Baako nestled into his chest, making a soft, plaintive sound.

“Hey, bud, it’s going to be okay.” He ran a palm over the gorilla’s head, feeling the new growth of stubble from where he had been shaved, noting the healed scar there. “What’s wrong?”

Baako leaned back but continued to look down. He gave a sad shake of his head while thumbing his chin once, then repeated a one-handed version of his earlier sign.

[
Not brave
]

Kowalski felt his heart break a little. He took Baako by the shoulders and made him look at him. “You are the bravest kid I know,” he said, not bothering to sign, trusting Baako to understand well enough. He pointed to the gorillas in the jungle. “Any of them give you trouble, they’ll have to answer to me.”

Baako hugged him, pressing the top of his head into Kowalski’s chest. Though he trembled less, Baako remained unsure.

Kowalski dropped to his rear in the wet grass, keeping the next conversation private. He patted his chest and lifted his thumb to his forehead, fingers high.

[
I’m your papa
]

Baako’s brows lifted hopefully.

Kowalski placed a palm on Baako’s chest, then saluted the same hand down to an arm cradled at his belly, resting it there and staring hard at Baako.

[
You are my son
]

Baako’s eyes widened. Then he lunged hard into Kowalski, knocking him back, rolling with him in the grass, and aggravating the taped section of ribs.