The white van rolled at low speed, skirting the low-lying palace grounds. Two Haitian men occupied the van, one staring through binoculars up at the palace itself.
“They’re inside the palace building now,” the one with binoculars said. The driver turned right, onto the dirt switchback that led up the hill. A cacophony of groaning and thumping could be heard emanating from the rear cargo hold. The individual in the passenger seat banged his binoculars on the divider walling off the cargo space. “Quiet down back there.”
The van crested the top of the hill and rolled to a stop next to the palace itself. The passenger again scanned the surroundings, including into the building through open archways, using the optics.
“These clowns have got nothing. They’re wandering around in there.”
“So we don’t need them.” The driver rolled the van even closer to the palace wall.
The passenger shook his head. “No way. Let’s see how they fare against our friends.”
The driver nodded and quietly opened his door. “I’ll open the back doors and let them out. Should be fun!”
Chapter 20
Fabi smiled as she eyeballed the computer program open on the monitor before her. It was the same one she had designed, and the familiar software made her feel more at home in her new work environment. Not that she felt uncomfortable or out of place so far — she had found the employees to be warm and welcoming, and it seemed like she would fit right in here. Not only that, but she shared an office with a co-worker with whom she got along well.
Cassandra Damas was a city girl, born and raised in Port Au Prince, relocating to the Cap-Hatien area as an adult. Fabi judged her to be in her mid-thirties. The mahogany-skinned young woman sported a medium afro and favored big hoop earrings and statement necklaces. She had worked for this clinic of Dr. Avila’s for several years, and throughout the day so far had filled Fabi in on everything from office gossip to work procedures to where were the best places to go for lunch. Now, comfortable that they were on friendly terms, and as they both sat at computers fine-tuning the new database system, they were comparing notes when Dr. Avila appeared at the open doorway.
“Good afternoon, ladies! Fabi, I trust you are finding your way around okay on your first day?”
Fabi wheeled around on her chair and smiled at her boss. “You bet, Dr. Avila. Cassandra here’s been a tremendous help.”
Avila beamed. “Excellent. Well, I don’t want to keep you two from your good work. Just wanted to check in and welcome you personally to our Cap-Hatien clinic, Fabi. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. Carry on!”
Avila left and she and Cassandra resumed discussing the work issue they had been focusing on before he showed up. Once they had worked through it, Fabi took advantage of a lull in the work to ask Cassandra about Avila. “Does he stop by a lot, or only on someone’s first day?”
Cassandra raised her eyebrows. “He’s here a lot. Especially lately, he’s really been burning the midnight oil. I go home normal hours, you know, four or five, and he’s always still here when I leave. And when I get here in the morning, eight or so, he’s already been up and running for some time.”
“Not always easy being the boss, right?”
Cassandra shrugged. “I guess not. Not like I would know,” she finished with a laugh.
On a whim, Fabi decided to broach a different topic with Cassandra. She looked over at the woman. “Hey, can I ask you something that might seem a little strange?”
Cassandra took on an amused look and said, “No honey, I don’t go that way, if that’s it.”
“Seriously, that’s not it. It’s about…” She lowered her voice and looked behind them to make sure no one was within earshot. “Zombii. I’ve heard there have been attacks recently in Cap-Hatien. Is that true?”
Cassandra shifted in her seat and pursed her lips. She stabbed at a couple of computer keys and then swiveled to look Fabi in the eyes. “Yes. But no one is taking it seriously.” She emphasized the last word with a Creole sing-song lilt.
“There is no actual evidence?”
“Well, no hard evidence yet, as far as I know, but I do know that the zombii reports coincide with the disappearances of people I have personally seen — patients here at this clinic. And then there’s…”
Cassandra cut off the conversation at the sound of approaching footsteps. Two people passed by without lingering, but Cassandra didn’t take up the topic again, returning instead to her work, where she concentrated on the screen. Fabi couldn’t help but wonder what was going on that made her coworker so uncomfortable. She was highly rational in all other respects, but the subject of zombii at Cap-Hatien seemed to have unnerved her completely.
Fabi turned back to her own computer and forced herself to concentrate on her work.
Chapter 21
Maddock had given up on tracing a tiny crack in the wall when he noticed Bones had frozen, standing stock still. He knew the man possessed an excellent sixth sense of sorts, and during their days in the SEALs, he was often the first to detect an enemy presence.
“What is it, Bones?”
No sooner had he completed the question than they heard the rumble of a vehicle approaching.
Willis headed for the rope. “We’re fish in a barrel if we stay here.” He made his way up the rope and then helped Bones and Maddock climb out.
“Now what?” Bones pointed to a large group of people heading their way. The vehicle had departed.
Maddock eyeballed the throng. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but something about the way they moved just wasn’t right. They stared straight ahead, their movements not quite robotic, but lacking the natural ease with which a person might normally stroll or even walk. The assemblage of persons reached their location at the edge of the fort. Maddock called out to them a few times in English as well as limited French, but none of the people had a vocal response other than incoherent wheezing and indistinct moans.
Suddenly one of the individuals rushed forward with surprising speed toward Bones, who sidestepped him and clocked his assailant square on the chin. It was a blow that would have knocked out any rowdy drunkard at Crazy Charlie’s Saloon, but this man seemed to be barely fazed.
“Now we run!” Maddock pointed off to their right and took off at a sprint. Bones and Willis were right on his heels. They flew over uneven rock formations and clumps of dirt until they reached the palace’s perimeter wall. Maddock led them to a break in the structure and paused there to gauge the progress of their pursuers — still coming, and fast.
“Let’s go, this should act as a bottleneck for them.” Maddock slipped through the break in the wall, again followed by Bones and Wills.
Their pursuit didn’t delay much, rapidly pouring through the gap. Others appeared on either side, preventing Maddock and the others from doubling back to their vehicle. The trio ran directly uphill, often skipping the switchback trail in favor of climbing straight up.
“Up there!” Maddock shouted. Lungs burning, muscles screaming, he led the way up to a massive building — much larger and more intact than Sans Souci palace. He knew from his research that it was called the Citadelle Laferrière, another popular tourist destination. Cut off from any other escape route, the three had been forced to retreat uphill. Several times they’d tried to evade their pursuers and work their way back downhill to their waiting vehicle, but to no avail. They were hemmed in, choked off by natural landforms and nearly encircled by the line of pursuit. Maddock estimated they’d covered nearly five kilometers. Thankfully all were in excellent shape, because their pursuers had dogged their trail, not flagging for an instant. Maddock and the others had managed to widen the distance between themselves and the pursuit, but it was only a matter of time before they ran out of steam.