MAD SCIENTIST [2]

It had seemed considerably more than an hour's walk before they had finally reached the "laboratory." What surprised Sam most about it was the way it appeared, with no prior warning. One minute they were tramping through thick jungle, hacking encroaching vegetation out of the way, and the next they had stopped at the edge of a clearing where a good half-acre or more of trees and bushes had simply been excised, as if by a devastatingly corrosive energy beam from a passing alien spacecraft.

The "laboratory" comprised a jumble of ugly grey prefab buildings surrounded on all sides by an unbroken, three-meter-tall security fence. Armed guards, dressed in black combat fatigues and black baseball caps despite the heat, patrolled the perimeter. Attached to each of the guard's baseball caps was a headset and microphone.

Concealed behind bushes at the clearing's edge, Mowen, Purna, Sam, and Logan spent a minute or so observing proceedings. Logan made a wry comment about the apparent friendliness – or lack of it – of the guards, but no one replied. Instead, Mowen raised a hand and whispered, "You wait here one moment."

"Why? What are you going to do?" asked Purna suspiciously.

"I talk to them," Mowen said and tapped his chest with the flat of his hand. "They know me."

Before anyone could respond, he stood up and walked out of the bushes. Immediately, half a dozen AK-47s swung up and around to cover him, but Mowen seemed unconcerned. He simply raised his hands and strolled forward, and after a few seconds, all but two of the guns were lowered. Purna, Sam, and Logan looked on as the guards silently watched Mowen approach. The trader walked right up to the fence and started talking to one of the two guards who still had his gun raised.

"What's he saying?" hissed Sam.

"I don't know," said Purna, clearly not liking the fact. "I can't hear."

The muttered conversation continued for maybe another thirty seconds, then the guard turned away, and they saw him speaking earnestly into his microphone. Eventually, he returned to Mowen to relay what instructions he had been given – whereupon Mowen turned and made a beckoning gesture.

"Come out," he shouted. "Is OK."

It was clear from Purna's face that she was not happy with the situation, but she stood up and walked out into the clearing.