“That’s okay, Dee,” Caesare winked. “We know what it’s like to be scared.”
She smiled and nodded, appreciatively. “There’s a bit more to it, I’m afraid. Rwanda terrifies me. That much is true. But there’s something else too.” She sighed and glanced at Dulce, who was still peering out the window. “I’m not sure if this is something you realized, but I, uh… can’t have children.”
She watched both men’s expressions soften.
“I’ve always wanted to, but I can’t.” She paused. “I tried to adopt when I was younger. A little girl, from Indonesia. But at the last minute, things fell through.” DeeAnn tried to force a smile. “I was… kind of devastated.”
Clay and Caesare remained quiet.
“I know it probably sounds a little silly, but when I found Dulce, when I rescued her, I think it helped me. It helped heal part of that wound.”
Clay shook his head. “Doesn’t sound silly at all.”
DeeAnn smiled again and actually laughed. “But I didn’t expect to completely fall in love with her.” She turned back to both the men. “You know, young gorillas are similar to young children. Developmentally. And… I think Dulce not only helped heal me, but I think she actually filled that void — the longing I’ve had to be a mother.”
Caesare smiled warmly. “You are her mother, Dee.”
“I know.” She nodded again and blinked small tears away. “Which is the biggest reason why I didn’t want to come to Rwanda.”
Clay frowned. “You’re afraid that once back in the open, Dulce will want to stay.”
“Yes,” DeeAnn replied. She was struggling to speak. “Or worse. But yes, what if she doesn’t want to come back? What if she doesn’t want to stay with me?” Tears returned to her eyes. “I was afraid of the same thing when we went to South America, and there are no gorillas there. But this is Africa.”
The men searched for something to say, but they had no words. All Caesare could think to do was to lean forward and place a hand gently on her knee.
As the aircraft slowed and turned off the runway, the two crewmembers returned from the rear of the plane, through an aisle running between two sides of secured cargo. Each man held on to an overhead rail.
“Everyone okay?” Murphy asked, raising his voice over the engines.
DeeAnn shot the men an anxious glance but said nothing.
“Peachy,” Caesare replied. “Where’s the continental breakfast?”
Murphy smiled. “I’ll see if I can find you some pretzels.” He glanced at his colleague behind him and continued. “As I’m sure you might guess, this is a rather unusual delivery. All the other animals we transport are usually crated. We do have several cages in the back, but it’s up to you on how you’d like to deplane.”
Clay and Caesare both turned to DeeAnn. This was the hard part. Their “cover” in Africa was that they were a group of researchers transporting their primates to a research center in the Gishwati National Park. Which meant it would look out of place if both animals were not caged. And the last thing they wanted here was undue attention. But getting them into the cages willingly was not going to be easy.
“We’re probably going to need a little time on this one,” DeeAnn said to Murphy, quickly pulling herself together.
“Understood,” he nodded. “Would you like us to bring the cages forward or leave them in the back?”
“Best to leave them, I think. This will need to be done gently.”
“Very well. We’ll give you some space then and check in with customs. If there is anything we can do to help, just shout.”
“Thank you.”
Clay and Caesare stood up, shaking hands with both men. “Thanks, fellas. Really appreciate the help.”
“Any time,” Murphy said, with a wink. “It’s always fun to do a little clandestine work. Good luck with whatever you’re working on.”
They watched both crewmen continue to the front and open the door to the cockpit before Caesare leaned closer to Clay.
“Well, I guess we’ve got to kill them now.”
Clay shrugged, then deadpanned, “It’s a shame.”
From the seat across the aisle, DeeAnn rolled her eyes. “Do you two ever stop?”
“She’s starting to sound like Langford.”
With a playful grin, Clay stepped forward to help DeeAnn unbuckle Dulce and Dexter. The former jumped into her lap and wrapped her lanky arms around DeeAnn’s shoulders.
Dexter climbed up and quietly peered out Dulce’s window, studying the objects moving past.
“What’s the plan for getting them into the cages, Dee?”
She grinned at Caesare. “I’m going to need your help.”
61
DeeAnn’s plan was simple, and so far, effective. Trusting Caesare, and taking it slow, both Dulce and Dexter reluctantly agreed to be placed inside for a short time — as long as their cages were not locked.
Now, lifted out of the plane and placed on the back of a waiting open-top Jeep, the chrome-colored bars of both cages reflected brightly under Rwanda’s bright morning sun.
Located just a few degrees below the equator, the Rwandan climate was surprisingly comfortable, given the country’s high elevation. With green, lush mountains and plenty of rainfall, the natural beauty of the small country presented a stark contrast to the incredible atrocities it sheltered.
Kigali, the capital, was the epicenter of the country’s civil war, erupting in the 1990s. Even more horrifying was the “Rwandan Genocide” that witnessed the mass slaughter of nearly one million Rwandan Tutsis in only 100 days, by the Hutu majority government. The event, following the Burundian president’s airplane being shot down, resulted in the extermination of seventy percent of native Tutsi.
The damage to Kigali was repaired, but the sheer barbarism and enormity of the event was a stunning reflection for the rest of the world. And perhaps the greatest historical disparagement considering that the travesty took place in the very birthplace of humankind.
For decades, anthropologists and scholars around the world would question just how far the nature of mankind had truly come.
And while Rwanda had grown somewhat from the horror of it all, the structure of the government, the bias in the political and racial divisions, and the power of the country’s individualized militias were as prominent as ever.
Deep rifts within a tiny, violent country was still largely hidden from public view.
For the moment, Dulce stared anxiously from her cage, studying the bars with an unmistakable look of doubt. Her big eyes blinked and slowly peered back up at DeeAnn, standing beside the vehicle.
Me no like.
Next to her, in a second smaller cage, Dexter said nothing. Instead, he merely fingered the door, pushing it open and closed again — testing it over and over, making sure it didn’t lock.
“I’m sorry,” DeeAnn said. “But it’s very important you stay in the cage. For a little while.”
Something in her reply didn’t translate correctly, but Dulce seemed to understand, though she remained unhappy. She turned and motioned to Dexter, communication which the vest could not pick up.
Steve Caesare stood on the other side of the Jeep, lifting their bags onto the extended rear carriage rack.
“It shouldn’t be long. We should be out of the city within an hour.” He hefted the last bag into place and looked at DeeAnn while snaking a rope over the top. “After that, we’ll be remote enough that having them out won’t seem all that odd.”
“Are you sure?”
Caesare grinned. “Trust me, people in Africa are used to seeing some strange things. A couple primates in a Jeep will look less odd than you think.”