Ark Angel

easier by the fact that his hands were tied, but perhaps he could deal with that too.
    “How much time do we have?” he asked.
    “Not much. It gets light around six, and if you’re not out by then, I don’t think you’ll have much chance.”
    “Right.”
    Alex looped the lace over the wire between his wrists, then grabbed the dangling ends with his teeth. He pulled the lace tight and began to jerk his hands in a vague sawing motion. In less than a minute his wrists were free. He saw Tamara smile. Now he could begin work in earnest.
    The bars weren’t so easy. It took well over half an hour to make the first cut, and Alex was disappointed to discover that even after it had been severed near its base, the bar wouldn’t bend. He had to make a second cut—another half-hour’s work—before it finally fell to the floor with a clang. Alex cursed himself. If there were any guards upstairs, the noise would have alerted them. But he was lucky. Nobody came. It seemed that the two of them were on their own.
    Tamara hadn’t spoken while he was working but now she nodded at him. “Keep going!” she encouraged.
    “What time is it?”
    “I don’t know. They took my watch.”

    That was the worst of it. As Alex started on the second bar, he had no idea how much time had passed. All he knew was that he was worn out. He needed to sleep. And he had blisters on his thumbs, his fingers and the heels of his hands where they had rubbed together.
    The night dragged on. He sat hunched up in the cage, sawing back and forth. Tamara was watching him.
    The orang-utan had turned his back on both of them and seemed to be asleep.
    At last it was done. The third bar came loose, leaving enough space for Alex to slip through into the corridor. He went over to Tamara.
    “I’m going to get you out,” he said.
    “No, Alex.”
    “I can’t just leave you here.”
    Tamara shook her head. “You don’t have a lot of time. Get to Barbados. Find Ed.” She leant back. Although she was trying not to show it, Alex could see that she was in a lot of pain. “I’ll be all right,” she went on.
    “I’ve got Arthur to keep me company. Now go, before someone comes.”
    Alex knew she was right. He picked up one of the loose bars and climbed back up the stairs. Looking through the window, he was alarmed to see streaks of pink light stealing across the inky sky. It must be well after six o’clock, less than three hours to the launch.
    He went over to the door and opened it a crack. There was a guard sitting in a chair, wearing grey overalls and a cap. Alex smiled to himself. For once luck was on his side. The man was fast asleep. He gripped the metal bar more tightly. He had thought it might come in useful.
    Ten minutes later, dressed in the guard’s uniform and with the cap pulled down low over his forehead, Alex drove an electric buggy back towards the checkpoint. Without slowing down, he held out the guard’s ID, angling his arm so that it covered most of his face. He was prepared to crash through the gate if he had to, and he was relieved when it opened to let him pass. It seemed that security on Flamingo Bay needed a serious overhaul. But then again, he and Tamara were supposed to be locked up. The place was an island, ten miles away from the nearest land. What was there for Drevin or anyone else to worry about?
    The buggy was easy to drive, with only two pedals—accelerator and brake—and no gears. He put his foot down and sped through the rainforest, aware that the sky was getting lighter all the time. Drevin’s house and the far end of the island, Little Point, appeared in the distance. Alex turned the wheel and spun off the track, steering the buggy down between the palm trees towards the beach. It made it about halfway before it got stuck in the sand. That was good enough for Alex. He jumped out and ran down to the jetty.
    There were two canoes and a boat moored there—a Princess V55 motor cruiser. A canoe would be too slow.
    But the boat? It was a beautiful craft, very low in the water, its bow shaped like a knife, built for speed.
    Alex looked for the key in the ignition. Why not? One guard had been asleep. Another hadn’t even looked at him as he drove past. A third might have made the clumsiest mistake of all.
    But this time he was disappointed. There was no key. He searched all the cupboards and lockers in the main cabin, but there was nothing. Frustrated, Alex rested his hands on the. wheel and forced himself to think