Fugitive

Charlie knew that he was still alive because he amused Baptiste. The president brought him to parties, where he was frequently the foil of the dictator’s practical jokes. Sometimes Baptiste displayed his pet American on Batanga’s only television station or at banquets for visiting dignitaries from countries with anti-American policies. Most of the time Baptiste ignored Charlie, which was a good thing.

The route from the mansion to Charlie’s apartment led through the heart of Baptisteville. The shops were locked and shuttered for the night and the activity in the bars was winding down. Elderly watchmen sat on upturned wooden crates, guarding gated entrances for Lebanese merchants. Packs of emaciated feral dogs roaming the streets in search of food growled at the rare passerby. And there were the ever-present soldiers. Charlie knew that his white skin was no protection from the psychotic teenagers who formed Baptiste’s terror squads, but Charlie was not afraid of the soldiers, because he carried a presidential pass. Those who didn’t have a pass cut a wide swath around the young men toting automatic weapons, who were always unpredictable.

Charlie’s fear had not abated as he walked downhill toward Waterside. If anything, hurrying along the deserted streets made him more afraid. He imagined one of the black Mercedes favored by the secret police suddenly screeching to a halt beside him. Armed men would grab his arms, a black hood would be thrown over his head, and he’d be returned to the mansion to face whatever fate Baptiste held in store for him.

When he reached the bottom of the hill, Charlie heard the sea sweeping into shore behind the native market. The soothing sound accompanied him for another quarter-mile until he arrived at the Kamal S. Dean brick factory, which took up the ground floor of his three-story apartment building. Charlie walked through an arch at the side. As he climbed the partially enclosed stairway, the wind blew the salty smell of sea air at him and he could just make out the white foam on the crest of the waves that broke on the narrow beach below. Charlie was about to step onto the landing in front of his door when a man materialized out of the shadows. Charlie jumped back and threw up his hands to ward off a blow.

“It’s me, Pierre,” the man whispered. Pierre Girard, Bernadette’s brother, was wearing a tie-dyed dashiki and tan slacks. He was slender and bookish, with sad brown eyes magnified by the thick lenses of his tortoiseshell glasses.

Charlie collapsed with relief. “Oh, Pierre,” he said, his voice halfway between a sob and a sigh. “Have you heard?”

Bernadette’s brother nodded but his face showed no emotion.

“I’m so sorry,” Charlie said.

“There’s no time for sorrow. Baptiste knows you and Bernadette were lovers. He’s toying with you now but our president has a short attention span. When he tires of his head games he’ll send Nathan. You must leave Batanga.”

Pierre put a hand on Charlie’s shoulder. “Bernadette told me how kind you were to her. She loved you, Charlie.”

“Thank you for letting me know that.”

“There’s something else you should know. Bernadette wasn’t killed because she was cheating on Baptiste, although that must have made her pain more enjoyable for the bastard. She was tortured for information.”

“I don’t understand.”

“There are Batangans who want Baptiste dead or gone. She was helping us.”

Pierre squeezed Charlie’s shoulder. “Do you want to avenge my sister’s death?”

“Of course, but what can I do? I can barely help myself.”

“You know Rebecca, the bartender at the Mauna Loa?” Charlie nodded.

“She can put you in touch with a man who can get you out of the country. He is a mercenary and it will be expensive.”

Charlie knew that he would probably die a horrible death if he stayed in Batanga. Even if Baptiste let him live, the best he could hope for was a life of fear in which every breath he took was dependent on the whim of a sadistic, homicidal lunatic. If he returned to the States, he would have to stand trial for murder, but twelve years had passed. Could the state even mount a case after all this time? The bottom line for Charlie was that even if he was convicted he would be better off on death row than in Batanga. In Oregon, the condemned experienced a quick death by lethal injection. In Batanga, the president liked to hear you scream for as long as possible.

“I think I know a way to manage it,” he told Pierre.

“Good. When everything is in place Rebecca will get in touch with you and she will give you something to take with you that Bernadette entrusted to me.”

“What thing?” asked Charlie, who was naturally suspicious and terrified of being caught helping the rebels.

“Diamonds, Charlie, many diamonds. We need you to carry them to America. We will take them from you there and use them to buy weapons for our people.”

“I don’t know…”

“Did you love my sister?”

Charlie’s eyes misted and he nodded, too choked with emotion to speak.

“Then don’t let her death be in vain.”

Charlie looked past Pierre to the sea. The odds were that he’d be dead before he could help anyone, but if he survived he could finally do something worthwhile with his life by helping Pierre.

“All right, I’m in.”

Pierre smiled. “Bernadette knew we could count on you. Thank you, Charlie.”

They spoke for a few minutes more. Then Pierre embraced Charlie before slipping over the side of the building and rappelling to the beach down the rope he’d used to climb to the landing.

Charlie’s front door opened into a narrow hall flanked by a kitchen and bedroom on one side and a living room and the spare room he used as a study on the ocean side. He turned on a lamp that stood on a cheap wooden desk in his study. Luckily, there was electricity tonight. Charlie booted up his laptop and logged on to his e-mail provider. He assumed that the police would read any e-mail he sent, so he phrased this one carefully. It was addressed to Martha Brice, the editor in chief of World News, an ultraconservative magazine with a main office in New York.

“Dear Ms. Brice: My name is Charlie Marsh. You probably knew me as the Guru Gabriel Sun, author of the inspirational autobiography The Light Within You, an international best-seller. Twelve years ago I was framed for the murder of Congressman Arnold Pope Jr. and was forced to flee from the United States. Since leaving America, I have been living in the wonderful country of Batanga under the protection of its benevolent ruler, President Jean-Claude Baptiste. President Baptiste is a source of enlightenment and a true father to his people. The Western press has falsely labeled him a dictator. I have not given an interview in some time, but I wish to do so now to set the record straight about this courageous leader, who has been so unjustly maligned.

“I’ve seen you interviewed on TV and I’ve followed your career. I believe that the articles in World News present an unbiased view of world affairs. Would your excellent magazine be interested in sending a reporter to write an article that would tell the American people about the wonderful things President Baptiste is doing for the people of Batanga? If so, please contact me so we can arrange the details.”

Charlie read the e-mail twice before sending it. If Baptiste saw it he might hold off killing Charlie in the hope that the interview would be published. This would buy Charlie some time, and time was his most important ally. Time would give Charlie a chance to survive; a slim chance, but a chance nonetheless, and Charlie had always been a man who seized an opportunity when he saw it.

Charlie had drunk a lot at the banquet but the horror in the basement had sobered him. He doubted he could sleep, even though it was almost three in the morning. He poured a glass of scotch and carried it to his balcony, which was the best thing about his dingy apartment. Before sunset, he could watch the native fishermen surf the waves in their canoes as they brought their catch in to shore. After dark, the stars would shine bright in the African sky and he would gaze at the lights of ships anchored in the Freeport. During the rainy season he was presented with lightning storms that were as dramatic as a fireworks display.