was all he managed to shout before the closest of the three, in very broken English, ordered him to stop. In response, he unhooked a stun grenade from his belt and turning to his companions yelled âFlashbang!â
The two immediately closed their eyes and covered their ears. A blinding flash of light, followed by a loud bang, shattered the quiet of the night. The three assailants, taken by surprise by the big guyâs move, were momentarily stunned by the explosion and the blinding flash from the grenade prevented them from seeing the three Americans as, with a burst worthy of a hundred-metre finish, they fled in the direction of their car.
"Fire," shouted the leader of the aggressors.
There was a burst of AK-47 in the fugitivesâ direction but, as the effect of the flashbang had not yet vanished, it was lost high above their heads.
"Come on," cried the thin guy, taking his Beretta M9 out of the holster under his armpit and responding to the fire.
As he ran, the big guy had succeeded in removing the vehicleâs remote control from his jacket pocket and opening the rear tailgate. With an agile leap he threw himself inside it and grabbing one of the M-16 rifles that he always carried with him threw it to the General. He grabbed an FN P90 machine gun for himself and began firing in the direction of the assailants.
"Come on," he screamed at the thin guy who, keeping his head down, went straight towards the driverâs door. While his two friends covered him he climbed into the car. Another burst, from behind him, left a series of untidy holes in the sheet metal wall of the hut in front of him.
Meanwhile, the three aggressors who had gone around the back, emerged from the restaurantâs main door and joined their comrades in firing. Their aim was decidedly better. A bullet hit the left-hand rear-view mirror that splintered into a thousand pieces.
"Dammit," exclaimed the thin guy while, instinctively lowering his head, he tried to start the car.
âGeneral, get in," cried the fat guy while firing off another burst in the direction of the assailants.
With the agility of a youngster, Campbell threw himself onto the back seat just as a bullet flew perilously close to his left leg and lodged itself in the open door. With a quick movement, he unhooked the back seat and managed to get into the luggage area. He immediately noticed a series of grenades arranged in a row inside a polystyrene container. Without stopping to think, he grabbed one and, after pulling out the fuse, hurled it in the direction of the assailants.
âGrenade!â he yelled and flattened himself on the seat.
While a new burst of AK-47 firing broke the rear window and destroyed the right-hand side rear light, the hand grenade rolled quietly into the middle of the little group of aggressors who, aware of the impending danger, flung themselves on the ground flattening themselves as much as possible. The grenade exploded with a deafening noise and a blinding glare ripped through the darkness of the night.
The big guy, taking advantage of the Generalâs surprise move, ran to the passenger side, jumped on board and, with one leg still poking out, shouted âGo, go.â
The thin man floored his foot on the accelerator and the car, with a huge squeal of tyres, leapt forward right in the direction of the old door of the abandoned hut. The mass of the vehicle launched at speed easily had the better of the rusty sheet metal of the panel, which fell heavily inwards. The car continued its mad race destroying everything in its path. Old earthenware pots, crates of rotten wood, chairs and even two old light fittings were swept up and thrown into the air, kicking up a huge cloud of sand and debris. The skinny guy driving tried to avoid as many things as possible, using the full weight of his body to turn the steering wheel left and right but, despite all his efforts, he wasnât able to avoid the central column in half rotten wood which was holding up the roof, breaking it clean off. The hut shook, creaked, and then, as if an enormous weight had fallen on its roof, literally crumpled up on itself. This all happened exactly at the same time as the three, having also broken down the back wall, flew out of the old workshop, followed by a deafening roar and a huge dark cloud. The car, out of control by now, crashed into a pile of rubbish that had been left at the side of the road and finally came to a halt.
"Bloody hell," said the General, who had already repeatedly banged his head on the armrest of the car door. âWho taught you to drive like that?"
In response, the skinny guy pressed his foot flat on the accelerator again and tried to find a way through all the junk. Various coloured rags were caught up between the wheels and an old television was left hanging off the rear bumper. He had to navigate around all the litter for quite a while before finally reaching the side of the road. With a dull thud the car crossed over the low pavement and the three found themselves back on the main road heading East.
"Who the heck were they?" asked the big guy as he eased himself into the seat and tried to close the door.
âAsk your little friend the restaurant owner,â snapped the thin one.
"If I get hold of him again Iâll make him swallow all his cutlery, ladles included.â
âWell what can you expect my friend? You should know by now that you can't trust anyone here." And as he turned into a side road on the right he added, âAt least we managed to eat something.â
The dark car set off, roaring into the darkness of the night, but leaving an unusual trail of unidentified liquid in its wake.
Theos spacecraft - The President
"But where do you get the energy to create such a powerful forcefield?" asked the Colonel intrigued, as he carefully observed the candle holder that had just been created.
"Energy is everywhere, in every place in the universe," answered Azakis. âEverything that composes it is made of matter and matter is nothing more than a form of energy and vice versa. Even living beings are nothing more than simple forms of energy and matter.â
"Weâre made of the same substance as the stars,â whispered Elisa enraptured, remembering an old quote from someone, whose name she could not recall at that precise time.
"I agree with that, but from here to being able to harness it like this is a big jump forward," said the Colonel.
He was about to ask for further enlightenment when a blues tune, from his mobile, interrupted him.
"Now who the heckâs that?" he said aloud while reading the callerâs name "Camp Adder â prison."
âColonel Hudson,â he answered curtly into the microphone.
"Colonel, finally."
Jack immediately recognised the loud voice of the coloured sergeant who had accompanied him on many missions. "Sergeant, what is it?â
"I've been looking for you for hours. "Where are you?"
"Um, let's say I'm ârunning around like a whirlwindâ. Anyway, tell me Sergeant, what's the problem?"
"I just wanted to inform you that your request to transfer the General has been carried out without any problems."
âRequest to transfer the General? "What the devil are you talking
