The Sleeping Army Awakes

Part 50 Blast Blast & Tanks for the memory

There were further blasts from the building site but Pawel and Michal could see that the they were just part of the enabling work to flatten the land. The sight of small tanks firing small ballistics shells at prominences was disturbing but it was clear that they weren't part of an invasion because they were painted in lurid yellow with black stripes.

"The admiral was right! Those machines are in Zeli Corporation colours!" Pawel said. "Typical of Zeli Corporation to destroy countryside."

"Does pig break wind strumpet?" Michal replied, "Zeli Corporation destroys anything nice because it has to. It's like we escaped from frying pan and stepped into volcano and now we are roasting like wild boars! This place must be crawling with security."

"No they will just have few guards!" Pawel said nonchalantly, giving his brother one of his looks."Simply you have no bravocity!" he chided.

"Bravocity is not even real word." Michal said. "You know is possible you have too much courage even for both of us!"

Michal saw intense jeopardy and the possibility of a swift and summary death ahead for them; Pawel saw an opportunity to settle some old scores with the Zeli Corporation and get some of their people to safety in the same stroke.

"Simply they have trucks down there. Perhaps..." Pawel said.

"Simply don't even finish sentence you strumpet!" Michal said, "I know what is in your mind. If it can be described as mind."

"I wasn't going to steal one." Pawel said in a hurt tone.

"No?" Michal asked incredulously because that seemed out of character for his brother. "Well that is relief you strumpet."

"No! Not steal exactly," Pawel explained, "Simply just borrow truck one tiny little bit... for few minutes. They will never notice truck gone!"

"Like all the food that you 'borrowed' that got us fired over and almost got us shot." Michal said despondently.

"I must admit that it is one tiny little bit similar strumpet!" Pawel said. "So what? I like to live dangerously."

"I live dangerously just by being your brother!" Michal said acidly.

It was not unusual for Michal to be less than enthusiastic about Pawel's plans. They had been forced to leave what Michal viewed as a cushy number at the camp and it had only been a few kilometres from their village. As he saw it, Pawel constantly got the pair of them in trouble and it was always left to him, as the sensible one of the two, to get them out of it again.

"I need to eat." Pawel laughed, "Planning makes me so hungry."

"Let's face it Pawel everything makes you hungry you strumpet. Your last words will be has any one got anything to eat?" Michal responded, "you always did eat like a pig at trough.

"I have healthy appetite!" Pawel defended.

"Do you know what I want?" Michal asked.

"What do you want?" Pawel asked.

"Mostly!" Michal said. "what I need is another pair of clean underpants after that hearing about your latest planned fiasco."

"Come on don't be nasty. I'm feeling hungry already!" Pawel said. "I could eat that meal all over again."

"OK!" Michal said, relieved that they were going to eat next rather than steal a vehicle but his relief was short lived.

"But I want to try out these guns first!" Pawel said.

"Strumpet! I want to try out these guns first," Michal mimicked, "You ought to listen to yourself sometime."

But Pawel had already taken one of the guns and had released the safety catch, setting it for single shot firing. He aimed the gun at one of the small tanks levelling the ground and fired a shot. The bullet seared through the air and hit the tank smashing one of its amber lights.