stopped at the junction of the hallways, and I heard shouting.
“What?! You let him knock you out?!! When did this happen?!”
I could hear someone answering, but I couldn't make out the words.
“You thought you could stop him?! How many times have I told you not to think?! Next time call me immediately! You there! Summon the Lemming Patrol! Search the area! Bring him to me! Preferably dead! Go! Go! Go!”
With all the stealth at my command I peered around the corner, and the Colonel looked me right in the eyes.
“Aaaaggh!” he screamed, striding forcefully toward me and pointing an accusatory finger. “I'll kill you!!”
Normally I enjoy a good fight, but not with a madman. I turned to run, but Tokyo stopped me. He put himself between me and the Colonel, then did some crazy Ninja moves, running up one wall, across the ceiling, then down the other wall. The Colonel was distracted from his anger, and no doubt intimidated by this awesome display of ability. Tokyo jumped up into the air, somersaulted three times, spun around three times, then flicked the Colonel on the nose.
“Yeeeowww! My God that hurt!” shouted the Colonel, just before Tokyo knocked him out with a single kick to the jaw. The Colonel fell to the floor, and Tokyo then quickly dispatched the other six guards that were standing there. The Professor, Black Death and I then followed Tokyo down the hall and up the stairs.
We made it to the first floor of the building at the hilltop, and we could see moonlight through the windows. There was a door at the end of the hall, and the coast was clear, so we headed for the door, Tokyo still in the lead.
The night air was cool and refreshing, but we had no time to savor it. We circled the building until we found the road down the hill, and we began jogging to the bottom. After a couple of minutes jogging I heard something strange behind me. I stole a quick look back to see Colonel Caviar and the Lemming patrol. On their bicycles! And they were pedaling like men possessed.
I turned around just in time to avoid running into my friend the goat, and I ran around him. He gave me a challenging look as I circled him, but I had no time for a staring contest.
I struggled to catch up with my friends when I heard a crash behind me. Looking back, I saw that Colonel Caviar wasn't able to avoid the goat, and both he and the goat went sailing over the side of the hill. Dutifully, the Lemming Patrol followed.
My friends had also stopped to see the cause of the commotion, and we reflected for several seconds on the fleeting nature of life. Then we had a good laugh and continued our escape.
We made it safely to the bottom, passing bent bicycles and unconscious or injured people with each circuit around the hillside. When we passed the goat I was tempted to step on his hooves, but he was trapped under Colonel Caviar and his bicycle, and that seemed punishment enough.
Apparently the Russians had no more personnel to spare in pursuit of us, and we slipped unnoticed into the woods.
We couldn't call for an extraction by air, so we carefully made our way across country to Mongolia. Sometimes we had to disguise ourselves to avoid detection, and we passed ourselves off at various times as Yeti, as yaks, as Buddhist monks, as Vaudeville entertainers, and as Buddhist Vaudeville Yeti leading a very tiny circus yak.
Eventually we made it to Ulan Bator and caught a flight to Singapore, and from there back to Dallas.
Mission accomplished.
The Fantastic Adventures of Chuck Spunk: Russian Into Trouble Page 3