FLASH MESSAGETOP SECRET ULTRANSA TO DEPUTYDIRECTOR HRQEYES ONLYCOPYONE OF (ONE) COPIESSUBJECT: OPERATION DOOMSDAY10. LASLO BUSHFEKETE – SOPRONEND OF MESSAGEThey arrived in the middle of the night when the carnival was shut down. They left fifteen minutes later, as silently as they had come.Laslo Bushfekete dreamed he was standing at the entrance to the large white tent, watching the huge crowd lined up at the box office to buy their 500-forint tickets. Come right this way, folks. See the genuine body part of an alien from outer space. Not a drawing, not a photograph, but an actual part of an actual ET. Only 500 forints for the thrill of a lifetime, a sight you will never forget. And then he was in bed with Marika, and they were both naked, and he could feel her nipples pressing against his chest and her tongue slithering across his body and she was crawling all over him, and he got an erection, and he reached for her and his hands closed over something cold and slimy, and h

The building was old and unprepossessing, a relic of better days. Robert had visited it many times before, on various missions. He walked down three basement steps and knocked on the door. An eye appeared at the peephole, and a moment later the door was flung open.“Roberto!” a man exclaimed. He threw his arms around Robert. “How are you, mio amico?”The speaker was a fat man in his sixties with white, unshaven stubble, thick eyebrows, yellowed teeth and several chins. He closed the door behind him and locked it.“I’m fine, Ricco.”Ricco had no second name. For a man like me, he liked to boast, one name is enough. Like Garbo. “What can I do for you today, my friend?”“I’m working on a case,” Robert said, “and I’m in a hurry. Can you fix me up with a passport?”Ricco smiled. “Is the Pope Catholic?” He waddled over to a cabinet in the corner and unlocked it. “What country would you like to be from?” Hepulled out a handful of passports with different-coloured covers, and sorted through

Day SixteenRome, ItalyRobert placed a call to Colonel Cesar from a phone booth in the Piazza del Duomo. “Whatever happened to friendship?” Robert asked.“Don’t be naive, my friend. I’m under orders, just as you are. I can assure you, there is no use in your running. You’re at the head of everyintelligence agency’s most wanted list. Half the governments of the world are looking for you.”“Do you believe I’m a traitor?”Cesar sighed. “It doesn’t matter what I believe, Robert. This is nothing personal. I have my orders.”“To take me out.”“You can make it easier by turning yourself in.”“Thanks, paesano. If I need more advice, I’ll call Dear Abby.” He slammed down the receiver.Robert was aware that the longer he was at large, the greater the danger he was in. There would be security agents closing in on him from half adozen countries.There has to be a tree, Robert thought. The line came from a legend about a hunter who was relating an experience he had on safari. “This hugelion wa

Robert listened to the phone ring again and again. It was six a.m. in Washington. I’m always waking the old man up, Robert thought.The Admiral answered on the sixth ring. “Hello …”“Admiral, I…”“Robert! What …?”“Don’t say anything. Your phone is probably bugged. I’m going to make this fast. I just wanted to tell you not to believe anything they’re saying aboutme. I’d like you to try to find out what’s going on. Imay need your help later.”“Of course. Anything I can do, Robert.”“I know.”“I’ll call you later.”Robert replaced the receiver. No time for a trace. He saw a blue Fiat pull up outside the bar. Pier was at the wheel.“Move over,” Robert said. “I’ll drive.”Pier made room for him as he slid in behind the wheel.“Are we on our way to Venice?” Pier asked.“Uh huh. We have a couple of stops to make first.” It was time to spread some more chaff around. He turned onto Viale Rossini. Ahead was theRossini Travel Service. Robert pulled over to the kerb. “I’ll be back in a minute.

She wandered down the broad boulevard, barely conscious of where she was going. How many days had it been since the terrible crash? She hadlost count. She was so tired that it was difficult for her to concentrate. She desperately needed water; not the polluted water that the Earthlingsdrank, but fresh, clear rain water. She needed the pure fluid to revive her life essence, to gain the strength to find the crystal. She was dying.She staggered and bumped into a man.“Hey! Watch where …” The American salesman took a closer look at her and smiled. “Hi, there. Imagine bumping into you like this!” What a doll.“Yes, I can imagine that.”“Where are you from, honey?”“The seventh sun of the Pleiades.”He laughed. “I like a gal with a sense of humour. Where you headed?”She shook her head. “I do not know. I am a stranger here.”Jesus, I think I’m on to something. “Have you had dinner?”“No. I cannot eat your food.”I’ve got a real weirdo here. But a beauty. “Where are you staying?”“I am no