Challenge #02061-E237: Escape the Camp
(Person 1): "What did you get in your care package from home?"
(Person 2, happily): "Military-grade explosives!" -- TheDragonsFlame
The weatherproof box said 'Plasticine' and contained some ridiculously disproportionate cartoon characters on it. Inside were wax-paper wrapped blocks of brightly-coloured stuff that one might expect to be plasticine. But, to a non-casual observer, it wasn't... quite... plasticine.
It was amazing that the guards let it past, to be honest. But then again, Monty and the boys had been spending months on putting the goons to sleep with the sheer monotony of their "good behaviour". They probably didn't even bother looking beyond the wax paper. Just like they didn't know about the maps that came in via playing cards or the more elaborate ones concealed in board games. Or any number of little treasures that they hid in any number of places.
That's what they got for putting "all the bad eggs in one basket." They got the most devious, devilish, and determined escapologists tying up enemy resources. People who could make a pair of wire cutters out of an empty bully beef tin and have three escape plans before the goons finished ushering them into the camp. Bad eggs like them could keep the enemy scrambling for some significant time with this stuff.
Gary ran careful fingers over the multitude of colours. "This has got to become something special," he whispered. "An ounce of this, a bit of clockwork..."
"Easter Surprise?" said Monty.
"We'd have to get out first, to do some real damage," sighed Jeff. "The goons realised it's a bad idea to let us near the serious equipment."
"Too bad that Easter's a full moon. If we could get out without the light... We could slap Gerry's collective arses and be off to France before they could blink."
"Clockwork's good for a day. We could do 'Lost Ball' and hide our little surprise inside it. Save the 'Easter Eggs' for later."
"Have to be bally accurate with that throw. Right under one of the guard post legs. Close enough to kiss it."
"That'd be Hamish. Man has a forensic accuracy with a cricket ball."
"I was thinking softball," said Gary. "We can use a proper alarm clock for the fuse, get a day and a half out of it. Maybe two."
"Softball would blow the bally leg clean off. Maybe two of 'em." Monty considered this. "I like it."
"We'd have to be ready to scatter like roaches the instant it goes. We'd need three months for the papers."
"Thirty minutes before they get guns on the rest of the camp," said Jeff. "That's two squads. Maybe three."
"We'll send off the most dire cases first. Give them the best chance," said Monty. "If we get them out on the downhill slope, they'll cover more ground."
"South. South," mused Jeff, checking the maps. "Bally good shot, South. There's so many roads and byways the chaps could run just about anywhere. Good show."
"It does mean we'd only have half of this lot for the Easter Eggs."
"How many can you do?"
"Forty." Garry shrugged. "Sixty if I make little ones."
"Two each for the first squad, they have the best chance. One each for squad two. And every other man in squad three gets one and orders to toss it to a pal if he gets caught."
Nods all around. They had another plan. One that would gum up the German military machine for the better part of a year.
[Image (c) Can Stock Photo / cozyta]
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