| Meanwhile, back on Managua...
Fred stared at the Golem as it spoke excitedly into the metal box it held. He did not understand what it was talking about but he could tell that something had gone drastically wrong. Fred glanced at Synizn. The werebear had been brought to Managua by the Golem. They said that he had freed himself from another of Minestus' island prisons. Synizn was a powerful mage and would be able to help in the battle against Minestus. Perhaps, Fred thought, the werebear knew what was happening. Synizn noticed Fred's inquiring look, but he only shrugged his shoulders. The dragon-spy had no idea what was going on. Anxiety building, Carradene stepped forward and addressed the Golem. "What is the matter puppet-man? Do the Lizard Men make war upon your masters?" The Golem put the radio down and took a deep breath. "Not exactly, wolf-man." "Then what is it that your magic box tells you? You do not seem very happy about it," Fred said. "The Enemy, the Lizard Men as you call them, they've decided to leave your world," the Golem answered. "That is a good thing!" Loam said with joy. "Well yeah, but you see they've also decided to make sure that we can't use any of the installations they've already set up," the Golem continued. Fred was glad to hear this, he had become just as wary of the Golem as Carradene had been from the start. He was beginning to fear that the Golem were just going to use the Pack as fodder in their war with the Lizard Men. And that was not something he could allow to happen. But now it seemed that their war was over. Atleast on this world. The Lizard Men had left, and so what more could the Golem want here? If the installations were destroyed then there would be even less reason for the Golem to stay. The Golem looked at the sea of anxious and suspicious faces that stared back at him. "Hey guys, I know what you're thinking," it said. "You'd be just as happy to see us gone as the Lizard Men. Well have no fear, you're going to get what you want. The Phage is too much of a threat, it complicates our efforts here on your planet. Even if the Enemy weren't destroying their own bases, there is nothing here to keep us on your world. The Alliance has no intention of staying." "So what is the problem?" Loam asked. "You obviously don't get it," the Golem shook its head. "The Enemy has a command base fifty miles north of Panaras. At this very moment a thermonuclear warhead is heading straight for that base." Fred and the others looked at each other. They did not know what a thermonuclear
warhead was or why a battle waged nearly a hundred miles from Managua should
threaten them. "Listen people," the Golem said sympathetically, "I'm sorry
to tell you this, but you have less than two minutes to live. Gotta go
now. Have a nice day." And with that the golem body fell to the ground
like a puppet whose strings had been cut.
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