The loud crack of the baton did not surprise Ed Rickman. The first blow across his back winded him, the second blow behind his knees felled him.

‘Eyes to the front’.

Being a prisoner of war was hell. However the brief backwards glance at the fine brick work, that formed the apartment block that he and the other prisoners had been responsible for filled him with pride. The whole top floor had been taken by the Russians top general Andrey Gerasim. Ed smiled quietly inside, the general was likely to get a nasty shock.

Yes the building looked smart, it did not flaunt its faults. The weakened mixes of mortar. The two hidden chambers placed carefully to do the most damage. Each filled with a homemade explosive mixture. But what Ed was most proud of was the connection that he had made. After one hundred clicks on the light switch for the antique chandelier that the general had insisted upon, and the whole building would implode. Ed was so pleased that the Russians had not realised  that he had been on secondment to the 18th engineer brigade, as a explosives specialist. Job done.