"Shhh. Someone is coming," he whispered.
The Space Brigade stepped away from the grille and fell silent.
They heard the sound of bars being rattled.
"Feeling hungry, are you, Gorgioskio?" said a rough voice.
"Well, yes, I am quite peckish," answered Georgio amiably.
"That's good, because I've got some nice crispy bacon, sizzling sausages, and fried eggs for your breakfast!"
"Sounds delicious!" said Georgio.
"Ha ha ha!That's what I'm having for breakfast. You know what you're having! Air!That should fill you up, eh? See ya, Gorgioskio!"
The voice trailed off. Georgio looked back up at them. "They've got quite a sense of humor, these Volcomanians," he said dryly.
"They're horrible!" said Shimlara. "We're going to get you and Mom and Squid out of there today!"
"That's very nice of you all, but as I said, we really need you to rescue all the prisoners," said Georgio. "We couldn't leave anyone behind! Do you know they've got the United Aunts in here? We're sharing a cell with them! When the intergalactic community hears about this, Volcomania is going to be the most unpopular planet in the galaxy."
"I don't care about the other prisoners!" Shimlara stamped her foot in frustration. "I only care about rescuing you!
"And how were you planning to do that?" said Georgio.
"We're pretending to be journalists from Earth," said Nicola. "We thought we'd act like we're doing a story on the prison camp and--what's that?"
Georgio was pushing a rolled-up piece of paper up through the bars of the grille. "You might want to look at this," he said.
Nicola took the piece of paper and unrolled it. It seemed to be some sort of notice or flyer. The others gathered around her to read it.
It said: WANTED! DEAD OR ALIVE! TWO MILLION GOLD BAR REWARD FOR CAPTURE!
A group of Earthlings, accompanied by one
Globagaskarian, are pretending to be journalists for the purposes of undermining Volcomania's sensible, necessary war on the hopeless Planet of
Whimsy. THEY ARE NOT JOURNALISTS.
They are, in fact, the infamous Space Brigade.
The Space Brigade is responsible for MANY
CRIMES, including:
The kidnapping of Globagaskar's dear little Princess Petronella.
Inciting a rebellion on the Planet of Shobble leading to the downfall of the kind, gentle commander in chief, Enrico Aloisio.
Since arriving on Volcomania, these hardened criminals have already been responsible for duping police and allowing evil war protesters to escape.
It is believed they have traveled to the Planet of
Whimsy to cause further trouble. If seen, they should be approached with caution and large weapons. Use any force necessary to contain them.
By personal order of Mrs. Mania
There was a grainy, black-and-white photo on the flyer. Someone in the Secret Service must have taken it when they were getting on the bus after Mrs. Mania had turned up.