The courtyard suddenly lit up, and Number 3 came out of the house and climbed in behind the wheel of his coupé. Yves loaded a cartridge into his rifle and took aim at the bottles of Coke. The gate opened and as the coupé emerged, the first bottle exploded just level with the driver. Yves reloaded and aimed at the second bottle on the other side. The car continued to advance. Yves fired at those in the gutter, which tore apart the Mercedes’ two front tyres. Number 3 went into reverse, to take refuge from the explosions. He was trying in vain to close the gate with his remote control, but it was stuck. He jumped out with a g*n in his hand and crouched down for shelter behind his car-boot, in firing position. But the bright lights in the courtyard prevented him from seeing anything beyond the
