Doctor Who_ All-Consuming Fire - Andy Lane [80]
'How petty. I offer a bountiful land of opportunities: new spices, new sources of power, whole continents to colonize, and what do you greet my beneficence with? A handful of minor grievances. There are no laws in this new land, Mr Holmes. You cannot touch me there. I will be king. I will be God'
His gaze moved on to Lord Roxton.
'And you, big game hunter and peer of the realm. What pitiful excuses do you offer?'
Roxton joined Holmes and the Doctor, standing proud before the dais.
'You talk of openin' up this alien world for the greater good of Britain. As a representative of the Queen, I repudiate your claims. The Empire is based upon fairness and incorruptibility. We will not have men of your ilk sourin'
our reputation.'
'You claim to speak for Britain?' Maupertuis scoffed in a voice that grated like rats' feet over broken glass.
'I speak for the Diogenes Club,' Roxton said triumphantly, 'and they speak for Britain.' _
Of course! I turned to Bernice and whispered, 'Holmes's brother Mycroft said that he had people in the area.'
'Nice to know they're doing as well as we are,' she snapped.
Far below, Maupertuis turned his attention upon the fourth man, the meek O'Connor.
'And you, what pathetic reason do you offer for attempting to obstruct my plans?'
O'Connor put away his notebook and climbed to his feet, avoiding Maupertuis's searing gaze.
'Your regiments, as you call them,' he said hesitantly, 'are drawn from the criminal classes of England. You've taken away my thugs, my bullies, my bodyguards and my enforcers.' His voice was growing stronger and more familiar. 'You've created your own army by depleting mine, offering them more money and greater glory. Oaths were taken when they entered my employ. I intend to see that those oaths are honoured.'
'And who are you?'
O'Connor straightened up from his cowering position and met Maupertuis's gaze. He seemed thinner, gaunt even, and his head seemed to have developed a slight tremor. With a sudden movement he pulled the bright red wig from his head and cast it to the floor, revealing a large expanse of domed forehead. He stared malevolently up at Maupertuis with puckered, blinking eyes.
'I am Professor James Moriarty,' he exclaimed. 'The greatest criminal genius that the world has ever known!'
Holmes's eyes widened in sudden shock. I felt unsteady on my feet, and Bernice clutched at my shoulder, afraid that I might fall into their midst.
A ripple of unease washed across those of Maupertuis's troops who hailed from Britain as they recognized their erstwhile employer, the criminal genius who sat at the centre of a web of crime that stretched across the civilized world, the man whose lieutenants - men such as Mr Jitter and Mack 'The Knife' Yeovil - were mere babes in arms when compared to him.
He gazed over them with a promise of retribution in his eyes. They quailed, but they did not break.
He turned to stare at Holmes.
'Dear me,' he said quietly. 'I had hardly expected to be standing by your side, Mr Holmes.'
'Nor I yours,' Holmes replied grimly.
'A common outlaw,' Maupertuis scoffed. 'To add to a spineless apologist for the weak, a small-minded detective and a secret agent for a government too blinkered to understand what I am offering.'
Behind him, the chanting of the fakirs had continued unabated. Now it rose to a crescendo. The air itself seemed to throb in anticipation.
'Not a patch on the Isley Brothers,' Bernice murmured.
'Behold,' Maupertuis screamed above the pandemonium. 'Behold the gateway to glory!'
Bright light flooded the cavern. It issued from a rip that had appeared in the air to one side of the cavern, a rip that pulled itself apart into a rent, and then a hole.
And through the hole, another world.
Its sky was a pearly white colour, and was held up by purple mountains. It was like a tapestry suspended in midair, except that I could smell its dry, lemony odour and feel the cool touch of its air.
Warburton was issuing orders