Doctor Who_ Atom Bomb Blues - Andrew Cartmel [37]
racketing succession by half a dozen more, all extremely close at hand. It took Ace an instant to recognise that these shots were coming from Butcher’s gun. He was lying on the ground, blasting away at the distant clump of trees by the water’s edge. The gunshots that were kicking up the dirt near Ace and the Doctor seemed to be coming from those trees. Ace thought she saw movement among them, a dark figure stepping between the shadowed trunks, but she wasn’t sure.
Then, as abruptly as it had begun, the shooting stopped. ‘Got him,’ said Butcher with satisfaction. He rose to his feet and started quickly towards the trees. The Doctor got up swiftly and followed. Ace was left lying on the grass, staring at Ray. The big man was on his belly, his arms over his head, staring back at her. They regarded each other for a moment and then Ray said, ‘I’m out of here, man.’ He lurched to his knees, then to his feet and set off clumsily running away from the pond. Then he stopped, hesitated for a moment, and came back.
For a second Ace thought he was coming back to gallantly help her, but instead he scooped up the bag of cactus needles, stuffed it into his pocket and set off again in an ungainly run. Ace got up and brushed the grass off her clothing. The Doctor was coming back from the copse of trees. He had something in his hands. He hurried over to Ace and showed it to her. It was a large square envelope of a kind Ace had seen before.
She said, ‘Where –’
The Doctor interrupted her. ‘Please. Just hide it for me.’ Ace took the envelope from him, untucked her blouse, and slipped it inside. The envelope was angular and uncomfortable against her skin, but the folds of her blouse concealed it effectively enough. ‘Thank you,’ said the Doctor. He turned and headed back for the trees. Ace followed him.
Butcher came out of the stand of trees. His face was white and he was wearing a strange expression. In fact, he looked like an altogether different man from the one Ace had come to know. The ruddy, bullying, antagonistic Major Butcher was gone. This man was pale, drawn and uncertain. He looked at Ace and then looked away, his face haggard and tormented. Ace stepped into the cluster of trees and he made no attempt to stop her.
The Doctor was standing there. At his feet was a figure in a leather jacket and dungarees. But it wasn’t a man. It was a woman. It took Ace a moment to recognise her face, because the hair and the clothes were so different.
‘Rosalita,’ she said. The Doctor looked at her and nodded. Ace struggled to understand what was happening. ‘The gunman shot Rosalita?’ she said. The Doctor shook his head sadly.
‘The gunman was Rosalita.’
∗ ∗ ∗
65
Ace emerged from the stand of trees. Major Butcher was standing there, exactly where she’d left him. He looked like he might remain standing there for the rest of his life. The Doctor came out of the trees and went to Butcher. ‘Did you get her firearm, Major?’
Butcher vaguely touched his pocket. ‘It’s in here. A .38. She was getting pretty good accuracy from it at that distance. She was a good shot for a woman.’
‘Major,’ said the Doctor distinctly and firmly, ‘there was nothing else you could do. You did what had to be done. She was shooting at us. She was trying to kill us. You saved our lives.’
Butcher shook his head. ‘I know all that,’ he said. ‘But it doesn’t make me feel any better about shooting a woman.’
‘You had no choice. Now if you don’t mind, Ace is understandably upset by this terrible experience. I am going to take her away.’ Ace thought this was just a ruse by the Doctor. Then she realised that she was upset by the terrible experience. Her knees began to tremble and her stomach felt loose and queasy.
Butcher smiled thinly. ‘Sure, you clear out of here. I’ve got to tell the Oppenheimers that they need a new cook.’
Ace waited until they were out of Butcher’s sight before she took the square envelope out of her blouse. The paper of the envelope was soaked