Doctor Who_ Atom Bomb Blues - Andrew Cartmel [83]
‘You’re both insane,’ said Ace, looking from her to Imperial Lee and back again.
‘No,’ said the Doctor. ‘She’s not. She’s just along for the ride.’
‘What makes you say that?’ said Lady Silk.
The Doctor smiled at her. ‘Do you intend to stay here when the atom bomb detonates? Are you one of the kamikaze commandos?’
Imperial Lee stepped beside Silk, as if to protect her from the Doctor’s scepticism. ‘She is a woman. She is not required to make the ultimate sacrifice.
She will be returned just before the explosion at Trinity. Back in our home world she will find a new order, a better existence under the imperial Japanese flag as reality reshapes itself.’ He kissed Silk on the cheek. It looked to Ace as if she merely suffered the kiss. ‘She will return home safe and sound to a better world.’
‘I get to go back, too,’ said Ray quickly. ‘That was the deal. I go back home just before Trinity.’
‘Of course,’ said Silk in a comforting voice. ‘You go back home with me.’
‘And I get to take my records with me,’ said Ray, holding tightly to the bag slung over his shoulder.
‘Of course.’
‘Your records!’ said Ace, her voice thick with disdain.
‘Please, man,’ begged Ray. ‘Don’t be like that. Don’t look at me like that.’
‘How do you expect us to be?’ said the Doctor. ‘How do you expect us to look at you, other than with contempt? You did all this so you could fill the gaps in your record collection.’
‘But you must understand man. You dig the music too. This is the classic Ellington outfit we’re talking about here. With Ben Webster, Ray Nance, Billy Strayhorn, baby. These aren’t just any records we’re talking about.’
‘How many people are going to have to die so you can complete your collection?’ said the Doctor. ‘Besides ourselves of course.’
Imperial Lee stepped away from Lady Silk, smiling and shaking his head.
‘Good point. We must proceed with the sacrifice. Thank you for reminding us.’
Ace flashed an angry look at the Doctor. ‘Yeah, thanks a lot.’
Ray hurried over to Imperial Lee. He stood there, trembling with repressed emotion. ‘There’s no need to do this, man. We don’t need to shed the blood, baby, just use the equations and the desire to cross over. That’s all we needed before.’
145
‘Not at this end,’ said Imperial Lee. He nodded at the Storrows, who stood there looking increasingly redundant and ludicrous in their white robes. They were no longer pointing their Tommy guns at the captives but that offered no encouragement to Ace. She couldn’t see any possibility of escape now that they were outnumbered seven to two. Eight to two if you counted Ray amongst the opposition.
‘At this end we had the Storrows making their blood sacrifice when we arrived.’ Imperial Lee patted Ray on the shoulder. It was meant to be a reassuring gesture, but it caused Ray to flinch. ‘And now that we need reinforcements to join us here we must make another sacrifice so they can cross over from our home world.’
‘But it was just a sheep before, man,’ said Ray. ‘They weren’t making a human sacrifice. If you really want to do this bloodshed number then just use an animal.’
‘He has a point,’ said Ace quickly.
Lee shook his head wistfully. ‘What would be the point of killing some poor animal?’
‘That’s pretty rich coming from a man who wants to blow up the universe,’
said Ace.
‘I imagine his point of view is that when you have an infinite number of universes, destroying one doesn’t make a lot of difference,’ said the Doctor.
Imperial Lee shrugged and put his hat back on, as if signalling a return to business. He looked at Ray and Lady Silk. ‘The point is, these people are our enemies and we need to get rid of them anyway. Using them for the sacrifice is killing two birds with one stone.’
‘How commendably parsimonious,’ said the Doctor.
‘All this chitchat is wearing me out,’ said Lady Silk. ‘Why don’t we just get started?’ She reached into the pocket of her jacket and took out a small box.
She handed it to Ray. For a moment Ace thought she was offering him a cigarette,