Doctor Who_ Atom Bomb Blues - Andrew Cartmel [93]
I never notice women’s clothes. I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.’
‘Then let me explain,’ said the Doctor. ‘The man lying dead in the well is not Imperial Lee. This woman here is not Lady Silk, at least not the one we know, the one who is a traitor and propagandist for the Japanese. Like Imperial Lee, that woman has successfully escaped.’ He looked down at the sobbing Silk.
‘This woman was their helpless prisoner.’
Lady Silk looked up, her frightened eyes full of tears. ‘That’s right! They took me. They took me away. But now I’m back.’
‘Can it,’ said Butcher brutally. ‘You’re not talking your way out of this, doll.’
‘Listen to me, Major. The Imperial Lee and Lady Silk who were here moments earlier came from another dimension. Another world. One similar to this but different in many crucial respects. When they crossed over via the portal they discovered that they had doubles here. Doppelgängers, if you will.
This was a nuisance for a number of reasons, not least because when in close proximity the doubles create a cosmic disturbance, one that threatened to send Lee and Silk back to their home world. So they corrected the balance by sending the doubles back instead. Lee’s double was killed because presumably he proved troublesome. Lady Silk they kept alive.’
Butcher stood, staring at the Doctor. Ace felt a growing sense of embarrassment. The Doctor had hardly embarked on his explanation when she sensed its utter futility. He had achieved nothing except to make Butcher think he was a madman. Ray Morita lumbered over and joined them.
‘Hey man,’ he said in a quiet voice. Butcher stopped staring at the Doctor 162
and turned to look at him. ‘Listen,’ said Ray. ‘It’s all real simple. The Doctor and Ace were held prisoner here since last night. Those Storrow cats kept them doped with ether or chloroform or something, dosing them every time they woke up.’
Butcher looked at Ace. ‘Is that true?’ Ace nodded. After all, it was true.
Butcher slowly began to smile. ‘Well then,’ he said. ‘That explains everything.’
He grinned at the Doctor. ‘No wonder you’re thinking crazy thoughts. I’m surprised you’re not seeing little pink elephants flying around the room.’ He began to chuckle. ‘It’s just like when your Indian buddies forced me to take that peyote and I started seeing little green men. Now it’s your turn Doctor!’
He slapped the Doctor affectionately on the shoulder. The Doctor regarded him with disgust.
Butcher took out the pair of handcuffs he’d been saving and snapped them onto Lady Silk’s wrists. The woman didn’t struggle or try to resist. All the fight had gone out of her. ‘I’ve got a car parked in the street. Let’s get moving.’
‘Wait a minute, man,’ said Ray. ‘First I’ve got to get my records.’
163
Chapter Thirteen
The Devil
Butcher was never quite sure how they did it, but the Doctor and Ace managed to give him the slip almost as soon as they left the chapel. He assumed that this was the last he’d ever see of them, but when he got back to the Hill with Ray, they were already there, waiting for him and looking innocent. As if butter wouldn’t melt in their mouths. As if nothing had ever happened.
Butcher had other things to worry about. The paperwork was a nightmare, but not as bad as it would have been if the police had got involved. Keeping it a military matter, under the blanket of an intelligence operation, had kept the LAPD at a frustrated and angry distance and meant Butcher was only put through the wringer for weeks instead of months.
Theoretically he had broken enough rules to spend the rest of his life in a stockade. But Butcher had also rescued the missing Los Alamos scientists, smashed a spy cell and – best of all – apprehended the notorious traitor and propagandist Lady Silk. This alone would have pretty much guaranteed him a pass, although Butcher’s pivotal role in the arrest was soon obscured as everyone else higher up the chain of command took credit for it, General Groves in particular being quick to get his snout