Doctor Who_ Combat Rock - Mick Lewis [92]
‘Let’s talk to the Rabbit,’ Pan said good-naturedly.
The image cleared, and the sound channels connected.
‘Hello and good afternoon, most esteemed President,’ Pan said, smiling cheekily into the monitor.
Sabit peered back at him expectantly, ignoring the irony.
‘Well?’ His thin face was piqued and sallow, as if he were on a bad diet.
‘The locator has located,’ Pan said in a sing-song voice,
‘And the terminators are grooving in to terminate.’
Victoria had heard the word ‘president’ and was up on her feet. She stepped up behind Pan and before he could say anything, was addressing the face on the monitor.
‘Are these men under your employ?’ she demanded.
Sabit gave her a gracious, if rather impatient smile. ‘I hope they are treating you with every courtesy.’
‘You sacrificed your own men, didn’t you? You let them be killed for your own wicked political ends!’
‘Oh please... you are making me blush. Would you rather talk about this in the luxury of my personal palace? I shall instruct the... men...to bring you here as soon as they have carried out their duties.’
‘You will tell your men to return me to Batu. After they have found my companions,’ she said bravely and with a good enough imitation of severity for Pan to laugh delightedly.
‘Of course,’ Sabit agreed. ‘Your companions must be found. If only to secure your co-operation, my dear.’
Pan was folding his arms, following the conversation with some enjoyment. The other Dogs seemed bored, and a little restless. Perhaps sensing their mission was nearing completion, they were wondering what the hell they would do next. Killing was easy. Recreation wasn’t.
‘What do you mean?’ Victoria asked apprehensively.
‘Well, of course, I mean that I need you to provide the Earth Alliance with a highly detailed account of what happened to my soldiers. You remember: when they were ambushed by OPG savages in the jungle and murdered in the most horrific and barbaric ways imaginable. It’ll provide a great voice-over for the video, don’t you think?’
‘I will tell them what really happened. I will –’
‘No. You won’t.’ Sabit was quite adamant about that. ‘Not if you want to see your companions alive again.’
‘You’re disgusting!’ she spat. ‘What you’ve done is obscene.’
‘That’s politics,’ he said with a wink. ‘But actually I’m merely securing harmony in a troubled province. Someone has to fuel the fires of offworld condemnation of Papul savagery.
That person happens to be you. It’s all the means to a glorious end, my dear. Think of it that way, and then I’m sure you can create a wonderful report. But as to obscene... don’t you think sometimes we must all muddy our toes somewhat?’
‘You call murdering your own soldiers – men who were fiercely loyal to you – and impaling them on stakes
“muddying your toes”?’ She had never felt so angry, and so powerless in all her life. This man was worse than the Daleks.
At least they were incubated without access to passion or mercy. This man had jettisoned those emotions quite casually to further his own position.
‘Barbarity must sometimes be met with an equal “lack of decency”, my child. Sometimes that’s the only way to ensure world peace and harmony.’
‘Yeah, well. That’s more than enough glib bullshit for one day,’ Pan said, reaching forward to cut the connection, winking at Sabit’s fading scowl. ‘Let’s get on with some honest killing instead, shall we?’
Victoria sank back into her seat and felt like sobbing. But she wouldn’t. Oh no. She wouldn’t.
The cruiser skimmed the treetops, and Pan broke into song anyway.
He was happy, goddammit. They were all set to climax the kill mission, and then after that particular distraction was taken care of, he could go back to Baru and indulge in some serious whoring again.
Life could be wonderful.
So he sang, and he cleared his thoughts for battle, and he didn’t remember her at all.
Well, tell them this, for God’s sake,’ Jamie pleaded as he and Santi squatted in the tree-house while