Doctor Who_ Corpse Marker - Chris Boucher [12]
Leela pointed at the dome. ‘In there.’
‘Come on, we must get out of here.’ The woman took a couple of uncertain steps and then hesitated when Leela did not move. ‘What’s your name?’
‘Leela. What is yours?’
‘My fighting name is Padil.’
‘You have a fighting name?’ Leela made no attempt to hide her amused contempt. ‘You have been given a warrior name?’
‘Yes,’ she said defensively. ‘I chose it myself. I suppose you’re going to tell me you’re using your real name. And what is that you’re wearing?’
‘It is my primitive ensemble,’ Leela said. ‘What is wrong with it?’
Padil shrugged. ‘It’s a bit flashy, don’t you think? For a Tarenist guerrilla fighter. Capel, humanity be in him, urges us to dress modestly for the struggle.’
Leela was losing patience with this Padil. She was in no mood to be lectured by an untrained, unthinking executioner and she did not intend to let her get in the way of what had to be done. ‘Your leader should first teach you how to fight before telling you what to wear,’ she said. She raised her hand in what the Doctor had told her was a gesture of friendship which most people recognised and added firmly, ‘Goodbye, Padil.’
This time the woman seemed to take the hint and she did not attempt to follow as Leela trotted on to the path she had picked out and made her way round the curve of the dome.
Suddenly two men swaggered into view in front of her. They bore the same tribal signs and were carrying the same weapons, the ones they called stun-kills, as the man Padil had slaughtered.
‘Well,’ one of them said. ‘What have we here?’
‘Fun,’ the other one said and waved his stun-kill at her. ‘We deserve some fun. We’ve earned it. We owe it to ourselves.’
Leela was annoyed with herself. She should have heard them coming and avoided this unnecessary clash. She dropped into a fighting stance, her knife held low. Both the men moved towards her, separating slightly so that they were coming at her from either side. Leela moved left, switching the knife from one hand to the other and back again. She hoped the men might recognise the skill and realise that she was capable of killing them both. If it did not persuade them to let her pass as she hoped, then it might at least put a small doubt in their minds. Doubt slows movement. Make sure your enemy doubts more than you do. That was one of the earliest things she had been taught and it had taken her a long time to realise that controlling her own doubts was what the lesson was really about.
‘You can make this easy on yourself, girlie,’ the bigger of the two men said.
‘You might even enjoy it,’ the other one sniggered. ‘If you behave yourself.’
‘If you don’t cause us any trouble.’
‘And if you’re nice to us.’
‘Very nice to us.’
‘Not that you’ve got much of a choice.’
‘Being on your own the way you are, girlie. And skinny.’
The smaller of the two men was getting excited. ‘Nice legs,’
he said, smacking his lips noisily. ‘Nice outfit.’
They both stood flat-footed and giggling. It was clear to Leela that there was no chance of simply discouraging them.
They were not warriors of any kind and could not understand the threat in what they were seeing. Sometimes such people were more dangerous than properly trained and serious adversaries.
They could be unpredictable.
‘Put the knife down, girlie.’
Of course these two were completely predictable.
‘Very sexy boots.’
Like the one she had dealt with before Leela could see that they were not fit to fight. Their reactions would be slow and pain would make them slower. They were stupid and disgusting but was that reason enough to kill them?
Another distant explosion caused the men to look at one another. ‘Doesn’t look like there’s going to be time,’ the bigger one said.
‘Oh come on, Hudge.’ The smaller one was disappointed.
‘How long will it take?’
‘Kill her and let’s go.’ The one called Hudge adjusted his stun-kill in the same way Padil did so Leela knew that the weapon was lethal now. ‘You’ll have to be satisfied with the bounty.’
The smaller of the two men adjusted