Doctor Who_ Corpse Marker - Chris Boucher [26]
‘You’ve got something to hide, have you?’
‘No.’
Rull smiled wryly. ‘You’re the only one then,’ he said.
Dreck looked interested. ‘You mean you have?’
Rull said, ‘I mean everybody has.’ He stopped smiling. ‘And if you’re going to flat-out lie to me like that I’ll have you investigated myself.’
‘I was talking about the job,’ Dreck protested. ‘You know that’s what I was talking about.’ He turned away from the screens and tried to draw Rul to one side. ‘Look, the firsts are going to get very jumpy if they spot this.’
‘When they spot it, not if,’ Rull corrected him dismissively.
‘You think they’re in charge because they’re stupider than you?’
‘They’re going to want a body, Stent. Super or Assistant Super for preference.’
Rull said, ‘Don’t worry, it won’t be yours or mine. ‘ He turned back to the screens. ‘Unless you try to get clever of course.’
‘You know who it is?’ Dreck asked eagerly. ‘You know who the traitor is?’
‘I know who looks good for it.’
‘Yes?’
‘Yes.’
‘Who?’
‘What’s the matter, Pur?’ Rull did not look at him. ‘You want something to take to the firsts? You’re planning to go over my head, is that it?’
Dreck shook his head vigorously. ‘No, no. You know I wouldn’t go over your head.’
Rull smirked. ‘Are you sure you’re not looking to make a name for yourself?’
‘All I want,’ Dreck said earnestly, ‘is to make sure it’s not me they come for.’
‘All right,’ Rull said, relenting. ‘Anyone asks and I’m going to point them at that weirdo Poul. I never saw anybody who hated robots like he does. The man throws a sweat-storm every time one looks in his direction.’
‘And if you hate them,’ Dreck was nodding vigorously now,
‘what do you do?’
Rull said, ‘He’s got reason and he’s got access.’
‘I’m convinced,’ Dreck said. ‘I mean, who wouldn’t be? It’s obvious when you look at it like that.’
On the screens a flurry of activity caught their attention.
Someone was scurrying through the walkways closely followed by a small group, one of whom appeared to be Teech Bolon, the site security chief.
‘Would you look at that rodent run,’ Rull chortled mirthlessly. ‘Whoever that is he’s following, they must be a first...’ His voice trailed off as he concentrated on the man in the lead. ‘Do you believe in coincidence?’ he said suddenly. ‘Because I don’t. You know who that is? That’s Kiy Uvanov. What’s he doing there?’
‘Kiy Uvanov?’ Dreck asked, puzzled. ‘Who’s Kiy Uvanov?’
‘He and Poul go way back,’ Rull said, lost in thought.
The Doctor had backed away as far as he could without involving the gradually growing crowd of what he had come to think of as more or less helpless people. The armed men seemed to be in no particular hurry. They walked forward very slowly.
Apparently they were enjoying his discomfort. The weapons, stun-kills the leader had called them, looked a bit like cattle prods. They were obviously contact devices of some sort and the Doctor had no doubt that they would deliver a lethal shock, and that delivering a lethal shock to him was what the men were intent on doing. Even as he was trying to find a way out of the situation the Doctor was struck by the physical differences between the four armed men. There was nothing uniform about them, apart from their uniforms. Despite this, they paid no attention to the sameness of the people in the crowd. They were not fazed by it at all. Perhaps in their eagerness to eliminate his arfistness, whatever that was, they hadn’t actually noticed. ‘Do you know who these people are?’ the Doctor asked, indicating the crowd behind him.
The leader of the armed men did not bother to look at them but kept his eyes on the Doctor’s face. ‘People,’ he scoffed. ‘Is that the party line now? They’re people?’ He waved the prod in front of him in a lazy figure-of-eight.
‘They are a new model,’ one of the other armed men said.
‘I’ve never seen any like that before, have you? They do look almost human.’
‘A robot’s a robot,