Doctor Who_ Corpse Marker - Chris Boucher [45]
The Doctor put a restraining hand on the pilot’s arm.
‘Naturally,’ he said to the security man whose face was now suffused with angry colour, ‘I don’t need to go into any restricted areas.’
‘It’s all restricted,’ the man growled.
‘Perhaps I can talk to whoever runs things then?’ the Doctor asked politely.
‘You’re talking to me and I am telling you that what you are going to do -’
‘You’re telling us nothing!’ the pilot interrupted furiously.
‘This man comes direct from Company Central, he is Topmaster Uvanov’s personal aide. Now get on the comm and tell the tower we’re on our way up.’
‘Right, that’s it, shorty,’ the security man snapped. ‘I’ve had enough of you and your mouth!’ He pulled the baton from his belt. ‘Switch that stun-stick on,’ the pilot threatened, ‘and I will shove it so far down your throat you’ll fart sparks and end up blowing your brains out.’
The squad of robots the security officer had summoned had slowed down automatically as they approached the intruders.
With no modifying instruction when they reached their human proximity limit, they stopped abruptly and stood waiting. The Doctor left the pilot and the security officer to continue posturing and went to look more closely. They were the standard Dums as far as he could see. They were arranged in a four-outside-and-one-in-the-middle formation like the five on a dice.
What does a stopDum do? he wondered. Apart from stop.
‘Restrain that man,’ the security officer called out.
Immediately the squad moved as one. The robot in the centre moved forward to face the Doctor and the two columns of two moved on and round to enclose him on either side. It was a fast, precise manoeuvre like good close-order drill and it left the Doctor hemmed in and unable to move but entirely safe. The procedure did nothing to violate the robots’ basic conditioning which inhibited any action which could physically threaten a human, while at the same time effectively achieving the restraint that had been called for.
‘So that’s what a stopDum does,’ the Doctor said. ‘Obvious really.’
‘Call them off,’ the pilot demanded.
‘I warned you,’ the security man crowed. ‘I told you what would happen.’
For a moment the pilot was almost conciliatory. ‘Talk to the tower if you don’t believe me,’ he said. ‘If we’re not already cleared they can check with Uvanov’s office.’
The Doctor pushed against one of the robots. As he expected it had no effect.
‘No.’ The security man sounded as though he was beginning to enjoy himself. ‘I don’t care if he’s Firstmaster Landerchild’s love toy,’ he gloated.
The Doctor tried climbing up the Dums and out that way and he was entranced when each of the robots responded by raising its arms high above its head and joining hands with the others to form a sort domed cage over him. ‘Very impressive,’ he said. The pilot’s brief struggle to be patient was finished. ‘We’ll both end up in the ’pits, you dicko bucket brain!’ he raged.
‘I gave you your chance,’ the security man was still gloating.
‘I told you to lift on out of here and what did you do? You got mouthy. Anybody’s heading for the ’pits, shorty, it’s you and the weirdo.’
The pilot turned away. ‘You have no idea how much trouble you’re in,’ he muttered and then he turned back and head-butted the security officer across the bridge of his nose.
According to Padil the bright lights and the bustle of the alleyway outside were part of the reason the Tarenists had chosen the house that they were using. Coming and going, they felt, was best disguised by comings and goings. Leela wondered aloud whether anyone had remembered that what hid you from your enemies might also hide your enemies from you.
The house was on a busy intersection where streets from different