Doctor Who_ Corpse Marker - Chris Boucher [58]
Uvanov had suggested the Dockmaster Control suite because there were no robots there. That was clever. That showed thought. There was a plan to be followed. Docko was people, just people. The problem for Poul was that the rest of the docking bays weren’t. There were robots all over them. But at least it was a location he knew, a location he had known before anyway. A location he had known before everything went wrong. He imagined that was why Uvanov suggested it. It was to show how well he understood Poul’s need to get back to the time before it all went wrong. Before he lost everything. It was what they had in common. The storm mines. He understood how important it was for Poul to get back to how it was before he went looking for Taren Capel. Was that what he was doing, looking for Taren Capel? Undercover looking for Taren Capel, that was it.
There had been a flier waiting to take him to the docking bays. The flierman had known exactly what to do. He had put Poul down on the edge of the landing field and lifted out again immediately. There was another flier on the field but there was no sign of a flierman. Perhaps Uvanov had flown it in himself.
As he made his way towards the tower Poul felt better. Better than he had felt in his memories and his dreams. He felt clear again. He could understand. He was in control. He moved carefully in and out of the shadows cast by the floodlights and he didn’t see a single robot. There was nothing moving in the bays.
Uvanov had cleared the way for him. Uvanov had a plan, of course he did. Uvanov was running things.
Poul had almost reached the tower when he saw them standing at the entrance. He didn’t know the shorter, younger one but he recognised the tall, oddly dressed one from somewhere. From Storm Mine Four. He’d been on Storm Mine Four. Who was it? Who was it? Of course. It was Taren Capel.
Of course it was. It had to be. Poul was undercover. It had to be Taren Capel. But what was he doing here? What did he have to do with Uvanov’s plan? Then he saw the robot watching them.
He froze. It was the same killer robot. Ander Poul I have been sent to kill you. It was the killer watching them and waiting for him. He was hardly conscious of Taren Capel and his companion going into the Dockmaster Control tower. He crouched in the shadows hardly daring to breathe and watched the robot. It seemed to stand there for longer than he could bear and then abruptly it turned and walked away through the bays.
Poul crept to the tower. Uvanov would save him. Uvanov would have a plan. The entrance doors were closed now. He reached out and almost thumbed the comm to let Uvanov know that he was here when suddenly everything got lighter and brighter and the realisation shuddered through him.
This was a trap. This was a plot. This was to get him.
Uvanov had betrayed him. Uvanov and the robots and Taren Capel, they were all part of it. He stared around him fearfully.
They had drawn him out and now he had no way to get back to the safety of his home. He was on foot. He was alone. He would have to try and outrun them. Panic began to squeeze the breath out of him. A scream gathered somewhere behind his eyes. He had to stop himself from running straightaway. Straight away.
Slowly, more slowly than it seemed possible to do, he worked his way round the base of the tower, watching for attack. Watching for robots. Nothing happened so he struck out across the open area heading towards the rear of the bays. High above him at the top of the tower there was something strange happening but he looked down firmly and paid it no attention. Up there was not where safety was. He needed to decide which direction was home. He could do what had to be done if he could just pick the direction, the way back.
The answer came into his mind complete