Doctor Who_ Deep Blue - Mark Morris [39]
No, what was she thinking of? She hardly knew the bloke, for goodness sake! Why couldn‟t she just concentrate on enjoying the day ahead? Morning on the beach, lunch in a nice pub, a walk in the countryside - why look beyond that?
„Are you sure you‟re OK?‟ Andy asked, breaking her out of her reverie.
„Yes, I‟m fine. I was just thinking.‟
„You don‟t want to do that, you know,‟ he told her. „Makes your brain hurt.‟ He leaned closer to her, propping himself on one elbow. Tegan could smell the suntan lotion on his shoulders and chest. His voice became softer, more serious.
„Look, Tegan, I just want us to have a nice day together. I reckon if you‟ve got stuff to tell me, you‟ll tell me in your own time. I don‟t want to come over all heavy on you. My philosophy is, enjoy life while you can. You might not be here tomorrow.‟
„Very comforting,‟ said Tegan.
He grinned, „Come on, let‟s go for a swim. Get rid of some of those cobwebs.‟
He jumped to his feet and held out his hand to her. Tegan laughed, „You‟re not going to get me in there.‟
„Why not? Can‟t you swim?‟
„Course I can swim. But the sea back home is like a warm bath compared to that!‟ She nodded disdainfully at the grey water.
Still grinning, he grabbed her hand and hauled her to her feet. „Bracing is what it is. Come on, Tegan.‟
She put up only token resistance as he dragged her, laughing, down to the water‟s edge.
„Urgh, what‟s this stuff?‟ she said, sidestepping what looked like a lump of colourless jelly that had been carried in by the tide.
He shrugged, unconcerned. „A melted jellyfish? Maybe the heat of the sun was too much for it.‟
„It‟s all over the beach,‟ she exclaimed, noticing mounds of it scattered along the shoreline.
„Don‟t worry about it. As long as you don‟t step in it, you‟ll be all right.‟
Ten yards from the water, he let go of her hand, ran at full-pelt down to the sea and plunged in. Tegan saw a wave crash over him and then a few seconds later he surfaced, coughing and spluttering.
„You‟re mad!‟ she shouted.
„Come on in,‟ he replied. „It‟s lovely.‟
„Not likely,‟ she said, though she walked down to the water‟s edge and allowed the tide to swirl in around her feet.
She was right. Despite the heat of the day, the water was freezing. Within a minute her feet were aching with cold right through to the bone.
Andy stood up and waded towards her. Tegan couldn‟t help thinking how great he looked in his tight blue trunks, water trickling through the wiry hair on his chest, dappling his broad shoulders. Suddenly, five feet from her, he leaned forward, scooped up two great handfuls of water and drenched her.
She leaped back, gasping. „You beast!‟ she shrieked when she managed to get her breath back. She kicked water at him, but it was no more than a token gesture. Andy was laughing so much that he fell backwards into the water anyway.
At HMS Bilford the Brigadier‟s brainstorming session was continuing apace.
„Could this infection be transmitted from person to person, Doctor?‟ Turlough asked.
„It‟s possible,‟ the Doctor said. „I‟ll know more once I‟ve pinpointed its exact nature. So far it‟s proving impervious to analysis.‟
„We could set up a lab for you here, Doctor, if that TARDIS
of yours doesn‟t carry the necessary equipment,‟ the Brigadier said with the trace of a smile.
The Doctor raised his eyebrows. „Thank you, Brigadier, but I don‟t think that will be necessary.‟
„It‟s not a bad invasion plan... if it is an invasion plan,‟
Benton said, then reddened when everyone looked at him.
„What I mean is, well it‟s sneaky, isn‟t it? Coming in by the back door, so to speak. And somewhere like this, well it‟s the obvious place. Lots of people coming and going all the time.
You could pick up the infection here, then go back to, say, London or Glasgow or Birmingham and spread it on there. It could be all over the country in no time.‟
„It is a feasible scenario,