Doctor Who_ Deep Blue - Mark Morris [64]
‘And you are?’ said the Brigadier.
‘Detective Inspector Pickard. I’m officially in charge of the investigation into the massacre on the Papillon - though now it looks as if one of these creatures was responsible for that.’
He looked rueful. ‘What are these things, anyway? Monsters from outer space?’
‘Yes,’ Turlough said. ‘They’re called Xaranti.’
Once again the word seemed to echo like a long-forgotten memory in the Brigadier’s head. He looked again at the Doctor, who was straightening up now, and absently began to scratch his chest. When he realised what he was doing, he immediately tried to make it look as though he was brushing imaginary dirt from the lapel of his uniform. To cover up his awkwardness he said to Pickard, ‘Can I leave the clearing-up operation in your hands now, Inspector? I’ll leave some of my men behind to help, of course, but the rest of us really ought to try and stop this creature causing any more mayhem.’
Pickard nodded, trying not to look as if he was out of his depth. ‘You can leave it to me. I’ll keep everything running smoothly here, don’t you worry.’
‘Good man,’ said the Brigadier absently and turned to Benton. ‘Any idea where Captain Yates has got to, Benton?’
‘He’s on his way, sir. I spoke to him a few minutes ago.’
‘Right, well bring him up to speed, would you, and tell him to meet us at the fairground. And warn him to be careful.’
‘Yes, sir,’ said Benton, already raising the RT to his mouth to relay the message.
The Doctor had seen them now and hurried up the beach, his lolloping stride deceptively swift. ‘Here at last, are you, Brigadier?’ he said briskly. ‘We’ve been waiting for you. How are you feeling?’
‘Never better,’ the Brigadier said quickly.
‘Are you quite sure? You’ll have to have your wits about you, you know. Even a lone Xaranti can be extremely dangerous.’
‘Don’t you worry, Doctor. I doubt it can cope with our firepower.’
The Doctor looked pained. ‘We’re not going to shoot it, Brigadier. We’re going to communicate with it. Or at least I’m going to try.’
Surprised, Turlough said, ‘Surely you’ve already tried that on the Xaranti ship? You just ended up confusing them.’
‘That was different,’ the Doctor said. ‘I think what we’re dealing with here is a recently transformed human. In which case it may be vulnerable, its thoughts not yet fully integrated into the communal Xaranti mind.’
‘You mean it’s not quite absorbed, so it may let something vital slip?’ said Tegan.
The Doctor looked almost defensive, as if Tegan was questioning his judgement. ‘Or I may be able to use it as a mental conduit to the queen, slip in via the back door, so to speak.’ He shrugged. ‘I’m not saying it’ll work, but I think it’s worth a try.’
‘In that case, what are we waiting for?’ said the Brigadier.
‘Come on, Doctor, Turlough, Miss Jovanka, we’ll use my car.
Benton, get two dozen of the men together and follow us down.’
They hurried back across the sands and up the steps to the promenade. As they crossed the road to the Lombard Hotel, the Doctor indicated the double yellows on which the Brigadier’s car was parked and chided gently, ‘Really, Brigadier, I’m shocked. You might have got a ticket.’
The Brigadier ‘hmphed’, though not without humour, and unlocked the driver’s door. Once all his passengers were inside, he glanced into his wing mirror and pulled out. The roads were almost clear now, the seafront having effectively been cleared and sealed off. The fairground was a two-minute drive away. From here it looked like a cluster of towers and minarets jabbing up into the summer sky around the curve of the bay, just beyond the harbour. Tegan, sitting in the back behind the passenger seat, noticed that the traffic lights were red and wondered why the Brigadier was not slowing down.
Then the ambulance cut across them like a white metal wall and a number of events happened in quick succession.
Tegan saw the Brigadier slumping over his wheel as if in a faint,