Doctor Who_ Delta and the Bannermen - Malcolm Kohll [41]
A low mournful bellow rang out through the camp, sending icy shivers amongst his intended victims.
The snipers came alongside and raised their weapons, taking careful aim at the Doctor and Billy perched on the rooftop.
‘NOW!’ cried the Doctor. Billy frantically tugged on the wire which led from his speaker box. Inside the office Delta felt the signal and propelled her daughter towards the microphone. She opened her mouth and started
‘singing’ at full volume into the microphone.
The Chimeron warcry echoed across the valley, amplified a thousand times by the PA system and thrown out at a huge wattage from Billy’s roof-mounted speaker box.
It was as if the Bannermen had walked into a concrete wall. They stopped dead, hands clamped over their ears.
Their weapons fell to the ground with a clatter as they dropped to their knees. The ‘singing’ hit the precise frequency which was necessary to immobilize them. As the keening sound reverberated around the valley the Bannermen looked a spent force.
All except for Gavrok who tossed his head like a wounded bull and refused to go down. He let out a bellow of rage and pain as he staggered around, his hands locked over his ears, trying to keep the immobilizing noise out of his head. But Billy’s system was standing up well and throwing out a high number of decibels. Gavrok’s eyes were screwed up in pain as he tottered from side to side, each step carrying him closer and closer to the ring circumscribing the TARDIS. His feet shuffled nearer to the circle until the young girl’s voice rose in a final crescendo which sent Gavrok spinning straight into the beam of the sonic cone.
BOOM!
Gavrok pulsed with purple light for an instant before being reduced to his component molecules by the powerful weapon of his own devising. His men, lying weakly in the dust nearby, could only watch horrified as their beloved leader vanished in a puff.
The Doctor was running from the camp, followed by Billy brandishing his sword. Weismuller and Ray trailed along behind carrying a sports bag crammed with skipping ropes. The Bannermen were still in a groggy state.
The Doctor opened the sports bag and took out several skipping ropes. ‘Secure them with these,’ he said, handing them to Weismuller.
‘Be my pleasure, Doctor. When I was an eagle scout knots were my favourite thing.’ Weismuller began to truss up the Bannermen, pulling the knots as tightly as he could.
It was his revenge for that awful contraption he and Hawk were forced to wear. Maybe he had been a little hard on Hawk. After all, there was the possibility that his head wound was more severe than he had originally thought. As soon as he had finished his task he would check Hawk out.
As he worked he gave the Bannermen a running commentary: ‘This is my speciality. A running noose combined with a dog shank.’
Finally, the Doctor signalled to Delta and the ‘singing’
stopped, much to everyone’s relief. The Bannermen were lying tightly trussed on the ground. The Doctor checked that no damage had occurred to the TARDIS and then turned, walking back towards the camp.
Chapter Thirty-One
Delta was hugging her daughter. Burton was unplugging the PA when the Doctor appeared in the window. ‘It’s all over,’ he said with relief. The others stared blankly at him.
‘I said it’s safe to come out now!’ said the Doctor a bit louder, thinking that the ‘singing’ may have left them temporarily deaf.
Just then the door burst open and Billy entered, beaming triumphantly. He carefully unbuckled the ceremonial sword and returned it to Burton. ‘We did it!’ he cried. The others in the office stared blankly at him. Billy pointed at his ears and suddenly they smiled, removing the beeswax plugs from their ears. The Doctor leaned in through the window, grinning. ‘Let’s go and run a flight check on your new ship, Delta,’ he said.
‘You all go ahead,’ said Billy. ‘I have to go and pack...’ A frown crossed the Doctor’s face.
‘I’il catch up with you later. I must have a word with Billy,’ said the Doctor, disappearing