Doctor Who_ Father Time - Lance Parkin [28]
‘No way!’ Rum shouted. ‘We’ll use it if we have to, and only if we have to.’
‘He could find it. You’ve just handed the Doctor a nuclear weapon. He’ll find a way to use it against us. He does that sort of thing.’
‘Oh, he’s so overrated.’ The man tapped at the control box. ‘It’s got a light sensor on it. I’ve set it so if he takes the bomb out of his pocket, it’ll blow up.’
Thélash bit her lip. ‘I’m still not sure.’
He kissed her on the forehead. ‘What can possibly go wrong? Now, we need to get back to Mr Gibson and make contact with our employer.’ He reached for his belt. ‘I’ve left my communicator behind,’ he said. ‘You’d better make that call.’
* * *
Debbie answered the door and was astonished to see the Doctor standing there.
She looked around nervously.
‘What are you doing tonight?’ the Doctor asked, so abruptly that Debbie lost her breath.
‘Barry’s out at the pub with some friends. A darts tournament or something.’
‘But what are you doing? Are you going?’
‘He wouldn’t want me there.’
‘Good, good, then you’re free. Come on.’
Debbie found herself agreeing, then hesitated. ‘Where are we going?’
The Doctor smiled. ‘That would be telling. Wrap up warm, though.’
‘Right. I’ll... just get changed.’ She hurried upstairs, and it was only when she was on the landing that she realised she’d left the Doctor standing on the doorstep.
Debbie checked her hair in the mirror, changed her sweater and, after a moment’s thought, sprayed a little perfume on. That done, she dashed back downstairs, almost tripping over herself. She locked up, and joined the Doctor as he walked down her drive. He was grinning, and swept out a hand to indicate his car.
‘Our carriage awaits,’ he told her.
He opened the passenger door for her.
Inside, the car was a bit scruffy. The Doctor had to move a pile of books on to the back seat to make room for his passenger.
He pulled out the choke, tried the ignition, then tried it again.
‘What sort of car is this again?’ she asked.
‘A Trabant. I picked it up in East Germany.’
‘You were in East Germany?’
‘Yes.’ The engine turned over, but didn’t fire.
‘When?’
The Doctor rubbed his lip with his finger. ‘A while ago, now.’
She remembered the photograph in her book, and looked back over at him. He didn’t look a day older. But it had been almost thirty years.
‘What do you think about Close Encounters?’ the Doctor said.
Debbie blinked. ‘Pardon?’
‘The film. It’s just that I’m planning to re-enact it tonight.’
‘I... think it’s romantic.’
The Doctor looked a little taken aback. ‘You do?’
‘Yes.’ Debbie closed her eyes. ‘Strangers waiting for a train. A married woman, who knows nothing about a man. All that steam and clinking crockery.’
‘Close Encounters is the one where the big UFO comes down and they play that music at it to communicate. You know...’ And he hummed five notes.
Debbie blushed. Barry had taken her to see it, and he’d come out deeply unimpressed.
‘We’re going UFO spotting?’ she asked.
‘We’re going to make contact with aliens,’ the Doctor corrected her.
‘Aliens?’
‘Yes.’ He saw her sceptical expression. ‘It’s not that difficult. I did it by accident this morning.’
Debbie looked over at him. ‘You did?’
‘Yes. Two of them, in the High Street.’
A few days ago, she’d have thought anyone who talked about aliens and UFOs was mad. A few days ago, she had thought that, she’d doubted Arnold’s story.
Now it all seemed perfectly normal.
The Doctor turned on his car radio. There was a steady bleeping, like an electronic heartbeat. ‘I’ve modified this so that it only receives high-energy pulses. That’s how the aliens communicate with each other.’
‘How?’ Debbie asked. ‘I mean, how do you know that?’
He held up a small silver box which was covered in little black knobbles, and which was plugged into the car’s radio. ‘I borrowed this from a chap called Rum. The technology is straightforward enough.’
‘That’s an alien CB radio?’
The Doctor handed it to her and tried to start the car again. ‘That’s right. And we can use it to follow them.’
‘Wow.’ It was light,