Doctor Who_ Father Time - Lance Parkin [97]
‘I tried to lie low.’
‘You did, but you couldn’t hide from me. I’ve had a team of researchers looking for records of you for fifteen years. That’s all they could find, but that was enough. The Doctor made more of an impact, of course. The Lloyds building, Baghdad, Waco, the Martian invasion, that business with the Kulan... but I’m getting ahead of myself.’
‘I’ve not seen him for years.’
‘I’ve traced his every movement, every credit-card transaction, every official record. He wasn’t punished for Sallak’s murder. He claimed self-defence. When that matter was settled, he dedicated all his time and effort trying to find you.’ He smiled, checking a timepiece sewn into the cuff of his tunic. ‘At the moment he’s on the M25. In five minutes he buys petrol from a Shell garage near Junction 19 and makes a substantial cash withdrawal from the cash machine there.’
* * *
The Doctor hurtled along the M25.
‘Meet me at Heathrow as soon as you can,’ he told Debbie over the crackle of the line. Glancing down at the petrol gauge, he realised there wasn’t going to be enough petrol to get him there.
‘Heathrow?’
‘You know, the big airpor‐’
‘OK, OK, I’ll be there in an hour.’ He could hear her moving around, opening up the wardrobe.
‘We’re going to India. Bring your passport.’
‘But the saucer’s long gone from there. It’s pointless. And don’t we need visas, or at least some jabs?’
The Doctor looked down at the phone, angry that Debbie, of all people, didn’t understand.
When he looked up again, Miranda was in the road ahead of him. Standing there in the fast lane.
He slammed the brakes on, but there wasn’t enough time.
No.
The car screeched through her. He hadn’t stopped in time, but neither had he hit her.
He looked back in the mirror – she was still there.
‘Doctor, Doctor!’ Debbie was calling. He killed the phone.
The Doctor yanked on the handbrake and got out of the car. Miranda stayed where she was, facing away from him. There were headlights coming towards her.
He called out to her, then, when she didn’t hear, he ran up to her, tried to grab her, tried to shield her.
A car swerved into the middle lane, honking furiously, barely missing him.
This wasn’t the safest place to stay. But for the moment there was nothing else coming.
She wasn’t here, not really. The light was wrong – like a crude fake photo, she was in good light, everything around her was in darkness.
Another car swerved, the driver shouting obscenities.
‘Miranda?’ the Doctor asked, trying to touch her. She was older. Her hair was straight, and so long. She was more beautiful than he remembered. She was wearing... It wasn’t clear what she was wearing. It kept changing.
The carphone was ringing.
Her lips were moving. He tried to read them.
Concentrate.
He did, closing his eyes, clearing his mind, not even seeing or hearing the lorry until it had gone past. Her lips weren’t moving, now. Whole concepts were flooding into his mind at once, and unravelling, blossoming like flowers.
I can’t be long/(Jodie-Foster’s-daughter/me/Cate) eyes squeezed closed, mouth wide open/I’m (secretly) using (telepathic circuits) to find (you-father)/(Tiny part of mind) only/(Ferran-Ferdy) found me and captured me/Till receipt (Shell station) (Junction 19 of the M25)/Deputy Cate looks familiar/He must have married late –(Princess Diana) only twenty-eight/(Three days)/The time engines will take three days/He’s tracking you – (knows you buy petrol) – how I found you/I love you/I don’t know what he’s going to do to me/(Safe for the moment)/I won’t see you again/Goodbye
And she was gone.
‘I love you,’ the Doctor called after her, but there was nothing there.
The carphone was ringing.
‘Maniac,’ someone shouted as they sped past him.
The Doctor hurried back to the car, started the engine and answered the phone.
‘Change of plan,’ he said, without waiting for Debbie to