Doctor Who_ Illegal Alien - Mike Tucker [25]
Maybe they're all in the shelters.'
He shook his head. 'The sirens haven't sounded yet.'
'Well, perhaps they've gone early to avoid the rush you know, book now to avoid disappointment.'
McBride scowled at her. 'Don't get smart, kid. Come on, we'll go in through here. He crossed to a side door, pulling it open and peering into the darkened corridor. He pulled his Browning from inside his coat. Ace was about to make some quip, but the look on McBride's face made her stop. She realised that she was becoming blasé. She and the Doctor had broken into so many alien strongholds that getting into an old factory on Earth had seemed like child's play. That sort of attitude was liable to get her killed. She made a mental note to take things more seriously in future, and followed McBride into the gloom.
The factory interior was drab and regulation. It reminded Ace of school. The walls were covered with posters CARELESS TALK COSTS LIVES and WALLS HAVE EARS.
One in particular made Ace grimace KEEP MUM, SHE'S
NOT SO DUMB.
McBride tugged at Ace's sleeve.
'They've made it easy for us, kid.' The corridor to their left was peppered with dire warnings about dangerous substances and what might befall unauthorised personnel. 'I guess that must be the way to the lab.'
They followed the 'Keep Out' signs and passed a wide staircase. They stopped at the sound of movement from one of the upper floors footsteps and the chink of mugs.
'Probably squaddies,' Ace whispered.
McBride nodded. 'Or police.'
'Where do you suppose security have got to?'
'Beats me. All I know is that there's no way we should have been able to get this far without someone spotting us.'
The Doctor had finished the repair to McBride's shoes and had spent the last hour bringing his spoons to a high polish with a tin of Brasso that had been lurking in a desk drawer. He held them up, looking at his reflection in the curved metal surface. He was about to launch into an impromptu performance when a faint metalonstone clang made him stop.
He placed the spoons on the table and crossed gingerly to the door. There. Another noise. A metallic chittering. The Doctor tensed; it was time. He moved over to the far wall of the office, tucked himself next to the open safe, and waited.
McBride and Ace continued their passage into the depths of the building until the American stopped and beckoned her over to an office. He eased the door open and the two of them slipped inside. The room was small and cramped a manager's office looking out over the main laboratory. There in the centre of the room, surrounded by a plethora of benches and equipment, was the sphere, still in two neat halves.
'Jackpot!' breathed McBride.
He tried the door to the lab. Locked. He wrapped a handkerchief around the butt of his gun and tapped the glass until it cracked. After carefully picking the glass out of the frame, he reached through and unlatched the door. The two of them crossed to the sphere and Ace clambered into one half, running her hands over the contoured surface. 'It's bigger than I thought it would be.'
McBride scratched his head. 'Yeah. It's bigger than I remember it. We'll never move it.
'You were hoping to take it with you?'
'I... Yeah.'
'Well, you should have thought of that before we got here, shouldn't you?' Ace hopped out of the sphere and pulled her camera from her jacket pocket. 'I'll get a couple of snaps. The Doctor can get the film developed in the TARDIS.'
'OK, OK. Just do it quickly and let's get out of here.' Ace began to take flash stills of the sphere, the bluewhite glare lighting up the darkened laboratory. Something caught McBride's eye. Something huddled under one of the workbenches. He crossed over to it, his eyes trying to compensate for darkness interspersed with blinding flashes.
The flashgun went off again and a chill went down McBride's spine. The shape was the slumped body of a lab technician, tea from a smashed mug spreading across the floor. McBride knelt down and dipped his finger into the tea. It was still warm.
He turned to tell Ace that they had to get