Doctor Who_ Illegal Alien - Mike Tucker [6]
Leaning back against the box, he stared up at the building where his rooms were. He suddenly straightened. It had been a blackout when he had left last night now the lights were on. Someone was in his goddamn office!
CHAPTER 2
McBride waited until he was inside the tatty, green front door before pulling his gun from its holster. It wouldn't do to draw the attention of any local busybodies. He began to edge his way up the stairs, slowing his approach as he came to the final flight that led to his office. He tried to creep up as quietly as possible but the old stairs creaked and protested with every step. Slowly and painfully, he creaked his way to the top.
Through the frosted glass of his front door he could see figures moving, hear low voices. Taking a deep breath, McBride took a good grip on the gun with both hands and kicked open the door.
A little man in a dark jacket and a lurid sweater was sitting in the swivel chair behind his desk, pointing out London landmarks to a teenage girl wearing a Tshirt that was far too short and trousers that were far too tight to be decent.
As the door crashed open, the man swung in the chair and raised his hat. 'Good evening, Mr McBride. I'm the Doctor and this is my friend Ace.' He noticed the gun and swung his other hand above his head, joining the one holding his hat.
'Oh... All right, we surrender. Actually, we're on your side, you know.'
McBride swung the door shut with his heel. 'How did you get in here?'
The little man smiled. 'It wasn't that difficult. You left both doors unlocked'
The girl gave a sharp laugh. 'Some private detective' She peered at the gun in McBride's hands, and her eyes lit up.
'Hey, is that a Browning ninemillimetre?'
McBride looked down at the gun, suddenly feeling foolish and selfconscious. 'Uh, yeah.'
'Can I have a look?' The girl Ace? held out her hand.
She was pretty, with a mischievous glint in her eye, and McBride had almost handed the gun over before he realised what he was doing. He checked himself abruptly and slid the gun back into its holster.
'Look, who the hell are you? I've had a bad day and I'm really not in the mood. Come back tomorrow.' He shrugged off his trench coat and hung it on the hat stand, next to a badgecovered jacket and a duffel coat that definitely weren't his. He tossed his hat on to the table. Ace picked it up and slouched back over to the window.
The man who had introduced himself as the Doctor leaned across the desk, resting his chin on his hands. He fixed McBride with a piercing stare. 'Mr McBride, the capsule that you discovered...'
McBride threw his hands up and shook his head. 'Oh, no.
I've had just about enough of that. The cops think I'm crazy Mullen thinks I'm a jerk, the army think that maybe I'm a Nazi spy...' He stopped. 'How the hell did you find out about it?'
The Doctor pushed a newspaper over the desk towards McBride. He took it. Plastered over the front cover was a picture of him looking very startled, the sphere in the background. Other pictures showed a furious Lazonby and the frightened businessman. The headline read: NEW
GERMAN BOMB FAILS. TO EXPLODE.
'Where did you get this? There isn't another edition today.'
'It's tomorrow's paper, dummy. 'Ace didn't turn round.
She was trying on McBride's hat.
McBride glanced up at the date: 14 November 1940. She was right. This was tomorrow's newspaper. He slumped down in the chair that he kept for clients, his head reeling.
The Doctor smiled comfortingly at him.
'Cheer up, Mr McBride. You're famous.'
'I look like a jerk.'
The Doctor picked up the paper and studied it closely.
'Who's this man?' He pointed at the picture of the businessman. McBride shrugged. 'Damned if I know.'
The Doctor frowned. 'I'm sure that I know the face. If I could just remember from where...' He scanned the