Doctor Who_ Illegal Alien - Mike Tucker [74]
'Oh, you're up against considerably more than that, Inspector.
Our friend Mr Limb is best of friends with the Nazis as well as the Cybermen.' Mullen's face tightened. 'Nazis? The bastard.
And you think that they might be inside the factory?' The Doctor's steely eyes flickered over the darkened building. 'I don't know. But I think we should exercise a little caution, nonetheless. We have no way of knowing how many Cybermen have been created by now.' He wiped rain from his eyes. 'Have you tried to get in?'
Mullen nodded. 'I've sent a couple of men all round the place. There's no sign of any soldiers, but there are some damn funny noises coming from the lab. All the doors are locked. We'll probably have to break them down.'
'Oh, I don't think there'll be any need for that.' The Doctor pulled a hairpin from his pocket and trotted over to the door.
A ripple of mirth went though the policemen, quickly stopping as the huge double doors swung inward. The Doctor turned to them and gestured inside the building. 'I think we'd all feel better if we got in out of the rain, don't you?'
The policemen swarmed past the Doctor, spreading out through the darkened foyer. Mullen, McBride, and the Doctor followed them in, cautiously peering around the deserted building. Mullen pulled out his gun.
'I don't like this one little bit, Doctor. Where is everyone?'
The Doctor heaved the ghetto blaster on to the reception desk, and beckoned to McBride. 'You have some local knowledge of the factory, Mr McBride. Where would they all be?'
McBride pointed down one of the darkened corridors.
'The lab is down there. There are some offices and workshops too. My guess is that they'll all be hard at work.'
Mullen nodded. 'Right then. Come on, you lot!' He strode off down the corridor, his men in tow. McBride was about to follow, but the Doctor held him back. McBride looked down at him. The little man's eyes twinkled out of the dark. 'Just before we go rushing into the lions' den, Mr McBride, I want to discuss a little idea with you.'
Lazonby marched back and forth in his small, military office, constantly checking his watch. Wall sat at the desk, his face unreadable behind his glasses. Every time Lazonby looked over at him, all he could see was his own face, reflected back at him from those little black lenses. Wall hadn't moved for over an hour. Lazonby was beginning to lose patience.
'When am I going to be able to see some progress? You promised me that you would be able to set the lab up in no time at all. You've taken all my men, as well as all of Peddler's. How much longer is this going to take?'
Wall smiled at him. 'Patience is a virtue Major Lazonby,'
he trilled. 'What we are putting into practice here is the stuff of dreams. Surely you don't wish to rush the greatest technological breakthrough that the world has seen in the last fifty years? You really must try to cultivate a sense of occasion.'
There was the dull crump of an explosion from somewhere in the distance. Lazonby looked pointedly at him.
'There is no point in cultivating a sense of occasion if we are all to be blown to kingdom come whilst we wait. I need results now!'
There was another distant thump. Lazonby looked up, puzzled. 'That wasn't a bomb. That came from inside the factory!' The thump came again. A look of pure rage crossed the major's face.'Someone has got in!' He snatched his gun belt from the desk. 'Come with me.'
Wall didn't move.
Lazonby leaned close. 'I said come with me.'
Wall leaned back in his chair. 'You will find that I am a man who doesn't take kindly to being threatened, Major Lazonby. I understood from our mutual friend Mr Limb that we were to be partners that we were