Doctor Who_ Illegal Alien - Mike Tucker [91]
'When you told me about them, Doctor. You and the young lady, in your different ways. I saw the sphere coming down over London, as did everybody else, of course. It was clear to me that this was not a product of any technology I had seen before. Allied to my suspicions about the nonhuman nature of the Lurker, the truth began to dawn.'
'Yes, a very impressive piece of deduction.' said the Doctor.
'Sherlock Holmes again, Doctor. Once you have eliminated all impossible solutions what remains, however improbable it seems, must be the right answer. The finer details, such as the location of this place, I discovered from its former director, Mr Wall. He was surprisingly forthcoming.'
'I'm sure the promise of Major Lazonby's cooperation made him only too willing to talk to you. I should inform you, by the way, that both Wall and Major Lazonby are dead.
Peddler's factory is rubble.'
'Oh dear.' Limb cast his eyes downward. 'What a senseless waste of life.' 'Why have you lured me here? I assume it is because in spite of your guile you are as out of your depth as the rest of your species with Cybertechnology.'
'I fear so, Doctor. I did try to fathom its depths myself that is why I captured our friend the Lurker but the shortfall in my scientific knowledge was just too great.' 'You must know.'
said the Doctor in a low voice, 'that I will not help you revive the Cybermen.' 'I trust you will change your mind soon enough, Doctor.' 'Your trust is sadly misplaced.' George Limb sighed. 'My... associates are apt to be a little heavyhanded.
One would hate to have to allow them to focus their attentions on our young friend Ace.' 'I'm disappointed in you, Mr Limb. I would have expected something more sophisticated from that Machiavellian mind of yours.'
The old man looked wistfully about the vast room.
'It's the times we live in, Doctor. They bring out the very worst in men. In London I had little need to resort to such crudities. The criminal world accorded me a reputation far more formidable than anything I felt I had actually earned.
The major players treated me with a wholly undeserved respect, whilst the likes of our friend Sharkey were absolutely petrified of me. It is quite remarkable, the power of suggestion.'
'Indeed. But not here.'
'Sadly, no. These people are in thrall to a master.
Whatever else his failings, and they are many, Chancellor Hitler has made such an impression on the minds of these people that a mere penpusher such as myself stands no chance of competing. No, here ashamed though I am to have to resort to such methods I'm afraid I have no alternative but to threaten violence.
'I see ...'
'But come, Doctor, let us not be uncivilised. Please, come with me.'
The old man began ascending a metal staircase set into the wall opposite the dormant Cyber ranks. The Doctor followed. Close to the lofty ceiling a walkway ran the length of the wall, and behind it a long window looked out across the whiteandchrome abyss. Next to the window was a door, which George Limb now opened.
'They have given me Dr Peddler's old office,' he said,
'which is rather nice of them. Come in... Come in.'
He picked his way into the large room, obviously once elegant and comfortable, now a mess. On one wall, thick with dust and grime, a framed photograph of a young Dr Peddler, arm in arm with a woman carrying a child, hung next to a calendar showing photographs of pastoral tranquillity. jersey before the occupation. The calendar was two years out of date. Office furniture and the daytoday paraphernalia of business management vied with large and obscure pieces of heavy machinery. The room seemed to have been used largely for the storage of junk. In a far corner, partly obscured by the desk, sat a squat, black machine, looking for all the world like a giant inverted child's spinning top. Grubby glass portholes ringed its neck and pipes as thick as a tree trunks bulged from a dirty metal skirt, covered in grease and burn marks, before disappearing into the underside of the thing.
The filing cabinets which still lined