Doctor Who_ Interference_ Book Two - Lawrence Miles [107]
‘You’re hurt,’ Sarah pointed out, and her voice melted at the edges when she said it. The Doctor suddenly realised that she could have been talking about any number of things, from Magdelana’s coffee burn to the bruise he’d been given by the Remote. He gave her a quick smile, and hoped it’d be enough to keep her happy.
‘We were right,’ he announced. ‘They want the show. As a matter of fact, I rather think they want my head, as well. Otherwise they’re going to burn down the town. We’re supposed to meet with their leader in the town square. We’ve got ten minutes to think about it.’
‘Why there?’ asked Sarah.
‘So they can kill some of the locals if we try anything clever,’ said I.M. Foreman. ‘He does know you well, doesn’t he?’
The Doctor started scratching his chin. ‘You know, I’m not sure I can see a way out of this. I feel as if the rules have been changed while I wasn’t looking.’
‘Maybe this’d be a good time to mention that we’ve got a plan,’ said I.M. Foreman.
The Doctor raised his eyebrows at the man. ‘Oh really? Isn’t that rather unusual, for someone who doesn’t believe in direct action?’
‘This time it’s personal,’ the showman told him. ‘I think I’ve just worked something out. Something that’s been bothering us for… a long time, anyway.’
‘The meaning of life?’ Sarah tried.
‘The meaning of my life, maybe,’ said I.M. Foreman, in a tone so earnest that even the Doctor nearly found himself believing it. ‘We’ve been getting a bit restless the last couple of decades. Us in the show, I mean. We’ve been wondering what we’re going to do, now we’ve reached the edge of this galaxy. Now we’ve come to the end of the spiral. And I think I’ve just figured out our next career move.’
‘Go on,’ said the Doctor.
‘First things first,’ said the blind man. ‘There’s one thing I still haven’t told you about this show.’
There was another of his patented dramatic pauses after that. The Doctor folded his arms, but resisted the temptation to tap his foot. I.M. Foreman smiled, shrugged, and twiddled his fingers, in a way that suggested he’d be much happier if he had something to juggle with.
‘I think you’d better sit down and listen,’ he said. ‘It’s about wagon number thirteen.’
* * *
Ten minutes after the Doctor had vanished into the wagon, things started happening again. From her vantage point between two of the other vehicles, Magdelana had already seen the leader of the Remote limp out of the circle. He’d headed straight for the town, with a bunch of his men in tow. Magdelana didn’t know what the Doctor had told him, but somebody had to be planning something, and that in itself was enough to get her itchy.
But now the door of the wagon was opening again. The Doctor was stepping back out on to the desert floor. His girlfriend was behind him, and after her came the blind man. The few Remote soldiers who were still inside the ring tracked the three offworlders with their weapons, but it was obvious that there wasn’t going to be any shooting.
Then the other doors started opening. All around the circle, the freaks were leaving their mobile homes. Magdelana tried to count them as they came into view, ticking them off against the names she remembered from the posters: the half-human, half-lizard thing, the man covered in albino monkey fur, and the boy who crawled on his belly like a maggot. One of the freaks had wings, although you could tell they weren’t powerful enough to lift his body off the ground, at least not without help. He looked like he’d been built for gliding, not flying. And there was a woman who moved like a snake, who –
The door next to Magdelana opened up again. She took a step back, and saw Mohandas the Geek stumble out of his wagon, not giving her a second glance as he headed into the middle of the arena, taking big, slow, heavy steps all the way. His scent triggered off more memories as he passed by, and Magdelana very nearly pulled the trigger of the shotgun right there and then. None of the freaks were