Doctor Who_ Interference_ Book Two - Lawrence Miles [52]
Kode responded to this by drawing a gun from behind his back and pointing it at the Doctor’s head.
The Doctor squinted at the weapon. Black, short-snouted, plastic-looking. Sarah and the Ogron had used guns like it to rescue him from the cell, hadn’t they?
‘Take the TARDIS,’ said Kode. ‘We have to go. Now.’
‘You’re talking in short sentences,’ the Doctor told him. ‘It’s the sure sign of an unbalanced mind. Listen to me, Kode. I know you’re confused, but it’s just because you’ve taken out your receiver. Trust me. Listen to the TARDIS.’
‘No,’ said Kode.
‘Kode –’
‘No.’ The muscles in his arms tensed, as if demonstrating how easy it’d be to press the trigger. ‘New signals. New ideas. Can’t you hear them?’
‘Oh dear. No, I can’t hear them, Kode. I think you’re hallucinating.’
‘No! I heard them when we went outside. New signals. From Anathema.’
One side of the Doctor’s brain exchanged glances with the other side. The signals from the TARDIS should have been stronger than any signals from the Remote’s media. Unless something new had been programmed into the transmitters. Some new operating procedure, perhaps.
‘Principles,’ Kode explained. ‘I’ve got my principles.’
The Doctor thought it sounded unlikely, but he didn’t argue. ‘I see. And what do your principles say?’
‘Bring the TARDIS. Bring the TARDIS back to Anathema. Use it to find the Cold.’
‘That’s not a principle, Kode. It’s a mission objective.’
‘But I believe in it.’ Kode’s voice sounded determined, more stable than it had ever sounded before. ‘I have to bring the TARDIS to Guest. It’s vital.’
‘Doctor?’ said Sarah Jane.
Kode shrieked, and turned to cover the corridor behind him. Sarah stepped into view, but stopped dead in the doorway.
‘Don’t move,’ Kode said, swinging the gun back towards the Doctor. ‘I’m not afraid to use this.’
‘I knew it,’ Sarah tutted. ‘Just listen to him. He’s like something out of The Professionals.’
‘It’s probably being repeated somewhere near here,’ said the Doctor. ‘We must have reached Esher. But you won’t shoot, will you, Kode? You need my help to get the TARDIS to Anathema. She won’t respond to you, if she knows you’ve killed me.’
‘I’m not going to kill you,’ said Kode. His voice wasn’t quite as steady as it had been a moment before.
‘Then you’re not much of a threat,’ Sarah pointed out.
Even as she said it, Kode was raising the gun. ‘You… believe… life is sacred,’ he said, addressing the Doctor. ‘I know you do. It’s in the media. Sam told us.’
Yes. That explained quite a lot. ‘You’re quite right,’ the Doctor told him. ‘But I don’t see… oh.’
Kode was pointing the gun at his own head, pushing the nozzle into his neck, right under his chin. His finger tightened on the triggering mechanism.
‘Take the TARDIS to Anathema,’ said Kode. ‘Take it straight to Guest. No attempts to rescue Sam.’
‘Is he doing what I think he’s doing?’ asked Sarah.
‘I’m ready to die for my beliefs,’ Kode told her. ‘So do as I say. Or I get it.’
She looked at the Doctor. ‘He can’t be serious.’
The Doctor cleared his throat, as if that’d get the embarrassment out of his voice. ‘I’m afraid he is. As a matter of fact, I’ve tried the same trick myself. The difference is, I think Kode really means it.’
‘But we can’t –’
‘I don’t think we’ve really got a choice, Sarah. We’re going to have to do as he says.’
‘That’s insane,’ said Sarah.
‘That’s principles,’ said Kode.
‘Quite,’ said the Doctor.
* * *
Trip Five: Esher–Croydon
He’d managed to persuade Kode to let Sarah go. After all, he’d argued, she wasn’t important to Guest’s plan. And taking her back home would only delay the journey to Anathema by a minute or two. The Cold had waited for millennia, so surely it’d wait until he’d had a proper chance to say goodbye.
Now the four of them were assembled in Sarah’s living room: the Doctor, Sarah, Kode and K9. On Kode’s instructions, Lost Boy had stayed on board the ship. Kode was still holding the gun to his own throat, threatening