Doctor Who_ Island of Death - Barry Letts [29]
„Surmises?‟ said the Doctor indignantly. „These are the conclusions I have reached after due consideration of all the evidence. These alien beings could pose a threat to the very survival of Homo sapiens. They must be destroyed! Surmises indeed! When have you ever known me to be wrong?‟
The Brigadier made a noble effort and managed to stop himself from pointing out the many times they‟d run into trouble on the basis of the Doctor‟s assumptions. „You agree that the evidence is circumstantial,‟ he said, tight-lipped.
„We‟d have no hope of convincing them.‟
„No, indeed,‟ said Major Chatterjee. „It is maybe hoping for a miracle to persuade even the police to be taking the matter seriously.‟
„The Yanks have a word for it,‟ said the Brigadier. „Snafu.
Situation normal, all -‟
„So you‟ve noticed. Situation normal indeed,‟ said the Doctor. „Things aren‟t going the way we want? When has life ever been different?‟
„We have no option. It is vital that we intercept them in Sri Lanka. If we catch a plane...‟
He was interrupted by a tumult and a shouting in the street.
„What the devil...?‟ said the Brigadier, rising to his feet. A moment later, the burly sergeant appeared at the main door, with Brother Alex held firmly in his grasp, as if he‟d caught a naughty schoolboy.
„Absconding through the window, the miscreant was,‟ he said, his moustache twitching. „I am seeing him, so I am taking initiative to apprehend him. Sah!‟
„Quite right, Sergeant,‟ said the Major.
„Must get to the ship...‟ gasped Alex, with a sort of sob.
„You‟re too late, Mr Whitbread,‟ said the Doctor. „The Skang will be over a hundred miles away by now.‟
The effect on Alex was almost as dramatic as that resulting from the Doctor‟s earlier intervention. He sagged in the sergeant‟s massive hands. All the strength had gone from his legs, and his head drooped. Only the moan coming from his bloodless lips with every breath, like a child exhausted by too much weeping, told them that he was still conscious.
The sergeant picked him up and carried him like a baby over to the Victorian chaise longue near the reception desk.
He laid him on its faded velvet.
„Thank you, Sergeant,‟ said the Brigadier. „You‟ve done well.‟
„Sah!‟ said the sergeant. With a parade-ground salute, he turned smartly about and marched outside.
The Brigadier sighed with frustration. It was clear that he would get no information from Whitbread for some considerable time. „So. We fly to Sri Lanka and wait for them.
And what then? Are we going to arrest the entire ship?‟
As he finished speaking, he realised that the noise from the chaise longue had changed. Alex was struggling to sit up, and taking deep shuddering breaths, trying to speak.
„What is it, man?‟
„Sri Lanka...? You think they‟re... they‟re going to Sri Lanka? No, no, no!‟
The words were scarcely audible. His face was like a drawing of a ghost in a children‟s horror story. He swayed, and his mouth opened and closed silently, as he tried to go on speaking.
The Doctor strode across to him, and seized him by the shoulders, fixing him with his eyes. „You know where they‟re going?‟
Alex‟s voice came from far away. „Of course I do. They‟re going to...‟ A cunning expression came over the skeletal face.
„Are you... Are you going after them?‟
„We are, if it‟s the last thing we do.‟
A ghost of a sardonic smile. „You‟ll never find them.
Unless...‟ The feeble voice faded away completely.
„Unless? Unless what?‟
The urgency in the Doctor‟s voice got through to him.
„Unless... unless you take me with you...‟ The effort was too much. His head dropped; and, as his body gave way, the Doctor gently let him fall back onto the braided cushions behind him.
CHAPTER TEN
„Sammy!‟
The young Naval officer with red-gold hair and two rings on the epaulettes of his white shirt swung round to face her.
„Oh... sorry,‟ said Sarah, disappointed. „I thought you were somebody I used to know.‟
He grinned. „Afraid not. More