Doctor Who_ Just War - Lance Parkin [9]
The Doctor patted the side of the police box affectionately. ‘She’s staying right here.’
‘It... she wasn’t damaged last night?’ Forrester wasn’t particularly surprised, but needed to know.
‘It takes more than an Esau dropped from a Dornier to do that. I’m leaving the TARDIS here for you’ — he handed her two keys from his waistcoat pocket — ‘and these are the only things that can open the doors. One for you, one for Chris.
I’ve preset most of the controls, but if you’re not sure then just pull a few levers and press a few buttons at random.’ The Doctor leant over and said confidingly, ‘That’s what I do, and it seems to work most of the time. I’ll be back at eight o’clock tomorrow morning, and I’ll know what’s happening by then, and what our next move will be. Try not to get up to any mischief while I’m gone.’
Forrester glanced up at the reassuring shape of the TARDIS as she pocketed the keys. The Doctor was looking the other way.
‘Here comes Chris,’ he said.
Forrester glanced over her shoulder. Lieutenant Reed and Lieutenant Cwej were clambering across the rubble towards them. George Reed was younger than Forrester but older than Chris: he must have been about thirty. He looked every inch the heroic type: lantern-jawed, with neatly combed brown hair. He came from a rich Kent family, worked at the War Office on counter-intelligence, and was currently showing them the ropes of the job. Despite herself, Forrester quite liked him; he had a narrow view of the world, but was basically honest. Chris liked him, too. As George arrived, he saluted her — despite her rank there was precious few at the War Office that would do that. Chris stood behind him on a pile of rubble, hands on his hips, surveying the bombsite like a tourist at a theme park.
‘Inspecting the damage, Captain Forrester?’ asked Reed.
Roz turned to introduce the Doctor, but he had vanished.
George apparently hadn’t seen him. Her cigarette had disappeared, too. ‘That’s right. Looks like it was done by an...
Esau dropped from a Dornier. No one was injured — the firemen had to let the fire burn, though: St Kit’s hospital and Paddington station were both hit, too. By the way, permission to call me Roz when there’s no one else around.’
George grinned. ‘You’re billeted around here, aren’t you?’
Roz glanced up at the TARDIS. ‘I am, yes. Hardly recognize the place at the moment.’
Reed lowered his voice. ‘It was heavy last night, Roz. A lot of the planes came from the Channel Islands according to radar. Jerry was damned lucky, too; virtually everything they dropped hit something important. There wasn’t even a bomber’s moon. We can’t hit them back without hitting civilians too. Kendrick wants to brief us at 08.45, so you’re coming back with us.’ He moved away, wanting to inspect the damage for himself.
Chris stepped over. A week ago, when they had first arrived in London, he had been very taken with the fashions of the time. Overnight, he had grown himself a thick handlebar moustache, which he assured Roz was ‘just like they have in the air force’. Thanks to his body-bepple, Chris’s teeth and nails were always distinctly sharper than human normal. The combined effect of his pointy teeth and new facial hair was to make him look like a gerbil. Roz hadn’t the heart to break the news to him.
‘It was quite a night, wasn’t it?’
Forrester looked up at him. ‘Yes, twenty-three dead, two hundred injured.’
‘That’s not what I meant,’ Chris whispered.
‘I know. I just met the Doctor.’
He perked up. ‘Where?’
‘Just here. Don’t get too excited, he’s off somewhere again. He’ll be back tomorrow at the same time. He gave me this for you.’ She handed over one of the TARDIS keys.
Chris held it up to the light and frowned. ‘What’s he playing at?’
Roz wished she knew.
The Scientific Intelligence Division Headquarters were part of the War Office, on the banks of the Thames. From the outside the building was imposing — a seven-storey building in white stone. Inside, the rooms were smaller, perhaps less impressive, but nevertheless