Doctor Who_ Last Man Running - Chris Boucher [75]
‘But you are the runner?’
‘There never was a runner,’ Monly said. ‘Not as such.’
‘No toody weapons technologist.’
Monly smirked. ‘Oh yes. Of course there’s a toody weapons technologist. That’s me. I am a toody and I am a weapons technologist. I’m just not a runner, that’s all.’
‘What was the patrol for?’
‘To catch me, obviously. Come on The, use your head.
You’re letting the side down.’
The Doctor took a step closer to the image. He peered theatrically at it and then shook his head dismissively. ‘I don’t know. Perhaps it’s just a distortion of the projector,’ he said to Leela. ‘What do you think?’
‘What are you asking her for?’ Monly sniggered. ‘I don’t know where you found her, Thedoctor, but let’s not pretend it was at an institute for higher learning.’
‘I see, the Doctor said. ‘So you regard Leela as what?’
‘A gifted fighter, but she’s taken a few blows to the head along the way, yes? Or was she always one of the feebleminded ones?’
‘Feebleminded ones?’ Leela murmured, smiling a small tight smile.
‘I don’t think your machine would be interested in the feebleminded would it?’ the Doctor asked.
‘Why not?’ Leela challenged. ‘It is interested in him.’
Monly grinned. ‘Not that I care, but what do you imagine is just a distortion of the projector?’
‘As far as I can see you’re not a toody,’ the Doctor said, his voice ringing and full. ‘You’re a firster. You are a firster, aren’t you? I mean, why bother with the pretence? What possible difference does it make to anything?’
Monly looked surprised and slightly shocked. ‘You can ask me that?’
‘I’m not trying to switch planets,’ the Doctor said using the phrase he had heard Rinandor use. ‘Are you saying I should be ashamed to be a toody?’
‘No. Of course not.’ He was outraged.
Looking. Always looking. Look for the opening. Look for your opponent’s fear. If you cannot find fear look for desire. Both are weaknesses that can be used against them.
Leela saw the weakness the Doctor had been probing for.
‘You are a firster,’ she mocked and, remembering what Rinandor had said to her in the forest, she added for good measure, ‘You have the name, you have the frame and you sound the same.’
‘I’m a toody.’ There was no smirking now. This was a challenge to his identity.
‘I do not think so,’ she sneered.
‘You’re not suggesting that you’re doing all this for us toodies are you,’ the Doctor said, frowning. ‘You can’t be that self deluding. How many of us have you killed so far?’
‘Who cares about that?’ Leela was smirking now. ‘He was not deluding himself. He was deluding stupid toodies. It is not difficult for a firster to do, Thedoctor.’
Monly’s face twisted with anger. Abruptly the projection disappeared. The Doctor leaned close to Leela and muttered,
‘I think you were right about the trap. He wouldn’t have been so forthcoming if he thought we were able to get out of here.’
‘What do you think he will do now?’ Leela whispered.
‘Make a mistake if he’s angry enough. Be ready to move.’
Leela did not bother to acknowledge the pointless advice.
Her silent glare spoke for her.
The Doctor smiled to himself. If they got out of this in one piece he must give her some advice about tact and diplomacy. It was something he knew he himself had always had a natural talent for. He stuck his hands in his pockets and made a show of wandering slowly away, stopping occasionally to look at the wall like some casual visitor to an art gallery. After a moment or two he forgot that it was a charade and lost himself in the wonder of what he was seeing. He was about to put his hand on an intriguing vision when Leela appeared beside him.
‘It did not work,’ she muttered.
‘Patience,’ the Doctor said. ‘This machine is reactive. It takes time to react.’
‘Doctor, what is Lentic?’
‘Lentic? Where did you hear that name?’
‘I think it was in the machine. What does it mean?’
Directly in front of them the wall blazed with sudden light.
Involuntarily the Doctor took a step backwards and found Leela was already there, already in the half-crouch of her fighting stance,, Out