Doctor Who_ Match of the Day - Chris Boucher [21]
You‟ll be rich and famous. And here‟s the spooky part.
Cunning plan which you didn‟t have in the first place turns out to work after all. Which means you must have had it in the first place otherwise how could it have worked so cunningly?‟ He was beaming with pleasure. „You are in the presence of genius and if you feel the need to applaud, don‟t be embarrassed, just let yourself go.‟ He nodded slightly and made small, circular waves of the hand in acknowledgement of the imaginary applause.
„I‟m impressed by your confidence,‟ the Doctor said, hoping that it was based more on expertise than on his obvious talent for salesmanship. „And you‟re right I did have a plan. I planned to look for expert help and so far my plan seems to be working far better than I could have hoped.‟ As he expected Fanson was pleased by the shallow compliment.
Also as he expected Leela was scowling and giving every impression of not being impressed. If Fanson had produced the key to the restraints, directions back to the TARDIS and a packet of sandwiches to eat on the way Leela would still not have warmed to him. He was never going to change her basic hostility. Not that it seemed to bother him in any way. The Doctor was sure now that it was no more than he expected from her. She was a fighter. Fighters were clearly different.
„It is still only talk,‟ Leela said. „Pointless talk. Confident talk is usually pointless in my experience. I have known it used to persuade fools to smile at their own destruction.‟
Fanson said to the Doctor, „I‟ll print out the precedents: there are only three and only one that really counts. If this works you‟re going to make history.‟
„If this works?‟ Leela challenged.
Fanson continued to ignore her. „And you‟re going to owe me.‟
„Of course,‟ the Doctor agreed.
„If this works?‟ Leela repeated.
‘We are already in your debt,’ the Doctor said.
„I thought you said you were a genius and they would fall over themselves to turn us loose,‟ Leela pressed. „Whoever they are.‟
„She pays attention,‟ Fanson said, „I‟ll give her that. Even if she doesn‟t understand what she hears.‟
„I understand you,’ Leela snarled. „There are men like you in every tribe. Men who offer nothing but the sound of their voice. Men who live only by the strength of others.‟
Fanson was stung. „That‟s not fair,‟ he protested, addressing her directly now. „That is simply not fair. Without us you‟d all scuffle your ugly way to an unmarked grave and you know it. You‟d kill for no reason and nobody would earn or learn. Without the Guild there‟d be chaos. There‟d be anarchy. No one would be safe. We‟d all be doomed. It would be the end of the world as we know it.‟
„It is a sure sign of stupidity when people think that the end of the world as they know it, is the end of the world as everyone knows it,‟ Leela remarked.
„She‟s quoting you again, isn‟t she?‟ Fanson said to the Doctor. „What did you do, make her learn one piece of meaningless crud a day?‟
„No, she‟s not quoting me,‟ the Doctor said, smiling. He was not even sure that she had modified something he‟d said to her as she sometimes did. So where had it come from he wondered. She couldn‟t read properly yet so she couldn‟t have got it from the library in the TARDIS, unless it was one of the talking books. That could be it, or it could be something she‟d worked out for herself. From time to time he was struck by how remarkable Leela was and he found himself wondering how long he could put up with a travelling companion who was constantly challenging...
„So self-generated gibberish then,‟ Fanson said. He glanced back at Leela. „I should stick to fighting. You move better than you talk.‟ He stood up and stretched clumsily. He was plump and out of condition and it was clear that his back was stiff from sitting.
Leela snorted and to stop her from stating the obvious even more obviously the Doctor said quickly, „I‟m sure your advice will prove to be exactly what we need to know to get us out of here.‟
Fanson grinned. „She‟s right, I talk better than I move.‟
Once