Doctor Who_ Match of the Day - Chris Boucher [31]
Who were these people?
It suddenly occurred to the Shift Controller that it might be a drill. Oh no, supposing it‟s a drill, he thought. If it‟s a drill this is a test and if this is a test then I‟m failing it. What should he do? Where was scuffling computer back-up when you needed it? He hadn‟t got vision from the intercept
„copters, he hadn‟t got anything. How was he supposed to make decisions under these conditions! He keyed Snatch One communications. „Snatch One, Snatch One?‟
„Snatch One aye.‟
„Where are my pictures Snatch One?‟
„We‟re only just airborne Control. There‟s nothing to see.‟
„Kick it Snatch One! I‟m blind and deaf here!‟
The warning board lit up again and all the cancelled klaxons reactivated. The computer was clearly too subtle to cope with the sort of input it was getting. Suddenly Sita Benovides was at the controller‟s elbow. „Are you going to scramble us or not?‟
„You‟re in reserve,‟ he snapped, all hopes of getting his hands on her body quite forgotten.
„For what?‟ she demanded, raising her voice above the cacophony. „You expecting them to come up the back stairs and tap you on the shoulder?‟
„I don‟t know what I‟m expecting!‟ he shouted.
„That much is obvious!‟ she shouted back. „So I suppose a decision‟s out of the question?‟
„Get back to your squad and wait.‟
„We‟ve been waiting!‟
„Wait some more!‟
Keefer could hear the jet-copters coming. He lay in the shallow grave, breathing lightly through the thin tube he had pushed up into the air. All his concentration was focused on his hearing; his other senses could have no relevant input and he had excluded them as soon as he was sure the earth had covered him completely. He judged the „copters were still some way off but well within visual range when the first of the explosive shells detonated. He heard the change of engine note as the pilots threw the machines into standard evasion manoeuvres, breaking left and right to flank the hostile positions.
The Shift Controller could not believe what he was seeing, or at least what he was almost seeing. „Snatch One, vision‟s all over the place!‟
„We seem to be under fire, Control,‟ the squad leader‟s voice was tinged with panic. „We‟re approaching four, four by three from the right flank. Snatch Two and Three are on the left.
There‟s a lot of smoke. Whoever‟s firing is on the move. Can you see?‟
As the „copter banked and weaved the controller‟s screen showed glimpses of smoke and what looked like muzzle flashes. Look at it! Look at that! He had to make a decision.
He couldn‟t delay any longer. He had to make up his mind.
The tension was becoming an almost physical ache. He had to decide. What to do? What should he do? It was a sort of relief to let go and punch up the squad room and shout an order: „Snatch Four!‟ he yelled.
Sita Benovides smirked out of the screen at him. „Snatch Four aye!‟
Somehow the decision overwhelmed him now and gathered pace, carrying him along, making thought unnecessary. All squad members draw full antipersonnel weapons. Ride is gun-ship four-oh.‟ That wiped the smile off her face.
„Are you serious?‟ she demanded.
„Move it, Benovides!‟
„Gun-ship?‟
„Authorise seven zero seven.‟
„Full antipersonnel - are you crazy?‟
„Sector Four is now a Kill Zone.‟
„You‟ve got three squads out there!‟
„I‟m pulling them back. Hit it Benovides!‟ For one brief moment it looked as though she might defy him. „That‟s an order, Squad Leader!‟ he said loudly and firmly.
Snatch Squads One, Two and Three dropped from the
„copters at precisely the same time. They hit the ground running and immediately fanned out so that they could link up as they had practised time and again in training exercises. The idea was to surround intruders and cut them off from any possible escape