Doctor Who_ Match of the Day - Chris Boucher [84]
„Perhaps,‟ she said, „it is my warrior training.‟
„You mean killing people makes you fitter and healthier?‟
he said. „You‟ve got to stay fitter and healthier than them I suppose.‟ He chortled again. „As a matter of interest: how did a nice girl like you get into the killing trade?‟
Leela said, „How did you get into the kidnapping trade?‟
She unstrapped the harness and drifted down to that surface of the cell that the pseudo-grav had made the floor.
„I asked first,‟ the pilot said.
„My tribe are called the Sevateem,‟ Leela said. „We have always been warriors.‟ She kicked off from the floor and flew in a shallow arc to the end of the cell.
„All of you? Do you fight among yourselves then or do you only fight other people?‟
„We fought the Tesh and each other.‟
„How come I‟ve never heard of you or them?‟
Leela said, „None of my people are here in this world.‟
„You mean you‟re the last one standing?‟ He sounded genuinely impressed. „You killed everyone else. No wonder they want you.‟
Leela did not bother to ask who they were because she knew he would not tell her: at least not until she got her hands on him. „Now it is your turn to answer,‟ she said. „The Sevateem are known to be warriors. What is your tribe called and are they known to be skulking, cowardly kidnappers?‟
„We are called the scumbags,‟ he said, „and yes we are known to be skulking, cowardly kidnappers. But it‟s a living.‟
Leela slid back the stiff plastic curtain that partitioned off the washing and waste-elimination cubicle. „I would like privacy now,‟ she said.
„Like I told you before, there‟s no surveillance in the ablutions unit,‟ the pilot said. „We scumbags may be skulking, cowardly kidnappers but we do have our standards. We‟re not perverts you know. We‟re not even killers come to think.‟
„I do not know what you are,‟ Leela said and half stepped, half drifted into the cramped space and pulled the screening curtain across.
„Do you want me to turn off the microphones?‟ he asked.
„I‟ll turn off the microphones if you want me to.‟ Leela had.
noticed that the proximity speaker kept the sound of the voice on the other side of the curtain but she knew that proved nothing. A device that could make the voice sound close to you could as easily make it sound further away. It certainly did not prove he could not see her and that was what she needed to know. It would help any plan to work if she was sure there was a place in the cell where he could not see her without physically coming in. She deliberately did not answer him.
„I know some people are embarrassed,‟ he went on, „by the noise their bodies make... the noise of their bodily functions.
It seems a bit stupid to me to be ashamed of what‟s natural but there you go.‟ She still did not answer him. „If you‟re a hairy-arsed pilot-type privacy‟s not something you worry too much about because in space you haven‟t got the space if you see what I mean. You get used to it or you get another profession. But I can understand that it matters to some people. People who aren‟t used to it and... you don‟t want to talk about this do you? Right...‟ His voice trailed off. After a moment he said, „I‟ll turn off the microphones. And I‟ll stop talking and get on with some routine system checks and leave you to get on with...‟ He sighed wryly. „I talk too much, don‟t I?‟
Yes, Leela thought, you talk too much. It is a weakness of people who spend long periods alone. Sometimes it is just a weakness of mind. Whichever it was with this man it gave her an advantage. People who talk too much never listen enough.
Her trainer had said that once after lecturing her and the other warrior trainees for a long time...
Silently she stood waiting behind the curtain. Would he know that she was simply standing there? It would not be definite proof but she felt she should be able to tell from his reactions: how long he took to check on her and his tone of voice when he did; whether