Doctor Who_ Nightshade - Mark Gatiss [56]
‘It’s useless. Blown out.’
those nightmares where you’re running through treacle.’
‘Then we’re cut off,’ said Hawthorne flatly as he strode Vijay came in with some freshly made toast and tea. He into the room.
put his arm round Holly.
‘Don’t be so melodramatic, Tom,’ said Cooper. ‘Vijay can
‘And what did you see?’ asked the Doctor.
drive over to York and even if the phones aren’t working
‘I don’t know,’ said Vijay. ‘Not a person really. A sort of there, we can get through to Cambridge somehow.’
cloud. Colours. Trails in the air. Like I was tripping.’
Hawthorne shrugged.
‘Tripping?’ The Doctor raised his eyebrows.
Vijay cleared his throat. ‘Drugs. You know. Acid. It was like that.’
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‘I see,’ said the Doctor with mock gravity. He smiled delicately took his hand in hers. His gentle breathing warmly and left them together. Vijay lifted up Holly’s face sounded closer as he moved his head towards her face.
to kiss her but she pulled away.
‘Come along, Ace. We have to be going!’ The Doctor’s
‘Don’t,’ she said simply. Vijay sighed heavily and looked voice carried down the corridor from the control room. Ace glumly at the floor.
opened her eyes sharply. Robin pulled away.
The Doctor checked the correlation receivers and turned
‘Ace!’
to address Hawthorne. ‘What’s the tolerance of your safety
‘All right!’ she bellowed.
cutouts?’
She looked fondly into Robin’s eyes and then gave him a Hawthorne sniffed. ‘That’s what’s very odd. They light peck on the cheek. ‘Come on, sunshine. Plenty of time.
should’ve cut out way before the levels they reached.
Let’s see what the Doctor’s got planned for us.’
Luckily, we’ve sustained no damage so far.’
He smiled contentedly. Ace bounded from beneath her
‘Hmm,’ the Doctor mused. He looked around the room.
blankets, unconcerned by her seminakedness. Robin
‘Where’s Ace?’
blushed in spite of himself.
‘Oi,’ Ace warned, laughing. ‘Close your eyes.’
It had been a long night. Ace had finally managed to cool
‘If you insist.’
down her excitement sufficiently to get some sleep, although she’d been aware of raised voices in the corridor at
‘All I’m saying,’ whispered Hawthorne, ‘is that the girl is some point. A woman’s voice (hysterical) and what obviously unstable.’
sounded like Vijay’s (placating). Ace had been awoken by Cooper stared at him. ‘What d’you mean, unstable?’
the tuneless squawking of a rook somewhere outside. The
‘I need hardly remind you that she has been seeing things.
sound made her think of bleak, frosty Sundays in the park And that wog boyfriend of hers...”
as a child; bare, black trees against a snow-filled sky.
‘I’ve told you before. I won’t have that kind of abuse in She became suddenly aware of Robin watching her and my station!’ barked Cooper.
inclined her head on the pile of stuff which had served as The Doctor looked across to where the two scientists were her pillow.
sitting and raised his eyebrows. Hawthorne was keen to
‘Morning,’ she said softly.
keep this conversation quiet.
‘Morning.’ Robin smiled his cheeky smile.
‘All right, all right. I’m sorry. But the boy freely admits to Ace ran her tongue around her mouth and silently wished taking hallucinogenics. You heard him. Whatever Miss Kidd she had a bottle of mouthwash. It tasted like the bottom of a saw was obviously some drug-induced fantasy...’
birdcage in there.
Cooper ruffled her grizzled hair. ‘I’m not so sure.’
Robin reached out his hand and softly touched her face.
‘Well, whatever the reason, do you really think we should She closed her eyes, enjoying the sensation, and then have such people working here?’
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‘Tom!’ Cooper slammed her fists down on to a bench. ‘If ever any of my staff sufficiently compromise themselves so Outside, the day was fine and cold. The Doctor yawned as to prove unreliable I’ll take direct action. Until then, we and strode on, Ace struggling to keep up.
have a bit of an emergency on