Doctor Who_ Peacemaker - James Swallow [53]
Godlove gave a shallow bow. ‘And here I am. Behold the Clade.’
Nathan spat into the dark. ‘Alvin Godlove ain’t no man for anyone to design himself upon! Nothin’ but an amoral soul, steeped in greed and avarice!’
129
The gun came up. ‘What is that? The squealin’ of a piglet I hear?
You are a pathetic little example of your kind, boy. You’d be cold and dead flesh right now if not for me! Or have you forgotten what it is that saved you from a chokin’ death of smallpox?’
Nathan was on his feet in an instant. ‘You stinkin’ highbinder! You cursed me, that’s what you did! Tormented me with visions of hell and then sent those outlaws to murder my pal.’
Godlove made a contemptuous face and turned away. ‘Y’all should be on your knees, begging to give me all you have in gratitude.’
‘All I got for you is this!’ The Doctor saw the flash of hate in the boy’s eyes as he surged forward, pushing past him in a rush.
‘Nathan, don’t!’ Martha called out.
Nathan’s hand came out from under his waistcoat with a small block of metal in his trembling grip; before the Doctor could stop him, the teenager had it pressed against the back of Godlove’s neck.
It was a derringer, and the Doctor recognised it as the small pocket-pistol that Sheriff Blaine had kept locked in a glass cabinet in his living room. He chided himself; he’d seen the beginnings of a rush for revenge in Nathan’s eyes before they left Redwater, but he hadn’t thought the boy would carry a second weapon on him. He gave a disappointed sigh.
‘I’ll kill you, Godlove,’ spat Nathan. The gun was small, but it was made up of two very large calibre chambers. At point-blank range, even the healing capacity of a Clade Command Module might not be enough to repair the damage it would inflict.
The boy was trembling, his finger frozen on the trigger. The fact that he hadn’t shot Godlove straight away gave the Doctor a slim hope.
‘Nathan,’ he said gently. ‘Don’t do this. Just put the gun down and walk away.’
‘ Why?’ Tears streaked the young man’s face. ‘It’s because of him that my father is dead! He brought it all on us! Him and that godforsaken thing!’ He sucked in a shuddering breath. ‘They’re all killers. I’ve seen what they did, in the dreams a hundred times over in a hundred different places. They feed on hate, they’re parasites for misery – they don’t deserve to live!’
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Godlove was very still, the gun hand pointing away from the youth.
Any sudden movement, and the boy would jerk the trigger by reflex.
‘If I die, so will the woman. . . ’
‘Killing won’t bring your father back, Nathan.’ The Doctor held out his hand, palm up, ‘All that will do is make you like the Clades. Those nightmares you had, those belonged to someone else, and no matter how bad they were, you know they’re not yours. But if you pull that trigger, that won’t be true any more. You’ll be like them. Killing out of anger, out of spite and hatred. The blood will be on your hands.’
‘I can’t. . . ’ he gasped, holding back a sob.
‘You can,’ said the Doctor. ‘Put down the weapon. Prove that you’re better than them. Look past the hatred and think of your father. What would he want you to do?’
Nathan glanced at Martha and swallowed hard. ‘Look to those who need help.’
‘Yes.’ The Doctor stepped closer, his hand before him. ‘He’d want you to do what was right.’ He looked into the boy’s shining eyes. ‘Just say four words. I will not kill. ’
‘I will. . . not kill.’ All at once the tension came out of the youth and he let the derringer drop into the Doctor’s palm. The Doctor gave the weapon a severe look and tossed it away into the darkness.
Nathan went to a crouch at Martha’s side, begging the girl’s forgiveness. The Doctor caught an arch look of derision on Godlove’s face, and he stepped closer to the other man. ‘Don’t you