Doctor Who_ Prime Time - Mike Tucker [17]
Thought he’d never get his colour back.’
Ace sipped at her scalding coffee again, breathing in the heavy fumes of the rum. ‘How long have you two been together?’
Greg shrugged. ‘A few years. Met him at a gig on Brinhilla. Why?’
‘Just curious.’
Greg peered at her over the rim of his mug. ‘What about the Doctor, you been with him long?’
Ace nodded. ‘A few years.’
There was an awkward silence. They had already been through the usual ‘Is he your boyfriend/uncle/teacher?’
conversation, and Ace wasn’t going to hand out any more information on the Doctor than was absolutely necessary.
The cafe door swung open and Eeji Tek loped over to them, a cigarette dangling from his lips.
‘About time,’ said Greg. ‘Give me those.’ He snatched the sodden pack from the Monteekan and fumbled with a book of matches.
Eeji nodded towards the street. ‘I think lift yours arrived has.’
Ace looked out through the rain spattered window. The Doctor was waving frantically at her from the back of a hovercab.
‘About time!’ Ace snatched up her jacket. ‘Thanks for the coffees, guys.’
Greg scrambled after her. ‘Hey, you can’t just go rushing off. How do I get in touch with you? Where are you staying?’
Ace shrugged. ‘Dunno.’
Greg rummaged in his pocket and pulled out a card. ‘Well, look, give me a call, my mobile’s on there. Perhaps get a drink one night?’
Ace took it, a smile flickering over her face. God, he was keen. ‘OK, I might take you up on that.’ She struggled into her jacket and pushed the card into a pocket.
‘I’ve got to go.’ She gave him a quick peck on the cheek and pulled open the door. ‘See you around, Eeji.’
The Monteekan waved a gangly arm at her as she vanished into the downpour.
Greg slumped back into his seat and watched as Ace clambered into the hovercab and it roared off into the night.
Eeji Tek watched him with unblinking eyes.
‘Pleasure or profit you thinking, Ashby?’
‘I’m hoping for a little of both, Eeji, I’m hoping for a little of both.’
Ace shook her head, flicking raindrops over the inside of the speeding cab. The Doctor was staring at her, grey eyes twinkling in the dark.
‘Been making friends, Ace?’
Ace glared at him. ‘It’s not what you’re thinking, so don’t start,’ she said sternly. ‘Anyway, they found me, and I get the impression that they would have preferred to spend the afternoon with you.’
‘Really?’ The Doctor’s brow furrowed. ‘What makes you say that?’
‘Lots of questions about you. Greg seemed to know about you. Wanted to know where we had been, where we were going, stuff like that.’
The Doctor tapped his teeth. ‘I’m not sure I like being so fascinating.’
‘Oh come on, Professor. It’s hardly surprising. Coralee’s all over the news. Someone’s bound to recognise us, especially with all the telly sets everywhere.’
She saw that there was even a small television set nestling in the dashboard. Worryingly, the driver seemed to spend more time watching the screen than the road. Ace reached for her safety belt.
‘What’s the deal with televisions on this planet, anyway?
Everyone seems a little obsessed.’
‘Yes,’ said the Doctor thoughtfully. ‘Yes they do, don’t they?’ He leant forward and tapped on the window between them and the driver. It slid back with a soft hiss and the driver leant back.
‘What can I do for you, guv?’
The Doctor raised his hat. ‘I was wondering if you could tell us something about this planet. We understood that it was the foremost agricultural planet in the sector, but all we see in the fields are robots.’
‘Ah,’ The driver tapped his nose with a grizzled paw.
‘They got cable, didn’t they.’
‘I’m sorry?’ The Doctor looked at Ace, puzzled.
‘Cable television. Channel 400 moved in here about ten years ago, did a deal with the government, then the poor buggers here decided that sitting in front of the box all day was better than working, so they got the robots in. Didn’t half cause a ruckus.’
‘Are you telling me that the entire population stopped work because of television programmes?’