Doctor Who_ Remembrance of the Daleks - Ben Aaronovitch [10]
They must have been fourteen because Ace remembered the way Manisha’s long black hair floated in the breeze, before she lost it in the fire. No! She wasn’t going to remember that – it hasn’t even happened yet. It’s still twenty years in the future.
A man was pinning notices on to a board. He turned as the Doctor and Ace approached. He had a wide, bland face and watery grey eyes.
‘Good evening,’ he said, ‘and you must be...?’
‘The Doctor. And you?’
‘I’m the headmaster.’ A flicker of puzzlement washed across his face. ‘Doctor, eh? You’re a bit overqualified for the position, but if you’d like to leave your particulars and references.’
‘References?’
‘You are here for the position as school caretaker?’
‘We’re here for a quite different reason.’
‘Oh.’ The headmaster stepped back slightly. ‘What can I do for you then?’
‘I’d like to have a quick look round your school, if you don’t mind?’
The headmaster shook his head. ‘I’m afraid that’s out of the question.’
‘We have reason to believe that there is a great evil at work somewhere in this school.’
That was a convincing line, thought Ace.
The headmaster chuckled. ‘You’ll have to be a bit more specific, Doctor.’ The chuckle broke off, there was a pause and then: ‘But I don’t think it would do any harm if you were to have just a quick look round.’
‘Thank you,’ said the Doctor.
‘My pleasure,’ said the headmaster.
Rachel watched as Mike reported the status of the units to Gilmore. More detector vans were being hurriedly rigged by artificers and deployed in central and east London.
‘Are the anti-tank rockets being issued?’ asked Gilmore.
Mike checked his clipboard. ‘They’re being taken direct to the positions; the fire teams can pick them up there. I packed Kaufman off in a Land-rover with half a dozen.’
‘Where’s he taking them?’ asked Rachel.
‘Coal Hill School,’ said Mike.
‘On his own?’
‘Tell him to sit tight when he gets there,’ said Gilmore.
‘Any reports on the Doctor’s whereabouts?’
Mike told them that Red Four, the van that the Doctor had borrowed, had been seen in the Coal Hill area.
‘They must be making for the school,’ said Gilmore.
‘We’d better get down there ourselves.’
‘What about the machine at Foreman’s Yard?’ asked Rachel.
Mike turned to her and smiled. ‘Don’t worry, it’s under guard: it’s safe.’
The two guards at Foreman’s Yard were unaware of anything amiss until the pickaxe handles crashed down on their skulls. Both men topped bonelessly to the ground and lay still. Their attackers, two men in anonymous workmen’s jackets, grinned at each other – they enjoyed violence.
A flatbed truck backed into the yard, and more men in jackets jumped out. They moved deliberately towards the ruined Dalek.
Their leader gave directions and clustering around the Dalek, the men began to haul it towards the truck. ‘Get a move on,’ called Ratcliffe. ‘We haven’t got all day.’
Ace and the Doctor stopped at the top of the stairwell. ‘You were expecting these Daleks, weren’t you?’ asked Ace.
The Doctor swiftly opened a door to a classroom and entered. The sweet welcoming smell of a chemistry lab met Ace as she followed the Doctor inside. Her eyes shopped quickly around the glass cabinets, looking for anything that might be useful.
‘The Daleks are following me,’ he paused, considering.
‘They must have traced this time-space location from records they captured during their occupation of the Earth in the 22nd century.’ He smiled. ‘The amount of effort expended must have been incredible.’ He opened a window and carefully leaned out.
‘I wouldn’t be so pleased if I had a bunch of Daleks on my case,’ remarked Ace, dumping her tape deck on one of the benches.
‘You can always judge a man by the quality of his enemies.’ The Doctor called her over to the window. ‘Have a look at this.’ Ace leaned out of the window and looked down. ‘What do you