Doctor Who_ Remembrance of the Daleks - Ben Aaronovitch [52]
‘Prepare to leave,’ ordered the Black Dalek.
Ratcliffe nudged Mike with his elbow. ‘Without that thing,’ he whispered, ‘they’re stuck here. A man in possession of that would have something to bargain with.’
‘For what? Our lives?’
‘Nothing so mundane. If we had that, we could demand anything.’
‘You never give up, do you?’
Ratcliffe chuckled. ‘That’s what separates us from animals and the sub-human – we never give up.’ He leaned closer to Mike. ‘But we must move soon, else they’ll be away.’
‘What makes you think I’m interested?’
‘You came here, didn’t you?’
Yes, I did, thought Mike. I was looking for a traitor and found that the traitor was me.
‘I came here to kill you,’ said Mike.
‘Good,’ said Ratcliffe. He licked his lips. ‘First things first, then.’
Ace was flung against the window as the Doctor threw the Bedford van round a corner. Up ahead she could see a burnt-out Dalek in the middle of the road.
‘Dalek,’ said Ace.
‘What type?’
‘Imperial, I think.’ Ace hung on to the seat as the Doctor swerved round the broken casing. Debris crunched under the van’s tyres. ‘It’s hard to tell.’
‘Imperial,’ said the Doctor. ‘A scout model.’
‘How can you tell?’
‘Fairings are wider.’
‘Oh.’
The Doctor changed gears and the van accelerated.
They turned another corner and Ace felt the rear wheels skidding. The van leaned over ominously, then straightened. A rail tunnel was dead ahead. Wrecked Daleks were clustered around its entrance, all of’ them in the cream and gold imperial livery.
The Doctor was forced to slow down to thread his way through them and into the tunnel. Smoke roiled around the ceiling.
‘There was a major battle here,’ said the Doctor.
‘No kidding,’ said Ace. ‘I can’t see any wrecked renegades.’
The Doctor slammed on the brakes; Ace was jerked forward. ‘Watch it, Professor.’
The Doctor jumped out and crossed in front of the van.
Ace slid back her door and followed. The Doctor was kneeling by two oval patches of black on the road. He motioned Ace to stay back, and from his coat he pulled a device which he held over the nearest sooty patch. The device chattered violently and the Doctor snatched back his hand.
‘Radiation?’ asked Ace.
The Doctor nodded and switched off the device. It vanished back into his coat. ‘And lots of it. That is all that is left of a couple of Daleks.’ The Doctor looked up the road. ‘I think the imperial Daleks have brought out their big guns.’
The special weapons Dalek punched a hole through the renegade central positions. Behind it, section four and the shuttle commander mopped up the survivors.
The renegade Daleks on the northern and southern flanks were forced to withdraw. As they broke cover the imperial Daleks surged forward to cut them down.
The Emperor watched the white stars on the situation map close in on the Renegade base. How long before the Renegade’s time corridor is established.
Five minutes, reported Scan-op.
It was all a matter of time.
One part of the Dalek Supreme watched the two human captives. Another monitored the current tactical situation.
Contact had been lost with all the front line warriors.
Departure in three minutes, reported the girl.
Instigate equipment destruct sequence, ordered the Dalek Supreme. All warriors fall back to transit zone.
The Bedford van swerved up on to the curb. Ace’s head bounced against the van’s roof. The Doctor stamped on the brake pedal; Ace flung out her arms to protect herself as she lurched forward.
‘Out,’ shouted the Doctor.
Ace slung back her door and jumped on to the pavement.
The Doctor rolled over the passenger seat, out of the door and landed on his feet beside her. He put his finger to his lips, then motioned for Ace to look over the bonnet.
Ace looked. Down the road she could make out the gates of Ratcliffe’s yard. She heard a scraping noise to her left.
Ace slowly turned her head. It was a Dalek – or perhaps was once a Dalek. Instead of the normal manipulator arm and gunstick arrangement, a vast gun barrel sprouted from its torso. Flanges swept back