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‘And you went AWOL again, and became an archaeologist through experience.’

She nodded. ‘Hang on,’ she said. ‘How did you know that?’

He put down his coffee cup. Dorothée told me.’

Benny’s jaw dropped open. When she regained control of her faculties, she said, ‘Ace was here?’

‘In the seventies,’ he said.

‘Why didn’t she tell me?’ Benny said. She hung onto the counter. Did she know — did she know it was you? Why didn’t she tell me?’

‘She wanted to,’ he said softly. ‘She wanted to. Perhaps she just hasn’t found you yet.’

‘I should’ve realized she’d come here,’ said Benny. ‘A twentieth-century epicentre of weirdness like this. Ace. My God. And she told you all about me.’

‘No.’ Isaac put down the cooling cup of coffee. ‘I stopped her. It was good to know you were alive, that you were all right. But I couldn’t know too much. Not too much.’

‘You’re just full of surprises, you know that?’ said Benny.

Bridget and Ms Randrianasolo were walking up ahead, talking about what the peace camp was going to do when the missiles arrived. Jacqui walked with Roz, her boots squelching in the cold mud. She was only a bit shorter than the black woman — actually, they were about as tall, because of the pompom on the top of Jacqui’s woolly hat.

‘What do you think about the camp?’ asked Jacqui.

Forrester didn’t look at her, concentrating on not slipping In the mud. ‘I’ve seen hundreds of protests,’ she said.

‘You must be kind of an expert then.’

‘I’d never really thought about it like that,’ said Roz.

‘Chris said you and he used to be police. In the future.’

‘That’s right.’

‘So was it your job to stop protesters?’

‘If it wasn’t a legal protest.’

‘Like painting the planes,’ said Jacqui. ‘Criminal damage.’

‘I suppose so.’

Jacqui laughed. Roz glanced at her. ‘Sorry,’ she said.

‘It’s just funny how you get arrested for stopping nuclear bombs and not for blowing them up. We need police who arrest the people with the bombs.’

‘Right, thanks for that,’ said Roz. ‘Now let me ask you something.’

‘Why do you take part in the protests, when you know the future? You must know the base is going to be decommissioned eventually, and that World War Three never happens.’

‘Oh yeah,’ said Jacqui, ‘but the Admiral says that the future could change if something happens. Anyway, I couldn’t just do nothing.’

‘Why not, since you know the outcome anyway?’

‘Well, because, doing nothing is like saying it’s okay,’

said Jacqui. ‘I hate it when people do that.’ She stepped over a fallen tree limb. ‘Here’s the next camp.’

‘Three down, two to go,’ muttered Roz.

The Doctor had stayed in the pub to think. He ordered a lemonade and sat by himself in a booth, tapping his fingers on the table and scowling.

He’d told Benny he wasn’t going to get involved here.

That this was Isaac’s territory. And yet merely arriving had precipitated so many events. He should have dropped her off and come back in a month!

A young man brought him his lemonade, smiling. The Doctor took a long drink. There were two basic possibilities regarding the TARDIS. One, that Isaac had decided to hide her away as a sort of hostage. Two, that that was a panicky move which didn’t suit what they’d seen of the Admiral at all, and that someone else had taken the old girl. Someone who knew just what she was, and had been watching the village.

And if they’d been watching the village, they might have taken Ia Jareshth while they were about it.

They were facing a common enemy, and they were so busy mistrusting one another that they’d missed the chance to work together.

The Doctor kicked himself mentally. He’d promised himself not to make that same mistake again. He had to get back to the village, talk to Isaac — if the Admiral would accept his help.

The only thing was, he didn’t seem to be able to get up.

He slumped against the wall. ‘Oh, for goodness’ sake,’

he murmured.

A blurred face swam into view. ‘Hello, granddad,’ it said.

‘Have you fallen off the wagon again?’

He tried to fend off