Doctor Who_ Return of the Living Dad - Kate Orman [75]
(‘Maybe he’s managed to get his time engine to work just a little.’)
The map cuts out in turn. It’s been dubbed over the top of that last image of the young woman.
‘Dorothée,’ breathed Jason.
‘Ace,’ said Benny.
26 Demons
Joel climbed out of the van and aimed his boot at the side of the engine. ‘Why won’t the stupid thing start!’
‘Because I removed the rotor arm,’ said the Doctor’
strolling into the garage.
They were about the same height, but, as the Doctor shot a glare at the van and its inhabitants, Joel suddenly had the impression of being looked down on from a great height.
The Doctor opened the sliding door in the side of the van. ‘Everyone out,’ he said.
Isaac’s voice silenced the cries of protest. ‘We can’t let you go alone,’ he said. ‘It’s too much of a security risk.’
‘A security risk?’ said Benny.
‘If Albinex captures you he might be able to learn the destructor codes,’ said Isaac.
‘I very much doubt it,’ said the Doctor.
‘Nonetheless,’ said Isaac. ‘At the same time, we can’t let Dorothée become a casualty. So we’ll rescue her, protect you, and capture Albinex.’
No more troubles,’ said Joel.
At least, very few,’ sighed the Doctor. He took his handkerchief out of his pocket and unwrapped the purloined rotor arm. ‘I expect I can modify your hologram projectors to mask your biosignals.’
All right!’ said Joel, pulling the bonnet open.
Albinex hadn’t gone far. The Doctor’s hand-drawn copy of the video map led them to a nearby small town. They parked the van at the back of a shop and walked the last couple of kilometres.
‘What is it?’ said Roz.
‘A community centre, according to the map,’ said Ms Randrianasolo.
‘Hell,’ said Roz.
‘Albinex won’t have chosen somewhere with a lot of witnesses,’ said the Doctor, frowning.
‘See the scaffolding?’ said Roz. ‘It looks as though the place is under repair.’
Isaac was consulting a handscan. ‘I’m reading two humanoids, in different parts of the building. It must be them.’
‘Either that,’ said Benny, ‘or a couple of builders are about to get the fright of their lives.’
Albinex had been waiting in the main hall. It was bitterly cold inside the building; if he had been human, his breath would be steaming in the air.
He looked up at the sound of approaching footsteps. Just one set of footsteps. He double-checked his handscan. Yes, just one. He stood up on the stage.
A small figure appeared in the doorway at the other end of the hall. ‘You’re late,’ he told it.
‘Traffic,’ said the Doctor. He walked down the centre of the hall, steadily.
‘Stop there,’ said Albinex, raising the Tokarev he was holding. ‘And take your hands out of your pockets.’
The Doctor did neither. ‘You’re not going to shoot me,’ he said. He hopped up onto the stage.
‘That’s close enough,’ said Albinex. ‘Believe me, if I think you’re a threat, I will shoot you.’
‘I’m no threat,’ said the Doctor. ‘How’s Ace?’
‘She’s fine, she’s just drugged,’ said Albinex. ‘It’ll wear off shortly. She’s not locked in, so she’ll simply leave when she wakes up.’
The Doctor took his hands out of his pockets and spread them wide. ‘I’m your prisoner now. You can tell me. Are you planning to destroy Earth, or just threaten to destroy it?’
‘Threaten,’ said Albinex. ‘Once I’ve accumulated the power and technology I need, I’m going back to Navarro.’
‘Ah,’ said the Doctor. ‘The barbarian who shakes the corrupt empire from its decadence.’
‘We were a military power before,’ said Albinex. ‘And we’ll be one again. The fun will stop when the first few bombs fall. The party is over.’
‘You know,’ said the Doctor, ‘it’s bad enough incinerating children to win a war. But vaporizing people because you don’t like their lifestyle?’ He sighed. His breath didn’t steam in the air either. ‘I think you’ve been on Earth too long, Albinex.’
‘Whatever you say,’ said the Navarino. He turned around and shot Joel.
Roz and Chris were following a handscan through the narrow hallways of the centre. It was a big, empty building, full of half-painted walls and exposed wiring. They walked