Doctor Who_ Set Piece - Kate Orman [83]
The Doctor shook his head. ‘They suspected a booby-trap – that’s why they sent the vessel here first. This way, they still think you’re on their side.’
‘Do they? How long will that last? What’s your plan, then?’ insisted Kadiatu.
‘Oh, there is one,’ said the Doctor, ‘I just –’
The back door creaked open and Ace came in, trying not to look ill. She went up to the Doctor, holding something out. ‘Are these yours?’
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The Doctor opened the little bag and let the marbles inside fall into his palm. For a moment he stared at them in bewilderment. Then he closed his hand, closed his eyes, a look of relief crossing his face.
‘Of course,’ he said. ‘That was it.’
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Chapter 14
The Oncoming Storm
History is time’s way of preventing everything from happening at once.
(Graffito, Prydonian Academy)
They rode in the hay in Nicolas’ cart, with the top down. Twice they were stopped. Twice the Doctor had a quiet word and they were allowed to drive on. Ace grinned at Benny and said, ‘The Force gives me power over weak minds.’
They bumped along cobbled streets, passed parks in which not one tree had been left standing. A house stood in ruins, smoking softly. Some cafes were still open, tired Parisians drinking coffee on the pavement. From time to time, the Doctor shook his head. ‘ Paris, sa grand’ vale, ’ he muttered.
They climbed out of the cart at Thierry’s city house. Kadiatu paid Nicolas while Benny plucked splinters from her clothing. There was no-one about to give them strange looks, just the sounds of distant shouting and smoke in the afternoon air.
‘I’ll have to take care of some of Thierry’s business,’ said Kadiatu. ‘Make yourselves at home.’ She went inside.
‘Are we assuming she’s on our side, then?’ said Ace.
‘Oh yes.’ The Doctor nodded. ‘She would have stranded herself, using her vessel as a weapon against Ship.’
‘How about us?’ said Ace. ‘Are we stranded?’
‘If Ship succeeds,’ he said, watching Nicolas trot away, ‘it won’t be possible to be stranded. The barriers that separate one moment from the next will come crashing down. All places, all times squashed together like a cosmic blancmange.’
‘Doctor,’ said Bernice, ‘are you saying the universe will come to an end?’
‘Nevermore a butterfly,’ he breathed.
Ace puffed out her cheeks. ‘Best not to screw up then.’ She went into the house.
Benny pulled something out of her pocket. She had to tug the Doctor’s sleeve to get his attention; he was peering into nothing, as though trying to see something suspended between two molecules of air.
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She held it up to the light. It was a gold ring, a wedding ring. ‘It was in the cart. Just mixed up with the hay.’ There were initials engraved on the inner side. ‘It doesn’t belong to anyone we know.’
‘Perhaps you should follow Nicolas,’ said the Doctor, without much interest.
‘I’d like to know what he’s about, maybe ask him a few questions. Is Kadiatu qualified to fight monsters?’
‘It’s important to work out which people the enemy has sent to spy on you –
and to bribe them to serve you instead. Said Sun Tzu. You don’t trust her.’
‘With the entire universe at stake, I’m not sure I trust anyone,’ said Benny.
‘What about me? Do you trust me?’ His eyes suddenly pulled into sharp focus, raking at her face. ‘Have I been taken over by some alien entity?’
‘You are an alien entity,’ said Benny. ‘And your lack of a formal degree in fighting monsters is adequately substituted for by practise in the field. I wish you could tell us your plan, though.’
‘Sorry,’ he said. ‘This is something I have to do myself.’
Benny grimaced. ‘Surplus to requirements as usual. I can’t follow Nicolas, he’s scarpered.’
The Doctor pulled out a notebook and scribbled down an address. ‘How’d you know?’ she said.
‘Written on the side of the cart. Off you go.’
Off she went, throwing a worried glance over her shoulder. What had that been all about?
‘How is Ship these days?’ said the Doctor. The roses on Thierry’s mantle had withered