Doctor Who_ Silver Nemesis - Kevin Clarke [14]
‘What do you mean?’ demanded Karl. Ace realized from his tone that Karl was rattled.
The Doctor pressed home his moment of advantage.
‘Can you smell anything?’ he asked, sharply. The paramilitaries looked at one another. Even De Flores sniffed.
‘Building materials,’ he responded.
The Doctor smiled drily. ‘Nerve gas,’ he said. His face became steely. ‘Oh, you’re forgiven. This is of a kind with which you would be entirely unfamiliar.’
De Flores suddenly lost his temper. ‘Who are you?’ he demanded, savagely. The Doctor, however, was in full flow.
‘Doesn’t it occur to you to wonder what happened to these policemen?’ he continued.
‘I asked that,’ said Karl eagerly. The Doctor smiled indulgently. ‘Well done,’ he said with approval, kneeling to examine one of the unconscious figures on the ground.
‘And what, I wonder,’ he said distantly as he did so, ‘were your conclusions?’
‘Don’t play games with us.’ De Flores’s voice was deadly.
‘I haven’t the time.’ The Doctor stood up. Suddenly, he too was utterly serious. ‘These men have been attacked by a technology more advanced and more terrible than you can imagine.’
Karl struggled with disbelief. ‘What technology?’ he asked. But De Flores cut in sharply.
‘That’s quite enough nonsense,’ he said.
‘And look at their cars,’ continued the Doctor, ignoring him. ‘Look at their radios. Isn’t it strange they all seem to have failed at once?’
Karl was unable to disguise his fascination. ‘I thought that too,’ he said.
‘Very good,’ replied the Doctor, with the faintest hint of sarcasm. ‘Clearly their batteries are no longer operative.
You might also have noticed one or two hiccups in the local electricity supply during the last few days.’
‘Like at the castle?’ Despite the danger of their situation, Ace too was unable to resist the lure of the mystery to which the Doctor evidently knew the answer.
‘Exactly,’ he confirmed. He looked around at his audience in satisfaction. De Flores, however, had reached the limit of his patience.
‘Tell me where the arrow is,’ he shouted.
‘Listen,’ replied the Doctor ‘and you might just save your life. There are creatures in the universe which make you look as dangerous as babies. And they’re here for the same reason you are.’
De Flores took the gun Karl was holding and raised it.
‘You will now tell me,’ he said, quietly, ‘where to find the arrow.’
‘I am very glad to say I can’t,’ the Doctor replied firmly.
‘Then,’ concluded De Flores, ‘I will shoot her.’ He aimed the gun squarely at Ace.
There was a terrible silence. Even the Doctor was still.
De Flores began to squeeze the trigger.
Ace murmured: ‘Doctor...’
Suddenly there was a blinding sheet of light, dazzling them all. As their eyes became accustomed to the glare, they turned to its apparent source, some yards away. De Flores’ face turned deadly white; every trace of colour draining from it in his amazement. Ace stood open-mouthed at what she saw. Some twenty yards away, a disc-shaped spacecraft had appeared in silence. A door panel was sliding open. From it, a first, then a second, and a third, silver figure stepped out. They were, Ace reckoned, about eight feet tall. She dimly registered that the paramilitaries, Karl, and De Flores were mesmerized by the spectacle of them. Suddenly she knew she was not going to be shot after all. Shock and relief flooded through her. The Doctor’s voice cut into her consciousness; his tone was at its most severely authoritative.
‘Don’t move,’ he hissed.
Ace found her voice with difficulty. ‘What... what are they?’ she whispered, unable to take her eyes from the group of now eight silver figures which, having assembled outside the spacecraft, were beginning to advance towards them with heavy steps. The Doctor’s face was twisted in hatred.
‘Cybermen,’ he answered quietly.
5
The Cyber Leader approached first. Behind and to his left, he was flanked by his Lieutenant. The others spread out behind them. The paramilitaries stared at them aghast.
The Cybermen came to a halt, the Leader’s attention directly