Doctor Who_ The Devil Goblins From Neptune - Keith Topping [20]
'And what did they see, then?'
'The "stars" were the result of the warp engines of a flying saucer reacting with an atmosphere unusually rich in carbon.'
'A flying saucer? Oh, I see. Our little green friends get on well with the hippies, do they?'
'Grey. Most authenticated sightings of alien life forms have indicated a grey skin colour.'
'Doesn't have quite the same ring to it, though, does it?'
pondered Campbell. 'Little grey men, I mean. Makes them sound like chartered accountants.'
Ferro stared blankly back at Campbell.
'Oh, never mind,' muttered Campbell under his breath.
He glanced at his watch. 'We ought to be thinking about landing soon.'
'Just a few more minutes, please,' said Ferro. 'I've picked up some interesting readings, but nothing's very clear here.
Probably the effect of the coastal breeze.'
Campbell looked down at the landscape again, the fields etched by darkening shadows. They flew over a small village, and for a moment the twisted church spire seemed close enough to touch. But Bob Campbell never misjudged heights, and they flew comfortably over.
Something flickered in front of the sun.
Campbell turned to the side, expecting to see a small cloud, but there was nothing there. Must have been a bird.
There it was again. Something tiny and dark, dancing in front of the sun, then swooping down towards the coppice of trees near Bradley Hill. A rook, perhaps? Whatever it was, it almost seemed to know how best to conceal itself, like a fighter plane during the war, using the burning sun to blind the eyes of its enemy.
Campbell squinted at the sun, but could see nothing against its glare.
Then a shadow passed over the sun again. There was a muffled sound from towards the top of the balloon, as if something had landed. The wicker basket swayed slightly.
'Nothing to worry about,' said Campbell. 'Probably just a -
' There was a scrabbling at the fabric of the balloon, an awful tearing noise. Something that sounded almost like laughter.
The ground began to rush upward.
PART 2:
BLOOD OF THE LOMB
CHAPTER 5
'Do not move!' The stock of the machine gun rested against the Doctor's side. Two more men appeared, hands on pistols concealed inside tweed jackets.
'Honestly,' said the Doctor, more irritated than surprised.
'There was a time when nobody could get in here without either a lot of money or proof of genealogical descent from royalty. Or preferably both. He paused and cast a quick glance at his three assailants, realising for the first time that they were the three men who had attacked him and Benton the previous day. 'You are persistent, aren't you?' he noted drily. With a mixture of resignation and genuine curiosity he raised his hands and smiled warmly 'I'm aware of the protocol in these situations, gentlemen. In my time I have been threatened by experts. So... Take me to your leader!'
The Doctor was marched along the corridor to the staircase and literally carried down to the back door by his two burly guards. The man with the machine gun gave a few curt orders in Russian, which the Doctor understood to mean they should wait until he had checked that their escape route had not been compromised. Then the Doctor was forced out into the sunlight, and bundled into the back of an unmarked van before he could take stock of his surroundings. A blindfold was slipped over his eyes by what seemed to be female hands and his arms were tied behind his back. The van moved off at an inconspicuous pace. The entire kidnap operation had taken only three minutes to execute.
At first everything was silent. Then he heard a woman's voice asking one of his guards if they had encountered any difficulties. The man began to reply that the mission orders had been carried out with precision when the Doctor chose his moment to ask the most obvious question that occurred to him.
'Excuse me?' he said in flawless Russian.