Doctor Who_ The Devil Goblins From Neptune - Keith Topping [60]
'Before the thing died, I saw a glimpse of their facility.'
announced the Doctor. 'I think they're mining cobalt. I'm not sure why. But that fact alone indicates one thing.'
'What?'
'The Waro have been coming here for a long time.
"Cobalt" is derived from the old German word for "kobold", or
"goblin".'
Liz found herself unable to suppress a shudder. 'So why attack now?'
'Perhaps only now is the human race strong enough to offer any sort of challenge to them. Perhaps -' The Doctor turned suddenly, clutching his head. 'I really do feel most peculiar.'
And with that he collapsed face down on the forest floor.
Mike Yates was dreaming. It was the same unfathomable dream as he had experienced so often recently. He was in a field of tall grass with a bottle of champagne in his hand.
Dawn was breaking over nearby hills. Mike sipped from a glass, and then put it on the warm earth at his feet. Nearby he found a wicker basket. He knew that he had to pick it up, that it was vitally important for him to perform some task with it. Just then it began to rain. Fish. Silver fish with obscene plastic faces. Mike had to catch the falling fish in the basket.
He knew this. If he didn't it would be the end of him, and of everyone. Everyone was relying on him to get it right.
The slippery, wriggling fish soon filled the basket, and Mike began to look around for another. But he couldn't find one, and there were fish everywhere. He was drowning in fish, their tails flapping pathetically, their mouths gaping -
The ringing of a telephone awoke him, but for a second he lay still, damp sheets scrunched tightly around his head. A hand lifted the receiver and passed the phone to him.
'It'll be for you.'
Thanks, Sandra,' he said, breathing out slowly and taking the
'Jill,' said the woman with a dignity that belied the circumstances.
'Sure' Mike took the receiver and listened as the news was 'hissed to him. He took it with little outward reaction, but inside his stomach was churning. 'I'll be there in twenty minutes,' he !mid at last, and dropped the telephone back on to its cradle. 'Bit of a crisis, love,' he said.
'I've got to be up for work in the morning,' said Jill. She rolled over, turning her back to him.
For God's sake, thought Mike angrily, what does she want for a meal and three bottles of wine?
'Fine,' he said. 'There's coffee in the percolator, and breakfast
in the fridge. Leave the key under the mat. I'll see you next time'
Mike dressed hurriedly, then reached under the bed for his I SNIT pass and Browning 9mm. He threw a pound note from his wallet towards the woman's bare back. 'Get yourself a taxi,' he said, and left without another word.
Yates's car was cold, the sun just beginning to pull itself into the cloudless sky. As he revved the engine, Mike found himself worrying about the hollowness he felt inside. He'd always assumed that the empty sensation would go, given time - but, if anything, it had been getting worse recently.
He drove through the deserted North London streets, turning things over and over in his mind. When he reached the leafy suburb in which UNIT HQ was situated he was just beginning to recover his composure. As he entered the building it was like slipping on another uniform. One that stopped him thinking too much.
'Sorry about this, sir,' said Corporal Bell, looking a little dishevelled. The duty sergeant reported the death in the early hours. We couldn't raise the Brigadier, and with Major Turner in Iceland, and Major Cosworth on leave...'
It's down to me, thought Yates with a heavy heart. 'All right, what have we got?'
'Bruce Davis is dead, sir.'
'Terrific,' said Yates. 'The Americans are going to love that'
Bell wisely decided not to respond to this. Instead she led Yates down the corridor towards the temporary computer room. 'I'm afraid it's rather messy in there,' she said as they reached the door.
The first thing Yates noticed