Doctor Who_ The Dying Days - Lance Parkin [71]
'You always used to have something up your sleeve. There was always a plan. You used to say that you could never be too careful.'
'In the end he learnt that he was right. However much you plot, however much you try to think ahead, to second-guess, to predict what wil come, you'l never get everything exactly right. How can anyone rewrite history when no-one can even read it properly?'
Benny looked out over the city. They'd passed the worst of the fighting, which hadn't spil ed out much further than Trafalgar Square itself. Whole sections of the city were blacked out. The power must be down. The more she saw, the more Benny wanted to stay up here above it all.
The ship was descending. The Doctor peered over the side. 'We're barely clearing the rooftops now. This may be our only chance - it's not too far.'
To prove his point, he leapt over the edge.
Benny gasped, hurrying over to where he had been.
The roof was so close, it almost caught her out - literally only three feet away. The Doctor was already on his feet, brushing himself down. It was a sloped roof, but he'd landed on quite a solid-looking ledge.
The ship was moving at walking pace. Benny had to jog along it to get back level with the Doctor. She jumped across, trying to see the manoeuvre as a one metre hop rather than a five storey drop. This was no more dangerous than running for the bus, she told herself.
Her feet found the ledge, although the Doctor needed to steady her.
'Wel done,' the Doctor congratulated, grinning.
The Martian ship continued to drift past. The mortar attack and the helicopter hadn't even scratched the wax-like coating, let alone the metal beneath.
Benny realised that she'd been clinging to the Doctor rather more intently and rather longer than she felt fully comfortable with. He grinned down at her.
'How do we get down from here?'
'That's easy,' the Doctor replied, pointing over to the metal fire escape.
Benny's feet were still trying to find the ground when she felt the Doctor's hands on her hips, lifting her down.
'Come on!' the Doctor shouted, grabbing her arm and pul ing her along.
Benny looked up. The Martian ship was still only travelling at walking pace, but it drifted over the rooftops with the inevitability of a thundercloud. The whole sky was dark metal, twisted into alien shapes. They jogged underneath it, clearing its underside.
'Don't look back!' the Doctor yel ed at her.
Benny swung her head forwards. 'The UNIT office!' she shouted. The ship was heading straight for UNIT. Half a dozen troops in body armour and powder-blue helmets were coming out of the door, setting up position.
'Halt or I fire!' one shouted, until the Doctor waved a UNIT pass underneath his nose.
'Get clear, Lieutenant, there's nothing you can do,' the Doctor bellowed, still moving for the door.
The sound of hatchways retracting, metal grinding against metal.
The soldiers stood their ground, level ing their machine guns.
'They're using sonic cannons!' Benny called back. 'You haven't a chance.'
She was through the door, now, into the deserted reception. It was brightly-lit, with a reception desk that curved smoothly around. Large pot plants were placed around the area to reinforce the impression that this was just another governmental agency. The illusion was spoilt when the Doctor reached over the desk and flicked the switch that opened the entrance into the rest of the building - there weren't many quangos whose office doors were built from three-inch armour-plating.
She followed him through, trying to close the door behind her.
'There's no time,' the Doctor cried, grabbing her wrist.
There was a sound like a heavy metal band testing their amps, ready for an open air concert. Even though she had been clutching her head, it left Benny's ears bleeding and unable to hear the screaming of the guards outside.
She stumbled after the Doctor,