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Inside her dark office, twelve breathless cadets stood in front of Strebbins. She had set up binoculars by the window to scan the dark city outside, and there was an enormous map of the streets of Manhattan spread on the table in front of her. As they spoke, she added pins into the map, building up a picture of what was happening in the city.

159

DOCTOR WHO

Strebbins gave each cadet exactly thirty seconds to report, then moved on to the next, regardless of how far they'd got in their explanations. The digital cameras she'd given them hadn't worked. It seemed that every single electrical item in New York had been disabled. With no pictures, Strebbins was snapping pencils in half, adding piles of destruction to indicate where the roads had been blocked.

'Let me get this straight.’ she summarised. 'So far the roads out of action are Brooklyn Bridge, Manhattan Bridge, Williamsburg Bridge, Midtown Tunnel, Queensborough Bridge, Triborough Bridge, Third Avenue Bridge, 145th Street Bridge, you didn't go any further north, but it's safe to assume the rest are closed as well. And on the East we have Holland Tunnel, Lincoln Tunnel, George Washington Bridge, Henry Hudson Bridge. All closed by a massive blockade of debris.

You say it was piles of street lamps, park benches, smashed up cars and advertising boards?'

A cadet nodded. "They go across both lanes of every bridge I saw.'

Strebbins wasn't interested in the details and continued speaking to the room. 'Every single way in and out of the city is closed off?'

The cadets nodded in assent.

Strebbins was being very careful not to appear angry at their incompetence. 'And not one of you has any idea who did this?'

160

THE FORGOTTEN ARMY

This time the nervous cadets took longer to answer.

Impatient at their delay, Strebbins dismissed them without further question.

'My real men are out on the streets, they'll get this sorted.

Might as well go home, the lot of you.'

One woman didn't leave with the rest of the cadets.

Strebbins recognised the young woman as Yaara Stein, one of the more promising cadets.

'What is it?' Strebbins asked.

Yaara shuffled her feet nervously. 'Ma'am. I saw no troops on the streets.'

'What?' Strebbins was incredulous.

'I'm sorry, Commander,' Yaara went on quickly. 'But I saw six abandoned armoured vehicles at the exit to Brooklyn Bridge. I searched inside, but there were no signs of casualties.'

Strebbins eyed Yaara carefully. She'd read some of her carefully composed reports and knew she wasn't one to exaggerate or spread stories without reason. 'Are you telling me that my men are going missing?' Strebbins asked.

'From what I saw, ma'am, yes.'

Strebbins turned her back on Yaara and walked to the black windows, staring onto the streets below. They were twenty-three storeys up, and she had a perfect view of the streets below.

Yaara appeared at her shoulder, and handed her a pair of binoculars. 'Ten units were deployed to City Hall, ma'am.

But, if you look...'

161

DOCTOR WHO

All the way along Broadway the roads were silent. Park Row was empty of patrolling troops.

'They're committed to reporting back every thirty minutes.

I'll hear soon. You can go now, Yaara.'

Commander Strebbins was deeply concerned. Either every officer she had sent out was inside, pursuing the unknown aggressor, or they'd been taken somewhere.

She'd thought she could cope without the gear of modern policing, the mobile phones, radios and CCTV images. But now the city was being stalked by an unseen menace, and she was losing her officers.

Yaara was hovering by the door.

'What is it?' Strebbins asked.

'Ma'am, I want you to know that I'm happy to go back on the streets. If that's what you want, that is. And I won't tell the others.'

Strebbins looked at Yaara with increased respect. She was glad she was working with such brave and dedicated people.

She came to a decision. Something was keeping New Yorkers off the streets. But it wasn't her Martial Law