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'This is fun, isn't it?' the Doctor said to Amy.

217

DOCTOR WHO

'Maybe we could keep this in the TARDIS when we're done?'

Amy was too busy keeping the mammoth afloat to pay him much attention. 'I so should have made Rory take me to New York. I go with you, and end up inside a giant moose.'

Oscar walked into Madison Square Park with a sense of trepidation. He'd come here to pull off the greatest act of marksmanship since William Tell. He was going to shoot the Vykoids off the top of the heads of every NYPD Officer in the city. It was the only way he could think of to free them from their controllers.

But something felt wrong. Madison Square had emptied of troops, and Commander Strebbins was standing alone in the middle of the park. Oscar sensed a trap but, committed to the task ahead, marched solemnly forward.

He stopped ten metres away from his boss. 'Commander, I need to know if you've been compromised.'

As he spoke, his eyes scanned the ground around her feet.

He could see blurs of movement and hear quiet, high-pitched chattering. She was surrounded by the Vykoids.

This time, Oscar addressed his words to them: 'I know who you are. And I will not let this happen to our great city.'

218

THE FORGOTTEN ARMY

Strebbins looked interested.

Oscar continued. 'The situation has changed. This time you've given me a target. And I'm not afraid to take her down.'

He took his pistol out and aimed at Strebbins. 'If I shoot her, then this whole thing falls apart...' He felt a tap on his shoes and kicked four Vykoids away. 'I feel one more of you on me, and she dies.'

For a moment Oscar sensed the silence of the park. He felt immune from the sirens and noisy chatter of the city streets. This was just him and Strebbins.

Tut the gun down, officer. You will do as I say.'

Up until that point, Oscar had felt sure he could go through with this. But that was the voice of Jackie Strebbins, a sound he'd come to respect and fear. He told himself there was an alien under her hat, and steeled his resolve.

'This isn't you, Commander, and I am ordering you to stop.'

Commander Strebbins's face went blank for a second.

Oscar guessed that the Vykoid under her hat was radioing back for advice. Oscar could see the Vykoids were moving to circle him. If he did shoot Commander Strebbins, he knew he would quickly be made into one of their puppets.

Commander Strebbins's features abruptly twisted into a contemptuous sneer. 'Go ahead and shoot,' she said.

219

DOCTOR WHO

Strebbins spread her arms out in front of her. Totally defenceless. The easiest target Oscar had ever been given.

Oscar didn't know what to do. The sight of surrender stunned him. He would need the stab of self-belief to be able to pull the trigger, and it was deserting him.

Then Strebbins took her hat off, revealing the Vykoid beneath. 'Shoot me, shoot her, take your pick,' the tiny creature shouted.

Oscar was appalled to see the tiny troll lording it over Commander Strebbins. He felt the rage building back up inside him. The Vykoid was apparently finding it so easy.

'There are hundreds of us.’ the little figure taunted. 'What difference does it make if one of us dies. We'll still take your people.'

This was the extra push he needed, and Oscar began to squeeze the trigger. Then stopped. In training, Oscar had shot dozens of silhouettes and dummies. He was well practised in raising his gun to threaten or to silence. It was a way of establishing power, not doling out justice. In his time as a police officer he'd never fired a furious bullet. The anger inside him felt wrong. He was part of law enforcement. Not the law itself.

Commander Strebbins lifted her head, and looked Oscar in the eye. 'We took your city, without a life being lost. Now I see why!' She began to laugh.

220

THE FORGOTTEN ARNY

'You're a coward. Just like the rest of your stinking, lumbering race.'

At this, Oscar tightened his grip on his gun. 'Don't say that. Stop laughing!'