Doctor Who_ The Gallifrey Chronicles - Lance Parkin [67]
there would be so much dust and grime on the glass that no one could have seen in. It was dark now. She could just about see the street lights around the edges of the curtain and the garage doors. Without the fusion reactor, the glass bottle was just a glass bottle.
This meant that Rachel couldn’t see out. She’d seen the police setting up, and enough episodes of The Bill to be able to picture what must be going on.
She knew they’d cordoned off the area. There were cars with flashing blue lights, dozens of uniformed officers huddled behind them for cover. Half a dozen snipers would be in position, there would be another team on standby to storm the garage.
They wouldn’t go away, that was the point. There were a number of ways this would end, and all but one of them involved her getting killed. She was staying away from the window and the doors.
Without warning, Marnal stood up and strode over to the TARDIS. He rattled the door, but it didn’t budge. He didn’t seem surprised.
‘You’ll have to show your face,’ he told her.
‘What?’
‘You heard them: you’re my hostage, they want to see that you’re safe.’
‘They’ll shoot me.’
Marnal shrugged. ‘I doubt it.’
‘You doubt it?’
‘They’ve got the place surrounded. They can afford to ask questions first, shoot later.’
Marnal had found an old towel and was dusting it off.
‘A white flag,’ he explained, handing it over to her. It was damp and smelled of mould.
‘It’s not white.’
‘It’s not a flag, either. But it’s the nearest we have.’
Rachel held it in her hands as though it was a dead squid.
‘Hurry,’ Marnal insisted.
She went over to the door.
‘I’m coming out!’ she shouted.
‘WE HEAR YOU. YOU’RE SAFE TO COME OUT.’
She edged the door open, waved the towel.
‘YOU’RE SAFE TO COME OUT,’ the loudhailer repeated.
‘Keep your feet inside,’ Marnal warned.
Rachel poked her head out of the door. The scene hadn’t changed much since they’d seen it in the bottle. A line of policemen, a mix of uniformed, plain clothes and body armoured, was positioned behind a row of cars.
‘IS EVERYONE IN THERE SAFE?’ the inspector with the loudhailer called.
‘Yes,’ she answered.
139
‘ARE YOU BEING HELD HOSTAGE?’
‘Er. . . sort of,’ she shouted.
No immediate response.
‘It’s complicated,’ Rachel added.
‘WHAT’S YOUR NAME, MISS?’
‘I’m Rachel. I’m Marnal’s nurse.’
‘IS MR GATE IN THERE?’
‘Who? Oh, that’s who I mean: Marnal.’
‘IS THERE ANYONE ELSE IN THERE?’
Rachel glanced back at the police box. ‘Yes and no,’ she said. ‘THERE
EITHER IS OR THERE ISN’T, MISS.’
‘There are three of us. Two, er, hostages and Marnal.’
‘WE HAVE BEEN TOLD MARNAL IS ARMED. IS THAT THE CASE?’
Rachel decided to consult with Marnal, and bobbed her head back in.
He nodded, patting the stun gun.
She returned her attention to the policemen. ‘Yes, but we’re all safe,’ she shouted.
‘UNDERSTOOD.’
Marnal came over and pulled Rachel back inside, being very careful to stay out of sight. He closed the door.
‘Why did you want them to know you were armed?’ she asked.
‘They’ll think twice before rushing in.’
‘Oh. . . Right.’
The TARDIS had survived and was already beginning to cleanse and repair itself.
He was in no rush to leave. He couldn’t be interrupted in here, and Marnal was still in his garage or in a police cell. Either way, he wasn’t going to harm anyone.
The Doctor headed back to the control room. He was feeling dulled. Every so often he would pause, kidding himself that he was checking the nearest room. The air was dry, with a faint acidic feel to it. The whole TARDIS
smelled of ash.
The third time he stopped the Doctor realised that he’d lost his bearings.
The TARDIS was big, and every distinguishing feature had been seared away by the atomic blast. There had been a large pirate’s chest marking one particular fork in the corridor. There had been things like mirrors and sculptures dotted around. Odd machines – some very odd indeed – had nested in alcoves that were now totally bare. The Doctor hadn’t realised just how much