Doctor Who_ The Hollow Men - Keith Topping [67]
„You bastard,‟ said Denman. „I‟ll make you pay for what you‟ve done.‟
„And there are some strange rumours about you and your girl,‟ continued Shanks. „But I don‟t like to spread gossip.
Anyway, you‟ll be suspended, your department will be investigated... All those cases you‟ve got ready to bring against me will fall through.‟
„I wouldn‟t be so sure,‟ said Denman.
Ignoring the exchange, the Doctor crouched down at the side of the vat, his hands moving over the keypad.
Shanks‟s gun waved back towards the Doctor. „Stop that, Doc,‟ he said.
„No,‟ said the Doctor simply.
„Look, I‟m warning you,‟ said Shanks, flustered again.
„Leave it alone, or I‟ll kill you.‟ Shanks turned towards the crouched form of the Doctor. It gave Denman the opportunity he needed.
The burly policeman threw himself at Shanks‟s legs, catching them in a perfect rugby tackle. The gun flew out of Shanks‟s grip.
The men hit the walkway as one. Denman was the first to respond, pummelling blows against Shanks‟s head with his fists.
The Doctor ignored the commotion, and concentrated on switching off the vat. He glanced up just as Shanks smashed his forehead against the bridge of Denman‟s nose. Denman twisted away, blood pouring from his face. Shanks powered his knee into the man‟s groin, scrambling to his feet, desperately seeking out the gun.
Denman charged at Shanks, head down like a bull. The drug dealer caught the brunt of the impact on his chest, and he flew backward, slamming into the handrail that ran along the side of the walkway. His legs flicked upward, his body pivoting around the low metal wall, and he disappeared from view, screaming.
Denman pulled himself to the edge of the walkway, and looked down. Shanks had landed on the edge of the enormous water tank, his head and shoulders bobbing beneath the water, his legs curled over the other side. It was obvious that his spine had snapped in two.
The Doctor‟s hands flickered over the keypad, his eyes narrowed in concentration as he watched the numerals blinking on the electronic display. At last, he switched off the device, the LEDs dimming one by one. He glanced across at Denman. „I had to deal with this first,‟ said the Doctor. „Every second could have been vital.‟
Denman rolled on to his back, too exhausted to speak.
The Doctor stood up, and moved to the edge of the walkway. He looked into the water below, the surface still broken and rolling. „Did it have to end like this?‟ he asked quietly.
„Yes it did,‟ said Denman, assuming that the Doctor was addressing him. He wiped away the blood from his upper lip.
„Him or me.‟
The Doctor busied himself at the vat again, filling a test tube with the mysterious liquid. He placed a stopper on it gingerly.
„What is that stuff?‟ queried Denman.
„As I said, I‟m not entirely sure. I saw a flash of DNA on the screen in Shanks‟s apartment.‟ He shook the test tube gingerly. „My guess is that this activates certain dormant human genes. Those involved with the more esoteric or vestigial mental functions.‟
„Like what?‟
„It could be telepathy, or precognition, or just a trigger for mass hysteria. I‟ll need to do a full analysis, which will mean going back to Hexen Bridge.‟ The Doctor paused. „Or...‟
„Or... ?‟ said Denman, pulling himself to his feet.
„I could go and ask Matthew Hatch what this material is.‟
„Yeah, right,‟ said Denman. „Forgive me if I‟m sceptical.‟
„You don‟t think it‟ll work?‟ queried the Doctor, seemingly surprised.
Denman laughed bitterly and struggled to his feet. „You do what you want. But I‟ve got some things to take care of.‟
„Really?‟
„Yeah. I‟ve been thinking about that BSE laboratory that was bombed recently. There might be a link. After all, Hatch told Shanks it was all to do with mad-cow disease. I think I‟ll take a look - my last piece of official business. The vultures will be raking over what‟s left of my career by this time tomorrow.‟ Denman turned away. „And Shanks‟s thugs will be checking up on him soon. Let‟s get out of here.‟
Joanna Matson awoke to bird song and sunlight filtered through white cotton