Doctor Who_ The Infinity Doctors - Lance Parkin [106]
Peltroc said, quoting the first line of their oath of office.
‘That’s right.’
‘Isn’t the Doctor one of the Four Names, too?’
‘He is. But Rassilon was very clear that the Doctor should only be killed when he –’ Raimor paused, then reached out and grabbed one of the passers-by by the collar of his jacket.
His target was a small man in a patched-up tunic. ‘And where do you think you’re going?’
The man had the same myopic look and twitching expression he always had. ‘Captain Raimor, sir. Just on my way through the market, Strictly tekram business only, yeah?
Your new body suits you, Captain. Little young around the edges for my tastes, but – eep!’ Raimor yank him off his feet, placing him down between himself and Peltroc.
‘Who’s this, Captain?’ Peltroc said, getting into the spirit of things by bending over the little man.
‘This is Grote,’ Raimor told him. ‘Remember how I said the Lower class keep themselves to themselves? Well, this is one of the exceptions. He’s a forger, I caught him once with a number of keys to the Capitol.’
‘Aw, Captain. That was three hundred years ago!’ Grote objected whinily. ‘It’s not as though I used them or anything.’
‘Oh, I remember you telling me about him once,’ Peltroc said. Accidentally or not, the lad had picked up on Grote’s particular brand of paranoia.
Grote blinked. ‘I’m known to the Watch?’ he said slowly.
‘ Everyone knows about you up there, Grote,’ Raimor told him. ‘When tutors want to scare their pupils they say, “Don’t do that or you’ll end up like Grote.”’
‘Wait… the Timeys know about me?’
‘Time Lords,’ Peltroc corrected slowly. ‘They don’t like that word you just said. It doesn’t show the proper respect they say. Only Groteys use that sort of language, the Time Lords say.’
Raimor allowed himself a smirk. Peltroc would have to be careful not to overegg the pudding, but by the look on his face, at least one of Grote’s hearts had just stopped beating.
‘But…’ Grote began, unable to think of the second word for an instant or two. ‘But surely the Time Lords have got better things to be doing today? What with the aliens and the Doctor and Omega. People down here are excited enough by the idea that Omega’s coming back… it must be a party up there.’ He jabbed his finger upwards to indicate the Dome.
‘Funny you should mention the Doctor,’ Raimor said softly.
‘Tell me what you know.’
‘Well, he’s vanished, hasn’t he? That was on the Public Record.’
‘People don’t just vanish.’
‘Yeah, I know, he’s gone to ground. Hiding.’
‘Is that what he’s doing?’
‘Well, isn’t he?’
‘You tell me, Grote. You know the Doctor, don’t you?’
‘ Everyone knows the Doctor,’ Grote objected. ‘You know the Doctor. Makes you a suspect, does it?’
‘The last person to use that line of reasoning was an accomplice of the Doctor,’ Peltroc said.
‘She ended up dead, stabbed through the hearts,’ Raimor added. ‘She’s not the only one who’s ended up that way in the last couple of days.’
‘I think that he knows where the Doctor is,’ Peltroc said, with a surprising air of menace. ‘Shall we use the mind probe on him?’
Grote tried to back away. ‘Hey, you know, no need for that.
He doesn’t come down here as often as he used to. I haven’t seen him for years.’
Raimor glared at Grote, made him jump again.
‘I haven’t,’ Grote insisted. ‘He’s probably jumped into that TARDIS of his and left Gallifrey again.’
‘All the TARDISes have been accounted for, Grote.’
Raimor sighed. ‘Run along. If you see the Doctor, you find a way to tell me, OK?’
Grote was absurdly grateful, bowing and scraping as he backed away from the two Watchmen. He merged into the crowd and vanished.
‘The Doctor’s not here, is he?’ Peltroc said.
‘No. And even if he were, he’s not the murderer.’
‘So why did the Acting-President send us down here looking for him?’
‘It’s all politics, Peltroc.’ They found a bare stall, and rested there for a while. Raimor took his helmet off, scratched his head. He looked up at the Dome, looming over Low Town, glinting like ivory in the sunlight.