Doctor Who_ The King of Terror - Keith Topping [72]
Suddenly Tegan saw yet another side of Paynter. And of Milligan too. Professionals. Trained men with an astonishingly keen eye for anomalous detail.
She had to admit it, she was impressed.
‘They’re like nothing I’ve come across before,’ noted Paynter. ‘The shape’s all wrong for a Cyber reconnaissance ship.’
The sun rose just after five and the chill of the night was soon swept away and replaced by an almost instantaneous and severe heat. They had over twenty miles to go to civilisation. It was a very unappealing thought.
They had walked for more than two hours as the sun climbed higher in the sky and stewed them in their own juices before the blisters finally began to take their toll. Particularly on Tegan who was eventually forced, much to her acute embarrassment, to ask Paynter and Milligan whether they could rest for a few moments.
The look she received from the captain was an intoxicating mixture of exasperation and delight that he had clearly won a bet with his sergeant. Milligan’s reaction, on the other hand, betrayed an obvious concern for Tegan but with perhaps a trace of disappointment that she had cost him some money.
‘But of course,’ Paynter said. ‘You must be tired. You’ve been on your mouth all day.’
Tegan said nothing. She merely sat down, removed her shoes and began to massage her feet, both of which resembled raw and bloodied cuts of meat.
She tried desperately hard not to show how close to tears she was with the pain.
138
Milligan and Paynter, meanwhile, chatted away as if this was a Sunday afternoon stroll in Hyde Park.
‘I could do with a few bevvies right now,’ said Milligan, draining the last of the water from a hip flask he’d brought from the car. ‘Get into one of them Las Vegas casinos and put my wad on twenty-seven black.’
‘Next time you’re in London I’ll take you to my club.’ Paynter turned and shouted back to Tegan. ‘You can come too if you like. They allow women in on Thursdays.’
‘Wouldn’t miss it for the world,’ muttered Tegan.
‘They’ve got a Steinway in the lobby. I keep meaning to take lessons. I’ve always wanted to be able to play.’
‘Remarkable,’ Tegan noted. ‘You’re the first man I’ve ever met with pianist envy.’
Milligan began to laugh, then stopped when he saw the dark look on his superior’s face. ‘So, what do you think about her then?’ he asked philosophically as they turned away from Tegan and walked out of earshot.
‘Strange girl,’ said Paynter.
‘I like her,’ replied Milligan. ‘She’s got spunk.’
‘Yeah, but she’s an Australian,’ noted Paynter, as if that was a crime in itself.
‘London bars are full of them. Big mouths and smelly shoes.’
‘You serious?’
‘Nah, just pulling your tiddler. She’s all right, I suppose.’ Paynter stopped and scanned the horizon for signs of life. He removed his binoculars from the pocket of his sleeveless flak jacket and repeated the process. ‘This isn’t good.’ he said. ‘We’re not making much progress. We need to get to a phone as quickly as possible and let HQ know what’s happened.’
‘The ship?’
‘You don’t think it’s significant?’ asked Paynter incredulously.
‘Could have been a coincidence,’ noted Milligan. ‘You said yourself, this is a bug hot spot.’
‘Balls!’ replied Captain Paynter. ‘That was for the tourist back there. That ship was the real thing. A hunter, bird of prey, whatever it is they’re calling attack fighters on Uranus or wherever the hell these things come from. And it was targeting us. Why do you think the car lost power?’
The full implications of what Paynter was saying hit Milligan right between the eyes. ‘You’re really giving me the willies,’ he said. ‘On several levels.’
‘They’ll be back. For us.’
‘Then hadn’t we better get a move on?’ asked Milligan.
Paynter seemed relieved that the penny had finally dropped. ‘Indeed,’ he said eagerly. ‘Only we’ve had to stop because Waltzing Matilda’s got sore plates of meat, you know what I’m saying?!’
139
Milligan nodded. ‘I’ll give her a hand, skipper, but give the lass a chance.