• Choose a category
• All

No, there was no-one there either. If he stuck his head out a bit, he could see into the open square outside, but the odd member of staff passed by without a glance.

He could hear Sarah’s voice, behind him, interspersed with the clicking of the camera: ‘That’s it, sweetheart, look this way. Lovely, lovely. Come towards me. Come on, I won’t bite. That’s my boy!’

The Kamelius had started its gobbling noise again – and it was getting louder. Jeremy looked round. Much to Sarah’s delight, the creature was coming towards her at a fair old rate of knots. Perhaps he ought to warn her.

‘Oi! You!’

He swung round in a panic. Outside, there was a tough-looking man about twenty feet away who was looking straight at him. ‘Yes, you! I want a word with you!’ He made for Jeremy with purpose in his gait.

‘Sarah! Cave! There’s someone coming!’

The Kamelius was almost on top of her and she was clicking away like mad. ‘Sarah!’ shouted Jeremy.

‘I’m on my way!’ she said. As she lowered the camera, the Kamelius swung at her head with a claw gaping wide.

She fell backwards with a strangled squeal.

Scrambling to her feet, she scuttled to Jeremy’s side. ‘He nearly got me,’ she gasped. But Jeremy was by now more concerned about the man coming up the steps.

‘What are we going to say?’

Sarah took in the situation. ‘Leave it to me,’ she said.

‘Pretend to be a bit dim-witted.’

‘Eh?’ said Jeremy.

She threw him a glance. ‘On second thoughts, just stay as sweet as you are.’

Shoving the camera into her pocket, she walked straight through the lobby and out of the front door, meeting the man as he reached the top of the steps. ‘Hi there,’ she said.

‘We were just having a bit of a look round.’

Grebber was looking for the Doctor. Once he’d made up his mind what to do he’d begun to feel a bit better. Of course, he’d never grassed on anybody before. After all, it wasn’t as if he’d always been a plaster angel himself. But it wouldn’t be like turning in a mate who’d bought a load of dodgy marble, or saved a bit here and there on the architect’s specification. These people had got to be stopped.

As for Tragan, well, he’d just have to keep out of his way. ‘As long as he doesn’t know it was me what landed them in it, I’m safe,’ he said to himself, as he hurried through the endless avenues and squares of Space World, searching for the guided tour. If he didn’t find them soon, though... He could feel his resolution ebbing away. He stopped and wiped his forehead. He was back outside the Kamelius House, where the tour had started.

Now, there was a face he recognized. It was that kid who’d been with the Doctor. He’d seen them out of the window of Freeth’s office. He’d know. He called to him and hurried over; and as he reached the top of the steps the other one, the girl with the bobbed hair, came out with the kid behind her.

‘Hi, there,’ she said. ‘We were just having a bit of a look round.’

She looked at him curiously as he panted his enquiry about the Doctor. ‘Well,’ she said, pulling the press release out of her pocket and consulting it (Now why hadn’t he thought of getting hold of one of those?), ‘I should think they must have got to the Moon Walk by now. If he’s still with them.’

‘You’re a doll,’ he said. ‘Look. If you catch up with him before I do, will you give him a message for me? Only for God’s sake don’t tell anyone else, see. Only him or that Army guy. Okay?’

‘What is it?’

‘Tell him I lied to them this morning. Tell him -’

‘Ah, Mr Grebber. There you are.’

Oh God, it was Tragan! Had he heard?

Apparently not. ‘I’ve been looking all over for you,’ he continued in a cold but courteous voice. ‘Mr Freeth would like a word.’

Billy Grebber’s first impulse was to run; he didn’t give in to it, but he couldn’t tell whether the reason why he allowed himself to be led meekly away, albeit with a covert look of entreaty at the girl. was courage – or simple terror.

When, on the night the Americans landed on the moon, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart had watched Neil Armstrong on TV jumping onto the