Doctor Who_ The Room With No Doors - Kate Orman [37]
He threw the chocolate to Joel. ‘Cheers, mate,’ said Joel, in his best British accent. ‘You guys at least had time to do your homework. I didn’t know where or when the heck we’d end up.’
74
‘I remember what that was like.’ The Doctor smiled. ‘How goes the cleaning-up-after-me business?’
‘You know. Keeps you off the streets. Met Tegan Jovanka.’
‘Oh,’ said the Doctor.
‘Yeah, she misses you too.’ Joel unwrapped the chocolate bar. ‘The usual crop of invasions – the Cybermen were the worst of it. The bloody Ra’ashetani had another go in 1988. Eighty-eight was a bastard of a year, for some reason. . . and the government’s so cagey about what it knows about extraterrestrials these days. A decade ago there were leaks everywhere. Now everything’s under wraps.’
The Doctor sat cross-legged and planted his chin on his palm, looking glum.
Joel wondered what was going through his mind. ‘Young Chris is a bit of a mess,’ he said.
The Doctor glanced at him. ‘He’s resilient. He’ll cope.’
‘Ah,’ said Joel. ‘You left him behind for a reason.’
‘I never do anything without a reason,’ said the Doctor, ‘or at least a rhyme.’
‘He’s been through one hell of a lot in the last couple of years. He, ah, told me about Roz. And Professor Shaw. Must have been rough on him.’
The Doctor didn’t answer. Joel took a bite out of the chocolate bar. ‘So, what’s the plan?’
‘I try to persuade Gufuu to abandon his interest in the pod,’ said the Doctor,
‘while I investigate the local politics.’
And Chris gets to wing it on his own for a while. ‘Why did they invite you to dinner? Kind of a one-eighty after trying to lop your head off.’
‘I dropped Gufuu Kocho a line,’ said the Doctor. ‘Actually, I left a message with Kadoguchiroshi. When we didn’t return after a day, he would have sent it on to the daimyo.’
‘“I have information that might be to your advantage”?’
‘I threw in a lot of my official titles to let him know I meant business. President of the High Council of Time Lords. Keeper of the Legacy of Rassilon.
Defender of the Laws of Time. Honorary Kang. And so forth.’
Joel’s eyes widened. ‘You’re the President of the Time Lords?’
‘No,’ said the Doctor, ‘but Gufuu doesn’t know that. I also gain extra status through being a doctor, of course – that puts me on the same footing as the samurai. I wonder if I can convince Aka-san to lend me some clothes.’ He tipped his hat at the samurai’s leader, who looked bewildered.
Joel said, ‘This is all kind of small-scale for you, isn’t it? The Earth’s not going to blow up or anything. Unless you know something about that pod that you’re not telling.’
‘Oh yes,’ said the Doctor. ‘This is just an adventure. A bit of swordplay, a few jokes, nothing worth taking very seriously.’
75
‘Yeah, but Chris is about ready to burst, and you –’ The Doctor glanced at him, and Joel found himself shutting up suddenly.
The Time Lord steepled his fingers. ‘Mr Mintz,’ he said. ‘What do you want?’
‘Never ask that question,’ growled Joel. The Doctor looked at him blankly.
‘Er. Anyway, I guess I wanted a chance to strike out on my own. For a while.
I like working for the Admiral. He’s still my hero. But thirteen years. . . I wanted an adventure of my own. A bit of swordplay, a few jokes.’
‘And what do you think so far?’
Joel shrugged, watching him. ‘Nothing worth taking very seriously.’
The daimyo was watching a play when they arrived, just after sunset. Joel wanted to be dazzled by the great castle rising above the courtyard, the reinforced walls, the armoured warriors who watched them and the seated samurai who ignored them, watching the chanting and posturing of the Noh performers. All he could manage was a sort of numb exhaustion and the overwhelming need for a hot bath.
Servants came scurrying out, bowing low as they took the horses and led them to their quarters. The three samurai disappeared as quickly and politely as they could manage. Embarrassed to be seen with the gaijin?
A pair of nervous servants lead the Doctor and Joel to a large room in the palace. At first