Doctor Who_ The Taint - Michael Collier [97]
***
Fitz cautiously climbed the ladder, his shoulder throbbing painfully. He was grateful for the distraction it caused him. His nerves were so on edge they were like a line of lemmings ready to jump.
He could make out a dingy light - there was a hatchway up ahead, and it was open. Taylor had got out.
There was no sign of him in the grotty old warehouse on to which the hatch opened out. Then he heard a noise outside, shouting and swearing.
Gripping the gun more tightly, he ran over to see what was happening.
***
Lucy saw that Watson was beginning to stir at last, and leaned over to kiss him, deeply.
'Welcome back, my love,' she said, stroking his cheek.
Watson pushed away her hand. 'Is Taylor here?'
'No.' Lucy was puzzled. 'Only Bulwell.'
'And the Doctor? His little girl? Kreiner's boy?' Watson paused. 'No...' He shook his head. 'No. They've gone.'
'For good, I hope,' said Russell, dragging himself on to his elbows. 'What about this unlimited power you promised? How come they -'
'That's enough out of you, boy,' said Watson. 'You'll have all the power you want, soon enough. Can't you feel it? Taylor's coming.' He inhaled deeply as if appreciating the bouquet of an excellent wine. 'I do believe he's got something for us.'
***
In the light of a street lamp, Taylor was facing down some little hairy feller with a Ford Anglia; by the look of things, the man was objecting fairly vocally to being booted out of his car so that Taylor could get into the driver's seat. When the man came at him with a half-brick, Taylor dubbed him in the throat with his fist, and kept pounding at him.
'Nasty,' muttered Fitz, wincing. Taylor didn't need weird mental powers to hurt anyone - he was a bloody maniac.
It seemed to take an age, but finally Fitz had caught up with him. Now he was hiding behind the back of the car. He risked a peek at the action; no need to worry about the poor sap Taylor was hammering - the only passing on he'd be doing was into the great hereafter, by the look of him. He peered round the car again, squinting down the length of the pistol, getting Taylor in his sights.
Taylor was looking straight back at him.
With a roar of surprise and anger, Taylor flung himself at Fitz - but Fitz was too fast for him, jumping backward out of the way. Don't let him touch you!
was all he could think of. He fired the gun, but it didn't make a noise - was that normal, or was the thing broken? Was there a safety catch he hadn't noticed? Weren't these things meant to go 'zap'?
Before he knew it, he was legging it down a side street. Taylor wasn't following him, but that wasn't the issue - he was meant to be following Taylor.
The side street joined on to the main road. That gave Fitz an idea.
***
The Doctor scrolled down through masses of information. It seemed that, with the right input codes, the large, glistening black superleech he'd brought from the cavern would be able to perform intelligent healing itself. It sat, looking for all the world like a squat lump of blackcurrant jelly, in its perspex box, and he felt he could kiss it.
But he had to make a decision: would it be quicker to attempt a TARDIS-simulation of the coding frequencies Azoth used to instruct the leech, or should he try to boost the power cells in Azoth himself, bypassing all other functions in the hope that the droid could perform this one last act?
He glanced at Sam, and wondered, and worried. Then he took the sonic screwdriver to Azoth's scorched gold head and activated it.
***
Fitz marched out into the middle of Mile Fjid Road and waved authoritatively at the car heading straight for him, as if hailing a cab.
An old boy pulled up in a brown Wolseley 1500. Hardly an Aston Martin, but it would have to do.
'The name's Kreiner, of the Yard,' said Fitz, flashing his wallet in the bemused man's face, his accent becoming purest Dick Barton off the radio.
'Would you mind stepping out of the vehicle, sir?'