Doctor Who_ Trading Futures - Lance Parkin [56]
‘Proceed.’
* * *
The Doctor and Malady found themselves a quiet spot.
The helicopters had gone, most of the floodwater had subsided, although everywhere was still damp, there were great puddles in the street.
The bodies had been removed.
Malady put her eyephones on. ‘I’m going to call the President.’
The Doctor seemed more interested in the eyephones than what she’d just said.
She made the call.
‘Malady,’ the President said warmly. ‘I was speaking to a Malady Chang yesterday, but it wasn’t you.’
Malady had no idea what he was talking about.
‘A young Englishwoman?’ the Doctor asked.
‘Who’s that, Malady? You didn’t say you were with someone.’
No she hadn’t, and she chided herself for that.
‘It’s the Doctor,’ she explained.
‘Is it?’ the President said. ‘I knew I’d heard that voice somewhere.’
‘You’ve met the President?’ Malady asked.
The Doctor shrugged. ‘Possibly.’
‘I’m Felix Mather, Doctor.’
The Doctor racked his brains. ‘Ah yes. 1989. I stole your space shuttle.’
‘That’s right.’
Malady looked at the Doctor. He must have been about ten at the time.
The Doctor smiled. ‘Remember afterwards, when we landed at Edwards? The look on the face of the –’
‘Sir, Doctor, I’m sorry to interrupt, but if we could save this for another time?’
A hesitation at the other end, then. ‘OK, Malady, what have you got?’
‘If we could deal with the impostor first. You know who it is?’ she asked the Doctor.
‘I strongly suspect that it’s Anji Kapoor, a young companion of mine. What did she tell you, Felix?’
Malady winced. Even the First Lady referred to him as ‘Mr President’ in public.
The President outlined what they already knew – that Baskerville had a time machine, he was willing to hand over blueprints in return for access to the ULTRA computer.
The President was to deal face‐to‐face with Baskerville in Istanbul, and he was in Air Force One, heading that way for a meeting in just a few hours.
Malady waited for her new instructions.
‘I think we can handle it from here, Malady. Stand down, and get back to Station E for a debrief. But take your time – you’ve earned a rest.’
‘Felix,’ the Doctor interrupted. ‘To prove he has time travel, Baskerville made four prophecies to Cosgrove. Three of them have come true, the third was the Athens tidal wave. We need to know what the fourth was.’
‘I’m not sure how I could –’
‘You’ve got the whole CIA and FBI at your disposal, you’re the leader of the free world and you’re meeting Baskerville in a couple of hours. I’m sure a man of your resourcefulness can find a way.’
Malady could almost hear the President glaring at the Doctor.
‘I’ll do it,’ he said finally.
* * *
‘How did you know?’ Anji asked, tucking her hair back behind her ear.
They could see Istanbul on the horizon, now. The pilot (Anji had finally learnt that his name was Leo), had anchored the yacht, and started to prepare the helicopter. Dee had gone to her cabin to pack.
‘How did I know what?’ Baskerville asked her.
‘You made those prophecies. But your time machine can only go into the past. So how can you see the future?’
‘Ah yes. Well, being the richest man in the world has its advantages. Fixing a soccer match is really not as difficult as you’d think.’
‘The young actress who died…’
‘Really should have paid more attention to biosecurity.’
‘And Athens?’
Baskerville took a deep breath. ‘Yes, Athens.’
‘Four thousand dead or missing. A million people homeless.’
‘Yes. I’ve killed more people in my time, directly and indirectly. But I have to admit I’m not proud of myself.’
Anji found it difficult to look at him. ‘How?’ she heard herself saying.
‘A large bomb, placed in exactly the right place on the seabed. It dislodged just the right amount of material to create a localised tidal wave… and just enough to bury all the evidence. Quite a feat of engineering. The people who arranged it were worth every penny.’
She couldn’t think of anything to say. Nothing that would express how she was feeling.
He was an old man, sixty if he was a day. He was quite slight. She could break his