Doctor Who_ Transit - Ben Aaronovitch [46]
I am thought of therefore I am.
You could go mad thinking like that.
Kadiatu didn't help his peace of mind either. Too many coincidences piled one on top of each other. It was like walking around with a club sandwich made by fate.
Travelling on the underground always made him morbid.
We are all lost luggage in the Victoria Station of life.
Kadiatu was stretched out on the seat opposite, ankles crossed, hands folded across her stomach, eyes half closed Perfectly relaxed.
He kept on looking for traces of his old friend in his great-great-grand-daughter. Some characteristic gesture or tick that would link them over five generations. There was nothing, of course; human genetics didn't run to that sort of thing. especially after what had been done to hers.
The train pulled into another station. Kadiatu rolled to her feet.
What would the Brigadier have said if he knew?
'All change,' said Kadiatu.
She led him through deserted galleries paved with red slate and lined with unused shops. The air was frosty and undisturbed. It was like walking across a field of virgin snow.
'This must be one of the unfinished developments,' said Kadiatu. 'They were supposed to revitalize this whole end of the system.'
'What happened?'
'The money ran out.'
The entrance leading to the platform they wanted was blocked by a sliding metal cage gate. A red No Entry sign was stencilled on a plywood sheet attached to the gate with gaffa tape. The Doctor let Kadiatu have first go at the lock. He wanted to see what she did.
Kadiatu carefully examined the point where the locking mechanism joined the wall, took a step back and kicked it hard twice. She took another look and, satisfied, yanked open the gate. The entire locking mechanism came out of the wall with a puff of cement powder. The gate rattled open and slammed into the opposite wall with a crash.
'Nemo me impine lacessit,' said the Doctor.
'What?'
'No one attacks me with impunity,' said the Doctor, walking through the open gate. 'The family motto of the Stewarts.'
Kadiatu poked her finger into the hole made by the lock. Chunks of cement crumbled and fell out. 'Graft above all things,' said Kadiatu. 'Motto of the building contractor.'
It got colder as they got closer to the platforms. There was no tiling here, just a scored floor of unfinished puff concrete. When they stepped out on to the platform Kadiatu automatically looked down the platform for the indicator hologram. It was blank. Her breath steamed as they waited.
'I hope there are trains running on this line,' she said.
The Doctor watched somewhat smugly as Kadiatu began bouncing up and down on her toes to keep warm. A low musical chime sounded from somewhere and the indicator lit up.
'At last,' said Kadiatu.
'NEXT TRAIN: STRAIGHT TO HELL 5 mins.'
'Someone's got a sick sense of humour,' said Kadiatu.
'No,' said the Doctor quietly. 'Somebody's trying to tell us something.'
Isle of Dogs
Ming took the call in Fu's office: Credit Card staring out of the Philips HDTV. Another of her Number One Husband's many antiques. The analog decoder wasn't really compatible with the scrambler's signal protocol, so Credit Card's face was spread out to twice its normal width.
'I can't see you,' he said.
Fu stretched out a long arm and placed a minicam on top of the TV.
'That's better.'
A wedge-shaped portion of Credit Card's hair had been shaved away and a strip of artificial skin ran down from it to above his right eyebrow.
'Can't you stop him?' asked Ming.
'He's putting on his armour, for chrissakes, I didn't even know he had it with him. I'm not crazy enough to try and get in his way.'
'What about Dogface?'
'He's at the local medical centre. The spike was off centre and missed his spine. It's just a kidney, some intestine and a few other bits and bobs they have to replace. He should be out and about in a few days.'
'Is there any