Part 22 (1/2)

'He'd better rest up,' said Jacobus, 'if you are keeping him...'

Woodworth handed the dentist his clipboard.

'I haven't decided yet,' she said.

Benny and Isaac were running across the grounds of the big, old house. They dropped behind a bush, squinting into the lights that surrounded the building.

'I thought the place would be crawling with guards,' she whispered.

'Only at strategic points,' he said. 'And sometimes not even then.'

'This isn't the first time you've done this.'

Isaac shook his head. 'You said you'd been here before.'

'In nineteen sixty-eight,' whispered Benny. 'The Doctor was held here for three weeks. They were supposed to have closed the place down. I'm worried about him.'

'Will he let us down?' asked Isaac.

'No!'

'Then you let me worry about him.'

They both ducked down as someone appeared from a side door. It was a white-coated lab worker, a man in his thirties. He lit up a cigarette, peering into the darkness beyond the brilliant lights.

'Right,' said Isaac. He touched the hologram generator on his shoulder, and suddenly he was gone.

White Coat looked up at the rustling noise. Benny expected to see him jerk suddenly and crumple, punched by the Invisible Man. But instead Isaac used a nerve pinch, catching the man as he fell silently. Probably like one of the pinches she'd been taught at the Academy.

He blipped back into existence and waved at her. She climbed out from behind the bush. He was examining the man's ID badge. 'He's a dentist,' he said, surprised.

Benny glanced up at the house. 'I hope we're raiding the right place.'

Sergeant Lidz grimaced up at the pair of idiots who were making his life difficult. 'Look,' he said, 'like I told you, sir, your pa.s.s is valid, but you can't bring your a.s.sistants onto the premises unless they have prearranged pa.s.ses too.'

The little man made an exasperated noise. The black woman glared down at Lidz. The other woman looked around in a vague fas.h.i.+on.

'I want to speak to your commanding officer,' said the little man.

'I've already explained, sir, he's not available.'

The little man shoved the phone across the desk at him.

'Then call someone who is available.'

The main doors banged open, and suddenly the foyer of the building was full of troops. Lidz stood up to see past the three nuisances.

It was another black woman and a short man, being dragged roughly in by four soldiers.

'Smith?' said Lidz.

Private Smith saluted. 'We caught these two in the grounds, sergeant.'

'You're breaking my arm!' shouted the woman.

Lidz glanced back at the three pests, suddenly worried.

The little man caught his eye.

Held it.

Lidz turned back to the trespa.s.sers. 'What are you doing here?'

The man said, 'We're protesting the military's use of this house as a base. It ought to be with the National Trust.'

Lidz glanced back at the little man, who nodded. 'How did you get in?'

'We climbed over the fence,' said the woman.

'Right,' said Lidz. 'Since you haven't done any criminal damage, I'm going to have you thrown off the premises. If you Come back into the grounds, it'll be much worse, all right?'

The two protesters scowled, but said nothing.

Lidz jerked his head, and the soldiers hauled them out the door.

'In a good mood tonight, sarge?' grinned Private Smith.

'Watch it,' growled Lidz. Smith saluted again and scurried out after the others.

'Excuse me,' said the little man.

Lidz turned around.

The short black woman punched his lights out.