Part 42 (1/2)

'They're waiting for you, sir,' said the Tzun.

The Doctor tried to smooth his s.h.i.+rt, but after a couple of hours in the drier it was even more rumpled than before. He sighed and pulled on his shoes.

He heard footsteps on the stairs outside. Benny came in.

She sat down on the end of the bed and wept.

The Doctor went on lacing his shoe.

After a few minutes' she moved along the bed and let him hold her while she cried, great, wracking sobs that made her whole body shake.

He wondered if she'd cried like this in the TARDIS, on some occasion when his plans and lies had left her exhausted and betrayed. With no one to hang onto.

'What are we going to do?' she said', when she had enough breath.

'We'll see,' he said. 'What became of Woodworth?'

'The Ogri got her,' said Benny. The Doctor nodded.

'What are we going to do?'

He gave her a gentle squeeze. 'That depends on Isaac.'

Admiral Summerfield stood on the Pyramid's verandah'

leaning on the wooden rail. The aliens filled the main street of Little Caldwell. Some were disguised, some weren't. Some wore human clothes, some wore uniforms, a few were naked.

They were green and blue and pinkish-white and red and brown. Scales glittered in the dawn. A mix of strange scents rose, flesh and incense and chemical.

He had spent ten minutes walking through the crowd, shaking hands and tentacles. He knew almost all of them. He had saved the lives of more than half of them. He had explained his plan, given them hiding places. He had bathed their wounds and worked out their diets and sent messages home for them.

They greeted him with smiles and smile-equivalents, with handshakes and telepathic brushes, with friendly nods and trusting eyes.

Now they were silent, waiting for him to give the order.

M'Kabel stepped up beside him. The Tzun had arrived that morning, his strange face seeming strained. But Isaac knew he could rely on the little alien, no matter what. G.o.d! At least some things hadn't changed.

M'Kabel murmured, 'Everyone's here, except for a mated pair of Cygnians we can't contact. And no one's seen the Ogrons.'

'See if they're in their cottage,' said Isaac. 'They've probably slept in.'

M'Kabel looked up at him. 'What are you going to do, sir?'

'I don't know,' said Isaac. He felt the pressure of those alien eyes on him. All of them.

'Are you going to kill the Doctor?'

Isaac glanced at him in horror.

'If you're going to go ahead with our original plan, sir,'

said the Tzun, 'you'd better kill him right away.'

M'Kabel tucked his clipboard under his arm and went to wake up the Ogrons.

Isaac turned to his army. His hands shook badly as he gripped the wooden rail. He bowed his head and took a deep, deep breath.

'There's been a little bit of a change of plan,' he said.

Joel didn't cry when Ms R told him what she'd learnt. It was just that his eyes were watering a bit. That was all.

She sat down on the floor, right on top of some of his junk, drawing her knees up to her chest. Like she wanted to just block it all out.

Joel got out of bed and went to the window. The Admiral The Admiral pus.h.i.+ng the b.u.t.ton, the missiles going up pus.h.i.+ng the b.u.t.ton, the missiles going up. He gaped at the crowd. 'Christ,' he said. 'We're up to our a.s.s in aliens.'

'That's what Tony was doing,' said Ms R dully. 'He had to find out whether Woodworth knew about this, or whether she was just attracted by all the aliens hidden around Little Caldwell.'

He glanced back at her. She was staring at the wall. The The Admiral pus.h.i.+ng the b.u.t.ton Admiral pus.h.i.+ng the b.u.t.ton. It's not every day you find out your friend of twenty years has been a bad guy all along. The The missiles going up missiles going up.

G.o.d! Did Benny know? She must know by now. Sorry, big sister. I guess we both lost our dad today.

Joel had only ever seen about ten different species of aliens. Now he was looking at dozens, all shapes and sizes.

If only this was another adventure. He'd loved being part of this magical world, where wild things happened. Now it was dead. Now it was gone. Nuked.

Joel shook his head slightly. He still wasn't crying, though there was an iceberg in his chest. Well, he'd only been here for eight months. It didn't mean all that much.

His good hand found the window catch' and he pushed it open.

'You said,' called one of the aliens, 'we were going to fight the Daleks.'

'We might still get our chance.' Isaac's voice rang out. A leader's voice - everyone was listening. 'But we have to deal with the immediate problem. I had carefully worked out the nuclear part of the strategy. But I have no idea what Albinex plans. Whatever it is, it doesn't involve any of you.'

'So where izzy?' purred a Ra'ashet, turning its catfish face to look at him. 'Let's go rip him to pieces.'

'He's got the destructor codes,' said the Admiral. 'And our intelligence about USAF Greenham Common. He's going to launch one or more of the cruise missiles.'

'He wants power,' said a dark-coated ex-MIB. 'Five'll get you eight he points the thing at a major city and starts making demands.'