Part 28 (1/2)

'They were Heletians,' she said. 'Your troops.' And she raised her hand as if pointing at him, the percussion pistol nestling in her palm, the barrel protruding.

He pushed himself back, away from her, with his feet tried to crawl out of the way. But her hand pointed after him even as he scrabbled his way across the floor towards his desk.

'You killed him. Killed both him and our child.' The words were almost spat across the room.

The Exec rolled over, faced her. He had to reason with her. Somehow. 'No no, not me. I never killed anyone, never. I '

But she wasn't listening. She was standing above him now, the tears staining her cheeks, the pistol grasped firmly in both hands. 'You murdering b.a.s.t.a.r.d!' she screamed as the sound of the detonation echoed round the room.

The thermite charges rocked the doors on their hinges. For a moment it seemed they had no other effect, then the doors swayed inwards and began slowly to fall. They crashed to the floor amid a wrenching of metal and shower of dust from the door frame.

Benny was the first to recover her senses when the dust cleared. She dived away, down the corridor, and ran. Marlock made no move to stop her. His disruptor disappeared behind his back as he peered through the thinning dust and clearing smoke from the blast.

Inside the room, Lannic was standing with her back to the door. As she turned to face Marlock and his guards, they saw the body on the floor. The Exec was sprawled on his back, his arms and legs spread out. His robes were dishevelled and in disarray. His head was a mess of bone and congealing blood.

One of the guards stepped forward, raising his disruptor. But the sh.e.l.l from Lannic's pistol felled him before he could bring it to bear. She shot the second guard before he had a chance to move, his stomach exploding as the sh.e.l.l pierced his body armour.

Madock made no attempt to escape. He knew he could never outrun an old*fas.h.i.+oned bullet. He held his hands open in front of him.

'I mean you no harm, Lannic,' he said, walking slowly towards her.

She levelled the gun.

'A percussion pistol very clever.' Another step closer. 'Just gunpowder, no energy source, so it wouldn't show towards up on any detector.' He wasn't walking directly towards her now. He wandered apparenntly at ease across the room, hands thrust into her jacket pockets. 'In future we shall have to scan for metal, I suppose.' Inside his pocket, Marlock's right hand felt carefully for the trigger guard on the disruptor as he prepared to reorient the gun. 'What do you say?' His finger tightened on the trigger as he turned the gun so it pointed forwards. But he hesitated for a split second suddenly worried that he would need a new jacket.

Lannic said nothing. The report ricocheted off the concrete walls. The shot caught Marlock in the chest. It lifted him off his feet and slammed him across the room into the wall.

The sh.e.l.l was deflected by the duralinium mesh woven into his jacket lining, catching him in the right shoulder, lodging behind the shoulder*blade. His hand clenched in a spasm of pain, pressing and holding the trigger. The blast seared through the front of his jacket, burning its way upwards as he fell, drawing a charred line up his body. It reached the underside of his chin before he managed to release his hold. His face blackened as the phason burst ate into his skull. It drilled its way through his chin, diffuding into the bone structure and seeking the line of least resistance. His brain had already evaporated in the screaming heat before the shock*wave reached his eyes.

As his body slumped down, Lannic sat down heavily on the, floor beside the Exec's body, cradling the pistol in her hands. She rocked to and fro slowly, and the pistol slipped to the floor with a clatter.

Are you sure you come with us?' Ace asked. 'You seemed very keen to stay and see Braxiatel again.'

Benny stuck her tongue out. 'We're just good friends. Anyway, I'd have thought the Doctor would want to wait and see him.'

'Yeah, what is this, Doctor? He'll be landing within the hour. The commissionaire from Arbela was very impressed you knew him. Now he's taken over you might get a reward he was happy to release poor old Klasvik with no questions asked.'

The Doctor unlocked the TARDIS and ushered them in. He took a last look round the hanger. 'Poor old Klasvik will be fine. But I'm not sure I want to meet young Braxiatel just now,' he said as he followed them inside.

'What, because you spoiled his plan?' Ace laughed. 'It came out all right in the end, you know.'

The Doctor nodded. 'Yes, it did. But I'm not sure it didn't all go according to Braxiatel's plan after all.'

'What do you mean?' asked Benny.

'I told Ace that Braxiatel had an agent planted on Heletia, Benny. I meant you.'

'So?'