Part 17 (1/2)

'They're going to kill her.'

'Who are?'

'Don't know... s.p.a.ce/time pollution.'

'What did you say?'

'The ants. Criss-cross... pollision... pol... collision...'

'This is unsatisfactory,' the voice snapped. 'How much of that stuff did you put into her?'

'Uh, the standard dose, sir.'

'I have no idea what that means.'

'Uh, no sir. It, uh, all happened rather quickly. She put up a struggle.'

'The standard dose for them or for us?' the voice asked with thinning patience.

'Um... For us, I suppose.'

88.'She's barely conscious. We'll have to wait until she comes round. I must go. I'll send someone to look after her and have her brought to me.'

'What shall we do with her until then, sir?'

'Keep her here. She has already said enough. They know.'

The figure receded. Rita was sure Dumont-Smith bowed. But then she started to black out again.

'How's your arm?' Ace asked.

'Stings a bit, said Jimmy, but it's a nice pain. How's your shoulder?'

'Same,' smiled Ace.

They had strolled back through a capital closing for the day and opening up for the night. Jimmy had a key to the zoo. They slipped in, to darkness, and a single, pale light.

'Ted's still here...' murmured Jimmy. 'He sells toffee-apples. Want a toffee-apple?'

Ace suddenly realised the b.u.t.terflies in her stomach weren't just in antic.i.p.ation of the night to come. She was starving. They skipped over to the little booth.

'Got any left, Ted?' Jimmy asked.

'Two, said Ted. 'You're lucky.'

Ace hadn't had one of these in years. She wolfed it down as they walked back to Jimmy's underground room.

When they got there they kissed again, longer and harder this time, and Jimmy slipped Ace's jacket from her shoulders, then his own. She peeled his T-s.h.i.+rt away, and he hers, and they collapsed on the mattress, Jimmy's face moving down her neck and shoulders as she clutched at his back, her eyes closing.

89.

Chapter Ten.

It was already dark when Cody McBride came to on his friend's floor.

His head felt foul. So did his stomach. He struggled to remember what they'd done.

Above him Mullen snored with the gale.

The doctor only a young houseman, it seemed the bigwig was away - had agreed to let them sleep it off when they'd threatened him with the contents of Mullen's bedpan.

McBride struggled to his feet, wrapped his coat around his shoulders and crept out into the corridor and into the street. It was five o'clock.

The whole day gone.

He felt bad the Doc had sounded pretty desperate but so was Mullen. Mullen had needed him there and then.

He hoped the Doc was being lucky. Ace had been a good kid... back in the war. Judging by the Doc's appearance, he speculated that Ace might not have changed either. He'd always thought she kinda liked him. He found himself sucking in his paunch, until he realised it hurt too much.

What would she think of him now, nearly twenty years older?

He disappeared into the underground.

At about the same time, a lone figure was standing in McBride's office bony fingers thoughtfully tapping the Doctor's note with Rita's addendum against cracked, slightly smiling lips. Old, pale eyes stared coldly at their own warped reflection in the whisky decanter.

Twenty minutes later the same figure said goodbye to Miles Dumont-Smith in a cafe across the road and watched him depart. Five minutes after that he watched a very green-looking Cody McBride return to his office, then emerge again, letter in hand, looking even greener. The man took a delicate sip of tea and blinked a blink of slow satisfaction, staring after McBride as he strode off up the road trying to hail a taxi.

Smiling, the man returned to his crossword.

Six across. Five letters. 'He hocks his freedom and joins the ranks guarding castle, church and throne.'

He picked up his pen and started to fill in the blanks.

90.The Doctor came to in surprising comfort. He was in a clean, warm bed, and Davey O'Brien was sitting beside him, reading a book.

'Good afternoon, Captain,' said the Doctor.

'Oh, you're awake good,' grinned the young pilot. 'I was getting bored. I saw you fall. The rozzers were here at the time. Luckily none of them thought to look out of the window. Anyway, they searched and left again. Haven't been back since.'

'How long have I been asleep?'

'Only about four hours, but I've never seen anyone so spark out, even on Paddy's Night. What were you on?'

'Many of the concoctions you create on this planet disagree with me,' muttered the Doctor. 'Four hours is far too long. I must find that rocket. It's here somewhere. I must get up.'