Part 38 (2/2)

The Doctor laid a restraining finger on the boy's shoulder. The soldier spun round in a lightning blur, his rifle pointed directly at them.

'I suggest we raise our hands,' the Doctor said.

'Never to a Russian!' spat Jimmy.

'Look at the markings on his sleeve, young man,' said the Doctor testily.

'What?'

'Three feathers,' cut in George Limb, puzzled. 'The Welsh Guards.'

183.

'n.o.body would listen to me,' wailed the Doctor. 'Everybody was so convinced it had to be the Russians. The Russians are about the only innocent parties in all this. They know next to nothing about what's going on. 'You've been pa.s.sing secrets to a far more formidable foe, Mr Limb. Now you have crossed them, and I suspect have caused them to bring forward their invasion plans.'

'Who, Doctor?' said Limb urgently.

'The British, Mr Limb. The British.'

184.

PART FOUR.

Chapter Twenty.

'Citizens of London, brave and loyal soldiers, lay down your arms! We do not come to wage war upon you, but rather to save you from war. do not come to wage war upon you, but rather to save you from war.

You stand upon the brink of nuclear Armageddon, brought about by nothing other than your own fear of shadows. nothing other than your own fear of shadows.

'We are not Russians and we are not Communists. We are British.

We are your brothers, and we come in friends.h.i.+p.

'Allow me to introduce myself. My name is George Limb, and it is my honour and privilege to serve as prime minister of the United my honour and privilege to serve as prime minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of His Majesty's colonies Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of His Majesty's colonies and dominions overseas. The Britain that I serve is not this one, but and dominions overseas. The Britain that I serve is not this one, but another, existing invisibly alongside this one. It is a Britain that has another, existing invisibly alongside this one. It is a Britain that has conquered disease, conquered poverty and achieved lasting, secure conquered disease, conquered poverty and achieved lasting, secure peace. These are the gifts we bring to you. I say again, lay down your peace. These are the gifts we bring to you. I say again, lay down your arms. We bring only peace!' arms. We bring only peace!'

Half a dozen black-and-white screens went blank, fading to static. The Doctor, Limb and Jimmy had abandoned their car and were huddled in front of a small television and radio shop off Trafalgar Square. The soldier had lost interest once Jimmy had fumbled the gun, and they had bolted from the car.

All around the Doctor could hear car horns and gunfire, the screams of hundreds of people. The sky was lit by the flickering from the energy tear, and troops dropped like black snowflakes onto the streets of London.

He stared carefully at the lined face of George Limb. For a man who had just learned that the people he was working for were from an alternative reality and who had just been confronted with an alternative version of himself from from that reality, he was remarkably calm. that reality, he was remarkably calm.

Limb blinked slowly. That long, languid blink that made him seen'

almost reptile-like The Doctor s.h.i.+vered. He could almost see the man's mind at work, plotting, scheming, taking in everything that was playing out before him and a.n.a.lysing it, working out how best to use it to his advantage. He turned away from the flickering television sets and smiled at the Doctor.

186.

'Ah, well, at least I was outwitted by someone whose intellect I respect. My... other self seems to have done remarkably well for himself...'

The Doctor felt a wave of anger.

'Whereas you appear to have made a monumental mistake.'

Limb frowned. 'Oh, come now, Doctor, I think that you are being a little unfair. I will admit that I was unprepared for the fact that my Russian friends were in fact nothing of the sort, but the overall effect isn't spoiled by that fact. No, this adds a certain... balance to the proceedings. Yes..? Limb pursed his lips and nodded. 'Yes, I have to say that I find this development quite... amusing..?'

'Amusing?'

The Doctor grasped Limb by the arm of his jacket and spun him roughly to face the shattered street.

'Look around and tell me what you see is amusing!'

People were running blindly, unable and unwilling to comprehend what they were seeing. The huge flickering tear in the sky cast long dancing shadows across the streets, a noise like a giant crisp bag being rustled echoing across the rooftops. Vast needle-pointed aircraft hung like barrage balloons over the city, searchlights blazing down, lighting up the rain and sweeping across the terrified crowds. Small triple-winged fighters swooped though the searchlight beams, droning like bees. The sky was thick with parachutes, wave after wave of troops landing on the streets of London.

The Doctor turned on Limb his eyes blazing.

'These people have been through a war already, seen their city destroyed, struggled and sacrificed to get their lives back to some semblance of normality. They should be shopping for Christmas presents, Spending time with their loved ones, not running for their lives again. No one can possibly benefit from this!'

'So where do you propose we go now?'

'South,' said the Doctor.

'On foot?' Limb asked.

The traffic was at a standstill, abandoned by terrified drivers and pa.s.sengers.

'Unless you have any better suggestions.'

'Well, we could always take the Underground.'

General Crawhammer gripped the pearl handle of his Smith and Wesson automatic and pumped round after round into the line of men advancing along Lambeth Palace Road.

Major Bill Collins shook his head in disbelief. The general actually 187 seemed to be enjoying himself. When the tear had opened up in the sky the general had been as awestruck as the rest of them, but as soon as the first troops had appeared, as soon as he had had the first glimpse of an enemy that needed fighting, he had been nothing short of magnificent. He'd rallied the few troops in the Ministry of Defence building and tried desperately to round up more support. No telephone or radio set was working.

'G.o.dd.a.m.n Reds jamming 'em!'

He'd dismissed the bizarre claims they'd heard on the radio out of hand.

'Commie propaganda, Collins! They're tryin' to confuse us.'

Collins had led a small reconnaissance group onto the roof. The skies across London were full of descending paratroops. s.h.i.+ps hung in dark cl.u.s.ters like storm clouds. They had all the city's barracks pinned down.

'Why don't the Limeys fight back?' Crawhammer had growled.

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