Part 39 (1/2)

'We're no use here. Collins, get the chopper fired up.'

And so had followed the most terrifying ride of Bill Collins's life.

The pair and their pilot had taken off from Horseguards' Parade, keeping below the roof-line, skimming the tops of snarled-up, stationary, mostly abandoned cars. Most of the drivers were simply running.

'You ever fly down the Grand Canyon, Collins?'

'Yes, sir. But we weren't being shot at.'

Miraculously, they'd made the hospital in one piece, actually flying underneath Westminster Bridge to keep out of sight of a sleek grey wedge of a s.h.i.+p that hovered silently nearby.

'I need men I can rely on,' Crawhammer had insisted. 'My boys'

Besides, there was an armoury in the hospital bas.e.m.e.nt.

The men were way ahead of them and they'd landed to a volley of heavy machine-gun fire. Just in time. A group of heavily armed enemy soldiers had launched a fast and furious attack on the main hospital gates.

The general was standing on one of the brick gateposts now, firing his revolver at the retreating foe and letting out the occasional whoop.

They were driving them back.

The thunder of their gunfire subsided as the invaders sought cover.

'Well done, General.'

Collins and Crawhammer spun around at the same time. The Doctor was standing behind them. 'But I'm afraid it won't hold them off for long.'

188.

'OK mister, what'll Ivan do next?'

'Didn't you hear the broadcast, General? They're not Russian.'

'Commie propaganda. Lessen the culture shock.'

The Doctor sighed. 'Why won't you trust me, General? I'm the only person here who knows what is going on, arid I'm offering to share that knowledge with you. Free, gratis and without your having to stick probes into me or cut bits out of me.'

Crawhammer stuck a half-smoked cigar b.u.t.t between his jaws and chewed slowly on it, scowling at the Doctor.

'OK,' he said. 'Shoot.'

There wasn't time. There was a squeal of brakes and a huge white van tore down the road towards the gates. Crawhammer's pocket army spun, machine-guns raised. The Doctor threw himself forward, knocking Collins's gun out of the way with his umbrella.

'No! Wait, wait!'

'G.o.dd.a.m.n it!' Crawhammer bellowed. 'Get him out of there!'

Collins reached for the Doctor's collar, but his hands closed on empty air. The Doctor danced through the line of soldiers and stood defiantly in front of the van. 'I hardly think that an invading army from another dimension is going to be using a removal van with 'London Zoo' painted on the side to mount a major offensive, do you, General?'

The throaty diesel rumble of the truck cut out suddenly and the van door creaked open. A very nervous-looking Cody McBride peered out, hands raised.

'Jeez. Not quite the reception I had in mind.'

The Doctor beamed at him. 'Cody, what a pleasant surprise!'

The pa.s.senger door opened and Davey O'Brien got out. 'And Captain O'Brien!' the Doctor beamed.

Crawhammer pushed through his troops. 'O'Brien!' he barked.

'What the h.e.l.l's goin' on?'

'Ah, General Crawhammer,' the Doctor chirped, 'I'd like you to meet a friend of mine, Cody McBride, private investigator. Cody, this is General Crawhammer of the American military.'

Collins had to stifle a laugh. The general looked as though he was going to explode.

'And what in the name of G.o.d is Cody McBride, private investigator doing here?'

The Doctor c.o.c.ked his head on one side. 'Yes, I did rather think that I'd asked you pair to stay with Drakefell and Sarah?'

McBride looked awkward. 'We sort of had an idea, Doc.

Reinforcements. O'Brien guessed you'd come here, seeing as all the regular barracks are pinned down.'

189.

'Not quite my reasoning, but I'm very glad to see you both, nonetheless.'

'What about these reinforcements?' Crawhammer barked. 'What have you got in there, sonny? The Mounties?'

The Doctor tapped his lips with his umbrella. 'I rather think that Mr McBride has brought us something more useful than that.'

Captain Frank Williams of the Imperial Welsh Guards raised his thermal imaging binoculars and scanned the street ahead. Fires flared brightly though the viewfinder and the device whined softly as the software compensated for the high levels.

Williams frowned. He had been expecting resistance, but there was seemingly nothing. For fifteen minutes they had been holed in the lobby of the hospital by a torrent of gunfire, then suddenly, nothing.

He lowered the binoculars and waved his men forward. They were jumpy and on edge. He couldn't blame them. The world they had dropped into was a mirror image of their own and about as alien as they could possibly have imagined. Oh, the structure was the same, the buildings, the layout, but there was a feeling that was wrong, all atmosphere.

And a smell.

That had been the first thing that had hit Williams as they had come through the gate. This world smelt different. It smelt warm, organic.

Animal smells and vegetable decomposition. They had been told about it at the briefing: all his troops knew what to expect, but the reality of it was almost overpowering. They had been offered additional augmentation before the mission. Nasal filters or full artificial replacement. Williams was beginning to regret turning it down.

A scuffle from the darkness brought his mind sharply back into focus. He took a deep breath and sent a 'spread out' pulse to his squad, wincing at the pain in his temple. He'd have to see the MASH unit when they had secured the city: some of his circuitry hadn't liked the trip through the gate.

Williams tightened his grip on the b.u.t.t of his gun, tensing a muscle to unlock the safety catch. He could hear something echoing in the gloom of the entrance lobby. He concentrated. It sounded like breathing, and the animal smell that pervaded everything was stronger here, muskier.

The three soldiers at his shoulder were tense, watching him, waiting for orders. He indicated the staircase with the barrel of his gun.

'Wallace, Trim, you take the staircase. Evans you're with me.'