Part 26 (2/2)

Four days later, on 23 April, the evacuation of Greece began. Greece began.

Steinmann chuckled, remembering the...

The Germans hadn't defeated the British in Greece.

They hadn't even invaded. Was this a record of the last war?

No - two pages earlier was the Fall of Tobruk, two pages before that the invasion of Romania. At the beginning of the chapter, the terms of the Treaty of Versailles were recounted (along with an intriguing note in the margin: 'I did warn warn them'). The chapter was long and ended with: them'). The chapter was long and ended with:

on 9 May 1945 Field Marshal Keitel and Marshal Georgi K Zhukov signed the doc.u.ments of German Georgi K Zhukov signed the doc.u.ments of German unconditional surrender. The Reich was totally unconditional surrender. The Reich was totally destroyed. destroyed.

Steinmann hesitated. The book was obviously an ingenious fake. Propaganda. Science fiction. He turned back a dozen or so pages.

The telephone hadn't completed its first ring when Reed s.n.a.t.c.hed it up. He listened for a moment, jotted down what was said and then replaced the receiver. Forrester was watching him, a worried expression on her face.

'A Spitfire squadron has just been destroyed over the Channel. Amber Three.'

Roz pointed it out on the map with a long, black finger.

The patrol had been ten miles off the Isle of Wight, flying at only two thousand feet. Six aircraft.

'Do we have an estimated speed and bearing?' If she knew those, Roz could work out where it was heading and when it would get there.

'No, but it was flying at least as fast as our planes. The surviving pilot says that they were attacked by an object travelling at high speed, which only appeared at the last moment. It was within the Chain Home perimeter. So the radar operators should have been able to detect it.'

'Of course...' Roz breathed. Her mind raced: the first a.n.a.lysis made by the TARDIS computer. The one that had been rejected. The phone was ringing again.

George listened, then put the handset back. 'Radar reports ma.s.sive build-up of fighters over the Channel.'

The phone started ringing again.

'Hugin and Munin. I know what they are. George, trust me.' She kissed him on the cheek, grabbed her coat, and ran out of the door. Reed had no choice but to let her go. He picked up the telephone.

'George, this is Kendrick. I'm at Downing Street. The War Cabinet have been meeting. In the face of the threat from Hartung's weapon, they feel that there is no choice.'

'We're accepting the German offer?' Reed frowned.

'No, George. We attack Guernsey tonight. If the bomber wasn't at Granville, it must be there. The attack will be concentrated on military targets. Bomber Command will require our latest report, along with photos. Take them over.

They want to be in the air as soon as possible.'

George thought about the order, then, 'No, sir. There must be another way.'

'Lieutenant, you have had over a week to think of one.

The decision was not an easy one to make. Obey the order, George.'

'No, sir, I can't. You'll have to find something else.' Reed replaced the handset gently.

Next door, Lynch's phone started to ring.

The low hum of the TARDIS: a sound she hadn't heard for along time. For the first time in three months, Benny had an incentive to open her eyes. She was in the brightly lit medical room, lying on the bed. Some exotic piece of medical hardware sat next to her, warbling away to itself. A tabby cat was sitting on one of the stools. It looked up from whatever it was doing.

'Wolsey? Did you drag me in here?' Benny drawled woozily. Wolsey hopped over to the bed and allowed her to stroke him.

'Typical. She thanks the cat.'

Benny peered to the source of the voice. Roz Forrester was sitting on the other stool, a portable medical scanner in her hand. She was wearing the uniform of an Earth War Two British Army captain. Her face was set in that permanent scowl of hers, but there was something different, something Benny couldn't quite put her finger on.

'You've got a rosy glow!' Benny declared finally. 'In fact, you're looking positively radiant. I do believe that the frowning Adjudicator is actually happy.'

Roz's expression didn't change. 'I'm just pleased to see you,' she said flatly. Benny and Wolsey looked at each other conspiratorially.

'Are Buster Keaton and Buster Crabbe around?'

'Not to my knowledge,' Roz said uncomprehendingly.

'The Doctor and Chris,' Benny explained.

'They're not here either.'

Benny moved to sit up, but found it hard to work up the energy. Instead, she glanced over to the readouts of the medical unit, barely managing to focus. A number of vividly coloured lines ran along the bottom of the viewplate.

'Roz, are you sure that you've got this thing monitoring me and not the cat?'

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