Part 12 (1/2)

Jo followed him, and found herself standing in a control room like, and yet curiously unlike, the Doctor's own.

She glanced over her shoulder there was the square blue shape of the TARDIS she just left. 'I don't get it!'

'Don't you? Follow me.'

The Doctor led the way across the strange control room and out of the door on the other side.

Jo found herself back in the more familiar control room of the Doctor's TARDIS-with the computer cabinet that disguised the Master's TARDIS behind her 'I still don't get it!'

'Oh really, Jo, it's quite simple. My TARDIS is inside the Master's.'

'But his is inside yours!'

'Exactly! They're both inside each other. I should have expected that.'

'So what can we do now?'

The Doctor smiled. I'II give you three guesses.'

Jo pretended to consider. 'Wait?'

The Doctor snapped his fingers. 'Right first time.'

The Master and Krasis were back in the laboratory and the Master was making a few final adjustments to the main TOMt.i.t controls.

Krasis was looking out of the window. 'Master, look! Men in wagons!'

The Master hurried to the window. Coming up the drive of the Inst.i.tute was the UNIT convoy, arriving at last. He hurried back to the controls. 'I'll soon deal with them them . . .' . . .'

The Brigadier was leading the convoy in his land rover. He came to a halt and the other vehicles drew up in line behind him.

The Brigadier leaped over the side of the land rover and began barking orders.

'Right, A squad here, B squad round the back. Keep your eyes open. At the double no-oo-oo...'

Time suddenly slowed. To the Brigadier, everything felt normal but, as the time field took effect, Krasis and the Master saw the Brigadier and his men freeze like statues.

'That'll keep them nicely unoccupied for the time being. In you go, Krasis!'

Krasis recoiled. 'Where?'

The Master flung open the front of the computer cabinet. 'Into my TARDIS, man, and be quick about it!' Reluctantly Krasis obeyed.

The Master made a last adjustment to the TOMt.i.t console. 'They won't stop me now!'

The lab door was flung open and Ruth Ingram appeared. 'Sorry, Professor, that's where you're wrong!' Behind her was Stuart Hyde, brandis.h.i.+ng his enormous spanner.

The Master. took a step forward. For all his moderate size he was enormously strong, and he knew full well that he could brush these two aside like cobwebs. 'Well, well, well, my devoted a.s.sistants! And are you going to stop me?'

'Not by ourselves, no,' said Ruth steadily. 'Take a look behind you.'

The Master's lip curled in scorn. 'Oh, really! You don't expect me to believe . . .'

From behind him Benton's voice said, 'Suit yourself mate. But you'd better get those hands up!'

The Master whirled round. Benton had just finished clambering through the window covering him with the big service revolver. Slowly the Master raised his hands. 'I should have finished you off when I had the chance.'

'You'll never get another one. Stuart, see if he's got a gun.'

Stuart moved to search the Master - and made the elementary mistake of coming between the Master and Benton's gun. It was only for a second, but for the Master it was long enough.

With one savage sweep of his arm, he sent Stuart spinning across the room. Then he dashed into his TARDIS, closing the door in Ruth's face as she tried follow him.

Seconds later, the computer cabinet disappeared before her astonished eyes.

In the Master's TARDIS, Krasis was pointing to a square blue shape by the far wall.

'Master, look! The other one. Your enemy is here!'

The Master gave an exultant laugh. 'Good! Now I've really got him really trapped!'

11.The Time-Eater

Inside his his TARDIS, the Doctor was being pitched about like a pa.s.senger in a small boat on a stormy sea. Jo was sent flying across the control room. She picked herself up and clung to the console. 'Doctor what's happening?' TARDIS, the Doctor was being pitched about like a pa.s.senger in a small boat on a stormy sea. Jo was sent flying across the control room. She picked herself up and clung to the console. 'Doctor what's happening?'

'We're on our way, Jo. The Master's taken off for Atlantis!'

'But the TARDIS has never behaved like this before!'

The Doctor was struggling frantically with the controls. 'The two TARDISes are operating out of phase, that's why.'

Suddenly the TARDIS seemed to settle down a little. 'There,' gasped the Doctor.

'That's better. I've managed to calm her down. She has a very nasty temper when she's roused.'

'I never know if you're joking or not,' rubbing an ache at the base of her spine, 'I've bruised my tailbone.'

'I'm sorry about your coccyx Jo, but these little things are sent to try us.'

'My what?'

'Your coccyx - your tailbone!'

Another voice said, 'I'm sorry about your coccyx too, Miss Grant.' The Master's face had appeared in the scanner screen set into the TARDIS wall. 'How very sociable of you both to drop in!'

Ruth Ingram was staring at the still gently throbbing TOMt.i.t apparatus. 'I think we ought to turn it off.'