Part 7 (1/2)

Anne looked shamefaced, and Travers grunted. 'Just idle chat, Doctor. I soon put her right, didn't I, Anne?'

She nodded. Now she had actually met the Doctor, it did seem impossible to a.s.sociate this mild and gentle figure with anything as evil as the Intelligence. Unfortunately it seemed almost equally hard to see him as the brilliant scientist described by her father.

The Doctor smiled at her and said, 'I agree with Professor Travers, we're certainly dealing with our old enemy from Tibet. And I'll tell you something else. My guess is that the Intelligence was directly responsible for bringing me me here!' here!'

'Why should it do that?' asked Anne.

'Revenge perhaps. It's extremely conceited conceited, and it must have hated defeat-or perhaps it has some other motive, one we don't know about yet.'

Travers seemed worried. 'Thank goodness you managed to give it the slip, Doctor. The terrible thing is, I feel it's all my fault.' He gestured towards a bench full of Yeti souvenirs-damaged control spheres, parts of broken Yeti, even some of the tiny Yeti models the Intelligence used as controls. 'I brought all this stuff back from Tibet with me. The monks were glad to see the back of it. There was one undamaged Yeti complete with control sphere. I needed money, so I sold the Yeti to the Julius museum. I kept the control sphere for myself. I was determined to find out how it worked. Fiddled with it for years on and off... Just as I seemed to be succeeding it disappeared.'

'Back to the Yeti in the museum,' said the Doctor. 'Once the sphere started working, the Intelligence was able to home in on it, and get to work again.'

Travers nodded. 'The Yeti in the museum provided it with a ready-made pair of hands.'

'I imagine it will also have found a human human agent by now; said the Doctor. 'That was the way it worked in Tibet. Some poor soul, outwardly normal, but in reality completely controlled by the Intelligence.' agent by now; said the Doctor. 'That was the way it worked in Tibet. Some poor soul, outwardly normal, but in reality completely controlled by the Intelligence.'

While they were considering this uncomfortable thought, Captain Knight came into the room. He looked round at the silent group and spoke with mock severity. 'Look alive, you dozy lot! The new C.O. wants you all to attend a briefing meeting.'

Anne smiled, taking up the joke. 'We're not in the army yet, you know.'

Knight grinned. 'You'd better tell the Colonel. Kick-off in the Common Room in a few minutes, O.K?'

As he turned to leave Victoria asked, 'I don't suppose there's any news of Jamie?'

Knight shook his head, his face grave. 'No,' he said gently. 'Ito afraid there's not. He's still missing.'

Jamie and Evans were resting on Tottenham Court Road Station. Evans groped in his pockets. 'Haven't got any small change, have you, boyo? I could fancy a bar of chocolate.'

Jamie shook his head. Evans wandered to a nearby chocolate machine and gave the handle a hopeful tug. To his astonishment the drawer opened, revealing a bar of chocolate.

'Well, there's lovely,' he said delightedly. He snapped the bar in two and gave half to Jamie. 'Come on, let's be moving.'

'You're in a hurry all of a sudden.'

Evans was looking at the map. 'Been thinking I have.

With any luck these Yeti are like lightning. Won't strike twice in the same place. We're pretty close to Holborn here. That's where I get off. If I can only get back to my lorry, I'll be away like lightning myself.'

'You're not coming back to H.Q. then?'

'Don't need me, do they? I'd only be a hindrance.

Anyway I'm a driver, see. Not supposed to get involved in all this dangerous stuff.'

'Och, all that interests you is saving your own skin,' said Jamie scornfully.

Evans grinned. 'Well, it's the only one I got,' he explained reasonably. 'Look, boyo, they don't stand a chance back in that Fortress. You hop it with me while you can.'

Jamie shook his head. ' I'm I'm not running out on my friends.' not running out on my friends.'

Evans stood up. 'Well, I'm sorry to leave you, boyo. but you got to take care of number one in this world.' With a cheery wave he jumped back on to the line and disappeared down the tunnel to Holborn.

Jamie finished his chocolate and went to study the map.

If he could find his way on to the Northern Line, the next station would be Goodge Street. If only the Web hadn't blocked the tunnels... Jamie went through the station arch, and followed the signs to the Northern Line. The empty station was gloomy and cavernous in the dim emergency lighting and his footsteps echoed with a sinister hollowness.

Jamie was in a fine state of nerves by the time he found the right platform and jumped down on to the track. He walked along the tunnels for some time, listening to the sound of his own footsteps. Then he stopped. Each footstep had an echo.

Someone was following him along the tunnel. He stopped again. The footsteps stopped too. He moved on, and the ghostly footsteps followed him.

Jamie put on a spurt, ducked into an alcove and waited.

After a moment's hesitation the footsteps started again, moving closer. To his astonishment, Jamie saw Evans creeping along the tunnel. Jamie stepped out of hiding and shouted, 'Boo!'

Evans jumped. He gasped with relief. 'Gave me a nasty fright you did, boyo.'

'I thought you were going to Holborn?'

'Well, I changed my mind see. Started thinking about what you said, about deserting my mates.'

Jamie gave him a sceptical look.

Evans said, 'Oh, all right then. I tried to get out but the gates were locked. I got scared on my own and came to look for you!'

Jamie looked at him in exasperation: Then he found himself smiling. There was something rather disarming about Evans's frank timidity. 'Och, come along, man. Let's try to get back to the Fortress. Maybe the Doctor's turned up by now.'

The Doctor sat patiently in the Common Room while Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart lectured them all on the crisis.

The Doctor had already picked up most of the information from Travers, but it was interesting to see it all set out in order.

Lethbridge-Stewart was very thorough. Using a slide projector as a visual aid he took them through the entire history of events, starting with the disappearance of Travers's reactivated sphere, followed by the vanis.h.i.+ng of the Yeti in the museum. He covered the first appearances of the mist, followed by the appearance of the Web in the tunnels and finally the arrival of the Yeti. He described the Government's counter-measures, the setting up of a scientific investigation unit headed by Travers, here in the old war-time Fortress at Goodge Street, with a military unit to protect it.

'Unfortunately the enemy has counter-attacked in force. The Web has been moving steadily closer despite all our attempts to stop it.' He pointed to a wall map. 'Above ground, it covers roughly the area enclosed by the Circle Line. Underground, much of that same area is now invaded by the Web. We are besieged.' The Colonel tucked his cane back under his arm.

'So much for the past. Now let's have some constructive suggestions. Professor Travers?'