'They are searching each floor, so we have some time,' Aske reported. 'One of them stays on the stairs to prevent our escape, the other checks each room. Simple, but effective.'
'Driving us to this top floor,' Repple said.
'Unless we sneak out down the fire escape,' Rose pointed out. 'Maybe they haven't thought of that.'
'I expect they have.' The Doctor was lying on the floor in front of the door to Mr Pooter's rooms. He had the panel of the door open, the one where Rose had seen the cat emerge. He had peered into the darkness beyond, and now his arm was thrust inside and he was feeling round. 'Yeah, they've got us just where she wants us.' He pulled out his arm and stood up.
'Anything?' Rose asked.
He shook his head. 'Metal box. Like an airlock. The cat enters the box, box closes. Panel in door opens, cat creeps out.'
'An airlock?' Repple said.
'Oh, I doubt there's a different atmosphere behind there. I think it's to stop something else escaping with the cat.'
'Mr Pooter?'
The Doctor smiled at Rose. 'In a way.' He pulled the sonic screwdriver out of his pocket and aimed it at the lock on the door. 'This should. . .' He stopped. Nothing was happening. The screwdriver was silent, not working. The Doctor frowned and banged it into his palm several times before trying again.
'Flat battery, remember?' Rose said.
'No battery at all,' the Doctor agreed. 'She took it out.'
'Who?' Aske wanted to know.
'Melissa Heart,' Rose told him. 'She's nobbled it. So what now?'
The Doctor sniffed. 'Something less subtle,' he decided. And shoulder-charged the door.
It took the three of them – the Doctor, Repple and Aske – several attempts, encouraged by Rose, who had to be dissuaded from joining in, before the door finally gave way. It swung open sharply, so the three of them tumbled and sprawled into the room. They picked themselves up and looked round in astonishment.
Rose followed them in. She too was staring round in surprise. 'What is all this?'
The large room behind the door was panelled, like so many others in the building. But the walls were clad not in polished wood, but in dull grey metal. Even the floor and the ceiling were coated with it, like a huge metal box. There was no furniture, and dominating the room was a dark metal control console.
Lights flickered and pulsed, power hummed, dials whirred, meters registered various readings. The front of the console jutted out, like a piano, towards the door. But there were no obvious input mechanisms. A bank of screens above the extended section gave different views that Rose recognised as rooms in the building.
As she watched, the pictures changed, switching from one room to another in rapid succession – like the control room of the CCTV system at work in the shop, she thought. One of the screens paused on a picture of the Bastille Room. The camera zoomed in on Wensleydale and the two old men as they manoeuvred furniture to make a barricade in front of the door. It lingered on Wensleydale, then focused in close-up on the revolver he was holding.
The whole assembly was of a dark plastic-like material. Apart from the screens and various controls and read-outs, the only other colour was a triangle of white against the black under the extended front section. It reminded Rose of something, but she could not think what.
Until she saw the cats.
On one side of the console was what looked vaguely like a wine rack. Except that inside most of the pigeonholes was lying the dark, furry body of a cat. Rose counted over a dozen. Each identical – a black cat with a white triangle of fur under the chin. Just like the console.
'The lead shields the emissions,' the Doctor said, tapping one of the walls. 'Melissa Heart would have detected it immediately otherwise. Same reason for the airlock.'
'But what is it?' Rose said again. 'What's it for?'
'It is monitoring events in the building,' Aske said quietly, nodding at the screens.
'You knew it was here?' Rose asked.
He shook his head. 'The purpose seems evident.'
'Some direct feeds,' the Doctor said, examining the console. 'Shielded, of course. Audio and visual links. Then for specific tasks, or to monitor outside the building, it uses the cats.'
'Which is why they're clockwork,' Rose realised.
'Can't be detected,' the Doctor agreed. 'No power source, nothing anachronistic in clockwork. Just the way that it's applied.'
'And the psycho-killer laser-beam eyes?'
'You can get clockwork radios,' the Doctor pointed out. 'Clockwork torches where you squeeze a handle. Same principle. Just shining a light.'
'Sorry,' Rose said to Repple and Aske. 'This is probably a bit beyond you two.' She grinned to show it was child's play to her.
'This is not powered by clockwork,' Repple said, nodding at the console.
'But I can hear it ticking,' Rose said. She was aware of the sound, but couldn't think when she had first started to hear it. When they came into the room, she supposed.
'There may be some clockwork components. But nuclear emission cells, more like,' the Doctor agreed. 'There's a backup supply cable round here. Give us a hand.'
Five minutes later they were ready. Rose was crouched beside the console, Aske and Repple behind her. On the other side of the machine the Doctor held a heavy, well-insulated cable that he had detached from the back of the controls. The end of it spat and hissed like a snake that had eaten a sparkler.
'Shouldn't be long,' the Doctor told them with a grin. He wiggled the cable happily, showering sparks across the dull metal floor.
Rose heard the footsteps first. The rhythmic beat of the two knights as they made their way up the stairs. As they approached it was impossible to tell which sounds were their internal mechanisms and which the thump of their metal feet on the wooden stairs. Together they stood framed in the splintered doorway – blank and unforgiving figures. The metal of their bodies was as dull and dark as the walls of the room.
The voice could have come from either of the knights. It was impossible to tell, as they gave no movement, no indication. The words were rhythmic, uninflected and mechanical. Rasping, metallic, unemotional.
'Doc-tor you will surr-en-der.'
Rose could imagine an internal pendulum swinging inside the thing's chest, a syllable for each sweep of the weight. Each beat alternately high then low – tick-tocks of speech.
'Give up now.'
One of the knights, perhaps the one that had spoken, stepped into the room. It raised its arms jerkily, and started towards the Doctor, gauntlet fingers clutching as they reached for his throat.
The Doctor stood his ground. He waited until the knight was almost on him, then jabbed out with the cable. He stabbed it into the figure's outstretched hand and sparks exploded from the metal palm. The knight staggered back, blue lightning flashing and echoing round its whole body. It stood absolutely still, but Rose could still hear the rhythmic ticking from inside.
'I'd be careful,' the Doctor said. 'That was just a free taster. A longer blast might seriously damage your health.'
'Like smoking,' Rose added. 'We can arrange that too.' She returned the Doctor's grin. At last it seemed like they had the upper hand.
'Now, I've a few questions,' the Doctor went on, dangling the cable so that sparks dripped to the floor beside his feet. 'Luckily, they won't need long answers. In fact multiple choice is probably easiest. Starter for ten. . .' He sucked in a deep breath as he considered. 'Let's keep it simple. Where's Melissa Heart? Is she, (a), inside the building or, (b), outside the building?'
The knights did not reply. The Doctor waited, tapped his foot with mock impatience. 'Ding,' he said at last. 'But thanks for playing. Time for another shock.'
'How very true.' The voice came from behind the knights. A voice Rose recognised at once. Melissa stepped past the knight at the door and into the room. But she was not alone. She was pushing a small, frightened figure in front of her. Freddie's eyes were wide and scared, his cheeks damp from his te
ars.
'I'm sorry,' he said in a small voice.
Melissa thrust Freddie at the knight by the door. It grabbed him by the wrist and held him tight.
'What now?' Aske said, stepping out from behind Rose.
Repple stepped out with him. 'You would use children to fight men? So much for honour.'
'Honour died long ago in this war,' Melissa said. Her black mask was smiling, but her voice was shaking with anger. 'Now, Doctor, put down that cable before someone gets hurt. I don't need to offer you a multiple choice of victims, do I?'
As Melissa spoke, the knight pulled Freddie closer, still holding his wrist. Its other metal hand closed stiffly on the boy's neck.
ELEVEN
Freddie's eyes were wide as he stared beseechingly at Rose. She could feel her own eyes watering as the metal hand clamped tighter round the boy's throat.
'Let him go,' she said.
'Doctor?' Melissa Heart prompted.
'Keep hold of the cable,' Aske hissed. 'We have the advantage.'
Rose couldn't believe he would gamble with the boy's life. 'What if she means it?' she demanded.
Aske gave a snort of derision. 'She can't kill him twice. Once he's dead she's got nothing to bargain with.'
'I can't risk it,' the Doctor said, his voice quiet but determined.
Repple pushed in front of Aske, gesturing for the man to step back. 'What sort of woman uses children as hostages?' he demanded. He turned to Aske. 'The Doctor is right. We cannot risk a single innocent life. Lay down the cable, Doctor. We shall take the consequences.'
'But, sire –what if she still kills the boy? And us?'
Repple shrugged, his face as expressionless as Melissa's mask. 'That will be on her conscience, not mine. If she can live with her actions, then let her. But I could not live with mine if we don't surrender.'
'Quite right,' the Doctor said. Rose heaved a sigh of relief as he dropped the cable to the floor, kicking it aside so it was out of reach. 'Now, let the boy go before I have to make you.'
For a moment, Rose thought Melissa was going to have him killed anyway. But then she gave a shake of her head, and the knight released Freddie. The boy stumbled forward, gasping, rubbing his throat. Rose ran to help him.
'I'm touched,' Melissa said, watching.
'That has two meanings,' Rose snapped. 'One of them's true enough.'
'Insult me all you like, girl,' Melissa said in her honeyed voice. 'Now that I have found this butcher, nothing can dampen my pleasure.'
'You don't sound that pleased,' the Doctor retorted. 'Sure it's really me you want?'
Melissa took a step towards him. The knights now flanked her, standing immobile and silent save for the staccato ticking of their internal mechanisms. 'Oh, I am sure now. I did think you were sheltering with Sir George when I heard of this desire to reinstate a deposed ruler. Well, you can imagine what I thought.'
'Nope, wrong,' the Doctor told her.
She ignored him. 'I soon found that Sir George's scheme is the mad hope of a dreamer. He is after all merely human, and his prince is rather more commonplace and earthly than the one I was seeking. A boy,' she said with audible contempt. Rose pulled Freddie into a hug, holding him close and safe.
'Not the murderer I wanted.' Melissa pointed at the Doctor. 'You.'
'Wrong again. Last chance.'
'Then on the way to the dinner, I finally detected the power emissions, as you know. From your quaint sonic device, and from your strange blue box. Then I was almost sure. But there was still a chance that you were not the one I was after. I had to be absolutely sure, you see.'
'Oh yeah. Can't have you killing innocent people by mistake.' The Doctor's face was dark with anger. 'Like that poor maid.'
'Unfortunate.' The mask turned away slightly, and she sounded suddenly sad. 'My friends here don't know their own strength. We didn't mean to kill her, or the other one. Unlike you,' she went on, suddenly angry again. 'Think of the thousands you have killed with your executions, your genocidal cleansing, your disappearances and so-called justice.'
The Doctor shook his head again. 'Ding,' he pronounced. 'Wrong again. If that's all. . .'
'All?' she screamed at him. 'You murder tens of thousands, and you ask if that is all?'
The Doctor's reply was level and quiet, but edged with anger. 'You've got the wrong man.'
'Have I?' she shot back. She reached into her sleeve and pulled out a long, slim tube. The cigarette holder that Rose had seen her use in the gallery downstairs. Only now there was no cigarette burning in it, and she was pointing it straight at the Doctor. But when she fired, she was aiming at a different target.
The tip of the tube glowed a sudden red. Then a bolt of fire shot out, blasting into the front of the control console. Screens exploded. Rose and Freddie dived to the floor as glass showered across the room. Freddie shrieked with fright, clutching at Rose. 'Glass!' he wailed in fear. 'Don't let it cut me!'
Aske and Repple both flung themselves sideways. Only the Doctor did not move. The debris flew past him as the main part of the console exploded, but he seemed not to notice. A piece of glass whipped across his jacket sleeve, ripping a hole. He ignored it.
'Missed,' the Doctor said.
'It might be your jailer,' Melissa replied as the noise of the explosion died away. 'It might be programmed to prevent your ever leaving this backward planet, but I know that it is also programmed to defend you. To make sure the order of that jumped-up court is obeyed and your safe exile is not violated.'
'So you destroy a sentient being? Oh, machine intelligence, I know. Not really the same thing.' The Doctor turned and patted the scarred side of the console. 'Even so, I bet that hurt. And all for nothing. I'm not the man you take me for. Though I'll be interested to find out who is. To smoke them out.'
Melissa laughed, though there was no humour or joy in the sound. 'You stand here in front of an AI terminal adorned with the emblem of Katuria and you dare to tell me that you are not Shade Vassily?'
'He isn't.' The voice was quiet, but firm. Repple stepped in front of Rose and Freddie and looked straight at Melissa Heart. 'I am Shade Vassily,' he said.
The Doctor blinked. 'Are you?'
'Of course he isn't.' It was Aske who spoke. He shouldered Repple aside. 'This man is my patient. He has delusions. He believes himself to be a deposed ruler, and now you've given him a name and a cause.'
'What are you talking about?' Repple demanded angrily. 'You know who I am.'
Melissa looked from one to the other, her face inscrutable behind the mask. But the deadly tube she was holding still pointed unerringly at the Doctor.
'They're both mad,' Rose assured her. 'But not as mad as you are if you think the Doctor's some sort of deposed dictator.'
'It was the last action of the Imperial Court,' Melissa said. 'They exiled Vassily before the revolutionaries took control. They should have executed him.' There was bitterness in her voice. 'But instead they sent him to live a carefree life on a primitive planet, with another Katurian as both jailer and bodyguard.'
'To protect him and to ensure he didn't escape from exile?' the Doctor said.
'As you know full well. The records were destroyed, so we didn't know what planet. We didn't know the jailer was actually an AI.'
'I am Shade Vassily,' Repple said again. 'Can't you see that? How can you not see that?' He was standing erect, one hand on his chest. 'Shade Vassily, Imperial Prater of Katuria. Master of the Seven Heavens. Protector of the Fleet Victorious. High General of Yelkan and Speaker of the Masses.'
Slowly, Melissa swung towards Repple. Slowly she moved her weapon to cover him.
Aske stepped forward, in front of Repple. He held out one hand, a gesture of supplication, the other hand was thrust into his jacket pocket. 'You see how insane he is? I don't know where he has picked that up from, but he's a harmless. . .' He got no further. With a blur of movement, Aske pulled his hand from his jacket pocket. Rose could see that it was holding a tube, similar
to the one Melissa had. The end was already glowing red, and Aske's face had hardened to granite.
Melissa froze. Rose was sure she could see fear in the eyes behind the mask. Just for a second. All the time it took for the nearer of the two knights to turn slightly and raise its arm.
A flash of light. Not a ray, Rose realised, but the light reflecting off polished metal. A blade, spinning at lightning speed across the room. It slammed into Aske's throat, knocking him sideways and backwards. The tube in his hand spat fire across the room, but the shot went wide, merely scarring the dark, metal wall. Aske crashed to the floor, the blade jutting from his neck, blood welling up from the wound.
When he spoke, his voice was a painful gasp. His last words were: 'He's lying. I am Shade Vassily.'
There was silence for almost a minute. Repple knelt beside his friend, checking for a pulse. He shook his head. The Doctor stared at Melissa Heart. Rose hugged Freddie to her, hoping he had not seen what had happened, but knowing full well that he had.
'Well,' the Doctor said eventually. 'Guess that's settled then. If you'll return my blue box we'll be on our way.'
Melissa still held her weapon, still had it pointing at the Doctor. 'I took the precaution of arming the Mechanicals after your escape,' she said. 'Please do not expect me to make any more mistakes.'
'Oh, look, he just told you it was him,' Rose blurted. 'Deathbed confession. Literally. Sorry," she added as Repple looked over at her.
'Silly question,' the Doctor said, 'but don't you know what this Shade person looks like?'
'I can answer your question, Doctor,' Repple said wearily. He lowered Aske's head gently to the floor and stood up. He stared levelly at Melissa and the two Mechanicals, then turned to the Doctor. 'We Katurians are humanoid, but not human. A Katurian here on Earth would be obvious, and the sentence of the court was that I should be exiled and forgotten. Made insignificant. Dishonoured. My appearance was changed, so that I would fit in.'
'Know the feeling,' the Doctor said quietly. 'Go on.'
'Aske too was altered. He was to be my jailer and bodyguard, as the woman says. He became. . .' He looked down at the figure on the floor. 'He became a friend, though he rarely let me out of his sight. Oh, I could have my freedom while in exile, provided I never tried to escape. Any explicit attempt and he would kill me. That was his task. His duty.'
Doctor Who: The Clockwise Man Page 11
