Doctor Who_ Trading Futures Part 16

'What's that smell?'

'That, Doctor, is the state of the art of human weaponry. And here is what our war computers calculate will happen when we launch our attack.'

The drift of the waft was unmistakable.

'You see, Doctor! Our technology is thousands of years in advance of that of the humans. We will prevail! The prediction is that the war will last seven minutes, Doctor.'

The Doctor had stopped in his tracks.

'The human race have nuclear weapons.'

'We will not allow them to blow themselves up,' he a.s.sured the Doctor.

'That isn't what I meant they could launch them at you.'

The Onihr leader spent several minutes laughing at that.

Anji lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling, wondering what she'd got herself into.

Where were Fitz and the Doctor? Fitz could still be in California, but wouldn't have a clue how to find her, or even get in contact. Anji wasn't even sure the Doctor had told him they'd be leaving the TARDIS at Heathrow. She She didn't have any way of getting in touch with the Doctor, so why would Fitz? They really ought to carry mobiles, or communicators like they had on didn't have any way of getting in touch with the Doctor, so why would Fitz? They really ought to carry mobiles, or communicators like they had on Star Trek Star Trek. Then again, they should carry all sorts of stuff a first*aid kit, matches, a torch. Just basic stuff. The Doctor had all sorts of junk in his pockets, but never anything useful. She didn't want them to get a uniform, or even fully kitted out, or anything it would just be nice to have some proper training.

She decided to check what she had in her pockets and bag.

Tissues. That wasn't exactly an inspiring start. The keys to her and Dave's flat. Loose change, mostly from the late eighteenth century, but some twentieth*century American coins, too. Suncream. A theatre ticket. Her mobile. Her Psion organiser. A page from the Financial Times Financial Times.

A featureless black box the size of an audio ca.s.sette that she had difficulty placing at first.

It was the Doctor's time detector he'd handed it to her back at the beach. She ran her finger along the edge, and it came to life, faint lights flickering across its surface.

She could use it to find the time machine. It was somewhere on the yacht, after all.

First, she made sure she knew what she was doing the Doctor had just run it along there. It bleeped a little at her, because she was a time traveller. It didn't bleep at the fold*down bedside table or the lamp because they weren't. It couldn't be simpler.

She held it out at arm's length, so it wasn't just registering her all the time, and set off towards the door. After a moment, she returned for her bag somewhere to hide the detector if asked.

Baskerville and Dee were up on deck she could hear them moving around. She'd finally spotted the East European guy up at the wheelhouse, or whatever it was called. Which meant the coast was clear.

She edged out of her room. Somehow, it didn't seem to be right doing this in swimwear. On the other hand, she thought, glancing down, if anyone but Dee found her, they wouldn't be looking at the time detector.

The device was steadfastly refusing to bleep. Anji shook it, wondering if it was on the blink, but it didn't make any difference.

There were three levels decks, she corrected herself one formed the control tower... h.e.l.l, she didn't even know what that was called. The bit that was above the main hull bit.

Anyway, she'd got the basics of the layout of the yacht the lowermost deck had a small hold, but was mostly turbines and engines. The deck above that was the one she was on now cabins, the galley, a small workshop and laundry. Then there was the main deck, with its control tower, helipad, and area for sunbathing. There was a dining area/lounge there, too.

So there wasn't too much to search. Her money was on one of the cabins.

She tried the door to one, and was surprised it was open.

Dee's room, unless Baskerville or the East European guy were keeping something very quiet. Anji inched around the room. If she could hear them up on the deck, there was a very good chance they would hear her if she made enough noise.

The dressing table had a few expensive bottles of perfume on it, a few small items of jewellery. The wardrobe had a variety of changes of clothes, including a very snazzy*looking velvet catsuit/ballgown thing. There was a small zip*up bag, which turned out to be a VSCD case with three VSCDs in. There was a very expensive and powerful*looking laptop propped up against the bedside table.

No sign of any time machines, and nothing registering on the time detector. The way these things worked, it was bound to be in the very last place she looked.

Anji moved on to the next cabin.

'The time machine was through here.'

The Doctor held the door open for Malady, who stepped through. 'Is that it?'

The Doctor followed her in. The time machine was sitting in the middle of the room, the power cables still leading up to it, the lights still blinking on and off.

'I don't understand...'

Malady was looking around the room. She pointed through the thick gla.s.s window with her gun. 'What's through there?'

'That's the sending chamber.'

Malady was opening the door.

'Be careful there may be time spillage.'

'I'll take the risk,' she told him, witheringly.

'Why didn't he take the time machine?'

The Doctor flicked a couple of switches, then remembered Malady was in the sending chamber, and decided things might start to get complicated if he accidentally sent her into the past.

'It's a bare room,' Malady told him.

The Doctor poked his head through. 'There was a coffee machine in here before.'

'Well, there isn't now.'

The Doctor returned to the time machine. 'I didn't get much of a chance to examine this before.' He looked up as Malady came back in. 'No... I'm sorry, this doesn't make sense.'

'The whole time travel thing, or just a bit of it? Come on, Doctor, that's a metal box with some lights on it, not a time machine. Do you think it looks like a time machine?'

The Doctor moved around it, unsure what Malady expected a time machine to look like.

'Why take the coffee machine, and not the time time machine?' the Doctor asked again. 'He knew the tidal wave was coming. He knew to the machine?' the Doctor asked again. 'He knew the tidal wave was coming. He knew to the minute minute.'

The Doctor looked over to Malady, who was looking up at the door. He turned to see what she'd seen.

Two graceful figures stood in the doorway. There was a middle*aged woman with long grey hair, and a small boy, probably no older than ten or twelve. They both wore neat purple one*piece outfits, and had gold circlets on their heads. Both were aiming stubby pistols.

Anji was in Baskerville's cabin.

The room was Spartan, virtually empty. Two identical pinstripe suits hung in the wardrobe, there was what looked like a CB radio on the dressing table, but there was almost nothing else of interest.

Anji stubbed her toe on something under the bed. She bent down to take a look. Under the bed was the silver carry case, the only thing Baskerville had salvaged from his office.

She pulled it out and opened it up.

It was the coffee machine, the one from the sending room. The jug was still half*full of coffee.

She waved the time detector over it, but from the lack of a signal, it still looked remarkably like a coffee machine, and not like a particularly bijou TARDIS.

Someone was coming.

Anji was squeezing herself under the bed before she knew what she was doing. There was someone coming down the steps to this deck. A moment later, the cabin door opened. She saw Baskerville's sandalled feet step in, then the door closing.

She hoped he hadn't come downstairs for some coffee.

He sat on the bed, his ankles inches from her face. What if he found her? Some people would pay good money to find a semi*naked Asian girl under their bed.

He was moving around on the bed. She seriously hoped he wasn't going to sleep. She checked her watch it was a minute to two. But he could be having a siesta.

He was talking into the radio.

'Oblimova? Good.' His voice sounded different. There was an accent there the same vaguely East European accent as his chauffeur.

Baskerville's feet appeared again, and Anji began to ease herself backwards. If they should touch her...

'The bomb worked. Look, there's been a change of plan. We're doing a deal with the Americans, now. Yes, well, dollars are as good as euros. Better in many ways. Now, we need to '

Back a bit further...

Beep!

The time detector in her bag cheerfully registered the time traveller who had just brushed across it.

Two seconds later, Baskerville had grabbed bag and owner, and pulled Anji out from under the bed.

She stood awkwardly. He let her readjust her bikini.

'Er... hi,' she said, wondering how he'd kill her.

'Doctor,' the woman said. Her voice was calm, authoritative. She looked and sounded more like a university English lecturer than a... whatever she was.

The Doctor stepped forward. 'You know me?'

The boy was watching him with thinly veiled contempt. 'We're going to take you to our master to face trial. The whole universe will hear of your crimes.'

To their surprise, the Doctor grinned at that. 'Excellent,' he declared. 'That really is excellent news.'

'He's pleased, Jaxa,' the boy said, scandalised.

'You relish the idea?' the woman asked.

'Of course,' the Doctor said, leaning in. 'Perhaps there, I might find out what you're accusing me of.'

He glared at her, waiting for the answer.

'You're Time Agents, are you? I've met your sort before.'

'You have?' Malady asked.

'Yes, England in the nineteen*thirties, a place called Little Marpling. They were so keen to maintain established history, they were prepared to explode a nuclear weapon to stop a group of renegade time travellers.' A thought struck him. 'It was you, wasn't it? The tidal wave was you, covering your tracks.'

'No!' the boy shouted. 'That was all part of the web of time. But if it hadn't been '

Jaxa placed her hand on his shoulder, silencing him. 'Roja...' She turned to the Doctor. 'I was a Time Agent once, but not a military officer. Now I work for a more n.o.ble cause. One that doesn't take kindly to your interference here.'

'Moi?' The Doctor looked offended.

Malady was watching them both carefully, getting their measure. 'What do you think the Doctor has done?'

'He is supplying time travel technology to a primitive era.'

The boy was studying a readout on a wristband. 'He isn't from this time zone.'

'You aren't?' Malady asked.

'Guilty as charged,' the Doctor admitted. 'But I'm here for the same reason as you.' He thumbed back over his shoulder. 'That time machine isn't mine, it belongs to an explorer from the future, a man who calls himself Baskerville.'

Jaxa moved over to the time machine, ran her hand along it. 'This isn't a time machine.'

'I've seen it operate,' the Doctor said. 'I was there.'

Jaxa pressed her gun against the side of the cabinet and fired. The cabinet gently fell apart, the four sides unpeeling like a banana skin.

'Light bulbs,' she told him.

The Doctor went over, checked the machine. She was right there was nothing here but lightbulbs and LEDs, the only electronics were there to make the lights flash.

'The time machine has been removed,' the Doctor said. 'Look, there's room there for something the size of a suitcase. Baskerville took the working parts with him.'

Roja was still studying his wristband. 'There is no sign of a temp trace.'