Doctor Who_ Atom Bomb Blues Part 24

But on the word 'knife' the laziness left her voice and a note of uncertainty entered it. Memory flashed into Ace's mind. The knife that Silk had worn 156strapped to her thigh, that she had used to cut Ace's bonds, that the Doctor had taken from her.

The knife. That was why the Doctor kept looking at Lady Silk, then at Ace, then nodding. Only he wasn't nodding. He was pointing with his chin. At his jacket pocket. The Doctor had taken the knife from Lady Silk and put it in his pocket.

As realisation swept through her, Ace turned to the Doctor and he read her eyes. 'Behind me, please, Ace,' he said in a casual, conversational voice. Then he took a graceful step to one side, moving behind Lady Silk, reaching into his jacket as he did so. He brought out the knife and, as Ace darted behind him, he put it to Lady Silk's throat.

'd.a.m.n it,' said Silk. 'I knew I'd forgotten something.'

Butcher turned the handle and pushed gently on the front door of the house.

It was unlocked. He stepped inside, feeling relieved that he didn't have to go back and search the unconscious fat woman for the keys. The house was quiet and dark, smelling pleasantly of baking. He stood in the small hallway for a moment, considering. Finally he decided to put on some lights. This might attract attention, but so would blundering around in the dark. Compared to knocking over a vase, say, it was the lesser of two evils.

He stood blinking in the sudden light. Ahead of him in the hallway was the staircase to the upper floor of the house. But he wanted to go down, not up.

Where was the bas.e.m.e.nt door? He left the hallway, going to the right, into the kitchen. Sure enough, there was a red wooden door. Butcher looked at it, trying to decide what to do. The Doctor and Ace were down there and from what he'd heard they were facing execution. Butcher was expecting to hear the mechanical chatter of a Tommy gun at any moment.

What had Lady Silk said? Gun or knife? Maybe they'd used a knife. Maybe he was already too late. He stared at the door. What was going on down there? Maybe he should go back outside, crouch down in the gra.s.s again and peep through the bas.e.m.e.nt window, see what was happening.

But Butcher had the terrible feeling that while he was doing that he might hear the guns go off. He stood in the middle of the cool, pleasant-smelling kitchen, frozen with indecision. Then he saw it. Lying sprawled on the kitchen table. A ripple of white cloth with a big red spot on it. He held it up. It was a robe like the one he'd seen the husband wearing in the bas.e.m.e.nt, and from the size of it, it was obvious who it belonged to.

Butcher felt a smile spreading across his face.

He went back through the hallway to the lounge on the other side and grabbed some cus.h.i.+ons.

157.The armed goons hadn't dared to fire on Ace and the Doctor when they made their move because they were too close to Lady Silk. And now they were even closer, using her as a human s.h.i.+eld while the Doctor held the knife to her throat.

'You know, it was very rude of you not to return that knife,' said Lady Silk.

Ace couldn't believe how cool the woman was.

'You useless idiotic sc.u.m,' said Imperial Lee, his face dark with anger. He was looking at his gunmen, waving his fists in the air, as if he wanted to start beating the men. They stared back at their boss sheepishly. Ray had moved quickly towards the staircase, away from the centre of activity, and it had looked for a moment like he might flee up into the house, but Albert Storrow had stopped him. Now Storrow and Ray stood on the sidelines watching.

'You pathetic rejects,' spat Lee. 'Why didn't you shoot?'

'Leave them alone,' said Lady Silk. 'What could they do? Firing Tommy guns in a bas.e.m.e.nt is a dumb idea at the best of times. Thank G.o.d they had the brains not not to shoot, or I'd be lying here dead. The ricochets would have probably killed you, too.' to shoot, or I'd be lying here dead. The ricochets would have probably killed you, too.'

'They were going to put them in the well and then then shoot them,' said Lee. shoot them,' said Lee.

'There weren't going to be any ricochets. I'd thought it all out.'

'Well, that's a relief,' said Silk drolly.

Lee turned away from his cowed henchmen and took a step towards the Doctor and Ace, who stood huddled close behind their captive. 'Don't come any closer,' said the Doctor. Ace could see the elbow of his arm holding the knife and she was pleased to note that it was completely steady.

'If you harm that woman. . . ' said Imperial Lee.

'Oh, he's not going to harm me,' said Lady Silk.

'I'm holding the point of this rather sharp knife directly against your jugular vein,' said the Doctor in a pleasant, conversational voice. 'Doesn't that indicate anything to you?'

'It indicates that you like to talk,' said Lady Silk.

'Don't antagonise him,' said Lee.

'Stop worrying Lee. Do I sound worried? I'm not worried.'

'They've got a knife to your throat!'

'Yes, that might be alarming in certain circ.u.mstances,' allowed Silk. 'But not when the knife is being held by a blancmange.'

'A what?' said Imperial Lee, confusion and rage and fear staging a three-way collision in his voice.

'Or a meringue or anything else soft and ineffectual.' Lady Silk tried to turn her head and look at the Doctor. 'You're just a little softy, aren't you?'

'Would you like to find out?' said the Doctor in a cold, hard voice that even gave Ace a chill. But Lady Silk just laughed laughed.

158.'Oh, I'm sure you can be a tough and remorseless fellow,' she said. 'In certain circ.u.mstances. But you're not going to slice open the throat of a helpless woman.'

'No?' said the Doctor.

'No,' said Lady Silk decisively. 'You're just not the type. She sounded utterly confident and Ace felt a sudden sinking feeling. After all, the woman was right. The Doctor would never do such a thing.

As if echoing her thoughts, the Doctor said, 'You know what? You're absolutely correct. How perceptive of you. Ace! Swap!' The Doctor swiftly wriggled around behind Silk's hack, holding the woman as he pa.s.sed the knife to Ace, who took it and pressed it hard to Silk's throat. The Doctor traded places with her. Now he was standing behind Ace and Ace was holding the knife as she hugged Silk to her. She could smell the shampoo in the woman's hair and her perfume and the sudden tang of her fear. Ace whispered in her ear.

'Try me,' she crooned. 'I'll gut you like a fish.'

'I don't like her,' said Lady Silk in a voice like a frightened little girl. 'I don't like this. Lee, do something!'

'Don't worry baby,' said Lee. 'We'll think of something.'

'Do it fast.' Ace could feel the panicked vibration of Silk's throat under the blade of her knife. 'Do it now. I don't like her. I don't like her. ' '

Ace smiled and murmured, 'It's mutual.'

'Do something,' said Silk.

'I'm thinking,' said Lee.

'Do something!'

'I'm thinking!'

There was a sudden sound at the top of the stairs and everyone turned to see a white-robed figure descending into the bas.e.m.e.nt. From the bulk of the figure it was obviously Elina Storrow. The woman had the hood of the robe up, covering her head, and she came down the stairs bent over at the waist, so her face was in shadow.

Albert Storrow looked up at her. 'Careful, dear. We have a bit of a sticky situation here. Maybe you'd be better off staying upstairs.' The woman ignored him and continued descending the steps. 'Elina?' said Storrow. 'Are you all right, darling?'

The white-robed figure hurried into the bas.e.m.e.nt, moving in an awkward, crouched run. 'Darling?' said Storrow anxiously. 'Are you hurt?'

As the woman moved, something dropped from under her robe onto the white tiled floor. A cus.h.i.+on. The woman straightened up and Ace saw that it wasn't a woman at all. It was Major Butcher. He raised one white-robed arm.

He had a gun in his hand and the gun went off, the noise painfully loud in the confines of the bas.e.m.e.nt.

159.One of the men with a Tommy gun was thrown to the floor by the impact of the bullet. Everyone stared in shock, then everyone began to react at the same time.

Lady Silk tried to wrestle free of Ace, but Ace held her tight, one arm clamped to her throat. The Doctor stayed close behind Ace, matching her move for move, like a single unit.

Albert Storrow launched himself at the white-clad figure he'd believed was his wife. 'Where's Elina?' he shrieked.

The second man with the Tommy gun raised it and began to fire at Butcher.

Storrow reached Butcher just in time to take the full impact of the blast.

He was flung to the floor and Butcher remained standing there, unscathed.

Butcher took aim and fired again. He hit the Tommy-gunner, who crumpled to his knees and twisted at the waist, still firing as he went down.

Bullets sprayed wildly around the bas.e.m.e.nt. The sound was unbelievable.

'Get down Ace!' shouted the Doctor over the blast of gunfire. Chips of stone were flying everywhere, spraying off the walls. Ace threw herself to the floor with Lady Silk under her, the Doctor at her side. Silk made no attempt to get free. Instead she squirmed further under Ace's body, so that Ace would take the impact of any stray rounds.

Across the room Imperial Lee also flung himself to the floor. Ray had already done so, as soon as the shooting started.

The only men left standing were Butcher and Lee's third henchman. The young man hurled himself towards the dead man on the floor with the Tommy gun, grabbed the weapon and stood up with it, just in time to be scythed down by the wounded gunner, who was subsiding to the floor, a patch of blood on the lapel of his s.h.i.+ny suit.

The man lay still. The gun stopped firing. There was a moment of incredible silence in the bas.e.m.e.nt.

Ace looked up. Lee's three men were lying motionless, evidently dead, and so was Albert Storrow. Butcher moved around the bas.e.m.e.nt, checking the bodies. There was blood on the tiles, splashed all over Ray's scribbled equations. Ace felt sick.

Underneath her, Lady Silk suddenly erupted into movement. She struggled, writhing free. Ace let her go. What was she going to do? There was nowhere for her to run to.

Butcher glanced at Lady Silk as she hastened shakily to her feet and he evidently came to the same conclusion. He resumed his inspection of the bodies on the bas.e.m.e.nt floor.

Lady Silk stood there, trembling. She looked at Imperial Lee lying on the floor. He peered back at her.

'Baby,' said Silk. 'Let's do it.'

160.She turned and ran across the bas.e.m.e.nt. Not towards the stairs, but to the middle of the room, the centre of the red tiled circle. Towards the well. Lee scrambled to his feet and followed. 'Stop them!' shouted Ray. Silk reached the lip of the well and jumped down into it.

Butcher turned in time to take a shot at Lee as he jumped into the opening after Silk. He hurried across the room and moved cautiously to the edge of the well, his gun held in front of him. He said, 'What the h.e.l.l do they think they're playing at?'

'The Well of Transition,' said the Doctor softly.

'Oh, man,' said Ray helplessly.

'I fear we're too late,' said the Doctor, getting to his feet. He went and joined Butcher, who was standing looking down into the well. Ace followed him. Inside the well, about eight feet below floor level, Lady Silk was crouched over the motionless body of Imperial Lee. She looked up at Butcher and Ace and the Doctor staring down at her. Her eyes were blank with terror.

'Please,' she said. 'Please help me. I don't know what's happening to me.

But they've been holding me prisoner.'

Butcher chuckled, though the sound came out more like a croak. 'Don't try that on me, sister. Or I'll leave you down there with that stiff.' He reached down and grabbed one of Lady Silk's upstretched arms, pulling her up out of the well.

Once she was out, Silk just sat down on the floor and began to sob. Butcher ignored her. He opened the cylinder on his revolver, his hands showing just the faintest hint of tremor now that the action was over, and began reloading.

He removed the spent cartridge cases then went back to the well and dropped one of them onto the head of the prostrate Imperial Lee. The bra.s.s cartridge case bounced off the man's head but he didn't twitch. Butcher looked at Ace and the Doctor. 'He's a goner. I guess I hit him on the fly. Lucky shot.'

'You didn't hit him,' said the Doctor. 'I imagine he's been dead for days.' He jumped down into the well and knelt beside the man, his hand on the corpse's shoulder. 'Cold,' he said. He looked up at Butcher and Ace. 'Feel him if you don't believe me.'

'So he's cold,' said Butcher. 'So what? He's dead.'

'He is very, very cold, Major. As if someone has been keeping him in a freezer.'

'I don't know what you're talking about. And I'm sure as h.e.l.l not climbing down in there with you.'

The Doctor sighed wearily. 'Then just use your eyes. This man is wearing a green suit, is he not?'

'A green zoot suit, sure. Like those other hoods. These gaudy punks like their zoots.'

161.'A green green suit,' said the Doctor. 'Imperial Lee was wearing a blue suit when he jumped into this well.' suit,' said the Doctor. 'Imperial Lee was wearing a blue suit when he jumped into this well.'

Butcher felt a moment's unease. Was the Doctor right? Hadn't Hadn't the punk been wearing a blue suit? Then he crushed his doubts, shrugging them off. the punk been wearing a blue suit? Then he crushed his doubts, shrugging them off.

'h.e.l.l, I can't remember. Anyhow the light in here can play tricks.'

The Doctor reached up and Ace helped him climb out of the well. He kept talking as he climbed. 'Then look at the woman, Major.' Ace pulled him over the rim of the well and he caught his balance, crossing the floor to Lady Silk, who sat there with her shoulders jerking as she wept quietly. 'Look at her,'

said the Doctor gently. 'Her clothes are different, too.'

Ace realised that Lady Silk was wearing a deep blue jacket and matching blue skirt and blouse. Instead of slippers she was wearing high-heeled shoes.

The Doctor turned to Butcher and peered into the man's face. 'What do you think happened? That she changed clothes in the time between jumping into the well and you finding her there?'

'He's right,' said Ace. 'That's not what she was wearing before.'

Butcher shook his head. 'I've got no idea what she was wearing before.

I never notice women's clothes. I don't know what the h.e.l.l you're talking about.'

'Then let me explain,' said the Doctor. 'The man lying dead in the well is not Imperial Lee. This woman here is not Lady Silk, at least not the one we know, the one who is a traitor and propagandist for the j.a.panese. Like Imperial Lee, that woman has successfully escaped.' He looked down at the sobbing Silk.

'This woman was their helpless prisoner.'

Lady Silk looked up, her frightened eyes full of tears. 'That's right! They took me. They took me away. But now I'm back.'

'Can it,' said Butcher brutally. 'You're not talking your way out of this, doll.'

'Listen to me, Major. The Imperial Lee and Lady Silk who were here moments earlier came from another dimension. Another world. One similar to this but different in many crucial respects. When they crossed over via the portal they discovered that they had doubles here. Doppelgangers, if you will.