Doctor Who_ Just War Part 5

'Oh, sorry, I was looking for my coat. Big blue thing.'

Before he could reply, Benny had yanked the rifle from his hand and pulled him in front of her, s.h.i.+elding herself from the rest of the troops. It all happened too fast for the other Germans. Just as they were realizing what was going on, Benny had fired above their heads. But not that far above.

They fell to the ground for protective cover, pulling their guns up. Benny leapt for the armoured car.

The Doctor was stepping carefully across the beach when he heard the crackling of gunfire. It mustn't distract him. There was heavy lifting machinery down here, and something huge had been dragged from the sea. Whatever it was had been covered by a large black tarpaulin. The handful of troops on the beach were scrambling up the narrow path to a.s.sist their comrades.

The Doctor rapidly moved towards the tarpaulin. It covered an object the size of a tank, or small shuttlecraft. The Doctor poked at it experimentally with his umbrella. There was a satisfying clank. Whatever it was, it was made of thick metal. The Doctor moved forwards cautiously and lifted the sheeting. A grenade detonated above him with a soft crump.

Thankfully, as Benny had hoped, there was no one inside the German vehicle. She slammed shut the hatch, bolting it, and slid over to the driver's seat. It was dark and reeked of sweat.

The only light came from a couple of slits at the front.

Through those, Benny could see troops running towards her.

As they reached her, she discovered how to start the engine. The armoured car roared into life, lurching forward, and the troops scattered. Just as Benny was working out how to change the gears, a rifle bullet richocheted off the roof.

She had better start thinking about tactics. There were three groups of n.a.z.is, one to the left, two to the right. The unarmed men had fallen back, but weren't heading for the beach. The Germans were as disorganized as she was. It didn't really matter, though: she realized that she'd effectively boxed herself in. She just needed to buy a little time for the Doctor. Who knows, she might even have supplied his getaway car. A grenade bounced off the roof, clattering past her sight. She pulled hard left on the steering wheel, and the car swerved out of the way. There was an explosion to her side and a shower of soft mud, but the axle held.

d.a.m.n. One of the groups was falling back, heading for its original position. They'd soon be back at the clifftop, and they were bound to see the Doctor if they got that far. Benny steered the vehicle towards them, its primitive suspension almost throwing her from her seat. Military vehicles throughout history had never been built for comfort. The other two groups were now behind her, out of view, and she was getting too close to the cliff edge for comfort. She mustn't let her mind wander. d.a.m.n!

The Doctor peered into the murk under the tarpaulin. He wrinkled his nose as the smell of salt, rotting leather and charcoal wafted out. He ran his finger along a metal panel which had blackened and warped in intense heat. His brow furrowed.

'Do you know what it is?'

The Doctor shrugged. 'It's the most advanced piece of hardware this planet has seen. It's years ahead of its time.

Whoever has this will almost certainly win the war.'

Puzzled, the Doctor looked over his shoulder to see who had asked the question. A powerfully built German officer held a pistol to his head. There was no one else on the beach. The man was wearing the neat black uniform of the Schutzstaffel. The pistol was a standard SS-issue Mauser.

The Doctor recognized the German officer as Standartenfuhrer Joachim Wolff, the Butcher of Mallesan.

The Doctor hadn't heard him arrive.

'Keep silent.'

The Doctor closed his mouth.

'Drop the umbrella.'

It fell to the wet sand.

'Keep your hands on your head.'

The Doctor raised his hat mournfully.

4 Death and its Ramifications

It was a situation that required quick thinking. The Doctor lowered his hat and smiled disarmingly at the German officer.

'You look like the sort of man who would like a Kola Nut.

Would you? I have a bag of them in my pocket.'

'I've already eaten.'

At least he was listening. The Doctor decided to change tack and indicated the wreckage. 'I know all about that.'

'So you say,' the German replied calmly.

'And you are Joachim Wolff.'

'You have me at a disadvantage.' Wolff chuckled, but he didn't lower the gun. The Doctor stared down the barrel, nervously licking his lips.

'I'm the Doctor. Now you'll want to question me, won't you? Interrogate me? Grill me? Give me the works?'

suggested the Doctor hopefully.

'No.'

'I could be useful.'

Wolff began to squeeze the trigger.

'Er... before you shoot,' the Doctor gabbled, 'I think you ought to know that you'll actually miss me pointing the gun there. You'd never live that down, would you, not hitting me at such close range?' His voice was suddenly calm. 'Aim eight inches more to the left.'

'Thank you.' Throughout the exchange, Wolff had kept his gun level. Now he adjusted his aim and fired at point-blank range.

Benny had forgotten what it was like being with the Doctor.

Without him you kept regular office hours, you had a lunch break, pension rights and holiday pay. With him you tended to find yourself driving at high speeds along muddy clifftop fields in unfamiliar military equipment being chased by heavily armed n.a.z.is. Benny had forgotten how much she enjoyed it. After months of bottling up her feelings, it was so good to feel the adrenalin rush, to know that at any moment she might die in a blaze of glory, defending the universe from some unknown terror.

The terrain was rough, and she found herself being lurched from side to side. A burst of machine-gun fire peppered the rear of the armoured car. Her plan was working, though, all three groups were moving further and further away from the cove and the Doctor. At this rate, they were bound to run out of bullets soon. Benny was feeling cheered by this thought when the rear driver's side tyre burst and the vehicle gave way. Instinctively, she let go of the steering wheel, throwing her head between her legs and her hands over her head. The armoured car toppled over on its side, quickly cras.h.i.+ng to a halt in the mud.

She only had seconds to act. She wasn't hurt, but she could hear boots splas.h.i.+ng towards her. They'd be here soon. It was then that she heard the single pistol shot from the beach.

Benny wondered what she should do next.

The bullet blasted two inches past the Doctor's right ear, temporarily deafening him. Before Wolff could react, the Doctor had hurled himself behind the wreckage.

It took Wolff a second to respond. The Doctor had used some form of suggestion on him. A dangerous opponent. A threat. Wolff dived to his left after the little man. The Doctor stood there, facing the other way, poised in wait. When he glanced back and saw Wolff he simply looked annoyed.

'Oh, for heaven's sake, a right-handed combat-trained human should instinctively dive to the right right in a situation like this. What are they teaching you these days?' in a situation like this. What are they teaching you these days?'

Wolff punched him hard, straight in the kidneys.

'There... was... no need...' coughed the Doctor crossly.

Wolff tried to silence him with a swift kick to the stomach.

'I would appreciate it if you'd stop hitting me,' said the Doctor, who seemed to have recovered his breath.

Wolff held the Doctor down, his knee pressing against the little man's ribcage. An explosion rumbled above them.

The two men looked at each other, although it was clear that neither knew precisely what had happened. Wolff didn't loosen his grip.

'I was going to kill you, but now you're going to live. For a little longer. But you'll suffer first,' he whispered.

'Well, there's an original sentiment. Frankly, I'm not impressed.'

Wolff eased the pressure on the Doctor's back, then pulled himself upright. 'Get up.'

The Doctor struggled to his feet. He stood for a moment, dusting himself off.

Then Wolff punched him squarely in the jaw, and the little man fell back, clutching his mouth.

'Frankly, Doktor, I don't care whether you're impressed or not.'

Benny kicked open the hatch of the armoured car and threw herself clear. Splas.h.i.+ng down into a muddy puddle, she allowed herself to roll to a halt. There was a moment of calm, then a noise, like a stick clattering across a tin roof, a sound that she couldn't quite place. A repeat of that sound. And again, followed by a more solid clunk. Metal on metal. They'd thrown something metal.

Simultaneously, all three grenades detonated. Before her eyes, the armoured car threw itself apart, its sides were thrown clear of the cha.s.sis, the remaining tyres burst explosively. As the fuel tank gave way, the armoured car was lifted five feet into the air, before cras.h.i.+ng back to the ground.

And then, as quickly as it had happened, there was calm again, just the crackle of fires dying down and choking black fumes in the air.

Benny saw a figure materializing through the smoke as it cleared: it was Gerhard, his pistol raised. Without needing to think, she grabbed his trouser leg and yanked him down. He flailed in the mud, and Benny scrabbled for his gun. She found it and levelled it at him, her heart beating furiously. The lad looked terrified. Her face was covered in mud, her hair was a different colour, there was no way he'd be able to recognize her. He spoke.

'Celia?'

With a dreadful clarity, Bernice realized that Gerhard would have no choice but to betray her. Gerhard knew where she lived: he lived there himself. He had to die, to save the lives of Ma Doras and her daughter. Before she had even completed that thought, Benny felt the trigger give way and her pistol pull upwards. The bullet ripped through the boy's stomach, and he fell to his knees, gasping, coughing up blood. Gerhard slumped, his eyes open. Dead.

Suddenly shocked by what she had done, Benny dropped the pistol and scrambled away. Gerhard was, dead.

The armoured car s.h.i.+elded her from the main group of n.a.z.is; she just needed to reach some better cover. She had killed Gerhard. She pounded towards the dry stone wall marking the edge of the field. Behind her there were cries for a doctor.

It was too late, though. She concentrated on what was ahead.

Benny threw herself over the dry stone wall, grazing her legs and cras.h.i.+ng to the tarmac road on the other side.

Ignoring the pain, she forced herself up, and hobbled back behind a patch of vegetation, sliding herself down into a muddy ditch. She peered out from her hiding place through the short branches. She was shaking. Benny wanted to cough, or to scream, but couldn't do either of those things.

The main group of n.a.z.is had been a full twenty seconds behind her, and hadn't seen her. As she had hoped, only a handful of troops came over the stile, thirty yards away. The others had to stay back to guard that thing on the beach.

Whatever it was down there, these leaderless troops knew that it was even more important to guard it than to capture the murderer of a German soldier. Those few that had followed hadn't seen her, and couldn't work out where she had gone. They broadcast their ignorance in loud shouts in German, instinctively a.s.suming that she wouldn't speak their language. Three minutes later and they had pulled back to the field.

Benny hauled herself upright, and allowed herself to cough.

She'd bought herself some time: there had been a radio in the armoured car, and that had almost certainly been the group's only link with any reinforcements or search parties.

She couldn't take that for granted, though, and it wouldn't be long before a runner was sent. Her little diversion had made a great deal of noise, and so it was entirely possible that every German patrol on the island had already been drawn this way. There seemed little chance of doubling back and meeting up with the Doctor here; she'd have to head back to the boardinghouse.

She remembered the shot she had heard. A single shot.