Doctor Who_ Deep Blue Part 6

'I bet you hate tourists, don't you?'

'Some of them.' He smiled. 'To tell you the truth, I don't mind being busy. These last few weeks, though -' he frowned and shook his head - 'the whole place has gone crazy.'

'Really? In what way?'

'Well, what happened to you tonight was a good example. I mean, this time of year we get a lot of incidents relating to alcohol - fights in discos, people pulled in for drunk and disorderly, criminal damage, that sort of thing. But this year violent incidents have doubled, if not trebled.'

'What do you think's causing it?' asked Tegan.

'I don't know. The heat maybe? It has has been hotter than usual this year. And violence, when it starts, tends to spread.' been hotter than usual this year. And violence, when it starts, tends to spread.'

Tegan sipped her wine and said reflectively, 'That guy tonight... just before he drew his arm back to hit me, his eyes went sort of blank. It was weird.'

Andy nodded thoughtfully, then smiled. 'Anyway... Look, you're here on holiday. I shouldn't be sitting here telling you what a terrible place this is. The last thing I want is to scare you off.'

'Oh, you won't scare me off,' said Tegan. 'I'm a pretty tough cookie.'

'All the same, I hope you'll let me walk you back to your hotel.'

'Course I will. But let's have another drink first, eh? My round.'

In fact, they had two more drinks. Tegan didn't realise how much the alcohol had affected her until she stood up. Her head started to spin and she had to concentrate hard to stop herself from stumbling.

'Oh, rabbits,' she murmured.

'Are you all right?' asked Andy, concerned.

'A bit woozy,' she admitted. 'I can't remember the last time I had this much to drink.'

'Come on, take my arm,' he said. 'A bit of fresh air will do you good.'

The pub had filled up with people and smoke since Tegan had entered a couple of hours ago. They manoeuvred their way to the door, Tegan holding on to Andy's arm, and went outside.

At first the fresh breeze blowing through the narrow streets made her head spin even more. She staggered as if the breeze was strong as a hurricane. Andy slipped his arm around her waist to steady her.

'Whoops,' she said. 'I bet you didn't bank on being lumbered with a drunken Aussie.'

'I've got no complaints about the company.' He grinned.

'Can you walk in a straight line?'

It was a beautiful night, the air warm, the sky clear and pinp.r.i.c.ked with stars. Despite the violent picture Andy had painted, the streets of Tayborough Sands were quiet. They walked down to the seafront, Tegan still holding on to Andy for support. To anyone else they must have looked like lovers sharing a romantic stroll after dinner. They listened to the rus.h.i.+ng, gravelly roar of the sea as it swarmed triumphantly over the sh.o.r.e before retreating with a sigh. There were no lights on the beach, and the only way they could distinguish sand from water was by the glittering shards of the moon's twin bobbing on the sea's black surface.

As they meandered along the pavement to the Lombard Hotel, Andy said, 'Can I see you again?'

Tegan felt a slow smile stretching her lips, but she tried to keep her voice casual. 'If you like.'

He hesitated, then plunged in. 'How about tomorrow? We could spend the day together. I'm not on duty till six.'

Tegan found herself wondering briefly what the Doctor's plans for the next day were, then immediately quashed the thought. 'Sounds great.'

'Ok, I'll pick you up from Reception about... nine?'

'I'll be there.'

They lingered at the hotel steps, unsure how to end it.

'Well... goodnight,' Tegan said at last, and abruptly thrust her hand out again. 'Thanks for being my knight in s.h.i.+ning armour.'

'My pleasure.' He took the hand, but this time instead of shaking it he kissed the back of it gently. 'Until tomorrow,' he said softly.

'Until tomorrow,' Tegan repeated, trying desperately not to blush.

Several hours earlier Mike Yates had opened the door of his attic room to find a complete stranger standing there. The stranger was wearing odd clothes: a cricketing jumper and a long cream coat with a stick of celery attached to the lapel and funny striped trousers. Despite the heat the man looked cool and fresh. As soon as he saw Mike, a huge and delighted grin spread over his face.

'Mike Yates!' he exclaimed. 'How wonderful to see you again!'

Mike frowned, puzzled and a little wary. 'Have we met before?'

'Oh, many times,' said the stranger as if he was enjoying himself hugely, 'though not since I regenerated.'

'Regenerated? You don't mean... You're not the Doctor?'

'Yes!' cried the man as if Mike was a rather dim pupil who had just grasped a basic mathematical formula.

Both the Doctor and the Brigadier had explained the fundamentals of regeneration to him, but Mike had not realised how drastic the change could be. 'But you're... so different,' he said weakly.

'Oh, I'm still the same old Doctor underneath,' the Doctor said airily. 'May I come in?'

Mike was about to step back and pull the door wide when he paused. 'How do I know know you're the Doctor? How do I know you're not trying to trick me?' you're the Doctor? How do I know you're not trying to trick me?'

The Doctor blinked. 'Why would I want to do that?'

'I don't know. Maybe you want to get to the real Doctor through me. You could be the Master for all I know.'

The Doctor flinched and his voice became a little high-pitched with indignation. 'Please! I've never been so insulted.'

'I'm sorry,' said Mike, 'It's just... you're so different. You don't seem as...'

'Arrogant? Overbearing?'

Mike shrugged embarra.s.sedly. 'You said it.'

'Yes, well,' said the Doctor, nonplussed, 'when one matures, one irons out these little foibles.'

'Matures?' said Mike. 'But you look so much younger!'

'Appearances can be deceptive, you know.'

'My point exactly,' said Mike triumphantly.

The Doctor sighed. 'The thing about regeneration is that it's something of a lottery. But whatever I look like, I'm still fundamentally the same underneath. How can I convince you of that?'

Before Mike could reply, the Doctor's eyes widened. 'What date is it?' he asked.

Puzzled, Mike told him.

The Doctor gazed into the middle distance as if looking back through time. 'So you've not been back on active duty for long. You've been recovering from the events at Llanfairfach.'

Mike frowned. 'Go on.'

The Doctor snapped out of his semi-trance. 'How are you feeling now, Mike?'

'Fine.'

'No ill-effects?'

'No, I don't think so.'

The Doctor looked at him strangely, reached out and patted him on the forearm. 'You're a good man, Mike. I've always thought so.'

'Thanks, but I don't -'

Breathlessly the Doctor said, 'BOSS took you over. I brought you back with a blue crystal from Metebelis Three. I sent the crystal to Jo for a wedding present.' His hand dipped into his pocket and he produced a small card which he handed to Mike. 'My UNIT pa.s.s. Now I wouldn't let this fall into the wrong hands, would I? The Brigadier would have my guts for garters.'

Mike took the card and looked at it perfunctorily before handing it back. Smiling he said, 'All right, Doctor, let's say I believe you.'

The Doctor grinned. 'Splendid. Then we can get down to business.'

Mike ushered the Doctor in, then crossed to the bed and sat down. The Doctor wandered around the small room as if restless, hands in the pockets of his striped trousers. 'So what caused you to regenerate?' Mike asked.

The Doctor swung round from his contemplation of a rather poorly-executed print of a sailing yacht hanging above the dressing table. 'Hmm?'

Mike repeated his question.

'Ah,' said the Doctor, and crossed the room to sit in the armchair beneath the alcoved window. 'It's rather complicated. You see, since you last saw me I've regenerated twice. But that doesn't mean you've seen the last of the me that you know. I'm just popping in while I'm away, so to speak. The next me to arrive will be the old me with no knowledge of the new me - presuming that none of the other mes drop in in the meantime, of course.'

Mike looked at the Doctor deadpan for a moment, and then said, 'Thank you. That makes everything perfectly clear.'

His ironic tone seemed lost on the Doctor, who looked at him keenly. 'Tell me about the light that Mr Elkins saw.'

'You know about that?' said Mike.

'I've been doing some investigating.'

Mike pulled a dismissive face. 'Load of rubbish, if you ask me. The man's an old soak. Probably fell asleep and dreamt the whole thing.'

'Hmmm,' said the Doctor thoughtfully. 'You saw the bodies on the fis.h.i.+ng boat?'

'Yes.'

'I understand their injuries were rather severe?'

Mike raised his eyebrows. 'That's putting it mildly. Apart from one chap who looked as if he'd had half his throat torn out, there were only bits left behind.'

'Indeed,' said the Doctor thoughtfully. 'And what could cause that degree of damage, do you think? An aquatic mammal, perhaps ?'

'Well... I don't know. The police seem to think one of the men went berserk and killed the others.'

'Is that possible? Given the injuries you saw?'

Mike looked dubious, but paused before replying. 'Those men were torn apart, Doctor. Not cut or chopped. Torn. Torn. If one of the crew If one of the crew did did kill the others, he did it with his bare hands.' kill the others, he did it with his bare hands.'

'Interesting,' said the Doctor. 'In which case a much more likely supposition would be that the men were killed by whatever came out of the vessel that Mr Elkins saw land in the sea. Wouldn't you agree?'

Mike pulled a face. 'The thought had crossed my mind. But old Elkins seems such an unreliable witness I'm reluctant to involve the Brigadier until I've got more evidence. I don't want to haul half of UNIT up here only for them to find they're faced with nothing but an old drunk and a local squabble.

You know, first day back on the job and all that.'

The Doctor nodded his understanding and said slyly, 'Is it really necessary to involve UNIT at all? I've never been overkeen on the military marching about, upsetting everyone.

I'm sure if we put our heads together the two of us could sort this matter out without any fuss.'

'I'm sorry, Doctor,' said Mike, 'but I'm answerable to the Brigadier. I have to inform him about what's going on.'

For a moment the Doctor looked like a little boy who has been refused a packet of sweets. 'Well, if you must, you must,' he said. He thought of the alien mind he had briefly touched earlier that day, and sighed.

'Is something the matter?' asked Mike.