Doctor Who_ Loving The Alien Part 6

She slumped down, her head in her hands, taking deep breaths to try and calm herself. She was s.h.i.+vering uncontrollably and her hand hurt like h.e.l.l.

Ace looked at it. Blood oozed from her knuckles; the back of her hand was swollen and purple. G.o.d knows what sort of dent she had made in the bonnet of the cab. Wiping her eyes she gave a humourless laugh.

'Don't know your own strength.'

Wrapping a paper towel around her injured hand she pulled the Doctor's bug out of her pocket and stared at it. She could see the whole set-up now. Repairing her jacket, his suggestion of a little walk.

Coming apart at the seams, he had said.

'Yeah, right, Professor. And whose fault is that?'

She felt herself flushed with anger again. Why had he felt the need to bug her? What the h.e.l.l was he playing at? Why couldn't he just talk to her, for G.o.d's sake?

She stood up and lifted the toilet seat. She was d.a.m.ned if she was going to be used again. This time the Doctor's little plan would stop right here. She held the bug over the bowl, reaching for the handle, then she stopped, a smile curling the edge of her mouth.

She had suddenly had a much better idea.

Crowds were leaving the gate of London Zoo when Ace arrived. A sea of umbrellas, families huddled underneath, making their way back home. Ace checked her watch. It was nearly five thirty, the place would be closing soon.

s.h.i.+vering, she pulled her jacket around her and hurried over to the ticket barrier.

'You haven't got long, love, said the neatly uniformed man at the ticket window. 'We shut in half an hour.'

'It's OK.' Ace gave him a weak smile. 'I know where I'm going.'

'Well, that will be two s.h.i.+llings then, please, miss.'

Taking her ticket, Ace pushed through the turnstile and crunched down the neat gravel path into the zoo. She stopped at a tall white-36 washed pole pierced with arrows, nodding to herself.

'This will show him.'

Bugging device grasped tightly in her hand, Ace made her way through the straggling line of sodden sightseers to a large white-washed but in the centre of the zoo. She pushed open the door and a wave of warm, musty air wafted over her. Gooseb.u.mps ran up her Spine. This was the warmest she'd been all day.

The monkey house was long and narrow, cages ranged along one wall. Dozens of inquisitive eyes turned towards her as she stepped into the hut. A small boy was talking excitedly to his parents at the far end of the room; apart from them the place was deserted.

Ace pretended to read the various notices about where the different species were from and what they ate, all the time keeping an eye on the family. Eventually the boy tired of the antics of the monkeys and scurried out, pursued by his mother and father.

Checking quickly around her, Ace climbed over the low fence that bordered the cages. One of the monkeys ambled over to her, climbing the mesh of his cage and looking at her quizzically.

'h.e.l.lo, matey, feeling hungry?'

Ace delved in her pocket and brought out the bag of nuts that she had bought at a sweetshop. The monkey was joined by several of his fellows all looking at her expectantly.

Ace ripped the bag open and shook the nuts into her hand. A dozen arms thrust out though the cage, grasping for the nuts, the apes chattering excitedly. Ace let them grab a few handfuls, then held the bug out. 'How about a nice toy to play with as well, hmm?'

A hairy paw s.n.a.t.c.hed it from her. Ace watched as the monkey chewed experimentally on the small gunmetal shape. Finding it inedible, it threw the bug across the cage, tutting in irritation. Ace nodded in satisfaction.

'That's right, you kick the nasty old thing around the cage for a while.'

She smiled. By the time the Doctor found it, it should be covered in monkey s.h.i.+t, or better still swallowed. That would teach him to take the p.i.s.s out of her. She stuck a handful of nuts in her mouth.

'Cheers, lads.'

'Is spending time with these boys the best offer you got this evening?'

A lazy American drawl. Ace jumped and spun. A youngish male figure was silhouetted in the doorway.

'You know, you're really meant to stay on this side of the barrier.'

The figure moved forward into the light. A janitor or something, wearing a dark blue boilersuit and carrying a broom. Guiltily, Ace climbed back over the low fence.

'Just wanted to get a closer look.'

37.The man looked at her, eyes twinkling. 'Lucky them.' He grinned cheekily. 'A pretty face and nuts, you've made their day.'

'If I'd known it was such a big deal for them, I'd have made more of an effort.' Ace tugged at her matted hair. 'They're not catching me at my best.'

The young man grinned again and stretched out his hand. 'I'm Jimmy.'

'Ace.' Ace reached to shake his hand, then realised hers was still wrapped in its makes.h.i.+ft bandage, blood from her knuckles staining the tissue paper.

Jimmy frowned. 'Hey, are you OK?' He nodded at the monkeys. 'They didn't do that, did they? There's a lot you can catch from a chimp...'

'No.' Ace shook her head. 'I did this punching a taxi-cab.'

Jimmy raised a quizzical eyebrow. 'Oh?'

'It's a long story.'

'Well, there's a first aid kit over in the hut. You can tell me while I find a slightly better bandage for you.'

'No, it's all right.' Ace shook her head. 'I'm fine, really...'

'Or I could call the head keeper. It's what I'm meant to do if we find people where they shouldn't be. It's up to you.

Ace sighed. 'Do you always blackmail women to get them back to your hut?'

Jimmy shook his head. 'Normally I just club them unconscious and drag them back by the hair. I'm making an exception in your case.'

He held the door open. Please?'

Ace smiled and nodded. Her hand was still throbbing, and she had nothing better to do. Besides Jimmy was cheeky, good looking and kind, and at the moment that was just what she needed.

From the window of the reptile house an old man watched as Jimmy and Ace dashed through the rain to the little keeper's but and tumbled inside, shutting the door behind them.

Smiling to himself, the man eased open the lid of a small wooden box and plucked out a struggling locust with his finger and thumb. He brought the insect up to his face and peered at it.

'Splendid,' he said.

He blinked slowly then dropped the locust into the large cage in front of him.

It lay there for a moment as if dazed and then started to crawl towards the gla.s.s. Seconds later the lizard pounced, gulping down the locust in two sharp lunges.

The man peered happily at the lizard.

'Splendid.'

38.

Chapter Five.

The Doctor's eyes flicked up as Dumont-Smith's secretary stepped out of the front door of the elegant Georgian office block and snapped open her umbrella. As she headed off into the tide of homeward bound office workers, the Doctor slid from the plinth on which he'd been squatting, patted the statue of Lord George Bentinck on the head and trotted to the kerb.

Ducking between buses and black cabs, he crossed to the office block and pushed at the door. The hallway was empty, but from the other offices he could hear the excited chatter of secretaries looking forward to their Friday night out or the weekend. Shrugging off his duffle coat and hanging it over his arm, the Doctor straightened the collar of his jacket and made purposefully for the lift.

He'd monitored Ace for two hours, then sat in a cafe, watching the news on television. A man called Edward Drakefell was being harangued by shouting newsmen. A woman an American was bombarding him with questions, apparently about the rocket crash. He was flannelling and evading, stammering out contradictory a.s.sertions and denials. Then another figure had loomed into shot. An American soldier, chewing on a cigar.

'You boys don't want to be lookin' in here for dirty tricks,' he had boomed. 'You want to be looking east. To Moscow.'

Then he had come here and met Lord Bentinck. He had deliberately waited until precisely locking-up time to make his move. He'd decided to walk up brazenly to Dumont-Smith's office on the fourth floor rather than try and break in later. At least in this incarnation he looked vaguely respectable. He doubted that he would get away with this in his last body, or if he still went round with a fifteen-foot woollen scarf around his neck.

The lift door slid open and several people hurried out. Looking as haughty as he could, the Doctor nodded curtly to them and stepped inside.

The lift glided to a halt on the fourth floor and the Doctor peered out into the corridor. Most of the doors on the floor were closed, the offices visible behind the gla.s.s dark and empty. Light spilled out from 39 a window at the distant end of the hallway and he could hear a m.u.f.fled male voice, a man dictating a letter.

Taking a deep breath, the Doctor marched across to the door marked Miles Dumont-Smith and reached for the handle. It would be locked, of course, this was the one bit of his plan that was risky; being caught picking the lock of a London solicitor did tend to look a little suspicious. With a quick glance around him the Doctor turned the handle.

To his surprise the door clicked open. Unable to believe his luck, the Doctor slipped inside.

Long shadows stretched across the floor of Dumont-Smith's office, cast by the streetlights outside. Closing the door gently, the Doctor pulled the blinds and crossed to the window. He stared down into the hubbub for a moment, the wet pavements crammed with people, umbrellas, and bags and boxes, a sea of humanity. A smile played across his face. London at Christmas. There really wasn't anywhere else quite like it. When all this was over, when he knew once and for all that Ace was safe again, they'd have to take some time and enjoy it properly.

He was about to draw the curtains and start his search of Dumont-Smith's offices when he felt the gun barrel press against his neck.

'Okay, bub, let's take it nice and slow. Raise your hands and turn around.'

The Doctor turned slowly. A huge grin spread across his face.

'Cody McBride, what a delightful surprise!'

Cody McBride's jaw dropped. 'Oh, no...'

Ace flexed her fist, rubbing at the clean new bandage.

'Too tight?' Jimmy was watching her.

Ace shook her head. 'No. It's fine.'

'Good.' He started to pack things back into the small wooden first aid box 'You're going to have quite a bruise for the next few days, so I'd try and avoid punching any more vehicles if you can.'

Ace grinned. 'Really?'

'Yeah, doctor's orders.'

The smile faded from Ace's face. She said nothing.

Aware of the sudden silence, Jimmy turned. 'OK, I've said something I Shouldn't. Whatever it was, I'm sorry.'

'No, it's me who should be sorry.' Ace shook her head. 'It's my Problem. I didn't mean to take it out on you.'

'Good. I hate evenings of awkward silence.'

Ace folded her arms. 'Oh, so we're spending the evening together, 40 are we?'

Jimmy lit up a cigarette and nodded. 'Yeah. I had plans, of course, but I don't mind giving them up so's you don't have to start looking for some more monkeys to hang out with.'

'That's very kind of you.'

Jimmy shrugged. 'I'm that kind of guy. There's a couple of decent American bars in town. The burgers are hot and the beers are cold. And if you can avoid punching the pa.s.sing traffic...'

'That sounds great.'

'Good.' Jimmy took a battered leather jacket out of his locker and slipped it on. 'I've got a delivery to make on the way, if that's all right.

An errand for a friend.'

'Sure.' Ace looked at her watch. Nearly half past six. The Doctor would be at Trafalgar Square in an hour, waiting for her.

'I'm in no rush at all'

McBride slumped down onto one of the office chairs, gun held limply in his hand.

'I don't believe it.'

The Doctor was shaking his hand vigorously, looking no different from when McBride had met him, nineteen years ago.3 'This really is an unexpected pleasure: always nice to catch up with old friends.'

'Doc, what the h.e.l.l are you doing here?'

The Doctor looked hurt. 'I would have thought that it was obvious.

Breaking and entering.' He suddenly looked concerned. 'Oh dear, you're not protecting Mr Dumont-Smith's interests are you?'

McBride shook his head. 'No, Doc, I'm here for the same reason as you. Casing the joint.'