Doctor Who_ Amorality Tale Part 20

'His mind betrayed his fear.'

'He will return when he has no choice.'

'He will return, and his time machine shall be ours.'

'And the weapon?'

'Untested, untried.'

'No danger to the Xhinn.'

'The quest continues!'

Tommy phoned his last surviving lieutenant. Norman Page had been waiting at home all day for the call and said so. He was never a man to mince words.

'Where the h.e.l.l have you been, Tommy? Do you know what's happening on the streets?'

'Yeah, the old bill is dragging people away in Black Marias.

Any idea where they're being taken?'

'I had one of the lads follow them. Some underground tunnel north of Old Street. He said people went in but n.o.body came out.' Page was worried. It wasn't like Tommy to hold back from taking action. Usually the problem was quite the reverse.

Tommy tended to jump in boots first and ask questions afterwards. 'Maybe they're being taken out of the city on the Tube. The underground was running this morning it's about the only thing in London that still is!'

Tommy wasn't convinced. 'If they was using the Tube, they'd take them down the station. Stands to reason. No, this is something else and I don't like it. Not one little bit.'

'So what are we going to do?'

'Sit tight for now.'

Norman could stand it no longer. 'You lost your bottle or something? That new bird of yours putting ideas into your head?'

'I'm gonna forget you said that. Tommy Ramsey takes orders from no-one!' The gangster tried to keep calm. 'We can't do anything in darkness, it's bad enough trying to see in the daytime.

We'll just end up hurting our own instead of striking back at whoever's responsible for all this.'

'So what's the plan?'

'Get everyone around here tomorrow morning, armed to the teeth. I'm expecting a call from Stratford Simon or Fingers Blake. If either of their firms joins us, we could have a hundred men.'

'And if they don't?'

'Then we go it alone. We're big enough and ugly enough to hand out some damage,' Tommy said.

'Go down fighting, you mean?'

'That's not my plan. But if I die tomorrow, I'm taking as many of these monsters with me as I can. They're going to rue the day they stepped on Tommy Ramsey's manor!'

The Doctor knocked on the door of St Luke's Church, glancing apprehensively around himself. He had expected the Xhinn to pursue him but there was no sign of that yet. His audience with the triumvirate had obviously distracted the Xhinn, weakening the grip of the aliens' mind control over its slaves. That gave the Doctor some hope. The Xhinn were a powerful enemy but this missionary force was limited in its capacity. It had not been designed to control a whole city, let alone an entire planet. There was still time to defeat the Xhinn, but the Doctor would need help if he were to succeed.

Father Simmons opened the door and let the Doctor in.

'What are you doing out there? You'll catch your death in that fog! Come inside, come inside!' The priest was holding a lit taper. 'You'll have to excuse me, I'm just lighting the gas lamps in the church. I want St Luke's to s.h.i.+ne as a beacon of hope in these dark days.'

'Please, carry on,' the Doctor said. He watched as the priest moved around the church, touching the flame to the gas-fired lamps mounted on tall stone columns which reached upwards to the high ceiling. Around the outer walls were hung a dozen tapestries, depicting the journey of Jesus to his crucifixion.

'Don't you worry about having such valuable tapestries on the walls of the church?'

'St Luke's is lucky to have them. They were stolen during the war but were returned in 1946, I've been told. Tommy Ramsey apparently brought them back.'

'Hardly what I would expect from him. Mr Ramsey does not seem to be a very religious man.'

Father Simmons grinned at that. 'No, but his mother is a believer. I suspect she may have had something to do with their recovery and return. According to parish records, the tapestries have hung here since '

'I'm sorry to interrupt you, but I didn't come here to talk about history. I came to ask for your help,' the Doctor said.

'I am just a simple parish priest. But I do all I can to aid this community. How can I help you?'

'Many people will die in the coming days. Many have died already.'

'The smog. It's a terrible tragedy but the Saviour moves in mysterious ways. I don't see how I can '

'The smog is not a natural event. It is being caused by the Xhinn.'

'That creature we saw yesterday? The fallen angel?' Simmons blew out his taper and sat in a pew beside the Doctor. 'But how can one such sinner create such a foul cloud over all of London?'

'There is more than one Xhinn. They have come to bring their own gospel to this world. But it is a gospel of death and destruction, glorying in its own righteousness,' the Doctor said, explaining himself in terms that the priest might best be able to grasp.

'They wors.h.i.+p a false G.o.d!'

'Something like that. Unless I intervene, millions of people will die. But if I act, I must be willing to sacrifice everything and everyone I hold dear. I must be willing to become like the Xhinn to stop them.'

The priest thought long and hard about the Doctor's words.

'I killed once. I murdered a man. Not for any cause, not to stop tyranny or prevent a war. Just for my own gain, just for my own benefit. I was like the Xhinn then but I changed. I saw the error of my ways. I have devoted the rest of my life to seeking redemption for that moment, by doing the Saviour's work.'

Father Simmons looked intently at the Doctor. 'Do you believe what you are doing is right?'

'Yes.'

'Do you believe this evil must be stopped?'

'Yes.'

'Then you must look to your own conscience to decide. All it requires for evil to triumph '

' Is that good men do nothing,' the Doctor replied, completing the quotation. 'A simplistic notion but not without its own truth.' He was interrupted by a bleeping noise in his pocket. The Doctor took over his tracking device. The screen was pulsing to indicate the presence of the Xhinn.

'What does that mean?' the priest asked.

'The Xhinn are close. I have to get back to my laboratory.'

The Doctor stood up to leave, putting the tracker back in his pocket.

'You look for the answer there, Doctor I will pray to the Saviour for guidance.' He showed his visitor to the door. 'You know, Albert Einstein once said that science without religion was like a cripple.'

'He also said religion without science is blind. Goodbye, Father.' The Doctor disappeared into the cloud of smog.

'Goodbye, Doctor,' the priest replied.

Sarah was listening to the BBC World Service in the parlour at 15 Tabernacle Street. The smog was mentioned during the weather report but its terrible effects hardly rated a mention otherwise. There were no official warnings for Londoners to stay off the streets or take any precautions. The evacuation of East End residents was not announced, even though Sarah had been listening for more than an hour. She switched off the radio as Brick came into the room.

'No mention of the evacuation on ' Sarah began, but stopped when she saw the look on his face. 'Arthur, what's wrong?'

'Dead. They're all dead,' he said quietly. 'I tried to save them, I did. But it was no use. No use at all...'

'There was nothing you could do.'

'I know. Doesn't make it any easier.' He wiped at his eyes and took a deep breath. 'Mrs Ramsey says dinner will be ready in five minutes.'

'Thank you, Arthur.' Sarah smiled at him, trying to raise his spirits.

'You know, you and Mrs Ramsey are the only two who call me by my proper name. The only two.'

'It's no more than you deserve. You've got a big heart.'

Brick almost managed a smile. 'You need it when you're my size.'

Father Simmons stood before the altar, thinking about what the Doctor had told him. Could it be true? Were thousands of people dying all around him? What was he doing to stop the tragedy? Faith could be a great comfort, but too great a faith could make you blind to reality. Had that happened to him?

The priest dropped to his knees and began to pray.

'Saviour, you came to me six years ago and showed me another way. Guide me now that I may know your will. Tell me what you would have me do!'

Simmons listened, reaching out with his senses, straining to feel again the incredible light and warmth of the Saviour's love.

His G.o.d would never desert him in this hour of need would it?

The Doctor opened the TARDIS door with his key and hurried inside. All the way from St Luke's Church he had been tensed, ready to run if the Xhinn appeared. It was vital that he have the time to prepare for a final confrontation.

In the control room he checked the atmospheric display.

The needle was nearly through the amber and moving ever nearer the deadly red zone. One more day, maybe less, and London's air would be pure poison. The Doctor began sorting through the scattered circuits and wiring strewn across the central console. He would have to work through the night to have a chance of constructing his terrible weapon. He hoped against hope he would not have to use it...

Dinner in the Ramsey household was turning into a disaster.

Vera had cooked up a storm but hardly anyone was touching their food. Brick stared listlessly at his plate, Sarah couldn't stop thinking about Mary Mills and her daughters, while Tommy's mind was obviously elsewhere. Only Billy and Charlie tucked into their food with gusto, oblivious to the mixture of emotions around the table. Mrs Ramsey tried unsuccessfully to tempt Sarah with a slice of b.u.t.tered bread.

'Are you sure you wouldn't like a piece?'

'No, thank you Vera. I don't seem to have any appet.i.te.'

Sarah pushed her plate away. After Mrs Ramsey's diatribe earlier, Sarah was finding it very difficult to stomach the old woman's kindness. How could somebody be so nice yet cling to such outdated att.i.tudes? Sarah tried to remind herself that Mrs Ramsey's att.i.tude was still prevalent in this time and place.

Billy was first to spy the food going begging. 'I'll have your dinner!' He caught a vicious glare from Tommy at the other end of the dinner table. 'That's if n.o.body else minds.' After allowing a few seconds for others to speak up, Billy divided the spoils with his brother. Mrs Ramsey smiled contentedly.

'Does my heart good to see two growing lads enjoying their food.' She was less impressed with Tommy's fidgeting. 'I don't know what's got into the rest of you. That's good home cooking you're letting go to waste.'

Tommy got up from his chair and began pacing the room, like a caged tiger in a zoo. He lit a cigarette, decided he didn't want it and threw the unsmoked cigarette into the fireplace. His mother soon tired of the agitation.

'For goodness' sake, sit down Thomas! Some people are still trying to eat, you know.'

Tommy almost shouted at his mother but thought better of it. 'I'm going to the front room, if that's alright with everyone.'

He stormed out.

Mrs Ramsey turned her attention to Brick. 'What about you, Arthur. You've hardly touched your dinner.'

Brick looked bashful. 'I'm sorry, Mrs Ramsey. I'm just not very hungry.'

She patted him on the shoulder. 'That's alright, dear. Just finish what you can. Growing boy like you needs his strength.'

Sarah could stand it no more and followed Tommy into the front room. He was standing by the window, looking outside. A single lamp light was just visible but the street below was hidden by smog and darkness.

'You were right,' Tommy admitted. 'I should be out there, fighting for my people not waiting for others to decide whether they will help me.'

'You were right too,' Sarah replied. 'You've got to pick the right battles to fight. Otherwise, everybody could lose.'

'I can't see us winning tomorrow. The creatures are holding all the cards the smog, the old bill, those deathrays. What have we got? Two dozen men at most and some shooters. Might as well be pea-shooters for all the good they did against that monster.' Tommy rubbed the stubble on his chin. 'But if we're going down, we're going down fighting. Better to die on your feet than live on your knees.'

Sarah felt she could almost have been attracted to Tommy in another life, at another time and place. When he was vulnerable, he revealed a little of his inner self, the strength that drove him on and the genuine concern he held for this community. 'You could do with a shave,' Sarah said. 'How long is it since you slept?'

'Can't remember. Two nights, maybe three. Never been able to sleep well. My brain won't shut up. It keeps going over all the things I've got to do, like I've got to cram two lifetimes into every day.' Tommy closed the curtain and sat down in an armchair. He tapped a cigarette out of its packet and lit it. 'I always thought I'd die young, like my dad. He was younger than me when he copped it in during the First World War.'

Sarah sat down opposite him. 'You thought of having a family yourself?'

Tommy smiled. 'The lads are my family, I suppose. It's hard to find the right woman in my line of work, know what I mean?

Someone who understands '