Doctor Who_ Trading Futures Part 22

Mather looked aghast. 'Tell people I knew it was going to happen, but did nothing about it?'

'I knew about Athens,' Cosgrove said. 'The future has happened. There's nothing we can do to change that not yet. We have to stick to our guns. I'll see you at the airport.'

Chapter Fourteen.

When Rhinos Attack Malady and the Doctor were watching the arrival of the presidential entourage at the Green Hotel from a bar at Athens airport. Malady was drinking a Scotch, the Doctor was nursing a small orange juice.

The airport was too far from the tidal wave to be affected, but had become a focal point for the relief efforts. The concourses had become a makes.h.i.+ft dormitory for some of the tens of thousands who were now homeless. Relief flights were pouring into the city and people were also leaving in droves.

Surprisingly, then, the bar they'd found was almost empty. The sounds of the people chatting, babies crying and children playing filtered up here, but the people themselves stayed down in the concourses. The back wall of the bar was taken up with a big digital datascreen. The disaster in Athens was already struggling to keep its position at the top of the news. There had been a shooting in Tripoli, one vociferously condemned in the Eurozone Parliament, but which the Americans were keeping almost supernaturally quiet about.

The commentators saw it as just another step towards war between Europe and America. That was inevitable now, they were saying.

A report from London there were anti*European demonstrations there. A near*riot in Trafalgar Square, people throwing Euro notes on to a bonfire. The voiceover claimed that a new opinion poll had suggested that if Europe and America went to war, then 84 percent of the British public would side with the Americans, and against the semi*elected government.

Cut to the House of Commons, where the President Minister looking even older and more weary than he had of late was almost drowned out as he recited Britain's obligations under the Articles of European Zoning.

Then cut to scenes in Tripoli another riot, this time burning President Mather in effigy and stamping on the Stars and Stripes.

Malady's eyephones rang.

'Toronto,' the President told her. 'A civil nuclear device goes off in four hours. That's the Fourth Prophecy.'

'We're at Athens airport, and there's still time to get '

'It's a eight hour flight, Malady, you won't have enough time. I'm going to alert the Canadian authorities that we've had a tip*off. They've got enough time to evacuate at least most of the city.'

The Doctor was reaching into his pocket. He took out Roja's time machine, and placed it on the table.

'Tell the President there's no need.' His eyes were full of fire. A chance to save people, Malady realised. A chance to atone for the deaths and suffering here.

'We're on our way,' she said, hanging up.

Her eyephones started ringing again. She switched them off.

The Doctor activated the time machine.

The Onihrs' screens flared, the room filled with scent.

'We have detected an anomalous electronic device.'

Fitz had been dozing off. The Onihrs had taken up his challenge, and, as far as he could tell, the full resources of the Onihr s.h.i.+p were now dedicated to detecting time travel. From what he could gather, though, they had about as much of a clue how to go about it as Fitz would have. They could detect time machines, apparently, but not time travellers themselves.

But they were doing their best. Fitz shook himself awake, and looked at the screen.

There was a map, overlaid with a regular pulsing.

'Our a.n.a.lysis suggests it shows a time displacement of several decades.'

'Location?' the leader asked, lumbering over to one of the consoles.

It was zooming in. First the screen showed the Earth, then the Northern hemisphere, then Europe, then the eastern Mediterranean, then Istanbul, then a small silver helicopter powering over the Bosphorus.

'The device is in that human aircraft. It is heading for a landing area.'

'Leader!' one of the others shouted out, unable to contain his excitement. 'There is a lifeform in that s.h.i.+p showing signs of time displacement.'

They'd run some instruments over Fitz a few hours before, and from that, somehow, they could tell he was a time traveller. The jargon was as impenetrable as ever, but apparently 'crossing the time field' left a 'unique energy signature'. And Fitz had that unique signature.

So did the person in the helicopter. Which meant, if he was feeling pedantic, that it wasn't 'unique' at all.

It also meant it was probably the Doctor or Anji. His instinct said it was Anji he suspected the Doctor's signature really would be unique.

'We shall launch an attack. Ready the landing party.'

The leader turned its vast head to Fitz. 'Onihr technology has triumphed, Doctor.'

'Congratulations,' Fitz said warmly, wondering what he should do next.

Dee called the President's hotel suite on Baskerville's behalf. They were two floors below the presidential suite she gave them the room number and invited the President and no more than one bodyguard down.

When Dee opened the door, she was surprised to see Cosgrove standing there, in front of an oriental woman in jeans, a T-s.h.i.+rt and designer gla.s.ses.

'h.e.l.lo Mr Cosgrove,' she said, without missing a beat. 'Miss, are you by any chance Malady Chang?'

'Penelope Lik,' she said. 'And it's not "Miss", it's "Professor". "Emeritus Professor", if we're standing on ceremony.'

Dee gave a stiff bow. 'Why don't you both come inside?'

Baskerville was waiting inside, with Anji. Dee watched the Asian woman carefully. Baskerville trusted her, but Dee didn't. In the last twenty*four hours, the young woman had claimed to be working for three completely different sides, and had used two names. She couldn't be trusted. It takes one to know one, Dee thought wryly.

Cosgrove looked relaxed. Dee glanced at her watch which contained a portable weapons detector he was carrying a pistol, in a shoulder holster. He had a throwing knife, tucked behind him, and four small explosive charges concealed in his belt. The woman was unarmed.

'So glad you could make it,' Baskerville said. He seemed calm enough.

Cosgrove's head leant slightly towards Anji, and he raised an eyebrow.

'Anji Kapoor,' she said, standing up and offering her hand.

Cosgrove took it and gave it a chivalrous kiss.

'You surround yourself with beautiful women, Baskerville. I approve.'

Dee smirked neither Professor Lik or Ms Kapoor appreciated the flattery.

'If we could get to business?' Lik asked.

Baskerville held up a hand. 'Not everyone is here.'

There was a knock on the door.

Baskerville looked up at Dee. He didn't want to be left alone with Cosgrove and his armoury.

Anji seemed to pick up on this. 'I'll go,' she suggested.

As she did, Baskerville turned to Cosgrove. 'You spoke about solving our little Doctor problem. I take it the problem's solved?'

Cosgrove's smug expression flickered a little. 'The Doctor is working with a CIA agent, Malady Chang. I almost had them in Athens yesterday, but they escaped.'

'And you don't know where they are now?'

Cosgrove shook his head.

Baskerville moved aside to let the President, his bodyguard and Anji into the room. 'Well, let's ask. Welcome Mr President. Mr Cosgrove here was just asking after Malady Chang. One of your agents, I believe.'

The President wasn't pleased to see Cosgrove there. Well, he wouldn't be.

'Lieutenant Commander Chang was in Athens yesterday, helping with relief efforts. She's since left the city. I ordered her to take some rest and recuperation.'

'And the Doctor?' Cosgrove asked.

Mather blinked. 'I believe the Doctor was with her.'

Cosgrove smiled, but there was no joy in the expression. 'Lucky Doctor.'

Dee happened to look over Anji, and as she did, she saw the woman was looking relieved.

But she was the one who denounced the Doctor, she'd got him killed, when Leo had thrown him out of the window.

Except the Doctor hadn't died.

Dee looked away from Anji, not wanting to give away anything herself. If Anji was working with the Doctor, then she was working against Baskerville.

'So,' the President was saying, 'where do we go from here?'

Baskerville sat on the edge of the desk. 'To the airport. We'll negotiate in secret.'

'At the airport?' The President was looking over at his bodyguard.

'We can't allow the President to go there without a full complement of '

Baskerville held up his hand. 'He can take you. Or he can stay here, and I'll just negotiate with the Eurozone. It's entirely up to him.'

'The President's security would be at risk,' the bodyguard objected.

'That's why you have a Vice President,' Cosgrove murmured. 'I'm sure Ben Russ is champing at the bit.'

Mather gave him a withering look.

Baskerville checked his watch. 'If we could reach a decision.'

'I'm going,' the President said.

'Sir, I '

'I'm going,' he repeated, and that was that.

Baskerville stood, straightened his tie. 'Good. My helicopter is waiting. If we could '

But he didn't finish the sentence, because the aliens arrived.

Anji had been watching the proceedings carefully.

The President was a distinguished*looking African*American in a telegenic blue suit. He was in his sixties, she guessed, but healthy. His bodyguard was straight from the CIA brochure blond, and no doubt blue*eyed behind the sungla.s.ses.

Cosgrove was ancient, decades older than Mather or Baskerville, but in absurdly good physical condition. His a.s.sistant, despite all that protesting about her credentials, clearly had a crush on him, at the very least.

Baskerville was in one of his sharp suits, Dee was in smart businesswear.

Anji didn't feel as out of place or out of her depth as she had a.s.sumed she was going to. She was a bit vague on who Cosgrove was, but he was the head of MI5, or the SAS, or something. He was a soldier, not a politician. But he was senior, and clearly powerful.

And the Doctor was alive, and had teamed up with the Chinese girl Fitz had met. No one had mentioned Fitz. He was probably sunning himself on a Californian beach.

Now what? Events were clearly moving on, and Anji was clearly in the thick of it. She'd have to play it by ear.

But she didn't get a chance, because the aliens arrived.

It wasn't the same as when the two time travellers had appeared out of thin air in the museum, but it was close enough for Cosgrove to recognise it, and give himself a couple of seconds to prepare for it.

The air by the back wall rippled, and three shapes stepped from it.

They were enormous, as wide as they were tall, and only roughly the shape of men.

They were hunchbacked, with small legs, long arms. Their heads were elongated, and ended with a vicious*looking horn. They looked like rhinoceroses. Half*men, half*rhinos. They wore spiky armour that looked like wrought iron. Each carried a metal object that could only be a gun of some kind.