Doctor Who BBC872 - To the Slaughter

all pushed off back to your no doubt charming offices. Do they all enjoy so
lovely a view as this one?’ He looked round at them, apparently genuinely interested,
and Kameez squeaked as she nearly fell out of her chair, clinging on
for dear life. ‘I’ll bet your office does, Mr Falsh. Would you call your security
guards, please, and tell them it was a false alarm?’
Falsh raised his eyebrows. ‘Or you’ll do what – bang Kameez’s head on the
ceiling?’
Do it, thought Tinya. Do it, do it!
‘You think we’d come in here defenceless?’ He took a few wobbly steps
towards Falsh, Kameez still teetering alarmingly above him. ‘We have far
more than a chair, a woman and a shoe in our arsenal,’ he said gravely. ‘Now,
call off your guards.’
‘Security – code six,’ Falsh reluctantly told his wristpad. ‘Stand down.’
‘Thank you,’ said the Doctor. As the buzz of sirens died away, he gently set
down the stunned and dishevelled Kameez in her chair and scooted her back
to her place at the table. ‘I must apologise for disturbing your secret meeting.’
He patted her on the head and smiled over at Tinya. ‘Give the lady her shoe
back, Fitz.’
Fitz tossed the shoe on to the table, and mouthed ‘sorry’ to Tinya.
Falsh slowly got to his feet. ‘You’ve made the big show.’ He put his fists
together. ‘Now, no more bull. What is it that you freaks want?’
‘Actually, some mercury would be very useful right now,’ said the Doctor.
‘Does anyone have a little they could spare? It’s for the fluid links, you see. . . ’
The table remained stunned and silent.
He sighed. ‘Well in that case, we want to leave you in peace, so you can get
back to your secret schemes and subterfuges and decoratistes. It’s none of our
business, is it? My views on wanton vandalism are neither here nor there.’ A
distant, distracted look came to his face. ‘Although I remember Carme being
discovered you know. . . Late 1930s, wasn’t it? And Lysithea discovered the
same year. . . ’ He blinked, shook his head as if to clear it. ‘Destroyed, you say?
That’s so sad!’
Fitz was giving his odd ally a pleading look. ‘Not now, Doctor. . . ’
‘They heard everything,’ hissed Hoon. ‘They can’t leave, they know too
much!’
‘Far too much,’ muttered Tinya.
‘Nonsense,’ cried the Doctor. ‘I know a fair bit, it’s true, but Fitz here knows
next to nothing – right, Fitz?’
‘Mind like a sieve,’ Fitz confirmed, as the Doctor steered him towards the
door. It whooshed open as they approached.
‘Bye-bye!’ called the Doctor. The door slid shut behind them.
5