Chapter 4 (Dancing with the Devil)
Lilly wandered back into the cell and clambered under the bed covers and turned away.
“Well?” said Holly, still awake.
“Well what?” said Lilly, her face still turned away.
“You’ve spent the past few hours talking to that Shrall guy. What’s the deal?”
“There’s no deal.”
“Oh, come on, Lilly. I know something’s going on.”
Lilly turned to look at Holly. “I’ve been negotiating a way out of here.”
“He’s a terrorist,” said Holly. “You can’t trust him. He’s dangerous.”
Lilly smiled. “Let me worry about that, yeah? You just focus on sleeping and conserving your energy.”
Holly sighed. “My uncle went to prison, you know?”
Lilly frowned. “Why?”
“He was stealing from the company he worked for. They made girders for bridges and stuff. It near enough ruined his family. All my cousins disowned him. My Dad was devastated by it.” Holly rolled onto her back and looked up at the metal ceiling above her. “It was when I was about 14. I used to worry about him.”
“Worry? Why?” Lilly frowned.
“Because he was a good man really. He just made a big mistake. I used to be scared at what a prison cell would be like.”
“Well,” said Lilly, turning away again, “I’m sure your uncle wasn’t locked away in a big, tall spike in the sky?”
“No,” said Holly with a smile. “He was out after about a year, but he never really recovered from it. He’s quite a lonely man now.”
“My entire family were criminals,” said Lilly distantly.
Holly froze and then turned her head to face the blonde girl. “Seriously?”
“Yep,” said Lilly, nodding, her hands behind her head as she too gazed up at the ceiling. “Got themselves involved in all sorts of dodgy deals.” She turned to face Holly again. “That’s how I know how to handle Shrall. So don’t worry about me.”
“I’m not worried,” said Holly with a laugh.
“Yes you are,” said Lilly.
Holly flashed her a smile and Lilly winked.
“Goodnight, Dangerfield.”
“Goodnight Lilly.”
It was dark now, but the storm clouds were rolling in. Huge, grey clouds that looked like giant, fluffy elephants floated across the sea and just above the reach of the spires.
The Doctor, Ziggy and Nao were on their fronts, low down on the scrubland at the top of the cliff. Ziggy had a complicated pair of binoculars and was looking out towards the spikes.
“See anything?” said the Doctor.
“Just total darkness,” said Ziggy.
“This is the best time to make our move,” said Nao. “When it’s dark.”
“Well, obviously,” said the Doctor. “Move under the cover of darkness.”
“Shall we go then?” said Ziggy, putting the binoculars away and shuffling back towards Nao and the Doctor.
“What?!” said the Doctor. “No. Not yet. We need to formulate a plan.”
“My sister is in there-”
“Yes,” said the Doctor, “I know that. And my two friends are in there as well, but running in there without a plan isn’t gonna get us anywhere.”
“Then what do you suggest?” said Nao.
“We go back to your camp and get a good nights sleep. Another day won’t make any difference at all. We get rest, food, drink and then formulate a plan of attack.”
“But Zia-”
“Zia will be absolutely fine,” said the Doctor. “I’m sure she can look after herself.”
They made the relatively short journey back to the cave with Ziggy lugging behind, glancing back occasionally towards the spires in the distance. Eventually they reached the cave and went back underground.
Once inside the Doctor took off his rain-soaked boots and his socks and began ringing them out over the fire they had set earlier. He was sure he had only done this a few hours ago.
Ziggy sat down and went into a small, cooling-box, throwing the Doctor and Nao a banana each. The Doctor peeled the banana, bit into it and then closed his eyes.
“Taste good, don’t they?” said Nao, smiling for the first time.
“Very much so,” said the Doctor.
“They’re grown on Banttii. People come from all over the galaxy to buy them. All the food’s like that. Absolutely delicious. Just a shame the people don’t enjoy the riches. It all goes to the government.” said Ziggy.
The Doctor shook his head. “Tell me, Ziggy, what are you planning on doing when we get Zia out of there?”
“How do you mean?” said Ziggy, biting into an apple.
“Well, you can’t go back to Banttii. You’ll be fugitives. On the run.”
Ziggy shrugged. “I didn’t think that far.”
“No,” said the Doctor, “and I think that’s your problem. You’re not thinking far enough ahead. Not planning.”
“What do you expect us to do?” said Nao, flinging the banana peel across the floor. “Do you expect us to sit back while my sister in law rots in prison?”
“Absolutely not,” said the Doctor, a little hurt, “but what I am saying is that you need a plan of action. You need everything put into place before you go through with it. Otherwise you’ll end up running and running with no idea of how you’re going to be able to stop.”
“Sounds like you have experience,” said Ziggy, throwing the Doctor a bottle of water.
“That, my friend, is very much correct.” He took a swig of water. “One of my friends - Lilly - ended up coming with me when I first met her, but I didn’t think through the consequences. I just flew in there and took her away. Now, if I’d have planned a little more then we may not have been in the pickle we are now.”
“In prison you mean?” said Nao.
“No, no, no,” said the Doctor. “In general.”
“Why? What kind of pickle are you in?”
The Doctor took another swig of water. “We’re on the run.”
Ziggy and Nao listened intently.
“We’re on the run from my past, and, yes, I am being cryptic. The less I say about the situation the better, but if I’d thought through my actions then we might not be in the trouble we’re in now.” He drained his bottle of water. “So when we do rescue Zia, you better have a damn good plan for getting yourself as far away from the authorities as possible.”
Zia looked at Nao.
The Doctor smiled, grabbed a scruffy brown blanket from next to him, laid down on the ground, pulling the blanket over him, and then turned over. “Goodnight kids.”
The guard who had taken in Holly and Lilly was stood with five others in Wainwright’s office. He looked nervous standing there in his black armour and large, domed helmet.
Charlie Banks hadn’t been in the guard for long and he was starting to consider whether he had made the right career choice. But he had more or less had no choice. He had a reason to be here and he firmly believed that it was the right reason.
“Now then, fellas,” said Wainwright, snapping Banks out of his thoughts. He paced up and down in front of them, his hands behind his back, eyeing each of them up one at a time. “Are you aware of the situation?”
The guard didn’t respond. They knew they weren’t supposed to.
“There are at least two or three dangerous people loose out there. They are hiding somewhere. One of them may be a Time Lord. I want the non-Time Lords killed. Is that understood?”
“Yes sir,” they said in unison.
“And if anyone happens to kill the Time Lord, they will be spending the rest of their lives in one of our spikes.” He looked at each one individually again and then nodded. “Dismissed.”
The guards filed out. It was night now and Banks was looking forward to getting some sleep. As he left he glanced at the desk clock on the governors desk.
02:34
It wouldn’t be long now, he thought to himself. He felt sad and happy at the same time. All he had to do was make sure he was ready.
To be continued...
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