Doctor Who_ World Game - Doctor Who_ World Game Part 31
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Doctor Who_ World Game Part 31

As they retraced their steps, someone called to them from the porch of a ruined building. 'Here, you lot!'

'Who are you?' called the Doctor. 'What do you want?'

'Be careful, Doctor,' warned Serena.

'This is the first sign of life we've seen. Maybe he can give us some useful information,' the Doctor told her. He went over to the doorway and saw a ragged old man crouched on a pile of filthy blankets. The pile was tucked away inside a barrier of broken boxes and bits of timber. Like a rat's nest, thought the Doctor. The old man scrambled to his feet.

'What do you think you're doing? Call your friends over quick before they're seen. Don't worry, there's three of you and only me here.'

'It's all right,' called the Doctor. Talleyrand and Serena came over, looking at the old man with some distaste.

'What are you doing, wandering down the middle of the street after curfew?' he asked. 'There's patrols about you know. You'll get took up. Keep to the shadows like I do, dodge from one bit of cover to another.'

'There's a curfew?' asked Talleyrand bemusedly.

'Course there is, they see you, they'll pick you up.'

'What for?' asked Serena.

'Army, labour battalions, depends how fit you are.' He leered at Serena. 'They'd have other uses for you.'

'Listen, my good man,' said Talleyrand. 'We've been away away from Paris. Can you tell us what's been happening here?'

'How do you mean?'

'All this damage what caused it?'

The old man looked at him as if he were mad. 'That's the rockets innit? Bloody great rockets. Listen, there's one now!'

They heard a great whistling sound high overhead. It stopped, there was a distant explosion and a flicker of flame on the skyline.

'It's all right so long as you hear them,' said the old man philosophically. 'They say you never hear the one what gets you.'

'War always speeds up technology,' muttered the Doctor.

'Who sends these rockets? Where do they come from?'

'Marseilles, I think.'

'We're at war with Marseilles? Marseilles? ' said Talleyrand incredulously. ' said Talleyrand incredulously.

'Course we are. I heard tell Milan was getting the rockets as well. Or was it Barcelona?'

'We're at war with Italy and Spain? How many others?'

'We're at war with everybody,' said the old man, as if stating a self-evident truth. 'Everybody's at war with everybody. That's how it is.'

'How long has this been going on?' asked the Doctor.

'Forever, far as I know. All my life, that's for sure. Course, it's not all rockets you know. There's the enemy artillery as well, when their troops can get close enough. Boulogne gave us a fair old pasting the other day. Still we're supposed to be getting our own rockets any day now, they raised a special tax to afford them. Then we can pay the buggers back.'

'Let me see if I understand,' said Talleyrand wearily.

'French cities are at war with other French cities and with other countries as well?'

'Well, bits of them, like. Other city states like us. Not all the time of course. Sometimes they're allies, at least for a bit. It all keeps changing.'

'Well, thank you for talking to us,' said the Doctor. 'We must be on our way.'

The old man clutched his arm. 'Haven't got any food, have you? Haven't had a bite since yesterday. I found a dead cavalry horse well part of it anyway.'

Gently the Doctor freed himself. 'No food, I'm afraid. Here, take this.' He gave the old man a silver coin. 'Maybe you can buy some food if there's anything left for sale in Paris.'

The old man stared at the coin in amazement. 'You got money? Silver? You really want to be careful, mate. There's gangs in these ruins would kill you for a lot less than this. Kill you and eat you, some of them.'

Talleyrand turned to the Doctor. 'How can all this have happened?'

'I told you,' said the Doctor. 'It's the Countess's brave new world. Somehow or other she's brought all this about.'

Suddenly the old man whispered, 'Hush! Patrol coming.'

A squad of black-helmeted, black-uniformed guards came marching down the street, looking suspiciously around them.

They carried what looked like primitive automatic rifles, the Doctor noticed. More war-driven technology.

Suddenly the old man rushed out into the road shouting, 'Patrol, over here! Strangers three of them, in that doorway.

They been asking all sorts of questions. I reckon they're spies.'

The squad broke ranks and flooded into the doorway, dragging the three strangers out of hiding.

The old man capered about them shouting. 'I turned them in. I ought to get the reward. They got money, I deserve a share.'

One of the soldiers gave him a casual cuff around the ear and he fled squalling.

'How could he?' said Serena. 'You were kind to him, you gave him money.'

'Think of the life he's led,' said the Doctor. 'A life like that doesn't do much for your ethical standards.'

The squad surveyed their prisoners. One of them, whose sleeve chevrons denoted some sort of rank, said, 'All right, we'll take them to HQ.'

A weedy-looking young guard stared hungrily at Serena.

'Do we have to take 'em straight away? Couldn't we just...'

'No we couldn't,' said the leader firmly. 'Standing orders.

No prisoner to be interfered with before interrogation.' He laughed. 'After's a different matter. You'll get your chance.

Come on, you three.'

Forming a square around their prisoners, the squad marched them away.

Headquarters turned out to be the Tuileries Palace, or what was left of it. Most of it had been knocked down, or blown up, but one wing of the enormous building still survived. They were taken through a basement entrance, thrown into a bare stone cell and left to their own devices.

'Can you get us out, Doctor?' asked Serena.

The Doctor shook his head. 'If it was an electronic lock it would be simple. Sonic screwdrivers don't work on heavy iron bolts. Anyway, there's a guard outside the door.'

Talleyrand said nothing at all. He seemed stunned into silence. 'How long will they leave us here?' asked Serena.

The Doctor, who had known quite a few cells in his time, shrugged resignedly. 'There's no telling. Until somebody in authority gets round to dealing with us. Could be hours, could be days.'

But the Doctor was wrong. In a surprisingly short time there was a clatter of boots on the stone flags outside and the door clanged open. It was the squad leader.

'Outside, you three. Commandant wants you.'

'That's a bit quick, innit?' said the guard. 'Usually leave 'em for a day or two to soften up.'

'Sent for 'em as soon as I gave the description,' said the squad leader. 'Come on, you three.'

Flanked by the squad leader and the guard they were marched up some stairs, along a corridor and up yet more steps, emerging at the foot of a great marble staircase. It was, Serena realised, the same staircase they had climbed on the night of Napoleon's reception.

The mirrors were all cracked and broken now, and there were no candles. Instead dim gas lamps spluttered on the walls, and yet more rubble strewed the steps. At the top of the steps they turned into the Grand Salon. It, too, was worn and shabby and its walls were lined with huge maps.

Studying one of the maps was a tall figure in black leather with its back to them.

'Prisoners as ordered, Commandant,' barked the squad leader.

The figure swung round.

With no particular surprise, the Doctor saw that it was the Countess.

Chapter Twenty-eight.

Grand Design

She seemed delighted to see them.

'Doctor! Lady Serena! And you, Prince Talleyrand. Now that I really do find unexpected.'

With an effort, Talleyrand recovered some of his usual suavity. He bowed. 'Believe me, Countess, it is far more unexpected to me.'

'The Doctor brought you in his time machine, I suppose?'

Talleyrand glanced quickly at the Doctor who shook his head. Talleyrand made no reply, and the Countess laughed.

'I shall require to know all about that machine, presently, Doctor. But there's no hurry. You'll tell me all I want to know in time.'

'I shouldn't rely on it.'

The Countess turned to the two soldiers. 'You two stand by the door. Shoot if they give any trouble.'

The two guards took positions flanking the door.

The Countess looked thoughtfully at her three prisoners.

'Why did you come here?'

It was the Doctor who replied: 'I wanted to see something of this new future of yours. We all did.'

'You really do suffer from insatiable curiosity, don't you, Doctor? And what do you think of it, now you're here?'

'From the little I've seen so far, I'm appalled.'

'Ah, but you haven't seen the whole picture,' said the Countess. 'Come and see, all of you.'

She led them over to one of the big wall maps, snatching up a pointer. 'Here's the city state of Paris, you see of which I am Commandant, naturally. Here are our neighbours: Normandy, Aquitaine and so on. With some we're at war, others are allies. It's the same all over France or what used to be France. Over the rest of Europe too: Spain, Italy, Germany. Soon it will be the same all over the world!'

'And how did you achieve this result?' asked the Doctor.

The Countess seemed eager to talk, indeed to boast. 'To begin with, by securing the victory of Napoleon at Waterloo.