Doctor Who_ World Game - Doctor Who_ World Game Part 8
Library

Doctor Who_ World Game Part 8

The Governor turned to the hawk-faced man. 'The authority of a death warrant delivered by Citizen-Representative Latour this gentleman here.'

'I demand to see it!'

'By what right?' asked Citizen-Representative Latour.

'I am Citizen-Representative Dupont, Special Investigator for the Committee of Public Safety,' said the Doctor imposingly. He stared accusingly at Latour. 'All our Representatives are well known to me. You, I may say, are not among them.'

'Nor are you known to me,' said Latour.

Naturally not, since they were both impostors, thought the Doctor.

Latour returned to the attack. 'This man is an impostor, Governor. Seize him!'

'I have all the necessary papers to prove my identity,' said the Doctor. He produced an impressive sheaf of documents.

'As have I,' said Latour, producing an even bigger sheaf.

Both men thrust their documentation at the beleaguered Governor. He took and studied them in turn, first Latour's and then the Doctor's, and returned them to their owners.

'Both sets appear to be authentic,' he said helplessly.

'How can I tell otherwise? We have reached a stalemate.'

'Not quite,' said Latour. He produced a roll of parchment and spread it out. 'I hold a death warrant for Citizen-General Bonaparte, signed by the Committee of Public Safety.' He held it up to the Doctor. 'Do you bear a pardon?'

'Why would I carry a pardon for something which was never supposed to happen in the first place?' said the Doctor.

'The charges against General Bonaparte have proved to be groundless and are all dismissed. I was sent here from Paris to arrange for his immediate release.'

'Nonsense!' cried Latour. 'This man is lying. Carry on with the execution.'

He brandished his parchment menacingly.

'That death warrant is a forgery Governor,' shouted the Doctor. 'This man is an impostor.'

'You are the impostor, Dupont,' snarled Latour. 'I warn you Governor, if this execution is not carried out immediately, you will replace Bonaparte at the guillotine!'

The Governor paled at the threat. He looked appealingly at the Doctor. 'I am sorry, Citizen-Representative. Since the warrant appears genuine, my hands are tied, there is nothing I can do.'

'Of course there is something you can do,' said a cold, clear voice. It was Serena, speaking for the first time. All eyes turned towards her.

'You can delay delay Governor,' she went on. 'Delay until the full truth is known.' Governor,' she went on. 'Delay until the full truth is known.'

'But what is the point of that, Mademoiselle? The decision must still be made. Where is the benefit in delay?'

'Do use your intelligence, my dear Governor. If this unfortunate man has truly been condemned, you can always execute him later. All that has been lost is a little time.'

The Governor nodded. 'Yes, that is true.'

'On the other hand, if you execute him now in error, his head can scarcely be restored to his shoulders.'

The tormented Governor seized on the solution with enthusiasm. 'And that is undeniable. A most logical suggestion, Mademoiselle. The execution will be postponed, and you, gentlemen, will both remain in the fort as my guests until this matter is cleared up.'

The Doctor gave Serena a thoughtful look. Latour and his warrant could hardly survive investigation. But neither would the Doctor's cover story. They'd saved Bonaparte's head, at least for the moment. Possibly at the cost of their own.

Serena had been watching Latour, studying his reaction, which appeared to be one of baffled fury. Suddenly she shouted, 'Doctor, look out!'

Latour had snatched a heavy pocket-pistol from the side pocket of his coat. He swung round and trained it not at the Doctor, but at the silent, bound prisoner, who stood waiting his fate.

The Doctor sprang, grabbing Latour's wrist and forcing his arm upwards. The pistol exploded with a thunderous report.

The Doctor and Latour fell to the ground, grappling furiously.

The pistol, the Doctor saw, had a second barrel...

He tightened his grip on Latour's wrist and grabbed the pistol barrel with his other hand, trying desperately to wrest it free. But Latour was appallingly strong and wiry. He wrenched himself from the Doctor's grasp, sprang to his feet and took careful aim at the prisoner.

There was the sharp crack of a pistol shot and Latour staggered and fell.

A tall, extraordinarily beautiful woman had come into the courtyard. She wore a long black travelling cloak and she had a cloud of black hair and, incongruously for her colouring, deep blue eyes.

The Doctor scrambled to his feet, staring at her incredulously. They had met before. She had called herself Countess Malika Treszka, and she had been part of the plot to kidnap Winston Churchill.

The surprising thing was that the meeting had taken place in the Doctor's past and Earth's future in a chateau in northern France in 1915.

Chapter Eight.

Reunion

The dark-haired woman tucked the pistol inside her cloak and approached them. Ignoring the rest of the group, she came close to the Doctor.

'Why, Doctor, how nice to see you again.'

The Doctor bowed. 'An unexpected pleasure. A very unexpected pleasure, if I may say so. A considerable amount of time separates this meeting and our last.'

The Countess smiled. 'It seems like a hundred years since we first met doesn't it?'

It was that and more, thought the Doctor. They'd first met in 1915, over a hundred years in the future. Sometimes the paradoxes of time travel made even the Doctor's head spin.

'So it does,' said the Doctor. 'At least a hundred years, Countess.'

She held up her hand. 'No titles, please. I resigned mine when I joined the Revolution.'

'My companion did much the same thing. And I have dispensed with my doctorate. I am now Citizen-Representative Dupont, Special Investigator for the Committee of Public Safety.'

'Of course you are, Doctor. Even with our new names, we are old friends, are we not?'

The Governor bustled forward. 'You identify this gentleman, Madame?'

'Of course.'

'And you are?'

'I am Madame Lafarge, a close personal friend of General Dumerbion. I am here on the General's business.'

'And what business might that be, Madame?'

'The immediate restoration of General Bonaparte to freedom.'

The Doctor nodded at the bound figure, standing motionless between the two soldiers. 'May I suggest that you release the General, Governor?'

By now the Governor was thoroughly confused. He was a simple soul, and the rapid progression of dramatic events had been too much for him.

'I'm not sure...the situation remains more than a little unclear...'

The Doctor pointed to the huddled body of Latour, sprawled face downwards on the cobbles. 'This man's own actions prove the falsity of his claims. He tried to involve you in the judicial murder of General Bonaparte. When that failed, he attempted to assassinate him himself.'

The Governor hesitated, still confused and indecisive.

'I think I can resolve your difficulty, Governor,' said Madame Lafarge. 'Since General Dumerbion knew I was coming to Antibes, he entrusted me with this letter.' She produced an envelope from beneath her cloak and held it out.

'All charges against General Bonaparte have been investigated and proven groundless. He is to be released at once and restored to his former rank and duties.'

The Governor took the envelope, extracted the letter and studied it. He beamed. 'Clarity at last! This letter is undoubtedly genuine. I recognise the General's signature and indeed the ink is still fresh!' He snapped orders to the soldiers guarding Bonaparte and one of them began freeing him from his bonds.

'May I ask how your so-timely intervention came about?'

he asked.

'We heard rumours that the General's enemies were plotting against him,' said Madame Lafarge. 'I set off from Nice the moment the letter was written.'

'I discovered the details of the plan in Paris,' said the Doctor. 'I hurried here for exactly the same reason.'

'Of course you did,' said Madame Lafarge. She glanced curiously at Serena. 'Won't you introduce your charming companion?'

The Doctor beckoned Serena forward. 'Permit me to introduce Mademoiselle Lebrun, my ward. Mademoiselle Lebrun, Madame Lafarge.'

'And what is Mademoiselle's occupation?'

'She is travelling with me to broaden her experience of the world.'

'I'm sure you'll do that for her, Doctor,' said Madame Lafarge. The two women looked at each other with instant mutual dislike.

Bonaparte strode over to them, rubbing his wrists. He bowed. 'Citizen, Citizeness.' He turned to the Doctor. 'You have saved my life twice. Once from Madame Guillotine...'

He looked at the sinister machine in the middle of the courtyard and shuddered. He prodded Latour's body with the toe of his boot. 'Once from the bullet of this assassin.'

'I tried,' said the Doctor modestly. 'In both instances it was this lady who actually succeeded.'

'I am well aware of it,' said Bonaparte. He took Madame Lafarge's hand, bowed over it and kissed it. 'Whoever else you are, Madame, you are quite clearly my guardian angel.'

'You do me too much credit, General,' said the Countess demurely. 'I am merely a humble patriot, anxious to do her duty. France cannot afford to lose one of her greatest soldiers in her hour of need. The Army of Italy is waiting for you to lead it to glory.'

Nothing like laying it on thick, thought the Doctor. He studied the little cameo with interest. Bonaparte, small, sallow, almost insignificant-looking yet you could feel the strength of will, the force inside him. And he was one of the key players in the history of the nineteenth century. Would the world have been a better place if Latour had succeeded in removing him from history? Who could tell? The essential thing was that he hadn't been removed, not before his time.

Human history must be allowed to play out its allotted course.

Then there was the mysterious Countess somehow the Doctor still thought of her as a countess. What were her true aims? She had been willing to assist in the kidnapping of Winston Churchill, another of history's key players. Yet she had also assisted in his escape on a sudden whim, simply because she liked him. It was as if she regarded it all as some kind of game.

A game, thought the Doctor. A game, with players...

It was quite clear that Bonaparte was immensely taken with her. If one of her aims was to get close to him, she was well on the way. Bonaparte had always had an eye for a beautiful woman. The famous Josephine was only one of many.

The Doctor became aware that the Countess was following up her advantage.

'My carriage awaits outside the fort, General. I will be happy to convey you back to your headquarters in Nice.

General Dumerbion eagerly awaits your return.'