Chapter 10
Who is the Prime Minister?
The Doctor, Rose ad Jessica found themselves piled up all three in a spacious car. The Doctor was in the middle of both girls, apparently happy of the situation whereas Rose and Jessica were perplexed.
''This is a bit posh. If I knew it was gonna be like this, being arrested, I'd have done it years ago.'' Rose exclaimed.
''We're not being arrested, we're being escorted !'' The Doctor answered.
''Escorted?!'' Jessica exclaimed
''Where to ?'' Rose asked.
''Where'd you think ? Downing Street !'' He exclaimed.
All three were mirrored to laugh, happy of the situation as much as impressed.
''You're kidding.'' Jessica countered slowly by laughing.
''I'm not !''
''10 Downing Street ?'' Rose asked for confirmation.
''That's the one !''
''Oh, my God ! I'm going to 10 Downing Street ? We're going to 10 Downing Street ! '' Rose exclaimed, excitingly.
''How come ?'' Jessica asked.
''I hate to say it, but Mickey was right. Over the years I've visited this planet a lot of times, and I've been, uh, noticed.''
''Now they need you ?'' Rose realized.
''Like it said on the news, they're gathering experts in alien knowledge. And who's the biggest expert of the lot ?'' He asked with a big smile.
''Patrick Moore ?'' Rose asked, making Jessica burst out laughing.
''Apart from him !'' The Doctor answered deeply, hurt, what only strengthened the laugher of the brunette.
''You would be too satisfied if we said it!'' Jessica laughed
''She's right.'' Rose confirmed by joining the laugh.
''I'm telling you, Lloyd George, he used to drink me under the table.'' He told. ''Who's the Prime Minister now ?''
''How should I know ? I missed a year. Jessica? ''
The Doctor and Rose turned towards the young woman to hear her answer. This one opened the mouth ready to it to them, but no sound went out. She did not know. Honestly, she did not have the slightest idea of whom was the Prime Minister.
The young woman frowned by sinking into her seat. Why didn't she remember? She was so reserved as that? At the point not to know who was the leader of her country? A strange feeling invades her, it was not fear but it looked like it a lot. It was time that she makes effort to take out a little and get acquainted with the outside world.
Feeling the looks of her friends pressing on her, Jessica looked fast for an excuse. She decided finally to say, the semi-truth.
'' I don't know either…'' She admitted.
'' What? You don't know who is the Prime Minister?'' The Doctor asked.
''You didn't miss a year too, eh?'' Rose asked, thinking Jessica was joking.
''No, but I don't know who he is. I told you that I was solitary. A real ermine. The politics doesn't interest me either… ''
The Doctor did not answering. It was strange. She had lived in London, and even by being cloister at her home, she had to know about this kind of thing. Jessica tried to make as if it doesn't matter, but she she feels very panic. How did she have been able to miss that? She had said only a half-truth because she did not really know who was the Prime Minister but it was not because she had stayed at her home. She did not know it because she had forgotten… She had forgotten everything concerning the policy. Was it normal? Jessica began to be afraid.
Fortunately for her, the car stopped in front of the building. She quickly open the door to take out of this strange and at least terrible situation. She heard the Doctor and Rose doing the same thing. Nevertheless she congealed, petrified by seeing the crowd which waited for them. There were photographers everywhere who called up for the Doctor who greeted the crowd, totally confortable.
The young brunette was however incapable to move. She felt ill at ease. There was too many people, she felt oppressed. Seeing her congealed and to being panic the Doctor took her hand slowly and pulled her far from the crowd. He did not want that she feels sick.
By making a way between the policemen, the three friends entered to 10 Downing Street.
Jackie was in her lounge speaking with a policeman.
''So, she's alright then ?'' She asked the policeman. ''She's not in any trouble ?''
''Well, all I can say is, your daughter and her 'companion' might be in a position to help the country. We'll need to know how she made contact with this man, if he is a man.'' he explained. (Sits down with a loud grumble from his belly). ''Oh ! Right, off you go then. I need to talk to Mrs Tyler on my own, thank-you.'' He continued to tell to the officers in the apartment.
All left the house, leaving Jackie alone with an ill at ease and rather strange policeman.
Harriet Jones had just left the office of the Prime Minister. Having seen these events at least strange, unusual and weird, she did not really know what to do now. She decided anyway to come down again at the ground floor to join other persons present in the building.
She arrived in the room where were gathered all the big personalities who could help to solve the 'extraterrestrial' problem. She passed in front of a soldier, brandishes her card and introduce herself.
''Harriet Jones, MP, Flydale North.''
Then she melted in the crowd.
The Doctor and his two partners were present also. They observed and waited that the meeting begins. Indra entered, then, and asked to the other people to meet and to keep their badges on them.
Jessica had calmed down a little but was not all reassured yet. She hated having people around her but she did not know where this irrational fear came from. Rose noticed her faintness and approached her.
''Hey, are you okay?'' She asked, worries.
''No, not really… Too many people…'' She answered by scrutinizing the crowd.
Rose took her hand and squeezed it to confort her.
Indra approached them and tightened a card to the Doctor .
''Here's your ID card. I'm sorry, your companions doesn't have clearance.''
'' I don't go anywhere without them. '' The Doctor answered
''You're the code nine, not them. I'm sorry, Doctor... it is the Doctor, isn't it ? They'll have to stay outside.''
''They're staying with me.''
''Look, even I don't have clearance to go in there. I can't let her in and that's a fact.'' Indra informed.
''It's alright, you go.'' Rose declared.
''Excuse me?'' Harriet Jones intervened, interfering in the conversation. ''Are you the Doctor ?''
The secretary seemed irritated by the woman who had just invited herself in the conversation. They spoke together whereas Rose, Jessica and the Doctor spoke in low voice on their side.
''Are you sure ?'' The Doctor asked.
''Yeah, they're the experts, you should hear what they've got to say.'' Rose answered. '' Besides I would be with Jessica. We shall watch over each other.''
''I s'pose so. Don't get into any trouble.'' The Doctor accepted.
The Time Lord went away to join the other experts for the meeting, leaving Rose and Jessica, whom always holding hands.
''I'm going to have to leave you with security.'' Indra said, leading them towards the exit.
''It's alright.'' Harriet intervened. ''I'll look after them. Let me be of some use. Walk with me.''
Harriet Jones leads both girls in a corridor. She began speaking the tight teeth, by whispering as if she wanted to act naturally but discreetly.
''Just keep walking… That's right... don't look round !'' She continued, brandishing a card. ''Harriet Jones, MP Flydale North.''
Several servicemen and politicians sat at tables distributed in a rather small room. They were all experts in technology alien.
The Doctor entered lastly the room and went to settled down on a chair at the bottom of the room. He took the fil which was put on his chair and read it in few seconds, the eyes overflying lines in a surprising speed.
The three women found themselves below the main staircase of the building, in a quiet and isolated place which made more confortable Jessica.
''This friend of yours... he's an expert, is that right ? He knows about aliens ?''
''Why do you wanna know ?'' Jessica asked, suspicious.
Harriet hesitated before melting in sobs.
Rose tried to calm her rather awkwardly, Jessica could not blame her, she did not more feel at ease than her in this kind of situation. Although this woman saw, it had to be horrible.
The general had just acquainted with the file which all the experts had in front of them. The Prime Minister sat behind an desk in front of everybody present whereas the general was held by his side. He turned to the presents and addressed them.
''Ladies and Gentlemen, I'd like to have your attention please. As you can see from the summaries in front of you, the ship had one porcine occupant…''
''Now, the really interesting bit happened three days ago, see, filed away under every other business.'' The Doctor cut him, getting up. ''The North Sea, the satellite detected a signal, a little blip of radiation at one hundred fathoms like there was something down there... you were just about to investigate and the next thing you know, this happens, spaceships, pigs, massive diversion, from what ?'' He raved in making some steps in the way
Harriet had led both friends in the office of the Prime Minister. She went to a cupboard and took out man's disguise of it.
''They turned the body into a suit ! A disguise for the thing inside !'' She said, trying not to cry again.
''It's… Horrible.'' Jessica mumbled, her eyes not leaving the envelope of the man which had been alive some time ago.
''It's alright ! I believe you. It's... it's alien.'' The young woman began scrutinizing the office, in search of something.
''What are you doing?'' Jessica asked, looking too at the office.
''They must have some serious technology behind this... if we could find it... (Starts rummaging around the room)... we could use it.''
''Using their weapon against them?'' Jessica asked, looking in a cupboard. '' Ha!'' She shout with horror when a body fell above her.
Rose rushed to her, as Harriet and all examined the body. Rose seemed to recognize him while Jessica had no idea of whom he could be.
''Oh, my God ! Is that…?''
She was interrupted because the man whom they had seen earlier, certainly the secretary of the Prime Minister maintaining that Jessica thought of it, entered the office by cursing.
''Harriet, for God's sake ! This has gone beyond a joke, you cannot just wander... (Spots the body on the floor). Oh, my God. That's the Prime Minister !'' Indra declared in horror.
''If aliens fake an alien crash and an alien pilot, what do they get ?''The Doctor asked, more for himself then for the persons present.
He tried to find a solution, he tried to understand what was happening. Suddenly, the answer came to him as an obvious fact. It was so obvious!
''Us!'' He notice in a loud voice. ''They get us. It's not a diversion, it's a trap.''
It planned nothing good…
Jessica, in front of the situation more than criticize, began thinking as fast as she could. The Doctor had told her that he thought that the ship in the Thames was a diversion, but in the views of what the aliens and made to their Prime Minister, she was not so sure. They had attacked first, they were maybe still present. It was not a diversion, it was a trap. And Jessica and Rose, as well as all the human beings present in this building were stuck in this trap. They were in a hell of a mess.
Suddenly, a feminine voice was heard. Everybody turned around towards the front door and they saw a small rather pump woman entering at step of wolves.
''Ohhh ! Has someone been naughty ?''
She entered and closed the door behind her. Immediately, Jessica felt threatened, she took place then a little in front of Rose to protect her. The secretary look at the newcomer.
Jackie entered her kitchen to prepare some tea to the lieutenant who always questioned her about the Doctor.
''It was bigger on the inside.'' She explained. ''I dunno, what do I know about spaceships ?''
The policeman in the lounge got up.
'That's what worries me. You see, this man is classified as "trouble". Which means that anyone associated with him is trouble. And that's my job. Eliminating trouble.''
The man removed his policeman's cap to reveal a zipper on the forehead. He began to open it slowly whereas Jackie made the tea in the kitchen, not suspecting a single moment of the creature which she had just invited at her home.
While the man opened the forehead to remove his human flesh, a blue light invades the room.
''That's impossible.'' Indra protested. ''He left this afternoon. The Prime Minister left Downing Street, he was driven away !''
''And who told you that ? Hmm?'' She answered by getting closer. ''Me.'' She happily exclaimed.
The Doctor continued his explanations by walking slowly in the path.
''Alien experts, the only people with knowledge how to fight them gathered together in one room.''
Suddenly, somebody farts. The eyebrows of the Doctor raised and reached the forehead. Did he hear it well? It was extremely impolite! He turned around towards the source of the noise, which turned out tu be the Prime Minister.
''Excuse me, do you mind not farting while I'm saving the world ?'' He asked.
''Would you rather silent but deadly ?'' The Prime Minister asked in his turn by smiling crazily.
He exchanged a roguish look with the general while the Doctor seemed outraged of this behavior. He understood immediately that something was wrong. But what?
The general removed proudly his officer's cap and reaches the forehead to undo the zipper which was there. The room took a dark atmosphere while the Prime Minister laughed madly, joyfully. What was the general, few seconds ago, dropped the skin on the ground to reveal a hideous green, huge creature with big spherical dark eyes.
The Doctor remained to conceal on the spot and looked at this show with dismay.
Margaret offered them a devilish smile before reaching the forehead. She made slide a kind of zipper and the room became immediately blue and dark. Jessica took Rose's hand and took place a little mode in front of her.
This woman was certainly not human and it seemed to Jessica that she was going to change her suit.
The skin of the woman which had been in front of them few seconds ago, hung now on the hips of a squalid green creature. It had big spherical black eyes, long sharp fingers and it was terribly big. There, they were in a very big mess…
Jackie was always in the kitchen, but the blue light which had just appeared alerted her. She turned the head to her lounge ,a little frightened and moved forward slowly to the door.
The Doctor could not move, he looked with fright, the creature. The alines had been there, in front of him since the beginning.
Jackie stopped in the doorway of the kitchen. She had eyes wide opened in front of the creature which was held in front of her.
The creature had just stopped undressing. It recovered and looked at the Doctor.
''We are the Slitheen.'' It said.
In the office of the Prime Minister, the green creature caught the secretary by the neck and stuck him in the wall, in some feet in height.
The three women were terrified and disgusted by the show which took place in front of them.
Jackie pushed a shout of terror and moved back in the kitchen. She found herself trapped in a corner of the counter, sinking against it as the Slitheen raises his claw to strike.
The Prime Minister got up and took out a switch of his pocket.
''Thank you all for wearing your ID cards. They'll help to identify the bodies.''
Then he pressed the switch. Immediately, the expert, also the Doctor, were electrocuted. The Doctor fell on his knees while everybody shout in pain.
The Slitheen, it, laughed in front of so much suffering and agony.