Chapter 8: Check

Sir Fisher sat in his study, teaspoon in hand. He rotated it around the china cup, before tapping it on the side and placing it on the saucer. Gingerly, he took a sip, before lowering it again.

In ten minutes, it'd be over. He could finally relax. Then again, in ten minutes, anything could happen. His whole world could come crashing down in clouds of smoke and ash.

He was trying not to think about that.

Apart from him, the only other person in the house was Alistair, his butler – or helper, as he liked to say. He often didn't feel as if the money suited him, like he didn't belong in this life. Like he was a square peg in a round hole.

Thus, he liked to pretend, even if only to himself, that the money didn't exist. He still prepared his own meals, cleaned the house as much as he could and commuted to work like a normal man.

But he couldn't deny that the money had come in handy, particularly in the dark days. It helped that he knew he could take as many sick days as he wanted, or as many days off as he felt he needed. He could afford to retire right this second, so he had nothing to lose.

He'd managed to get the addresses he needed from the contacts he'd accumulated over the years. When you lived with the threats and worries he did, it was just a little handy to know you could always call upon a friend in the military, or government, or media to help you out.

Or a friend in an extra-terrestrial species.

Mel placed the pen onto the paper, having finished writing for the second.

'Is this right?' she asked the guard stood beside. In response, he looked at the pad, before nodding to her. 'Good.' she said, before scrunching the paper up into a ball and tossing into the bin.

'Won't you need that?' Eric asked.

'I'll remember.'

'If you don't mind me saying…' Oliver started 'You seem oddly…comfortable with your boss dying on you.'

'Oh, the Doc – Smith's quite good at getting himself out of sticky situations.' Mel replied, letting the lie flow through her lips. 'Trust me, it's not the first time I've heard news of his death.'

'Alright…' Oliver said, not exactly hiding his disbelief.

'Now,' Mel began 'What we need to do is find a way out of the area. If we can get the Prime Minister away from here, we can keep him safe.'

'I'm afraid that's not possible.' the woman said, crossing her hands behind her back again. 'Mr Chambers has to remain with the Centre in order to access the information required.'

'Not to mention the wall of spectators he'd have to get past.' Oliver added. 'He's probably four times as safe in here as he would be out there. At least in here, they can't Molotov him.'

'Thank you for that…' Eric muttered.

'Look, just tell me what you're doing!'

Naomi was stood in front of the door, her arms crossed. She watched the Doctor furiously packing his things into his pockets, finishing by putting the pack of tarot cards under his hat.

'I've got to go somewhere, warn them!' he said, winding the string around the yo-yo and popping it in his pocket.

'Warn them about what?'

'You wouldn't understand.'

'Doctor, you just invaded my mind, then freaked out. So I'm involved. Tell me.'

The Doctor muttered something under his breath in response. As he went to grab the last item, a wooden train whistle, Naomi got there first, and plucked it away from him.

She held it up high, away from the Doctor.

'Tell me, or it's going over the balcony.' she warned, slowly moving around the apartment. The Doctor followed her, staying a few metres away the whole time. When Naomi reached the balcony, she extended her hand over the edge.

'Naomi, you wouldn't-'

'Oh, oh, this is...so slippery…' she teased, even removing a finger from the whistle.

'There are creatures, called the X.'

'The X?'

'That's not their real name. They might not even have a name, but nobody has ever found out. Because anyone who gets close to them are killed, or have their memory wiped. Hence 'X'.

Naomi paused.

'Go on?'

'One of the very few things that is known about them is that they worship chaos. Anything that threatens to bring order is to them their mortal enemy, and they'll stop at nothing to capture or destroy them.'

'And your friend, you think they might be going to kill her?'

'I don't doubt it. I knew it was something omnipotent, to change history on this sort of scale, but I didn't…'

The Doctor paused, looking at the city around them for a second.

'You might get a phone call from her, or someone, asking about me.' he added sullenly. 'Just tell them I'm on my way and will go as quick as I can.'

Naomi nodded slowly.

'Alright. I get it.' she said in defeat, stepping away from the edge. She went to toss the whistle to the Doctor – but it wasn't there.

As she looked over, the Doctor produced it from his pocket, grinning.

'How did you…?' she asked, before giving up.

'As soon as I'm finished, I'll come back here and get you.'

'I'll come now, I've not got anything planned-'

'I need to move quickly. We might not have long.'

'Alright. Anything I should do?'

'Er…' the Doctor said, patting his pockets down. 'No. Good luck.'

He went to leave, but stopped himself suddenly. Throwing out his arm, he held back Naomi as well. She was confused for a second…until she looked at the door.

'Oh. Not good?'

'No. Not good.'

A green mist was forming around it.

'Sir' shouted one of the guards, as he exited the lift shaft. 'I've just gotten word from topside.'

'Well, what is it?!'

'She's finally spoken.'

'Who?' Mel asked.

'The bomber.' the guard replied 'We've finally gotten an answer.'

'What did she say?!' Eric punctuated, rising from his chair.

'That there's a mole.'

'Well, we knew that! How else would she be able to find her way around the Centre?'

'No, sir. You don't understand. There's a mole…in here.'

They all froze for a second, too scared to move – until Mel realised something. It wasn't the guard who had just spoken – it had been Oliver.

'You!' she said, pointing at him. The others turned, unwilling to add anything.

'Yep. Sorry.' he said, the trace of a laugh escaping his lips. 'Lot easier than you'd think, becoming a government mole. Of course, I was a student to begin with, so the internship story held up pretty well. Then there was all the sucking-up and boot-licking…I'll be honest, I thought you wouldn't clocked it from day one.'

'Oliver? You're the mole?!'

'God, leader like that, no wonder the country's in turmoil.'

'So the woman who let off the bomb,' Mel inquired 'Was your team-mate? Your friend? And you deliberately let her get captured?'

'Her fault for getting caught.' Oliver shrugged. 'Besides, I have to maintain my cover.'

'Which was very well done, if I might say.' the woman said. 'I mean, none of us will ever find out.'

'Yeah, see, it's not so much of a failed cover, more of a false sense of security.'

A chill ran through the room.

'What?' Mel asked.

'Because whilst you're all down here, distracted by me, everything will be going to hell in a handbasket upstairs.'

As if on cue, a shower of sparks fell from the lift-shaft, hissing in the air.

'Oh, and good luck trying to get up the lift now.' Oliver said. 'It's busted, and the guards at the top'll keep it that way.'

'Guards?'

'Couple of friends from the Union. Trained in the army, wanted to help out. Isn't that right, fellas?' he asked the guards at the back. Together, the two guards raised their weapons, aimed at Eric, the woman and Mel.

'So, quick question.' Eric started 'Was anyone in this Party actually a member, or is everyone a double agent?

'I'm not.' the woman replied, raising her hand.

'Thank you.'

'You see, Mr Prime Minister, I had a friend. He wanted to study medicine, to become a doctor, like thousands of people. Not unlike thousands of people, he wasn't from here. He moved into this country to study at a university. Eventually, he got his qualifications and got to work as a nurse. But a couple of years ago, something happened. Some politicians decided that they didn't want him in this country. Maybe he was working too hard, or maybe he helped too many people. It didn't matter. No matter how much he begged to stay, he was kicked out of this country, and his job, and his life.'

'Listen, I'm sorry, I am, but-'

'But nothing. You decided that his race was more important than his ability, along with thousands of other innocent people. I'm just cutting off the head of the fish to stop the rest rotting.'

'Oliver, please, just listen-'

'Too late. Sorry about you lot,' he said to Mel and the woman. 'Can't do anything for you. No witnesses.'

Oliver backed into the lift shaft, the two guards following him.

'Oliver, whatever you're going to do, just think about it.' the woman said, backing away from the lift-shaft.

'I have thought about it. Which is how I know that there is…2 minutes, 31 seconds to get clear of the library and outside, before it all blows.'

He let off a hollow laugh.

'I suppose it'll get rid of the crowds for you, eh, Mr Chambers?'

As Oliver laughed to himself, the doors of the lift shaft slid up, and the grinding of the ancient lift started.

'Guess it wasn't broken, then.' Eric muttered. 'Just a bluff.'

'So there's a bomb?' Mel asked, blanched with fear.

'Looks like.' replied the woman, running over to the doors of the lift. 'It's sealed tight. No way we're getting in there in a hurry.'

The Doctor slowly crept towards the door, umbrella outreaching from his hand.

'What are you doing?' hissed Naomi.

'Just testing a theory…' he murmured, dipping the end of the umbrella into the green mist. Nothing changed – it was as if the mist wasn't there, just a projection on a screen.

'Well, be careful!'

'It's perfectly safe, until the X solidifies.' the Doctor replied, smiling a little.

'I hope you know what you're doing.'

'So do I.'

The Doctor turned his attention back to the door, and leapt backwards. The creature was almost entirely through.

'I don't suppose there's another way out of here?' he asked Naomi, both of them now stood on the balcony.

'Fire escape.'

'Where is it?'

'Through that door.' she said, pointing to the front door.

'Ah.'

'Yep. Plan?'

'Lure it away from the door? It can pass through any solid object. We'd have to be quick.'

'So not a plan, then?'

'Unfortunately, no.'

The Doctor looked around in a growing state of panic, before looking at the umbrella for a second.

'Perhaps a small plan?'

'Which is?'

'We could exit the building via the apartment beneath us.'

'Sorry, I forgot to install the emergency fire-station pole!'

'If we hang this,' he brandished towards the umbrella 'from the balcony, then we could swing onto the balcony beneath.'

'You've got to be kidding me! It's 20 floor down! If we slip, we die!'

'Stay in here, we die.'

The creature was now fully through the door, and made its way towards the balcony, with its six red orbs glowing brightly.

'You first.' Naomi muttered. The Doctor nodded, before hooking his umbrella onto the side of the balcony. Clutching onto the end, he slowly stood up onto the balcony, with both of his feet perched on the edge.

'Be careful!'

'I am trying!'

The creature was now only a few metres away from the balcony. It seemed to be ignoring Naomi, instead focusing on the Doctor.

His feet slipped, and he began to cry out.

'Doctor!' Naomi called out, as he started to tumble.

'I think this is it…' the woman said, as she deposited a small attaché case onto the table. She opened it, revealing a mess of wires inside. Mel had never seen a bomb before, but she'd hazard a guess that this was one.

'What do we do?' Eric asked, mopping his brow. 'Apart from defuse it?'

The woman sifted amongst the parts, before pulling out a timer, like the sort from a microwave. In bright red numbers, it read: 0.59. 58. 57…

'What do we do?!' repeated Eric, who found himself backing away from the bomb a little.

'Just calm down…' Mel said, emphasising her point with her hands.

51. 50. 49. 48.

'I can't find the safety wire…!' the woman shouted, desperately searching amongst the wires. In defeat, she looked up at Mel. 'I can't stop it.

43. 42. 41. 40.

Naomi watched as the Doctor's feet flew off of the balcony, and went soaring into the air. For a few glorious seconds, he held onto the umbrella, swinging around on the pivot. However, he lost his grip, and his hands slipped off of it.

31. 30. 29. 28.

She ran up to the edge of the balcony, staring over the wall and yelling for him, with no words being emitted. The Doctor fell through the sky back-first, his arms and legs extended upwards as they reached for something to hold onto.

26. 25. 24.

'We have to do something!' Mel told the woman, walking over towards the bomb. 'We can't just stand here and wait to die!'

'What do you suggest, then?' the woman retorted. 'Taking it apart and seeing what makes it go?!'

19. 18. 17. 16.

The Doctor's umbrella fell loose from its holding, dropping to the ground after its master, whilst he still reached with his hands, determined to catch something, anything to break his fall.

Naomi looked away in horror, refusing to believe that it was happened. Tears of horror stabbed at her eyes, but she held them in, screwing her eyelids shut.

12. 11. 10. 9.

Mel watched in horror as the bomb's countdown got lower and lower – 7. 6. 5. 4.

The Doctor's hat worked its way loose, caught by the wind. It sailed off of his head like a rat abandoning the sinking ship.

3. The Doctor's jacket flapped in the wind, like the wings of a failing bird.

2. Mel found herself willing the bomb to slow down, to grant them a few more precious seconds.

1. Naomi watched the creature get ever closer towards her.

0. Time's up.

The umbrella hit the ground with a clatter.

It was over.