Doctor Who: The Underwater Menace (10 page)

‘Guards?’ Nola had no love of Zaroff’s guards; before Zaroffs arrival she had been in the employ of Ara’s father; now she had been forced into selling carpets for a living.

‘They’re looking for me,’ explained Polly.

Seeing the guards approaching, Nola told Polly to lie down on the floor. She quickly covered the girl with a rug and Ara sat down by it.

One of the guards marched up to Nola. ‘Have you seen any strangers around here, old woman?’ he asked.

‘Everyone’s a stranger these days,’ she said wearily.

‘Why don’t they stay away and leave us in peace?’

The guards looked suspiciously at the rolled-up carpet by which Ara was sitting. ‘What have you got there?’ he asked. Receiving no reply he raised his trident in order to prod the bundle.

Nola fiercely stayed his blow. ‘How can I sell my carpets if you stick holes in them!’ she said. ‘Now go and leave me alone!’

The guard would have pursued the matter further if his colleague had not called him over to tell him not to waste his time harassing the old woman and continue the search for the escaped prisoners.

As soon as they had gone Nola unrolled the carpet and Polly breathed a sigh of relief.

‘Are you all right?’ asked Ara, her voice full of concern.

‘Yes... Thank you very much, Nola.’

‘Not all of us in Atlantis follow the rule of Zaroff blindly as does our King,’ said Nola. ‘Some of us still remember the death of Ara’s father.’

As Polly and Ara left the old woman two black-suited guards approached the disguised Doctor who was still sitting by the pool. The Doctor looked up in concern until he recognised the faces of Ben and Jamie; they were wearing uniforms which had been provided for them by Ara.

‘Zaroff on his way close behind us,’ said Jamie.

At that moment a guard passed by them. Not recognising Ben nor Jamie he looked at them suspiciously and approached them.

Ben acted quickly. He pulled the Doctor roughly to his feet and asked, ‘Have you seen anyone coming through this market place?’

Catching on, the Doctor pretended to consider the matter carefully before saying, ‘You mean a man about five foot three inches? Black coat, baggy trousers, bow tie?’

‘Exactly,’ said Ben.

‘No – as a matter of fact I haven’t.’

Satisfied that Ben and Jamie were genuine and going about their proper business, the real guard went on his way.

‘He’s gone,’ said Jamie. ‘We’d better get into position.’

Ben and Jamie moved away from the Doctor and vanished into the crowd. The Doctor also moved away and signalled to the two girls. Ara walked over and sat by the pool while Polly, who had been standing by a stall selling spices, brushed past the Doctor and handed him a sachet filled with pepper. Then she left the market place and headed for one of the tunnels.

The Doctor’s disguise might have fooled Zaroffs guards but it did not fool the scientist himself. He had arrived just in time to see the Doctor lose himself in the crowd. He strode over to Ara by the pool.

‘Where is that man who was here a minute ago?’ he asked.

‘Answer me, girl!’

‘I don’t know..

Zaroff left her and ordered his guards to search the market place. As they departed Zaroff beckoned the two remaining black-suited guards who had been standing nearby inspecting the merchandise of a stall.

‘You two – come with me!’

Ben and Jamie snapped to attention and marched over to Zaroff. Zaroff did not recognise them; the only other time he had seen them was in the temple and then he had been concerned only with the Doctor.

Zaroff began to lead them towards the drill head when a familiar voice behind him called out his name. Zaroff turned to see the Doctor who had cast off his cloak and was taunting him from the crowd.

‘Stop him!’ ordered Zaroff. Ben and Jamie instantly dashed off in pursuit of the Doctor who ran back into the crowd.

Not surprisingly – and to the delight of the crowd – the Doctor easily eluded his pursuers and ran off towards one of the tunnels. Zaroff and his two ‘guards’ gave chase.

About fifty yards into the tunnel, it forked off in two directions. A girl was standing by the fork, apparently on her way to market. Her face was hidden by the shadows.

‘That man – which way did he go?’ asked Zaroff. The girl pointed to the right-hand fork, the one which led straight to the Temple of Amdo. Zaroff darted off down the tunnel, followed by Ben and Jamie – and the girl who, as she moved out of the shadows, was revealed as Polly.

Panting for breath, the Doctor emerged into the temple.

Ramo was waiting for him.

‘Is all well?’ asked the priest.

The Doctor cast a wary look down the tunnel. ‘He’s close behind me. I hope I haven’t set too fast a pace for him! Here he comes now.’

The Doctor ran to hide behind a pillar while Ramo knelt before the statue of Amdo. Zaroff burst into the cave.

‘He must be here somewhere! Search the temple!’ he ordered Ben and Jamie. Then he saw Ramo and dragged hint to his feet.

‘The renegade priest himself! Take him!’ Ben and Jamie seized Ramo as the Doctor stepped out of the shadows; he was holding his recorder in his hands. ‘Ah, Doctor, there you are.’

The Doctor raised his recorder to his lips and blew. A cloud of pepper shot out of the recorder and straight into Zaroff s face. Crying in agony and rubbing his eyes Zaroff staggered back straight into the waiting arms of Ben and Jamie.

Struggling and kicking, Zaroff was taken by the two men into the secret chamber behind the statue of Amdo.

‘Now what are we going to do with him?’ asked Polly who had finally caught up with the others.

‘You’ll see,’ said the Doctor. ‘You’ll see!’

Following the directions given to them by Ara, Sean and Jacko had found the grotto of the Fish People. This was a large underground lake which ran out into the sea. It was here that the Fish People came to rest on the rocky shores of the lake between work shifts. Normally this was a quiet time, given over to reflection on the time when they had been human before Damon had operated on them. Now however their rest was disturbed by the taunts of Sean and Jacko who stood jeering at them from a ledge overlooking the lake.

‘Go on,’ said Jacko in a voice loud enough for all the Fish People to hear. ‘Tell them.’

‘Tell them what?’ cried Sean. ‘I’ll tell them nothing.

They’re not people like you and me; they’re just a bunch of sardines!’ He looked down at the Fish People, expecting a reaction. They stared back at him with their cold unblinking eyes. ‘You heard me! Cold-blooded fishes! You haven’t a drop of good red blood in you! A flatfish from Galway would have more guts than you lot!’

Incensed not by Sean’s insults, but rather from his reminding them of their human past, the Fish People, unable to leave the shores of the lake, began to bombard the Irishman with a volley of rocks and seashells. It was a pathetic attempt and Sean easily sidestepped their attack.

‘Hahaha!’ he cried. ‘You couldn’t hurt a little child!’

‘What could they do?’ asked Jacko loudly.

‘I’ll tell them,’ Sean said as he ducked from yet another bombardment. ‘All right, calm down! Listen, won’t you?’

The Fish People stopped their attack, curious to hear what Sean might have to say.

‘Look – you supply all the food for Atlantis, right? It can’t be stored and goes rotten in a couple of hours, right?’

The Fish People nodded their heads. ‘That’s why Zaroff has you working night and day like slaves! Has it never occurred to your little fish brains to stop that supply of food? Feed yourselves but starve Atlantis! What do you think would happen then?’ The Fish People gave no reply.

‘Well, now’s your chance to find out what would happen.

Or do you want to remain fish brains forever? You’re men, aren’t you? So go ahead and prove it – start the blockade now!’

The Fish People remained silent and still for a moment, debating the matter. Then as one they disappeared beneath the surface of the lake into the dark depths below.

‘Will that do any good?’ asked Jacko.

Sean shrugged his shoulders. ‘Who knows? We can only hope for the best.’

Sean’s words had indeed stirred something deep within the Fish People’s minds. When Damon had operated on them he had destroyed in them that part of their brain which made them resist, fight, question the orders of their masters.

But Sean had recalled their human past and there was something in that past which no amount of surgery could ever erase. It was that which had made the human race the most successful species on the surface of the planet – and also the most warlike.

The Fish People who had listened to Sean’s speech flitted between their colleagues, repeating the Irishman’s words in their peculiar sign language. He had made them realise how useful they were to the well-being of their masters, made them aware of the power they held.

Sean didn’t know it yet, but he had just started the first underwater strike.

Zaroff gazed hatefully up at the faces of the Doctor and his friends as they stood over him. He had been brought to the secret chamber and had been dumped unceremoniously in a corner. Ben and Jamie, still in their guards’ uniforms, stood at each side of him, ready to seize him should the scientist make any attempt to escape.

‘I have underrated you, Doctor. I hadn’t imagined that you would have the nerve to kidnap Zaroff himself.’ Then unexpectedly he threw his head back and laughed.

‘What’s so funny?’ asked Jamie.

‘I don’t see what you’ve got to laugh at,’ added Polly.

‘My dear young lady, if you wish to stop my plans you’re much too late.’

‘Too late?’ asked Ben.

‘The process has started and my nuclear reactor is activated. When the required figure is reached fission will take place and none of this will matter for any of us.’

The Doctor who had remained silent suddenly chuckled. ‘He’s only bluffing,’ he told his companions.

‘Nothing can start without him.’

‘And how do you know that, Doctor?’ asked Zaroff.

‘Simple. The great Zaroff would have to be there to set off the explosion himself. Miss your big moment? I think not.’

His bluff called, Zaroff turned to threats. ‘You can-not hold me. My guards –’

‘– will never find you in the temple you defiled, Zaroff.’

‘You are fools, idiots!’ cried Zaroff, turning red in the face. ‘I’ll defeat the lot of you. If I –’ Suddenly he clutched at his chest and fell forward, his face contorted with pain.

Polly gasped in horror, but Jamie was not so easily taken in. ‘Och, it’s nae but a ruse.’

‘What’s the matter with him, Doctor?’ asked Polly, suddenly full of concern for the man who had tried to kill her.

The Doctor gave Zaroff a cursory examination. The Professor was still breathing, although erratically, and his heart was also beating. ‘I don’t know,’ said the Doctor. ‘It seems to be some sort of heart attack.’

‘Well, that’s stopped him then,’ said Ben practically. ‘He certainly can’t go ahead now.’

‘I’m not so sure,’ said the Doctor. ‘We’d better make certain.’

‘What will you do?’ asked Jamie.

‘Get into his laboratory and try and stop the Project from there.’

Both Ben and Jamie volunteered to accompany the Doctor.

‘No,’ he said. ‘Someone’s got to stay here and look after Zaroff.’

‘I’ll stay,’ offered Polly.

Jamie shook his head. ‘You can’t bide here by yourself,’

he said. ‘You’re only a wee girl.’

Before Polly had time to remind the Scotsman that he was no longer living in the eighteenth century Ramo offered to stay with Polly and help her to guard Zaroff.

The Doctor eventually agreed, albeit with some reluctance. But there was no doubt that he would need both Ben and Jamie if he was to get past the guards and into the laboratory. Zaroffs condition seemed to be worsening and it seemed unlikely that he would pose a threat to Polly and Ramo in such a weak state.

When her friends had left, Polly looked down at Zaroff.

His breathing had become weaker and his eyes were closed.

‘It hardly seems possible, does it?’ she said to Ramo.

‘What?’

‘Well, look at him. He doesn’t look very menacing, does he?’

‘There is still evil in the man. It hangs over him like a shroud.’

Zaroff s eyes fluttered open as Ramo continued: ‘You will pay dearly for your crimes, Zaroff.’

‘I know, I know,’ croaked the scientist. His voice was weak; there seemed to be little life left in his body. ‘But before I die you must pray to your goddess for atonement.’

Ramo was instantly suspicious. ‘Why should I trust you?’

‘Have pity on me,’ pleaded Zaroff. ‘At least help me to stand at your side so that I may feel the priestly aura of your goodness.’

‘I think you ought to,’ Polly told Ramo. ‘He does look very sick...’

‘It is more than you deserve, Zaroff,’ Ramo said ‘

begrudgingly. ‘But I cannot refuse even one such as you the chance of redemption. For the blessing of Amdo alone will I grant you this last request.’

Bending down, he helped the weakened Zaroff to his feet. As soon as he was standing Zaroff grabbed Ramo by the throat with a new-found strength. Perhaps Ramo’s outrage at having been deceived by Zaroff gave him added strength but he managed to push the crazed scientist away from him. He turned and picked up a spear which lay in the corner of the chamber. He lunged at Zaroff with it, but the Professor was too quick for him and expertly snatched the spear out of Ramo’s hands.

Zaroff ran at the priest with the spear. The weapon pierced Ramo’s ribcage and he fell down with a terrible cry of agony. Polly screamed.

Zaroff turned round instinctively at the sound and slapped her across the face, shutting her up. ‘You will come with me,’ he said. Grabbing her roughly by the hand he dragged Polly out of the secret chamber.

‘Nothing In The World Can Stop Me

Now!’

Speed was of the essence if Zaroffs plans were to be halted.