The TARDIS landed with a quiet thump, and the Doctor looked
over at his companion Vastra.
‘Are you alright, Vastra?’
She held her head in her hands.
‘My head hurts, Doctor.’
He moved over to her quickly.
‘How badly?’
She looked up at him, her eyes bloodshot.
‘Like I placed my head in boiling water and tried to cook
it.’
The Doctor pulled out his Sonic Screwdriver and flipped it
on. He scanned her and then checked the
readings.
‘Everything seems to be in order…your brain waves look
normal, pulse and oxygen levels within what I guess are norms for your
species.’
‘Thank you for that clean bill of health, Doctor,’ Vastra
replied sarcastically.
‘And just as caustic as ever. I’d say you’re going to be fine.’
He walked over to the door.
‘Now, for the rest of my plan…’
Vastra stood to follow him.
She got as far as the door when the Doctor stopped her.
‘No, not yet. Just
wait here, and listen. If we get past
this, then everything else will fall into place. Understand?’
Vastra nodded, and stood in the doorway, hidden by
shadow. She watched as the Doctor
quickly ran over to the cave opening, and it seemed to her that his timing was
impeccable, as from the opposite direction she spotted a half dozen or more
lights heading toward them. She steeled
herself, hoping she’d have no need to protect the Doctor. She knew from watching him that his mind was
quick, but she also knew from experience that a quick mind was no match for a
sharp blade or a gun.
‘Good evening, gentlemen!’ the Doctor exclaimed.
The head of the group stepped forward. Even from a distance Vastra could see his top
hat and long white beard. He had the air
of someone not used to having his authority brooked, and she wondered how he’d
take the Doctor. Not well at all, I
imagine, she thought, chuckling.
‘Step aside, man, there’s been a death here!’
‘Yes, I know, and it all could have been avoided had your
men waited for me to show up!’
The older man regarded the Doctor with a mix of suspicion
and derision.
‘And who exactly might you be then, waltzing around here as
if you own the place?’
The Doctor held out a leather bi-fold.
‘Doctor John Smith, head of Her Majesty Queen Victoria’s
Department of Geology and…cavey Things,’ he said. ‘New office just opened up. I’ve been sent by order of the Queen herself
to survey all of the caves and…things…in all of her king…err…Queendom. Historical reports suggested that this cave
here held some very strange gasses that could cause horrible hallucinations in
even the strongest man, and I was hurrying here to try and close it off. Apparently I was too late.’
He turned back to point at the ground behind him. The man Vastra had shot lay on the ground, a
blanket covering him from head to foot.
‘It’s hard to say, but my guess is that one of his men
struck the wall with a pick or shovel as the gas took hold. The spark must have ignited some of the gas
and…’
The older man took a few steps over to lift the
blanket. The Doctor put a hand on his
shoulder to stop him.
‘I wouldn’t, if I were you.
It’s not pretty.’
The man wheeled and turned on the Doctor.
‘What now then? Do
you expect that the wheels of progress can stop because of one small accident?’
The Doctor nodded his head.
‘That’s exactly what I’m suggesting. At least here, in this place.’
The man scoffed.
‘The Underground’s expanding, Dr. Smith! Soon this whole stretch of land will be
developed with housing and shoppers and industry! London is growing, Dr. Smith, and I won’t let
you stand in the way of it!’
The Doctor shook his head.
‘Well, if you won’t listen to me, perhaps this will convince
you.’
He flipped the page on his paper and handed it over to the
man.
‘Read this, and then tell me I can’t stop you.’
The man ripped the bifold from the Doctors hands, adjusted
his glasses, and began silently mouthing the words.
‘Wha…what?’
The Doctor smiled.
‘I do believe you’ll see that it bears Her Majesty’s
signature itself. And it expressly
forbids any further excavation here. It’s
not safe, and if it’s not safe for the workers, it certainly would not be safe
for any passengers using the Underground, would it?’
The man began to sputter.
‘This…this is preposterous?’
The Doctor looked at him in shock.
‘Please don’t ask me to go back to Her Majesty and report
that you directly disobeyed one of her commands, Mister…’
‘P…Pearson,’ he finally sputtered out.
‘Mister Pearson.
Surely you see how that would end poorly for you, right?’
‘I…I suppose it would.’
The Doctor smiled.
‘And surely you could find other places to build this
expansion of the Underground. In fact,
I’d be happy to consult my maps and drawings and come up with some suggestions,
if I might be so bold as to offer my assistance to someone who obviously shows
some wisdom in a time like this.’
Pearson nodded.
‘I…suppose we could arrange something.’
‘The Doctor smiled and clapped one hand against his
shoulder.
‘Excellent! Say,
breakfast tomorrow, King’s Cross?’
Pearson nodded.
‘But what about my man here?’
The Doctor looked down, a hint of sadness on his face. He looked back up and saw that they had come
with a horse drawn cart. He walked over
and checked out the contents. It was
bare, save for some basic digging tools and a few small sticks of
trinitrotoluene. He took one in each
hand and walked back over to Pearson.
‘I’d suggest you and your men take him back to the city so
he can be taken care of properly. Make
sure his family is notified. Mining
accident.’
He paused.
‘I’m very sorry I couldn’t get here before them to stop it,
I hope you know.’
Pearson nodded.
‘Yes, well…there’s never enough time, is there?’
The Doctor smiled a sardonic grin.
‘No, there never is.’
Pearson pointed to the trinitrotoluene in the Doctor’s
hands.
‘What exactly do you propose to do with that, Dr. Smith?’
The Doctor began walking back to the cave.
‘I intend on sealing the cave off so no one else wanders in
there and gets hurt…or worse.’
Pearson nodded.
‘Good idea.’
The Doctor set the sticks down and walked back to the man’s
side. He shook his hand firmly, shocking
Pearson to the core.
‘You and your men should get going. I’ll take care of this.’
‘Right-o,’ Pearson said, nodding. ‘Tomorrow then?’
The Doctor smiled.
‘Bright and early, King’s Cross.’
He paused as Pearson began to walk away.
‘Oh, and Mr. Pearson?’
Pearson turned.
‘Yes, Dr. Smith?’
‘You’re buying.’
Pearson shook his head and ordered his men around as they
loaded the body of their dead co-worker on to the cart. The Doctor gave them a good ten minutes
before he went back to the cave and positioned the explosives. As he was about to turn, he heard a familiar
voice.
‘You lied to them.’